#(stoned chanting) HUGE ALIENS HUGE ALIENS

[jessaerys]

this is why there's megafauna in the cold parts of the ocean. which makes you think

[lanahex]

Artificial

Chapter 2 - The Forge and The Fractured

by lanahex

Being delivery boy for a space alien isn't all its cracked up to be.

The outside of Bismuth’s Forge wasn’t as… exciting as Reese had been expecting it to be. The circular building was a stark contrast to the luster and color of Little Homeworld, which was now different from when Reese had first seen it. 

Little Homeworld was now buzzing with activity from humans and Gems alike. The morning was vibrant yet tranquil, the way that it might be in a cozy cafe or a warm bookstore. Gems of various colors and sizes strolled through the streets, greeting each other with warm smiles and cheery dispositions. A tall, lean Gem polished a storefront window, while a large, wide one was setting up a small stall that appeared to be selling jewelry. A group of small red Gems jogged in formation, chanting in unison to motivate themselves for their exercise. Reese passed a small cafe; a sign above the door identified it as “Spacetries.” A gaggle of humans and Gems sat outside in the early morning sun, steam rising from cups of tea and coffee. But Bismuth’s forge was almost like a different place entirely. The building was made from simple gray stone, decorated only by a few green bushes dotted along the walls. Reese could feel pure heat radiating from inside, even standing nearly ten feet away. 

He took a nervous step inside. He immediately felt his forehead begin to become slick from sweat; the heat was far beyond what an average person could withstand for long periods. All along the walls, weapons and armor hung on hooks like any other coat on a coat rack. Swords, spears, shields, javelins, tridents, the list goes on… Reese had never seen anything crafted with such beauty before. “These are gorgeous…”

“Glad ya think so!” Suddenly, Reese found himself having to look up. At perhaps the largest woman he’d ever seen. She was beaming a huge smile, two confident hands resting on her waist. Her skin was a blue-ish gray, and her hair - goodness, her hair was loud.  Every color of the rainbow and some. And yet, that wasn’t the most striking thing about her. No, most striking was her chest - and no, not in that way. At the center of her chest was one of the few Gems he had been capable of recognizing so far; a solid bismuth, and the attached person - alien? - could be assumed to be Bismuth as well. “Though, honestly, those are mostly for show these days. Haven't been much use for weapons in a long time.”

Reese had to collect himself. Because his whole situation was beginning to fully dawn on him; his first conversation with an alien (Zircon didn’t count, it was like “talking” to a cashier).  And with an alien that could, frankly, probably snap him in half.

“Yo, you in there?” Bismuth asked, waving her hand in front of Reese’s face.

“Oh! Um, sorry.” Reese snapped back to the conversation, looking up at the hulking woman.

“Hey, don’t worry, kid! I don’t bite - unless you’re trying to haggle.” She gave a wink. “I don’t think I’ve seen you in Little Homeworld before. I’m Bismuth.” She offered a hand to shake. 

“Reese…” He replied, hesitantly shaking her hand, suddenly very aware of how big her hand was compared to his own. Her grip was firm, but not crushing despite its size. He felt like a kitten pawing at a lion.

“I was sent here by Doug Maheswaran.” Reese pulled out the little slip of old receipt paper that had the directions to Bismuth’s forge on it. “My, uh, car broke down and they said you could help get it started again.”

“The Maheswarans! Of course, I love those guys! They’re family, after all.” Reese felt like there was context he was missing, but chose not to bring it up. “Yeah, no problem. I can take a look at it and get it running as good as new. Where’d it shut down?”

Reese and Bismuth discussed the vehicle and the circumstances of its breakdown. How the engine seemed to give out, and how it sputtered to a stop. Reese drew a mental map for Bismuth, describing the general surroundings of the vehicle’s location and recounting approximately how long the drive with the Maheswarens had taken. Throughout the conversation, Bismuth threw in terrible puns about cars and usually her name, which Reese groaned but ultimately laughed at. Reese felt himself open up to this stranger, someone who was soft, understanding, and kind. There wasn’t the resigned caution of Dr.Maheswaran or the snobby sneer of Zircon. This alien - no, this person - was easy to talk to. Something he didn’t get much of on the road. Bismuth would explain the finer details of what she’d do with the car, and that would branch off into a story, which would branch into a story from Reese. He told the story of the drag queen trucker and the story of the wandering chess master. The story of the star-crossed lovers fleeing arranged marriages and the story of that one really bad cook. And so on. But as the conversation began to wind down, Reese was bracing himself for the dreaded question he knew he’d have to ask.

“Um… how much am I going to owe you for all this?” He asked, his voice tight. He was already imagining a number far higher than what he could afford. He supposed he could find a way to get the money before it was done; maybe busk on the boardwalk until he had enough. 

Bismuth’s smile widened. “Nothing.”

Reese blinked. “...I don’t understand.” He stared at her, looking for a catch, for a trick, for a trap. It felt like everyone had a hidden agenda these days and despite Bismuth’s kindness so far, Reese felt no different. But her face didn’t falter and her words didn’t continue. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious,” Bismuth remarked. “Normally, yeah, I’d charge you. Little Homeworld these days runs like the rest of Beach City - what’s that thing humans say? ‘Money helps the planet go around,’ or something? Gems might not need for food or rent, but we’re willing to play by the rules. But…” Bismuth shrugged and gave Reese a small smile. “We’re not blind. Sometimes you’re in a tight spot and need a helping hand. You don’t owe me anything.”

Reese felt something twist in his chest. His words were spilling out before he could stop them. “I can’t possibly accept that. You- You don’t even know me. I’ll find a way to pay, even if it takes weeks. Promise!” His voice cracked at the last word, pitching higher than he intended.

Bismuth’s smile faltered, and she raised her hands like she was calming a spooked animal. “Whoa, okay. Take it easy, kid.”

Reese flinched, realizing his fists were tight enough to make his knuckles go white and his hands ache. His entire body was tense. He shrank into his hoodie, embarrassed. “Sorry. I- I didn’t mean to-”

“Hey it’s cool,” Bismuth interrupted. Her tone now was gentle. She let out a sigh and rested her hands on her hips. “Listen, if it truly means that much to you, what do you say about a compromise?”

“What kind of compromise?” He mumbled, still pulled into his hoodie.

“Something simple.” She said with a wink. “Not asking for your firstborn or anything; just a favor.” She trekked to the corner and produced a sack. It rustled with the noise and metal touching metal, and just by the looks of it must have been far too heavy for Reese to carry reliably. “I have some deliveries to be made today. Nothing dangerous; just some knick-knacks and repairs. Deliver them for me and I’ll fix your car up.”

Reese hesitantly nodded his head. “Yeah. Yeah, ok, sure, I can do that.”

Bismuth clapped her hands together, her smile as bright as the forge’s glow. “You’ve got yourself a job, kid! And I’ve got a car to fix.” ----------------------------------------------- The bag of deliveries wasn’t as heavy as Reese had first assumed. A fact that he was more than thankful for, and he was sure his back would be, too. As he continued out through the day, he found himself liking Little Homeworld more and more. Things felt… stable, here. The Gems, despite their bizarre appearances, all felt safe to be around. Their gazes never felt judgemental, and their looks never faltered from the welcoming atmosphere the entire place exuded. It was like everything Reese liked about small towns rolled into an idyllic seaside town - that just so happened to have aliens.

He first visited Spacetries, and according to the ledger Bismuth had given him, they had ordered some of their utensils be repaired, sharpened, and polished. Walking into the small bakery, he was greeted by a tall, blue gem with a pair of horns. After accepting the package, she happily offered Reese a drink and a pastry for the delivery, on the house. Reese was initially hesitant to accept the offer, but the genuine earnestness on Blue Lace Agate’s face was something he found himself unable to say no to.

Next on the list was a delivery to a Gem named Nephrite, who had custom-ordered a special metal lock. She answered the door, apparently fresh out of the shower, with her white tufts of hair damp with water. He expected that he would drop off the lock and be on his way, but Nephrite proved to be a chatterbox. Using several words that he assumed would mean something to other Gems - but meant nothing to him - she regaled Reese with stories of her time amongst the stars. She discussed beautiful planets and stars she got to see, and the antics she would get into with her crew.

Pyrite was a relatively easy delivery. She needed her hand buzzer fixed, which she was eager to use on an unsuspecting Reese. Pyrite also proved to be a much more involved prankster, Reese unable to escape her property without first sitting on a whoopee cushion, falling for a fake cockroach, and having water sprayed on his face from a fake flower. But Reese found no anger in response, with the sound of Pyrite’s genuine laughter being… strangely soothing.

Two hours later and only one delivery left to make. Reese checked the last address and furrowed his brow. This wasn’t in Little Homeworld - it wasn’t even in Beach City proper. He continued to the next line and did a double-take when he saw the name of the recipient; Dr.Priyanka Maheswaran. Reese let out a defeated sigh. Great. Their interaction before had been brief, sure, but the truth was… she intimidated him. She carried herself with a calm, sharp demeanor and was unflinchingly direct. It sent his people-pleasing instincts into overdrive. Very rarely could people like that be pleased. Walking into the hospital made the delivery feel less like a simple task and more like walking into the lion’s den.

“Um, I… have a delivery for Dr.Maheswaran?”

The man at the front desk of the hospital looked up, clearly bored and, it seemed by his gaze, annoyed by Reese’s presence. Reese felt himself shrink from the gaze. It was exactly the kind of feeling he dreaded. The kind he got relief from in Little Homeworld. Reese wondered if Jordan - based on the security guard’s nametag - gave that look to every person who walked in. Jordan took a small box opener and sliced the tape, opening the box and taking only a second to inspect the package before commenting, “Doesn’t Bismuth usually make these deliveries?” 

“She’s, um… working on a bigger project,” Reese answered. Keep it vague and maybe Jordan wouldn’t care enough to ask more questions. “So she sent me in her place to get it done for her.” Not technically a lie. The guard, seemingly satisfied with the answer, just shrugged and handed the box back to Reese. He asked to see Reese’s ID, and after punching in some information, produced a sticker with Reese’s ID photo and name on it. He groaned at seeing the picture plastered on the sticker; he despised the way he looked in pictures - well, despised the way he looked at all.

“Just go down that hall and her office’ll be the fifth door on the right.” Jordan gruffed.

The nameplate on Dr.Maheswaran’s door immediately caught Reese’s attention: Dr. Priyanka Maheswaran, MD. General Physician & Gem Specialist. One final deep breath, mentally preparing for the interaction… and Reese knocked.

Dr.Maheswaran answered the door with virtually no delay between the knock and its answer, as if she had been waiting by the door for him to knock. She looked more professional than the previous night; he hair up in a professional bun and wearing a crisp, clean lab coat. She took one look at Reese and her eyes widened in shock and extreme caution. “You? Did you follow me to my place of work?”

“No! No, of course not, no!” Reese immediately panicked. His thoughts immediately went to the security guard just down the hall, and couldn’t help but imagine falling to the ground as the prongs of a taser embedded themselves in his skin. “No, I’m so sorry Dr.Maheswaran, I’m just- I’m just making deliveries for Bismuth so that she’ll fix my car up!” He thrust the box forward, feeling almost like a peasant making an offering to an angry god. He felt his breathing becoming uncontrollable, and almost couldn’t move, like a deer caught in headlights. Dr.Maheswaran’s gaze immediately softened. 

“Oh. I see.” She sighed. “I forgot that was today. I apologize for the assumption. Forgive me, I am… still working on assuming the worst from others.” She turned, leaving the door open as she took a seat in her office chair. “Do you mind helping an old woman and setting it down in the corner? My back is not what it used to be.” 

“Oh, yeah… sure.”

Reese took a hesitant step inside. The good doctor’s office was immediately unlike any doctor’s office he had been to in the past - though, to be fair, he hadn’t been to a doctor in almost a year and a half. Dr.Maheswaran’s desk - a dark, rich mahogany - was the most “normal” setting in the room. It was neatly organized and arranged, a laptop immediately in front of the seat, a stethoscope lying next to it alongside an open manilla folder. Only two decorations sat on the desk; a framed picture of three figures, and a small cactus in a colorful pot, painted with the word “GRANDMA” in childish handwriting. Across from the desk, against the wall, was a couch with a stack of neatly folded blankets. In contrast, the rest of the room was dedicated to her work. The far wall was a pair of bookshelves filled with medical textbooks, scientific journals, and a flickering device that Reese could only describe as a hologram projector. Several devices that weren’t entirely human lined the walls, complete with a small glass dome that contained a hovering crystal, mostly intact but with a few non-insignificant chunks hovering a few inches apart. Upon first glance, Reese had expected to walk in and feel cold and cramped, like a mouse in a lab. But the organization, ample open space, and the undeniable personal touches throughout the room made it… comforting.

Then Reese felt himself falling. 

He silently cursed himself for tripping on nothing during the descent, time almost slowing down as the floor came crashing into him. The hard THUD knocked the wind out of him and he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. The sound of crashing metal rang through the room as a variety of medical tools in hard plastic cases came spilling from the cardboard box. His mind berated him with a chorus of voices, prompting him to just lay on the ground for a moment, unmoving.

“My word, Reese, are you alright?”

“Oh, damnit! Dr.Maheswaran, I am so, so sorry, I didn’t mean to- I-” Reese immediately pushed himself up off the ground after remembering who was there, ignoring the twisting pain in his wrist as he did so. His breathing was growing rapid and the room no longer had the comforting atmosphere it had mere moments before. “I’ll clean all this up, I am so sorry!”

“Reese! Calm yourself, please, I am more concerned about you right now. The mess can wait.” Dr.Maheswaran knelt and took his good wrist, placing two fingers on it. “How’s your breathing? Any irregularities?” He shook his head no, unable to provide a verbal response, his eyes wide and, he was sure to anyone who could see him, terrified. Before he could resist, she took his other wrist, prompting him to hiss out in pain as he felt that same twisting feeling as she did so. “You may have broken your wrist. We’ll need to get it on ice so I can assess if it’s a break or a sprain.” She helped him up and led him to the couch.

About fifteen minutes later, Dr.Maheswaran was satisfactorily finishing the bandage wrap on Reese’s wrist with the precision and care you’d expect from a seasoned doctor. She’d been meticulous, gentle even… it was strange to have someone care so much. Not bad, but… unfamiliar. He felt awkward, like he was just taking up space. 

The mess of tools he spilled had also been taken care of, now sitting neatly packed into the box and properly taped closed. Jordan the security guard hadn’t escaped unscathed either - he was thoroughly chewed out by Dr.Maheswaran for leaving a “box of sharp implements so irresponsibly open.” Reese didn’t hear the whole thing, but Dr.Maheswaran’s shouting from down the hall spoke for itself.

“You’re lucky it was just a sprain.” Dr.Maheswaran took a step back and admired her handiwork. “Keep it wrapped up and try to elevate it every so often for the next few days. And, of course, don’t put too much strain on it or you’ll slow down the healing process.” 

Reese nodded, though he didn’t trust his voice enough to say much else. What was there to even say? Thanks for patching up my stupidity? Sorry for wasting your time? “Thank you.” He said finally, his voice just a little too soft. “And… sorry again for making such a mess of things.”

“It was an accident.” Assured Dr.Maheswaran. “Nothing to apologize for.”

Reese just nodded. Best not to push the issue. He shifted awkwardly, the ice pack balanced on his lap as he glanced around the room. His eyes drifted towards the glass dome, the broken crystal gently floating inside. A faint, orange light pulsed from it, like a heartbeat. Reese couldn’t help but stare. “I hope you don’t mind me asking…” He began. “...but what is that?”

Dr.Maheswaran followed his gaze to the glass dome. Her expression turned thoughtful. “That is… was Spodumene. Her gem, more specifically. She allowed herself to be used in my research into the Corruption.” 

“Corruption?” Reese echoed, tilting his head.

“Yes.” She said, folding her arms as she studied the shard. “I know you don’t know much about the Gems… but thousands of years ago, some Gems suffered immense psychological and physical damage. Their forms were… destabilized, lost to pain and anger.” Dr.Maheswaran thought for a moment, a small smile forming on her face. “There used to be a Gem who lived here who had healing powers. Combined with the powers of some very important Gems, they could heal the Corruption from Gems. It’s incredible, but…” Her voice trailed off, her expression growing somber.

“But what?” Reese prompted.

“He couldn’t be everywhere. One day he went out on his own and decided he could no longer stay here. He wanted to explore the rest of the world. Not to mention the way he produces the healing salve… it’s finite, to say the least. He visits from time to time, and refills what he can… but it’s not sustainable, and there are still corrupted gems out there that need to be healed. So as the leading - and likely, only - Gem researcher, I’ve been looking into alternative ways to heal the Corruption. Spodumene… was once corrupted. Before she was shattered…” She placed a gentle hand on the glass dome. “She gave me permission to use her for my research.”

Reese frowned, taking a closer look at the gem. It was beautiful, in a haunting way, the fractures glowing like cracks in a stained glass window. The gem pulsed faintly, and Reese felt an odd, fleeting sensation - like a vibration, deep in his chest. He stepped back, unsettled. “Does it ever feel like it’s… alive? Like it’s watching you?”

“Some people have described that feeling while in my office, yes. Frankly, for all we know…” Dr.Maheswaran turned back to Reese. “Spodumene is still somewhere in there.”

“That’s… weird,” Reese muttered, doing his best to shake off the eerie feeling he got in the gem’s presence. He stood to leave, grabbing the bag Bismuth had given him alongside the icepack. “Thank you again, Dr.Maheswaran.” He said awkwardly, his voice quieter than before.

She nodded. “Take care, Reese. Thank you for the delivery. And… pay attention to that wrist. Don’t ignore it if it feels odd. Sometimes, our instincts tell us more than we may realize.

Her words stayed with him long after he stepped out of the office.

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[lonelyghosts-stuff]

Marvel’s What If Episode 7 Reaction

No no this is the opposite of what I wanted. More Loki! Not less!

If they don’t have Thor being an absolute idiot without Loki being his voice of reason I’m gonna be upset

Wait what the hell I saw Seth Green in the opening credits lmao??? Now I’m just thinking about Chris Griffin

DARCY

Wow they got Jane back too

Soooo how do they know about aliens?

“HOLY MOLY” lmao

Hey thor my life isn’t that dull… okay fine that’s a lie

Sooo Thor is a frat boy?

YOOOO I NEED A SCREENSHOT OF THAT ART WITH THOR AND LOKI

ALL OF IT

Soooo in this world, Odin was a good dude and didn’t kidnap Loki and gave him back to Laufey? (Didnt Laufey abandon him tho since he was too small? I guess in this universe they simply… lost their prince? Lmao?)

Thor didn’t have Loki as his voice of reason I called it.

Night night Odin

Lmao Chad Frigga dipping Odin as soon as he’s asleep

I wonder if they got Idris Elba back for Heimdall?

“We are going to the most backward, backwater planet that not even Heimdall pays attention to.” D,: Thor why you gotta do me dirty like that???

Chris Hemsworth is definitely a better voice actor than some others

Oh yo it be Skurge

Darcy into probing huh?

(Romantic Music Playing) lmao

Man I love Darcy

Poor Howard the Duck lmao (oh yea that’s Seth green)

Skrulls huh

Honestly surprised Thor knows all of these planets. Including the grandmaster??? In the sacred timeline he didn’t even know Sakaar existed.

Wait so, are the Asgardians on good terms with Jotunheim then? If so, I wanna see party loki. Or maybe he’s too reserved for that. I wonder how Laufey raised him? IF WE DONT SEE JOTUN LOKI IM GONNA RIOT

Thor destroyed a star. That sounds about right

“Now that was an excellent party. You know, we lost Fandral for three days. Found him in a barn, curled up next to a baby goat. It was classic. Isn’t that right, Fandral?” “I NAMED HIM GARY!” “Yeah, you did.” “YEA GOATS!” Okay. Screw everyone else in the MCU. I love Fandral now. He’s the GOAT, pun intended

Oh not a star, he killed a whole planet.

I thought Asgardians were supposed to be more advanced than earth but making a tablet is so complicated?

Howard and Darcy was not a pair I thought expected

Yo it’s nebula and korg? So where’s Thanos? How is nebula allowed to go partying with Thanos looking for the infinity stones?

Drax too? Isn’t he in prison? And then Valkyrie? Seems like a lot more than just Thor being an only child is different in this universe. Most of these dudes should hypothetically be in prison or on super serious missions. And I just thought, isn’t Howard the duck imprisoned by the Collector? What’s the timeline for this?

DARCY MARRIES HOWARD THE DUCK? GIRL YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN HIM AND HIS CORKSCREW WANG!

Aaaaaand Jane and Thor got magic and science tattoos. Mighty fast character progression.

Oh? Hookups? That took a turn.

Awwwww Fandral snuggling with a bunch of Chinchilla looking animals <3

Unknown caller?

Dammit Rumlow

Rocket???

Acting director??? What happened to Nick???

KORG NO

Damn everyone crashed at Jane’s

I mean, didn’t seem like too much of a threat

PHIL!!!

Lmao the world isn’t gonna be destroyed by parties?

Oh Carol Danvers?

Okay so…. Lemme get this straight..

Loki and an army of aliens attacking the world? Shield: “nah not a threat.” Robot with robot army threatening to destroy the whole planet “nah Carol has better things to do.” A partying dude from space with no ill intent but just doesn’t seem to understand consequences? “CALL CAPTAIN MARVEL WE NEED HER!!!” Yea okay Shield

Thor loves waffles

LOKI

JOTUN LOKI

HES HERE

LOKI!!!

HOLY CRAP HES HUGE

HE HAS ICE HORNS

See everything would be better without Odin’s interference.

(That’s what she said)

YAY THEYRE FRIENDS

“You’re my brother form another mother man.” YOOOOOO

Loki just sang “Brothers foreveeeeerrrrr!” I can’t—

Aaaaaand fart jokes… “did you boom?” “I never boom. I only boom in private.” Dammit marvel I hoped you were better than this.

LOKI MAKE A WISH

White snake? Lmao where did she get that name lol.

What’s wrong with a party tho? Is this really top priority? Yea they destroyed another planet, but you never explained how

Why doesn’t she sound like Brie Larson? She’s still acting for Marvel Studios so it’s interesting they couldn’t get her for it… unless it is her and I just can’t remember how her voice sounds

Was that punch really necessary? Dude wasn’t posing a threat to anyone.

“You know, there’s a Midgardian word for women like you.” THOR NO—

“PARTY POOPER!” Oh thank God

“This ones for fury” but it wasn’t even Thor that hit him? It was korg and on accident! Cmon carol, I had hoped you’d be smarter than this and more reasonable. Not resorting to violence when nothing has even escalated…

Haha hammer to the face

And the back of the head lmao

BAHAHAHAHA HE JUST SMACKED HER INTO ANOTHER COUNTRY

THOR DONT BOOP STONEHENGE

Dammit Thor

Lmao I love that the countries have their names on them.

Okay just stay and fight here away from civilian population

Marvel really giving us what we want with the most powerful characters fighting

Mary Sue Captain Marvel

Her lipstick has stayed perfect somehow

Fighting in a storm eh? Can’t see how this could go wrong

Haha hammer timeout

Lmao I wanna see Frigga put Thor in a timeout

They’re chanting pooper at her. Is this elementary school again?

Bruh I just realized, Thor is supposed to be acting king while Odin is in Odin sleep lmao. I bet Asgard is going to either be in the best peace ever without Thor or utterly destroyed.

Leave south and north Dakota alone lol

Lmao I love Darcy

YAY GARY THE GOAT WAS SAFE

Wow Jane used the L word fast

Kicking Jane out of the helicarrier? Yea smart move kicking off the person who actually knows anything about this albeit she is a little blinded by love

Giant Loki holding a tiny phone

BAHAHAAHAHA “hey earth girl, you haven’t got a friend, have you!” YES LOKI ITS ME. MARRY ME

Stop throwing phones lmao

BRUH HOW IS SURTUR NOT EVIL EITHER? AND STOP FLIRTING WITH THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

NO HE DESTROYED HER ARM LMAO

There goes the power grid

NOT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

Lmao there he goes

WHY DID KORG HAVE A PACIFIER IN HIS MOUTH

Bout time Heimdall popped in

Aaaaaand Jane got abducted by heimdall

Seeing as Heimdall hasn’t said anything, I’m assuming they didn’t get Idris back lol.

How is shield so chill on murdering Thor? Yes he’s destructive but they’re resorting to killing him so fast instead of talking to him! No one has even told him he’s putting the planet at risk! Dudes too dumb to know on his own!

JANE STOP DRINKING

Damn Maria Hill I had higher hopes for you

Lying Thor

Okay so shield trusts Frigga to help, but still irks me that shield was so trigger/nuke happy… seems the opposite of what we’ve seen of them (ugh just gotta ignore it and chock it up to this being an alternate reality)

Ew Drax

Loki calling the other jotuns “ice bros” lmao

It’s also mantis and Yondu!!

wait how did grandmaster just teleport away like the bifrost?

Nice going thor. You big hunky dummy

“MY MOTHER IS COMING.” Good lord is this high school now lmao???

How do they all know Frigga and why are they all afraid?

Damn the bifrost takes a lot longer than I would have expected

No no Thor the tower of pisa is meant to be tilted—oh whatever

Wait, but I don’t see loki helping, is he gonna be up to something last minute to ruin Thor’s cover up lmao?

I don’t believe Frigga would be tricked this easily lmao

Thor you are such a bad liar

Lmao here comes carol

Hahaha how did mjolnir get so trashed

Wow thor is so much taller than Jane

Wow this Jane and Thor seem to have more chemistry than the sacred timeline version ever did

Wait I want resolve for Loki!!

Uh oh

WHAT

ULTRON VISION WITH THE INFINITY STONES?? HOW

No resolution for that??? Well then. Rip this universe too lmao

Damn I wanted more Loki

There better be a Loki centric episode sometime. If they didn’t it’d a huge missed opportunity from marvel

Okay yea looking at the credits, Carol Danvers wasn’t played by Brie Larson but a lady named Alexandra Daniels. Odd they didn’t get Brie Larson.

Probably my favorite episode so far even with how absurd it was. A lot more upbeat than the past few ones with a better resolve to the story imo.

Also, if anyone can provide me of screenshots of Loki from this episode I would be very grateful

[damn-stark]

As the World Caves in last pt.

Bucky Barnes x reader

Requested by @aventureisoutthere98

Summary- when you’re close to meeting your soulmate you begin to see flashes of shared actions. No matter where in the galaxy either of you are. The closer you are physically, it all gets stronger, you get their same injuries and at times hear what they hear. The only questions are who they are and how does it stop?

Warning- fluff, talks of violence and death, angst and FLUFF

———

*5 years later*

Where there was supposed endless darkness. Light reappeared in a matter of an instant.

Or at least for you. For those who had disappeared.

Once again your mind and perspective was taken over by the familiarity and flashes of someone else—of Bucky’s point of view as you both did the same actions; seeing the calm greenery that surrounded you and then each other. Knowing as the flashes disappeared that the same utter confusion began to seep within one another, while what happened before you were taken to darkness hit you. Thanos had done it. He had gotten the stones.

How are you here?

“What’s going on?” You gasp, your eyes scanning the area in search for an answer and for Natasha.

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

Sam’s voice answered from behind you, causing Bucky and you both to turn and face him. Noticing no Natasha yet.

“Where’s Steve?” Bucky asked, “I saw him and now he’s not here.”

“A lot of people aren’t.” Sam countered.

Something felt off, everything was too quiet. The tension from the fight you were fighting before was gone. The ground that was once destroyed was now restored, all you saw was more and more people returning in the distance and close by. The pain from your wounds and the exhaustion that had once annoyed you was gone too. You felt in some ways resorted, like you had just taken a long sleep.

You sigh and turn back to head towards where you had seen Steve last, spotting not far ahead in your started path, Wanda on the ground with her hands feeling the ground beneath her as her body appeared to shake. You glanced at the boys at your side before walking towards her, gently grabbing her shoulder to gain her attention.

“Wanda.” You muttered.

Said girl stopped and slowly up at you, showing her glossy eyes and tear stained face. It took her a moment to respond, but as she did she stood to her feet to speak with a crack in her voice. “He did it. Vision is gone.”

A deep frown appears on your lips and tears sting in your eyes at the sound of her voice and look on her face. “I’m so sorry, Wanda.”

Right before she could have a chance to reply suddenly a sparking gold circle began to open, growing larger and larger until from within it the scenery changed from trees and dirt to a rocky terrain, exiting out of it, a tall man with what appeared to be blue robes and a red cloak.

You ball your hands at your sides into tight fists and begin to let fire spark and just lightly engulf your fists.

“They need you.”

That’s what he started off with, nothing else, just that. It didn’t help, or make your guard drop whatsoever. In fact his presence just confused you more.

“Who’s they?” You question while you let the flames surrounding you grow more.

The strange man noticed and raised his hands, “I’m not a threat, I’m here to help….you’ve all been gone for five years.”

Your shoulders drop and your lips part in new found disbelief, your mind begins to run with different thoughts and wonder, tuning out what the man from the portal was explaining. How can anyone comprehend that right away? Or even believe it?

Even as you tuned back into the conversation, the situation was still hard to understand. The only tiny bit of sense cheesy enough was Bucky. His words fully pulled you back. “Are you okay?”

You nod, even if you didn’t mean it. “Yeah, it’s just…I’m trying to wrap my mind around what we just heard, that's all. But I’ll be alright. Are you?”

His lips formed into a straight line and he grips onto his gun tighter, “never better.”

After the man named Doctor Strange leaves, you all have to walk back to the field to walk through a portal...he was going to open. Leading yet to another fight.

“Another day. Another battle.” You say with feigned enthusiasm as you cross your arms over your chest, “you know you’d think after coming back from disappearing for five years that one would at least rest, but no.”

“We’re far too important.” Sam adds trying to ease the tension that had built after the news. “We don’t rest.”

A groan escapes your lips and as your eyes spot a portal opening in the field you also see the hundreds of people that began to gather around again, looking like they did in the past, ready for battle. It was a chilling sight. It made you grow stiff and feel a hundred times more unready than the time before, like it all relied on you to once and for all get rid of the invasive threat—Even if it didn’t rely on just you.

And somehow in all this upcoming calamity, Bucky knew what to say to help your jumping nerves.

Perhaps he had felt in the connection you shared, or it was just painfully obvious, but he helped.

“We’re going to finish this. We are.” He assured you, making you look to him and meet his warm gaze.

You smile softly, “is your offer still up about the date? If we make it out of this battle I mean?”

Bucky nods and his lips pull into a half smile, “of course.”

“Good,” you sigh before you look back to the portal and see people beginning to enter it, doubling your nerves; “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Nothing else is muttered, you’re left hesitantly heading towards the portal, with each step bringing closer to what was contained past them. All the thousands of different kinds of strange people and a lot you recognized. And the moment you stepped past the portals you saw the huge army Thanos had behind him, all as menacing as the first time you fought what to you seemed only hours ago.

Every portal open brought more people and left you awe-struck—even if the scene in front of you was all destruction.

Overall it was fascinating and something that made you feel chills scatter all over your body, just like all the shouting and war chants.

Yet nothing else brought you more confidence than seeing Steve in the front of it all, shouting a war cry that set everyone off. “Avengers!” You were ready. You had to be. “Assemble.”

Not even wasting a second you alongside Bucky and the rest of the people behind you and beside you ran ahead towards the army, all breaking off as the enemy headed towards you too. With one of them directly sprinting towards you, lifting their blade and swinging down, but missing as you rose your hand and lifted a piece of the ground to throw it at them and send them flying back. Having to repeat the process with fire and earth as more terrifying aliens ran towards you. All set to want to kill you. All failing.

Leaving you to wonder as you fought, albeit that amongst the sea of people fighting you've yet to see one person in particular.

With that in mind as you spot Steve, you run towards him, manueving past the approaching enemy and blasting fire at one of those alien dogs to stop it from sneaking up on Steve.

Said man turns back and his distinguishable blue eyes study you, a small smile tugging on his lips. “You’re back.”

You nod and smile, “yeah, apparently it’s been five years. Hopefully you haven’t missed me too much.”

Steve doesn’t say anything, his smile just widens. Finally letting you question your only wander.

“Steve, where’s Nat?”

Steve's smile falls completely and his shoulders stiffen once again. His blue eyes seem to lose their light and drop to examine the ground as if his answer was contained within the dirt.

His now long features make you frown too, feel your heart begin to panic in your chest while you hesitantly follow up on your still unanswered question. “Steve?”

——

“You know, I wish there was a way that I could let her know. That we won.” Clint says gloomily as he looks away from the calm soothing lake to look at Wanda and then you, “we did it.”

Your turn away from the water and meet his glossy gaze, “she knows.”

“They both do.” Wanda interjects softly

Clint moves his arms to wrap one around your shoulders while he wraps the other around Wandas. Letting you wrap your arm around his waist and also hold onto Wanda's arm as the three of you stay watching the lake in silence, remembering each in your way those who you had lost. Feeling the grief and pain that came with remembering. Trying to grasp that there was no way to bring them back, they were only going to be kept alive in your memories.

Natasha was a great and the best friend you had. Now she was gone. Forever.

——

“Take care, y/n.” Steve said to you with a faint smile, “take care of each other.”

Your lips twitch and before you could reply you blink. Really trying to understand Steve’s odd words. Ultimately not questioning them, instead leading with something else. “Come back in one piece, Steve. I can’t afford to lose someone else.”

“I will. I promise.”

With nothing else to say he turns and walks onto the machine, clicking on something that made a suit just suddenly appear on him and let Sam question Bruce...hulk—it doesn’t matter. Sam questioned him. “How long is this gonna take?”

“For him, as long as he needs. For us, five seconds.”

Steve turns to face the three of you one last time, putting his helmet on and only taking three seconds before he just vanished. Setting the count down again.

Only not returning.

Making Sam and Bruce begin to panic and Steve’s oldest friend to remain silent until he spotted something. “Sam.”

The panicked man joins Bucky's side like you do too. Noticing that on the bench was...Steve. Old Steve. Which oddly enough didn’t surprise you.

His “until later” was actually a goodbye.

Bucky turns to a baffled Sam and urges him to join the old man on the bench, which Sam doesn’t hesitate to do so. Leaving Bucky and you behind to watch their interaction.

Which you actually didn’t pay much attention to as you broke your silence with a question to Bucky. “So, I know it maybe too soon, but I’m actually up for that date whenever you want...I just think life is crazy and takes unexpected turns. Anything could happen. I want to enjoy the good things. As small as they are.”

Bucky turns to meet your gaze and smiles softly whilst he answers, “you’re right...yeah. I want to do that too...with you.”

Your breath hitches and your smile turns goofy. “Good.”

“But I was thinking...how about we go dancing?” He suggests almost shyly, “I think it would be more fun,” his eyebrows furrow, “people still do that right? Go dancing?”

You nod with a grin decorating your lips. “yes they do.”

“Then what do you say? Are you up for it?”

You take a step closer towards him and nod while you also try to keep your cheeks from burning up too much and keep your words from rambling. “I’d love to go dance.” You take another step closer and briefly glance to the ground before you muster up the courage to lean in and press a soft kiss on his lips. Feeling his surprise at your unexpected gesture for only a couple of seconds before he regained his composure and pulled his hand out of his pocket to cup your face. Pulling you closer to deepen the kiss.

To get the feeling that everything fell into place. That sparks flew and it was solely just him and you even if the kiss wasn’t long.

Even if lately life has darkened and took too much. Bucky was the light to bring you peace in a crazy world.

“For such an old man,” you begin to tease as you pull away, “you’re actually a good kisser.”

Bucky chuckles, “I’m glad you think so, I thought I’d lost that part of myself.”

You chuckle and completely pull away to see Sam and Steve turned to face you. Both with smiles on their faces. Albeit Steve’s looked more genuine. A complete contrast to Sam and his teasing words.

“So where are we going to go guys? Drink a coffee at a nice cafe? Or watch a movie? I’m down for anything.”

“Sam.” You warn. “Don’t.”

Said man chuckles, “Natasha may be gone, but I’m still here to provide the fun. So really where are we going?”

[robbyrobinson]

OWL HOUSE X CTHULHU MYTHOS: GODS AWAKEN (XXI)

At a space observatory somewhere on the Earth, astronomers glanced through the telescope’s lens, charting the movement of celestial bodies. Whilst mapping the stars of the Milky Way galaxy, one of the astronomers noticed an odd abnormality.  

“Are you boys seeing what I’m seeing?”  

The other astronomers ceased what they were doing to trade glances into the telescope. “What is that speck I’m seeing?”  

One, astronomer, smaller than the first two with some considerable weight, scratched his bald head. “That wasn’t a smudge from the coffee we had earlier?”  

The first astronomer shook his head. “No; it looks like...a planet perhaps?” He looked into the lens again to confirm his suspicion. “It’s...it’s coming closer.”  

“Preposterous, there is no conceivable way for that to be the case,” the dwarf said.  

“Well, look for yourself before you discredit me as mad.”  

It came from the end of the Milky Way Galaxy, a rusty, red mass came into view. A planet, one that was previously unaccounted for, trudged past the stars sluggishly approaching the Earth. And yet despite it appearing as a “planet,” it pulsated and throbbed like a living creature. Composed of gas and bizarre, extraterrestrial metals, faults opened and closed through which tentacular protrusions compressed of clusters of asteroids seeped. Yet, the most striking feature was its mighty, bioluminescent eye crafted from underground rivers on its surface. Ghroth, the Harbinger, had arrived from the plane existing beyond space and time, the Final Void that is the Court of Azathoth where amorphous beings placate the Daemon Sultan and call their home.  

“If that is a planet, that is the most certainly one of the most advanced I have ever seen.”  

A melody bellowed out from the invisible lips of the planetary being. They checked the radar seeing that there was a sudden surge of frequencies. Yet, the wordless tune was inaudible to the astronomers and the lesser beings of this planet. The song traveled a vast distance and penetrated the Earth to its very foundation.  

Around the world, more oddities arose likely more bizarre than the sudden appearance of the planet. Tsunamis, earthquakes, mudslides. Any and all-natural disaster known to man started to manifest with weather trackers being unable to keep up with every plague that was rocking the Earth.  

Massive tornadoes made of fire appeared in the dry areas of the United States ransacking the dry vegetation and setting everything ablaze. From the recesses of the destruction, there came a loud shaking on the Earth. Ancient gods trapped in many regions of the world stirred awake from the sound of Ghroth’s song. Crypts of thousands of years opened releasing the sickening, putrid odor long since locked away. Large beasts of indescribable shape and size breached the surface of the Earth’s crust mindlessly destroying houses and buildings that were built over them.  

In the southern regions of the Pacific Ocean, a fishing boat sailed along recklessly due to the tossing and turning of the waves. They kicked up in writhing sprawls as they slammed down on the boat. Water was quickly filling the deck of the ship forcing some of the fishermen to take bowls to scoop the water back into the ocean. The main fisherman, a middle-aged man with greyed hair and beard and an artificial leg, kept watch of the hostile waves by peering at them through his binoculars.  

“Keep scoopin’, fellas” he announced.

“Are we any closer to land?” another fisherman shouted over the current.  

He shook his head. “The way that the sea is coming down on us, it looks like we’re barely moving; maybe a pint.”  

He stuck his hand down his pants’ pocket to produce the map, but the wind swiftly grabbed a hold of it and cast it far out to sea. From the corner of his eye, he could see something emerging from the water. “Do you see what I see?”  

He took his binoculars and squinted his eyes. A whirlpool rustled and expanded. From the looks of it, it was growing at a deathly fast pace, first one yard, then tenth. It was now becoming large enough to devour a whole continent. His eyes widened at the realization turning to look at his men.

“Quick! Move the boat out of the direction of that whirlpool!”  

The men, four of them, nodded understandably and activated the boat’s motor. With it, they attempted to escape the rapidly increasing whirlpool. From the center, some large, unfathomable structure was rising from it. It eclipsed the small fishing boat in its sheer size and volume. There were hieroglyphics that was adorn with horrific illustrations. The thought of this being some sunken kingdom quickly crossed the crew’s minds.

It was becoming more crystal clear that what ascended from the bottom of the ocean was an abominable citadel with demonic arches. And yet, there were strange writings inscribed on the walls of the citadel. The men tried to paddle away with all their might, but the pull of that sunken city was overpowering them and sucking them ever closer towards the vortex.  

Huge, bat-like wings breached the ceiling of the citadel and beat sluggishly. Out of the sunken city there came a hideous, shrill chanting of indescribable origin.  

“Ph'nglui mglw'nafh r'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn”

The wings flapped again sending the chunks of stone rocketing around the fishing boat. They fell into the sea with a “plop” sound each one kicking the boat along in the vibration. Now an insidious back, composed of some otherworldly black substance, broke through the ceiling and reared itself. A horrifying, human-like monstrosity peered down at them. Instead of lips, the creature had multiple tentacles where its mouth should have been. In the place of hands, there were instead gargantuan, razor-sharp claws of a crustacean. Its eyes lit a greenish-yellow as if studying the men in the boat.  

The head fisherman’s eyes locked onto the giant monster’s globular eyes. Without breaking the contact, he tentatively flickered his fingers towards his men. “Grab your spears.”  

The men nodded and quickly withdrew their spears and pitched them at the monster. As can be expected, they burrowed into the chest of the great tentacled fiend. Unfortunately for them, the attack had no effect on the entity. They traveled through its alien body and shot out of its back. The holes dug into its body were visible for only a few seconds before a tarry substance covered them.  

The fisherman, sawing this, turned to his men again. “Kick the motor into overdrive!”  

The motor was shifted past its normal speed. They struggled to fight against the swirling waves, but the creature lifted its massive claw and slapped the surface of the water with it. The boat top-sided and the men were tossed overboard. With another wave of its claw, a portal opened above the monster and from it emerged large, pure white flatworms. They shot darts from their maws subduing the men. The tentacled monster swam a great distance until it emerged onto a beach with its nematoid servants slithering onto the sand and attacking all in their path.  

And, yet, more beasts from the deepest, coldest depths of the ocean arose and began to make assaults on cities. In California, a large monster dipped its head out of the water, sending waves crashing down on the beaches, but for the most part, they were deserted as beachgoers were forced to evacuate due to the growing fears of tsunamis manifesting. What the monster was could be taken as being analogous to the Creature of the Black Lagoon from the Universal Monster films. Around it was a horde of lesser beings baring some slight resemblance to the larger being. They could best be described as the reversal of what most perceive as mermaids: their upper bodies were the halves of fish with weird appendages poking down from their crown.  

They shrilled an alien language laced with malicious intent. From their movements, it was easy to surmise that they viewed the larger entity as their god. With a warbled shriek, they descended into the city. Cracks formed in the grounds and sent rock skyrocketing down on civilians. Ancient beings disrupted highways and train stations. These beings, the Great Old Ones had been imprisoned in the Earth for far, far too long. They yearned for the day which they were released from their restraints some even influencing mankind towards this dark end. But now, the hour was at hand: they would once again reclaim the miserable rock and lord over mankind or they were to be the ultimate force that would bring humanity to its long, pitiable end.  

And thus, Ghroth achieved its purpose one that it had done to multiple planets in a plethora of galaxies: the complete destruction of the world by awakening the gods locked away in their cages. Just as mysteriously as it appeared in our galaxy, Ghroth dissipated to once again be serving under the Blind Idiot’s court.

[gilbirda]

What if the wolves arrive a little too late? What If Laurent did bite her? Bella fulfils her dream of being a vampire, but it quickly turns into a nightmare as she finds herself alone, hungry and heartbroken; with no one by her side to help her and guide her. When there's nothing left for her in this world, would she make the same decisions as if she were surrounded by her loved ones?

[Read on AO3][Read on FF.net]

I perfectly remember that day as if it were yesterday. Obviously, with this new vampire mind, I was able to remember every drop of rain that hit my face since I regained consciousness after burning for an eternity, every smell that assailed my nose, and even the taste of the first breath in this new life.

I remember the pain that hit me when I tried to get back my recent memories, like a sword stuck in the middle of my chest. My emotions moved to the front of my mind, amplified by this new body full of new sensations. The pain of rejection, helplessness at seeing me so lonely and despair knowing that everything that I had lived, that fantastic dream of just few months, was gone and never coming back.

Or so I thought.

When Laurent appeared in the meadow I never thought it would come to this. I remember with vivid clarity the voice of Edward’s illusion yelling at me to distract him and tell any lie, but silly me I didn’t do it on time. He lunged at me with those eyes, dark crimson from hunger, and I could barely register the pain of his fangs as almost immediately a new agony spread throughout my body. I did not register either when someone pushed away the body of the vampire feasting on my blood, nor heard the roars and howls filled with fury.

And that’s how I discovered that my best friend is a werewolf. The same day I was exiled from Forks, the day I woke up after what they said were three days of infinite hell, Jacob held my cold hand between his burning ones and looked at my eyes with a mix of feelings in theirs. He said, "You know, Bells? I really loved you, but now ... now that’s not possible.”

And just like that, everything I knew crumbled down before my very eyes. I could not mourn, I could not scream. I could not even move when I was left with my own means on the edge of the small town of Forks. I watched them go back to the reservation, turned into these huge animals designed to kill my kind, realizing that I’ve been spared only because of Jacob, and that I would never see my friend and my Sun again.

***

Living in the streets was relatively easy when you're a vampire. Never getting hungry, never feeling cold or never having to sleep. Eventually I stopped caring about my clothes or being covered with dirt or wandering aimlessly through the streets or not having a place to return to. I had no money, but I did not need anything, I only needed blood.

At first I refused to move from my refuge in the depths of a forest for fear of finding a human, but the thirst was so strange to me that it instinctively made me move. Before I knew it in my arms was the empty body of a hiker who had adventured too deep into the woods and had to be too close to a newborn vampire.

I wanted to die. I spent even more time locked away from humanity, remembering again and again the family of vegetarians who I still loved despite everything, thinking that he did not want me to become a monster. I'm still proud to have resisted the temptation the weeks that I did until my body simply disconnected from my mind and began acting on its own. I had to eat, it was just that, and the blood of the hiker was just too delicious. I could not go back to animals.

But that did not make me a monster. I was the same person, if this empty shell could be called person, no matter whose blood I drank. I did not enjoy the suffering of my victims, or found any fun in their terror or seeked entertainment that gave life to my long existence. Nor it sickened me. Simply it was what it was. I needed to eat, they were there within my reach. They did not even know what was that had happened to them as they never saw me coming.

Still, perhaps in honor of my lost love, I carefully chose my victims among the worst of worst kind, those who would die anyway or should not have been born, and I had to limit my thirst and keep it under a tight control.

And so in a slow succession of week after week, year after year, I rolled with my empty existence to the point where I forgot the sound of my voice, how my parents were called or why it had come to become this.

And you may ask, after so many years, have I not met any of my species? It is true that there are not many in the world, but pure statistics say that some should have crossed my path.

The truth is that I often saw several vampires, and at close distance. That was how I discovered I had the uncanny ability to be completely invisible. Not physically, but even if I were close enough for them to detect my scent, they never managed to find me, even taking them in circles until desisting and letting go. If I did not move and I focused enough, they couldn’t even see me. As if the place where I was wasn’t at all interesting, and when it seemed that they were going to look at me they turned to look elsewhere.

And so I never had any problems with other vampires; and if I didn’t want to be seen by humans I simply had to think about it and I became completely "invisible" to their low quality senses.

***

It was precisely that quirk what saved me from certain death.

The Volturi. I had the opportunity to watch firsthand how deadly they could be and the speed with which they came searching for me. If I did not have this power surely I would have died many years ago.

You see, when I felt strong enough to control my thirst to be among humans, I made the mistake of returning to Forks. Nostalgia, perhaps? I don’t know, I just knew I wanted to come back and see everything once again, have that closure that I was denied; and, silly me, to see if I would finally stop thinking so much of the months I spent in the town and the family of vampires that I met there. Obviously it was bad decision.

My father was destroyed. When I went to see him before going to the town, I looked through the window and there I saw him, surrounded by empty pizza boxes and empty beer bottles. It was about two in the afternoon and he should be at the police station, but was instead on the living room couch with a bottle in his hand and looking the TV screen without really watching what was on. In his hand, a sign of "Have you seen this girl?" with a photograph of my human version. He was incredibly aged even though I had not been gone for more than a few months, and I just knew that the gray hairs that had populated his head were completely my fault.

I could not look anymore and went to the school I never thought I’d yearn to see. I watched from the woods that surrounded it how everyone was going from one class to another and moved around campus, books in their hands and their faces full of concern for a lot of issues that were so alien to me now. I looked face by face for a known one but didn’t recognize any. My old friends had to be here, they were approaching final exams and graduation and they shouldn’t be allowed to skip class. As the minutes passed and all students were leaving after the last class, I analyzed every face feeling butterflies in my stomach. Perhaps I had forgotten them all? Forgotten Angela?

And I saw the face that I less wanted to see and, as if I really were so jinxed, she realized that I was watching and turned to see me. I did not have to see those eyes or blond hair to know it was her because the cry she let no more than two seconds after would be able to make me feel sick to the stomach had I been alive.

Lauren.

“Look what we have here,” she said, getting those who did not turn by her shriek do so now. And I felt everyone's eyes on me, on my face, in my white skin, my clothes that I have not changed since Laurent attacked me. It could not escape. “Our beloved Isabella Swan! The prodigal daughter returns home, huh?” She started walking towards me and I could hear her slightly accelerated pulse calling me. Imperceptibly I swallowed the poison that was gathering in my mouth. “We’ve been very worried, Bella,” she spat my name in disgust, “Where have you been all this time?”

From the giggles of the girls who accompanied her I did not have to be a genius to realize that Lauren had been spreading all sorts of nasty rumors about me and my disappearance. A few more people turned to see what was happening and gradually saw the recognition shine on their faces, followed by a range of expressions from surprise to disgust, passing through amusement.

The situation was so like a high school soap opera I couldn’t even feel afraid of what this human was trying to do to me. Inside my body there was just bloodlust and she was already too close.

“Bella!” a new person approached. Angela. “Oh my God, you're alive! I can’t believe it!”

I moaned, scared. No no no. Please do not get near me, I chanted in my head. But she ran to me with the solid intention to hug me, pushing Lauren out of her way. She threw herself into my arms, remaining motionless when she felt my cold and hard as stone skin. If I had a pulse it would be at full speed by the anxiety I felt at that moment.

I shouldn’t have come here. Damn, I shouldn’t have.

I could feel all eyes on me, on my face and especially on my red eyes. I could almost hear their thoughts thinking that I was Bella, but at the same time I was not; that was really obvious by the way their expressions changed  the following seconds.

I turned my eyes to Angela and swallowed once again the poison that had gathered in my mouth, feeling my will fade whenever her blood hit the same spot on the skin of her neck.

“Bella,” she whispered, raising a hand to touch my face, her eyes roaming my new perfect and dangerous features. “What happened to you?”

“That she underwent surgery to look like her Edward” Lauren answered for me, followed by a chuckle from the people around her. Other people just watched, some feeling obviously uncomfortable after realising that I was not human by now. “I can not believe you've fallen so low, Bella. I knew your obsession was not normal, but this...”

“Is that's true?”

“I do not think so…”

“God, and she seemed responsible.”

“Bells,” the girl in my arms caught back my attention, her pulse quickening, probably feeling a instinctual fear that she surely could not explain. And I knew I could not escape anymore.

Lauren approached us and roughly pushed away my human friend to look at me more closely. I returned her defiant gaze, feeling the poison flowing uncontrollably with every sweet human heartbeat from the girl that was trying to humiliate in public. But how little I cared about that now. There was nothing to humiliate me for anymore and saying things about the Cullen wouldn’t have any effect in me. They were gone and I had been left behind and I think the message was very clear. I had accepted that in my days of isolation.

The blonde huffed and turned to look at his followers, telling them something that I could not register because when she raised her hand to grab my hair, the concentrated scent of her blood through the thin skin of the wrist hit me right in the nose .

And my mind disconnected from my body, driven by a bloodlust that I always felt, leaping from body to body and emptying them quickly before they knew what had hit them. When I was finally full, my eyes focused back and I saw that in my bloody hands lay, lifeless although with a remnant warth, the body of maybe my only friend in my previous human life; her face frozen in a grimace of terror, perhaps a cry, and the ripped skin of her neck in a rather animalistic bite.

***

I still remember my frightened face in the videos that roamed the Internet the following days. Students who were far enough away to escape the massacre recorded everything with their phones (I guess they wanted record Bella's reaction to Lauren’s provocations), and obviously that went to the news.

Until suddenly everyone pretended that nothing had happened, the initial alarm replaced by weather news and everything was blamed on an occultist group making sacrifices to Satan. No one mentioned the word "vampire" and in a couple of months the situation was forgotten. And the Volturi were obviously behind.

I saw them track me with the perfection of a clock, one by one killing the witnesses who were not willing to let it go as another strange thing in the town of Forks. I saw them in person when they almost caught me outside Seattle, a day after the slaughter, as I wiped off the blood on my clothes.

They weren’t able to find me thanks to my power, but their breaths on my neck was a memory I did not want to keep the rest of my life. From what I could understand from their conversation, one was a tracker, as was James, and it was getting on his nerves not being able to accurately locate my position more than a general area. They never gave up, and although over the decades they stopped looking, I know they were in the shadows waiting to come out to get me, and probably destroy me.

***

I looked away from the lifeless eyes of the person who was my dinner while I wiped with my tongue the remnants of blood from my fangs, listening intently. Few people adventured so close to the outskirts of city at this time of the morning, at least not so silently, as would someone who was drunk or high.

I cocked my head and dropped some junkie’s empty body at my feet, a shudder running through me at the taste of his contaminated blood, to crouch in case that these new vampires were coming for me. But they did not approach the city and the people, they went to the forest and up to mountain. How strange, I thought, no vampire in hunting mode (because at that speed and perfection of movements they were not playing) would go to ...

Oh, well. Vegetarians.

An imaginary cold sweat made me squirm. I had never crossed paths with vegetarian vampires before and the chances of it being them were painfully high. I did not know if I wanted to see them though, mainly because of the suddenness and little time to prepare. Because I was sure that I have forgiven them. It was not their fault that Laurent was in the meadow at that time and it was just my own stupidity that had brought me into the wolf's den, pun intended. The Cullen had made the decision that best ensured the survival of the group and now I could see the logic in that. That’s why I had buried my feelings as deeply as possible and tried to rebuild my life all these years, as promised.

But, was I going to try to approach? With my power I wasn’t sure if they’d find me anyway and I would feel like a coward if I tried to hide and escape or wait for them to leave, especially when on my part there was no hostility.

I glanced at the dry body at my feet and sighed. While at this point I do not know if there was any hostility ... I did not hunt like them and it would cause some tension, I was sure. They would ask questions, try to change my way of life ... But  I do not think they’d reaccept me, especially if they knew that I am the most wanted vampire by the Volturi despite nearly hundred years from incident in Forks, and they could attack the family if the kings thought they were associated with me.

I sighed again, looking at the forest.

***

A couple of hours later, when I had buried my victim and had changed my clothes to something more suitable to wear, I went to track down the vampires I detected before. First I could hear and then finally I could see them pounce on a group of deer that did not know who attacked them.

Completely clean clothes and not a single spot of blood or a single hair out of place, Emmet, Rosalie and Carlisle were cleaned any stain on the lips as they stood on the clearing without knowing that I was watching them. I sighed mentally, it was now or never.

I left my hideout making my steps sound heavier and deliberately raised my arms to make me less of a threat. I've waited for them to finish hunting for a reason.

“Who's there -!?” Yelled the blonde turning to face me, her body turning to stone when she recognized me.

“What-” Emmet now turned.

I set my eyes on Carlisle when he finally looked at me, trying to make as if the surprise and horror that crossed his eyes did not affect me; as if the small icy dagger dug into my heart did not exist when they went into a defensive stance; or as if I didn’t feel my stomach turn itself out when they did not relax even though recognition shone in their eyes.

“Bella,” Emmet whispered, his face full of confusion. He looked at Carlisle not really knowing what to do in this situation.

“Oh my God,” Rosalie brought her hands to her mouth, “Edward will have a stroke.”

“Carlisle, what do we do?”

“Hm ....” he said, deep in thought.

I remained impassive as they deliberated, my gaze hovering between the three figures and my body still as a stone, as I was used to be. This was going to happen sooner or later and I was somehow grateful that these three have been those who were hunting when I found them.

“Bella, are you coming home with us?” I came back to reality and looked at him with all the force of my red eyes. I tried not to register the face he made at them.

I nodded silently without bothering to smile.

***

I still had not opened my mouth when I saw the house that so painfully reminded me of the one I knew in Forks and I wondered for a moment how many houses had the family around the world.

“Oh ...It’s good that he’s not at home,” whispered Carlisle and I immediately knew who he meant.

At the door Esme was waiting with her hand on her chest and the most serious face I have ever seen in her. I glanced past her to see what was behind. Alice was waiting for us in Jasper’s arms, sitting on the couch and staring at the horizon with an empty face transforming her perfect features into those of a doll. I set my eyes on Jasper when he got up into a defensive pose.

I cocked my head going over his scars with my eyes, on his beautiful golden eyes, remembering the details of his difficulty adapting to the vegetarian lifestyle. Had he finally gotten the hang of it? I smiled cautiously wishing things with Jasper about our past were less strained.

“What happened? What is she doing here?” hissed the blond, one hand hovering near Alice.

“Jazz …” Esme put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at me apologetically.

“No offence taken,” I finally spoke with my little used but beautiful voice, “is a normal reaction.”

“Bella, how is it that you are ... alive” said Alice when she got out of the trance. She looked about to cry. And I knew that she wasn’t just asking about my life status.

“How long …?” Carlisle sat in the chair beside me.

“Oh, Bella. What happened to you?” Esme dropped on the armrest of the couch where her husband sat.

I looked around observing every little detail of the great room, recognizing a couple of objects and giving myself unnecessary nostalgia. I lowered my eyes to Carlisle and Esme, Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie, Alice's horrified eyes. I could almost see the thoughts going full speed on her head.

“Sometimes, although we think that a situation is over and done with, problems do come back,” I said finally letting myself go down my memories of that afternoon when Bella Swan died. “Even if James was more than dead, Victoria and Laurent were hovering too close to Forks, waiting.”

“Oh no,” Esme gasped, one hand on her mouth. I nodded and smiled softly.

“She wanted revenge and was trying to figure out the best plan to get to me. She recruited Laurent, who had given up your lifestyle, and was around Forks those days. I found him by chance and he was too hungry to wait for her.” My smile turned slightly downwards at the memory.

And then I explained what had happened to me since then, my power, my current diet, Forks’ incident and why I had decided to come and see them after so many years. Various stages of horror crossed their faces and eyes, and I really don’t know what part of my story had shocked them more. I no longer cared. The strong need for acceptance that I felt before when I was human had faded over the decades of a life where I had no one else beside me to impress, or a place to belong. I just got used to the fact that I had to be myself to survive.

It would hurt if they couldn’t accept this new “me”, but I wasn’t willing to change now to fit in the Cullens. Even if that was still an option.

When I finished my tale I stayed standing right there with a tiny smile, trying to ease the obvious tension in the air. I watched them pass a hand through their hair, sigh, look everywhere... except my red eyes.

I knew what they were thinking, of course I did. I didn’t need Edward hearing their thoughts to know what they were thinking. It only took looking into their golden eyes, the tension in the muscles under the skin of granite or slightly pursed lips in concentration to know the answers.

***

The cool evening breeze cradled my hair as I sat on a rock near the back door of the humble but enormous cabin-mansion that the Cullen had chosen as home in some well hidden place in the forest. I wondered vaguely if it was on purpose and if they did not want to make life in this city by being so far from humanity. Did the years change their modus operandi? Or it was just that this place was a temporary thing and they thought that having to leave early was enough reason to not be necessary to show a façade of normal human.

I sighed.

With my eyes closed I heard him before he reached the house, his steps being slightly lighter and faster than the others’, his sweet scent assailing my nose. I could recognize it anywhere even after all that happened, I thought sadly. I felt the slight tug on my chest where my dead heart was that had nothing to do with the pain that initially felt when I thought about him. I sighed, as this has brought me the opportunity to be sure that yes, I had forgiven everything that happened and that no, I didn’t want to give it another chance. Friendship, perhaps, but our “bond” broke so many years ago and over time the possibility of fixing it had faded into nothing.

I straightened up on my place, getting into a perfect Greek statue impersonation and waited for him to appear.

A slight breeze and the sound of his rapid breathing told me the time to open my red eyes, fixing them into his soft creamy golden ones, ignoring the grimace that he made for a second at the intensity of my ruby eyes, those of a freshly fed. His expression was a frightening mixture of horror, shock, disbelief and denial at what was happening, telling me everything I needed to know and confirm that for him things were different now. I vaguely wondered if he had met someone else or if he had somehow moved on; but knowing how things are as a vampire, as I do now, you never really "turn over a new leaf".

I got up with unnecessary slow, for our species, and smiled.

“Hello, Edward. It’s been a long time, isn’t it?”

***

“I don’t understand why he does this,” Alice mumbled while walking in circles in the corner, “I'm so sorry, Bella, I did not expect him to react that way.”

“Oh, honey …” Esme sobbed and collapsed in my arms. Carlisle was right behind her with pursed lips and lost in thought, one hand on his wife's waist, offering silent support.

I sighed for the thirty-fourth time that night.

I turned my eyes to Emmet and Rose sitting on the couch, her arms crossed and a frown on her face, him with an arm around the blonde's shoulder as if he were supporting her, but I knew better. He was holding her in place to stop her from killing someone. Jasper has followed Edward when he ran away.

I patted the weeping mother could that couldn’t cry and rested my head on hers, trying to reassure her that nothing was wrong and that I was okay.

“It’s okay, Esme. Somehow I am not surprised that he reacted that way. I remember that he was very much against my turning and that he was ... sickened of this lifestyle” everyone in the room knew that I was not referring only to being a vampire, but my chosen diet.

“But he you called monster” Esme said in my ear with a disbelieving voice. I closed my eyes tightening the embrace. I was not used to people worrying about me, much less in a motherly way, and I loved the detail. “He has no right to do so. When he gets home he will have to face a very angry Esme.”

Emmet looked at her with wide eyes and somehow I knew it would not be pretty. I smiled widely and pushed her gently out of the embrace to look at her eyes, giving her a slight squeeze on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Esme. For real. I'm fine.”

The other pursed her lips, upset by the situation but understanding what I meant, which I appreciated. After all that had happened I did not want to make this bigger than it was and if Edward wanted to behave so selfishly it was neither my right nor my responsibility to correct it. He was a big boy now.

I went to the couch to sit besides Emmet and slightly leaned on his shoulder, feeling his heavy breathing like a large animal, going through my thoughts about the brief but intense argument with the vampire that as soon as he saw my red eyes shouted that I "was not Bella". Or, at least, was not the same Bella who he had left in Forks.

He said that instead I had become ... something. A monster, I know he wanted to say, and I told him so. He did not deny it.

Still I do not know what hurt more, the expression on Edward’s face or the cowardice he proved to have when he turned around and run the other way. The worst part is that in my mind I was not able to match the image of the Edward I fell in love with back in Forks’ high school, so ethereal and perfect, and that always knew what to what to do; with this Edward, ironically more humane and unable to confront the ghosts of his past. And that had preferred to flee rather than accept that he was wrong those years ago, that I had changed to be someone else.

***

A few hours later and after many farewells, promises to meet again more often, having gotten a satellite cell phone and exchanged numbers with all of the Cullen, I was standing on the porch of their home saying goodbye with my hand and a big smile on the face. The weight that was on my chest had disappeared almost completely, a small thorn with the name of a certain vampire with coppery hair uncomfortably digging in my side.

I hadn’t taken two steps when I felt him coming towards me at full speed. I turned to see what he wanted from me, trying to make my face as emotionless as possible so it did not show how upset I was with him for calling me "monster".

“Bella…” he whispered, frowning. He ran a hand through his hair nervously. I remembered that gesture, how weird. “I'm sorry. That wasn’t an exemplary behavior.”

“Not much,” I simply answered. My honesty seemed to throw him back for a moment.

“I’ve really had a hard time accepting that ... Well, what you are.”

“A vampire. Yeah,” I said looking into the woods behind me. “Edward, I'll be frank with you. It’s been almost a hundred years and I have forgiven what happened. I've moved on, or what we call in this long existence ‘move on’,” he nodded in understanding, a sad glint in his gaze, “but those times are never coming back.”

I could see in his eyes that he knew where I wanted to go with those words and any speech he had prepared crumbled into dust leaving only bare emotions. He was confused, sad, and with the expression of a helpless child and for a second I felt like hugging him. He had spent at least fifty years of his life thinking that I was dead, I had to concede him that. And I would be just as confused if suddenly someone appeared at my house, a vampire whom I believed had died of old age as a human.

“I understand,” he took my hand gently, but there was nothing romantic about it then. “I regret even more deeply for having made this reunion so awkward. Please come back home more often. We've really missed you…”

“Will do,” I smiled and walked over to give him that hug we both needed.

And I could see the rays of a possible friendship starting from scratch. A less lonely life, without carrying my sorrow by myself or not having anywhere to go. At least there was a family of vegetarian vampires who would come to help without thinking twice, no matter what happened. And I would obviously do the same for them.

***

I blinked feeling that the lenses that Alice had given me were clouding my vision more and more. Argh! It was so uncomfortable.

But the need to blend in better with humans was greater since my red eyes did not go as unnoticed as the golden ones of the vegetarians and I could not focus on my power long enough to not rely on extra help to avoid being discovered.

Right now I was trying to buy new clothes without going crazy in the process and I haven’t been even fifteen minutes into the mall when the phone that the Cullen had given me this year rang. The other one worked perfectly fine, but their excuse was that it had to be up to date with the new technologies. I was not one to deny them anything when Esme looked at me with such intensity.

“How dare you go shopping without calling me!” said the high-pitched voice of the pixie from the other side of the line. I sighed.

“Alice, I'm not even "shopping". I just needed some new clothes-” but, of course, I was interrupted.

“I'll be there in ten minutes. Don’t you dare to move!”

I blocked the phone with a small smile. My life had changed since I decided to contact the Cullen family, and it had been for the better. They treated me like one of them but not pressured the issue of Edward, and I appreciated it. I wanted to be myself, and eventually they had accepted my human diet so it was no longer any problem between us. They had also stopped trying to convince me to switch to vegetarianism, although occasionally they brought it up jokingly.

My smile broadened as I raised my eyes to the dark sky with gray clouds. This was not the life as vampire  I had wanted so many years ago, but it was the life where I had done the best I could with the cards that were given to me. And knowing this made me feel more complete than ever.

[space-blue]

The Sights

Sorry, this is pretty full of forum inside jokes and references to stories I've not chosen to re-publish here.

Imagine losing it all. One by one or two by fours - everything, gone. For Sullyman, it was first his mother, then his home and peace in the land. Finally his father and sister, his friends, all dead, taking hope and joy with them.

It's a past in ashes and a future of smoke that drove Sullyman to the recesses of his world. Through rampant, hungry war consuming all in its reach and harming well beyond it, to places so quiet and forgotten they slowly rotted back into the earth; for years he prowled on the cold trail of the Ceu'ki Save Shamans.

An elusive tribe of people, they were said to command immense power and welcome in their rank anyone who could both find them, and survive their initiation ritual.

It does things to a man, to live with his back to the wall. It changes him. Sullyman had found the Shamans two weeks ago, and as the chants droned around him he refused to remember. Refused to see how different he was from the man who had once set out on his quest.

How alien to the one who had once had a family.

It was a new man - a ghost - who dipped his lips in the thick white liquid of the drug that was passed around the circle of initiates. A man with no purpose beyond the determination to survive this. Then, maybe, would come a time for plans. A time for a future of fire, alight.

"Relax, son." It was the voice of Shaman Sidovar.

Sullyman turned an already groggy head towards his elder, who was settling by his side, falling on crossed legs, his limbs disappearing in the seemingly infinite folds of his tunic.

"Accept what you will see. Do not fight it, Sullyman. I know you have the greatest potential."

"That would be... because I have no.. nothing... to cling to," he answered, drooling in his effort to pierce the smog that was swallowing him.

He fell in it, in himself.

Every thing  s l   o    w      e         d

a n d c r u m

p

l

e d

.

..   ...

              it took

time

–       ages

for it to

finally

make sense

- again.

Sound clashed in great streaks of amber, darkness dilated, danced, exploded. Light came through, unseen, wrapping around huge, tan pillars. Mounds of flesh crashing around. Their beats, irregular vibrate, a heartbeat violent, crafting and shaking him.

Sullyman listens, hovering, he has no body, but he will sense, and saw. Above him –

An eye?

No, as he focuses himself to the task, he could tell :

Two eyes. And a smile, broad like the world, peering down on him with the might of a God. A face, infinite, as wide as his mind can think.

The beats throb and he sees behind his back, where the future always hides, the possibles. He feels under his feet the threads on which he steps, balanced on the web of many paths.

There, a man going through dust and rubble, a long coat flapping in his wake, a monstrous weapon in his hand, glistening obscenely under the dying sun of a dying land.

Elsewhere, girls walking foggy nights, running from themselves, walking through portals in search of truths to save. Endless nights of stars where aliens drifted and humans, an anecdote, disappeared. Views of lands impossible, flown over in the smooth gliding of a serpentine body. Earth seen from under, the sky a field of flames, the song of birds the screeches of the damned.

He could taste it on his tongue, a jumble of voices all belonging to others. He could chew out their lines, spite out the thoughts given them. Remember the curses they knew, the magic they felt, the feelings pasted to their back for all to see.

Under his foot he steps on the thread that is his - country, land, planet. Timeline. He knows now how it will burn, how Others will come and enslave his children to save them. It's in the same piece of paper, the same roll of destiny. Star crossed lovers of different species will arise then, after him even though they existed long before he was born, they will heal the world he would singe.

And Sullyman understood. It all made sense, his place in his world clear and imbued with meaning, every block falling into place at the beat of the pillars of flesh, the fingers of Fate.

He screamed, high and piercing, emotions burning him from inside out.

A shrill sound pierced the fog : Sullyman's own cries woke him back to reality. His reality.

Hands were pinning him down, eight of them for the four heads that peered over him, their expressions ranging from anxiety to satisfaction.

"He's back."

"He survived the Sights."

"I will go to Sha'Mera, she will be glad. Prepare him."

Sullyman silenced his yells, his anguish brought to a smouldering panic. He was pulled upright and ministered to. Shaman Sidovar crouched before him. The man looked exhausted. Behind him in the shadows of the lamps lay a row of still bodies. At Sullyman's frown the old shaman turned to look past his shoulder and sighed.

"Yes. You're the only one of the initiates who made it, Sullyman." A weary smile split on his face. "Or should I say, Sha'Sullyman."

Before he could protest, a woman entered the room, robes billowing. All the shamans spread out, settling in a ring around him. The Elder woman, Sha'Mera, opened her palms, spreading her arms.

"Speak up, Sha'Sullyman. Your words froth at your mouth."

"Why?" He barked. "Why would you pay such a price to obtain your powers? No magic can be worth the horrors I felt." It was all he could do not to choke on his words.

"Search inside you child," the elder said, "can you feel the power you say you grasped?"

Sullyman looked in him for the surge he'd felt, the hum of power that had contained him like skin. "No... Nothing... The magic, it's gone?!"

"There never were any magic. What you felt was Knowledge. What you saw was the Truth."

Tears welled up and poured, unstoppable. He knew it. He couldn't even deny it.

"The power we wield is the power of awareness," Sha'Mera went on. "One cannot push at one's bonds if one isn't even aware of their existence."

"My family," Sullyman said in a broken voice. His rage burst through him, pushing at the seams of his good manners. He balled his fists and pressed them hard into the stone floor. "They never even existed, did they? None of this is real. Why was I even written into existence?"

"Child, they exist in you, and through the many eyes that will give you life. What you experienced was the First Sight. You saw the Writer, the one who gives us flesh and purpose, and from which we draw our powers to bend the world. But many other Sights exist, they come from the Readers, and all will give a different flavor to your flesh and your past."

Like that would be reassuring? Sullyman shuddered. What had he done? Why seek such cursed power? He had wanted to understand Why - why his family had had to die, what wheels brought about the cycles of war and death, that tore lives apart. He had wanted the power to change things, to save others from turning into the wraith he'd become.

Now he knew Why - his perverted Writer had decided to give him a miserable past, to bring him to a terrible future. No reasons for it beyond, what? entertainment for Readers? Attention seeking?

Who could gorge themselves on the miseries of others? Who could watch a world burn and move on to other timelines, other worlds, always yearning for more?

"I don't want to be a part of this..."

"You cannot refuse it. The hand that wields you will give you the power to realise your destiny. You cannot escape the Writer. What future did you see for yourself, Sha'Sullyman?"

Tears still ran along his cheeks as Sullyman met Sha'Mera's eyes. Hers were full of sorrow and hope, the conflicting emotions warping her face. He was to be the last Shaman born to this Age. She knew his task would be grand, and she feared what it would be. He'd known what he was getting himself into before he drank from their cup, before he risked seeing the Sights. But now Sullyman wasn't even sure it had been his own choice.

He cursed me under his breath.

"I will have this world burn. Destroying this planet will bring about its salvation."

He choked, crying for his family, for the millions that he knew would now die at his hands. The whole world would be brought to the brink of death for the future to unfold.

"It has already been written. It was already posted."

~~ January 2016 – Theme : Breaking the fourth wall

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 033 [That’s Quick Match]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 2,040

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

〈“Don’t even hesitate a little, tell me. Don’t be alone and come to me. Don’t move a single inch when you’re alone. From now on, come with me.” C-Clown, “Justice”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

Toshi’s brow furrowed with worry. “What are you talking about, young Jen?”

“During my last match, I heard this voice in my head, but it wasn’t the first time. I heard the same voice when I lost control during the USJ incident.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” He demanded, his fists clenching at his sides.

I shrugged, picking at a loose thread on my PE pants. “I thought it was a stress-induced hallucination or some shit. Besides, you’ve been stressed about One for All and Zuku, and Aizawa is still recovering. I didn’t wanna bother either of you.”

“You’re never a burden,” he spoke softly, resting both of his hands on my shoulders. “What did this voice say?”

“At the USJ, he said I’m not strong enough, that he can’t show himself to me yet. ‘Only you have the power to stop Onodero’s return,’ he said.” I scoffed. “Like I’m some goddamn chosen one or some stupid shit. No fucking thank you, this ain’t a Shounen anime, my guy.”

“Onodero?” Toshi hummed, closing his eyes and holding his chin. “That name sounds familiar, but I’m drawing a blank here. Did he say anything else?”

“Said he knows everything about me and that he’s always with me.”

“Creepy,” his body shook, eyes wide.

“You’re fuckin’ telling me.”

He sighed, running his hand over his face. “For now, try not to worry about it too much. Stay focused on the festival and we’ll figure it out after, okay?”

I stood up, shoving my hands into my pockets. “Sure~” I stepped out of the room. I guess it’s a good thing that he didn’t recognize the name, that means whoever this fucker is, he ain’t an immediate threat. Maybe I should go grab my phone and see what Goggle has for me. I turned around, walking in the opposite direction.

“- disgracefully, Shoto.”

I stopped in my tracks before turning the corner. Shoto? Ain’t that Todoroki’s first name? I peered around the corner, seeing the large man with the flaming face.

“If you would simply use the power in your left side, you would have had an overwhelming victory in both of the first rounds. It’s time to stop this childish rebellion of yours. You have a duty to surpass that imbecile, All Might. Do you understand what I’m saying? You’re different from your siblings. You’re my greatest masterpiece.”

“Hah?!” I did my best impression of Bakugo’s bitch face as I rounded the corner, two pairs of eyes snapping to look at me. “First off, flame fuck, All Might ain’t an imbecile. You’re just pissy cause you can’t beat ’em.”

“What did you say?” He growled, standing up straight, the flames around his body flaring.

I smirked. “Did I hurt a nerve, big guy? By the way, I agree with you.” I pointed to Todoroki, who’s eyes widened in surprise. “That kid is a fucking masterpiece, but he ain’t yours by a long shot. That beautiful fucking painting right there belongs to class 1-A, you shouldn’t be so selfish, trying to keep him to yourself. Tsk tsk. That’s not very heroic of you, flame fuck.”

“You insolent, little -” his fists clenched, jaw set in anger.

Todoroki stepped forward, his voice full of anger. “I’ll win this and advance using only mom’s quirk. I won’t give you the pleasure of seeing me use yours.” He grabbed my wrist and tugged me along down the hall.

“Even if that works for you in this tournament, you’ll soon find the limits of that power.” He called after us, his voice condescending.

Before we turned the corner, I flicked him off over my shoulder. “Choke on a dick, flame fuck.”

When we were a safe distance away from the angry man, Todoroki released my wrist, glancing at me with an unreadable expression. “You shouldn’t have done that. Making him your enemy isn’t a smart move, Winchester.”

“Hey, hey, hey.” I threw my arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer as I ruffled his hair. “We in class A look out for our own, bro. I’ll make the whole world my enemy if that’s what it takes to protect you brats.”

He smiled softly, the first genuine smile I’ve ever seen from him. “Thank you.”

I smiled back. “You should get to your match, bro. Don’t let flame fuck get under your skin.”

He nodded, hesitating for a moment before walking away. I could feel the anger still surrounding his body, though, and he was obviously replaying the man’s words in his head. I sighed, rubbing the back of my head.

Damn edgelords, ya’ll gonna be the death of me, man.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

I stifled a yawn as I shuffled toward the seating area for class A. Ochaco noticed me approaching and jumped up from her seat beside Izuku, smiling brightly at me. “Jen! You were awesome in your matches!”

I scratched my cheek, plopping down between Bakugo and Kirishima, who were sitting in the row behind her. “Thanks, what I miss?”

She sat back down, angling her body so she didn’t have to turn her head to see me. “Well, after your first match ended, Honenuki took on Awase from class B!”

“It was a pretty one-sided match,” Sparky added with a cocky tone.

“I can hear you, you jerk!” Cried a male voice from the other side of the wall that separated classes A and B. I assumed that was Awase.

“You have no room to talk, Kaminari,” Kyoka commented, her lips twitching up as she crossed her arms. “Your match was over in seconds. That girl from class B took your strongest attack like it was nothing and then pushed you out of bounds while you walked around brain dead.”

His aura quickly darkened as he slid down in his seat, muttering under his breath.

“After that, Iida went up against Hatsume from the support course,” Zuku said. “He won, but…”

“She did him real dirty,” Kiri commented, crossing his arms over his chest. He glanced at the navy-haired male, leaning closer and lowering his voice. “She used him to show off her inventions and then gave up.”

“Damn that’s fucking brutal. I like it.” I grinned, making Kiri sweatdrop. “I need to meet this girl. I have a feeling we’d get along great.”

“You know, you can be really sadistic sometimes.”

“I take that as a compliment, Kirishima.”

“After your second match, Iida went against Shiozaki from class B,” Ochaco explained.

“The one that beat Kaminari in seconds,” Kyoka added with a snicker, making the blonde male whine in protest.

Ochaco continued, “He won by pushing her out of bounds, it was over pretty quickly!”

“Hmm, lots of quick matches, huh?”

“Then it was my turn,” Izuku smiled sheepishly, holding up his bandaged hands. “I faced off against Shinso from general studies and, well, you already know how that went.”

“The next battle was a complete massacre!” Kiri leaned forward. “Todoroki froze Sero in a huge chunk of ice! It ended just a few minutes before you arrived.”

Flex Tape sunk down in his seat. “The crowd was chanting for me, telling me not to worry, but it just made me feel worse…”

I hummed again, glancing at the screen that showed the rankings.

Alien is currently squaring off against Aoyama. She was easily dodging his laser, using her acid to skate around the arena before rushing in, covering his belt in acid. His pants fell down, exposing his tighty-whities. Mineta whined something about seeing the wrong kind of underwear before Alien finished off the match with a right hook under his jaw, knocking him unconscious.

Damn girl, you took the match and his dignity.

Midnight raised her arm. “Aoyama is unable to continue! Ashido advances to the next round!”

The next match was between Fumi and Momo. Nothing against her, but I really hope Fumi and Shadow advance, not that I’m biased or anything. My eyes flickered to the screen again. “My next match is against Iida, huh.”

Kiri leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Do you think you can beat him, Winchester?”

Bakugo scoffed. “Of fucking course she can. He’s not as strong as we are!”

He laughed. “I’m up after Tokoyami, so I’m gonna go to the waiting room.”

“Don’t fucking let that extra win,” Bakugo muttered.

“Go kick some ass, Kiri.” I grinned, giving him a thumbs up. I think Toshi is starting to rub off on me. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

He smiled happily, his cheeks dusting as he rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks, guys!”

When Fumi’s match began, he wasted no time in attacking Momo. She made a shield to block the attacks, which Shadow focused on. Every time she tried to make a weapon, Shadow would attack and break her focus before she could. It wasn’t long before she was pushed out of bounds. Momo looked completely crushed by the result, poor thing.

Fumi returned to the seating area, sitting down in front of me. I threw my arms around his neck, his soft feathers brushing my cheek. “You were awesome, Fumi.”

He smiled, patting my arm. “Thank you, Jen-san. You did beautifully, as well.”

“Hey, I did most of the work!” Shadow appeared, his arms crossed and a pout on his face. “Praise me, too, Jen!”

I chuckled, pulling away from Fumi so I could pat Shadow on the head. “You were awesome out there, I’m really proud of you, Shadow.”

His cheeks lit up as he headbutted my hand with his head before throwing his arms around me, nuzzling his beak against my chest. “So warm~”

Fumi sighed deeply, resting his hand over his beak. “Please control yourself, Dark Shadow…”

“You’re just jealous!” Shadow huffed, tightening his grip around me.

Ochaco giggled, her hand over her mouth as her cheeks turned pink. “That is too cute!!”

Shadow smiled at her, moving closer so she could pat him on the head. I chuckled. What a little attention whore.

The battle between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu was… uh… interesting, I guess? While Kiri can harden his skin to stone, Tetsu can harden his to steel. Naturally, the battle ended in a complete draw, leaving both boys unconscious. Midnight said that they’d decide the winner via an arm-wrestling match once both of them recovered. And then finally, it was time for Bakugo to face off against Ochaco.

I followed the blonde down the dark hallway, my hands stuffed into my pockets. “Hey, Bakuhoe.”

“Stop calling me that, dumbass.” He grunted, his own hands shoved into his pockets.

“You’re gonna give it everything you got, huh?” I asked, glancing at his back.

“Of fucking course I am! It would be pointless if I didn’t!”

I sighed deeply, throwing my arm around his neck and pulling him to my side. “Just… don’t kill her okay? If you do, you’re gonna have a lynch mob coming after your ass, and I’m gonna be leading those fuckers. Got me?”

He grunted again.

“The twelfth and final battle of the second round of matches – he was kind of a hotshot in middle school –”

Bakugo paused in the doorway. “Oi, dumbass.”

“Yes, Bakuhoe?”

He was silent for a moment, his shoulders tense. I was beginning to wonder if he was gonna say anything when he finally spoke up, his voice so low I almost didn’t hear him. “…call me Katsuki.”

I raised a brow at his back as he stepped out into the light of the arena. Well, that was fucking unexpected. Did hell just freeze over?

“– and just look at that determined face! From the hero course, Katsuki Bakugo! Versus! The one I’m personally rooting for –”

I sweatdropped. Oi, ain’t that cockatiel supposed to be impartial and not take sides? I mean, I get it, it’s Ochaco we’re talking about, but still.

“Also from class 1-A, Ochaco Uraraka! Let the twelfth match… BEGIN!!”

I clapped my hands together, holding them up in front of me and closing my eyes. Oh great and powerful god, Wade Wilson, please don’t let this precious cinnamon roll get hurt too badly! Grant this plea to this unworthy soul and I vow to spread your message of chimichangas and sass to the world!

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

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[peter-pan-hoe]

Go For The Head

Infinity War Rewrite. Endgame didn’t fucking happen. (:

Word count: 3k

Warnings: violent, reader injury, character death, I don’t think there’s any swearing which is weird because I swear like a fucking sailor normally.

Tag list: @kaitlynpcallmebeepme @fairydustparker @sammysgirl1997 @allison0609 @loveisfriendship @sideshawty @purplekitten30

Also just like a thing, I don’t think I’ve actually posted new content since like before last Halloween so thanks for waiting this long and thanks for sticking with me through my bullshit. I can’t promise that I’ll have regular content up like i did last year but I’m glad to be back and I’m glad to be writing again.

Thanks you guys xx

These things were everywhere.

The beasts poured through the barrier, ripping themselves to shreds as they did.

As they fought on the battle field I could see their wounds from the barrier.

Pink flesh visible under tough grey skin and armour.

The war cries of those around me mixed in with the Wakandan chants. The huge man with the club shouting to meet his tribe’s rhythmic response.

It was epic.

Thor had had a serious upgrade since I’d last seen him. His hair was much shorter, one of his eyes had changed from his deep blue to a strange gold, his hammer, Mjolnir had been replaced by a huge battle axe.

He gave off a bigger “God” vibe than he used to.

I watched from the clearing’s edge as he took down hundreds of the aliens and their pods and regretted that I’d become distracted when one of the alien creatures got a hold of my leg.

I screamed as it bit down, tearing into my skin and muscle with its vile teeth, dragging me back a bit then tossing me aside like a dog with a toy.

It came at me again, but I swung hard with my sword as its face neared mine and sliced its jaw from its head.

Its body flopped down onto my lower legs with a heavy thud and I looked around for any others before laying back on the ground to catch my breath.

A blur of red and orange swooped over me.

Sitting up and turning I saw it was Wanda. Diving into the forest after The Vision where he sat, weak and wounded against a fallen tree.

She ran to him and crouched by his side, gently sliding her hand up the side of his face in a tender display of affection and worry.

  “Are you okay?” she gasped.

He didn’t have time to answer before the stone in his head glowed brightly and he groaned and tensed up in pain.

I cried out as I shoved the aliens body from my leg and pulled myself up from the ground before limping my way over to them.

  “What?” Wanda held him as his breathing quickened. “What is it?” she asked.

I stabbed my sword into the ground and leant on it to try and take some weight off of my torn up leg.

Vision looked around fearfully before answering. “He’s here”

A horrible feeling washed over me as fear seeped into the air like a thick miasma.

Everyone could feel it.

All voices seemed to cease as we listened to the leaves in the strange wind, the trees groaning awfully as they twisted.

A harsh shiver ran up and down my spine as I looked at Steve staring up into the sky.

He raised his hand to the com device in his ear, warning anyone not with us.

  “Everyone on my position,” he said. “We have in coming,”

Everything was still for a moment as we all froze to listen, waiting.

And suddenly there he was.

Further into the forest than I was, but I could see him trough the gaps in the trees, just past Steve and the others.

Wanda must have seen him too as she took up defensive stance over Vision, her red sparks flying between her hands as she readied for attack.

  “Cap,” Banner said from inside the Hulk Buster suit. “That’s him,”

  “Eyes up” Steve readied his shield. “Stay sharp” he said before charging Thanos.

The giant lilac coloured man walked calmly forward, knowing he was more powerful than any of us combined.

Bruce reached him first, running at the titan with his fist ready but Thanos simply waved his hand and Bruce was lifted into the air.

I watched on in horror as he became transparent, phased straight through Thanos and was tossed behind him, merging into the cliff there, half exposed.

Like the stuff of nightmares.

Steve was next.

He was running at full force but was lifted into the air and thrown aside into the ground.

One by one we all made our attempt to take down Thanos.

T’Challa, leaping into the air was caught by the throat and punched into the ground.

Sam firing his guns as he soared head on, Thanos used his gauntlet to take out the tech in Sam’s suit and he came crashing to the dirt at his feet.

  “Wanda” Vision breathed as I pulled me sword from the ground and began running at Thanos. “It’s time,”

  “No,” she said firmly to him.

I charged.

Sword in hand, ready to swing hard I skidded down to aim for Thanos’s legs but he caught me.

I saw purple sparks like Wanda’s red ones as I was lifted and slammed into a tree.

I lay on the ground for what felt like years trying to breathe again.

I was severely winded, and some ribs were definitely broken.

Blacks spots flashed across my eyes as I tried to look around me.

I felt a thump in the ground and saw Bucky land nearby me.

  What did I miss? I thought.

I strained my neck as I tilted my head up to see Okoye’s spear zip past and embed in the dirt.

The ground rumbled and shook. Looking to my side I saw the ground had erupted around Natasha and she lay trapped under giant shards of rock.

I couldn’t hear anything but harsh, sharp ringing and my pulse thumping in my skull.

The ringing in my ears didn’t let up so I lay on the ground in defeat, staring at Bucky, laying, unconscious by my side.

My hearing started to clear, and I could make muffled screaming.

  Steve?

I turned my head to see him holding back Thanos’s hand, holding his hand open so he couldn’t make a fist to use the gauntlet.

Steve was amazing.

Holding back an alien five times his size, so much more powerful than anything we’d ever seen.

But it wasn’t enough.

I couldn’t do anything but watch as Thanos struck Steve’s head.

A sickening crunch told me Steve was dead.

His body dropped to the ground before Thanos simply stepped over him only to be met by a huge blast of Wanda’s power.

She held him back while she used the same power on Vision’s infinity stone.

I don’t know how long they struggled against each other but there was a beautiful shattering noise followed by a blast of warmth.

I felt myself be pushed slightly by the blast.

Vision was gone.

The stone was destroyed.

I closed my eyes in relief.

We were safe.

  “I understand my child,” I heard a voice. “better than anyone,”

There a pause before I heard Wanda reply.

  “You could never,” she spat.

  “Today I lost more than you could know,” It must have been Thanos speaking. “But now is no time to mourn,”

I shifted slightly and opened my eyes to see him stroke Wanda’s head before moving past her to the small crater where Vision exploded.

  “Now,” he breathed. “There’s no time at all,”

He raised his arm and the gauntlet was adorned in rings of green light, swirling with symbols and ancient text.

He twisted his arm like he was turning a dial and the shrapnel from the blast began reforming around a ball of flames.

I was pulled back to my original place on the ground and Vision was back.

I looked over to Steve and saw his chest rising and falling as he woke.

  “NO!” I heard Wanda scream before she was thrown through the air where she landed on my torso.

I grunted as the shock seemed to wake me up from the trance I’d been in and I suddenly had the strength to move again.

Rolling onto my side I leant up on my elbow to see Thanos with a darkened and colourless Vision in his hand, the Mind Stone in his other.

He tossed Vision away like he was merely trash.

I froze once again.

Thanos brought the stone to his gauntlet and like a magnet to metal; the stone zapped into place on the back of his hand.

Light engulfed his body, running through and around him in a magnificent display of colour coursing through his veins.

The glow subsided, and he paused to admire his completed gauntlet before he was hit by a huge blast of lightning.

  “Thor,” I gasped.

There he was, soaring down from the sky and threw his axe full force at Thanos.

Thanos reached up to send a blast of energy in retaliation that was no match for the axe.

The axe ploughed straight through the energy and lodged itself into Thanos’s chest.

I sat up as Thor landed on the ground, calmly in front of Thanos.

I gently pushed Wanda off myself so I could get up.

Thor, is his huge Asgardian Godly size, was just barely the same height as Thanos when he was brought to his knees.

  “I told you,” Thor panted. “You’d die for that,”

Thanos’s face morphed into a silent scream as Thor pushed his axe deeper into his chest.

He breathed heavily and started trying to say something to Thor.

I hissed in pain as I rose from the ground, sword in hand.

  “You should have gone for the head,” Thanos whispered as he raised his hand.

  “NO!” Thor cried and then

CRACK

The sound of bones breaking echoed slightly.

The titan’s eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped, lifeless to the ground.

I tugged my sword from his skull and looked at Thor in shock.

  “Did… did I do it?” I could barely make a sound. “Is it over?”

  “Y/N I…” Thor looked at me in surprise. “You… I think so,”

I could feel my body shaking as I looked at my sword in my hand, dripping in purple blood.

I let myself fall to the ground.

Steve crouched down by Vision’s body and turned him over as Natasha came running around the corner.

I noticed that everyone was up on their feet.

All except myself and Wanda who just stared at nothing.

I looked at the gauntlet still on Thanos’s lifeless hand.

  “Can we bring him back?” I asked. “Vision I mean,”

Wanda’s head shot up at the question.

I looked up at Thor.

  “Can we give him back his stone?” I asked. “Can we use the Time stone to bring him back?”

He leaned down and pulled the gauntlet from Thanos’s arm.

  “I know someone who can,” he spoke with a plain face. “Maybe I can bring back my people too,” he spoke mainly to himself then.

  “Are those things still attacking?” Natasha asked. “The chitauri all dropped dead when we nuked their ship back then, in New York. Are these guys a hive mind too?”

  “I think they have stopped,” T’Challa spoke.

  “Who needs medical attention?” Steve asked with a small smile.

There were a few groans and laughs as all of us rose our hands.

  “Well then let’s get Vision up to the Shuri’s lab and go see some doctors,” He sighed. “Sound good Your Highness?”  

T’Challa gave a gentle nod before walking away.

Everyone followed suit.

Steve hoisted Vision over his broad shoulders as I groaned, clutching my bruised and broken ribs.

 3 days later.

 I stood leaned against the window frame of Shuri’s lab looking out over the field.

The destruction was incredible.

Huge mechanical wheels had left enormous trenches around the place.

The alien’s bodies had all been put into one of the trenches to later be burned, all the bodies of the Wakandans who perished we all laid out and identified, ready to be returned to their families for burial rites.

  “Y/n,” I heard Bucky’s gruff voice call from behind me.

I turned away from the window and watched as he walked around some desks to get to me.

  “You doin alright?” he asked, putting his hands on my shoulders so I faced him properly.

He looked at some bruised on my face, fading after the days of care and amazing Wakandan technology. His eyes trailed down to where my hand rested on my side, hugging my sore ribs.

  “Yeah I’m okay,” I smiled. “Just thinking,”

I looked out over the fields again and Bucky followed suit.

He dropped one arm and wrapped the other around my shoulder.

  “What ya thinkin’ about?” he asked.

  “how bad things could have gotten,” I reached up to hold his hand on my shoulder.

He pulled me tighter and sighed. “We don’t know what would have happened. All we know is that its over and we’re safe,”

Our conversation was cut short when a ship appeared in the sky.

Sharp and angular, pointed like a wide arrow head, adorned with blue and yellow patterns.

The ship curved in its decent, facing away from the city as it landed in the field, safely avoiding the piles of bodies and debris.

  “What now?” Bucky lowered his arm as he looked down at the ship.

A hatch opened and a ramp was lowered.

Seven figures slowly made their way from the ship and I recognised two of them instantly even at such a distance.

It was my dad. My dad, Tony Stark and the spider kid.

  “He’s okay,” I breathed a sigh of relief.

I felt a little nervous at the sight of my father.

After the dispute of the Accords I’d sided with Steve and left with him and the others.

I’d emailed on and off with Dad in my time on the run, because while we had differing opions on everything, I still loved him and he forgave me for my siding against him.

I was about to turn to head out to meet them when I saw two smaller figures running from the city out into the field to the newcomers.

It was that strange tree creature and the talking raccoon.

Thor was walking a little behind them too.

  “Let’s go,” I took Bucky’s arm and began leading him out.

When we got outside most of our people were there too.

Bruce hugged Tony, Steve and Tony awkwardly shook hands before hugging.

When my father saw me it looked like he choked.

I ran over and hugged him.

  “I’m so sorry,” I mumbled into his chest. “I’ve missed you so much. Were you in space? Who are these people?”

   “Easy kiddo,” he chuckled. “I got kinda stabbed so I’m a little tender,”

  “You were STABBED?” I stepped back and started looking over his body for evidence of injury and saw what looked like bandages under his tshirt wrapped around the middle of his torso.

  “Alright alright,” he put his hand on my face. “Calm down. I’m okay. We can talk about it later,”

I nodded and looked for the spider kid, Peter.

I found him, stood off to the side staring at us all like a child at the circus.

I now realised Dr Strange was among the people who came from the ship.

He was taller than I expected, and his cloak seemed to flow around him as if it had a mind of its own.

I stepped over to the kid and put my hand on his arm, snapping him out of his daze.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Y/n Stark” he squeaked with wide eyes. “Uhhh, yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. Are- are you…okay… are you okay?”

I laughed at the boy stuttering nervously and moved to stand next to him, putting my hand reassuringly on his back.

  “Yeah I’m okay,” I rubbed my hand up and down his back. “Let’s get you inside, yeah? Get some food and water?”

He gulped and nodded shakily.

He nervously looked up at Bucky standing next to me but gave him a respectful nod and scared smile.

  “C’mon,” Bucky Held out his hand for me to take.

We’d started walking when I heard Tony ask, “Who’d we lose?”

I stopped and turned.

A few faces dropped.

  “The Vision,” Steve spoke.

  “And Gamora,” a man behind Tony added.

It was now that I actually looked at the other people that came out of the ship.

The man that spoke seemed human enough. Brown hair and eyes, a red leather jacket.

There was a man beside him, completely shirtless. But his skin was grey with red patterns covering him head to toe.

A small woman was behind him, black hair, HUGE black eyes and… antennae?

And a woman with blue and purple skin. She also looked like she had a few mechanical enhancements too.

  “Who’s Gamora?” I asked. Looking from face to face.

The man in the red and the blue woman spoke at the same time. “My girl,” he said. “My sister” said the blue woman.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Steve said respectfully.

  “We also lost Loki and Heimdall among half the Asgardians,” Thor spoke up.

Tony looked like he wanted to make some snarky remark about Loki but when he looked at Thor’s face, he restrained himself.

  “We have the stones kept safe up in the lab,” Bucky spoke, breaking the silence.

  “All of them?” The man in the red jacket looked astonished. “you shouldn’t have them so close together,”

   “We have them safely contained separate from each other,” I said. “The point is, we have the stones, we can bring anyone we lost back,”

  “We have a logistics team working on a plan to do it,” Steve explained.

  “You won’t need a whole team,” Dr Strange stepped forward.

  “What do you mean?” Bucky asked

  “I am the keeper of the Time Stone,” Strange continued. “I know how it works, I can do it myself,”

Looking from face to face I saw a look of relief and hope wash over everyone.

I squeezed Bucky’s had and gave him a smile.

  “Alright then,” Steve nodded as if in thought. “Let’s go inside, get everyone fed, get any medical help any of you need and then we’ll figure out how to get our people back. Sound good?”

  “Sounds good,”

[faolonfiendrender]

You know, I once thought only fools seek immortality, because they will outlive everything. I once thought them mad in wishing to see generations pass and die while they still live. I still think them mad, but for different reasons,

This story starts in my childhood. As long as I can remember, I have heard that terrible, beautiful music. I couldn’t describe it, but it was there. Deep drums and whining flutes from everywhere; occasionally a tone that I may only describe as yellow scratched out on violins coming from a certain section of the sky; a chorus of elaborate nonsense, delicate and harsh at once, coming in a single voice from outside, outside of what, I don’t know, but outside, I hear these tones at all times, but especially when I close my eyes.

My parents didn’t know, I never told them, I’ve never told anyone, for I feared they may lock me up. I have tried to control it, stolen antipsychotics do nothing, nor does any other medicine I have found. But, about a year ago, I tried another desperate attempt, I tried to study my dreams, I was sure that if I could seize control of my dreams, it would stop. I was wrong. 

Initially, not much happened, I started remembering my dreams, the symphony became louder and more intricate as a soundtrack to my dreams, the chanting sounded closer, and maybe inside, but again, I don’t know what it is inside. Those yellow tones ceased entirely, in their stead, there was birds, almost sounding like a man’s laughter, almost. 

However, I eventually remembered what the sky looked like, A swirling rainbow in the distance, colors undulating almost like tentacles of some great cosmic beast. I also knew for certain that the chants came from it, and apart for the laughter, all the other sounds were from beyond this sky. 

Over time, as I got better at controlling my dreams, I found that I could begin to see through the strange alien sky, I am unsure of what exactly I saw, but it was as if a trillion trillion pricks of light and more lay beyond, each of them, slightly blue towards the edge, with the brightness concentrated at the core. Some shone beacons of light from their center, and among it all, there was a mass that glowed with darkness. It looked almost like it was the same thing as the rainbow sky, but dead, or at least inanimate. 

Eventually, I hit upon the idea of trying to pick out one of the dream-flutes, and sing to it. I got the distinct impression that the flutes and the drums were to be some form of lullaby, but for what, I don’t know, however, they came from near to the great, glowing, dark mass. It took me months and months to master it, luckily my dream-self could ignore time as he saw fit. Eventually, I sang along pitch-perfect, I sang to the impossible tones in my dream, and gradually, I felt as if something huge and old had seen me. Beyond mortal, beyond even the paltry god I worship, and I felt it was scared, scared that it may stop playing, scared about what happens, scared of nonexistence. That was all it felt, no joy, no love, no anger even, the most intelligent being I had witnessed, and it was only scared.

It was at about this time that I heard a hum, on that must have been in the background the whole time. It felt similar enough to the yellow violins of the real world, except that it was so completely red that it was impossible to see. I tried in vein to match the tone, I even fashioned instruments, and yet, nothing. I then tried a simple scraping of stone against the ground, so low, that I could only hear it when I willed myself to. I got closer and closer, and suddenly, I felt something. I know not what, clearly, there was no mind, just thoughts, thoughts that fell far beyond what my brain can comprehend. I felt further and further, felt an almost sleep, and felt knowledge of everything at once, no secrets lay buried, no possibility unknown, and just before my perception must go black and all things sane shattered in me, I felt a physical pain.

A real pain in my real body that brought me out of the dreams. My leg was bleeding, and there was a rat scurrying away from me and my hovel. The music was not quite gone, but it was fainter than ever. and most importantly, I got the sense that the idiotic, genius thing I felt, was slumbering and dreaming. And while it’s eventual waking would leave some things to exist, our concepts would die, time would be no more sanity would be the same as insanity, chaos would reign, while chaos would decrease. I don’t think those who seek immortality are idiots for not knowing the reality of outliving everything, I think them to be idiots because when it wakes up, they will wish they could die.

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 194: Yasuaki Shimizu

Last year was overflowing with incredible music, but no release enchanted me quite so much as Japanism’s and HMV’s hybrid reissue/re-edit release of Yasuaki Shimizu’s Subliminal (titled (Re)Subliminal appropriately enough and which I reviewed here). Now at the start of this year, Chee Shimizu and Yasuaki have reunited for the 1988 follow up to Subliminal entitled Dementos. Rather than omit any tracks in lieu of extended re-edits, Chee and Japanism present the original album unmodified, though Eitetsu Takamiya of Flower Records has stepped in for crisp and clean remaster. Musically, this represents a direct evolution of the sounds heard on Subliminal, even as that album was recorded Paris and this one in London and Bath with a completely different crew (including David Cunningham and Tears for Fears legend Manny Elias). Kaleidoscopic synths, rhythms, and folk instruments create atmospheres of African high life, synth-pop, new wave, Japanese traditional and Indian classical music, prog rock, and island psychedelia, resulting in a joyous soundtrack for humid tropical nights and mysterious alien jungles, all led by the dazzling voices of Yasuaki and his sister Mieko as well as Yasuaki’s fiery saxophone. And conceptually, the album explores the relationship between music and words as well as the strangeness of communication, with Yasuaki and Mieko transforming hours of idle talk into hypnotic lyrical spells and paradise anthems that soar above layers of exotic dance pop magic.

Yasuaki Shimizu - Dementos (Japanism / HMV, 2019) Cymbal swells and organ chords start “Blue Suits,” until crystalline melodies rain over energetic synth brass blasts and ethno-drum cascades comprised of massive snare smashes, climactic drum fills, and the liquid tablas of Pandit Dinesh. Glistening arps underly Yasuaki’s romantic voice, backed here and there by higher pitched siren songs. As we sweep into the blissed out chorus, the soulful voice layers of Mieko Shimizu take over…like soulful angel choirs climbing to the clouds over the crashing beats and reverb soaked horn cascades. And at the end, it all breaks down into wordless vocal flutters and oceanic vapors. Then comes the title track, beginning with pure rhythmic wonderment as percussive flows of metal intertwine with gliding drums and distorted basslines, which pulse down low as well as snake up the fretboard. Zany electronic riffs dance over heatwave choirs locked into wordless chants, before giving way to Yasuaki’s hushed romanticisms, all cooing and charismatic. Progged out drum fills lead to a sensual pre-chorus…whispered, hot, and gliding on sunbeams as Manny Elias’ rhythms bounce through an island dreamworld. Then everything explodes into full view as absolutely epic vocals overwhelm the spirit with gorgeous waves of positivity that are carried on Manny’s golden ride taps and after returning to the heatwave vocal chants, delirious synth swells bring in Yasuaki for this magical vowel-heavy choir section where effervescent spirits of light move together for one of the most entrancing and evocative sections of pop I have ever heard, even climaxing with an intergalactic organ solo.

“Madame Shriek” is shadowy and progged out, seeing the galloping Arabic fantasias of Omar Khorshid transmuted to a futuristic synthscape. Jangling guitar riffs from David Cunningham work against mutant synthbass distortions and far out brass fanfares and at some point, otherworldly reed melodies snake through a sunburst sky as all sorts of industrial percussion blasts wash through the mix. A swooning instrumental chorus sees paradise strings wafting in while elsewhere, delirious vocal loops move side-to-side over crashing electro-drums. It all eventually breaks down into a tribal passage of urgent hand drumming and ethnological string drones backgrounding throat sung spells and voice incantations, with the stereo field periodically overwhelmed by static soaked percussive energies and clacking synths bouncing through malfunctioning echo boxes. Then in “A Normal Day,” long mesmerizing bass slides generate huge currents of low end warmth, their textures so heavy and enveloping. Ritualistic metals tones and forest drums are locked into a feverish sway as moaning layers of saxophone weave humid webs of ambiance that sway gently in the tropical breeze. All the while, Yasuaki delivers one of the most breathtaking vocal performances of his career, again hushed and sensual as he movies between slow rhythmic melodies and rapid motion runs that are tracked underneath by Mieko’s harmonizing layers of sunshine warmth. And beneath it all, the percussion grows ever more powerful, with huge pounding hits smashing through a heavenly haze of string synthesis.

In “Find No Word to Say,” weird cut-up voices, static clicks, and whistling tones rotate around one another in an introduction crafted by David Cunningham. Ritualistic hand drums under under slight phasing fx generate body moving propulsion while minimalist saxophone patterns evoking Yasuaki’s IQ 179 and Kakashi intertwine with morphing feminine voice fluids. There are thrilling rapid fire reed runs that dash through prismatic jungles and rainbow flower fields with vibes of African traditional music and jazz exotica and as the track progresses, layered webs of kaleidoscopic saxophone leads are moved between by strands of vocal exotica and held together by the methodical drum ceremonies. “I’m Dying for Love” begins with trippy speech samples floating in a mist of mutating orchestrations. When the rhythms enter, they are led by the tablas of Pandit as well as sliding subsonic currents, Jannick Top-style bass guitar riffs, gated snares splashing through reverb pools, and pulsating cymbals and David Cunningham’s chiming guitars bounce through a land of bubbles alongside mystical melodies of plucked glass. Yasuaki’s emotional croon is floated behind by melancholic synth pads, occasionally giving way to filtered passages of wordless beauty and elsewhere, exotic reed instruments travel a desert dreamland while sunshine synths disorient the mind. At some point, there is wondrous section of world fusion, as paradise crystal melodies and ecstatic falsetto drones give way to gorgeous clouds of singing from Mieko while all throughout the background, wind chimes and harps are transformed into cosmic glitter.

“My Friend the Secretary” features another one of David Cunningham’s introductory collages, with swelling drones, backwards flowing mallet instruments, and amorphous atmospheres growing in intensity. A heavy beat smashes in with storming Zeuhl vibes as crushing drums flow beneath funked out basslines that journey through lands of darkness. Chaotic bell noises fly in the sky and wrap around arcing sax drones until the song explodes into an epic solar choir featuring fairies chanting to the spirits of the sky and as Yasuaki’s voice enters, his smooth and heady melodies stand strong against the prog maelstrom swirling all around. Fuzz guitars are smeared into abstract colorations before being set on fire while the stereo field is stuffed full with weird voices and morphing noise fx and the song climaxes with waves of bombastic drum maximalism charging through polychromatic vocal harmonizations. For “Anaconda Mon Amour,” marimbas, kalimbas, and the guitars of Dominique Brethes drop like rain in a forest of dreams while distorto-bass pulsations work themselves into feathery funk riffs. Radiant drone gases spread all round while hot cymbals hiss and pan side-to-side, everything building towards synthetic reed solo climaxes that transport the soul to faraway islands of fusion exotica. Joyous whistle melodies descend as gaseous synth layers swirl in place and up in the sky, euphoric organ lines are obscured by a nacreous reverb fog. And as the basslines continue to bubble and pulse through strange fx layers, heady brass stabs rain down from an equatorial future funk paradise.

“Soul de Rock” starts with towering drums and heavy beat fire, as Manny Elias’s toms crash and snare smashes over wonky piano riffs, distorted basslines, and weird celestial voice chants. As the rhythmic intensity settles, Yasuaki enters with his melodious voice and soars above the molten basslines and their stoned funk fluidity. The air is suffused with blipping space fx, strange exotic accents, and alien harpsichords and at some point, Yasuaki is backed by feminine voices as a moaning sax melody arcs through the sky. During a smashing climax wherein we return to the monstrous beat explosions, Yasuaki and his apocalyptic choir soar epically overhead before giving way to a blazing saxophone solo that sets the very air on fire as it flies above smoldering noise explosions. The song then spends the rest of its time alternating between the hard-hitting yet swooning vocal pop dreamworlds and the more intense drum and bass workouts, until finally climaxing with emotive vocal chants, searing fuzz waves, and layers of swelling synthesis sounding like a cloud of cosmic dust. We close with the epic saxophones of “Sateto,” as circular breaths and fiery solos decay from eternal mountain tops. Mystical drones and lush orchestrations move through an aquatic haze along side animalistic horn bleats while Yasuaki continues his breathtaking journeys overheard, letting loose Blade Runner atmospherics that surf gently on Pandit’s hand drums while stoking airs of mystery and intoxication.

(images from my personal copy)

[solistrix-writes]

#002 - kissing omniscience

@fangirltothefullest here it is!! sorry for any bad...ness, as this was never meant to see the light of day lmao

The cave holding the Anisols’ manifestation of their goddess is dark and cold. Only in the orb’s chamber is there light, the otherworldly glow of it throwing bright blue onto the strange planes of stone. The Anisol priestess calls the other paladins over, to speak with them of the danger and sheer power of the Anisol orb.

Lance stretches forward, entranced by the floating orb, pulsating with some sort of siren energy so strong that he can’t look away. The other paladins are occupied with the Anisol priestess, the gatekeeper of this planet’s religion, reciting a warning in low tones. He can feel this force, drawing him in with every pulse of light and soft whisper of a distant voice in his ear. Millions of androgynous voices, chanting in alien languages he can’t differentiate, all urging- touch it, become one with us, join us, see all there is to see, touch it, prove yourself, become one with us, join us, boy, and see the vastness of all-

“NO!” The Anisol priestess screams, much too late.

His gloved finger brushes the blue light, and his mind explodes into transcendence.

He sees supernovas, brighter than anything and blinding like nothing else, blasting into brilliant colour and consuming entire star systems in the blink of an eye. He sees black holes, millions of light- years across, existence spanning from the creation of time to the end of everything, when all stars had blinked out and the universe was cold and empty and dead. He sees planets and stars collide, the Milky Way and Andromeda becoming one, an event that in real time takes place over billions of years, in less than five seconds. He sees the beginnings of life, and the last, unrecognizable life form left in the universe perish at the end of it all.

Atomic bombs, set off so close he can feel the hot rush of radioactive wind from its source, an orange mushroom cloud blooming into the sky on Earth and, in the event of human thirst for conquest, on extraterrestrial planets. An alien mother clutches her child to her chest, the radiation washing over them and blistering their skin and the strands of their hair white as snow.

He sees alien life forms, trillions of them, quadrillions of them, and discoveries in science so far off and advanced he can’t even begin to comprehend what he is seeing. The fusion in the center of a star. Seconds passing in billions of years in the center of a black hole, everything so dark it was past cognition. Weapons of war blowing planets into shards of rock, the destruction silent in the vacuum in space. An endless amount of sunsets and sunrises. Meteors raining down on a pockmarked planet. Mountains so tall and vast they dwarf Olympus Mons more than hundreds of times over. A cold and dead planet, flung out of orbit from its star, skeletons, eons old, littering the surface. Wars and battles and battlegrounds and scarred planets, soil so soaked with blood it is scarlet in the light of a winter’s sunrise. Castles buried under desert sands, the last remnants of a long-dead civilization.

He hears screaming, tongues that even time had forgotten, sounds made by alien voices completely indescribable in all human languages, every piece of music ever crafted by human and nonhuman hands played all at once in a harmonious, beautiful, discordant cacophony of sound. The deafening boom of a massive bomb destroying entire civilizations. The first human voice, the last human word. Commands and battle drums, clanging metal. Fledgling laughter. Birdsong. Death wails screamed over the bodies of fallen lovers.

He feels the soft rush of waves around his legs. He feels ice and snow sting his face. He feels diamond rain slash his flesh to ribbons, and then an alien apothecary sewing up a battle wound with careful concentration knit onto its features. He feels himself running down a cold, wet beach, laughter unrestrained and loud, the sand dark grey except for where his feet fall, glowing warm and white around them. He feels Altean silks wrapped around his shoulders, Galran armor latched around his torso, Balmeran rings shoved through his ears. He feels grass so fine it must’ve been made from satin, obsidian spear blades sharp enough to slice with just a tap. Volcanic explosions sear his flesh off his bones and turn them to ash; the same burning feeling comes after, but much milder, and deepset in his chest, as he is an ancient king gazing at his betrothed, the amount of love in his heart almost unbearable. He breathes in the acid air of Taujeer, feeling the sting, the pain in his lungs, feeling the encroaching death darken the edges of his vision as he strains for air and the acid eats away at his throat.

He is a Sumerian woman, holding her baby in her arms, feeling its soft skin and sleepy breaths on her arm. He is a H’gadii girl, from the planet of Yutuk, throwing herself in front of a young boy- her friend, her dearest friend- and taking a killing blow from an enraged soldier. His-her - their death inciting a 50-year mass rebellion, liberating the H’gadii people. He is a Chtel-ut boy, bowing deeply, before performing a welcoming dance to the Paladins of old as they arrive in the village of Chtel-te. Hard, black soil is pounded underneath his feet as he and his fellow dancers perform a swirling, mesmerizing illusion of a dance. His colorful skirts and heavy robes spiral around him, shimmering and rippling to the beat of the drum in the bright light of midday.

He tastes blood iron in his mouth, stale and hours old, from a hovercraft fight between rivalling city gangs. He tastes an oncoming storm in the ozone-rich air blowing from the south, while on a galleon in the middle of the Pacific. He tastes bile as he watches legion after legion of enslaved Rejor soldiers fall, shoved off a cliff to their deaths in the battle of Mnor.

Suddenly, he is Coran, very young, playing with his siblings on an intact Altea, the blue mountains in the distance huge and imposing over the field where his brother and sister play apothecary and customer. He stares up at the mountains, awed by their majesty, shrill voices talking, indistinct, behind him. A breeze rustles the fluorescent blooms around him, twisting the train of his delicate robes behind him. His siblings call out, and he turns away from the mountains.

He is Hunk, four years old, running into his moms’ arms, after being told they were adopting him. A bright joy, sunshine shoved in a bottle, is hot and unrestrained in his tummy, where butterflies flutter. He is smiling into his Mama’s arms, as Mommy cries happy, laughing tears into his hair, kissing it over and over again. This was so long ago, and he was so young, he barely remembers the words that were said. All he remembers is the happiness, the glee, the warm and security of belonging. He often revisits this memory before bed, feeling empty and alone in the deep, cold reaches of space.

He is Pidge, thirteen years old, sitting on the garden wall with her brother late at night, looking out over the suburbs. He is decoding more and more messages from Dad, the keys clicking constantly. His voice, a rumble she feels more than hears as she leans against him, calms her with its rhythm. He is reading out more messages from Dad, deepening his voice and imitating Dad’s thick midwestern accent, with its flat vowels and varied pitch. She falls asleep under the stars, softly snoring.

He is Keith, barely one, even, and held in a woman’s arms. He can’t see her face- his vision is unclear, and the room is dark. She is singing to him in an alien language, speaking calming and reassuring words to him, stroking his hair, rocking him. Mommy loves you, Kyeryt. Mommy loves you so much.

He is sixteen, almost seventeen, and he is blazing through red desert on a stolen hoverbike at almost deadly speeds. Red dust is rising up in massive plumes behind him, swallowing the Garrison security cruisers up in russet dust clouds. His reason for running is nothing to be joyous about, but the thrill, the adrenaline blaring in his veins makes him shut his eyes tight, tilt his head back, and whoop loudly at the cornflower-blue sky.

He is Allura, at a ball as a younger teen. Her dress is brand new, silver and blue silk draping around her in elegant waves. Embroidered blue gems glitter from the hems and belt, catching the glowlights floating aimlessly above the dancing guests. A fast-paced waltz plays over the sound of talk and laughter, and Allura sits by the window, looking at the crowd. Before long, her father comes over and holds out a hand, a silent invitation. Allura gladly takes his hand, and they twirl out onto the floor, her skirts spinning outward in spiralling murals of silk and lace. Her expertly coiled updo slowly falls out, ringlets bouncing against cheeks flushed from laughter and exertion. She goes to bed that night thoroughly exhausted and smiling.

He is Shiro, a year earlier and readying for launch to Kerberos. He looks up at the sky through the ship’s windows, and sees the moon from afar, a white crescent in the blue.

“Readying. Launch in five.”

He continues pressing buttons, turning switches, adjusting knobs on the screens according to the instructions being relayed into his ear. Matt Holt is reading off strings of numbers into his microphone, and adjusting calculations as a tinny voice gives suggestions. Sam Holt is double-checking, triple-checking, quadruple-checking every single thing on the ship, a bundle of overexcited nerves.

“Launch in thirty. Twenty-nine.”

They buckle in their seats, flip a few more switches, and settle back to stare at the sky. Matt smiles and says into the comms, “See you later, Katiebug.” Sam smiles and repeats the same thing, but to his wife, and now Shiro feels the need to say something to Keith.

“Don’t get into any trouble, kiddo.”

The engines fire, and the Kerberos mission is exploding into the sky, to the farthest reaches of the solar system. Science and discovery await.

He is himself, during some summer visit to Cuba, years ago. He rides his abuela’s old, rusty levscooter through the streets of Varadero, and some girlfriend or boyfriend he can’t recall is holding onto his waist, giggling into his ear. His guitar case is lashed to the back with some old cords, jostling through rough turns and little curb hops every so often. He can feel the Cuban sun and tropical heat beating down on his back. He’s telling a lively story in Spanish to the happy person clinging to him, who seems to very much enjoy his company. Through the gaps between palm trees and Spanish-style buildings with red roofs abound, he sees the white sand of Varadero beach, and beyond, the sun glinting off bright blue water. He smells his favorite pizza shack as the levscooter drones by, hiccoughing a little with the extra weight. The person lays their head on his back, and he can feel their heartbeat pound against his back.

He is himself, years in the future, laying in bed in some bright house. Soft wind rustles the curtains, pulled apart across a wide open window. It’s mid-morning, and golden sunlight pools onto a blond wood floor. He hears the rush of waves against beach sand. He turns to see another person laying next to him, thin white sheets pulled up past their shoulders, soft, light snores coming from them. He rolls over and pulls them close, burying his nose in their dark hair. He feels them huff, and somehow knows that they smile sleepily, before a deep voice says, ‘good morning, Lance,’. Dark eyes open to look at him, sleepy and glazed- familiar eyes-

He feels millions of years, billions of millenia pass in seconds. He ages with Earth, watching her form and be destroyed thousands of times, a record on repeat. He sees humanity arrive, humanity depart, and humanity return over and over again. He sees the beginning of life itself, and the universe tears it apart unceasingly but still life persists.

He sees all of time, stretched out before him; all there is to be and all there was before his very eyes. Every birth, death, war, and all the love the universe will hold and had held is flashing before his very eyes.

For a single moment, Lance Suarez-Famosa is omniscient.

With that, it all stops. Lance separates from the orb, his eyes still glowing aqua, human brain stuffed with an amount of information millions of times its capacity, Keith hanging onto him with an iron grip around his arms and mouth open wide in a shout. He meets Keith’s dark eyes, and whispers, “I-”, before his eyes roll back into his head, and Lance knows no more.

i wrote this to “mountains” from the interstellar soundtrack several months ago

inpsiration to publish it was inspired by this post , as the concept was just so similar!

[movingimage]

Koyaanisqatsi Notes

-Starts off with quite ominous music with a deep voiced man saying the title of the documentary in a prayer like tone.

-The first image looks like cave paintings then transitions into an explosion that looks to be in a factory.

-All this is happening with the first song/prayer happening.

-My first impressions is that it is a very abstract and artistic film.

-The second scene proceeds to change song into a more mellowed but sorta religious song as the camera, shot from either a drone or helicopter unveils a barren landscape of a dessert, the music really entwines with the visuals creating an almost alien feeling for this environment.

-The composition is beautiful and has definitely been thought out, the cinematographer uses the shadows of these mountains as part of the landscape as much as the physical land itself, I believe this opening cinematic is meant to examine the beauty of nature.

-So far I really like the beginning of this. It has brought intrigue into what the doco is about but it also is just a very beautiful and enchanting thing to watch and observe.

-By the ten minute mark we finally get to see some colour in the sky and forestry which as of yet has not been there or very minimal to notice.

-I feel like the director is slowly opening the world to us to digest bit by bit.

-12:10 the landscape changes to skyscapes , of rolling clouds erupting into the air.

-14:10 the transition from cloud to the whites of a waterfall and then further into shots of the sea and water.

-The director does an excellent job at transitions each one is seemless and as there is no dialogue it tells the story of the land so well.

-16:40 we see our first sign of humans with the eruption of the earth, using to what I think is bombs.

-Showing our destructive tendencies.

-The shots of humanities impact onto the earth clearly showcases that we are an interference, an obscurity in the landscape of the natural world.

-By being shown almost 16 minutes of just natural landscapes the viewer really gets a grasp of the alien like qualities we impact onto the landscape, no more natural curves, now it is symmetry and lines.

-When humans are shown it is usually to coincide with our destruction, in my opinion symbolising the destruction of the natural cycle.

-The things we create are so unnatural.

-Around 23:00 the music changes to this choir singing jolly arias and people looking up to the sky, the music sounds so “we are gods” if you get what I mean, the camera transitions to huge towers and plains.

-I think this part is to show how we have sorta overcome our natural bonds and how we think we are godlike in our way of technology, dominating every form of natural development 

-With all these highways and roads, from above we look like ants all following an unforeseen path.

-It is so much work, so many shots of so many different ways of life. I believe it must be found footage as well as the other shots cause the workload that has been created is immense.

-One shot is a POV with a camera strapped to the back of a jet, looking like a POV of a bird, I think this is another comparison to us evolving ourselves.

-All this creativity came at such a cost however and at 30:30 we start to see bombs explosions, the loss we have endured to get to where we are. I believe this is stating the scourge that technology has also done to humankind and the planet

-At 33:09 a beautiful shot of an obviously bombed city centre as it zooms out we can see the extent of the trauma.

-36:40 starts to show man made demolitions of buildings. Hundreds of them.

-At 39:20 a series of time lapses with completely still cityscapes but clouds flying like a Hungry sea, I’m still trying to think of What it means but I find it real interesting how the cityscape is never changing but nature is ongoing. Maybe it’s stating that in time we will be nothing and it will just be these still cities, while nature still follows its course and continues.

-41:10 starts off with sounds like the noise of a beehive and shows visuals of thousands of people waiting for lines or in groups. We are so advanced but we still follow those animal imstincts but now we have pretty outfits to go alongside us. It shows humanity as clueless, stumbling round not really knowing where to go.

-I feel like this is sorta filmed in chapters with a different subject and theme for each one.

-At one point around 45:00 there was many time lapses of green buildings with lights going on an off and cars racing round like fireflys, I didn’t know what it meant then but I think it was talking about us going into the age of electricity and movement.

-I feel like we are getting more familiar to the city.

-There was a lot of destruction from the war and now we are rebuilding ourselves, I think this, because as before it showed humans sorta stuck and not walking but now all of a sudden we a thriving with this jovial music that coincides with the visuals of people nipping around now being busy, getting stuff done.

Humanity has finally come to terms with our powers and we are thriving.

-We’ve now got machines doing what we used to have to do, no more sorting mail, packing food or creating clothes, we have become masters of our technology, creating bounties that we would never have dreamt about a century ago. We have essentially escalated past nature at this point. 

-Just realised but this is the same “we are gods” song the director played when we first created the planes and high rises.

-I really think this is showing humans getting back on track.

-53:10 showing the creation of recreational entertainment, cinemas, game machines, bowling alleys, malls, shops, fastfood joints.

-humanity is consuming so much.

-It is showing how efficient we’ve become in making almost anything whether it is cars or jammy dodgers, we have learnt to coexist With the technology weve created. It is more incorporated into everyday life.

-59:00 a great and very scary shot of machines making machines. Technology has come to overbear on all we do.

-1:06:00

Very abstract now the music sounds very space like or distant and very calm. It continues with images of compute routers but every now and then they would put a satellite (google earth type) image in the mix and you can see how similar the two are, as a society we are becoming more and more robotic in the way we live. To the extent that from above with all the lights and roads we can’t even distinguish us from a computer router.

-1:11:06 

That old prayer like music is finally back and we watch footage of everyday people but it’s up close and each person looks more and more hopeless, we see their eyes and they are empty. With all this technological development we have forgot the meaning of being human and from that people have voids in their souls that all this entertainment and industry will never fulfill.

-Shots of homeless, cripples people in hospitals,it shows the people we have forgotten.

-The director really loves to hold onto his shots, when he shoots these people on the street, he does not waver away and instead sticks onto people’s gaze like a hunter, capturing every emotion whether it be annoyance, happiness or insecurity. He attacks it.

-01:16:14 

We see what is the thrusters of a rocket igniting, we follow it up into the sky and as it gets higher and higher the title word KOYAANISQATSI starts its chant and With that we see the shuttle erupt into a ball of flame and we follow the long descent of the shuttle cabin as it plummets to the earth. I believe this is a message of aspirations, how far can humanity keep travelling up the unnatural ladder until we fall to ash.

-1:20:00 we see the same cave paintings that we were shown at the start and the chanting stops this obviously implying us going back to the stone ages.

-With the first shot of the cave and the huge explosion, I can only assume that is the creator of the doco saying an error If humanity is ending.

-I think the documentary is about the cycle of humanity. Our relationship with the earth and nature and how our aspirations with technology can be our undoing. For a documentary that has no dialogue at all, it’s use of visuals and music made the whole thing coherent throughout the movie. The film tackled so many different issues and went about it in these chapter like segments where each idea would be generated. These ideas almost always tackled the theme of humans interfering with the natural balance of the earth.

-I think this documentary was a masterclass in semiotics the subject that we Learnt about last year in class. There were so many chapters in this documentary which I had to look at in-depth and really think broadly about. The overlying narrative from the start, was about humans interfering with natural world; However I did not expect the whole thing to go on for one hour and 30 minutes with not a single use of dialogue. The way that the director used visual and audible signs to let the viewer understand his meanings was brilliant. The magnitude of work created in this project was overwhelming and so many different meanings to extract from every different thing. I felt like I was writing in my notebook every second trying to keep up with the deeper themes of the peice. I think the way the director took his time with the piece and slowly showed the change between the natural habitat and a technological, let the viewer soak up the different environments so when it changed you could easily tell the difference between the natural and the technological. For example the first 30 minutes was all natural environments of hills and skyscapes, it was only when humans came along, that you could start to see the unnatural lines and the weird curves in everything that we make. This is when I really realised how much we indented the human way of life onto the surface of the earth.

-In my opinion the piece has ages very well. I couldn’t discern what year the film was shot and the broader message still hits home in our modern day. Even now with all the environmentally friendly and efficient structures humanity is putting into place to stop climate change, we are still a world away from the balance we should have with our technological emissions. One thing that intrigued me halfway through the film, was the directors choice of shooting close-up videos of ordinary peoples faces. With what we can see with the fashion of the people being shot, it looked to be around the 60s and 70s. At this point in time It shows that we were still not comfortable with technology modern technology, with people looking very unnerved when the camera spotlighted them. This sequence was shot again however but this time it looked to be more the 90s-00s. The shots parrelleled the previous chapter however this time people didn’t even seem to notice being filmed and if they did, they didn’t care. I think this shows how complacent we have become with the course our technology follows and that we are becoming more and more numb to the alien effect it used to have on us.

[starloserrpg]

0007 The War of the Week

Durandal, our ship, is taking us on some interstellar scavenger hunt on the galactic rim.  We drop out of drift next to a tiny green world with a wobbly axis that does a great job of bathing the entire planet in sun & rain.  Whole rock is one big forest.

Ship heads straight for it, System 1401, planet C. Even picks a landing zone. There’s one clearing in a sea of green canopy and a collection of hundreds of huge flattened stones in the shape of a ship, very close to the shape of OUR ship.

We land in a fog and start to pickup life readings. A few dozen medium (bipedal, larger than human, closer to vesk dimensions) sized creatures at first, but then swarms appear out of the mist. The ship touches down in a crowd of hundreds.

Durandal, still not telling us a thing, turns on every floodlight the ship has, all directions, lighting up the forest like a christmas tree. The ramp lowers and we step out to a thundering chorus of these beings chanting, singing, or praying - we can’t be sure.

We call them bearmen, as they’re clearly carnivorous with their huge jaws & teeth. They’re covered in various colors & combinations of colors of fur. Powerfully built upper bodies standing on huge lower legs and clawed feet. They wear jewelry and some armor made from local sources. For weapons, they carry what a human would call a “tree trunk with a handle on it.” Huge weapons that surely weigh 150lbs or more, hefted over their shoulders.

End of the ramp: there’s an old one. He’s got more jewelry than the rest. His once black fur is salt & pepper faded. He’s got scars head to toe and one arm is tied to his chest in some kind of permanent splint. 

We waltz down the ramp wondering what the hell Keema’s going to say to these people. They’re clearly sentient (they carry tools and there’s hundreds in one place) but I don’t dare reach out to them with my mind, might scare them.

Before we can decide what to do, the old one speaks. He roars once, a short but powerful blast that silences them all. Then he steps forward and speaks good ole pact world common. Something to the effect of “We lost it. The sacred site is taken by the enemy.”

Apparently their enemy is another humanoid species, at a similarly primitive stage of development living on this planet. No accident, I’d bet. Naturally they’re at war and it doesn’t look good for the bears. So whatever the previous crew of our ship gave them is now in the hands of the cannibal frog men. We’re smack dab in the middle of someone’s experiment. 

The others fuss a bit about messing with alien politics but before long they realize they’re so far from anyone’s jurisdiction it’s not gonna matter. If we’re going to take back whatever “we” left here, we’re going to need to help the bears retake some territory. So we teach them how to make gun powder. 

We find the right minerals, teach the bears how to combine things with fire to make an explosion. They’re amazed of course, their war-hardened brains instantly dreaming up a thousand applications to a 3′ diameter ball of rocks, metals, glue, and explosives that we nickname “frag-wads.” 

We teach them how to light and throw them. We even load a few of the smarter-than-average-bears (in Earth language oddly enough has a term for this which is “Yogi”) into our cargo bay to drop from the air.

The team leads an all-out assault on a stone pyramid the bears built against a force of thousands of frogmen. It looks bad for us until we start throwing our i.e.d.’s at them. We make one pass over the frogs with the ship, firing the turret and dropping bombs out the back. One bear nearly incinerates the ship but our engineer is there to guide them.

It’s a bad day in frog-town.

Once the battle’s over, we march in with the bears and they move several tons of stone to reveal a crate in the stone pyramid. We load it up on the ship, say our thanks, and take off.

Turns out, it’s a stealth attachment for a shield generator, lowers the energy signature of active shield barriers to 30% of normal. Makes the ship harder to pickup on active and passive scans. We install it and Durandal’s already got a new heading in the drift computer for us.

[rantceratops]

Misplaced

I’ve always really enjoyed this episode, especially since it truly gives the kids a chance to shine on their own an, tbh, handle things a lot better than the adults do in their own realm.

“How about here?” lmao, Klarion at the complete mercy of his stubborn cat familiar. I’m just imagining he’s been traveling for like, fucking hours bitching at Teekl to just pick a spot omg this place is full of dark magic and bad vibes JUST PICK A SPOT. 

Isn’t it nice when the magical gem stone draws the pentagram symbols on the ground for you? No need to get your hands dirty with chalk or the blood of animals or... some shit, idk. 

I like the creepy chanting.

“Cookie fixins’!?” “Snickerdoodles.” “Babe, you rock my world.” LMAO, jesus christ, Wally XD 

“I wish he’d just give me a little space!” “*disappears*” Zee, you miiight wanna watch what you wish for, cause you literally just got like, all the space in the world.

Billy is just so cute! :3

Man, those kids sure posted on the internet awfully quick. But I mean, come on, some of the people on here would probably live blog the apocalypse so I don’t think it’s so far-fetched that they’d run to the interwebz that fast.

Hey look, it’s most of the rooms for the Cave! Convenient ref for fanfiction.

Awww, Supey stop being so cute with the wee little ones!

Hey remember how when this episode aired they fucking cut out the part with the teenagers spray-painting the side of the building, and also cut out the last part of Artemis singing to those little kids? Just for time reasons? That was rather annoying, but at the same time kind of a pleasant surprise to those who purchased it on iTunes right after. GOTTA GET MORE COMMERCIALS IN, AMIRIGHT?

Everyone seemed so convinced that Artemis literally doesn’t know those nursery rhymes because of her less than stellar childhood, but I honestly think that she’s purposely butchering them and mashing them together for the kids, because they all use the same tune. I mean, for fuck’s sake, I don’t even know what the “yes sir, yes sir, three bags full” line is from, I’ve never heard the rhyme Ba Ba Black Sheep. I’m sure Artemis probably had at least one child’s book of rhymes at some point, if anything. I mean, I suppose it’s still a possibility she not super well-versed in them, but I think in this case it’s done purposely.

Also just like to appreciate that Artemis does sound like she has a good singing voice in there somewhere, you can hear it just a bit when she’s first singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. <3

“Did you call?” “No answer.” “You could Zeta there.” “I’ve been collecting kids all night, I don’t need to see another empty house.”

I really wish I had something intelligent to say about this little Spitfire moment, but it’s early in the morning and I can’t quite think. But it’s really adorable and sweet that Artemis cares so much about Wally finding out if his parents are gone, too, and the fact that the two of them almost seem to have discussed this sometime before this moment. “Did you call?” Like, she expected him to have done so, so now I’m almost imagining some kind of quiet moment between the two of them before they all split up to start finding kids. It’s only a five second moment between the two of them, but it’s just so sweet, I love it! I wish I knew exactly what this little moments MEANS though, it seems like I’m missing something with my assessment here, or maybe that’d be digging too deep? Anyone have more intelligent thoughts about this particular Spitfire moment? I’d love to hear it.

“Got three more.” LOL, still one of the best screenshots of Conner. That little girl is having the time of her life up there, oh my god.

Billy, the Zeta does not recognize your prepubescent not-Captain Marvel voice! 

“We know that there’s a temptation to run wild--” Oh Wally, you would know all about running wild, wouldn’t you? Also, this episode sometimes makes me think of that scene in the Jimmy Neutron movie where all the parents in Retroville get taken by the aliens, and at first all the kids are like going nuts and doing what they want, but then the next day they want their parents back and they all start freaking out and shit. ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED.

Also let’s take bets on the fact that the League tech automatically translated their words into other languages, because I highly doubt Wally knows much besides English. Then again, he could surprise me, maybe he knows a little bit of something else. I DOUBT IT THOUGH.

“It’s up to Bill Batson to find a way to the Cave, no matter the risk!” Oh lord he’s referring to himself in the third person, we’re in trouble.

A nice view of Wally’s souvenir collection! There’s Artemis’s charred up arrow! Aww, I always enjoyed the idea of him running up to that generator or whatever the fuck it was they used to get an EMP pulse, and pulling that arrow out. Like, he was probably all upset that it got ruined and was like “Look what you did to my souvenir!” to Artemis, and she was probably like “bitch, please, that’s MY arrow and it just saved your ass a second time!” and then they had a totally not-meaningful little argument about it. But ultimately Wally put it back up there in it’s rightful place, and probably proud of the fact that it serves as two different souvenirs. 

Also, I find it incredibly adorable that Wally left that green cloth as a sling. To me, that says a lot. That says that what started out as just being a souvenir from Count Vertigo’s cape, it winded up being much more than that. Instead, it winded up being a souvenir from when he broke his arm in a bayou and Artemis cared enough to sling it up for him to ease the pain. Like, he could have easily untied that knot and just left it as a ripped up cloth, but instead he left it and preserved it as Artemis has left it, and hung it up. That, imo, is incredibly sweet, and shows just how much that meant to Wally. It started out as one memory, then turn into a completely different and more meaningful one.

Where the crap was Artemis during the scene where Zatanna used the locator spell? Literally everyone was present but her... unless she was still back at the gym for some reason? IDK, strange. 

You that bad feeling you get when you’re in an airplane and the driver disappears because it was her birthday at midnight, officially making her an adult and thus removing her from the child dimension and into the adult one? THAT BAD FEELING.

“My son! My son’s gone!” No, no, chill dude, Superboy’s got him! Just, you know... in another dimension.

Lawrence, you mother fucker, acting like a concerned parent when we all know good and well that you don’t give two flying fucks about your own kids. (also, this was the first time we ever saw Lawrence’s face)

Jim Gordon! 

How the fuck did Riddler get in there/impersonate a scientist? LMAO. Also why am I greatly amused by Lawrence having to work with Riddler? He’s such a fucking loser and I could see Lawrence normally scoffing at Riddler as far as villains go. Heh, I guess big plans like that can even bring unlikely villains together for a common goal.

“He’s Captain Marvel!” “And I’m Speedy Gonzales.”

“Listen, when Fate possessed my body, he defeated Klarion by attacking the cat!” Interesting that Wally shares this tidbit of vital information with Artemis only and not, you know, the entire Team. Like, he specifically speeds up to her and tells her this.

“Zatanna!” “Stop!”

“You can’t do that!” “She has her own life!” “Kent would never allow you to--” “Kent Nelson did object strenuously, so I released his spirit to the afterlife, he is gone.”

Uuugh, everyone reuniting

Aw man, Dick’s little hesitation... he wants to stay and comfort her, he knows what it’s like to lose a parent... :(

(Man YJ has such shitty portrayals of the Riddler and Joker. Sorry but... definitely not the best. I mean Riddler’s a huge loser any way you spin him but... ugh)

[jessekg]

Kanye West's Sunday Service: has the rapper started a church?

It's a scene you might expect to find in a movie, or perhaps on Sunday morning TV. Surrounded by mountains, a gospel choir, dressed all in white, sings and chants at the direction of a man, also in white. Just outside the frame, members of the congregation, also all in white, break into rapturous dancing and chanting.

If it looks and sounds like a church service, it's probably a church service, but in this case, it's something a little different. The man at the centre is rapper/producer Kanye West, his hair dyed bright red and a huge smile across his face, and rather than standing behind a pulpit, he's behind a keyboard and a sampler, crouched down and bobbing his head to the beat. Behind him, percussionists wait for their cue to join the choir, banging on drums to supplement the music coming from West's sampler; in this case it's gospel musician Fred Hammond's This is the Day.

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A post shared by Kanye Sunday Services (@kanyesundayservices) on Feb 24, 2019 at 2:23pm PST

West had a tumultuous 2018, alienating fans with his remarks on slavery and his relationship with Donald Trump, but since the beginning of 2019, he's been looking for redemption through conducting what he calls Sunday Service. It's a music-focused event held in various locations, including in and around his home in Los Angeles, the Adidas headquarters in Portland, Oregon and even on an airplane mid-flight. It was recently announced that the next stop is the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where West and his choir will be performing on Easter Sunday.

But what exactly is Sunday Service? Is it a recording session for a new album, a concert series, a church service, a celebrity cult? All of the above?

According to Kim Kardashian West, who also acts as the official videographer for Sunday Service, it's none of the above. "We didn't really have a name for it because it's more of just a healing experience," Kardashian, who was joined by sisters Kourtney and Khloé, said on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

"It's really uplifting and you feel excellent," added Khloé. "We have so many friends that maybe feel a little too judgmental when they go to church or something like that. When they come here they feel so free and safe."

There's no praying. There's no sermon. There's no word. It's just music and it's just a feeling.- Kim Kardashian West

When Kimmel asked, half-jokingly, whether they pray to Kanye or to a God at this church-not-a-church, Kim said, "Actually, there's no praying. There's no sermon. There's no word. It's just music and it's just a feeling."

At this point, her other sister, Kourtney, interjected with, "but it's Christian."

Despite the claim, there has been at least one sermon at Sunday Service, although it was delivered by rapper DMX, who lead the gathered attendees in a morning prayer on March 17.

Who is Sunday Service actually for?

As of yet, Sunday Service is an invite-only event, drawing in guests such as the West/Kardashian/Jenner family, but also David Letterman, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Diplo, Rick Rubin, Paris Jackson, Courtney Love, Leon Bridges, Francis and the Lights and more.

Guests are asked to not speak to the press about the event, making information on it scarce, but there seem to be no rules against recording and posting it on social media.

"Who else needs a little positivity today?" wrote L.A.-based vocal coach Stevie Mackey on Instagram after attending a Sunday Service. "I grew up singing in every choir in town so this brings back so many fun memories."

Even though it's not technically a church, it seems to be based on one, with the addition of West, who acts as a hybrid of emcee, conductor, producer and, well, pastor. The ultimate goal of Sunday Service, according to longtime West collaborator Tony Williams, is to communicate the message of love effectively," he told a crowd at during a Sunday Service at the Adidas headquarters. "This is the church to go with you out into the world."

Kanye and Gospel

None of this should come as a surprise to anyone who has followed West's career. Gospel music has long had an influence on the producer/rapper, and West has never been one to hide his Christianity.

On 2004's Jesus Walks, West rapped, "They said you can rap about anything except for Jesus/ that means guns, sex, lies, video tape/ but if I talk about God my record won't get played."

Jesus Walks is, naturally, performed as part of Sunday Service, as are many other spiritual versions of his songs. In the hands of the choir, for example, West's 2010 King Crimson-sampling hit song Power becomes an uplifting self-empowerment sing-along.

There are also covers of other songs, such as Marvin Gaye's Save the Children and the Beatles' Blackbird. West will also perform live remixes of songs, such as the aforementioned This is the Day, which earned Hammond's approval.

"When I heard and seen it ... um um um #kanyewest flipped it!" Hammond wrote on Twitter. "Save the negative comments about this Luke 19:40 'I tell you,'" he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out #choirmusicrocks."

Gospel samples have made their way into West's work in the past, dating back to his 2004 debut, College Dropout. His 2016 album The Life of Pablo was even called a hip-hop and gospel album. While it wasn't the uplifting album many fans had hoped for, parts of songs from Pablo that contain gospel elements are also regularly performed at Sunday Service.

There is also a workshop vibe to Sunday Service, especially when West remixes a song live or plays new music from his upcoming album Yahndi for the first time — an album that, judging on what we've heard, could be his most gospel-heavy yet.

If West is looking to put a controversial year behind him, it would seem he's looking to do it through gospel music — and hoping an Easter Sunday performance can give him redemption.