#because i suck at coloring darker scenes but needed to attempt to make these go decently together

[theirwolfbicanthrope]

#when the boys have to stare at you as long as possible

[chipper9906]

Maybe

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR LOKI SEASON 01 EPISODE 05: ‘JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY’ AND SEASON 01 EPISODE 04: ‘THE NEXUS EVENT’

Pairings: Loki/Sylvie

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 4,124 

Status: One Shot - Complete

Chapter Preview:

He had meant for it to come out more as a question, an offering. A possibility for the both of them. But what it really sounded like was a… well; a sincere, hope-filled attempt to keep hold of… this. Whatever this was, he knew he wanted it. However things went, he knew-

He wanted Sylvie in his life.

His heart was racing in his chest, pounding almost as hard as it does in the midst of battle. In the unlikely event he’s a free man after all of this over, he’ll have to go and find his brother - if he’ll even talk to him, that is - and apologize for the harsh insult he used; for berating his older brother over his affection for that Earth woman.

He understood now.

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Author Note: 

Oh Boy, here I go again, getting sucked into yet another ship. Basically, this is a dive into Loki's thoughts during the blanket scene in Episode 5 "Journey Into Mystery" because man, I sure do love getting into a character's head and breaking down their thought process.

P.S. No joke, I think I re-watched the blanket scene like... over 40 times I counted, roughly. Wanted to make sure I got every detail right lmao.

Oh wow, would you look at that - yet ANOTHER fic based on the blanket scene? I'm sure this hasn't been done by many different people ever since Episode 5 aired! Nah, I'm sure this is purely original stuff.

(Listen, this scene and - consequently - this fic got stuck in my head and I just had to write it down and... well here we are.

* * *

This was, as he had said, new for him.

It was… strange, to say the least. Not just because the woman who was sat next to him was, technically, on some sort of level, himself. And yet… not. Sylvie was her own person, that was for sure. And the only Loki, from who he’s met, who refuses to be called Loki. She had chosen her own name, and was currently choosing – or carving, was more accurate – her own path. A way out of the never-ending, self-sabotaging, “only use is for improving others” apparent destiny they’ve all found themselves in.

She had lived an entirely different life from him - and the use of the word ‘different’ here is strongly applied. It makes him a little uneasy when he dwells on it for too long if he’s being honest with himself. Yes, there may some similarities between them, as to be expected, but Sylvie had lived her own set of experiences different to his. Differences that had shaped her, made her see the world… universe… timeline? All of that, in a different way to him. Learning of the things she had gone through, what she’s trying to accomplish… it made his “glorious purpose” of ruling over “Mid-guard” seem like a spoiled boy's desperate attempt to feel important.

Everything with Sylvie and the TVA had shut down that ideal very quickly. Or, at least, has changed his view of his “Glorious Purpose”. The one change that he hadn’t seen coming, that Sylvie herself had told him; the very first words she had actually said to him:

“This isn’t about you.”

No, it wasn’t about him. Not just him, anyway. It was… it was all of him. Every version of himself out there, and every other variant of... Of everyone to have ever existed. Those, just like him, who are punished for stepping out of their pre-written timeline. Those that, when they try to change themselves, to be the person who those that loved him did everything in their power to guide them to be, were snatched away by the TVA and sent here to this pit of unwanted, broken things; left with nothing but unforgiving and dirty survival, only to lead to their inevitable death. 

And it’s cold.

“Mobius isn’t so bad.”

Sylvie breaks the comfortable lull of silence they had found themselves in. They were, technically, supposed to be ironing out the details of this plan to enchant a creature much, much larger than them, whose only desire is to eat everything that enters the world they’re currently in. Which is why, perhaps, they had taken the moment to just… breathe. A moment of rest, side by side. Whilst it was true that his plan of killing the gargantuan cloud thing was near suicidal, it would be fair to say that Sylvie’s plan was equally as dangerous. Then again, what did he expect? Seemed that every type of Loki out there isn’t the best at creating plans…

“Or so good,” Loki counters. It seemed almost cruel to say, but… it was also true, wasn’t it? Sure, Mobius had done the things he’d done because he thought they were the right things to do – but that didn’t take away from the fact that he’d done them. How many variants, not only of him, but of so many other poor souls had been doomed to this place because of his work? Still, it wasn’t like Mobius had the full picture with everything. Mobius had been lied to just as much as he had. “I think that’s why we get along.”

A small smile pulls at Sylvie’s lips. She takes a deep breath in, staring out to the horizon where Alioth awaits prowling his territory. “He cares about you.”

That catches him off guard. He supposed that she and Mobius must have had some type of conversation in however long they’d spent driving to reach them. Apparently, the topic of conversation must have steered towards him at some point. And somehow, through that, Sylvie had deduced that Mobius… cared about him?

There’s a soft, knowing smile on Sylvie’s face as she catches sight of his reaction. It was probably the closest similarity they shared: friendships… didn’t quite seem to happen for them. 

But there’s something else there in Sylvie’s expression as she looks to him. Almost a twinge of… of sadness. It sends an aching sort of pain through his chest as he sees it, coming to a sudden realization in his head. He knew that, deep down, the reason for his own loneliness was all due to himself. He knows now that there were plenty in his life that loved him, that always treated him like family even when, genetically, he wasn’t. But he had been blinded by jealousy and hatred, hatred that they had kept the secret of his true nature quiet for so long. It was because of this; this stubbornness and this selfish, false ideal that he deserves more, that he had made himself alone. 

But Sylvie…? She had been well and truly alone. From such a young age, an age where his mother had barely begun teaching him the basics of magic, she had been snatched away from her life. Everything she ever knew and loved had been wiped away, the timeline dumped here just like everything else the TVA – or whoever the hell is actually in charge of the damn universe and its multiple timelines – decided was too much of a threat. Ever since then, from that very same day she had managed to escape their clutches, she had been running alone. All those years, fighting to survive, completely alone, existing in one apocalypse after the other. Even if she did try and interact with the people in those timelines, what would be the point? They were doomed to die, anyway… 

Her words echo in his head for a moment, her sad smile seemingly etched into his memory. A part of him, that strangely soft side he didn’t know existed that had been growing stronger and stronger these past few days, burst with the need to do something, to remove the pain she was feeling. For just a split second, he nearly gives into it. He nearly says the words that were forcing their way to the forefront of his brain. 

‘I care about you.’

But the words stay safely locked away in his head. Sylvie looks away from him, and the moment passes. He didn’t know if she had been expecting for him to say anything, and he certainly didn’t know what it is she might have thought he would say. His mind clambers for something, for anything to try and bring the moment back.

A strong gust of cool wind blows over them, sending chills across his pale skin - despite the long-sleeved shirt he was wearing. He knew that, if he really wanted to warm himself up, he could shift into his true form. Except, he didn’t see it as his true form. He has been an Asgardian as long as he can remember, and for all intents and purpose, this is who he’s meant to be. He is the son of Odin, son of Frigga, brother to Thor, an Asgardian, and he’s proud of that. 

And that’s when the idea pops into his head.

“It’s cold,” Loki states the obvious to Sylvie with a shiver of his upper body, glancing over to try and catch her reaction out of the corner of his eye. For a moment, he wonders if Sylvie has the same views on their true heritage as he does, considering that, in her timeline, she was told she was adopted much earlier than he was. 

She doesn’t mention anything about it, though. Instead, she simply agrees with his statement with a hum of “Mmm-Hmm,” but it’s exactly the kind of answer he’s looking for.

From the outside, it looks like an easy twirl of his fingers and a burst of lime-green light, but in reality, it’s years and years of practice, both by himself and… and with his mother. The weight of the blanket - though light - is comforting as it wraps around his shoulders; silky smooth to the touch and of a darker green than the light of his their magic. 

The burst of color gets Sylvie’s attention, looking over to Loki again to see the new blanket he had materialized out of seemingly thin air - which… he did. 

“I could conjure one for you, if you like?” Loki offers.

Sylvie smiles for just a split second, enough for Loki to believe that she might just say yes. But then her nose scrunches as she comes back to herself, and the belief is gone. “Tell you what, you could conjure me a new outfit,” Sylvie says off-handedly, pulling at the tight collar of her outfit. “You have no idea how uncomfortable something like this is.”

It’s a deflection. He knows that all too well, because… because it’s something he’d do. Not that he can blame her in the slightest. As he had said, just before he was pruned through the heart and sent here - this was entirely new for him. Sure, he had had his fair share of flings back home. Rare occasions when he would give in to temptations, let himself experience a slice of normality. But it was never real. He did not doubt that those that fell into his bed did not do so because they felt a connection, or saw a future. And neither did he. He was a prince, a God, and for most, saying you were able to seduce a prince was an achievement. And for him? Well, it was an easy means to an end, he supposed. 

But this? This felt real. It was strange, it was something he had never experience before, and quite frankly, it scared the ever-living God’s out of him. So sure, he knew how to flirt… somewhat. But with this, with Sylvie? Everything was different, and he had no clue whatsoever what he should do.

“So…” Sylvie breaks him out of his thoughts. “Mobius, and his theory about…”

Oh. Well, he certainly hadn’t been expecting for the conversation to go there. Really, he had thought she might try and pretend to have never heard what Mobius had said. 

“Right, right. About our Nexus event-,”

“Total rubbish, right?”

He’d be lying if he said that didn’t sting a little bit. “Absolutely,” ‘Liar’, a voice in his head hisses. “Of course, I mean-,”

“I don’t mean that it wasn’t a nice moment,” Sylvie hurries to say, and it lessens that sting just a little bit. 

“No, it was great! It was really nice.”

“It just… sounds like another TVA lie.”

Which... Yes, when he thinks about it, could you easily have been a lie. Not that he thinks that Mobius would lie to them about this, no, but that someone else within the TVA had fed Mobius the lie. For what reason, he's not entirely sure. To throw them off the scent perhaps? Keep them from figuring out what can really cause a Nexus Event so powerful that it could conceivably take the TVA down. 

Or, perhaps they just enjoyed lying. More than him even - and that's saying something. 

"A hundred percent. I mean totally, yeah."

And oh, what was this? Loki tries to meet her eye, expecting her to nod her head vehemently in agreement to his statement. But... She won't look at him. She gives a somewhat strained-looking smile, more like a grimace than anything, and if he looks hard enough - by which he means projects his own feelings onto Sylvie and hopes she feels the same - he could almost imagine there was a flicker of disappointment there, too. 

"I don't know how to do this," Sylvie says, an admission he didn't expect. She looks about as awkward as he feels, eyes fixated on her fingers as she plays with them. 

"I don't even know what we're doing," Loki returns, and dear oh dear did he genuinely mean that. One moment he thinks he should take that step, say something, anything. And then the very next moment it becomes the wrong time, the wrong thing to say, and he's back to square one. 

It was frustrating, to say the least.

"I don't have friends," Sylvie carries on, and it's another dagger through the heart. Yet another thing that was so similar, yet so, so different. He had been given so many opportunities for companionship, for friends, but he repeatedly threw them all away. But Sylvie? She wasn't even given the chance. She truly had-

"I don't have..." Sylvie trails off, a long gap where she struggles to find the right word to use. Her eyes had locked onto his, and he knew that nothing less than Alioth appearing right above their heads would get him to tear his eyes away.

"... Anyone." 

"Well, there are more important things, right?" Loki desperately grasps for something to wipe away the blank, dejected look that was etched onto her features. 

"Right? Yeah, like bringing down the TVA." 

For once, one of his plans was going well. "Saving the universe, even."

"Well, there's no need to be dramatic - but yeah, kind of!" 

Then there it was again - a particularly strong breeze pushing up to the little hill they were sat on. Sylvie gives a little shiver as it washes over them, a barely noticeable shuffle in an attempt to get warm, and Loki jumps at the opportunity. 

It only takes one small adjustment, a brief push of magic, and then the blanket is growing, wrapping itself around Sylvie's shoulders in a motion so smooth, you'd think he'd done something like this hundreds of times before. Loki smiles gently to her when she notices the change, and his smile only grows more as Sylvie pulls the blanket tighter around her shoulders, shuffling closer to him by just the smallest of movements. Yet another plan he could now say was a success. 

"It's not very snuggly."

Or, maybe not. "Okay," Loki manages to get out through a surprised laugh, but he does get some sort of gratification in seeing her smile at his response. 

"Is it a tablecloth?" 

"No, it's a blanket," Loki finds himself strangely defending his materialized choice of cloth. 

There’s a pause, the quickest of glances up to him. He sees a brief flash of pink as she pokes out the tip of her tongue between her lips, wetting them as she struggles to get out her next words. “Thank you.”

Loki gets a strange feeling she doesn’t get to say that all too often. Whether that be because she chooses not to, or because she’s never had the opportunity to. When was the last time someone did something nice for her…?

“My pleasure.”

Sure, this was all new, and all types of scary. But, as he sat here, shoulder to shoulder with Sylvie, looking out to the dreary yet oddly beautiful landscape scattered with remnants from pruned timelines, he can't help but feel that this moment right here? It was… nice. Despite the TVA, despite Alioth, despite the fear of imminent death he’s had to live through nearly every moment since the Tesseract flung him into that desert in Mongolia, he had managed to find himself some semblance of peace. 

And it was because of the person next to him.

“How do I know that, in the final moments, you won't betray me?”

Now, this was a conversation he had been expecting. How can he not? It seemed that nearly every single person he’s ever come across, who he hasn’t immediately tried to murder, wonders the exact same thing. The ‘inevitable’ betrayal every Loki seems incapable not to carry out. 

And he couldn’t blame them, just as he can’t blame Sylvie for wondering the same thing. Really, he had thought the whole reason she had wanted this moment to talk to him was to have this very conversation. It was… it was something he had thought about himself, ever since being dragged in by the TVA. It was Mobius that had shown him his consistent deceitful nature - quite literally, by showing him film of every moment in his life where his flair for dramatics and affiliation for backstabbing was apparently used for ‘the bettering of others’. 

It had become deeply ingrained into his nature. It became what he was known for, what his family knew him for. He supposed it gave him some sense of… satisfaction, perhaps? A false sense of security, that he always has the upper hand when need be. It was almost like a trial, opportunities to prove to himself that, when the time comes, he can do what it takes to claim what he, false-fully, felt he was owed. He was certain that the only path to being a rightful ruler was one filled with betrayal. 

And now, after only a few days with Mobius - and an even shorter amount of days with Sylvie, his previous ambition he’s been working towards for so long suddenly wasn’t as important. Things had changed. 

He had changed. 

And that was part of the reason the TVA wanted him dead. 

“Listen, Sylvie, I…” Loki starts, but then stops. He sighs deeply, wanting to find the best way to get this across to her. He needed her to understand. “I betrayed everyone who ever loved me. I betrayed my father, my brother… my home.”

He at least had her full attention now. No more awkward glances at one another, unable to maintain more than a few seconds of eye contact. This was important, and they both knew it. “I know what I did. And I know why I did it. And that’s not who I am anymore. Okay?”

There’s nothing on her face that he can read, nothing that says whether she believes him or not. She had been expecting him to say this, he supposed. “I won't let you down,” Loki says, and he says it like a promise - one he fully intends to keep. 

“You sure?” Sylvie asks, and he nods his head straight away in response. “ ‘Cause if we make it, and the TVA is gone, there might be a timeline for you to rule.” Sylvie continues with a challenging - yet slightly teasing- narrowing of her eyes. 

“Ah,” Loki says wistfully, looking out to the horizon as if dreaming of such an event. “And then I’d finally be happy.”

Except, he wouldn’t. He only has to look at his older self to know that. The only one of himself that had beaten the one event that’s supposed to define their lives. He had tricked the mad titan himself, found himself a little corner of the universe to live out his life in peace. No more people he has to challenge, no more opportunities for betrayal - by him, or to him. 

And he looked… miserable. 

Now, though? Right here and now, he wasn’t miserable. He certainly wasn’t relaxed, that was for sure, but far from miserable. He had ended his little exclamation with a rare smile that wasn’t a smirk - or forced- and miraculously, Sylvie returned one just as wide as his; wide enough even for him to see the little laughter lines crinkling at the corner of her eyes.

“What about you?” Loki asks. “What will you do when this is all over?”

Sylvie takes a moment to think, tucking an unruly strand of hair away from her face. “I don’t know.”

He couldn’t even begin to try and put himself in her shoes. Sylvie had spent… hundreds, perhaps even a thousand years of her life just running. Surviving. Doing whatever it takes to make sure she wasn’t wiped off the board by some mystery figure, or group, that had deemed her too dangerous to the timeline. And for what? Some kind of sick desire to have control over every single living thing in every type of Universe to ever exist?

Which… which sounded an awful lot like himself, now he thought about it. Maybe whoever was in charge of the TVA was another variant of himself…

“I don’t know either,” Loki said, and that added to the tally of growing truths he was admitting to people - perhaps the most in his life. 

At some point, this all had to be over. Whether… whether it ends in his death once again, another defeat by a power-hungry being, or with their victory. No more TVA. No more pruning of variants. No more control. Sure, Sylvie had made that joke about him ruling a separate timeline, but… what would he do once this was all over, assuming her survives it? What did he want to do?

What does he want? 

‘Look at your eyes! You like her!’

‘What?’

‘You like her! Does she like you?’

‘Was she pruned-’

‘No wonder you have no clue what caused the Nexus Event on Lamentis; both of you are swooning over each other!’

‘Tell me the truth-’

‘It’s the apocalypse! Two Variants of the same being, especially you, forming this sick, twisted romantic relationship - that’s pure chaos! That could break reality, it’s breaking my reality right now! What an incredible, seismic narcissist - you fell for yourself!’

‘Her name was Sylvie’.

Mobius had truly tricked him there. At least now he knew how cruel it was to be on the other side of such a bluff, he supposed. He had always prided himself on his acting abilities, his innate way of lying to others. Yet, apparently, when it came to Sylvie… he puts his full emotions on display. He had become too overcome with emotions at the mere thought of Mobius telling the truth, that Sylvie was well and truly gone, and he had snapped. He was…

Yes… That was the word. 

He was heartbroken. 

‘You conniving, craven, pathetic worm. I hope you know you deserve to be alone and you always will be.’

‘Do you really think you deserve to be alone?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Well then you better figure it out quick, because the Nexus Event the two of you caused, whatever that connection is, can bring this whole place down.’

Maybe, just maybe… Mobius was onto something there. Maybe Sif, even in that small, once insignificant memory buried in his mind, was wrong. 

Maybe he didn’t deserve to be alone.

Maybe he didn’t have to be. 

“Maybe…” The words get caught in his throat, spoken softer than he intended to. He involuntary finds himself leaning closer to Sylvie, to the warmth radiating from her, trapped within the blanket wrapped around them. “Maybe we could figure it out... together.”

He had meant for it to come out more as a question, an offering. A possibility for the both of them. But what it really sounded like was a… well; a sincere, hope-filled attempt to keep hold of… this. Whatever this was, he knew he wanted it. However things went, he knew-

He wanted Sylvie in his life. 

His heart was racing in his chest, pounding almost as hard as it does in the midst of battle. In the unlikely event he’s a free man after all of this over, he’ll have to go and find his brother - if he’ll even talk to him, that is - and apologize for the harsh insult he used; for berating his older brother over his affection for that Earth woman. 

He understood now. 

He almost misses the slightest of reactions as Sylvie looks up to him - and what he knows is an earnest, vulnerable glaze in his eyes. It’s the smallest of things, almost impossible to see, but there’s a slight pull to the corner of her lips as she looks to him. Almost as if she was fighting back a smile at his proposition. 

“Maybe,” She whispers back to him, just as quiet and tender as his own words. It’s not a yes, not in the way his frantically racing heart was hoping to hear, but it was a start. It was Sylvie’s own returning of a proposition, her own olive branch. The possibility he had given that she was extending right back to him. 

Maybe. 

Maybe.

Maybe.

Yes… Maybe they’d survive this. Maybe he and Sylvie would bring down the tyrant who oversees ‘the sacred timeline’. Maybe he’ll find Mobius again, alive and well, having turned the entirety of the TVA’s workforce against the organization they devoted their lives to, and burn it to the ground. 

Maybe Sylvie will let him stay by her side. 

Maybe, he’ll carve that new path in his life - with Sylvie’s intertwined with his.

Maybe he’ll find that new Glorious Purpose.

Maybe he won’t be alone. 

Maybe he’ll be happy. 

Maybe…

You know what? He was starting to like that word. 

[ickle-ronniekins]

protection

request from anon: Hey, can I have some protective Freddie please? I could really use some in my life right about now 💕

request from anon: Hi! This is my first time requesting! I absolutely love your writing it’s so cute 🥺 and makes me blush 🥺 could you possibly write a protective!fred x reader? I loved the one you wrote. Maybe where Draco tries flirting and is quite persistent with the reader or sum. Doesn’t have to be Draco but he was the first character that came to mind. Please 👉👈🥺 Ty! Have a lovely day

request from anon: Hey! Your stories are amazing! Any chance I could request some Freddie fluff at bill and fleurs wedding please?! And maybe some protective Freddie when it gets to the death eaters bit…

word count: 2k

A/N: okay so we’ve got a lot going on here—we’ve got protective fred, jealous fred, wants-to-get-his-fiancé-alone-asap fred, we’re a mess of emotions here pals lol. i have so. many. requests. and i had a bunch asking for protective!fred plus also some fluff at the wedding. i did make the persistent male someone @ the wedding instead of draco but i hope you guys still love it!

tag list: @mintlibri @seppys-return-to-madness @how-do-life-does @fopdoodledane @fredd-weasley @iprobablyshipit91 @semmelsemi @cottageoflove @laneygthememequeen @snakesonaplane-7 @lupinsx @keoghans @helloallthethingsilove @bobduncanlover @dreamer821 | message me if you’d like to be added, loves!

“Think we could just.. skip the wedding, perhaps.. stay up here for the evening, run away tomorrow morning, find a little cottage somewhere and grow old together?”

You laugh softly and push playfully on his chest. “Freddie—”

“Doubt mum would even notice,” he replies, gently running his thumb across your cheek and down your neck, across your shoulder blades, over the goosebumps rising on your arms, “she’ll be crying the entire time, anyway. C’mon—” he jokes, pulling you closer to him, “we won’t be missing much, will we?”

“Don’t let your future sister-in-law hear you,” you tell him, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck. “Promise we’ll have some alone time later. You’ve to help the guests when they arrive. Also—you, sir, promised me a few dances, don’t you remember?”

Fred pauses and considers this for a moment. “You sure you want me to embarrass you like that? In front of all these people, no less?”

You laugh again, letting him twirl you on the spot in the middle of Ginny’s bedroom. He tightens his grip around your waist and begins to slowly lean from side to side, careful not to step on your feet. He stifles a bit of a giggle when he notices you watching. “Yes, my love, I want you to embarrass me—for the rest of our lives.”

— -

George, Bill, and Charlie are a few drinks for the worse at this point. The summer heat is dying down, the sun has completely set behind the hills in front of the Burrow. Fred, dancing horrendously next to his twin in the middle of the dance floor but doing his best to pace himself, holds out his hand to you and pulls you into him.

“I love dancing with you,” he says against your ear.

You hum appreciatively as he squeezes your hips and spins you on the spot, and you both glance at Mrs. Weasley in the corner grinning emotionally at all of her sons and their dates on the dance floor. You turn back to Fred and shake your empty drink at him. “In need of a refill, are we?” He grins lazily at you and you say after placing a hand softly to his cheek, “Be back in a jiff, darling.”

You feel a body appear next to you as you approach the table. You turn; a strapping young man in dark colored robes grins at you and sticks out his hand to introduce himself. It’s firm; his smile brightens more when you take his hand in yours and tell him your name.

“Pleasure to meet you,” you reply, turning back to pour yourself another drink.

He takes you by surprise and asks, “Care to dance?”

“Oh, I’m flattered—” you’re nearly tripping over your words now, a bit stunned at how forward he is. You nod to Fred in the middle of the crowd again, “I’ve actually, erm, got to get back to my fiancé.”

“Fiancé?” he asks with wide eyes, but still—there’s something rather flirtatious in the way he’s eyeing you; it doesn’t seem as though he cares at all that you’re engaged. He inches a bit closer. “Young girl like you, already tied up? Shame, really.”

It’s as if this comment alone calls out to Fred like a signal of some sorts, because before you know it, you feel a hand snake itself around your waist, pulling you closer to him. Fred is there; his eyes have darkened slightly, something you’ve noticed happens in bouts of jealousy. His lips form a thin line; it’s always odd to you when Fred becomes irritable, jealous, angry, when normally, he’s the one who’s always having a laugh.

“Can I help you?” he asks, squaring up the man across from him. You can feel his fingers tighten around your hips and it’s hard for you not to laugh at the tickle it’s causing. You clear your throat in an attempt to suppress your laughter.

“You must be the fiancé.”

“Right I am,” Fred says proudly, taking a swig of his drink. He nods in the direction of a few tables on the other end of the tent, “believe there are a few veela looking for a bloke to have a dance with if that’s what you’re interested in; but this beautiful woman,” he turns to you and grins, “is taken. Or have you chosen to ignore the ring, mate?” You peer down quickly at the sparkling ring on your left hand, and back up at the men in front of you.

“You speak for her?”

You place yourself in between the two of them, now both looking like they’re ready to duel, or worse—kill one another; you squeeze Fred’s hand and say to the other, “No, he doesn’t. Once again, I’m flattered, but I really think it’s time you leave. Wouldn’t want to cause a scene in front of the bride and groom,” you say through gritted teeth, “right?”

A bit embarrassed, but mostly a little on edge, he backs away and heads toward the other end of the tent, sipping rather moodily on his drink. You suck in a deep breath and turn back to Fred, whose eyes are still dark.

“I don’t like him.”

You smile cheekily at him. “You don’t say. Ever met him before?”

“N-no,” Fred replies, taken aback by your teasing, “but it doesn’t matter. Did you hear him? ‘You speak for her?’ What a complete git.”

You pull him close to you and whisper against his neck, “You jealous, love?”

“I’m not jealous,” he replies tersely. He swallows thickly when your grin grows larger before continuing, “I just don’t like the way he was looking at you.”

“Yeah?” you ask, “like how?”

“Like he’ll fall in love.” Fred replies, moving your hair gently out of your face.

“Yeah, well, he can fall in love all he wants,” you tell Fred now, pulling gently on his tie, “but he’s not the one who gets to take me home, is he?”

You know you’ve said the right thing; Fred’s lips curl into a sensual smile and he bites down on his bottom lip, probably to keep himself from jumping on you right then and there. He hums appreciatively before nipping at your neck, “Oh no he isn’t.”

— -

You’re both gently gliding along the dance floor, the soft sounds of harps and piano floating through the air between the guests. Then suddenly, there are a few audible gasps coming from outside the tent where the aurors are standing guard; Fred is tightening his hold around you, a bluish white ball of light shoots through the tent, landing right in the middle of the crowd, only to take the form of a lynx.

And Fred is grabbing your hand tightly, pulling you toward his brothers, and aurors are shouting directions at everyone, and Lupin is rushing the tent when suddenly, black hooded figures enter unannounced and uninvited, the screams of guests and the quick whipping sounds of others Disapparating are filling your ears.

You grab your wand from the pocket of your dress, watching as Harry, Ron, and Hermione Disapparate as Lupin shouts, Bill rushing to protect Fleur at all costs, Fred and George back to back as they shield you and Ginny from any spells or curses headed your direction.

Someone’s shouting angrily about the whereabouts of Harry Potter, Mrs. Weasley is yelling in horror, Lupin is firing spells left and right. Ginny hoists herself on top of a table, Mr. Weasley is dragging her down, George grabs your arm and screams “no!” as Fred closely misses a stunning spell by mere centimeters. Fred pulls you and Ginny together and moves you in the direction of a table. “Under here!” he screams, the force of his weight bearing down on you both.

“No!” Ginny yells, tears streaking her face as, undoubtedly, thinks of the safety of her loved ones. This time, it’s Charlie who’s pushing her down, attempting to shield her yet again, from any spells or curses aimed for you both.

“Let me out!” you scream and push passed Charlie and into the arms of Fred, whose eyes are darker than usual, concern plastered across his face.

“It’s too dangerous!” he yells before wrapping his arms around you and forcing you behind him, only to hit another Death Eater with a stunning spell. It’s as if his words alone are enough to sober him up. “You need to get back—now! Where’s Ginny?”

“No!” you yell over the screams of the guests, “I’m not leaving you!”

Your words are drowned out by the sounds of cries, mock laughter, explosive balls of light, and the crumbling of debris around you as a spell hits you and sends you flying backward, slamming into chairs and tables and nearly knocking you out cold.

And in a half conscious, half awake, barely breathing, horrendous state, you catch glimpses of George shielding his sister, Death Eaters being knocked back by the others, Fred’s tear soaked face as he slings an arm around you and pulls you up from the floor, until before you know it, you’re Apparating Merlin only knows where.

— -

You’re watching from the entrance of Shell Cottage as the sun begins to rise, Fred next to you, asleep on your shoulder, the sound of his breathing like a soothing balm to your soul. Suddenly you feel a blanket wrap around your shoulders and peer up at George, who smiles softly and places a gentle kiss to your forehead before retreating back into the house. “Breakfast should be ready soon.”

“Thanks, Georgie,” you say. Your voice is hoarse in your ears; it sounds strange. Like it’s not even yours. Fred stirs for a moment before fully waking, his eyes bloodshot and tired and weak, only having slept for maybe twenty or so minutes.

There’s silence hanging in the air between you both. You swallow a few times—your throat is extremely dry, it feels like you haven’t eaten or had anything to drink in days. It’s scary that it’s only been a few long hours since the wedding.

“It’s really happening now, isn’t it?” you ask suddenly. The words sound foreign in your mouth. Fred lifts his head in surprise, peers at you solemnly for a moment before squeezing your hand.

He watches a few tears escape your eyes. “Yes,” he replies, and still, it seems so strange to see him in such a serious, stoic state. It makes you feel off balance. You don’t like it. You shudder for a moment and wiggle your way closer to him under the blanket. “But I promise to do everything I can to protect you.”

You wonder, selfishly now, if maybe you should take up Fred’s offer from the day before. Run away, find a small house somewhere far away, grow old together. You wipe a few tears away with your sleeves before turning to face him. You can see tears welling up in his eyes, to. But it’s not long before he’s making you smile and you’re letting laughs escape your lips with no effort. “But we’ve just got to finish this, haven’t we? Reckon those slimy Death Eaters don’t stand a chance—”

And yes, he’s making you laugh, and he’s grinning broadly at you, but the memory of last evening’s events, and the thoughts of events to come, hover over the both of you like a storm cloud ready to release the rain. His voice is a bit shaky when he tells you softly, “We’ll be okay, you know.”

“I hope so.” you reply.

“Besides,” he continues, taking your hand in his and examining the still sparkling ring, “I promised to embarrass you for the rest of our lives, right? Our wedding being the prime spot for it!”

“You’re ridiculous, you are.”

“Yeah,” he replies, kissing your forehead, “but you still agreed to be my wife, anyway.”

And soon, Bill is calling the both of you for breakfast, Ginny is bringing you both steaming cups of morning tea, marking the start of a new, stranger beginning as you both peer in front of you, once more, at the blending of sea and sky.

[phoebehalliwell]

how would you rank the seasons from least to most favourite?

alright okay right off the bat worst season season 7. for starters i think this season has no staying power i mean like since i’ve been running this blog 4 so long now my knowledge of charmed is encyclopedic and insanely vast more than like it ever need be but for the longest time. i could not remember season 7. like wtf even happened there?? evidently leo became human??? cole returned? the avatars??? like all of it was just. it’s not even necessarily forgettable it’s just i straight up could not remember it for the longest time. and i’ve said it before the concept of utopia was way to advanced for a show like charmed to tackle i am not watching charmed for moral philosophy i am watching bc i love these girls ♥ hee hee hoo hoo magic adventure ✨ tho if i am to offer a single comment on utopia: it’s awfully rich for a show to go on about destiny and fate and then take a stand against utopia in the name of free will. but w/e. i don’t like leo in the avatars i don’t like his dynamic with piper in this season i don’t like whatever phoebe’s doing this season there’s like leslie?? maybe there’s someone else? boring & flavorless they should have been setting up her endgame instead of puttering around. and kyle. zoo wee mama. could have been a great antihero. morally gray. duplicitous. self serving. but no. they gave him all those traits and called him hero/love interest. s7 left a lot to be desired out of the characters and their relationships also gave us phat L’s such as the charmed ones are werewolves don’t worry about it and feminism peaked with naked women. shout out to zankou: demon, dilf, dub & the noir episode.

you know what? fuck it i’ll say it second worse season 5 genuinely fuck season five. this is probably a Very Specific beef 2 me But. i hate what they did to the charmed universe. this was the season that marked the transition of charmed from supernatural drama to campy soap which like. i love camp! i do! but fr. fuck this season and what it did to the worldbuilding. the early season have Such A Vibe to them man with warlocks and witches and just a couple niche monsters from assorted lore that the show took and made their own. season five opens with mermaids goes directly into fairytales then gives us superheros whatever the fuck was going on in that mummy episode the sandman leprechauns and nymphs. and i hate it for that. it takes away from this urban fantasy things that go bump in the night what lurks in the shadows of the back alleys of san francisco in favor of the ugliest cinderella dress ever put to television and an onslaught of horrible irish accents for a full episode. other issues with season five: cole’s still here? why? they don’t know and neither will you! we’re not redeeming him! phoebe’s not getting back together with him! yes he died we just refuse to let him go! the cherry on top of course being a cole-centric 100th episode. shout out to. hmm. lemme think about what i actually liked about this season. i like jason dean as a love interest i don’t remember what he did in s5 but i know he was there. the season finale i’ve talked about how stupid & shitty it was but idc i still love that episode and then shout out to bacarra the only original villain this season that was a proper serve. the crone gets second place.

next on this come on we all saw it coming season 8. it’s a bad season! and i get bts there was a whole lot happening budget cuts missing actor etc. but it goes beyond that. it was a bad season. billie and christie were bad. and i’ve said this before but billie in herself is not an inherently bad character. she was just the literal worst for the show. she was a dollar store buffy blonde confident cocky skilled and ready 2 fight evil But. we are not following her like we followed buffy we are following her mentors. it’s like if we had a show called giles that aired for seven seasons And Then buffy showed up. billie was insanely irritating to watch from our perspective and in general wasn’t like. well written. attempts to humanize her / give her more depth often fell flat. and then christy. oh nelly. oh my god. barely a character. not well acted but hey it would have been a miracle if she was. negatives include dumain who was a mess omg bringing back the triad bringing back the source billie & christy obvi and also involving homeland security. which is season 7′s fault which is why it’s the worst. dubs on the other hand include both coop and henry i really liked them the shoehorned love interests weren’t great but i like their characters i though the way the got rid of leo to save on the budget was really creative and gave us a great piper episode and of course the sugary sweet finale i love it i do what can i say.

yet another controversial choice aptly coming in fourth is season 4. i respect what season 4 set out to do. i think it was a good idea. long form narratives, keeping a darker tone, focusing on character-driven drama and growth. too bad it fucking failed miserably at all of this. cole as the source and phoebe as the queen of hell was just so so botched. they had a very unique opportunity following the death of prue to explore these characters and what it means to them to be charmed, to be witches. they saved the world but the cost is insanely high. they’ve lost an older sister. they’ve gained a new sister. how do you even begin to cope with all this? episodes such as hell hath no fury and brain drain fuck so hard because they work with exactly that. had the whole season been like those episode season four would sit at number one with flying colors absolutely no competition. but alas. we can’t have nice things. the show got so bogged down with phoebe & cole, in a way that was just so, so messy. for starters, whether you loved cole or hated him before, we can all agree source!cole sucked. he was such a strong 180 from what we had seen that the show had to make the source some type of possession to justify half the shit they were trying to pull. and then to pit phoebe and paige against one another over a man was just. disgusting. and the ending of course felt rushed because it was! they wrapped up that entire issue in a nice little bow much faster than they reasonably should have been able to. it could have been a great season. it was definitely not. shout out to the seer an iconic mastermind on barbas levels, as previously stated brain drain and hell hath no fury Specific shout out to piper’s scene at prue’s grave shout out to paige as a character i like what they did with her and um. yeah that’s it.

okay we’re exiting the shit tier in favorite of the good tier welcome to the upper half. kicking us off is season 6. season 6 did what season 4 could not in that it gave us a long form plot that still left plenty of room for like. normal demon of the week episodes. i love phoebe early in this season with her faboo haircut her brand new empathy power and her relationship with jason dean. obvious strikes against for whatever the fuck that baby crazy stint was and also the mata hari episode. yikes. i love paige’s hair color in this season nothing paige as a character necessarily stands out to me however i like how they seem to have hit the blend of work-magic with paige where she wants a life and career outside of magic however she still loves the craft and embraces is with an open heart and mind. season six also gives us chris who was a very fun male lead imo we really didn’t have many like him he’s bitchy. he whines and bitches a lot he’s got an agenda he’s a bit secretive but at the end of the day he just wants a family i like him. i like the character growth we see out of piper i like seeing her try to move on from leo i love seeing her get back together with leo i like her dynamic with chris and her fears about motherhood. i also liked richard but that one takes a lot of justification. L’s are witchstock hyde school reunion used karma off the top of my head also the paige/richard/addiction plotline was so tone deaf. also the girls were mean to darryl : ( he deserved so much better. dubs were chris as a character, tbh the episode little monsters, phoebe with empathy specifically saying i love you too to jason i could write a dissertation on that line alone also the courtship of wyatt’s father and i thought the reveals of evil wyatt and chris being piper and leo’s son were both fun and interesting plot twists.

coming in third is actually season 2 a season i really do love it’s just. it lacks structure. imo there is a lot to love about season 2 morality bites and pardon my past are both delightful time travel episodes we get jack sheridan and bane jessup two of my personal favorite prue love interests we get p3 h2o and a great prue plotline regarding the death of patty we get the super cute cupid episode it’s a great. collection of episodes. it’s not a great season. there’s just imo not a strong enough thread connecting the stories together it’s mainly held together by having the same characters in it over and over again i really liked dan personally but like. i knew we were wasting time there. he was just an obstacle. a super cute loving and caring obstacle who’s great with kids but lbr piper and leo were always endgame. wasting our time on dan was stupid. i do love the sister dynamics in season two “gotta hand it to those pesky little demons they sure have brought us closer together” but again. this season could have benefitted from a rex and hannah type or even like a cole or zankou. this season is less of a season and more of just like a handful of episodes, and while there are some fat dubs, there are also some definite swings & misses. shout out to the time travel episodes the prue centric episodes phoebe’s character growth and maturity throughout this season (e.g. her going back to college) and i also think the fashion got a lot more fun this season.

second place i’m saying season one season one was a really strong start and gave us these really compelling characters with interesting relationships between one another But. a lot of it just kinda falls flat. and credit where credit is due it was a brand new show getting its feet under it but the fourth sister feats of clay which prue is it anyway they just simply aren’t dubs imo. also i don’t like that 70′s episode bc again i am an asshole concerned about The Lore i can’t believe one bitch ass warlock caused the Charmed Ones to grow up without powers. it just really bugs me. all in all the plots as a whole like aren’t great imo they’re nothing to write home about (save for from fear to eternity) it’s really the characters that make this season so goddamn good.

first place congratulations to the one the only season three. this is just because it kinda hits all my requirements in that it has some banger one offs (e.g. all halliwell’s eve, the good, the bad, and the cursed) it has an overarching plot at the exact same time as the source becomes more prominent and obvi cole is also there with murderous intent i like the character growth we see especially from prue i like piper and leo finally get married overall i really like the aesthetic of this season that blends a darker urban fantasy tone with still some charmed fashion and whimsy. strikes against tbh phoebe and cole’s relationship i am insanely picky with my enemies to lovers and the do not come remotely close to cutting the mustard in fact they are almost immediately disqualified however from afar i can see and respect The Drama. shout out to recasting victor prue with pistols death as a character and shannen directing episodes

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 6: Dicklips has a Point

Chapter 5: Mother

After a few days in Hoshido, Corrin is finally getting used to the massive emotional baggage that is her backstory. Mikoto invites Corrin to sit on the Hoshidan throne, which is infused with the magic of the First Dragons and destroys magic that alters the body or mind. Mikoto hopes that it will allow Corrin to regain her memories. Before Corrin can sit on the throne and become king of the Westeros or whatever, Mikoto’s strategist Yukimura enters. He looks like a nerd, but I suppose that’s better than being a steampunk MCR cover band dropout like Iago.

The Hoshidan siblings enter and Mikoto tells Corrin that they’re having a ceremony to quash spy rumors and formally reintroduce Corrin into the family. We’re properly introduced to Corrin’s other brother, Takumi. He’s assigned to show Corrin around town and is grumpy about it, because his defining character trait is being a dick. As Takumi and the princesses leave, Ryoma muses that he feels uneasy and predicts that something bad will happen soon.

The gang tours a Hoshidan marketplace. It’s so vibrant, and colorful, and full of life. I haven’t been talking much about this game’s music because I’m not a music guy, but I love the upbeat theme they use for this scene. It feels like something out of Okami and matches Hoshido’s idealized feudal Japan aesthetic perfectly.

Corrin points out that Shirasagi is way better than the Nohrian fort she was held prisoner in for years. Takumi rants that he doesn’t trust Corrin, saying Just don’t get too comfortable…SISTER. I know he’s supposed to come across as a dick, but he has a point. Corrin’s an enemy soldier who invaded Hoshido and killed a dozen people less than a week ago. It doesn’t matter that they share DNA, Corrin should be treated with suspicion.

Takumi also acts suspicious to Azura and says she can’t call him by his first name, which is dumb. What’s she supposed to do, call him Dicklips? Corrin points out that Dicklips is being an idiot and Dicklips tells her to shut up. And really, he is being an idiot. Either hate Corrin for growing up in Nohr, or hate Azura for having Nohrian DNA. Either nature matters, or nurture matters. You can’t have it both ways.

Then again, Azura and Corrin will totally join Nohr and try to destroy Hoshido if we chose the conquest path, so maybe Dicklips has a point.

Corrin tells Sakura that she’s friends with a girl around Sakura’s age, presumably Elise. If the coin flip had gone the other way and I was playing as boy Corrin, Sakura would have asked if Elise is Corrin’s girlfriend. And that’s ridiculous. Can you imagine, Corrin dating their teenage sister? That’s messed up. Good thing that isn’t a thing that happens in this game.

We go to the plaza for the festival. Side note, all shots of Corrin and Mikoto in the festival are positioned so that Corrin’s face is covered by something, like a man wearing an oversized hat, for instance. This is because Corrin is customizable and that means the game can’t show their face. They can show the clearly male body model, but not their face. Awakening had Robin wear a hood to get around this problem, but who needs fashion choices when you can just censor the main character’s face like it’s Austin Powers’s mojo.

While Corrin’s standing next to Mikoto, a weird ghost man wearing a hood walks to the front of the crowd and holds out his arm. Red smoke starts coming off Ganglari and an eye opens up on its hilt, because it is very clearly a cursed sword. Ganglari flies over to the man and he stabs it into the ground, creating a massive purple explosion ball. The sword explodes and Mikoto jumps in front of Corrin to shield her from the shrapnel. As she dies, Mikoto asks Corrin if she’s okay.

Fire Emblem has a lot of dead parent scenes, and I honestly think this is the best. Marcella Lentz-Pope’s scream when Mikoto dies is phenomenal. Mikoto begging Corrin to be alright and dying with a smile on her face is beautiful.

Ryoma cuts down the hooded man but his cloak just falls to the ground, leaving no body. Corrin screams, her hair glowing and her eyes white, physically holding back the pain as waves of energy burst from her body. In a moment, Corrin is gone. In her place is a dragon.

I really like Corrin’s dragon form. It looks so inhuman, more like a machine than a traditional dragon. It really gets across that Corrin has completely lost any semblance of humanity she had as she falls into this pit of despair.

The level proper starts up as an army of dark mages and mercenaries storm into the ruined plaza. Their leader is the ghostly man from before. Interestingly, he’s a swordmaster, a Hoshidan exclusive class that he shares with Ryoma. This level adds Sakura and Azura to our team and gives Corrin an absolutely monstrous boost to her stats, fitting for her rage dragon form.

Sakura

Corrin’s shy, gentle Hoshidan younger sister. She’s a Shrine Maiden (Cleric) and wields healing staves. Her personal skill lowers the damage taken by nearby allies. Her design is fine; I don’t really have any thoughts on it. She seems to be going for this “cute shy healer” personality, which isn’t bad, but Fire Emblem has done it a dozen times before.

Azura

Azura is our Dancer...I mean, Songstress. She sucks at fighting, but allows other units to attack twice, which is really helpful in battle. Her personal skill heals nearby allies at the start of their turns. Her design, despite its bright colors, does a good job conveying how calm and mysterious she is. Azura is an enigma. She clearly knows more than she lets on, but currently seems content to just follow Corrin around.

All of the mercenaries in this chapter wield special, dragon killing swords, which would be a problem, if Corrin didn’t have as much defense as the rest of the party put together. This chapter boils down to letting dragon Corrin smash everyone while Sakura, Azura, and Kaze provide support. Ryoma attempts to take on the ghost man, but is defeated. Then Corrin fucking stomps his translucent ass and saves the day.

Corrin continues rampaging and Azura begins singing LITAA. Her necklace, the one from the title screen, starts glowing. Ryoma runs in to protect Azura, but Azura blasts him away with a pillar of water, which is a thing that she can do apparently.

Dragon Corrin freaks out at the music and slashes Azura across the chest. Azura keeps singing and Corrin attempts to strangle her to death. Azura tells Corrin, Kill me if you want, but do it as yourself, which is a fantastic line that shakes Corrin out of her madness.

Corrin turns back into a human and has a flashback of Garon’s murdering Sumeragi and kidnapping her. Garon says You are my child now and grabs baby Corrin, which is so creepy its comical.

Corrin apologizes to Azura, saying she’s disgusted with herself. Ryoma explains that both royal families have dragon blood, the Nohrians from the Dusk Dragon and the Hoshidans from the Dawn Dragon. Corrin looks out over the destroyed town, a town full of innocent people destroyed by Nohr.

Ryoma points out that, because Garon gave Corrin an evil bomb sword, everything must have been his plan. Cool plan, by the way. Let’s see if I have it straight:

1: Give Corrin a bomb sword.

2: Have her commit an act of war.

3: Have Hans try to murder Corrin.

4: Hope he fails.

5: Hope the Hoshidans bring Corrin to their Queen, instead of imprisoning her for being an enemy soldier.

6: Have ghost soldiers invade Hoshido and take the sword from Corrin.

6: Cursed sword explodes, killing Mikoto and destroying her mind control barrier.

I mean, sure, there are probably simpler ways to kill Mikoto, ways that don’t involve praying that Hans fucks up and fails to kill Corrin. Garon could have, I don’t know, had the ghost soldiers kill Mikoto. Maybe their existence is tied to Ganglari, but that’s never actually stated, and the fact that they stick around and kill people after Ganglari explodes makes that questionable.

You know how, at the end of Naruto, Kishimoto had the villains reveal that they were behind every bad thing that happened in the series, and how it didn’t make sense and was dumb and convoluted? I’m getting Naruto vibes from this chapter.

Takumi blames Corrin for Mikoto’s death. And I mean, he has a point. Corrin’s the one who brought the clearly cursed sword her war criminal father gave her with her. Azura tells Takumi that it’s fine if he doesn’t trust her, but it's wrong for him to distrust Corrin, because Corrin is his blood. And that’s fucking stupid. Fire Emblem is filled with characters with evil relatives. Soren, Guinivere, Edelgard, Robin, the list goes on. Shit, there are evil blood relatives within this game.

Corrin suggests leaving and Yukimura tells her that Mikoto wouldn’t have wanted that and that Mikoyo knew she would die soon. He also mentions that there may be darker forces than Garon at work. Yukimura also points us towards a statue destroyed in the blast, a statue containing Yato, a diving golden sword that is said to be the key to peace. Yato flies up and over to Corrin.

Kaze runs in and reports a massive Nohrian force assembles at the border and the family marches off to war, with Ryoma declaring that he will not show any mercy. Corrin decides to follow Ryoma, in hopes of stopping the war. Azura tells Corrin to calm down, because getting into a fight could cause her to lose control and turn into a dragon again. Spoiler alert, this is literally the only chapter where Corrin loses control, because screw interesting characterization.

Azura gives Corrin her necklace, which turns out to be a dragonstone. Dragonstones and manaketes, people who can turn into dragons, are not new to Fire Emblem. Manaketes are normally uncomfortably young girls. Corrin is the first and currently the only manakete main lord. What’s more, Corrin is unique in their ability to wield both swords and dragonstones. It fits with the duality motif.

The necklace allows Corrin to control her dragon form, which is a bit of a disappointment. Corrin losing control and destroying stuff in this animalistic rage was really interesting characterization that is never seen after this chapter.

Azura decides to follow Corrin, because Corrin makes her feel safe. Apparently.

This chapter was really, really, good. Mikoto’s death was heartbreaking and Corrin going apeshit was some really strong character work. I forgot how absolutely terrifying Corrin’s transformation scene is. That said, this chapter hammers the final nail in the coffin for this story being morally grey. There is absolutely no reason to side with Nohr after this chapter, except for loyalty to the Nohrian royals.

At the start of the next chapter, we’ll choose our side in this war. And, not to tip my hand, but I don’t exactly think it’ll be a hard choice.

[remotepod]

The Cottagecore Conundrum

By Isabelle and Julie

Admittedly, I’ve spent a lot of this pandemic suffering the slings and arrows of social media in an attempt to offer myself some escapism. As it’s my resident time-waster, I’ve spent a lot of the past seven months scrolling endlessly through Tiktok. With the way the black hole of an algorithm is designed to suck you in, it’s not too odd that alongside the usual dance videos and app-wide inside jokes, my For You Page is littered with different aesthetics— dark academia, goth, soft girl, grandmacore, and the least specific, cottagecore.

As an indecisive and generally self-unaware person, the clear divide between all of these aesthetics is startling to me. How are people so easily putting themselves into boxes when I can’t even pick a favorite color? How easy is it to exist so surely within the realm of cottagecore without ever yearning for the beige dullness of academia, or falling victim to the engulfing darkness of a gothic aesthetic?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve long shared the desire to live in a cottage in the woods one day, and it’s hardly a new concept, but I first noticed the influx of posts at the beginning of quarantine. It was during what I like to call the “Sourdough” era of the pandemic, when we were all stuck inside for an estimated couple of months and there was a national yeast shortage because everyone decided they were going to make the sourdough mother that their families would be using for generations. I noticed it even more with the fairly recent rise of the strawberry dress, which seems to feed even further into this idea of “cottagecore.”

The videos on Tiktok range from videos of people baking and showing off their gardens to videos of people restoring literal cottages. I once saw a video of someone heating up a piece of cake in a frying pan because they’d gotten rid of their microwave for not fitting their cottagecore aesthetic.

It isn’t just Tiktok, either. A simple search for “cottagecore” on Tumblr leads to an entire rainbow of cottagecore moods, with blog titles such as @cottagecore, @eyeheartfarms, and @blueberriesandhoney.

The problem is, I can never quite tell what Cottagecore means. While scrolling through aesthetic Minecraft screengrabs and charming photographs of cows in flowers, I can’t help but wonder:  Does it encompass my Pinterest board, which is cluttered with pictures of houses tucked away into the quiet heart of the woods? Does it only mean videos of people baking their own bread and running through meadows? Am I excluded from being cottagecore for being unable to bake bread due to the previously mentioned quarantine yeast shortage? Where did this aesthetic even come from other than, possibly, the collective unconscious? Where is the line between Grandmacore and Cottagecore, and how do you know if you’ve crossed it?

It’s time to get to the bottom of this.

Essentially, when it comes down to it, it is probably easiest to describe Cottagecore as living farm life in a cottage.  Living simply, baking, being one with nature, living relatively sustainably, perhaps even raising some animals.  Flowers, flowy dresses, house plants, and a soft, earthy color palette tend to be associated with this specific aesthetic.  The first time the word Cottagecore was used as a hashtag was on Tumblr in early 2014, however it did not gain traction until almost exactly 6 years after this hashtag began.

A google trends search for “cottagecore” spanning the past 12 months

Despite this, the origins of completely uprooting and living the Frog and Toad lifestyle could be traced back to Marie Antoinette.  The Museum of English Rural Life on their Twitter account describes her as liking to “dress up as a milkmaid and shepherdess” and had her favorite architect build her her very own farm, Hameau de la Reine.

Now, when describing her lifestyle as Cottagecore trendsetter sounds pretty parallel to what modern internet users may want out of that lifestyle. However, in the modern Cottagecore scene, a common viewpoint of those looking to run off to a cottage in the middle of nowhere is a certain dislike of capitalism and the seeming looming threat of an all powerful government—so Marie Antoinette is probably not the best mascot for the Cottagecore aesthetic.  Cottagecore has served as escapism for a lot of people who feel rejected by society—specifically members of the LGBTQ+ community—and also for those needing an escape from the doom and gloom of the news that seems to only get worse by the day.

I mean, what could be better escapism than the wholesome idea of just living among the mushrooms and trees, growing and making your own food, and just feeling pure bliss in the middle of the woods? Frankly, I can’t think of anything better than that right now.

Cottagecore comes with its own subcultures, of course.  One of the most prominent comes with many names. Cottagegore, Goth Cottagecore, or Dark Cottagecore is essentially exactly what it means—Cottagecore, but make it darker.  This specific aesthetic focuses on the darker parts of nature, like storms, fog, or poisonous mushrooms.  It is likely that this specific aesthetic began with the new Cottagecore trend. As the idea of Cottagecore began to attract new people from different alternative subcultures, it seemed like it was time for Cottagecore 2.0 or just Cottagecore on dark mode.

So, in the end, Cottagecore is just escapism with sustainable living and frogs. Honestly, the appeal of such a lifestyle is very obvious right now.  If we all just moved to middle of the woods, lived the farm life, and wore flowy dresses, would there be any problems? No, I doubt it.

[shadowdianne]

So I can't find the original co-exhausted post, but I found this prompt that I am now bestowing upon you: How do you get the nightmares to stop, especially when they haunt you during the day? I need the angst with a touch of fluff

I had different concepts for this one and amassive writer’s block Xd I finally picked this one because I wrote a similarscene a few weeks back and I wanted to see how I’d write it from a differentangle 😉 I’m afraid I couldn’t find the posteither twin. But I hope you like this one.

Office door opening and closing in one singlemove, Emma walked inside the sheriff’s office while taking her badge from herbelt; throwing it into her desk where it clattered. She was late; she knew asmuch, but nothing except silence welcomed her. The kind of one she knew that,as a new mother, she should relish.

She quite couldn’t, however, not with the stackof paperwork she was supposed to be filling and sending to the mayor’s office.Office where the ominous lack of Regina’s presence made the task all that muchharder. Muttering curses under her breath, she brought the mug she had beendrinking from the previous afternoon to her lips; wincing at its coldness evenas she drank the few drops that remained.

The flavor of stale coffee hit her before shewas able to put the mug away; the vague feeling of how her heartbeat began tospike up one that made her squirm as she closed her eyes; tiredness creatingspiderweb-like lines on her temples that seemed about to turn into a migraine.Migraine that made her sigh and sat at her office’s desk, fingers drumming the surface of the door as she felt muscles seizing, an odd feeling of beingdropped descending around her, inside her, as she tried to regulate herbreathing.

Emma could feel the walls of Robin’s apartmentclosing around her all over again, around the other woman who stood in front ofher; suffocating, heavy with pictures and books she was sure that hadn’t beenthere the last time she had seen the place. Turning towards the window sheglanced down at the city that spread below, at the cars and people in a feebleattempt of moving away from an atmosphere that glimmered with tension and powerthat felt alien outside the city that had become her home. She straightened herposture, pulling her shoulders back as she did so; locking the muscles whileshe felt her hands tremble, afraid as she was. Tired as she was.

She didn’t quite hear Regina moving closer to her,but she felt a hand swiping her hair to her right side over her shoulder beforefingers traveled down her back over the jacket she wore. Sparkles thunderingbehind her eyelids with every blink, she bit her bottom lip harshly as the handmoved back up until it rested among her tresses, fingertips pressing the pointin where the collar of the jacket met the nape of her neck.

She didn’t dare to move. She truly couldn’t gether muscles to twitch or answer to her commands when she felt the woman’s otherhand rest gently on her hips as if holding her upright as if the other expectedher knees to buckle.

“Staystill.”

The command was a soft one, one that came closeto a purr as she swallowed down; skin prickling while she felt pressure on theback of her neck where Regina’s fingers started to draw a circle that kept ongrowing on diameter before they parted whatever was left from her locks, lipsposing down her spine.

“Tell me why you left.”

The words sucked every drop of air out ofEmma’s lungs; Regina’s voice, the way it echoed in her ears, turning louder fora moment destroying everything around them both; vines treading through thefloor, the scent of mud and slowly rotting leaves filling the air as the scenetransformed from apartment to Enchanted Forest. The Enchanted Forest from arealm similar to the one she had known but not the same; shadows that moved tothe wrong way; birds that were less chirpy, just as melancholic as she felt.Just as guilty as she was.

She could see it now; the way Regina had noddedat her as if coming to terms with a realization Emma hadn’t been able to putinto words until she had taken her first steps back in Storybrooke with theportal already closing and no way of going back to where they had come from.She could see it on the way sunrays stabbed her eyes, making her narrow them asmagic bleed out of her in thick rivulets that coalesced at her feet, dirtywhite strands turning fainter against the grass and flowers.

“Tell me.”

This time the words didn’t come from Regina’smouth, but it echoed inside of her all the same, a broken record she felthammering from inside her brain, destroying every other thought, melding themall together, transforming her brain into a blazing mass that made her want tograsp her brain as she felt her legs beginning to give up.

She had always been good at running. She hadexcelled in it. On quick goodbyes and barely anything to leave behind.Attachment was a fickle thing; something that would make worse than good in thelong-run for what she had learned over the years.

It wasn’t a thing she was proud of. She merelyreacted; moving on autopilot as soon as she began to feel chains made ofpromises, of future and permanency constricting her lungs and tongue. It wasn’ta strength nor a weakness for her but the only way she had gotten used tosurvive and interact with those around her. A paper-mâché fortress that hadn’tbeen able to hold still the moment Regina had questioned her, back at Granny’sdiner, brown eyes burning like embers.

She knew that the answer was feeble at best andcruel at worst but she was far too tired to think and she felt her lips move asshe tried to put thoughts into words, strands of spittle forming at the cornerof her mouth; her throat itching as the air around her turned darker, trees andleaves disintegrating yet again as they lose their definition and transformedinto the walls of an office she knew far too well.

It wasn’t the memories, she told herself evenif she knew that statement was only partially true. The memories were morselsof a life she could have had if she had dared herself to dream a little bitbigger, be a little bit bolder. It wasn’t the nightmares, the ones that stalkedher when she went to sleep after putting Hope into her crib. It was, perhaps, amix between the two concepts; the admission that she had done wrong one thatdidn’t work if she didn’t have the opportunity to apologize.

And she hadn’t been able to. Not right aftershe had made the decision to leave Henry and Regina behind, not when magic hadsurged around Storybrooke, enclosing the city in a merging realm in where manyothers had come forward with Regina herself steering them all with power andstrength pouring out of her in a way that had made Emma feel faint and burningall over again.

She had been one to walk alongside thebrunette. Now there she was; looking at an empty mug and dreaming of momentsthat were as easily twisted as stupid she had been.

How much, she wondered while picking the badgefrom where it rested, the metallic surface warm thanks to the residualbody-heat it still held, how much had she been giving to herself to other’sperception of who she was? For how long had she been giving her back to the woman who had smiled at her with such sadness she had felt her lungs collapseas she had taken a step backward once and for all?

It wasn’t the long nights, it was the guiltthat colored through them all, turning crisp memories into painfully muddyrealizations that hit too close too quickly. It was how now, everywhere shewent, everyone she talked to, echoed words she herself thought. Words that madeher bite the skin of her lips raw, erase every trace of a marriage she wantedto annul. It was the fact that ever since Regina’s return her being able to seeher had turned into an almost impossibility.

Because even if Regina’s smile towards her wasstill as warm, as important, as crocked, as beautiful as Emma remembered, therewas a guarded tone there whenever they both spoke. The kind of one that madeEmma’s heart ache with the cowardness that made her remain mute around anapology she didn’t quite know how to deliver.

And so there she stayed. Knowing thatStorybrooke would be deserted until after the coronation. The one she had beeninvited by her mother with the kind of look that had made Emma glance away asguilt crept its way up, nightmares mounting around the corners of her visionin the form of thousands of “what ifs” that didn’t truly have a spot to grow.Not anymore.

She let the badge fall once more as she glancedat her watch. Henry had told her how it was going to be, how Regina didn’t seemto suspect a thing. She had almost wanted to laugh at that one because Reginawould be able to see a fairy coming from a mile away, but she would remainblind to anything that would mean the people around them truly cared for them.

Which had been, perhaps, Emma’s own doom.

Nightmares, she thought succinctly, where muchmore than vague shapes from one went to sleep. Even if she would tackle thosein the blink of an eye if that granted her a kind of boldness she feared shehad lost entirely, buried beneath words others had linked, chained, pierced,into her. Yet, there wasn’t a way she could truly destroy those. Not while sheremained mute.

Which was probably the only reason she stillfelt guilt. Guilt at wanting Regina’s touch, guilt at not having voiced it. Guiltat wanting to voice it. Guilt at still having hope and wanting to destroy itonce and for all. Guilt, pure, pure guilt.

And need unaltered need.

She groaned at the pressure she could feelbuilding inside her skull, stomach twisting.

Going for her phone, she stopped only once asshe pushed the buttons, a crackling “Hello” reaching through the speaker.

“We are going to the coronation. Ready Hope forme.”

[somethingjustsouthofbrilliance]

Story time again

Remember this scene?  The confrontation between Mrs. Spencer and Tony in Civil War was one of the crueler scenes of the movie IMHO.  Another undeservedly brutal and damaging wound.  I’ve been wanting to write something to patch up that damage, so, finally, here it is.

Tagging @themechcnic because I promised :) and @tonystark5ever because she’s amazing and she agreed to beta this little mess for me and added some invaluable input (thank you, girl <3 :*)

Comments, likes and reblogs are welcomed and much, much appreciated :*

                                                       Holding On

 He stands close to the entrance, leaning heavily against the wall, shivering almost imperceptibly despite the ambient warmth.  Watches quietly as Rhodey struggles through his PT session, the first of many.  

He’s not supposed to be here.  Not yet anyway.  His doctors were adamant against him leaving their care so soon, citing the serious nature of his injuries, his body’s acute need for recuperation and rest, the simple fact that he was not ready to be mobile just yet.  But he couldn’t miss Rhodey’s first session.  Wouldn’t.  So here he is.  Even if his legs tremble ever so slightly and the wall behind him is taking on more of his weight than he would like to admit.  Even if his vision grays around the edges every so often, a band of pain tightening around his head as his pulse beats harder and harder against his temples.  Even if his chest feels just a tad too tight, his lungs straining against the discomfort that slowly but surely morphs into more… pain.  

 He needs to be here. For Rhodey.

 He stands up a little straighter as Rhodey glances his way, raises his one good arm in a wave, forcing what he hopes is a smile on his lips.  Rhodey grins back at him before returning his attention to his therapist and the arduous task of movement, and Tony’s smile falls away, his gaze darkening as it lingers on Rhodey’s bowed back, on the bulging muscles of his arms that tremble with the strain of holding him up, on his face, dotted with sweat and lined with pain.  

 My fault, he thinks, the all-too-familiar flare of guilt blazing through him like wildfire, making him choke with the agony more vicious than his physical injuries could ever rival.  My own damn fault.

 He’ll never say it out loud, of course.  Not in front of Rhodey. The man’s still unfailingly loyal to him, (though why, Tony can’t, for the love of him, understand). He will deny it to try and spare Tony’s feelings, call Tony a fool for thinking so.  But Tony knows better, knows it’s true.  He’s the one that screwed up, the one that miscalculated, the one that was too stupid, too blindly trusting, too naïve to see what was right in front of him.  And Rhodey paid the price.

 He grits his teeth as the pounding in his head kicks up a notch.  Resists the urge to whimper his pain out loud – he doesn’t get to complain here, he deserves all this and more.  

He does need to sit down, though.  Soon, preferably, if the slight blurring of his surroundings and the increasingly rubbery feel of his legs is anything to go by.  He can’t afford to pass out here.  Not here.  Not in front of Rhodey.  He doesn’t have the right.

 “I gotta head back,” he calls out as Rhodey prepares for another walk through the parallel bars. Holds up his phone, trying his best to look contrite.  “Got some stuff to take care of.  I’ll see you in a bit, Honeybear.”

 Rhodey pauses his workout to nod at him.  Huffs out a strained, “Get some rest, Tones.  You look like shit,” and then he’s moving along the bars once more, his therapist hovering close by.

 Tony bails. Stumbles outside, the air in the building becoming too stuffy, too stifling all of a sudden, the walls closing in.  The nearest bench is too, too far away for his trembling buckling legs, so he settles for plopping down right on the steps, his good hand clutching the railing like a lifeline.

 He should have died in Siberia, he thinks.  It would have been easier.  No more pain. No more regrets.  No more forcing himself through the motions as he suffocates under the weight of betrayals, failures and mistakes, the latter – largely his own.  No more dreams…  

He longs for a quiet, dreamless rest.  Craves it with the desperation of a man well past the brink of exhaustion.  But every time he closes his eyes (every time he even so much as blinks), it is the same fragmented horror show of mangled, superimposed images that flashes before him: the smoking wreckage of his parents’ car, himself lying half-pinned underneath it on the cold, frozen ground, Steve’s face above him, splattered with blood and twisted in rage, his mother’s desperate screams as his (former) friend’s face is obscured by a flash of star-spangled metal, his father’s shield slamming down onto his chest, over and over and over again...

 He gasps, gagging on the phantom stench of gasoline and blood that fills his nostrils, the all-too-tangible not-quite-memory taking him unawares as it always does these days and overpowering everything else.  Feels the cold – an icy, painful touch all the way to his bones.  Like he’s still there, in that damn bunker, broken, beaten, dying. Like he never left.  

 Maybe he never did…

 Abruptly, he lets go of the railing, presses a trembling hand against his chest, starts rubbing shaky compulsive circles into his throbbing sternum.  Sucks in a desperate lungful of air (New York, spring, warm, not cold, not cold).  “You’re okay”, he exhales, his voice breaking just a tad too much to provide any modicum of conviction.  “You’re okay, you’re okay.”

 “It’s true then.”

 He startles as a vaguely familiar voice intrudes upon his litany of useless self-assurances, whips his head to the side, his eyes widening briefly in shock as he recognizes the person standing not two feet away from him.

 “Mrs. Spencer…” He rises stiffly, digs deep to pull on the pitiful, tattered pieces of his mask to school his features into something neutral, polite.  A smile, perhaps.  He tries for one, at least.  Judging from the very unimpressed raised eyebrow look he’s getting for his efforts he doesn’t quite succeed.

 Her gaze shifts, dark eyes skimming over the bruises on the side of his face, the black sleeve of fabric once again encasing his broken arm, until they settle on his chest, narrowing inexplicably on his right hand still splayed protectively over his bruised heart.  

 He swallows, mouth suddenly bone-dry.  Forces his hand to drop down, letting it hang loose at his side.  It’s no easy feat, leaving himself open like that to someone who views him as the enemy, and the dangerous vulnerability of the gesture makes his skin itch.  

He ignores it.  Pushes the discomfort down, down, down, letting it settle somewhere in the fingertips of his right arm which he curls absently into a loose fist.  Takes in a breath, long and deep.  Listens as it rattles slightly on the slow exhale.  

 “What…uh… what can I do for you?”

 She tears her gaze away from her silent contemplation of his fisted hand, raises her eyes toward him, intent, assessing.  “There’ve been… quite a few reports over the past few days,” she says, cryptic.  “I wanted to verify for myself if there was any truth to them.”  Something in her gaze shifts, a ripple of emotion he can’t quite place, and she purses her lips slightly as if with distaste.  “I can see that there was.”

 “Reports?” he blinks at her in genuine confusion.

 The same odd emotion flickers in her eyes, and he feels the first tendrils of apprehension coiling deep in his belly as he finally recognizes it as pity.

 “It never goes away, does it, the pain of losing your loved ones,” she says, ignoring his question. “It marks you, leaves a kind of emptiness inside you, a dead shadow in your eyes.  I know, ‘cause I see it every time I look in the mirror.”  She smiles, bitter and brittle.  Tilts her head, pinning him with her stare.  “I thought I saw that same shadow in your eyes that time at MIT,” she informs him, and her cheek twitches as if in displeasure. And then she spits out the next words, her tone cold and hard, every word – a vicious slap. “I’d dismissed it then.  Tony Stark – a rich, heartless, self-serving bastard, trying to buy everyone’s goodwill.  How could you possibly know the pain of loss?”

 He flinches despite himself, clenches his fist harder in a desperate attempt to hold on to what little is left of his composure, unsurprised when he feels the wetness under his fingertips, where his fingernails broke the skin.  

He’s heard the words before, in one form or another.  He knows that’s what the world thinks of him, knows that’s the image he’s doomed to project. It shouldn’t bother him, it really shouldn’t.  And it wouldn’t normally.  Because he’s used to it.   He’s fucking USED TO IT. He’s had years to build mask upon mask, to try and perfect his metaphorical armor – a protection from the vultures that circled over him from the day he was born, waiting for a chance to bury their claws in his flesh. He had it dented, broken.  He repaired it each and every time.  Glued the damaged pieces together, buffed out the dents, made it work.  

 Until Siberia.  Until a supersoldier ripped it off completely, crushed it to dust between his gloved hands, red-colored fabric concealing the stains of darker, crimson red – blood, Tony’s blood.  And now there’s no armor left.  Just heavy, bone-deep exhaustion and pain.  Pain, pain, pain.

 He doesn’t say anything in response.  Doesn’t bother wasting his energy on a pointless defense.  Just nods mutely and forces himself not to step back as he braces for more.

 He isn’t quite ready for what follows.

 “For weeks the media was having a field day with this so-called civil war between the Avengers,” she tells him – a strange non-sequitur. “Panelists arguing back and forth, people tearing into each other on social media over who is right – Iron Man or Captain America.  And then that video came out and people just…”  She shakes her head, huffing out a laugh that seems to fall partway between incredulity and amusement.  “Let’s just say you have quite a few more fans now, Mr. Stark.”

 “What video?”

 “There were cameras in the bunker, Boss.”

 It’s FRIDAY, who answers, a hesitant, almost reluctant intrusion from above him, sounding both regretful and defiant somehow.  And he does step back this time, stumbles on the uneven surface of the stairs, staggering drunkenly into the railing.  Slide-drops back down onto the steps as his legs give out on him altogether.  

 “No,” he mumbles, shaking his head in pointless denial.  “No, no, no.”

 “My primary objective is to protect you, Boss,” FRIDAY insists, and she sounds faraway now, her voice muffled by the deafening stutter of his heart.   “I failed to do so in Siberia, but I could not allow people to continue treating Mr. Rogers as a hero after what he has done.  I released the footage of your confrontation… and the video that led to it.”

 He presses his hand over his heart as FRIDAY continues talking, tries desperately to find his breath in the sudden vacuum.  Makes the mistake of closing his eyes – against the words, against Mrs. Spencer’s pointed, piercing, pitying! look, against the goddamn world!  

It’s futile as defenses go, as the words continue to filter through.  But now, so do the images, and before he knows it he’s flooded with them, the scenes flashing before him in his mind’s eye in a cruel, nauseating kaleidoscope: his blood on the concrete, the crunch of broken metal, his mother’s sightless eyes, “He’s my friend, he’s my friend, he’s my friend”, the shield smashing down, cold, freezing air and pain, pain, pain…

 A hand grasps his shoulder and he jolts, eyes flying open in unseeing panic. “No!”

 The hand tightens, sharp fingernails digging hard into his skin, the small pinprick of pain outside his nightmare-stifled consciousness breaking through the surrounding haze, and he becomes aware of FRIDAY’S worried voice, of his name being called over and over, of Miriam Spencer’s face that swims into view, dark eyes awash with concern.

 “–back with me? Mr. Stark?”

 He swallows, throat clicking dry.  Manages a nod, forcing himself not to pull away from this woman, suddenly so close, too close in his space.

 “Here.” An opened water bottle is pushed into his line of vision, and he reaches for it with grateful clumsiness, willing his trembling fingers to close around the soft plastic. “Do you want me to call anyone?” She still hasn’t let go of his shoulder, but her grip has gentled and there’s a softness in her gaze that he doesn’t quite understand.  

 He tips the bottle to his lips, takes a few slow measured gulps.  “N-no,” he murmurs finally.  “There’s…” No one to call, he doesn’t say out loud.  Rhodey has other things to worry about at the moment.  Pepper’s gone, staying as far away from him as she can manage (another thing in the ever-growing list of stuff he managed to fuck up).  So is Happy, gone to stay with Pepper in Malibu as her driver and bodyguard, because “It’s what I know, Tony. This thing with you and the Avengers, this new life you got going. I don’t understand it.  I… I just can’t fit in.”  And now the Avengers are gone, too…  

 “It’s fine,” he denies hoarsely, “I’m fine. Sorry about…,” He waves his bottle-clenching hand in the air, giving her what he hopes is an apologetic smile.  Sets the bottle down on the steps with a rueful smile, shaking off the excess water that had sloshed onto his hand at the sharp movement.  

 She pulls back then, puts her hand in her lap.  “I’m the one who should apologize,” she says, all stiff and primly.  “I had assumed the video was leaked by you.  I didn’t realize…” She trails off, looking uncomfortable for some reason.  Drops her gaze to where her hands are clutching the top of her purse.  “I’m sorry.”

 He frowns at her, confused, his mind too jumbled, too overwrought to process the unexpected change. There’s a chaotic clutter of questions swirling around in his exhausted brain, but all he manages to blurt out is, “Why?”

 She presses her lips together, the black leather creaking in her hands as her grip on the purse tightens.

“I misjudged you,” she acknowledges quietly.  “I didn’t expect you to hear my words that day, but you did.   You did.  And I’m grateful.  It isn’t often that people like us get heard, that a grieving mother can feel like she has someone willing to fight for her, someone who knows firsthand the pain she’s going through” She turns to face him again, eyes bright with unshed tears.  “I came here today because I needed to see for myself that what the reports were saying about you was true.  And to give you this.”  

 She reaches into her purse, pulls out a toy Iron Man figure.  It looks like it’s been played with a lot, it’s scraped and scuffed in places, some paint on the helmet has peeled off.  “It belonged to my son,” she explains, clutching the toy in her hand, gazing down at it with a brittle, wobbly smile. “He had it since he was just a little boy.  Took it everywhere with him, slept with it under his pillow.  Used to tell me he wanted to grow up strong and brave like Iron Man, wanted to help people.”  

 She sniffs, reaching up to wipe at her eyes.  Then gives the toy one last look before she hands it over to Tony, and Tony takes it reverently, cradles it in his hand like a delicate crystal, his mind too stunned, his heart too full to offer her a response.  She doesn’t seem to be expecting one, however, and he startles momentarily as her hand closes over his own, cocooning the toy between their palms.

 “You were always his favorite hero,” she says, and the smile on her face is directed at Tony now, genuine and unexpectedly kind. “I can see now that my son’s faith in you was not misplaced.”  She gives his hand a squeeze and lets go, standing up abruptly.  “You have a lot of people out there supporting you, Stark. A lot of people who have faith in you the same way my son did.  Never forget that.”

 He nods mutely, watching her walk away.  Glances down at the plastic Iron Man in his hand, his fingers closing around the toy on their own accord, his grip tightening convulsively – a drowning man latching on to a straw.  Takes a breath, long and deep, daring to let his eyes slip closed.  And almost laughs with giddy relief as, for the first time since he woke up in the hospital, broken without and within, the images behind his eyelids appear faded and faraway and the only smell that hits his nostrils is the aroma of flowers, sweet and heady after a recent rain.  And he just feels warm.

FIN 

(PS You can find this and my other stories on AO3 under Woland or here on tumblr under the tag “somethingjustsouthofbrilliance writes”)

[takaraphoenix]

I believe you didn't talk about your opinion of Riverdale's season 2 yet. (You know, in it's entirety and not just of some scenes.) But now I'm left curious. What do you think of the rest of the season? And since you wanted to find out on your own: Did you manage to correctly identify the Black Hood before it was confirmed in the show?

Oooh. Oh, sorry. I just always post the excitement when something, ya know, exciting happens. Still unsure about lengthy ramblings that seem too off-topic from the blog. (Yes, I am still pretending this blog has a theme. Let me. xD)

Oh dear, how do I put all the things into words and in order?

To sum it up briefly as an intro: I’m disappointed.

Now, more in detail.

Starting with the things I liked. Which are significantly less than the things I disliked, hence the overall verdict.

Toni is an amazing character and I love her addition to the show. I just hope she will get her own plotline next season, because this season she was only there to either further Jughead’s plot or Cheryl’s. I’m also very eager to see Toni’s and Cheryl’s relationship unfold, because boy do I ship it hard.

I really enjoyed FP and Alice Cooper’s development this season, much to my own surprise. Alice came out being one of my most hated characters first season, but I actually liked her semi-redemption arc and... I... somehow now ship her and FP? I am very disturbed by that, to be honest.

And... with that, we kind of reached the end of the things I enjoyed this season? Which, yeah, sad.

I didn’t like a single one of the main characters’ plotlines this season.

Archie and how his relationship with his father slowly came apart over the course of the season - despite it being semi-mended in the end, this whole arch seemed unnecessarily forced and in contrast to their portrayal in the first season.

Archie and starting his own fucking gang. TWICE.

Seriously. He gives Jughead shit for being a serpent, but then he goes ahead and starts his own gang. And the fucking names. Red Circle. Dark Circle. Wow. Such creativity, much awe.

Archie running after Hiram Lodge all season long was just... intensely disturbing to watch. He just allowed himself to be sucked in deeper and deeper.

So did Veronica and with her it annoyed me even more. First season Veronica seemed so much like the girl who was against her criminal father. And now she just... doubled down on the crime hard. And I genuinely don’t know what she was expecting? Because the girl acted like what happened was somehow a surprise or something in the end, when she turned against him again. Like. What... What did she think would happen...?

Then there was Betty’s plot.

I liked that she confided in Archie and her friends about the Black Hood and didn’t just do a solo gig. But her trying to get her brother and them just immediately accepting the creep into the family without so much as a fucking background check first.

And Jughead literally went from the sweet nerd with a blog to the fucking king of the gang. Like. Good lords, slow it down some. It seemed so incredibly rushed just how fast he came to accept the serpents as his family and the school as his home. I think that his “becoming a serpent and becoming king of the serpents” plot should have been stretched out over two seasons.

Cheryl’s plot was... so over the top too. Conversion camp? Her mom trying to murder grandma? And... her characterization was all over the place too. One second she is the Queen with the power-moves cutting her mom’s oxygen, the next she is the crying girl in the corner, weak and helpless. I mean, I get that with everything that happened last and this season to her, she wouldn’t be fully stable, but it really felt more like convenient writing. “Mh, we need more tension, so how about Cheryl is utterly helpless and defenseless in the next scene?” turning into “Oh but we could use a badass move, how about she just attacks the serial killer with her bow and arrows and without being the least bit intimidated?”.

Also Cheryl and Rose now living alone in the mansion... Honestly, instead of making her sick grandma her guardian, I think auntie Alice should have stepped up.

The relationship between Cheryl and Betty is really fascinating and I would genuinely enjoy seeing more of it. Like, having Cheryl move in with them, she can have Polly’s room. She would be forced to live a more down-to-Earth life.

The whole evil twin of her dad thing was really unnecessary. I mean. Seriously. It added absolutely nothing to the plot.

Just, overall, there was way too much going on this season for my taste.

And not just too much as in too many plotlines, also just... too dark, too deep, too heavy.

This show is indeed taking the Desperate Housewives route, but it hits it harder than I expected.

That is to say, the first season offers a genuinely intriguing, vaguely over-dramatic mystery that happens and that brings an unlikely band of protagonists together to solve it. Following seasons will so desperately try to top it that the dramatic event is completely blown out of proportions and loses absolutely all grasp on reality.

And that’s what happened this season.

We get a serial killer. And the mafia. And a psycho imposter brother. And an evil twin. And a conversion camp. And a gang war. And a serial rapist. And a drug problem.

That’s just too many “and”s.

First season worked perfectly. It had that one mystery that they had to solve and then some sub-plots around it. That mystery was one murder.

Now, to your other question regarding the Black Hood: HONESTLY HALF THE TIME I FORGET THAT HE IS A CHARACTER ON THIS SHOW.

Hal is so bland and so unimportant. When he made his first appearance this season, I legit went “OH right Alice has a husband! Ooops!”.

I figured it out at one point, but then they went misdirection with that second, or third, I lost count, Black Hood and I grew doubtful because why the fuck.

Last season, with daddy Blossom, it took me really long to figure it out. But when it was revealed, it was a thing that made sense. They set the mystery up so you had to work to figure it out, but it made sense plotwise.

This one? They purposefully wrote it so it doesn’t make sense.

There is no legit motive. They retconned some “Oh by the way his dad was a murderer but he pinned it on someone else and momma brainwashed him and Betty’s words in the last season finale were a trigger to turn him into a serial killer” so hard that it’s just pathetic.

And how he conveniently managed to stop killing when he got it pinned on someone else. That was literally only plot-convenience to make the viewer believe they got the right guy, because Hal had no logical motivation to stop killing. It was never about hiding his crimes? He literally wrote letters and made phone-calls and flaunted it in everybody’s face, why would he find a scapegoat and then stop killing? That’s just... bullshit. He should have, logically speaking, gone after like Hiram Lodge or some other scumbag criminal.

Nothing about that shit could have been guessed.

I mean, I did guess that Hal would be the son of the murderer. Or the one surviving child from the murder. But then they put the janitor in and killed that.

Last season’s mystery came natural. This one was forced in every way of the word.

That just completely took the fun out of it for me.

Well, that and the sheer amount of cruelty and brutality this season. There was no fun this season. Last season still had its lighthearted moments. This one didn’t.

It’s not just taking a bad Desperate Housewives route, that route is crossing streets with the bad Teen Wolf route of going grittier and darker and removing all color and fun from something that used to have color and fun and then somehow expecting that to be good. It is not. It never will be.

Either make something gritty and dark from the get-go so it attracts the right crowd of people, or make something that has jokes and lightheartedness in it and embrace that. But don’t attempt a genre-change like that. It’s a failure.

The musical episode was really out of place for me too. It didn’t fit to the tone of this season at all. Fun musical stuff could have gone with last season. Not to mention the musical could have been Kevin’s plotline. But... Kevin kind of didn’t get a plotline at all. He got one episode of musical thrown his way and that vague shit about him fucking in the woods and that was, essentially, it.

I am also not a hundred percent sure; did Betty and Jughead actually fuck or just make out...? I usually look away when they start undressing on screen and only look up again when the scene is over. I fail to see any reason for sex scenes at all, period, in literally any show, but especially so in a show about supposed teenagers? It’s just... weird for me. But if they did, fuck you show. I want asexual Jughead. Also, this ship has zero chemistry.

And can someone maybe get Betty a therapist now? Last season with her turning into psycho Betty with the fucking wig was already Really Disturbing, but she doubled down on that hard this season? And? Is she supposed to have some form of... personality disorder? Is that intentional? Either way, she helped cover up a murder this season and got psychologically tortured by her father who is a serial killer, so yeah please get her professional help.

So, yeah. That’s it.

I found this season too forced, too dark and too brutal and if the show doubles down on those elements with the same rate that it did from season 1 to season 2, then season 3 is going to be DCEU levels of dark and gritty.

I really hope they will slow down and that they will start remembering that you don’t have to rush from one traumatic, brutal event to the next murder to the next attempted rape and so on, but that you can... pause in between and put something more light in, to even things out. How do writers keep forgetting that...?

[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s Road to the Thunderbolts in the MCU

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe had a simple mission: build up to the creation of the Avengers. The next two phases went further by setting the stage for Thanos and his quest for the Infinity Stones, culminating in one of the biggest movies of all time in Avengers: Endgame. While MCU Phase 4 is a mix of Disney+ TV shows and theatrical movie releases, there hasn’t been an established narrative goal just yet. So what are they building towards?

One belief is that we’re getting an MCU incarnation of the Thunderbolts or its sister team, the Dark Avengers.

The Thunderbolts first showed up in 1997, created by Kurt Busiek. In the aftermath of the Onslaught event, the Fantastic Four and Avengers were seemingly vaporized. Not only were these two major teams gone, but they were the superheroes people trusted the most. What remained was the likes of Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Hulk. Not exactly media sweethearts.

To fill this heroic void, Baron Zemo came up with a scheme where he took members of the Masters of Evil, dressed them up with fake superhero identities, and had them gain the public’s trust in hopes that it would lead to world domination. Despite being a ruse, certain members of the Thunderbolts came to realize they wanted to truly be heroes and opposed Zemo. Hawkeye eventually took over the team and they became a group of outlaw heroes fighting for redemption. A reformed Zemo soon took the reins again, once again trying to take over the world…but this time for the good of all humanity.

The Thunderbolts then became a government-run team and acted as Marvel’s counterpart to DC’s Suicide Squad. New leader Norman Osborn politicked his way into running the Avengers, where he copied Zemo’s old idea of dressing up villains as heroes. And so, the Dark Avengers were born, featuring such members as Bullseye pretending to be Hawkeye and Venom pretending to be Spider-Man. Unlike the Thunderbolts, the Dark Avengers were an example of failed redemption on all fronts and the team crumbled. Once Osborn was ousted, Luke Cage took over and the group became far less corrupt.

The Thunderbolts team has been reborn again and again. It’s been seen as a force of good, a force of evil pretending to be good, and a force of evil taking down worse threats. And now it looks to be coming to the MCU.

Let’s look at who will be and who could be major players to this plot down the line:

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine

In the comics, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine was a triple agent who constantly either worked for SHIELD or against it while being an on-again/off-again love interest of Nick Fury. So she’s perfect for whatever they’re doing with her as she plays up a more curious version of Fury’s iconic visit to Tony Stark’s mansion from the Iron Man post-credits.

We don’t know who Valentina works for and how high up the ladder she is, but she does appear to be setting up something. Whatever her Thunderbolts-like team is called, we’re left wondering why they will exist and how many movies and TV shows will we have to sit through before we finally get an answer.

US Agent

John Walker’s role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was one of the more interesting parts of the show, even if they didn’t quite land the ending. The US government’s attempt at a new Captain America meant well, but he was only the right person for the job on paper. Too haunted by his military exploits, too frustrated by not getting the respect he wanted, and feeling inadequate due to not being a super soldier, Walker injected himself with a black market serum that gave him the physical boost he needed. It also helped drive him over the edge when Walker’s best friend and partner Battlestar died during a mission and he got a bit too violent while in public.

Disgraced and discharged from his position, Walker was visited by Valentina, who gave him a new lease on life as US Agent. Valentina’s people realize that someone with Walker’s abilities shouldn’t be discarded so easily. Take away the idea that he’s tarnishing a legacy and someone like him could be very, very useful.

In the comics, a wheelchair-bound Walker acted as a warden at the Raft, Marvel’s supervillain prison and, for a time, the headquarters for the Thunderbolts. He did lead the team very, very briefly when it was retitled Dark Avengers, but the series was cancelled immediately after and it was quietly forgotten about. Still, the adventure did allow him to regrow his missing limbs!

For the MCU, this does suggest that this team won’t be a publicly-celebrated unit. You can use US Agent to kick ass all you want, but I doubt Valentina wants a media spotlight on him in any way.

Yelena Belova

As shown in the post-credits for Black Widow, Yelena Belova has been working for Valentina for at least a little while. She’s a paid assassin and she’s going to be going after Hawkeye in the near future on his upcoming Disney+ series. Much like US Agent, she’s a darker replacement of an Avenger who has been taken off the board. Maybe not as easily manipulated as Walker will likely be, though.

The Yelena version of Black Widow was a member of the Thunderbolts in the comics…sort of. It eventually turned out that it was really Natasha disguising herself as Yelena for the sake of doing undercover work against Norman Osborn. Well, I think we can agree that they won’t be doing that twist any time soon.

The Abomination

“We have a Hulk.”

If they’re building a roster full of Avengers knockoffs, it seems rather suspicious that Emil Blonsky is suddenly becoming relevant again. Not only is he supposed to be coming back for the She-Hulk show, but he has a cameo in the Shang-Chi trailer where he’s taking on Wong in an underground cage fight.

Abomination is someone that the government wanted on the Avengers from the very beginning, even in spite of the damage he caused in Harlem. He’s no longer in prison and the events of She-Hulk could end up working in his favor legally. The cage fighting may suggest that he’s a bit aimless, but for a soldier who loves nothing more than to fight, Valentina’s team might be the perfect place for him.

In terms of the comics, Abomination never had anything to do with the Thunderbolts. Though now that I think about it, the Thunderbolts series did a one point focus on super-powered individuals taking part in underground fight clubs. Hm…

Various Thunderbolts Leaders

As mentioned, there have been a lot of different variations of the Thunderbolts and the team has had a handful of different leaders to push the focus in different directions. Four of those leaders happen to have recent roles in the MCU: Baron Zemo, Hawkeye, the Winter Soldier, and General Ross. It’s also very possible that the team is named after the latter considering his nickname is “Thunderbolt Ross.”

Luke Cage and Wilson Fisk are also notable Thunderbolts leaders, but the wonky relationship with the Netflix shows makes them unlikely to get involved.

Hawkeye and Bucky could easily take over the operation and add a little purity to the situation. But if Baron Zemo gets involved? Man, that could be unpredictable and interesting.

Ghost

With Norman Osborn in charge of things, Ghost was thrown into the Thunderbolts and became a major recurring member. Considering he was blatantly written as being Marvel’s Rorschach, it wasn’t he biggest deal when the MCU gender-swapped him and gave him a different personality. The version from Ant-Man and the Wasp is still pretty nihilistic when it comes to authority.

Ghost has been a huge question mark since the mid-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp. The heroes were trying to mine the quantum materials that would normalize Ghost and heal her, only for Thanos’ snap to kick in. We don’t even know if Ghost went away due to the snap, but it’s possible that she was abandoned by those who said they’d help her and that could push her in a very dangerous position.

Considering her past as a SHIELD weapon, she’d make for an interesting member of the group.

Taskmaster

Taskmaster is a lot like Ghost. Not just in that she’s a gender-swapped version of the comic original with a different personality, history, and mission but in the same character arc of going from villain to someone with a new lease on life and opportunity to be more. Taskmaster was last seen being rescued by an army of liberated Black Widows. With her own future to decide, she’s basically in the same boat as Yelena, so it’s fully believable that she too might be working for Valentina.

Also, Taskmaster only just recently joined the Thunderbolts in the comics. That could be an intentional attempt at synergy. Marvel’s been pulling that kind of thing for years.

White Vision

WandaVision ended with the confusing fate of Vision’s reanimated body. SWORD was able to awaken Vision, now without his memories, personality, or color scheme. White Vision fought a magical construct of his original self (AKA “WandaVision”) and allowed his memories to be reinstated. After that, he peaced out and flew off to parts unknown.

Scarlet Witch is meant to be a major player in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but I’m not expecting White Vision to be a part of that. It would make sense for White Vision to pop up as part of a group of grim doppelgangers. Even if he’s just a dark doppelganger of himself. I imagine the guy needs something constructive to do while keeping a low profile.

Speaking of Doctor Strange…

Karl Mordo

Remember when Mordo became so disillusioned with the Ancient One that he crippled a man for the sake of making a point about how much sorcerers suck? Then he was all, “Haha, I’m going to get rid of all magic users!” Yeah, that was about 10 years ago according to the MCU’s chronology. Good hustle, guy.

The whole Multiverse of Madness thing makes me wonder how much of a role Mordo will have to play in it. And that’s fine because you know what? I bet Valentina would love to have someone like Mordo on her roster. Not only would she have a Dr. Strange counterpart, but getting rid of all magic on Earth seems like the kind of thing a shadowy operative might get behind.

The Vulture

The Spider-Man/Sony deal mucks this up, especially if they’re pushing for some kind of Sinister Six situation, but since Spider-Man: Homecoming, I’ve always thought Vulture would be a perfect member of the MCU Thunderbolts.

See, the thing about Vulture is that the Michael Keaton version is absolutely nothing like the Mr. Burns lookalike comic version outside of fighting Spider-Man and having the ability to fly. In fact, MCU Vulture has a lot more in common with Abner Jenkins. Jenkins started off as blue collar working man who later used his engineering genius to become a Spider-Man supervillain as the Beetle.

As a founding Thunderbolts member, Jenkins became MACH-I (renaming himself after many armor updates) and was one of the first to realize that maybe he was better off being a good guy. He even led the team for a little bit. Considering how sympathetic and likeable MCU Vulture has been, some kind of Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers situation could help redeem him down the line.

Those Yet to be Introduced

Just like MACH, there are certain key members of the comics Thunderbolts who have yet to show up in the MCU. Perhaps we’ll see them soon enough. For instance, there is speculation that Moonstone will probably be a villain in the Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels. Not only does she have similar powers as the heroine, but she also posed as her in Dark Avengers.

The Fixer/Techno is another big one as the team’s resident tech guy and loyal Zemo henchman. Atlas, who has size-changing powers, is easily someone who can show up in the next Ant-Man movie. Jolt is…actually, we really don’t need Jolt.

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The biggest name to not show up is Songbird. Formerly the villain Screaming Mimi, Melissa Gold is practically the heart and soul of the Thunderbolts. She’s the one who came out of it better than anyone to the point that she was even an Avenger for a little while. If you want to put together a cynical Avengers knockoff and have someone turn it into something optimistic, Songbird is the one you need to throw in.

The post Marvel’s Road to the Thunderbolts in the MCU appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3z9IfTW

[runningthe-maze]

Goodbye Part 2- Final

Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Everything around Peter seems to remind him of your death

Warnings: Character death, blood, pain, crying, sad stuffs

A/N: Last part, I hope it didn't suck. The last little bit might be confusing but that is also something that happened in the past. 

masterlist

part 1

Where the hell is the ambulance?! Peter shook you, begging you to stay focused on him. "P-Pe-" your voice was barely a whisper, if not for his enhanced hearing, Peter would not have heard you. "I'm right here, baby. I'm right here." One of his hands reached up to stroke your cheek, brushing away a few tears. "I can't-" "Yes you can. You can do this, y/n. You have to. Fight, fight for me." You weakly nodded, sending him an energyless smile. All the color in your skin had drained, leaving you a pale ghost like-tone. Peter was soaked in your blood. The red on his suit was much darker. Peter looked around him, taking a deep breath before turning back to you with sorrowful eyes. "I'm sorry about this, but I've got to do it." Without leaving you any time to respond, he lifted you up effortless, clinging you to his body. Your sobs shattered his heart, but he held tight to you. He couldn't lose you. He couldn't. "Peter," you gasped. "Please, put me down. I won't make it." "Y/n I can't lose you." "It's too late. I can't do anymore." Peter slowed to a halt, sadly laying you down in his lap. "I love you, Peter. Tell my family I love them too." You forced out, finally drained of all energy. "Please," he sobbed, clinging tightly to you. He heard the ring of emergency vehicles in the distance. "They're so close. I just need you to hold on for one more minute." You just stared into his eyes, lifting one hand to stroke his cheek. Tears were gushing out, soaking his face. "Y/n," he pleaded. "Stay with me." A weak smiled spread across your face, as you tried to memorize every feature about his flawless face. Peter screamed when you slowly shut your eyes, he screamed for you to wake up, to come back to him. He hadn't even noticed when the ambulance arrived, and the paramedics jumped out. You were ripped from his arms and he was left on the floor, a sobbing mess. The area was filled with shouts, concerned and demanding cries, and loud shuffling. The men shouted "CLEAR" multiple times before the chaotic scene had gone dead silent. The only sound Peter heard was a male voice, quietly announcing: "Time of death. 1:39 AM."

With trembling hands, Peter slowly opened the bedroom door and stepped in. Nothing had changed since the last time he had been in there. A dirty backpack was still hanging next to the perfectly made bed with white sheets and white pillowcases that never seemed to get dirty. Peter moved to sit on the bed, missing when you would sit right next to him, and the two of you would study for a test, or do homework. He missed your body against his, in a non sexual way of course. He longed to feel you giggle as he planted a kiss to your forehead. He loved your laugh, it was more contagious than chicken pox. It made his heart swell and it had the power to drastically alter his mood. He wished he could hear you laugh at his corny science jokes. He would give anything to have you back, in his arms. Safe.

"Peter? What are you doing home so late? It's  past 2AM, you have school today!" May sighed, unlocking the front door for her nephew. "I know being Spider-Man means a lot to you but-" her voice faded out at the sound of his quiet sobs. "What happened?" Her arms wrapped around his torso. She felt her t-shirt cling to her skin as it absorbed some of the crimson liquid coating his body. "Where are you hurt?" She pulled away, checking him for an injury. He shook his head, telling her that he was uninjured. "Pete, honey, you've got to tell me what happened. Who's blood is that?" "She's gone May," was all he managed to choke out, before collapsing into her arms again. "She's gone."

  He'd had enough, he couldn't be in the room any more without reliving the horrendous night in his mind over and over. As he walked back out of the bedroom, he took one more glance, knowing this would be the last time he ever set foot in the apartment. He had to see it one more time before it was gone, before every bit of evidence of your life there was gone forever, only left as a distant memory in his brain. Peter walked home, feeling a slight pang of dread in his stomach. When he reached his apartment, peter found a relatively small box placed on his doorstep. "The y/l/n family" was written in the top right corner of the box with no new address underneath. He assumed your parents were trying to keep their new location a secret. Most likely in an attempt to stay off the grid for a while. On the top of the box, a small note was placed neatly. It read:  "We changed our numbers, will check in with you some time in the future. She wanted you to have these. Thank you for making her happy. xx" Peter dragged the box into his bedroom, opening it quickly. Inside, he found it contained all sorts of things from your room. Your drawings, favorite books and movies, your perfume, the sweaters you 'borrowed' (stole) from him, and a small stack of pictures. Peter carefully examined each picture. The first photo was framed, it was the two of you, Michelle and Ned when you all went to the fair together. The day Peter knew he had fallen in love with you.

As the Ferris wheel you were on neared the top, Ned suggested he take a selfie to remember the perfect day as it came to an end. Everyone agreed, and Peter gave Ned his camera to take it with. Peter smiled for the photo, glancing in your direction. He couldn't take his eyes off of you, every thing about you in that moment shocked Peter. The sunset was perfectly illuminating your clear skin. You squinted your eyes slightly when you grinned, and he admired the way the corners of your mouth formed dimples he always adored, you looked so carefree and happy, it made him feel strange. "You weren't even looking at the camera, Pete!" Ned laughed, snapping Peter out of his daze. He handed the camera around for everyone to look at the photo. A chorus of laughs followed, and Michelle began to tease Peter for being distracted by you. Your laugh caused his heart to soar, and he smiled with you. Nothing could have prepared him for those few minutes on the Ferris wheel. He had never expected his heart to want one of his best friends. But while all of you were up there watching the fairgrounds, everything he knew about your friendship, everything the two of you shared together, changed. That was the moment he knew he had fallen for you. He didn't know what to do about these new strange feelings but one thing was for sure, you were never going to find out.

The next photo was of you and Michelle, the day you found out. It was closing night of your school play. You had a minor role, but all of your friends had come to support. You had overheard Peter talking to Ned while they waited outside the dressing room for you to come out.

"Is today the day you finally profess your love to y/n, Peter?" Ned asked, gesturing to the small bouquet of Tulips in Peters hands. "Absolutely not," Peter glared at his best friend. "And don't you say anything either. No one is to ever know I have a crush on y/n, especially her." Ned went wide eyed, watching behind Peter. Peter furrowed his eyebrows, glancing behind himself. He visibly paled, "you've got to be kidding me." He muttered. He awkwardly laughed, his pale face turning to a deep red. "Hey, y/n. Um, you did r-really great tonight. I liked the part where you did the stuff with that person during the... thing." He tried to play it off, failing miserably. He began to lean against the small wooden tree prop without realizing it was unstable. It flipped over, dragging him down with it. He sat up, face now a whole new shade of red. Peter had no idea how else to save himself from the humiliating situation, so he put his head down. You turned towards Ned, silently gesturing to the door. He nodded in understanding, waking out to search for Michelle. "You really like me?" You asked Peter, offering your hand for him to stand with. He gladly accepted the invitation and stood up, gluing his eyes to the floor. He felt like he had ruined every change he ever had at staying your friend, or ever becoming anything more. "Yeah," he sighed in defeat. You reached out slowly, grabbing his right hand. Peter looked up with a sad expression on his face, expecting to hear the "Believe me, I love you. But not in that way." talk, but was met with a soft smile. "That's good.. because I like you too."

Peter sifted through the photos. Most of them were of you and him. A majority of the photos were individual pictures of your friends, and the rest were cute photos Peter had taken. For your one year anniversary, Peter couldn't afford to buy you anything. He decided to give you all of the photos he had taken when he saw something that reminded him of you. Some were sunsets, others were small things that you always enjoyed watching like ladybugs, flowers, bees, dogs, and other things like that. Anytime he saw something that made him think of you, he snapped a photo. You cried. One photo in the stack stood out the most to him. It was of the two of your hands holding each other. Just after you started dating, you had surprised Peter with a date. You insisted the two of you dress up very fancy, or as fancy as two fifteen year olds can dress, only get McDonald's to go and eat picnic style in a park. He smiled for the first time since the incident, treasuring the memory. Peter put the collection of photos on his desk. He decided he would hang them on his wall later that night. He laid down on his bed, clutching one of your sweaters close to his chest.

  "Peteeeeeeer." "Peeeeeeeterrrrrr." "PETER." Peter sat up quickly, looking around him. You grinned and rubbed at his arm which was slung over your stomach. "What's wrong?" He groaned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "I have to pee, and can't get out. You've got me in a death grip." You chucked. "Oh." Peter stated, but didn't remove his arm. He tightened his grip, laying back down and nuzzling his face into your neck. "I have to pee." "Mmmm" he mumbled. "Peter unless you want me to pee all over your bed, you've got to let me get up." You laughed. "But you're so warm." He whined as he removed his arm from your stomach. "I'll be right back." You left quickly. Peter sighed, sitting up. He reached over into his desk and dragged out his favorite sweater. He placed it neatly in your previous spot on the bed, and flopped back over. When you returned, you thanked him for the shirt and changed into it. Peter respectfully turned the opposite way when you did so, giving you a little privacy. "What should we do today?" You asked, crawling back to him. "Let's go watch a movie. The new 'IT' movie is supposed to be good." "You hate scary movies?" "I know, but you love them." Your heart swelled, and you kissed his cheek. "How about we stay in bed all day and have a movie marathon?" "Sounds like a plan to me." He grabbed the remote to his brand new little tv and turned on Netflix. "What do you want to watch?" "I dunno, maybe The Office?" You looked at his curiously and grabbed your phone. As you began watching the series, Peter draped the blanket over you and pulled you close to him. "Hey Pete," you began, not wanting to sound too suspicious. "Yeah, babe?" "I think It's cute when guys call their girlfriends cute nicknames. Like how Dwight calls Angela 'Monkey'. Some guys use favorite foods, which is also cute." you glanced over at your boyfriend, hoping he'd get the hint.  He just turned back to you and smiled warmly, you could tell he had no idea what you meant. You giggled, resting your head on his shoulder. "You're adorable. I love you, ding dong." "I love you too... gummy worm?"

[antepenultimatefantasy]

FFXII Zodiac Age Playthrough Part 12

The Tower of Furries

-With Reddas in tow, it seemed like a good time to take on extra-strong side monsters.

-If you haven't noticed, I'm somewhat of a completionist (sorry these last updates are taking so long. So many sidequests!!)

-The first of these is the Esper Chaos, who is found in Nabudus. To get to him the team has to fight two other bosses first: Humbaba Mistant and Fury.

-Humbaba Mistant is a giant scary monster with a huge sword and Fury is...a cute little bunny.

-Not joking.

-But like think of the bunny from Monty Python and that's more what it's like.

-Chaos itself is a wind Esper, and is pretty nasty, like everything else in this place.

-The team also ventures deep into the great crystal of Giruvegan, which is impossible to navigate, to find an Esper named Ultima.

-The baddest bitch of them all.

-She's a fallen angel and is basically awesome. She led the rebellion against the gods that resulted in all of the game's obtainable Espers being banished from the heavens.

-After all of that (and some hunts), the team finally ventures to The Ridorana Cataract, a solitary island with a huge beautiful tower.

-It's on the edge of the world, surrounded on one side with water and on the other, waterfalls flowing into an infinite void.

-So...is Ivalice a flat Earth situation?

-Checkmate, Neil Degrasse Tyson.

-They arrive and Ashe is still equivocating on what she is going to do.

-Reddas says that if she chooses the blow-everything-up route, then it'll really suck for her.

-Before they set out, Balthier tells Vaan that if anything happens to him, Vaan gets the airship.

-Aww.

-At the foot of the Pharos entrance, the team has to square off against a zombie dragon.

-It's pretty gross.

-Luckily, after defeating it, its ashes just blow away.

-Next to the door, there is an engraving written by Raithwell. Ashe is shocked.

-Fran reminds her that the Occuria gave him a blade to cut the nethicite, so he must have left this engraving for her knowing that it would have to happen again.  

-It's very cryptic and says that there are a lot of illusions, but that she should cut the true path.

-I guess that means by just walking up to the door? Because that's all she has to do to open it.

-Inside is a great open tower room with an upward waterfall. A sign indicates that the monsters here carry black orbs, which the team has to collect to dispel seals on doors and ascend.

-After opening the first door, the team is teleported to a darker version of the Sandsea, yet the map still says they're in the Pharos.

-In this inter-dimensional desert is a very angry turtle named Pandaemonium.

-What did you expect with a name like that?

-After defeating it, it runs into a wall and dies.

-Aw, that was kinda sad.

-The illusion fades away back into the Pharos and the magic binding the waystone at the entrance is broken.

-Taking the waystone teleports the team up to the tenth floor. No awkward elevator music for team Dyanst-Queen!

-On this level, the team has to defeat green-flame head statues to open up paths while avoiding red-flames.

-Higher up, they enter another illusion room, this one similar to the Ozmone Plain.

-This one has an angry fish named Slyt.

-Who named these guardians?

-Again, after defeating it, the illusion fades and the team proceeds to the second ascent on the 60th floor!

-Calves for dayz with all of these stairs.

-In the second ascent, the team must choose to relinquish attacking, magic, items, or a map to proceed.

-Items? I don't know her.

-In the illusion room near the end of the second ascent, the team encounters an angry muscle tiger person named Fenrir.

-Furry boss.

-The illusion is reminiscent of Mt. Bur-Omisace.

-After defeating him, the team gets their items back, and proceeds to the third ascent.

-Which is a color-coded teleporting puzzle.

-When they complete it and take the elevator up two levels, they get stopped by a muscly lion dude with crazy arm things.

-Furry boss v 2.0

-OMG he has a move called Roxxor. Emo furry confirmed.

-Turns out he's an Esper named Hashmal.

-Continuing on after the battle, Fran says that they're getting close.

-Penelo wonders if Ashe will choose to take revenge on the empire, and says she understands if she does. They've all lost important people.

-She says that sometimes she can see her loved ones so clearly.

-Reddas says that they are illusions that everyone experiences and wonders if Ashe will cut the true path, like the entrance to the Pharos indicated.

-The team makes it to the 100th floor and comes across the sun cryst.

-Ashe, holding both legendary swords, talks about how Raithwall last used one to make the shards. Vaan says that she's going to use it to destroy them.

-Obviously Vaan didn't get the memo that this was a monologue.

-She raises the treaty blade, and mist violently gathers at the top of the tower.

-PBT appears, and everyone can see him.

-Ashe says that she cannot exact the revenge that he asks.

-Gabranth appears and goads Ashe by telling her that he killed the king.

-Before he can attack, Reddas intervenes and recounts how he was a judge and destroyed Nabudis, then swore of his judgeship. He says no one can escape their past.

-Gabranth beats Reddas aside and Vaan takes up his sword to attack next, but he and Ashe share a long moment of mutual understanding that revenge won't heal the dead.

-Ashe turns to PBT and says that he's not the real PBT and slashes through the ghost.

-PBT speaks with an Occurian voice saying that she's their saint, and she slashes again saying that she won't be used.

-Reclaim your time!

-She says that Dalmasca never needed the dusk shard before and they don't need it now and that she will destroy the stone.

-Gabranth insists that the dead need to be avenged, but Vaan says that there's no point because they're dead.

-Gabranth then says that she can't defend her kingdom, and Basch says that he'll defend them all.

-Gabranth is very displeased at the mere existence of his twin and a boss fight begins.

-After the team defeats Gabranth (so satisfying), Cid appears and says that Gabranth is released from his service for betraying Larsa.

-Gabranth tries to attack Cid, but is thrown back by Venat.

-Cid says a whole lot really quickly about how Ashe is putting fate back in the hands of man by defying the Ocurria, which is good, but she shouldn't destroy the stone because it's so full of mist.

-Then he says that he will use the mist to summon Bahamut and to become like a god himself and fights the party.

-Halfway through the fight, Cid summons an Esper named Famfrit.

-Rude.

-After the battle, Venat appears to block Balthier from Cid. Cid tells him to let Balthier through and that he enjoyed their last six years together.

-Venat disappears, and Balthier asks a dissolving Cid if it was all worth it.

-He says that Balthier should run away as pirates do, then he dies.

-Penelo notices that Fran has collapsed from the mist, and she says that they have to run away and leave her.

-Fran.

-Did you really think everyone would just by like "kbyee"?

-Like, come on.

-Meanwhile Ashe and Vaan attempt to detory the Sun-Cryst, but the mist is blowing too hard.

-Reddas takes the sword and attacks it, blowing it all up in the process.

-There's a great cut scene where the bright light of its destruction can be seen by everyone the team has ever met from Eruyt Village, to Jahara, to Bur-Omisace, to Balfonheim.

-At the end, the team (minus Reddas) is in the Strahl outside the Pharos looking on.

-So we don't get to see Balthier huffing Fran down almost 100 flights of stairs?

-Anyway, some pretty major characters are now gone, and not much is left standing between the team and the final showdown.

-That's it for this section!

Quotes

Ashe: "Should I choose revenge, what then? Reddas: "Then your woe shall be your own."

Balthier: "I am the leading man. I need to do something heroic."

Penelo: "It's hard losing someone you care about." Vaan: "Something we've all got in common."

Vaan: "But you're going to use the sword to destory the Sun-Cryst. Aren't you, Ashe." Ashe: "Don't interrupt me, Vaan."

Ashe: "Rasler. My Prince. Our time was short. Yet I know this: You were not the kind to take base revenge!"

Gabranth: "The dead demand justice!" Vaan: "You're wrong. What would change?"

Fran: "Hadn't you best be off? That's what a sky pirate does. You fly. Don't you?" Balthier: "I suppose you'd better hang on then. 

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Holistic Coffee Shop -- Modern Prometheus

Okay, so two weeks ago, I showed you the scene I came up with for Victor using his power of “life transfer” for the very first time. Now, that scene involved a stabbing, courtesy of Barkis Bittern, but this one happens to be even darker!

Mostly because it takes place inside Blackwing. And someone dies. Someone who really goddamn deserves it, to be sure, but still. Your warning for the day!

Backstory: After the above scene, upon getting Emily to safety, Victor eventually goes back and gives himself up to the CIA so they’ll leave his other friends alone. Barkis happily takes him in, and Victor is put into Blackwing custody. Amidst the experiments performed on him, he learns that Alice’s sister Lizzie is too a guest of Blackwing -- she’s a ghost now, trapped inside a containment field for study. The two become friendly, as her cell isn’t far from his, and start making escape plans.

Meanwhile, Alice is furious that Blackwing has her boyfriend and tells the others they have to rescue him. Everyone is for this, and they even bring in this universe’s Bart and Ken to help. Plans are made, discarded, and made again, and eventually the group heads off to find themselves a secret CIA facility.

The escape attempt and the rescue attempt end up colliding, and for a bit all goes well. Victor and Lizzie take out the power and release the child subjects Blackwing was testing on, while the Rowdy 3 run into those same kids later and Martin has Gripps, Cross, and Vogel get them out of there safely. Victor and Lizzie meet up with the remaining members, and all prepare to flee --

And then Angus Bumby shows up with an armed guard, a portable containment field for Lizzie, and a hard whack across the shoulders for Victor. A short standoff ensues, with Bumby THINKING he has the upper hand. . .

"Now, I'm sure I can arrange somewhat more comfortable quarters if you all come quietly." Bumby smiled at Alice. "Particularly you, Miss Liddell. Perhaps something near my room?"

Even through watery, pain-filled eyes, Victor could see the hate smoldering on Alice's face. "You expect me to comply with my family's murderer?"

Bumby shook his head. "Alice, even if you were to escape – who would believe you? You're a coffee girl with a history of mental illness. Specifically, of psychosis and hallucination. We know it's a bit more than that – much more than that, in fact – but to the outside world, if you started going on about Angus Bumby, who disappeared twelve years ago. . .well. Rutledge never refuses a patient."

"It's more than just me!"

Bumby's eyes raked over the rest of the rescue crew. "Ah, yes. A 'holistic detective,' another girl locally known as mentally ill, her dropout brother with a history of untruth, a computer hacker, an unkempt 'assassin,' and a common thug. I'm sure everyone will find them credible witnesses." He smirked. "I have friends in much higher places than you do, Alice. And I've been doing this a lot longer." He nodded to the men with guns surrounding them. "Please – let's do this the easy way? Your sister chose the hard way, and you see how well that worked out for her."

Lizzie tried to lunge at him, but the man next to Bumby twisted something on his device, and the containment field constricted with a crackle, forcing her to her knees. Victor looked at her, then back up at Bumby. He's going to win, he realized with a sick sinking feeling. He's actually going to win. Martin's going to start swinging at any moment, and he'll probably take out a couple of them, but even he can't survive being riddled with bullets. Same with Bart – she'll get a few, and then she'll be dead, and probably Ken too since he'll try to help – and the others will be taken in and Dirk won't have the universe to help him anymore and Amanda will be just another experiment and Todd will probably be 'recruited' and have to help them torture his own sister and Alice – no no no I have to do something I have to stop him – but I don't know how to fire a gun and they'll probably just shoot me if I get up and even if I end up a ghost like Lizzie I won't be any good to anyone I won't even be able to heal anymore –

And, for some reason, he suddenly found himself thinking of Emily and the oak tree.

He blinked, unsure why that memory had popped into his head. Emily was nowhere to be seen this time, thank God, and he wasn't near any trees. . .maybe he was just worried he was never going to see a tree again? No, that can't be it. Dirk says everything is connected – how does that memory connect to what's happening now? He shut his eyes and let it replay. Emily's tortured gasping, the blood under his hands, terror frazzling his nerves, the crunch of the leaves in his fingers – then that incredibly pleasant, warm electricity zipping through his body – and then the dead leaves crumbling to the ground, and Emily sitting up, the color returning to her cheeks, wiping away the blood to reveal the wound was gone – he'd saved her, at the cost of practically killing the tree –

His eyes snapped open. His power – how had the scientists put it? He rebalanced the distribution of life energy – helped and harmed in equal measure. And he'd saved someone from a fatal wound. . .maybe he could – it was a mad idea, but they were always encouraging him to push his powers farther. . .

He reached out and took Lizzie's hand, ignoring the faint sting from the containment field. She looked down at it in confusion. "Trust me," he whispered, then looked up at Bumby. "Sir – I just had a thought."

"What is it, Prometheus?" Bumby said, not even glancing down.

"It's about that, actually. My project name. You said it was from the Greek myth, but there's actually another place someone might have heard it from."

"Oh?"

"Frankenstein. I had to read it for an English class. The subtitle is The Modern Prometheus."

Bumby finally deigned to look at him. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"It's a book about raising the dead, more or less." He gritted his teeth. "Let's try an experiment."

His hand snapped out and closed around Bumby's wrist before anyone could react – and then suddenly his body was overflowing with energy, pulsing through him like a live wire, scorching his nerves with something that wasn't quite pain as he rebalanced the books of life – he could hear Bumby screaming, feel the man trying to pull free; his fingers tightened, sucking with lethal intent – Lizzie yelped, and he squeezed her hand, now comforting, now giving – and then there was gunfire and a familiar howling scream from Martin and a whistling snickersnack and an uncoordinated "Hiiii-yah!" followed by what sounded like someone's foot meeting someone else's groin and he wanted to worry about it but he couldn't right now because he couldn't really think beyond the flow of pure unadulterated life roaring through him, pouring through veins and arteries as it sought a new home, touching him along the way with the merest whisper of the sublime – everything was connected, and right now he was that connection –

And then, with a loud thud!, it was over. Victor released both Lizzie and Bumby, needing his hands to brace himself as he came, shaking and wheezing, off the high of being the conduit for the most powerful force in the universe. He managed, after a moment, to focus on the scene around him. Bumby was lying dead on his left, face twisted in a rictus of shock. The containment man was also dead, blood dripping from multiple gunshot wounds, his device sparking. The rest of the Blackwing soldiers didn't look much better – even those that he could see were still alive weren't getting up anytime soon. His friends were still standing, blood staining faces and hands and clothes but apparently uninjured – and all staring at him like they'd never seen him before. And to his right –

was Lizzie, gaping at him, her body no longer a mass of blue electric light but wonderfully, warmly solid. Victor managed to give her a smile as he struggled to catch his breath. "Oh good. I was hoping. . ."

The world inconveniently started spinning then, the walls and floor switching places like he was stuck on a Tilt-A-Whirl. He pressed down hard on the tiles, trying to steady himself, but all that did was make the ceiling start twisting in a different direction. He raised a weak hand to his head. "I – I think I overdid it a little," he confessed in the vague direction of Alice, tipping dangerously toward the left wall.

Then everything went black.

[breegullbeakreviews]

Summary: When Hat Kid’s collection of magical time pieces ends up strewn across a planet full of deplorable begins, she’ll set out of a quest to take back these powerful pieces before they fall into the wrong hands in a 3D platforming adventure.

Overall: A Hat in Time is a fantastic love letter to the 3D Platformers of old. It’s full of fresh ideas and unlike many other attempts to bring back the genre this year, it knows what worked and what didn’t about the genre and accounted for it. At $30 it’s the best 3D platformer on the PS4 and Xbox One(Banjo Kazooie excluded) and is totally worth the price tag.

*Like with Yooka Laylee, I was a Kick Starter backer of the project backing at the $70 tier and spending an extra $20 to get a PS4 code. 

Controls: While inspired by classics like Banjo Kazooie and Super Mario 64, Hat Kid’s moveset is not particular inspired by either. Hat Kid has no triple jump, but she can do a second jump while in the air as well as a dive. Unlike either the bear, the bird, or the former plumber, Hat Kid will run up a wall when she hits one while not diving and in the air. This allows for some interesting platforming. Instead of always jumping straight across platforms occasionally you’ll need to drop under a barricade, dive and then run up the wall instead.

Hat kid can dive at foes while airborne with a homing attack, but she’ll also get a melee attack early on. Hat kid’s main quirk is her collection of unlockable hats. I don’t want to spoil them all as they’re a lot of fun, but her starting hat will show you your objective when you press L2 or its equivalent on your platform of choice. The first two hats you’ll unlock all for faster movement and a throw able explosive. Switching between hats is rather funny as a gimmick in a world post Odyssey, but this gimmick was planned well in advance of Mario’s return to open world adventures.

Hub: Hat Kid’s ship is a nice hub. It feels like a functional place and it’s just large enough to hold the games 4 chapters and the final showdown. The biggest issue for me is a nitpick, but its shape from the outside is pretty ugly. It isn’t seen from the outside outside of cut scenes, but when it is it’s not a particularly flattering design. Inside is what counts though and while not massive and as memorable as the classics, small and simple works a lot better than Mario’s lack thereof and Yooka Laylee’s mess.

Time Rifts/Customization/Relics: These next three things all are pretty linked. Time Rifts are A Hat in Time’s equivalent to Super Mario Sunshine’s Bonus stages. Hell they even have similar rotating blocks with pegs coming out. You are never stripped of powers when entering these, but four of these are extra special. Before I touch on those we need to cover the Relics. Hidden throughout the game are presents holding Relics and after all of those are collected they hold Rift coins, but we’ll get back to those. These Relics can be combined on platforms in the proper order to not only decorate the Hub, but they’ll also unlock an extra Rift for each chapter.

These Rifts are based around the chapters theme and are much longer. In these as opposed to just reaching the end of the rift, you’ll need to collect special tickets in each area and enough special pons to open the next area as you make your way to the end. These help break up the game as they are the few moments where the game can ignore how a challenge fits into the chapter’s world design and go nuts.

Back to those coins. When you complete a rift or spend three of those coins you get new to spin for new color schemes for Hat kid’s outfit or different appearances for the game’s hats. You get 3 spins each time but you can only take one things. Basically you spin, take what you got or spin again and give up that item unless you roll it again. I have no idea if you can get every customization option in the game, but you can’t spend money to get more coins so I’m fine with this system. I wish it was just the different hats though. I preferred those to the color scheme changes.

Mafia Town: Way back in the day A Hat in Time was sold to me on just this chapter and the promise of a return of 3D Platforming. Mafia Town is the first of four chapters in the game, and it’s incredible how it feels lived in and is still fun to explore. As part of the games narrative you are locked to this chapter for its first four acts before you can head out and explore the other chapters. The fourth act here really set’s the story in motion and is home to the game’s first real boss fight. Despite the game being a 3D platformer, this boss is fought in 2D and I’m not sure what to think about it. It’s a strange fight fitting of the Mafia’s strange vibe, but I’m not a fan of being locked to a 2D plane for just this segment. Maybe if it was used prior it would work better, but as is it’s an okay fight.

The chapter itself is a seas side town built around a volcano shaped geyser that keeps the Mafia bosses club floating high in the sky. Due to the slope of the geyser’s sides, the town has multiple levels of height you’ll be running between as you explore. Oh and the town is run and lived in solely by the Mafia who outside their leader all look the same. The chapter is super sparse on foes. The Mafia won’t attack unless provoked or tied into the act itself. Outside that you’re pretty safe outside fall damage and the strange sleepy raccoons. If this chapter has one issue it’s that due to the vertical nature of the town I never really got a lay of the land. This is an issue for most of the chapters, but unlike others, this one has a single distinct theme throughout so I can’t say I’m in this part of the map and over there is that part of the map very easily.

Dead Bird Studios: Somehow the chapter that feels the least inspired by classic 3D Platformers is my favorite. Dead Bird Studios is home to stealth segments, timed segments, and a conga line of enemies that forces you to keep moving and not double back too quickly. Pretty much all of these are aspects of Super Mario Galaxy which makes this whole thing even funnier since this chapter is set on the moon, despite never being seen. What makes this chapter so great is that every one of these elements is one and done all leading up to what is now one of my favorite boss fights ever. It is perfectly built to and I absolutely refuse to spoil, but it’s safe to say the developers of A Hat in Time are super cynical of the Cinematic Studio System.

Dead Bird Studios starts with Hat kids trying to steal back her Time pieces from the competing directors who plan to use them as props for their upcoming motion pictures. When she is caught she is instead offered to star in the films of two competing directors. From there each act is a movie with its own gimmick. All of these are super linear, but what makes it work is that none of them play the same and none of these gimmicks leave this chapter. All of these fun things are one and done so they never get old.

Subcon Forest: Of all of the chapters, Subcon Forest is the most generic, but how it handles the basic theme of spooky level is done really well. As the first act begins you are quickly forced to make a deal with the Snatcher, a spooky spirit. In exchange for your soul he’ll let you explore his woods as long as you complete tasks for him. While most spooky levels dance around the morbid nature of things, this chapter doesn’t shy away from the darker concepts at play. Magical nooses hang in the woods. The spirts in the woods want to die. It’s a strange setting.

The design of the forest itself is split into distinct areas. Each is key for at least one of the acts, but all of them can be reached from anyone act, except for the boss fight area which is only reachable when needed. This allows for each act to feel distinct. The most annoying part of the chapter is trying to find your way around. While everything is distinct I still never got a sense of which area was next to what other area outside a super select few. Luckily the game will start you facing the right direction and from there the path is pretty obvious. Good luck finding those rifts through.

The star of the show here is the Snatcher. He’s you pretty basic deal making devil but he’s played for laughs in such a way that while he would be terrifying to actually meet in reality, in this games setting he’s silly. He’s always smiling and he’s built like an inflatable tube man. Sadly his boss fight sucks. Because of how it’s built when you die it takes a long time to get back to the point in which you can actually damage him. It also doesn’t help that his attacks are all pretty random and similar enough that knowing how to dodge them doesn’t help much since where things will land is hard to pin down. Also no health was dispensed the whole fight. Snatcher takes the least hits of all the bosses, but he’s the least balanced of these bosses regardless. I’d rather have a lengthy but forgiving fight than a short and insane one.

Alpine Skyline: You know who up until now each chapter was divided into acts? Throw that out the window. This last level is entirely free roam. Hold your goats, it’s not a giant open mountain. The map is made up of various mountain peaks that you’ll zip line between. It’s pretty linear in nature, but you’ll get to choose which of the four acts you’ll tackle first. The Finale sadly can’t be redone due to how it twists the map, but it’s not particularly strong so no huge loss. The acts here are super fun. Twilight Bell and The Windmill are awesome platforming challenges that put your use of hats and platforming to the test. It’s puzzle platforming at its finest.

I’m honestly not sure what else I can say about the penultimate chapter. There is no boss fight and it’s where you obtain the game’s final and arguably game breaking hat. The setting itself is pretty underused and is pretty much just fluff to connect the four harder acts together but those acts are so good it all works out in the end.

Time’s End: The game ends with a final Bowser Castle style level leading into a final boss battle against Mustache girl who after learning that you wouldn’t use the Time Pieces to stop the bad guys decided to use the time pieces to become the judge of who is and isn’t bad. The final battle has Hat kid getting aided by all of the games baddies who just want things to go back to the way they were. It’s a fun final battle that was made super easy by the inclusion of the game’s final hat. I appreciate the interstitial cut scenes that occur throughout that remind me of the good old Paper Mario games.

The course itself is pretty challenging. I’d be lying if I said I got through it unscathed. The whole evil castle above lava is pretty generic, but as a love letter to the 3D platformers of old it’s fine. I think creating some sort of crazy place outside of time would have fit the theme of the game more, but what matters in the end is what’s inside, and what is inside the castle is good.

Story: I mean I pretty much covered the story back there. Hat kid’s time pieces get scattered on this planet. She lands in Mafia town and Mustache girl helps her out until she learns about the power of the pieces and that Hat kid doesn’t want to use the power to stop bad guys. From here you just sort of play the game until you get enough time pieces and Mustache girl comes and steals them triggering the unlocking of the final battle where the above events transpire. It’s a sappy story about power corrupting and that messing with time is bad. It’s a lot more effort than I expected out of this and it left me with a smile on my face.