#So... ex-valkyrie be upon ye

[arachnestwilight]

Musical box. :)

[brynhildr-valkyrie-voldsom]

15 Questions, 15 people

Are you named after anyone? Not that I am aware of. As far as I'm concerned I am the original and only as I have not come across any other being with my name in all my years.

When was the last time you cried? *clears throat* I'm choosing not to answer this..

Do you have any kids? Absolutely not. I'm not sure I can either. Knowing Odin he most likely made my sisters and I infertile. *whispers under breath* Cruel bastard..

Do you use sarcasm a lot? Noooo, ofcourse not. Why would I do such a thing as that? *clear sarcasm, followed by an eyeroll*

What’s the first thing you notice about people?Depending on the being and the proximity. Some have distracting attributes up close. Being an ex warrior of the throne, my first instinct is to gauge if I can trust them. I've learnt to read body language over time to choose those with good intentions and others with ill will. One certain movement, a look in the eye and I can tell if they're either going to attack me or want to make peace.

What’s your eye color? Honey brown but, they shift to gold when my emotions would like to slip out. Very annoying in some circumstances.

Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings are for fairytales. Horror is for battle. I mainly do not have time to watch Television. Far too busy being a King to my people.

Any special talents? *smirks* Yes..

Where were you born? Asgard. I don't think I was born, more like created by the Aldafaðr (Odin). I have no memory before becoming a Valkyrie. Therefore I don't think I was ever a child or have/had parents. Unless my memory was wiped of those memories in order to replace them with new one's. Sounds like something "the great King" would do.. *snarl*

What are your hobbies? When I had time before becoming King, I got intoxicated ALOT. Does that count? Flying upon a Pegasus every eve/afternoon?

Do you have any pets? I suppose the Midgardian's would think Aragorn (Her pegasus) a pet. He's more like an old friend to me. Been through many a battle by my side as a trusty steed.

What sports do you/have you played? Haven't really had an interest in Migardian sports. I train with my people and keep fit enough doing as I do. Is hunting considered a sport? With Belgsnipe as the game? I use to bring down quite a few of those.

How tall are you? I am 5'3 close to 5'4.. *glares* Yes I am short but, I could still kick your arse, easily.

Favourite subject in school? School is for children. I never remember being a child. I only remember being trained with the thrill of killing and protecting my King drilled into my scull. To send the dead and dying on their last journey to Valhalla. It's all I ever knew.

Dream job? I guess I'm sort of living it? Sometimes I long to be with my Valkyrior again. Riding along side my sister as we defend the nine realms and send the worthy fallen to the heavens. I know that can never happen though. So it is as it's called, a dream job.

[agentnico]

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) Review

Am I the one who thought of that Britain’s Got Talent contestant Stavros Flatley when Russell Crowe popped up in this film? With the accent and the general demeanour? No? Just me? Fair enough.

Plot: Thor's retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher, who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who, to Thor's surprise, inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher's vengeance and stop him before it's too late.

Thor: Ragnarök is still to this day my favourite Marvel Cinematic Universe film. It perfectly reinvented the titular character by seamlessly blending Taika Waititi’s energetic comedic timing with the mythology already built by the franchise prior, and truly that movie felt as if it came out straight from a comic book. The many colours and the inclusion Mark Mothersbaugh’s synthetic heavy 80′s techno pimped music score really made this entry a stand-out. So naturally I was looking forward to Thor’s fourth outing, especially since the entire Ragnarök creative team were coming back. Of course there was also concern, as since Avengers: Endgame the MCU has seen a dip in quality, as the lack of narrative direction has made most of the newer films very mediocre at best. But hey, in Taika we believe, so scurried into the cinema I did on opening day, ready for some Thortastic madness! By the way, did anyone know that Ben & Jerry’s now do ice cream shakes at the cinema? B&J SHAKES!? I mean c’mon, I’m trying to budget here and then Ben & Jerry’s come and pull this stunt. They taste rad though, not going to lie. Anyway, with a mighty fine shake in my hand, I sat in the cinema, ready for Thor’s next adventure. What could possibly go wrong?

I’m so glad I had that Ben & Jerry’s shake, at least I got some good out of this cinema outing. It is to my huge disappointment to reveal that Thor: Love and Thunder may just be Taika Waititi’s first real flop. The movie is a rushed mess and a half. It feels similar to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 where Marvel gave James Gunn full creative freedom after he proved himself with the first Guardians film, now Taika to has been given full creative reign and the result is waaaaayyy too many cringey jokes, a lot of which don’t hit, and a very weak narrative plot, especially as the movie rushes through all the events, instead focusing on trying to fit in as may gags and humanly possible. 

First and foremost, they dumbed down the character of Thor to the point that we behold a bumbling idiot doing stupid things for the sake of jokes. In Ragnarök, yes Chris Hemsworth lent more into the comedic side of the character, with the innocent child-like outlook on certain things, however he was still cool. He still felt like a Norse god who can kick butt and lead an army. In Love and Thunder however, he is just silly to the point that you don’t see him as the hero anymore. What’s worse is that the movie reminds you of the good times, as there are a couple of dramatic scenes between Thor and Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, where Hemsworth actually shows signs of tender serious emotions, but then within minutes that is lost again in favour of some unfunny gag. And speaking of Portman, her return is actually one of the few highlights. Previously in the franchise Jane Foster didn’t have much purpose other than hey, Thor is a beautiful man, so he needs a beautiful woman to rub his face against. There was no chemistry or care for their relationship. However in Love & Thunder props given where props are due, Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster is utilized really well. Her relationship with Thor felt much more believable, and a certain flashback featuring their love backstory to the accompaniment of ABBA was one of the few successful sparks of humour in the film, and her story in the movie actually tackles some deeper subjects that I do wish were given more time to explore and delve into. 

In regards to other characters, there are a few, but again, due to the rushed plot where the movie seems to be racing against time itself, a lot of characters are heavily under-used. Valkyrie and Korg basically serve no purpose, other than the latter over-staying his welcome by cracking eye-rolling jokes. The Guardians of the Galaxy that are heavily featured in the marketing are in the movie for 5 minutes at best, if that. There are also a bunch of cameos throughout, some of which work, others not so much. I do want to talk about Christian Bale though, who plays the villain Gorr. As expected, Bale brings a powerhouse performance filled with gravitas and depth, however one that also has a bit of whimsy to it, and actually he was one of the best parts of the movie. Again though, not used enough. You have an A-list actor like Christian Bale and give him such a short role, that’s naturally disappointing. But in the moments he’s in he does magic. Metaphorically speaking but also physically, as he has this magical death sword which he spews out shadow monsters from. You know, typical evil bad guy shenanigans. 

Thor: Love and Thunder comes off as a big fat joke. It’s a self parody of itself essentially, opting to act as a 2 hour long stand-up show, only that the comedian didn’t bring any decent material to the stage. Don’t get me wrong, it has a good few entertaining moments, and visually its good to look at, especially if you want to see Thor’s butt cheeks, but all in all it’s an underwhelming experience. Especially if you’re someone like me who is a big fan of Thor, with not just Ragnarök, but the previous films too. I’m sad to say, no matter how much Guns N’ Roses hits Taika sticks in this film, it doesn’t save it from being nothing more that mediocre and forgettable. Ah heck, at least I had that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shake. That’s the only thing that’s keeping me going right now.

Overall score: 4/10

[gopeachllama]

So I read a rumour that Valkyrie and Jane would have a romantic thing in this movie, and I’m just thinking about Thor finding out that his ex-girlfriend and best friend-girl who he once tried to kiss upon misreading a signal are now dating, and that his ex-girlfriend has his hammer, is dressed like him and is calling herself the Mighty him (his name, Thor), like I know there is a reason but it is funny to think about his perspective on it. His ex, dressed as him, making out with his best friend.

you know, I actually never thought of it, but when you put it that way, I don't, hate it? I think it would entail a lot of hilarity esp with chris on screen and taika behind the camera. and though it will be so funny to watch unfold, it all speaks to the journey that thor (as in chris' thor) will have in the movie, which is: what exactly is his identity? bc it's exactly how you said, jane with his hammer, dressed just like him, maybe with a warrior partner, probably going after the same bad guys (is he going to be comparing his luscious locks with hers like he did with steve in infinity war? yes please). so if there's already this other thor that ticks all the boxes, then who is he? whether 'thor' is really him or just a mantle. I'm really excited for it and I know for sure taika will pull it off.

anayway back to your original point, tessa did say at comicon that valkyrie will be finding her queen, so we'll be getting a romance. it might be with jane, I'm open to that (and I absolutely don't think that thor and jane will be getting back together) but I'm still holding out hope that it will be with captain marvel.

[anagentinwriting]

Lifeline - Part 3

Summary: (First Responders!AU) Moving to Los Angeles and living with your brother, Thor, was never part of your plan nor was being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, but plans change when you are faced with your own emergencies. In your case, it was leaving behind a relationship that wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Will this be the fresh start you were hoping for or will your past find a way to catch up with you?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Odinson!Sister Reader

Word Count: ~2100

Warnings: Mentions of fire

Lifeline Masterlist / Main Masterlist

After much convincing from Carol and Nat the other day, you decided to go to the firehouse to meet this Steve face to face.  It wasn’t unusual for you to stop by the firehouse, but you thought making a batch of your mom’s to die for chocolate chip cookies would give you more of a motive. You didn’t want to go, but it would shut Nat and Carol up for a while. 

Walking into Station 107 Fire and Rescue’s garage, your eyes traveled to the second story loft overlooking the ambulance and the trucks. It was a cozy, warm space that had all the amenities of home. On one side of the loft was the kitchen with barn red walls, modern cabinets, and a huge fridge. On the other side was a living room filled with oversized couches, a flatscreen connected to a gaming system, and a pool table. A dining table sat in the middle separating both spaces in the large open area while exposed wooden beams hung from the ceiling. There was a hallway that led to the two dormitories towards the back of the compound. And below the loft were their lockers, gear storage, showers, and a small gym. 

A guy jumping out of one of the trucks makes you stop in place. He had broad, muscular shoulders and a small waist any girl would want to wrap their arms around. You knew everyone at this firehouse, so you could only suspect this man to be Steve. He shot you a quick glance your way, noticing the ever-growing stubble on his face, before closing the truck door and coming over to you. Nat and Carol were right; he was a good looking fella. He was someone you could’ve easily fallen for, but you didn’t think like that anymore. Hell, back then, you would’ve already had your kid's names picked out without even saying two words to him.

“Hi ma’am, can I help you?” He raised an eyebrow, wiping his hands on a rag.

“Is Thor around?”

“Oh, ah, you didn’t hear,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this--” he ran his hand through his hair, looking everywhere but at you “--but he passed away last week on a call saving a kid.”

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” you gasped, shaking your head. You covered your hand over your mouth to hide the smile appearing on your face. Steve had no idea who you were, so might as well play a little game.  

“I’m sorry. Afraid not, ma’am,” he sighed. “It was a shock to us all.” 

“Then, what about the baby?” You placed your hand on your stomach. “Am I going to have to do this on my own?” You glanced back up at him, and his eyes went wide, not sure how to answer this.

“A baby?” You covered your hands over your face and let out a fake sob. “I’m sorry, ma’am. He...um...he didn’t die. It’s a thing he wants all of us to say to the girls who come looking for him.”

You uncover your eyes, staring at him for a brief moment until you shake your head at your brother’s orders. “He told you to tell them this? That he died?” 

“Yes?” he said, coming out more like a question than a statement. 

“Poor girls, well not all poor because they should’ve known better,” you sighed, letting out an annoyed breath. “I’m going to have to talk to my asshole brother for this.” 

“Wait...uh...are you YN?”

“Yes. Do I know you?” You narrowed your eyes at him, eyeing him over. 

“Yeah...I mean no...at least not officially, but you helped me like a week or so ago on a call.”

“Sorry, I take like two hundred calls a shift sometimes. It’s hard to remember which one is which sometimes.” You shrugged, trying to not make it come off too obvious that you knew the one he was referring to.

“Right, sorry. It was the call with the electric pool. You told me to use…”

“..the hose and pulled her across,” you finished. “Oh right, right. That must make you Fireman Rogers, then.” You held out your hand, and he shook it with his cleaner hand.

“Please, call me Steve.” You nodded. “It was a great idea you came up with. You’re a real hero.”

“Ahh...thanks. It comes with the territory,” you answered, rubbing your hands together. “We try to save as many as we can, sometimes that doesn’t mean everyone, but we got to try, right.”

“Absolutely,” he nodded, eyeing you over. “Thor went to grab groceries with Val, but you’re more than welcome to wait upstairs in the loft.” He pointed over his shoulder before resting his hands on his belt, making his biceps double in size.

“No, it’s okay. I have to get to work, but I’ll give these to you.” You hand him the container, and he opens it, licking his lips. “Made them yesterday and figured I would drop a container off here since Thor was eyeing them.”

“Thanks,” he chuckled, snapping the lid back on. “They look good.”

“I would try at least one because they go pretty darn fast.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.” He nodded, holding up the container to you. “It was nice meeting you, YN.”

“You too, Steve.” 

“WHOA, YN! Is that you girl,” Sam shouted from the balcony. “What are you doing here?”

“Dropping off some cookies,” you shouted back, covering your hands around your mouth. 

His eyes widened, sprinting to one of the staircases on the side of the loft. He came up behind Steve and yanked the container out of Steve’s hands. Steve narrowed his eyes, watching Sam open it and take a big whiff of them.

“Man, Steve, you don’t know what you just gave up? I ain't sharing these with nobody.” He opened the container, grabbed a cookie out, and took a bite out of it, letting out a satisfied sound. Steve tried to grab one, but Sam shut the lid on his fingers. “Nope!” He shot daggers at Steve, but then he looked back at you with a gap-tooth grin on his face. “Thank you, YN, you’re the best.”

“Sam, you should at least give Steve one, since he has never had them before.”

“I guess you do have a point there.” He pointed his cookie at you, then at Steve before taking another bite, mulling over the idea. “Fine, just one…well half of one.”

Steve slowly reached in and grabbed half of a cookie and took a bite. His eyes shot to you, and he nodded his head. “Wow, these are incredible.” 

“Thanks.” You shot him a small smile. “I should get going, but I will see you, gentlemen, later.” 

“Safe travels, YN,” Sam waved.

“Have a good day at work,” Steve added with a side smirk.

You turned around and started for the door only to see Carol walk in. Upon seeing you, Carol’s mouth twitched into a knowing smirk as her eyes drifted from you and Steve. 

“I see you came and checked out the new transfer,” Carol winked, wiggling her eyebrows at you. 

“No,” you replied. “I dropped off some cookies.”

“Good cover.” she nodded. “What do you think?”

“Yeah, sure, he seems nice, but I am..”

“...not looking for a relationship...yatta yatta yatta,” she finished for you. “It doesn’t have to be a relationship, you know.” 

“Wow. Yup, you went there.”

“Of course I did, besides the way his eyes are traveling over you tells me he would be ready to mingle with you.” 

You peeked over your shoulder, noticing he wasn’t even looking at you. He was still talking to Sam, but his eyes flashed to yours for a brief moment. You turned back to Carol and narrowed your eyes at her.  

“Well look at that, now he knows you're interested.” She teased, making you scoff. “Peace out.” She patted you on the shoulder, walking past you. You watch her retreat past Sam and Steve, grabbing the cookies from Sam, forcing a frown to his features. 

Steve watched you walk out the door and popped the other half of the cookie into his mouth. He dusted the cookie crumbs on his pants, and Sam punched Steve on the bicep. “Ow, man. What was that for?”

“She’s cute, right?” Sam asked, shooting him a wink. 

“Yeah, smart, too,” he nodded, turning around to head up to the loft with Sam. “Does she know everyone in the firehouse?”

“She sure does.” Sam nodded. “YN moved here about three months ago. I know it had something to do with her ex, but I didn’t want to pry. Not my business, but she showed up in a very fragile state.” Sam shook his head at the memory.

“She doesn’t seem that way now,” Steve added, catching the glint in Sam’s eye.

“Yeah, she’s getting better, man. Thor got her a job, and she always comes by bringing cookies when she can. She’s the best.” Sam smirked. “Why are you interested in Thor’s sister?” He nudged Steve in the arm. 

“What...no...I was just curious.”

“Okay, we’ll call it that for now,” Sam grinned, showing off the gap in his teeth. 

____________

Steve sat on the couch re-reading one of his favorites. He glanced up, shaking his head to see Sam and Bucky bickering about who ate all the peanut butter but put the empty container back in the cabinet.

 “The strongest firefighter has returned bearing groceries,” Thor announced, walking up the steps with both his arms full of groceries. “Two trips are for the weak.”

“We get it, Blondie,” Valkyrie grumbled behind him, carrying groceries as well.

“Did you get more peanut butter?” Sam asked, giving Bucky the stink eye.

“Yes,” Val replied. “But, you can only have it if you help put groceries away.”

It was like a silent ritual, gathering around and helping put groceries away. It was also the chance to see what they would be eating for the next week or a few days, depending on how long it would last. Everyone always put in a request to what they wanted, but depending who was on groceries for the week would determine if they were nice enough to pick it up.

“Here’s Steve’s old man food,” Sam smirked, handing him his oatmeal. Steve couldn’t hide his small smirk as he grabbed it and put it in the cupboard. 

“At least I’m not eating your peanut butter.”

“What the hell, Steve?” Bucky narrowed his eyes. “I thought you were on my side for this.”

“I’m not getting in the middle of it,” Steve held up his hands as he continued to put groceries away.

“Thor, again. Why all the Poptarts?” Sam asked, pulling three boxes from one of the bags.

“New flavors, duh!”

“You know Thor loves his Poptarts; honestly, I think they taste like cardboard,” Val remarked, pulling out her energy drinks. 

“No, they don’t! You're being ridiculous. They have the same flavor as the box says. You want a hot fudge sundae without the brain freeze; have a Poptart. Want s'mores, but don’t want the sticky mess; have a Poptart. It’s crazy the amount of flavors they have.” He looked down at a box with a child-like smile on his face.  

“A woman stopped by looking for you,” Steve added, shutting one of the cabinet doors.

“Did you give her the usual charade?” Thor asked, folding the reusable grocery bags. 

“About how you passed away saving a child in the fire?”

“Dude, why are you still going on with that charade? It’s awful,”  Bucky added, only to get ignored. 

“Raging fire, did you say raging fire?” Steve nodded. “Good man,” Thor grinned, pointing his finger at him. “How’d she take it?” 

“She was upset but doesn’t know what to do about the baby now.” Thor’s mouth dropped open. “She’s in the bathroom now.”

“Told you to keep that sword in your pants, pirate angel,” Val grunted, hitting him on the bicep. 

“Ow...well, I’m sorry, Val,” Thor shouted with sarcasm. “What you...you just let her stay? What did she look like?”

Carol came out of the bathroom, and Thor stared at her. “What?” Everyone started laughing, forcing Thor to chuckle along and shake his head. 

“Haha, you guys got me. Hilarious you guys, really.”

“Your sister did stop by though,” Steve said, opening a bag of blueberries.

“Was she okay? What did she say?” Thor rushed out. All the giddiness from his eyes changed to something more serious. 

“Um, nothing serious, dropped off some cookies. There on the counter next to all the other tokens of appreciation and cards we get from people.” Steve pointed over his shoulder. 

“Ooooo, yes.” He rubbed his hands together, going over to grab one, but took the lid off, lifting the empty container upside down. “Really? Come on, she’s my sister. I deserved at least one.” 

“Well, she must like us better,” Sam mentioned, taking a bite of the last cookie.

______

AN: Thanks for reading Part 3. She finally met Steve officially, but will this put a stop to Nat and Carol pestering her? Only time will tell...haha! Any guesses on who is eating Sam’s peanut butter? Do you think it’s Bucky or someone else? And I thought it felt necessary to give a little nod to the first Thor, and have his choice of snack be Poptarts...haha! And finally, the whole layout of this firehouse is very similar to Station 118 firehouse on the show 9-1-1. I just love the whole loft and rustic flair to it, but you can imagine it however you want!!  Any who, thanks for reading, comments always welcome! 

[therealvalkyrie]

Through the Mirror: Part 1

my body, my music

Pairing/setting: Detective!Levi Ackerman x Female!Ghost!Reader, modern!AU within the Walls

Summary: When you’re murdered one Tuesday morning, can Levi piece together the true circumstances of your death with your help from beyond the grave?

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: dead body, descriptions of blood, swearing, mentions of violence

AN: Welcome to my new series because I have no self control and can’t finish projects before starting others! Lemme just start off by saying updates may come pretty irregularly because I do have a lot of other WIPs to work on, but! I’m really excited about this idea and have a whole lot planned:) I seriously hope you enjoy. After all, who doesn’t love a good murder mystery? Drop into my DMs/askbox/comments/reblogs to let me know what you think! Be kind to yourselves and others. ~valkyrie

“Ah, shit! Hello!? I’m standing right here!”

The woman completely ignores you, stepping carefully over the puddle of blood and across your tiny living room. You cross your arms and pout. She ignores that, too. 

“‘Scuse me, boys, let the experts take it from here,” she quips, gently pushing past the two detectives and crouching next to your body on the ground. 

It’s ugly, but she’s probably seen worse, you muse from where you’re leaning against the door jamb. It’s only been lying there for a couple of hours, so at least you haven’t bloated to something out of an NCIS episode. Must smell horrid, though, judging by the mask the head detective has pulled over his face.

“So, you said the landlady called at about 7 am?” the ME inquires, cocking her head up to look at the detectives, nylon gloved hands held at the ready.

“7:07 exactly. Said a neighbor made a noise complaint, she came up to check it out, found signs of a forced entry, and called us.” It’s the taller blonde who speaks up, reading from an off-brand pocket notepad in his left hand. The kind you’d find on sale at Staples after Back-to-School season.

Interesting. You lean your head against the wall, eyes trained on the trio. You’d pegged the ill-tempered shorter one as in charge. Maybe he’s just the quiet type. 

“Hmm, alright. Moblit, get off your ass and come take the pictures before we move her,” the woman calls to someone behind you, and you turn just in time to get a face full of Moblit’s chest as he walks towards you. 

You cringe back with a “God, seriously?” to no response.

“Yes, sorry, right away, Hange!” Moblit hurries past- no, through -you, sidestepping the ottoman and the blood. It feels weird, like a strong wind, but not altogether unpleasant to have someone walk through you, you suppose. You look down at your chest to watch your misty body re-settle into itself before looking back at the group in your living room.

Were it not for the gruesome accents of blood flecked up the walls and your body riddled with stab wounds, you’d chuckle at how all four of them struggled to navigate the space. It’s cramped enough when it’s just you, fitting only a couch, a chair, a coffee table, your fern (Boris), and a narrow IKEA bookshelf. With the four of them plus a dead body, it’s like watching a freaking clown car.

“Sorry, excuse me, Captain, oh, was that your toe—?” Moblit’s struggling the most, having to move to capture different angles with his bulky camera. When he steps on the shorter man’s toe, he positively blanches, fumbling over himself to apologize while the ME laughs openly.

“God, alright, just,” the Captain pinches his delicate nose between a thumb and forefinger, then decides it’s better to wait in the kitchen. “C’mon, Gin, let’s chat in there.”

The Captain and the blonde detective both pass through you on the way back to the kitchen, but you only sigh and shake the tingly feeling of being incorporeal out of your fingers before following them.

“So,” the man called Gin takes the initiative, flipping back through his notebook and standing by the fridge. “I got statements from the landlady and two of the neighbors, numbers 303 and 304 down the hall. 301, directly across the hall, didn’t answer, but I got contact info from the landlady.” He pauses to read and scratch at his whiskery beard. “It was 304 who made the noise complaint, said she heard yelling this morning at around 5:45, and that she normally wouldn’t’ve said anything but it was, quote, the fourth goddamn time this week and I work the goddamn night shift, I deserve some fucking rest, unquote.”

You grin. Mrs. Sheffield was never one to mince words, something you appreciated when your ex-boyfriend got too loud and she took it upon herself to give him a piece of her mind. You catch a glimmer of a smile on the ornery Captain’s face above where he’s pulled his mask down before he gestures for Gin to keep going, keeping his thoughtful gaze fixed on the floor and his back against your countertop.

“Then after she called the landlady, she went to bed, only to be woken by us two hours later.”

“You said she called the landlady at 5:45 and that she works the night shift?”

Gin double checks his notes. “That’s right.”

“And she works at the hospital?”

“Yes, as a scrub nurse on the night shift.”

“But the night shift at the hospital ends at 6:30.”

“It was her night off,” you and Gin say at the same time before you catch yourself. They can’t hear you, anyway. This’d be a lot easier if they could.

Gin plows ahead. “But she says she keeps the same sleep schedule so she doesn’t, ah, fuck up her circadian rhythm.”

The Captain practically snorts at this, itching for a second under his silk cravat (can someone say pretentious) before settling back into a listening silence.

“303 says he didn’t hear a thing. College kid, looked exhausted. Said he was asleep the whole night after he got in at,” a page flip, “11 o’clock last night. Wasn’t much help, but looked genuinely upset when we told him about the murder. Wanted to know if there was anything he could do. Oh, but he did, uh, hang on,” more page flips, “He did tell us that he heard her and her boyfriend arguing a lot. Which is consistent with what Mrs. Sheffield told us.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” you correct into thin air. 

“A lover’s spat gone wrong, then,” Mr. Pretentious Captain muses. You huff in annoyance. A lover’s spat. If that’s all that this is written off as you’ll have some serious PD haunting to do. Chris may have been an angry, loud, disruptive manipulator, but he wouldn’t murder you. He didn’t murder you. “Any info on the whereabouts of the boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyf—!”

Blondie cuts you off, “Not currently, but we do have a name: Chris Henderson, works in admin down at the University. Lives across town closer to the Bridge.”

“Send some uniforms to bring him in for questioning. No arrests yet, tell ‘em to keep it friendly.”

“Right, I’ll put Dreyse and Bodt on it.”

“Dreyse, really?” Captain Cravat gives Gin an incredulous look. 

“Hey, she may look like a ditz but she gets the job done. And she might get him to let down his guard,” Gin argues, grinning. 

“Fine. I’ll meet them at the station, you stay here and make sure that mousy-haired dunce doesn’t fuck up my crime scene.”

“Hey, who’re you callin’ mousy-haired, short stack?” Hange actually sticks her whole head through yours this time, to butt into the conversation, and you shriek and jump away to the other side of your tiny kitchen, now sandwiched between Blondie and Shortstack. The latter twitches and swats at the air by his ear, as though to dislodge a fly, narrowly missing yours. You give him a weird look then turn back to listen to the ME. She’s leaning into the kitchen at an alarming angle, one hand on the doorframe and the other on the end of the gurney you assume is carrying your body. You shudder at the thought of being toted around in a dark, musty, humid glorified coat bag. Ugh. 

“—takin’ this baby”-she slaps the gurney twice and you flinch-“back so I can get started on the autopsy, Moblit’s staying to take more pictures and collect forensics. If Eld’s stayin’ here with Mob, does that mean you’re catching a ride with me, Levi?” The question is addressed to Captain Grump on your right, who gives a heavy sigh and pushes off the counter. 

“I guess so. I get to choose music though.”

“Ah, ah, ah,” she’s wagging a finger, grinning. “My body, my music!”

“How about my body, my music?” you suggest, following Levi. “I deserve it after the day I’ve had.”

Again, Levi twitches and swats aggressively by his ear, nearly hitting you full in the face this time. 

“You hear that, Gin? This place got a mosquito problem or something?”

“I do not have a mosquito problem!” and “No, sir, I don’t hear anything.” overlap in the air. 

Captain Levi only grunts, then starts spouting instructions, which Gin notes down. “I want footage from any cameras in the building, and from the shops next door and across the street. I want statements from residents both upstairs and downstairs. I want names, addresses, and numbers of next of kin on my desk by noon, and lastly, I want no one, save for myself, you, shitty glasses, and mousy-hair, in or out of this apartment. Are we clear?”

“Crystal clear, sir.”

“Good. I’m leaving you Braus to help and to show her the ropes of this kind of thing. Even though she’s on the case, she will not set foot in this apartment. I don’t trust her not to leave breadcrumbs in the bloodstains.

“Yes, sir.”

“I expect an in-person report before shift-change this evening. See you then.” Then, he’s sweeping out of the kitchen in pursuit of Hange and the gurney, leaving you to scurry after. As you exit your home, he shoots a young auburn-haired woman in a crisp white blouse and wool slacks a look. “Braus. You’re with Gin. Don’t go in the apartment.”

She straightens up from leaning against the wall with a jolt and brushes croissant crumbs off her front. “Yes, Captain Levi, sir!” It’s slightly muffled by the pastry stuffed into her mouth.

“Tch.”

It’s fascinating watching how Levi and Hange manage to navigate the gurney down the narrow, twisting stairs of your walk-up apartment building. They’re both clearly used to this sort of thing, communicating only in short phrases and grunts when they encounter an obstacle. Occasionally, you offer up a pointer and watch as Levi becomes increasingly irritated. 

“Watch out for Mr. Laslow’s cat, he likes to sneak up on ya!”

“Hange, do you hear— shit!” Levi hops to the side, narrowly avoiding the tabby tail as Tubbins McGee whisks past.

“It’s only a cat, Levi, dunno what’s got you so worked up today,” Hange teases, grin echoing your own as you chortle from the landing above them. 

Eventually, they spill out onto the sidewalk and into the bright mid-day, and Hange groans loudly, stretching with both hands on her back.

“Ugh. Remind me not to die in there, I’d hate to put someone else through that.”

“Boof, tell me about it,” you commiserate. 

“Noted,” Levi snarks. 

Hange removes jingling keys from her pocket and unlocks the ME’s van parked along the sidewalk with a beep, then opens the back doors and steps in. You follow, leaning against the cool metal siding to watch.

When they both load into the front seats and the engine turns over, you lean forward between them to listen in.

“So,” Hange starts, smoothly pulling out into the road behind a silver minivan. “I’ll be able to give you a more solid answer in a couple hours, but my initial estimated time of death would be around 5:45 this morning.”

Levi nods, staring out the passenger window while he answers. “That lines up with the neighbor’s story.”

“Theories so far?”

“Well, there’s the boyfriend,” he muses, lifting a hand to rub his chin.

“Too obvious,” you say dully, not bothering to amend the lack of “ex” yet again. “Next theory.”

He’s quiet for a moment, then mutter, almost too quietly for you to catch: “Too obvious, hmm? Next theory....”

You’re momentarily flabbergasted, hand falling through the faux-leather seat back in your shock. Can he actually hear you? You shake out your hand while it re-materializes, tuning in to the conversation as Hange’s responding. 

“—a little far-fetched, don’t you think? I mean, has there been any of that activity in this area recently?”

“Mm, I’ll have to touch base with Petra. If there has been, I think it’s worth looking into.”

“What is? Wait, go back,” you frantically plead, leaning further into his airspace. But Hange plows on. 

“Oh, it’s Petra, now, hmm? Not Raggedy Anne anymore?” Her tone is teasing, and she glances over to Levi for a reaction. 

He doesn’t give her one, just stares out the window pensively before reaching for the radio dial. The stereo blares up into an Oldies station, and you make a disgusted face along with Levi. 

“You listen to this shit?”

“Hey, my dead body, my music, sweetcheeks. Don’t like it, you can thumb it back to the PD.”

“How about my dead body, my music?” you suggest again, reaching for the dial at the same time as Levi does. Just as his slender fingers touch it, your hand passes through the whole front console and the oldies are replaced with a terrifyingly loud static screeching. 

“Christ, Levi, what’d you do?” Hange shrieks, lunging forward to punch the radio off as you remove your hand. 

“Nothing! It just went berserk!”

They bicker while you stare at your offending palm. “Huh. Didn’t know I could do that.”

If you can actually interact with objects, at least to some degree, and if it turns out Levi can hear you.... This whole thing might be easier than you thought.

[aliypop]

It’s All Greek To Me 2

wordcount: 1,524

Warning: None

A/N: NEW CHARACTERS

"She's hurt..." Sif looked at Thor, looking over the features of the young woman. She was pale with dark brown hair, Greek and Roman face structure, a marking on her wrist, and a necklace of Egyptian gold around her neck. "See to it that she's well." Thor smirked as Sif blushed at the unconscious woman, "Thor, I don't understand what you..." she groaned, seeing that the God was gone. 

"This is Asgard..." Adonis gasped, his eyes focused on all the golden fixtures and deities who passed by now and then. "It's close to Valhalla, so the Aesir take pride in it." Aron laughed. As they walked through the crowded city, maneuvering through people, they could hear the distant voice of Hermod. "Hear me well, Aesir's!" as he then saw Aron, "And Vanir..." Adonis looking at him as he looked similar to Apollo, which was odd considering that he, for the longest time, thought that the mere concept of higher deities existing were merely just fairytales parents told their children to never worry.

" Asgard will finally have his king!" Hermod smiled as another God whispered in his ear, "We will have two kings... One from Midgard and a Vanir queen..." Aron chuckled as Adonis stood in confusion, "My sister and her two lovers are to rule, to translate the situation."  Back in the palace stood Astrid studying spell books left by Frigga, her emerald ring glistening under the nightfall stars as the sound of wind blew by her ears, causing her to shiver. As her amulet sparkled, she flicked her wrist, pinning what she hoped to be her opponent down.  "Someones, been practicing their spells..."

"Mother..." she kept reading, "What are you doing visiting from Vahalla?"  her tone still cold towards the woman, "I heard the news," Amidala broke from the grasp of the spell. "Isabasia, Thor, and Stark are ruling as Asgard."  she sighed, "It was bound to happen. " she laughed, 

"Just as you dying and I never getting a throne, but..." 

"Astrid, you're the next ruler of Vanaheim." Astrid dropped the book as her body nearly froze, 

"I've watched you conduct yourself at the realm gatherings, and it's time I gave you credit." she sighed,

"Oh my, the woman with so little faith waits until death to appoint her daughter, which she lied to about nearly EVERYTHING!"

"And I am sorry..." Amidala sighed, "I should have trusted you more than I should have-"

"Listened to me, never locked me away in a tower, never lied about me being the oldest, protected Aron, and never sent Isabasia away!" her eyes violet. 

"I shouldn't have... and I am sorry." Amidala approached her daughter for a hug. Astrid sighed, taking in her mother's scent of roses, 

"Tell Loki Odin sends his best wishes as ruler of Jotunheim." disappearing into the Bifrost back, Astrid watched in disbelief at the news. 

"Astrid... are you alright..." 

"You're a king..."  

"Who are you... and why am I here..." the warrior woman asked, her sword drawn at Sif's neck, watching as she flipped it out of her hand, "Lady Sif of the warriors 3, you were wounded." she smiled, "Your turn."  the young mortal smirked, "Ethereal you are... I am Katina Fausta of Athens, protector to Andonis, faithful servant of Athena and lover of women." she winked watching as Sif's face began to flush,

 "And my has Saphos and Aphrodite blessed you so,"  Katina remarked, watching the other warrior falter for words, "Do you drink?" 

"Is Dionysus a party God?" 

"I'll take that as a yes." 

The Taverns of Asgard were cozy with a fireplace Gods and Goddesses and people alike all enjoying mead and ale feast fit for kings with the view of New Asgard, some areas still being built others held together by magic. 

"So, have you enjoyed your stay in Vanaheim..." Aron asked, waving his hand around ordering two drinks, "That I have." Adonis smiled back at the prince, kissing his hand, "Your people have been ever so kind." he laughed, his Greek features soft under the flames that lit the path. "Are yours not so kind," Aron asked, holding onto his hand.

 " it's complicated... my father wants me to be this warrior and this king, and my mother is this gentlewoman, and my rightful mother is a Goddess, so I don't know who I'm supposed to be. Adonis sighed, looking away from Aron, his eyes falling upon a warrior woman drinking what seemed to be her troubles. 

"Oh great..."  Aron groaned. A tight pain in his heart formed as the memories of the pair began to flood, "Is everything alright." Adonis asked, his deep voice bringing the Vanir back to reality, "Oh, just my ex... Valkyrie." he laughed, "Who broke my heart..." he nearly chugged down his goblet of mead. "Sounds lovely... excuse me for a moment." Adonis got up, making his way towards the infamous Valkyrie hiding behind a wooden pillar that was until he heard the voice of,

 "Katina Fausta of Athens..." she walked towards Valkyrie, dressed in Asgardian leather. "May I buy you a drink." her voice smooth like silk, "I don't know, how many are you willing to buy," Valkyrie asked, eyeing the foreigner, 

"Enough to get a taste of this Valhalla everyone speaks of."   

"Deal, but only if Sif joins." she gestured the warrior over as Katina nodded, "Three is but a party and close to an orgy," she smirked, wrapping her arms around both their waist. Adonis waited at the perfect moment to attack, hands reaching out two blades pointed at his neck. 

"He means us no harm." Katina smiled, "He is but my friend." she stood up to hug him. Both Valkyrie and Sif nodded at the man as the two went back to their drinks. "Excuse us for a moment..." Adonis said, ushering Katina away. Dolding two cups of ale in hand, Katina kept her eyes focused on Adonis, 

"Why are you here..."

"Why are you here?" Katina smirked, her eyes on the prince, "Did you chase another pretty woman as she tricked you and sent you here or..." she looked over his shoulder as she noticed a handsome young man waving at her friend, 

"Oh, I see..." 

"You see absolutely nothing." he blushed, "I won't tell if you don't tell." she patted him on the back, "Does Artemis know about this..." he stiffened up, 

"You knew about that..." 

"I'm a servant of Athena. I know everything..." she winked, fixing her sword on her hip holster. "Then does your mother know about them..." he asked back as Katina stood there in silence. She knew her mother was a traditionalist when it came to weakness, and her love of women she hated it, but on Asgard, it was as if they were praised for being a warrior with flaws and a sharp tongue. 

"No, and I hope that she'll never find out Tripolakis..." she huffed, "Now, if you'll excuse me... I should head back." she sighed, sitting between her newfound lovers. 

"Perhaps we should see the palace." Adonis whispered in Aron's ear as Aron laughed, "And still have no peace from my sisters and their betrothed. " Adonis shrugged, " I don't mind an audience." he laughed, hearing Aron sigh, "Not like that, Adonis... " 

"Darling... please try to slow down.'' Loki sighed, kissing his beloved Astrids hand. "My mother told me to tell you that Odin well wishes you luck as king of the Jotuns."  she looked up at him, sitting in between his legs, as he chuckled, "And only moments away from our wedding." he laughed, "I've ahold to my birthright.'' he kissed her cheek as Astrid laughed, "I'm the next queen of Vanahiem... I'm the next queen..." Astrid gulped as feminine hands rubbed her own, "You'll be devilishly good at it." she whispered in Astrid's ears. Loki watched as the blood rushed to her cheeks,

 "You rule my heart. surely you can rule a kingdom." She smiled, her long black hair draping over Astrids,  "Brother- Sister, we have company." Thor barged in as Loki glared, "Must you not know what knocking is..." she grumbled, using her magic to conjure up both Astrid and her a more presentable wardrobe of outfits.  Thor sighed, sitting on his fathers' throne, the memory of him still there.  "I see you are better." he smiled as Katina nodded, "Sif took care of me well." she smiled, as Adonis laughed, "She took care of Sif too... And your Valkyrie," he mumbled under his breath as Isabasia fumbled refraining from laughter.  Katina then smirked as her eyes reached the view of the Goddess in green accompanied by who she thought was perhaps a friend. 

"Aren't you beautiful..." she covered her mouth, as Loki chuckled at the young woman's words, "You are a pure vision of lust and beauty." she kissed her hand as Loki looked at Thor annoyingly, 

"My pet, as much as this flatters me... My beloved would have you beheaded." She smiled as Adonis pulled Katina away, "Your lover, well, he  sounds toxic..."

"Oh, I'm the absolute same for her," Loki smirked, transforming back as he pulled Astrid closer. 

"Oh, a shapeshifter..." Katina smiled,

[spndystopiabang]

SPN Dystopia Bang 2020 Master List

The bang is over for 2020, but here are all the amazing stories and pieces of art that were created for this year.

Please do pay attention to tags and warnings below and when you click through. Also, please remember this is a multishipping friendly bang, and so the stories here are across a range of Supernatural ships.

You can also find all stories in this year's bang over on our AO3 Collection.

===

Title: Bite The Hand That Feeds Author: hit_the_books Artist: Anyrei Rating: Explicit Ships: Castiel/Sam (Sastiel) Expected word count: 20k Major warnings and tags: Graphic depictions of violence Summary:

Two centuries ago, a great cataclysm hit the Earth. Monsters poured forth from a tear in reality, and the insidious energy from this rift turned much of the Earth into wasteland. Humans now survive in a handful of guarded megacities, like New Lawrence, while some live out in the wastes.

But what if there was a way to finally close the rift for good and save the Earth?

That’s what Castiel hopes when he happens upon Sam Winchester, a powerful psy—a human mutated by the energies of the rift.

Yet other psys have different plans. The cult of Azazel sees a newer, deadly future for the tear in the world and the rest of humanity.

Banding together with Sam’s brother Dean, Castiel and Sam set forth to heal   the world once and for all, along with some help from old friends.

The Plan? Survive. Save the world. Fall in love. Link to story Link to art -

Title: I’m All Yours My Love Author: DWImpala67 Artist: EmmaTheSlayer Rating:  Mature Length: 33121 Pairings: Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles Warnings: No Major Archives warning Apply Summary:

They live in a world where a love marriage was a taboo and more so for male carriers. Jared is one of them. His father has arranged for his marriage with Jensen Ackles, whom he doesn’t know from Adam. Unfortunately for him, he falls in love with another man. He’s happy and they keep it under wraps until they can seek Jared’s parents’ permission. But, his secret is exposed and his guy is sent packing and Jared is married off to Jensen Ackles forcefully to honor his family name. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to forget his first love and move on.

Jensen Ackles was a romantic. He always believed his married life would be one full of love and belonging, of togetherness. He took one look at his husband and fell hard and fast for him. His husband is the single most treasured and important person to him in the entire world. He’ll do  anything to make his husband happy. But what he gets instead is a husband who’s given his heart away already. So, Jensen decides to help his husband find his true love. Only, Jared has other ideas… Will Jared get his happily ever after? Or will they both find something to soothe their battered soul?

Link to fic: Archive Of Our Own Link to art: LiveJournal - Title: A Town Called Rhoda Author: smalltrolven Artist: MidnightSilver Rating: Explicit Length: 24,937 Pairings: Sam/Dean, (Dean/Original Binary Character) Warnings: Brief mentions of past torture, enslavement. Summary:

It’s the end of the world, and Dean believes Sam is gone along with the rest  of San Francisco. When the nukes began to fall they were separated by hundreds of miles, and now there’s no point. He tries his hardest to move on, living in a small town in the redwood forest of Northern California. This is the story of what happens when Sam eventually shows up after enduring an epic journey just to reach Dean.

Link to fic: LJ or AO3

Link to art: AO3 -

Title: Brother Take My Hand Author: MidnightSilver Artist: MissJenniferB Rating: Explicit Length: 40K Pairings: Sam/Dean Warnings: sentient animal sex (Sam and Dean are wolves), Sam is 17 at the start of the fic, attempted non con, Magical roofies, minor character death, canon level gore and violence (please read tags) Summary: All Sam has ever known is Yellow Eyes’ rule and life within the Pack, but he is sure there has to be more.

The young wolf questions everything he’s been taught. Why is he the only one fascinated by old ruins? Is human nature really so evil that it justifies using other creatures as slaves? And why can no one else see the benefits of using hands?

Dean loves Sam but he doesn’t have any answers. In fact he wishes Sam didn’t have so many questions.

On the summer equinox fate will force Sam to make some choices and Yellow Eyes is already showing far too much interest in him. So what will the young wolf do when he has to choose between the Pack and his conscience?

Link to Fic

Link to Art

-

Title: The Sounds of Hope Shall Never Fade Author: Hannah-deserved-better (Hannah_girl) Artist: Duck (majesticduxk) Rating: Mature Length: 14,215 Pairings: Hanstiel Squared (Castiel/Hannah/Castiel’s female vessel/Hannah’s male vessel) Warnings:  Abuse, torture, medical experimentation, attempted artificial   insemination, captivity, pregnancy, emotional trauma, psychological trauma, Evil!Sam, Evil!Dean, major character death (sort of) Summary: Castiel and Hannah fall into an alternate reality where they encounter their counterparts in this world. Castielle (Castiel’s female vessel) and Hana (Hannah’s male vessel) have endured decades of torment at the hands of these humans. Castiel and Hannah meet Sam and Dean, but these aren't the Sam and Dean they know. They are a twisted, cruel, uncaring version of their real-world counterparts and they see the angels and their powerhouse supply of angel grace as commodities. The Angels power their underground world after a comet strike destroyed life on the surface. Now, this small underground civilization, one of many all over the world, has running water, food, power, and other necessities all powered by angel grace. Sam and Dean will do whatever it takes to hold onto their four precious powerhouses, and have long since given up on caring about the comfort of their angelic captives. Castiel, Hannah, and their counterparts must endure endless medical experiments, painful grace extractions, and deplorable living conditions, and somehow they must find a way to survive because the future of heaven may hang in the balance.

Link to fic

Link to art

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Title: When Worlds Collide Author: LilyAnson Artist: AnyRei Rating: General Length: 18500 Pairings: Mick Davies/Arthur Ketch, Matt Anderson/Hilary BeckerWarnings: No warnings really apply Summary:

Ketch is halfway across the country when the Croatoan virus break out. Worried about his boyfriend he races as fast as he can to find out if Mick is still alive or not. Upon arrival he finds something new. A strange, floating object, seemly made out of what appeared to be glass shards hovered nearby.

Matt is a traveler from the future bent and determined to save his world. If that means he has to use the people around him, so be it. That is, until he falls for one of his fellow teammates. Now he must decide whether or not saving the potential future is worth losing the one person he's ever loved.

Otherwise known as what happens when dinosaurs and the supernatural meet.

Link to fic

Link to art

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Title: Fabulous Monsters Author: ellispark Artist: nickel Rating: Mature Length: 10k Pairings: Dean/Castiel Warnings: Canon-typical violence, references to torture and brainwashing, references to war crimes Summary:

It’s been a year since Dean last saw Castiel — a year since he was captured and reprogrammed by the angels, trained to be a torturer. When Charlie escapes the angels, she tells him Cas can still be saved.

Dean rushes to Cas’s rescue, unsure of what he’ll find. Will Cas be the loyal friend he lost, or the emotionless killer the angels turned him into?

Link to fic

Link to art

-

Title: WEDLOCKED Author: spnsmile Artist: oddsocksandstuff Rating: Explicit Length: 50k+ Pairings: Castiel/ Dean Winchester Warnings:  Noncon, graphic violence, torture... Summary:

Dean Winchester, the leader of the Southern Resistance, makes a decision to stay in the capital keeping his brother alive, meeting his new husband with a promise to never break.

Castiel Novak, a Skywalker, has just returned to Discordia from his trip to outer space. Trained by the best Capacitors from VOLTS, the paramilitary officers, he finds himself with a new mission— to connect with a rebel and transform him into a submissive member of the society.

Can Castiel convince Dean to stay by his side? Or will he turn against the society threatening Dean?

Link to fic

Link to art

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Title: Feathers On My Breath Author: navajolovesdestiel Artist: kuwlshadow Rating: Explicit Pairing: Dean/Castiel Warnings: Drug use Summary: The world following the apocalypse was a very different place than before. After Sam said yes to Lucifer, after he and Michael had fought the final battle, the angels won. They retreated to heaven after locking Lucifer away again, sealing heaven.

There were a few angels who were left behind, trapped forever on earth. Some humans had survived. They lived in small groups, foraging for food, medicine, necessities. But human beings are resilient. They prospered, grew in numbers as babies were born.

One thing they all had in common was their hatred of angels. If they ever trapped one it was swiftly put to death, or worse.

Link to Fic

Link to Art

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Title: Fields of Freja Author: Emblue_Sparks and tfw_cas (punk-is-notdead) Artist: shealynn88 Rating: Explicit Length: 65k+ Pairings: Castiel/Dean Winchester (Past Dean/Benny, Claire/Kaia, Sam/Eileen) Warnings: MCD (Dean only), Graphic Violence, Juvenile Soldiers, Juvenile Deaths Summary:

Bolivian-born Dean Winchester is a seasoned soldier, having served courageously in the rebellion against an immortal and tyrannical visionary. Yet his greatest fight begins the day his life ends. Dean awakens to a beautifully winged, albeit sardonic man, claiming him for Valhalla. Only problem: Like Helheim is he going. Not until Sam's safe from the Bright One in New Lebanon, tech beacon of the broken world, resting within the arctic circle.

As the only male Valkyrie in existence, Castiel Sigurd is an outcast tasked with purpose, yet denied companionship. Called to claim the only soldier to refuse the honor of Valhalla, intrigue paints his otherwise colorless eternity. Castiel journeys with Dean to find Sam, who's been lost to the winds for years. With nothing but a clue-filled journal and an oath to ascend upon 'mission accomplished,' Dean embarks on this last harrowing quest, experiencing adventure beyond his wildest fantasy and heart's desire along the way.

Link to fic

Link to art

===

Check out the SPN Dystopia Bang 2020 AO3 collection here!

[ks-caster]

The Future is Infinite (Chapter 7)

Start || Previous

Chapter-specific warnings: Mild suicidal ideation

“Slow down,” the man who’d been introduced a few minutes ago as Nick Fury demanded, “and start from the beginning.” Octavia resisted the urge to scratch her still-healing burns as Natasha and T’Challa took turns catching the man up on what had been happening with Thanos. According to Bruce (after he’d bravely suppressed a gag at seeing the state of her body) she was healing up at a phenomenal rate, and should be back up to 100% by the end of tomorrow. 

She had taken that as an official release from medical, and had grit her teeth through a painful and ill-advised shower, pulled on another pair of soft pants and a shirt, and had wandered into the introduction and briefing of the former director of SHIELD. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to listen in, if only to get caught up on everyone’s names.

“Shortly thereafter,” Thor was jumping in, “Thanos attacked my ship, carrying the remainder of Asgard’s people as refugees. He slaughtered about half of our number; the other half escaped in pods. While Loki, Hulk and I held them off…”

According to both Wong and Tony, Strange was going to lose it when he woke up and found out that they’d prioritized saving his life over retrieving the time stone. Octavia’s mind replayed those moments over and over, trying to find another angle she could have swung her sword or a way she could have caught up with the fleeing wizard. While she didn’t regret the decision to choose the life of a comrade in arms over an inanimate object, she did know how bad of a thing it was for Thanos to have it. Particularly if the wizard Mordo could use it the same as Strange had.

“...While Wanda was trying to destroy it - we almost lost Vision,” Natasha continued. “If the ship from Phyra hadn’t shown up when it did…”

Steve had looked like he was going to either hug her or cry when he’d caught sight of her upon her return. She’d made a joke about Venus being too hot for a vacation, and when it fell flat, reminded him that the infinity stone made her able to heal. Eventually she’d managed to push off some of the attention on Peter, pointing out how he’d bravely saved her and Valkyrie at the last moment. 

Tony had alternated between worried scolding and beaming pride, and something about the way he and Steve no longer flinched at each other’s presences made her think that someone had forced them to come to an understanding. Maybe it was Shuri, she thought tiredly. She was just glad it hadn’t been her this time.

“And you must be Miss Blake,” the woman who had come with Fury addressed her, holding out a hand to shake. Octavia took it. “Maria Hill, former agent of SHIELD, current hero-wrangler with Stark Industries.”

“Octavia Blake,” she responded, “current human infinity stone.” 

“What abilities does it give you?” Fury asked, somehow managing to look like he was staring her down both with his eye and the patch on his left side.

“So far, I can survive having my ribcage crushed by a titan, and a walk on the surface of Venus; if someone touches me and I don’t want them to, they get thrown across the room” she listed tiredly. “And bonus, when I wish that the floor would open up and swallow me, it actually does.” She focused hard on staying where she was, not wanting to accidentally give a practical demonstration right then and there.

“So in general, not a combatant,” Fury summed up. Half the room raised hands and voices to correct him. Octavia smirked while Fury raised an eyebrow, first at the room at large, and then at her.

“Untrained, then,” Fury corrected himself. Octavia inclined her head, allowing that.

“You happen to have a course available at SHIELD?” she checked, half sarcastic, half wondering what resources they might have. “How to use your infinity stone in 10 days or less?”

“A course, no,” Fury shook his head. “But,” he added thoughtfully, “I do know someone with experience in that area.”

“Actually, so do I,” Rocket realized aloud. Everyone turned to look at him. “Well, not a lot of experience.” he backtracked quickly. “And he can’t do it anymore. But he did pretty good for himself at the time. And he needs something to do anyway.”

“My option is on the other side of the galaxy,” Fury shrugged. “It’ll take her some time to get here.”

“Mine’s holed up in his room down the hall,” Rocket responded.

-0-

Peter Quill was a horrible teacher. 

First, he had no idea what he was doing. His experience was limited to two days living on a planet that was also his biological father (she wasn’t 100% clear on the details there and wasn’t sure she wanted to be). While his ability to control his surroundings sounded a lot like the descriptions she’d gotten of the reality stone’s powers, he understood them about as much as she did - which wasn’t much. 

He also insisted on expressing himself in metaphors based on a culture that Octavia had no context for, and didn’t become at all discouraged by her blank looks and complete lack of understanding. 

“Once again,” she growled, “I don’t know what the force is, or how to use it, I’ve never heard of Krypton, my name isn’t Daniel-san, and I still don’t understand why the thing you want me to do with the power of the universe is bend a spoon.” She held the piece of cutlery up and waved it back and forth between her fingers, thinking that she could easily bend the metal with only her hands. Hardly a god-like feat.

“Look,” Quill growled right back, “the only time you’ve been able to use it is when you were emotional - you wanted to fall through the floor, you didn’t want the King Panther dude to touch you, you were upset and lashed out. Now when I had my powers, they were tied into my emotions too - you don’t fly the arrow with your head,” he choked off, and Octavia bit down on the inner corner of her lips to try to prevent a scowl.

“I don’t know that one either,” she sighed, but stopped there, noticing that he was tearing up. Rocket had warned that he wasn’t terribly stable - his girlfriend had been killed by Thanos hours before he’d landed on Earth. He’d also described the man as funny, irreverent, friendly, and kind of an idiot. A good friend.

Like Jasper, she thought, heart twisting as he tried to make another joke to smooth over whatever he’d been saying about arrows.

“So what you’re saying with all of this is I need to get emotional,” she summed up.

“Not exactly,” he sighed, rubbing a hand across his eyes, ostensibly in frustration, but clearly also to remove the evidence that he’d started crying. “According to Thor, when his ex had it, it protected her when she felt she was in danger. Now the times you described that you used it, you were in danger too - or thought you were. But you’re not in danger here in this room.”

“So I need to… recreate what I was feeling at the time that I used it to defend myself,” she summed up.

“Yes, exactly,” Quill exclaimed. Octavia could feel herself shrinking on the inside. That toxic combination of fear and despair wasn’t something she wanted to relive.

“And you’re absolutely sure that this is the only way?”

“I’m absolutely sure that this is the only way I know of,” he responded, flinging his arms wide, “since I was only a damn deity for about two days, and I’ve only had my hands on an infinity stone for about thirty seconds. And I barely survived both of those things.” He gave her a confused, awed, pitying look with which she was becoming familiar as the people of Terra-Earth learned the various things she’d survived.

“Something something evolutionary next step ,” she said, waving the spoon dismissively. Then she glared at the curved metal, willing it to bend - for the hundredth time that morning, but this time focusing on the fear and pain she’d been feeling when she ran from the medical wing. 

The spoon glinted defiantly at her, a perfect, smooth curve. 

She forced herself to go back into the darkest recesses of her head, tracing the thoughts lurking at the edges of her consciousness, threatening to flood in and consume her if she let her guard down.

Functionally immortal. She’d gone from comfortably courting death, knowing that her final rest was on its way and having faith in all the good that would do her people, to possibly never being released from this life. She’d never see Ethan again. Or Jasper. Or Lincoln. Or her mom. And her people would never truly be free of The Dark Year. The last of the human race wasn’t even the last - just an abandoned test colony. It had all been for nothing, she’d given up her soul for nothing… 

“-Tavia! Octavia, geez, stop! Stop!” Her eyes snapped to Quill’s wide, terrified ones. The spoon stood, perfect and unbothered by her inner turmoil.

“What?” she began to demand, irritated that this man would demand she tear herself apart with emotional pain only to interrupt her before it did any good.

“I think maybe your problem is less about power, and more about… aim,” he explained quietly, pointing off to the side. Turning her head first one way, then the other, Octavia found her eyes going just as wide as his had. 

The columns supporting the room’s roof had all bent down, doubling over in response to her command. She glanced up, noting the red mist holding up the ceiling, and then following the long tail streaming off of it to its source of Wanda Maximoff’s hand.

“Nice catch,” Quill thanked the woman as he stood and dusted bits of plaster off of himself.

Octavia exhaled slowly, making a concentrated effort to calm herself down.

She was accustomed to power. She was accustomed to scaring people.

She was not accustomed to being unable to control those things.

‘The sword doesn’t care what you meant,’ she remembered coldly admonishing Illian, lifetimes ago. ‘It just cuts.’ This power was far more destructive than a sword or a gun, and for the first time in her life, she wasn’t sure if she could stop herself.

“Hey,” Natasha greeted them from the doorway, and three heads swiveled in her direction. “Strange is awake.”

“Awesome,” Quill responded dryly, “he can take over as Mr. Miyagi.”

“About that,” the red-haired agent sighed. “There’s been a complication.”

-0-

“Mordo’s spell was intended to remove his magic at the source,” Wong was explaining as they arrived. “Thanks to Octavia’s timely intervention, he didn’t succeed, but the damage is extensive - and it seems to have reset his memories back to June, 2016.”

“Look, Mr… whatever your name was,” Strange was trying to growl, his hands shaking even more uncontrollably than usual as his voice cracked. “I don’t know who the hell you people are or how I got here, but if someone could quit talking about magical miracle bullshit for ten seconds and call a real hospital, that would be great.”

“I take it June 2016 is prior to him becoming the master wizard we all know and loathe?” Tony sighed, pressing a half-full glass of something brown to his temple.

“Right before,” Wong confirmed. “The last thing he remembers is going to look for Pangborn. We think that that since Mordo’s spell was meant to remove his magic, and said magic is obtained through study and practice, he had to suppress the relevant memories..” 

“What the hell kind of hospital allows this many visitors to pile in at once?” Strange grumbled. “What country is this? And who’s in charge here?”

“Well that’s an unfortunate twist,” Octavia sighed, scrubbing her hands down her face as Shuri introduced herself and started to talk about chemical memories and a bunch of other scientific stuff that the warrior didn’t pretend to understand. They were short one time stone, one wizard, and she still didn’t have a competent teacher. 

Fear froze through her at the familiar thought that she might be on her own in this, carrying a power she neither wanted nor fully understood, again. Was it too much to ask of the universe that she not be alone to carry such a burden? She squeezed her eyes shut, breathing deeply as Wong had instructed her to do when she felt her mind start to slip down that path. 

In, out, Strange’s voice was relieved as he began to realize that Shuri really actually did know what she was talking about.

In, out, this wasn’t her earth, there was no more bunker, no more Blodreina.

In, out, Tony and Steve were discussing how this would affect their plan in low, stressed voices.

In, out, she just needed someone who understood this, who knew what the hell they were doing, she needed she needed she needed she needed so hard that the universe was warping around that need.

She swallowed, clenching her fists against her forehead. Too much, too much power, too much need.

In, out, Rocket was quite vocal about how screwed they were now. Strange was quite vocal - and in a much higher register - about the fact that a raccoon was talking.

In, out, she could feel the power flowing through her, infinity crying out to infinity, the whole universe beneath the soles of her shoes and more, answering her call as it had every time she’d felt cornered and afraid so far. 

Her heart pounded, once, twice. 

Their hearts pounded, once, twice.

In, out, a green-skinned woman was waking up, breathing herself for the first time in a long time, blinking in confusion at the light coming in through Quill’s window as she threw back the curtains and stared at the city below, trying to get her bearings… 

“Octavia!” The hands on her were Wong’s and she realized that she could feel the stone’s power about to throw him off, and reined the impulse in with an iron will, the same as she had the impulses to murder and maim so many times when she was queen. She felt the power rising against her, but she opened her eyes, aiming her fist at the window and letting the burst of red power shatter it. Wong’s hands left her shoulders out of sensible caution - not because she’d hurt him. 

Progress.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this,” she commented blandly.

“So the light show and broken window were on purpose?” Rocket snorted.

“That window could withstand a missile blast,” one of the red-armored warriors who followed the princess around said, her eyebrows up. “If that was on purpose, I’d hate to see an accident.”

“Who the hell gave me LSD?” Strange choked.

“Some guy named Mordo,” Octavia responded flippantly, “I’m sure Wong can fill you in. Rocket, Nebula, with me please.” She turned and walked out of the room, knowing and not knowing where she was going all at once. She felt the stone singing beneath her skin, felt another pulling at her, felt a third pricking at the edge of her consciousness, wanting to wake...

“Uh, where are we going?” Rocket demanded, standing up from all-fours after he’d caught up. 

“Quill’s room I think,” Octavia responded, turning left and descending a flight of stairs.

“Why?” Nebula shot back, not trying to disguise the irritation and disgust in her tone. Octavia threw open the door to the guest hallway, and came face to face with the green woman, dressed in what were probably Quill’s spare clothes, holding two halves of a broken stand lamp like batons. For a long moment, no one spoke. No one moved. No one breathed.

The poles clattered to the floor as Nebula flung herself at her sister.

To Be Continued... 

[desperatelyseekingdennis]

Captain Marvel

I went into this expecting mediocrity, and was not disappointed. About on par with Ant Man and the Wasp, but without Paul Rudd to make it enjoyable.

Surprisingly, the soundtrack is absolutely the worst part of the movie. That's usually one area Marvel nails, but but here. They kept trying to use pop songs to tie the movie to the 90s, but none of them really fit the scenes. It's obviously possible to pull this off (Edgar Wright comes immediately to mind for another Ant Man comparison, or else various Iron Man scenes) so there's really no excuse.

Action and effects were passable, and the plot not the worst I've seen but still pretty bland. Despite getting a lot of screen time, I never noticed Jackson's de-aging. All told it wasn't a complete waste of money, but I definitely wish my girlfriend hadn't insisted on seeing it in the theater.

From here on out spoilers ahoy as I did deeper into my feelings about specific scenes.

(I started this right after the movie was released, and wrote a giant ten page analysis of the entire plot scene by scene.  I saved it to my drafts, forgot about it, then just now erased the entire thing and am going to try and be more focused on just the bits that don’t make sense to me)

So first of all, the “surprise twist” that drives the entire plot doesn’t work in the MCU.  The Kree have been villains in several live action properties at this point.  The entire plot to the first Guardians was that the Kree are so militaristic that a bunch of them refused to honor a peace treaty.  That they’re the put upon victims of the oppressive Skrulls just doesn’t work in this context.  Maybe if you’re a comic book fan who knows the Skrulls are *also* villains, but most viewers aren’t going to know that.  So it was obvious before they even reached Earth that Jude Law was the bad guy. They’d have been better served picking some other random alien race for her to be a part of.  Yes, I know Mar Vell is historically Kree, but he’s also historically male so clearly they don’t care that much about source material.  In a pinch, just make Mar Vell a Kree and these new guys are after her research.  

The premise that Danvers doesn’t know she’s human also doesn’t make much sense.  Did she never bleed in the six years of combat training?  Also, and maybe I’m overlooking something, but have there ever been any other white Kree?  There’s the one black guy, but even he has a sort of bluish tint.  Then there’s Jude Law and Carol being straight crackers.  ?????  Again, making not making them all Kree would have gone a long way towards fixing this.

Why did SHIELD show up at all?  Fury doesn’t believe Danvers is an alien when she claims to be one, so what exactly did they think was worth investigating?  They should have MIBed this bitch.  Either Fury is a cop that gets taken into SHIELD as a result of him killing a Skrull without training, or he’s the SHIELD agent that takes over after the cop on the scene does so.  I’m pretty sure Agents of SHIELD established that Coulson was an analyst before becoming a field agent, so using him for that roll doesn’t work well.  But given this was a GURL POWER movie, this would have been a fantastic opportunity to give Agent Hill some back story. 

In the train scene, how did she know to punch the old lady?  They’ve already established the Skrulls are so good at pretending that the Kree have to implant safe words deep in your subconscious to prove your identity, but for some reason she can spot one in a crowd of (what to her are) aliens?  For that matter, if they are telepathic, why could the one guy not identify that Fury doesn’t go by Nicholas?  That whole scene where he specifies that he only goes by Fury should have been pretty close to the surface. Even so, that scene was so bad.  It was so obviously tacked on to use as a plot device later.  The writers are aware that Fury has appeared in other movies, right? That he’s not an original character? What happened in the next twenty years that made him reevaluate people calling him Nick?  <Danvers reads his ID> “Thank’s Nicholas” “Only one person calls me Nicholas, and you aren’t my momma.  Its Fury.” Was that so hard?  

The scene with the biker was so bad.. It could have worked if they’d done something with the “why don’t you smile” line, but they didn’t.  He said it, end scene. ??? It also felt like it might have been a Terminator reference that also fell flat, but that might just be my imagination.  As it stands, it only serves as a wink and a nudge at their SJW targets, without actually providing anything for the rest of the audience.

Why is the light speed engine so important?  Mar Vell seems convinced it will bring peace to the galaxy, and Jude Law at least pretends to think it will allow them to conquer it.  But they already have the weird window portal things.  I guess the weird portals are static in space, so I can see where FTL travel independent of them would be beneficial, but hardly the game changer its being made out to be.

On the subject of pointless McGuffins, lets review the history of the Tesseract prior to this movie.  Odin loses it on Earth, where Red Skull discovers it  The Real Captain steals it from Red Skull, but loses it in the ocean where eventually Howard Stark will recover it and give it to SHIELD.  It stays with SHIELD until Loki steals it in the opening scene of the Avengers.  Its stolen like five more times before eventually Thanos uses it to murder Spiderman.  Nice chain of possession, no unexplained gaps.

Post Captain Marvel, we learn that along the way somehow the Air Force gets hold of it, where an alien managed to steal it and hide it on her space ship for at least six years before SHIELD, completely unaware of its existence, stumbles upon it.  Again, the writers are aware that there were other MCU movies before this one, right?  This isn’t really a problem per se, its just dumb.  Its answering a question nobody had, complicating a narrative for no reason except that they couldn’t come up with a non-Infinity Stone McGuffin.

When they fly into space and can’t find the space ship, Danvers is just like “Open sesame” and the ship decloaks.  ???  How worthless is Kree cloaking technology if it can be turned off remotely by somebody who doesn’t even know its there?  

It was pointed out on Twitter that the song the Supreme Intelligence dances to that she pulled out of Danver’s memories would have been released after Danvers moved to Hela. I can’t confirm that because I don’t remember what song was playing, but if true that’s pretty bad writing.  People will write it off as “she probably heard it in the car with Fury” but you can’t just invent a scene to fill in a plot hole.  That’s the writers’ job, and they didn’t do it.

There’s more to unpack in that Supreme Intelligence scene, but they mostly come down to “what are the rules of this technology?”  

Then the climax.  Oh my god the climax.  She thinks real hard and destroys the little chip that’s been blocking her powers (bee the dubs, until they explained otherwise I thought the little chip was the source of her powers), then suddenly she’s God.  No ramping up, no learning curve.  Just “oh, I can fly now and direct fire from a fucking attack cruiser doesn’t hurt me” and the movie is over.  What the actual fuck.  I can’t even put into words how bad the last act was.  

So I won’t.  Instead, I’ll talk about Thor: Ragnarok.  At the beginning of the movie, he’s cocky as hell.  He’s stupid over powered, and he knows it.  So when his sister appears he ends up losing his hammer because he’s so sure of himself that he doesn’t take a moment to think about the situation.  Then he winds up on the Junk Planet, and he’s still cocky.  He’s going to fight the champion and get off the planet then go kill his sister no big deal.  But he loses there, too.  He’s starting to lose faith in himself, but it doesn’t matter because he’s the only one that can do what needs to be done.  Finally he’s able to get off planet and back to his sister... Where he loses again. Now he’s hit rock bottom.  His people are going to die because he wasn’t strong enough to save them.  At that moment, he has a literal deus ex machina moment (in that Odin is a literal god) and regains all his power and proceeds to kick all the names and take all the ass.  (that was meant to be an Infinity War reference and not a suggestion about what his intentions re: Valkyrie, honest)  

At this point in the movie, he’s basically at the same level Danvers is at the end of hers.  Completely unstoppable, unreasonable power levels all around.  The difference is he earned his position.  He fought for it, almost died for it several times. Danvers just... thought real hard.  At any point in the movie did she lose a fight?  Was she ever in any real danger?  Even in the opening scene when she’s sparring with Jude Law its made clear that he’s incapable of beating her which is why he’s pushing her to learn to hold back.  And that’s with the power dampener.  Thor Ragnarok has *so* many problems, but at least they gave the hero a journey to go on.  And that’s accounting for the fact that he starts off pretty ridiculously powerful.  

I’m officially out of time and this is getting out of hand so I’m just going to wrap this up.  This was actually shorter than what I originally had.

[avengers-nextgen]

The Aftermath XI

Piper had just finished sharing the news with Siyanda on Drew’s recovery and cancelled the call when she noticed James bolting down the hallway. Part of her wanted to ask what the issue was but she thought better of it. There was no telling what that man was up to half the time and she’d rather not know.

“So,” Gen sighed, entering Piper’s work shop and sliding onto a stool, “I was thinking we get Thalia out of this place for a while. She’s been cooped up and Si said we had to help make life less miserable for her.”

“Alright,” Piper snorted, “what’s the plan?”

“Just an evening out on the city. Walking around, maybe eating lunch, whatever we think of,” Gen proposed, tapping her knuckles on the table top.

“You realize the media hawks will be on us like flies on a pile of dog shit, right?” Piper arched a brow.

“That’s why I enlisted the help of someone who knows how to fly under the radar,” Gen grinned.

And that’s how Piper ended up with Fox raiding her closet. She wasn’t sure what the ex-criminal had in mind but she figured Gen was right, Fox knew how to lay low on the streets.

“Put this on,” Fox called, tossing a shirt over her shoulder, “wear this hat, these shoes, and no sunglasses because that’s suspicious.”

“Alright,” Piper nodded, studying the outfit. She expected it to be super plain, boring, and something no one wanted to look at, but it wasn’t. It was just the right level of casual so that Piper wasn’t sticking out like a sore thumb because her clothes were drab, and not nearly as high end as some of her other public wear. “I owe you.”

“Pay me in this,” Fox turned about, holding up one of Piper’s old leather jackets.

“Okay, I hate that things anyways,” Piper snorted.

“Great,” Fox decided, already slipping the jacket on. “Good luck on your day of fun.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Piper sighed, waving her off so she could change. After managing to swap clothes in a reasonable amount of time, Piper hunted down Thalia and Gen.

“Looks like you’re ready,” Gen grinned, clasping her hands together.

“So, where is it we’re going?” Thalia asked, her eyes holding an intense curiosity.

“That’s the fun of our adventure dear friend,” Piper mused, slinging an arm around Thalia’s shoulders, “we have absolutely no idea.”

“Oh, okay.” Thalia nodded, “so it’s like Sage when she has to go shopping.”

“Yes,” Gen snorted, “like that.”

“Now, lets go,” Piper sighed, tugging Thalia towards the lift that would take them down to the parking garage. “It’s time for some fresh air...or as fresh as you can get in New York.”

— — —

The streets were full of cars honking angrily at one another, taxi drivers shouting over the noise to their passengers, sidewalks crammed full of people, and interesting smells culminating in little pockets. It was exactly the kind of thing that made New York...New York.

“Sometimes I forget how loud it is,” Thalia remarked, matching Piper’s pace.

“Yeah, me too,” Piper nodded, “but you get used to it.”

“Gen said you talked to Si,” Thalia glanced hopefully at the young Stark.

“I did.”

“How is she?”

“She’s good. Just, grappling with some family issues,” Piper pursed her lips. She wasn’t sure how much Si wanted Thalia to know so she kept it vague.

“Family is difficult,” Thalia sighed in understanding.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Gen rolled her eyes.

“That reminds me,” Piper frowned, “have you talked to your parents recently?”

“No,” Gen shook her head, “it’s fine. They’re probably too wrapped up in work anyways. I find your parents much more charming.”

“Glad you like them because they can be annoying at times,” Piper grinned, taking Gen’s hand in her own. “What about you, Thals? Spending time with your mom?”

“As much as I can,” Thalia beamed, and Piper knew she’d hit a rather pleasant topic for the Asgardian. “She was telling me all about Asgard. What it looked like, all of the people, it’s history, and how my father was as a kid. My uncle too!”

“Didn’t your uncle stab your dad?” Gen asked, recalling an odd story she’d heard from Piper.

“On more than one occasion,” Thalia nodded, seeming almost proud. “It’s an odd relationship.”

“No kidding,” Gen laughed.

“My mother also told me about the Valkyries. Apparently there was more than one a long time ago. I wish I’d have gotten to see them. They sound fierce and well trained,” Thalia went on talking excitedly about all of the new things she’d learned, and it occurred to Piper that most people didn’t bother to ask her much about them. It’s why she always bubbled up when someone did and rambled on until she was forced to breath again.

“Sounds legit,” Piper noted, “but I think you’d have less fun there. Sounds like a lot of rules.”

“There’s rules here,” Thalia countered, “it’s called the law.”

Gen laughed loudly and had to stop walking lest she fall over. “Piper doesn’t know what the law is.”

“I do too!”

“You like to break it?” Thalia questioned her friend with genuine concern.

“Oh yeah,” Gen nodded, throwing her girlfriend right under the bus.

“You do not help my reputation at all,” Piper frowned. “And no, I don’t break the law unless I have to.”

“Oh thank goodness,” Thalia sighed. “I would have had to talk with mister Stark.”

“Didn’t think you’d care that much,” Piper noted, shifting awkwardly as Gen slowly collected herself.

“You’re my friends. Of course I would care,” Thalia insisted. “Now, I was promised lunch. Is there any place you prefer?”

“Actually,” Piper frowned, “I don’t eat out here much. I usually just order delivery.”

“That is why you have me,” Gen reminded, “I was once a casual city goer myself. So, follow me kids.”

Thalia shrugged, and drew up beside Gen leaving Piper to shake her head in amusement. She really did have an odd little group of friends and family. Sure, they had their ups and downs but she wouldn’t trade any of them for anything.

Jogging to catch up to them, Piper and Thalia followed Gen for about half a mile before coming to a small restaurant. Once there, getting seated was easy, and soon they had hot meals sitting in front of them ready to be devoured.

“French fries were an option?” Thalia asked, eyeing Piper’s plate.

“Tell you what, I’ll trade you my fries for half of your toast. It looks good,” Piper decided. Thalia didn’t hesitate to take her up on the deal.

“This reminds me of my elementary school cafeteria days,” Gen mused.

“I don’t know what elementary school cafeteria days are,” Thalia shrugged, “but it sounds like a trade system of sorts.”

“More or less,” Piper laughed. “But, you were mildly homeschooled, Gen’s talking about public schools where all sorts of kids go. Sort of like when we tried out high school. Remember that?”

“Unfortunately,” Thalia mumbled, taking a sip of water as Piper struggled not to laugh. None of them had liked their brief stint in high school. It was too complicated, too dramatic, and not conducive to their line of work.

“The only good thing about it was this one,” Piper said, patting Gen on head like she was best dog in the world. “Made me less inclined to jump out the window.”

After another bit of laughter the trio finished their meals with nothing more than short flashes of conversation before heading back out onto the streets. From there they stumbled upon a rather impressive street performer and took to dancing. It was rather stupid dancing, but they all enjoyed it to say the least. A few bystanders even joined in and the street performer made a few extra tips, and and extra generous one from Piper.

As the evening passed she found herself more relaxed than ever before. It took her a moment to realize that it was because of one key factor: there were no cameras. No one was prying into her life and stripping it away for the public to see. She was living in the moment, enjoying herself, and truly able to appreciate the people she was lucky enough to have in her life.

It was this pleasant realization that gave her the confidence to steal a chaste kiss from Gen without having to worry about it being in the tabloids.

“We should do this more,” Piper decided, “it’s kind of fun.”

“Can I come next time too?” Thalia asked hopefully, “unless you want to be alone. Like a date. Those are nice and fun too.”

“You can come,” Gen shrugged, “it’s actually nicer having another person around.”

“Really?” Thalia asked.

“Yeah,” Gen nodded, “besides you spend a lot of time in the lab anyways helping Si and us out. You’re kind of part of the squad now.”

“I’ve never been in a squad,” Thalia thought aloud.

“First time for everything,” Piper smiled, setting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Now, we should probably start heading back before it gets too dark. And maybe you can call Si up and talk to her? I think she said she was free around ten.”

“Great. Let’s go.” Thalia set off at a brisk pace before Piper had finished talking.

“She’s so cute,” Gen chuckled, “do you get that excited over me?”

“No, I usually complain about you,” Piper replied, earning a punch to the shoulder. Rolling her eyes Gen tugged Piper along so they wouldn’t lose Thalia in the crowd.

[loveable-korrasami]

The Nexus - Book 1: Origins

They were known as The Nexus - the next evolution of the Avatar. (insp - aka the trigger that blew up my imagination)

(Previous: 1, 2, 3, 4)

Air: Valkyrie (Val) - 28

Valkyrie, or Val as she preferred, was the oldest of Korra and Asami’s children.  Shortly after the couple had decided to adopt a child if the opportunity arose, Korra had left on a two week long diplomatic/”Babe, it’s KYOSHI ISLAND, home of the KYOSHI. WARRIORS.  They’re the literal embodiment of BAD. ASS.  Please please please can I ‘escort’ President Moon on this trip so I can train with them?  Pleeeeeeeease???  <insert the Avatar’s signature puppy dog face>” mission.  Asami would have gladly accompanied her wife, but sadly, Asami needed to stay in Republic City to attend Future Industries’ annual technology summit.  As CEO, she had a keynote speech to give, as well as unveil the world’s first portable, personal two-way radio device - deemed the “Satophone” - if only she gave her wife one of the prototypes before she left.

Val was adopted by Korra and Asami at the age of 6.  About a week after Korra had departed, Asami ran into Val during her morning commute - well... almost ran into her.  Luckily at the last second, Asami was able to swerve around the oblivious child who had wandered into the road playfully chasing after a group of small, fluttering spirits.  Quickly pulling over and carrying the girl out of the street, Asami furiously looked around for whatever irresponsible parent allowed their daughter to run into the middle of the road without them noticing.  Strangely enough, no one else was around.  Confused, Asami asked the girl where her mommy was - the child pointed to the nearby spirit portal.  Now very confused, Asami asked the girl where she lived - again, the mysterious girl pointed at the spirit portal.  Now extremely confused, Asami cautiously followed the girl as she made her way to the portal.  Asami tightly held the child’s hand as they walked through the portal into the Spirit World, where Korra had brought her many times before.  The girl lead Asami through the meadow up to a hollowed out tree, similar to the Tree of Time where Korra and Asami slept during the majority of their Spirit World escapades.  Upon stepping into the hollowed out tree, Asami was startled by a loud “SHHH” - apparently they stumbled upon a very irritable baboon spirit attempting to meditate.  Apologizing, Asami turned to leave, bringing the child with her - “FINALLY.  Yes, take the small child with you.”  The woman instantly spun around at the comment, realizing the spirit actually knew the child.  After several minutes of amiable questioning and unhelpful responses, a very frustrated Asami yanked the irritated spirit up from his seated position, quickly jolting him into a more “helpful” mood.  Asami wasn’t one to jump to violence so quickly, but in this situation it seems like her protective motherly instincts had taken control.

Through her questioning - which became cordial once the monkey finally decided to cooperate - Asami learned that 6 years ago, the baboon spirit was interrupted from his meditation by the sound of insufferable crying emanating from the spirit portal.  Hoping to quickly silence whatever was causing this commotion and return to his meditation, the spirit entered the portal into the physical realm, discovering an infant laying unprotected and alone just a few feet from the portal.  With no human in site, the baboon reluctantly brought the baby back to the spirit world and cared for her, supposedly only to shut the infant up and allow the spirit to meditate in peace and quiet; the child had not granted the monkey a minute of peace since.  Apparently, that morning the child got distracted chasing other spirits and the monkey took the opportunity to resume his meditation.  Seemingly eager to get rid of the child, the spirit quickly agreed when Asami asked if he thought the child should be raised by humans.  The spirit instantly accepted Asami’s offer to care for the child and lead the two out of his tree so he could resume his meditation.  Before leaving, Asami left an open invitation that the spirit could visit the child whenever desired - the monkey responded with the familiar aggressive “SHHH”.  Knowing the spirit would undoubtedly take her up on that offer, no matter how disinterested he seemed, Asami returned with Val to the physical realm.

She made a quick stop at the Republic City Police headquarters, meeting with Mako, the current Chief of Police.  After inquiring about any missing children reports, Mako informed her that there were no open cases from the time Val went missing, however he would issue a press release that the child was found, in case her birth parents were still around.  Waiting several days after the story was released and hearing no response, Asami finally accepted that somehow fate had granted her and her wife a child.  When Korra returned, Asami excitedly introduced her to her new daughter.  Korra, nervously laughing, then introduced Asami to their OTHER new daughter.  Though it wasn’t exactly what the couple envisioned, they accepted the family fate had bestowed upon them and raised the two children as their own.

It quickly became apparent that Val was quite the troublemaker.  Always causing mischief and irritating her younger sister, Diana, Asami couldn’t help but envision a younger version of Korra in her.  Val’s airbending was slow to emerge, it wasn’t until the girl was 9 years old, 3 years after being taken in by Korra and Asami and 2 years after her younger sister developed firebending - a fact Diana never let her forget, that her abilities had manifested.  Val had stolen her sister’s Satophone 2 (now preloaded with several games) and climbed up a tall tree in their backyard.  Busy laughing and teasing her little sister from almost 2 stories high, the branch that Val had perched on broke, sending her plummeting to the ground.  Hearing the girl’s scream as she fell, her parents ran out into the backyard, only to discover their oldest daughter floating inches above the ground, held up by tiny tornadoes spinning below her.

Although her abilities manifested late, Val still proved quite adept at bending, mastering airbending by the age of 13.  Possibly due to her upbringing in the spirit world, Val was a natural when it came to the spiritual aspects of airbending like spiritual projection and was always the most intune with other spirits and her own spiritual energy.  At the age of 15, she even developed a unique form of energybending, allowing her to see and influence the thoughts/dreams of others she came in contact with by manipulating their spiritual energy.  At 17, Val perfected the ability of self-levitation.  As her bending abilities appeared later, Val was more comfortable with hand to hand combat as her primary means of fighting.  She had several years more of experience with martial arts and even developed a passion for the arts, mastering many different fighting styles over the years.  Though she mastered many airbending attacks, Val utilizes her bending abilities more to augment her physical attributes during a fight like increasing her movement speed/agility and wrapping herself in ultra-light protective armor made entirely of extremely compressed air.  Enjoying the thrill of hand to hand combat and admiring the resulting scars from it, Val never liked when Moana healed her wounds, stating that the scars were just “love bites from your enemies”.  Of course, Moana simply laughed and continued to heal her reluctant sister.

Though she loved to annoy her siblings, Val was fiercely protective and vindictive when it came to them.  For instance, after she learned that Diana’s first girlfriend had broken up with her when they were teenagers, Val had used her spiritual projection and new energybending technique to travel to the girl’s home late at night and torment her with nightmares for weeks.  Val only stopped after Diana came to her one day crying, pleading that her sister let her ex-girlfriend be happy as it’s all Diana ever wanted for her.  Val is now an agent in Republic City Police’s new Spiritual Relations division, joining the force shortly after her younger sister, where she resolves reported incidents between humans and spirits, helping the Avatar maintain harmony between the two worlds.

Raava fused with Val at the age of 28, giving her extreme control over spiritual energy.  While in the Nexus, Val has a much greater influence over a person’s subconscious thoughts, the thoughts directly and indirectly formulated by the brain in order to make sense of the sensory information provided to it.  Essentially, by manipulating these subconscious thoughts and sensory analyses, Val is able generate complex illusions that fully immerse all 5 of her opponents’ senses.

(Next: Shall I continue this crazy complicated headcanon? xD.  I kinda really want to but I’m terrible at writing consistently and I don’t want to leave a story unfinished and I have literally no idea where I’d take this story yet, so I’ll just say...

“to be continued... 

...possibly” ^.^)

[aion-rsa]

Riverdale’s Mothmen Saga Reveals the True Monsters Among Us

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This Riverdale review contains spoilers.

Riverdale Season 5 Episode 17

“People believe what they want to believe.”

It’s no secret that Riverdale has trouble sticking the landing. With the notable exception of the debut season’s finale, each year has seen the resolution of its respective core mystery solved in an acceptable, yet not entirely satisfying manner. (Please don’t get me started on how things wrapped up with the Gargoyle King).

Alas, this trend has been broken by the latest episode “Dance of Death.” My initial impulse was to balk at how the series once again knocked on the door of allowing a supernatural denouement and ran away when it hit me, having the Truck Stop Killers be related to the Coopers/Blossoms — even tangentially — opens up creative possibilities for the show to try to tackle the impact of grief and generational trauma.

No, seriously.

This isn’t exactly new ground for the series, which has attempted in its own hamfisted way to comment on issues of loss and mourning since the very first episode. With the notable exception of its tribute to Fred Andrews (which tragically was written as a result of Luke Perry’s untimely passing), Riverdale often misses the mark when it tries to be profound.

The most recent example of this are the fifth season’s plotlines about Archie’s ongoing struggles with PTSD and, although it’s mainly danced around, human trafficking with the Truck Stop Killers. There is so much worthwhile to be said about these issues, and in the latter’s case Big Sky handles the subject with respect. But occurring on a series in which characters perform divinations that transform water into maple syrup diminishes the huge weight of these subjects.

Truth be told, this is a problem in which Riverdale faces every time it attempts to mirror real life problems. Think about it this way, what if the series intended for its Jingle Jangle plot to be a serious commentary on the opioid epidemic instead of lightweight entertainment? That would feel wrong, yes? The writers should stick to the glorious bullshit that is Riverdale‘s bread and butter (inexplicable dance numbers, palladium hunts, anachronistic gangs, glamorege eggs, etc) instead of brushing up against reality too much.

Or, better still, using said bullshit to strengthen the characters and storytelling.

Simply put, if Riverdale is going to have the cojones to try to tackle real life issues, it must do so in a way that enlightens and entertains while being true to the show’s own bonkers aesthetic.

Enter “Dance of Death.” A “Betty and Jughead solve a mystery” epic, this installment has the pair discovering that the Truck Stop Killers are actually an inbred offshoot of the Cooper/Blossom family. These murderous yokels embraced the Mothmen mythos to cover their tracks and scare off any potential investigators. And their plan worked, for a while. In the most Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? that this series has ever gotten, Jughead returns to talk to Old Man Dreyfus (John Prowse), in reality the ringleader of the murderous gang who just might have got away with it if it wasn’t for those meddling twentysomethings. It’s all so ridiculous that it takes your mind off of real-life horrors experienced by those society has thrown away that are handled with lip service here.

(A quick aside, the Starkweathers wearing Mothmen armor while attacking Jughead, Betty, Fangs, Tabitha and Toni was the coolest sequence this show has pulled off in ages).

As nice as it is to have stopped the Starkweathers, Betty still has no closure on her sister. So she asks Dreyfus about Polly’s fate. In a moment of humanity he draws her and map and as the episode closes, we see Betty and Alice in hysterics upon discovering Polly’s body in the trunk of a forgotten car in a junkyard. Their worst fears have come true.

With two episodes left this season, the core mystery has been resolved in a satisfying and (mostly) contrivance-free way. As much as I wish that bona fide alien Mothmen were flying around Riverdale, such flights of fantasy remain the domain of the Little Archie and Life with Archie comics — at least for now. With this show the future is anyone’s guess.

Next week’s episode includes performances of material from Next to Normal, the Tony-winning musical that deals with issues of mental health in a haunting way. Incorporating this material into the trauma currently being experienced by the Coopers is inspired. Whether or not it is a successful experiment remains to be seen, so join me back here next week when I’ll doubtlessly have more to say about Riverdale, the real world, and the tenuous storytelling that sometimes connects the two.

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Riverdale Rundown

FYI: If you or anyone you know needs help, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888.

Tabitha’s friend and former Chok’lit Shoppe employee Lynette “Squeaky” Fields is an obvious reference to Manson Family associate Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme.

This episode was directed by Penelope Blossom herself, Nathalie Boltt.

R.I.P. Chad Gekko.

The contrivance of the week was how Archie was trapped in a mine fighting for his life and no one thought to call Betty or Jughead.

Veronica must have caught wind of Josie calling her dad a “little bitch” a few weeks back, as she does the same here.

Speaking of Hiram, it is clear that the writers have been making him into a “silly cartoon” of late. The reasoning? So he can come back more villainous than ever. (We see his transformation beginning when he torches the picture of his family). That combined with the fact that the October 6th finale is titled “Riverdale R.I.P.” indicates that his reign of evil might just be getting started. Sigh.

The Starkweather clan’s name is a reference to famed American serial killer Charles Starkweather. His actions were so appalling he was even name-checked in Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

Archie doing his best Captain America impersonation by launching a trash can lid at Chad was amazing.

Where was Reggie at this episode?

Given the variety of fake products that inhabit this show’s universe, it is always strange when a real product placement (in this case, Chime) is featured.

This episode’s use of Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries during Veronica’s confrontation with Chad was inspired, if a tad cliched.

“Another brush with death to add to your ever-growing list” says Veronica to Archie, tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Any episode in which Dr. Curdle Jr. gets multiple scenes is a quality episode.

Britta Beach (Kyra Leroux) does not originate in the Archie comics, and I wish her coming out story had a bit more time to gestate, but its understandable why it didn’t. What with a million other plots serving main characters happening.

“This religion’s got a little too fringey, even for me,” declares ex-cult member Kevin Keller.

Fangs gets his leg caught in a bear trap and is home for supper. Sepsis must not exist in Riverdale.

This was a huge week for Riverdale shippers, with Varchie, Bughead, and Tangs (or is it Fhoni?) all getting some huge couples moments.

With Kevin leaving the Church of Jason, I again fear that his character will return to seedy hookups and/or being backburnered. Again, Casey Cott and the character both deserve better.

With Cheryl now able to harness the power of Mother Earth herself, will this series finally embrace supernatural happenings in an undeniable way? Archie’s ghost helpers in the mine can be written off as a manifestation of his PTSD. But isn’t it way more interesting if they were actual spirits? Gaia knows the neighboring Greendale is a haven for the otherworldly…

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