#also would have liked more moments of affection between her and gambit but that's just the romantic in me

[elitesheepi]

Brief thoughts about Rogue's character in X Men 97 cause some things with her character are still bothering me. Bear with me on the structure of this, I'm thinking as a I type and my thoughts are very disjointed sometimes.

Spoilers for X Men 97

I don't know how to feel about Rogue tbh, and it sucks because she was one of my favorite characters. She still is, but I don't think the writers really did her story justice.

Now, I don't like the whole Magento-Rogue-Gambit love triangle. I just don't, it's weird, tacked on, and it feels shoved in considering it's supposed to be a continuation of the original series. And I watched the original TAS run so I have a strong enough reference point for how Rogue was original written. But I could forgive and accept it because it does highlight how desperate for physical contact Rogue is. And maybe it could've been a point of "make or break" for Rogue and Gambit's relationship as it makes Rogue answer the question "Which is better: a physical relationship with no connection or a strong, emotional relationship but without physical touch?"

I actually really feel for Rogue's character in that regard because being touch starved can be really traumatizing and I can get her being drunk on the feeling of finally being able to touch someone and not put them into a coma. What I feel iffy about her character is the whole dance scene in Episode 5. I don't mind her being conflicted about her feelings, but what's bothering me is that whole scene felt so unnecessarily cruel towards Gambit and just unnecessary in general.

In a previous scene, Rogue knows he basically manipulated her into being his Queen. She confronted him and was pissed, and yet an hour later she's all dressed up--wearing the exact same dress she wore on her first date with Gambit--had that entire dance and then kisses Magneto in front of all those people, basically solidifying that she's his queen in their eyes. Yes, afterwards she basically says "nevermind, love is actually deeper than skin." But it's like...what the point of all of that. Gambit already felt like she chose Magneto over him, so what was the point of that entire scene expect just to further dig the knife in the wound??

It just felt so cruel and Rogue really didn't need to do any of that, especially since she knew the game Magneto was playing with her. I get that she understood his vision for Genosha and shared it as it was a beautiful dream--but she knew he was playing her to be his Queen so why did she basically give him what he wanted while hurting Gambit at the same time for no reason? (I'm still miffed over that dress being worn too, like what was the reason?)

Then we get the death scene and it's really touching and I loved watching her have her Woman's wrath moment, but that whole dance scene was just kinda dancing over her character for me like a cloud.

I just keep going back to ask: what was the point of all that? If she's going to have that entire (near) murder spree, what was the point of having her do that charged dance and make out with Magneto if it was functionally going to be unacknowledged and almost glanced over?

Gambit dying believing Rogue chose Magneto over him is some good angst, but the way X Men 97 goes about it just kinda sours Rogue's character for me a bit and that sucks because her character was one of the strongest in 97.

And what still sucks is that they still keep trying to edge them Magneto and Rogue together even after all that (and again, he tried to manipulate her into being his Queen, I feel like that went unacknowledged).

I don't mind Rogue having other love interests--Remy had that one Assassins woman who loved him after all--I think what gets me is she's portrayed as going on this massive campaign for him, wore his jacket. calls him her man, and constantly referenced him in that finale episode...and yet was chill kissing another man in front of him and never planned on making them official. I feel like this would've all hit harder for me personally if she was just steps away from confessing or something before shit hit the fan in Genosha.

Someone argued she's probably filled with guilt over how things happened before he died and yeah I could see that, but I guess that lack of canon or her stating something in vein to that makes me go "huh...pretty strong emotions all of a sudden." It just feels like a lot for someone who was pretty noncommittal to him.

Maybe season 2 will have her acknowledging all of this in some way when faced with Gambit--come on we all know Deathbit is coming likeee--but ye.

Good show, weird writing decisions.

[thevulturesquadron]

Shaking you by the shoulders and crawling up a wall cause Magneto knows how Rogue likes her coffee

– @unfortunately-obsessed

!!! He does!!! I bet he knows a thing or two about her sweet tooth as well. All in all, that man is so well attuned to Rogue, I swear. In comics (and from what we've seen so far, I think to some extent in TAS too ) he understands her so damn well on so many levels because he always listens and pays attention. But back to that scene - I love how he knew exactly what he was doing. He waked into that house saying he doesn't want to cause drama and then he proceeds to serve drama for breakfast. He was well aware of the attraction between Rogue and Gambit and, while at that moment his relationship with Rogue was without romantic implications or expectations, he knew how moody and jealous Gambit could be. See, Magneto knew better than to complicate things but he couldn't help but poke at Gambit, give the man a shakeup to do something about Rogue instead of continuing that insecure boyish dance around her. Magneto would never get in the way of the relationship between Rogue and Gambit (and before someone raises their hand to say that he did just that in Episode 5 - I would disagree. I think Gambit did that to himself) if that is what Rogue would ultimately want. Doesn't mean he can't enjoy tormenting Gambit when possible. I have so many thoughts about that coffee scene but I'll just limit to one this time: it speaks of the difference between how Remy and Erik show their affection towards Rogue. Remy 's always on a chase for her attention. He offers things that he can think of; he is willing to offer everything regardless if she wants/needs it or not. Erik, on the other hand, doesn't need to seek her attention; he listens to who she is, to what she prefers, what she needs and his actions come across more like an answer, like an ongoing conversation between him and Rogue. Eric brings in a mature, tempered dynamic; Remy brings in a more young, boyish desire to prove himself and be seen, to be the best he can in a relationship. I also appreciate how the exchange itself is not malicious in any way; not from Magneto, not from Gambit and certainly not from Rogue (who clearly sees what is happening, stuck in the middle. Love that we got a continuation of that dynamic in the blackbird when she called both of them out). And this answer completely run away from me. But yes! Erik knows how Rogue prefers her coffee; he probably knows what kind of wine she likes best too, he knows her favorite authors, and how her handwriting looks like. He also knows the way she can look at you in the morning, the kind of look that makes a man want to be the best version of themselves and nothing less.

[the-fiction-witch]

A Kid. P3

TV SHOW: THE QUEENS GAMBIT COUPLE: BENNY X READER RATING: ADORABLE

I sat a little nervous, in the dark apartment only the little lights on above us, my robe wrapped around me tightly to keep out the chill Y/n sat in the chair beside me her little dressing gown wrapped around her too, she looked nervous but I understood why. Arthur sat across from us staring at us, He wasn't happy, he wanted answers, and he was smart enough to get them.

He was watching our every move.

"Arthur-" She began

"Can I please... Just have some answers"

"Okay," I nodded

"what did you wanna know?" she asks

"How did you meet?" He asks

"Chess tournament" I smiled "Toronto Tournament wasn't it?"

"It was, I had been trying for a few years at that point to bridge the gap between the small regional tournaments onto the larger state tournaments and higher but I couldn't do it on my own, and... I don't know why but, Mr Watts saw something in me" she smiled

"I watched you play, and I saw you were smart. and you should have been doing better than you did. so I offered you a little help because I thought you had potential" I explained holding her hand "so I let you come here to new york with me and gave you some training"

"What happened?" He asks

"We stayed together, and got attached and... we got close" I smiled "Arthur your mother and I... were together for a while" I explained

"Is... is it true? what you said mummy?"

"Yes. I know for sure Arthur. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't know how you'd feel about having a father who wasn't in your world, How that would make you feel? or affect you so I just never mentioned it. and when you took an interest in chess I knew you'd probably meet each other and I wanted to leave it alone. You never knew about each other so I kept it that way" she explained

"You... you didn't know about me?" He asked

"No, She left me before she knew about you. and I had no idea you existed until we met" I explain "I didn't know what had happened to y/n, I didn't know where she went, I didn't know why she left me, I didn't know about you, I didn't know I had kids anywhere in the world, I didn't know I had ever.... had kids somewhere else in the world, It was something I never knew and never even thought about before." I explained "I never even thought I'd ever have kids,"

"Did you not want them?" he asked

"No I just... never thought any woman would love me enough to give me a kid" I answered and y/n smiled at me squeezing my hand a little

"I did," she smiled

"Then why did you go?" I asked her

"You went to France, which I knew about for the tournament there and I knew... Clio would be there and you'd said you'd have dinner with her which I knew and I understood" she explained "And then Next thing I knew you were calling me from Moscow in a hotel room, with Clio. and... you didn't tell me you were going, you didn't tell me when you were going, and I didn't know, you were taking her" she says almost in tears "Moscow was, Maybe once In a lifetime for you. And for me. And There was a very very good chance you could Have won I was thinking it was assumed you were going to and... when I found out that you wanted to go to this place, this tournament, this... Important moment. and I wasn't the one you wanted with you"

"Y/n, Of course I wanted you with me. I would have taken you to Moscow and back a thousand times, But you didn't have a passport, you had work, and I didn't wanna go to Russia by myself" I told her "When I came home and you were gone... I was heartbroken, I'd just lost the biggest tournament in my life and I came home and the love of my life was fucking gone!"

"Huuuu!" Arthur gasped

"Ohh Fff- Don't use that word, Arthur"

"what word?" He asks

"The fuck word"

"Benny!" she yelled

"I'm sorry y/n I can't censor myself." I sighed

"I... I was the love of your life?" she asks

"Of course you were," I told her "Well, you are. Still. When I saw you again I wanted it to be just like it used to be, I wanted it to be like, nothing had changed" I told her "and I'd like it to be that way, for all of us. All three of us, and I promise I'll do my best to make it up to both of you"

"You mean it?"

"Of course I do"

".... I'm not sure I believe you"

"You don't believe me? Then.... go check the secret spot" I told her giving her hand a little kiss she seemed confused but got up and went to the bedroom she returned a minute or so later with the little black box

"What is this?"

"That. Is what Clio helped me find while I was in France, And I was going to give it to you when I got back, so I'd make sure you were with me every time I had a trip" I explained to her "I didn't know you where pregnant, But... I would have been happy, excited, and I would have wanted to be there every step of the way. I'm sorry I wasn't, I should have gone after you when I found out you were gone. I'm sorry I didn't. and I'm sorry I wasn't around for you Arthur, But I wanna be."

Y/n opened the little box and started crying "why did you keep it?"

"... In case you ever came back" I shrug "I got lucky, You did." I smiled "The last few months since you've been back... I still mean it, and I still want you to be my wife If you'll have me" I told her

"Ohh Benny... I'd love too" she smiled hugging me tightly I held her as close as I could kissing away her little tears

"why are you crying?"

"Happy crying"

"Awww, Okay my little flower" I smiled giving her a kiss and putting the ring on her finger and it still fit her perfectly "And... Arthur. I am your dad, Biologically and Id want to be a part of your family and treat you like I should have"

"Daddy!" He smiled jumping off the chair and hugging me tightly I held him tightly too and y/'n came and gave us both a nice cuddle too

"Awww, family hug" I smiled giving them both a tight squeeze

"Lets get to bed, we have a busy day tomorrow" y/n smiled "Go on kiddo get back to bed" she smiled

"Okay, goodnight mummy" he smiled hugging her

"Goodnight Arthur" she smiled petting his hair

"Goodnight daddy" He smiled hugging me too

"Goodnight Kiddo, go on get to bed" I told him pushing him towards his airbed

"Come on then, Mummy and daddy need to get to bed too" she smiled holding my hand

"Alright, it's bedtime, we have things to do tomorrow," I told her giving her a kiss and heading to bed shutting the lights off.

I finished up my game getting up and taking my paperwork as the guy headed off back to whatever little hovel he climbed out of "Daddy!" A little voice yelled I turned and saw little Lillian running over in her little white dress

"whoa! Hello angel" I smiled picking her up and sitting her on my hip "Where have you been?" I asked her "Hu? you been watching daddy"

"I was watching Arthur" she giggled

"Alright, let's go see your brother then" I laughed carrying her with me over to where Arthur was sat playing against a young Russian boy, young but still far older than him I watched him often whispering little things to Lillian as she's still learning as egar as her brother was to play and he won, he shook the boy's hand and finished his paperwork before running over and hugging my leg "You did great kiddo, very good," I told him fixing his hair

"Are you proud of me?" he asks

"I'm always proud of you kiddo, win or lose I'm still proud of you," I told him "Where's your mum?"

"she had to go to the toilet," "Yeah well, she has to alot" I laughed

"I'm back" Y/n smiled as she came back so I put lillian down "You two go on, get yourselves some Cola" she smiled handing them each a couple of dollars from her purse so they took it and ran off "How'd he do?" she asks coming for a cuddle

"He won"

"How'd you do?" she asks taking my hand as we walked through the hotel

"I also won."

"Good, got to be careful you'll be playing each other soon"

"I hope not, He'll beat me he's much better than me nowadays"

"Ummm He is, Lillian is too" "Hey!"

"she is"

"I know she is. That's fine, If I am to be bested by anyone I'm happy it's my own children. so long as the champion is a watts, I don't care which one of us it is" I smiled giving her a kiss "Any of us" I smiled resting my hand on her tummy and just as I did I felt her stomach jolt and move "Uhhh did... did he just-" "He kicked. He's not done that before" she giggled

"Awww, that sweet, well Lillian never kicked all that much Clearly this one's a kicker"

"Ummm it's how I know it's a boy, Arthur kicked constantly"

"I just think boy"

"why?"

"I don't know, I have a feeling, I was right about lillian"

"True, come on lets go find them, we have more games to get done today" she giggled

[cogentranting]

Arrow 1x05 Rewatch

. Oliver’s little smirk when Lance is interrogating him. I live for it. 

“You can speak to Mr. Queen’s attorney when he gets here.” He? Where’s Jean Loring? 

“He also thinks I dress up in a mask and a green hood and shoot people. With arrows.” The audacity of Oliver. 

“she knows me better than anyone. She knows I could never be this guy.” OLIVER. I mean. Again. the audacity. Especially because he reveals later that he planned this. That he WANTED to get arrested. And he just has this whole plan revolving around this front of “Laurel knows me so well. She’s the only one who really knows me and she knows I’m not a killer.” When really the crux of the plan is how much Laurel does NOT know him and he plans on exploiting that. Amazing. 

“He raised her to do the right thing and that includes representing an innocent man.” Okay. So. My indiscriminate glee with the irony and Oliver’s attitude aside. This whole set up is really interesting. It reminds me actually of the moment in the season 5 flashbacks when he goes to see Galina (Taiana’s mother) and lies to her and manipulates her with this nice persona which is actually at that point more a mask than his Kapiushon identity. And that scene has always been really interesting to me because it’s Oliver pretending to be a good man at a time when he’s not, and while he lies a lot and puts on masks throughout the series, that particular aspect of it is fairly unique because it comes at what is basically Oliver’s lowest point (morally). And this episode (1x05) is similar in it bringing out this very manipulative side of Oliver that we don’t see in this way all that often (and remember that moment in 5x17 and this moment in 1x05, are actually very close together chronologically. Somewhere between 2 and 7 months apart.) The idea that Oliver, knowing full well that he is attacking and killing people, gets Laurel involved on the basis of this very emotionally laden appeal, citing their history and the connection they had, especially considering the role that Laurel believing oliver to be more moral than he really was played in Oliver cheating on her, and using not only her perception of him, but the way that him reaching out to her would be perceived... it’s cunning, and it’s effective, and it’s kinda messed up. 

But like.... legally... can Laurel represent her ex-boyfriend who her father arrested?

It’s ALL so calculated to manipulate how people perceive him. Appearing in court without a lawyer until Laurel agrees to do it. Protesting the tracking anklet. Throwing the party. His response to the plea deal. 

Speaking of calculated. Oliver knows what that blue sweater is doing to make his eyes pop. He knows. 

But Malcolm and Walter acting like they have no idea why Quentin would have a grudge against Oliver. LIke come one guys. You know. 

I just. I love the polygraph scene. For so many reasons. 

In the same vein about Oliver manipulating people’s perception of him in this episode, what makes this episode great are the places where it’s unclear even to the audience how much of Oliver’s reactions are genuine and how much is purposefully done to affect how Laurel and Quentin see him. Even in the polygraph scene-- did he get pushed into revealing that he was tortured on the island? Or did he see a way around that answer and reveal it anyway to gain sympathy? Did he actually get hung up on his guilt over Sara’s death (which is of course very real) or did he use that guilt as a way of covering up the answer to “have you ever killed anyone” because he knew he couldn’t beat the polygraph on that one? Did reliving his torture and Sara’s death actually overwhelm him to the point that he had to run out, or was he able to keep those reactions in check but put on the act to convince them?  The same idea is present in the scene later in the episode where he shows Laurel his scars and talks about how damaged he is. And we know that there is intentional manipulation going on because Diggle and Oliver’s conversation at the very end-- “So you lied. Or maybe you just gave her a version of the truth.” “I told her what she needed to hear.”-- and we know that there is truth (Oliver IS damaged, he IS guilt-ridden over Sara’s death, he IS traumatized by the torture he suffered) but we don’t know exactly where the line is between the two. 

I also think that Laurel and Quentin’s different reactions are interesting. When Oliver says that he was tortured, Laurel’s mouth is literally hanging open, she’s so shocked. But Quentin doesn’t react. Unlike Laurel he already knew about the scars so part of it is probably just that he put together that either Oliver was tortured in some capacity or he was horrifically cutting himself. But even if he had forewarning of it, just the idea that at this point he is so broken and angry over Sara’s death that he can look at someone who, even if he never really liked, he’s probably known since Oliver was in jr high. To hear this kid you watched grow up say he was tortured and not even react...

Love how little effort everyone at this party put into the theme

“If you think this is what prison’s like you are in for a rude awakening.” So i think this is mainly a joke because clearly Oliver doesn’t think prison is like his little rave thing. But. I do think that even though Diggle has some sense of what Oliver’s been through, because he still thinks Oliver spent those entire 5 years on the Island, Diggle thinks that Oliver doesn’t have a great sense of the real world. Just the world of the fabulously wealthy and the world of deserted islands. While in reality Oliver actually has spent time in some very different walks of life between Russia and Hong Kong and Hub City. 

“I just don’t like being played. Now you might have gotten used to lying to everyone else in your life but I’m the one guy you don’t lie to.” And here we are with that manipulation motif again. Oliver who at this moment actually has no reason to lie to Diggle, can’t trust enough to actually just present his plan to Diggle. He has to pull strings and manipulate to get him to go along with it. At this point trust is so hard for Oliver that it’s easier to just have a different mask for everybody. 

“I can’t remember the last time that I was in this room.”  “I can. Halloween 2005.”  But that’s 2 years before the Gambit sinking. Why was Laurel not in this room for 2 years prior to  that? she was dating Oliver? this is presumably his room? and if it’s NOT his room then its... just a random one? And why would she even comment on it? 

“There were times that I wanted to die. In the end there was something I wanted more.” The clear implication that Oliver is making is that Laurel was sort of his inspiration to keep going throughout his five years. And I’m not so against the Laurel Oliver ship that I’d deny that that is a factor of Oliver’s motivation during his time there. Particularly during the seasons 1 and 2 flashbacks, and at the very end of season 5 (which, if we understand the story chronologically, is probably the specific moment that Oliver is referring to here-- when he was drugged and in pain and had a gun to his own head and hallucinated Laurel convincing him not to kill himself. Which was only like 2 months prior to this conversation). But Laurel and getting back to her is really only referenced a handful of times throughout the flashbacks. That’s probably in part due to the series moving away from her as the main love interest/female lead. But I think its also a disservice to Oliver as a character to reduced his motivation down to that. Oliver is much more driven by 1. a general will to survive (something that is a dominant trait of his but also often in conflict with his suicidal ideation) 2. a concept in his mind of owing his life to others-- he feels he has to fix his father’s wrongs, he has to protect his mother and sister, he has to come make amends to Laurel etc.-- what he owes to others takes utmost priority (and that’s why often his suicidal thoughts come in this form and also have to be combatted in this form-- he thinks he should die because others would be better off without him, vs he should live because they love/need him) 3. a need to atone for his own sins. Interestingly, I think that even when Laurel is serving as Oliver’s motivation, it’s not as much his love for her driving him as a need to make things right with her (in the flashbacks. In the present in season 1 and somewhat season 2, his love for her is more dominant, and often in conflict with his desire to set things right which is why, especially early on, you get weird back and forth between pushing her away and trying to get close to her). 

“Impressive. you have resolve I didn’t credit you for.” Oliver’s iron will is such a central part of his character and contrary to what a lot of people believe, its not something forged into him on the island. It’s something he starts with. And I wonder what that looked like in his youth? Probably a lot more like season 1 Thea (who has that same iron will). 

This arms dealer looks like a discount Vince Vaughn. 

It hurts my heart to see Quentin and Oliver at odds like this. 

“But if any member of my family so much as gets a papercut... I will burn your entire world to ashes.” I love the Queen family so much. 

Oliver: “Good heart to heart Diggle. I’m gonna go kill someone now.”

[bedlamsbard]

fascinated by the distinction drawn between "audience member" and "fic writer" bc I think I know what you mean in regards to kind of re-writing it in your own head not as the secondary way of interacting with it but as the first. But I would not have thought of putting it that way!

A lot of it has to do with the specific fic genre I write in, which is long plotty AUs that I’ll probably be working on for years -- to some extent I can set aside everything in canon that occurs in in-universe chronology after the span of my story; Backbone and Crown doesn’t have to take into account the events of the OT and ST because they haven’t occurred yet.  On the other hand, I can’t totally set aside major set piece events that involve causes and players outside of whatever characters and timeline I’m working with, because depending what I’m working with things are still going to happen whether or not my characters are involved.

And I make compromises all the time about whether things are going to make it into the story -- there’s a whole discarded Backbone subplot about Zare Leonis that I considered really carefully before not including, even with the knowledge that leaving him and his interaction with Ezra out of the story meant that his arc in the Servants of the Empire novels will be completely changed.  Backbone covers about half the span of S1, maybe less; I was always running out the timeline of S1 to figure out what events would be happening that would or would or not be affected by the Ghosts’ changed circumstances and if that merited being included in the story.  Rebels S1 is very small-scale; going further into the timeline of the show means that opens up further and further and a lot of other factors are in play.  The earliest version of Backbone was also quite different; the Free Ryloth fleet didn’t exist, Cham and Alecto were members of the Rebel Alliance, a number of other Rebel Alliance characters were there; I reworked it after Siege came out and it was revealed that the Rebel Alliance wasn’t yet a thing.

With Gambit, otoh, there were a lot of galactic-scale repercussions; I was always running the timeline back and forth and figuring out what the originating events were and how those would play out in the altered timeline of this single-point divergence AU.  But the crucial difference is that for Gambit (and Wake), I was working is that I was working with a closed canon -- I didn’t have to worry about something down the line adding something to the in-universe chronology, and a lot of it was heavily altered by the divergence point anyway.  (Actually, that canon reopened partway through Wake when The Lost Missions dropped in a way that was relevant; the chip scenes were somewhat shoehorned in because I couldn’t leave that out.)  Crown is working in a tighter timeline but one that comes a lot closer to the set piece events of the saga; I have “where is this in relation to Rogue One?” running through my head when I’m working through any of the Rebel Alliance scenes.  There are a number of small-scale changes that aren’t immediately clear (because the story’s not finished) that have come about because of the story’s divergence point that would have a much greater influence on galactic events than they did in canon.

When it comes to out-of-universe chronology, the added canon that comes out after I’ve already started working on a story, it can be a lot harder to deal with.  95% of the time, if the additional canon deals with the character/setting of my WIP, I’m going to ignore the bulk of it but occasionally integrate details here and there as relevant (such as the name of the Tann Province in Backbone -- you may note it doesn’t show up until quite late in the story, after the S3 ep aired).  I didn’t change the names of the Inquisitors -- in fact, I made the decision early on that however I named the Inquisitors it would be different from what canon did, as that was prior to them being called “Seventh Sister”, “Fifth Brother,” etc.  5% of the time it’s something that I cannot ignore, like the clones and the chips -- that’s pretty rare, tbh, but it happens.  (I’ve scrapped a story because of additional canon; I had a chunk of Kanan/Hera time travel written where they both got thrown back to the Clone Wars, but the Kanan - The Last Padawan comic coming out threw me too badly with their clones as opposed to my OCs.)  To some extent, I try to only work with the canon that was available when I started writing that story; that’s not entirely sustainable with canon coming out so rapidly, and sometimes it can throw out a reader.

The worst part, as a fic writer, about dealing with additional canon isn’t trying to integrate it into an ongoing story: it’s that it may change how I feel about Star Wars, or if it’s done poorly, I may end up in the kind of mental place where I get very “why am I doing this when the canon doesn’t even care.”  There’s a scene in the Darth Vader comics where the Inquisitors are doing shots after killing a Jedi and stealing his baby.  When that particular issue came out, I was working on the big Inquisitors vs. Kanan & Ahsoka fight scene in Backbone, and I was so badly thrown by the disconnect that I had to step away for a few days.  I hated the Rebels finale so much that I couldn’t work on Backbone for a while even though it’a completely different universe.  A lot of what canon did with Ahsoka post-S2, and the way she gets idolized by both fandom and the PTB, has messed with my perception of her so much that with Crown Ahsoka and the backend of Backbone Ahsoka I didn’t trust myself writing her and had to have multiple beta readers just for her characterization, something I have never worried about before.  (This is one reason I did that deep dive the other week to figure out what the hell was going on in the writers room about her, and honestly?  I feel better about it now that I’ve rationalized what was going on in a way that makes sense to me.)  I had to stop reading the Doctor Aphra comics because Hera was so out of character there that I was getting really, really upset (and also the animal harm), and then I just stopped reading all the SW comics because they were making me mad and I wasn’t enjoying myself.  Sometimes you get big universe consequences stuff that doesn’t deal with your main characters (looking at you, TROS) and it’s frustrating if you don’t like it!  Then I have to sit down and try to decide “hey, am I going to use any of this Palpatine stuff?” -- this was actually a problem for Crown, because the Palpatine scenes weren’t written yet when TROS came out, and I was so badly thrown by TROS that I didn’t know how to deal with that in Crown even though it’s mostly not relevant.  Would I be happiest if I was working in a closed canon, or if at least I knew (or thought) my main characters weren’t going to get any more canon stories about them? GODS, YES, THIS IS WHY I STARTED WRITING PREQUEL FIC BACK IN THE LATE 2000S.  (Ironically, I started writing PT fic before TCW came out, then flipped fandoms and came back in 2012 -- but all my 2012 PT fic only used the closed canon of the EU Clone Wars/Republic comics, not TCW.)

Mostly as an audience member I don’t want to see my writing characters on the screen anymore -- there’s a certain amount of hypervigilance that comes with having your writing characters or settings active in canon, even if you don’t intend to integrate any of that.  I watch and read Star Wars very differently than I watch and read anything else; I mostly don’t find it relaxing because I’m always aware of the fact that the stuff I care about could pop up at any moment, or because I’m concentrating so hard on characterization/nuance/worldbuilding that my brain is going 150 mph, or because I have very specific deal-breakers.  (I do find reading in the EU relaxing because bro, that is CLOSED CANON.)  I would like to relax!  If canon finally contorts itself to the point I can relax again that will be a relief, tbh, even as frustrating as it would also be.

...this is probably a much longer response than you expected.

[thorne93]

Unforeseen Chasm (Part 30)

Prompt: Two sisters fall for men that are absolute enemies. The love they have could tear all of them apart, or it could bring them together.

Word Count:2380

Warnings: Language,anger, betrayal,murder vibes only

Note: This is by far the longest thing I’ve ever written (including my novels). It’s a collaboration with the amazing @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​​. It started as a funny “What if…?” and it evolved and got huge. This took two years to write. We are both proud and happy and we hope you enjoy it. It follows from Thor 1 to Endgame in the MCU. Some of the timelines may be off in order to fit certain people, and some characters may show up earlier or in different ways than they have in the movie. But for the most part, it follows the MCU. It also has a bit of crossover with some other Marvel characters throughout the story.

Masterlist for Unforeseen Chasm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“She’s gonna be alright, right?” you asked, biting your nail as you sat beside her bed holding her hand, Charles and Jean on the opposite side of the bed.

“Oh yes,” he assured. “She’s merely sleeping. You two have quite a unique affect on each other,” he noted, giving you a fond look.

“So… tell me again. I’m triggered if someone talks about Loki negatively, and she’s triggered by emotional strain?”

“Exactly,” Jean areed. “While I was in your head… It’s almost as if someone rewired you. Someone got inside your head…”

“That would make sense because as much as I love Loki, I wouldn’t dream of hurting you all over him. He’s done bad things, and so have I but… we had no choice. You can have your opinions and judge him, so I don’t understand why speaking badly of him would make me go beserk,” you said, thinking aloud.

“Whoever threatened you two and brainwashed you into that attack, must’ve done it. He turned the love you two have for each other almost toxic. Not to each other, but to the world.”

“Why? What's the point?” you asked, so confused.

“To keep you fighting. Your mission was to take over Earth, and what happens to someone who comes in and attacks us? We fight back. If the threat of losing your loved ones wasn’t enough, the person controlling you had to make sure to keep your anger alive. With Loki turning into public enemy number one, it would turn you into his biggest defender,” Jean explained.

For a moment, you sat there, angry and stewing. “So you’re saying, the more someone wanted to fight Loki, the more I wanted to fight them? That’s so… awful.”

“Yes, my dear, it is,” Charles concurred. “And Shannon absorbed that brainwashing when she took on your powers, but her mutation twisted it so that any emotional strain makes her powers more powerful, and her body weaker.”

Logan and Scott had left the room, to let Shannon heal and they had to work on things around the school and keep an eye on kids. But that left Steve in a corner looking worried; Remy in the other corner, closest to you; the two telepaths; you; and Shannon.

Just as you were about to inquire further about Shannon’s state, the door swung open. You assumed it would be Storm or Jubilee, coming to check on things or retreive Charles. But instead, you heard a voice that sent chills down your spine.

“Hey, hun, how are the sessions go--” Tony’s voice sounded, but he stopped. You weren’t sure if it was the sight of you or the sight of Shannon in the bed, as if she were under a hospital’s care.

You slightly turned to face a man you’d come to fear. Hell hath no fury like Tony Stark scorned…

When you turned around, his face was that scary, livid, rigid expression he wore when he was past the point of being done.

“Why the fuck are you here?” he demanded in a booming voice, pointing at you as he started to march towards you. “How the hell did you escape?” he ordered.

In an instant, Gambit was in front of you, as you shrunk away in your chair.

“Now hold up there, old man,” he said, trying to ease the tension and trying to get Tony to back up, but he wasn’t having it.

“Out of my way, cajun,” Tony warned in a low voice. “Do you know you’re protecting a criminal? A terrorist?”

“Tony, please,” Charles slightly pleaded. “You’ll only make things worse.” Just as he had said it, the monitors had begun to beep rapidly. Everyone turned to see what was going on.

“Jean, go get Logan. He needs to get Mr. Stark out of this room now,” Charles ordered moving to Shannon’s side to get ready to enter her mind. Tony was worried about her but was still livid that you were somehow here and not back at the tower.

“Steve, I need to you take Y/N back to the tower and secure it so that she cannot leave the cell,” Tony ordered not looking away from you. If looks could kill… he would have killed you twice -- viciously.

“Tony, I’m not leaving Shannon here by herself,” Steve said, worried about her health, seeing how much Tony’s anger was making her weaker than she was a while ago. “You need to calm down. She’s absorbing your emotions and it’s deteriorating her health,” he said with a little more urgency.

Charles used the distraction to enter Shannon’s mind and began locating where in her memories she could be hiding. He could feel a strong pull towards a memory. Following the pull, he reached a memory of what looked like years ago. Shannon was young and was in what looked to be a training room. Curious, Charles entered the memory seeing Shannon was watching her younger self fight with an equally young redhead.

“Shannon, dear, I need you to come with me, You’re letting Tony’s emotions weaken you,” he said approaching her. “Any more time you spend asleep will lead you to entering a coma,” he warned her hoping to get her to look over.

“Hello, Charles. I could sense someone’s anger I just couldn’t figure out whose it was. What’s he doing here?” she asked looking briefly at him then back at herself. “This is the one memory I always seem to find myself returning to…” Her voice had a twinge of sadness as if she’d hoped for something different. “What am I going to tell him, Charles? He didn’t know I had been releasing Y/N to come here for help,” she said with disappointment at herself.

“My dear, there’s no way that he could hold that anger towards you. The worry he holds at this time is much greater,” he said reaching for her hand. “Come now, we must leave this for another day. You must awaken.” She reached for his open hand and allowed him to take her back to where the chaos was happening.

“Tony, I--” you started, hoping to maybe say something, anything to calm him down. But before you could get anything else out, Remy stood beside you, and wrapped a hand over your mouth to keep you from making the situation worse, the other hand wrapping around your shoulder. Remy knew you, and he knew Tony. Tony was usually never one for talking when he was pissed.

“If someone doesn’t get her out of here, I’m about to suit up and take her there myself,” Tony warned.

Charles had returned from Shannon’s mind and had heard what Tony said. Looking over to Shannon in the bed waking up, he knew she’d stop him from doing such a thing.

“No. You won’t…” she said, making everyone look over to the bed. “I might not be well but that won't stop me from holding you down, Tony,” she said as a warning.

You looked over to her and physically sighed with relief knowing she’d finally woken up.

“You would fight me… for her?” he asked, pointing to you, peering at his beloved. “Wow. And I actually thought I meant something to you.” It came out sarcastically, but the hurt was evident in his eyes.

“I'm not about to have the two most important people in my life rip each other to shreds,” she said, looking torn between defending her friend and standing up to the man she loved.

“Shan, I'm not going to fight him,” you said. Remy had eventually let go of your mouth. “Tony… Take me back to the tower if you like. I’m not going to fight you, or hurt anyone,” you promised solemnly.

“Y/N--” Shannon started, protesting.

You held up a hand, not looking at her. “No, Shannon, it’s okay. He has a right to be furious. I escaped. I’m a prisoner… a terrorist… a criminal..” Your eyes lifted to meet Tony’s. “He can escort me back and do with me as he sees fit. I won’t give him any trouble.”

“Well, can’t say it wouldn’t have been fun to fight you. But sometimes the easy way is nice too,” Tony said, walking forward to grab your upper arm.

“Y/N, are you sure?” she asked. ”You’re not a criminal, you’re a victim of a heinous plan.” She sounded upset. Looking towards Tony, he could see her unshed tears. “I was trying to help her lose the powers she didn’t want. To bring back some sort of peace.” A single tear slipped down her cheek. “I love you, Tony but not everything is what it looks like…” Turning her gaze to Steve she waved him over.

“What can I do for you, doll?” he asked, sounding concerned for her health.

“Take me to the tower, I’d like to rest in my old room,” she whispered to him.

“If that's what you want,” he affirmed, not sure if he should take her home just yet. Looking to Charles he asked if she was able to leave. “Is it safe for her to go home?”

“Her vitals are back to normal, she’s more than welcome to go.”

“Shannon… Let me take you home,” Tony offered. “I can have Steve take her,” he said, a touch of venom in his voice when he referred to you.

As she slowly stood and Jean got the monitoring systems off of her, and Steve helped her to stand, she shook her head. She weakly responded, “Tony, I’d… I’d like to be away from you for right now…”

With that, Tony’s gaze dropped, and he tugged you along with him. He didn’t break his grip until the two of you got to the car and he practically threw you at the shiny, burgundy vehicle.

“Get in,” he ordered as he rounded the front.

You obeyed immediately. You got in, strapped in, and tried to scoot to the far edge of the seat. But in a sports car, the room was minimal. Tony fired up the engine, and sped off the property.

For the first several minutes, he was silent, both hands gripping the wheel tightly.

“I’m sorry,” you started, hoping it would be a good place to begin.

“Yeah? For what? Breaking out? Tricking Shannon? Killing dozens of people? Should I go on, or is that enough to start with?” he mocked, glancing over once.

“I didn’t trick Shannon,” you quietly retorted.

“You may have fooled her, but I’m not so easily bought.”

“Tony, I’m not selling anything. I just told her I felt something was weird with these powers and she offered to take me to Xavier’s. I didn’t ask her to.”

“Do you have any idea how serious this is? How much trouble I could be in if anyone saw you? How much trouble you would be in if--” He spewed out different scenarios. He sounded more like an angry parent than someone in charge of the world’s worst felon who just escaped prison.

“Tony… I am sorry. We were very discreet. No one ever saw me leave the tower or my cell, I swear. I didn’t do this to get you or anyone else in trouble.”

“You know, I actually came down to your cell today to tell you that you were up for parole… and you break out. Nice timing. Real nice timing.”

“I’m up for parole?” you asked, expectation rising in your voice and chest.

“Not anymore,” he said, gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles were white.

You wanted to protest, you wanted to fight it, bargain with him, plead with him… But what good would it do?

“I’m sorry,” you tried again, your voice the softest it had been.

“God. Would you stop saying that?” he asked, clearly irritated. “It’s not like it means anything.”

“Tony, I’m going to keep saying it to you until you believe it. Because I am. I’m sorry for the pain I caused you. I am sorry for throwing you out of a window. I’m sorry for bringing monsters to Earth. I’m sorry that I hurt Shannon, in more ways than one. I’m sorry you have to watch her suffer and choose between you and me.”

“Stop!” he ordered, getting fed up with you.

“I’m about to say something, and I don’t want you to say a word. Okay?”

All he did was roll his eyes and gestured for you to continue.

“I love you. I still do. I still think you’re my friend. I know you’re hurting. I know you’re in a shitty position, and I didn’t make it easy on you. I know you wish you could trust me. I know you’re more hurt than I could ever imagine when you look at me. I know you miss the good times we used to have and I know you wished all of this would’ve turned out differently, so do I.”

“Don’t act like you know me,” he stated, a slight tone of irritated pleading to his voice. “Don’t act like we’re friends.”

“But we used to be,” you reminded softly.

“Yeah, used to be. Key word there.”

You ignored the sting in your chest that brought on. “Well… this is what is is… And I just want you to know… If I could take this all back, I would. I would trade my soul to undo the damage I’ve caused everyone.”

“Wow that isolation in that cell really gives time for contemplation, doesn’t it?” he mocked with sarcasm.

You smiled gently. “Mock me if you want, Tony. I know deep down in there somewhere you know I didn’t do all of that of my own accord. I know that deep down, you want to be just like Shannon and trust me, and help me, and be my friend again.”

“Shannon doesn’t know what she wants. She’s acting out of guilt.”

You lightly shrugged. “She may be… but then again, maybe she sees the truth for what it is. But for what it’s worth… I do love and miss you as my friend…”

“Yeah, well none of that matters anymore, does it?” he rhetorically asked. It was almost inaudible.

The rest of the ride was silent, but at least Tony didn’t give off the murder vibe any more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List: @essie1876​ @magpiegirl80​ @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked​ @iamwarrenspeace​ @marvel-imagines-yes-please​ @superwholocked527 @missinstantgratification​ @thejemersoninferno​ @rda1989​ @munlis​ @thefridgeismybestie​​ @bubblyanarocks3​​ @igiveupicantthinkofausername​​ @kaliforniacoastalteens​ @feelmyroarrrr​​ @kaelingoat​ @friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo​​ @damalseer​​ @heyitscam99​​ @yknott81​​ @sorryimacrapwriter​​ @glitterquadricorn​​ @xxqueenofisolationxx @little-dis-kaalista-pythonissama @bittersweetunicorm​​ @alyssaj23​​ @sea040561​​ @princess76179​​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​​ @sarahp879​​ @malfoysqueen14​​ @ellallheart​​ @breezy1415​​ @marvelmayo​​ @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @cocosierra94 @hardcollectionworldtrash @capsmuscles @marvelloushamilton

Loki: @lostinspace33​​ @ultrarebelheart​​ @lenawiinchester​​ @esoltis280​​ @tngrayson​​ @wangdeasang​​ @harrymewmew @jayfantasyatyourservice​​

[unnursvanablog]

The TV shows I watched in 2020 / part 2.

Episodes I finished: 😊

Snowpiercer: I wasn't sure if it could live up to the movie and in my opinion it didn't even get close to it. I wasn't into the murder mystery. After a few episodes I was just watching it with one eye.

The Last Kingdom: What can I say, I'm incredibly fond of period shows. The Last Kingdom managed to tell a very contained story within each series that always managed to grab me and I had to know what happened next, while also raising the stakes for the next seasons and so on. I found this part of British history new and exciting and I liked the strategy and the comradery that we got to see here. This show is incredibly male centric tho and does fall into the traps that can come with that, which can be annoying.

Maximilium: Epic and sad. I really want to watch more period shows, and just shows in general, that is not contained to like British history or medieval fantasy inspired from that part of Europe. I really liked this show, I found it really pretty to watch and really well excecated.

Was it Love?: In my opinion this drama started of well. It was just some fluffy comedy with a ridiculous plot and I was just having a great time with it. But then over time, the episodes just got more frustrating and boring and so did the characters. It takes a bit of a skill to have four guys fighting for the attention and love of the main character and none of them end up being a good option.

It's Okay not to be Okay: unfortunately I thought the story here was stretched a bit too far, even though the basic story was cool and interesting. And that led to me not enjoying it. Most of the supporting characters were boring to me and therefor I got bored watching their filler scenes and product placements just so these episodes could be over an hour long. The story was not long enough to fill in every episode and it just dragged on.

Flower of Evil: I was amazed at how much I ended up loving this drama. It normally not the type of thing I go for. They were dramatic, dark and very emotional and I never knew what was going to happen, it kept me on the edge of the seat all the time. I loved it.

Cursed: this show had a really great idea, it tried to do something new with the Arthur legend. But they just weren't well written at all and just end up being a pretty big fantasy cliché.

The Medici: Masters of Florence: Neither the second nor the third series reached the same heights as the first one did for me. But still, this is a good period show. I just do not find the main character in the second and third series that interesting. He kinda irks me.

Ottoman - Rise of an Empire: A really fun and informative tv show / documentary. I knew little about the Ottoman Empire so I found it very exciting. And I do like battle strategies.

Record of Youth: I wanted to get so much more from this drama than I got. I cared so little about most of the character and even the ones I did care about didn't seem to do much towards the end. A little too slow for me, the plot wasn't interesting and I'm tired of some kdramas saying that they are about these two or more characters, but then just focus on the male character and the female lead is just there for the romance. It was a waste of both my time and Park So Dam's time.

The War of the World: A very interesting sci-fi period piece. Really well done, would have liked a better ending that answered all the questions I had, but I enjoyed the ride a lot.

The School Nurse Files: These episodes were so weird, but I mean it in a good way. I felt like I was watching a long and weird Doctor Who episode from the Russell T Davies era. They sometimes felt a little bit confusing and would have liked if the story was a bit more concise.

Lovecraft Country: This became this odd blend of horror, fantasy-adventure tale and then some sci-fi - Some of these episodes gave me a little Indiana Jones feel, which I enjoyed. At times it felt all over the place, yet it did serve a purpose. I expected more horror if anything, as I had been told it was really scary, but then I didn't really get scared. Maybe because I'm not the targed audience for these shows, as a white person from Europe. Really interesting show tho. Well worth the hype.

The Haunting of Hill House: Very cool show. I really enjoyed how each episode just raised the bar and you could start to see the story more clearer and better with every passing episode. And seeing how the house affected this family throughout their lives while we got to know the characters and their backstory was brilliant. You hate and love and understand almost every single character, as they all have their own baggage to carry. Really well made horror.

The Haunting of Bly Manor: eh, I felt like they never reached the same heights as the previous series. The story wasn't as captivating, the horror not that great, and I had already seen where the story was going long before it happened.

La Révolution: The story started slowly, but there was a really cool mystery at the center of it and this escalating tension that really just grabbed you and pulled you along. I also just really like a lot of the character. I thought it was a very interesting take on the French Revolution, and the horror elements surprised me in a really good way. I like period dramas that have horror elements to them. It's just a mix of two things I like. Visually it was stunning, it was well crafted, well acted and I'm excited to see more of there is more.

The Tale of the Nine Tailed: There was something about this drama that just didn't capture my heart, although I think the idea is cool and I really enjoyed how myths and other things were woven into the story. It always felt like it was trying a bit too hard to be like Goblin, you could see the influence there, and it just left me a little cold. The second leads and their story were also just a lot more interesting than the main ones. I got quite bored like half way through it.

Private Lives: I really liked this drama in the beginning. I loved how much it centered around the female characters and the story seemed cool. It sometimes jumped between timelines, which I did not like and I don't think it helped too much with the mystery. And once the more political aspect of the mystery started to creep in I found myself not as into it. And I wanted more comradery.

Birthcare Center: Cute and quite silly, but in a good way. It's really short, only 8 episodes in total, so it never dragged. I loved the whole cast and the dynamics that the character had and I felt like it did talk about some important topics about motherhood and the expectations set on women - says I who is completely childless. I enjoyed it, but I was not incredibly into it either.

The Crown: I don't think I have enjoyed this show as much as this season. In this season I had someone to root for and someone to emotionally connection to. A lot of the characters in this show are interesting, but very cold and distant, and I find it hard to relate to them, which can make it hard for me to fully get invested. But Diana was absolutely the heart and soul of this season and I loved her. The show needed her.

Queen's Gambit: I've never found chess interesting until I watched it in this show. I found it amazing how these episodes managed to create a whole story about chess tournaments and how it affected all of these characters. Amazing story, the characters were complex, and each episode just became more and more exciting and interesting.

Barbarians: I shall say it again! I love historical shows and period dramas. It isn't anything new under the sun, it feels a bit like other period shows such as Vikings, but I enjoyed it. I felt the story grew with each episode, with the first episodes being a bit more formulaic as they were setting up the story. But each episode always ended in a way that I just wanted to know more, there was something that grabbed me and I had to watch the next episode.

Sweet Home: quite a fun horror, and I usually really like how Korea does horror so while it did hit some sweet spots it also does follow some of the common apocalypses and horror tropes and I did think it brought too many new things o the table when it comes to these stories. I felt like a lot of episodes sort of lacked tension and just fell a bit flat.

Bridgeton: I love a costume dramas, especially like these romantic ones, with a hint of humor and a whole lot of yearning. I have a tendency to fall into such stories and people's lives, although it seems rather frivolous and unexciting to people who don't enjoy this romance. I sympathized so much with these characters and their ridiculous lives. I couldn't stop watching this show and it became all I thought about over the days I was watching it. There is something new about it, but it still rather familiar and maybe not as progressive as you might want at all times. For me, the main romance lost me a bit towards the end, but it was a great fun.

Show I did not finish: ☹

OCN Train: I am sure it was a well made show, I have not heard any bad review about it, just not the kind of drama that is really for me or to my taste. If I am suppose to watch and enjoy these types of show it sort of needs to do something amazing for me to be hooked into a murder mystery.

The Devil Punisher: I decided to try watching a drama from Taiwan again, since I had not done so for years and year. And although I thought the idea was cool, the first episodes were rather long-winded, all over the place and really about everything and nothing at the same time. So I just gave up.

Run On: I could actually feel it from the first episodes that this drama was not for me. Just not the kind of story that I am into at the moment. Mostly just about the lives of the people in it, but there is no bigger plot that pulls you forward. Too slow and light and not really about that much.

[smkkbert]

Time for a story - The Magician

If there was one thing that Oliver had learned through the past years, it was that there was nothing better than coming home.

After the Gambit had gone down and he had been lost on Lian Yu, there had been nothing he had wanted more than to go home. He had wanted to be back with his family, sleeping in his soft bed in a warm room and eating everything life had to offer whenever he had felt like it. He had wanted to go back to his spoilt life or any life that felt worth the word really. Lian Yu had just not felt like that kind of place.

Time had continued to pass without any hope that Oliver would make it home though. The more time had passed, the more it had changed Oliver. The boy that had been on board of the Gambit with his girlfriend’s sister and not been the same person that had eventually had the chance to go home, but who had decided against it. Coming home could only ever feel right when you wanted to go home because you knew you was welcomed back there with arms wide open by people who knew exactly who you were.

When Oliver had eventually decided to go home, he hadn’t really felt ready about it. He had been sure that the person he had become wouldn’t be accepted by his family and his friends. It was why he had hidden his identity under the hood because he couldn’t have had his family or his friends tell him that he was a failure, a crazy person or a murderer. He wouldn’t have been able top cope if it had been said right into his face.

Eventually, he had started getting used to being back and he had even taken people in. Still, he hadn’t really had a home. The mansion couldn’t have felt like a home because he had been able to hide who he truly was there. The foundry had felt more like a home, especially after his mother’s death when it had been all he had had, but it had been too dark and filled of too many dark memories to be a real home to him. Thea’s loft had been warmer again, but it had bought the same problems as the mansion, at least as long as he hadn’t been honest with Thea. Even after that, it just hadn’t been able to feel like a real home.

What coming home really meant and how it was supposed to feel was something Oliver had only learned later on. When Felicity had started spending more and more time in the loft with him, being there 24/7 although she hadn’t officially lived with him, it had felt more like a home to him. He had known that there was someone with him that he could tell everything and who knew him better than anyone. Then he and Felicity had moved into their first shared home, a little house at edge of town, and it had felt like even more. It had been their place, something that was just theirs and where they could have been felt in every inch.

Looking at his home now, Oliver’s smile widened. This house was as much a home as a place could be. It was everything and even more. He had built this home for him and Felicity as well as their kids, wanting all of them to have a safe and comfortable place to be. In those safe walls of their home, they could all be who they were. Neither of them needed to hide. Neither of them needed to pretend. Everyone could be who they were and show how they felt, and they were will loved and protected.

That was what his home meant to him and what he tried to make home feel for his family.

Smiling, Oliver pulled his keys from the pocket of his jacket and unlocked the front door. He barely managed to drop his briefcase onto the floor before Hawk came running to him. The giant Bernese Mountain Dog that seemed to have no idea of his size took a leap forward and jumped right into Oliver’s arms. It caused Oliver to stumble a few steps back, but he chuckled with amusement nonetheless.

“Hi, Buddy,” he said lightly and kissed Hawk’s head, “did you have a great day?”

If someone had told him years ago that he would have a dog that he loved with all of his heart, talking to him like he was one of hid kids and letting him sleep in their bed, he would have laughed. It had taken him a while to warm up to the idea of getting a dog. Once he had, he had developed quite the crush on the furball.

“Oh, hi.”

At Felicity’s soft voice, Oliver let Hawk back down to the floor. Snuggling around his legs like a cat, Hawk continued to seek Oliver’s attention. That was completely taken by the love of his life approaching him though.

“Hey, Beautiful,” Oliver said, wrapping his arms around Felicity’s waist and pulling he as close as possible, “glad you’re home already.”

He angled his head down and captured Felicity’s lips in a gentle kiss. Sighing into the kiss, he swayed Felicity from side so side slowly. He could easily use himself in this kiss. The way she moved her fingers into the short hair at the nape of his neck and pulled him even closer told him that it was the same for her.

When their lips broke apart eventually, Oliver leaned back just enough to look at Felicity. She must have been home for a while because she had exchanged the dress that she had worn this morning – and he had tried to take off again before she had headed to Queen Incorporated for that matter – in favor for sweatpants and a wide hoodie. She had also wiped her make-up from her face already.

“I thought you wouldn’t make it before seven.”

“I had to cancel some appointments because the optician has called and told me that Tommy’s glasses had been delivered.” Felicity released a low sigh and leaned even more into his arms. “He was so excited that I decided to delay the rest of my appointments and take him to pick up his glasses.”

“We just can’t say no to our children.”

“No, we can’t.”

Oliver’s lips met Felicity’s once more. He loved her as his wife, as the mother of his children, as his partner in crime and as everything she was. Marrying her had been one of – if not the – best decision he had ever made.

At the sound of the quick steps that came from the kitchen, Felicity hurried to push at Oliver’s shoulder to push him away. Oliver grumbled when his lips parted from hers, unwilling to let go of her already.

“When he asks what you think,” Felicity said quickly, shooting a brief glance back over her shoulder where it was only a matter of time until Tommy would appear, “simply tell him what comes to your mind first.”

She placed another firm kiss on his lips before she stepped aside to make room for Tommy. The young boy jumped right into Oliver’s arms like Hawk had done before him. Given how much he usually favored his mommy, Oliver felt like today could be considered his lucky day. All this little boy’s affection was usually saved for Felicity and Hawk, sometimes Uncle Tommy because he loved that they shared a name.

“I got my glasses, Daddy.”

“Well, I see.”

Brushing some strands of Tommy’s dark hair out of his son’s face, Oliver took in the round glasses with the thin black rim.

“Do you like them?”

“Like them?” Oliver asked. “I love them. You look like Harry Potter.”

“Exactly!”

Tommy threw his hands in the air, happy that Oliver had recognized the similarity between the two glasses. Wrapping his arms around his father’s neck, he snuggled his cheek to Oliver’s. Oliver brushed his fingers through Tommy’s hair. He was probably the happiest kid with first glasses the world had ever seen.

“I am Harry Potter,” Tommy said leaning back, “do you want to see my magic?”

“Of course I do.”

The moment Oliver put Tommy back to the floor, the six-year-old grabbed his father’s hand and pulled him with him towards the living room. Oliver shot a look back over his shoulder at Felicity. She winked at him, staying back with Hawk, who had jumped up at her to lick her face.

Stepping into the living room, Oliver’s eyes widened slightly and he blew out a breath. The living room was covered in all kind of equipment that a magician could need. A cylinder and wand were resting in one of the armchairs. A robe had been put over the armrest. A card game was spread all across the floor. Several other things joined it.

“And who is going to clean all of that up before dinner?” Oliver asked, tugging at Tommy’s hand slightly. “Or do you have a spell for that too?”

“No.” Tommy laughed out loud. “I will do it.”

Oliver smiled at his son, tickling the soft skin under his chin. Again, Tommy laughed before he slapped Oliver’s hand away playfully and went over to the armchair. He put on his robe, put on the cylinder and grabbed the balloon from the floor as well as the needle from the couch chair.

“What happens when I peak the balloon with the needle?”

It was adorable how proud and dignified Tommy was when he asked that. He looked at Oliver with hopeful eyes like he feared that Oliver could say that he knew the trick.

“It will burst of course.”

Tommy smiled joyfully, and it was worth lying about Oliver’s suspicion. He was sure that the balloon had been prepared. He could even see the thin strap of cellotape that would make this possible. There was nothing in the world that would make him take away his son’s joy about showing this trick though.

“My magic will make it different,” Tommy said and looked at the balloon seriously, “because I am a magician.”

With that, Tommy pricked the balloon with his needle. Of course it didn’t burst. It stayed whole, and Tommy’s smile spread all over his face at the face.

“Tada!”

Oliver applauded. “Wow! You really are a magician. I can’t believe it. It’s incredible.”

Tommy smiled proudly when he put the needle away carefully. He put the balloon to the floor and rested his robe back over the armrest. The cylinder stayed on his head when he threw himself back at Oliver.

“So, are you going to become a magician now?”

Oliver patted his finger against the brim of the cylinder. Tommy just chuckled. When he noticed that Oliver was looking at him with perked up eyebrows, he looked at his dad seriously though.

“If I get a Hogwarts invention letter, I will become a magician,” Tommy said seriously, “but I will become a doctor otherwise.”

It was incredibly sweet how serious Tommy was about this. Since he had been a toddler, he had always insisted that he wanted to be a doctor. When one of his siblings was sick, he always did his best to make them feel better. He also knew exactly that Hawk’s whining was caused by an acute episode of severe starving. Luckily, it could be treated with a slice of cheese.

“What is Beauxbatons or Durmstrang invites you?”

“They’re too far away from mommy.”

Oliver doubted that his son had any idea of geography, but he kept that to himself and just smiled. He knew that, once Tommy was a little older, he would probably think that he couldn’t be too far away from his parents’ home. Every child felt like that at least once in their life sooner or later.

“What about Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?” Oliver asked. “It’s in the U.S.”

Tommy puckered his lips. “It’s not Hogwarts, and Hogwarts is the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world.”

Oliver chuckled. “It’s what Hagrid said and Hagrid is always right, right?”

“Right.”

Tommy leaned his forehead against Oliver’s, still smiling brightly. As much as he’d love to become a magician, he didn’t want to give up on being a doctor. He would certainly become a great one if he continued to be that passionate about his dream. Having passion for your job was making things so much easier.

When Felicity strolled into the room, Hawk following right at her heel, Tommy kicked his legs until Oliver let him down. As soon as he was free, Tommy ran towards Felicity. He wrapped his arms around her middle and buried his head in the pit of her stomach. Felicity smiled, hugging her son’s head to her.

“Did daddy like your magic?”

“Yes,” Tommy said, resting his chin against Felicity’s stomach and smiling at her, “he liked it very much.”

“Good.”

Felicity brushed her fingers through Tommy’s hair. It was a little too long by now. They would have to take him to the hairdresser soon. He hated going there, so it would take a lot of persuasiveness to make him go. Felicity should probably be the one to take it. If mommy said he needed to go, Tommy would go.

While mother and son were still looking at each other, Oliver noticed the meaningful expressions in their eyes. Something told him that they had a silent agreement and, knowing Felicity, he already had an idea what it was about.

Clearing her throat, Felicity loosened Tommy’s arms around her. He turned their son around to Oliver and pushed him a little close to Oliver.

“Your son has got a question.”

Now Oliver just knew that Felicity was using their innocent children to coax him into ordering junk food. Sometimes Oliver wondered if he was the only adult in this family, but then he remembered that junk food was what Felicity had grown up with. Junk food was part of what she had learned was her home.

“Daddy,” Tommy asked, wrapping his arms around his father’s legs and looking up at him pleadingly, “can we order BBB for dinner?”

Oliver shot Felicity a glance. She looked at him innocently. He only cocked her head slightly, and it made Felicity pucker her lips. She still looked innocent, but the expression in her eyes showed that she was guilty. This was her doing.

It was an open secret that Oliver wasn’t good at saying no to his kids. That he couldn’t say no to his wife either was just as little of a secret.

“You know,” Felicity said casually, “it’s Tommy’s fist day with glasses. He is still getting used to the feeling of having them. It’s a big step in a kid’s life. If he wants BBB, I really think we should agree to that.”

Oliver didn’t miss that Felicity was playing with the glasses on her own nose while she was saying that. She was making sure that he understood exactly that she knew so much better what Tommy needed. She had been wearing glasses since she had been three years old after all. She had only stopped wearing them for that short time in college when she had tended to dress in Goth-style.

Shaking his head, Oliver chuckled. He would love to insist on healthy food, but he was just without any power when it came to the wishes of his loved ones.

“Fine,” Oliver said, not wanting to talk around his answer, “we will order BBB. Tommy, please, go and ask your siblings what they want, so we can go to BBB and get the food, okay?”

Tommy nodded his head and ran out of the room. Hawk, who had probably understood as much as BBB followed him quickly. Oliver was sure that, when his son returned with his siblings’ order, he would find a meal for Hawk too. Maybe, if his good mood was going to stay as it was, he would pretend to miss it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t really good at saying no to his dog either.

Once Tommy had left the room, Oliver looked at Felicity again. She was still looking at him innocently. Oliver perked up his eyebrows though and approached Felicity, his arms wrapping around her.

“It was really nice of you to agree to this,” she said, “because I know how much you resent junk food, especially when you are home to cook.”

Oliver hummed. “You always find your ways to get what you want, don’t you?”

Felicity chuckled. Her arms wrapped around the back of his neck as her body melted against his chest. Humming at having her so close, Oliver tightened his arms around her waist and angled his head down to bring his lips even closer to hers. He could almost feel them brushing against Felicity’s lips that looked so wonderfully kissable. The expression in Felicity’s eyes was one of pure love, melting his heart so easily.

“I am the woman that stormed into your home and told you that we were going to be together now, whether you want it to or not,” Felicity told him, “are you surprised?”

“No.”

The answer fell from Oliver’s lips easily because it was true. He wasn’t surprised that Felicity usually what she wanted. She just knew how to get those things, and she deserved everything she wanted in life anyway. If he had to give up on his clear idea of what a healthy diet looked like, he would do so at least every one in a while. Felicity deserved the chance at cheating on it.

Smiling, Felicity leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Oliver’s lips. He sighed against her lips. His tongue moved out to slide against her bottom lip. Before he could open her lips, Felicity pulled away though. Groaning, Oliver tried to chase her lips, but Felicity avoided the kiss, leaning her lips against his ear instead.

“You know I think I can be a magician too,” she whispered, her lips brushing against his ear and her fingers stroking down his chest as she spoke, “because I can make you feel hot and cold at the same time.”

Oliver felt his cock twitching in his pants. With the way Felicity moved her finger over his chest, there was just no doubt what Felicity meant, and Oliver couldn’t possibly be more excited at the prospect.

Clearing his throat, Oliver leaned back a little and looked at Felicity innocently. His lips were puckered.

“And when exactly will I get to see that magic?” he asked. “I mean everyone can say they are a magician.”

“Just wait until the kids are in bed.”

Oliver pecked her lips, his hands moving down on her back a little more until his fingers brushed against her butt. “I can’t wait.”

* * *

@fannaz​ @promiseyoullbepatientwithme​ @bytemegeekette​ @felicity-said-just-in-case​ @phanseptiic​ @orangeisorange​ @mspotatohead14​ @whentheheavenfades​ @emmaamelia95​ @smoakingskye​ @seaolicity​ @ourwritinginvein​ @1022bridgetp​ @felicityqueenforever​ @leagueofolicity17​ @yryssss​ @myhauntedblacksoul​ @sherlock44​ @sinceriouslybea​ @olivyflavescentdeer​ @olicitys-castle​ @ofnothingcharming​ @vaelisamaza​ @smoakedandcharmed​ @alexisa1206​ @mysaudadespt2​ @florence-bubbles​ @addictiontelly​ @queens-of-arrows​ @memcjo​ @hysterical-for-joshifer-blog​ @oswinelevenforever​ @olicitylovemaking​ @bandanab310​ @mymusiclove101​ @lynslogic​ @scarletqueen23​ @olicityshipper19​ @alex-wesley​ @arrows-4ever​ @unabashedlynerdypatrol​ @louehmysoul​ @ligiapimenta​ @chattyyana​ @charlie-leau​ @coal000​ @samcrowleys​ @ishippolivia​ @julianegomesqueen​ @malafle​ @miriam1779​ @charlinert​ @melaux​ @ontheolicityship​ @myshipperlife​ @wrightainsley @lexi9515​ @ladygreenwood​ @multi-fandom-crazy-fangirl​ @morinamel​ @mje-thomas​ @kebarry​ @canadianheartgirl​ @nannett2307​ @almondblossomme​ @kathrynelizabeth89​ @imdfabulous​ @mrt2501​ @arsipaci14​ @salasvia​ @brandis91​ @cainc3​ @morganmiguess​ @pr0fessi0nal-fangurl​ @iamisalima​ @nessafrancis-blog​ @jonhdiggle​ @niki-is-amazing​ @universed-posts​ @hopeful-warrior​ @senoritaswiftie​ @bellemmie​ @green-arrows-of-karamel​ @iheartarrow​ @olicityovereverything​ @oliverfel4​ @olicity-in-the-heart​ @fullychippedcreation @fullychippedcreation​ @everything-but-normal-cat @myarroworld​ @tjmartinez​ @pleasantfanandstudent​ @j69confessional2​ @scentedcolorpirate​ @icanica74​ @tjmartinez98​ @certainmentalityface​ @tatianadamaceno @ryelew​ @wildwillowzepplin​ @missafairy​ @letsplaymurde-r​ @lipizette​ @positivepiper​ @nuttymilkshakehologram​ @laksagirl​ @turnupthemusicandscream​ @pumpernickle93​ @onceuponanolicity​ @1106angel​ @jaspertown​ @fadinglands​ @morganashimi83​ @mochababychristy​ @omglovechrissie​ @mariejr88-blog​ @thetaufactor​ @onceuponanolicity​ @speakandseethetruth​ @bri206​ @aglasgo​ @geemarie​ @pineprincess​ @nerdgirljen​ @eternal-olicity14​ @allyouhadtodowas-stay-stay-stay​ @lovelycssefan @tsseract​ @flowerandsunshine​ @dcnmarvelgamergeek​ @blondeeoneexox​ @monetsmark​ @bb-olicity​ @mashamarty​ @rulerofsilence​ @erika-amber​ @nothingmorethanmyotps​ @kayleenyc​ @tonto16​ @olicityfluv​ @olicitea1990​ @haahaaa2408​ @pattid1​ @faegal04​ @24karatgem​ @wrldtravler​ @readerkas​ @olicity-beliver​ @greencoffeecups​ @snorlaxishere​

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[msbeccieboo]

Arrow 8x09 Brain Dump

It was...not all bad. I really want to like this. I love Mia, William and FTA. I want to enjoy BS like I did in S7. I want to see Dinah written consistently with any kind of actual character. Well, at least my love for FTA is still intact 😂😂

Mia

Kat was brilliant in this episode. Her leading lady really jumped out 😂😂 Her emotional moments hit the mark, and I think she juggled her post-Crisis new life with her old memories brilliantly.

We opened on her waking up in the Queen mansion(!), with a very yummy Diggle Jr in her bed, only it’s JJ not Connor 😱😱 She’s also surrounded by adorable family photos, showing that Oliver got his wish of her and William growing up together (and confirmation that the Olicity Love Cabin still existed!) Basically, she’s living the best life that Oliver could have wished for her, without him in it, of course 😭

Probably the most notable change in ‘new Mia’ (other than her being infinitely happier and living in a crime-free city) was her social poise. She’s been brought up in Oliver Queen’s old world, and is quite the socialite, only without any of the haughty frivolity that one might expect (I imagine we have Felicity for that 😍). She loves her life and her friends, and she defends them, especially in the face of Laurel, who seemingly does nothing but scoff at her lifestyle for the whole episode 😒 I loved her addressing the press!! That was pure Queen! Maybe the influence of a certain Aunt Thea?

Source: feilcityqueen

More below the cut…

Basically this Mia is smart and loving and happy, and Oliver gave her a warm and otherwise full life, save for finding her true purpose (which is gonna be vigilanteing, of course). So of course BS and Dinah rock up and upend it all 😂 I really liked how they made the returning of Mia’s memories a source of conflict, as well they should. It was so brutal to just return them with no preamble, to destroy what happiness Oliver had given back to her, just because, what? BS couldn’t complete her own fucking mission? (More of that later lol) Then Mia standing up to BS when she went as far as to mock Mia’s new world, just gave me life!!!

Anyway, with her memories restored, and bad guys to track down, of course Mia couldn’t resist her heroic calling and suited up, then proceeded to be the epic badass that we have grown to love.

Source: kathmcnamara

I loved seeing her struggle with her memories returning, and the guilt that they brought with them of not living up to Oliver’s legacy. At the same time, she appreciates what Oliver did for her, that all he wanted for his family and the city was to be safe and happy. She ultimately decides to remain the Green Arrow, taking up the guard of her city in her father’s memory, to protect the new world that he sacrificed himself to create.

Source: felicityqueen

We’d seen she’d developed her ‘street smarts’ in the flash-forwards, so I think she’ll end up bringing these together with her new social skills, and badass moves, and be an unstoppable force!! Hopefully that will include her old FTA team as well, and not just the two feathered ones 🙄

FTA/JJ

God this needed more FTA.

We got a small amount of William, more of JJ, what with him being Mia’s fiance (!!), and little more than fleeting glances of Zoe (!) and Connor. The disrespect!! 😂

William (who even knows his surname in this new life?) continues to hold my whole heart in his hands 😍😍

Source: oliverxfelicity

LOOK AT HIM!!!!💗💗💗

He seems to have been least affected in terms of his character, post-crisis. It’s implied that he’s running Smoak Tech, and that he and Mia grew up together and are basically each others’ ride-or-dies 😭😍😭 

I truly hope if the show is picked up, that they increase the William content by a solid 1000% 😂 He brings so much heart and a certain humour and lightness, just like Felicity brought to Arrow, and Ben is such an amazing actor. The new show will need a William. BADLY. He really seems to have his shit together (in the very limited time we have seen him of course 😒), but I’m hoping that that doesn’t lead to Mia keeping her memories from him for long (although remembering who their Dad is, I’m guessing she could take a while 😂😂).

So JJ proposes to Mia at the beginning of the episode!!!! Apparently they are the love of each others lives here. Dig clearly learned from what Connor told him, and steered JJ away from becoming a murdering gangster...YAY! Although it seems that in doing so, our darling boy Connor ran into a few issues of his own 😫😫 It looks like there is no love lost between him and Mia, that he has been in and out of rehab, and is now somewhat of a bad boy 😏😏 But when they first lock eyes there is still definite history and heat there and, just HJJHDFVGDFK 🔥 BACKSTORY IS NEEDED!! Then at the end, JJ has his memories restored by scary-dude-in-cloak (who I was totally hoping would be Dig or Oliver tbh 😂), so I’m super interested to see how he copes with his dual memories!! So now Mia loves JJ, but knows he was evil and killed Zoe, and she hated Connor, but now remembers they had feelings for each other and that he is a beautiful soul, and all the shit is gonna hit the fan!!! I usually hate love triangles, but this is so exciting, with the good boy/bad boy switch up, and then the opposite memories being returned...YAAAAASSSS!! Although I’d like to make it clear that, whilst I’m going to enjoy the drama getting there, I am firmly in the SmoaknHawke end game camp!! 

And as excited as I just got, all of this took up just about 5 mins of screen time 😫😫 It reminds me of what Arrow was lacking in its early episodes...heart and hope. They lucked into it with Felicity/Emily, but they have it here, ready and waiting, and are so far not using it.

Kat knows what’s what. This is the show we deserve. 

Birds

There was a lot of bird action. Apparently in shaping a perfect future, Oliver saw fit that Mia never met BS or Dinah...this is why we stan 😂😂 Dinah has also seemingly been erased from the history books 😬, waking up after Oliver’s funeral (😒😭) 20 years in the future, so naturally becomes a bohemian, opens a bar and sings a lot. Cool, I’d probably do the same 😂😂 Laurel, it seems, went off to spend time with Sara, and has apparently become a solo time-traveller, trying to stop 2041 from becoming a really bad year. Righto. 

Dinah was actually ok in this episode, if not hugely out of character, but that in itself has been inconsistent throughout the show, so here’s hoping that the zen-filled peacemaker that she was in this episode continues! Dinah’s new-found peace and bearability seemingly comes at the cost of Laurel being utterly awful. She rocked up in the future like Billy Big Bollocks with a huge chip on her shoulder, just sneering her way through the episode. She had such bitterness, disdain and anger directed towards Mia (and Dinah, at times) for no apparent reason, when they seemed to have somewhat bonded previously?! She spent the majority of the episode sauntering around looking down on everyone, portraying a bitchy-tomboy type, deeming anything vaguely typically feminine or not hard-moody-’badass’ as beneath her. This is not #girlpower. Fuck off.

Then we have that clusterfuck of a scene at the exhibition 🙈🙈 where BS tries to tell Mia that she used to date her Dad, before quickly correcting herself to “some version of him, anyway”, as if they were one and the same 🙄 Laurel’s continual need to imply that she knows, or has history with our Oliver is infuriating as hell. E2 Oliver died on the Gambit in his early 20s. Even if he was similar in character to E1 Oliver up until then, that person bears no likeness to the man he became. Her past with her ‘Ollie’ is entirely irrelevant to the man that was Mia’s father, who she barely even got to know at all save for a couple of episodes in S8. And not only the implication that she knew him, but then to actually try to trash him as well, to his kid?! All to push her idea that all versions of people are the same (which was refuted when JJ doesn’t even turn out to be behind the Deathstroke mask anyhow)? NO! At least Dinah and Mia were cringing along with us 😂

It’s just astounding, the turnaround they’ve managed with Laurel/BS. They already did the unthinkable in S7 and got a lot of people from this side of the fandom to empathise and warm to her, without pissing off her existing fans. I really did grow to like her in S7 (check my reviews, I still can’t believe it 😂), she was snarky, but not bitchy, and showed some heart and vulnerability. So it’s mind-blowing how they took all that growth and just obliterated it this season, and then even more so in this episode where she is just plain nasty and unlikeable. 

I do think, however, that giving BS and Mia a tempestuous relationship from the off was a good idea, cos let’s face it, you can tell there is no love lost between them. But they could have made them clash in a better way than BS just being an arsehole to Mia for most of the episode. My best guess is her anger comes from Mia coming out of Crisis with a life untouched by violence, whilst her earth was still lost? (Was it? I can’t actually remember if E2 came back.) She can’t complete her self-appointed mission on her own and knows she needs Mia’s help to do it?? I don’t know. She had a lot to say about JJ supposedly being a ‘homicidal manic’...pot, kettle much?! She also seemed to find the notion of Mia initially wanting to just appreciate the peaceful life she had been given and not becoming a vigilante reprehensible, but why? BS is the one that needs to atone for past sins. Mia does not. 

Stray thoughts

That cliffhanger!!! WHO TOOK OUR WILLIAM?!?!?!

The music was...not good. Especially during the fight scenes. Arrow was always so on-point with its score. I don’t understand how this can be so bad?! I did like hearing Mia’s theme in there, though, that was a nice tie-in the old flash-forwards.

Who is this Kevin that cheated on William? He must be destroyed!😡

Some of that future make-up was really something 😬😬 2040 is all about the severe/dead and unblended looks, apparently. The fashion was fabulous though!

The dialogue in the action scenes was soooo hammy.

Who is the mysterious, villainous “she”???

“Frack you!” and “I’m not interested in joining your Canary club” YAASS MIA 😂

William and Mia’s “pet rock” talk was super cute 😍 

Oliver’s statue!! 😭😭😭

Hopes for the future, if series gets picked up:

Increased focus on Mia/FTA. We have such a fresh, interesting, diverse cast, with intertwined back stories ready to go for this show here already, waiting to be used. USE THEM.

A deadly outbreak of avian flu 😂🙊

Failing said outbreak...keep the birds in the background or MAKE THEM LIKEABLE. This is a chance for a clean slate!

I wanna see Papa Dig so bad. David had said we’d get to see 2040 Dig in Arrow, but looks like that isn’t going to happen now, and I’d just love to see how he is. I can also imagine David being entirely done, and not wanting to be a part of this, however, but a cheeky little cameo would be amazing 😂

SmoaknHawke to RISE 🔥🔥🔥

As it stands, I’ll watch if it goes to series, but for how long remains in question. I just know I cannot get on board with the faux feminist “heart/vulnerability/girly is ‘weak’! Let’s be hard/edgy/angry badasses and fight men and show the world we’re strong pow pow pow” narrative that BS in particular, but also the general tone of the show overall, is trying to portray. I really think that if the show is picked up that they should look to see what is working and what is falling flat on its arse. It’s in dire need of more heart and fewer birds imo, but we can have both, if they’d just write them as better people.

Thank you to the beautiful gif-makers 😘 Any uncredited gifs are mine.

💗💗💗

[diveronarpg]

In fair Verona, our tale begins with SANTINO GALLO, who is TWENTY-SEVEN years old. He is often called SEBASTIAN by the MONTAGUES and works as their SOLDIER. He uses HE/HIM pronouns.

TW: murder, death & grieving

One moment his parents were there and the next, they disappeared — as INTANGIBLE as the ghosts that he had conjured up in their absence. It was as quick and as bright as a shooting star, the one moment where his family was truly together. One would think that waking up the next morning would dash any prospect of waking up with hope for the new day – for one Gallo it did, and for the other the mere thought was impossible. Santino held onto the belief that they must have known that their children were SURVIVORS, that they would come out unscathed from the trials that was bound to fall upon two orphaned twins. No matter the misfortune that befell them, Santino still held onto hope until it almost burned him with his desperation. His hope began to sour, but still, he clung to it with FEROCITY as the lessons Verona’s streets taught him were much more unforgiving than any damage neglectful parenting could have wrought. Ever the good brother, he hid the truth from Valentina for as long as he could, kept her in the dark as to the lengths that he would go to protect her as well as himself. In his eyes, Valentina afforded the world no mercy and so he wished to have mercy upon it for both their sakes; a fool’s gambit if ever there was one.

To show KINDNESS to a man condemned is to condemn yourself in the fair city of Verona. Santino, ever the tender soul, simply wanted to offer the man shelter and reassurance — unsuspecting of the fact that the man had just narrowly escaped the wrath of the Montagues. How was he supposed to know that the man had been skimming off of the Montague’s profits and pocketing a couple of grams too? However, when administering justice, the Montague gang does not take into account innocent bystanders, because in their eyes, there is no such thing as innocent. Valentina had entered into the room just as Santino had made his peace with God while a gun was cocked to his temple, the side of his face covered in the blood of the man who he had been stupid enough to take mercy upon while the body lay prostrate at his feet. It was her clever thinking that saved them both, and when he emerged hours later, both were in the employment of the Montagues, with Santino’s SOUL thrown into the bargain. They did not care whether or not he belonged, for his sister did, a bright and shining jewel they wanted to keep for themselves, and they could not have her without her twin.

The violence changed him; how could it not? To have the blood of others cover his hands often sent him into throes of despair and yet time after time he made peace with it — because he had to. For his sake. For his sister’s sake. He made it into a MANTRA that he hoped would sustain him, and he locked that ruined part away from her as best he could, for it was neither her fault nor her cross to bear. Yet she, too, locked things away, and before he knew it they were more distant than they ever had been. She, with all her secrets, and he, with all his half-hidden misery. The day he got the call from Roman Montague that something was happening in the Cathedral, he searched for her, called her a dozen times before deciding he had to leave without her, try to offset the wrath the Montagues would have at her lack of response. He could not have known the HORROR that awaited him, for none of them could, in the end. When her body was unveiled, when her blood pooled beneath her feet, that was when the world and life itself shattered one last time.

His memories after that moment are FRAGMENTED. Somehow, they kept him from moving toward her, from helping, and instead Santino was forced to watch as everyone else stood by as well. As one by one, the Capulets proved their loyalty by dipping their hands into Valentina’s blood. He noted each of their faces and forced himself not to forget, and then, as the last of her life left her body, he was at last allowed to hold her. To watch as the vibrancy that had held him together leaked from her face, as her eyes went glassy and dull. He held her for hours after, until they had to pull her from his arms by force, until he was SCREAMING, clawing, biting at anyone who tried to pry her away. His life still feels fragmented, somehow, like everything hinged on that exact moment. He was not supposed to outlive Valentina. It was he who always walked around half-dead, and she who had always been filled with light and laughter, even in her darkness. Now he wonders at the world as it keeps spinning, at the Montagues as they pick up their pieces and move on, at the city who damned her as surely as his own actions had. Who will suffer for his RETRIBUTION? The list is long, with himself at the very top, and the few who are free of his blame would do well to stay out of his way.

VALENTINA GALLO: Twin sister. It had been the two of them against the word for as long as he can remember — and his memory is long and often drifting. Think of anything that needs two parts to work, that cannot function when absent something vital: that is the analogy for him and Valentina. She burned so brightly against his shadow, and now the warmth has gone, the light fading, turning his eyes blind and his hands freezing. The loss of her hollows him out, a shell of a man with nothing to show for it. They have not merely killed Valentina Gallo. They’ve killed Santino in the process. His horror and rage at what has been done is matched only by the anger he feels toward her, for never telling him the truth about who she was, for lying until the day she died to keep a secret he never would’ve told anyone. Was it to protect him? Or was it merely to show off? He can never ask, and she can never answer, but he can find out who assigned her to do it. Whoever gave the order is as guilty as she, and when he finds them, he doesn’t know if he’ll kill them or collapse at their feet and beg them to end him the same way.

MARCELO ROSSO & BRIELLE KING: Antagonist & Safe Haven. Heaven and hell on his shoulders, in the same office as him, breathing the same air. Marcelo was close with Valentina, and it’s given them a weird sense of cease-fire, but he knows it won’t last. It’s only a matter of time before he misses some imaginary goal post, before he gives Marcelo an excuse to turn on him, teeth sinking right back into the scars they’ve already left. It’s only Brielle that keeps them from snarling at each other now, Brielle who comes every day to see if he’s eating, who stands in front of Santino and begs for more time, he’s still healing. He can’t hide behind her forever, but it feels nice to try, and so far, Marcelo has allowed it. Their tentative silence is precarious, and one thing could send it over the edge somehow, but for now, they remain... stable. That’s the best that anyone can hope for. Still, it’s not hard to look at them and be reminded of what he should be. To think that perhaps if he were as violent, if he embraced his darkness as they do, then he would not have lost so heavily. Yet Santino also looks at Brielle, with her grace and her softness, and wonders if it’s those things that make her able to bear such unending tragedy. Who is he following, really? Who holds his leash? For he can feel the collar ‘round his neck as a brand, and it is beginning to suffocate him.

MAEVE PETRE: Traitor. There were so many times when he thought Maeve was the exception to the rule. The person who could shrug off what Verona had become and make something better from it, for she had reached across the Adige so many times, had she not? Yet doubt curdled in him from the moment he could think again, after Valentina’s death — from the moment he could wonder who started the Capulets watching her. Who, after all, was a Capulet welcome in his home? Who did he talk of his sister to (never by name, always by sorella, but it wouldn’t be hard to see her picture on the mantle, would it?) with such love and affection? And who, in the end, could have been the one to turn that around and use it against him? He has no proof, of course, not even a whisper of it, but if Valentina was an obvious spy than Maeve, to him, is an obvious traitor, too. Not to her people, but to him, to the fragile peace they passed back and forth between them. He doesn’t need proof, not with his hands shaking and rage climbing through his veins. No, if he finds Maeve, he will hurt her anyway, just because she can, and tell her that she’s made him this way. That those people she loves, her beloved Papa and whoever else, have curdled anything bright and hopeful in his chest. He will crush her if he can, and he will no longer regret it.

TOMAS SABELLO: Disappointment. He doesn’t know how this came to be, these clandestine meetings at the Castelvecchio bridge – his companion’s features soft and free beneath the stars, free of their usual facade that he seems to always wear. It happened one drunken night where stranger talked to stranger and the sun rose, but their hands didn’t part. He remembers that feeling, the way he could look at Tomas and see a thousand things under the surface of him, but now, having watched him turn away from Valentina and toward Celeste when his soul was begging for someone to help, he can’t quite get that image out of his mind. He is still that something dark that Santino wished to sink into, still that something light that was once so beloved, but he smells like smoke and tastes like poison, too. Sometimes your relationship to others is defined by what they did when you needed them, and when he needed Tomas, he chose someone else. Whether that was the right choice doesn’t really matter. They are both monsters now, both sullied by this and a thousand other things, and when Tomas finds his eyes in a crowd, Santino is the one who turns away.

Santino is portrayed by STEPHEN JAMES and was written by ROSEY & ROGUE. He is currently TAKEN by ALYX.

[theorynexus]

68 will be my second post, this morning. I wonder if it will start section 8 of the Meat Epilogue.

Oh darn it. I forgot to make a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy/Meaning of Life reference on Meat 42. At least we’re back to a 43, and things might therefore be luckier. Maybe.    (I am very silly when it comes to superstitions regarding numbers, sometimes, even though I don’t really believe them.)

MY TIMING SENSES WERE TINGLING!!!

Hmm. Well, strategy meetings and investigations are important.  (Also:  I am again reminded of the dreadful likelihood that Terezi went with Dirk, which continues to be a disturbing thought.)

Hmm.  For some reason, I have the impression that he does indeed have a vague idea where he’s going, but he may not actually know where/how to find it, yet. That seems pretty likely.  Thus, Roxy would be partially correct. (On that note: Interesting that Jake didn’t actually come with. I thought for sure he’d have snuck aboard at the last moment, or something, as a stow-away.)

Eh, I’d say it goes a little beyond “prove a point,” but it’s also probably incomprehensible to you, right now.  I guess we’ll all have to be patient before we can more thoroughly sort through his insanity in that regard. As for Jane...   I don’t know. It might be more trouble than it’s worth to contact her.  The fact that Dirk has her as a seemingly important part of his plans suggest that it could essentially be springing a trap on yourself. I wonder how she’ll react to finding out that Dirk’s been mind controlling people and that that probably invalidates the actual results of her election, in the sense that it dramatically undermined the democratic process. (That is a really complicated issue that is somewhat entangled with real life politics, though, so I don’t want to get into a deep and proper discussion of what determines electoral legitimacy on a philosophical or political level here.)

It is a very interesting choice on Alt!Calliope’s call to focus on incestuous questions and Dave being awkward, rather than to follow tat important call.

Dirk is so twisted at this point that I’d almost not put it past him, but at the same time, why, Dave, do you have to assume that the motivations are sexual in nature?   (I mean, honestly, it could be the fact that Dirk was trying to force him to have sex with Karkat that gave him the impression that Dirk was [and he is, but maybe not to that extent] way too carnally-minded and motivated.)   Honestly, Dirk’s head is way too concerned with philosophical matters, and if anything he’s probably going to make a clone of himself to have sex with or something stupid like that, if he REALLY has to engage in some sort of tension-releasing copulation that isn’t masturbatory in the way that having sex with someone you’ve brainwashed and twisted into being your personal object of amusement is.   Therefore, I juuust can’t quite see Dirk having sex with Rose/her new robot body.  (Gosh, I hate that I feel compelled to address this.)

I honestly quite agree with Karkat, and now understand a little bit more about why our focus strayed where it did--- though it would have been nice to receive some sort of narration to indicate that.  And yes, it’s sad that Kanaya’s being put on hold, I guess. A little bit.  (Not really. I understand politicians in places of power can get quite busy, and it may not even be Jane’s decision to have her on hold... though if it is, I can most certainly affirm that that is quite rude.)

I mean... to be fair, Karkat, it’s rooted in biology.  Humans not having a Mother Grub means that the don’t have a natural means to reduce the genetic load that would be caused by related populations interbreeding and therefore dangerously duplicating genes.  Thus, it is not actually arbitrary, which I am sure you would know if you had spent a bit more time acting like the “geneticist” your troll handle suggests you happen to be (yes, I know it means to refer to his ectobiological frog wrangling/recombination; even so, the point stands).

I take it that Karkat’s dejection about the election has kept him a bit preoccupied and out of the loop, lately.

This is horrible (Karkat’s part, I mean).    Roxy’s new new outfit sounds like something I would be very interested in seeing fan art of.   A pink-looking slightly more effeminate Dave look sounds aesthetically striking (and I’m not even a fan of pink). But yeah, good on her for not giving up in frustration for people confusing them, I guess.   ***shrug***

And we return to this awkward and slightly funny subject. Considering it was not resolved last time, I guess that’s reasonable.   (Some day, maybe I’ll write a post analyzing Roxy’s trans-iness and/or how they/he seems to have been affected by those around he/them in his/their path to figuring it all out.  This sort of issue is always a bit difficult to properly tackle without raising some people’s hackles, so to speak, though, so I am not sure if I’ll end up doing it.  Regardless, it’ll have to be quite some time in the future, should I do so, after I’m at least done reading both sides of the epilogues. I’m sure Roxy’s interactions with John will have some important light to shed on the matter.)   It’s sortof nice that Dave and Roxy can joke about this without it becoming too uncomfortable (apparently) for either of them.

...   Is revealing this something they’ve discussed before now?  I mean, doing this in front of friends and family could be sortof... bad for things between them, if Karkat’s still trying to figure out how he feels about it and whether he wants to press on vs throttle back?  I mean, just calling each other boyfriends is not something either of them were comfortable with, and just because Dave is now doesn’t mean Karkat necessarily will be.   I dunno.  I feel conflicted on the matter, despite the fact that it is on the border of being cute.

Yeah, see, this is what I meant:  Awwwwkwaaard.

Yeah, it definitely did serve as a good distraction, at the very least. ~~~ Jane either not knowing or not being willing to tell (we’ll have to wait for a perspective shift to her to be certain) is no surprise.

Gah. FINALLY.  If Roxy weren’t such a Void-y ball of fun, everyone would have known this for some time, by now.  (Also: This is another reason why I am quite certain that Dirk was responsible for at least the way that John died. He didn’t want him to be a threat to him.  [I wonder, though: will Candy John potentially pose that problem, in the future, given the fact that he will likely be able to traverse the two different timelines, should he become aware of them?   Heck, this could be the reason why one had to die in the first place. Or one reason.])

This is what you get when you    A S S   U   M E. Also, Terezi would really be useful due to her Seer powers in particular.

Well. That is a useful compromise. Good on you for finally figuring something out to bridge the gap between your morals and Dirk’s amorality.  (Also, that presents interesting potential conflict in the future, insofar as there might be a point where Calliope has to decide whether to allow them to take Jade with or not.)

Has little Timmy fallen down a well?   O: <

This is funny because it’s like that one time where Jade was sleeping and Dave couldn’t get in touch with her. That time his weird fursona came up. Tightest butt in the jungle, or some stupid nonsense like that.

Dave is smarter than Dirk would give him credit for, calling him the dumbest of the Stralondes, by the way.

Not only do they need one of his ships, but it is quite reasonable to assume that they might be able to entice him to follow with them to where Dirk is going.  This is a potentially dangerous gambit, like bringing Gamzee along anywhere, but I think it could pay off in the end.  I think that, as I suggested earlier, Jake’s probably going to be the one to end up killing Dirk, in spite of all the underestimation that and horrific invective that had been directed his way.   In all honesty, this would really seem to be the direction that Jake’s been being pushed in all along, considering all the failed opportunities to interject him into a place of importance in the story.  

Considering his level of devotion and love for Dirk, now, he very strongly reminds me of that one old clown story that AH wrote... the one where the clown was never able to pull himself away from the service of his abusive, evil master. I bring that up specifically to suggest that Jake WILL succeed, however.  I believe that, counter to the example that I just cited, and contrary to all of the deterministic forces that Homestuck has seen in play, the power of Hope will be what is necessary to do the impossible.  A Page has a long, pain-filled story arc, but when it finally blossoms into the great behemoth that its seed of potential suggested it was from the very beginning, amazing things can happen. A Page of Hope is perhaps one of the most potent Classpect-endowed figures that Paradox Space could conjure up.  I have come now to see that this turn on Dirk’s part was probably planned from the beginning, as was the fact that Dirk’s abandonment of him was likely meant to be the catalyst for the eventual realization of Jake’s full potential. Obviously, this will not likely happen in the near future, much to our short-term misfortune. Dirk, if you ever see this, know your folly:  Jake English is just the force you would need to break free of the shackles of the reality you live in---   if only you believed in the him that believes in you.   Instead, your Rage will consume you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love this dramatic comedy.

Honestly... this is great. From a writing stand-point, this is excellent. The decision to have Dirk drag Terezi along brings more significant stakes to things and drama for the future, especially with the fact that we DO know that he can be brought back to life, now, despite Dirk’s statement to the contrary. Despite all of my pathos earlier, the way this story (the story of Homestuck) is ending is actually getting me excited and washing away the scars that came from the darkest hour of the path previous.     I really like the mechanic of Dirk having reality warping powers and Alt!Calliope being able to counter them, but only in close proximity. With the speed of his ship being a factor, especially, this sets up for some really interesting potential action in the further development of the story, as well.                    That Hussie was able to so masterfully navigate these emotional waters and string me along to this point was brilliant too.    In sum:  WOW, GUYS, I’M PUMPED!!! ... But... while this would actually serve as an excellent, fully complete and enticing epilogue in and of itself, the fact remains... there is yet more. Not only in the Postscript, but in Candy.      This throws many spanners into the works, and I honestly don’t know how to feel about all that!     If this weren’t Andrew Hussie we were talking about, I would be incredibly afraid that what is to come would throw everything off and make the eventual follow-up in Homestuck^2 (which I know he’s at least directing, though he’s not quite as involved in the story as he was in Homestuck, apparently?!) potentially quite messy and of a much lesser quality than I might expect. Given this IS Andrew Hussie we are talking about, however, I actually am quite confident that eventually, it will work out splendidly, and raise his literary accomplishments to even greater heights. Though... I am filled with a bit of trepidation. That “eventually” will be so far in the future. ***laughs awkwardly*** ... Buuuuutttt there’s still more left, even on this page, so I had better get to that. ...

It is very interesting that she’s been enveloped in that blanket of space so thickly and constantly that she’s come to find it comforting. That said:  How is it possible for her to withdraw and still let narration continue, supposedly without source or accountability, as she states?   Is this meant to suggest that the passive forces of Paradox Space will naturally fill in the gap if there is no one manning the ship, so to speak?   This feels a bit unlikely, considering the lack of content for years of the characters’ lives, and Dirk’s suggestion that “God had abandoned them,” or however the heck he put it. This is all veerrry curious, indeed.  (I do like her commentary on narration. A lot.) ~~~ Woooooo!!!~    It’s really nice to finish this at--   Dangit, time, why do you have to keep ticking into the future?!       Well, even though it’s not 3:14, anymore, it’s still very nice to finish the Meat Epilogue on 02/02/2020.   :’)

[agdistis-sanctified]

Hey what do you think deadpool’s deadly sin is?

Oh shit, good question! I spent way too much time thinking about this. (This is long, I am so sorry, consider skipping to the end for my conclusion, but it was so fun to ponder.)

SIN BY SIN ANALYSIS

Pride - I think we can safely and easily write this one off completely unless erring on the opposite end of the spectrum to an often crippling degree counts. Even in his most “cocky” moments (e.g. fighting Tasky while handcuffed), pride is not at all his motive and he just correctly assesses his skill level. (Even then, he thought Tasky went easy on him! He underestimates himself.) 0% pride.

Greed - I would say he performs greed, but has stunningly little of it. Sure, he does terrible things “for money,” he enjoys money, he claims to be motivated by money, but money is literally never where his priorities actually lie. He never has the Treasure Planet/John Silver style moments of looking between gold and someone he could save because he never actually prioritizes money in the first place. Money is an excuse, a way to answer difficult questions, and a habit, not something that actually drives him. He routinely gives up money for fun, to get back at people, because he’s simply apathetic, or to help friends (usually without being asked and without getting credit! Completely on his own, he funds the Avengers, refuses to get paid for helping X-Force, buys Outlaw an apartment, pays for Chris’s tuition, and much more). He prioritizes everything but material gain. His most explicit verbalization of this was, off the top of my head, in that amazing Rocket issue where he said he’d rather “belong” than get paid.

Lust - 1. Sex: It is, of course, fair to say that he is happily a horndog, but I’m not sure we can call this a primary driving force or a way he actually errs. I mean, he likes sex, but to a fault? More than anything else? Eeeeh. There are plenty of times that he’s not the one in the room thinking about sex (that moment with Carmelita, which was loosely repeated in the first movie when he paid Vanessa to spend time with him playing skee ball instead of having sex, that time he had sex with Shiklah mostly to “hold her off” because he’d had other things on his mind, the way he initially ignored Outlaw’s flirtations, when he was the one complaining that Gambit was being irresponsible with their job over sex, etc.), and half the time he does mention sex he’s making a joke. We joke that his sexuality is “yes,” and I mean…. of course, but also, eeeeehhh, it’s an option but not what I’d choose of the seven. He’s “vulgar,” on the kinky end, open about sexuality, and enthusiastic about sexuality, but not exactly uniquely sex-driven.

Lust - 2. Love: Counterpoint, “lust” doesn’t have to mean lust for sex. I don’t see any other physical sensations changing my analysis here, but I’ve seen lust for love- apart from anything physical- listed as a form of lust before. If we count that, absolutely, he craves attention to a fault and actually does have to make hard choices between doing the right thing and feeling wanted. Lady Deadpool chose her side of an actual war based on who “wanted” her more and it was clear that 616 Deadpool could have done the same. He was tempted to betray X-Force by affection from “Father.” Spidey once pointed out that, at least at the time, Wade didn’t want to do the right thing, he wanted “to be loved for doing the right thing.” He usually has ~1 person whose approval means the world to him at any given time and he’s prone to making drastic decisions for them (selling Wolverine out to give Siryn her powers back, all of Cable & Deadpool, etc.). There are too many things to list; this is a solid option.

Envy - Early on, back in his villain days, he made some “If I’d had what he had, I’d be different” type comments. He used envy to help justify his bitterness at everyone and his choice not to take responsibility for things he did. More to the point, there was that time he tried to murder Wolverine during a psychotic break almost entirely because he was jealous. As he saw it, Logan wasn’t discarded by even the people that experimented on him, Logan was actually powerful and respected, Logan was forgiven by others for his mistakes, Logan wasn’t ugly, Logan wasn’t mentally ill, Logan wasn’t caught between the human and mutant worlds, Logan was accepted by the X-Men, Logan had friends, Logan was so “”privileged”” that he was going to just throw away everything that Wade would do anything to have, just for revenge, which Wade has rarely felt able to afford. HOWEVER, this is something Wade has successfully grown pretty far past, and even at the time, actually killing Wolverine wasn’t what he truly wanted. He secretly wanted Logan’s approval more than anything and had misplaced “daddy problem” feelings for him, which ties back into my Type 2 Lust argument. He hasn’t really expressed envy or aimless bitterness in years (that I remember??)- he just idolizes and wants to protect the people who are less ‘fucked’ than he thinks he is- but it was an important part of his history.

Gluttony - A lot of what I said about greed and lust apply here. He’s indulgent, but I’m not sure that he’s indulgent enough for me to actually choose this.

Wrath - He’s had temper issues (see: the way he treated Weasel and Al when Weasel came uninvited to his house, his reaction when Typhoid Mary hurt people to lure him into hurting her so that she could mock his attempts to redeem himself, fight > flight style PTSD symptoms unleashed at people like Crossbones), but like with envy, this has mostly decreased over time and isn’t usually a major factor in his bad decisions.

Sloth - This is a lot more compelling of an option than it would seem at first glance, because when he doesn’t do the right thing it’s often about the emotional/psychological difficulty or fear of exerting himself. In many ways, his real demon has always been pessimism-driven apathy and deeply internalized loathing for himself. He tends to know what the right thing is (or at least understands the principle of the thing even if he’s sometimes manipulated into the wrong methods), and he at least always actually wants the right thing, but doing the right thing is hard, he often assumes he can’t change and that there’s no point in trying, he’s scared of failure and making things worse, and he’s frequently tempted to give up based on psychological strain. It’s not so much classic physical slothfulness, though he’s also a Depression Mess™ icon, but on a psychological level, it’s a huge struggle for him. Because this is one of his biggest struggles, it’s also one of his biggest strengths- that it’s so hard for him to keep going and keep trying, but he always does in the end. The fact that that’s one of his biggest recurring themes and strengths is telling.

ALL THAT BEING SAID

I’m going to say, in order, it’s something like:

Lust(for love) and Sloth >> Envy >> Wrath >> Gluttony >> Greed >> Pride

[mrs-dragneel-stark-solo]

Unforseen Chasm (part29)

Part 29 of Unforseen Chasm

Prompt: Two sisters fall for men that are absolute enemies. The love they have could tear all of them apart, or it could bring them together. Word Count:   4361 Warnings: language,flashbacks to NY, angst, fear, evasive memory search, mutation take over, fighting, unconscious shannon(OFC) Note: This is by far the longest thing I’ve ever written (including my other fic series). first major Collab with my best friend @thorne93 what was first a simple “what if” moment turned into a two year writing session and I’ve never been more prouder of myself than when i started my first series. goes through most of the MCU plots there are some changes to accommodate for what we wanted and there is a bit of a crossover between the MCU and other characters. I hope you guys enjoy reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Two days later, and you were back at the mansion, with most of the X-Men still in the training room. This time, they didn’t separate you and Shannon. Instead, they thought perhaps the powers might affect each other, they also thought if Shannon were nearby you wouldn’t feel as much like a lab rat or science experiment.

Steve and Logan stood on security detail, monitoring your every move. Jean and Charles were studying you. Remy and Scott stood on morale detail, trying to keep your spirits raised if you got discouraged, and to make you feel more comfortable since they were your good friends as well.

“Alright, Jean, whenever you’re ready to start I’ll go,” Shannon said waiting to see how they would approach both yours and her powers today.

Both Gambit and Scott had gotten closer to both of you and had begun taunting you two to see who would burst first.

“Shannon, how does it feel knowing your best friend can never walk in broad daylight again?” Scott had said to her, causing you to get upset that they would start like that. He had done some research on the attack and found a few videos of you attacking her, and who they believed was Loki being taken somewhere.

“Really, Scott? That's how you're gonna start things?” she asked, sounding a little disappointed and hurt. “She’s my best friend and knowing that she can’t go out with me for simple things hurts. It hurts more knowing…” she stopped herself, looking over at you and her heart broke a bit having to remember the events of that day.

For a moment they noticed that she went into a trance. Worried a bit, Scott got closer to see what was going on. Jean was curious as well and had begun walking towards her too, only to be blown back by a strong energy mixed with wind. Jean noticed that Shannon’s eyes had turned milky white and had hints of purple swirls in them. Scott jumped back when he saw her flinch in her trance and red beams came out of her eyes identical to his.

“Hmm, it seems as if she is in her memories are frozen in the time of the attack,” Jean said while dusting off her skirt. “Scott, try to get her to talk about what she’s seeing,” she instructed while looking at her.

“I’ll try my best but it’ll be hard trying to get close and not know how her mutation will react.” He cautiously inched closer.

Meanwhile right nearby, Gambit was trying to get some sort of reaction out of you. “So this Loki fellow, he all that? He really what they say he is?”

Your eyes flashed to his. “I’m not sure. I don’t know what ‘they’ say he is,” you informed.

“Some poor bastard who couldn’t keep his temper in check and only wanted to wreak havoc.” He smirked seeing that he’d started to get some sort of reaction out of you. “Sounds to me like a whiny brat looking for daddy’s attention.” He laughed at his own comment.

“Remy, don’t,” you warned, purple energy sparking on your finger tips. “He isn’t like that. He… he couldn’t help what happened to him.” You gritted your teeth. “It wasn’t like that!” you retorted, your voice raising.

Just then it seemed like Shannon had latched onto your emotion and had begun mixing with her own. The same purple energy that sparked from your fingers had begun to appear around her. She was no longer in a trance but her eyes had yet to change back into her normally dark brown hue. She began advancing towards Scott.

“Jean, I’m not liking any of this… Should I really be getting this close to her?” Scott asked, his voice wavering, and started moving away from her.

”Why are you running, Scott? Scared I’ll hurt you?” Shannon smirked as she kept getting closer. “You’re the first person to realize how much of a threat I could be.” She laughed.

“Shannon, relax, don’t do anything you’ll regret. You know this isn’t how I feel.... We’re good friends…  Remember that,” he had stuttered out.

“Oh, Scott but we are good friends, at least I’d like to believe we are…” She stopped talking. It looked like she was thinking of something. Jean seeing this was going nowhere looked inside her head to see what kept stopping her.

Over where you and Gambit were, you had been circling each other, he kept egging you on and he seemed to find it entertaining to mess with you. “All talk and no play huh, Y/N/N?” He had started charging som cards behind his back. “Is he like that too? Bet he gets annoying being locked up together, you two fight about him not completing his mission?” He asked you a million questions each one getting worse than the last.

“Not another word about him, Remy,” you cautioned through clenched teeth, your fists balling up. The purple energy charged all the way up to your shoulders.

“Alright, that’s quite enough, Gambit,” Charles suddenly interjected from his wheelchair.

Logan stepped up from behind Remy and gently pulled him back, not trusting you or your anger. He saw something in your eyes he hadn’t seen before.

Charles peered at you, and he could tell you weren’t registering anything around you now.  This put him on edge, so he jumped straight into your mind, trying to figure out just exactly what was triggering you, causing the problematic surge.

Was it watching Shannon be mocked or put in distress? Was it feeling trapped due to the amount of people in the room? Was it making you remember the traumatic events of New York? Was it pressing your buttons about being imprisoned? Or was it about the famed man who was your fellow inmate?

Jean had been in Shannon’s mind for a while but had found what had happened in New York. She saw how much pain she had gone through seeing what you had done to her when you kidnapped her and then the fight over a man she barely knew. Jean could see how much the events had affected her and figured it had something to do with this so called Loki… She’d have to speak to Charles about this for the next time you two came in.

—————-----

It was the next morning that Tony and Shannon were in the middle of their morning routine that Tony asked her, “Have you been by to see Professor X, yet?”

Tony was in the bedroom getting dressed when he asked, but Shannon stood in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. A feeling of guilt and dread clenched inside her stomach. Had he found out about breaking you out?

“Uh, yeah,” she answered a little hesitantly.

In a second, Tony was in the bathroom, about to slap on some cologne. “Babe, why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“We’ve both been so busy…” she said, averting some of the truth.

“But you’re getting help. That’s amazing. Has he said anything? Have they found out the issue?”

“They’re getting closer,” she informed before swiping on some quick, light makeup for the day.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek from behind. “That’s so good to hear, dear. I’ve got a board meeting today, and I’m going to introduce that new prototype, so I might be late for dinner.”

“That’s fine,” she assured. “I’ll be busy with work and errands. I’m going to see Charles again today, probably.”

“Sounds good. See you tonight?” he asked, walking backwards and pointing at her.

“Absolutely,” she responded with a grin. She hated lying to him, it nearly made her physically sick, but when it came to this… she knew Tony’s emotions would blind him and he wouldn’t see it the way she did. He would’ve have allowed you to leave, and get the help you needed.

Meanwhile, you were downstairs with Loki, trying to move past the argument you two had.

“Leaving again, are we?” he asked coolly.

You sighed, not looking up at him from where you made yourself a cup of coffee. “Yes, I am… to get help… you know, for the powers that were pushed into me against my will…”

Loki peered over at you, assessing you. By now, he knew you pretty well. The two of you had lived together for nearly two years, if you counted the imprisonment here and on Sanctuary. And he could tell that for once, it was his own insecurities getting in the way. He was concocting all of these terrible ideas and outcomes for you two. He worried you would sell him out. He worried you would strike a deal and never come back to that cell again. He worried that you only stayed close to him on Sanctuary because you were friends before lovers. He worried that now, now that you had a chance to get away, get far away from him -- you might.

But no… Something in the way that you still took care of him, still looked after him, still smiled when seeing him walk in a room let him know that just this once, he was being foolish and talking himself into lies he knew were not true.

“You think it’s really helping?” he asked genuinely.

You heard the change in his voice so you stopped putting sugar in your coffee to give him your full attention. “Yes… I do. As soon as we find out what’s wrong with this dark energy, maybe they can get it out of me, and I’ll be back home to you.”

Loki scoffed lightly. “You can’t really call this a home, can you?”

The tiniest of smiles touched the corner of your lips before you brought one hand up to touch his cheek.

“Home is wherever you are.”

-----------------------------------------------

Shannon had finally finished the gift she had for the two down below. It had taken a while but with the help of all the photos and videos that you had sent of Asgard, she was able to recreate a holographic version of what you two called home and inserted everything from all over the world so you could see wherever you pleased, hoping to make the room a lot less bleak and much more pleasant for both of you.

She made her way to the elevator with everything and the boots to one of Tony’s suits in hopes of getting it installed all on her own. Getting out of the elevator with the equipment, she could hear talking and hoped that they weren’t fighting.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything but I have a surprise for you two and hope that this will bring some sort of change,” she said to them looking hopeful as she hustled into the room outside of their cell.

Begrudgingly, you pulled away from Loki and cleared your throat. “Not at all, Shannon,“ you assured. “What's up?”

“I’ve finally finished what I had created for you two, that little gift I had been telling you about?” she asked, trying to get you to remember. “Well here it is. It might not look like much right now but once I install it, I bet you’re going to love it!” She pointed to the things on the trolley.

You lightly laughed. “Okay.” Shannon was… whimsical as always. That little gleam of mischief in her eye. Why were you drawn to people that were coy?

“All I need to do is get up to the top of this cell and connect a few wires to the main server and set up these sensors,” she explained as she put on the boots from one of the Iron Man suits, flying onto the top of the cell you ran to see where exactly she would land.

“How exactly will we be able to use this gift of yours?” you asked, wanting to know more about what she was doing.

“Once everything is installed and connected to the server it will work with just a few simple voice commands. I’ll show you when I’m done here.” She quickly got the sensors installed in all four corners of the room a well as one at the very top of the room. “Alright now if you two could please come to the living room, and close your eyes and tell me where exactly you wish you could see?” she asked you two.

You followed her orders, taking Loki’s hand and leading him to the stark white living room with black leather furniture. “I don’t know… Darling, what would you like to see?” you asked, peering up at him.

“I’m not sure… Anything is better than this cell,” he commented.

“Asgard?” you tried, speaking to both him and Shannon.

“If that’s what you both wish to see... Then if you could please close your eyes?” she asked, figuring that’s what you two would choose.

She entered the apartment and headed to the office to turn on the holograms. “Show me Asgard,” was all she said and behind closed eyelids you saw a flash. “You can open your eyes now.”

As soon as your eyes opened, you gasped -- a happy, shocked, thrilled gasp. On the walls that typically only showed gray concrete were splashes golds, greens, and vibrant blues, pinks, and purples. It was the foliage that was surrounding the waterfall you had gone to. It was the first place Loki had let you take his picture. Water fell from the magnificent cliff, making rainbows along the mist of the pond down below. Everywhere you turned it was an oasis.

But not an oasis that you made up or that Shannon pulled from the internet. These were real pictures of Asgard, stitched together. It brought a tear to your eye.

“This is incredible,” Loki commented.

“It truly is. Thank you, Shannon. This is amazing. This is the best gift,” you noted.

“The best gift would’ve been freedom,” Loki mumbled before you elbowed him in the ribs.

--------------------------

Today, the gang was the same. The same X-men, with Steve in there as protection, ready to take you down if need be. They had you and Shannon face each other. They had an inkling of what triggered both of your powers, and they were about to test it.

Charles got inside your mind, while Jean nestled inside Shannon’s, ready to monitor the thought processes as the team tested the triggers out. Before the women had arrived, Charles had given instructions to the X-Men to try and taunt you with New York, failings, and Loki.

“Hey, Y/N/N, good to see you again,” Remy said as he circled you, that charming smirk on his face. “Of course, if you didn’t fail in takin’ over the planet, we could be talkin’ like normal now. Instead of all this cloak and dagger business.”

The first cut was made, reminding you of your failings.

“Who says I failed?” you challenged. “Maybe I wanted to lose,” you retorted.

“Right,” he laughed. “Because sittin’ in a cell with a momma’s boy is so excitin’.”

“The way I hear it, he was given the best weapon in the galaxy, and still couldn’t wield it,” Scott added. “That’s just sad. Wouldn’t you say so, Logan?” he asked, intentionally being a prick, turning to Wolverine with his arms crossed.

“I’d say that’s pretty pathetic,” Logan agreed, a cocky expression painting his face.

Before you knew what was happening, you spun, your energy building up in your hands. The dark purple power was just about to shoot out of your hands but Scott shot you back with his the energy from his eyes, knocking you backwards. As soon as you were standing, Steve and Logan grabbed your arms to keep you from propelling your power towards anyone.

“Stop, please,” Shannon begged, her eyes becoming milky red, purple swirling inside them. Outside, thunder could be heard on what was a clear, bright day only moments before.

“Oh, come on, Shan,” Scott said. “We’re only messing with her. It’s not like she’s in jail for life for it… Oh… Wait…”

“Knock it off, Scott,” Shannon warned again.

“Why? Can’t take the fact that Y/N/N over here nearly killed you for a piece of ass she barely knew?”

With that, lightening began hitting the bunker, making everyone’s eyes look up to inspect the sound.

An almost animalistic sound came from you as they taunted you and her. The mocking of Loki and your relationship was not being tolerated well by you. Not to mention how they were bothering Shannon.

In an instant, the energy that was tingling up your arms nearly tripled, blowing the two men off of you. As soon as you were away from them, you started to go towards Shannon, the action making Steve worry -- but then you stood in front of her, almost as if to protect her. Just as you turned to fight off Scott though, the field between you two became stormy.

A dark cloud of purple energy ignited between you, making you two peer at each other in confusion.

“Just as we had suspected. The thing that triggers both of your powers happens to be whenever something negative is mentioned about the one person you care about,” Jean said pointing towards both women and their current state of emotion. “For you, Y/N, it’s when Loki’s spoken badly about. And for you, Shannon, it’s Y/N. She’s the main cause for the energy to manifest,” she explained and pointed at both of you. “But yours is worn out with increased highs or lows in emotional situations.”

It took you both a moment to realize that the conclusion they had made was true. You being talked to in any negative way caused the energy to spike and make Shannon weaker in strength. You tried not to believe that your dark energy would always be triggered whenever Loki was badmouthed to you.

While both of you were lost in thought, Logan and Steve took the opportunity to separate you so that Shannon couldn't feed off your anger and make her own worse.

“Logan! Let me go, put me down,” Shannon yelled making the room shake and caused the light to flicker a moment.

“Not until you’re far enough away from Y/N that you won’t have your powers go nuts,” he grunted as she made him struggle to move her away. “You know it's for your own damn good,” he sounded resolute having gotten her all the way to the other side of the room.

“I said, Let. Me. Go!” She was getting angrier by the second and her eyes went from a milky red to a bright purple with spots of red. The sky was completely blacked out and the only light was from the lights in the room.  Without realizing it, Shannon had lifted up one of the sharpest objects and had it facing Logan.

He stopped moving but wouldn’t let her go. “Now listen, kid, the only way you’ll get that thing to even touch me is if it goes through you too,” he said with a bit of confidence. Which only seemed to boost her anger even more. She had the object come flying at an incredible speed and she felt his breath hitch.

“You’re so wrong on that one, Logan…” She laughed, the object going through her as if she weren’t there and it stuck out the back of of Logan. “I can make it only hit you, my dear friend.” She smirked as she felt him loosen his grip. She slammed her head into his nose and got out of his grip.

“Shannon, stop this at once!” Charles warned her but she was being controlled by the dark energy inside her.

Steve did the same with you, pulling you as far away from his friend as he could. Not wanting to have you cause anymore trouble for Shannon.

“Steve, please let me go. You know I would never do anything to harm Shannon…” you pleaded feeling useless knowing you were at your weakest point. “I just want to get this dark energy out of me, you have to believe me.” You turned to look at him hoping he could see the sincerity in your eyes.

“I’m sorry but I can’t risk you hurting her again like the last time, and I know you want to get rid of it but it won't be enough until it's gone,” came from him, his voice full of sadness and pity. His response left you feeling defeated.

Hearing Charles warn Shannon, you and Steve look over just as she had walked away from Logan and watched him fall to his knees. Steve acted quickly by running towards her only to get pushed back by a strong wind and have objects pin his feet where he stood.

“Shannon, this isn’t you. Don't let those powers do something you’ll never be able to forgive yourself for,” Steve said, trying to get through to her but nothing seemed to be working.

They could all see that it was taking a toll on her as she began to look pale and although the energy was still strong, there were moments it would flicker. She began losing her balance and the room had begun to tip for her. Not wanting to cause her more damage you had a pillow positioned right where her head fell as she hit the ground. The purple haze had begun to fade but still surrounded her as if to keep her protected.

“I believe it’s time we take her to her old room to let her recover and run some tests on her while doing so,” Charles said, wanting to make sure that she was okay and there was no internal damage. He would also slip into her subconscious to figure out more. “Jean, if you and Scott could take Logan to the infirmary get him checked out?”

“Yes, Professor Xavier,” they both said in unison.

“I’ll need you, Y/N, to head to her old room and prepare the bed for her,” Charles said to you wanting you to do something to help.

“Right away, Charles…” You looked over to Remy. “Wanna walk me to her room?” you asked not feeling safe to walk the halls alone.

“Sure thing, darlin’,” was all he said.

“I’ll pick her up and take her there if you’d like?” Steve offered. “I’d like to stay by her side to make sure she’s okay.” He walked over to Shannon lifting her with ease.

----------------------------

“JARVIS, where is Shannon?” Tony asked when he wrapped up his meeting.

“I believe she has left to go to the Xavier mansion, sir, with Captain Rogers,” he responded.

“Ah, that’s a shame. I was going to go tell the prisoners down below some good news. Thought she might want to be with me, but I guess I can tell her later.”

With that, he quickly left his conference room and stepped into an elevator, descending down, deep down into the basement.

“JARVIS, remind me to tell Shannon the news that Fury has chosen to give them a chance,” he said as he was nearing the floor.

“Sure thing, Mr. Stark, anything else?” the Al asked.

“I’ll let you know if there’s anything else,” he told the Al.

“Hello there you two, how’s the view in here?” Tony joked as he walked into the room but stopped short when he looked to see the once gray concrete walls covered with the view of Paris.

“Hello, Stark. Always lovely to see your face.” Loki smirked seeing the look of confusion on his face. “What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?” Loki laughed at Tony walk around the room looking at the four walls.

“How in God’s name did this get here?!” Tony looked livid not knowing how to react. Why had this been done? How had he not been informed? “How is it possible that you’re looking at the view of Arc de Triomphe?” he asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this.

“Illusion?” Loki stated, his arms behind his back, a cunning grin cutting across is striking face.

“No, uh-uh. Thor told me what you can do. You can’t project images, not like this,” he said, pointing to his side. “There’s no way you’d know what this place is,” he added.

“I’m not sure what to tell you,” Loki said innocently. If Stark didn’t know about it, then clearly Shannon did not fill him in on her generosity. Loki felt it wasn’t his place to expose her.

“JARVIS! Bring me footage of when these images were installed in this room,” he yelled a bit trying to figure out what's going on or how the hell any of these things in the cell came about. Jarvis sent the footage to Tony’s phone. “You know what? I don’t have time for this. But if I find out you’ve escaped or tampered with this cell in any way I’ll --” He stopped, looking at the footage and seeing Shannon come in what looks like two days ago with a bunch of things. His blood boiled seeing her enter the cell and talk to you like it was nothing.

“You’ll what?” Loki mocked. “Keep me down here forever?”

Tony thought for a moment. Cells didn’t bother Loki, and he knew that he was a prisoner for life… He needed to leverage something that would truly hurt him.

“I’ll make it so you never see Y/N again. Separate cells, separate nations. So you better think of a real good alibi.”

As he turned, Loki’s face actually showed shock and worry.

“Did you come down here for something?” Loki asked, the anger and annoyance in his voice not wavering, despite the fear that was now nestled in his chest.

“Doesn’t matter,” Tony called over his shoulder.

Tony told his AI to get one of his faster cars ready for him. To blow off steam, he thought he would help support Shannon while she got these tests and trials ran on her. He quickly jumped into his car, and sped off for upstate New York.

Unforseen Chasm Tag list- @reigningqueenofwords @oldfreakything @weclassygirl @adefectivedetective​ 

@dontbetooobvious

Tag list- @cas-you-assbutt-dean-needs-you @winchester-writes @winchesterenthusiast   @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog   @sammysbuttcheek @misz-adrii @sandlee44 @womanxofletters @natsuccs @childishhoebinoo @expecteddifferent @girl-next-door-writes @fanaticfanfiction @dakotapaigelove @sassy-spn-knight-of-hell

[comicteaparty]

June 22nd-June 28th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from June 22nd, 2020 to June 28th, 2020.  The chat focused on The Stoop-Gallants by MJ Alexander and WW Rose.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on The Stoop-Gallants by MJ Alexander and WW Rose~! (http://www.thestoopgallants.com/site/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until June 28th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I need to reread/catch up to answer the prompts, but I gotta say this comic absolutely excels at what it does.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I've been meaning to read this one too, I'll try and set aside some time to!

Delphina

Stoop-Gallants has so much adorable humor and sass, Predictably, Alta is my favorite character; seeing her extremely awkward yet sweet relationship with Mica is my favorite.

Flea is also a sweetheart and I love seeing them learning more about their unpredictable magic and coming to be comfortable with it after avoiding it so long. This page in particular where they finally internalize that they're not a mistake and they're not alone made me tear up a little bit. T_T http://www.thestoopgallants.com/site/tsg/page-547/

RebelVampire

What I like about the beginning of the comic is that it basically opens with accidental necromancy. I think it really just kind of paints the entire tone of the comic, sets the right expectations, and is honestly, just hilariously convoluted. My favorite moment in the comic so far was actually probably the accidental necromancy as well. I love necromancy, and just the way this happens is so hilarious. Plus, I like a lot of the other scenes it ties into, like Maxwell getting mocked for not being able to do any sort of necromancy. In the theme of this trend, my favorite character is Ru. Ru is just adorable and tries his best. I like his overall kind of boyish charms sometimes mixed with his honesty and honestly, just a great friend to everyone. As for characters interacting the most, I probably enjoy seeing Marigold and Alta the most. I really like how their relationship is kind of equal trust and equal wanting to punch the other person in the face. And yet, despite all this, Marigold really sticks by Alta and helps out in the ways only Marigold can. So I just find it to be such an interesting but wholesome relationship. What I like about the art is probably the character designs. I love that there's so many different body shapes, and in particular the heights. I love that some of the characters just basically tower over the others, cause I think that's something people neglect when it comes to fantasy settings in that you can really play around a lot more with those sorts of proportions. So I appreciate seeing it here.

For themes, I like the comic explores what to do when you have a natural talent at something but you don't like that something. I feel this is something we see with Flea, Alta, and Ru. And yet, all three handle it so differently, with Alta accepting, Flea reluctantly dealing with it after fleeing, and Ru going "Nah bro I don't want this." And I really like we get to explore whether our natural talents and destiny can be run from, or if we should just accept it. For the comic's overall story, I like the balance of character conflict vs. world conflict. This is a very character driven comic, but I never feel like the world is being neglected. Like the situation with the king, now the elves. The world is built slowly, but still at a place where you get a feel for where the characters live and how the world they live in affects them. As for the comic's overall strengths, likeable characters. Even when the characters are jerks, there's still something about them where you're like, "Ok I get it." And in turn, you're invested in all their goals, even when those goals are not necessarily something that fit together.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. How do you think Mica and Alta’s relationship will progress throughout the story? Will the two continue to blunder through everything, or will things continue to go smoothly? Also, how might Alta’s personal feelings about her career affect them?

10. Do you think Flea will successfully learn to control their magic? If so, how will this change them as a person? All in all, what do you think Flea’s story has to teach us about identity, destiny, and self-acceptance?

11. Will Ru be able to solve his necromancy problem? If so, do you think he’ll be happy about it? How does this all compare to Flea’s tale? Lastly, how will the events of Ru’s story affect Cymonee solving her problem?

12. How will the Consortium’s plans surrounding the king affect the main characters? Will they do something to stop it to achieve their own ends? Additionally, what role do you think Maxwell will play, whether as a “good” guy or “bad” guy?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Delphina

For themes, I like the comic explores what to do when you have a natural talent at something but you don't like that something. I feel this is something we see with Flea, Alta, and Ru. And yet, all three handle it so differently, with Alta accepting, Flea reluctantly dealing with it after fleeing, and Ru going "Nah bro I don't want this." And I really like we get to explore whether our natural talents and destiny can be run from, or if we should just accept it.

@RebelVampire I think this is a really good way of putting it! I also like that Ru's been gradually having to come to terms with the fact that he did what he did and grow from someone who's trying desperately to shed the consequences of the drunken magical mistake he made, and into maybe accepting he's responsible for it and should stand up for the zombie he's affected. I'm so curious to see if the elf kingdom in the current arc is going to have a solution, and if so, if it's a solution he wants to go through with.(edited)

The cast is very big and while I would love to see more Alta and Mica, I think they've gotten some of their big stuff out of the way and can move on with a relatively normal relationship. If the story does revisit them in a more dedicated arc, I would love to see some exploration of Alta's extreme savior complex and how that clashes with her perception of Mica's disability.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Did a reread recently -- this comic is so good, funny and genre-savvy with smart writing and lovable characters. Can't wait for the Volume 2 Kickstarter.

From the early chapters, I really liked Mica's and Maxwell's weird bond. Seems like they're going to be in different settings following unrelated storylines for a while, but I'm looking forward to when their paths cross again...mostly for Mica's reaction once she gets caught up on the progress of Maxwell's secret-magical-figurehead-coup gambit.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Also, the whole sequence where Maxwell has to explain "ugh, this stuff depends on an otherwise-useless narrow and restricted concept of 'virginity'". (And Ru has to unpack why he still qualifies...) I think that's the first point where you really feel the contrast between "a fantasy setting with lots of these traditional tropes and formalities" and "characters who feel and react like real people." ...without spoiling anything too specific, Rekhet's whole aesthetic (their fashion sense, their interior design) is the pinnacle of this. It is hard to pick a favorite character, but boy did they shoot waaay up the list almost immediately after their introduction.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I feel like the first solution Ru gets is gonna be something like "don't worry, we can incinerate your problem into a pile of ash that'll blow away on the wind!" -- and he's going to balk, because he's gotten attached enough that he wants the denizen free, not destroyed. No idea what he's ultimately going to settle on -- I think it'll be something weird and offbeat, not this easy to predict. In the meantime, Denny's antics are great. Especially when there's something plot-relevant or serious going on and it's just bopping around doing its own thing in the background. (And that one scene where they all got into fancy dress, and somebody gave the denizen a bowtie -- priceless. If it started getting a new themed accessory for every scene, I would not complain.)

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Mica seems like she has lots of plans and interests and desires, but hasn't had the time/money/resources to pursue anything more than "reading about them." Meanwhile, Alta is well-traveled, practiced and competent at lots of things, and has the resources to go around offering her services pro bono...but doesn't really like or care about her job, it's just something she fell into because she was good at it. Point being, I hope they'll get into a setup where Mica picks some dreams to follow, and Alta focuses on giving her the support/backing to do it, and then gets to share in Mica's actual enjoyment. And maybe Alta figures out she likes one of these things for its own sake, so they decide to settle down and pursue it together? Or maybe they just keep exploring indefinitely, and it turns out Alta's really into "being the devoted protector while someone else is in charge."

RebelVampire

@Delphina He named the Denizen. Once you name something, there is no going back.

RebelVampire

I feel like even though things are going good between Mica and Alta, that right now were in that happy passionate phase before real issues start to heat and they start to realize theyre kind of two different ppl. So I really think that they're going to increasingly face more and more challenges in that regards. I also think Alta is about to rethink careers, and that will probably make her defocus from building the relationship. I do think Flea will successfully learn magic, and I think in so doing Flea will gain newfound confidence but also just an entire new perspective on who they are and life in general. And I think Flea teaches us that if we continue to reject parts of ourselves, even if we dont like that, that we're just gonna wind up hurting ourselves until we explode and hurt everyone else around us. I also think Flea teaches us that identity is also fluid and that you can, will, and should change and that just cause you change, doesn't mean you aren't who you are. I think Ru will find a solution, but I don't think Ru will act on it. I reiterate in this chat again, once you name something, there is no going back. However, I don't think Ru's choice will help Cymonee. I do think Ru will find other ways to help as a sort of payback for Cymonee sticking with him. However, what I'm most interested here is the comparison so far with Flea. Flea is embracing powers, while Ru isn't. And I find this contrasting journey to be interesting. I mean Ru didn't get no Alta speech about self-acceptance, so I'm wondering how that alone paved the course of events. I feel like the Consortium's plans is what will bring the main cast together again, since they'll either stop the Consortium, or clean up their mess. Since places without a ruling head of government usually don't do so hot. I think Maxwell will serve as the person who tattles in the hopes he can come out on top.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

RebelVampire

I am most looking forward to seeing more of Ru's story, cause I really want to know if he's gonna start self-accepting those necromancy powers of if he really will just react them for all time. As for final words, this a comic with some fantastic characters, has a really unique humor with how the characters conduct themselves,, and all around is definitely a comic that deserves some praise.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I hope that if Ru does choose to accept these necromancy powers, it's because he wants to, not because he has to. Like, I'm hoping he finds a solution to his problem, but he chooses not to go through with it. One thing I'm loving about the current two arcs is that it's given us a chance to go more in depth with these characters. I loved the parts where the whole gang was together as a group, but this just gives us a chance to see these relationships flourish. Though, I do hope we see more Marigold soon, plus some other side characters like Maxwell. All in all, I really love this comic, and I can't wait to see where it goes next!

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about The Stoop-Gallants this week! Please also give a special thank you to MJ Alexander and WW Rose for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked The Stoop-Gallants, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

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[mobius-prime]

134. Sonic the Hedgehog #75

I Am the Eggman!

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Steven Butler Colors: Frank Gagliardo

We have a very important question to address here at the beginning of this story. Apparently, all this time, it wasn't Robotnik who was activating the satellites and tormenting the Freedom Fighters in secret. If that's the case… who was it, then?

So! Do you remember, aaalllllll the way back during StH#19, when I said that that issue would introduce a very important character, someone who would shape the course of the entire comic? Didja forget about that? 'Cause I sure didn't! Here he is, ladies, gents, and enbies - Robo-Robotnik, AKA the alternate, roboticized version of Robotnik from another zone! Don't worry if you don't remember - he gives us a nice rundown of exactly how this all came to be, just for those of us who may have forgotten him between then and now. But first, just to make sure no one escapes or attacks before his villainous monologue is over, he encases the Freedom Fighters inside an egg-shaped energy field, which knocks Bunnie out when she tries to punch her way out.

So here's how it went down. Way back when Robo-Robotnik was taken back to his own zone after his interdimensional defeat, his consciousness was stranded aboard a space station in orbit of his own version of Mobius. Then, as chronicled in StH#22, Robotnik Prime ended up aboard the same station when he was thrown out of his own dimension, and gave Robo-Robotnik just the pep talk he needed to get back to hunting down his enemies and taking over the world. However, what we didn't know until now is that at the moment Robo-Robotnik sent Robotnik Prime back to his own world, he tapped into his memories, learning of the scattering of the Giant Borg suit's pieces across all dimensions. Yep, that makes him the mastermind behind the Crossover Chaos plot as well!

I just have to stop everything for a moment to go over what Robo-Robotnik said up there again. He straight up nuked Mobotropolis and killed everyone within. If you'll remember in StH#22, the Sonic and Sally of his zone had already grown up, gotten married and had two kids at this point. Their world followed basically the same general path laid out in the Sonic in Your Face! special - everyone had grown up, the world was idyllic, Robotnik was thought to be long defeated, new families had been born and peace reigned. They had absolutely no idea that they weren't safe. That one day, without warning, a goddamn nuke would drop onto their beautiful city, killing everyone within. Sonic, Sally, their two kids, and everyone else they ever knew - dead. Vaporized. That is ridiculously dark.

So, as we can see, this version of Robotnik is even more terrifyingly evil than the previous one. And apparently, his whole extended gambit with the satellites and random disasters was implemented not just to test the capabilities of this world's Sonic and friends, but also, to finally lure them out of the city for the culmination of his plan…

Okay, Nate, why the hell didn't you use your badass laser-eyeglasses to fight back against the thugs who captured you before? He and Amy rush to the palace, where Geoffrey is informing King Max about the resurgence of the swatbots. The king has the cryo-tube containing the queen carried out of the palace to safety, and orders that everyone within Mobotropolis be evacuated to Knothole. However, before they can get much further, Robo-Robotnik contacts them from a screen in the med-lab, mocking the king and informing him of his daughter's current captivity aboard his space station. The king immediately takes a knee and offers himself in exchange for the safety of everyone on the station, which is quite a notable gesture considering how traumatized his stay in the Zone of Silence had left him, but Robo-Robotnik simply laughs at him as at that moment more swatbots - or shadow-bots, as he calls them - burst into the room demanding their surrender for roboticization.

The more we see of Elias, the more I like him. Back up in the station, Sonic insists that they have to get free to help the Robians, but Robo-Robotnik only mocks him some more, and brings forward none other than Uncle Chuck, Muttski, and Sonic's mom and dad to enrage him further. Sonic begins flinging himself against the energy field trapping them, which only injures him every time he does it, despite Sally begging him to stop.

Within the city, Geoffrey and the other members of the Secret Service focus on rescuing civilians from the shadow-bots' attack. Valdez stays behind to cover their retreat as they rescue Rosie and the children she's looking after, and despite Geoffrey trying to go back for him, Hershey insists that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one," drawing a pretty bizarre parallel between her and Mr. Spock. Up in the station, the energy field trapping the Freedom Fighters suddenly disappears, and they turn around in shock to see who released them…

Snively insists that he needs them to be able to escape this station, and Sally agrees to bring him along. She uses Nicole to order their space shuttle to dock with the station (seems weird that that wasn't their plan from the beginning, rather than exiting the shuttle and entering the station through a damn trash chute) before setting an explosive charge to blow the place in five minutes. Sonic pulls out a power ring that Nate gave him before they left the planet's surface, saying he's going to go find his family before they leave. Sally tries to insist he shouldn't go, since Snively already mentioned Robo-Robotnik was loading the Robians onto a transport back to Mobius, but Sonic heads out anyway. Come on Sally, you should realize at this point that once Sonic has his mind made up about something he wants to do, literally nothing, not even you, can change his mind. He speeds through the corridors, soon finding Robo-Robotnik loading the last of the Robians onto the shuttle, including his family. The door shuts, and Sonic attacks Robo-Robotnik, thinking that at least his family will be safe when this place explodes. However, as Robo-Robotnik pins him to the ground, a pair of voices startle them out of their fight.

Noteworthy for being the third panel in which Sonic visibly cries, which if you'll remember is something that Sega put strict limits on in the comic later on. Been a while since we've seen that, and it's the first time it hasn't happened in a somewhat silly scenario. He races back to the shuttle with his parents in tow, and they make their escape just before the place blows. Sonic asks how his parents maintained their free will, and they explain that they were in Knothole just hours ago when every Robian suddenly turned and began to mindlessly file out of the place. Their wedding bands made out of power rings began to glow, protecting them from being affected by Robo-Robotnik's bug, but they followed anyway, playing along as though they were also being controlled and hoping to find out where everyone was going. As they fly back to the planet, safe for this brief moment, dusk falls over Mobo- uh, I mean, I guess we have to start calling it Robotropolis again. And underneath the city…

I really can’t express how funny this page is to me. I mean, can you imagine if Robo-Robotnik transferred his consciousness into the one in the middle, and was just going around looking like a gay 80's biker dude for the rest of the comic? Regardless, this is actually a good way for the comic to justify redesigning Robotnik into his more modern Eggman style. He laughs to himself that an explosion won't be enough to do him in, especially now that he has this new body… and as a somewhat jarring conclusion to this story, Sonic and the others smile and pose happily on the final page as though nothing devastating has happened, promising to us that if we liked these last 75 issues then the next 75 will be even more exciting. I suppose this is actually somewhat noteworthy however, as from here on moving into the fourth era of the comic, the inclusion of specials and sister series abruptly taper off, leaving us with just the issues of the main comic for quite a while. Unlike the third era we're leaving behind, where over half the content came from issues of KtE and Super Specials, the fourth era consists almost entirely of the main comic. But for now, I suppose we must say goodbye to this era of peace, as now that Eggman has risen from the ashes, the world is back to being embroiled in war…

[failes-xtra-bits]

Prince's Gambit Review Ch 3

Chapter 3 opens with Damen trying to get some sleep. Laurent returns and Damen gets up unsure of Laurent needs him, but Laurent ignores him. Laurent writes a dispatch and seals it before snuffing out the candle with his finger tips (wouldn’t that hurt?????).

They wake up the dispatch has been sent off while everyone else is doing the prep. Everything seems fine and dandy. The suddenly Laurent appears (dramatic bitch) and Damen makes his way over because the atmosphere is getting tense. 

We hear Aimeric (almost auto corrected to America) apologising to Laurent who asks him what provoked him to which Aimeric doesn’t give a straightforward answer. 

Laurent then calls for Govart and sends Orlant to look for him. 

Orlant was so long in searching for Govart that Damen, recalling the stables, silently gave Orlant his sympathy, despite their differences.

Govart is a complete dickwad is all I have to say. Anyway they wait.

“Things began to go awry. A silent communal snigger sprang up among the onlooking men and began to spread across the camp. The Prince wished to have public words with the Captain. The Captain was forcing the Prince to wait on his pleasure. Whoever was about to be taken down a notch, it was going to be amusing. It was amusing already...The longer Laurent was forced to wait, the more his authority was publicly eroded.”

This reminds us of Lauren’t precarious position and perhaps even indicates at a lack of respect which is probably what the regent wants.

Govart arrives thinking he’s the shit (he is a shit but not the shit mind you) for having just had sex (rape? Was it consensual? who knows, I dont think I’m allowed to go all lawyery here.) 

“Am I keeping you from fucking?’ said Laurent.

  ‘No. I finished. What do you want?’ Govart said, with an insulting lack of concern.

  And it was suddenly clear that there was something more between Laurent and Govart than Damen knew, and that Govart was unfazed by the prospect of a public scene, secure in the Regent’s authority.”

Once again we are reminded of the politics at play here (really Pacat could give GRR Martin a run for his money). Then something interesting happens.

“Before Laurent could reply, Orlant arrived. He had, by the arm, a woman with long brown curled hair and heavy skirts. This, then, was what Govart had been doing. There was a ripple of reaction from the watching men.

  ‘You made me wait,’ said Laurent, ‘while you bred your get on one of the keep women?’

  ‘Men fuck,’ said Govart.

  It was wrong. It was all wrong. It was petty and personal, and a verbal dressing down wasn’t going to work on Govart. He simply didn’t care.

  ‘Men fuck,’ said Laurent.

  ‘I fucked her mouth, not her cunt. Your problem,’ said Govart, and it wasn’t until that moment that Damen saw how wrong it was going, how secure Govart was in his authority, and how deeply rooted was his antipathy for Laurent, ‘is that the only man you’ve ever been hot for was your broth—”

  And any hope Damen had that Laurent could control this scene ended as Laurent’s face shuttered, as his eyes went cold, and with the sharp sound of steel, his sword came out of its sheath.

  ‘Draw,’ said Laurent.”

This exchange is interesting for many reasons. We are reminded of Veretian culture regarding bastards. Further we get the beginning of the fight. But we also get the incest rumour here. We know that Laurent worshipped his brother and weirdly enough I was like “hey this might be true" when I first read, considering how fucked up Vere was and how much I hated Laurent. But as you read, this view also breaks down. I love the unravelling of Laurent. 

Anyway Govart and Laurent start fighting and we get a very worried Damen.

“Damen’s heart jammed itself into his throat—he hadn’t meant to set this in motion, for it to end this way, not like this—and then the two men came apart and Damen’s heartbeat was loud with the shock of his surprise: at the end of the first exchange, Laurent was still alive.”

I like to think this where Damen started to  care, just a little bit. Sure its mixed with his own goals, but yeah this is what I like to think.

“ he was, persistently and remarkably, still alive, and watching his opponent calmly, measuringly.

  This was intolerable for Govart: the longer Laurent went unscathed, the more the situation embarrassed him, for Govart was after all stronger and taller and older, and a soldier. This time Govart didn’t allow Laurent any respite when he attacked, but pressed forward in a savage onslaught of cut thrust attacks.

Which Laurent turned back, the jar of impact on fine wrists minimised by exquisite technique that worked with the impetus of his opponent rather than against it. Damen stopped wincing, and started watching.

  Laurent fought like he talked. The danger lay in the way he used his mind: there was not one thing he did that was not planned in advance. Yet he was not predictable, because in this, as with everything he did, there were layers of intent, moments when expected patterns would suddenly dissolve into something else. Damen recognised the signs of Laurent’s inventive deceptions. Govart didn’t. Govart, finding himself unable to close as easily as he had expected, did the one thing that Damen could have warned him not to do. He got angry. That was a mistake. If there was one thing that Laurent knew, it was how to prick someone into fury and then set about exploiting the emotion.

  Laurent turned back Govart’s second surge with an easy grace and a particularly Veretian series of parries that made Damen itch to pick up a sword.

By now, anger and disbelief were really affecting Govart’s swordsmanship. He was making elementary mistakes, wasting strength and attacking in the wrong lines. Laurent was physically not strong enough to weather one of Govart’s full-strength blows straight on his sword; he had to avoid them or counter them in sophisticated ways, with those angled parries and shifting momentum. They would have been lethal, if Govart had landed any of them.

  He couldn’t manage it. As Damen watched, Govart swung, furiously, wide. He was not going to win this fight with anger driving him to fool”ish mistakes. That was becoming obvious to every man watching.

  Something else was becoming painfully clear.

  Laurent, possessing the sort of proportions that handed him balance and coordination as gifts, had not, as his uncle claimed, wasted them. Of course, he would have had the finest masters and the best tutelage. But to have attained this level of skill he would also have had to have trained long and hard, and from a very young age.

  It was not an even match at all. It was a lesson in abject public humiliation. But the one teaching the lesson, the one effortlessly outclassing his opponent, was not Govart.

  ‘Pick it up,’ said Laurent, the first time Govart lost his weapon.

  A long line of red was visible along Govart’s sword arm. He’d given up six steps of ground, and his chest was rising and falling. He picked up his sword slowly, keeping his eyes on Laurent.

There were no more anger-driven blunders, no more wrong-footed attacks or wild swings. Necessity made Govart take stock of Laurent, and face him with his best swordwork. This time when they came together, Govart fought seriously. It made no difference. Laurent fought “with cool, relentless purpose, and there was an inevitability to what was happening, to the line of blood blossoming this time down Govart’s leg, to Govart’s sword lying once more in the grass.

‘Pick it up,’ said Laurent again.

Damen remembered Auguste, the strength that had held the front for hour after hour, and against which wave after wave had broken. And here fought the younger brother.

  ‘Thought he was a milksop,’ said one of the Regent’s men.

  ‘Think he’ll kill him?’ another speculated.

Damen knew the answer to that question. Laurent was not going to kill him. He was going to break him. Here, in front of everyone.

  Perhaps Govart sensed Laurent’s intention, because the third time he lost his sword, his mind snapped. Throwing aside the conventions of a duel was preferable to the humiliation of a drawn-out defeat; he abandoned his sword and simply charged. This way, it was simple: if he carried the fight to the ground, he’d win. There was no time for anyone to intervene. But for someone of Laurent’s reflexes, it was enough time to make a choice.

  Laurent lifted his blade and drove it through Govart’s body; not through his“stomach, or chest, but through his shoulder. A slice or a shallow cut was not going to be enough to stop Govart, and so Laurent braced the hilt of his sword against his own shoulder and used the whole weight of his body to drive it in harder and stop Govart’s motion. It was a trick used in boar hunting when the spear wounded but did not kill: brace the blunt end of the spear against the shoulder, and keep the impaled boar at bay.

Sometimes a boar broke free, or snapped the wood of the spear, but Govart was a man run through with a sword and he went to his knees. It took a visible effort of muscle and sinew for Laurent to pull the sword out.

  ‘Strip him,’ said Laurent. ‘Confiscate his horse and his belongings. Turn him out of the keep. There is a village two miles to the west. If he wants to badly enough, he’ll survive the journey.”

I know I know I know, long excerpt but I love this fight scene. There is a lot to unpack here, but I love the bit where Damen notes the difference between Laurent and Auguste.  I also love the men growing respect for Laurent and basically driving a knife through the Regent’s plans.

Anyway the regent’s men move to obey Laurent’s orders without hesitation (another bit that shows their fear if not respect)

“The response among the Regent’s men was more varied. There were signs of both satisfaction and amusement: they had perhaps enjoyed the spectacle, admired the show of skill. There was a hint of something else too, and Damen knew they were men who associated authority with strength. Perhaps they were thinking differently about their Prince and his pretty face now that he had displayed some of it.”

  Lazar breaks the tension by tossing Laurent a cloth to wipe his sword. Laurent addresses the men gathered there and takes advantage of their new found awe and gives the order that they will ride hard and fast. Laurent then appoints Jord as captain and Jord starts giving orders. 

“Lazar, who had thrown Laurent the cloth, didn’t look as though he was going to be mouthing off about Laurent again. In fact, the new way he was looking at Laurent reminded Damen unmistakably of Torveld. Damen frowned.

  His own reaction had him feeling oddly off balance. It was just that it was—unexpected. He had not known this about Laurent, that he was trained like this, capable like this. He wasn’t sure why he felt as though something, fundamentally, had changed.

  The brown-haired woman picked up her heavy skirts, walked over to Govart, and spat on the ground beside him. Damen’s frown deepened.

  The advice of his father came back to him: never to take your eyes off a wounded boar; that once you engaged an animal in the hunt, you must fight it to the finish, and that when a boar was wounded, that was when it was the most dangerous animal of all.

  That thought nagged at him.”

Our thoughts about Laurent as well as Damen’s are unravelling. We are also starting to grudgingly admire this kid who managed to get the whole army to respect him. (Side note I like how the woman spat at Govart, you go girl, which reminds me. I wish we had more female characters here). The bit at the end reminds us that all is not over though.

Laurent sends riders to Arles, in order to inform the regent of what had happened. 

The company start to ride towards Vere’s eastern border with Vask. We learn that the men are more willing to obey Laurent’s command. 

Damen reports to Jord and we get this exchange:

“I could tell from your face. You didn’t know he could fight.’

  ‘No,’ said Damen. ‘I didn’t.’

  ‘It’s in his blood.’

  ‘The Regent’s men seemed just as surprised as I was.’

  ‘He’s private about it. You saw his personal training ring, inside the palace. He’ll go a few rounds with some of the Prince’s Guard occasionally, with Orlant, with me—laid me out a few times. He’s not as good as his brother was, but you only have to be half as good as Auguste to be ten times better than everyone else.

  In his blood: that wasn’t quite it. There were as many differences as similarities between the two brothers: Laurent’s build less powerful, his style built around grace and intelligence, quicksilver where Auguste had been gold.”

We gain an insight into Laurent’s abilities. It’s not because his family were warriors or something but there is something more calculated behind it (whispers: its revenge). We also get another comparison between Laurent and Auguste which I live for bc ngl love Auguste.

They arrive at Nesson and Damen notes the difference between it and Baillieux. Damen goes into the bedchamber and lights the candle. Here he contemplates public punishments (both Laurent’s ‘embrace the slave’ and Govart’s recent punishment).

Laurent arrives and we get this:

“He said, ‘Did you pay that woman to fuck Govart?’

Laurent paused in the act of stripping off his riding gloves and then, deliberately, he continued. He worked the leather from each finger individually. His voice was steady.

‘I paid her to approach him. I didn’t force his cock into her mouth,’ Laurent said.

Damen thought about being asked to interrupt Govart in the stables, and the fact that there were no camp followers at all riding with this troop.

Laurent said, ‘He had a choice.’

‘No,’ said Damen. ‘You only made him think he did.’

Laurent turned the same cool look on him that he had turned on Govart. 

‘Expostulation? You were right. It needed to happen now. I was waiting for a confrontation to arise naturally, but that was taking too long.’

Damen stared at him. Guessing at it was one thing, but hearing the words spoken aloud was something else. ‘“Right”? I didn’t mean—’ He cut himself off.

‘Say it,’ said Laurent.

‘You broke a man today. Doesn’t that affect you at all? These are lives, not pieces in a chess game with your uncle.’

‘You’re wrong. We are on my uncle’s board and these men are all his pieces.’

‘Then each time you move one of them, you can congratulate yourself on how much like him you are.’

“It just came out. He was in part still reverberating with the blow of having had his guess confirmed. He certainly didn’t expect the words to have the effect on Laurent that they did. They stopped Laurent in his tracks. Damen didn’t think he’d ever seen Laurent caught completely “without words before, and since he couldn’t imagine the circumstance was going to last long, he hurried to press his advantage.

We get an insight into exactly how intelligent and meticulous Laurent can be. We realise that he orchestrated this. In Littlefinger’s words, he fights every battle, everywhere in his mind. Also rereading that little jab made by Damen must have hurt considering what know about what the regent did (kill him with fire).

“If you bind your men to you with deception, how can you ever trust them? You have qualities they will come to admire. Why not let them grow to trust you naturally, and in that way—’

  ‘There isn’t time,’ said Laurent.”

I like this bit because we get a contrast between Laurent and Damen. But we also understand that they fundamentally share very similar cores (those of goodness). We know Damen is honest but its weird that this quote insinuates that perhaps if Laurent wasn’t in desperate and  had the time and resources he perhaps would not result to deception but rather be like Damen and do things with honesty. Once again unravelling our perception of him.

“There isn’t time,’ Laurent said again. ‘I have two weeks until we reach the border. Don’t pretend that I can woo these men with hard work and a winning smile in that time. I am not the green colt my uncle pretends. I fought at Marlas and I fought at Sanpelier. I am not here for niceties. I don’t intend to see the men I lead cut down because they will not obey orders, or because they cannot hold a line. I intend to survive, I intend to beat my uncle, and I will fight with every weapon that I have.’

  ‘You mean that.’

  ‘I mean to win. Did you think I was here altruistically to throw myself on the sword?’

  Damen made himself face the problem, stripping away the impossible, looking only at what, realistically, could be done.

‘Two weeks isn’t long enough,’ said Damen. ‘You will need closer to a month to get anywhere at all with men like these, and even then, the worst of them will need to be weeded out.’

  ‘All right,’ said Laurent. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Damen.

  ‘Then speak your mind,’ said Laurent. ‘Not that you have ever done anything else.’

  Damen said ‘I will help you in whatever way I can, but there will be no time for anything but hard work, and you will have to do everything right.’

  Laurent lifted his chin and replied with every bit of cool, galling arrogance he had ever shown.

  ‘Watch me,’ he said.”

The chapter ends there and we are shown how dire the straits really are. This scene also solidifies the dangerousness of Laurent and his and Damen’s relationship changing.

(SIDE NOTE: I love that Laurent is arrogant in this, wot a king).