#all that sciency stuff i just made up don't come for me

[rinixo]

spectre

Din Djarin/Reader | 2.9k | Rated M | afab reader, no y/n, a little unresolved romantic tension, descriptions of violence and fear, canon divergence

The story of how the scholar met the bounty hunter.

--

Non-linear oneshots featuring you, a university scholar from Naboo who is helping The Mandalorian seek out the Jedi.

read on ao3

Your favorite part of the archives was how no one else ever seemed to be around. Not that you were anti-social or anything – it was just that when doing your research you preferred to not be disturbed. It ruined your flow if you were constantly distracted, and the dim archive room you were in provided you the perfect place to get completely absorbed in what you were doing.

Your coworkers often poked fun at how invested you could get in your work, but you didn’t mind. Sometimes you just needed a few hours alone with your data and charts. It especially helped on days like this, filled with meetings, lectures, and more excuses as to why your thesis argument wasn’t ‘what the university was looking for’.

“Maybe it would be,” you muttered to yourself as you tapped on your console, “if they’d just let me get the data I need.” You knew that your work was important and heading in the right direction, and there was material in the secure physical repository that could prove it. Every time you tried to get approval to access it, though, you were once again met with excuses as to why you couldn’t.

So instead there you were, re-running simulations and cross-referencing variables while simultaneously looking up grants that could fund an expedition or purchase materials that could help with your research. The Empire had censored – and in some cases, destroyed – untold amounts of information from the Old Republic, and even with the New Republic now in charge it was difficult to piece together what you needed. And just like everything else in the galaxy, credits were what opened the doors to getting more data, and being a scholar didn’t exactly leave you rolling in funds.

Other the faint hum of the lights, there was little noise in the archives. A soft, repetitive ‘thump’ could be heard from down the corridor, but you chalked it up to old pipes and vents. Naboo might be a wealthy planet, even by post-Empire standards, but it seemed this space hadn’t quite made it onto the renovation plan yet.

As you continued to watch your data, you noticed that the thump noise seemed to be getting louder. Annoyed, you were just pondering getting up to see where the noise was coming from when the door hissed open and a tall figure stood in the doorway. In the dim light you couldn’t make out many features other than that the person looked vaguely humanoid and was absolutely decked out in silver-grey armor. They sure didn’t look like anyone you knew.

“Uh,” you spoke, clearing your throat. “Can I…help you?” Maybe this guy was lost? No one ever came down here but you unless they got turned around looking for the refresher.

Silence. The man stepped into the room, allowing the door to hiss shut behind him. A sudden pang of unease struck you. Being stuck in an enclosed space with a heavily armored – and armed, you noticed – stranger was not something you were exactly experienced in.

“Do you work here?” The armored man finally spoke. His voice was low, and filtered through the helmet. You raised a brow, and nodded.

“Yeah. Well, technically, I guess.” You were an associate, not yet tenured, but this guy didn’t need to know that.

“Can you read star charts?” He continued. You nodded again.

The armored man pulled out a holo and placed it on the table you were seated at. He pushed a few buttons and the holo switched on and projected a series of star charts. Leaning forward, you hummed quietly as you flicked through them. They were very old star charts from what you could tell - there were planets listed you knew for a fact no longer existed, or at least not by the names they went by now. In addition, the languages used in the charts were a mishmash of several different types, not standardized at all.

“Where did you get these?” You questioned, honing in on a specific system located in the outer rim you had never heard of before. “Some of this data is so old I’m surprised it’s even been uploaded to a digital format. A lot of this stuff only exists in physical archives, repositories-“

“Doesn’t matter,” the man interrupted you. “I’m looking for something important and I need someone who can help me find it.”

Strange, but not unheard of. The university often hosted people looking for ‘things’, and you yourself were in the archives working on finding ways to get the information you needed. Besides, your researched focused on archeoastronomy – ancient star charts were your bread and butter.

“Well,” you mused. “If you tell me what you’re looking for, I can probably help you find it. Might need the help of a protocol droid deciphering some of this text, though.”

If you didn’t know any better, you’d say you saw the armored man flinch. “No droids.”

Frowning, you leaned back in your chair and crossed your arms. “Okay, but it’ll take me a lot longer to parse through this.” Finding the right translations wouldn’t be impossible, but doing it on your own would definitely take time.

“How long?”

Shrugging, you flipped through the charts. “A couple days, maybe?”

“Deal.”

--

Two days later, you found yourself in the archives again, this time accompanied by the stoic warrior. He had refused to tell you his name, describing himself only as a ‘Mandalorian.’ You had heard of the Mandalorian people before, but had never met one. At least you didn’t think so. First times for everything.

To his credit, he seemed content to sit quietly and let you do your work. It still made you a little anxious knowing that he was packing some heavy weaponry, but the lure of the ancient charts (and the stack of credits he had left on your table) were enough to convince you to help him.

He explained that he was looking for a specific planet with some specific ruins on them. He didn’t know the name of the planet, but had an idea of when it would have last been charted and some significant descriptive factors that helped narrow your search parameters. That was the extent of his commentary on the subject, however. You assumed he was searching for some kind of treasure like the others who often came looking for help with star charts and plotting routes.

It was a little awkward to feel like you were being watched while working, but other than that he was a decent companion for the time being. Sometimes he would clean a weapon, and you sometimes took a break to watch him out of the corner of your eye. You had zero experience with weaponry and the academic in you liked the methodical way he took apart the different pieces and then carefully placed them back together.

Your console pinged quietly, bringing your focus back. Looking at the time, you realized it was later than you had thought and yawned. Standing, you stretched, and shut off the screens you were working on.

“How much longer?” The man asked, and you smiled.

“Impatient, huh?”

Shaking his head, the Mandalorian continued to re-assemble his rifle. “Just…on a schedule,” he intoned.

“Well, I’ve almost got it,” you explained, gathering your things and packing them up. “That last breakthrough really helped. If I can extrapolate the orbital decay along with the trajectory of that supernova that blasted it out of the original system, I can cross reference it with modern star charts and get you a couple potential nav-points. It can be done in another half-day.”

That seemed to be satisfactory and the man did not question further. You bid him goodnight and left the archives, eager to greet your bed.

The streets of Theed were relatively safe and quiet, so you usually felt comfortable walking home alone in the dark. Tonight, however, a chill seemed to hover in the shadows that you weren’t sure was just from the change in weather.

Gripping your pack tighter, you increased your pace as you wound through the side streets that led back to your apartment. A clanking sound from behind you made you whip your head around, eyes wide and heart beating in your throat. You didn’t see anything, but it was very dark and you weren’t going to risk it. Turning back around, you began to run, eager to get to the safety of your building.

You were nearing the end of the alleyway when a figure came out of the shadows to block your path. Skidding to a halt, you swallowed roughly and froze. The figure was cloaked in darkness and you could only make out that they were very large – much larger than you. With shaking legs, you began to back up. Turning your head, you tried to plan your escape and whimpered slightly when two more figures melted out of the darkness and began to stalk towards you.

Looking around desperately, you tried to find your voice to scream, shout for help, anything – but it wouldn’t come. You were trapped, and guessed that the three people closing in on you were not there to play nice. Squeezing your eyes shut, you prayed that whatever they were going to do to you would be over quickly.

“Hngh!” A rough voice, and then the sound of bones breaking. Opening one eye, you were shocked to see the Mandalorian standing over the body of one of your would-be attackers. Close up, you could see the man’s lifeless eyes under a cap blazened with an imperial insignia. What the hell?

Barely able to even wonder where the Mandalorian had come from, you stood frozen, and watched as the remaining two attackers tried to circle around you both. The armored man had his back to you, and he shifted so that you were behind him, acting like a shield. Fear was still a sting in your heart – even with all that armor, he was still outnumbered.

The two imperials attacked at once, pulling out stunning sticks and knives to rush your protector. To your amazement, the Mandalorian parried their onslaught effortlessly, moving fluidly despite the heavy armor he wore. He didn’t even pull out a weapon of his own – you knew he had plenty, he had cleaned every single one over the past few days – and instead knocked his foes back with hand to hand combat.

One of them managed to get in a lucky hit, and jabbed the Mandalorian in the side with his stunning stick. Not enough to do any real damage, but enough for him to double over briefly before taking the mans arm and bending it far enough back to break it in the socket. It was also just enough time for the other attacker to dash past him and grab you roughly. He panted in your ear as he spun you around, one arm around your throat, the other pointing his blaster at the straightening Mandalorian.

“Give us the charts,” the man breathed roughly, and you winced in disgust at the sound of his voice. “Or I’ll kill the girl.”

“Let her go,” the Mandalorian replied. “She’s not involved.” Your mind spun with a million questions and scenarios and escape plans, and you desperately wished you were anywhere but there. So much for academics being a ‘safe’ career choice.

“Bullshit,” the imperial spat. “We’ve been trailing you for days, and you’ve spent all of it holed up somewhere with her. What, you have a kink for the brainy ones? Spending some time getting your kicks, fucking her-“

With great effort, you managed to move your elbow just enough to jab your captor sharply in the gut. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for the Mandalorian to find an opening to block the blaster fire with his grieves and grab the man roughly by the throat. You fell away onto your knees, gasping as the Mandalorian smashed the mans head against the wall and let his limp form drop to join his two friends.

Shaking, you tried to get your bearings. The Mandalorian, after surveying his handiwork, walked over to you and offered you a gloved hand. You hesitantly placed your own in his, and he gently pulled you to your feet.

“Are you alright?” He asked, and you nodded. Other than a bruised knee and a sore collarbone, the only other damage was the lingering adrenaline and fear.

“W-what was that? Who are they?” You choked out. Mando turned his helmet slightly, and in the moonlight you saw a blurry reflection of your terrified face in the gleaming metal.

“Imperial assassins,” he replied. “You’re not safe. We need to get off the planet.”

You blanched. “A-assassins? Why the – why was I just attacked by assassins?!” None of this was making sense.

Mando shook his head, and grabbed your hand again, pulling you along. “I’ll explain later. For right now, we need to leave. There’s probably more on their way.”

Not finding the words to argue with him, you followed in a daze, hand closed carefully in his own much larger one. You vaguely noted that even through the leather it was quite warm. That sensation provided a sense of calming, and you started to ground yourself as the two of you made your way swiftly through the streets.

--

A few hours later, you sat in the hold of the Mandalorian’s ship. It was a huge pre-empire thing, some model you didn’t recognize. Mando had ushered you up the ramp, and after leaving briefly to set off, rejoined you as the ship drifted quietly outside the range of the planet.

You sat at against a crate, legs pulled up to your chest as your strange savior gave you the short version of his story. Something about a clan, and a debt, and creed. A baby that was under his care and needed to be returned to his kind – an ancient order of wizards or something. Jedi. The name wasn’t unfamiliar, but from your own experience was the topic of more speculation and legend than fact. The star charts? Stolen from the very repository you had been denied access to. The universe had a sense of humor, it seemed.

“That’s why they attacked,” the Mandalorian concluded. “I noticed them following you home the first day, and knew that it was just a matter of time before they made a move. I waited for you to leave and draw their attention so I could take them out.”

You frowned again. Did you understand that correctly?

“You used me as bait?” You asked, crossing your arms. The man shifted uncomfortably in front of you.

“I- well, I guess you could see it that way,” The Mandalorian sputtered. “I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you-“

You laughed shortly. “No, just let me get cornered by assassins and then sweep me off-planet with nothing but the stuff in my pack.”

Silence stretched between the two of you, and you knew you had made him hesitate. So what if he was a bounty hunter on some sacred quest? You could have gotten a change of clothes, at least.

Letting it go on for a few more beats, you sighed and slapped your hands to your knees. Standing, you put your hands on your hips and looked around. “So. Where do I sleep?”

The Mandalorian tipped his head slightly in confusion.

“For the journey,” you replied. “To the lost planet.”

“You’re…coming with me?” The Mandalorian asked slowly. You nodded in response.

“I haven’t finished the job yet,” you explained. “I still need to refine the results. Besides,” you smiled wryly. “I think I owe you for saving my life…even if it was only in danger because of you in the first place.”

--

 A few hours earlier…

Mando watched carefully from the rooftops, following your form as you weaved your way through the dark city streets. He was careful to keep you in his sights, knowing that sooner or later his targets would make themselves known.

He told himself he was doing this for two reasons. One – he would always take the chance to kill some imps, especially ones trying to find him and take the Child. Two – he would have felt guilty leaving you to a potentially horrific fate for your work in helping him decipher the star charts.

If there was a third reason – the way you chewed your lip when you were deep in thought, or how the lights from the projections made your eyes sparkle – he ignored it. It was just business. Not the way you hummed while you worked, or your clever insights about the ancient movements of lost stars. Just doing the right thing, and sparing his conscience…

Sighing, he tapped his visor, activating the night vision in his helmet. The moon was bright – even from here he could see how it was reflected in your hair – but the alleys you took home twisted and turned and were spotted with dark shadows. He needed to be able to track you closely.

Movement from ahead of you, and a few moments later from behind as well. He couldn’t make out many specifics at this distance, but he knew it was the imperial assassins he had been tracking since he landed in Theed. They were good, to have eluded him for this long – but he was better.

Descending from the rooftop, the Mandalorian began to make his way towards your position. Tonight there would be some casualties, and he was determined to make sure that they didn’t include you.

[randoimago]

Hi there! Could you please do headcanons on Astarion, Wyll, Karlach and Gale with a Druid reader? And if it’s okay to be more specific, one who’s in the Circle of Stars? Thank you!

With a Circle of Stars Druid Reader

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3

Character(s): Astarion, Gale, Karlach, Wyll

Type of Request: Headcanons

Note(s): Ngl when I was looking into Circle of the Stars, it made me very much want to make a Druid character (that I'll probably never get to actually play in a campaign 😔 )

Astarion

Oh good, finally someone that can use those random hovels that he always ends up coming across in his travels. He'd tell you to stay safe and don't play hero if you do decide to go through one, but also maybe find something shiny.

Asks if you're able to turn into a bear for research purposes. Is a bit disappointed if you can't. Sure, your shining dragon thing is pretty, but you're a druid. Why can't you turn into an actual dragon?

Just a bit of agree to disagreements with Astarion. Your fascination of the night sky is nice and all - and yeah, it's a bit romantic - but he's honestly a bit tired of the night. If your star magic can make him live in the daylight then that'll be great. Until then, he hopes this tadpole doesn't screw him over.

Gale

He's heard of druids that seek to control the cosmos, to meet someone from one of those circles is fascinating to him. Gale absolutely wants to hear of what findings you or your circle might have.

Honestly, he wants to hear about any interesting facts you have of constellations too. Just any knowledge in general, he'd love to learn. Gale is happy to tell you whatever knowledge he might have as well.

Gale is also a bit intrigued with our Wild Shaping abilities too. He has met many interesting creatures that he's summoned and while he knows you can't transform into many of them, he does have a request. Just now and then when he's reading a good book, he'd love if you can be a cat that he can cuddle with too.

Karlach

Karlach is so excited that you're a druid. She has a list of animals she's always wanted to pet, but has been unable to because of her running a bit hot. So if you'd be willing to indulge in becoming little critters for her to pet then she'll be ecstatic.

Considering a lot of her life has been stuck in the Hells, hearing that you are studying and learning about the skies sounds like a dream to her. She'll gladly hear any stories you have of the sparkling lights in the sky, happy to think back on those stories instead of remembering the ones from her past.

Might not quite understand everything you tell her about the stars and night sky - specifically the sciency stuff - but she does love listening to stories behind each constellation. Can't help but joke with you about one day having her own constellation in the night sky.

Wyll

With all of Wyll's traveling, he has some knowledge of the stars. He's needed to rely on them to help him travel a bit so he'd love to learn a bit about your star maps in hopes it'll also help him out in the future.

Can't help but be slightly in awe when he sees your Starry Form. He finds it absolutely gorgeous. The way you glimmer and look like the a star map yourself is amazing. As if he thought he couldn't fall in love further, you just prove him wrong.

Wyll is on a mission whenever your group stops at a city or town now. He's just looking for star maps or special inks and such for you to create and add on to your own. While it's not quite bouquets of flowers, he hopes that you appreciate the gesture.

[characterswithcolorsnamesfight]

If you haven't filled the survey completely yet, can you please send in [Phenomena by Ruben Eliassen] which Azur is from among the novels? The Norwegian publisher is treating it like crap these days and print fewer and fewer copies rather than celebrating its 22nd anniversary and being grateful for it being one of the first (and best) Norwegian fantasy book series. It was the one that made people start taking the genre seriously in Norway so it'll be depressing if it just disappears..!

Cool things for it's time and still is:

The hero has a love interest, the heroine doesn't, the author has later said that she's an aroace lesbian.

A 12-year old girl becomes friends with a guy in his 20s, they do not end up together and stay friends for the rest of the series.

The author manages show don't tell in a book, and discusses the weird misogyny that was around in the 2000s rather than acting like it never happened.

While there's unfortunately some implied r**e, are the ones doing it not glorified or end up with their victims. One of the victims is a man and treated as just as terrible as the other one and is never joked about.

One tribe that were used as slaves take the cousin tribe of the tribe that kept them as slaves as their slaves, this isn't treated as okay.

Adults aren't always right.

The protagonists both have ADHD but are presented as intelligent in their own ways despite being twins.

Is just very good.

Oh sure ! This seems really promising and rather woke for a 2000s book (some of you need serious updating and should come with special warnings but we love you 2000s series)

Here's the survey for those who'd like to help ! Reminder : we're talking about Phenomena by Ruben Eliassen (Norwegian book) and Ragnarok by Odin Helgheim (Norwegian comic). All hail Norway !

(Just a thought from someone whose country has a heavy colonial past : Not sure the "ex slaves turn easily into oppressors when given power" is actually a good take since I believe the "they'll do the same to us if given the occasion/as revenge on us" was the kind of saying used to oppose the end of slavery. It doesn't mean the book doesn't have great takes or that the author and readers are racist, just that it's possibly a poor/clumsy take)

You had me at twins with different personalities ! (I'm joking, I was into it when you said fantasy from Norway and I realized I didn't know what Northern fantasy looked like as a genre) If they translate it, I'll do my best to get my twin to read the copy I'll get

Funnily enough, my favorite kid/young teen series is a French series who never had been translated which title is Phaenomen (from the Latin noun, all the chapters have a Latin title). It's about kids with different kinds of disabilities (unnamed but quite reminescent of autism and other mental or physical disorders -with a supplementary 'magical/sciency' touch but I promise no magical superhealing stuff- : dyspraxia, hypermnesia, migraines, hyperfixations, hypersensitivity to light, difficulties to communicate, anger management issues etc.) who flee the special needs type of clinic they're in and find themselves in quite a lot of trouble as they try to survive together as a makeshift family and run from some powerful Templar sect who's taken an interest in their uncommon abilities (special vision, superspeed, soul manipulation... all are the other sides of their disabilities)

It's been a while since I've last read it but I used to reread it several times a year. Some stuff in it might be problematic (ableism-wise) but I also have autistic friends who love the series too

If anyone else wants to mention childhood/teenagehood/pasthood reads not translated into English from their own countries, don't hesitate ! (Also works for movies, games and whatnot)

[eirasummers]

He compartido 6851 publicaciones este 2022

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@missbonekitty

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La etiqueta más larga tiene 137 caracteres

#but soon i realized i could just take the jeans off and just sleep in underwear so i started doing that when it happened after that hahah

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Twst questions

I was tagged by @deeva-arud here, but the post was getting long so I decided to answer them in a new one. I hope that's ok! Here we go:

Would you be a mer, a beastman, a fae, or a human? (or other!)

Mmm… maybe a lioness beastwoman?? If we're being actually realistic it would be a simple human but we're having fun here hahah

Would you be at rsa or nrc?

I don't really fit completely in either, but since RSA would be to stuck up, probably NRC.

What dorm would you belong to?

Ignihyde, but I refuse. I wish it were Savanaclaw, but I won't be xD

What character(s) would you be best friends with?

I would probably get along best with Rook? And Epel too. I'd probably get along with Cater and Kalim too, even if they'd be too extroverted for my poor introverted soul hahaha Also… Trey too. He seems nice to hang out with.

What character(s) would you hate?

Well, I already can barely stand Idia and Azul without knowing them in person… so probably them lol

What character(s) would you date?

Well, the dream would be Vil, but he wouldn't like me back xDDD So maybe Leona or Ruggie?? None of them would like me back tho hahaha

What would Floyd’s nickname be for you?

I am so bad at thinking this stuff, but my friend Sha always associates me with sharks, so we'll go with that one even if Floyd would not give me that one in a million years XDD

And Rook’s?

Again, really bad at these. Maybe something like "Dame verte"??

What twst character(s) are you most like? (personality-wise)

Jamil, definitely.

Which subject(s) do you think you would excel at?

All the Sciency ones, Biology, Potions, Alchemy…

What club would you join?

Mountain Lover's Club. Maybe also drop in the Light Music Club sometimes~

How do you think you would survive in twisted wonderland/what would your life be like in general?

I'd just have a normal quiet life. Just minding my own business at school, not really trying too hard not lazying too much (let's go with that xD). Just a normal person from a normal background hahaha

[Optional!] What would your unique magic be?

Nothing really specific comes to mind, but some kind of healing magic, for sure~ Tagging: @kokone12 @missbonekitty @kirayamidemon @chervtheherb @anevilbunnyinthehat @fumikomiyasaki @atwstedstory @evilcokito @rozengrotto and anyone else who wants to do it! (Also, you can ignore the tag too xD)

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[scarfacemarston]

RDR OC Preview: Alex caring for his child patients

Context: Dr. Alex Malinov. (Anglicized to Malin) taking care of two young girls ready for their immunizations. Alex adores children and befriends them. The assistant character my ex friends, but I wont' share someone else's writing. So here is one of my rp posts from Alex with kids! Alex's profile is here. RP open! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alex was listening and entertaining two girls talking his ear off as their mother browsed the pharmaceuticals in the practice. One girl looked about six while the other looked like she was eight. Both girls had freckles with caramel hair and light eyes. "And then, and then, and then!" the younger one repeated excitedly jumping up and down. Alex shook his head, "Yes? What happened then, Jessica?" Alex said indulging her with a small smile on his face. "And then I saw a turtle! He almost bit me, but he didn't so that was good. I wanted him to be my friend, but it didn't work out." the younger one bounced. "I'm in school right now and I'm learning how to read! I saw a parrot in a book! You have lots of books, Mister." she said pointing to one of the walls as she wandered around. "Ah, I'm afraid my books aren't very fun. You could probably use them as blocks." Alex said leaning back on his chair. Her sister Martha piped up, "I'm in school, too. We aren't reading picture books, though. It's nothing really fun, though. It's just little stories. I want to do something fun. The boys are playing with gooey science stuff and we don't get to." the older one said, her arms behind her back. "Is that right, Martha? Well, maybe there's a way your teacher will let you play around with it ,or maybe one of the nicer boys can show you how it's done. I showed my sister some sciency stuff." He said.

"Hey, Mister doctor. You wanna see my doll?" Jessica said wandering behind the counter. Alex bit his lip, she wasn't supposed to be there, but the girl took it upon herself to do so anyway. He rolled his chair preventing her from going into the back. "I do want to see your doll. Then I gotta go tell your Mama about what we're doing today, my girl." Alex said crossing his legs as Jessica shoved a rag doll made out of yarn. "This is Louisia Mary Rebecca Julie the FOURTH because she's my fourth doll" she stated.

Alex laughed, "Well, hello Louisa Mary Rebecca Julie the FOURTH" he said raising his voice slightly. "Is this because you keep adding names?" he asked raising an eyebrow. The girl gasped, "How did you know!" she squealed. "I'm smart that way." he shrugged. "You're talking too much , Jessica." Martha whispered.

"That's alright. Looks like your mama's coming now. So we're agreed with the girls plan, Mrs. McPherson? They have a clean bill of health otherwise, "Alex said motioning to his arm. "Good to hear, yes, go ahead with…that." she said quietly. Jessica piped up again. "See! It's okay, he's really nice. He sits around and sees people so he has to talk. Daddy is busy all day cutting trees so now I have someone else to talk to!" she beamed. Alex stood up as he turned to his assistant, "They are getting immunized. "So…I've been befriending the girls the best I can. They've already been checked. She says she likes me, now but we'll see. No one likes someone coming at them with sharp objects." Alex whipered as Martha peered over the counter to see what they were doing. " The look of betrayal on the kid's faces are both heartbreaking and a little humorous." "I normally give them some candy, but Jessica is pretty…wired and I don't need her mother hating me….but she's so cute….and so exhausting." Alex said, his expression changing multiple times. "Jessica is going to be….a screamer. I just know it. If she starts screaming, she'll panic Martha. We have two shots each." Alex warned his assistant. "Hi, lady!" Jessica said before turning back to Alex, "Oh. My. Gosh. You two are so cute together like a prince and princess. Are you in love? Are you going to get married? Are you going to have a baby? How about…" Jessica prattled. Alex whistled. "You got a mouth on you, love. It's okay. I do, too." He said nodding at their mother to signify he was fine.

*After the vaccine*

Alex crossed his arms and sighed. "I told you I'd lose a friend… if she had given me chance I would have shown her the pet turkey! Too late now." he muttered. *End Scene*

[lovelivingmydreams]

A story by heroes and villains

Roman Castile: Passion and duty

Roman finds that his different passions seem to get in each other's way for now. But one day, he will find a balance.

“Ugh! I am done!” Roman exclaimed relieved, barely hearing the hissed warning from the librarian. Homework had been draining. Sure they’d had fun. Especially when it came to teasing Virgil about his pronunciation when they worked on Spanish.

Still Roman was ready to do literally anything else.

“Give me a sec, I have to finish this thing for English,” Virgil muttered absentmindedly. Roman knew that Virgil had rewritten that particular assignment two times already.

“Want me to read it trough for you?” Roman offered. Maybe hearing someone say that it was good would be enough to stop him from second guessing himself again.

“You don’t…”  Virgil started, somehow looking guilty.

“We’re here to help each other Virgil. If I didn’t want to help you I wouldn’t offer. I thrive on being of help to my friends. It’s no trouble,” he assured him. Virgil offered him a small smile and a nod in response. “Alright. You can read it when I’m done,” he allowed.

Roman took peace with that and opened his notebook to start doodling.

He had a few ideas for some more shirt designs. He’d enjoyed making his ‘coming out’ shirt. Then there was the Halloween party and every other social event this year has to offer where he had to slay. Junior year was a year to be noticed. Nothing wrong with putting down some ideas in advance. He just might come across the perfect outfit.

“Seems I’m not the only one who can draw up some clothes,” Virgil noted and Roman nearly fell of his chair when he jumped at his sudden proximity.

“Will you stop that!?” A thing about Virgil Roman had learned over the last week. He always seemed to pop up out of nowhere. One minute he’s gushing over the latest Disney trailer with André and suddenly Virgil stands next to him giving his two cents. It was terrifying.

“Not a chance,” Virgil chuckled as he picked up Roman’s sketches.

“This looks good though… You ever thought of becoming a fashion designer?”

Roman’s eyes widened. Making amazing outfits for a living? He could make a whole ‘wear your pride’ line and… Oh… Oh…!

“You are a genius!” Roman exclaimed. He’d had no idea what he wanted to do with his future, aside from hero work, but now the idea was brought up he wanted nothing else. Fashion designer, superhero, actor, maybe also Mr. Castile-Anker. That was a future he could look forward to!

Virgil chuckled. “It’s the least I can do. I sent in the designs like you said… I’m kind of excited.”

Roman beamed at him. “I’m sure next time you see DreamPrince on the news he’ll be wearing your design.” He was. He’d been shown some alternative designs by Manifestor and found Virgil’s drawing among them and immediately declared that that was the one.

As he’d told Roman, he’d changed a few things. He’d shown him on Wednesday to get his stamp of approval. Roman had gushed unapologetically, because he knew he’d have to tone it back a bit in front of the team.

Which had been hard.

Tonight he’d be taking it for a test run and he’d make sure to be seen by people and cameras.

“We’ll see,” Virgil smiled as he pushed his laptop with his assignment towards Roman.

Roman read it, dropping the subject without problem.

Virgil was easy to be friends with and he’d quickly learned to read his moods.

During lunch Virgil usually sat himself a little bit away from the group when he felt the need to just focus on his music and sketch a little before heading back to class. He was sarcastic, witty and could dish it out about as well as he could take it.

He was also very guarded emotionally, which Roman could understand, but whenever they were just the two  of them, Virgil opened up some more. He’d learned about Virgil’s soon to be stepdad and the admittedly adorable meet cute he’d been a part of.

He knew that Virgil’s dad had found them a new home and they’d moved in just that week.

He learned that Virgil was mature and his dad’s only wingman which they both agreed was super awkward but also hilarious.

Roman had joked that Virgil might end up being his father’s best man. But apparently there was a family friend ‘uncle Thomas’ who might get that position.

Virgil had gone out with another girl that week. Anna, who’d had English with him last year or something. Virgil had listened patiently, but relatively unaffected to her asking him out and arranged another semi-date at the music store for the next evening. Luckily nothing came from it again. Roman asked him why he kept saying yes to people he barely knew. Virgil explained that he had missed out on enough chances to befriend others. So the way he saw it he’d at the very least get a friend out of it. Roman kind of took comfort in that. It didn’t sound like Virgil was trying to get a girlfriend or a boyfriend right now. Just trying to socialize. Roman had reminded Virgil to watch his boundaries though. He wouldn’t want him to push himself out of fear he’d be missing out.

One more thing he learned about Virgil: he was overly critical of himself.

“Well, I think you can hand this in with confidence Virge,” Roman concluded as he returned Virgil’s laptop to him.

“So… I recall something about pizza? I’m starving!” he grinned.

Virgil chuckled and lead the way. Soon they were sat at a table with their orders and they were talking about everything and nothing. It was great. And Roman was so close to asking Virgil out but…

“So… Um… There’s this… Shoot wait a minute,” Roman got up and picked up his phone.

“Si mama…?” he asked curiously after seeing the caller ID.

“Darling. I know you are out with your friend. But I wanted you to know we’re headed to the university now,” his mother informed him. The university… Wait. “Que?” Roman looked at his watch incredulously. He was going to be late. Unless he left right now that is.

“Perdona! I’ll be there soon.” He hung up and dug through his wallet for some money.

“So sorry Virge! Time got away from us I’m afraid. I swear I intended to give you that ride… Can you call your dad… You know what? Just use the change to take the bus or something alright? My treat! I’ll call you later!” he promised as he tossed down a few bills that should more than cover the tab and the tip before rushing away.

How was it so late already?

He sprinted around a few corners and found a spot to get changed. BS had explained about the sciency stuff behind his costume change, but all Roman really cared about was that he basically had a magical boy transformation. Sure he could sit there and let the tech do its thing, but it was much more fun to make up a cool transformation sequence.

First, hair. He retrieved a lip balm like object and applied the substance to his hairline. He tucked the balm away and with one smooth movement of his hand he styled and recolored his hair. Instead of parted in the middle with regal waves it was flicked to the back, save for a single rebellious strand dangling down his forehead. Instead of a deep ash brown it was warm chestnut in color.

Then he took a tini metallic bead from a ring on his finger and tapped it against his temple, before he swiped his hand in front of his eyes as his mask placed itself securely on his face, changing his eye color in the process. He tapped his wrists together in front of his chest and brought them down with force, feeling his blazer and shirt get replaced by the skintight suit. He tapped his right heal against his left before taking another power position and finishing his costume change.

How cool was his life?!

He created a platform to lift himself to the roof and sprinted towards the university. The GTH was in it’s basement. As he made his way there he started to think over asking Virgil out again.

Maybe, now wasn’t the time. Virgil was clearly still upset about the whole Janus thing. He didn’t say it but Roman could tell. And he didn’t want Virgil to think for even a second that Roman’s crush was anything less than genuine, he had noticed that Virgil still had trouble believing their friendship was real at times. Not to mention that starting a relationship with someone while he was still figuring out how to balance out superhero and civilian life was clearly a bad idea. He couldn’t even ask him out without being interrupted by his other life.

So, he'd wait until he had his life in order and he was sure Virgil was ready. There was definitely some kind of connection between them. And Roman was willing to wait until the time was right…

He knew he was being a coward, but his friendship with Virgil was so fragile.

He entered the basement campus with little hassle and dropped of his bag in his personal locker, making sure to lock it. If anyone with ill intent got in here they could easily find out his identity with it's contents and Roman didn’t want his name out like that. Not yet at least.

He hurried to the training hall, threw open the doors and slid inside.

“Your prince has returned!” he exclaimed, doing a pretty good job at pretending he hadn't just sprinted the whole way there.

“Has he now?” BS asked, apparently in a bad mood today.

“Oh come now big S, the boy is just excited for his present! I would be too if I got a new costume made for me by a secret admirer,” Sweets offered with a calming hand on BS' shoulder. Sweets was an empath. He could share his emotions and those of others, perfect match for someone who wants or needs to keep his calm.

But what sweets said made Roman rather flustered. “I don't think DreamPrince has had enough appearances to already gain such attentions. Whoever did this just couldn't stand to look at this any longer.” Roman gestured to his current costume.

“Speaking of which…” he held out his hand bouncing on his feet in excitement. He was supposed to meet the chief of police today and he wanted to look presentable.

Manifestor chuckled from his spot on the desk. “Give the boy his stuff. He's been looking forward to this day for the past four years.”

BS sighed and handed Roman a small box, which the young hero snatched up before rushing to the dressing room.

He turned his suit off and took off the containment units. He opened the box and switched the old units for the new ones. The bracelets were more comfortable and adjusted to his skin tone, the metal bead was replaced with two skin colored stickers he applied to his temples.

“Let’s do this,” Roman smirked excitedly.

“To adventure!” he called out as he crossed his arms and tapped at his temples while simultaneously clicking his wrists together. At the same time he tapped his right toe behind his left heel and brought his ankles together. He struck a power pose, facing the full length mirror and grinned excitedly. Virgil had added an insignia on his cape and golden trimming in the final design. There'd been a few options for his emblem and Roman had chosen the shield with a castle by the sea with the sun shining down on him. He looked quite dashing.

He left the dressing room and handed the box back to BS with an elegant gesture.

BS wasn't amused. Sweets and Manifestor on the other found it hilarious.

“So? What do you think?” Roman asked as he turned around to show off the end result.

A loud ‘bing' announced a message from his family watching from the observation room.

“Gaaaaaaay!” Roman rolled his eyes good naturedly. Remus was a fan.

“Stay away from Planes!” the next one read. Roman chuckled. He had asked Virgil about the cape, considering he’d expected someone as cautious as him to heed Edna Mode's advice.

Apparently Virgil had intended the Cape to be an addition for official events. So ‘Prince’ would look good on camera. He'd also pointed out that it would look badass for the prince to un-claps his Cape before a fight. He'd had a point and Roman actually loved it.

“You look very handsome darling.”

“Thanks mom!” Roman called out.

Then two beeps came from a device on BS wrist. He looked down and relaxed, tapping away at a holographic screen, turning up the intensity of his shadow. “The chief is here,” he announced.

Roman raised an eyebrow, that was not what BS had been so tense about. Something in his private life maybe? If that was the case he'd never find out.

Roman had no time to worry about that though. The door opened and in walked the police chief. A small but commanding African American woman. It was something in the way she walked that made Roman want to stand at attention. And so he did. He wasn't the only one.

“DreamPrince, at your service ma’am,” Roman introduced himself respectfully.

“So you are what all the fuss is about?” she asked as she looked Roman up and down.

Chief Davies pursed her lips before nodding to herself. “I’ve read your file, you’re quite the prodigy aren’t you?” she asked.

Roman chuckled a little awkwardly. “I’ve just been training from a young age, that’s all.” Most gifted didn’t realize their talent until they were well in their teens.

“Good answer. I have no time to stroke an adolescent ego. We’ve got work to do.”

Chief Davies turned to Manifestor. “You got the files I sent?”

Manifestor nodded hurriedly. “Yes. I had no time to review them though.”

“I’ll walk you through it,” she announced dismissively. The leader of Roman’s training team nodded and tapped at something on his wrist. The screen that had shown the messages from Roman’s family earlier was now filled with mugshots.

The men looked dangerous. Roman shifted nervously. “You… you want my help apprehending these men?” he asked, trying not to show how frightening it seemed.

“God No!” Roman hid his relieve. “These men are all in jail already, with iron clad cases keeping them there for a long time. You think I’m going to send some rookie after hardcore criminals? No offense, but you are still a baby,” Roman blushed at that and focused back on the pictures.

Wait a minute. “I know that guy! Remember at the end of my first week? I spotted some tugs bothering that kid and tossed a rock at them?”

“And by some miracle you weren’t found when said tugs came looking for you,” BS added through gritted teeth. Still upset at Roman's initial recklessness.

“I wasn’t the only one they were looking for,” Roman insisted. He’d been so sure he hadn’t been alone that night. But BS claimed the would have known if anyone else had been there.

He never went after the tugs after they left the alley. BS insisting he was done with back alleys for the night.

And now those guys were apparently behind bars?

“Next slide please!” Davies called out.

A picture of a ziplock bag with pictures, a USB stick and a note of cut out letters that said ‘your turn’.

“For almost a year now we’ve been getting mysterious packages like this. Pictures, audio and video recordings. Every last one had one of these men incriminating themselves. It’s like whoever delivers these stands right next to them, but never gets caught taking pictures or carrying a wire. I have a small task force on the case who have dubbed them ‘The Phantom’. We are keeping this as in house as we can. Once the public hears about the Phantom, we’ll lose the most valuable asset we’ve ever had. Plus until now we weren’t sure if they were a sensible vigilante or a mobster who was taking out competition in a very clever way. Given what you just said I’d be inclined towards the former. They might have some sort of gift that hides them well enough to get away with spying. But right now, they are putting themselves in danger.” Davies turned towards Roman.

“Keep an eye out, see if you can spot him during your patrol this evening. And if you do, get him on board with the program.”

“Prince did not go through all that training to be your recruitment poster boy!” BS snapped to Roman's surprise. That was the most emotional response he's seen from BS ever. Aside from when he scolded Roman on his reckless behavior.

Davies glared at BS, looking quite intimidating, despite barely reaching to his chest.

“Now don't go all noble on me BrainStorm. What? Did your heart grow three sizes while I wasn't looking? Is there suddenly room for more than one other person there?”

Roman knew that this was a threat. Davies knew BS’ true identity, where he worked, who he cared for. She could ruin whatever he had built in an instant.

Roman often wondered what kind of life BS had outside the facility. Did he have a partner? A family? Did they know about his past at all.

A few seconds ticked by with no one daring to do so much as breathe.

Then Davies relaxed and stepped back. “I'm no monster BrainStorm. I wouldn't ask some rookie to deal with this if I hadn’t tried everything else already. I send in my agents and even called in other gifted. All we got out of that was this,” she gestured and Manifestor showed the next image. A note in the same style as the previous one that said ‘no babysit!’

“Our profiler thinks they are young. So maybe your prince won't seem as threatening. They might've had his back once before already. If this Phantom were someone you cared for, would you rather we left them be, or would you drag their noble behind here yourself to give them proper gear and back up?”

The question hung in the air for a moment, BS had nothing to counter with. Roman imagined Phantom being one of his friends, or even Janus and the answer remained the same.

“I will do what I can,” he vowed before lifting his chin and facing the fierce chief head on. “But ma'am, I don't appreciate you threatening my mentor like that.”

BS had stood up for him, it was only right for him to return the favor.

Davies chuckled. “Just when I started to worry you were only brawn and a pretty face. You can be smart too huh? And you’ve got guts. You just might have what it takes kid. Now. I have places to be. Keep me updated, and don't lose this.” Roman accepted the watch he was handed with a confused frown.

“My people will call if we need you. Please use that brain and return the favor?”

With that she left. Well… that was intense.

Roman put on the watch and saw that it had a frequency displayed on it instead of time. He also spotted two buttons. One blue and one red. It didn't take much to realize that one was a panic button and the other was to make it so the cops could hear him. He wondered if it would connect to the nearest patrol car or to Davies directly.

He hoped he’d never have to find out.

“Well… time to show the city their hero is ready for action.”

 It had been a pleasant evening so far. He'd stopped a few shoplifters, broke up a fight or two and dodged a few reporters, though he let them snap a good picture of his new outfit.

Now the sun was down however and he was making his way to the back alleys.

“Looking for a fight is foolish Prince!” BS growled through his earpiece.

But Roman wasn't looking for a fight. He was looking for someone who'd gotten him out of at least one pickle.

He ignored BS as he landed on a roof, overlooking the city using his sight. He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly, but it was his only plan.

Suddenly he spotted something strange and unusual. There was an energy, a few blocks ahead. But it was impossible for him to really see it. Like he was looking at it trough glasses with strong prescriptions.

He rushed towards it and found a gang of criminals with violently swirling auras. He knew what this meant. They were going to hurt someone.

“Send back up to my location,” he instructed before turning the receiver off. He needed to focus.

“I say we attack now! They are week! We can take them down easily.” A shorter guy with energy like glass shards insisted.

“Boss says we have a truce until the rat is found,” a giant of a man stated calmly, though his energy betrayed how much he wanted to go with the first guy's plan.

Were they talking about Phantom?

“What rat!? Those idiots just bragged to the wrong crowd.” The first voice shot back. Phantom was becoming a bit of a ghost story it seemed. Some who believed, judging by the shudder that went through the other men's auras at the mere mention of them. But clearly not everyone was convinced.

“Oh and they gave out pictures as well? Did a little livestream? We're not safe until this rat is lynched,” the tall man pointed out tensely. He was a believer. And he wanted Phantom dead. Not good.

Roman studied the tugs and to his relief he spotted they were all armed. Weird thing to be happy about. But it meant he had probable cause to interfere.

He jumped down, slowing his descent just so that he didn't hurt himself on the landing without sacrificing the cool factor.

“Do you gentlemen have permits for those weapons?” he asked as he rose up to his full length facing them fearlessly.

“what the…?”

“It's that Prince clown!” Rude.

The tall guy, the leader probably, silenced the group with a gesture and smiled, his anxious energy almost completely disappearing. He'd found something to vent on. “Sure kid. Got mine right here.”

Roman flung his cape in front of him and manifested a gelatinous shield around himself as the leader pulled out his gun and fired several rounds at him. The tugs wouldn't see it. But it was there, and it caught the bullets slowing them down until they were harmless, making them fall to the ground when they met with the fabric.

“Well now you just pissed me off. This is brand new!” he complained as he dropped both cape and shield.

“I suppose you won't surrender peacefully?” he deduced. The criminals all readied their weapons. Seriously? Did they not get that he was essentially bulletproof?

He sighed as he took off his cape and hung it on a water pipe that ran down the side of the building.

“Fine,” he sighed and then he amped up his speed a bit while shielding himself from the rain of bullets heading his way. He used the gelatin shield because he didn't want to risk the bullets ricocheting and injuring someone. Especially the gifted he was sure was still watching the whole thing.

It wasn't hard to disarm the criminals. He even managed to knock a few to the ground. But there were at least two who'd gone down without him even touching them. And he would’ve sworn he saw a figure move between him and a tug once or twice to block a blow. He couldn't really see the other hero. It was an odd sensation. But he could feel his presence better and better and soon he was adapting his moves to those of the Phantom. Together they took out the whole group. Though to the villains it would seem like he'd done it by himself. He stood victorious over the leader, a pile of disassembled guns behind him and sirens lighting up the alley.

He twisted his foot to show off his white boot with gold accents. “So… how does it feel to get your butt kicked by a guy in heels?” he wondered playfully before looking up towards the presence and winking in acknowledgment.

“Good job Dream Prince. We've got it from here.” Roman turned to the cops and bowed to them

“It's my pleasure to be of assistance to the police of this fine city.” Then, while turning around, he made a gesture that could be taken as a ‘goodbye’, or as a ‘follow me’.

He was glad to notice that the presence seemed to follow him. He found a fire escape and floated himself to the roof it led to.

He turned to face his hopefully soon to be partner in crime fighting.

He could hear the clanging of someone climbing the metal fire escape. And while he still couldn't quite make out the figure that reached the roof he saw his reflection in a pool of water left behind by the rain earlier that day.

An unfortunate weakness, but so long as no one knew, no one would be looking for it. In order to be a hero, no one could know Phantom really existed. Was that why the authorities were kept at a distance? Why Phantom never made introductions despite having crossed paths at least once before?

He stepped forward with a bow. “Greetings Phantom. I must thank you for the assistance. Both just now and three months ago. I am Dream Prince, he/him if you please. A pleasure to officially meet you.”

A distorted chuckle made him look up. He could see Phantom much better now. He was dressed in Male coded clothes, though that was no guarantee. The hero outfit was simple. A black t-shirt, boots and denims, paired with a black coat that reached down to his calves and had the collar popped up. He looked really cool… but Roman couldn't make sense of his head. He was looking right at him he could see it, but his brain couldn't identify a thing.

It was so weird.

“Phantom huh?” His voice was a strange deep echoing sound. The distortion was pretty spooky if he was honest, but he wasn't afraid. Phantom was on his side.

“Sure you can call me that. He/him… mind telling me what that was about? I thought you officials weren't let of your leash unless you could be responsible enough to not get yourself killed?”

Roman cocked his brow. “Says the guy who has half the criminal underworld out for his blood,” he reminded him. Phantom looked away. Clearly he knew Roman had a point.

“Do you have something against the program?” His tone had been oddly bitter.

“No I…”  Phantom took in a deep breath. “Sorry, I’m just pissed at the cops for sending you, I guess.” He sure sounded upset. And Roman could understand that. Here Phantom was, doing his part and all the cops could do in return was bother him At least as far as the young vigilante could tell. But then why…?

“Yet you chose to follow me up here?” Roman pressed. That didn’t make any sense. Phantom had shaken off his ‘babysits’ before. What made Roman special?

“Um… Well… I just…” Phantom stammered. Roman wondered why. Was he bad with confrontation? Social interaction in general? Or had Roman said something that hit a nerve somehow?

“You interrupted my stake out!” Phantom blurted out all of a sudden.

“Do you know how long it takes to work my way up the ranks? First I have to find a low level runner, then I follow him to his boss, that guy to his and so up the ladder I go. I was getting real close to the big guy of this group. And now…” Oh… Well Roman could understand how that would be frustrating.

“I apologize,” he said sincerely with a small bow. “I merely intended to help. They were talking about killing you.” Surely he could understand that he could not stand by after hearing that.

“And now there is a price on your head! The leader of that little club is like two steps away from the big boss. They won’t be happy with you taking him in.”

Well… He had a point. But Roman had back up. It would be rather stupid of the mob to come after a hero with government sanctioning. And these guys would go behind bars for a long time right? “You got dirt on them?” he asked. If the guns weren’t enough then surely whatever Phantom  had gleaned from his stakeouts would be sufficient. Right?

“Yes… But that’s not the point. They have no clue about me. Not really. But you are out in the open. This is not your kind of mission Royal pain.” Oh, he had nicknames huh? It was an insult, but Roman didn’t mind witty banter. Especially if it came from a place of care. And Roman was starting to think it did.

“And now that you are out, you can’t expect me to hold your hand any longer…”

Roman crossed his arms and smirked catching the implications of what Phantom just said.

“You’ve been looking out for me all summer huh?” he guessed.

Phantom scoffed and probably rolled his eyes. While Roman still couldn’t quite see it, he would bet his entire Disney collection on it.

“It’s not like I came looking for you.” Phantom snapped. And Roman believed him.

“Still… Thank you…” he was going to say more but then he heard a beep in his ear followed by a loud voice. “Prince! Answer this instant!”

“Ow!” Roman exclaimed annoyed, reflexively reaching for his ear though it wouldn’t help much. He pressed the button to talk to BS. “One. Loud. Two. Rude! I am in the middle of something! And did you seriously remotely reactivate my com?”

He would demand a new com that couldn’t do that or he’d refuse to wear one period. What if he needed to concentrate right now? What if he was in the middle of tense negotiations or being told delicate information. As a matter of fact. This situation right here was delicate. One wrong move and Phantom might bolt. And he might not come along next time he found him. And even if he couldn’t get him to join the program, he wanted Phantom to know he had an ally in him. Someone to talk to, confide in, count on if he didn’t have anyone else.

“You do not turn off your com while going into a gunfight! It’s moronic to go in alone!”

Roman rolled his eyes. “I am fine, not a scratch on me.” He wasn’t going to mention that he wasn’t alone exactly. Phantom had never consented to BS and the rest of his team knowing.

“I’ll call you when I’m done here.” And this time he took the com out of his ear. BS could yell at him later.

“Sorry,” he sighed. “My mentor is… intense at times.” In a cold and distant way.

“Mentor?” Phantom asked.

“One of the people helping me practice my powers, test my limits. Comes with the program. It’s not just a babysit and a nice suit,” he joked casually.

“Oh…” Phantom’s tone was odd. It made Roman want to come closer and offer comfort. He didn’t though. They weren’t at that point yet. Not by a long shot.

“Listen, I admit I was sent by the chief. But I didn’t come here to recruit you. I wanted to thank you and tell you… If you ever need someone to talk to, to help you figure something out… I’d be more than happy to oblige. No need to tell me your name or anything about yourself,” he vowed as he reached out his hand. Phantom hesitated for a few moments before bridging the distance and offering his own.

Roman grinned and grabbed it for a firm shake. “I’ll see you next time,” he assured his fellow hero before letting go and turning around to finish his patrol.

Progress was made. Not much, but still.

He just might’ve made a new friend.

@cirishere @hestianerd1 @moonlightshow00 @naturallyunstablegamer @alias290 @meowthefluffy @frida0043 @angelic-cali @selenechris @theblackveilinreverse

End of this part meet Virgil and read his story.

Masterlist

[lokigodofaces]

Okay people, time to talk about how Asgard makes no sense at all!

(I'm no astrophysicist or anything of the like, I just find all of that fascinating and therefore take the time to learn more about it. I can't go into the math or anything but I know the concepts of things).

Today we're talking about how gravity is so unbelievably inconsistent on Asgard and makes no sense!

Before we begin, let me define gravity. I know, you learned about it a million times in school, but there are things we forget about it. Gravity is a force that attracts objects with mass to each other. For example, the Earth has mass and therefore has a gravitational field pulling you to the core. You also have mass and have a gravitational field and are pulling the Earth towards you. But the Earth is much more massive than you, making your gravitational field basically negligible. Everything with mass has a gravitational field, and those interact with nearby objects. For example, there are gravitational interactions between you and the phone/computer/tablet you are reading this on.

The more mass something has, the stronger the gravitational field. That is why we stay on the surface, and why planets stay in orbit, and why black holes "suck" ("suck" is not a very good word to describe the process, but oh well) different objects in, and why galaxies hold together.

The center of gravity is created by two gravitational fields interacting. With you and the Earth, the center of gravity is almost exactly the exact center of the Earth. Not quite, but extremely close, because of how much more massive the Earth is. While objects with more similar mass have the center of gravity closer to the middle. For example, Charon, Pluto's moon, is about half the size or so of Pluto. The center of gravity between them is actually above the surface of Pluto. It's closer to Pluto than Charon, but their mass is so similar that they're actually both orbiting around a point in space.

Now that we have that out of the way, here we go under the cut because this is a massive post.

1) The planet's form makes absolutely no sense

Look at this!

What even is this? Asgard is a disk with an iceberg-esque part at the bottom and some land mass on the top. Which is problematic.

For one, gravity causes things to become spherical. Things, such as yourself, with lower mass don't have the gravity to become a sphere. This is why asteroids and some moons can have funky shapes.

Here are some asteroids. Ceres is the biggest asteroid and a dwarf planet, and it is almost spherical as you can see. The rest are a little funky. They don't have the mass, and therefore gravitational force, to be spherical.

Life evolves to live in the conditions it is in. We can't see ultraviolet light because our atmosphere blocks most of it. So why would we need that ability? Why would people that could see UV have a higher chance of surviving to reproduce? This is why we aren't ridiculously strong. We evolved to be able to work with what was needed. Which means we are suited for Earth's gravity. If it weren't for other factors like the suits, astronauts would be able to jump much higher on the moon because it is tiny compared to Earth, and our strength overcompensates.

If Asgard has low gravity, then it would make sense Asgardians would evolve for a low gravity environment. Which means they wouldn't become super strong. If anything, they could have serious spinal problems on Earth because of our gravity, assuming they didn't immediately collapse. And, um, that is not the case in Marvel. The opposite is true.

2) Inconsistent gravity is confusing

So, gravity is what keeps us on the ground, right? Well, that doesn't always seem to be the case on Asgard.

Not to mention the water constantly spilling off (also not astronomy related but where is that water coming from? And why does that water just disappear?).

Even if Loki was about as far as he could be from the center of gravity while being on the planet, even if Asgard has extremely low gravity and they showed it to us, this would still make no sense. Gravity should be strong enough to keep him on the planet.

And if it wasn't? Should've not been strong enough everywhere else on the planet. No one should be able to stay on the planet. It shouldn't be strong enough to have an atmosphere.

While with its shape Asgard would have unequal gravity, it shouldn't be this unequal. And, if gravity were weak enough for Loki to fall off, it should've been weak enough that he would've floated off rather than fallen off. Same with Thor. And Odin. And Heimdall. And literally everyone else to ever be on the bifrost. No one should be able to stand on the bifrost, everyone should float off into orbit. But that clearly doesn't happen because Asgard's gravity makes no sense.

3) 2+ nearby wormholes

There are at least two nearby natural wormholes.

We have a wormhole taking you from Asgard to Sanctuary and a wormhole taking you from Sakaar to Asgard. I am not including the bifrost, because while Selvig and Jane called it an Einstein-Rosen bridge (sciency way of saying wormhole), the bifrost is artificial, and not naturally occurring. Right now I am focusing on the naturally occurring wormholes. Also, we don't know if these are two way wormholes are blackhole whitehole pairs. Basically, the theory is that some wormholes could allow travel from both ends, kind of like the Nether Portal in Minecraft, and others are a one way ticket, with a blackhole on one end and whitehole (ejects mass instead of taking mass in) on the other. We've only seen these work one way, so they could be partially whiteholes.

So there are a few problems with all of this.

Blackholes distort light.

The top image is from Hubble. Do you see the circular-ness the photo is focused on? That is from a blackhole distorting light. The second is an illustration and not from Hubble so it's less reliable, but this is a more noticeable example. Basically, light has particles called photons, and blackholes absorb mass.

As you can see in the gif, stuff orbits around blackholes and slowly gets closer and closer to the event horizon. Once you get past the event horizon, there is no turning back. Light can't escape, which is why these are blackholes. Photons are distorted like this, which means that the light produced by nearby stars and reflected by nearby celestial objects is distorted, making them look off.

In other words, Asgard's light should be...interesting.

Another thing, Asgard should be orbiting around one of these blackholes to die eventually. Unless there's a bigger one, I would guess the Sakaarian wormhole if it were two way. If not, it'd orbit around the Sanctuary wormhole.

Having two next to each other would do crazy things to Asgard's gravity. The Sanctuary one would constantly be pulling Asgard towards it, and if the Sakaarian wasn't a whitehole, it would constantly be pulling Asgard and the Sanctuary wormhole towards it.

This is something I don't know as much about, but if the Sakaarian wormhole is a whitehole on Asgard's end, I would not be surprised if there were consequences. Lots of mass being ejected into the nearby space might have consequences, though this mass might be coming in subatomic forms and not be too harmful.

(Also Sakaar should've been torn apart by the wormhole leading to Asgard and possibly others. I'm just saying. This is an Asgard post but we gotta agree that Sakaar is also messed up).

Except that none of this is true apparently.

4) There is no way Loki should've survived.

When Loki fell into the wormhole he had two options: die a quick death or die a very quick death. Wormholes are awesome. Awesome in the biblical sense of the world. Which means they are utterly terrifying.

Quick Death: Loki should have been spaghettified (and also Asgard...and the Asgardians...but I'll let that slide since apparently Asgard has secret amazing gravity). Spaghettification happens as you get closer to a singularity and let me tell you, it is absolutely terrifying. It is my greatest irrational fear (irrational in that it will never happen to me). Basically the gravity of blackholes (and by extent wormholes) literally tears molecules apart. It starts with stretching the person/object out to make them long and thin, like spaghetti. A person would die during this first stage because our organs cannot handle this. And soon the body/object would fall apart on an atomic level.

Very Quick Death: Upon passing the event horizon (point of no return), Loki would go through a massive wall of fire, burning him to death and he would be spaghetiffied almost instantly.

So...yeah...how is he not dead?

5) Even if Loki could survive, he shouldn't have made it to Sanctuary

There are theories on how to make viable wormholes. I don't remember exactly how, but there are theories on how to allow someone to pass without being spaghetiffied or burnt to a crisp. But then there's the problem of it being impossible to reach the other side.

Basically the "pathway" between the two ends of a wormhole is infinitely small. In other words, Loki couldn't fit through it, and would therefore die. There are theories on how to counteract that problem, but the odds of a wormhole naturally forming like this are low. So, Loki should've died even if he got past the singularity on the way to Sanctuary.

6) Also there's the bifrost.

The bifrost is artificial. The problems about travelling through wormholes (spagettification, fire wall, infinitely small tunnel, etc) aren't there because Asgard built it as a way of travel. And since it was repaired by the Tesseract in between Avengers and Dark World, it might be a product of the Tesseract anyway.

With artificial devices explained by fictional science/technology/magic, I'm not as picky. It's science I don't understand because that's not science from this universe. But I do have questions about the bifrost. I don't fully understand how it could've destroyed Jotunheim. My thought was that it absorbed Jotunheim like a blackhole, but we don't see debris coming over to Asgard. How is it turned on and off? What consequences were there when it was destroyed? Is gravity all of the sudden strange when it turns on? I do like that it looks like people are pulled into the bifrost when it turns on, makes it more wormholey. But how did Hela knock Thor and Loki out of the bifrost?

I tend to forgive all of that because it's a fictional device. Just like how I forgive the gravity/blackhole bomb things the dark elves had. Those are clearly artificial and since we have theories on how those are possible I let it slide (though I find it interesting how the blackholes evaporate (that's the term for the death of a blackhole)). I actually headcanon the dark elves used gravitonium to create these devices. Gravitonium is an element introduced in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that has interesting gravitational abilities. It is 100% fictional, so I let a lot of it slide. But gravitonium is supposed to be a heavy element, meaning it wasn't created in the solar system, it was created by a supernova, so it has to exist elsewhere in the universe. Why not on Svartalfheim? But that's just me (there are actually lots of connections between TDW and AoS, specifically connections between Loki and AoS). But fictional devices are that: fictional. Whereas blackholes and wormholes are very real. Blackholes are confirmed to exist, and wormholes are theoretical with lots of evidence (Einstein created a list of formulas describing how the universe works, and wormholes work in these formulas. But that doesn't mean wormholes exist currently, have existed in the past, or ever will exist, we just know they're theoretically possible.). So I can be more picky about those.

Of course, I can watch these movies and still be entertained. I love these movies. But I'm a nerd that has to overanalyze everything and I specifically like space, and thus this post was born because Asgard makes no sense.