#done in the lab so will i hit play and finish this episode finally?

[wereshrew-admirer]

FINALLY listening to dead in the dust part 3 to finish my very slow and hesitant sangfielle relisten - this is the first time i've heard it since the post mortem and now that i know for the chine conversation is a re-do i would KILL to hear the original.

everyone sounds so tired and resigned right from the start in a way that felt terrible when it first came out and now i understand why (because apparently they'd already recorded that scene and dragged it on and then decided to re-do it already knowing that they were going to kill chine)... but boy howdy do i want to hear a* version of that where they went in blind

*specifying "a" because they presumably cut the original for a reason so i trust that i probably don't actually want to hear 'the' version where they went in blind... but man................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... i wish they would have cut bits of it in or something because the tone of the final version is... unsettling (which does admittedly make it horrific in a way that's maybe appropriate for a horror story lol)

[nocturnal-milk-dud]

Man Made of Stone: Chapter Six

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Pairing: Horacio Carrillo x Reader

Summary: Sometimes waiting is worse

Rating: PG-13

Warnings/notes: mild depressive episode; there is a spider; alcohol; smoking; swearing; reference to death; reference to violence; once again, I know nothing about medicine; if you want to be on or off the taglist please let me know

Word count: ~1800

No one slept in the bed. Instead, you both stretched out on a couch, finding comfort in each other’s presence. You felt yourself slipping, your eyelids sliding shut.

“Javi?” you whispered. 

“Yeah?” 

“Thank you,” you said.

“What?” He’d heard you, but he wasn’t sure why you were saying it. Javier sat up on his elbow to try and see you, but you were fast asleep. 

It was three o’clock in the afternoon when you woke up. You had no idea what time the two of you had made it back to the apartment, but it had been around eleven when you’d made it to the hospital. Javier wasn’t there, but there was a note on the coffee table, clothes folded neatly next to it. Your mouth felt stale and dry, and a headache had taken root right above your eyes. Every part of your body felt heavy. The idea of moving was too much. You should shower, you should eat. You should drink water. All of those things would help, but they all seemed like too much work. Every little task was so overwhelming. Through the blinds you could see the bright warmth of the day beyond, the sounds of children playing filtering in from outside.

“Just sit up,” you whispered to yourself. “Just start there.” 

Eventually you did sit up and you read the note. Javier had gone to your apartment and gotten clean clothes for you and a few other things he thought you might need. Once you did that one thing, it was easier to do others. You got up and ate some food and you turned the water on in the shower, sitting in the tub. You had your knees pulled up to your chest, arms balanced on them, pillowing your head as scalding water poured over you. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched as a spider struggled in the tub, trying to work its way up the side, only to be knocked back by flecks of water. You reached out, scooping the creature up with your finger, and placed it higher up on the wall, away from the falling water. 

You were extremely grateful Javier had the presence of mind to bring you pajamas in addition to street clothes. You dressed and returned to your place on the couch, intent upon going back to sleep. Every moment, Carrillo’s fate was uncertain. You’d blink and you’d see him in his fevered state, you’d see the smoking shell of the truck sitting dead in the road, you’d see the man you killed. A grim slideshow played behind your eyes every minute you were awake, waiting to hear something, anything. It was too much. 

You felt a hand gently shaking your shoulder and you opened your eyes to see Javier perched on the edge of the coffee table, his lips and eyes pinched tight with concern.

“Have you been sleeping all day?” he asked, leaning back and shaking a cigarette free from the pack.

“More or less,” you grumbled, sitting up on your elbow. You grimaced at the tight muscles in your neck. “What time is it?”

“Ten o’clock,” Javier replied, getting to his feet and heading into the kitchen. “I brought you some food.”

“Jesus Christ,” you muttered to yourself. You really had slept all day.

“Have you heard anything?” you asked tentatively. He shook his head and you sighed, settling onto your back.

“No, no, no,” Javier called and you yelped as something hard landed on your chest. You looked down to see an apple sitting in the folds of your blanket.

“What the fuck, Javi?” you demanded, rubbing the sore spot on your chest where the apple had hit.

“Get up,” he ordered, “eat.” You glared at him, but did as he said, afraid if you didn’t he’d throw something else at you. 

You ate everything Javier put in front of you, not realizing how hungry you were. 

“Am I allowed to lay back down now?” you asked after you finished eating, watching as Javier took your plate in the kitchen and placed it in the sink. He raised an eyebrow at you, but didn’t argue as you slowly shifted onto your side, pulling the blanket up over yourself. A moment later, a glass of whiskey was placed in front of you on the table and you watched as Javier took a seat on the other couch, throwing his feet up. 

“You really love him, don’t you?” Javier asked, relaxing into the leather seat. You stared down at your glass, swirling the alcohol inside it.

“I know it’s silly,” you said. “I haven’t even known him that long.”

“There’s nothing silly about it,” Javier said, placing another cigarette between his lips. “It’s Colombia in the 80’s. You gotta say what you feel when you feel it.” 

“Do you think what I’m feeling is really love? Or did I say it because I was too afraid I’d never get the chance to?” Javier brushed his finger across his lips and shrugged a shoulder, opening his mouth to speak, when the phone rang. You sat up, watching him reach for it, and you looked on in anticipation as he spoke in hushed tones, his face a mask. What would he say when he turned to you? Would his face break before he even had the chance to speak? You held your breath, biting down on your tongue so the pain would drown out everything else. Javier thanked the caller and hung up the phone. 

“They were able to treat the infection,” he said. “His white count is down, blood pressure is stable. They’re gonna move him into surgery.” You didn’t realize the amount of tension you were holding in your body until he finished speaking. Your shoulders slumped and your muscles relaxed, and you found yourself laughing, tears running down your face at the same time. Javier crossed the room and sat down next to you, taking your glass from you and setting it on the table. He pulled you into his arms until the shaking finally subsided and the exhaustion returned.

“We’ll go see him tomorrow,” Javier said gently as you dried your eyes. “Get some rest.” 

The next morning the two of you met with Trujillo at the hospital. You had a hard time focusing and found yourself pacing while the two men spoke. It was the first time you’d been out of the apartment since that night and every movement, every sound had your attention. Your eyes were constantly searching out sources, your head snapping from side to side, your body reacting to everything. You flinched when Javier’s hand touched your shoulder. 

“Sorry,” you said, trying to relax. “What’s going on? Can we see him?” Javier shook his head, and took you gently by the arm, leading you to an empty corner of the waiting room. 

“We can’t see him,” Javier said. “Trujillo says he’s on lockdown, no one but hospital staff is allowed in his room.” You felt all the air leave you and you sank into the nearest chair, hiding your face in your hands. Javier moved his hand in slow, reassuring circles on your back. 

“This is bullshit, Javi.” Your voice came out in a harsh whisper as you dropped your hands, finding the breath and the strength to stand. Panic clawed its way through you, driven by the thought that after everything you all had gone through, after everything he survived it could all be undone. In a place that was meant to heal. “What do they think, Escobar can’t get doctors and nurses on his payroll? They’re some kind of saints in lab coats? All it takes is one person with a syringe full of air. We have to be in there, we have to know what’s going on.” Javier placed his hands on your shoulders as you felt yourself unravel.

“Listen,” he said, his voice calm, steady, “they’ve had plenty of opportunities already, right? He got through the infection, he got through surgery, he’ll be back on his feet in no time. Trujillo’s solid, he’ll keep us updated, but there’s nothing we can do here.” Your eyes flashed unblinkingly around the waiting room and you could find a threat in everything. You had come into that hospital with the intent of sitting by Carrillo’s side until he was well, instead you were leaving it with gritted teeth and the persistent cloud of dread hovering over your shoulder.  

Gunshots shook the air that night. You didn’t sleep. Javier had stepped out, simply saying he would be back soon, leaving you alone in the empty apartment. You’d had him pick up an extra pack of cigarettes on the way home from the hospital and you sat smoking and unblinking when he returned an hour and a half later. You turned your head when he tossed a pair of your scrubs on the couch next to you.

“Get dressed,” Javier said. Your confused expression followed him as he stripped off his jacket and disappeared into his bedroom. 

“What is this?” you asked after you changed. “I’m not interested in saving some sicario’s life tonight.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Javier said, turning the lights off and leading you to the front door.

“Could you tell me what it is?” you said, more to yourself than to him, knowing that if he was going to tell you, he would have done it already.

“What are we doing here?” you asked when Javier pulled into the hospital’s parking lot, your heart jumping into your throat.

“Trujillo called. He said he was willing to look the other way, but he can only swing it once,” he said, the cigarette lighter casting an orange glow on his face. 

“He could get in a lotta trouble for that,” you said. “Why is he doing it?”

“Because you saved Carrillo’s life,” Javier said. You hesitated a moment, your hand on the door. “He’ll meet you at the door and he’ll have a badge for you. After that just...be a nurse.” 

It was easy getting past the two guards standing outside Carrillo’s room, all they did was look over the badge Trujillo had given you and ask you to state your business. It wasn’t exactly a comforting thought, knowing it was that simple. It was harder walking to the side of his bed, your feet like lead.

“Ten minutes,” you muttered. That was all you had. You decided to check the readouts on the equipment and his vitals first, making sure everything was in order. In your mind you were treating him like any other patient, your heart having no place, but that was harder than you thought. You avoided looking at Carrillo for as long as possible, remembering what he had looked like the last time your saw him. When you were finished, you closed your eyes and turned your head so when you opened them you would be looking at him. You let your breathing even out, your heart calm. If it weren’t for the hospital gown and the equipment it would look like he was simply resting. Carrillo’s face was so soft. Sleep soothed the worry and stoicism that ruled his life for years. The fact that it was hard to imagine this man knowing a life, even a moment of peace made your heart ache. You placed your hand over his, gently notching your fingers between his. 

“What do you dream about?” you wondered aloud. You glanced at your watch to see that your time was coming to a close. You brushed the tips of your fingers across his jaw and leaned down to kiss his forehead. 

“I will see you again,” you promised.

Taglist:  @cheesybadgers​ @massivecolorspygiant​ @vanthrefrigeration​ @funtasi​ @redwine-n-hiddles​ @sarahjkl82-blog​ @maharani-radha-writes​ @lettherebrelight​ @banga-sama​ @ajeff855​ @madlyhowling​ @chiara-cannot-sleep​ @mcrmarvelloki​ @cassandras-nest​ @flowerchild-96​ @harduy​ @chasingdreamer​ @anatanotegami​ @live--aloud​ @grogu-pascal​ @dodgerandevans @seltsamkind @goldielocks2004​ @marvelprincess1994​ @girlpornparadise​ @mental-bycatch​ @patqmark​ @lostinthesettingsun @winchesterfallon​

[punz4lyfe]

Wasted Plotential: Journeys Episode 68 (Part 2)

Part 2: Gary and the Moltres Battle

Picking off where the last part ended up on, the episode begins with Ash and Goh searching around the woods for Infernape. As the two call out his name, Staraptor soars through and Buizel uses the rivers to search at areas far off from his trainer. As they search, Goh remarks how impossible it’s gonna be to find Infernape in such a dense forest without any signs, but Ash reassures him that they can do it. He also admits he isn’t too surprised of Infernape continuing to train by himself, stating how much battling means to the Pokemon while flashbacking to some of Infernape’s most proudest battles, such as Candice’s Abomasnow and Volkner’s Luxray.

After recalling those moments, Ash meets up with Staraptor and Buizel who both confirm their lack of signs for their former comrade. Thanking them for their efforts, Ash returns them into their Pokeballs so they could rest up and that’s when Goh notices a nearby Pidgeotto. Just like in the original episode, Goh fails to capture it, as well as the Onix encountered afterwards, leading to two to get saved by Gary and his Blastoise.

Gary’s interactions with Ash and Goh in the og episode were honestly REALLY good, and so for the sake of padding out runtime, events of the episode will play out as they did in the original while expanding a bit more on the dialogue. For example, perhaps Gary could point out Goh’s flaw of recklessly throwing Pokeballs at Pokemon without weakening them first. While Goh would state that his approach has been successful most of the time, Gary would rebuttal that maybe he’s just been lucky this whole time. Or when talking about Project Mew, Gary could mention some of his past missions to fill up Goh’s own interest more. Maybe, as a reference to Goh’s Suicune, Gary could have had encounters with Entei, Raikou, and a different Suicune, stating he had to retrieve samples of Entei’s fire, Raikou’s electricity (it’s pokemon dont question it), and Suicune’s water in order to pass. Additionally, prior to this mission, he’s also succeeded in gaining feathers from an Articuno and Zapdos. Of course, as he explains what he’s done so far, Ash will be impressed and state how proud and happy he is for Gary for being able to take part in such experiences, sparking up Goh’s jealousy even further.

As the three make their way to the mountain where Moltres and Infernape are up, Goh, due to his lackluster physique compared to Ash and Gary, accidentally winds falling in a river and risking him and Grookey falling down a waterfall. Ash prepares to send out Buizel to rescue them, but Gary insists to leave it to Blastoise due to his stronger and bulkier body. As Blastoise makes his way towards Gary and Grookey, the two end up falling over, but Blastoise leaps off and catches them in time before he starts to swim UP the waterfall to get them all back to safety. The rescue is a success and the plot moves on.

Again, things play out the same way at the peak, but when Ash and Infernape reunite, we get a more wholesome-ish hug with Ash happily spinning Infernape around, just as they hugged after their fight against Volkner. Ash also formally introduces Infernape to Goh and Grookey, with the latter having a huge admiration for the taller, stronger, more experienced primate as Infernape pets his head in a friendly manner.

And that, my friends, is when Moltres appears. Instead of everyone taking turns for no good reason, the encounter is instantly declared a Raid Battle (just as Ash, Goh, and Team Rocket did with Zapdos), with Ash using Infernape, Goh sending out Cinderace, and Gary sending out Blastoise. At the beginning, all three of them rely on ranged attacks to keep a safe distance, but Moltres’ speed proves near-impossible to land a good hit as it moves in closer to the three mons, forcing them to rely on physical moves. As a demonstration of Infernape’s greater power compared Cinderace’s, when Cinderace tries to attack Moltres with a Blaze Kick, it gets effortlessly blocked, but then Infernape goes in for a Mach Punch and actually does some damage to it, which slightly annoys Cinderace. Additionally, Cinderace attempts to block an incoming Air Slash with Pyro Ball, but that fails and causes him to get badly hurt. Moltres then tries another Air Slash to finish Cinderace off, but Infernape quickly steps in between the attack and Cinderace to intercept it with Flamethrower, this time completely cancelling it.

Despite this, Cinderace finds himself too exhausted to get up, forcing Goh to. withdraw from the Raid Battle as he brings Cinderace out of the battlefield for his safety. After performing more or less the same way he did in the original episode, Blastoise attempts to take down Moltres with Hydro Cannon (because why the fuck would nerf that down to Water Pulse while Infernape’s Sinnoh moveset remained the same?!), but Moltres avoids the attack and, because of Blastoise needing to recharge and already being in a fatigued state from rescuing Goh and Grookey, takes down the Water-type with Air Slash, making Blastoise’s defeat a little less contrived and a little less bullshit. Gary recalls Blastoise and, desperate to succeed in his mission, prepares to send out Electivire while offering Goh to borrow his Umbreon, but Ash requests for them not to, knowing how much this battle means to Infernape and that he believes they will finish the job for Gary’s sake. Understanding Ash’s reasoning, Gary withdraws, as well as Goh after he retrieves a supportive look from Grookey, who also wants to see his new idol win by himself.

So now it’s just Infernape against Moltres. While careful to avoid any Air Slashes, Ash and Infernape deliberately rush in to take potshots while occasionally managing to deal in good hits with Flare Blitz, Flamethrower, and Mach Punch. They also use Dig to either avoid powerful blows or use the debris to eliminate a Fire Spin. However, Gary and Goh are confused why Ash and Infernape are now behaving more recklessly, but then Gary soon realizes what the two are trying to do. Just after Goh asks him on what he means by that, his attention is instantly taken back to Infernape when they see him get hit by a powerful Burn Up attack, taking away Moltres’ Fire-typing.

However, Infernape is not done yet. This is exactly where he and Ash wanted to land at. His body glows red. He gets back to his feet. And with a roar of pride and power, Infernape’s head flame ignites to severe proportions. Just as Gary notes; Infernape’s Blaze has been activated, shocking Goh and Cinderace as Grookey cheers loudly for Infernape, as does Pikachu nearby Ash. Ash smirks confidently before he asks Infernape if he’s ready to end this. Infernape replies with another roar and Ash tells him to use Flamethrower. Moltres attempts to cancel it with Fire Spin, but Infernape’s flame only eats up Moltres’ before landing its mark. Moltres quickly flies back up and uses Fire Spin again, this time working as Infernape slowly takes damage from the surrounding flames. With its opponent trapped, Moltres uses Air Slash to finish up, but on Ash’s command, Infernape simply uses a rapid series of Mach Punch to block every single air... wave... slash... thing.

And now it’s time to end things. Ash tells Infernape to use Flare Blitz and Infernape uses his heightened head flame to absorb Moltres’ Fire Spin, adding it to his own power, and takes off towards the legendary bird as a humongous fire ball of rage. The attacks hit down on, causing a huge explosion that heavily damages Moltres and causes it to drop a feather, which Gary notices. Now realizing it stands no chance against Infernape, Moltres uses Burn Up again to briefly light the area and disorientate everyone else on the mountain before taking off. But despite Moltres’ retreat, Infernape feels completely satisfied from the fight, as it shows with a victorious Flamethrower to the air. Blaze then deactivates, but Ash catches Infernape before he could collapse, telling him how proud he is and that he practically won due to Moltres’ retreating. Grookey then quickly approaches Infernape with sparkly eyes full of admiration with Goh and Cinderace joining them as the former supports Ash’s statement on Infernape’s technical victory. Gary retrieves the Moltres feather, passes his mission, and they all return to the lab.

Once again, events and dialogue play out the same only with Tracey involved as well. Gary leaves, Goh decides to join Project Mew, and now, Ash tells his current team that it’s time to go back to Cerise’s, so they all say goodbye to their new friends. Dragonite tearfully hugs Charizard, who returns the gesture while lightly patting his back with a sympathetic expression. Gengar shares one last laugh with Glalie. Lucario shakes hands with Sceptile. Dracovish happily gets hugged by Totodile and Gible. And Sirfetch’d... ends up getting attacked by Bayleef’s Vine Whip and Oshawott’s Razor Shell as revenge for preventing from hugging Ash earlier.

The episode ends with Goh using his Rotom Phone to take an updated version of Best Wishes final group photo, with Ash and Pikachu sitting at the middle while surrounded by all of his Pokemon at Oak’s lab and his current team. Special notices go to Infernape sitting next to Ash, one arm wrapped around shoulder and giving a thumbs up with the other hand, Lucario and Sceptile standing back-to-back against each other with crossed arms and confident smirks, and Totodile and Gible both posing on top of the ever-so-jolly Dracovish. This photo is also the final frame as well because it would make sense for one of the hype points of the episode to be the focal point of how things end off instead of Goh and Grookey for no reason.

And yeah, that’s how’ll I would rewrite Episode 68. Events still play out more or less the same, only with more time focused on certain points to expand interaction and dynamics. Thanks for reading and, since this is basically my first real rewrite project, feel free to tell me your thoughts on it!

[kate837]

I Love You

I completely recommend watching 2x14 Borrow or Rob, and the beginning of 2x15 Draw O Cesar Erase a Coward, before reading this fic. While this fic is AU it does have many similarities and minor details that it couldn't hurt to watch the episode first! Anyways enjoy!!!!!

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Kurt had a day.

Not bad. Definitely not good. Just... A day.

A day he'll never forget actually. It was so full of ups and downs. From Shepherd plunging a knife into Sean's heart, to joking with Jane about whether or not he could handle Rich Dotcom. From shooting Rich to... Jane's date. That hurt. When Shepherd shoved a knife through Sean Clarke, Kurt's adrenaline spiked, he felt so alert for so long, he thought he would throw up. He got the same feeling from Jane. Except it was everytime she moved, spoke, brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, etc. Her admission of her date was too much. Kurt went straight home, got a damp rag, and laid down. Staring at the ceiling.

Though he did have to say, it still wasn't the worst part of his day. He felt bad. Witnessing first degree murder should automatically be the worst part of your day.

But when it comes to Rich.....

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Kurt and Rich were sneaking through the secret underground tunnels of Jamison College, in order to get into the Deadalus gathering.

"This is interesting." Rich says, while coming to a stop.

"What?" Kurt replies shortly.

"Well this is the door, but the handle's different."

"Different how, Rich?!"

"Wel- well it's not there anymore?? Probably on account of all the hookers I snuck in it." Rich gestures to the handless door.

"Ok, so what's behind this door?" Kurt inquires, looking around.

"The closet. What are yo-"

"Stand back."

Kurt, with a running start, kicks the door in to find himself deep within the walls of a massive walk in closet.

"Aaaaa just how I remember it."

"SHHHHH!" Kurt puts his ear to the door, the one still on it's hinges, just in time to hear the gasps of attending guests and a soft female voice hushedly asking someone to notify security of the discrepancy.

"Shit."

"What?" Rich asks, genuinely confused.

"The guests are getting security to come check out 'the noise in the closet'."

"Oh. What are we gonna do Stubbles? I'm a sly guy but how do we explain that?"

"Oh God, why do you hate me?" Kurt says looking towards the ceiling.

"What? You're acting strange Stubbles, like weirder than normal. I mea-"

Rich was cut off by Kurt's large hands cupping both sides of his face, to kiss him. Without separating he backs Rich against a near wall, mimicking the earlier noise. Rich squirmed at first but expectedly went along with the unexpected.

"Come on Stubbles, you can at least use some tongue!"

"Shut. Up." Kurt snarls. "Actually. . . I need you to make some. . . noises." Kurt says while blushing furiously.

"Security is on their way." Tasha notifies through comms.

"Yeah you guys better get out of there." Reade warns.

"And say what? Oh hey haven't seen you in a while, please excuse my entering through a closet?!" Rich whisper-yells.

"Everyone shut up!" Kurt also whisper yells. "Now Rich I need you to moan a lot. Loudly."

"You could always make me Stubbles!"

"Rich!"

"Kurt what the hell are you doing?" Reade asks, growing increasingly concerned about his teammate's mental health.

"Rich just do it!"

"OOOOH! STUBBLES, YES!" Rich practically screams.

The party guests turn a side eye. But the security, like Kurt hoped, were turning away, figuring that the noise came from two enthusiastic partygoers. Or if the other patrons were anything like Rich maybe more.

Of course Weller didn't know that yet.

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"Ohhh. Now i get it, I can't believe this is working." Reade says, half laughing at the ridiculous noises coming out of his earpiece. "Hey Kurt it's work-"

"Will you shut up?!" Tasha butts in.

"What are you tal-"

"He doesn't know that they stood down yet." Tasha says wriggling her eyebrows. "Hey Kurt most of the security guards stood down but you still have a couple incoming. . . You might need to amp it up a bit!"

Her and Reade try and fail to stifle their laughter after Rich let's out a completely overexaggerated 'UNGH'!

"Come on Stubbles, they're not buying it, you're gonna have to join me if you wanna get out of here."

"Why me? God why me?" Kurt says again looking up.

Kurt let's out a loud and breathless 'Oh God' that completely undoes all of Tasha and Reade's composure. They are hysterical by now. They completely lost it when Rich and Kurt started harmonizing!

"Stop! Stop!" Tasha said. "I can't take it anymore." She pulls herself up from the floor of the van, where she fell from laughing so hard.

"Yeah guys, the security's gone. They're long gone." Reade adds, clutching his stomach.

"Yeah Rich so goo- wait what?!"

"Yeah you're clear." Tasha clarifies.

"You could have compromised this entire op!" Kurt says furiously.

"We all know that's not why you're mad Stubbles. And as the bible states-"

"I swear to God Rich, if you say another word I will shoot you."

"Another word."

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Kurt flushed red just thinking about it. What was he going to put in his field report?!

He turned to lay on his side to take in the fresh scenery of the wall instead of the ceiling. After laying there for about two minutes, he finally got up to fix himself dinner.

While gathering ingredients, Kurt's mind inevitably wandered back to Jane's date. Everything about it tore at him. What she'd be wearing, what she'd eat, would she cover her tattoos, would she wear makeup. . . . . . . .

His thoughts were interrupted by a phone call.

It was Jane.

A million questions ran through his head. Why is she calling him? Shouldn't she still be out on her date?

He lunged for the phone but then. . . He stilled. Didn't move a muscle. He picked up his phone, turned it over, and resumed gathering ingredients.

Once the phone eventually stopped buzzing, Kurt's inner turmoil came to play.

'Why didn't you answer?! Jane could be in trouble!'

'Be rational Kurt. She's on a date, probably just calling to let you know that she'll complete her paperwork tomorrow, since she's busy.'

'Look, everyone knows you're in love with her, but you can't act like some overprotective boyfriend whenever she's around.'

Kurt shakes his head. He wasn't in love with Jane Doe. Was he?

'Of course you are! That's why you lunged for the phone as soon as you saw her name, but put it down when you realized she was still on a date.'

'No. If I was in love with her, I would have immediately answered.'

'No. You love her so much that you realized that if she's having fun, even with another man, you wouldn't want to ruin that. That's love.'

'What am I supposed to do? I can't love her from afar.'

'This may be selfish but what if I proposed the idea that Oliver is Sandstorm?'

'It could work. But why not just tell her how you feel?'

"Because I'm just not ready yet." Kurt voiced sadly.

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First thing the next morning, Kurt was walking up and down the hallways, over and over again. In order to 'accidentally' bump into Jane on her way to Patterson's lab.

After three consecutive minutes, Jane appeared. She was wearing this loose, pastel green shirt, that roughly covered all of her upper body tattoos as well as bringing out her eyes. She paired it with tight blue jeans, which she almost never wears, and a few silver rings on her right hand.

"Wow." Kurt whispered. What looked like any other outfit, looked stunning on her. He almost forgot to 'bump' into her.

"Jane!"

"Oh, hey!"

"You get Patterson's text yet?"

"Yeah, heading there now."

They walk in silence for a few heartbeats, until they turn into a secluded hallway.

"Jane wait." Kurt says while gently grabbing Jane's arm.

"Kurt, what is it?"

"After you told me last night, about your date. I started thinking. . ."

Jane subconsciously starts to hold her breath. Her expression wreaks of hope.

"Hey! Glad I found you two, Patterson's got something." Tasha pops in.

"Yeah." Kurt says releasing Jane.

Saved by the bell.

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The debrief, while no longer than usual, felt unbearably long. The charged energy from Kurt and Jane's previous conversation still radiated off of them.

While any hope of continuing it was completely shut down by the tattoo clues pointing to three different entities, causing the team to split up completely. Kurt with Roman, Jane with Tasha, and Patterson with Reade.

This was going to be a longgg day.

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The team finally reconvened at about 5pm. They had just finished the field reports. All three of them. It was exhausting.

Fortunately for Kurt his adrenaline spiked right back up about an hour later when Tasha, so graciously, reminded the group that they never filled out the field report for their Deadalus mission. Which caused Reade and Patterson to burst out into a fit of giggles.

"What's so funny?" Jane asked, looking to Kurt, smiling.

Kurt goes wide-eyed. She doesn't know.

This was going to be a long night.

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The team had just finished catching Jane up while writing the 'going to be extremely redacted' field report.

"Wait I'm still confused. If you just wanted Rich to moan, why did you kiss him?"

All eyes look to Kurt.

"We- well I was under the impression that security was going to be charging through the door at any second." He says glaring at the pair of agents who were strategically avoiding his gaze. "And when they did, if they saw us. . . you know-"

"We don't know, Weller!" Patterson howled.

Kurt glared.

"Yeah I kind of want to know how far you were willing to take it Assistant Director!" Reade joined in.

"We're done here." Kurt said as he walked out.

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Jane had just walked out of the locker room to be met head on with Kurt.

"Kurt, hey!" Jane says, surprised.

"Hey."

"Umm. . . I actually wanted to talk to you."

Kurt raises his eyebrows in obvious confusion, cueing Jane to continue.

"When we were. . . Uh you know- outside of P- Patterson's lab. You didn't finish." Jane stumbles through her words as a new wave of nervousness hits her with full force.

"Oh that." Kurt says, grabbing Jane's arm, mirroring his earlier gesture and leading her away from the locker room door.

"Jane, I was up all night and I couldn't stop thinking about it. We need to be careful. Sandstorm feels like it's everywhere."

"You think Oliver is Sandstorm?"

"Yes. . . No." Kurt shakes his head.

"Kurt you're not making any sense." Jane says studying him.

"I know. I know. I just- no I don't think he's Sandstorm."

"Then why did you-"

"I've been trying to come up with reasons of why you shouldn't date him for the better part of 13 hours."

"Kurt wha-"

"And I got nothing, because the only reason is that I love you."

Jane goes wide-eyed. It was as if all the air was sucked out of her.

"I love you Jane."

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[peterstanslizzie]

Reacting To: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Season 3 Episode 10)

This is it people! The series finale of Kipo; Let’s get to it.

Episode Title: Age of Wonderbeasts

Spoiler Warning: Kindly proceed if you’ve already seen the episode or are able to handle spoilers

Hopefully she’s getting dressed for her funeral lol

1. Continuing on from last episode, the fireworks rigged with the cure goes off and a bunch of embers start falling from the sky. One of the Humming Bombers got into contact with one of them while attempting to flee and immediately de-mutes. I thought the cure needed to go into their bloodstream? Unless, the ember actually burned through their skin. It that’s the case, wow that’s dark....

It’s awesome that Earl and Lily are helping Molly since Molly saved their children awhile back. 

2. With her quick thinking, Kipo asks everyone to find shelter underneath her as she transforms into her Mega Jaguar form. However, that’s still not enough to protect everyone but luckily, the good humans step up to shield them with table cloths, which was heartwarming to see. 

The mutes are thanking the humans for their act of kindness

OMG. Lio and Song hugging Scarlemagne? I’m here for it.

3. Thankfully, the fireworks ended and Kipo then pleads with Emilia one last time to stop what she’s doing. Emilia, hard-headed as ever isn’t one to back down at all and makes a drastic decision to inject herself with the mutagen she sourced from the Mega Walrus, transforming herself into one ugly Mega Mute. 

Imagine seeing this in real life...shudders

4. I thought she was going to use the Mega Walrus’s DNA to make another cure that would affect Kipo. I didn’t think she would do this to herself. Kipo transforms back to her Mega form to take on Emilia before she could potentially hurt anyone. 

How many Troyson kisses do we want? Yes...hehe

5. Troy and Benson are directing everyone back to find safety inside the old burrow while Wolf joins Kipo to assist her in battling Emilia. Kipo has the upper hand at first because Emilia isn’t used to being a Mega Mute. However, as the fight progresses, Emilia is starting to get better and is landing some solid hits on Kipo. But I feel like Kipo shouldn’t be losing to Emilia since she has much more experience fighting as a Mega. I guess they want us to feel like the stakes are high.

Man, this fight is actually pretty brutal. Emilia is whooping major jaguar ass here.

6. During the battle, Wolf notices Greta nearby and thinks that she has the cure to turn back Emilia into a human. So, hopefully they can steal the cure from Greta and use it as leverage to get Emilia to stop. They split up with Wolf going after Greta and Kipo continuing to fight off Emilia. 

7. After taking a couple more punches, we see three of the Mega Dogs, the Mega Pigeon and the Mega Beaver heading their way towards the fight, with Jamack, Molly, Hoag, Amy, Zane, Label, Lio, Song, Scarlemagne, Dave, Benson and Mandu riding on them. I stan such supportive friends!

8. They each take turns kicking Emilia’s butt to buy Kipo some time to recover. Side note: It’s so cool that Jamack tells Emilia to do some “soul searching”! That’s literally the same line Kipo used on Jamack in Season 1 when he was an antagonist back then. During all of this, we see Emilia beginning to have some inner turmoil; It looks like she’s starting to lose herself in her current form.

9. We get to round 2 of Wolf vs Greta and it looks like the tables might turn in favor of Wolf but Greta is just too beefy for her to take on. While being held down in a pin, Wolf tries to butter her up with words by telling her that she’s not an idiot and she can think for herself, without the influence of Emilia. She also bribes her with all the pancakes she can eat if she hands over the cure to her and just like that, she agrees to hand it over. It’s so ironic that Greta is one of Emilia’s last followers but she’s so easily influenced to switch sides. 

Again, I don’t get why Kipo is losing to Emilia so badly

10. Kipo is down for the count and Emilia turns her attention to her friends/family. As she’s about to crush Lio and Song, Kipo charges in last minute to take the devastating blow for them; She then falls unconscious. However, Emilia’s not done yet.

Scarlemagne’s death in 3...2...1

11. Oh no...here we go. Scarlemagne decides to play hero by making his attempt at saving Kipo. He basically gives his swan song to Lio and Song. I have a bad feeling he’s going to die and I’m not at all prepared to watch. He takes off on his favorite Flamingo vehicle from Season 1 and 2 and flies towards Emilia to distract her.

We haven’t heard this laugh in ages. Also, did anyone get chills when he tells Emilia to “leave her sister alone”?

12. He crashes his vehicle into Emilia causing her to lose focus and it sets off her ‘losing herself to the mega mute’ phase. This in turn, causes Scarlemagne to crash land somewhere in Skyscraper Ridge. Was it necessary for him to crash like that? If that’s the way he goes out, I’m gonna be honest here and say I would be very disappointed with that. 

13. Emilia, who clearly is out of it runs off somewhere and Kipo, Wolf, Dave, Benson and Mandu all go after her with Lio and Song heading towards where Hugo/Scarlemagne crash landed. We then see the artistic representation of Emilia losing her mind to the mute, where her human form is quickly sinking deeper and deeper into the ocean. 

14. They catch up to Emilia and they could see her being distraught. We also know the reason why she’s this way and it’s because she doesn’t have an anchor. I love it how whatever explanation we’re being told by the characters is something that the audience should know based on past episodes. Now that’s good storytelling. 

15. Anyways, Kipo makes the decision to cure her because she thinks she doesn’t deserve to be punished this way. Really now? After all that she’s done? Maybe what Kipo means is that she deserves get whopped in her human form lol. After curing her, Kipo makes ANOTHER ATTEMPT (for the 3rd time) to convince her to make a change but of course this bitch isn’t going to change; She takes a shard of glass and tries to stab Kipo:

16. But our girl, Mandu quickly reacts and bites Emilia’s arm. She then loses her balance and falls stories high in the exact burrow her lab was located because we then see Fun Gus capturing her and taking her in as her “playdate”. Emilia is basically history. 

17. Yesss! And this punishment is fitting since she will probably be Fun Gus’s plaything till she goes insane and dies. Not to mention she despises mutes. So, it’s a great way for her to go out. Bye!!! That’s what you get for killing your brother, you heartless monster. Can I also point out that once again, Mandu is the one to take out Emilia. She did beat her in season 2 when Wolf, Dave and Benson couldn’t and now in season 3, she’s the one to finish the job. Don’t mess with Mandu lol. 

18. They head back to find where Scarlemagne, Lio and Song are but it’s almost too late because Hugo is dying. Kipo is in tears and I’m in tears too. Again, was it really necessary to kill him off? I felt like he’s more or less already redeemed as a character before this. He didn’t have to commit such a heroic act, which had cost his life. Ugh....And just like that, Hugo dies.....UGHHHHHH. I really don’t think he needed to die. If Catra (who committed just as many heinous acts, if not more than Hugo) got to live in She-Ra & The Princesses of Power, Hugo deserves to live too. I’m sorry...

19. Now it’s time for the epilogue set 5 years later, as told by an older Kipo. Let’s break it down:

Wolf’s Mega Corgi gave birth to a litter of puppies. Awww cuteness...

Wolf let her hair grow out and she looks AMAZING!!! Dayummmm

Benson and Troy own a successful restaurant together and they’re living the dream. Such domestic goals!

I got chills seeing Wolf and Benson walking side by side like that. They’ve grown up so much. It looks like they’re own their way to a picnic

Label and Zane is also running a gym together. Sweet!

Jamack is conductor for Las Vistas’s new transport system. 

Dave is now a guest lecturer at what is seems to be Lio and Song’s new research lab, where he talks about some of his research findings and theories. Well, mostly theories.

I love Kipo’s new do’

20. We find out that Kipo is updating Hugo (spiritually) what has everybody been up to on his birthday. 

Hugo gets a statue made in his honor, which is very fitting and Mandu...WOW MANDU has grown into an ADULT boar, with tusks and everything just like Bornak and Webber. 

21. Kipo meets up with her besties and her family and they have their wonderful picnic in commemoration of Hugo’s birthday. 

22. The scene cuts off to all of them having the time of their life riding on their Mega mutes. And that’s the official ending to the series. TEARS...

23. This has been an amazing show to watch, react and review. I can’t believe it only had 30 episodes but the story was so cohesive and felt complete on the most part. So you could say that this show wrapped up nicely. There are some loose ends that weren’t addressed/resolved at the end like the vaccine that Song and Lio were working on but I guess that could be something that’s explored further in future films hopefully. 

24. I will also be making a couple of video essays that will be posted to my YouTube channel, PeterSaidWhat; The first one will be my full spoiler review of the final season and the second video will be Troyson-focused. I can’t wait for all of you to watch them. And finally, I want to thank you all for reading my episodic reviews and going on this incredible journey with me. It’s been a pleasure to have Kipo be a part of my life and I’m sure yours as well. 

Much love,

Peter

[springmagpies]

Welcome Back to my Uncle Reacts to AoS--Season 3

It has taken my Uncle months to watch season 3 as his schedule is super busy and what not. But we have finally watched it all and are on to Season 4. Anyway, here are some of his reactions to the third season of Agents of Shield

3x1

*Fitz comes to the lab after his excursion in Morocco* Coulson is like a father waiting in the dark kitchen. Where’ve ya been, Fitz?

*After the Do something scene* Ouch.

Is she on another planet? She’s on another planet. Guys, she’s on another planet!

3x2

He got her back! Oh my god, he got her back. Fitz is the man.

Hunter is the best.

Bobbi is the best.

Fitz is the best.

Oh, Coulson.

*About Jemma* What the hell happened there? What did she eat? She was there months right? Holy shit.

*Fitz sitting by her bed* Oh, Fitz.

3x03

My aunt: you two seem sad. What happened. Steve: Lincoln, Kate. Lincoln killed his friend and he didn’t mean to. And Jemma has ptsd. It was a lot of emotion. My aunt: ...

3x04

Yess May. Great timing. That’s all you needed.

3x05

Dammit, Will is hot.

She’s talking to Fitz? Cute!

3x06

Pauses the show uhh, Andrew turned into lash and kicked some ass. Calling it.

*Later* Called it.

3x07

“He does have a hog face.”  Bwhahahaha. That’s amazing.

Well that episode was emotional. The Fitzsimmons thing was so heart warming. And poor May.

3x09

Ward, you asshole. Why can’t they let Phil be happy.

3x10

Shit that’s not Will.

*At Ward’s death* Finally!

*Wards back* Freaking knew it. God dammit

3x11

What is Fitz 3d printing back there? Cool inhuman conversation but what’s he making?

*Anytime the subtitles are wrong on Netflix* That’s not what she said. That’s not what he said. That’s not what they’re saying.

*Steve understanding the Spanish and knowing what they’re saying without subtitles.* That is not what she said, subtitles.

*About Elena* she’s a badass.

3x12

Thank god for Hunter.

Ward is just creepy as hell. I know that’s not Ward, but it’s his stupid face.

3x13

Amadeus Ravenclaw Hunter. That’s fantastic. Is that really his name? Wait, no. Forget I said that. Ravenclaw is not his name.

Wait, so Bobbi and Hunter are just gone? But they can’t do that. They come back right? They’re the best, they can’t leave.

Mack’s crying the hardest.

That guy that’s supposed to be tailing them is very bad at his job.

Now I’m sad.

3x14

*Mack mentions friends being transferred” Aww, Bobbi and Hunter.

Repeats “It’s a building.” In Scottish accent. *laughs* that’s great.

Uh oh Fitz does not like Daisy’s methods of interrogation. He looks so uncomfortable.

A shotgun ax. Holy shit that’s amazing.

That dudes a hologram! Coulson knew. He’s a genius.

3x15

Holy shit we’re seeing the future.

*Hive melts the business men* Eeww, ugh that’s horrific. Aaah!

*Andrew becomes lash permanently* Oh no! Poor May. That’s so sad.

Wait, I bet you it’s not snow. Bet you it’s ash. *Snow is actually ash* Called it.

*Quinjet vision* That vision is familiar. Where have we seen that? Wait, that was at the beginning! Oh shit, that’s the future! Shit!

3x16

*Young Malick and Nathaniel appear on screen.* Maggie tries not to freak the frick out at Nathaniel so as not to spoil season 7.

Steve: oooh, does his brother get volunteered as tribute or something?

*Daisy explodes the mines in front of James house.* Badass.

*Reveal that Malick betrayed his brother* That’s why Ward had the stone! He knew! He remembers the betrayal! Oof, not looking great for Malick.

I hate Ward. Whatever he is.

Shit! Is he killing Malick daughter! That’s way more brutal than killing Malick! Ooooh, evil.

*Lincoln’s past is explained* See, I’m glad he’s sharing, but how do you bring something like that up in conversation normally. Glad their talking, but I get it.

*Giyera escaping from the containment pod* Fitz, please get away from the guy trying to escape. Please. Oh crap he’s got a seatbelt.

*Mack gets knocked out* Oof, Mack. Poor dude.

*Secret Warriors Assemble* Yes! I’ve got to put the baby to bed but then next episode!

3x17

Sorry Joey, I don’t think you’re going to finish that date. You’ve got to go fight people.

Whoa! Lincoln’s powers got even cooler.

That felt a bit too easy.

*Fitzsimmons flirting* They’re cute.

*Mackelena flirting* He’s speaking Spanish. Kay, that’s sweet.

I don’t think Joey is okay. He did kill that Medusa dude.

*reveal that one of the inhumans are swayed* That’s what he meant by someone on the inside! That’s not good. Now they’re all looking suspicious.

*Fitzsimmons find Malick’s body* Is he dead? Holy shit, was there a bomb! Shit!

“Aren’t you a spy, learn Spanish” Hahahahaha! Yes! That line is genius!

Okay, they are pushing for it to be Lincoln waaaay too hard.

*Fitzsimmons soft kiss in the bunk* *Steve Fist pumps* Yessss!

Uhhh, why is Daisy out of her cell. It’s her! Oh no.

Way to go Lincoln on the character growth. Staying for SHIELD!

Is Daisy going to fly? Oh no, she’s destroying the base. And she ruined Fitzsimmons make out session. And she’s bringing the base down. Also that.

Noooo! That’s it? That cliffhanger! *upset that we have to wait to watch the next episode*

3x18

“It’s risky, and irresponsible” Hahaha, May smiles.

Nice flying May!

*FS talking about sex* “I’ll see you in the quinjet” Hahahahahahahaha. That’s amazing.

*Hive talks* That’s not creepy. You know what happened to the last girl Hive kissed. Daisy run.

“Because all you are is big and strong.” Hahaha, Fitz is all pissy about it. Amazing.

Oof, Lincoln just can’t get Coulson’s approval.

Maggie: Fitz is so handsome Steve: He really is

*FS ending scene* Yessss!!!! Finally!!!

3x19

Inhuman backstory!!

Why are they all such jerks to Lincoln? Like, he just cannot win with Coulson and May. No one is nice to him. Except Fitzsimmons, they’re nice to him. Okay, and Mack.

*Piper is introduced* Red shirts aren’t red shirts! That’s awesome!

Oh, Mack, what are you doing? Please don’t get hurt. Daisy please don’t hurt him. Mack noooo!

Wow, Shield is just struggling on all fronts. Daisy’s missing, Mack’s injured, Lincoln’s sick—Wait no after credit scene?! Dammit!

3x20

Okay, they seriously need to lay off Lincoln. Like, he is not a bad dude!

Now I see why they can’t get help from the avengers.

Yo yo is awesome.

Fitz having to play whack-a-mole with security. Gosh, they’re going through it.

Lincoln, nooo! You’re smarter than this! Your character growth! Oh, thank god it was part of the plan.

Yes! Lash! Badass!

Oh my god he’s saving Daisy! Yeah!!!

No!!! Lash!!!!

He couldn’t just have killed Hive? I guess we need a finale.

Andrew saved Daisy!

Shit, he’s got a warhead. Ward’s trying to destroy the world again.

What’s Elena giving Mack? No! Mack put that down! Put the cross down!

3x21

That’s right, Shield is good at what they do.

They done pissed off an alien.

Fitz is amazing.

Fitzsimmons should go on that vacation. Take a break.

Oh no the cross! The jacket! Fitz put it down!

Wait, she wants to go back?! Daisy, nooooo!

3x22

Ooh Yo Yo no!!! She took a bullet for Mack. Yeah, she is not okay.

Shit, they’re going to use the torch to cauterize the wound. That’s majorly going to scar.

Why do I kind of like Radcliffe?

Oh, May was about to be super nice to Daisy and she gets hit over the head.

“You were a murderous wank before all this” Okay, that line’s amazing

Did Fitz cloak a gun?! That’s amazing!

Aaaah, the jacket! Can they stop freaking me out with the jacket?!

I like how they pan from the window so they don’t have to break it for real.

Don’t get rid of Daisy!

“Help me Obi Wan Kenobi” Oh my god, that’s incredible.

Badass shield team is badass.

You know the person who plays Daisy is a great actress.

Wait. wait. Wait. Lincoln. Lincoln? Noooooo! They can’t kill Lincoln. They’re not going to—they can’t. But I loved Lincoln! Nooo!

*Steve is quiet for a long moment* I loved Lincoln.

*Flash forward* Is Daisy on the run?

Director? What? Phil’s not the director??

“No Aida that’s not what we’re celebrating” It’s your birthday. “Today’s your birthday.” CALLED IT! Wait, are we going to have robots?

Shit, we lost a lot of people that season.

Crap, I want to watch the next episode!!

[fragilevixenfic]

Chasing Your Silhouette

Read on AO3

Rating: M

Classification: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, UST, RST, Post-Episode Zebras, Flashbacks

Summary:  They’d learned each other’s quirks and intricacies on the job—but when did it become over the line? When did physicality become a detriment to them once they’ve taken off their shields? When did they realize the line in the sand no longer existed? (This is meant to take place a couple weeks after “Zebras” – had to assume a timeline, I don’t remember actual dates)

Notes: “Sometimes a change of perspective is all it takes to see the light” – Dan Brown

Mild description of sexual assault/violence (purely as a device not as an action) – it is not meant to trigger. Please proceed with caution.Also, I’m definitely on the EO ship but I don’t necessarily ascribe to the idea that Elliot would ever cheat on his wife. Creative liberties have been taken to alleviate such issues. Eli was never conceived and the marriage has never recovered since the initial separation in 2007, the status of their marriage is unresolved but in limbo. Don’t come for my head.

No one else can disarm me

No one else has your light

-Edward Gamper “Stranger Love”

               “Put your gun down.”

               It couldn’t be real.

               The blood, the wound duct tape around Elliot’s wrists and across his mouth, the click of a bullet sliding out of the clip and into the chamber. The only sound that inspired any sense of clarity was the thudding of Olivia’s heart in her throat as she stopped dead in her tracks. She tore her focus off of Elliot for just enough time to bear witness to O’Halloran’s lifeless eyes. She walked right into it and let her guard down as the distress in his eyes pulled back her layer of protection. How could she be so stupid? Stuckey had her in the wrong spot and Elliot had already begun to pay the price as the punctures and slashes continued to bleed through his striped shirt.

               “Okay, Dale. Okay,” Olivia blinked and relinquished her sidearm, the shaking of her digits barely noticeable as she kept them extended.

               Don’t flinch. Don’t flinch. Do not flinch.

               Her inner mantra was stuck on repeat as the reminder of O’Halloran’s corpse laying just feet away and her partner hung in the balance as some sick offering to the one holding all of the cards. She couldn’t tell if it Stuckey or herself that had everything to gain. She knew she had everything to lose. The line began to blur as the business end of Elliot’s gun got a little closer and Stuckey’s stance became a little less sure; he was shifty, aching to pull the trigger. Stuckey was capable of burying a bullet in the middle of her back, or her head, and leaving her for dead in the middle of the tech lab. Collateral damage. She was in the way. Her head was swimming, battling against the current as her blood pressure skyrocketed.

               Think…What would Elliot do?

               “What are you doing here, Liv?” Stuckey had disappointment flaring from behind his rage as he digested her arrival. “I didn’t want to have to hurt you, too.”

               “Then, don’t,” Olivia’s voice wavered, the scenario playing out in a dozen different ways as Elliot’s muted breaths were audible from across the room.

               “I don’t have much of a choice now,” Stuckey had that gun aimed high and true, inspiring nothing less than a hefty dose of tension as she swallowed more of her fear. “You’ve seen a little much.”

               “Let’s all calm down,” Olivia’s method of reassurance was hovering between collected and methodical as her chest heaved, opting to pivot to look him in the eye with a certain level of assertion. “Okay, Dale? Just relax. Because you did good. Really good.”

               “What?” The confusion was real but he held his ground and stared her down.

               “Well, I think it’s pretty clear what happened here, right?” Olivia didn’t think about it as she chose the only feasible way to undo what had already been done as she made a gesture toward O’Halloran’s body on the floor then Elliot in the chair. “One of Harrison’s crazy followers must have gotten in here. He attacked these two, you found the bodies, you secured the crime scene, and then you called me. Right?”

               “I did?” Stuckey’s eyes couldn’t stay still as Olivia weaved the careful tale for him, desperation in her eyes.

               “That’s what I’m going to tell Cragen,” Olivia nodded, squeezing the last bit of calm from her expression as she elevated her eyebrows and made eye contact with Elliot. “And then, you can finagle the forensics so everyone else believes it, too. SVU hero is killed in the line of duty. It’s perfect.”

               God, I’m so fucking sorry.

               Olivia knew it was a mistake to look at Elliot but it was a necessary evil to drive her point home. He would’ve done this and more if it were her in that chair; that fact was never in doubt. He’d been through the wringer and now she was twisting the blade a little further into him to really make it count. She’d give her life up to save his and that was the more acerbic part of the situation as she pushed her tongue against the roof of her mouth. It wasn’t like refusing to take the shot but it almost felt worse as the silence from Elliot was deafening. He would just have to trust the method even if it betrayed every fiber of his being.

               “You’re lying,” Stuckey’s finger was lingering a little too long over the trigger, his tone elevated as he stared her down. “You’re lying.”

               “You think that you’re the only one whose life is hell because of this prick?” Olivia didn’t waver with every syllable as she began to back up and let the first heavy-handed slap bite hard on Elliot’s skin before it blurred into the second and third strike as she read him the riot act. “…’Liv, do this. Liv, do that.’ I’m sick of it.”

               “No, don’t,” Stuckey wanted him muffled but Olivia’s wheels were turning as the panic set in. “Don’t!”

               “Sick of it,” Olivia muttered and gave the tape a firm, unforgiving tug from her partner’s lips. “I want to hear him scream!”    

               “Don’t you touch me, y—” Elliot’s growl was cut short with Olivia’s hand pushing against the knot of his tie as she wrapped her fingers around the material of his shirt and pushed her knuckles into his Adam’s apple.

               Olivia’s knees cried out, yearning to buckle as she let the words slip free, the effort to keep a domineering stance faltering with every breath while towering over her seated partner. “Did somebody say you could talk?”

               “Both of you, shut up!” Stuckey’s face was red, the adrenaline pumping as the agitation nagged and nipped in the air, pushing the envelope a little further as he tested the boundaries. “Hit him again.”

               Elliot’s eyes were locked on Olivia’s. There was an immeasurable level of strength hidden beneath the glaring amount of vulnerability she possessed—it’s what made him choose her too many times. It’s what made her everything that he needed right next to him. It’s exactly what drove him crazy. Her eyes glassed over and her lashes twitched as she held onto her control. She didn’t need to say ‘I’m sorry’ out loud. It had already been scrawled all over her face as she gradually blinked and exhaled slow. They were stuck in a perpetual nightmare and the aggressive show was becoming difficult to maintain. He could see it in the depths of those deep, brown eyes. All he could do was narrow his stare and will her to finish what she’d started.

              A means to an end.

               “Don’t do it, bitch,” Elliot muttered and squeezed his fingers against the chair, bracing for the inevitable as Olivia’s hand met his face again, encouraging a little more than a groan in the process, “Don’t hit me ag—”

               Olivia cut him off and gripped his neck, pressing the curve between her index and thumb against his windpipe to keep him from speaking. “No more orders out of you, pal!”

               “I don’t believe you,” Stuckey was breaking, finally, and Olivia had finally gotten underneath of his skin. “I don’t believe you.”

               “If you knew half of what this prick has done,” Olivia had her index directed firmly at Elliot, digging deeper as she rationalized every word and let them move her, cutting open another wound as each phrase became an excruciating plea, “Somebody needs to take him out. I just didn’t know you felt the same way as I did. I never had—anybody that I could trust.”

               “Stuckey, don’t listen to her, she’ll turn on you the way she’s turned on me,” Elliot talked right over the top of her, adding to the torment that they were inflicting on each other as they laid it on thick and went to the extreme.

               “Dammit, just shut up!” Olivia shouted and glared, sweeping her index at Elliot as Stuckey took particular offense to the outburst.

               “We told you to shut up!” Stuckey pistol-whipped Elliot across the left side of his face, throttling him solidly before aiming the gun at Olivia.

               Olivia’s voice was ragged as Stuckey kept the gun trained on her, the wretchedness breaking free as she kept talking. “And when this son of a bitch is out of the picture, I’m going to need a new partner.”

               “What about Cragen?” Stuckey’s eyebrows went up, attracted to the notion.

               “I’ve got Cragen wrapped around my little finger, the same goes with Munch and Fin,” Olivia was hopelessly clinging to getting him to lower the barrel as she held up her finger and attempted to ignore Elliot’s disapproving groans. “Dale, if I say the word, you’re it. Think about it, Dale.”

               “I like the sound of that,” Stuckey tilted his head and smirked, his focus off of Elliot entirely as he nodded eagerly.

               “You like it because we get each other…We’re connected,” Olivia knew how contrived it sounded but her body told a different story as she held out her hand and softened her facial expression to drive the point home, “We’re connected.”

               “We are connected” Stuckey was still teetering on apprehension but his grip on that gun was softening, his enunciation faltering.

               “Yeah,” Olivia reached for his hand, moving just close enough to graze his fingers and get him to hold hers with a semblance of affection.

               Come on, come on, come on.

               “Let’s take care of the third wheel,” Stuckey rubbed her fingers and nodded his head as he started to move toward Elliot, a determined look on his face.

               “Wait, just wait one second,” Olivia was at a turning point as recklessness took over and she forced a smile while her fingers smoothed across the top of his hand, tugging Stuckey’s focus back to her, “I want him to watch.”

               The knock at the door nearly took her breath away and elicited an involuntary gag as a wave of dizziness washed over her while she stood at the sink with the water still running. She splashed herself again with more urgency and wiped away the stray droplets as she turned the spigot until the flow stopped. That was all she needed tonight. Instant replay of one of her less graceful solutions that had the palm and back of her hand sore for two days. Olivia would’ve liked to admit that she knew why it was still rolling around in her brain but she couldn’t pinpoint it even as the knocking continued with a little more urgency than the first time.

               “Liv, a bathroom break shouldn’t take this long. Are you ready for round two?” Elliot opened the door and raised an eyebrow at her as she palmed the porcelain, staring at her reflection in the mirror. “You can do whatever you’re doing later. Russell is getting antsy and whining about sweat pooling in his asscrack.”

               Olivia shook her head and scoffed, the smirk resting on her lips as she tilted her chin to look at him. “He still hasn’t waved the white flag and asked for counsel?”

               “Nope,” Elliot pushed the door against the stopper and leaned against the iconography, waiting impatiently for her. “There’s a solid chance he’s got a thing for you, though…might be why he’s not asking for a lawyer.”

               “He’s either brave or stupid,” Olivia dragged her feet as she moved into the dimly lit hallway, shaking off the last of the flutter working through her belly. “I’m his type—let’s not make this deep, El.”

               “Oh, by the way, Liv,” Elliot stood in front of her as they approached Interrogation One, a crooked smile creeping across his face as he encroached on her personal bubble. “You better not go ducking out on me again because it’s too hot in there.”

               “You turned on the heat again, didn’t you?” Olivia slipped out of her jacket and swatted him with the overheated leather before he could reach for the door handle. “You’re a royal asshole, you know that, right?”

               “I’ll see you inside, dear,” Elliot shrugged his shoulders, laughed, and dodged the slap of leather against his exposed forearm.

               “You’re lucky I’m too hot to bruise your other cheek and match them up,” Olivia turned around, flipping him the bird as she came to the end of the hall to put away her coat.

               “You keep your hands to yourself,” Elliot called out after her, a guilty smile across his face as he twisted the handle and gave it a push.

              He really had jacked up the temperature. It was excruciatingly hot in the interrogation room. Olivia gripped the back of her neck and swallowed a groan as the wave of heat spread across her skin, awakening every pore as a bead of sweat kissed her brow as she went from the cooled space of the hall to the sweltering cage the interrogation room had become. Elliot narrowed his eyes at her, a not-so-subtle reminder that she wasn’t going to go escaping their interrogation over a little sweating. She shifted her weight in her ankle-high boots and cleared her throat as Elliot’s eyes burrowed a hole straight into her soul, refusing to back down. She would’ve been lying if she said the look he just gave her was ineffective but it was shifting her focus and tugging at the last of her sanity as their suspect continued to stonewall them.

              Cat and mouse. The bait was out and he wasn’t biting.

              “You look really uncomfortable, Olivia,” Russell had already, expertly, pushed every one of Olivia’s buttons before she had made a rather prompt exit just thirty minutes earlier. “Can’t take the heat?”

              His inquiry wasn’t without irony as he wiped the sweat from his neck and dried his palms on his pants. His skin had developed a reddish hue in patches and the staggered pattern of his open-mouthed breaths hastened. Of anyone in the room, Russell was the least skilled at executing a poker face. He grinned, his sleepy gaze fixated on Olivia as she moved behind the chair opposite his. He licked his lips as he immersed his attention fully on her; studying the sway of her hips even as Elliot’s jaw tightened with displeasure.

              “Oh, focus on yourself for a little while, Russell. The only words I want to hear out of your mouth is an explanation of why you restrained, raped, and mutilated four women in the last six weeks,” Olivia snapped and slammed both hands on the edge of the table, barely making a hair flinch on her partner’s body.

              “You really don’t want to keep pissing her off,” Elliot had both sleeves rolled up, a light sheen of sweat across his brow and down the curve of his nose, still favoring the healing flesh wounds across his chest and ribs as he winced with a flex. “Playing games with her is a bad idea, buddy.”

              “That sounds like you’re speaking from personal experience, Detective Stabler,” Russell lit the match and ignited another fire as Elliot balled up his right hand into a fist.

              I want him to watch.

               “That shit isn’t going to work on me,” Elliot gritted his teeth, a flash of Olivia’s fingers stroking Stuckey’s cheek moving into his consciousness as his patience wore and the affliction twisted at his guts.

              Elliot couldn’t let it tug at him any further as he centered his concern on Olivia. Elliot already knew Olivia’s breaking point and she was comfortably residing at the edge of it even as Russell Miller continued to man spread in his seat, a delightful sneer aimed at her. She was thoroughly done with his shit but four hours of interrogation needed to be worth something more than a foul taste in her mouth. He wasn’t going to get away with this. Olivia’s knuckles went white as she gripped the cold steel with the tilt of her head as she dug her chin into her shoulder. The slow blink was satisfying as her back went rigid after a necessary release of the palpable grip from the tabletop.

               “How many false confessions have you inveigled from men in my position, Detective Benson?” Russell had gotten her attention with that one as she laced her fingers through her hair and snagged a couple of knots in the process. “Tight slacks. Low cut, tight tops that leave next to nothing to the imagination. Repeating the action of running your pretty, delicate fingers through hair that most red-blooded men would love to pull. I’m sure that it’s done a healthy amount of coaxing.”

               “Well, I’m sure this is no surprise to you, Russell, but you’re a predator and only predatory men would make something so innocuous become a device or a motivator for their fetishes…” Olivia couldn’t help but laugh as she crossed her arms, letting sections of softly highlighted locks fall around her face. “Is that your motivator?”

               “Oh, you’re not going to redirect this, Benson. I have too many curiosities that need satisfied,” Russell scrambled as Olivia found the trigger to flip the game on him, making him more irritated than she had earlier. “You like the attention, don’t you? I bet you love knowing that you get stared at by that uptight mother fucker over there, huh? How many times do you think he’s imagined undoing the zipper on those slacks?”

              “Have I touched a nerve?” Olivia could feel the burning stare from Elliot as she diffused the bomb and stepped directly into his line of sight to soften the temper that was beginning to boil. “Sounds like I touched a nerve, doesn’t it?”

              “That’s what it sounds like,” Elliot had to move as he paced the floor and watched her tongue graze the edge of her lip.

               I want him to watch.

              Russell’s left hand banged against the surface of the table, demanding their energy anchor on him as he scrutinized Elliot’s movements. “Come on, Stabler, tell me how much it kills you that you haven’t taken the initiative and sampled the product?”

              “You fucked up son of a bitch,” Elliot had done his best to not let it get to him but Russell had sent his rationality flying out a window.

              “El…don’t,” Olivia grasped his bicep and redirected his torso, absorbing more of his heat than she’d bargained for as his chest thumped against her own.

              “Oh, no way,” Russell’s laugh was entirely too loud as Olivia’s grip persisted on Elliot’s arm, the balance of her intensity meshing with a more frenzied one from her partner. “…You already have, haven’t you?”

              “Alright, enough,” Olivia veered, converging at the edge of the table with a little more intensity as she gripped the table. “Was that the problem with your victims? Were they wearing tight, low cut clothing and suggestively touching their hair? Did you think it was all for you? Just couldn’t stop yourself, could you? They were all there to be your playthings, weren’t they?”

               “You know it’s always all for me,” Russell lacked self-control and a filter as he jolted from his chair, lunging at Benson as his shouts echoed through the room. “Always!”

               Elliot had been waiting for him to make an ill-advised maneuver for hours and all it took was getting a weak grip on Olivia’s shirt to flick the switch. The sound of cotton and polyester ripping immediately preceded the haphazard and quick extraction of Russell’s form from Olivia’s immediate vicinity. Elliot knocked over two of the chairs in the tussle and took an elbow to the face as he wrapped his arm around Russell’s torso, tugging him just enough to stop the flow of air to his sternum. A last hoorah of Russell’s strength came in the form of a shift of his arms in such a way that the contents of the file went flying into every direction before landing in a scattered pattern on the floor. Russell flailed as Elliot swung him toward the table as the clang of cuffs reverberated in the air. Elliot bumped against Olivia’s side as he secured Russell’s hands behind his back. Elliot couldn’t help himself as he took a whiff of her deodorant stifled sweat, citrus, and faint coconut while his partner beat him to the punch with the slapping of her own pair around Russell’s wrists.

              Her timing, as always, was impeccable.

               “You know I could’ve gotten him just fine without you knocking him around,” Olivia breathed heavily as she elbowed him and went to the glass to give it a couple of sharp pounds before moving back toward the mess they’d made. “Couldn’t just let me have this one, huh?”

               “Not that it matters but I had a little bit of a vested interest in putting a little bit of a hurt on him,” Elliot tilted his chin, gesturing toward her ripped shirt as he caught his breath and heaved Russell to his feet as Fin and Captain Cragen opened the door. “It’s exactly what it looks like this time…”

               “Are you okay?” Cragen was parental in his assessment of the situation as he passed Olivia first, his voice barely above a whisper as she awkwardly held torn fabric between her fingers.

               “I’m fine,” Olivia said and turned her head toward Elliot. “He’s the one that’s doing all of the manhandling with fresh scabs on his chest and abs…I’m just peachy.”

               “Fuck you both,” Russell fought against the cuffs as two uniformed officers pulled him toward the doorway, the spittle running down his lip as he struggled.

               “Sounds like the conversation got a little dodgy in here?” Fin and Elliot had butted heads more than enough but the concern for Olivia was paramount as the reddened flesh of her ribcage peeked out from the ripped portion of her shirt.

               “Nothing that we couldn’t handle,” Elliot sniffed the stale air in her absence from his proximity and dabbed the perspiration from his forehead, never once taking his eyes off of his partner.

               Elliot’s yellowed bruising across his left cheek stood out in the light as Olivia took a step closer, reminding her for the second time of the game they’d play to get out of a jam. It reminded her of every gamble she’d taken to save him even though she knew the reversal was bitterly true. The thought alone stole her oxygen as she contemplated the reaches of her partnership. She made eye contact with him in spite of her best efforts not to and the doubt crept in. She bit down on her bottom lip, held the ripped open section across her midriff closed, and ducked out of the room before Elliot could fully fathom what she had just done.

               What Olivia hadn’t anticipated was that he’d follow her around every corner.

               “Liv, come on,” Elliot pushed the door to the cribs and found her sifting through a duffel bag for another shirt, her back to him with the ripped section of her top hanging off to one side. “Cragen’s going to want to talk to us about what just happened in there and you ran out a little quick…”

               “Can a girl change shirts so she’s not flashing her fucking stomach to the whole fucking precinct or is that too much to ask?” Olivia was terse as she pulled a fresh top from the bag, refusing to grant him the courtesy of looking him in the eye. “I’d like some privacy.”

               “I’m sure you would but you’re not going to get it,” Elliot was unintentionally rough with her wrist as he spun her around, encouraging a yelp from her. “You act like I’ve never seen what you’ve got on under there.”

               “El…Jesus,” Olivia let out an exasperated sigh and pivoted in her shoes as the cot rail pinched the backs of her legs until it dug against the material of her pants. “Why are you doing this? Wasn’t all of that in there enough for today?”

               “You can act like everything is fine and dandy, but I see right through your bullshit, Liv,” Elliot was less concerned with the concept of her personal space and more focused on driving the point home as his knees brushed against hers. “Every single day, I’m running after your shadow, and even when I am facing you, you’re pretending. Why?”

               “If you’ve got something to say then just say it. Contrary to popular belief, I’ve never needed you to coddle me and that’s not going to change anytime soon,” Olivia squeezed the shirt between her fingers, frustration brewing as her partner’s behavior seemed less like an unusual outburst and more like he’d been holding it in.

               “So, you don’t think about your power play with Stuckey at all?” Elliot took a step back from her and wiped the thin layer of sweat from his face as he craned his neck back, angling his eyes toward the ceiling. “I mean, really, Liv.”

               There it was. They’d tiptoed around it and pretended as though it didn’t exist but it was real. It had taken weeks to talk about it and they’d both let it fester for a lot longer than they should have. The wound was open and Elliot wasn’t going to let it go. Not that Olivia was doing anything about forgetting it. It been haunting her and invaded wandering, waking thoughts on a daily basis. Olivia crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders, the distant look in her eyes less than inviting as she trapped her tongue against her cheek. She didn’t want him to know that she’d replayed the scenario a thousand times but the outcome was still the same every time. That acrid taste on her mouth, that look in Elliot’s eyes, and a pang of agony over not being able to look away or close her eyes.

              It was strategic. It had to be.

              She did it all for him.

               “What do you want me to say?” Olivia dodged him and moved toward the exterior wall, winding the fabric of the shirt around her hand while the ripped shirt continued to hang freely from her torso. “That slapping you around and saying really fucked up things about you didn’t bring me personal joy? I certainly didn’t want to force you to watch that cretin stick his tongue in my mouth, either. I thought you knew me a little better than that, El.”

               “I want you to tell me the truth, Liv,” Elliot took a breath as he lowered his voice, the agony having its way with his senses as he stared at the floor. “I can’t get the image out of my head and I had to ask myself if it was out of sick possessiveness but I don’t think it’s that.”

               “Why are you telling me this now?” Olivia leaned against the cold finish of the painted, cement brick and bit down on the swell of her lip. “I can’t be your little sibling that you tower over and stifle whenever danger gets too close. I’m not property, Elliot.”

               “Eleven years, Liv,” Elliot was fiddling with the tip of his tie, winding it around his fingers as he shook his head slowly, grappling with the words. “Eleven God damn years. Enough to go from zero to sixty and lose control of all of my faculties without so much as a lift of your fucking pinky. Eleven years of tucking away so much of my sentimentality when it comes to you that the sight of your lips on anyone else’s…Despondency doesn’t go far enough and all I can do is pretend that it doesn’t piss me off. It does. It torments me. It kills me…it breaks my heart.”

               “You’re a fucking piece of work, Elliot Stabler,” Olivia’s voice strained, a swarm of trepidation whirling through her chest as she fought the desire to hit him as his sky and steel lifted to stare into her soul. “I walked away from you once and I can do it again just like that.”

               “Just like that? No hesitation at all?” Elliot refused to shrink as his speech did nothing but piss her off as he groaned into the atmosphere. “I can’t say that I wouldn’t deserve it, Liv.”

               “I meant what I said, Elliot, about having rules and not breaking any more of them,” Olivia had already broken them for lesser men but she let the comment slip free as though it carried a semblance of conviction. “It can’t get personal.”

               “We’re a little past that, Liv,” Elliot wanted to shout at her but he held it in as he watched the indignance cover for confusion as he groaned, popped his knuckles, and pushed his sleeves up toward his elbows. “Everything fell apart…except for you. You were still here. You are personal and I don’t want that to change.”

               “Whatever you’ve done with the Elliot Stabler I know, I need you to bring him back because this convoluted and confusing sender of mixed signals is like riding a roller coaster and I’m sure my lap belt is broken,” Olivia hated being the equalizer but she was witnessing her best friend fall apart before her eyes as she shoved past him and reached for the door handle.

               Elliot wasn’t good at grandiose gestures or elucidating the details of his feelings until they were boiling over like a screaming kettle but he couldn’t let her slip away again. He snagged one of her belt loops and tugged her backward, demonstrating one of his more agile qualities as he braced her back from smacking against the wall. Olivia’s knees betrayed her as they shook, reverberated the sensation as the gooseflesh covered all the way to her neck. He made her feel gossamer and ethereal, unnerved and out of control, while understating the actuality of her height as he tilted her chin with the tip of his index. It wasn’t demanding but the craving was irrefutable as he sought out a silent acquiescence with the softest graze of his mouth on hers.

               Her answer wasn’t so quiet as the utterance came out in a soft, breathy gasp.

               “Don’t ruin it,” Olivia was already drunk off of him simply by his touch and his heat radiating against her, both of which were consuming her as his name came out in a moan. “Elliot.”

               Elliot’s lips were already tracing the curve of her jaw all the way to her ear while his fingers gathered along the small of her back, tangling around the strip of ripped fabric. “Tell me to stop and I’ll stop, Liv.”

               Olivia’s eyes rolled back and the Earth tilted on its axis as she didn’t give two shits if anyone walked in or not while her back involuntarily arched, pushing her forward, against his chest. “No, no, no, don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

               The protective line between them had dissolved with the return of a gaze that seemed to last forever. They’d tiptoed around the broken glass and still came up with shards as Elliot’s mouth crushed Olivia’s, pushing her lips apart as though he’d replayed it in his head a thousand times. Perhaps, he had and knew, deep down, in the depths of her mind that she’d done the same as her fingers gripped his bicep, drawing him closer. Her heartbeat thrummed against him, the frenetic rhythm building with that of his own. He loved her so much more than he could ever say in words as he directed her motions and dragged his fingers over the material of her shirt until her moan vibrated against his mouth.

               Elliot savored the taste of a mint’s remnant on the tip of Olivia’s tongue as he felt the chill of the night air radiating through the windowpane as he pressed his palms against the glass. It suddenly didn’t matter that only a singular door separated them from the outside world—for a moment, they existed wholly for each other. Even as Elliot leaned in a little further and bowed his head as if to pray, he simply craved more of her. Elliot tilted his chin and encouraged Olivia onto the tips of her toes while his arms memorized the curve of her spine down to the swell of her hips. There wasn’t anything to pull them back, convince them of an alternate path, or deter them from simply being. There was nothing left to prevent either of them from feeling something real.

               “El, we still, ah, have work to do,” Olivia’s eyes were dreamily in reset, lashes aimed down, lips swollen and bruised while reality crashed back down around them in the dim, her fingers gliding along the chiseled edge of his jaw. “Captain will send Fin or Munch out after us and we’ve already been gone too long.”

               Elliot groaned and dragged his lips down her cleavage as he pulled her close and buried his face against the soft, hot skin above her shirt, generously squeezing her backside until the grunt was audible. “I know…But I don’t want to.”

               “We have to,” Olivia bit down on her lip, the chill of the wall finally touching the exposed skin at her side while she traced lines around the remnants of bruises on his face. “As much as I’d like to keep going, we have to get back to our job.”

               “It’s worse than a little taste,” Elliot set his teeth against the material of her shirt before standing upright, applying a soft, completing kiss to her temple as his embrace slowly unwound. “A tiny tease of you.”

               The absence of his heat against her tugged at the strings of her ailing heart as she ran a hand through her hair and unfurled the shirt to swap out, a smirk residing on her lips. “You know, it’s only a tease if it doesn’t lead anywhere, El.”

I wouldn’t know where to start on tagging this one. Just hope you’ll check it out.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi! Out of a sudden (or rather long ignored) need for comfort, do you happen to have an accidental cuddling list? It's one of my favorite tropes next to fake dating (if you have even one that includes both I will forever worship your existence

Hi Lovely!!

I do!! Not necessarily “accidental cuddling” but I totally have done a lot of cuddling fic lists, plus I have some new fics I can add to the list :) Check these out!

HUGS, CUDDLES, & KISSES Pt. 5

See also:

Hugs & Cuddles and Tooth-Rotting Fluff (Pt. 2)

Hugs & Cuddles Pt. 2 / Tooth-Rotting Fluff Pt. 3 / Est. Relationship Pt. 2

Platonics & Domestics Pt 2 / Hugs, Cuddles & Kisses Pt. 3 / Tooth-Rotting Fluff Pt. 5 / Love Confessions, Slow Burn & Dev. Rel. Pt. 2 / Established Relationship Pt. 3

Hugs, Cuddles & Kisses Pt. 4

Bed Sharing “Just Happens”

Sleepy Fics

Soft. Happy. Content. by inevitably_johnlocked (G, 223 w., 1 Ch. || Sleepy Cuddles, Bed Sharing, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Spooning, Morning After, Sherlock POV) – Sherlock reflects on his state of mind. Part 6 of I-J’s Tumblr Ficlet Collection

When Morning Comes by Youarethelightoftheworld (T, 423 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lazy Mornings/Morning After, Fluff and Angst, Sleepy Cuddles, Domestic Fluff, Cuddling / Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort) – “Sherlock,” says John solemnly, “I’m not sure we can go anywhere today.”

I Knew You Loved Me by inevitably_johnlocked (T, 743 w., 1 Ch. || Morning Cuddles, Fluff, Clingy Sherlock, Idiots in Love, Slice of Life, Morning After, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Declarations of Love, Pet Name, Bed Sharing, Snuggles) – John and Sherlock share a lie-in the morning after their first time. So fluffy and gross your teeth will fall out. Part 4 of I-J’s Tumblr Ficlet Collection

Sleep Tonight by Jenn1984 (T, 1,220 w, 1 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Bed Sharing, Worried Sherlock, Sick John, Hugs/Cuddles, Touch Neediness) – Fingers begin prying open his jacket looking for a wound and John would really like to swat at them. No, he’s not hit anywhere, he’s just damn sick.- John Watson has a fever.

Loved. by inevitably_johnlocked (G, 1,231 w., 1 Ch. || First Sherlock POV, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Nose Kisses, Morning After, Love Confessions, Morning Cuddles, Emotional Sherlock, Sentiment, Bed Sharing) – Sherlock reflects on his relationship with John. Part 5 of I-J’s Tumblr Ficlet Collection

3:00 in the Morning is a Great Time to Talk by Aztecwarfareandcrumping (K+, 1,775 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt / Comfort, Friendship, Bed Sharing, First Person POV John, Cuddling, Worried Sherlock, Comforting John, Platonic Affection/Love) – “Are you trying to talk your way into my bed?” “Obviously.”

Baskerville After Dark by Ttime42 (T, 1,921 w., 1 Ch. || THoB, Friendship, Humor, Bed Sharing, Missing Scenes, Cranky John, Cuddles) – John and Sherlock have to share a bed at Baskerville. Gen, but can be preslash.

The Perfect Place by SilverSmile (K+, 1,955 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Romance, 5 and Ones, Fluff, Experiments, Bed Sharing) – Sherlock attempts to find the perfect place to sleep, but his little experiment proves to be far more difficult than expected.

The Healing Touch by inevitably_johnlocked (G, 2,307 w., 1 Ch. || Caretaking,  Domestic Fluff, Stroppy Sherlock, John Loves Sherlock, Love Confessions, Sofa Cuddles, Insecure Sherlock) – Sherlock’s broken his foot and he’s becoming unbearably stroppy. Good thing John has the healer’s touch… ;) Part 3 of I-J’s Tumblr Ficlet Collection

Nothing Left Untouched by ForeverShippingJohnlock (K+, 2,617 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Romance, Bed Sharing, Oblivious Sherlock, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Grumpy John, Fluff and Cuddles) – Sherlock rearranges the flat. So what if John’s bedroom is now a research library. It’s not like John needs a bedroom, he can share with Sherlock. They’re friends and John has obviously slept in close quarters with men before and it’s not like Sherlock sleeps much anyway. It’ll be fine.

BBCSH ‘The Comfort of Company’ by tigersilver (T, 2,769 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF/Mary, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Bed Sharing, Grumpy John, Touching, Clingy/Handsy Sherlock, Cranky Sherlock, Fluff and Light Angst) – It’s a trope that John and Sherlock end up sharing in the same bed eventually and I admit I do adore it unconditionally, along with all it infers as to the lowering of defenses and the heightening of trust. I put forth for your consideration that the notion persists because those who think about these things realize these two men are each in dire need of some good company.

Pillow Talk by 221b_hound (E, 2,925 w., 1 Ch. || Post-HLV, Est. Rel., Preening Sherlock, Limpet Sherlock, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Sex on Furniture, Scent Kink, Masturbation, Fluff, Soft Sherlock) – John gets home late from work and Sherlock is nowhere to be seen. John walks through the flat, distracted by memories of all the excellent sex they’ve been having, and finally finds Sherlock asleep in the upstairs room - apparently having fallen asleep mid-wank while inhaling the scent of John’s pillow. Well, you should always finish what you start, John thinks… Part 3 of Lock and Key

Museums and Laboratories by RhododendronPonticum (T, 3,004 w., 1 Ch. || Romance, Angst, Obsessive Sherlock, Anxious Sherlock, Anxiety/Panic Attack, Separation Anxiety, Doctor John, Co-Dependent Sherlock) – If Sherlock’s kitchen was his laboratory, then his bedroom was his museum.

The General Idea by agirlsname (T, 3,022 w., 1 Ch. || Retirement, Promise of Forever / Proposal, POV John, First Kiss, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Soft Sherlock, Idiots in Love, Crying / Emotional Sherlock, Love Confessions) – After twenty years of friendship, John is used to Sherlock acting weirdly. But the news Sherlock finally brings himself to deliver change the carefully built dynamics between them, and John realises it’s time to act.

After the Bombs by VampirePam (T, 3,337 w., 2 Ch. || THoB AU, Drugs, John’s PTSD, Panic Attack, Nightmares, Caring Sherlock, Cuddles, Bed Sharing, Angst, Hurt/Comfort) – In which the drugs Sherlock used to dose John trigger a severe episode of PTSD. When terrors old and new cause John to fall apart, Sherlock must rectify his mistake and pick up the pieces.

The Oolong Disaster by unicornpoe (T, 4,151 w., 1 Ch. || John’s Beard, Fluff, Humour, Frustrated Sherlock, John Takes Care of Sherlock, Case Fic-ish, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss, Possessive Sherlock) – John has a beard. Sherlock has a panic attack.

Afghanistan in Baskerville by Amaya Ramiel (K+, 4,357 w., 1 Ch. || THoB Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Drugged John, PTSD / Panic Attack, Hallucinations, Worried Sherlock, John’s Past, Friendship) – What if John hadn’t seen the hound when Sherlock trapped him in the lab? What if instead, his very real nightmares of the war had materialized all around him? Trapped and drugged, John can’t tell what’s real and what’s not. How will Sherlock react?

Overture by Kate_Lear (M, 4,435 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss / Time, Friends to Lovers, Angry John, Introspection, Dev. Rel., Embarassed / Insecure Sherlock, Morning After, Bed Sharing, Cuddles / Limpet Sherlock) – A short snippet on how John and Sherlock might have got together.

Welcome Home, John by slashscribe (G, 5,504 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S3, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Awkwardness, Stabbed Sherlock, Protective Sherlock, Panic Attack (Sherlock), Self Esteem Issues, Love Confessions, First Kiss) – When John moves back to 221B, he thinks he’s the broken one, but after a while, it becomes clear that he might not be correct.

Pillow Talk by scullyseviltwin (M, 5,183 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S3, Angsty Fluff, Pillow Talk, Bed Sharing, Worried John, First Time Morning After, Soft Sherlock, Sexuality Discussion, Love Confessions, Kisses and Cuddles) – John has been looking at Sherlock for ages, it feels like.

My First, My Only, and My Forever by vintagelilacs (E, 6,220 w., 1 Ch. || Post-ASiB, Virgin Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock’s Bum, John’s Scar, Sherlock POV, Body Worship, Fingering, Bottomlock, Promise of Forever / Proposals, Misunderstanding, First Kiss/Time, Loss of Virginity, Virginity Kink, Seduction) – Sherlock narrowed his eyes. He was missing a vital piece of data, he was sure. John had been looking at him oddly ever since they left Buckingham Palace, and the ensuing incident with Irene Adler had only exacerbated his erratic behaviour. What was it? Why would he care that Sherlock was a virgin? There was nothing reminiscent of mockery or pity in his gaze. And then it hit him. John Watson was aroused.

When We Sleep by PrincessNala (K+, 6,660 w., 1 Ch || Post-TGG,  Alternating POV, Bed Sharing, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Hurt/Comfort, Hugs) – Sherlock needed to feel every beat of his heart, every rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. It was the only way to completely assure himself that John was alive and right there next to him, and not dead, no, never dead…

Of Razors, Pipes, Red Notebooks and Rugby Jerseys, Or: Sherlock Doesn’t Like His Doctors Clean Shaven by allonsys_girl (E, 7,313 w., 1 Ch. || Est. Rel., PWP / Porn With Feelings, John’s Beard / Beard Kink, Roleplay, Love Declarations, Banter, Rimming, Anal, Domestic Fluff / Bliss, Idiots in Love, Emotional Lovemaking, Pet Names, Obsessive Sherlock, Sherlock POV, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock) – John grows a beard. Sherlock really likes it. Part 1 of Consulting Husbands

Just Like That by sussexbound (E, 8,442 w., 1 Ch. || First Time/Kiss, Frottage, Virgin Sherlock, French Kissing, Anal, Emotional Lovemaking, Enthusiastic Consent, Tenderness, Crying John, Bathing/Washing, Insecure John, Toplock) – John doesn’t want to talk anymore. He wants. Oh dear god, how he wants. For the first time in what feels like years he WANTS.

Unwasted by patternofdefiance (E, 8,966 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S3 / S3 Fix-It, Developing Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Angelo’s, Fluff, First Time, Anal, Cum Play, Flashbacks to ASiB, Mutual Pining, Love Confessions, Bottomlock, Cuddles, Multiple Orgasms, BJ’s, Bed Sharing) – John finds it three months after he’s moved back. He’s on the hunt for something to make for dinner, is scrounging through the cupboards, when he happens upon the graveyard of pasta boxes Sherlock still seems to create when left to his own devices. Behind seven boxes of pasta, all almost completely empty, is a dark-glassed bottle, with a paler coat of dust.It’s unopened. John’s face falls slack when he sees it, instantly recognises it, and for a long moment he just stands and looks at it.

Ravish Me by amalnahurriyeh (E, 10,025 w., 1 Ch. || UST / RST, Makeup / Lipstick, Sympathetic Sally, Experiments, Pining John, First Kiss, Face Fucking / BJ’s, Cuddling) – Sherlock is experimenting with patterns of wear on lipstick in daily encounters. John is going to go insane.

You fit me, Sherlock Holmes by orphan_account (G, 10,077 w., 1 Ch. || It’s An Experiment, Bed Sharing, Slow Burn, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Questionable Science) – An unfortunate series of events leads to John accepting being a part of Sherlock’s study in physical intimacy. As the days pass by, John realizes he might be in for more than he bargained for. He doesn’t entirely mind.

Shuteye Shenanigans by Ayakae (K+, 13,263 w., 8 Ch. || Post-TRF, Friendship / Epic Bromance, John’s Nightmares, Angsty Fluff, Bed Sharing, Humour, Cuddles, Taking Care of Each Other, Domestics) – John Watson has never slept with Sherlock Holmes. Never ever ever. And never will, thank you very much. Well, there was that one time, but John didn’t count that. It was completely different, just like the second time it happened. And the third. And the fourth. Epic bromance, but it can be read as pre-slash if you wish.

A Silver Sixpence by _doodle (NC-17, 16,400 w., 2 Ch. || LJ Fic || For a Case / Case Fic, Fake Relationship, Humour, Romance, Marriage Proposal, Awkward Idiots, Cuddling, Touching, Kissing, Love Confessions, Bed Sharing, Friends to Lovers, Fake Until It’s Not, Schmoop and Fluff, Bottomlock) – “John, we need to get married. It’s for a case, not any romantic notions on my part pertaining to our partnership,” Sherlock said, with brutal honesty, and without even looking up.

The Palmyra Atoll by elwinglyre (E, 16,609 w., 3 Ch. || TSo3 Divergence / Episode Fix-It, Stockholm Syndrome, Kidnapped John Watson, John Whump, Evil Mary, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Toplock, Limited 3rd John POV) – As John’s preparing for the wedding, Sherlock is preparing to have his heart broken, and Mary is prepared to do the unthinkable. Intervention required. Enter Sherlock. Set before Sign of Three with a far different outcome. John is drugged, kidnapped, and left on an island, but not just any old island.

You’re On the Air by prettysailorsoldier (M, 20,616 w., 1 Ch. || Unilock, Matchmaking, Radio, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Sherlock POV, Pining Sherlock, Flirting, Bisexual John) – The Consulting Detective and The Woman dominate the airwaves of their university radio station, doling out advice on everything from meeting the parents to sexual positions. When their ratings start to dip before the holidays, however, manager Mike thinks it’s time for some fresh blood, and who better to fill in the gaps than rugby captain–and notorious flirt–John Watson? Part 1 of 25 Days of Johnlock

The Winter Garden by Callie4180 (T, 31,213 w., 13 Ch. || Post-S4, Retirement, Christmas, Slow Burn, Grown-Up Rosie, Parenthood, Rosie’s Cat, Angst with Happy Ending, Holidays, Beekeeping, Magical Realism, Sherlock POV, Sherlock’s Violin, Future Fic, Sussex, Honey, Magical Healing Honey, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Scar, First Kiss, Touching) – As Sherlock nears the end of his career, he’s given the gift of a cottage in Sussex. The honey from the beehives out back is amazing.Almost…magical.

One Little Change by jadztone (E, 58,312 w., 12 Ch. || ASiB Divergence, Fake Relationship, Bed Sharing, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss / Time, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Bi John / Gay Demisexual Sherlock, Switchlock, Alternating POV, Jealousy, Misunderstandings, Case Fic, Angst with Happy Ending, Emotional Love Making, Butt Plugs, Cuddles) – Our story begins right after John and Sherlock’s first meeting with Irene Adler in September. It splits off into an AU that imagines them taking a case where they act as bait to hook a killer targeting closeted gays in secret relationships. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, many things happen that have our boys wondering if maybe they have a chance with each other. Then Irene fakes her death on Christmas Eve, and things get a lot more complicated - especially since they still have a killer to catch.

The Bells of King’s College by SilentAuror (E, 64,019 w., 5 Ch. || Post-S4, Missed Opportunities, Angst with Happy Ending, Fake Relationship, Case Fic, John POV, Jealous John, John in Denial, Travelling / Holidays, Virgin Sherlock, Wedding Proposals) – It’s only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths…

[angsty-nerd]

Work in Progress Wednesday

So...over the Memorial Day hiatus I was starting to feel a little anxiety over the likelihood of an Echo breakup. Rather than spew angsty meta all over the place, I decided to channel it into fic, and was working on a short angsty break up fic. Then the world went crazy and I lost focus in the midst of all of the protests and looting and violence so I never finished it.

By the time the next episode (Linger) aired, it had been overcome by events. Although oddly enough, it was surprisingly similar to some of what almost happened in that episode...if Kyle still had access to the lab.

Then, another plot point from it actually happened in the finale...

Since I’m never going to finish this, but I also really, really like this one segment I wrote, wanted to share it as a work-not-in-progress Wednesday share.

The afternoon sun was filtering through the trees, casting patchy shadows along the path Max followed along the perimeter of the abandoned school. Around the side of the building was a small chapel. An adobe wall surrounded the small cemetery in front of the building. He wandered through the gate, and walked along the aisles of worn headstones, reading the names, years...families like his that were torn apart decades earlier. There were no flowers or candles adorning these graves. It was like the dead here had been completely forgotten.

Max felt a kinship to these long dead human people. He wondered how long it would have taken before he was forgotten, had he stayed dead. Would he even have a grave? Or would he have been cremated? More likely they would have dissected him like Noah, just in case Michael ever needed a spare part from him. There would be no peace in death.

He made his way to the steps leading up to the chapel. Slipping the stolen recorder from his pocket, he sat on the steps, studying the small device in his hands.

He knew he shouldn't listen to it. There could be nothing good waiting for him on the tape. Plus it was an invasion of Liz's privacy. But she was studying his DNA without consent. He hated it, but he needed to know how far it had gone. He needed to know if there was any hope left.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he hit play.

Hypothesis. The specimens display resistance to earthly infectious diseases due to an alien hereditary immunity.

Max's heart shattered.

He knew that she loved him. He had felt it through the psychic bond the first time they made love. It was incredible, the sensation of her love washing over him. Now, she told him every day, and every time he heard it his heart soared.

But that same voice...the voice he never doubted…had just called him a specimen.

He felt sick, angrily shoving the device back in his pocket. His eyes stung and he blinked rapidly trying to push the tears away.

Jumping back to his feet, he stalked quickly from the cemetery, heading back to the lab. He needed to be done with this mess.

[ancientwastedlores]

The Support System (Ch: 11)

STORY SUMMARY: The Avengers have managed to collect all the infinity stones across the universe, and are currently keeping them in far corners of the world, only for research and to see if they can improve the planet and its people. Reader is a researcher with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, as well as a field agent. Loki is currently serving time for his actions in New York City in 2012, and struggling to gain acceptance from the Avengers, when reader decides he just needs a PR manager of sorts.

PREVIOUS CHAPTER AO3: The Support System 

A/N: Find this chapter on AO3 here. Fic requests are welcome! 

Warnings: none

Audience: general.

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CHAPTER 11:

You walk into the dining room, where Loki is unwrapping burgers and placing them on plates.

‘Oh we don’t need that; we can just eat from the wrappers’. He wrinkles his nose at the thought. ‘We are already eating junk, we don’t need to look like it’.

You let out a horrified laugh at his statement, and he continues plating the food. 

‘So, Loki…’ you take your seat as he serves you fries. ‘Why were you looking to access my files?’

He looks at you for split second before returning his attention to serving. You wait. Once he’s done, he sits down across from you and locks eyes with you. ‘I was curious’. ‘You can ask me’. ‘You wouldn’t tell me’.

Fair enough, you think. A year in the Avengers Tower, and even Tony had very little idea about your past. You just didn’t want anyone getting too close, but Loki trusted you enough to tell you about Thanos, and you feel like you should reciprocate.

‘Fine. You can ask me five questions; I will answer them as honestly as I can’ you say. His eyes widen. ‘Really!?’ ‘Yes. And that was one, so you got four left’.

He looks hurt, and begs to have the first question back, but you refuse, laughing. He frowns and accepts it finally.

‘What do you want to ask?’ you ask, as you sink your teeth into a burger. You feel his eyes on you, but you don’t look back at him. This is awkward enough as it is.

After a minute’s pause, he asks, ‘What were you asking protection from that night?’

You now look at him, still chewing your burger. You lean back and finish chewing, then swallow. You take a sip of your coke. Then you take a deep breath. ‘I thought I was being chased by men who wanted to take something from me that was dear to me’.

Loki nods. ‘I want to ask what the thing was, but I assume you don’t wish to tell me yet’.

You smile. ‘You’re slyly trying to throw in more questions’. ‘Can’t hurt to try. Please let me keep my remaining three’.

You smile and nod, and he thanks you.

‘Where were you, in this dream?’ he asks.

These questions are oddly specific; you were expecting him to just ask what happened or something general.

‘I was in my childhood home’ you reply. Two more questions left.

Loki is taking his time now. He has started on his meal, occasionally opening his mouth to ask something, then shutting it again. You continue eating.

‘When was the last time you got genuinely drunk?’ You sigh. You wash down the fries with another sip of coke. ‘Four years ago’ you say. ‘Of course, until a few nights ago with you’.

He goes back to eating. So do you.

‘Will there come a time when you tell me everything?’ he asks finally. ‘Are you sure you want that to be your last question?’ ‘I am hoping I get five more some other time, and an indefinite amount one day. So yes’.

You look away from him, down at your plate. You’re nervously fidgeting with the straw in your drink. You again feel his eyes on you, but you’re fixated on the food on your plate.

‘You can take your time to…’ ‘I might’ you interrupt. You look up at him and he’s smiling. ‘I’m glad’ he says.

xx

‘Loki, you haven’t told us yet what you wanna do’ Tony calls to him at dinner. ‘The weekend is getting close’. ‘I’ve decided’ he says. ‘But it does take up a considerable amount of funds and perhaps preparation, so we can keep this for another weekend, perhaps next month’. ‘Money is no object’ Tony declares. ‘Well…’ he smiles at you. ‘Since everyone who went to Dubai recently and didn’t get to stay to take in the sights, I thought maybe we could go for a weekend’.

Your eyes widen, aware that you probably look like an excited child to him right now.

‘And you could be our guide’ he winks at you. ‘I know you love to teach people things’. ‘That’s an understatement’ Bruce says. ‘But I’m up for this. Guys?’

Everyone agrees.

‘It’s settled then. We finish up with Raunverkuleiki, let her go to wherever she wants to go, and then we leave for Dubai’ Tony says. ‘A weekend’s no good, though. I say a whole week’.

The rest of the dinner is people asking you questions about the city, especially how much sunscreen they would require.

‘Don’t worry’ you reassure them. ‘It’ll be quite pleasant, it’s the end of November and just glorious’. ‘Anything we should know before going there?’ Bruce asks. ‘Islamic law and all that?’ You have to admire Bruce for asking. ‘Not a lot. Only certain things, I'll hold a presentation later' you say, inviting laughs from the group. 

Eventually though, you allow yourself to tune out while everyone else is talking about Raunverkuleiki and what they’re looking forward to in Dubai.

xx

‘You didn’t have to do that’ you tell Loki, as he enters your room with the DVD for season 6. ‘Do what?’ ‘You could have made us do literally anything this weekend. Like Thor said, Stark gave you too much power. You didn’t have to ask for us to go back to Dubai’. ‘Why do you think I did it for you?’ he asks with a sly smile. ‘I… didn’t you?’ ‘No. Get over yourself’ he teases, popping the DVD in the player. ‘I just wanted to go to the tallest building in the world’. ‘Right…’ you’re a little suspicious but decide not to pursue. He gets into bed with you and hits play on the remote.

The opening credits play. ‘I’ve noticed that if Moffat writes the episode, it’s bound to be sad or terrible’ he comments.  ‘Oh, don’t ever watch Sherlock’. ‘What’s that?’ ‘We’ll watch it next’ ‘I thought you said not to watch it?’ Loki asks, confused. ‘No, don’t listen to me. We’ll watch it, and then I’ll tell you we shouldn’t have watched it’. ‘Wha…’ ‘Just go with it’ you pat his leg. ‘Now sshh’.

xx

Raunverkuleiki is now up, curiously browsing through Tony’s lab, touching everything. You’d think Tony would completely freak out and keep asking her to please sit down and not touch anything, but Tony’s too busy watching her just move like liquid. Bruce is also captivated.

So are you.

She looks as fragile as glass, but you know there’s more power in there than all the Iron Man suits put together from all the parallel universes.

‘What is it exactly you can do?’ Bruce asks. ‘She can manipulate reality. Make it rain diamonds, for example’ Vision says. ‘That’s meteorologically impossible’ Tony retorts. ‘He just said she can manipulate reality- it doesn’t have to make logical sense’ you say.

Tony shrugs. ‘Alright, how do we know you won’t go wherever you have to go and end up causing destruction?’ ‘TONY!’ you shout. ‘She says she’s going home’ Vision says. ‘Tony, can you be delicate?’ you scold him.

‘She says she isn’t meant to manipulate reality’ Vision continues. ‘Just like her sister’s purpose isn’t to manipulate Time, nor is it her sister’s purpose to give its holder Power. They only have these gifts, but ever since they were formed, they were used by others'. 

‘They used to be people’ Vision goes on, ‘They changed themselves to look like stones so they would be left alone, and have stayed that way so long, it was the only life they knew’.

You stare at Raunverkuleiki in disbelief, and feeling a little sorry.

‘Tony… the Power stone…’ Bruce starts… he looks sad, but also a little afraid. ‘I know’ Tony responds quickly, not wanting him to go on. ‘She’s asking what about it’ Vision says.

You sigh. ‘Raunverkuleiki, what is the name of your sister? The… Power?’ ‘Chikara’ Vision says. ‘Japanese now’ you interest is piqued more and more. ‘Raunverkuleiki, how is it that you are all from different mythologies?’ ‘They aren’t different’ Vision says. ‘She says they all come from Omnipotent’. ‘Omnipotent… is the same for all of them?’ ‘It is how the universe began, and it began once, in one birth, from one Omnipotent, so yes’

You are positively bursting at this point. ‘Could you please name your other sisters?’

You see Raunverkuleiki’s head cock to one side.

‘Waqt is Time...’ Vision begins. ‘Raunverkuleiki is her. Reality. Chikara is Power. Psychi is Soul. Kōngjiān is Space. Geedagte is Mind…’  

Recognising each of these words, you’re getting more and more worked up. But Vision doesn’t look like he’s done.  ‘…and Ahkka is Ego’.  

‘What?’ Tony exclaims. ‘What the hell does that mean, there is a seventh stone?’    ‘Ahkka died. Peter Quill killed him’ Vision responds.

Having the mind stone allowed him access to that sort of information too, so he wasn’t asking Raunverkuleiki all the questions.  

‘Him!?’ Bruce asks.   ‘She says it’s a good thing, he was the most dangerous and ambitious’.   ‘QUILL killed the most powerful one?’ Tony asks in disbelief.   ‘She is asking what Bruce was saying about Chikara’.  

‘Right…’ you purse your lips. ‘Thing is uh… Chikara is currently being used to power an entire camp of refugees on the other side of the world’.  

Raunverkuleiki floats over, very close to you, and it feels threatening.  

‘She is asking you to release her’.   ‘We need an alternate source of power. If you can make one, we’ll be more than happy to hand your sister back to you’ Tony says.  

The room instantly glows red, and it has become hotter.  

‘She doesn’t agree, to that’ Vision says.   ‘Oh really, I guess I misread that’ Tony says, ‘Listen Raunverkuleiki, we can’t leave thousands of children without electricity and medical facilities. If you can…’   ‘Tony, a minute?’ you interrupt.  

xx 

‘You can’t seriously tell me you’re considering letting Power go’   ‘Chikara’ you correct Tony. ‘And I did tell you these beings are not obligated to help us. They aren’t even supposed to help us, they just want to go home and be a family’.   ‘We can’t leave…’   ‘Try asking, Tony. Not demanding’ you say. ‘Maybe she would, for example, like to meet Chikara and speak to her’.

Tony glares at you. ‘What if she leaves?’.  

‘She may not until we have an alternative source’ you try to reassure him. ‘At least try’.   He sighs. ‘I don’t like this’.   ‘I know’. He shakes his head and opens the door. ‘I’m considering it, okay? I’ll see you in the lab’ he goes inside. 

Loki, who has been listening, pipes up from behind you, ‘Can I see her?’  

‘Oh!’ you jump and turn around. ‘How long have you been there!?’   ‘Since you walked in. May I see her?’   ‘Yeah, come along’.  

xx 

‘Hello, Raunverkuleiki’ Loki greets as he walks into Tony’s lab for the first time. He puts a certain amount of stress on the name, and it doesn’t escape you.

The room gets a few degrees hotter, and Raunverkuleiki goes to hide behind Vision.  

‘You didn’t tell me you were Norse. Raun, huh? Why didn’t you tell me?’   ‘She’s asking what you are doing here’ Vision says. ‘Oh I know what she says’.  ‘You know each other!?’ you gasp.  

‘Raun…’ Loki peers behind Vision. ‘It’s no use hiding behind him’.  

Raunverkuleiki steps out from behind him and stands, her body language signalling that she is embarrassed.  

‘Why didn’t you say you were Norse?’ Loki asks. ‘What do you mean you aren’t, your name is Raunverkuleiki, what does that sound to you, Welsh?... No, I don’t mind, it’s a lovely name, I just want to know why you didn’t tell me…. WHAT!?... No way…’  

You stare at Loki when he talks, and stare at Raunverkuleiki when there’s a pause, even though you have no idea what 's happening. You’re dying to know what she’s saying.

 ‘…well you could have still told me' he continues, 'it’s a little disturbing that you wouldn’t tell me given everything... Yes, I know we’re ALL, in a sense, related, but I would still like to know’  ‘EXCUSE ME?’ you shout.

 Loki looks at you. ‘Yes, we used to be a thing, get over it’.  

‘WHAT?’ you, Tony, Bruce, Vision say in unison.   ‘Hold on, Loki…’ you walk over to him, ‘Did you… literally date Reality?’ ‘Yes’.  

You’re appalled at how this is completely normal to him. But now you realise why she doesn’t want to be called Raun.  

‘So… hold on, you’re related?’ Bruce asks.  ‘Not quite’ Loki explains. ‘I mean… possibly. The truth is, these things are unclear. Omnipotent made the first gods, from which Odin and the Frost Giants came, and Raun is his daughter’.   ‘Whose daughter?’ Bruce asks.   ‘Omnipotent. He has no name’.   ‘Right… you are cousins, then?’ Tony asks.   ‘It’s not quite so black and white’ Loki smiles. He turns back to Raunverkuleiki. ‘But I am glad you’re okay. I hope you’ll be off home now’.  

Raunverkuleiki is nodding vigorously, and Loki gives her a hug, and then leaves, but not before winking at you on his way out.  

‘So after that very weird reunion…’ Tony interjects. ‘Raunverkuleiki, we will take you to meet your sister. But I do have a request’.   ‘She’s listening’ Vision says. ‘When you meet her, please discuss leaving before actually leaving. If I get a little time, I can try and find a way to power the camp without her’.   ‘She says alright’ Vision confirms. ‘She wants to go back to the statis cube now’. ‘Of course’ Tony walks to the cube and opens the door.

Raunverkuleiki runs in and curls up again. You think it’s kind of cute.

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[purkinje-effect]

The Anatomy of Melancholy, 59

Table of Contents. Second Instar, Chapter 26. Go to previous. Go to next. TW: Body horror, nightmare sequence, unreality, incongruous chronology. Self-absorbed.

Lol, we haven’t had a flashback episode yet in Second Instar, have we? Have fun, ‘cause ‘Choly’s not. In the future this becomes another installment in ‘Choly’s Rexford Press Originals. (:

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As he muddled through prescription fulfillment, Carey looked over his shoulder yet again. He saw the customer he anticipated finally entered the drugstore, and hastily finished up his current order. The thirty-some man he’d called earlier that morning had dusty blond side-parted hair, and stood as short as Carey, but seemed more sawed off than grown that way. Owing to the nature of the medication, as the head chemist, only he could take the customer. He pulled the pencil box size prescription carton from the cage, and confirmed it did in fact indicate it was for ‘Sal Mendez.’ He watched Angel busying itself in the front end straightening aisles, and waited until Sal was next in line before hopping onto the other register to wave him over. Mentally unable to set down the box on the counter, he kept it in both hands.

“Apologies, again, Mister Mendez, how it took weeks to get this filled. Calmex is one of the most rationed chems in the country at the moment.”

“I know. I know. But it. I talked to my doc.” Sal frowned to himself, and repeatedly smoothed at his short sleeve silk button down shirt as he eyed the various hard candies at the front counter at length. He eventually looked up at his chemist with a crumpled resignation. “The Milque wasn’t cutting it. You... you sure you don’t need it more? You look peaked, Doc.”

Carey glanced down, at the lab coat tossed over his favorite ochre jumpsuit, the cobalt scarf tucked like a cravat into his collar, and his navy oxfords. He lingered on the unfamiliar braces on both wrists and both ankles, but readily dismissed their explanation as unimportant. What mattered was that he didn’t look the part of his vocation, and a head chemist had to command reassurance and reliability. It was one thing to be haggard, but another altogether if he looked it. Well, that just wouldn’t do! He thought to what Hawthorne could usually put his hands on pretty quick, and weighed his choices against what he thought Sal might find most useful. With a big, wide grin, he straightened and patted at the Milquetoast display on the counter.

“Milquetoast is completely and totally safe. Fantastic for insomnia, shakes and nerves, headaches, nausea, you name it. But... I wouldn’t recommend using it alongside this prescription. Or with alcohol, were you to have access to any.” He leaned in and turned off his customer service voice, to discuss the consultation more privately. “I’ll see what I can do about getting you some Day Tripper, if you can water me down. I’ll even take moonshine at this point, Sal. Between you and me, I thought I was done having this war effort kill me inside-out.”

Sal’s jaw dropped a moment before he, too, leaned in with a nervous smile.

“For you, Mister Carey, I will find you something very nice. Really, though. Should I be worried? To take this? My doctor said it’s tranquilizer. She explained it all to me, but that was weeks ago...”

“Alan!”

Gretchen Nordstern didn’t seem all that gangling from where she sat on the far counter in a Peter Pan collar tea dress with the confidence to match a pair of trousers, chewing a lit cigarillo and taking notes against her lap with the phone receiver wedged between her shoulder and cheek. Her low, dark bun wore a colorful crocheted snood.

“You’ve spent half an hour with that client.” She didn’t have to look up to impose, waving him off with her free hand. “Let Mary and Trudy handle front end already.”

Carey hemmed a spell, unsure how that could be true. But he didn’t want to question his boss. He stared off in her direction as he addressed Sal.

“I, I’m sorry, Mister Mendez. I’ve got others to see to. If you’ve any questions...”

When he turned to his customer, he trailed off. Sal had vanished.

Gretchen shoved into his hands a letterhead with a handful of scripts. He stuttered, glancing it over. Med-X. Clarimentin. Immunoluxe. His eyes glazed over the usual orders until he encountered the words Psycho (Cyclomorphine Chloride). His heart hiccuped, and his eyes briefly lost focus.

“Wh-- Gretchen, please. Please. Please tell me this is some kind of-- How did this-- How did-- It’s on the--” He cleared his throat and whet his lips, but it didn’t help. He shakily pointed to the line on her invoice. “How is this on the market, ma’am.”

“Don’t be such a worrywort. It’s government approved. It underwent rigorous testing before it hit the market. What could possibly be wrong with the stuff!”

He couldn’t argue without breaching military confidentiality. Walden Drugs had to make ends meet somehow, right? And if whoever was getting the Psycho had a prescription for it, at the very least they’d be taking it under a physician’s supervision. He knew the dwindling prescription numbers didn’t mean people weren’t getting sick or injured less often: it meant more people were dying. Between the malcontent of the Canadian annexation, the endless crisis against the Chinese causing the deepest economic depression the country had ever suffered, and the mounting volume of riots taking place on home soil, the United States teetered on a second Civil War. And yet, these factors didn’t explicate in his mind why people had begun to drop like flies as of late.

Usually hear from Jacob by now.

He frowned as he dialed the Lexington branch to call in the Psycho prescription order, and got to completing the invoice Gretchen had given him. He and Jacob had planned that morning to have lunch together at the malt shop. He decided to go check on him and Sal. He hung up his lab coat in the mudroom, and waved to his coworkers to let the two ladies know he’d be stepping out.

“Angel, I’m going on break.”

“Right along, then, Sir!”

The Mister Handy followed at his side.

He popped his head into the small bed and breakfast across the way, wedged between the Wright’s Inn at the corner opposite the drugstore, and the bookstore further down. When he didn’t see Sal, he approached the check-in and asked after him of the young attendant in a chignon and sheath dress. She indicated no one had seen him since the morning. He declined her offer to take a message for him, shook his head, thanked her, and left.

It sat uneasy with him, but he chalked it up to still feeling awful about the local call for cyclomorphine. Nothing that he wanted as far away from him as possible ever stayed very far away for long.

Once a Pick-R-Up passed, he jaywalked with Angel to the hardware store at the corner. Only a few customers loitered, some genuinely lost without advice from an employee, others genuinely considering unattended theft. He got to the foot of the employees-only stairwell, but stopped short of scaling it. His gut quivered.

“Angel, be a dear. Pop up and see if you can find Jacob.”

“Certainly!” It came back quickly. “Not a soul on the roof, Sir.”

He frowned and gestured that they leave. His leg felt tight and stiff, but he shrugged it off.

Hm. Was I limping earlier? No, I’ve had this limp a long time already.

On his way back down the street, Carey glanced in the windows of the malt shop. Jacob wasn’t there either, nor Sal. Jacob’s car was still parked outside the hardware store. The repairman was disinclined to go anywhere on foot all that much if he could avoid it, so Carey doubted his roommate had gone home for lunch without saying anything about it. He gave up on the idea of malt shop food, as he preferred to share it. Instead, he sat down across the street from the drugstore, on the Wright’s Inn’s spacious porch, with a Nuka Cherry from their vending machine and an order of three arancini from Piretti’s Bakery. Sometimes the texture of the rice balls reminded him of ezhiki, and he got a bit homesick.

I should just stick to Melancholia. There’s only one flavor of toska to it.

He noticed the construction sounds in front of the municipal plutonium well had ceased. He glanced up with his mouth full to see there were no workers in the street. He supposed it was their lunchtime, too. When he finished eating, he required Angel’s help to stand again.

Am I starting to feel my age, or am I just that full?

He returned to work. Once he had on his coat again and come back out to the front end, he saw some kids poorly picking the lock on the adult care case. He side-eyed Angel, who handed him the keys. Spinning the wrist coil on a finger, he strolled up with confidence that belied his limp.

“Hey there, gentlemen! Looking to buy some No-Gesta today, I see. A fine choice in preventative care!”

The boys sputtered in embarrassment at being caught trying to shoplift. Angel simply hovered behind them to cut off their back escape route out of the drugstore, while Carey withdrew an entire case of product. They followed the veteran in service uniform speechlessly to the counter. The older one scrambled through his pockets along the way, desperate to figure out if he even had enough to buy what they’d intended to steal.

“I’ll tell you what!” the chemist announced--in his stress of recognizing he’d put on the wrong white coat, a little too loudly--though they seemed largely alone all the same. “They’re usually fifteen dollars each, but if you buy six, I’ll give ‘em to you for seventy-five.”

“Gee, that’s awful generous of you,” the older one started, urging the younger one to play along, so as to curb the possibility Carey might call the police on them. “Bruce, you wanna go in on this with me fifty-fifty?”

“Only if that’s the only thing-- never mind. Lemme count how much I got.” He produced a fistful of wadded papers Carey could tell weren’t money. “I’ve got twenty-eight bucks. What about you, Jeb?”

“Thirteen. Awful.”

Carey smiled with a twisted, cool benevolence as he set two out of the case and nudged what was left toward the boys.

“How about just four, then. Hm?” He wagged an eyebrow and held out his upturned palm expectantly. They uncertainly exchanged all their cash for the prophylactic kits with entendred packaging which resembled an exclamation point but reminded of something else entirely. He tucked them into a paper bag and folded it off lackadaisically, then handed it to them. “Off you are, then!”

Mary walked up soon after he shooed off the boys. The older squared, thick woman, in a pencil dress and cardigan, held a hand to her mouth to hush herself, aghast.

“You sold No-Gesta to some high schoolers?”

“You’d rather they have stolen it?” He shrugged at her. “Age means nothing whether someone needs that sort of care. They’ll copulate, whether or not they can get things like No-Gesta--and wouldn’t you rather they did so safely?” He tucked the vaguely paper-like wad into the register, and his glasses dipped off his nose, caught from falling by his eyeglass chain. “Besides, a sale’s a sale, and customers get scarce.”

Why haven’t I been more worried where everybody’s gotten off to?

He looked out to find Jacob’s car had been left, abandoned and askew, run up onto the sidewalk. Like it was, morning of the bombs. The cognitive disconnect insisted he had no idea what he could have meant. He slipped his glasses back in place.

“Hey, Angel...” He cleared his throat. “Have you-- Have you seen Jacob?”

“What a silly question, Sir! Just look down!”

He did, and succumbed to fever, short breath, and sweats. His legs writhed, granular, tumescent, and grotesque, more like a filariasis than the countless bodies he knew comprised them. The tightness and swelling paralyzed him from the waist down, and kept him upright in substitute of bones or any meaningful ligature. He identified Duchesne among the clumped, corpuscular rivulets, and choked up.

He looked up. Gretchen, Mary, and Trudy were nowhere to be seen.

He didn’t have to look down again to understand he’d soaked them up as well. He dry heaved, to no effect. Desperate to reach help from someone, anyone, he tried to walk to the phone at the other end of the counter, only to fall after a single step. And he continued falling, into himself, having become an infinite labyrinth of flesh, a Klein bottle of grief.

Concord’s empty because I subsumed everyone. He cried, slipping through narrow, trembling corridors of sopping tissue. I’m the sole survivor of Vault 111 because I stole survival opportunity from them all. I stole this from my customers and coworkers. From my neighbors. From Jacob. Everyone gave their lives, so I could keep living.

And for what!

Go to Next »»»

[seyaryminamoto]

A decade in review

So... I figured I’d join the corny crowd of people who are talking about their growth and achievements this decade. Looking back can actually help a lot when you lose sight of where you’re standing or where you’re going, soooo...

I started this decade halfway through writing an original story that I didn’t take all that seriously at the time. I was in ninth grade, so sure, I was young... and yet, as some people might know, I was clawing my way out of the worst depression I’ve ever faced. If you guys thought you’d seen my low points... yeah, no, I’ve never again hit a low point as badly as I did back then. Yet even though difficult things happened through the rest of the decade, I learned enough lessons from that early, terrible and distressing time (which happened at the end of the previous decade, to be precise, which is why it’s honestly not worth going into right now) that I managed to stay afloat, even if not easily, upon each new opportunity where depressions knocked on my door up to date.

Now, beyond my mental health, I was still in music school at the start of 2010, and I was certainly no longer as enthusiastic about it as I had been when I first enrolled. I didn’t realize at the time that my calling was something else entirely... and the more I wrote that story I mentioned above, the more I leaned away from one branch of art and towards another.

I think I got my first graphic tablet either in 2009 or 2010, at one of my birthdays. My sister dropped the pen on the first day, the tip broke and I flew into the worst of rages :’D she was so apologetic about it, I don’t think I’d ever seen her quite so remorseful, which was why I toned down eventually and cut her slack, did my best not to bring it up again... anyways, I learned to draw with that thing despite the malfunctioning pen, and the first artworks I did weren’t exactly brilliant... here’s one of them, one of the few I actually finished :’D

... Safe to say, I’ve learned a lot since those days, right? :’D

(also, if anyone wonders, that artwork features the main characters of that original story I mentioned, the original file is dated for April 2010, so indeed, a file from early on in the decade :’D)

Slowly, but surely, my life started to revolve more and more around writing and reading/watching stories of all sorts. I’d spend hours and hours every day watching anime (yep, my weaboo phase in full swing!), I’d devour most books that fell into my hands, and I even ended up volunteering at a library (does it really count as volunteering if the government forces you to volunteer or else you can’t graduate from high school...? Hmmmmmm...). I actually chose that library because most other options were basically to play babysitter for either kids or senior citizens, and I sure didn’t think I was equipped to deal with either thing. A library, though, meant I’d work with books most of all, and I was pretty sure I’d be more useful at that job.

Cue the irony that, because I was apparently so helpful, they decided to give me more important duties, such as DESK DUTY, because the other volunteers weren’t as trustworthy as me, and bye-bye to working directly with books. Haha. Sad.

But that temporary, sort-of job at that library definitely changed my outlook on my future, even if it felt like such a fortuitous thing, something I was forced to do rather than choosing to do it of my own volition.

For all my life I’d felt a ton of pressure because my family is always more science-oriented than any other I’ve ever met. So I had to excel at school because that was expected of me (all my siblings had, so I couldn’t lag behind them, I’d been disgustingly competitive with my siblings for too long to reason with it yet), and I actually was decent at science subjects. I blindly thought that science was the only possible path for me in life. I was seriously planning on going into engineering because I more or less enjoyed chemistry... but every time I thought about what it meant to finish a major in engineering of any sort, I always ended up asking myself one question: would I have time to write in that sort of career?

The mere thought of office work, lab work, which were guaranteeed to be the best thing I could aspire to once I finished college for engineering, sounded like a morbid funeral march to me. I honestly found myself thinking that’d be a waste of my life. And that’s not to say anyone who actually spends their life that way is wasting theirs, but I KNEW it wasn’t my calling.

One day, while at that library, I realized what my actual calling was: I wanted that life. I wanted to work with books, whether making them or writing them or selling them or just about anything to do with the business. A mix of my crazy storytelling passion with that particular job experience brought me to the conclusion that I needed to forsake my family’s big ole’ scientific legacy and to make my own choices. My three siblings could easily enough carry forward that “legacy”, I could do my thing instead.

I think that decision, which took more courage than I thought I had, was probably one of the best I’ve made in my entire life. Telling my mother I’d go into literature was NOT easy and I literally had to make the equivalent of a sales pitch for her to agree to it, investigating all I could about the career, researching as much as possible to show her there WERE career possibilities I could pursue if I chose this major, until she finally relented. And that success meant I was off to a whole new world of crazy once I graduated from high school.

Which I did indeed, in 2012. I wouldn’t start college until 2013 because my major’s first semester wouldn’t start until March, so I had a nice long break because the school year, in my country, ends in July. I had been exhausted of studying at the time, so the break was absolutely welcome. 

In the early stages of that time period, I actually finished that big ole’ original story of mine, and I couldn’t have been prouder of myself for it, even if I was sure I’d never show it to anyone. I was embarrassed of it, to a fault, because there was a lot of ridiculousness in it, the plot was all over the place despite following the storytelling beats I’d learned through the many anime I’d watched, and eventually it evolved into something completely different from what it started out as. I sometimes allowed myself to imagine what it would be like to write a big story that I could share with people and hopefully get more than a handful of readers for... Still, I tucked my original story away safely, because even if it was embarrassing, I was proud of what I’d learned with it. So I went on with a new original story, one I was DEAD SURE I’d be a better writer for, and that I would be much more successful with.

My sister visited us during that summer, and she showed me, my other sister and my mom, a certain TV series that she had very much enjoyed despite we had never thought much of it back when it was airing. 

I’d seen a couple of episodes back in the day, but none had quite impressed me. The first episode I saw had made the show appear like some sort of lame “villain of the week” show, and the second one (I probably only caught the second half of this one) had such mixed values and morals that I was completely appalled by it and decided it wasn’t my thing. Then I, uh, also watched the final minutes of the final episode and it seemed so very melodramatic for the SCARRED GUY to ask SOME IMPRISONED GUY where his mother was, only for the show not to address the answer at all and cut to a pair of kids kissing on a balcony.

Sooooo... my very unimpressed self had decided ATLA wasn’t my thing because of The Great Divide, the Southern Raiders and the last three minutes of Sozin’s Comet: Avatar Aang :’) I’m funny that way.

This time around, watching it from scratch, I was slightly more interested in it because the first few episodes DID look like there was a coherent plot that was going somewhere. So even though my mom and other sister didn’t keep watching (at the time), I decided to watch it by myself because well, why not?

... Cut to seven years later and here I am, still neck-deep in this particular, dark corner of that specific show’s fandom. September of 2012 was when the Seyary you all know came into existence (?)

I won’t lie and say my experience in this fandom hasn’t been a damn rollercoaster in its own right. I certainly started off with WAY more enthusiasm than I have now, just look at my Author’s Notes from my first stories or Gladiator’s first chapters and read my hyped notes for yourselves :’D I definitely was caught by the magic of the Avatarverse, the characters, so much about ATLA seemed to exude potential and, after being disappointed by the popular anime of the time (*cough* SAO *cough*), ATLA (and later LOK Book 1) were a breath of fresh air for my weaboo brain that was sick and tired of some really annoying tropes anime seemed to be throwing at me left right and center (I’M SO DONE WITH THE IMOUTO FETISH TO THIS DAY, I CATEGORICALLY REFUSE TO WATCH OR READ ANY DAMN STORY WITH ANYTHING FEATURING THAT GROSS AND FUCKED-UP CONCEPT).

So I enjoyed ATLA a lot, and then LOK Book 1 (I virtually watched all of that in one day and had REALLY HIGH HOPES for the next seasons. Heh. I’ll leave that as that). And like everyone who gets hyped about fandoms, I decided I needed to look up more stuff about it! Art, fics, you name it! And while I really enjoyed LOK back then, I had thought Korra’s story would unfold in a cool way in future seasons, since all four of them (I think) had been confirmed by the time I joined the fandom... whereas I was dissatisfied and in dire need of fix-it situations for my favorite ATLA character.

I started off looking for general Azula fics. Then, as usual, I started testing ships for her. There were some ships I never saw the point to, and I shall not name them, there were some ships I saw partial potential to but I wasn’t exactly thrilled about them, so again I shall not name them...

And then one day I was scouring DeviantArt and came across the gem you all know about, which I’ve gushed over for all these seven years as the entire reason I converted to this particular ship.

Secret Kiss by Saniika can be credited, 100%, for planting the seed of Sokkla in my head. I didn’t understand it right away, why lie, but I was definitely intrigued. All other Azula ships I’d found were shipped for obvious reasons, easy enough to pinpoint even if none was all that satisfactory for me... so I was confused by this one, absolutely. Why would someone ship this ship? Why would they ship it so hard as to commission such quality artwork about them? The same commissioner’s name popped up in pretty much every single epic artwork about these two at the time, and I was completely blown away by that. To be so dedicated to a ship, to make all those artworks about a huge story about them that I couldn’t seem to find in FF.net at the time...

Cue the surprise when I actually ended up befriending said commissioner barely a few months later, and she’s hands down one of the best friends I’ve ever had :’)

Still, no need to head into that particular territory right now xD I was curious about the pairing, but I was also wary. I looked for fics, none really seemed to tell canon-compliant stories about how they could have gotten together post-ATLA... at least, not while they were still young. I looked at a few stories but nothing really hit home yet.

Back in these days, I used to go to... gosh, the cringe of just saying so, to FACEBOOK for fandom purposes of all kinds. Yeah, I know Facebook communities aren’t necessarily terrible, but I sure as fuck ended up in all the wrong ones :’) so... heh. I befriended someone who had an Avatar page, and while in conversation with him, the subject of LOK’s Pro-Bending came up. We talked about how much fun it would be for ATLA’s benders to play it. And so, a few weeks later, on a bus ride back home after meeting some high school friends, I allowed the idea to blossom further. And suddenly I was 100% caught up in it, deciding I’d have to feature Azula somehow, and I decided to try my luck at doing that by making her Sokka’s girlfriend :’D his inexplicable girlfriend, at the moment. All of it, just for shits and giggles. Because why not!

So I wrote that story, both because of that momentary bout of inspiration and because my second big original story was falling apart on me due to world-building reasons. Do NOT ever talk to me about Celtic calendars. If you do, I will block you into infinity (?). So yeah! A writer’s block caused by Celtic calendars resulted in my decision to calm down by writing something else for a change.

I had little hopes to finish Origins of Pro-Bending, simply because I didn’t write fics. Whenever I had tried to write any around those years, it had NOT gone well. I had always fallen apart after a couple of chapters, failed to keep up the momentum, fumbled the story as a whole in the end. So I decided to take this easy, and I posted it to FF.net despite not being sure I was ready for that: I hadn’t written a story in English in AGES, and you do NOT want to know what was the story in English I’d written before this. You do not. If you even ask, I WILL BLOCK YOU EVEN MORE THAN I DID WITH THE CALENDAR! *heavy breathing*

Okay, so... back to the topic, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t really expect much, because I figured not a lot of people would really care for anything I posted. But then... that view counter started to shift. The numbers kept going up, and the more chapters I posted, the more it did. The reviews also poured in, slowly at this point, and then in a certain chapter there were NO REVIEWS AT ALL. Which I considered a fail. I honestly thought it meant my story was a flop, a failure, and I should just STOP because NO ONE CARED.

... Have I ever been accused of being overly dramatic? If not, it’s only because I hide it relatively well... sometimes :’)

But I said “it’s okay, I’ll finish it. My friend wants to read it after all, and I’ll just write it so he can see it to the end. I’ll finish uploading on FF.net even if no one cares anymore, because maybe someone someday will want to read it, even if no one does now”.

... Overly dramatic Seyary then finished her story and halfway there came up with the idea for a NEW ONE! The PREQUEL! The story of how Sokka and Azula fell in love! All by listening to The Reason. And as much as I had thought I wouldn’t keep writing fics after OoPB, that idea was too powerful to ignore. So when OoPB picked up reviews and views all over again and ended with what I considered was a BANG, I said “THIS SHOW’S NOT GONNA STOP HERE!” and I went and wrote the Reason next, obsessively, literally pushing through the entire, near 100K story, in A MONTH. I honestly wrote every day. I’d NEVER done something like that :’) Granted, I was pretty constant with OoPB, but it was shorter and I wasn’t quite as psyched about it as I was with The Reason.

Honestly, The Reason is where I REALLY fell for Sokkla, for everything that it was, for everything that it could be. I had felt its potential since OoPB, and I had concluded Sokka could make Azula smile like next to no one else could... that is, if anyone else could at all. But the whole spectrum of it, the storytelling potential, the development of both characters... I hadn’t understood it yet. And by the time I did, with The Reason... wow, there really was no turning back.

So I ended up writing that, and then I wrote Break In and How They All Reacted. And in between I made a few AMVs that Viacom NICELY tore down and are no longer available for you guys. Sorry ‘bout that. I did what I could.

The thing that was getting to me most, though, (and, why lie, feeding my ego a bit too much) was looking at FF.net’s data spreadsheets, available only for each user: it wasn’t so much the number of readers, which did overwhelm me on its own right anyhow... it was the places they came from. The fact that I could see, according to this data, that people in South Africa were opening my story, in Romania, in New Zealand, in Singapore... I had allowed myself, very briefly, to imagine I would one day publish books and that they might not be complete fails, but I NEVER expected anything I wrote to be read by people who lived halfway across the world, who had entireliy different cultures from my own, who had no idea who I was but wanted to find something to read and had decided to click on my story, amongst all the many possibilities. That particular function of FF.net is probably my favorite on that site, like I said not because of the numbers but because of the places. Even if your readers aren’t outspoken or they don’t even bother favoriting, following or reviewing... they still count in ways they don’t imagine. They may just look like one more number on FF.net’s spreadsheets, but when that number is connected to a location it feels much more real, I think. As an author, that means that’s one more person, somewhere in the world, who decided to give my story a chance.

On a day of February, 2013, one such person left a review I really enjoyed and that I thanked him for profusely. In his response, he brought up that he had been watching documentaries about the Roman Empire and he had thought about an AU for ATLA where maybe Sokka was captured by the Fire Nation and turned into a gladiator, only to become Azula’s sponsored fighter later on, a fighter she’d want to sponsor merely to stave off boredom. He was bringing it up to me because he didn’t want to write it himself, and he thought maybe I would be interested in trying my hand at it since I seemed so passionate about Sokka and Azula.

At first I only thanked him for the idea, said I wanted to focus on my canon-based stories instead and I was sooooo not interested in AUs at the time...

Ahahahaha.

AHAHAHAHA.

Joke was on me the whole time.

As I’ve mentioned, I went to bed one day, about a month later, and my brain exploded with the possibilities of this story. I told this guy, he was thrilled. I told my closest fandom friends at the time, they were STOKED. One of them told me to get off my ass and start writing that ASAP. Which... I followed through with. Immediately.

It feels a bit strange to think I’ve been writing the same story for nearly 7 years now, with next to no breaks, with such persistence I barely can recognize my early 2010′s self from that. Nope, no worldbuilding nonsense stopped me here: I FIGURED THINGS OUT. I worked through it all. And then I figured it out some more.

Back when I was first scouting the fandom’s fanfiction archives (in FF.net in particular, seeing as I didn’t even have an AO3 account at the time), I remember looking at the biggest, top reviewed stories and wondering how it would feel to be the author of one of those. Most those stories had gotten started either early in the show’s run, or just earlier that same decade... nothing I did was bound to pick up that much steam, I thought, especially when I was writing about what was, by all means, a rarepair that I posted about on Tumblr to like... 8 notes per post. At best.

The first time someone sent me an ask to let me know Gladiator had made it into the first page of top reviewed fics I nearly fell over myself in shock. Admittedly, I’ve gotten used to the feeling by now... but at the time I could barely believe I’d come THAT far without really expecting or meaning to.

I’ve really dealt with a lot of nonsense alongside with the story, ups and downs, highs and lows, nasty situations just as blissful ones... people making art for my story was certainly an incredible highlight. That, as well, is something I did NOT think would ever happen to me. Unlike the top-reviewed page thing, it’s actually impossible to get used to art about your fic xD it’s always amazing.

And I’ve met people from all around the world, made friends far and wide, reached heights I didn’t think I would. I’ve said I’m much more jaded these days, it’s true enough, but that doesn’t mean I’ve lost sight of what this story means in the long run. Gladiator truly is the best story I’ve ever written, in just about every regard. Is it perfect? Have I made nothing but right decisions with it? Nah. But that doesn’t mean I’m not absolutely proud of it for what it is, for all the work I’ve poured into it, for every moment spent building that story into what it is and for how far I’ve come thanks to it.

Everything else in the decade really feels like a blur because of Gladiator, but I’ll say that I’ve as good as finished college by now (while writing Gladiator :’D), I have written all my thesis and am stuck waiting endlessly for my supervisor to goddamn answer me already to say whether I’m ready to go forward with the presentation yet and GRADUATE! But until then I’m stuck waiting on that, even if my college career is pretty much over.

As for my work experience... heh. I had two of those this decade. One... writing clickbait articles. Wow, was that shitty. I hated every second of it. I was pretty sure I was killing people by doing that, because some people are indeed gullible enough to believe the shit I was forced to write. And the pay? It was SHIT. So, as soon as I had a good excuse, I kicked that particular door shut and got out of that mess immediately. And then I got my TV station job too... which started great, and ended up being another shitty disaster. While it had some really wonderful highlights, I made friends with this senior, wonderful video editor who was endearing beyond belief, I learned a ton of things I wouldn’t have learned otherwise (like having the patience to put up with an iMac from 2009 in 2018, to name one thing!), but I also had to endure REALLY dreadful management that led me to even wonder how the damn network was even on-air half the time. The experience in that network taught me a lot about what to expect in work environments, and to NEVER trust the tried, boring and true “this place feels like a family!” claim. Half the time it’s like they don’t realize families are usually complicated, full of unpleasant power-based relationships, secrets, resentment and problems of all sorts. So sure, the workplace might be like a family. Definitely not like a GOOD family, though.

And speaking of families... I’ve developed new appreciation for mine over these years, just as I’ve grown enough to see the cracks everywhere, the problems, even all the way to realizing even an allegedly dream-like family like my own can absolutely be torn apart by miscommunication, pride, stubbornness and refusal of members to acknowledge their wrongdoings. I’ve done my best by my family despite that’s not saying much, I’m indeed a lazy butt who spends way too much time on a computer writing crazy stories rather than working around the house... but I think I’ve never felt more loved and appreciated by my parents as I have in recent times, especially this year. We’ve talked more, opened up more, they’ve even told me the story of how they fell in love (the growth of their relationship all documented through PHOTO ALBUMS!!), they’ve leaned on me in hard times and I think we’re tighter than ever.

On the downside... my grandfather died during this decade too. To this day the loss stings, even though by all means we weren’t the type of super-close grandfather and granddaughter who spend every waking moment together. But the thing is... we were so different, with so little in common, and yet that man loved me so genuinely, so unconditionally I could barely understand it. What had I ever done to be so important to him, beyond being his youngest granddaughter? I always had thought he would feel closer to other of his grandchildren, those who had more things in common with him, and yet when my grandmother died he wanted me to sit with him on the car on our way to the funeral, and just holding my hand seemed to help him gain strength to face what was coming. 

In his final moments he hardly recognized anyone, not even my dad, his son. He kept talking about his childhood home, as though he had returned to his youth and forgotten where and when he was, losing all connection with time and space. But when my dad told him I was there, visiting him... he smiled. And he called me the nickname he always used for me. To the last moment, he knew who I was. I mattered, even if I didn’t know why. When they told me he had passed away I cried, and I cried some more, and to this day I feel like crying for it still, sometimes. I will never, EVER doubt my grandfather truly loved me, and I’ll always carry that with me, no matter where the world goes. I’ve lucked out with this family, but I’d never known unconditional love like the one he always showed me. He was a special man, and losing him certainly was one of the saddest moments in this decade.

Aaalright, so, on a less emotional note... I’ve certainly improved a fuckload with my art, which you all must imagine after the glimpse at one of my earliest artworks up there. That I’ve gone from that to this...

speaks for itself, I hope :’) It’s supposed to be same characters, this one was finished earlier this month. I didn’t post it until now because I frankly didn’t expect anyone would understand what it was or care for it much x’D but it seemed the right opportunity to post it now, especially when talking about art growth.

In any case, I may still have a ton of anxiety to this day, and I definitely am not as confident in many areas as I was when the decade began, I realized I honestly don’t have all the answers and I always have to be ready to learn new things from people, no matter who it is. There’s some regards in which I haven’t progressed enough in, why lie... but I’m hoping the next decade will bring meaningful changes in that department, such as my plans to leave the country, which should come to fruition by next year around March, if all things go according to keikaku (I’ll surely have to return after 6 months, but it’s better than nothing at least). And of course, I do hope I’ll continue to grow as a writer, that all this experience with Gladiator will mean I’ll be 100% ready to write any future original stories I want to (and that I’ll be able to rewrite that specific story and move beyond the slump I fell into because of the DAMN CELTIC CALENDAR!!).

Also, just in case I didn’t get it across in other posts where I mentioned it, I revisited that old original story last year, and despite the messes and mistakes and ridiculousness of it... I love it more now than I ever did before. I’m really proud of it. I know most people cringe at everything they wrote when they were younger... I honestly can’t do anything but look back in pride. My starting point was the best one it could possibly have been.

Now, what’s my resolution for the next decade?

Finishing Gladiator

Yeah, there’s probably going to be other stuff I’ll want to do too. But for now, that shall be the priority. It won’t take just a year, it probably won’t take two... but I will absolutely see this big, chaotic baby to the last moment, and I will savor and suffer and cry and rejoice every step of the way. There is much left I want to achieve, many new objectives to conquer, and I’m going towards them with as open a mind as I can muster. May this 2020, and the years that follow, mark a new starting point that I’ll look back on with pride, just as I can do the same with where I started off in 2010.

Happy New Year to all of you who read this really long post, and I really hope you have a great year and decade, and starting point of your own, in 2020.

[dramaclover]

The Man Who Kills Troubles: Thoughts & Ending Summary

Every year TVB would release a drama that does extremely well in ratings but for some reason no one really talks about it. And sort of becomes a “forgotten drama” in a sense. It may sound confusing but I don’t know how else to explain it. It was The Unholy Alliance for 2017 and Fist Fight for 2018. It’s not like it had a bad plot or bad acting but it just wasn’t memorable. And unfortunately for this year it’ll go to this drama.

Honestly, it’s not surprising this got good ratings. It has everything that appeals to Hong Kongers. Romance, friendship, family, lost love, triads vs police, secret identity all set within the backdrop of a school. It also boasts a popular cast with Vincent Wong portraying O Sir while Natalie Tong portrays Jovy Cheung. But it was so predictable - so very predictable. I already knew what was gonna happen. There wasn’t any plot twists errr any plot twists that I didn’t catch on. The cliches were endless as well. The predictability is no joke. Right away I knew Jovys Father is gonna die, & obviously it wouldn’t be because of old age. He is the triad leader of course he’s on everyone’s hit list. Jovys brother is involved in his fathers death- not a shocker since he’s been vying for that power. O Sirs girlfriend Chloe Wong played by Kelly Cheung dies in an accidental lab explosion death - yeah right, it’s never an accident. O Sirs master, who raised him turned out to be the one that kills Chloe. Not a twist for me it’s never a stranger killing - it always has to be connected to the main character in some way. Jovy gets shot & falls into the ocean and dies - of course she’s not dead there’s 30 episodes! Linda is a doctor that turns out to have an ulterior motive in helping O Sir - well yeah, it’s not like she got bored and moved from Australia to Hong Kong out of boredom & accidentally encountered O Sir.

In the beginning it focused heavily on the school storyline. This is also where Jovy and O Sir officially meet. Jovy as a music teacher and O Sir as a gym teacher. O Sir is given the task of reviving the disbanded popular rugby team. And of course the star player is the schools typical bad boy, Wong Ko Chun that always ditches class but has a heart of gold. Oh, he also happens to be Chloe (O Sirs dead girlfriend) little brother. Ko Chun has lost his passion for rugby after his sisters death, so O Sir is the one that convinces him to return & helps him find his love for the sport again. Ko Chun is not a team player with him always wanting to hog the ball to ensure they win. The other members aren’t happy as he steals the limelight. *Insert Ko Chun learning the meaning of teamwork* (I know eh? How cheesy & predictable). The school scenes were definitely meant to be lighthearted to contrast against the mafia vs police issues. I thought this part of the story was cheesy. I did like the friendship that ends up forming though.

Then slowly, it moves into a more darker setting. Jovys Father passes away & she takes up the position as head of the company. O Sir becomes the head of security detail. Her brother Cheung Tai Bong has gone over to the dark side. Here comes the revelation of O Sirs real identity of being the fixer, Chloe’s death, Man Sir played by Jonathon Cheung becoming evil & a new villain is introduced. It’s interesting to see how it goes from an innocent school setting to something more sinister. And I wish I could say that the second part of the story was good, but it truly wasn’t. I guessed everything that happened & nothing made me shocked. It wasn’t a thriller to me at all. I didn’t end up being invested into any character. Sure, some parts were interesting but it didn’t need to be a 30 episode drama.

The love story between O Sir & Jovy wasn’t as romantic as they made it out to be. The only obstacle was O Sir, not getting over Chloe’s death. I never felt the love between O Sir & Jovy. They had a lot of cheesy, lovey dovey scenes but to me they were just cringy. I felt nothing for them. And I can’t say it’s cause Vincent & Natalie had no chemistry because they do - they were sweet together as Saving & Cherry in “My Unfair Lady”. For me, the problem lies on Jovy being too similar with his ex girlfriend Chloe. And oh boy, this drama never made us forget about it. Every time Jovy does something, it’ll flashback to Chloe doing the same thing. Both Jovy & Chloe plays the flute & studied in Australia. Chloe wanted to become a teacher, well Jovy becomes a music teacher. It’s also because of their similarities that O Sir, even rescued Jovy the first time. So to me, it just seemed like Jovy was a replacement for Chloe. I actually thought O Sir had better chemistry with Chloe. In fact, I loved the both of them together. I felt they were a better matching couple. It was because of Chloe, O Sir finally decided to stop being a fixer. It was because of Chloe he finally wanted a family. I wish they hadn’t made both characters so similar. It’ll always look like O Sir settled for Jovy cause she reminded him of Chloe. I believe this was a mistake on the writers part.

There is also a side storyline that focuses on Man Sir turning evil. And a romance he has with Ace played by Crystal Fung. Unfortunately their story fell super flat. At times I even forgot they were even a part of the drama. Their storyline was so disconnected from O Sirs. It wasn’t until the last 8 episodes did Man Sir & O Sir finally collide. I’m pretty sure if you take away Man Sirs story and just only followed O Sir, you wouldn’t be confused. Because literally they go their own separate ways. You don’t even need to know why Man Sir turned evil - you just need to root for O Sir to win. Man Sir turned evil because he found out his Father was actually a black cop the entire time & he accidentally murders someone out of self-defence. He just thought he needs to get rid of the people that knows about his Father being a bad cop to save his Fathers dignity. At first I thought the main romance was a fail but it wasn’t compared to this one. Man Sir & Ace were a total bust. Seriously they were hugely boring. And I was terribly disappointed with Ace. You knew he was turning evil, and did nothing to stop it. I thought Ace would be the voice of truth & the one that would end everything. But she didn’t do squat. She literally watched him do more and more evil deeds. And other than whining about it she didn’t do anything more. All because she was so deeply in love with him WTH. What kind of cops are they? One turns evil over a a dumb reason, another just sits by and watches. She kept her mouth shut the whole time & it wasn’t until he died that she’s like “oh by the way he’s a black cop ahaha okay byeeeee”. I could’ve done without their backstory and stupid loveline, they did not even contribute much to the story.

The ending was way too rushed. And was a clusterfuck of what the heck is going on. It was dumb cause a big part of the storyline was Man Sir trying to kill Qiao Yik Fung, who is the biggest villain on the show. You’d think since it’s so hard to kill him as evident by the amount of episodes he’s been alive, that his death would be interesting to watch. Well it wasn’t! He literally just tricked him into going to an isolated area & shot him in the head. Like seriously? That’s all it took? You couldn’t have done that 5 episodes ago? And the fact O Sir also helped you come up with that plan! This villain got killed off so quickly that it was pathetic.

After that, it was basically a showdown between Man Sir & O Sir. Man Sir causes O Sir to crash his car, and then they started to fight each other with their bare hands. Who wins? We don’t know. Like for real - they just time jumped to one month later. Before the time jump it shows them both falling to the ground head first - & then admitting to their mistakes. Man Sir confesses saying how when he had killed someone - he should’ve surrendered to the police, instead of choosing the dark road. O Sir, wishes he spent more time with Jovy. And then they both try to get up to get back to their love ones, but you know they failed. We don’t know who won. Imma consider it a tie. So the showdown was a fail. All the hype only to end up like that. And then we flash forward to a month.

Man Sir survives the fight and has turned back into a good person. He plans on leaving Hong Kong to start a new life with Ace. But he gets stabbed by Yik Fungs underling Ray & he dies. Then another month passes. O Sir, ends up surviving only to find out Jovy died from poisoning. After all that Jovy dies, the amount of times O Sir saves her & she still dies. Is O Sir cursed? Both of his girlfriend ended up dying. You know Man Sir dying made sense since he did many bad things. And justice must be served. But wait - did everyone forget? O Sir was a fixer for the triads. They use a fancy word like fixer but it basically means he’s an assassin. Triad leaders would send him a target & he has to finish them off- that’s his job. O Sir killed so many people. He didn’t even have a good reason for the killing, he did it for the money. Why is that O Sir, is still alive & living well when he killed so many? Yet his girlfriend Jovy was the one who died? What are you saying TVB? And I feel like no one even remembers all the bad things O Sir did as the fixer. They made him seem so glamorous. Who are we even rooting for? Killer #1 or killer #2? Though I want to point out Man Sir, technically only ever killed two (and one was out of self- defence), all the other victims were indirect. O Sir, on the other hand did directly kill a lot of people.

I’m not sure what to say. I can’t say it was a terrible drama. It was very fast paced, the action scenes & scenery were very nice. I just felt that the villains were dealt with too easily. Some stories were still left open. Jovys death had no impact on me - I never connected with her character. I felt more sad when Chloe died despite the fact she only appeared in a couple of flashback scenes. The ending would’ve been more impactful if Ace had died for Man Sir, and through this he reforms and confesses to all his wrong deeds & goes to jail. Cause that’s what you should do - and not run away from your past, seriously if he didn’t get stabbed, he would’ve literally gotten away with it all. O Sir should’ve been the one that died - in the end he’s an assassin! Hes the one who killed for a living. It should’ve shown his gravestone next to Chloe’s. And the ending should’ve been Jovy & her Mother reuniting with Tai Bong after he leaves prison. With the final scene of Jovy going back to being a music teacher with her class. Now that’s my ideal ending. Hmm I guess there was a plot twist. I guess I was shocked. I stand corrected the ending was not predictable. O Sir not dying is probably to keep his ending open in hopes of a sequel. To me, it was definitely a forgettable drama. It wasn’t a super waste of my time. However, I don’t see myself ever rewatching this.

[losingmymindtonight]

Ooooh - you ask me for fluff??? Have you considered TONY AND PETER WATCHING MERLIN??????? All the way from the adorkable beginning to the angsty angsty end??? Bcs I'm betting Tony would have some jokes about Merlin keeping his secret about as well as Peter does. 😂😂

I was born to write this

Today is Merlin’s 10 year anniversary! I miss my dumb boys…

Merlin spoilers ahead!

Also this… might not make any sense at all if you haven’t watched Merlin? I couldn’t really help it.

“What’re we watching, again?”

Peter plopped down beside Tony and tucked himself into the man’s side, a maneuver perfected through countless days of practice. “It’s an old BBC show called Merlin.”

“And why are we watching it?”

“Because MJ told me that if I didn’t, she’d spoil the ending.” Peter blinked up at him innocently. Tony sort of hated that it wasn’t an act. The kid really was that pure. “And because you said we could binge watch whatever I wanted.”

He had said that, to be fair.

It was Peter’s spring break, and May was out of town. At May’s request, he’d happily volunteered to have the kid over for the week. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Peter to be alone for that long, exactly…

Okay, actually, yeah. Neither he nor May trusted the kid to be alone for that long.

Could anyone blame them? He was a magnet for trouble. Tony was surprised Peter could walk five steps on the street without someone trying to detach his head from his body.

And so, in the name of what May called his “co-parental service hours,” Tony’s weekend would be spent watching a cancelled BBC show and living off of microwave popcorn and delivered pizzas.

He guessed that there were definitely worse things to be doing.

“So,” Peter maneuvered through the Netflix interface like it was a second skin. He tried not to be jealous, “give me a rundown. On what kind of journey are we about to embark?”

“It’s a show about Merlin-”

“Holy shit, I would’ve never guessed…”

“Hey!” Peter laughed, hovering the mouse over the first episode. “It’s like a ‘what if?’ story. What if Merlin and Arthur were the same age, and Merlin was Arthur’s servant instead of this wise old wizard? It’s supposed to be really good.”

I can’t wait. “Alright, kid. Let’s have at it.”

Peter hit play and tossed the remote onto the coffee table, leaning his head against the top of Tony’s chest as the first scene faded into view.

“No young man, no matter how great, can know his destiny. He cannot glimpse his part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, he must live and learn. And so it will be for the young warlock arriving at the gates of Camelot. A boy that will, in time, father the legend. His name: Merlin.” 

And, damn it, Tony could already feel himself drawing the parallels between the gangly kid on the screen and the gangly kid curled up next to him. 

Peter had no idea, did he? He couldn’t see the path that Tony saw winding further every day.

He had no idea that he was going to change the world.

He watched the Evil King character execute some random sorcerer with a weird taste in his mouth.

It felt too real, too present. Too close to what Tony imaged Ross would do to Peter if he ever got his hands on him…

He shook the thoughts away. No. This was supposed to be fun. They were binge watching a lighthearted show over the kid’s spring break. The occasion did not lend itself to thoughts like that.

He decided that he liked Gaius from the old physician’s very first scene. He voiced that thought to Peter, quietly, during a lull in the dialogue.

“Why?”

Tony shrugged. “He’s gonna suffer.”

Peter dropped his head back, craning his neck painfully, to stare up at his mentor with wide eyes. “He is?”

He chuckled, letting the sound release some of the tension from Peter’s gaze. “Of course he is. His job is to keep the reckless kid alive. It’s not easy, let me tell you.”

Peter hit Tony with a pillow, and the episode rolled on.

“Tell me, Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?”

A flare of protectiveness for his Peter-stand in flared in Tony’s chest. 

He shifted Peter a little closer, as if protecting his kid would protect the one on the screen as well. 

He decided all at once that he didn’t like Arthur. He didn’t like him even a little bit.

“He’s an asshole.”

Peter seemed unperturbed. He played with the cuff of Tony’s shirt lazily, eyes tracking the scene. “People can change, Mister Stark. You did, didn’t you?” The kid smiled his special, unburdened smile. “Give him a chance.”

It occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, he hated Arthur because the prince reminded him of an outdated version of himself.

Young, brazen, self-centered, cruel. Blind to the ways his actions could hurt and maim and kill. Following doggedly in the over-sized footsteps his father left. Driven by false arrogance, one-size-fits-all ideals, and overwhelming bitterness on his tongue.

He sighed. “Sure, kid. I’ll give Prince Asshole a chance.”

As it turned out, his forced sympathy for Arthur his deadbeat dad was a lot harder to hold onto than he thought it might be.

This Merlin character really knew how to look like a kicked puppy.

“I’m not a monster, am I?”

“Don’t ever think that.”

Tony tightened his grip around Peter’s back at the same moment the teenager shifted to cling tighter.

He wanted to tell the kid that Gaius was right, and that Prince Asshole was wrong. He wanted to tell him that Merlin wasn’t a monster. That nobody could help who they were, and that it wasn’t anything to be ashamed of.

He wanted to tell Peter that he wasn’t a monster, a freak, a mistake. He wanted to make sure he knew that Tony would tear down anyone who said otherwise.

Instead, he just smoothed a hand through Peter’s bangs and hoped he could feel it through the solidity of their half-embrace.

“If you can’t tell me, no one can.”

The first season fell away along with the daylight.

He watched Merlin, who he had to repetitively remind himself was not Peter, stumble through a million different mistakes. He watched him drink some poison (stupid), harbor some fugitive child right under the Evil King’s nose (stupid), and offer up his life in exchange for Prince Asshole’s (stupidstupidstupid).

It felt like every turn the character took made him want to smash his head into the nearest wall. Repetitively.

(On the other hand, Prince Asshole was slowly, and painfully, growing on him. Not that he was ready to admit that to Peter, of course.)

The final episode of the season faded into credits, and Tony wordlessly flicked off the TV.

“Hey.” The kid’s protest might have held more weight if his eyes weren’t closed and the words weren’t soft with sleepiness. “One more.”

Tony made sure to keep his voice low and soothing, carding his fingers through the kid’s mess of curls. “You won’t even concentrate on it.”

“Will too.”

“Oh?” He turned the screen back on, slyly lowering the volume and hitting play on the next episode. “Okay then, buddy. Whatever you say.”

Peter’s breaths had evened out before the opening sequence could finish.

That night, Tony decided that sleeping on the couch was way underrated.

There wasn’t even a question of what they’d be doing the next morning. He sent Peter wordlessly to shower, ordered a couple of pizzas, and hit play the moment that the kid was re-situated on the couch, wet curls soaking into the front of his t-shirt.

At some point in the middle of the season, during an episode about a witchfinder, he let out an involuntary groan.

It was almost like this kid didn’t want to keep his magic a secret. At the very least, it seemed like he jumped at nearly every opportunity to reveal himself.

Peter flickered his eyes away from the screen and gave Tony a questioning look. “What?”

He rolled his eyes. “Merlin’s about as good at keeping his secret as you are at keeping yours.”

“That’s not true!” Peter’s glare just made him look younger. Tony nearly laughed at the way his face scrunched up. “Barely anybody knows I’m Spider-Man!”

“I figured it out, kid.”

“You’re you-”

“Ned.”

“To be fair, I didn’t know he was-”

“MJ.”

“She’s terrifyingly observant-”

“May.”

“She walked in on me!”

“Sure thing, kiddo.” Tony ruffled his hair playfully. “Why don’t you just shout it from the rooftops, huh? Might be a little more efficient, that way.”

Peter blinked, then huffed, physically turning away from Tony and fixing his eyes back on the screen. It was a clear dismissal, despite the fact that didn’t move away from the warmth of his mentor’s side.

The second season’s finale went to credits, and Peter stalled Tony’s hand before he could switch off the TV.

“C’mon, Mister Stark! We could totally watch the next season! It’ll only take, like, a few more hours.”

“Your idea of ‘a few more hours’ is actually about 8 hours, kiddo.”

“And?”

“You need sleep.”

“We’ve stayed up later in the lab.”

“On accident.”

“So?”

He tried his best to mimic May’s I am an adult and you will listen to me voice. “No, Peter.”

He kid blinked up at him imploringly. “Please.”

(The third season was good.)

They watched the two part series finale on Tuesday morning. 

And, frankly, Tony wasn’t sure what he’d expected. But it sure as hell wasn’t… that.

“Just, just, just… just hold me. Please.”

Peter curled himself around Tony with a little whine. He rubbed the kid’s back comfortingly, gaze still transfixed on the screen. “No. He’s not supposed to die, Mister Stark. He’s supposed to live. He’s-He’s the Once and Future King. What about Albion? What about Merlin?”

He wondered if he could sue the BBC for making his kid cry.

“There’s something I want to say…”

“You’re not going to say goodbye.”

“No. Merlin. Everything you’ve done. I know now. For me, for Camelot. For the kingdom you helped me build…”

“You’d have done it without me.”

“Maybe. I want to say… something I’ve never said to you before. Thank you.”

He watched the character die with a weird feeling in his chest.

He’d never been one for sentiment in general, and certainly not for fictional characters. But… something about Merlin and Arthur had made him think of Peter and himself.

Peter’s voice was small. “Merlin would’ve trade places with him.”

Tony’s answer came so quickly that it surprised him. “Arthur would never want him to.”

You ever try trading places with me, kid, and I’ll kill you my damn self.

“But what’s the point?” There were undercurrents to Peter’s tone that told Tony they weren’t just talking about the show anymore. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one drawing parallels. “If I were Merlin, I’d rather die than live without Arthur.”

He tried not to hear the implicit I’d rather die than live without you in the kid’s words.

“Someone always dies first, kiddo. That’s just life.”

Peter buried his face into Tony’s shirt, sniffling a little. “Yeah, well, I don’t like it.”

He set a gentle hand on the back of his head, shielding him from the screen, the daylight, the world.

“I don’t like this ending, either.”

Tony took a deep breath, focusing on the way his ribs pressed into Peter’s at the apex. “If it makes you feel any better, kiddo, neither do I.”

He’d pondered his death a lot. Once, he’d thought towards it with a perverted sense of lust. 

But Pepper, Rhodey, Peter had changed that. Now, he just felt a peaceful acceptance. He wouldn’t go rushing to his grave but, when the time came, he couldn’t see himself reeling against it, either.

But for the first time, he thought about Peter.

If everything went the way it naturally should, he would die long before the kid.

He’d get to die, and Peter would have to keep living.

His parents’ deaths still left a hollow ache in his chest. He missed his mother with every single breath.

Is that what he’d be doing to Peter, when he died? Leaving him damaged irreparably? Dooming him to a life of sewing up his tattered grief?

He swallowed, hard, and shook his head.

Peter would be okay, because he’d prepare Peter. He’d give him everything he needed to do more than just survive once he and May were both gone.

He was going to make sure Peter thrived.

And he’d do everything he could not to leave the kid like Arthur left Merlin, or like his mother left him. Not violently, not suddenly, not in the heart of some blood-stained tragedy.

He’d linger, if he could. He’d grow old (something he used to shudder at the thought of). He’d give the kid’s kids too much sugar and poke him with his cane and complain about the technology Peter would incorporate into his newest invention to shroud the pride.

As he watched the final credits role over the dark screen, Tony Stark decided that he hated tragedies.

He also decided that he wouldn’t let his own life become one.

[megamanxfanfics]

The End of Season V

Happy Independence Day!!!!  Season V is finally Finished!!!!!

As we close out this last arc, I wanted to make some final thoughts, before I say goodbye to X5 forever!

----------------------------------Ep. 13--------------------------------------------

I said just about everything I want to say about this one already. [See previous entry] The only thing I’ll say is that it was really hard to keep any of the original narrative without making X & Zero’s relationship irreparable.

----------------------------------Ep. 14------------------------------------------

This was interesting!  Having a true Aftermath episode, after years of wondering what I might write next.

X needed to recover, and the world needed.. rediscovering on our part.  We know that the World was heavily damaged from X5 and the X6 intro, but we never get to explore just how much, from the games.

I had some fun exploring this through some final Dynamo continuity and of course, I took advantage of this with some final Gate continuity.  In Dynamo’s case, he won!  This is it!!  He got everything he wanted.  But now he’s left with this empty feeling inside.  ‘Now what...’

As for Gate, he’s just happy he’s alive and surprised at Isoc for keeping that mysterious barrier tech from Serges.  [The irony of this statement is not lost on me.]  There is a lot more that Isoc knows, that he isn’t letting on.  Gate remembers that Isoc liked to dumpster dive for parts after a fortress would be destroyed in the past.  We saw this in Xtreme 2.  That is why he suspects nothing of Isoc having X-Hunter tech.  Moreover, now they can continue to rebuild his reploids and take over the Research Community.  By force!

I love how at this point, everyone wants to reshape the World.  Not so much, Dynamo.  He just wants to enjoy it.  But Gate & Isoc have the Elite Reploid vision. We find out Zero’s motivations later.  And X, we know wants a World where reploids and humans co-exist in peace; this would later be called Elysium.

Back at Hunter Base, while X is asleep and recovering, I had a.. tough time dealing with Alia and the Rescued Reploids.  A little bit of Pre-X6 spilled in here, but the dialogue was all over the place.  I had Reploids reacting very aggressively, or Alia being too bossy and I recall having to edit it down a lot.  I attempted to keep the reactions as real as possible, because absolute strangers wouldn’t just automatically volunteer to be Maverick Hunters.  No matter how grateful they are for being rescued, they don’t owe you anything.

When we cut back to Zero, I had a blast writing him fly through the Zero Space 1 level.  There is no threat, and as far as Sigma is concerned, he is Home.  So of course there would be no lasers, firing at him.  But then I saw an opportunity at the boss lair that I couldn’t pass up.  This gave me a new writing motif for Ep. 15.

Back to X, he’s back up!  And sooner than expected!!  This was the first time I had to write an item-grab episode.  And honestly, it was kinda fun!  This part of it woke the episode up a little bit.  It was fun to write nostalgic settings like, Adler’s Lab and Dr. Glow’s Fortress.  It was also neat to explore X’s new Gaea Armor in a more peaceful way.  As we slowly warm up to the idea that X can traverse through spikes and bash through unbreakable blocks, like a Mech.

I had to give us some kind of stakes at the end of X’s item grab mission, in Dino-Rex’s well.  X reverts to his base armor and tests out the Speedster chip, as he needs it to grab a heart-tank before lava can hit him.

That was fun.  But then, when X got home it got complicated.  The job well done was short-lived, before he was introduced to the new recruits BY NAME.  [Yes, I spent some time looking up usable names from the X6 Rescued Reploid list.]  That conversation itself, reminded X of Zero which makes him cry...  Then, it got weird.  Emotions were a little all over the place, so I edited it as needed, but Signas was the saving grace here.  He introduced the idea that X might not need to kill Zero, but just save him.  The same way he did in X2.

Either way, X is nervous, but he goes in after Zero to finish what he's started.

---------------------------------Ep. 15----------------------------------------------

This was an awesome episode, that covered more ground than I thought it would.  X explores all of Zero Space Stage 1, with all the bells and whistles.  Lasers and mechaniloids are flying after him left and right.  X needs to use the Dark Hold and go in his base form, because the Gaea Armor is too slow.  [This caused enough of problem IRL when I was doing my research playthroughs.]

But once X got to the first boss, I had fun.  I took us back to 2 hours ago, while X was sleeping.  This is where Zero tore up the Shadow Devil like he was nothing.  And due to his clear knowledge of crammed Megaman History, he knows exactly who the Shadow Devil is, and it’s legacy to Wily Creatures.

When X learns that Zero destroyed this creature, he is instantly optimistic that he can bring Zero back, but Alia warns him not to feel that way.

Then we stay in the past with Zero for Z-Space Stage 2.  [At this point all the Mavericks were spawned by Sigma and Zero cleared them all, so for X these stages were a breeze, barring the first one, where Zero wasn’t a threat to Sigma yet.]  Despite Zero having to deal with Mavericks, this was not your average stage direction play through.  Zero had all these game breaking powers that I could use to my advantage and keep things interesting, and I did!

I really wanted X to fight the Rangda Bangda though.  So I came up with something for Zero to get through the room.  Sigma just introduces himself in that room and taunts him, letting him through.  “Welcome home, boy! I'm gonna enjoy working with you...”

Meanwhile, X deals with SIgma’s death trap.  Only, the Gaea Armor easily lets him get through it without too much trouble at all.

From Zero’s perspective, we find out a lot of his motivations and realize that he gets more and more tired every time he uses his God-Virus powers.  With a final flight to the gate, he is exhausted and all of the fighting he's done with X, the Shadow Devil and the mechaniloids up until now has finally taken it’s toll on him.  As he enters an empty room, Zero is confused, but also takes this moment to rest.

Meanwhile, X catches up to him, about 2 hours later.  Zero has now gotten a nap in, and the two are locked in the room together.

-----------------------------------Ep. 16-------------------------------------------------

The fated duel was upon us again!

The whole point of Battle of 2 Fates in the first place, was to skip this part.  But years later, my narrative has changed, and here we were.

I decided to turn it on it’s head though.  By this point, my version of Awakened Zero was really starting to come into his own.  He has revealed that this is His life and he is going to do what he wants.  The Old Man doesn’t control him, and neither do the Maverick Hunters.  And Sigma is still his target.

2 out of 3 ain’t bad.  X just has to work on that last part and maybe they can salvage this friendship.  Minus the whole controlling thing.

So Zero tells X this.  He has his own dreams.  Zero wants to live in a World where he rules over the survivors and guides them into a new era where the word Maverick doesn’t exist.

While, not terrible, this is too impure for X.  There’s still something evil lurking in there, and now his data is untraceable like Sigma.  It doesn't help that Zero wants to make the Fallen Colony his home and is willing to align with whomever survives, Maverick or not.

It is not only for this reason that X decides to take him on.  He does want to save Zero.  Like I said, 2 out of the 3 things are there.  If he can just do what he did in Season II, maybe it’ll all work out.

Well... that move never gets to happen.

I had a lot of fun making new fight choreography for this.  I pulled out all the stops, this time.  I even kept old fight choreography from the remainder of Battle of 2 Fates, but in all honesty, it wasn’t much.  And what was kept was already shaved down into something completely different.

So with that said, I really went for it.  Charged X4 & X5 weapons alike, using that Ultimate Buster chip like Alia & Douglas suggested in episode 14.  It was all happening, now.  And then... it was over!

11 pages too soon, too!

But fuck it.  I didn't need to pad this.  And I wasn’t going to cram and rush 2 Sigma fights in this chapter either.

I really enjoyed having Sigma enter the room after the battle was done. This happens in the game, but what also happens canonically is that he inexplicably LEAVES THEM when he HAS THEM.  He could’ve killed them right there, while they’re both comatose on the ground.  Or taken them in for re-programming.  And that is what I opted for.

Since Xtreme 2, I’ve really been thinking, what would Sigma do if he actually won.  And I’ve been honestly thinking that he’d keep X & Zero around, but in his own image.  Maverick Minions to do his bidding.  An Awakened Zero and a Maverick iX.  That would be his dream team.

----------------------------------Episode 17--------------------------------------------

And here in Episode 17, I finally got to explore this!

I didn’t want to cheapen the stuff that comes later, but I really needed to show us that this plan wasn’t going to work.  Despite the fact that he HAD them!!!

Sigma uses his virus specters to enter into their pores.  It works with Zero, even giving him some final breaths of life, but it does not work with X.  In fact, he has some mysterious barrier, protecting him from any infection.

This frustrates Sigma, who reveals that he just wants to make him iX.

From there, X wakes up and I’m not gonna write the whole episode again. lol

We get our much deserved fight, but keep in mind X has not recovered yet from his insane battle with Zero.  And he’s already used one Sub-tank.

So now X is going in, half-drained and with 1 Sub-tank!?  Yeah, that’s a death wish.

Still. I worked with it.  It took away the Ultimate Buster Chip advantage, explaining that Sigma removed any chip enhancers he already had.  Armors are internal, however.  Sigma wasn’t able to get in there [clearly].

I’m really proud of the Gaea Armor fight.  Specifically the “Predict this!” bit with the Giga Attack.

Using the 2nd Sub-tank during Sigma 1 was risky, but necessary.  X was now fully recovered, while Sigma was down, and he easily transformed into his Force Armor to discover Sigma’s weakness - the Tri-Thunder.

Once that was in play, this fight was practically in the bag.  Still, I needed a dramatic finish with the charged Tri-Thunder.  A Force Armor Nova Strike was in there, too, which only makes the stakes more desperate, because those moves really kill X’s stamina.

Now in Sigma Fight 2, it was hard to keep this interesting.  Dialogue, aside, X’s fight with him is a lot of back and forth, pattern memorizing, shoot the giant head nonsense.

I kept this up, however and even had fun with Sigma climbing over his shoulder, and shooting him at close range with the Spike Ball.  I also enjoyed how he used the radar one last time to find out his weaknesses.

But when I had enough, and narratively, when X was angry enough, he was able to transform into his Ultimate Armor with a hard Nova Strike to the face.  This does not kill him, but it definitely dwindled his energy way down for like, 5 more hits.  [I didn’t count.]

And theeeeen, I finally got to add in a line I created for Zero, basically at the beginning planning stages.  Zero makes a surprise Z-Buster shot, indicating that he is indeed alive, and still on X’s side, or at least.. his friend.  To the very end.

“Some things... go beyond our programing...”

I’ve had that line forever and now I finally got to use it!

X needed a final cool thing, besides just a Nova Strike, so I shoe-horned in this new attack, which is basically an Uppercutting Nova Strike.

The idea was that the hadouken evolved into the shuryuken, which evolved into the Hyper Aura, which evolved into the Nova Strike.  But now this was like a combination attack.  A blue flamed uppercutting Nova Strike type thing.  There is no name for it, because I made it up.  I probably won't use it again, either.  [But never say never...]

And there it is.  Sigma died, and we got our endings.

I owe TheGreatClement, from YouTube a huge thank you for already putting this together in his LP years ago.  I would’ve done the same thing, but his compilation made it so much easier to throw this together.

Then came inserting the bad ending.

1 Week Later, X forgets stuff.  And he HATES Zero!

I had to change that.  This was a challenge.  I didn’t want X to get mind-wiped at all by Dr. Light.  But now... I have room for gray area in X6...  So I compromised with the non-canon.  If X6 must indeed be a combined scenario of Good and Bad ending.  And in X6 he does indeed remember Zero fondly...  Then, I needed Dr. Light to mind-wipe something else.  “...all the Painful Memories.”  The painful memories of fighting Zero, himself.  [Whether that includes Season II or not, is up in the air.]

But as Alia explains, there’s a ‘Protection’ on X’s memory data now.  He can’t remember anything related to the Colony.  I went a step further to say that he remembers Zero destroying it, and then fighting Sigma together with him.  That’s it.  And even that memory is hazy, because Zero’s legs were missing during that fight.

So now, we have a firm compromise.  X can remember all the best parts of their history.  He can remember palling around at the base, and their proudest feelings together on good missions.  He still has his Best Friend in his heart.

The 2nd part of the bad ending doesn’t deal with this as much.  It introduces the idea of Elysium, which is just the name of the idea he has already had since X1.  But now he wants a Paradise.  His idea is fully formed, rather than.. a hopeful philosophy, I suppose.  If X gets his way, he will Do this!  They have a broken world they have to rebuild, but first they need to rebuild their base.

Also, before I leave this part, I need to mention something irritating.  I chose... X6 Reploid names, specifically to replace “Hunter A” and “Hunter B” in the ending.  Specifically, Araki & Batsu.  Those were the names.  I placed them both in this scene, and it felt great.  (At first.)

Then when I got to the good ending, I gave names for those 3 cooler ones that he talks to. Iso, Cody and Tekk.

I could’ve left it at that, but from here, I decided to look at the X6 sprites of Rescued Reploids, including Hunter 1 and 2 from the intro stage, and assigned more names.  When I looked at what these guys actually looked like, and compared it with those I have chosen, Hanse & Hal just stuck out like a sore thumb.

The fact that there were only 2 reploids rescued from Dr. Glow’s fortress cemented this decision.  They were gonna be the only true Yellow Reploids that are rescued from X5.  And therefore...  Araki & Batsu, the true Hunter A and Hunter B had to be replaced with Hanse & Hal, due to just being cooler and getting better designs.

It’s not the biggest thing in the World, but it’s just weird how planning works out sometimes.  It’s my own hangup, I know, and it might not make sense, but there it is.

ANYWAY.

Then the good ending kicks in, 2 weeks later.

[I really wanted to put 3 weeks later, but that 1st week with the bad stuff had to happen.]

X stands with Iso, Cody and Tekk as Alia lets them know that there is a new Mechaniloid in HORIE block, or whatever.

This scene will be expanded on in X6, and this isn’t the place for it, but you can only imagine what HORIE Block is.  - That’s right.  The intro stage to X6.

I already alluded to 2 other Hunters being in trouble - Data and Batsu, so there ya go.  [Yay, Hunter B is in there after all.]

But more to the point, we get our Good X5 Ending.  With X gripping the familiar saber in hand, and feeling stronger than ever, knowing that Zero is still with him.

---------------------------------tl;dr-----------------------------------------------------

My final thoughts on X5.  I really hate that game, man.  X4 was so solid, and honestly... if the text-based cut scenes were anime cut scenes, that would already do a World of Difference for me.  But gameplay mechanics wise, the introduction to the wire hook was interesting and the duck was necessary.  But otherwise... I dunno.  Some enemies were too strong, I hated the boss level up system, and the timed mission - while different, set a whole different tone for the game.  Gone was the chill exploring, even though you could go wherever you wanted to.  Alia would reprimand you if you were in an area that you didn’t belong in yet.

Still, the things that I like are that you are not really fighting Mavericks here, but instead visiting Reploids who could be infected, or in one way or another have a grudge with you.

And it’s those things, plus the prior Zero motivations that carried me through this Season.  Zero hating on the Repliforce turned into an evil ugly monster that threatened to ruin his friendship with X.

Also, Dynamo was a class act.  Not quite, Deadpool 4th wall breaking, but fun enough to really add life in places that were already tense and nerve-wracking.

Gate & Isoc’s sub-plot was pretty neat.  It turns out I had a little more for Gate to do than just brood in his own trailer.  I didn’t think Isoc would interact with him as much as he did, at first.

Showing a vulnerable Sigma whose dreams are falling apart before his final battle with X was risky, but one worth taking in my opinion.  Despite all these games, I feel like I don’t show him enough, so it was nice to delve into his thoughts a little bit.

And lastly, of course - the 3rd Arc roll call.

Ep. 13 - An Epic Battle written in 2011, revised into something even better in 2019.

Ep. 14 - An awesome aftermath episode that explores the damage to the world and it’s effect on Dynamo, Gate, Isoc, Sigma, Zero and X, who must recover items before he takes on Zero again.

Ep. 15 - Zero Space was crazy!  Zero fought way more than X, although, X did go through Stage 1 the hard way and they both fought the same amount of bosses.

Ep. 16 - An Epic Rematch!  Probably even better than Ep. 13.  That’d be a fun debate.

Ep. 17 - The Climactic Ending.  It’s all come down to X vs. Sigma, again, but the battle brings surprises to all of them.  When it’s all said and done, the Maverick Hunters are ready to move forward and rebuild.

And that’s all he wrote, folks.

There will be a Season Vi. Yes, I will be taking a break. But yes, you will be getting updates.

Until then, I hope you enjoyed Season V. Despite hating that game, I enjoyed writing more of this Season than you’d think.  There’s a lot more in there that I didn’t touch upon, I’m sure.  But anyway, you get the gist.

Later folks and as always.  Thank you for Reading.

[that-shamrock-vibe]

TV Review: The Flash (Spoilers)

Season 5, Episode 9: Elseworlds - Part 1

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the day the episode becomes available to stream online so if you haven’t seen it yet or are waiting for the entire crossover to air before watching then don’t read on until you have done that.

Overview:

I cannot tell you how much I got a kick out of this episode. I have not done any TV reviews for a while because of my university commitments but I did partially review Crisis on Earth-X last year and wanted to review this crossover because of what is promised but also because it’s the big superhero event on the small screen. I love an elseworlds story in any genre and show/movie that I watch, I love it when they do parallel worlds and alternate realities, I love it when they have dream worlds and any situation or story where the characters we know and love are portrayed differently. This wasn’t exactly that, but it was still so good. I loved the comedy, the Easter Eggs, the callbacks to previous seasons and the change in dynamic, but also I LOVED the new additions to the Arrowverse and will be talking about them down below.

Freaky Sunday:

So I was going to call this a Freaky Friday before thinking it would be funnier to say Freaky Monday but then realized this episode would have aired yesterday so am calling it a Freaky Sunday. Anyway the movie I am parodying is referenced by Barry because of the situation that he and Oliver find themselves in at the start of this episode.

At the very start of this episode we have that same clip that played at the end of Supergirl, Arrow and The Flash last week, so this is now the fourth time I saw it, which shows John Wesley Shipp’s Flash who he portrayed nearly 30 years ago struggling over a warzone of Easter-Eggs, I mean dead heroes, and speeding away from a weird man with a destiny changing book. This man is called The Monitor and I will talk about him when he is focused on more.

Fortunately this isn’t all of the opening scene otherwise I would have been very annoyed and the rest is Oliver waking up in Barry’s bed with Barry’s wife Iris calling him for breakfast. Oliver is now Barry Allen and has his life including speed, wife, friends and most likely job. The interesting thing is even though this an obvious re-written reality, the same storylines that have been happening in all seasons are still going on. So Oliver has just got out of prison, joined the SCPD as a vigilante and now finds himself as Barry Allen the Scarlet Speedster of Central City. It was funny watching him grasp this realization and to be fair to Stephen Amell he does allow himself to have some much needed fun this episode after all the doom and gloom he has been through this season.

However, because he’s new to the speedster game, he almost screws up in thwarting a robbery attack on Ivo Laboratories. Whether or not this new reality created Ivo Laboratories in Central City or not isn’t confirmed but this is a place that has never been mentioned in previous episodes.

Regardless, despite giving the wrong vigilante line before stopping the bad guys, he does stop them with an impressive trick shot of his lightning throw. How he knew how to do that without guidance is a mystery but I digress. Also for any comic-book fan that knows Ivo is a reference to Professor Anthony Ivo, they’ll know the robot Oliver’s lightning bolt accidentally hits.

But then we arrive at S.T.A.R. Labs, which has not changed, and Oliver is scanned for abnormalities I’m presuming because his takedown of the bad guys was unlike Barry’s normal quality, yet to all the brilliant minds in that room, as well as Iris and Ralph, no one can deduce that Oliver is not Barry. Oliver and Barry are the only two on their Earth that seem to not have had their memories affected by this altered reality...so naturally Oliver goes to find Barry to try and make sense of the situation.

We then cut to Star City and Barry seems to have woken up in the middle of a sparring match with Diggle at ARGUS. I have to say, I am slightly confused about John’s position at ARGUS, I know Lyla is the director but does that make John the Deputy or Acting Director as Lyla never really seems to be there?

Anyway, Dig thinks Barry is Oliver and Barry knows he is Barry but when he discovers his body has been changed by this altered reality due to his tattoos, he too suspects something is up. However there isn’t time to contemplate this fully like Oliver did because he is told to suit up as Green Arrow is needed on an ARGUS mission...Green Arrow who was almost arrested last week for being an active vigilante before joining the police force as their agent is suddenly allowed to join ARGUS in a mission...logic!

As with Oliver, Barry takes to his new vigilante fighting skills rather well, possibly because the basis of vigilantism is training in fighting and coordination, but after subduing the threat he and Diggle are sped away by Oliver. Diggle throwing up after speeding is still funny but just seems like it is in there as a cheap Easter Egg.

Somehow ditching Diggle, Oliver and Barry go to the disused Arrowcave which made a return last week and while Oliver has his serious face on trying to understand their current predicament, Barry is weightlifting up that old bar pole that my sister used to get a kick out of every time Oliver used it...Barry has used that pole before and with super speed so has done it better than how he is doing it now so why he was so happy with it I don’t know.

I did like how Oliver was trying to get Barry to be serious because it is very telling of the tone the two shows have. Arrow has always been rather dark and like a Batman story whereas The Flash has always been more like a Marvel Movie or Superman pre-DCEU. However on this point I have to say I was on Oliver’s side because the situation is these two are currently not themselves and Oliver wants his life back, funnily enough after Oliver lets slip he woke up with Iris that morning Barry gets his serious face on.

This early mid-section of the episode is where I lose a lot of respect for Team Flash because they know of the multiverse, time travel and Flashpoint yet they don’t quite grasp the fact that maybe something happened to change reality so that Barry is now Oliver and Oliver is now Barry...none of them, you have a biochemist, a mechanical engineer, two detectives and a journalist yet no one has the perception to even conceive that what two people they know rather well is telling them is a possibility?

Also, when this is all over and fixed and Oliver is Oliver and Barry is Barry, Iris needs to sit down with Oliver and talk out their differences because I did not know Iris had this much dislike for Oliver. I can’t even call it dislike because she must like him on some level, I mean she openly admitted to fancying either him as Oliver or the Green Arrow during the Invasion! crossover but here, because of what has happened to Oliver recently, she cannot seem to get her head around loving Barry as Oliver because the Oliver she knows who in actual reality is at this point her Barry is a man of pain and vengeance. I do like how this is picked up with the two guys later but I’m getting ahead of myself. Iris needs to sort herself out.

Because of Iris distrusting this situation she drugs the man she supposedly loves while Ralph knocks out the man he believes is Oliver and they are locked in a cell in the Pipeline. I love the fact that because they’re not really catching Metahumans of the week anymore these crossovers are really the only time we see the inside of these cells.

I love how Barry and Oliver interact in this episode and the prison scene is one of my favourites because they have to play to each-other’s strengths due to the fact they have each-other’s abilities. Barry dislocating his thumb was hilarious not just because of how it looked but also because Oliver was so blahzay in telling him to do it just like it was a walk in the park. “Just break your thumb, your body has been conditioned by Anatoly in this reality so you can do it”. Also Oliver’s reaction to actually seeing a broken thumb was slightly bizarre because surely he would have seen his own thumb before. Oliver phasing through the door was slightly overkill because he hasn’t found the breaks on his speed yet, also why was everyone so confused by phasing in this episode? It’s a cool power to have, it can get you out of prison cells, or stop a plane from crashing into buildings. One thing I didn’t understand is Barry said the cell was designed to dampen powers so how was Oliver able to phase?

Anyway regardless of continuity errors they escape and plan to use the only interdimensional extrapolater they have left, despite Sherloque breaking it I’m guessing they fixed it, to go to Earth Thirty-Eight to get Kara’s help. Iris apparently predicts this and beats them to getting the extrapolater...incase anyone isn’t paying attention I don’t like Iris in this episode, I don’t know why but something about her just seems off.

Barry however finally manages to get through to his wife by recalling a memory only they would know and finishing it off by calling her his lightning rod, which he told Oliver to call her and he called stupid, and agree I agree with him. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for sentiment but I never understood the lightning rod metaphor. I guess it’s how lightning conducts to the rod as an analogy for how Barry would always return to Iris but it just never sat right with me. It does with Iris though and she gives Barry the extrapolater and they go to Earth-38.

I laughed with joy at this moment and this scene because entering Earth-38 the episode has Remy Zero’s “Save Me”, also known as the Smallville theme song playing over it. Anyone who keeps up to date with behind the scenes gossip knows they were using the Kent Farm from Smallville as the Kent Farm for Earth-38′s Smallville but with the theme song playing and I think even the tractor is the same. Although on Riverdale last week they also used the Kent Farm in another capacity so maybe the CW, which broadcasts all the DC shows and Riverdale like that set, I know I do. It’s such a feel-good nostalgia trip seeing it. Also that song, I just love it!

We are reacquanted with Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent and, despite not appearing in Season 3 of Supergirl he did easily slide back into the role. I mentioned in my first reaction to seeing Tyler Hoechlin as Superman that I was won over by the acting and look just the choices taken by costuming threw me. Here we see more of Clark Kent then we do Superman and for me it works. However my biggest issue right now is if they are trying to make out as if this Superman is the same one we saw the origin story for during Smallville played there by Tom Welling. With the theme song playing and the same farm being used it does seem that way. I would be very happy if ti wasn’t as that would obviously mean this Supergirl is the same that Laura Vandervoot portrayed and her Kara was more evolved as a superhero than this Kara.

Also, we meet this Earth’s Lois Lane, portrayed by Elizabeth Tulloch. I like her as Lois Lane, I think she has the same level of drive and bite as Erica Durance and Teri Hatcher did in the role and isn’t as wet and dull as Amy Adams. Interestingly enough when it comes to Superman mythos, the small screen seems to get right what the movies get wrong.

Kara is visiting her cousin after being fired from the D.E.O. and is debating whether or not she should have revealed her identity to Clark looking I guess for justification in her decision, Clark obviously tells her she did the right thing because secret identities are there to keep loved ones safe and that is obviously the right thing to do.

Barry and Oliver arrive giving Lois a fright but it seems whatever alternate reality was put in place only affected Earth-1 because Kara still knows them as themselves. Barry and Oliver are formally introduced to Superman at both are a little bit starstruck but handle it in different ways fitting their characters.

Then when it comes to Barry and Oliver training as each other, Barry has to target practice while Oliver runs at him being a moving target.

The only issue with this setup is while is it is done to make an excellent callback to when Oliver trained Barry, Oliver still thinks he is training Barry here and gets very offended when Barry doesn’t take playing him seriously.

Lois is great in this scene as the impartial spectator and calls it how she sees it calling Oliver a dick. Hilarious.

Barry and Oliver then have a heart-to-heart and discover that in order to be each-other they need to embody what makes each other work as vigilantes, Barry is very light-hearted and positive whereas Oliver is very grounded and serious. So for Barry to be the Green Arrow effectively he needs to be grounded and serious while Oliver being The Flash needs to be upbeat. As I said before I love the meta referencing of how the two shows and characters are so different from each other yet exist in the same space, then Kara comes along who is a bit of both, it’s the trinity right here. DC’s original Trinity of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman has been made DOA thanks to the movies so the small-screen has a new trinity of Green Arrow, Flash and Supergirl.

Cisco arrives and tells the group that they need to come back to stop A.M.A.Z.O. and both Kara and Clark tag along for the ride, with Cisco finally meeting Superman.

Ambushing A.M.A.Z.O:

Back on Earth-1 and sure enough A.M.A.Z.O. makes his debut as these crossover events need badly CG’d robots in them. A.M.A.Z.O. as his comic-book counterpart does, is a robot who mimics powers so as he battles he just gets stronger. Here this is done through displaying symbols of each person mimicked on his chest...the only issue with this is while I understand Killer Frost’s symbol I do not get Vibe’s.

After having their asses handed to them, Cisco decides they need Oliver and Barry, but Iris says she let them go due to believing their story and Cisco goes along with it going to Earth-38 to get them. Whether or not the extrapolator knew where Kara was and so ported Oliver and Barry there is one thing but how did Cisco know where they were? I guess he vibed them but it is never shown.

After returning with Barry, Oliver, Kara and Clark what follows is an amazing battle and it’s only the first part of the crossover. Okay yes the CG on A.M.A.Z.O. is shoddy but so was the CG on Red Tornado and Metallo last year, here the focus is really on Barry and Oliver working as Green Arrow and Flash respectively.

They figure out a plan that includes the Super-Cousins as they are used essentially as battering rams to hold A.M.A.Z.O. in place, I am just thrilled to finally see at least 2 members of the original Justice League working side-by-side, I know Martian Manhunter is coming up most likely in the Supergirl part so I cannot wait for that.

Team Flash acquire a virus that would destroy A.M.A.Z.O. because turning him off manually has been made impossible. In order to install the virus, Barry had to shoot the virus at A.M.A.Z.O. but to make sure he couldn’t phase it through, Oliver had to counteract his phasing. So you had Barry waiting for the right shot while the other three held him in place. They succeed and, after a familiar line from the Green Arrow, A.M.A.Z.O. is no more.

Future Repercussions:

This part got me excited, this was Iris, coming round to the idea that Barry is actually Barry, and warning him not to turn into Oliver. Again the girl has some sort of issue with Oliver being dark and miserable all the time and while Barry is playing Green Arrow for the moment, doesn’t want him to become Oliver.

This got me thinking, what if the events of this crossover have a lasting effect on the future of the Arrowverse? What if by learning how to be each other’s vigilante personas, both Barry and Oliver are changed when they return to their respective personas? I would love this crossover to make that possible as I feel it would make both series’ more compelling going forward.

Preluding the Bat:

So at the end of the episode, Cisco mentions a scattered vibe he had earlier in the episode of this mysterious figure who we know as The Monitor. Again I won’t go into much detail here because we are not given much as is but the vibe shows him with this lecturer John Deagan who he gave this all powerful reality writing book to and caused the events of this crossover.

While no one else really knows who the men are, Oliver spotted a key fact as to where they are, a Wayne Enterprises building...tomorrow’s Part 2 episode will bring about Gotham City and more importantly Batwoman who is seen atop a rooftop from a far distance but it is definitely her. I cannot wait!

Easter-Eggs:

So many Easter-Eggs and this is only episode 1. We see a barrage of dead heroes in that opening scene, these include Captain Cold, either Jesse Quick or Speedy, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, The Ray and a Green Arrow who is in the Green Arrow suit used in Smallville.

Smallville is an Easter-Egg cache of itself here due to that cameo plus the theme song and the farm all being used, most likely just fan-service but I loved it.

I don’t really want to rate the separate parts of the crossover and will rate the whole thing at the end of the event but I think this is a great start to the crossover and I cannot wait for Part 2.

So that’s my review of Elseworlds - Part 1, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more DC TV Reviews and well as other TV Reviews and posts.