#the Hulk genuinely is under attack a lot of the time | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tothemeadow · 3 years

Text

Commissioned by @missusk

Uzui Tengen x Reader/OC

- After a grueling training session with Tengen, you’re hurt badly. Granted, you and Tengen don’t always get along, but he seems to feel guilty... Amongst other things. -

warnings: none

words: 3.5k

Above you, the winds carry the song of the heavens. Birds join in with their choir, their melody floating with the gentle breeze. It’s almost too peaceful, too perfect, and as you stare up at the cerulean sky above, you realize how utterly tiny you are.

“You’re doing it again,” Mitsuri says, a light giggle following her words. “If I didn’t know you any better, then I’d say that you’re thinking of someone.”

Shifting your attention to her, you scoff. “Please, Mitsuri, don’t make me laugh.”

The smile playing on Mitsuri’s face is all too gentle. She’s always been that way, so delicate and beautiful, and you find yourself awestruck at her genuine being. “I know love when I see it, Nanami,” she tells you. “It’s my job, after all! I’m not called the Love Pillar for nothing.”

You’re not quite sure what she’s getting at. “Mitsuri,” you start, your brows knitting together, “what are you even talking about?”

Tapping her cheek with a slender finger, she flashes you a knowing look. “Oh, you know, a certain hulking man. One that’s tall and devilishly handsome.”

Oh, here it comes again.

You roll your eyes at her suggestive tone. “Don’t you even think about it,” you warn.

Mitsuri’s petal lips purse into a pout. “I just want you to be happy,” she mopes. “Besides, I’m pretty sure he has feelings-“

“Good day, ladies!” Kyojuro’s voice suddenly booms.

Turning to look over your shoulder, you see Kyojuro step out of the manor with Tengen right behind him. The golden rays of light catch the fiery strands of his hair as he crosses the engawa to where you and Mitsuri sit.

“You’re looking as lovely as ever!” Kyojuro says. He flashes the two of you a bright smile.

Just like always, your own mouth mimics his. Kyojuro’s always been so sweet to you, helping you out in your time of need and always offering a comforting shoulder. Besides Mitsuri, he’s easily the greatest friend you’ve made in the corps. “And you’re looking as dashing as ever!” you compliment.

Shifting your eyes behind him, you notice Tengen smirking at you. The glint is his stare is teasing; your own smile falls flat at the sight of him. Amongst the entirety of the Pillars, Tengen is the one you get along with the least. He’s too much of a pompous asshole for you’re liking. He only goes on about how flamboyant he is, how great his fighting is, how much he kicks ass, yadda, yadda, yadda. Frankly, it gets on your nerves. He’s too much of a dunderhead.

He doesn’t necessarily like you either – or so it seems. He teases you constantly, openly flirts with you, all of that stuff; he knows it pisses you off, rightly so, and he does it nearly every time he sees you. Your pain is apparently his pleasure. If the other two weren’t around you, you’d love nothing more than to tell him to kindly fuck off.

“What, where’s my hello?” Tengen drawls. His ruby eyes hold a challenge; he’s just waiting for you to go off on him.

“I’ll say hello whenever I’m happy to see you,” you tell him, a mockingly sweet smile joining your honeyed words.

Tengen scoffs, his meaty arms crossing themselves over his chest. “Don’t you think you’re cute.”

“I’m adorable.” You swiftly turn back to Mitsuri. “Anyway, what were we talking about?”

You don’t miss the way Mitsuri’s eyes twinkle. “Actually,” she says, her voice sly, “I was going to help Kyojuro out with something. Why don’t you and Tengen occupy each other until we get back?”

Your eyes nearly pop out of your head at the mere suggestion of spending alone time with Tengen. Hell, you’d even let a demon eat you before you agreed to such nonsense!

“Yeah!” Kyojuro chimes in, seemingly not picking up on your growing anxiety. “The two of you could train! There’s no better way of bonding than helping each other grow stronger!”

“Oh yeah, baby. I like the sound of that,” Tengen says as he draws closer. The way he approaches you is much like how a predator stalks its prey, lithe hips swaying with each step. The foxy grin on his face makes your insides turn into mush. As he finally comes to a stop directly behind you, you can’t help but stare at how his ruby eyes practically glow in the sun. “Don’t you wanna fight me, Nanami?”

Clapping her hands, Mitsuri jumps off the engawa. “Great! You two have fun! We’ll be back later!”

“Wait, Mitsuri-“ you say after her, but she quickly pulls Kyojuro after her and scurries away.

Tengen’s hand clamps down on your shoulder. “What?” he drawls. “You want to spend time with me, don’t you?”

You quickly shrug his shoulder off. “As if.”

He cocks his head. “Not even to kick my ass?”

Damn, he got you there. You’d love to drive his ass into the ground. You know he’s only egging you on, but the idea of finally getting him to shut up for once is way more convincing. “Alright,” you say, stepping off the engawa, “let’s fight.”

As the two of you venture further into the yard, you can’t help but stare after him. Maybe it’s the lighting, but Tengen almost seems… bigger. His muscles flex with the slightest movements, his shoulders seem wider, his thighs stronger. Your eyes linger a second too long on his ass, but you quickly whip your head away. Stop it, you chide yourself.

Okay, yeah, so Tengen’s an utter ass. However, that doesn’t mean he’s drop dead gorgeous and built like a god. And yeah, maybe you want to grab onto his massive biceps and run your hands over his pectorals. You’re curious, nothing more. He’s put a lot of time and effort for a physique like that, and you only appreciate it.

…What a bunch of bullshit.

Coming to a halt, the two of you turn to face each other, readying your blades. From an outsider’s perspective, it looks like Tengen could take you out in ten seconds flat. You, however, are a Pillar, just like him. You’re not weak.

“Don’t cry if you get hurt, Nanami,” Tengen taunts. His normally cocky expression settles into a determined one. Although this is only a training session, he’s ready to give it his all. If you can’t give your whole 110%, then you can’t call yourself a Pillar.

“I’m not the one who’s going to be crying,” you shoot right back. “Gods forbid if your hair falls out of place.”

At that, Tengen snickers. “Just warning you.”

In a single blink, the fight begins.

He’s almost too quick for your eyes to follow; a blur of colors passes by your left, and you quickly sidestep to evade his duo-blades. The air hums with the force of his strike. Tengen is nothing but pure, raw strength; obviously, you don’t match him in that aspect, but you’re not hopeless.

Being the Lightning Pillar, you take pride in the strength of your legs. You swiftly kick at his side, a spark of satisfaction lighting in your chest when your foot makes contact. A growl reaches your ear, then, and a sudden blow to your ribs takes you by surprise.

Stumbling backwards, you gasp for air, but Tengen refuses to give you a second to prepare. He’s moving at you again, his blades arcing about him gracefully; his form is nothing short of perfect, completely on the offense but leaving no opening for an attack of your own. Your own blade swings towards him in flashing movements.

The fight is fast, intense. Tengen is nothing more than a blur of colors and massive size; the only real indication of your strikes landing on him is the clashing of your blades. The pain in your ribs spikes as you continuously work your body. You force yourself to control your breathing, focus on healing the wound, but you’re not given any time whatsoever.

Tengen refuses to back down. He’s fighting to win.

You lose track of time. The fight drags on, seemingly lasting for what? Minutes? Days? The sun’s still hanging high above you; from what you can tell, it hasn’t even moved.

A grunt leaves your throat as Tengen slams into you. All the air is sucked out of your lungs as you hit the ground, Tengen’s hulking body landing on top of you. Your eyes blink rapidly, mind whirling to catch up with the sudden turn of events. Did he just… Did he just beat you?

You quickly take note of the position you’re in; Tengen looms over you, his hands planted on either side of your head. One of your legs is trapped between his. He’s got you pinned down, no doubt about it.

The corners of his mouth curl into his signature smirk. Beads of sweat stick to his forehead, a faint blush lingering on his cheeks. Is it just you, or have his cheekbones always been this sharp? Full eyelashes curtain his eyes as his lids drop, his expression turning sultry.

He smells good – like sweat, musk, and pine.

“You look really good under me,” Tengen mutters. Pearly teeth sink into his plush lower lip.

Everything suddenly feels too hot. Your mouth turns dry and a lump builds in your throat. Swallowing thickly, your gaze flickers over the features of his face, lingers on the sharp line of his jaw and his velvety lips. He’s always been handsome, devastatingly so, but up close… He’s godly.

Without fully realizing it, your hands abandon your blade and link together behind his neck. His proximity is tempting, the look in his eyes hypnotizing. “Tengen,” you whisper. He visibly shudders. Slowly, ever so slowly, the two of you drift even closer. Your lips barely brush against his when a wave of pain slams you in the chest.

With a cry, you flop back against the ground, your hands leaving his neck and clutching at your ribs. Tengen appears to be in a daze; he blinks a few times, the cloud of lust dissipating from his eyes as he takes in your pained expression.

“Oh, shit!” he exclaims, panic striking his features. “Nanami, oh gods-“ His hands are suddenly caressing your face, his eyes large. “Shit! What did I-“

“My ribs,” you gasp. Now that you’re completely still, the pain in your side is excruciating. “I think they’re broken.” Your face contorts with pain.

“Nanami!” Mitsuri suddenly cries out. The two of you look up just in time to see her hurrying over to your side, Kyojuro hot on her heels. “Oh my gods! Are you okay?!”

“No,” Tengen tells her, all traces of playfulness in his voice gone. He sounds different this way, almost like an entirely new person. He scrambles off of you, his mouth set in a thin line. “I’ve got to get her to the Butterfly Estate.”

Mitsuri looks at him with startled eyes. “What happened?”

“I got too carried away,” Tengen says, voice gruff. As he looks to you, guilt shines in the red of his irises. “I should’ve controlled myself.” Gingerly, he picks you up bridal style, careful of how he holds you.

“Do you need us to come along?” Kyojuro questions, his voice laced with concern.

Tengen shakes his head solemnly. “I’ll take care of it.”

Pressed against his chest, you remain speechless as he takes off towards the mansion. You hold on tightly, focusing your breathing and deriving the pain away from your most sensitive spots.

As you thought, your ribs are broken.

After the first night in the Butterfly Estate, Shinobu spoke to you privately, telling you how lucky you were that your lungs weren’t punctured.

“I had to force Tengen-san to leave,” Shinobu says to you. It’s currently night two of your stay at the Butterfly Estate.

Lifting your shirt up, you let her change the bandages, her fingers gently prodding your skin. You hiss in pain as she barely brushes her fingers over the nasty bruise located on your side. “I’m surprised he stayed,” you grit.

“He’s very worried,” Shinobu says. She makes quick work of spreading a medicinal salve over the bruise before wrapping it back up. “He kept pacing back and forth outside the front entrance. Aoi even brought him tea to calm him down.”

Your entire face scrunches in confusion. “Why would he do that?”

Setting her equipment to the side, Shinobu shoots you an amused look. “You really don’t know, do you?”

You shake your head.

Shinobu sighs. “Well, Nanami, I genuinely thought you were brighter than this. It’s because he’s harboring feelings for you.”

“Wait, wait, wait. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You have romantic feelings for him as well, don’t you? You’re not very subtle about it.”

An incoherent noise falls from your lips. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you stutter. “Tengen is the most annoying person I know-“

“You know denial is the first step in many processes, right?” Shinobu flashes you a smug smile as you gawk at her. “I’m just saying. I think you two would make a cute couple.”

“Shinobu! Don’t say that!”

Just then, there’s a knock at the door. Shinobu calls for them to enter; Aoi slides the screen open, a tired expression sitting on her features. “Someone’s here to see you,” she says to you. She sighs. “Again.” Stepping away, Tengen replaces her spot in the doorway.

“Well, I think I’ll be going,” Shinobu says, drawing herself to a stand. “Take your medicine and get some rest, okay?” After you give her a nod, she pats your shoulder and leaves the room, sliding the screen shut behind her.

Tengen quickly steps over to your bed and sinks down onto the mattress. You almost don’t recognize him – he’s out of uniform, opting for a deep blue yukata instead. His face is devoid of any makeup, his hair loose around his shoulders. He looks almost… pretty.

His eyes flicker over your face. “How are you?” The tone he uses takes you aback. Where’s his usual cockiness? Where’s his stupid smirk? Why does he sound worried?

Shinobu’s words ring inside your head. It’s because he’s harboring feelings for you.

Fingers clutching onto the thick fabric of your blanket, you sheepishly look away. “Sore,” you mutter. Your breath hitches as you feel warm hands envelop yours. Snapping your attention to Tengen, you watch in utter shock as he raises your hands to his mouth and presses fleeting kisses to your palms. “Tengen-“

“I’m sorry,” he mutters, burying his face in your hands. “I never meant to hurt you.”

Your heart thumps steadily in your chest. Your side cries out in pain, but you do your best to ignore it. “Hey now,” you say gently, not knowing how to handle this side of him, “I’ve been through worse. I’ll be alright.”

If anything, Tengen appears bummed. “I don’t care. I’m the one who did it, not some lowlife demon. I should’ve been more careful, dammit.”

You worry your bottom lip. “Do you… regret fighting me?” Anxiety gnaws at your heart; the two of you almost kissed, after all.

“I regret hurting you,” Tengen replies, not missing a beat. It’s almost like he was waiting for you to ask that very question. He pauses, then, a perplexed look crossing his face. “…I want to take care of you.”

Your eyebrows shoot up your forehead. “What do you mean?”

“I want to take you to my home.”

“Why…?”

“It’s my fault that you’re injured. It should be my responsibility to take care of you. I’ll ask Shinobu for your medicine,” he quickly adds when he sees your mouth opening in protest. “Please?”

Dear gods. You’ve never heard Tengen say the word ‘please’ a day in your life.

“I don’t know,” you tell him, voice soft. “It just seems…” Weird? Too much? Like a dream come true?

“Let me take care of you,” Tengen urges. He shuffles closer, the familiar scent of musk and pine greeting your nose. “I can treat you so good, Nanami.”

You shudder at his words. They shouldn’t have such an effect on you, but they do. “Yeah, okay,” you breathe, your blood pounding in your ears.

A soft, warm smile grows on Tengen’s handsome face. “Thank you.”

The next morning, you wake to a chorus of birds.

The bed you lie on is larger than the one you had at the Butterfly Estate; fluffy down-filled pillows cradle your head, thick, expensive covers your body. The scent of pine sticks to the sheets, overwhelms you in a sickeningly sweet way. A source of heat warms the left side of your body; shifting to the side, your eyes widen at the sight of Tengen.

He blinks sleepily at you. His gorgeous features are entirely lax, the silvery strands of his hair surrounding his head in a halo. “Good morning,” he mutters, his voice thick with sleep. It sends a shiver creeping down your spine.

“Tengen?” you croak. Like him, your voice is raspy.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he tells you, flicking the loose hairs from his face. “After I put you to bed last night, I kind of just… crawled in. You looked like you were cold.”

You can feel the heat steadily rushing to your face. Your breath hitches in your throat as he reaches toward you, his strong fingers pushing your hair behind your ear. They linger on your cheek, and a look of longing flashes in Tengen’s eyes.

Much like before, you’re struck by how beautiful he is up close. The gods must have carved him out of marble, inlaid jewels for eyes, wove his hair from the finest of silks. Your gaze travels down, over the line of his jaw, down the column of his neck, and settle on the exposed skin of his chest. You almost want to tell him to cover up, to pull his yukata closed, but you don’t. If anything, you want to see more of his skin.

The hand on your face forces you to look back up at him. “Nanami,” he murmurs in that wonderful voice of his, “you know how awful I feel, right?”

You’re more than aware. Before this whole thing happened, you would’ve laughed at the idea of Tengen being gentle with you. As far as you were concerned, he didn’t possess a single guilty bone in his body. Reaching up, you place a hand on top of his. A spark of electricity tingles in your fingertips, but you refuse to pull away.

“Tengen,” you start, pausing to swallow the dry feeling in your throat. “Please stop beating yourself up. You’ll take care of me, right? Make it up to me.”

Tengen’s nostrils flare. He moves closer, then, and your eyelids instinctively fall shut. His lips are softer than they look, taste like an expensive tea; you sigh, your hands coming up and linking behind his head. He kisses you slowly, but there’s so much passion in his movements. His palm burns against your cheek. He’s so warm, so delightfully hard and ridged. Your hands grow more adventurous, slipping over his strong shoulders and settling on his chest. He hums under your touch, his lips parting; his tongue sweeps over your bottom lip, silently asking for permission. You let him in without a moment’s hesitation. As his tongue slides against yours, his fingers brush through the strands of your hair, slinking around until he’s clutching the back of your head.

“Nanami,” he says again as he pulls away. His eyes narrow into pretty slits as he looks at you. “Gods, I’ve been wanting to do that forever.”

“Then how come you haven’t done it before?” you whisper.

The corner of his lips twitch into a smirk. “Because you’re so stubborn and it pisses me off.”

A huff of laughter passes through your lips. “And you’re a meathead.” The look on his face softens as you run your fingers through his hair.

“What a flamboyant kisser you are,” Tengen teases. You giggle as he bumps his nose against yours. “Let me treat you like the queen you are.”

You ignore the spike of heat swirling in your abdomen. “All it took was you doing something stupid, huh? Figures.”

Hot air fans over your skin as he buries his face in your neck. “Like you’re against the idea.” You jolt as he plants a kiss against your neck. “I’ll make you happy to see me.” Another kiss. “I promise I’ll love you so good.”

Your heart kicks in your chest. Did he just say what you think he said? “You… love me….?”

Tengen hums into your throat. “Like I said – you’re stubborn.”

You think of the words both Mitsuri and Shinobu told you. He has feelings for you.

And you’re rapidly figuring out that you do, too.

Pulling him away from your neck, you urgently press your lips to his. The slide is too easy, almost like your lips were meant for each other. You hold him close, your heart beating in time with his.

You, his queen. Him, your king.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

#kny #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #kny x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #demon slayer x reader #uzui tengen x reader #tengen uzui x reader #uzui tengen #tengen uzui #kny tengen #commission #missusk

266 notes · View notes

adamwatchesmovies · 3 years

Text

The Avengers (2012)

Yes, we're talking about The Avengers again. Someone suggested we watch it. I thought "why not?". Soon after, I was once again gripped by its story and enthusiastically looking forward to what was coming next - even though I knew exactly what would.

Set after Thor, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), suddenly appears on Earth, determined to open a portal that will allow his new-found army to attack. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) must find a way to united the world’s greatest heroes against him: Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are soon joined by Thor himself (Chris Hemsworth) and form “The Avengers”.

With a colossal budget of $220 million, top-notch special effects and action sequences were basically a guarantee. There are many throughout and they’re nice and varied. Thanks to Loki’s manipulations we have our heroes fighting each other, then his innumerable minions. That’s nice, but if you just wanted mindless action you could find that elsewhere. It's what's between the fights that make this movie special. On top of the 6 main heroes, we have the villain and important side characters such as Agents Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). That's a lot of people. It could've been too many but it isn't. Despite everything, all the Avengers and their associates are fully developed, well-rounded characters. They are the human anchor amid the out-there alien invasion plot.

They all feel genuine because everyone is given not just time by themselves, but also interactions with each other. You learn a lot about Captain America when he comments to himself on how a situation is, and in the ways he argues or agrees with the others. The dialogue shows the team's dynamics; who is where on the totem pole, what their history is like, where they're going.

While the alien army itself isn’t explored very much - they become mindless drones you can blast away without remorse - Loki makes up for it in spades. Whenever he appears, you're forced to pause and think. Who is playing who? Was he planning on giving away that clue as a way to lure his enemies into a trap, or is it simply a demonstration of how deeply his hatred and arrogance run? Is it even possible to trick the trickster god? Though unassuming when compared to his co-stars, Tom Hiddleston brings to life a magnetic villain whose threat is constant because of his intelligence. With so many characters to juggle and the introduction of the team being a large time-consuming element of the movie, it was a smart move to take advantage of someone we already know and have them start running immediately.

With the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers could easily be mistaken for just "another one" but it's a special movie. I'll even call it essential viewing. It’s got great re-watch value and works on so many levels. There's a lot of humor throughout but it never cuts the legs under the rest of the film. You don't even necessarily need to have seen the other stories (though you really should) to get have a great time. I love this movie and I can’t recommend it highly enough. When you see it, don't forget to stick around to the end of the credits too, for a bonus scene you won’t want to miss. (On DVD, December 31, 2015)

9 notes · View notes

lovely-necromancy · 3 years

Text

A Cure for Insomnia CH 16

////TW SA mentioned/hinted at/// Depiction of a panic attack as well

The hospital was a buzz with energy, which was a bit weird considering how small the town was. Were there really this many patients today? You honestly didn't know, hell for the longest time you weren't even sure this was a hospital when you moved here.

That was changed recently, like very recent. Last night in fact when you had been forced awake by medical staff trying to determine your condition. That sadist doctor of yours kept a small smile on their face the entire time you groaned about wanting sleep. They had simply tutted at you saying you needed to be monitored for several hours before they could let you rest.

Thankfully you hadn't seen them today but it was only ten thirty. A lovely nurse had been checking in with you all morning, even before you woke up. He'd come in when you had buzzed after waking up in pain and given you a dose of your medicine through your IV drip. When you questioned him about where you were he seemed to still in concern. Worried that you hadn't remembered your accident that lead you here.

After assuring him and giving him a play by play of your day yesterday, giving him the assumed day, and answering who the current president was he let you off the hook. Mark, your nurse, had been very keen to tell you the Cowell family is in charge of your care and will be here later in the day to visit with you. Granted you actually feel up to visitors. Which you take as code for 'would you like me to deny visitors?'.

You let him know you'll be fine with visits after ten. Knowing full well how fast news can travel in the small town it's only a matter of time before a parade of Hornets meander through to check in on you. First you wanted to grab your bearings before being thrown to your overly concerned friends.

Or maybe they weren't overly concerned after all you did just experience a home invasion that left you hospitalized. Simply being concerned is a natural reaction to your situation. But your head hurts just thinking about anything right now. So, you'd like to take a moment for yourself, have a bit of time to process everything.

Either way you'd been right, news travels fast in this small town. Nearly all the lodge residents had been waiting for an hour to see you when ten rolled around. At ten on the dot Aubrey, Barclay, and Jake stormed into your room and surrounded you like piranhas in a frenzy. You looked towards Dani, Hollis, Kirby, and several other lodge staff members for help only to get small smiles and a shake of the head.

They wouldn't be helping you out of this anytime soon. You just had to endure the genuine concern and affection from your friends. Luckily for your splitting head the visit only lasts thirty minutes before everyone has to leave. Life still goes on even when a loved one is in the hospital. With several promises to return tomorrow and requests that you take it easy the rambunctious group was gone.

You relax into your bed before turning on the TV and finding something mind numbing to watch. The food network works! You hope Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is in the roll today. You're in luck as it starts playing right after the commercials.

The voice of your doctor is getting closer to your room. Great if you weren't already upset by the atrocity happening with the pizza at that restaurant then you are surely in a sour mood now.

“Well sir we hope you can reason with the child. They have simply fought us each time we've brought up the tests. We'd say it was mildly impressive that they held such coherence last night, had it not been for the headache it has given us.”

Oh here we fucking go again.

“I don't need the tests.”

No one had made it through the threshold before you spoke. Everyone froze at your cold tone. Until the doctor makes a motion towards you.

“As you can see, they're very stubborn.”

“I'm not stubborn you're just not listening to me. I haven't had sex in a year so I don't need a pregnancy test and I just got bashed around last night. I don't need an invasive search done.” You ignore the Cowell family as you speak to the doctor, “I find it concerning how keen you are to do a rape test on me even though I've repeatedly told you I just got banged up in the scuffle. Nothing more.”

The doctor still has their small smile placed just ever so on their face. There's something really off about them. Even under normal circumstances you hate hospitals and doctors. Mainly because they never listen to you about your issues, something you know would be even worse if you had 'Autistic' labeled in a medical file. But something about this doctor seriously rubbed you the wrong way. Perhaps you two knew each other in previous life and it was coming back to bite you in the ass now.

“Doc, the kid says they don' need a test, then they don' need the test.” Big Jo says breaking the staring contest between you and the doctor as they slide their gaze away from you to look at Big Jo.

You take no little satisfaction from seeing their stupid smile finally leave their face. It isn't long before it's replaces and they bound over to you. Poking and prodding you, jabbing with a lot more force than they should need to. After a small adjustment to your IV they clear you for this check up and allow the Cowells to have their visit with you.

“Something's off about them.” you say cautiously after the family steps into the room.

Big Jo sighs, “Ye' but they took care 'o ya last night kid.” Ushering his family through he closes the door behind them only to turn back to you with a stern expression, “so ya better play nice with 'em got it?”

Fighting back the intense urge to roll your eyes you nod, before turning to Little Jo who's made her way over to your bedside in her hands several thick graphic novels. The same ones your store started to carry a few weeks back. Looking up from the books you see her watery and puffy eyes. What she takes from Big Jo in personality she takes from her mother in empathy.

“I-I-I yip-yip I thought yip you might get bored so I yup wanted to let you borr-yip-borrow these.”

When she places the books onto the small table beside your bed you can see the tremors that rake through her hands. Choosing not to comment or bring any attention on the tween's obvious nerves you settle for an ice breaker.

“Thanks, don't know how much more crimes against pizza I can stomach.” motioning to the TV where a man is making paper thin crust on pizza to have a pizza that cooks in a minute.

That's not pizza it's cooked cheese and tomato sauce with toppings. Not pizza at all.

Jo nods softly, her normal enthusiasm no where to be found today. A pang rips through your chest as you watch her eyes cast downwards. With no clue how to help her feel better you have to swallow the sigh in your throat to not make the air heavier than it already is. Dia and Big Jo aren't much help either when you spare them a glance.

Dia herself is wiping her eyes with a tissue and sniffles escape her every few seconds. Not much is different bout Big Jo, he may have more prominent eye bags today but you weren't going to judge him for not sleeping. Even under normal circumstances you didn't have ground to stand on. Mark mentioned Big Jo was the one who found you from what he'd over heard at the nurses' station this morning.

Knowing this made the foreboding feeling in your stomach grow. The way he's looking at you with his cold stoney stare-he's not even really looking at you more through you. But his stare pierces you and sends the pit in your stomach lower than you thought possible. If it wasn't so chilly in the room you'd probably be sweating right now.

“Dia, why don' ya take Josephine home.”

Hearing this you lift your hand up to Little Jo before she has a chance to scurry out of the room with her mother. She looks at your hand and then back to you before launching herself into you with a crushing hug. Gravity doesn't help your case as the child's entire weight is on your prone form, you hadn't sat up when they came into the room.

“Get better soon.” the pain was worth it to hear the small plea. She at least felt a little better if she could talk without her vocal tic interrupting her.

After you pat her on the back and promise to rest up she's out the door with her sobbing mother. It's a quiet few moments after the door shuts before Jo takes a step towards your bed. If the pit in your stomach went any lower you're sure you'd be able to see your insides. The hulking man takes a seat in the chair next to your bed sighing as he leans back rubbing his face.

“Tell me what happened kid.”

You relay the events of your day to him. How you and Toby had gone out of town for slushies, gotten caught in so much traffic that you felt it was a punishment from God himself. The funny feeling you had after dropping Toby off, the one that said just to go straight home. And how you had a feeling someone had just been in your home. You left nothing out about the altercation with ski mask. That wasn't saying much because you only remember the ski mask and how you tried to claw their face off. When Jo pressed you for a physical description you weren't any help. Having been too caught up in survival mode you only registered the stupid frowny face on the ski mask as being a key detail...but any fool could laser transfer a decal. And the same went for that painted mask, anyone could grab an art store face mask and block paint some black over the features.

Vaguely you recall them wearing a jacket. Had it been red, yeah like a burnt burgundy maybe? It wasn't a lot to go on and seemed to frustrate Jo even more, if the pinching of his nose was anything to go by.

“You are aware of the situation, yea?” his accent has dropped, he's speaking in a more neutral tone and inflection. This might be the most rattling moment of the week-and it's only Tuesday.

He isn't looking at you so you give a quiet 'yes sir' in response.

“Kid your car got broken into on my lot. Your home gets invaded and you get bashed around/ All this a few months after my other front end girlie disappears in the middle of the night.”

A lump forms in your throat at the mention of Bambi. You can see the pattern he's stringing together, honestly you saw it long before today. You'd just been sloppy and took too much time to gather evidence of your stalkers' existence. Bambi's disappearance wasn't voluntary and it looks like you may be next.

“Called Lydia already and we're upping the security at the cottage. Until I'm satisfied with the level of security you will be staying with us.”

“I co-cou” the lump was hard to speak around, “I can't impose like that, it's fine I'll-”

“You'll just what sleep in your car become an easier target? Go gallivanting to towns miles away where no one knows you.” his harsh words cause you to sputter, “For Christ's sake YN we don't know who we're dealing with right now!”

You don't make eye contact with Jo. You can't make eye contact he's raised his voice. You're lucky you're laying down or else you'd be rocking back and forth right now.

“Unless you have a clue who's out there and the police catch them, this decision is final. This isn't up for debate YN.” he finishes harshly

Even though he's finished you still can't look at him, your nerves are so shot and all you can do is bite your lip.

“Look I...I'd feel a lot more comfortable knowing you weren't out on your own while this gets handled. Josephine looks up to ya like an older sibling, she'd be crushed if you ended up like Bambi. Same goes for Dia. And I don't want that for my girls.” he says softly, “Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir.”

With that Jo leaves you in the room after informing you that they'd be back to check you out of the hospital tomorrow. And that you could expect a visit from Sheriff Owens at some point before then.

Even after Jo leaves it feels like someone has your heart in a vice. And every few beats they squeeze it, constricting the flow of freshly oxidized blood to your body. For good measure they try to yank the organ straight from your chest cavity but just end up bruising your rib cage.

Oh God you can't breathe, you're trying but you can't tell if you are or aren't anymore. The beeping of you heart monitor is increasing with each second. It's annoying ringing is too much and you need to rip the cords from you immediately. That just makes the ringing worse as it flat lines not finding any beating or rhythm under your skin.

Soon you're swarmed with a team of nurses trying to settle you down in your panic induced haze. Their grabbing hands and forceful touches burn your skin and light a fire that travels through your veins; and only serves to make you thrash more. Taking a swing at the nurse who holds a needle you continue your struggle against the other bodies holding you down as she stumbles away.

A few nurses rush in from the door to help her, not that you notice.

So many of the sounds are merging together and you can't understand anything. From the shrill beep of the heart monitor, the voices calling out at various pitches, footsteps. Everything forms into one gigantic frantic pitch in your already fried mind.

A growl rips through the room, you can feel the vibration of it all over you. Did that come from you?

In an instant all hands are off of your panting form and just before you can sit up a deep pressure is applied to your torso. Warmth seeps into you as the pressure lowers itself onto your body. Effectively ending your meltdown and lulling you into a dissociative state.

Floating is the only way you can describe it. The sensation of weightlessness and a gentle rocking caused by the adrenaline trying to defuse itself back into the body. Or the foggy haze that clouds your mind as you try to remember what just happened. Trying to rational the series of events and this outcome. But nothing comes to you except more brain fog. A confusing storm of frustration and vulnerability hits you. And you are left powerless to do anything. You can't kick your legs or scream as much as you want to.

The weight on top of you is forcing a calm to wash over you while the emotions inside wish to break free like a whirlwind. Your distress kick starting the whirlwind back up again only to die like a camp fire in a thunderstorm when you can't get any sort of momentum to your tantrum.

You can only loose yourself to the fogginess drifting further away from your psychical body. Completely unaware of the world around you as it washes away into nothingness.

When the floating feeling finally lifts you have to blink to shake off the remaining stupor. You're able to tell there is still a heavy weight on top of you but also something holding down your left hand. You turn away from the wall that you've been staring blankly at for hours, if your sore neck is anything to go by, and see Connor perking up at your movement.

“Hey bud,” you raise a hand to ruffle his ear and he lays his big head back onto your chest. “hey Tobes.” voice cracking as you greet the man you assume is holding your hand in a death grip, not once looking up from Connor.

There's a tight squeeze on your hand and you have to close your eyes and take a minute to collect yourself before turning to face him. The last thing you remember before drifting off was a group of nurses trying to sedate you. Having no clue what went on after that and when Toby came in you're preparing for the worst. Finally facing him you pause when you make eye contact.

“Jesus! What happened to-to-to you!?”

When you'd last seen him you'd dropped Toby off in the same shape you got him. Now he's sporting a heavily swollen black eye, one that looks pretty bade considering his nose bridge is also swelling a bit. It almost looks like it's pulsing. The dark purple bruise and deep red bleeding from under it to spread away from the injury is such a drastic contrast to his weirdly grayish complexion. You aren't sure if the black eye is actually that bad or if it just looks that way due to Toby's lack of melanin.

“Tim and I got into a fight.” his one good eye cuts to the side, “Barkclay had to split us up. Drove me here to get it checked out, it's fine.” He's dismissing it, they probably can't figure out if his eye really is fine right now, since he can't feel pain and that thing looks tightly swollen shut.

“Barclay.” is the only thing you can manage to say. Your brain wasn't prepared for most things right now and it's having trouble processing the gnarly injury mixed with complete nonchalance.

His lips pull back into a smile and not one you've seen from him before. Sure you've pulled a couple genuine mirth filled smiles out of him, or seen his teasing smirks, or bashful shy smiles when you've been out with others. But this smile, if you could even call it that-it was more like he was barring his teeth. Toby looked ready for another fight or like he was a feral predator about to rip out it's prey's jugular. There's a brief flash of a image that pops into your mind's eye, one of Toby's bloodstained face with this exact expression, teeth soaked red with blood and chunks of flesh in between . A chill runs through you at the thought. Had Connor not been laying on top of you, you would have shivered.

The instant you squeeze Toby's hand, the smile wipes off his face and he stares down at your interlocked hands. He returns the gesture before bringing his other hand over. Looking up at you through his eyelashes he flips your hand and when your expression doesn't change and you don't pull away he begins to play with your fingers.

“What was the fight about?”

“I don't have to answer that.” his tone is short and clipped.

You don't press the subject, obviously Toby doesn't want to talk about it. And you're fine with that, anyway if the fight was bad enough for Barclay to need to break it up and he drove Toby here you can assume Tim instigated and is probably getting kicked back out into the RV with no AC. As bad as it sounds you could care less. Toby's your friend not Tim, you only care if Toby's ok and while he may have a very fucked up eye in the future, right now he seems like normal Toby. A bit more irritated and on edge but that's normal after a stressful day. Hell you punched a nurse a few hours ago.

“What happened to you?”

There's a small part of you that wants to sass Toby, that you don't have to answer that. Thankfully the rational side reminds you that fight with a roommate is very different than having been beaten in a home invasion. Once again retelling your story but this time starting after you dropped Toby off. No need in going into as much detail as you went into with Jo or how much you'll need to go into with the sheriff. Toby's hands would grip yours tightly throughout your recounting. It's one of the reasons you didn't go into a ton of detail. Understanding your friend is barely holding on by a string on his good days you aren't about to load your stress along with his already eventful day.

“You can't stay there alone.” he says after you finish the recap.

“Uh duh? Like Jo's already ordered me under house arrest at his house.”

It's like the tension leaks out of him like air leaving a balloon with the way he deflates after you say that. His grip loosens on you hand and he goes back to idly playing with your fingers.

“Good...that's good.” he nods to himself.

In the silence of this hospital room with his service dog on you instead of attending to his clear anxiety ridden form, you realize Toby's a lot more caring than his exterior lets on. The brunette might not wear his heart on his sleeve but it's easy to see it once you know what you're looking for. In this moment as battered and bruised as he is, even the potential possibility of loosing function in his left eye, he's more concerned with you. Whether it's low self worth or just how he treats friends you'll have to find out later.

“Hey...Tobias, I'm here y'know?” you start to sit up waving off a pecking Connor. Once you're far enough up you retract from Toby's grip, which he does fight you on a little. And you reach out further to his bicep, you can't quite reach his shoulder in this position.

“I'm ok Tobes, I'm here.” for some reason 'Tobias' doesn't sound right for this moment.

Toby doesn't give much of a reaction which is fine since you weren't really expecting one. He places his hand over yours for a moment before bringing it back into his grip and fixates on playing with your fingers once again.

With a smile you go to pet Connor with you free hand, hoping Toby might shake himself out of this funk. After a bit of petting you grow restless with the lack of stimulation and ask Toby to pass you on of the graphic novels Little Jo left for you.

It's easier than you thought reading with one hand would be, especially since you can prop the book on Connor who doesn't seem to mind. Pup is resting across your legs now that both humans in the room are stable enough to function without his intervention.

When you finish the first book Toby speaks up, eye still focused on your hand in his. And you find out that although the series isn't his normal thing he did enjoy the art style and a few of the jokes. He waits for you to finish each book before talking more about them and the arc of the story they laid out. Opening up for the two of you to have a nice discussion on the fantasy game based series. It's honestly so much fun for you, where you lack in background awareness Toby is quick to fill you in and point out little ques the writers and artist dropped. In return you're right there explaining character motives and the subtle looks of a character's eyes.

It's a fun few hours before visiting hours are over. And Toby paused at the door before he left, he looked like he wanted to say something but held back. Just as he turned to leave you call out.

“Get home safe.” it's normally his line but you aren't going anywhere tonight.

“I will....get well soon. I'll see ya later.”

There's that awkward smile! You can barely contain the beaming one you sent him before he left. Despite being hospitalized for injuries sustained by a home invasion from your potential stalker...well plural now, you've had a pretty great day.

Fuck that sounds so bad. Should you feel guilty about forgetting your messed up circumstances? No, no everything is getting sorted out. If anything this is going along with your plans for Big Jo to help you out. This was more than enough evidence to prove that you aren't just paranoid. And you're about to have a safe place to hang while this all gets settled.

The fact that you got injured is less than ideal but this is what you get for being sloppy and unfocused.

You have a lot of faith in your boss, you know this will be dealt with. Thinking back to everyone who came to see you today...you just hope everyone can be as confident as you are that this will all end soon.

#a cure for insomnia #ticci toby #ticcitoby #ticci tobyx reader #ticci toby x reader #tobias erin rogers #Timothy Wright #timothy wright x reader #timothy wright x brian thomas #Brian Thomas #brian thomas x reader #masky x reader #creepypasta fanfic

8 notes · View notes

loveisnotadagger · 3 years

Text

Love Is Healing - Chapter Six

Chapter 6/?

Rating T

Arianna's life went on undisturbed by the fact that Loki was in it. She still took trips to hospitals to heal the wounded, and she didn't hate the fact that she was living in the same building as Natasha. Tash was her best friend, but they didn't usually get to spend a lot of time together because they weren't usually called on the same missions. The Manhattan fiasco had been an exception. They usually weren't called to do anything so large scale as that had been.

Aside from Natasha, the other Avengers were good company as well. Steve kept to himself mostly, but he was nice and polite when he did talk with Arianna. He sometimes treated her like a kid, but she chalked that up to the time jump he'd had to deal with after being frozen for seventy years. Bruce spent most of his time with Tony in the lab in the basement. Natasha and Clint spent their time together with Arianna unless she was with Loki, though they remained nearby when Arianna was with the Asgardian.

On this particular morning Arianna was in the kitchen making herself some toast and a fruit salad to go with it. She was making enough fruit salad for everyone, actually. She'd been the first one up and had made a pot of coffee. The aroma had pulled Tash out of bed as well as Steve. Arianna almost grinned at the mess that was Tash's red hair. She hadn't even taken the time to brush it.

Steve's hair wasn't in place either, but it didn't matter. It was so unfair that people with short hair looked okay even if their hair was a mess.

"Jarvis, can you tell Tony and Bruce that there's coffee if they want some?"

"Yes, Miss Grace."

Arianna smiled, remembering the first time Tony had spoken to Jarvis in front of her. She hadn't known what to think when Jarvis had responded. She'd basically praised Tony's genius after he'd explained what Jarvis was exactly.

Over the few weeks that she had been there, Tony had taken to treating Arianna as if she were a kid sister, which basically meant that he teased her constantly but was also protective. In fact, he was protective to the point of being almost paranoid. It didn't really bother Arianna at all, so she let him get away with it. If knowing she was safe gave Tony Stark a small amount of security in his mind, she would allow him to do what he deemed necessary.

"Is Clint still asleep, Jarvis?"

"He hasn't left his room, Miss Grace."

"Okay. Thank you."

"You know he likes to sleep in when he can," Natasha said.

Once the fruit salad was prepared Arianna took some of it and her toast to the living room where she sat on the couch and began to eat. After she was done, she took a medium sized bowl of fruit to Loki's room. He had yet to come out and socialize with the others, though he did leave the room at night when most of the others were sleeping.

He barely talked to anyone who wasn't Arianna. She didn't know what to make of that, but it probably had something to do with the fact that Loki seemed not to trust anyone else but her – if trust was the right word for what he felt for her.

She knew that he at least enjoyed her company. ----------

Loki was reading when Arianna brought him his breakfast. The Man of Iron had bought him a set of books that would help Loki learn more about Earth. He had to admit that Midgardians were adept enough, considering they didn't know magic existed. From how many wars he'd already read about, it was probably a good things humans couldn't do what Loki could – or what he'd been able to do before he'd been made mortal.

It seemed Midgardian leaders would fight over anything. It reminded him of the time Thor had raced off to Jotunheim to declare war on them. It would've caused war against all of Asgard had Thor's antics worked. Loki had played his own part in getting Thor to go, but he had hoped he'd be able to talk his way out of a fight. Thor had been impulsive then and quick to anger, quick to fight, and words were said that Thor had reacted badly to. That was when the battle had begun.

He looked up from his book when Arianna came in. She gave him a small smile and came over to the bed to sit on the edge. She offered him a bowl of fruit, which he accepted and began to pick at. Some of the fruit he recognized because they were also grown in Asgard, but others he had to ask about as he came across them.

For instance, he had no clue what a banana was.

"We're going to have to get you acquainted with the kitchen so you can learn to make what you want and not just what I make."

"I like the food you make."

Arianna never made any complicated meals, but they always satisfied. Besides, as a prince, Loki had no knowledge of cooking.

"Be that as it may, you still need to know. And it's okay to come out of your room when the others are awake. It isn't meant to be a prison cell."

"I'm under constant watch," he reminder her. "And I am still not at my best."

"Well, no one's going to attack you," she said gently. Then with humor, she said, "I think everyone is afraid of what your mother would do if something were to happen to you here."

Loki shook his head. "It would depend on whose fault it was."

Arianna stayed long enough to let Loki finish eating and then she immediately stood up. Before leaving she said, "In all seriousness, you should come out. We could watch a movie or something."

Loki had read about movies – moving pictures – but hadn't yet watched one. Maybe he could try just once. If he didn't like it, he would just say so and he wouldn't have to watch another one.

Loki carefully got off the bed and went to his closet to pick an outfit. Arianna had ordered him clothes the first day he'd agreed to stay with the Avengers. He had to admit that Midgardian attire was easier to get into, but it left Loki feeling vulnerable and exposed. How did Midgardians feel safe without armor on at all times? On Asgard, the only time Loki's armor came off was at night when he was sleeping or when he was bathing and, even then, he took precautions to ensure his safety.

He decided on a dark blue sweater and a pair of black jeans, which he had to admit he looked good in. He went without shoes and found the sensation not unpleasant. He'd seen Arianna go around barefoot at all times of the day; many times she had visited fully clothed aside from her lack of shoes.

She'd definitely made herself home in Stark's Tower. ---------- Arianna had just put a movie in the DVD player when Loki came into what would be the living room in a normal home. The room had since been fixed from when it had been destroyed by the war that had been brought to Manhattan.

Tony had taught her how to use the TV because he had a remote that controlled all the electronics in the room – even the lights. Arianna didn't know why Tony couldn't have just invested in some light switches. When she'd voiced her opinion, he'd given her a sarcastic grin and had called her cute.

"You said I could join you," Loki said as he appeared out of the hallway.

She nodded, not surprised by his sudden appearance as she could feel his presence when he was close by. Side effect of being connected to him for so long even though it had been almost a month now.

The movie she'd chosen was the first Harry Potter movie. She'd chosen it in the hopes of Loki coming out of his room to watch it with her. She hoped he'd like it because of the magic in it, even if it wasn't the type of magic he was used to.

"The type you're accustomed to then?" Loki assumed when she tried to describe the movie without giving too much away. It was about a boy who found out he was a wizard and was allowed to go to a school for magic.

"I can do some of the things in the movie."

"So you can make things float?" Tony asked, suddenly appearing in the room. Bruce was with him. They had just come from the lab.

"Depends on what I'm trying to make float. And I've never actually done it, but theoretically, I know how."

Arianna wasn't surprised that Tony had known what she and Loki had been talking about. There were cameras everywhere in Stark Tower and Tony could pull up the video feed from pretty much anywhere.

"Would you mind testing that theory while you're living here?" Tony asked. "I just wanna know why you can do what you can do."

Arianna knew Tony was coming from a place of genuine curiosity and that he didn't want to use her for anything. She also knew he was asking her respectfully. If she'd been anyone else, he probably would've mentioned that he was letting her live there for free while also having her every need met with his money, but he hadn't said a word.

"I don't mind furthering your research," she said. "Better you than Fury and the science team at SHIELD."

"And Banner? He'll want to take your pulse and check brains waves and such."

Bruce looked uncomfortable for a slight moment. He'd obviously known nothing about Tony's request until just now. It was kind of cute and ironic that the guy that could turn into the Hulk was so bashful when he wasn't green and smashing things.

"It's fine," Arianna said. "I have a few conditions, though, because I've heard about how excited you get when you start a new project. You act like a kind with a new toy."

Tony looked as if he agreed with that statement, so Arianna felt confident enough to continue.

"I am not a toy and I'm not a machine. I have limits, so . . . I guess these are my conditions. One, I want to know what we do before we do it, and two, no pushing if I say no."

Tony agreed almost immediately and then said, "What exactly do you think I want to force you into? I gave up my dreams of world domination years ago."

Arianna rolled her eyes at Tony's joke and responded with, "Just covering my bases." ---------- After Arianna and Tony came to an agreement, which didn't take too long. Arianna was finally able to play the movie. Natasha watched the movie with them, even though Arianna knew Natasha wasn't much into movies – especially ones like Harry Potter. She didn't know why Natasha was being so protective when Loki really wasn't a threat at the moment. If he'd had his powers, Arianna would've completely understood, but as it was . . . even Arianna could beat Loki, and she couldn't fight to save her life.

By the time the movie ended, Arianna had decided to get Loki the Harry Potter series for him to read. She knew he liked to read because he had responded well to the encyclopedias she'd gotten him already – or that Tony had gotten him, at her suggestion.

After having been inside Loki's head, she'd found out more than he'd probably be comfortable with, but she couldn't help that. It had helped her decide how to approach Loki. Helping him understand the world he now lived in would make him feel less helpless.

He could learn their culture and try to fit in if he so desired. She could introduce him to other movies, her favorite ones and ones she thought he would like. She could bring him music, see if he liked it. She didn't even know if Asgard had music, but she knew music helped her relax. It could settle her when she felt anxious or it could help her have fun if she felt like dancing around. She'd even hopped around to Tony's music a few times when she'd stumbled upon him jamming out.

That night before Arianna went to bed, Natasha stopped her and asked to come into her room.

"Sure, Tash. What's up?"

"Loki."

"What about him?"

The two women sat down on the bed and Arianna gave Natasha her undivided attention.

"Loki is better now, right?" the red head asked. "I mean, there's nothing more you can do for him. He has to build up strength himself."

"Yeah. I mean, I could share energy with him, but there's no need. He's awake and able to eat and drink. It would sort of be a waste of time."

Natasha smiled slightly. "Yes. It would be."

"What's this about?"

If Natasha was taking the time to have this conversation, it meant she had something to say. Tash wasn't one for idle chitchat.

"Aries, you are good. Loki is not. He killed eighty people in two days. He didn't blink; he didn't flinch. That's not counting the people that were hurt during the battle."

"You mean the battle where the people we worked for were going to bomb the city? That would've killed a lot more than eighty people. And correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't those eighty people that died the ones that were buried beneath the rubble that Fury himself decided to bring down?"

"To try and keep Loki from getting away."

"I know that. The point I'm trying to make is that we're responsible for some of the blood that was spilled."

Natasha didn't say anything to that, but she looked as if she'd had the same thoughts go through her head at least once.

"Besides, it's not like I like him or anything."

She didn't trust many people enough to get close to them and Loki was no different. Arianna had known Natasha for a long time. It had taken Arianna two years to get close enough to consider her a friend and not just a co-worker.

"All I'm saying is . . . don't coddle him. He's not a pet."

"I'm not coddling him."

"You bought him books. You're watching movies with him."

"I didn't buy him anything. Tony did. Besides, Fury said I needed to help Loki acclimate to life here. He needs to know things about this world."

Natasha sighed and her body deflated from losing its purpose for being in the room.

"All I'm saying is be careful, okay? I've been alone with him. He can get in your head."

Arianna smiled. She knew her friend was coming from a place of love and that Natasha was only looking out for her.

"Tash, I think you're forgetting the fact that I can get inside his head too." ---------- Over the next few days, Arianna and Loki spent time going over things he would need for everyday life

He had learned about the shower within the first few days he'd been strong enough to stand on his own. Loki preferred baths, and until arriving on Midgard he'd never taken a shower. No such thing existed on Asgard. Loki had always had servants to draw his bath for him. On Midgard there was plumbing and they had knobs that controlled the temperature of the water.

It was practical and convenient. It beat having to boil water to pour into a tub and then having to wait so one wouldn't scorch oneself.

Loki had also been introduced to an invisible person named Jarvis – or at least he'd assumed the voice had belonged to a person until Arianna had explained what exactly Jarvis was. It was brilliant. Loki didn't like the fact that Tony Stark could pull up an image or video from anywhere in the Tower, but he did appreciate the genius behind it.

This particular day, Arianna was showing Loki around the kitchen. Mostly she was just letting him know where everything was, so if he needed something, he would know where it was located. That was easy enough to remember.

On Asgard there wasn't anything remotely like an oven, a microwave, or a refrigerator, but they were all brilliant inventions. Loki was used to a pit of fire for cooking – not that he knew how to cook, but he knew what was needed – so the oven was a nice touch. One was able to control the heat by setting the degree one needed for a specific dish.

The refrigerator was practical and kept things from spoiling when left over. Asgard should invest in such things in the future.

He wasn't sure about the microwave. It was brilliant, of course, but it didn't seem healthy. He didn't understand how it worked, so he didn't trust it.

As it was, Arianna had shown him how to use the toaster and they were both slathering butter and jam over the toasted bread.

"Is there anything you want to do today?" Arianna asked. "Maybe watch another movie or something. I have to go down to the lab, but I can set you up before I go. I can show you how to use the DVD player and the TV. Or I can show you how to use the computer."

Loki didn't really want to do any of those things. He didn't mind movies or TV, though he thought people needed to be careful in choosing what to watch. Some of the things he'd seen could only be called moronic and probably lowered the intelligence level of the people who regularly watched them.

He didn't mind reading, but it seemed to him that the only thing he'd been doing was reading.

"Do you mind if I come with you? I'm interested in what Midgardians consider science. Maybe you could teach me the computer later."

Arianna smiled softly. Loki's gaze fixed on her face when he noticed that when she was genuinely happy her green eyes would dance with light.

He didn't know why she was still being so nice to him. He'd heard her arguing with her red-headed friend. He knew Agent Romanoff didn't agree with Arianna treating him as kindly as she was, but Arianna hadn't changed despite knowing how her friend felt.

Loki didn't know what he would've done had Arianna begun to show hatred or indifference towards him. She was the only thing making his stay on Midgard bearable. He didn't really miss Asgard, but it was his home; it was what was familiar to him. His mother was there, and he did miss her.

Arianna was what was familiar here. She was what he clung to so that he would not be completely alone.

"I'll teach you the computer. Will you teach me about you and your people? I mean, you're from a different realm."

Loki could see the obvious curiosity Arianna was expressing. She was sincerely interested in learning for the sake of learning.

"How about you let me come with you and I'll tell you more about Asgard."

"I don't mind you coming with me. You probably should explore the building a bit. Although the lab is usually off limits when Tony is working."

Loki did want to explore, but he wasn't up to his usual strength yet. He didn't know what his usual strength was anymore. He would no longer have the strength of a god. He would have only human strength. He wasn't sure what that meant. He knew he would probably be one of the weakest ones there.

The patriotic one had the power of science making him strong; Dr. Banner became a green beast when angry enough; Agent Barton was an excellent archer and a fair fighter; Agent Romanoff knew how to fight and could probably wield any weapon one put in her hands; Stark had his suit of metal that he could call on in an instant; Arianna had her powers even if she didn't know how to use them to her advantage.

Loki could fight, but he'd always had his strength and magic to rely on. He'd told Arianna once that he'd preferred magic to fighting, and he hadn't been lying. Most of the men on Asgard were big and burly like Thor. They had their build to work with, whereas Loki was tall and lean.

He was brought back to himself by hearing the cling of dishes being put in the sink. Arianna was done with her breakfast and she was waiting for him now.

Without a thought, he took a large bite of his toast. It wasn't polite to keep a lady waiting. ---------- The first thing Tony did when Arianna and Loki got to the lab was attach her to a heart monitor. He was also going to scan her brain waves so he could record activity while she did whatever it was she could do.

Tony explained what everything was before getting started. That had been one of the conditions of their arrangement, and he didn't mind upholding his end.

The first thing he said was, "Why's Reindeer Games here?"

Arianna mock-glared at him. "He wanted to come see the lab, and that's not his name."

"Right. Loki. My bad."

Loki didn't seem offended in the least. Tony was sure Loki didn't care what anyone thought of him, let alone what Tony thought. In fact, Loki seemed uninterested in anyone that wasn't Arianna Grace.

"I am here to speak with you, Man of Iron," Loki said. "If you had directed your question to me, I would have more than happily answered."

Tony was shocked, to say the least. Loki had barely spoken to anyone aside from Arianna, and now he was requesting a conversation with Tony.

"It can wait until you are through with this . . . session of experimentation."

"Research," Tony corrected. "Not experimentation."

None of it would be documented. Tony was just curious. Plus he didn't want to risk SHIELD hacking into his database and stealing information on their littlest Avenger. He wouldn't endanger her that way.

The elevator doors opened to reveal Dr. Branner, who was in a lab coat. He stepped forward and quietly greeted everyone, even Loki.

"Is it all right if Bruce takes a blood sample?"

"Sure, but I can already tell you I'm A positive."

"That's good to know if you're ever bleeding to death," Tony quipped. "That's not why I want a sample, though."

Tony gestured for Bruce to begin. All in all, Arianna was only in the lab for about thirty minutes. Tony was only testing her normal responses at the moment. He wanted to know what her heart rate and brain activity were when she was relaxed. Only then could he compare it to results he hoped to get at a later date.

"You're all set," he said.

"That's it?" Arianna asked, a cute and confused look on her face.

"Yup. We can do other tests later."

She hopped off the hospital bed she'd been sitting on, looked at Loki, and raised her eyebrows a bit.

"You don't have to wait for me," Loki said. "I'll find my own way back."

She nodded and sent them all a quick smile before heading to the elevator. Tony found the bond between Loki and Arianna interesting – troubling, but interesting nonetheless. Arianna hadn't given voice to her question, but Loki had understood her facial expression. He'd known her a few short weeks and whether Arianna would admit it or not, she'd formed an attachment to the former god of mischief.

Tony didn't know what that meant.

"I mean her no harm," Loki said. Apparently Loki was just good at reading people.

"Good. Because if you hurt her, the kid gloves will come off and you'll be given to Fury so fast you won't know what hit you. And you're not immortal anymore."

Loki nodded soberly. "That's why I wished to speak to you."

Tony looked at Bruce, who was pointedly pretending to study a drop of Arianna's blood that he'd placed on a slide and onto the plate holder of a microscope.

"Go on," Tony said.

"I am mortal now. I don't know what that entails. I don't understand myself in this form."

Loki stepped forward.

"I'd like to learn. I'll need your help. I need to know my strengths and weaknesses, my limitations." A small grin graced Loki's lips. "Research, Mr. Stark."

Because Tony Stark was ever the curious genius-playboy-philanthropist, he gave in.

@smallangryandpink, @purplekitten30

#loki #loki x reader #loki/oc #Loki/OFC #love is healing #chapter six

6 notes · View notes

imagine-loki · 3 years

Text

Ruin

TITLE: Ruin

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT:

AUTHOR: fanfictrashdump

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine that halfway through a makeout session, Loki stops abruptly. He stares for a long moment before he says anything. “I can’t ruin you like this.” He anxiously stands to put space between you. “I have to leave.”

RATING: T

NOTES/WARNINGS: My to-do list is a mile long , but I saw this and my mind wrote it on its own. Did I never intend them to be romantically involved? Yes. Did I really think of Lily as an oblivious ace for a long time? Also yes. Do I enjoy the current chaotic bi vibes she’s putting out? H e l l y e s. Language. Kissing. Idiots. Speed run, so errors may be plentiful.

SUMMARY: Loki has been feeling feels that he can no longer shove into box and ignore. Lily didn’t know she could possibly have access to that box and would very much like the opportunity to do so. Loki is dramatic AF and is pleasantly surprised he’s been lied to.

His lips trailed an invisible line over her neck, gliding over the expanse of skin until it reached a point where her pulse thrummed steadily. A second later his tongue darted over the heated flesh, tasting the electricity of her skin and what tasted like fresh morning dew. His teeth followed, pinching skin together so he could suck a half-dollar size bruise into it before returning to the honeyed lips he had already kissed swollen. The half-gasped whimper that followed as response would have usually spurred Loki on in his actions. This time, it was the noise that broke him from his reverie.

He pulled back, blinking drunkenly at the flushed face staring back in wide-eyed, pouting surprise. For a second the perfectly sky blue marbles beckoned him back like a siren call, but the Prince caught himself before he managed to drag her back onto his mouth. Fine, silver strands slipped through his fingers, the ends curling delicately around his digits and tickled his palms. He tried not to focus on the fact that the fact that they felt like each follicle was woven of spider’s silk.

A kiss brushed onto the inside of his wrist, startling him out of the silent exploration of her hair. There was a silent question in Lily’s stare, a curiosity as to why he had pulled away when they both had been perfectly content to try to devour each other a moment prior.

All Loki saw was an innocent curiosity reflected back at him and a genuine desire to share affection. It was all very overwhelming. Loki’s hands retreated abruptly, just as the dark cloud settled over his features. “I can’t ruin you like this,” he murmured, his face screwed into a frown that looked more distraught than Lily had ever seen it. He was on his feet a second later, almost as if shocked by lightning. “I have to go.”

“Wha–Loki!” Lily called at the already slamming door, leaving Lily behind, in his quarters, she might add, earnestly confused as to what had just happened. How all of it had happened.

Lily couldn’t remember who had started their short-lived tryst. It just sort of… happened.

The pair had been play-fighting, an increasingly common occurrence that would come about from Lily feeling a little too sure of herself and would decide to test her reflexes and element of surprise. Loki could always see her attacks coming a mile away, if he were honest. The little plant witch had only managed to startle him once, and it was very quickly rectified. He had not let his guard down ever again.

The familiar sensation of being watched crept up his spine and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. There was no ominous feeling, but rather a knowledge that he was not alone. The smirk that crept up on his face was unintentional, but it also unsuppressed. Loki continued sorting through materials as if there were nothing amiss. The slightest breeze fluttered his hair and the smell of ozone and magic filled his nose as he easily grabbed the arm that had intended to wind around his neck and he flipped the person over his shoulder.

Lily landed, flat on her back in bed with a choked gasp, scrambling quickly out of the vulnerable position, but Loki was far faster than she ever hoped to be. Not to mention that he was so much stronger, his hands bigger, able to pin her down neatly with little effort. Her veins glowed green in tandem with the vines that intended to squeeze Loki still.

He gave a surprised chuckle in response–they never had resorted to magic when they grappled like this. His response to shapeshift was second nature. The giant serpent that slithered eerily in her screeching direction dealt with the vines with little issue. She swallowed her protests to pin him down before the shape of a porcupine had her shuffling off again. More vines, more pliant and dense than the first, bound the creature down before a fox took its place. The ebony of its fur contrasted with the bright green of the vines was surprisingly endearing. Loki noisily gnawed at the vines as he rolled onto his back, hind legs kicking up a storm.

“Aww, I didn’t think you could shift into cute things!” She cooed, scratching him under his chin, prompting him to let out a startled yelp.

While Loki was no stranger to Lily suddenly thrusting affection in his direction in the form of hugs and genuine compliments, they were usually after he was in dire need of it, or vice versa. They never seemed to share this affection when they were both perfectly fine, but rather as comfort. And while the gentle stroking of her fingers up the bridge of his snout was soothing in a quasi hypnotic manner, there was still a bubble of emotion that he was sort of uncomfortable with gurgling at the pit of his stomach.

In the tumult of his emotions, he had shifted back, vines disappearing into the ether, and yet her fingers still trailed that lazy route from his forehead, down the bridge of his nose and back. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint when his head had shifted into her lap or when he decided it was a good idea for his teeth to playfully nip at her fingers. All he knew was that after a moment he her face was down by his and their mouths pressed together. Everything after that had been a blur.

And now she was sitting alone in his room, trying to piece together the last hour and why in every god’s name he had decided to bail on her.

Lily marched out of the dark bedroom and out into the hallways. She was sure Loki would be hiding quite proficiently–there wasn’t a creature alive that could find Loki if he did not want to be found, but she could certainly try. Lily peeked into the lab where Tony and Bruce tinkered away at their science projects.

“Tony, have you seen Loki?” She knew Bruce would rather stay far away from the demigod, so it wasn’t worth asking.

“Have I seen Scary Spice? No, I have not and I count myself lucky.”

“That’s not nice.”

Tony didn’t miss a beat. “Neither is he. What do you need him for?”

“He wasn’t feeling well,” she fibbed, easily. “I wanted to check in on him.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Bruce quipped, flashing an awkward smile and going back to adjust an array of tiny screws. Lily raised an eyebrow and Bruce did a double-take in her direction. “What?”

Lily ignored the question, dropping unceremoniously into one of the stools by Tony’s bench. “Honestly, I think we should kick Loki out,” she said after a long moment.

Tony’s face crumpled into an odd frown. “Not that I don’t fantasize about that every single day, but, why?”

“He’s a bad influence I think.”

“On who? The assassins, the 1940’s super soldiers, the recovering alcoholic with anxiety or the rage monster over there? Or do you mean you? Because I think we both know you’re your own bad influence. We’re all our own worst enemies, here, kiddo.”

“He’s going to ruin me.”

The loud bark of laughter spewing from Tony’s mouth startled Lily. “You lied to me for five years about who you really were and then you failed to mention that you would go all Poison Ivy if you were out on missions for too long. The only being brave enough to go into that room and keep your borderline non-murderous was that dumb, goth, wannabe-boyfriend of yours.” Tony peered down his nose at her. “Loki is a lot of things, mutant ruiner is not one of them.”

“He made out with me.”

“Good. If he’s busy sucking your face off, he can’t keep messing up the paint job on my suit.” He smirked when Lily pouted. “It’s not my fault if you make terrible choices. You have to deal with them yourself. Welcome to adulthood” He sobered slightly, cracking his neck in a nervous fidget. “So, you, er, like him or something?”

Lily turned a brilliant shade of red, suddenly becoming interested in a loose thread on her jumper. “I don’t know. I’m usually kind of oblivious and assume everyone just wants to be my friend, so I never… I didn’t think…”

“Oh, god, you do. Disgusting,” Tony quipped, making retching noises to tease her.

“Shut up, Tony.”

“But, you do! You’re totally–”

“Shut up, Tony!”

Tony frowned, the expression turning to curiosity when Lily’s eyes trailed to stare out of her peripherals towards Bruce’s benchtop. Realization lit up his face as his mouth formed a wide ‘O’ before he chuckled. “You better put everything back the way you found it or Bruce is going to Hulk-smash you into porridge.” Something clattered noisily onto the ground before the sound of footsteps shuffling overcame them. “He’s heading for the balcony,” he whispered just as the steps retreated. “Don’t make sudden moves, he looks terrified.”

“Thanks. Pleasure wreaking havoc with you, Tony,” she announced, hopping to her feet.

Cool air rushed her face as the automatic doors hissed open. The weather was already biting in the late autumn, and Lily was in no way prepared to be outside for any length of time in just her jumper and jeans.

Loki stood at the railing, staring off into the city when she pressed her forehead to his back. His body stiffened, taking several heartbeats before his muscles stopped seizing up. By that time, however, the bone-wracking shivers had prompted some protective instinct within him to turn, shedding the charcoal zip jumper off his shoulders and over hers.

“You’ll catch your death.”

“Do you mean you or the weather? Because you’re rather elusive today”

Loki scoffed. “Lilian–”

“Not my name.”

He drew in a deep breath whose chill rattled noisily in his chest. “How’d you even know?”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Bruce pretends you don’t exist. He wouldn’t express his sympathy for your illness. Rookie mistake. I know how to read people rather well.”

There was a long stretch of silence between them, eyes jousting before he couldn’t bear to hold her gaze any longer. “I’m not what you want.”

Lily chuckled to herself, burying herself deeper into Loki’s coat. “Forgive me, but you have no clue what I want. Mostly because I don’t know what I want. Frankly, I didn’t think making out with a Norse god was one of the options.” She shrugged, leaning into his side and smiling to herself when he instinctually pressed in closer. “I mean, if you don’t want it, that’s a different matter, altogether.”

Loki cut his eyes to the side to stare at her. “You’re ridiculous. You can’t tell me you don’t see–don’t you?”

“See what?”

“Fucking oblivious.”

“It’s not like I actively seek anyone. I can’t exactly be myself with anyone else.” She smirked, nudging him with her hip. “I don’t want to be–” A yelp cut her short, swallowed into Loki’s throat before it ever got the chance to break through the air. His long digits bunched up either side of his coat to pull her closer. She sighed, molding herself into the curve of his body. Just as she was tilted her head to deepen their kiss, he pulled back.

“No. I–I have to go.”

Once more alone, wrapped in Loki’s coat, she remained confused. Lily let out a groan, letting the cold autumn air cool her down before marching back inside. She hoped he shifted into someone easily recognizable. And that this sudden attack of guilty conscience was short-lived.

It wasn’t.

A month-long game of cat and mouse, of watching him disguise himself as every single occupant of that godforsaken tower to escape temptation and they still had not managed to sit down for a conversation. Lily decided that if that was the game he wanted to play, that she was entirely fine with it. She prepared breakfast for the team, as usual, setting a bouquet of fresh flowers in the center with a smile. Eventually, everyone began to stream in for the morning meal and Lily sat at her usual spot at the far end of the table to watch everyone come in, half-asleep and ravenous.

Blue eyes trailed Loki shuffling in behind Natasha, who sat to her right while he sat to Lily’s left. Not missing a beat, Lily smiled at the assassin before tugging at Natasha by the strings of her hoodie. Their mouths met easily, the Widow’s lips quirking at the corners and prompting the sound of clattering utensils across the table.

Nat pecked Lily gently before allowing her to move back and grinned. She licked her lips almost lewdly and followed it with a sip of coffee. “Good morning to you, too, hon.” Impish energy glittered in her eyes. “You know what? I don’t think I got enough of you. Come here–”

A thud echoed in the room and the table clattered. Loki was half out of his seat and had buried his dagger into the mahogany surface of the dining table. Tony protested quietly, almost half-heartedly.

“If you so much as breathe on her, again, I will skin you alive, Agent Romanoff. I swear it,” Loki hissed. “When I said I didn’t want to ruin you, I wasn’t suggesting you go off and find someone who would!” Loki snapped back at Lily, his expression halfway between annoyed and hurt.

“What else am I supposed to do?” She declared loudly, grumbling unintelligibly for a long moment. “I have been driving myself dizzy chasing these stupid circles you’ve led me on. Do you want me or not?”

“In what Universe do I not want you? It cannot be more obvious that I love you and you make me feel special, you impossible woman! Even fucking Stark noticed! But I don’t deal well with emotions if you haven’t caught on, yet, and I don’t want to lead you on when I’m not sure how to feel anything!”

“I don’t know how to feel, either, you ass. Which is why I’d rather we figure it out together than have to play Guess Who?: Shapeshifter Edition with everyone in the Tower!”

Loki growled, scrubbing a hand down his face in frustration. “I’ve just told you I love you and you said you didn’t know how you felt!”

Lily stabbed a sausage rather aggressively onto her fork, bending two of the tines in the process. “Of course I love you, you moron. Who in their goddamn right mind would voluntarily put up with your moody bullshit, otherwise?”

He scoffed. “Fine, I guess we’re in love, then!”

“Whoop-de-fucking-do!”

Loki opened his mouth to snap another witty retort back, when the conversation caught up to him. His eyebrows rose to meet his hairline as wide, green eyes cut instantly at Lily. “We’re in love,” he mumbled. “We’re in love?” Surprise melted into hopeful softness.

“Wait, were you two not together?” A chorus of Clint and Barton followed the interruption, but it was enough to cut through the magic of the moment.

Loki fidgeted on his feet as he paced in front of the bed. Lily looked bemused as her eyes moved like the swing of a pendulum to follow him back and forth.

“I’m not good enough for you.”

“Not for you to decide,” she countered, easily.

“I’ve killed.”

“So have I. You’ve been there.”

He stopped to face her. “I tried to take over the planet.”

“Mind control.”

“I’m a monster.”

“I’m legitimately an eldritch horror hybrid.”

Loki kneeled, resting his forehead on her lap with a sigh. “But we–you–I don’t think I could bare losing you after a paltry few decades,” he reluctantly mumbled.

Lily giggled, which Loki thought odd, but weirder things had happened between them. “I mean, fair. I’m not sure how long I’ll live, but I am also a hundred and six.”

His head snapped up so quickly he felt the muscles contract painfully. “What?”

“The hair is not a fashion statement,” she whispered, feeling the weight of his stare and the million questions it contained with it. “There’s a reason I haven’t really dated. I’ve never met anyone I can ostensibly spend my whole life with.” She laughed nervously, rustling her hair. “Say something.”

“You lied to me?” He seemed impressed rather than angry.

“No. You’ve always just assumed. And, I let you,” she admitted, her cheeks coloring faintly. His hands had curled around hers, dwarfing them in his comfortable warmth. “If you had let me explain a month ago, I would have told you that I’m really not some innocent maiden you can ruin.”

The little anxious notch that she was so familiar with formed between his brows. “By the Norns, we have a lot to talk about then, flower.” Lily sighed good-naturedly at the statement. Before she had managed to protest, Loki craned his neck enough to slot lips to hers. “Later, of course.”

#Loki #Lover #Others #Submitted one shot #submission #fanfictrashdump #ruin

55 notes · View notes

kalu-chan · 3 years

Text

OC Character Ask

Tagged by @nyanberri! I have too many OCs to choose from so I’ll uhhh just take Lexy/Lexie/Lexi I guess bc she’s my KH OC and I’ve met you through KH. and bc I need to flesh her out more Putting it under a cut for length and some KH spoilers until like KH3-ish

Tagging @silverfeathers to do it too :3

1. Do they have a morning routine that they do to get ready for the day? What about a night routine?

Aside from the standard get dressed, brush teeth, etc, not really.

2. Is there anything specific that they need before they go to bed? A night light? Warm milk? Maybe a story?

She didn’t before, but after she and her family got attacked by Shadows, she started writing a journal each night, and some nights she needs a night light.

3. Do they have a skin care routine? If so is it long or short?

Not really skin care, but she’s tried out a lot of scar creams. I’d put more info but all google gives me is “How to get rid of scars” and not “How to make sure they don’t feel uncomfortable”

4. Do they like tight clothes or loose clothes?

Either is fine as long as it’s colorful, she’s basically a walking rainbow.

5. What is their favorite color?

Do you have to make her choose...? I guess if she has to, she likes dark blue, the sky just after sunset. Or the red of Axel’s hair and the black of his coat

6. What kind of stuff do they dream about? What do they have nightmares about?

Most of her dreams are those weird dreams that make you go “????” but when you think a bit you can easily decipher which happenings during the day caused what part of the dream. Nightmares, though, usually have to do with her or people she cares about getting cornered by a hulking black mass with piercing yellow eyes.

7. Do they have any special talents? Singing? Dancing? Playing an instrument?

Well it’s definitely not playing poker, Lexi can’t do a pokerface to save her life lmao. She’s gotten a little bit of training with different weapons, but not much, like, Sora’s experience with wooden swords was probably better than what she can do at the start of her journey.

8. Are they active? If so what do they do? Workout? Play a sport?

She’s gotten Axel, Demyx, Roxas, and Xion to teach her a little bit of fighting cringe is dead my OC is friends with half the Org deal with it but not a lot tbh, especially since it’s several different fighting styles that she now knows the basics in, but none she’s actually good at.

9. What is something that they are really passionate about?

“Listen Nobodies DO have emotions, I HAVE BEEN HANGING OUT WITH THEM FOR AGES, EVEN THEY REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT because they’re all IDIOTS, but trust me I know that!”

10. Do they ever have a self care or 'me’ day? If so, what do they do?

Lexy is a total extrovert and loves company, so a “me” day usually still involves hanging out with other people. Maybe if she really just wants to relax, hanging out with Demyx specifically and listen to him play the sitar.

11. What’s something they’re secretly really insecure about? Is it something physical or maybe something related to who they are or what they identify as?

Her non-existent fighting skills. Lexie kinda-sorta joins Sora’s group for the timeline of KH2, and she tries but especially at the start she’s just... Not good at it. And if she faces Shadow Heartless she has almost no chance because she tends to freeze up then. She does get better at fighting over time though.

12. Have they ever dated? If so, how did their last relationship end?

She’s probably had a few dates as a teen, maybe a partner, but nothing too serious. She’s (with almost no success) trying to hide that she’s got a crush on Axel/Lea, and they finally get together around DDD.

13. Do they care about quality or quantity with their work?

When it’s for friends, quality, otherwise she’s kinda just “eh, good enough” for stuff.

14. What is their favorite scent?

The smell of a campfire. Heat in general is nice (hot water smells different than cold water I swear), but campfires especially.

15. What is their favorite genre of music?

Lexi’s fine with whatever tbh, but it varies a bit on her mood. If she’s stressed or just wants to chill, she’s taken a liking to sitar music, otherwise she really likes pop.

16. What do they usually have for a midnight snack?

Nothing, usually.

17. Have they ever snapped because of what someone said or did to them? If so what happened? Do they regret it and did they apologize?

Theoretically that scene isn’t written yet, buuuut. Lexie’s best friend is Demyx. Sora is not exactly sad about killing her best friend. I’d say it’s pretty damn understandable for Lexie to get pissed off in that situation. She’s very emotional in general so probably snapped at people in general when it came to the topic of Nobodies; sometimes she’d apologize, but not always.

18. Do they have any kind of medical condition? If so what? Asthma, kidney disease, etc.

Well I’m pretty sure having her parents and almost herself killed in a Heartless attack could’ve caused PTSD, so I need to do some research on that before writing more with her.

19. Have they ever had a panic attack? If so, what caused it and how were they able to calm down?

Well, I’m pretty sure seeing the monsters who killed your parents and seeing your friends and crush killed in front of you can cause those - The Shadows moreso directly, while the friends/crush stuff usually needed a while to really hit. Like, so much happening it once, that a few hours or days afterwards it hits her all at once and she just. Curls up somewhere.

20. What are they genuinely afraid of?

Shadow Heartless, and losing people she cares about (yeah she’s gonna suffer). As for the Shadows, she knows there’s stronger and more dangerous Heartless around, but the Shadows scare her the most.

21. How organized are their living spaces? Do they keep things clean or are they disorganized?

“Damn girl you live like that?” Her room’s chaos, but somehow she always knows where stuff is.

22. If they ever had a YouTube channel, what would they make videos about?

Pretty scenery videos around Twilight Town. The view from the clock tower, pretty places in the woods around the city, etc.

23. Do they have a birthmark or any scars? If so how do they feel about them and how did they get their scars?

Lexi’s pretty much covered in scars. Her family wanted to get out of Twilight Town when the Heartless started becoming more and more, but didn’t make it all the way to the train station - Lexy’s parents got killed in the attack, and Lexy almost died. Her little sister is the only one who got away without physical damage.

24. Are they the type to start or finish fights?

Hm... Neither and both. Lexi can get worked up quickly, so arguments with her might get heated, but she usually wouldn’t start an actual fight, especially since she calms down pretty quickly, her emotions burn hot and bright but not long.

25. Do they like cuddling? If so are they a big spoon or a little spoon?

Yes.

26. Do they prefer baths or showers?

Baths, though she usually takes showers because it’s quicker.

27. How do they sleep? Do they stay in one position all night or do they toss and turn? Do they snore or talk in their sleep?

Lexi sometimes mumbles in her sleep, and she moves around a lot. That’s how you can tell she has a nightmare: She moves almost not al all when she has one.

28. How touch starved are they? Would they like a hug right now?

Technically not touch starved, but yes, she’d love a hug.

29. What are their favorite kinds of foods? Sweets, sour foods, salty, etc?

She likes all of them on occasion, but she’s especially fond of spicy food and all kinds of curry.

30. Do they still have anything from their childhood? If so what and why? A stuffed animal, a piece of jewelry, a book, etc?

She’s got a stuffed animal that belonged to her little sister, and a few of her own. Other than that a few trinkets that were gifts from friends, but most of them are too recent to be called “from her childhood”.

#Tag game #My OCs #Lexy (KH)

11 notes · View notes

thesaltysocialworker · 4 years

Text

Black Magic (part 1/2)

Part two will be available by this weekend! I didn’t expect this to get so long but I really enjoyed writing this as a feline enthusiast/ black cat owner myself. A girl can dream, right? :)

Warning: Character nudity. Mentions of Death.

There were no stereotypical days as an Emergency Department nurse in New York City, but alien attacks were something completely new. While others had ran from the chaos, you and your co-workers had tried to help the injured outside of the hospital. You had been given the job to triage people; basically deciding who would live and who would die. You were exhausted, both mentally and emotionally as you stepped out of the staff entrance, readying yourself for a long walk home. The trains still weren’t running and you assumed the walk back to your apartment would do you some good; give you an opportunity to clear your head. You took a few steps when the sound of a metal trash can lid hitting pavement startled you in the dimly lit alley behind the hospital. You were on the defensive, glancing around and reaching for the mace key chain your parents had given you when you moved to the city; as if that would do you any good against an alien!

You took a few steps towards the trash can, and noticed a black cat lying near it. The poor thing was bloody and broken; another casualty of war. The cat picked the right person to startle, not knowing your co-workers often referred to you as a ‘feline enthusiast’ and all around animal lover; or they were politely calling you the “cat lady”. You crouched down, making the a-typical ‘pst pst’ noise to draw the cats attention to you. When it turned around to look at you with, you were shocked by the seemingly human intelligence of the eyes of the cat. You had expected green or yellow, not the stormy blue that stared at you with suffering and pain written in its features. “Poor baby, do you have a home?” your hand reached towards the cat to stroke its inky black fur but it stumbled backwards; hissing but unable to run away.

“Sorry, sorry—that was too quick. Do you have a home? An owner?” You wondered if you’d finally lost it, speaking to a cat like a human. It didn’t run away, that was a start. You opened your backpack, opening your lunch box with your untouched lunch and opening the pouch of tuna you’d brought for an afternoon snack that you’d never gotten to eat. You dipped two fingers in the pouch and offered it to the cat, it took a few moments but reluctantly the animal approached, limping towards you and licking the tuna off your fingers. “You’re lucky you survived, you know? A lot of people didn’t.” As you spoke those words, your voice hitched and you had to roll your eyes skyward to stop the tears from flowing. The cat moved towards you, rubbing against your legs.

Maybe it was fate that you should find something so beautiful on such a tragic day. The cat placed its front feet on your knees, and you noticed a beautiful emerald green collar with a small blue stone on it, but no tag. “You must have an owner, then.” The cat continuing to rub against your legs, you weren’t going to leave him out here on the streets of New York. “I’ll take you back to my place, maybe they’ll put up signs or something if they’re looking for you.” You kind of hoped they didn’t, whoever they were. He was a beautiful, social cat. You moved to stand as you lifted it in your arms and cradled it against him against your chest. “C’mon, Lucky boy. Let’s go home.”

Loki had somehow managed to escape the wrath of the Avengers with the tesseract. Chaos had unfolded in the lobby of Stark Tower, when Stark had seemingly had some sort of cardiac episode and dropped to the floor. When everyone crowded around him, including Loki’s idiot brother, to attempt to save him the suitcase containing the tesseract was set at his feet. His eyes widened, he was so close to freedom but he couldn’t quite reach it.

At that exact moment the door to the stairs flew open, the Hulk roaring about having to use the stairs. People scattered in terror, mass chaos erupted in the lobby and someone kicked the suitcase containing the tesseract right to his feet. He lifted it, and though he had half a mind to get off that miserable planet he was injured from the battle with the Avengers. He teleported behind Stark Tower, somehow managing to slip his bindings. He could see the Agents of SHIELD moving around the building, screaming at each other to find Loki because he couldn’t have gone far.

He panicked, walking around a corner with the Tesseract in hand only to walk right into the Black Widow herself, Natasha Romanoff. A battle ensued, Natasha swung at him and he managed to block most of her blows to his face, but she brought her foot to his knee, and he screamed out in pain—he was sure that horrible woman had just blown out his knee. Something distracted her, the cries of the other agents, and Loki swung the suitcase with all of his might and managed to hit her in the head. She dropped to the pavement. Loki managed to shrink the Tesseract down to a smaller size, materializing a small collar using his magic, and then morphed into a black cat.

Despite the shift of form, the injuries remained. But he ran as fast as he could; dashing under cars and around people who were still panicking from the attack. He had no idea where he was going, and it was getting dark and he was tired. Eventually, he collapsed in alley behind a large building a few blocks from Stark Tower. He wasn’t sure how long he lay there, in pain and miserable, until a Midgardian stepped out the door into the alleyway. He tried to hide, to run away again by jumping on top of a trash bin but missed and slid back down to the pavement causing the lid of the bin to hit the pavement with a loud crash.

He expected you to chase him away, to be cold and calloused, he was shocked when you crouched down and spoke to him softly but panicked when you attempted to touch him. You apologized, and then offered him food. Despite the smell of whatever it was you offered him and his pride, he moved closer to you and ate what you offered him. He licked it off your fingers greedily, he didn’t realize how hungry he was. He hadn’t been listening to everything you said as he ate what seemed to be the most delicious food he’d ever tasted he saw your eyes start to water. For a reason he didn’t comprehend, he rubbed against you. He didn’t like to see you so upset, he did like to see tears from your beautiful y/e/c eyes.

He let you lift him, carrying him off in your arms down the street. He needed safety, he needed to be somewhere where the Avengers wouldn’t think to look until they stopped looking. Better yet, he needed to stay hidden from Thanos and the Chitauri. As you carried him down the street, he listened to you hum something under your breath in unison with the music playing from your headphones. It was soft, and sweet—the sound of your sweet voice reverberating from your chest lulled him into a comfortable sleep, his head resting on your shoulder with one hanging over it as well.

Loki awoke the following morning in a large, comfortable bed in a beautiful, older factory style loft apartment. He glanced around, remembering what had occurred the following day like a waking nightmare. He was alone on the comfortable cream colored down-quilt, but the sheets were folded back and the bed was still warm so he knew you’d been there. He attempted to stand, and noticed that his kind little nurse had wrapped and splinted his leg and cleaned his wounds. It did make movement difficult.

“Good morning, Lucky.” A kind, cheery voice called out to him. You walked before him, wrapped in a fluffy white towel with your y/h/c hanging down your back in damp curls. Loki felt himself tense, taking in your hour glass curves and flawless, pale skin. You bent down before him and checked the bandages and his wounds. “Amazing what a good night’s sleep will do, huh?” You chuckled, your fingers reaching under his head to scratch his chin. Despite himself, he found himself purring. I wouldn’t know, Sweetling. I can’t remember the last time I slept through the night. He mused to himself, letting his head lull into your hand. “You really are a sweet boy. Maybe I won’t search too hard to find your owner.”

You dropped the towel, digging through the dresser for clean clothes and standing there comfortably naked. Loki blatantly stared, finding himself unable to look away. This whole time he’d spent believing that Midgardians were below him because he was a God; that these people would destroy themselves because they were selfishly motivated. Yet in under twenty-four hours you had managed to prove him wrong. You seemed to be genuinely kind and compassionate towards others, especially others in need. Maybe that was why he found you beautiful, the physicality was just an added bonus. But this couldn’t last forever, he would heal and he would leave.

“I haven’t had an opportunity to go get you any food yet, but I have more tuna.” Loki tried to climb off the bed, but the splint made it difficult. You pulled your shirt over your head and then moved to lift the black cat your bed, carrying him down the steps to the combined kitchen and living area. You put some tuna on a small bowl and set the cat on your kitchen island to allow him sometime to eat; offering him some water along with breakfast. Loki, for his part, found that he rather enjoyed tuna. You began tossing things in your work bag, glancing at your watch and realizing you were running late. You moved to set your cat back on the floor, placing the food and water dish back on the floor.

“I’ve gotta go to work, Lucky. I’ll be home in a little bit, today’s a short shift. I’ll be home with food for you. Try to get some rest, and stay off that leg!” You called after him, shutting the door and locking it. Loki took the opportunity to shift back into his normal form, moving around the apartment with a slight limp as he made an academic study of the things in your apartment. He noted that you liked to read, there were a lot of books scattered about the apartment on everything from medicine to novels and magazines. He also noted that you had turned one corner of your studio into a makeshift art studio; you enjoyed painting and you had a talent for it. Most of it was nature scenes, which were a stark contrast to the city in which you lived.

Loki cursed himself as he moved to sit on the leather sofa; putting his head in his hands. Maybe he had endured some sort of head trauma from the Hulk, why else would he feel drawn towards a simple Midgardian girl? He had assumed Thor foolish or stupid for his feelings for that girl Janice, or Jane—whatever her name was. But there was just something about this woman that spoke to him. He lay back on the sofa, attempting to close his eyes and relax. But he found himself removing the tesseract from his coat and staring at it; turning it over in his hand. Was this thing worth all the trouble it had caused? The glamour of ruling this world was starting to wear off. He needed to just disappear, as soon as he was feeling better he was just going to disappear. He didn’t know where he was going to go, or what he was going to do, but he would formulate that plan as he went along. For now, he needed to recover. He needed rest, and this sweet Midgardian girl’s sanctuary would have to do.

So much for leaving, Loki mused as his feline form sat on one his Midgardian girls bar stools and she worked on painting a portrait of him. Over the weeks he had truly enjoyed their time together, even when they were doing nothing. When she would curl up on the couch to read, he would lay across her lap and she would stroke his soft fur. She would sometimes read aloud to him, swearing to him that it was because she remembered things better when they were spoken aloud. Loki was starting to believe it was because you didn’t like the silence. It led him to believe you had some demons of your own.

“What do you think?” Y/n asked, spinning the portrait around to show the cat, as if he would give you some opinion. Maybe you had lost your mind, but this was a unique cat. He seemed to have a lot of personality, and sometimes you swore he understood what you were saying to him in the way a person would. The cat tilted its head, regarding the portrait with something akin to approval. “You’re an extremely handsome boy, you know? I’m going to find someplace to hang this.”

Your cellphone rang, and you heaved out a sigh as you moved to pick it up. You muttered something about your job not leaving you any space for a social life. You reluctantly answered it, discussing being short-staffed with your boss. As you hung up the phone, Loki could feel the frustration flying off you. “I’ve got to go to work, Lucky. Here I was looking forward to a glass of wine and a bath.” You moved upstairs to your bedroom, throwing on scrubs and tennis shoes before shoving things in your work bag. You reached down, pressing your lips to the soft fur on the cats head. “I’ll be home soon, Lucky. Don’t have too much fun without me.”

You scratched his head, and you were out the door in a matter of moments. Loki shifted back into his human form; staring after you. His fingers braced over his forehead where your lips had just been, and he realized he was just as attached to you as you were to him. It had to happen now, he had to go before he decided to spend his life as cat just to watch over you. I have nowhere else to go. Loki mused bitterly. But eventually, the Avengers would be able to capture the tesseract to your home. Thor would know, he imagined the horror on your face in discovering that you had been harboring the criminal that had killed the innocents you tried to save the very day you rescued him. It was almost too much to bear.

He opened the window, climbing out onto the fire escape and getting ready to vanish into the night. But before he could he heard the door open into the loft. He pressed himself against the brick, listening to the shriek of horror when you discovered the window open. “Lucky?!” The absolute desperation in your voice was heart-wrenching. Loki managed to spell himself invisible as you glanced around on the fire escape. You kept calling for your cat as you moved quickly around the loft. He realized you came to the realization that he was gone when he heard you sob. He couldn’t stand this, he couldn’t stand being the one to cause you pain. He made a decision in that moment, one he may live to regret for the rest of his days. You may have gotten over the loss of your beloved cat. But you would likely never get over finding out you saved the life of a murderer.

“Y/n…” He echoed softly, climbing back through the window to your loft. You had gripped the marble countertop of the island, your head down. Your body tensed, your head slowly rolling up to look at the source of the sound. Tears were still rolling down your face as you stared at Loki in disbelief, your skin going a few shades lighter as you stared at him. He spoke, his voice wavering slightly. “I suppose you would know me as Lucky, but my name is Loki.”

“I know exactly who you are, Loki.”

#loki #loki x you #loki imagines #loki imagine #loki layfeyson x reader #loki laufeyson #loki x y/n #loki x reader #marvel #avengers #imagine #loki odinson #tom hiddleston #loki odinson x reader #loki odinson x you

164 notes · View notes

kreweleaderbuuru · 4 years

Photo

Part 3 baybeeee i realised that the babies I use more often these days werent included. Annoying elaboration that doesnt matter under the cut

Sex

Self explainitory

Gender:

Self explanatory

Build:

Singrid: The most in-shape member of her family. She’s very enthusiastic about honing her skills with her hammer, carving canoes with her bare hands, and punching sharks in the face.

Grunt: The grunt has been working on building muscle, but her years of starvation and abuse have left her permanently stunted.

Algor: Despite being absolutely fuckall massive, he’s not too interested in honing his physique. He’s got some scholarly chub on the way.

Poom: Actually more muscular than you’d give him credit for- though still malnourished and spindly. His baggy clothes are in part to hide a very embarrassing hourglass figure.

Height:

Singrid: Just a few inches shorter than her brother, much to her dismay

Grunt: Shorty due to malnutrition

Algor: Fuckall massive

Poom: Comes from a pretty tall family, but just so happens to me the shortest member of that family. He thinks he’s shorter than he actually is.

Handiness:

Self explanatory

Intelligence, Scholarly:

Singrid: While Singrid was offered the same education as her brother, she struggled with even the most basic concepts. At a certain point she decided her job was just to carry heavy equipment. Living proof of nature vs. nurture.

Grunt: Scouted by inquest recruiters as a child. The Grunt was subjected to the standard foot soldiers ‘education’ within the Inquest. It wasn’t all that great, but it wasn’t like she could leave.

Algor: Personally tutored by his adopted asuran father- surpassing the potential of even some asuran peers in Rata Sum. Living proof of nurture vs. nature.

Poom: Got along okay in school, enough to Graduate Dynamics with above average grades. His true passions lie in paranormal investigation, which isnt as revered in Rata Sum. People just assume he’s crazy.

Wisdom:

Singrid: Would look a grenade launcher down the barrel as she’s trying to figure out how to fire it.

Grunt: What the Grunt lacks in formal education, she makes up for in sheer experience. She’s worked on just about every Inquest base the Megakrewe allows such a low-ranking agent, and tangled with more bizarre magical creatures than most norn hunters will in their lifetime.

Algor: Algor began making supply runs in greater Tyria when he was sixteen, allowing him to come into his own as a traveller and genius.

Poom: Easily distracted and has a nasty habit of sharing his conspiracy theories to the members of the organisations he suspects. Common sense is not amongst his strengths.

Education:

Singrid: Technically a ‘drop out’, seeing as her father gave up on teaching her alongside her brother. However, the special attention Ruffik can give Singrid while Algor is away has convinced her to give his lessons another go.

Grunt: Didn’t so much as ‘graduate’ as she was drafted to punishment detail. Her propensity for disaster and mayhem did not make her school days enjoyable.

Algor: Greatly exceeded his father’s expectations.

Poom: A decent student, but easily distracted by his true passions.

Social Ability:

Singrid: Dreamed all her life of leaving the Far Marina Base to party all through Tyria, only to suffer from extreme social anxiety. She’s since found happiness on the peaceful ice caps, content with her few friends and family.

Grunt: Pretty amicable, if you can get over the whining and increased likelihood of the bar burning down.

Algor: Still relatively uncomfortable in his own skin, but growing out of it.

Poom: A highly contagious affliction and subsequent quarantine has given an already antisocial oddball agoraphobia. Poom has slowly been taking steps to be more comfortable with people, and can at the very least venture outside without a panic attack.

Perceptiveness:

Singrid: Sensitive, painfully sensitive, so sensitive she becomes overwhelmed in large gatherings. Is one of the few people who can really understand Ruffik’s emotions at any given time and could be mistaken for a mind reader when it comes to people she’s close to.

Grunt: Despite her attempt at an aloof bounty huntress persona, the Grunt is mostly in wilful denial. She knows whats going on, why it’s going on, and how things will probably end. She’s very bad at pretending not to care.

Algor: His time outside the Far Marina Base has taken him from clueless hermit to what is average teenage boy. He still doesnt understand girls, though.

Poom: Absolute dogshit at reading social signals, to the point of being near debilitating. His friends have to intervene to keep him from being beaten up half the time.

Readability:

Singrid: There are two Singrids: The one who is comfortable and knows the people in the room, and the Singrid who is in public and trying to keep from crying. You wouldnt expect the firey young norn from the FMB to wilt so easily in a crowd, and you’d be wrong.

Grunt: Any attempts to hide her emotions are humorously in vain. Its lucky her partner, krewemate, and totally-not-boyfriend is painfully dense.

Algor: Can put up a pretty convincing stoic front. It’s when he opens his mouth the youthful bravado comes spilling out.

Poom: His high anxiety and odd mannerisms make him an open book. An open book in a language you cant read, but nonetheless open.

Introvert/Extrovert:

Self explanatory

Sexuality:

Singrid: Straight

Grunt: Straight

Algor: Bisexual

Poom: Pansexual with a male preference

Romanticism:

Singrid: Straight, Monogamous

Grunt: Straight, Monogamous

Algor: Biromantic, Open to Polyamory

Poom: Panromantic with a male preference, Monogamous

Romantic:

Singrid: Has a massive crush on her childhood friend, but he’s painfully oblivious.

Grunt: Hopelessly in love with her partner, friend, and krewemate, Anakk. Even though they live together, work together, provide each other with emotional support, and sleep together exclusively, they insist they are not in a relationship.

Algor: Would do anything for a partner to share his intellect, but is still too insecure to ask anyone out. There’s also the size factor- none of the other apprentices so much as reach his knee. That ‘tragedy’ is a bit romantic in its own right- according to him.

Poom: Is oblivious to romance, and hasnt had the best track record. His last relationship ended in nothing short of catastrophe, he’s still too ashamed to face his ex to stay long in Rata Sum. This has kept him rather guarded when it comes to relationships.

Affection:

Singrid: Very touchy. Will shamelessly pick up and snuggle anyone she cares about.

Grunt: Has a pointed distaste for ‘mushy stuff’ and goes out of her way to avoid any intimacy that could be construed as romantic.

Algor: Mostly only hugs his sister. Was more cuddly as a kid, but since the growth spurt he worries about accidentally crushing people.

Poom: Has gone three years without touch due to his affliction. Avoids touch like the plague so as not to become overwhelmed.

Disposition, Outwardly:

Singrid: Whether she’s in full swing or shyly hugging the wall, Singrid comes across as a friendly, if not rough around the edges- young norn.

Grunt: Affable and friendly until things go wrong. They’re usually going wrong.

Algor: Knows how to be polite in public. Snarks on occasion.

Poom: Absolute bastard of a man. You know this. Why even ask.

Disposition, Inwardly:

Singrid: Pretty neutral on people as a whole. Gets irritated easily, and doesnt have any kind words for people who make her uncomfortable.

Grunt: Is far more effected by her past than she lets on. The grunt is generally distrustful to strangers and spiteful to those who hurt her- even a little.

Algor: Has a healthy dollop of teen angst.

Poom: One of the more kindly people you’ll meet, once you get past his eccentricities. Genuinely doesnt want to upset anyone, and is a die hard pacifist.

Petty:

Singrid, Grunt, Algor: All petty little drama queens.

Poom: Will put up with a lot of bullshit, so long as you dont press one of his triggers. Can only really muster the energy to hate one thing at a time. Usually tries to solve ‘misunderstandings’ when they come up.

Sanity:

Singrid: Crippling social anxiety

Grunt: PTSD

Algor: He’s fine, honestly.

Poom: Autism, PTSD, Depression, Social Anxiety, Agoraphobia, probably more.

Freindliness:

Singrid: She knows who she likes, and isnt particularly eager to make new friends.

Grunt: Finds it relatively easy to get along with people, especially if theres alcohol involved. She has a strange habit for attracting the affections of much larger and more powerful beings. Anakk, her skyscale Mr. Bastard, and the hulking inquest abomination Brukk, to name a few.

Algor: Able to chat up strangers so long as he’s not feeling too self-important. He’s growing out of that bit, though.

Poom: Absolutely desperate for validation. Can and will join a cult if he’s not claimed.

Stoicism:

Singrid: Will break pretty easily either from her anxiety or by getting too excited about a cool rock.

Grunt: Attempts are made at stoicism. They are laughable.

Algor: Is prone to teen melodrama. He’s growing out of it, though.

Poom: Will go home and cry for stepping on a bug.

Grace:

Singrid: Her training in the harsh Far Marina conditions have made her an adept warrior.

Grunt: Prone to disaster.

Algor: Is actually quite a talented dancer when no one’s watching. One of the ways he tries to stay in shape between studies.

Poom: If he’s not knocking something over, he’s putting his foot in his mouth.

Stubbornness:

Self explanatory

Bravery:

Singrid: Despite her issues with crowds, she’s run after icebrood twice her size with nothing but a dagger. Has wanted to cultivate an epic legend ever since she was a kid.

Grunt: Complete snivelling coward.

Algor: Will run from conflict as easily as he runs from a spider.

Poom: An almost destructive lack of self-preservation.

Loyalty:

Singrid: The few companions she has, she aims to keep.

Grunt: Wont die for the ship, but will save her favourite pirate.

Algor: Still has somewhat naive opinions on teamwork in a krewe. It’s almost a good thing he’ll likely never be in one.

Poom: Not a lot of people understand him, those that try are greatly appreciated. Even people who dont try, he’ll gladly meet half way. Even if you dont even like him at all he’s got your back. Even if you’ve just spit in his mouth he’ll-

Lawfulness:

Singrid: Does what she wants. If that means breaking some heads, she’ll do it. If it means drinking tea and brushing up on her knitting, thats her glitching right!

Grunt: Rules are for people who don’t regularly get hit by lightning.

Algor: Painfully naive.

Poom: The rules suck, but he gets in trouble enough as it is without provoking others.

Attitude:

They’re all edgy assholes lol

#singrid #algor #poom #the grunt #guild wars 2 #gw2 #norn #asura

13 notes · View notes

daydreamerdrew · 2 years

Text

Comics read these past 3 weeks:

the Landor the Maker of Monsters stories in Speed Comics (1939) #1-11

This batch of 4-or-5-page stories by Gregory Torey, which went from October 1939 to August 1940, is the entirety of Landor the Maker of Monsters’ existence. The stories were largely formulaic and quick to read but fun for me. The base premise is that in each story Landor sends a new monster to attack either Anthony Torrence or his fiancé Marcia as he’s vowed revenge against Anthony for accidentally disfiguring him in the very first story by inadvertently starting a fire in Landor’s castle while saving Marcia from Landor’s very first monster. I was repeatedly amused by the fact that Anthony and Marcia know where Landor’s castle is, so whenever something happens, for example Marcia going missing, Anthony knows that it’s Landor that’s taken her and just goes straight to Landor’s home right away to try to get her back.

These stories were the first thing I ever read from Harvey Comics. I really enjoy reading Golden Age comics, but I’ve realized that my Golden Age comics readings have really largely been me trying to get deep into a long-lasting comic book character, and I found it really nice here to just casually read about this short-lived character that has no connection to any broader continuity that I’m invested in. I’ve got a working list now of other short-lived Harvey Comics characters that I want to get into in addition to my other more serious Golden Age comic book readings.

the Iron Man stories in Tales of Suspense (1959) #39-46 and The Avengers (1963) #1

Starting out reading Iron Man comics, this batch went from Tony’s origin issue in December 1962 to July 1963. The Tales of Suspense stories were plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by Robert Bernstein, and penciled and inked by Don Heck, except for issue #43 which Jack Kirby penciled. The Avengers issue was written by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby, and inked by Dick Ayers.

I've seen some Iron Man comics content on here that interested me in checking him out myself, and so far I'm enjoying his solo stories, but I'm pretty sure the modern incarnation of the character has no appeal for me, so I'm just going to continue on with his solo stories up until they stop appealing me. I'm just sticking with his solo stories because I found when reading the first Avengers issue for this that I wasn't all that engaged for invested. My interest level in Tony isn't nearly to the same extent as my interest in the Hulk, so this is a lot more casual than my Hulk readings where I genuinely want to read everything.

I was surprised that after Iron Man’s origin issue there’s a clear but unspecified time jump which is used to present the character as an established superhero and get on with his regular stories, rather than showing his initial development. Tony Stark goes from not being able to leave the Iron Man armor at the end of his first appearance to only having a secret chest plate hidden under his clothes that requires regular charging at the beginning of his second. And Iron Man is a known hero, we don’t see the public first learning about him. For me this stood out in stark contrast to the Hulk’s early appearances where you could see them experimenting with changes to his concept in every issue before finally settling on the Hulk as a loner on the run, that Bruce transforms into him when stressed, and that the Hulk is significantly less intelligent than Bruce a ways into his Tales to Astonish run which began after his original 6-issue solo series and short stint on the Avengers.

I think that Tony's characterization at this point is a little weak and he sometimes comes across as more of a concept of a comically-idealized rich person rather than an actual person. Like, he's ridiculously rich but not in a way that's off-putting, he's maintained as admirable, and he's always generous and gracious and never entitled or egotistical in a way that you would likely expect a ridiculously rich person to me. The saving grace of his character is that he is this incredibly privileged person with this incredibly serious vulnerability in the ever present risk that he'll die if the chest plate that powers his heart runs out of charge.

I do legitimately like the scenes where Tony nearly runs out of charge, but they've become repetitive quickly. Something keeps happening that leads to the chest plate that maintains Tony's heart losing power and he keeps barely managing to get to an electrical outlet in time, and it is impact to see this privileged person all alone crawling on the ground for something as simple as an electrical outlet trying not to die, but it's not sparking any new reactions or thoughts in him, so it's just various scenes of Tony crawling to an outlet. At this point no one knows about Tony's chest plate which I do like and find conceptually interesting, but it also means that he's not talking about it to anyone which I think can become limiting to the story unless special care is taken to adequately explore it elsewise. It's also notable here that Tony started off with absolutely no supporting cast. He was the only recurring character in his stories until 6 issues in when Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan were introduced, which I think was a byproduct of the rush job taken with his character establishment, and was constraining the stories. Also, I think the writing is moving away from how Tony was presented in that very first issue of struggling with his sense of humanity which is disappointing to me because I had found that compelling.

The Night Force (1982) #11-14

These issues were the last arc of The Night Force which was all written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by Gene Coleman (with inks by Bob Smith and colors by Michele Wolfman). Overall, I really enjoyed this series, it had some very compelling writing and great art. It’s disappointing that this book didn't last for longer. For me, personally, it peaked with the first 7-issue arc, but the following arcs were still interesting, and I would have liked to see this creative team get the time to experiment more with this unique concept. Reading the letter columns show that at the time it was being published it had some amount of deeply invested readers, which I think is deserved, it was a genuinely impressive series.

It Ain’t Me Babe (1970) #1

I had really not read any underground comics before and am actually not really interested in getting into them now, but I read this specific comic because it was the first comic book produced entirely by women. It was an anthology book from a variety of different women creators and I enjoyed reading the variety of stylistically different pieces. My personal favorite was the piece "Breaking Out" by the It Ain't Me Babe Basement Collective with art by Carole (last name unknown) which had various established female comic book characters becoming aware of the oppressive narrative cycles they're trapped in and breaking out of them to become feminists. To be clear, the rest of the pieces were just by one creator. Also, of course, Mary Marvel being one of the lady comic book characters featured on the cover by Trina Robbins is very special to me as a Mary Marvel fan, particularly considering that at the time she hadn't been published since 1953.

The Incredible Hulk (1968) #204-207 and Annual #5 and The Defenders (1972) #41-45 and Annual #1 and Marvel Team-Up (1972) #53-54

Within the main The Incredible Hulk book I went from July 1976 to October 1976. Herb Trimpe had been the penciler of the book for years but left a little bit ago and was replaced by Sal Buscema, however issue #204 was a special story written by Herb Trimpe and Len Wein, penciled by Herb Trimpe, and inked by Joe Station. The issues #205-207 returned to the book’s regular creative team of being written by Len Wein and illustrated by Sal Buscema and Joe Station.

This little batch of issues felt like the big shift in the book that I had sort of been expecting to happen at issue #200. The special issue #204 was a unique story in which Bruce goes back in time to the gamma bomb accident to change events to prevent him from ever becoming the Hulk. This inadvertently leads to Rick Jones, the kid Bruce went out into the bomb testing area to save, being killed by the bomb, and Bruce, who was then living what would have been a good life in this alternate timeline in which no one had ever heard of the Hulk, being driven mad with guilt and ultimately going back in time to put events back to what they once were.

Issue #206 is the death of Jarella, a woman who was Bruce and the Hulk's shared love interest. I never found her interesting as a character and so am not at all saddened by the loss of her in future stories, but I am interested to see what they'll do with the Hulk's mourning of her. Issue #207 has the Hulk try to go to Dr. Strange to ask him for help saving Jarella and breaking down once it's made clear that there's nothing he can do, then seeming very legitimately depressed and hollow at the end of the issue. The Hulk saying that "nothing really matters anymore" is very new for him and I'm curious to see how he'll be characterized in the issues to come.

Issue #41 of The Defenders was the end of Steve Gerber writing the book, as well as Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson's run as the illustrative team. Starting with issue #42, Gerry Conway is writing the book and Keith Giffen has joined Klaus Janson in drawing it. This is a pretty big shift, very stylistically noticeable. I had overall been liking how Steve Gerber wrote the Defenders. Of note is that I enjoyed how the Hulk was written as a part of the team but felt that the Valkyrie's characterization was really poorly handled with regards to her relationship with Jack Norriss which unfortunately consumed her entire character once he was introduced. Also, it was Steve Gerber that fleshed out Kyle Richmond as a character and got me invested in him. Now a few issues into Gerry Conway writing the book I'm not really liking how the Hulk is being written as a part of the team but Valkyrie's relationship with Jack was immediately corrected into something in-character for her and I'm intrigued as to what'll be done with her next. Ultimately, while I was initially saddened that Steve Gerber's run was ending, I'm not disappointed.

#getting back on track with these #comics read this past week #my posts

1 note · View note

breadknight-likes-things · 4 years

Text

Bread’s Game Journal 07/05/20: Westfall Was Probably A Nice Place To Live.

Westfall is unique among most Alliance zones in World of Warcraft, in that I have a pretty fond connection to it, even though I spend probably 70% of my total time in WoW playing Horde characters! Of course back in the day there was reason for Horde characters to take a trip to Westfall, to take part in the iconic “Dead Mines” instance. Now though, there’s really nothing there for The Horde player, but the charm of the zone remains and any time I level an Alliance character (as I am doing now) I always make sure to at least do some of the quests in Westfall!

Notably, as far as I remember, Westfall was unique in the early goings of World of Warcraft for having a real zone storyline to follow along with when most others in the game simply didn’t. It was a place that had been through a lot, but had, after a long period of instability, finally found a common sense of peace and something to work towards. That would be shattered handily when the Defias Brotherhood moved in and took control, led by the smarmy heel “Edwin Van Cleef”. Now granted, a lot of this was buried in quest text, obscure lore dumps and other sources both inside and outside the game, but it was so much more than what most zones could say.

Westfall is one of two early alliance zones that has something of an “Eternal Autumn” feel to it. I guess someone at Blizzard really liked that concept and ran with it (ran straight into making two of the best zones in WoW, that is)

Early WoW had a lot of great zones, and I really do mean that, but at the same time many of them just had nothing going for them and nothing to do in them. Westfall almost seemed like a crazy outlier. It had a whole story about these bandits, it had a genuinely unique vibe to it as Stormwinds breadbasket overrun by threats, it even had one of the best instances in the entire game (which, for many players, was their first instance at all!). The zone itself had this sort of “Amber waves of grain” sensibility to it that made it stand out among the other handful of Stormwind Centric alliance zones (which, lets be real, every race converged on, nobody was leveling in Darkshore or Loch Modan).

Gnolls were a problem, sure, as were vultures and wild boars and all sorts of beasts you’d expect, but Westfall is also full of some truly weird stuff to fight. Harvest Golems, hulking robot men meant to take in the harvest have gone haywire like Charlie The Robot from Scooby-Doo and are attacking the farmers. Roving bands of classical style hobos are taking anything not nailed down. My favorite though, are the weird, Goonies esque pirates to be found in The Dead Mines. The fact the outlaw bandit troupe had their headquarters in a secret underground dock, where they hid their pirate ship, is some truly tropey fun to be in this place.

By the time of World of Warcraft, there isn’t a whole lot of civilization left in Westfall, hell, Moonbrook here is almost just an extremely elaborate set dressing for the hidden entrance into The Dead Mines.

Westfall is still fun today, Blizzard really took the old Defias story line and ran with it when they were creating the new slate of quests for Cataclysm. With everything from secret daughters to a resurgent pirate crew complicating an already complicated web of assassins and liars. If you’re leveling an Alliance character, whether on retail or WoW Classic, I assure you Westfall is a great place to visit....maybe just don’t set down roots. At least not until they finally get those harvest golems under control!

Random Screenshot Of The Day:

Wondering how that pirate ship even got into that cave? Oddly, you’ll find the answer in nearby Stranglethorn Vale! It’s very easy to find this today, but solving this mystery back during Vanilla WoW felt like a real adventure!

Stray Notes:

- Remember when we all called Deadmines “VC” for short, because somehow the consensus came down that “DM” would be used for Dire Maul, so Dead Mines needed a new shorthand? Online communities were weird in 2005.

- I think the killing of Van Cleef is more or less the only time WoW has ever acknowledged the cycle of violence involved in cutting off a dudes head for a quest reward.

- So, I intended this to be a one off post to fill some time, but in writing it I think I maybe cooked up a couple new series ideas....stay tuned, this might turn into something.

#video games #World of Warcraft #world of warcraft shadowlands #world of warcraft battle for azeroth #wow #wow classic #world of warcraft classic #westfall #azeroth #stormwind #the alliance #Blizzard #blizzard entertainment #blizzard games #bread's game journal #breads game journal

8 notes · View notes

yourdeepestfathoms · 4 years

Text

Olly Olly Oxenfree (part four)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

TW: Victim blaming, mentions of drowning, another weed brownie

———————

all the outs in free

The mud sloshes loudly as Cathy and Joan trudge away from Fort Milner. They try not to look at the stew of muck beneath their feet, for they fear that they may see tints of red glistening in the slop.

Neither of them spoke as they walked across the field. Cathy was lost in thought, coming up with entire spider webs of theories in her head, while Joan was just in a state of shock. Her face was pale, aside from her eyes, which are still puffy and rimmed with red from crying. She had tried to wipe away the tears, but scrubbing her face with her sleeve only inflamed the skin further. She gave up after a while.

Dark mist rolled in the distance, near Main Street. Cathy watched the black fog. Sometimes she thought she could hear other footsteps stamping in the mud somewhere off in the distance. Other times it’s right behind her. She can’t be too sure.

She and Joan get to the fence that wrapped around the Comm Tower. When they looked at the metal chainlink, they didn’t feel safe, rather trapped.

It was there to keep them in.

“Hey! Hey!” Anne is running down from the ladder. “I saw you coming up from the tower!”

“How are you doing?” Joan asked.

“Umm- better.” Anne said. “No luck with the radio. It’s been what my therapist would call a ‘negative reinforcer.’ I’m just glad I took that second brownie.”

“What?” Cathy snapped.

“When did you take a second one?” Joan asked.

“Just before you came. Don’t worry about it!” Anne said as she climbs back up the ladder. If she sees the way Cathy is fuming, she ignores it.

“If that’s what you need- fine.” Joan said. It was clear she didn’t want anyone fighting at the moment.

The three of them climb up to the top of the tower where Kitty is waiting. The girl looks slightly better from when Joan and Cathy last saw her, but definitely still wry and jittery.

“Hey, Kit,” Joan waved halfheartedly. “Night’s still goin’, huh?”

“Yeah.” Kitty replied dryly. “I couldn’t get anything to work beside the speaker.”

“More than we could do,” Cathy said.

They all went into the tower cabin to get out of the cold. The wind was a lot crueler all the way up there, like it was adamant on knocking one of the teenagers off with its powerful gales. Joan shoved her next-to-numb hands into her jacket pocket, which didn’t help much since the coat was still wet from the rain at Fort Milner.

“Oh!” Anne suddenly said. “I got it! It’s Maggie Lee?”

“Maggie Lee?” Kitty echoes curiously.

“Yeah! She has a boat!” Anne went on. “Something good finally hatred loose from all this hysteria, eh? Anyway, my sister, Mary, used to work at the Park’s office. She had to deliver mail to that lady almost every day. I know there’s a key down there.”

“So, we’re gonna—”

“No!” Cathy barked. Kitty snaps her mouth shut with a small lurch of her shoulders. “No no no! We are not going to go with the first plan from the group’s resident burnout.” She wheeled around to glare at Anne when she said that.

Anne narrows her eyes and ruffled herself up. With her brown hair frizzing from her unruly, half-undone spacebuns and smaller stature than the dark-skinned girl, she looked about as intimidating as a raccoon trying to defend its piece of garbage it just stole from the rubbish bin. Her voice, however, was biting, like the chilled gales just outside the cabin.

“I am not a burnout!” She snapped.

“What other plan do we have, Cathy?” Joan said, trying to step in again.

“Oh, I don’t know! Fix the radio, find Catalina, set fire to the mug shop!” Cathy began to rattle off, “And those are just at the top of my head!”

“Those won’t do us any good.”

Cathy clenched her jaw and began stalking up to Anne. She easily towered over to paler girl, riling herself up like a smoking volcano about to blow or a mother owl who just had one of her chicks threatened- her talons are open and primed for blood.

“Anne,” She laughed harshly. Her voice is as cold and hard as a glacier. “don’t forget that this is entirely your fault to begin with.”

She seemed to forget about Joan taking all the blame at the cable car. Or, perhaps, she just didn’t want to throw her step-sister under the bus like that.

“Excuse me?”

“And now,” Cathy went on, overpowering Anne with her barbed tone. The gritting of her teeth quickly replaced the image of an owl with a timber wolf. “now you want us to trust you when things are really bad? YOU made Joan bring the radio- over twenty messages in all caps if I remember being told correctly. YOU brought us here!”

“Come on, guys, calm down!” Joan attempted to step in. “This is nobody’s fault! And if it is going to be someone’s fault, let it be mine. I already owned up to it! So...there! Blame is on me! Blood is on my hands!” Saying that last part made a sick feeling of fear coil deep in her stomach.

“Yeah, this isn’t very, uh,” Kitty tries to help cool things down, too. “Productive.”

But their efforts were in vain. Anne was pissed off, now. And Joan knew better than anyone that her anger was a deep, dark, long-running thing. The blonde steps back and pulled Kitty with her, as if she thought her friend may actually explode.

“It should be obvious that you’re the only weirdo here,” She said, going after Cathy with words laced in sickly green venom. “You are throwing all of this out of whack! We,” She gestures for her, Kitty, and Joan, “all grew up together!”

“Guys, please calm down.” Joan spoke up again. Her presence is finally reminded to the fuming pair, but not in the way she had wanted.

“Joan, I am not putting my life in this freak’s hands!” Cathy spat. She wasn’t going after Joan, in fact her eyes softened when she began talking to her step-sister, but her voice remained spiky and wrapped in shards of glass. “This entire night has been nothing but a joke to her! I mean, did you hear the first thing she said to us back up at that way station?” She does a terrible impressions of Anne’s voice, “‘I thought you were a werewolf’- like, what the fuck is up with that?! How are you even defending this bimbo?”

“Cathy!” Kitty yelped. Her eyes are wide in alarm and she glances nervously over at her cousin. She took another step back, this time being to one to pull Joan with her. It was as if she saw smoke wreathing out of Anne’s nostrils or something.

“I know you said Anne was ‘harmless’ or whatever, but the bitch ate two fucking weed brownies! In a crisis situation!” Cathy was working herself up to a proper temper. Her face was flaming red with rage, which was impressive given her darken skin color. “I’m done giving her passes. And you should, too.”

“I don’t need a pass from you.” Anne growled. “Joan is my best friend.”

That comment cut Joan deep in the heart. She had been mentally siding with Cathy, the girl did have a point, plus she was her new sister and she feared not going along with her would completely shatter their relationship, but Anne was right. They were best friends. They had been together since Joan was fostered by her mum and moved to the girl’s city.

God, she wished she didn’t have to be there right now. The ghosts were one thing, but this? She did not sign up for her relationships breaking into pieces right before her eyes.

“Oh yeah? Well, Joan is MY best friend!” Cathy barked back.

“Guys, please!” Joan shouted. “Stop it! Stop fighting!”

“Yes. Please.” Kitty agreed softly.

“Listen, I don’t care what Cavewoman Cathy says—”

“What is that?!”

“—there is a boat at Maggie Lee’s house. And the key is back on Main Street.” Anne went on, ignoring Cathy’s stupid, flabbergasted expression.

“And when your plan fails spectacularly, two of us are going to have to stay here with the semi-functioning walkie talkie.” Cathy said, crossing her arms.

“Well, Joan has the radio.” Anne also crossed her arms. If she was trying to make herself seem more mature or maybe was just trying to mimic and mock Cathy, neither Joan nor Kitty knew. “Are you okay to go to town?” She looks around Cathy’s hulking figure to look at her friend.

“Yeah,” Joan said. Sure, her throat sort of stung from yelling and the start of a panic attack was boiling up in her chest a welting sore, and there was also the whole being-wet-in-the-freezing-cold-night and persistent, never ending headache thing, but she chose to keep that to herself. “I’m fine. Ready whenever.”

“She shouldn’t go alone.” Kitty jumped back in. “Three of us don’t need to stay up here.”

“Right. I’ll go!” Anne volunteered quickly. “It was my brilliant idea in the first place.”

“Are you serious? Your food is going to kick in at any second and then you really will be a completely unreliable bimbo.” Cathy said.

“I am not a bimbo!” Anne snarled.

“Aaaagh! Stop it!” Joan growled. Her own anger was starting to bubble inside of her.

After her plea, Cathy rounds on her.

“Keeping in mind who has been with you this entire night—”

“Keeping in mind who you’re tired of!” Anne cut in.

“Keeping in mind who’s taller!” Cathy said louder. “Who do you want going with you?”

It was all so overwhelming. Joan wished they could all just go as a group, surely that was safer, anyway, but it was also just wishful thinking. If Cathy and Anne tried to get down from the tower together, Joan was sure somebody was gonna get pushed off.

She feels that coil in her stomach tighten and tighten and tighten. It becomes a painful sensation in her gut that she has no other choice but to-

“Cathy, let’s go.”

Cathy sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

“What?!” Anne cried. It was clear she hadn’t been planning for Joan to not pick her. “Why?! Why her?”

“We’re still doing your plan,” Joan said gently, hoping to cool her friend down. “Who cares about who’s on the Home and Away team?”

“But I wanna be on the Joan team.” Anne said. Her eyes looked genuinely hurt. Joan’s heart pinches painfully in her chest. “I wanna feel like— like— needed.”

The pinch gets tighter until it feels like two slim claws are trying to pull her aorta right out of her chest.

Joan tried to speak, tried to make her friend feel better, but Anne just sighed and shook her head.

“Just— just, fine, whatever. Go have fun, you two.” She said.

“It’s not supposed to be fun. That’s the point.” Cathy rolled her eyes.

“Oh god, will you just shut up?” Anne hissed.

“Okay, before things get stupid again,” Kitty said. “Good luck with the whole key thing. We’ll be waiting, guys.”

“Thanks, Kit. You’re the best.” Joan smiled at Kitty, who manages to give her one back. “But...are you gonna be okay with...the girl?”

Kitty actually laughed. “I’ll be fine. She’s just cranky.”

“I’m not cranky!” Anne grumbled from where she was very obviously sulking.

“I’ll take care of her!” Kitty assured Joan, who nodded and made her way out of the cabin with Cathy on her heels.

The trek down from the tower was silent. In fact, neither sister spoke until they were past the gate and back into the field.

“Look,” Cathy sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go that far back there.”

“Mmm.” Joan merely replied. She wasn’t ignoring Cathy per se, rather putting more attention on the darkness that lurked on the path to Main Street. She shivered.

“Okay, I’m just going to clear the air, alright? Just so Anne or whoever can’t say I was hiding it.” Cathy said. Joan glances back at her momentarily. “You may have heard that I was, uh, in jail?”

Joan says nothing. She just keeps walking. It very clearly makes Cathy uneasy.

“Well,” She went on. “I never went to jail. But I did beat up a guy and go to juvenile detention for it.”

“Why’d you, uhh...why’d you do it?” Joan asked softly. The thought that her younger sister was now scared of her sent cold vines of fear creeping up through Cathy’s insides.

“My mum got sick.” She said, “And then she got really sick and this kid threw a baseball at my head, and yes he was joking, but I just kinda-“ She sighed. “I popped.”

“We all break sometimes.” Joan said. “I understand.”

“You do?” Cathy perked up a little.

“Yeah.” Joan nodded. “Trust me, I do.”

Cathy smiled a little.

“I’m glad.”

She and Joan continue their trek until they got to Main Street. Cathy was just about to ask if Joan was religious, and if she wasn’t if she was going to reconsider after that night, when she noticed a human shadow cast across the pavement.

“Oh my god, is that—”

Someone was sitting on one of the light posts, their legs swinging back and forth.

“Catalina!”

Cathy and Joan rush up to the light, their eyes wide.

“She’s alive!” Joan said. “Man, I’ve never been so happy to see you in my l-”

Static.

Joan let out a short cry of pain as static filled her mind and vision seemed to glitch out like an old TV. When she looks up, Catalina’s eyes are glowing red.

“Oh no,” Cathy muttered, stepping back. “She’s doing- she’s doing the eye thing!”

“Come on, Catalina, snap out of it! Look alive!” Joan tried. “Umm...hang in there, baby?”

“Good try.” Cathy pat her shoulder.

Joan grit her teeth. She could feel the cold metal of the radio weigh heavily in her pocket. She has no choice but to slip it out and tune in.

102.3

The first triangle forms.

95.1

The second-

“NO!!”

Joan is falling, everything is upside down and she can’t see at all, but then she’s upright again and tottering in her spot like a newborn lamb. She winces.

“You think you can control me?” Catalina asked, tilting her head slowly. Her voice is like it had been back at Fort Milner, distorted and dark.

Cathy and Joan exchange nervous looks.

“What? No! We’re not trying—“

“No, you’re not trying!” Not-Catalina said. “You’re not trying at all!”

“¥ðµ håvêñ’† ¢håñgêÐ,” Said The Sunken. Their voices appear out of nowhere, origination from an unknown source. “ñð† å ßï†. ßµ† ¥ðµ’rê å £ïñê gïrl.”

“What— what more can we do?” Joan said desperately. “We’re barely holding onto our—“

“‘What more can you do?’” Not-Catalina echoed mockingly. “You can do your job, that’s for starters. You can be what you signed up for.”

“𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕗𝕗,” Crackles the radio. “𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕟𝕠 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕒 𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟.”

It just had to go and pipe in, didn’t it? What with Catalina- or Not-Catalina, Whatever the fuck she may be now, and those ghosts talking and all, the radio now chipping in only added to the intensity, and the terrible pressure pressing down on Joan’s skull.

“No more heart than a...” Not-Catalina’s voice trailed off and died. Her body fell like a rag doll from the lamppost.

“Is she-?” Joan swallowed thickly. “Is she, um, alive?”

“I-I don’t-”

Not-Catalina, or Catalina, now, stirs, then sat up. She blinked her normal brown eyes at the duo standing above her.

“Are you okay?” Cathy asked. “Can you remember anything that just happened?”

“I’m fine. I can— I’m fine.” Catalina stood up, brushing away the hands reaching down to her for help. “And I... I remember Fort Milner...and you two.”

“That’s it?”

“Well... I also remember that radio.” Catalina turns on Joan. “And I remember this being all your fault.”

-.-. --- ..- .-. .- --. . / .. ... / -. --- - / .- .-.. .-- .- -.-- ... / - .... . / .-- .- -.-- --..-- / -.. . .- .-. .-.-.-

The bonfire in front of the Main Street tunnel blazes slightly when Anne throws a few sticks into the flames. They get eaten away in seconds before Joan’s eyes, which are edged with a black blur. She blinked, smoke stinging them slightly, and looked up at the others.

“Wait, it’s Catalina’s turn already?” Anne asked.

“Yes, it’s my turn.” Catalina said. “I’ve been waiting this whole time!”

“Hold on-“ Joan looked around. The ocean licking against the rocky edge to the street is but a black void behind her. She snaps her head forward again, preferring to look into the foggy abyss that was the closed down tunnel behind Catalina. “What’s going on again?”

“It’s Catalina’s turn.” Kitty said.

“Yeah, it’s Catalina’s turn.” Cathy nodded.

“And you of all people should know what I’m not going at ask because I’m not going to waste it.” Catalina turned to Joan. “Joan. What did you do.”

Joan’s mouth hangs open like a fish out of water. Catalina’s judgmental stare does not pity her stunned expression.

“Tell me why my best friend, and your idiot best friend, and your new step-sister are all screwed.”

“This isn’t her fault.” Cathy stepped in quickly, already knowing things were going to get riled up.

“Cathy, I’m sorry, but you don’t know who you speak of, dear.” Catalina said.

“Catalina, seriously, I can vouch for this,” Anne said. “This isn’t her fault.”

“It has to be her fault, of course it’s her fault.”

Joan clenched her fists. The numbness in her fingers dissipates for a moment. Bubbling anger feels hot in her belly.

“Why?” Joan snapped. “Why does it have to be my fault?”

“Why does it have to be your fault? Are you serious?”

Joan clenches her jaw, glaring daggers at Catalina.

“You’re gonna learn, Cathy, I swear to god. The whole town looks at her like she’s got a fucking Scarlet Letter tattooed on her forehead, and the giant, lit up, Christmas tree reason why is that Maria is dead because of her!”

A near subzero sensation spreads through Joan’s entire body, and not because of the temperature outside. Then, the chill is overcome by molten lava-like fury that bubbles up like pus from an abscess.

“It would take a really sick person to see it that way, and I would love to hear your explanation!”

“Maria was going to be free! She was going to be out of here until this one convinced her to go swimming one last time.” Catalina stopped her pacing. Her eyes are cold and hard. “And she drowned. Maria drowned, while this one could barely flap her arms.”

All eyes turned to stare.

“That doesn’t make it my fault!” Joan cried. “Anyone could have been there— anyone— and then they would’ve watched her die, you unbelievable cunt!”

“‘Anyone’ wouldn’t have watched her die, Joan. Anyone else would have done something!” Catalina snapped back.

“Okay, enough!” Cathy steps in between the two. “Seriously. I can’t even believe we’re talking about this right now.”

“Cathy,” Joan scampered up to Cathy like a lost lamb would to its mother. She grips tightly to her step-sister’s sleeve. “Cathy, it was awful- it’s still awful... I-”

Cathy set a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I know. It’s okay, I know. But right now we’re going to break into that office, find that key, an we’re going to go home.”

“No.” Catalina said.

Cathy snapped her head around to the older girl. Her teeth are gritted. She’s clearly had enough.

“No?” She echoed, anger lacing her voice. “What do you mean, no?”

“Aagh!!” Pain lances through Joan’s head. Then Cathy’s head. Then Anne and Kitty’s. Catalina began to float into the air.

“All the outs in free.....”

What happens next is nothing short of a whirlwind. Cathy and Joan get jarred out of the time loop and, like the many times before, Cathy only has vague memory of being in it. However, by the pale, shaken expression on her step-sister’s face, she knew it couldn’t have been good.

When she asks, Joan says she doesn’t want to talk about it.

They break into the park building and find the key in the form of another pocket radio, this one with more stations.

It does not feel right in her hands.

As they’re walking back to meet up with the others, Cathy reads off a letter written by Maggie Lee, which talks about how the history of Edward’s Island was a lie and how she buried these secrets all over the area. The letter ends and, after the sister discussing the news, Cathy began to say something else as they passed the path that led down to the beach.

“Joey, why are you wearing that jacket? It’s, like, seventy-five degrees and the sun’s out!”

“What? It’s cold—”

Soft, fuzziness floods her mind. Her vision distorts, but her body doesn’t seem to react. Her muscles are calm...relaxed. She’s at peace for the first time that night.

“—and the sun is only kinda out.”

“No, see! Look! Sunlight!”

A voice ahead laughs. “Maria, we didn’t bring drinks.”

Joan was giggling, too, but then the noise catches painfully in her throat.

“Wait— Maria?!”

Her older sister grins at her. Her curly hair is done back in a rare ponytail- she usually prefers to have it down and frame her face in a way that makes her look like a lion. The smile painted on her pink lips would make even the sun jealous of its perfect glow.

“The one and only!” She chirped. At her side, Catalina chuckles lovingly.

“Where- where’s Cathy?!” Joan looked around frantically. That panic attack from before starts to rise up again, desperate to overcome her.

“Cathy? Who’s Cathy?” Catalina asked curiously. Her voice is so sweet when she talks to Joan, not laced with hidden poison or barbed with vision sarcasm, but genuinely loving towards the younger girl. “Is someone else coming?”

“Yeah, is that a friend of yours?” Maria added.

“You wanna know who Cathy is?” Joan grits. She’s tired of losing her every single hour. “She’s my new step-sister.”

She sees Catalina and Maria’s eyes widen.

“Now do you know what’s happening?”

She thinks they get it, but then Catalina and Maria began to laugh. They continued their trek down to the beach and Joan’s legs follow them without her command.

“Okay, can you call your new friend your ‘best friend’ or something?” Maria asked, giggling. “‘Step-sister’ is kinda approaching into my territory.”

“Yeah, it’s like when my mum calls her cat her ‘special little lady.’ I mean, I’m standing right there!” Catalina put in. She looked so happy...and not evil.

“Wh— why— why am I here?” Joan squeaked. She’s getting weak in the knees. She thinks she was going to be sick.

“You said you wanted to go to the beach.” Maria said.

“Good choice, too,” Catalina said. “Today turned out to be a flawless day.”

The nausea seems to melt away as they got down to the beach and stepped onto the sand. When Joan looked at the ocean, she felt no fear, no anxiety, no trauma-induced pain. Just...serenity and curiosity for the sparkling blue body of water.

Her mind feels like it was melting, but the sensation sends a ripple of peace through her body, almost like morphine. She calms by degrees in a matter of seconds. To be honest, she can barely remember what she had been freaking out about moments earlier... Even when Maria proclaims she forget her phone on the ferry and Joan and Catalina left alone on the beach when she ran up to go get it, she felt no nervousness.

She sat down across from Catalina.

“I’m glad we could do this today.” The older girl said. “I know you two are close and all I know it can be annoying to have the girlfriend around, but...”

Joan smiled slightly. “Yeah, I- I would love to. Really.”

Catalina beams. “I’m glad! And, hey, Mars loves you a lot. I mean, I’m sure you already know that, but seriously. She talks about you all the time.”

Joan giggled, blushing slightly. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Yeah, of course!”

“Had to fight the skipper for it, but he didn’t expect many squats I could do,” Maria said as she walked back over.

All three girls laughed.

Catalina excuses herself after Maria got settled to go but some drinks up at the shop, leaving Maria and Joan alone.

“I’ve missed you,” Joan whispered. “I-I know we live in the same house and everything, but- I missed you, Mars.”

“Aww,” Maria cooed. “I missed you, too, JoJo. Also, hey, I know this was supposed to be our day, but I completely forget that I promised Catalina that I would do something with her. Thanks for chaperoning.”

“No problem.” Joan said.

“It’s really important to me that you like her, so tell me the truth. What do you really think of us being together?”

Joan didn’t even have to process the question.

“Stick with it. Stay with her.” She said. “If she makes you laugh, if she makes you smile...who am I to think otherwise?”

Maria lit up brightly. “Thank you! Good blessings and good tidings!” She and Joan laugh. “Hey, I’ve never noticed that that’s a good jacket. I should ask for it back. My new one sucks. Feels like I got...shoes on my arms or something.”

Joan pulled the soft grey jacket closer around her. “No way, bucko!”

“Bucko?” Maria laughed. “You haven’t called me that in years! Come here- let me at least see if it still fits.”

“Fine!” Joan groaned. “But even if it does, I’m not giving it back!”

Maria scoots over and reaches to grab the jacket when Joan takes it off. When their hands brush each other, everything cuts to static.

#olly olly oxenfree #six fanfic #six the musical fanfiction #six the musical fanfic #six the musical au #six the musical #joan on the keys #katherine howard #catherine parr #anne boleyn #maria on the drums #catherine of aragon #tw: drowning #tw: victim blaming

13 notes · View notes

thruces · 5 years

Text

endgame spoilers

i know i said i wasn’t gonna do this but ???

i have so many thoughts and feelings and i want somewhere to get them out so let’s dive right in shall we? (spoilers under the cut!)

i firstly want to point out that most of this won’t be chronological since my thoughts are everywhere.

to say i have some thoughts is definitely understating it. there was a lot to take in throughout the movie but i feel as though i went in with high expectations and came out with something less than what was promised by the countless fan reactions and reviews. i wasn’t expecting what i got but there was a lot of good despite the bad. it’s also worth noting i ended up fainting out of stress and partial dehydration (from crying for nearly six hours straight) which is further proof that i’m an emotional wreck as well as a fool.

first off, tony’s death. – there was no real reason for him to die. he finally had the life he wanted and had to sacrifice that for the rest of the world. he never needed to redeem himself, he didn’t have to die to make up for anything but they still made him. he should’ve had steve’s ending. somehow steve rogers, the super solider who stated on a number of occasions that he didn’t want the domestic life, got it. tony stark, the man who wanted to step away from the battlefield and have a family was the one who died fighting. it hurt so much to watch a man who survived everything thrown at him, who lived through trauma, ptsd, anxiety attacks and tremendous loss only to finally get the life he deserved and have it all taken from him. what hurts even more is that strange knew what had to happen, it must’ve been so awful knowing what had to be done. the sadness in his eyes as he put his finger up was devastating. tony stark will always be my hero and i’m going to miss him so, so much.

expanding a little more on steve’s ending – it felt wrong. most of steve’s arc was centred around bucky and yet he chose to leave him. it was like the past two captain america movies became irrelevant and all that mattered was getting rid of steve in the simplest way. peggy had a whole life without him and he knew that but chose to go back and stay regardless? idk that just didn’t sit right with me.

onto thor – they did him so, so dirty. thor lost everything and suffered so much and they still just tried to play him off as comedic relief for most of the movie (although the fortnite scene was kinda funny) . the scene with banner in his house hurt me so much. to see the way he cared for him, the softness in his voice. he understood his trauma and was patient. the way he put his hand on his shoulder and wanted to be there for him was one of the best scenes in the film. he didn’t judge him harshly for letting himself go because he understood what it was like to go through trauma and loss in the way he had. it was genuinely one of the best scenes. thank u russos for the good thruce content.

in terms of the rest of the ragnarok crew – i was so happy to see korg again! my eyes lit up as soon as i saw him in his cute hawaiian shirt! taika waititi is the source of my happiness and he should direct every mcu movie. i’m so happy val made an appearance too and becoming queen is exactly what she deserved, although i did kinda miss her deadpan attitude. overall the ragnarok gang was the biggest let down for me in terms of characterisation. the russos will never be able to do them justice. they used thor as comedic relief despite his trauma, banner’s arc was one of the worst ones in the movie (my love for him remains untouched though) and the other characters were pushed aside (although it’s completely understandable as the focus on this movie was the original avengers). additionally the hulk dab scene filled me with rage for reasons i can’t explain,, i just,, hated it so much,, more than anything else in the entire movie. 100 percent the worst line in the entire mcu,, ever,,

next up is nat’s death – in my op this was the best death in the film and although i love nat her death made the most sense. the way she was gentle and calm when she told clint to let go broke me and i felt so bad for him, go me it was definitely one of the most powerful scenes.

time to expand on banner’s arc bc it’s one of the biggest things i disliked. why the fuck did they think just getting rid of the hulk was the best thing to do? they’ve been developing the banner/hulk arc for years then deadass just got rid of him? it’s so sad bc the hulk developed a lot over the last three movies and now it’s just over? it’s esp sad when you think about the fact that a. the hulk was his own being and b. that this was barely addressed at all? the entire characterisation of banner during the movie was absolutely wack and i’m so mad they did him dirty. the two best banner scenes were the gauntlet scene and the thor scene and everything else was just,, bad. can they please just bring back cute tiny bruce who’s dorky and into science bc that’s the one i fell in love w/, not this weird hulk/bruce hybrid that marvel pulled outta their asses (that’s my hot take and you’re fine to disagree but i hate it sm)

i also wanna talk about thor and frigga real quick bc honestly? my heart never felt true pain until then. she was so calm and the entire scene broke my heart into pieces. ik thor got some closure but it still felt so awful to see him so heartbroken.

if i'm being honest i’m not really feeling the asguardians thing. dgmw i love them as separate units but to me it takes away the entire team dynamic of the guardians and i really hope it’s not a permanent thing. i also hope they get gamora back because it’s what peter deserves.

time to talk about the best part of the film – scott. my boy absolutely killed it. his character arc over the course of the movie was the best one. the balance between comedy and plot was perfect and the scene where he saw cassie grown up made me sob. i can’t fully express how much i love him as a character but i promise it’s a lot.

there’s a lot of stuff i missed out but these were my main thoughts after seeing the movie, hopefully i’ll pick up on more when i see it again on monday! if you wanna talk about any of these PLEASE message me because i’m really interested to hear other ppls opinions!

#endgame spoilers #avengers endgame #avengers: endgame #bruce banner #thor odinson #thorbruce #captain america #iron man #tony stark #the incredible hulk #natasha romanoff #clint barton #scott lang #ant man #black widow #hawkeye #thruce #txt #mine

94 notes · View notes

magicmastered · 5 years

Text

What Universe does Thor: Ragnarok Take Place In? Part Two

I repeat my disclaimer from the last post in this series. If you don’t want to see criticism of Thor: Ragnarok, then a) don’t read, b) filter your tags, c) block me, or d) any combination of the previous.

For Part Two I’ll explain the characterization discrepancies between Thor: Ragnarok’s characters and those it shares through the MCU. These characters are Thor, Loki, Odin, and Bruce Banner.

(No, I didn’t forget Heimdall and the Warriors Three. I don’t see any issues with Ragnarok’s portrayal of Heimdall—correct me if I’m wrong, I’d love to discuss it—and unfortunately we don’t have enough time with the Warriors Three to tell.)

I’ll start with pre-Ragnarok Thor.

Thor, as I pointed out in Part One, has a violent temper, and his recklessness endangers his brother and friends. He starts out Thor (2011) arrogant enough to try to pull rank on Odin. He cajoles his friends into joining him on dangerous missions. He tends to look down on Loki, but doesn’t visibly enjoy seeing him in pain, and cares what happens to his brother to some degree (he’s distraught when Loki seemingly dies in both Thor movies, and saves Loki from the implosion bomb). He eventually learns to cool his temper to some degree (come later in Thor (2011) and later movies), though he still has lapses (when he Mjolnirs Tony for getting between him and Loki, then Cap for telling him to drop Mjolnir in Avengers (2012); when he nearly punches Loki in the face in TDW, when he chokes Tony in AOU). He learns to talk things out before fighting (he talks to the Kronan in TDW before they...uh, fight, and he tries to talk down Ultron in AOU with “no one needs to break anything”). Thor starts to question Odin’s authority (when Odin basically says he’d let all of Asgard die if it meant killing the rest of the Dark Elves in TDW) and defy his decisions. He takes situations seriously when they warrant it (note his face when Ultron starts snarking). He cares about Jane quite a lot (he gets her notebook back in Thor (2011), comes to Earth when he thinks she’s in danger in TDW, and brags about her to Tony in AOU).

Now, Ragnarok Thor.

Thor has always patiently put up with Loki’s assaults (will get to these in Loki’s section) without fighting back, losing his temper, or doing anything to prevent them. He openly, shamelessly manipulates Bruce/Hulk (telling each that they’re the one he prefers), Valkyrie (shaming her when she doesn’t want to help him), and Loki (the elevator speech, and the one with the obedience disk). He grins when Loki’s twitching in pain on the ground from the obedience disk, and leaves him there for an unknown length of time where Loki could’ve easily been found and executed. Thor’s back to attacking other realms on suspicions without negotiating (he goes to Muspelheim and kills the king and anyone who tries to protect him). His violence is back—he effectively threatens to smash Loki/Odin’s head in if he doesn’t reveal himself, backs Loki into a couch with Mjolnir to his chest, and looks like he’s about to attack Loki when Odin dies. He’s back to worshiping the ground Odin walks on (after learning that Odin conquered and slaughtered his way through the Nine Realms, he still looks to him for guidance). He quips constantly, no matter the situation (see...the entirety of Ragnarok). He dismisses Jane with a line about a mutual dumping.

Huh?

Loki’s turn.

Loki, as I pointed out in Part One, prefers to negotiate rather than fight, and tends to think ahead. He’s highly intelligent and strategic (he realizes in advance that Thor will get them into trouble on Jotunheim and works out how to get out alive, he realizes that the relics in the vault are stolen, he doesn’t buy Odin’s initial story about taking him in out of compassion, he quickly figures out how to overpower Odin/where to put him/how to get him there/how to get Thor’s friends out of trouble). He has legitimate reasons for everything he does (see Part One). He’s generally loyal to Thor, outside of extreme circumstances like experiencing a mental breakdown or getting anything from coerced to tortured by a mad Titan (his betrayal in Thor (2011) comes as a shock to Thor, and Avengers (2012) didn’t really have anything to do with Thor). After Odin and Frigga lied to him, and Sif, Heimdall, and the Warriors Three betrayed him (as did Thor by agreeing to come with them, technically), Loki doesn’t trust easily, and is always on guard. He refuses to tolerate manipulation from his family (he denies that Frigga is his mother when she makes acknowledging Odin as his father a condition of that, and doesn’t accept for Odin’s hypocrisy). He’s quite skilled at psychological manipulation and lying (he knows exactly what will keep Thor down when he lies that Odin’s dead), and knows how to act (he plays Odin flawlessly enough that Thor doesn’t notice in TDW). He’s anything but lazy (he definitely works at his plans in his first two movies, and in TDW...Svartalfheim and after speaks for itself). He’d make a good ruler (“for all his grave imbalance, Loki understood rule as I know I never will”). After Odin and Thanos, he’s not great with authority figures (he’s...less than respectful of the Other—“if your force is as formidable as you claim”—and he sasses Odin relentlessly in TDW). He feels fear but doesn’t act on it (he’s scared on Jotunheim but fights anyway; he’s scared of the Other but doesn’t run; he’s cool and collected upon his defeat in Avengers (2012); he’s poised with Odin during the trial). He only acts egotistical in Avengers (2012) under the influence of the Mind Stone; otherwise he wants to be accepted as Thor’s equal. He’s genuinely mentally ill (he attempted suicide, and probably has serious PTSD after Thanos—if only the movies showed that kind of thing).

What’s Ragnarok’s Loki like?

Loki’s needlessly violent (the snake story), and has no planning ability whatsoever (he doesn’t have a better plan than ‘get help’). He’s pretty stupid (putting Skurge of all people on Bifrost duty, calling the Bifrost to get away from Hela when she was in Bifrost-range, not noticing the obedience disk, etc.). He doesn’t have a reason for doing anything other than “I’m a trickster, I can’t help myself”. He’s always betrayed Thor compulsively. He’s...not exactly on guard (he doesn’t think to carry a weapon as Odin, and he trusts that the Grandmaster will keep his word and not execute him if he brings in Thor). Loki does what Thor wants when Thor tries emotionally manipulating him. He doesn’t notice when Thor tried reverse psychology on him. He’s terrible at acting (he completely foils Odin’s speech and behavior). He’s remarkably lazy (he’s laying on a couch eating grapes when Thor shows up). He’s pretty bad at ruling (the Nine Realms are in chaos). He’s fairly obedient to authority figures (he ingratiates himself to the Grandmaster and doesn’t talk back once). He’s a bit of a coward (he was scared when Thor showed up, “bring us back”, he’s visibly afraid of the Grandmaster, “I have to get off this planet”). He’s an egomaniac and attention hog (the statue, the play). He “tries...to embody this idea of a tortured artist, this tortured, gothy orphan”—no real problems at all.

Are these supposed to be the same person?!

Okay. Odin.

Odin is massively hypocritical, manipulative liar with tons of blood on his hands (the first part needs no explaining besides “watch the movies”; for the second, Loki first implies, then states outright, that Odin’s responsible for a lot of death, and neither Odin nor Frigga correct him). He doesn’t let Thor make his own choices (he doesn’t even consider that Thor might not want to rule; he wants Thor to be with Sif instead of Jane; he won’t listen to Thor’s suggestions about the Dark Elves). He’s worn down Loki’s self-esteem his whole life by favoring Thor, and he’s outright cruel to Loki later (“No, Loki”; “your birthright was to die”; “Frigga is the only reason you’re still alive and you will never see her again”). He never admits his own faults (he never takes any responsibility for any of the death he’s caused, never admits to the part he played in Loki’s downfall) except to hurt people (“yes, I was a fool—to think that you were ready”). He doesn’t express affection to his sons, and any he has is hugely conditional—as soon as they step out of line, he gives the guards permission to kill them (“by any means necessary!”).

Time for Ragnarok Odin.

Admittedly, he’s still a massively hypocritical, manipulative liar with tons of blood on his hands (see: everything involving Hela). After death, Odin controls Thor’s choices even more than before. He praises Loki aloud (“Frigga would’ve been proud”). He admits a mistake (“I’ve failed you”) in a way that, well, doesn’t immediately hurt anyone. He shows open affection to both Thor and Loki (“I love you, my sons”). He’s generally considered wise and benevolent.

Wait, what?

And now, Bruce. I don’t know as much about him, so his will be short. I’d love to see more on him if anyone has suggestions.

Bruce is very intelligent (he’s a physicist who can keep up with Tony). He’s not panicky; he’s usually quite calm and mild-mannered (see Avengers (2012) and AOU). He hates killing people as Hulk (he’s unhappy after the Hydra bust at the beginning of AOU, and he’s miserable and guilty enough to leave after Johannesburg). After he de-Hulks, he knows he’s most likely killed someone or at least caused a lot of damage.

Then there’s Ragnarok Bruce.

Bruce has 7 PhDs, but his shown intelligence is...questionable: on an alien planet where no one knows who he is, he thinks he’s supposed to disguise himself as Tony Stark. Without Hulk he’s considered useless. He’s openly anxious (“I think I’m freaking out”; his reaction to Sakaar in general). He doesn’t mention the fact that two years straight of being Hulk is probably going to mean a lot of damage and a lot of people dead. He shows no grief or distress due to it.

Yeah...no issues at all....

Odin’s sudden appearance of warmth isn’t without explanation. It could easily be his attempt to make Loki guilty for his anger (since Odin’s last words would’ve seemed kind), thus encouraging him to help with Hela to make up for it. Other than that, they’re irreconcilable.

Thor cannot be both sadistic and non-sadistic.

Loki cannot be both completely stupid and smart.

Odin cannot be both “wise and benevolent” and cruel and controlling.

Bruce cannot be both ignorant of the damage Hulk causes and deeply distraught over it.

These sets of traits cannot exist in the same characters in the same universe without reasons for the change within that universe. Ragnarok provides no such reason, which creates a stark gap in continuity.

There is no cinematic universe without continuity.

Ragnarok clearly disregards the canon of the MCU. Therefore, it cannot be part of that universe.

As I’ve suggested to @lucianalight, I propose that we use the term “Ragnarok Cinematic Universe,” or RCU, for all movies that use Ragnarok’s personal canon.

#marvel #mcu loki #loki meta #mcu thor #anti ragnarok #bruce banner #mcu odin #what universe does ragnarok take place in?#rcu #my posts #my post

104 notes · View notes

loxxxlay · 5 years

Note

This isn't critical, just genuinely wondering as you are someone on here that speaks respectfully about other peoples views too, but sometimes I think people put ragnarok praise under the category of "funny" and just leave it there, whereas Thor was well received in infinity war too, which was much more tragic and arguably not funny at all, then in endgame it was like they forgot that it wasn't just humour that made people like the character, but story arc and progression. Thoughts? Thanks!

Note: Not everyone is going to agree with what I’m about to say. (Obvious hahhaha right? But no.) I’m going to say some stuff, and I want everyone to be aware that these are MY PERSONAL OPINIONS and are in no way representative of how all pro-Ragnarok people feel about thor or about Ragnarok. (Or even about dark world, infinity war, or end game.) If y'all disagree and want to argue with me, then fuck you. If y'all disagree but leave me in peace, I love you. there is no in-between lmfaoo.

Hmm, yeah I definitely agree to a good extent! Ragnarok praise often does reference the humor, but I don’t see people praising it for that reason only. In fact, that’s the main rhetoric that anti-ragnarok ppl use to mock us who liked Ragnarok - that we just like it because it’s funny and that we have no appreciation for actual character depth/progression. Which, as someone who has been invested in these characters since 2012, can upset me. D:

I think what makes Ragnarok appealing to many people (or at least myself) is that it made characters more relatable. In the past, they were depicted as gods and largely lacking in depth (with the exception of Loki). this is actually my major critique of thor: the dark world. they reduced their characters into caricatures. Jane, previously awesome multi-dimensional scientist, is now too lovesick to work/do what she loves. Odin is the typical misguided, stuck-in-his-own ways, distant father. thor: gloomy trying-to-be-a-good son but sees the error of his father’s ways. Malekith: villain who wants to turn the universe into “darkness.” Suchhh cliches. :/ And cliches are hard to connect with, esp in fantasy.

In Ragnarok, the cliches were not necessarily broken, but the characters were given some depth. they were given COPING mechanisms. thor, gloomy son, starts coping with grief (his father, his hammer, etc) with either anger or exaggerated lightheartedness (which yes, led to humorous moments). Whereas before, he’d really just wandered around all sad-looking. Valkyrie, a living legend, is literally an alcoholic who rounds ppl up and sells them to buy alcohol. Bruce (who was never cliche fyi, but definitely given more depth in this movie) was given panic attacks - even Hulk processed bad feelings via anger/selfishness. And Odin, even though ppl may disagree, was given depth because he was shown to have not only a pattern of lying and casting out his children but also having a solid foot in the door of imperialism - this shows how he has made huge mistakes as a father/leader, and it puts everything in previous movies (including Asgard itself) in a new light.

those are all examples of the way Ragnarok took Powerful Gods and Superheroes and Magical Realms and brought them to regular ordinary human level: through mental illness, through poor coping mechanisms, through them making Big Mistakes. Something which, previously in the thor movies, was only really done with Loki (which is why, i’d guess, there used to be so many more loki stans than thor stans). thor and its cast were suddenly more relatable characters.

As for other part of your ask: I think both Infinity War and End Game were both terrible movies. But both of them did do a lot of things of value in terms of thor’s character.

Infinity War, in terms of thor’s character arc only, was written well and acted by Chris Hemsworth well. thor retained what he had in Ragnarok: the dealing with grief through either anger or exaggerated light-heartedness. (which ties into the tragic circumstances). for example, think of how he cried while he talked to Rocket on the ship with a big smile on his face. think of how he slammed his axe into thanos’s chest and held his neck while he killed him. those match up perfectly with thor’s coping mechanisms in Ragnarok: blaming Loki and gearing up for battle when Odin dies. making jokes about his hammer/etc in the arena after being pseudo-tortured. lashing out in anger at Hulk when things aren’t going his way. Joking when Loki reappears at the end of the movie: “if you were here, i might actually give you a hug.” As well as the line, when Loki voices concerns: “I feel like everything will turn out fine.” (exaggerated lightheartedness)

In other words, the depth Ragnarok gave thor was adhered to in Infinity War.

In Endgame, the writing was... not so good, but Hemsworth’s acting saved a lot of it. He was shown in deep grief - covered by anger and exaggerated lightheartedness. When they find thanos and realize their plan to bring everyone back won’t work, thor cuts off thanos’s head impulsively (anger). When thor is walking around his house naked, laughing and seemingly having a good time, bruce says thanos’s name, and you can see exactly what thor’s false smiles are hiding. but that is hemsworth’s acting. It is not written into the script. (In fact, the script was allegedly going to be much worse.)

the difference between Ragnarok/Infinity War and Endgame is not humor. It’s the lack of continuity and the message the humor sends. In the previous two movies, thor’s lightheartedness, despite his suffering, was the source of the humor. In Endgame, thor’s suffering itself was the source of the humor. Endgame implied that someone’s suffering, someone’s mental illness, and someone’s poor coping mechanisms were something to laugh at, something to mock.

At least, these are my feelings on it and why I like Ragnarok, like Infinity War (in terms of thor’s arc only), and don’t like Endgame. So yeah. People who claim it’s all about humor for pro-Ragnarok fans are full of it. Wildly, it actually is okay to feel differently about whether a movie had continuity or not? And whether a movie is good or not? And one can have a lot of deep, thoughtful analysis either way? Who knew??? Haha, anyway sorry for rambling, and thank you for being interested!

Edit: I want to add that I think that Ragnarok treated some of its characters terribly (particularly in terms of fridging) and Ragnarok is definitely not perfect to me, but I see ppl saying this enough and feel no need to contribute. I”m sick of thinking about it/being mad about it basically

#hoo boy let's tag this thing #ragnarok discourse #ragnarok positivity #iw wank #a4 wank #fandom discourse #anon #lox replies

20 notes · View notes