#and 13 is sorta seeing the effects of that

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

I SHALL BITE!

Daemon is surely aware of his grandchildren by now. How did he first hear about Rhea the Younger and Stannis and Griffith and what were his feelings and reactions to those?

It's really easy to find out what's going on in the lives of your kids who cut you off when you're married to your son's best friend's older sister. Like, what's Laenor gonna do? Not write letters home to tell his parents & sister (& his BIL since he's there too, but he isn't the priority tbh) to tell them what's going on in his life? Not tell his mommy that his best friend has 2 kids & "I gave them dragon eggs?" Not tell Laena that Ella had a kid because he knows she still cares about Ella & wants to be friends again after she's less hurt? I don't think so. So Daemon knows about his grandkids existing by way of it just sorta being rude to not tell your son-in-law/husband that the letter you just got from your son/brother contains details about his family. "Hey Daemon, you've got a(nother) grandkid."

I'm not gonna lie, he probably made Rhea being born about himself. "Oh of course my dumb oldest son, who I totally don't love at all & I'm not saying this as copium stop looking at me, named his kid after his mom. He always liked her more than me & he's doing it to piss me off." By the time Stannis & Griffith came around though he had gotten making it about himself out of his system, but I'm gonna say for all 3 he is very much telling people that he doesn't care.

Daemon is 38 when Griffith is born. He's not old, he's definitely appropriate Westeros!age to be a grandparent, but also Jaehaerys was older when he was born & so in his mind he isn't a grandpa. He's still young, there's still life in him, he just got remarried, he's spry! So, in a way, having grandkids kind of doesn't feel real to him? Like, his kids having kids feels like a very abstract thing separate from himself, particularly because he hasn't (& as far as he knows, never will) seen them. So I think that, because of that, it's easy to separate himself from the concept of being Peepaw Daemon & just say "I don't care what they're doing because they kicked me out & very directly rejected me." So the reactions with Stannis & Griffith (& subsequent grandkids) is very much a put-on "this effects me in zero ways, why are we talking about it?" type thing. Because grandkids aren't real & they're a concept he doesn't interact with or see, he can do massive amount of copium about it just really easily say that he feels nothing & move on.

I do think there's probably, like, a little hollow aching for what could be: like, "here's 3 kids who could potentially love me & think I'm dope as hell," but he shot himself in the foot with that. So we push that down & just say it doesn't matter while we keep on trucking, because Daemon wants to be loved & needed, he just sucks at maintaining relationships. And, y'know, truthfully, I don't think being a grandpa & how he feels like he's missing out on that & his deep feelings of loss in regards to how he sabotaged his first family are gonna hit him until he does see those kids & realizes they've been growing up without him in their lives but they don't trust him anyway. "You've been a grandpa for 13 years, your oldest granddaughter is an age you so vividly remember your son being & you literally only just met her. She makes the same faces you do, & she fucking hates you because her dad does."

[kendrixtermina]

Giving Doctor Who a New Chance, Part 3: The Giggle

It's nice that they're bringing back some classic villain, but I really wish they had the Toymaker butcher some other language. The gag is just not funny at all when you actually speak German

Ok, that's an illustrative montage of a mightyfine chaos

IDK what I think of this - set it up in a way that it can be reset again.

oooh, Mel is back! As a 6th Doctor fan, I appreciate this. Did not expect that. She still got that perky way of talking.

Having seen the eps he was in, slipping over a bottle of Vodka is exactly like Sabalon Glitz would die, but hey, at least he lived to a ripe old age.

Donna just landed herself a new job. I guess there's that duality in human's fluctuating confidence levels again cause she glibly asks for double but looks ecstatic that it worked

so, Donna doesn't remember in detail, but she got a rough glimpse

the guy playing the Toymaker IS pulling off the creepy clown act pretty well tho

I really liked that scene between Donna & the Doctor in the infinite cabinet with the Doctor re-evaluating his life choices.

That's another thing that's been missing, that fucking Chibnall didn't get - that the point of him, at the end of the day, is that he's just some guy. Somewhat wiser & tougher than a human, maybe, but still fundamentally just dude with wits & confidence. A trickster, a flawed person trying to do the right thing that through trickery ended up with this fearsome reputation. I used to think of RTD not getting it as much as Moffat did cause he did like overly savior-archetype-like plots sometimes whereas moffat emphasized the 'just a madman with a box' angle, but RTD gets it in this scene where we see the Doctor cringing at his past self for things he couldn't have foreseen & now he doesn't know what to do in a world that doesn't follow predictable rules

Because that's what they don't tell you about getting smarter, wiser or even just older - the price you pay for knowing better today is cringing at the awareness you used to lack. thats very real. you end up thinking you should somehow have known or done better even if you couldnt have.

there's certainly some thematic rhyming with the 'narrowmindedness-plague' afflicting the earth

Donna's dad is actually right. Good for him to be wary of the Hot Hand fallacy and its ilk. Missed a chance for an epic nerd reference

I dunno what to think about the concept of 'shift to fantasy', i wouldnt have done that & really turned more to harder & concept fanfiction, but i suppose it keeps thinks fresh without being repetitive (they cant keep destroying and un-destroying gallifrey all the time...) & the show has always been the very softest of sci-fi anyway - at leasts its set up in a way that it can be reset again or let future writers pick whatever they want. though i suppose it depends on how its done like, if possible without wholly throwing out humanist values. You can absolutely be a trickster in a fantasy story or fight crazy things with logic; Infinity train did it to great effect. I mean, the classics had far wonkier stuff like actual Vampires & whatnot.

i appreciate Donna rhyming while defeating the puppet

"jingsaw out of your history" thing imply that the timeless child thing was an in-universe retcon of sorts? Oh please. I mean I could kinda sorta accept 13 is she literally wasn't really the same character.

between this & the last episode it's pretty close anyway to the "every single backstory is true because of timey wimey ball" thing from the expanded universe fixed, on-screen canon. That I could live with. It's potentially deeply interesting that by virtue of getting tangled up in all the timelines the Doctor has in some ways been to many possible futures & possible versions of reality.

Former companions werent affected by the giggle thing cause it was a retroactive change made by the toymaker upon getting free

It's kinda sad that we'll never get to see the battle between the Master and the Toymaker because that must really have been something. Like two Jokers or Phantoms of the Opera fighting.

this is like when Q showed up on the bridge of the enterprise. Only much deadlier. I appreciate that the scene never stops feeling actually menacing.

I like how Mel also comes in to hold his hand, too, she's for realsies. (I guess this is how she makes up for making him drink all that carrot juice)

The "Alons-y" is a niftly little contrast/ bookend with 10s exit

My headcanon is that bi-generation absolutely WAS a myth, but that this is an extension of the whole breach in the logic/edge of reality storyarc being set up here, or really just the Toymaker thinking it would be fun to double them infinitely

I like how the Doctor mocks the Toymaker's fake accent with 'the ball' thing

The advantage with the ball game is, of course, that Fifteen has already seen it. He's fabulous alright.

I appreciate how they climb on each other at some point

I don't envy Kate, watching this absurd thing... humanity already got somewhat good at taking Sci-Fi threats on their own, but this they don't have context for. Maybe UNIT is gonna need a vault of magical artifacts now. I suppose you can play with that for a few seasons. Like how a contrast of fantasy & sci-fi elements worked in Madoka.

I like how Donna is casually putting her arm around 15

I guess 15 has reached that point where rather than cringe at your younger self you're able to have compassion. That's a good arc, actually.

aaand of course there's the obligatory sequel hook for the Master's return, to the surprise of no one

I like how the years with the lost memory weren't completely lost but Donna still learned something from them that allows her to send this message now

Soo Fifteen is basically taking advantage of the cartoon logic still being in effect until the end of the episode to duplicate the TARDIS. I bet it only worked because he picked the silliest possible hammer.

I appreciate how 15 makes sure to get one last Donna hug.

I do like that it kinda came down to self-love, self-compassion & knowing when to take a restorative break & all that. That's an important message these days.

So, the Nobles just deadass adopted the Doctor & Mel. Makes all the sense.

I always thought of Mel & the Doctor's dynamic as sibling-like (as opposed to Peri & the Doctor having a 'tsundere couple' energy & Ace who of course had a teacher/student thing), so I feel vindicated.

Also I appreciate how an older woman who didn't have kids but spent her life traveling & adventuring & doing what she wanted, & then ended up feeling a bit lonely because of it here simply ends up not lonely by finding friends / found family. Cause that's the fucking annoying gotcha they always hurl at you "Oh if you don't have kids & live the life you want you'll be lonely!" As if you can't have friends. Also, plenty of ppl who do have kids wind up lonely because the kids end up hating them.

I'm all for the Doctor catching a break. Very touching, honestly. & he's like actually a point where he wouldn't just run off & get side-tracked or brood on the inevitability of its end. (like he would have when spent those years with River)

Also sets an interesting background for 15 of course, as he'll be coming out of it 'fully rested', in a sense.

So, yeah, I do think I'm looking forward to what 15 will get up to. It was sort of a great way to introduce him in such a way that ppl will instantly like him for how he comforts his past self here.

It's also probably the ideal ending for Donna, cause, much like Rose & Clara she wanted to stay forever, & maybe now that she has a daughter & other responsibilities she won't want the big danger all the time, but the Unit Job & living with the Doctor in a house? That's prolly what she would have wanted.

(I wonder if they'll end up running into Martha & Mickey at her job, since Donna & Martha were buds that time they met. )

[pyropsychiccollector]

Natsu Harem: Fairy GET! 9/14

We're reaching the tail end of the pack~... Let's put in some hustle. (๑╹ω╹๑ )

The next spotlight goes to... Yes~... The other half of the Sky Maiden Sisters~... Wendy Marvell~! \(๑╹ω╹๑ )/

When did they meet?

This one is pretty standard... I don't have to mess around with it too much. Natsu met Wendy during the fateful mission to crush Oracion Seis. The guild that took care of her, Cait Shelter, regrettably had to pass on... They couldn't keep watching over her forever. But this left Wendy-chan open to join Fairy Tail... And they became her new family. Wendy-chan particularly drew close to Team Natsu because of their first meeting. (❋•‿•❋)

There isn't that much to elaborate on, as far as first meetings and whatnot go. Wendy saw that Fairy Tail was pretty powerful, if not prone to going overboard. A bit much for her mild-mannered self... But they proved dependable. They fought to protect Cait Shelter... And Natsu kept his promise~... (❋•‿•❋) It's little wonder she jumped at Erza's proposal to join Fairy Tail... Cait Shelter moving onto the afterlife made her sad, but Wendy resolved to carry on. And it's gratifying to find another Dragon Slayer in Natsu. (人◕ω◕)

When did they get closer?

Fairly obvious, but Wendy adapted to her new guild pretty quickly. Everyone adored her for being so cute, gentle, and kind. (人◕ω◕) Wendy wasn't much of a fighter herself, though. She knew some offensive-type spells, but she was mainly a healer and an enchantment wielder, which effectively relegated her to support type in battles.

... And she was pretty joined to Natsu at the hip. (人◕ω◕) I mean, why wouldn't she? They're both Dragon Slayers. Wind and Fire complement each other. Happy and Carla get along... sorta... *let's just sidestep Happy's repeated flirty attempts that Carla shot down~...* (人◕ω◕);;

Honestly? Wendy sees Natsu as a big brother figure. That defines the nature of their relationship for much of the time they're fighting Dark Guilds and kicking butt in the Grand Magic Games. She'll occasionally help alleviate his motion sickness, but repeated use of her Troia spell makes it less effective... And besides, eventually Wendy comes down with the same dumb illness. Wendy-chan really doesn't like transportation, just like Natsu-nii. (人◕ω◕)

When Fairy Tail disbanded after Tartaros, Wendy was left crestfallen, her home once more torn away from her... That brought her to Lamia Scale, to be with Chelia for a year... And then Natsu came back, even though she was pretty determined to stay with Chelia. (人◕ω◕) We know how that turned out, though~...

When did friendship turn to something more?

This is the million dollar question. (人◕ω◕);;; See, up through Alvarez... Wendy was focused on this idea of Natsu being her big brother. That's why she came to love and adore him so much. (人◕ω◕)

... But as time went on, Natsu became much more... popular. Cana-san. Kagura-san. Yukino-san. Natsu-nii even won over Juvia's heart...! And not to mention former enemies like Brandish-san, Sayla-san, and... others. *spoilers* (人◕ω◕) This doesn't even cover Lisanna, who's been close to Natsu for ages - same with Erza-nee and Mira-san... It was getting harder and harder to spend time with Natsu, and Wendy couldn't quite figure out why a part of her was frustrated and... furious.

And then one day, a while after the war with Alvarez, Chelia asks Natsu out. (人◕ω◕);;;;;;;; That was definitely the proverbial final nail in the coffin. Chelia's a few years younger than Natsu, who's about the same age as Erza. He's 20, Chelia's 16. ... Wendy is 13. Wendy should be older (even if that placed Natsu-nii even older, too), but because of Fairy Sphere shenanigans... Put simply, Wendy got shafted. Hard. (人◕ω◕);;; It's bad enough she has to be around big boobs so often... But for all these well-endowed women to be eating up all of Natsu-nii's time and affection...?

Wendy thought long and hard on it. While other girls gave their vetoes to Chelia's request for a date with Natsu-nii, and her beloved Natsu-nii agreed to go out with Chelia, Wendy stewed in her corner and mulled over why she was so miffed. It's not like she didn't want Natsu-nii to be happy. Or Chelia. (人◕ω◕);;; Wendy just... She was tired of getting sidelined by all these other women that weren't even Dragon Slayers!! ... Erza-nee is debatable given her mum, but really. Every single one of these "love interests" for niisan didn't have that pedigree that Wendy thought she had.

... Carla told her she was going a bit loopy from thinking too hard, but Wendy knew she wasn't crazy. Where was her Natsu-nii time?! It's not fair!!! (人◕ω◕);;;

So Wendy came to the conclusion that, at some point, she'd fallen for Natsu. ... And she had. She just didn't want to admit it because of the... age gap between them. Seven years apart was pushing it. But can you blame the poor girl? Natsu was her most important person, besides Erza-nee and Carla. And all these hussies... *cough* All these other women eating up Natsu's time and energy... (人◕ω◕);;;

But this is fine. Wendy is... fine. (人◕ω◕);;;;;;;;; While she doesn't have... much... of a problem with her petite size, the issue for Wendy-chan is closing that age gap juuust a little bit. (人◕ω◕);;;;;;; And since she specializes in Enchantments, Wendy researches long and hard... And finally invents a spell to age her up. ... But just aging up to Natsu-nii and Erza-nee's age feels like cheating. So Wendy does the "honorable" thing and makes herself on even footing with Chelia. That tramp... Er. Her bestest friend in the whole wide world. (人◕ω◕);;; Wendy ages herself up to somewhere between 16 and 17. Why? Because screw you, Wendy-chan deserves this after Fairy Sphere robbed her. That's her line, and she's sticking to it. (人◕ω◕);;;;;;;;;; Now, while she gets a little taller, she's still about Chelia's height. ... But regrettably not as well-endowed. Because of course her genes hate her. (人◕ω◕);; Her spell made her age naturally, so she had no say in how curvy she was.

Of course everyone noted what Wendy did to herself... And how she practically pounced on Natsu and showed the depths of her love for him with a passionate kiss.... (人◕ω◕);;; Wendy-chan would love to ask Natsu out, but for right now this is all the courage she possesses. She's not as brave or confident as Chelia. ... Or Erza. Or... (人◕ω◕) You get the idea. Wendy doesn't ask him out, but she stumbles over a very nervous confession to Natsu...

... Which Natsu rolls with. Wendy's pretty important to him, and she looks pretty cute regardless of age. But it's certainly less weird if she's as old as Chelia. (人◕ω◕) The other members of the harem are... leery of Wendy coming forward so boldly, but it's not like she had much choice. Not with territorial Sayla, bossy Brandish, clingy Juvia, determined Kagura... Wendy might have blindsided them all, but you better believe they won't lose to her. Natsu belongs to everyone~... (人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕) At least Chelia-chan is pretty accepting of Wendy's advances on Natsu. Their bond is still strong.

Although that bond of theirs does nudge other members of the harem to find tentative partners... Assuming they don't already have one. (人◕ω◕) Cuz with Wendy and Chelia teaming up to hog time with Natsu... Measures must be taken to ensure the scales stay even. ... Or else. (人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)(人◕ω◕)

[scripturiends]

i know one of the biggest complaints about house of anubis was its writing but if you step back and really consider the sitcoms that were airing at the same time on nickelodeon then it’s actually stellar in comparison. one thing that really set it apart was that it was serialized and not episodic so you had to be really cohesive with the main plot whilst being able to keep ur younger audiences hooked with high school hijinks,, which was comparatively less intense with the d*n schn*ider shows but was just as impactful?? and it did so without resorting to constant physical comedy.

just as a sidebar so far on twitter the biggest criticism ive seen of the show was that it was boring but that makes sense if you’re watching an episode that was meant to be the continuation of all the other ones that you may not have seen bc it was the time of cable. streaming was still sorta a foreign concept in 2011-2013. so that was one of its weaknesses back when it was airing but i think actually as time passed by it has now become one of its strongest points because house of anubis is incredibly rewatchable. you can watch it over and over again and discover something new about the plot, the characters, even the random things happening in the background.

anyway back to the writing, one of the reasons i love the dialogue in the show is because of how witty it actually is like im sorry it’s actually so hard to find the balance of sounding sharp without being pretentious and being funny without being too childish and using big words while still effectively portraying what it’s like to be in high school. that’s in the writing, that’s in the delivery – there have been questionable acting moments for sure but the cast were definitely giving it their all.

and this was something i articulated to my friends as a commentary but i seriously love how they wrote the girls on the show. because yes nina and joy were in that love triangle but nina never plotted to hurt joy because of it and when it mattered the most, joy was there to help nina out with all the chosen one stuff. and when willow and mara found out jerome was dating the both of them, willow asked mara if she hated her and she said no. which, if you were 13 at the time would have been so crazy to think about because normally the portrayal of girls is being at each other’s throats, trying to win the guy back, one-upping each other to find out who loves who more. joy did mara dirty during the journalism arc but she straight up said “i will not accept joy slander”. kt always reassured patricia that she wasn’t interested in eddie and even helped them get back together. amber was a girl’s girl the whole show – when she was unhappy with joy it was because she wanted to protect nina. when joy lashed out at willow, she felt bad and apologized. i could go on and on about all the times the women of anubis house had each others’ backs like they would fight but at the end of the day they love each other and would protect each other. just like joy said, whatever fight they would have, it’ll be ancient history by lunchtime.

i think the same goes for the guys as well? the guys don’t fit squarely into just one stereotype. like yes fabian is the ‘nerd’ but he barely went to class. he was smart in the things he was interested in – if anyone cared the most about the school it was mara. jerome was the ‘prankster’ but they did a deep dive into his family in season 2 and we even got to see him at his most lovable when he’s fallen in love with joy. eddie is supposed to be the ‘bad boy’ but in the entirety of season 2 he made me swoon with the way he kept encouraging patricia to lower her walls and talk about her feelings. he was pretty vocal about how he would like to be cared for, and genuinely gets upset when patricia wouldn’t listen. he’s an honest and sweet friend to everyone too.

anyway im sorry i couldn’t do one for everyone but you get what i mean. everyone was nuanced in a way that i think was so advanced for network standards like i really believe nickelodeon didn’t deserve a show as good as anubis but also at the same time im not sure it would be as good had nickelodeon not picked it up and gave it the number of episodes that it did. it’s kind of like how i feel about many of the decisions in the show – nina leaving without a proper explanation, the nina/joy/fabian love triangle, mick and amber’s departures, the way they approached the jerome/mara/willow/joy arc in s3 – i hate it but i also love it. it’s my favorite thing but also my most despised thing. i can’t stand watching it but i can’t get enough.

house of anubis is flawed in the way anubis house and the kids living in it are. they do the most awful things but they are so in need of nurturing. they’re immature but also the most mature people on the show. just a collection of oxymorons that created the masterpiece that it’s always been but also the masterpiece that it’s now just becoming.

[lakesbian]

i guess it's hard to get a read on how much he actually cares about palatine and dauphine or reciprocates their dislike of him? also why did he say that about "sexual favors"

(this post is about the fanfiction sword and sorcery, which you should read because it's good. it's written by tumblr users shakertwelve and nonplatonicsubtext about their estateverse au, which you can read more about in the estateposting tag on tumblr user shakertwelve's blog. would i ever lie to you about a fanfic recommendation.)

ok ahem. i've posted about alec's opinions on palatine and dauphine before bc i think the dynamic potential there is hilarious and i'm so delighted that they got put into the fic. the fancy frilly little freaques are fiiiighting!

Alec Is So Entirely 100% Certainly Without Doubt more mad about palatine and dauphine than they are about him. it would frankly be more accurate to ask how much victor and amelia reciprocate his dislike, because they are living RENT fucking free in his sad little repressed brain. but, like all of his emotions, it's just not super obvious because of how repressed he is--he feels and displays everything in a very muted way. the posts i linked get into the main bits of Why He Does Not Like Them At All, but to elaborate based on analysis of what's actually in the fic:

“Regent had a run-in with them a while back, before he joined the team,” Tattletale said. “He was new to the city, so he didn’t realize what his costume choice would make people think of.” She gestured vaguely in the direction of the Estate capes. “But he was doing things they don’t do and going to parts of town they stay out of, which caused some confusion. Eventually Dauphine and Palatine tracked him down to have a talk about it. It didn’t go well.”

as we can extrapolate from above, alec's history with them is like this:

he shows up to brockton bay as a severely maladapted, depressed, Generally Unwell cult-escapee on the young (and probably malnourished) side of 13 with effectively nothing to his name but his powers

as a weak cape without a team and zero social or systematic connections to turn to for help, he's forced to do very small-scale villainy just to scrape by enough to survive. and the entire time he is wearing his costume that veritably Screams "i am a special little prince please look at how wonderful i am." jesus christ he needs a hug.

these random cunts, palatine and dauphine, pull up and basically tell him to Fuck Off and stop Stealing Their Family's Schtick

these random cunts are also dressed fancy like him, and dauphine especially is someone alec would identify with fashion-wise, given that it's explicitly stated that her costume is princess-like. "Even with her elaborate costume, she looked more like a child’s princess doll than an actual princess." taylor rags on it, but it's still princess-like

this random fancy cunt, dauphine, is the daughter of...marquis, an incredibly successful, fancy villain with long hair who has a lot of money and lives in a mansion and, from alec's perspective, loves and cares about her dearly and buys her nicey clothes. and beyond just that, she has a brother who--instead of tormenting her & then laughing about it--wears a special fancy gleaming knight costume and bridal carries her around and is so sweet and nicey to her if anything bad happens. like, for example, alec getting pissy at her and tripping her.

we already know alec gets Insanely, Malevolently, Incandescently Jealous over someone he's engaged in hostilities w/ having a nice family. (see: him doing all that shit to sophia). we also know that he isn't very good at recognizing this jealousy in himself. (see: aisha revealing in late worm that alec only realized that he had done all that shit to sophia out of a jealous rage like a week or two later when he was talking to her about it.)

which is to say: alec sees dauphine as being Sorta Like Him, but if he had a 100% ideal family (dashing golden knight brother that takes care of her! rich fancy father who protects them and buys them nice shit! and they all live in a mansion!), and LET ME FUCKING TELL YOU. HE IS SO INSANELY JEALOUS HE HOPES THE ENTIRE ESTATE GETS HIT BY A NUCLEAR WARHEAD AND EXPLODES. ...all subconsciously, of course. he expresses this thru things like mocking her for being "a baby about a little trip" &c--insulting the vulnerability & familial care he certainly wishes he could have, while fully unaware why seeing it annoys him so much.

but i digress. keeping all of that in mind, you can see why alec would be infuriated & jealous towards them even if they were completely neutral towards him. but they weren't neutral towards him--instead, these people he views as being Like Him, But Living Out His Wildest Dreams, approached him to hassle him for accidentally appearing like he was one of them. local loving royal villain family approaches boy who is obviously projecting subconscious desire to be a beloved prince onto his costume design and goes "quit stealing our vibes," boy reacts with a parasocial grudge. his weird complexes about them shall reign eternal. he wishes he had a second, cooler palatine to beat the first, lamer palatine to death with hammers, and then bridal carry him to stand dismissively over dauphine's prostrate form as she weeps over the first, lamer palatine's corpse. and also he wants the second, cooler palatine to be hand-feeding him a bag of chips ahoy the entire time.

...i should stress again, this is alllll more or less entirely subconscious. alec doesn't know what the fuck he's feeling ever, this just comes across as a subdued vague annoyance/disdain for them.

so, why the weird "sexual favors" remark? it genuinely was not intended to be a harassing comment, nor do i think he genuinely would say he believes that marquis prostitutes his daughter if he thought about it for a second. but he does identify with dauphine in the sense that they're aesthetically similar enough for him to be extra-jealous about her. and so upon hearing "dauphine's favor," he takes the meaning of "you can have a favor from my kid" he's most used to as a child who was prostituted by his own villain father, and he projects it onto her. if i want to read into it beyond that, i think he might be unconsciously/impulsively trying to poke a hole in their family--a sort of [hopeful] "marquis sucks :)?" where he'd like to hear that marquis isn't as much of an envy-worthy dad as alec thought. meanwhile from the estate's perspective he was just a creep for no fucking reason. there are other, far more important things for lisa to be paying attention to during this scene, so i don't think she was wasting any time reading alec, but if she Was she certainly would've gotten a good show of severe mental unwellness.

[jaguarys]

Can I have your thoughts on Halan pls

I AM HERE TO ANSWER LIKE 3 MONTHS AFTER YOU ASKED.

I was originally planning to wait to answer this until I'd read his Stories volume, but I haven't gotten around to ordering it yet and... I wanna answer (I'm working on a Jadina fic and really needed to get my thoughts out). So. Take everything with a grain of salt because I don't have the context of that volume.

I both love and loathe Halan in a lot of ways and I am sorta chomping on him because I think he's terribly interesting.

Before my reread, I'd remembered Halan to be a Lot More harmless than he actually came off. He is legitimately unhinged and dangerous in Cœur du Passé/Main du Futur and I simply cannot get over some of the shit he says.

I think Halan is someone who's extremely extremely spoiled and immature, and extremely used to getting what he wants. I also think he is just Slightly Stupid (with all due respect lol). I don't think he actually views Jadina in a romantic light (nor do I think she does him) but it's moreso the idea of being denied something he wants that gets under his skin. He doesn't like that at all, and having never been denied anything else while being denied This One Thing repeatedly makes him spiral.

I don't think he views his actions as being truly harmful because of his removal from it all. He's in such a position of privilege people don't/can't tell him he's an asshole, and he doesn't see the effects of his choices, and it just means his actions escalate. He is SOOOO easily manipulated by Ceydeirom it is ridiculous. Get some morals boy!

I think for Jadina it's really a case of seeing a boy you were best friends with when you were little become a man you don't recognize. The habits that were silly when he was 13 become menacing when he's 30. Really she does not get enough credit for Dealing. It had to be truly upsetting.

In some small ways, I do have the tiniest ounce of sympathy. Jadina had the chance (stole the chance) to get out of royal life and learn more about the world, which he didn't (of course, who knows whether he could've). I don't think he's irredeemable at all. He just has really gotta wise up.

That being said... he deserved his ass kicked by Jadina and his consequences in Main du Futur and far more than that on top of it all. I think about him a lot in terms of his dynamics with Jadina, and not too much past that

(Slightly separate note: I also think. Some of vols 5/6 are also the effect of Male Author. I don't think Sobral really realized the implications of some things he was introducing there in terms of Halan's behavior.)

[amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet]

13 for behind the scenes…sorta? I’m not sure if its my absolute favorite dialogue (would have to reread the whole thing) but the scene on the way to Cleff where Link and Endeavor have a mature, adult conversation about the events of the Soul temple boss fight stuck with me. I thought it was excellently written! Kinda curious how you went about that.

Thank you for the ask @hummbirds! Oh, this scene was tough. I'm gonna put the prompt and then a read more because obviously very late game spoilers. And I honestly couldn't think of a single line of dialogue either with how massive GoS is as my own favorite, so I appreciate you sending me yours! (also the compliment on it, thank you!)

13. My favorite line of dialogue from this fic was Goddess of Secrecy. What inspired it?

So around the time I started writing this section of GoS (chiefly the boss fight of the Soul Temple), my mom and her brothers began discussion about their mother and her moving into assisted living. I ended up, as the eldest kid often does, an ear for my mom as she was working through this. And this is a conversation happening states away from me, and biased by the person I was hearing it from, but a lot of the early discussion on that got put on my mom because one of my uncles had been handling it sololy until then and the other was not ready for the conversation. So she ended up getting a lot of that conversation alone.

The situation with Endeavor in the Soul Temple to me was a parallel to a child having to face the end of life care for a parent. As far as Endeavor knows, Zeal is terminally ill. There is no cure, she is possessed at this point by Ganondorf (adding on the debate of how much the actions she's taken since that possession are her own/her responsibility). And without any support on the matter, Endeavor has to make the decision whether or not to pull that plug, effectively.

Respectively, Link is in GoS an orphan and the Hero. It is diametrically opposed to his identity to let Zeal die, particularly knowing she was possessed and seeing the shard of the mirror she sent to become the mirror he used to get there (to him, a cry for help). He already has Nazirah's death on his hands (in his opinion) and he will not let Endeavor become an orphan like him because he cares about them as his friend.

Both of these are good motives. But Link's course of action fundamentally overrides Endeavor's decision about their parent on a decision they had grieved on and made their best peace with in the middle of, well, everything else. As they said in the chapter.

It is also meant to reflect on what Soul is as an element in GoS. Soul magic, for the sake of brevity, most closely equates to 5e's enchantment magic. Which is the magic used for possession. A lot of people, very rightly, have started looking at spells like Charm Person and Command as being, you know, maybe not very good things to know and very easy to abuse in a consent kind of conversation.

But the thing about powers/magic is that you can find a way to use them that's within a healthy boundary. Princess (the Sage for clarity) uses her Soul magic for boons and inspiration, and, notably, she doesn't use it on Endeavor after Endeavor says not to (which is what circles back in that final fight). By contrast, the magic that Zeal uses as the Soul Sage (going back to the Sayyida boss fight as an example) and that was used on her is a magic of possession.

And also, that Link technically used on Zeal, even with good intentions and even if Zeal allowed the possession to happen.

The conversation on the way to Cleff is meant to highlight a couple things. One, Link's still effectively a kid. At this point in GoS he's 18 but he's an 18 year old tasked with saving the world. Kinda a tall order. Which leads into the second point, good people make mistakes too. The thing that makes them good people is how they respond to that. Link acknowledges his mistake because he is a good person. Not to be mundane about that portion, but that's just who Link is. He's the Hero, he's a good person, he's supposed to reflect a good person.

Look, I have a lot of kids who read my fics. I don't want to get too preachy with my stuff, but particularly since I have a lot of young boys reading my work, I want them to have good examples of doing the right thing. Particularly from a character they're also probably looking at as a Hero and role model. And owning up to doing the wrong thing even if you meant well is part of that.

And thank you again for the ask. This was a scene I was really worried about landing and it means a lot to hear it did.

[pearwaldorf]

20 questions for fic writers

sorta tagged by @antivanruffles

How many works do you have on ao3?

130 excluding the the podfics I'm listed as a co-author on

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

230,000. I'm a very succinct writer!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently OFMD. I have written a lot of (in descending order) Star Wars sequel trilogy, Good Omens, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Critical Role, and MCU.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

we wore the jacket for the longest time (Star Wars ST, Finn/Poe/Rey, 3200)

well you laughed baby it's okay (it's buzzcut season anyways) (nsfw; Good Omens, Aziraphale/Crowley, 1100)

human sacrifice and mass hysteria (nsfw, DA:I, Cullen/Dorian, 1080) This one has a weirdly long tail. I still get bursts of kudos on it every now and then.

balance theory (The Old Guard, Joe/Nicky foe yay, 660)

taste the stardust in my mouth (Star Wars ST, Finn/Poe/Rey, 560)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do not. I don't have enough energy to write and respond to comments, so I'm sure people would rather I write. They are all appreciated though <3

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

a knife on the things that held us together for sure. It sets up the rift between Han and Leia after Ben's attack on the Praxeum and it's the last time Leia sees her brother. I was so emotionally wiped by it I couldn't even think about writing for two weeks hahaha

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of my fics have happy endings, or at least hopeful ones.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

If I do nobody has ever told me.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! I'm not sure what "what kind" means.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I've written exactly one, the Will Graham/Aziraphale one (I swear it makes sense in context). ngl it's pretty weird. Plenty of AUs set in different universes though!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I have. Somebody plagiarized "but you laughed baby" beat for beat. When I confronted them about it they said they must have subconsciously regurgitated it. Binch, I had to reread my own fic to compare, don't give me that shit. (They deleted their entire account afterwards. I'm not sad.)

12. What's the longest you've spent working on one fic? And the shortest?

Shortest is drabbles, and those take anywhere from 15-30 minutes. Longest? I still have a Mass Effect fic that I've been picking at on and off since 2012. I should just finish it up.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I refuse to pick.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The Good Omens While You Were Sleeping AU is my only actual posted WIP. There are Reasons I tend not to post unfinished stuff.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm really good at nailing character voices and dialogue. I think I'm decent at striking a balance between pretty language and making sure it still moves things along. I have been told I'm very good at intimate character interaction.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

What the fuck is a plot?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Unless you're going for the half-remembered vocabulary because diaspora kid vibe (which I did in my Shang-Chi fic), get somebody fluent to translate for you. The amount of horrific Spanish I've seen in OFMD fic is... not good.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

X2! I thought I was very clever making puns on "le petit mort" in a Rogue fic

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I have a series! I love the extremely weird ones I wrote just for myself that nobody else seems to like, although the Ed/Blackbeard/Stede one is an exception.

I am where memes go to die, so if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged.

[grimmars]

Hello! Criminal Minds anon again. I saw your post and I'm so happy to see you like the show so far! Season 4 is a really good one, and the last few episodes are WILD, so good luck LOL!

I'm glad that you feel similarly about Reid, as well. He's easily my favorite in the whole show without a doubt, and I think MGG does a great job playing him. The relationship between him and his mom is just *chef's kiss* and gets me in the feels so fast (especially in the later seasons 😭). In regards to the guns thing, I hate to say it but he's kinda the show's whump character lmao. Everyone suffers, but the writers and MGG really love to hurt him specifically.

Big yes to Morgan!!! I love him so much and 100% agree. 'Profiler, Profiled' is one of the best episodes in the show and it sets him up so perfectly from that point on. Also him and Garcia are so funny on the phone I completely agree.

Hotch is really bland for a lot of the show I do have to agree, but towards the end of Season 4 and throughout Season 5 they focus on him a bit more and it helps to give him more character, I feel. He's still the same old Hotch, but you kinda understand him a bit better and feel for him a lot after these two seasons.

And yeahhh the show is not very kind to queer people, unfortunately. Even in the later seasons you can feel them trying to do better in a way, but it still just feels icky. There's one scene where Morgan is ribbing Reid about where he's been and that he hopes he was with a girl and not a guy and I just 💀. Also the entirety of 'Machismo' is god awful with the man in a dress thing. They sorta drift away from the trope near the end of the show, but it never leaves entirely, which sucks big time.

Elle was done so dirty by the writers and tbh the team!! She deserved better!! Her story is absolutely wild though so I had the same reaction on my first watch. And I 100% agree with you on Gideon. I remember when my friend who introduced me to the show told me he and Elle were going to be leaving so soon I was genuinely upset lol. Emily is wonderful, though, and Rossi grew on me overtime, so hopefully you warm up to him as well. And yes I love JJ so much. When Todd replaced her for a bit I was so upset. I kept saying the "I miss my wife, Tails" thing to my friends about JJ leaving, so now we all call her my wife lmao. And again Emily is so wonderful!! With her putting her life on the line for Reid, she's like that the whole show. She's ride or die for the team and I adore her so much. If you stick around for Season 12 and 13 (good luck if you do, because jesus christ those seasons are a bit tough) you'll see that aspect of her highlighted even more.

And good plan, honestly! Season 10 is where a lot of people feel the show should have ended, so that's a pretty good season to end on if you do. I will say if you do stop there, skip ahead to Season 11 Episode 11 'Entropy' and just watch that on it's own if you get the chance. It's easily the best episode in the show imo and it's so fun. And good news the baseball episode is early in Season 8!

Sorry for rambling I'm just really excited that you like the show, LOL!

Ayy! Hello again, I'm glad we share favourite things about criminal minds, infodumping to my brother doesn't always have the same effect lol.

I don't really hate Rossi now after watching for a bit, when he's first introduced he was giving homophobic vibes and recently he's more like the dad forced to follow his kids to pride

I'll definitely be checking out entropy after season 10, the baseball episode is so close yet so far away ;-;

[technicianlearner]

Kirbtober 2023 Day 23: Glitter/Copy Ability

sorta continuation from day 13

...in which these puffballs began to act strange. Bearing a monk outfit and mysterious sigil, they began to act more solitary, keeping distance from others for reasons yet unknown - is it by the effect of the power staying sealed? They turned into masters of illusion, dancing with the wind while concealing things under wraps. It became noticeable to a few, and in the end, seeing that only puffballs were affected by such powers, it was only made sense it was some form of Copy Ability. They finally named it Kabuki, after an old theater tradition within the ancient times, despite little was known about it.

Prompts by @paintpanic and @peachsupremeart Fused list compiled by @desultory-novice (click here for the list!)

I did Technician and Hypernova yesterday, it was only fair I complete the set with Kabuki as well. Proud to say I sort of have uh, revamped the ability.

This barely fits the Glitter prompt but whatever, it's there.

btw the previous entry has been updated now that I have a better brain

Tomorrow I will assault another AU owner wahoooo

[katusjuice]

Hi, don’t mind me, just Anais facts (some of you know this stuff but eh i wanna post on here-)

Note that this will be updated if I think of something else, so you can come back at look at this if you want to.

Anais Wartooth facts :p

Personal shiz:

Anais is neurodivergent. She has ADHD (mixed combo). When she was younger, this caused her to get bullied a lot.

Her stims include: oral stimming, verbal stimming (she’s a chatterbox), auditory stimming, and tactile stimming

Anais is not on medicines though, she does go to therapy for it. (She gets lollipops after each session :D)

Not surprising, but Anais is very forgetful. She’s have to repeat what someone wanted her to do in order not to forget it

Anais has therapy cat! It’s name is Spider. Anais named it

Anais doesn’t play guitar. She doesn’t like the feel of it. Now, she loves the sound, but don’t expect her to pick one up.

Anais is 16 years old

^^ Her birthday is February 12th, making her an Aquarius ♒️

Due to bullying and the effects of puberty, Anais is not much of an extrovert. She’s more ambiverted

Anais has a favorite in Dethklok (it’s Nathan)

Anais actually enjoys (mostly) all types of music. Just anything that scratches her brain.

Anais is ambidextrous (she can write with both hands)

Anais can see ghosts. She doesn’t tell people this though

The necklace in her ‘Anarchy’ wear is actually a chewy toy.

Toki gave Anais the straw doll he had as a kid. It gives Anais good luck during shows. (She still has it to this day)

Anais loves animals, even the ones that will kill.

Anais is a huge Space nerd. She even went to Astronaut class (unlike Toki)

^^ She has a thousand hyper-fixations but Space and Music are definitely hyper-focuses she has

Unless she trusts you, nobody is allowed in Anais’s room (she doesn’t wanna be made fun of again)

Anais lives with her mom. Toki doesn’t live with them simply because he refuses to leave Mordhaus.

Anais grew up in Athens, Greece until the age of 12-13. She moved to America and started middle school there.

Anais has trouble making friends, but luckily she has a small group of friends that stick to her.

Anais is a lesbian and had a girlfriend (Harley-)

Musical shiz : D

Like Toki (sorta), Anais is naturally musically talented.

Anais is the lead singer and one of the song writers for Human Anarchy

Anais and Harley created the group

Anais can do the death voice (death growl whatever-)

Anais usually writes the songs

Human Anarchy is a lot of the times referred as Dethklok Jr. and Anais hates this

Anais is often overshadowed by Toki.

Anais usually makes songs through melodies that just pop in her head.

Anais is a very hard worker when it comes to music. She loves it dearly

(That’s it for now, but again this will be updated when i get more ideas-)

[shrinkthisviolet]

Daddy Issues AU intro fic for the wip game!

So I've talked about this AU here, and this is the first fic of that AU, the "Barry is raised by Eowells as Morgan's big brother" one! Foster siblings, since Barry refuses to give up his surname, but they consider themselves siblings nonetheless.

This first fic is Barry's POV and covers Eowells getting custody of him and taking him home. It'll probably also cover a little while after that—exact timeline still unclear, this is in the early stages still 😅 though something I didn't get to mention in the original post about this AU is the major divergence when it comes to Iris.

For one thing, the Flashpoint timeline (happy/original timeline) shows that Barry and Iris never share a class past elementary school if Barry didn't go to live with Iris and Joe. And I think that would definitely still be the case here, because Joe already tried to get custody of Barry once, and Eowells would be keen to keep him from trying again. So after elementary school, Barry and Iris drift apart...and they won't meet again until during s1 (which won't be covered in this fic, that'll be a later fic).

This fic is also gonna explore a little how Barry gets parentified very early, becoming more of a parent to Morgan than Eowells (a trend that continues and will have some fun ripple effects during s1 onwards). It sorta builds slowly and really hits when he’s 15 (and Morgan’s 5-6), as mentioned in the original post.

And really, it happens because unlike the main AU, Eowells doesn't have anyone to fall back on during those first few years—he has Tina, but Tina's not loyal/indebted to him the same way Barry is. She's a wild card and, to Eowells's mind, might turn Morgan against her (in the main AU, he already laments that this happened when Morgan was 7-13, when he got complacent and let Tina "corrupt" his daughter...but I digress 😅).

Barry's indebted to him and wouldn't dare try that—but unfortunately for Eowells, that was never the issue in the first place. He was! If Morgan comes to see someone else as a parental figure, that's his own fault.

So yeah! That's where things are so far, and I'll have more to say about the exact timeline and more specific details once the plotting is more nailed down and I write more of this. But for now...a snippet:

But she...she was a baby. A year old, according to Dr. Wells. A whole 10 years younger than him.

He tried to deny how his heart swelled three sizes, how his immediate instinct upon hearing her cry was to ask her what was wrong.

It took a few days for him to settle in, for him to gather the courage to ask to hold her.

"Hi," he cooed. "Hi, Morgan. I'm Barry, I'm your new brother."

Morgan peered up at him with wide eyes. "Bo-ther?"

He laughed. "Well, I guess in a way. But...no. Br-o-ther."

(He hadn't laughed, or even smiled, since...since that night.)

Morgan being the first one to make Barry smile and laugh since Nora’s death and Henry’s arrest is something that can be so personal actually 🥺💞

wip title tag game!

Taglist (send an ask or DM to be added or removed):

@arrthurpendragon @ocappreciationtag @raith-way @vexic929 @ironverseocs

@thechaoticfanartist @goldheartedchaoticdisaster @negative-speedforce @starstruckpurpledragon @angst-is-love-angst-is-life

[espectres]

🔥 ABT CANON cause i like hearing u talk abt it

THANK U FOR ENJOYING MY SALT FILLED RANTS AHKSGFHKJS LOVEEEE

I enjoy mp100 a whole LOT I really do!! But there is always something to say when it comes to background characters, and especially shou lmao. Something I'm still surprised about is how open-ended and on a bad note his story seemed to be when compared to how everyone else's arcs went, to me, that's my opinion, LIKE ... main dudes aside, Tome for an example got to experience her dream and realize it wouldn't have been remarkable without friends by her side, she reached a fullfilling note in her narrative despite how little screen time she had and how minor her role in the story seemed to be, and most importantly, she is in a better place! Heck, even the dudes from the seventh division ended up starting a new life, with what little detail we were able to tell they are safe, independent, and becoming better people. Cuz that's what mp100 is about! Reaching a point in your life where you're at peace with yourself and appreciation of the good people who care about you, getting to a better place as a person.

Shou meanwhile? Everything about him is so vague! We got to see Sakurai and Koyama working at a convenience store. Why couldn't we know if Shou is going to school or not? If he's maybe with his mom? How is he doing? Why is no one concerned if the 13 y/o with dad in jail is alright or not? It's either vague or downright concerning. "Oh, his fire hair is gone, and that symbolizes letting go of the self-sacrifical tendencies becuz the rabbit jumped into fire." That's not enough!!! " Psychic powers sure are scary." "I'm not going to use them again." Now just tell me, isn't being afraid of powers and denying them what led to nearly every single bad thing that happened to Shigeo? Wasn't the whole gd story abt learning to accept these scary af powers and yourself and no longer supressing them?

In Shou's case it makes sense that he isn't fond of the side effects of being an esper, all the problems it brings, it's fair, you can see all the shit it made him go thru since so long, BUT. Having his story "end" on the same decision that made things start going bad for Shigeo is so disheartening, seeing how apparently everyone else is doing better by the end askjdfhsgka sad peach noises?????

You see, lack of story time isn't an excuse, Shou being a background character isn't reallyyyyyy an excuse. Half of the story wouldn't have been the same without him! Yet characters with less importance plot-wise didn't get the short end of the stick. As for a better conclusion, a simple thing as a single conversation with Ritsu would have done it tbh, they are both there, they already share a really strong bond, Shou sharing his new anti-powers rule to Ritsu and Ritsu, now aware of his brother's struggles, tells him to maybe not do that?? there are better ways to deal with your crippling trauma???? That's an open-ended sorta thing I can accept, cuz we wouldn't know how things would go for Shou, but at least he's not out there doing what the story strictly told us it's bad to do !!!!!! One-sensei, hear me out-

[cpunkwitch]

For your ask game(s) I missed the last three!!

First game:

1, 7, 12

Fourth game

7, 9, 13

(if comfortable) tell us about your condition? as much info as youre comfy with sharing.

uh lets see. sever anemia, undiagnosed rhumetoid arthritis, grew up with a spine defect so i have a very misaligned body and a fucked up jaw/mouth thats too small for all my teeth, feet are over 50% decrease in arch so ouch, eczema mainly on my hands/arms, all kinds of sensitivities, chronic pain and fatigue, far sighted i think thats the majority? i cant think of anything else (physical) atm

7. do you have a sort of comfort item or safety blanket that helps you feel better, especially on the worst days?

i guess this childhood stuffy ive had, his hugs make things a little better. winnie the pooh is a huge collective comfort for us.

12. name 3 things you like about hospitals/docs/nurses/the medical system

that i like? a) sometimes theres nice nurses/doctors b) when hospitals have vending machines ig? c) no thats it

--

7. do you have pets? if so how do they handle your disability? (ie, do they notice youre in pain and stay near you, or do they have to be moved out of the way and kept away from your aids etc)

i have plants

9. what are your hobbies and how does being disabled affect them?

listening to music, mostly unaffected, writing, heavily effected due to low spoons and aching hands, visual arts, same issue,

ive sorta abandond my other hobbies for now for a lack of spoons, pain, and lack of time.

13. whats an accesibilty you have in your life that youre thankful for?

as much as i have a love hate relationship with it, in actually really thankful autocorrect exists.

[ronearoundblindly]

The Stark Legacy (13)

Summary: Tony leaves for a long-term, interstellar mission.

Warnings for meh lousy parenting. Tony is still struggling. Rated Teen/Mature so 15+ only, please! Short chapter. WC ~1k

Deflection, part of Book Two: Mind (see previous or series)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN—July 2038

Tony couldn’t really focus on just one piece of the globe below, a vast marble rippled with land and sea, oasis and desert, life and death. The Avengers’ Satellite Station had launched only six years ago; it had taken that long to recover his wits and the integral structure that had exploded with…Pepper. This orbiting bulk was the reason her Memorial Garden had taken so long to build, and his mourning was the reason this orbiting bulk had taken another half-dozen years.

Orbit had its advantages, however, because it’s easier to notice a massive, red sinkhole leading to hell when staring down upon it. They may have never seen Mephisto coming from inside the Earth if not for being able to view a thousand miles within the space of an arm against the thick, triple pane fiberglass. That didn’t prepare Tony for who he would, and wouldn’t, see down there. Ever since Wanda had cut him off from such vivid experiences with Pepper, Tony lost so many of the minuscule details that kept her feeling real, kept her close to him. The delayed slipping away of his memory felt all the more tragic, for he had truly lost Pepper Potts long before he gave up on her. Loss seemed as inevitable as the rotation of the Earth below. You could change perspective to keep seeing what you wanted, but the surface would never stop moving away from your gaze.

Tony could sense a tentative presence at the door. He dropped his crossed, contemplative arms, turning to invite Maria inside. “What is it, Hill?”

The agent entered, holding up a slim file.

“It’s from the watch list. He was first mentioned in our interrogation of Simon Marshall, a pharmaceutical terrorist trying to create an ingestible drug to produce super soldiers…and he managed to alter several people. The unfortunate side effect was also to turn them into psychopaths.”

“To be fair, he probably just nudged them there,” Tony allowed. “Gimme.” He snatched the file from the agent. “Lem-u-el Dor-cas?” he snorted. “That is officially one of the worst names I’ve ever heard. It’s not even a syllable—it’s a letter away from Doctor Dorks. Are people trying to make us not take them seriously? What’s this guy done that’s so bad, eh?”

“He may have been behind the stolen shipment of bio-samples last year.”

“Two letters away from Dork-Ass. I mean…come on. At least Klaue could be, ya know,” Tony looked up with outstretched fingers on an ominously tense hand, “scary, sorta.” 

“Stark, this doctor has not only been linked to Professor Marshall but has also been linked to some created mutants. Unfortunately we do not have much information on those individuals or their abilities yet. We only know these were not given a little pill. Best guess so far is genetic manipulation.”

Tony shut the file and tossed it onto the nearest table. “Easy. Have Point Break electrocute him and send me the crispy bits. Next.” He looked around the lab, pushing some useless part over.

“That’s the thing, sir. Thor is currently off world helping the Guardians with annihilation—” she checked the file, “—Annihilus, ’scuse me, so you’re going to take the lead on this—”

“Are we trapped down there?” Tony gestured back to the view-ports.

Maria, after years of practice, snapped back and forth between Tony’s mangled thoughts easily. “We have protection, sir, more than most. You’ve put quite a bit of armor around the world now.”

“Yes, but how will people get away,” Tony whispered, “if I’ve locked them on a dying rock.”

“Sir?”

Damned if he did, damned if he didn’t. Build a wall and moat to keep the enemy out, and still all you’ve done is kept your loved ones in the crosshairs and the target on your forehead. He thought of a promise he once made Pepper. “Hill, why didn’t you have kids?” He blurted after a bright bit of light in Florida caught his eye. Maria replied with a touchy and annoyed expression. He continued, “if you’d had children, at what age would Disneyland be out of the question?”

Maria hesitated, confused, but Tony did not let her form an answer before trying to dismiss the wayward thought. “Nevermind.”

“Sir, Sam may not—”

“So Dorkmeister-Flex is where exactly now?”

“The bad doctor was last credibly identified in Morocco. The Atlantian King Namor is concerned at that proximity to his nation.”

“So what you’re saying is I get to go on a lovely vacation and possible Safari hunt?”

“Stark—”

“Don’t worry. I won’t raid the mini-bar this time.” Tony launched into the air and via comms added, “and keep the missions coming. Friday will keep a running tab.”

“Of course, sir,” his AI promptly answered.

“Tony,” Maria jumped in before Stark could swivel quickly out of the room and ditch the station’s monotony, “Sam Wilson woke up.”

“Duh,” Tony brushed, tapping his glasses, “Friday is keeping me apprised.”

“And I’d say she’s too old.”

“I update her regularly.”

“Samantha, Tony, for Disney,” Maria clarified, but Tony didn’t miss a beat.

“On second thought,” he said, “I think Thor and Quill may need some adult supervision. You know how their pissing contests can get,” he twiddled his fingers in front of him, “messy.”

She held up the file, wiggling it to keep him on track.

“T’Challa can handle that, land and sea united and all. I’m contacting—what did Quill call this new ship?—Blondie?” Tony disappeared in the space-safe, modified quinjet. He had a fleeting thought that perhaps he should make a pitstop on Sakaar and take a break from the relentless passage of time. Time only served to remind him of what he’d missed and could never have back.

[Ch 14: Rusted]

[Main Masterlist]

[ben10ocfanfic]

Tale of 10 chapter 6

1. The group of boys Continued to ride. Jesse Took a very deep breath. He looked at the scene around him and took note of the damages to the rv. Admittedly it wasnt as bad as it could be considering what happened.

2. It still didnt make Dj feel any better apon seeing one of his oldest freinds looking so distraught. This RV was Jesses home. He worked since he was 15 for this truck. He almost dropped out junior year to keep his job.

3. Dj walked over to his old freind."If theres anything i can do please tell me jess." Jesse just smiled." I love this thing. But thats all it is brother just a thing. Id rather lose it then you guys."

4. In silent agreement Rick an josè nodded there heads."yeah an besides we can always help fix it." José said cheerfully. Jesse raised a brow."you know how to replace a dashboard broken windshelid an numrous holes along the back?"

5. Jose chuckled nervously "well we can always watch you do it." Jess rolled his eyes." Thats what I thought now lets figure this out" jess pointed at Dj.

6. Two hours later. Progress had been slow. Rick had been trying to focus on how Djs biology worked. Honestly he had no clue." My best guess is you're currently some sort of alien. "

7. Everyone sorta just looked at him confused."how did you come up with that one Sherlock?" José asked sarcastically. Rick sighed." Well, those robot things seemed to come from space. An im guessing they were after you since I dont see any other reason to attack."

8.while not satifyed the boys accepted it as jesse started tapping hard on the hourglass symbol." Jess you good dude?"Dj asked. Jess didnt awnser right away but spoke after a minute or two."I think you should be able to push this down but it looks stuck."

9. Dj nodded before thinking for a moment. He then started repeatedly smacking the symbol. After a few minutes a red flash blinded everyone before everyone saw the form of Dj.

10. Dj looked down observing his body. Everything seemed normal even his cloths were back untill he look as his wrist. There on his wrist was a green an black watch. The frimliar hour glass symbol was also present. However parts of the watch looked damaged.

11. The hourglass symbol had a noticeable crack although its was faint an didn't distort the symbol. Some parts looked to have exposed wiring. As if the covering had been removed. But most noticble part was that something was effecting the skin around Djs arm. Little, thick, green, square ,like lines. It almost looked like a tattoo of some sort.

12. It made Dj feel uncomfortable. He immediately reach for it. Attempting to rip it off him. He struggled for a minute before his face went pale. Rick then noticed djs face as jose an jesse inspected the rest of djs body for any injuries. "Hey buddy uh whats wrong?" Rick asked as Dj stared at him.

13. Jose an Jesse were now concerned as well. "Hola hermano ¿estás bien? Estamos preocupados por ti. ...Te ves pálido" José questioned. Jesse shook his freind slightly trying to get him to react.

14. Finally he spoke. "Its stuck." The boys all go quiet. "Its fused to MY FUCKING SKIN!!!!" Dj started to scream while waving his arm wildly while the boys try to calm him.

15. After nearly an hour of panicked screaming the boys gather around Dj. At this point the boys had been trying to remove the watch using various tools most of witch were broken. The boys were now trying something new

16."Guys this is a bad idea." Said Dj as jose attached jummper cables to the watch. Rick an Jesse looked back at there freind an shrugged. "Its fine our plan is solid" Rick then chimed in. "Its this or the hacksaw.". Dj gulped. "Hey dont worry man I got only one arm an im fine."

17. " I still don't like this I dont care what happens to me but what if you guys get hurt trying to hack this thing.!" Jesse just laughed. "Dont worry besides were not hacking anything were gonna use ricks laptop to create a electrical feedback loop. Witch will hopefully cause a system overload loop to shut down whats restraining you."

18. Dj an jose give him a blank stare. Rick sighs an face palm. "Doctor redneck here is trying to fry the watch." The two nod. "Yeah frying the alien watch still sounds like a bad idea. I just don't want my best freinds getting vaporized. " dj said before he sighed." But I can't really stop you from helping."

19."Dam right now lets fry some bacon!" Yelled jesse as he started. The computer humed to life along with the watch. Jose and ruck kept a hand around each clamp incase the needed to stop.

20. Dj tryed his best to stay calm. Jose smiled "see essay were good nothing can go wrong." Rick jesse an dj gave him a stink eye as the watcu started to glow. "You just had to say it." Said dj. Jesses panicked an started to press the keys quickly. "Shit! Get thoses off him! Now!"

21. without hesitation the boys started to pull hard but soon found the clamps were stuck."Guys forget me run!" Jose pulled harded the vain in his arm showing. " HELL NO. Were brothers amigo! We wont leave you behind!"

22. Rick strained as well pulling with both hands. "It will be a cold day in hell before we abadon- whats happing to our hands?" In response José looked down at his hand an noticed it was turning a dark green while ricks were turning black.

23. They looked to jesse who held up two unnaturally white hands before a green light took over there vision. A Shockwave of green energy erupted from the watch an knocked them unconscious.

24. Meanwhile far off in space on the planet Galvin prime.

25.A small 3 inch gray alien in green robes tinkered away. He have a smirk on his face as the small machine came to life. It looked like a mechanical spider. "Theses new drones should make repairs easier. Of course this is only a prototype."

26.As the alien admired his work another alien rushed in yelling nonsense as he tryed to get the others attention. This alien wore a lab coat with large oversized googles.

27. The first alien sighed. "Darwin please I know taking the role as my new assistant has gotten you nervous but I cant understand you. Witch is saying something as I know over 12000 different languages. At least breathe"

28. The alien took a deep breathe. "My apologies first thinker asmuth. But its happened. The omnitrix is back online. An I think it done something to earth."

29. Dawrin handed a tablet to asmuth. The first thinker sighed." It seems the past is catching up with us. It looks like someone tryed overloading the omnitrix but only cuased it to release a wave of dna across the planet. This is very bad. I must seek audience with the guardians of Oa an gain permission to one again return to earth.

30. Darwin gulped. "First thinker they banned you from returning after the incident. " asmuth chuckled "its only an incident if i did something on accident. Whatever the case earth is in grave danger. I only hope the new guardian is as worthy as Tennyson. May his gods watch over him. Because i doubt were the only ones who took notice."