#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.

[cleverpaws]

if you don't want to see my negative and VERY stream of conciousness No Beta We Die Like Whatever Happened To FC Hetch ask-response-turned-review of the founders cut then don't keep reading because dear god i don't even know what happened here

i won't lie i got more of a "zero is nonbinary" reading from them asking to be called zero rather than miss roads at the end (which tbh maybe is wishful thinking. but i hope we're getting representation of a trans character in a world with transphobia please dear god i need less perfect world escapism and more using transphobic society as an aspect of horror please please god)

but. god yeah hit the nail on the head with everything else. hetch's lines feel jarring and are overacted in places. the scenes where he's angry are good but then he somehow becomes too cartoonishly evil and it falls flat. ranboo is the main character because they're all the fans care about so they're the main character because they're all the Audience cares about right guys!! right!!! who needs those other guys!!! who cares about the content creation allegory not me!!! why the fuck would ranboo feel guilty for killing these people we had no time to get attached to. ranboo feels more like The Hero than our vessel through which we view his world which i understand was necessary in some sense but we only have their perspective. of everything. so we need more of our own context for why them standing by and watching them die is so horrific rather than just relying on the fact that these are supposedly ranboo's friends (which??? who knows!! maybe they fucking aren't!!!! showfall puts memories in people's brains so !!!!!!)

sneeg is no longer even mentioned as a starring role in the credits despite the fact that for the first two episodes hetch only appears for maybe 4 minutes combined tops. this show is about ranboo and hetch now!! and charlie!!! for some fucking reason!!!! just because he's There In All Three Episodes!!! sneeg is too he just fucking dies quicker so uhhh who cares its fine!! who gave a shit about that guy anyway sure.

niki's death even somehow felt less well-timed??? god maybe i'm crazy but that really threw me for a loop. how was there still a delay in the edited version??? i'm no editor but like. that?? should be a somewhat easy fix??? right. right????

this isn't even getting me started on all the things i think could have been done differently with the audio mixing--which i was GOING to say i was more normal about but guys. oh my fucking god. in og episode three there's a moment when they've locked themselves in that room with the double doors and ranboo fumbles and says "every of it" instead of something coherent. and while i was forgiving of this like i was forgiving of everything in the original tse production it Did always kind of stick out like a sore thumb and ruin the immersion a little. not that i really minded!! again like i said in one of my other posts i loved how scrappy tse was, i was just thinking the fc was going to polish up all the little mistakes like that.

but of COURSE now my immersion gets to be ruined every more by niki's voice in her introduction sounding like she's suddenly speaking in a closet!!! and they didn't even fix "every of it" !!!!! i don't understand

the founder's cut was disappointing and i'm not just saying that as someone who wasn't particularly looking forward to it after months of overpromising and shit like that on ranboo's part. this seems rushed. this doesn't seem like a labor of love anymore. when i look at the fc, i don't see the team effort that went into the social experiments. i see the Hero. because i guess that's all we're supposed to see. maybe that's the point. maybe it's a satire on how focused we all got on gl!ranboo and how tragic he is rather than the story itself. but from the way ranboo's been talking about it i'm not inclined to believe that. the irony of ranboo also releasing lore--and from the looks of it, an arg--behind a merch paywall, is also not lost on me.

i don't mean to say it was all bad. because it wasn't. it Did have its moments. like i said, hetch's voice acting was only insufferable at times (and there's an argument to be made that that's just nostalgia for his old lines talking, too, which would be fair) his short temper was definitely an interesting change, and his anger felt terrifyingly real at points. and maybe there are things i was missing. watching something live (i watched the premier like most) has always ended up with me missing some bits, so maybe i'm just missing context. i'm aware i only caught one of the photorealistic weird gore bits from the first episode which means i need to rewatch it as soon as i'm able to pay closer attention just to catch those, if nothing else (<- obsessed with weird gore)

but. yeah. this turned into a literal essay so i'm sorry to any poor souls that clicked read more thinking this was just going to be a crazed paragraph or so. erm. i'm a little disappointed chat. gotta get my thoughts out somewhere

if you disagree with anything here, awesome. this really truly isn't an attack on anyone who enjoyed the founder's cut or even ranboo himself (though i have my grievances) this is just me trying to put into words what exactly felt so... hollow. about this. it's weird being critical of things someone i used to look up to almost blindly created. there's more things i'm upset about but i'll save it for another day when i'm able to think a little more coherently

and. sorry anon for maybe jumpscaring you with. this. in response to your thoughts on a fandom confessions account LMAO

...guyss I feel like the founders cut was ranboo playing into what the fandom wanted a little bit... more ranboo and charlie and half of sneeg and carousel crews screentime being erased? more evil hetch? and zero being confirmed a girl after every one and their mom made zero and j into small town lesbians experiencing a mystery? and ofc i dont care if that was rans vision the whole time but it just feels really... coincidental??

.

[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.