#and also she the main character we see the story through so we're more inclined to agree with her

[sea-owl]

You know, I think there's some conversations to be had with Ogerpon's decision to go with the main character and the reactions to it.

Looking at the backstory for Ogerpon, she has been living very isolated on Kitikami ever since her original trainer died and the battle with loyal/mischevious three. Her story has been mistold to where she's the villain and the people born to Kitikami dislike her basically on principle. She hasn't felt safe to reveal herself to others outside of the masks festival where everyone is wearing a mask. Though based on some of the dialogue, it makes me think this is a one-off thing, and I think she finally felt brave enough because she saw the MC beforehand.

Ogerpon is shown to be very intelligent pokemon, she knows who is from the village and who isn't. She's also a curious pokemon because instead of fleeing when she sees MC and Kieran battling in front of her cave, she stays and watches. MC is probably the first outsider, like herself, that Ogerpon has come across. Kitikami kinda gives off the vibe that while they are currently trying to become more open to outsiders its a work in progress. But seeing someone different may have made Ogerpon curious enough or brave enough to go to the festival. At the festival she has a positive experience with the MC, the first positive experience she's had with a human since her original trainer. Now her past experience did make her nervous enough to flee when Carmine, one of the villagers, showed up, but I don't hold that against her.

After that, Ogerpon has positive after positive experience with the MC. They bond, MC shows a gentleness and care that Ogerpon hasn't received from humans in generations. The MC runs around Kitikami looking to take back the masks Ogerpon cherishes with Ogerpon. Looking into all of that I'm not surprised by Ogerpon's choice of traveling with the MC to put her hurt behind and make new memories.

Now, looking into Kieran. Before I go further, let me say I love Kieran. I love the arc his character goes through, but he kinda gives off nice guy energy who got rejected by his crush when it comes to Ogerpon. We learn early on that Kieran idolized Ogerpon's or the Oger's, strength. While talking with Carmine at the festival after seeing Ogerpon, she hints at, as much as can be hinted for a kids game, that his idolization may be a bit more of an obsession. Which, I am inclined to believe because we actively see him doing the same thing to MC and their strength.

Off the bat, Ogerpon isn't going to trust Kieran because he's from Kitikami. That isn't against him. That more just has to do with Ogerpon's experiences. Kieran also actively goes into Ogerpon's territory, sometimes at night, we're told, which is dangerous. That can't be a good feeling of someone rocking up to your home in the night, possibly waking you up. Especially when you don't trust the villagers as is and try to avoid them. Now we don't know if Kieran ever said anything while at Ogerpon's den, hoping she would hear or what he does when he gets to the den. But we do know she never felt safe or comfortable enough to reveal herself. Kieran mentioned to the MC that he would have Ogerpon live in his house in the village, a place Ogerpon actively avoids. So I wonder if he made that offer to her too by speaking it aloud or she overheard that at an earlier point, and it came off as a threat to her.

Back into the story Ogerpon doesn't bond with Kieran at all. He has the chance to, MC and Carmine both actively say hey let's go help Ogerpon get the masks back but he declines. Now he does go and spread the true story of Ogerpon to the other villagers but Ogerpon never asked for that, she didn't even want to step foot into that village. What she wanted was her masks back. That honestly should have been our first hint that Kieran didn't respect Ogerpon's choice.

Then came the battle for Ogerpon. At this point Ogerpon has actively chosen MC to be her new trainer and we see the negative affects of Kieran's obsession. He claims we "stole the Oger" from him, who he liked first. Carmine even jumps into this argument, saying that hey Ogerpon made her decision and they should respect that, but Kieran still wants to battle MC for her. He runs off after MC catches Ogerpon and the end scene to the Teal Mask DLC we see his obsession full on switch from Ogerpon to MC.

Indigo Disk also brings up some intresting things as well when it comes to Kieran's unhealthy obsession to Ogerpon. During your battle, he still calls her the Oger instead of her actual name, and if you bring her into battle, all his attacks focus on her. He's not over her rejection.

I also think there might be a conversation to be had about real world commentary on women's choices via Ogerpon as well. Whether the Pokemon company meant to do it or not they set it out there when they decided to make Ogerpon a girl. They reinforced it too by making players respect her decision and making her untradeable when Kieran trades with you after Indigo Disk.

[theleslistuff]

✨More ramblings ✨

Edition; fanfic analysis

Warning of spoilers from both Arcane, Danny Phantom and the fanfics

The fics; My brother is a ghost/We're Phantoms by Darkfoxkit

Vs. Slight Arcane analysis/comparison (by Riot)

Warning of very long analysis (also I'm writing this sleep deprived 💖)

My brother/sister is a monster

Reading even further into Darkfoxkit's fics, specially We're Phantoms and having finished both seasons of Arcane I've come to notice both stories are about brothers/sisters drifting apart because of destiny and each one of them seeing a monster on their sibling more and more.

To summarize this will get to be divided in 3 main points:

1. Who is the protagonist?

2. My brother/sister has become a monster

3. Despite everything it's still them

1. Who is the protagonist?

For the fics My brother is a ghost and We're Phantoms is quite easy; it's the smallest/smartest /slightly unstable brother Andy since we see everything from his point of view directly, this affected the perception of the situations completely since we see this having all the time Andy's chain of thoughts that lead to his actions making us root for him and hope he succeeds in his goals, making him even have a quite heroic light even despite his mental struggles and some questionable decisions making us kinda see the other sibling Danny as a hero susceptible to corruption due his own power (despite both siblings show signs of easy corruption it's easier to dismiss with the one who is telling his point of view)...

Arcane; This series has several protagonists but I'm inclined to say the protagonist on the two sisters story is Violet the oldest/more impulsive/protecting sister since we see more vulnerable moments and thoughts about the situations going on, as well as Arcane paints her like a tragic hero and the problems around her more important no matter which side she's (If she's with Zaun, Zaun is treated like a victim city, if She's with Piltover it's treated as the city of progress looking for the well-being of everyone) making us again root for her and the city she's sided with making us see her little sister Jinx as a totally mad woman (if we're fair both sisters are capable of killing but Vi on purpose with brute force and Jinx by accident as collateral damage in her plans)...

And let's get this straight, the parallels between brothers/sisters is quite obvious to look at;

Violet and Danny are the oldest/more impulsive/protecting/ stubborn and good hearted siblings that try to look after everyone's safety, their weak spot is their smallest sibling making them even go so far to even do... Quite questionable changes in their goals and beliefs to keep those who they love safe and sound. If we could generally describe their theme it even matches, they are both what I like to call Sun themed character (based on the duality of sisters between Celestia and Luna in my little pony because that's the most clear example) they both have in some way a more clear/red color scheme, are such a softies for their loved ones, are a living nightmare in brute force against their enemies and are the generally more radiant, outgoing and brave hero type, their only flaw is they're quite easily corrupted if they have to choose between letting everyone burn or their loved ones, they will always choose their loved ones and if they don't, they will always deal with extreme guilt about it.

Jinx and Andrew, I find this to be the most interesting parallel as it's not quite evident due how immoral Jinx's actions are but to begin with they're both the smallest/smartest /slightly unstable/ insecure/ rational and empathetic sibling, they look up to be like their older siblings, they're their idols and heroes, having some troubles with their own self worth because of this, feeling lost without them by their side and having a road to go through to see their own self worth and finally see their siblings as just people and not all powerful beings. Following the themes, I call them Moon themed characters (following the same example with Luna and Celestia in my little pony) they both have a darker/blue color scheme reflecting both their more smart/sneaky/paranoid nature as well as it reflects their constant psychological torture affecting them due the circumstances they went through, living day by day only hopping this day will bring just a small ray of sunlight upon them (it never comes or comes in just very small drops to be taken away easily), constantly looking for approval from either their siblings or loved ones, their morals are stronger than their sibling bond, willing to fight to their last breath for those they protect and have shown kindness to them and the major good. (Also it's adequate to mention they both had gone through a certain moment where... They've seen their siblings as monsters).

Note: Jinx is in a environment of war where killing is something morally grey meanwhile Andrew is in a environment where that line is never meant to be crossed making both equal on morality but having different limits.

For Jinx crossing the line means when you exchange bands and for Andrew that line is killing someone, meaning both Danny and Vi have crossed the line meanwhile Jinx and Andy respect it

2. My brother/sister has become a monster

Jinx and Andy may both love their siblings but... When it comes to morality they are rooted to their beliefs; Andy (the balance keeps the world in order and something changing it must be bad) and Jinx (people from Piltover are monsters that want us death,they cannot be trusted), can we really blame them for not trusting their siblings when they exactly get to be what they fear?

Jinx: Enforcer Vi being one of those people who killed her parents willingly, meaning for her both of her worst nightmares; she's leaving her forever and she turned into one of those bloodthirsty enforcers that killed her parents, Silco would describe to her to be barely humans, so when she sees Vi working with Caitlyn in such a fragile moment of their first encounter after years (while also having Silco and others in her life saying all people from Piltover are evil) she began to see her sister as a traitor, confirming it on the bridge scene where she left her to die for Caitlyn and once more when she sees her using the full uniform of the enforcers as she uses the toxic gas of Zaun against her own people thinking of her sister as an horrible monster but still blames more Caitlyn for her sister's change (thinking of Vi as someone easy to manipulate, so making her think she can bring Vi back as her brave sister if Caitlyn is out of the picture).

Andy: Corrupted Danny a being smart, cold and powerful destroying the balance of the universe to make everyone into something different and not natural!, Andy becomes totally afraid of him since he's the manifestation of every nightmare he ever had (an all powerful being destroying his home with little to no sense of humanity willing to even kill for his goal). It doesn't help that Danny became sadistically playful with Andy when this happened making him even more afraid of him.

When the halfa era is over the real trauma began as Andy is proven several times Danny is willing to become this more aggressive and sadistic version of himself every time he's given the chance (Dark Dan who literally kills everyone on his path due his own pain and when he became slightly more powerful due consuming cores when he was trapped by the guys in white... Killing the agents and being willing to fight against Andy to eradicate from existence the organization)

They are terrified of the sibling they used to look upon to, their support and stability, so their sanity is barely hanging there as they desperately try to bring their siblings back, ironically when Andy does it he's a hero (because we're seeing it from his perspective) but when Jinx does it she's a mad woman who reached rock bottom, of course their methods are different but I still see they're both quite extreme...

Jinx: has constant hallucinations and panic attacks when feeling abandoned (Vi never noticed and never helped her with this), kidnaps her sister, her romantic interest (but also the enforcer who is "corrupting" Vi) and the father who lied to her to lose hope in the possibility of her sister being alive and put her sister and her between a same choice; do you love me enough to kill the monster and return to me?, Jinx unwillingly killed her own monster (Silco) when she heard he was about to shoot Vi but to her Vi chooses to be the monster she fears instead of her sister, so Jinx decided to completely dissociate from her by adopting her identity as Jinx instead of Powder and uses her weapon to destroy the council (what represents... Destroying the monster from the roots, maybe hoping Vi would get back to her if everything that represents Piltover is destroyed?). Yeah her acts are horrible but as the series goes on, she slowly comes to realize Piltover and it's people are just that... People who don't understand what they do is hurtful mainly thanks to having Isha in her life helping her to see how difficult it's to look after others and understanding Vi better as she's forced to participate even in a rebellion she didn't believe in to keep her safe (Still she holds a paralyzing fear to see Vi as an enforcer even making her cry when she actually sees her with the uniform for the first time).

Still she began to see Vi as just her sister looking for those she loves when she protected Isha and her from getting shot by Caitlyn when they fought, being the reason why Jinx finally gave her another chance when she found out Vander was alive and began to make it up to her after slowly realizing she did hurt her sister more (the moment she fully realized that she was hurting Vi and not just fighting a monster is when Isha sacrifices herself, finally having been in Vi's perspective looking how much it hurts to have a small sister destroying herself thinking she's doing the right thing), the guilt for making Isha like her and hurting Vi make her willing to take her own life and give Vi what she was looking for so long; her sisterly love and approval to finally be happy and stop worrying about her.

We could say Jinx gets to mature out of her fears and when Ekko talks to her she's finally able to see she can be happy and help those she hurt to be happy as well by walking away to heal and let them heal pretending her own death to do it.

Andy; With this boy, things are harder to see as "bad" since his brother and him have the strict rule of; not killing, so his actions can be even perceived as heroic but... How much of it is true?

When his brother becomes "corrupted" he's not quite totally not himself, on the opposite his actions are just him getting powerful enough to try to make the world a better place in his own terms, ironically wanting to give Andy what could make their brotherly bond to fix; to be one of the same kind once more (ironically We're Phantoms indeed proves Andy needed to be an halfa to fix their bond).

Andy fights with claws and nails to prevent it, fighting against his own family and friends to just reverse everything to normal and making his brother more and more centered into finding him to prevent him from hurting himself even further (Andy was described to be starving, with an injured arm and a blind eye) Danny was so worried about Andy he even forgot to look after the destabilizing people because his main focus was to stop Andy (ironically Andy made the halfa era worse than it needed to be), but since we're in Andy's POV we see the halfa era is some kind of apocalypse that needs to be stopped, to do it Andy is sacrificing everything and harming his own self so much he's willing to give up on his own life to prevent this, firmly thinking the world is falling apart and it's impossible for the ghost zone and earth to fuse and not end up destroying each other, we could be at Andy's side by thinking like this but...

In We're Phantoms it's actually proven the halfa era could be not harmful if Andy actually joined his brother to make the halfas stable, by getting to look at an alternative dimension where Andy and Danny work together in the halfa era instead of fighting each other, they successfully turned the world into an utopia with no hunger, no war and total peace (still is kinda wrong due the mild mind control of the people), even their relationship as twins seems to be better, they're playful, still call each other "bro", they still have their own personality and they don't seem to be in " control " of each other and most important they're not traumatized of each other!, yeah their games are quite... Cruel but in the end they are not harming or killing anyone.

But Andy in his main world can't help but think Danny was a monster in said halfa era, being in complete denial of the possibility Danny was still himself in the halfa era since he could not think the person he looks up to has the potential to be this monster, so he avoids the subject like the plague until the elephant in the room is hard to ignore as Andy repressed his feelings and they start to manifest as violent nightmares, visual and auditive hallucinations and panic attacks.

Ironically we could say Danny was the mature one in this situation and looking how much Andy was struggling mentally, he decided to talk about it with him (ironically making it worse since Andy's comfort about the situation was to think another entity was controlling Danny when he did all of those things, realizing his brother was capable of such things, breaks Andy apart)

Their bond is constantly stitched but never fixed as more and more situations prove Andy his brother is capable of turning into a unredeemable monster (even despite the shadow dimension probing him that yeah Danny is capable of horrible things but it's just because of the fact he's not perfect and he's a normal teenager with too much power to handle and that is perfectly normal for him to screw up).

Andy feels like he's the responsible one, he should be preventing Danny from going through that path (not realizing he's a teenager too and has the same potential of corruption as his brother due holding the same power), because it's a still ongoing series I can't judge how it ends but it's giving the vibes of Andy finishing to grow out of his fears (he's currently working on it) and being able to be the hero he's meant to be.

Vi; As Arcane is seen mostly from her perspective we can see she's not on anyone's side, She's barely trying to survive and have a happy life, she doesn't believe in a cause, she just wants her loved ones to be with her but not knowing she's hurting everyone by not choosing a side (I think this happened due unprocessed trauma after being several years in jail, she doesn't want to lose anyone and doesn't want anyone to change even when it's inevitable, she doesn't even notice she changed from a Brave leader to a skittish and codependent person with anger issues) but from her perspective Powder her baby sister should be still the same when she came back (an insecure but loving girl Vi wanted so much to be like this so she could feel like a leader again) she was disappointed and even quite fearful of Powder as Jinx because she doesn't need her like Powder did, she knows how to defend herself, her inventions actually work and she isn't willing to throw away all the progress to go back to her as a defenseless child making Vi see her as a menace and a monster, she doesn't quite care about the people she killed, she cares those people were important for Caitlyn.

With the Bigger siblings however...

3. Despite everything it's still them

Vi sees in Caitlyn what she wanted in Powder; a naive yet smart girl that needs Vi to survive in Zaun (and I even find it quite disturbing Caitlyn resembles Vi's mother and since Powder looks like her mother... Caitlyn fisically resembles Jinx/Powder showing what Vi is searching in her) but tries to fool herself into thinking she only wants the well-being of everyone.

Caitlyn's mom death made Caitlyn become mature and stop seeing the world as a place where everyone could live in peace, she becomes determined to erase the monster (Jinx) and safeguard Piltover, Vi sided with her afraid of losing her but once more when she had to choose a side, she disappointed Caitlyn pulling Caitlyn out of the fantasy of a strong loyal woman Vi created.

Vi herself is in worst conditions mentally than Jinx, willing to punish herself fisically to stop emotional pain (The pit fighter phase), she feels she has nothing if she doesn't have someone to protect, when Jinx came to her, she not only tried to save Vander but saved Vi as well, for the most part... Because...

Sadly Vi never learned her lesson and in the end Jinx was the one mature enough to walk away from the circle of violence and made Vi to stay with Caitlyn, having to pretend to be dead to help Vi to choose her happiness and let go of the past. In the end Vi finally saw Jinx as a person because of the good actions she did in the end but for herself... She's still a enforcer, she's still the monster of Jinx's nightmares but Jinx was mature enough to see her sister is not a hero... Just a wounded person like her.

Danny: In the Danny phantom phandom it's interesting to see everyone has different perceptions of the character, but for this fanfics the perception is quite close to the canon and... That makes this version of Danny actually... Scary but at the same time if you read deeper it's one of the saddest versions of him, since... Yeah, he has the potential to be evil and when he becomes powerful or corrupted enough is exactly what he does..., like a previous analysis I did on the Control freaks and The ultimate enemy episodes Danny is a teenager with some dark thoughts and fantasies that he would love to unleash but what keeps him in control is just... Guilt

Sam as his love interest has kept him on a leash since he got his powers, but whenever he's given an "excuse" to be as violent as he wants, he takes it with excitement:

-When he was controlled by Freakshow it's said Freakshow just wanted him to look bad to people (why everyone was robbing using invisibility but him would just pose at the cameras and shooting at the police), but he never put the slightest resistance and even seems to be enjoying it as he smiles all the time meanwhile the other ghost have a eternal frown of disgust at being controlled.

-As corrupted Danny he's totally sure he's doing the right thing to help everyone, not seeing he's just using everyone he turns into "halfas" as puppets, he's so focused on "the greater good" he became a dictator without realizing it.

-When he became Dan, it's confirmed in both the fanfic and the original series Dark Dan is more Danny than Vlad!, meaning he decided to unleash his power against anyone near since he feels no one is there to hold him back (Andy became too distant to be someone he worries about to hear his opinion, knowing he would see him as a monster either way).

-When he was trapped by the Guys in White he truly believed he was in the right to end the lives of the agents because they hurt his family and friends.

The halfa era was the beginning of the end for them as brothers, yeah they were drifting apart because Danny didn't told Andy about his ghost powers but Andy didn't care about the new species, he loved Danny no matter what, now beginning to see him as an all powerful and pure hearted hero until... His acts on the halfa era... Showing his most controlling and cruel side ironically beginning all of this because Danny didn't believe his brother could love him as something not human, as a ghost... Something his parents always told him that they were monsters...

So in that chain of thoughts, he believed if only Andy could become like him, their twin's bond could repair completely since he would understand him better, even have the same fears and worries (quite selfish way to think but again he's not the most brilliant teenager), he genuinely thought Andy would agree and be by his side but his world crumbled into pieces as Andy showed he was so afraid of this drastic changes, he was even afraid of Danny himself...

The whole halfa era he was more focused on trying to make Andy see he's not a monster and turn him into an halfa, his original plan was crumbling down into pieces as the whole dimension was destabilizing (ironically proving Andy right about him).

When it was over, Danny was powerful enough to remember everything and this makes it hurt even more when his own twin was having PTSD because of him, he feels guilty, guilty and devastated because no matter what he does, Andy is still afraid of him and as a joke of destiny, every time Andy is beginning to forget and warm up around Danny, an evil version of himself rises or he becomes said version by illusions of other villains.

Danny's hating more and more that version of him knowing his brother is gradually becoming too afraid of him becoming like that, every time he does something bad, he punishes himself mentally to hold himself back more and more just to not scare Andy.

It goes so far that when his wish came true and Andy became an halfa, he couldn't enjoy it as Andy was thinking of himself as a monster, making Danny more guilty.

I think one of his most important breaking points was when Danny fought to escape from the guys in white, only to be greeted by Andy calling him corrupted, he finally snapped and yelled at him to not compare him to that version of him, for the first time showing how much it hurts for him too, unfortunately this was dismissed by Andy as just the corruption yelling at him.

Danny's guilt and sadness is so heavy he even writes in Andy's journal about it, hoping Andy would understand (another destiny joke; Andy didn't read it).

It's quite sad to look Danny's feelings dismissed so much as he tries his best for his loved ones but Andy still has a point... Danny is dangerous and unpredictable despite his heart being in the right place and I find his future uncertain, in the best scenario; their twin's bond is fixed as time goes by, the worst case scenario; Andy becoming the perfect hero by destroying his "evil" twin.

[elliepassmore]

A Land So Wide review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: horror, historical horror, Gothic

Big thanks to Pantheon, Netgalley, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Craig is an autobuy author for me, so I was excited to get approved for this! It's more similar to Small Favors than to the Sisters of the Salt books, but still stands as a unique book on its own.

The book starts off telling the story of Mistaken, how it was founded and the folly of its founder. It's clear from that story that the town has a history of bad luck, compounded by the supernatural entities that lurk in the woods. The narration then turns to Greer, the main character of the story, and her best friend Louise as they scout the edges of the town's territory. With the introduction setup the way it is, we're primed to be on Greer's side when she and Louise argue about whether the Bright-Eyes and Benevolence exist (Louise, whose family needs the food that would otherwise go to offerings for the Benevolence, is less inclined to believe).

Mistaken is an odd little town, aside from it being the only safe haven in this part of the wilderness, it also has all sorts of strange traditions. Such as needing to be inside the town's borders by nightfall, the offerings to the Benevolence to ensure the town's continued safety, and the Hunt, where the eligible young women of the town hide in a field and wait for an eligible young man to find them so they can be wed. Honestly, that might just be the creepiest one for me. Admittedly, the Hunt does have a sweet side, as you might expect, couples plan their strategies together to ensure few surprises come the actual day, so it does tend to be less creepy than it sounds, but still.

In a town full of oddities, Greer is an odd one out. She has extremely sensitive hearing and can often catch whispers when they're across the room from her. She also seems to be one of the only people who longs to leave the town and see what's in the world beyond. Due to this, and in spite of the fact she comes from a founding family, Greer has few friends. I definitely felt for Greer and enjoyed the bits of happiness she was able to find in Mistaken. She's also very headstrong, and I liked reading her determination to find Ellis again after he walks beyond Mistaken's boundaries.

Louise, as mentioned, is Greer's best friend. While I did believe Greer's insistence that the Bright-Eyes and Benevolence were real, I also saw where Louise was coming from at the start of the book. Her family does need the food, and using it as an offering seems like a massive waste. Despite their spat, Louise does come through for Greer when needed, and I wish we got to see more of them together than we did.

Ellis, Louise's brother, is Greer's beloved and the two are planning to marry after this year's Hunt, despite Greer's father's disapproval and Louise + Ellis' families being outcasts in the town. I like Ellis, he's sweet and it's clear from the get-go that he has a big heart. The kind of heart that means he's willing to do self-sacrificial things for his loved ones.

I enjoyed the slow creep of horror as things started to go wrong in Mistaken. Despite Louise's insistence, it's clear that there's something bigger at play here than just stories meant to make kids behave. I would argue that most of the horror does happen within Mistaken's boundaries, but Greer also walks right into it toward the end of the book, determined still to save Ellis.

I will say, I did find the book to be predictable and had most of the twists figured out well before Greer even really started thinking about them. That being said, this is still an entertaining read and I enjoyed it a lot.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Hey Quil , how are you today ?

I wanted to ask you what is your opinion on Tiegrin saying that sophie started a war after she burnt down the Neverseen headquarters ?

Honestly tho sophie was right , this has been a war long before sophie commiting arson , this has been a war ever since Prentice was exiled and maybe even before that

Hello to you, too! I'm doing quite alright, as today is the first day in weeks that I have had no midterms looming on the horizon!! I finished the last two yesterday! But seriously I've had midterms since...wait let me check. The 15th of February. So it's been like three weeks, but I'm finally done! Honestly don't know what to do now that I am. But anyways!

As for Sophie being blamed for turning this battle into a war, I am 100% on her side. I think, while her actions were extreme and I might've gone about things a little differently, the reasoning behind what she did and the logic she employed afterwards was sound and align with my personal opinions as well. I don't think she is the one who turned things into a war, and I don't think that being pinned on her holds. Yes, they have a point that they haven't been offensive before, but I don't think that's enough to justify blaming Sophie for an entire war.

I have employed the use of the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary to bring you these definitions of war: "a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations" and "a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end." These are the definitions I'm going to be using in this post, as I think they fit our understanding of what war is. Looking at them, they seem to fit what has been happening with the Black Swan and Neverseen, perhaps even the Council at times. They have been openly engaging in armed conflicts since like...book 3? Book 2 if you count the battle that injured Silveny. I don't think anyone has outright declared war in the series (aside from King Dimitar) but they have openly declared hostile intentions against each other and intentions to defeat the other, frequently though armed force.

They are two opposing forces that are fighting against each other as they each try to achieve their own ends to the problem of the Lost Cities. While the Black Swan has been defensive instead of offensive, that doesn't mean they haven't been fighting back and haven't been at war. I think they've been at war in every way except for labeling it as such.

Maybe it didn't look like a war to us at first or we didn't realize it, given that Sophie's kidnapping and the ambushes in book 2 were our first introduction to the conflict and seemed like isolated attacks/incidents. But they're instead the result of this decades long conflict between the two groups, and I think Sophie was very right to call it a war! The elves may not like the word, but that is what is happening to their world, that is what they have been fighting this entire time.

I don't know off the top of my head what key moment could be attributed to it becoming a war, but it definitely was earlier than Sophie burning down the storehouse. I simply have difficulty believing that given everything that has happened, that was the breaking point. I can absolutely see how the elves, the peaceful species they are, would think like that. But just because it's what they think doesn't make it right. Sophie, with her human thinking and understanding of violence and conflict, was right (in my opinion) to label it and approach it like a war much earlier. The violence and the attacks and all that--I mean, killing a world leader??--feels like the elves should've declared war on the Neverseen long ago, but they're refusing to treat it as such because they think it's unsavory and unbecoming.

Sophie doesn't have that approach, so she can think of it how it should be and how it needs to be. The elves have been trying their methods for decades and they haven't worked, and that is why Sophie exists!! To give a new perspective!! And they aren't allowing her to do that, and are shocked and even a little horrified when she does it anyways. She is there because their methods and ideologies failed, and yet they still rely on them. Sophie isn't going to because all of their ideologies she's had to actively learn, they aren't mindsets she necessarily believes. She's got a unique combination of morals and determination with the ability to do a lot of what she wants. I hope she continues to act out if they won't let her serve her purpose another way.

That was a long way of saying that I agree with Sophie that this situation has been a war long before she burned down the storehouse. She may have escalated and changed a few things dynamic wise, but I don't think she is what made this a war. it's infuriating to read of everyone disagreeing with her and being so judgemental, but it does give good insight to the characters. And there are a few good fics people have written where she actually yells at them instead and it's incredibly satisfying

it's a crucial part of the series, so thank you for the opportunity to talk about it!

[rinisbowen]

1/2 I saw the last ask (I am talking about the anon, not you here) and I wanted to say that Gina and Ricky being the main leads isn't an argument for them becoming a couple. If PW will break up, Val won't be the reason. It will be a repeat of Ricky, Nini, Gina triangle. Ricky won't be the reason either (repeat of Ricky, Nini, EJ triangle). This will be just bad writing and won't work with either of Gina's or EJ's story (they deserve to be put first for once). The only way I see PW breaking up is

2/2 if EJ goes to college somewhere far away (Gina wants sm who sticks around). In s2 their relationship was shown as a healthy one. Regarding the miscommunication, it is sth that any couple can work through. Rini didn't broke up bc of that, but bc of wanting different things (main reason). The only bad seed planted is the college situation. I tried to make an objective analysis bc I saw so many theories (that won't work with the story) and unfounded arguments (ex: Gina and Ricky being leads).

--

hi anon! thanks for the ask. this is definitely an interesting subject, hence all of the conversation around it haha.

there are definitely some slippery slope type arguments being made right now, and always honestly. i won't deny that at all, because it's very true. but i'll note it's hard for people in fandom in general not to snowball small details into bigger things because of how little information we have at times. people like knowing things, and when we don't know things, we start to make things up that at least sort of fit what we do know. that's what i'm doing, that's what everyone's doing. extrapolation is not an exact science, especially with how small a pool of data we're gathering from.

i agree with a good bit of what you're saying here.

i'm personally a lot less inclined to use the nini / ricky / gina love triangle from season 1 as a parallel to expand from in a general sense, mostly bc it's a lot harder to grasp the nuances of it than it is the ej / nini / ricky love triangle from season 1. with ej, nini, and ricky, it's all made pretty clear textually what's going on. i think people miss some of the points still to some extent, because ricky didn't actually take nini off of ej, ej ruined that of his own accord, (plus nini didn't love him like she did ricky, so that makes it a lot simpler), several episodes went by, things shifted, then nini chose ricky because she still loved him and being with him started to make sense for her again. it's obviously more complicated than that, but it's still a more cut and dry triangle than the nini / ricky / gina one- so i'll probably use that one more as a point of comparison, though i think i do understand your analogy.

--

val is not going to break ej and gina up. neither is ricky. like you're saying. not a single character is benefitted here by either one of these characters getting in the middle of the situation. i like what you mention about being "put first". i see this framing a lot in portwell discussions i feel like, and it's a good point. people talk about the whole like- "second chance at love" thing with them, and it's a pretty good reading of the situation. neither was put first in their respective last relationship (in ej's case) / and i'll say- situationship (in gina's case).

nini was admittedly actively avoiding dealing with the ricky thing while with ej, and she tried her absolute hardest to focus on ej, and how "amazing" he was. but that was never going to last, because her heart inevitably still belonged to ricky. so even if ej was where she put her focus, her eye kept wandering to ricky.

ricky also wasn't actively looking at nini when he was sorta like- hanging out with gina. we get more of nini's perspective on all that than anyone else's bc imo the point of this was for nini to be jealous. but gina's also not ever had a relationship before, so i'll extend this whole thing beyond ricky. she has never allowed herself to be connected with someone deeply, so no one's ever done that for her in general. i don't think you call yourself the President of the heartbreak club over one singular missed connection. but then again, if you've only ever let one person in, it's likely that hurts all the more for its loss.

as a side note: jack was fantastic, big fan of the banter there. he was fun.

--

i agree that things between ej and gina were pretty healthy. most if not all of the relationships on this show are, despite all the conflicts we see.

i won't get into rini's breakup here because i have way too much to say about that, and it's not super relevant, but i'd agree that it was more complicated than mere miscommunication. i don't know if it entirely boils down to wanting different things either, because finding what he "wants" is something ricky is very much still working on. but i also definitely get what you're saying.

--

personally, i do think college becomes less of a problem if he's staying in salt lake, or at the very least, in utah. but i don't think that necessarily prohibits college from being an issue for them, especially with the passage of time. it's a hard thing to figure out, because this ship is in for some big problems, and i think the sooner people accept that the better. it's just going to be a matter of what they can work through, and what they can't, or what they choose not to.

because sometimes that's how it goes, right? it's not that you can't fix it, but that it's easier to just close the chapter, because it's not worth risking what's left. that's sort of just me waxing poetic, not me trying to make any assessments about the potential portwell arc next season, but it's true and i wanted to add it! so i did. i'm referencing "let you go" a bit here / ricky's conversation with his mom, but it applies generally as well.

[starswelike]

Hot beginning (The Heart - Marvel fanfiction)

This is the first chapter of the Marvel fanfiction titled The Heart

Pairing: Loki x OC

Warning: strong language

In this Story you can except:

massive character developement

an OC, who's secretly Not an OC

a hate to love relationship, and love át first sight

Loki becoming stronger

Lots of fun and sassy remarks

Warning again: I have to admit English is not my first language, but I try to learn it. I think writing is a good way to do it, because I love books and stories, and of course, fanfictions. 🙂

So I really hope if you give my story a chance, you won't regret it (and that I can write understandable 😅)

Well, enjoy the Story! ❤️

Chapter - Hot beginning

The armored troop-carrying SUV seemed to be moving at its greatest calm. Thanks to its serious equipment, the passengers could not feel it when the vehicle drove into a pothole, so starkly, keeping its speed, it broke towards their destination. The prestigious vehicle was perfectly suited for the transport of armed troops.

The nine people the monstrous SUV was carrying did not detect at all the wild pace dictated by their driver, middle-aged Dylan Johnson. The man was not a model of patience, it also appeared in his driving style: if he could not get around something on congested inner-city roads, he pushed it down with noble simplicity.

“Next time let's take a helicopter, it'll be faster." He had a slight annoyance between his teeth, though he could not deny that he enjoyed deep down that he was the greatest and that no one could stand in his way. Rather, the reason for his nervousness was that he was afraid of that, another unit was ahead of them. Dylan always wanted to be the first one who arrives to the crime scene, thanks to his competitive personality.

“Just take us there, Johnson. There will be plenty of other reasons for headaches." replied the small team's chief, Commander Miya Okamura, in a harsh tone. Her ominous words were noticed by all of them, knowing Okamura never exaggerated.

“Can you tell me what we're afraid of?”

Juan José Navarro, the team's sniper questioned in cold blood. His eyes and expression reflected his interest before his voice.

"Here's what we know," she began with the boss's usual firm voice. “There's been a report at 177/A Bleecker Street.

“Isn't that the title of that weird Strange?”

Aidan Cole, a handsome man in his 30s, could not wait for the boss to report everything undisturbed, as expected. He had comments all the time. What's more, he once again expressed his disinterest in magic.

"If you spit at Dr. Strange like that, you can scratch off the background of your phone, snitched," grumbled she, the team's med coach, Bria Hornback. “Scarlet Witch is not appropriate for you, who can't respect magic at all.”

“When did you check my phone, Hornback?” he asked with shock.

“I guess I found it out.”

“Wait. So you didn't know? Then how do you...?”

“Are you still asking? You always talk about her as the perfect woman.”

“Don't discuss who's looking at what now.” Okamura put an end to their light-hearted pecking. “Yes, that's where we're going. Wong came to us, Strange's most loyal man, claiming that particular events had taken place there in recent times, but before they could shed light on the secret, someone created a dimension gate that opened with a spell.”

“Can you make that a little clearer, boss?” Ella Willis was shocked. Her face showed the woman's lostness on the subject with undisgued sincerity, but she was not alone in doing so. Bria herself couldn't suddenly imagine what a dimension gate that would open all the time might look like.

"These wielding fuckers have created again," said Aidan, with mere despity. “Tell me, what's our job, boss?”

“Aidan, I'd like to know more about the situation.”

"So am I," said Bria, taking Ella's side. The weapons expert waved off the tea, which she wouldn't have left without a word. She felt the anger that was pouring in from her insides, but she exercised calm, for she knew it was not the best time to create a big-mouthed rival, even though in most cases she was happy to get involved.

“According to Wong, they don't know who caused the complication, which is why they need our help. Since the summoner's identity, and more importantly the spell itself, is not known, it is much more difficult for them to take them out," continued Miya, noting that the discussion had almost swerved in a different direction again. “What we know at the moment is that there's a dimensional gate that opens the way to several other dimensions at the same time. It's also feared to open up to a place where evil creatures sit on pins and needles waiting to be released to Earth.”

“That's tough. Then what do we do?" One of Bria's best companions, Takahashi Arashi, came out in the dismay of his eyes. He probably didn't get any smarter with the explanation; at least he probably didn't understand how the dimensional gate worked. Bria didn't fully understood it either, she didn't blame him, and she thought it was a sympathetic step to clarify what to do.

“According to what was discussed, Strange is trying to find the magic in the library, or a counter-spell to eliminate it. He noted that because he did not know how to eliminate it, at least traditional techniques do not work for the gate, it is feared to have been created by a force that is in the same way as Strange's power." Hearing the commander's remark, they all understood that the task would be more serious than expected, and Bria swallowed a great deal of concern, fearing that she would have to care for many of her comrades. “While the monks are protecting him, we, the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s units, are striving to catch the creatures pouring out of the gate, take them out and most of all, and not let them get away from the area. The lives of innocent civilians are at stake here.”

"That's why I hate all these magicians," shudded Aidan. “Their spells are like a bad experiment, only if it goes wrong, we could be in big shit.”

“Yes, because the gun is obviously completely harmless. Not to mention the nuclear bomb and its associates. And even these are old-fashioned compared to today's new weapons.”

Bria was unable to stop responding to the man's statement, which earned her inciforming gaze.

"The line-up is the usual," continued Okamura, once again noting the little digression. “Saunders is on his way, Ella's covering for him from above. Aidan and Takahashi will follow him with me. Alma, Hornback and Johnson stay in the back and cover Navarro until he can find the best shooting position.”

“I've been looking for some for you, Juan. Do you see them? “ the young technician in the passenger seat, Alma Mariano, turned back.

“Yes, I picked out what I thought.”

They all had digital display phones as work equipment. A fantasy image of the area to be secure has already appeared on it, beamed by S.H.I.E.L.D. satellites. The gate was located in the middle of the four-lane road, which was open in the north-east and southwest. But they weren't aware if anything had come through.

They all saw the small front terrace that Juan had chosen. Okamura nodded, approve of the decision.

“All right, Alma, you cover Navarro and Johnson's got Hornback.”

Bria was very feared for her associates during every operation. The boss always explained this by saying that they needed her, as a med schooler, to save lives, not to risk her own at the forefront. If she's lost, maybe there won't be anyone else to help. She appreciated the same, and it felt great to her that there was always someone to protect her even when she was in the danger zone, but she wasn't completely satisfied. Even though they told her that she deserved it as a med coach, she somehow felt like a clog and longed to fight better on the battlefield. Unfortunately, she only received basic combat training, and the main education for her was physiology, biology, chemistry, all that science. She gained useful knowledge, but at times she felt like a bird locked in a cage.

The bends were felt from slight inclinations. Bria and the people on the same side as her were leaning forward on a left turn, holding them only with their straps in place, when Dylan said:

“That stinking fucking sky! It's like it was in ‘12.”

If she could, Bria would have jumped up to see what might have been out there, but she knew what was late wouldn't go away, so she waited, despite the immense curiosity that consumed her insides. Their driver compared this one to the incident in which the Asgardian gods appeared on Earth, and Loki unleashed an army of alien beings called Chitauri on them. Would that have meant that bloodthirsty race had re-found? There was a chance, the dimension gate gave them every opportunity.

She took it upon herself with a big sigh, and decided that she would do everything she could to make sure that no such great devastation could occur again. That old case did enough damage to her and her life, and she was just one of them. To this day, countless people have thought of that day with anger, grief, sadness, and they all had their rightful reasons.

Takahashi put his hand on her shoulder and stroked it a little to help her relax a little. Perhaps he did it a little more gently than he should have, but Bria appreciated that and his smile. That man knew her too well, he noticed her tension. She couldn't have kept anything from him.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, they untied their seat belts and armed and prepared for the command.

“Johnson, what do you see?”

'Well, there's trouble' murmured the man, then exchanged a meaningful look with Alma sitting next to him. ‘Conventional weapons won't work here. Some creatures don't even have a solid body that pops up.”

It didn't prove a little reassuring to hear that. Although the arms industry also tried to keep up with magic and space technology, the most widespread weapon was still the one that threw up bullets. True, those who fired shots similar to those of the late Iron Man's energy beams began to gain ground. Fortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. circles did not prove to be a problem to obtain these types, yet Bria was less confident in grabbing her small pistol, which was handed to her after the gun cabinet was opened. She didn't have one, only that and her combat knife.

“Let's go, let's go” Okamura commanded, and Saunders opened the back doors at that moment.

It couldn't be put off any longer, so Bria swallowed all her tensions and went with her companions as discussed. Saunders cut forward with a huge gun, Ella pulled over his head with the help of a jet-pack. Just as Okamura and they discussed, everyone was grouped together to whom they were commanded. Bria waited for Johnson, and together they cleaned up the creatures that got close to them.

The view turned out to be astonishing. At first glance, they couldn't figure out the tangle. Despite the fact that Bria thought it might be time for her to finally be in the lead, Bria was grateful that she could stay a little behind to map the field. If she had been in the front, she would suddenly not have known what to do, but the others shooted at their opponents almost without thinking, reflex, habit.

The sparkly dimension gate was located right in the middle of the road, as the digital map showed. When she looked into it, Bria saw that the place changed from second to second. She saw worlds she never dreamed of. There were some strangers from where they came from. Flaming skeletons or icy giants, splashing swamp creatures or space creatures floating in ghost form. From the horrible to the more beautiful, there were all sorts of things, but thank goodness not all the areas where the gate opened proved dangerous.

With a big leap, a strange, blue-bodied creature, looking like a half-grown frog, landed near her. It was ugly, especially I’s huge canine teeth, which it clapped towards Bria. The woman was startled by the unexpected incident, but she was neither a beginner nor a clumsy one, so she quickly put her gun on him and destroyed the ugly creature with an energy beam.

Dr. Stephen Strange was not present. He must have been wildly looking for a counter-spell. His disciples and members of the order, on the other hand, have been very aides in capturing the terrible creatures. They were mostly pushed into other dimensions, and the monks were very smart. If a creature came from underwater, it was sent to the desert, which came from the cold, thrown next to lava. The cruel but useful procedure has brought its results, and for the time being they have managed to control the various species, none have ever attacked anyone. It was a real relief for Bria to see that the situation was under control. So she aimed her targets with much more confidence. Unfortunately, sometimes she found someone who had just been sent through a dimension gate from under her nose, but it was better to try twice than not once.

“That's going to be fine. Only the doc has to rush” said Dylan, and the medic nodded.

If everything had stayed that way, the situation would have been resolved over time, but no one said that more serious opponents would arrive. The gate made sure it opened in most of the places that exist. Some were given the moment it saw the gate that opened at their home, and some of them were unwittingly dragged in. And Bria was the first to see him.

It's been more than ten years since Bria was attacked in Manhattan. The losses she suffered that day proved to be heavy for her. Although she always thought she could never make amends, and she had to learn to live with the thought that what she lost that day would never get her back, she was overwhelmed with feelings of anger and vengeance when that day came up or whatever hinted at it. That's why she was so ready to act in the open-plan, but the moment she saw Loki unearthed from the gate, who could not be mistaken for anyone else, she was blinded by rage to the extent she had never before. At the same time, she felt a sudden desire to act. If she catches that cunning but dangerous god, they'll finally, maybe for once in her life, appreciate her and realize that she's dynamic, too.

Anger is not a good counselor. Bria, who always tried to act judiciously, even if it was difficult, proved unable to restrain herself this time. She wasn't thinking, she was just doing what she wanted to do in those moments.

“Loki!" She screamed, like a wild Amazon, and immediately threw herself toward him, not counting, not caring about the command, nor her team, nor the potential danger. She just wanted to get close to him before God knows what he would do. Bria's only advantage was that she was on her way before Loki could even figure out what had happened to him. She could tell he didn't intend to be here at all. His face was clear with surprise and anger.

Bria almost instinctively pushed aside those who got in her way, could have been her teammates, Strange's men or monsters. It's like Loki was in the crosshairs, and she waded through anything to get to him.

“Hornback, stop!” Okamura shouted at her, hearing it loudly over the radio, but not she heeded it. She wouldn't let anyone stop her.

Loki seemed to be surrounded by a faint blue light. Although Bria had never seen anything like it before, she didn't dilate, and she kicked off and caught the Asgardian before the light flash blinded her.

The next thing she knows, she's feeling them fall and she's burying Loki under herself. She didn't even notice it was hot, and everything looks so red. She wanted it too much. She sat on Loki's chest and held his hands down.

“I've got you!” she declared triumphantly. At that moment, their eyes met. She could see Loki’s confusion, and then his pupils dilated. Bria didn't know where to put this. She thought maybe the god of mischief had seen something that scared him, and her vanity was fading at the thought that it might be her.

Then she noticed the change of environment. She looked carefully around, not yielding to her grip, and discovered they were near a volcano, on a protruding rock, plenty of hot air. And Loki didn't look at all like he was having a good time. He was sweaty, his eyes fell in and his lip was dry.

A dimension gate opened, and they all caught their heads to see an overly muscular creature, resembling a minotaur of legends, fall straight into the hot magna. Their demonic cries, while burning, penetrated to the veal, Bria trembled for a moment, but she ruled.

"I didn't want to come here," murmured Loki under his nose, looking at Bria, as if he expected the answer to the big question of how they got here.

"They probably caught us with a dimension gate and sent us here."

"And why are you here, pretty eyes?"

Bria didn't show anything because of her equipment, just her eyes. They were just as blue as the sky on the most beautiful summer days. Loki looked at her with a peculiar smile, he seemed so confident, she wanted to shout at him, but now she finally ruled herself. She took the first step, caught him and got close to him. She quickly completed the final phase before Loki could escape, pulled a tiny circular object from one of her waistline bags and quickly pushed it to his neck.

"Auch" he hissed and Bria pressed the button in the middle of the device to activate itself. "What's this?"

"It blocks magic" she smiled, smiling slyly, and even good enough to lean close to the face of the God, looking even closer into his eyes, emphasized what she had to say. "You're my captive."

"Hm" sighed Loki and rolled his eyes. Somehow, the threats never work, and he's already reached out to rip the device out of his neck. Bria quickly pressed the button on the remote control for the device, and her prisoner shocked throughout his body and froze.

"If you do something I don't like, count on me to torture you."

"There's has to be a time when you're not watching" chuckled Loki. He was ready for the challenge, he wasn't daunted, even when Bria was sure he wouldn't get out of it. She leaned even closer to him. She herself behaved in a challenging way, feeling in the saddle.

"Test me."

They stared into each other's eyes for a long time. Loki didn't move either. It seemed serious, as if he had studied his situation, but Bria's attention was not abated. But she couldn't deny her excitement. For all the things he did that day, Loki could now be penalized and she was happy to be so close to him. She's heard the saying more than once, revenge isn't worth anything, but it's proved undeniable that it's sweet.

"What do you intend to do to me now?"

If they were already in the crater of a volcano, there must have been a reason to be lured. Bria could have rolled Loki down into magna, he probably wouldn't have survived, especially with a teaser blocking his strength around his neck. Her gaze suggested that she had thought for a moment about this possibility. Once and for all, ridding a villain of the world turned out to be truly graceful, but in the end she followed protocol by pushing his position indicator so that if they sought her out, they would find her.

"It's an enjoyable position, the way you sit on top of me, but maybe we should move."

He was sick of the heat, which is why the Asgardian was talking. Bria, on the other hand, wasn't touched by that. Seeing him suffer was a pleasure for her.

"Commander Okamura!" She told his transceiver, but the static chatter revealed that they wouldn't be receiving it. "The rocks are shielding the channel."

"Should I take you somewhere else?"

"Listen, the easiest thing for me would be to push you into the lava, so you better not pull the plug."

He smiled again. He’s never been scared of threats? Bria was a little amazed by this, but at the same time annoyed, but calmed herself with a quick sigh. She couldn't let Loki mislead her. She knew exactly how emotional manipulation could achieve his goals, which is to escape at the moment. If she’s already captured him, she really didn't want him to get out of hand.

She was hot, but not as hot as Loki. The Asgardian was tormented by the symptoms of heat, while Bria simply took the mask off her face and then the helmet off her head. She left her blond hair in a bun, and to torture his prisoner even more, she took out her canteen and pulled a big one out of it. Deliberately so that the fine water drips over her face, and then on her waterproof clothes, a few drops reach Loki. She looked at the man with a sarcastic smile, barely visibly licking her mouth, his eyes almost staring out, so he observed. This filled her with satisfaction, and she even made a small laugh.

"You're an evil woman, you know that?" Loki said softly. Although him tone might have been surprising, Bria ignored it.

"I'm just enjoying the moment."

"As do I."

"What?" she tipped his head to the side. "I can tell you're about to die of heat, and you can't even get the teaser out of your neck, because if you reach for it, I'm going to push the button. What is it that you can enjoy now?"

He smiled again. Despite the circumstances that were really causing him suffering, Loki was very easy to use to confuse Bria. She was terrified to realize that he had already begun manipulating her, as he had piqued her curiosity.

" Yes, even though you can see that I'm not a fan of heat, the energies that come out of you, the passion, the sexuality, the confidence, and how beautiful you are and how close you are to me..."

"Are you seriously complimenting me?!" Bria screamed, as did another being that they didn't pay attention to, but in the meantime it got here and fell into the lava. Loki smiled like rabies. The Asgardian was crazy, if he really thought it would take her off his feet. The woman was sure that Loki had not taken a word seriously, if only because of his great egotistical reputation, which, because of his divinity, looked down on people so despised that he would have condemned them directly to servitude. When someone felt this way about humanity, the compliment could not have been real, but in Loki's case, the issues should be treated with reservations.

"What's so surprising?" The man's half-smile would have been quite heartwarming with those sparkling eyes if it wasn't for Loki who Bria hated so much because of the old attack. "Don't they ever tell you how beautiful you are? Or are your fellow human beings so blind?"

"Don't think I'm going to fall for the honey-glazed words. You're a god, and I'm a human. You look down on us."

"But I recognize beauty."

"You're just trying to embarrass me so you can manipulate me."

"Yes, because I'm guessing you're trying to lock me up somewhere. I can see the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo pinned to your chest."

Bria almost screamed at Loki not to stare at her breasts, but she couldn't let anger take control of her. The Asgardian tried hard to get out, obviously by all means. She was starting to feel uncomfortable alone with Loki. She was really hoping the beacon sent the notification. Even if the radio waves were blocked, the position indicator sent a signal to every satellite in existence, which could then be decoded in S.H.I.E.L.D's central application.

"I am surprised by your sincerity," she replied, more calmly than she had first planned.

"At the same time if I can't escape, I'll try to enjoy every moment with you at least."

"I'm afraid I'm not enjoying anything with you."

"You sat on my chest quite easily. Maybe you could do it to my lap too."

"With these perverse innuendos, you're not going to get anything from me," chuckled Bria. "Even though I haven't had a relationship yet, I'm not embarrassed by the subject of sexuality. "

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know how many people make pig comments about me at work? I had to learn to handle these."

"I guess other people recognize the beauty you have," said Loki, raising his eyebrows with some anger, which gave Bria joy in the hope that these compliments would finally spare him. "But now that I've found out you're a virgin, you seem interestingly more attractive to me."

"Come on, don't make a stand. I know you despise me for being human, so I can't be attractive to you."

"Why is Hornback written on your dress? Is that your name?"

"Yes, I'm Bria Hornback," she nodded, it's okay for Loki to remember her name." What's wrong with it?"

"It's such an interesting coincidence, don't you think?" the Asgardian flashed that half-smile meant to be alluring again, and his eyes shone despite all his suffering. "Your name is Hornback, and I have a helmet with horns swerved back..."

"Don't explain to me that we have anything in common." Bria was still more restrained than she first wanted, while the sounds of death filled the space. "You're a monster!"

"What did I do to you to hate me so much? Or are you like this because of New York?"

Bria kept quiet. Her ears were hurt by the bitter cry of another creature. Death proved to be shocking, no matter how it came.

But she didn't stay quiet because she wanted to hear the cry so much. She just didn't want to answer the question.

"You don't know me, yet you judge me," continued the Asgardian. "Tell me, do you really think you guys are so flawless? I mean, judging isn't a very nice gesture."

"I didn't say we are, but you did enough damage to my life to make me hate you."

"Yes, it was a big mistake, and yes, I'm guilty. Since then, however, there have been a lot of events that have made me change, so..."

"Oh, don’t you dare make yourself look as a good guy." she snapped. "You're evil, the god of mischief, unreliable, and..."

"Don't be so stupid!"

Loki's voice thundered with anger for the first time, which frightened her. The word was stuck in her throat.

"Are you seriously going to put a little tip on everyone? Good and evil? White and black? You should know by now that there's no one in the universe who has only good or bad qualities. We all have our faults. Even you, Bria."

It turned out to be an odd feeling when Loki called her by her name. Despite the fact that he intended his monologue to be a reproach, it was as if the man found her worthy calling by her name. That said, after he liked her last name, maybe she shouldn't have been surprised.

"You're not treating me like an equal. You judge me without knowing me. You're being this erotic, and you're putting me through this heat. These are bad qualities."

"Merry Christmas! I hope you're pleased with your discovery."

"You're as cynical as I am," laughed Loki, but his throat was scratched. Maybe he was starting to dry out. "They say cynicism is a sign of intelligence."

"Do you have anything else to study on me?"

"Interestingly, the more I learn about you, the more I care about you."

'Wow, That’s good for me. " Bria sighed not a little joyously.

Suddenly she saw a bright flash of light in the sky. A helicopter appeared over the crater, and the beam of light settled on them after some searching. Bria's relieved to see this.

"This is Bria Hornback, med school of Commander Miya Okamura's unit," said she to her transceiver after setting up the general S.H.I.E.L.D. channel, holding one eye on Loki. "I have a captive I'm asking for urgent support for. I catched Loki!"

"All right, Agent Hornback." received the answer via radio. "We're taking Loki into custody immediately. We help you! Please don't move."

Bria smiled for the first time with a truly great exultation at the man who had been laid down. His face finally showed a slight sign of disappointment.

"So you succeeded," he said resonantly.

"If there's anyone you shouldn't look down on, it's me. "

"I'd add, for now. Because I can't guarantee I'll stay with you for a long time."

Bria looked deep in Loki’s eyes, and the feelings of victory were gone. It was perhaps the first sentence she believed without doubt and took as a warning. She did not want to tell the Asgardian that she was up to the challenge.