#i never thought a hero would ever come my way. (dr. sung)

[afroggycollective]

Ilia's most prized possession next to Iggy, her drawing of her and Dr. Sung.

[anthologyoflucas]

Tag dump: Ilia 2

family ties; I never thought a hero // would ever come my way. [Dr. Sung & Ilia]

Family ties; Through whoever you’ll be // Through whatever you’ll lose // You will always have me. [Andersonresidence & Ilia]

otp; I couldn't ever dream what has happened to me // A friend to the end who listens to me! [Andersonresidence (Mayson) & Ilia]

[i-hate-liking-batman]

⭐️10 Characters, 10 Fandoms, 10 Tags⭐️

I was tagged by @just-an-enby-lemon which I can't see on the actual post which I blame tumbr but I was curious to see who I prioritize! The order I do these characters in probably isn't listed in the most to least favorite but they will be top 10 characters!

1. Percy Jackson- The Lightning Thief

YES I am the simpleton who likes main characters but in my defense they were made to be liked!!! This is not my fault. I loved his humor and the way he cared for his friends and the series is still my favorite book series!!!

2. Asagiri Gen- Dr. Stone

YOU GUYS! I'm so obsessed with this man I bought a figure!!! I'm a sucker for people who seem suspicious but are good people and Gen is just so cool! I love him literally using psychological tactics so they can save the day! The manga has ended and I'm devastated but the new anime season is coming this January so I'm looking forward to that!!! (I have soooo many Gen pics I've saved that I had to look through)

3. Reigen Arataka- Mob Psycho 100

THIS MAN IS SO GOOD. HE'S BEEN MY FAVORITE EVER SINCE HE DID HIS STUPID "HYPNOSIS PUNCH"!!! WHAT A LEGEND. Honestly he's such a dad and collects espers like currency as he BS's his way through life. I love him so much and I wrote a fic for this fandom and he is definitely in it because I love him. It's almost done too! Had a 5k writing session and now I just have to edit this monster and I'm done!!!

4. Suzuki Iruma- Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun

THIS MANGA IS SO UNDERRATED AND IT IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE ONE!!! I have a hard time picking my favorite character in this manga so main character it is. He's a good boy and I love him learning how to have dreams. I don't like the anime as much as the manga, but I highly reccomend both!!! Season 3 is coming this October and I'm soooo ready!!!!

5. Sung Hyunjae- The S-Classes that I Raised

GUYS. THIS MAN IS SO GOOD. Not like in a moral sense but I love him. I loved him even before he was handsome through art because the novel gives him so much great content. He's literally so gay for the main character I was genuinely confused if the author was going to have them end up together. He's such a little shit but he's funny and that's all I need from him. Also can confirm that he's pretty, which is also a plus.

6. Howard Link- D.Grayman

This was a huge battle between Allen and LINK but Link has slowly crept into my heart and taken it hostage. He's a complicated character who you can't tell is going to side with at times, but he does his best even if his decisions are wrong and he trusts the wrong people. Also. He's pretty. I'm a sucker for pretty people i'll be truthful here.

7. Hulk- Avengers Earth's Mighest Heroes

A lot of people haven't seen this version of the animated avengers show, and that's devastating! Usually Spider-Man is my favorite Marvel character overall but this show really put my love for the Hulk on max. The entire show was a gem, but I loved the interactions Bruce and Hulk had in this show. They had a deal. Hulk would be out, and Hulk would do good. He wanted freedom but he was used to not getting it and had trouble trusting people. HULK WASN'T JUST MUSCLE. He had his own thoughts and feelings. Anyways watch this show.

8. Billy Batson(Captain Marvel)- DC

I didn't really choose a specific place for where Billy is my favorite character, but he is for sure my favorite! Second place is Dick Grayson because he's Damian's dad BUT ANYWAY. I loved his bright view on the world and the way he kept to his morals. They've changed him a bit from that first impression, but it'll always be my favorite. I also loved the Shazam movie so I guess I'm not too picky lol. He's a good kid and I think he should just not be found out by the Justice League and they can just be confused as Batman tries to figure out why Captain Marvel thinks it's fine to talk like a 10/14 year old.

9. Phoenix Wright- Ace Attorney

I have never actually played this game but I watched a playthrough through the first one and just got the rest of my knowledge from fanfic lol. But he's a fun quirky guy who means well and I like that about him! Also he's totally in love with Miles Edgeworth so they should really just get married.

10. Kozume Kenma- Haikyu

I love this anime to bits and this man had my heart from the start. Suga is number two but Kenma is the ultimate favorite. My best friend painted me a haikyu poster with him as the center and I love it to bits. I love his friendship with Hinata and I just think he's neat!

This was a lot of fun but I started blanking around for favorite characters around number 8 whoops!!! I either went for pretty obscure or well known so there isn't any in between whoops! I can't tag many people bc I have no courage so here is some (you don't have to if you don't want to!) @irumaismybaby @alyss-spazz-penedo @humangerbil @mostlyinconvenient

[ask-the-crimson-king]

Music Shill of the Day

[YOU HAVE BEEN BAMBOOZLED IT’S AN ENTIRE FUCKING ALBUM THAT I’M SHILLING MOTHERFUCKERS.

This album is called Epitaph and it is by Pyramaze and GOOD FUCKING LORD do I love this. 

It was released on November 13th, and I have been listening to it practically non-stop ever since. Since I’ve given it a few days to settle in my brain, I am now doing a full shill for it. 

TL;DR SINCE I’M ADDING A CUT! Album slaps and y’all should go listen to it. It’s power metal (of course), very intense and emotional/uplifting sort. Best songs (in my opinion) are basically all of them. They are all good.

But if I did have to choose a top 3, it’d be:

>Steal My Crown >Final Hour >Particle or Indestructible

BUT ONTO the very rambly and more song-specific shilling.

I’m going to take this song-by-song and also link the full playlist here (youtube link, the album is also on spotify) because you can only have four videos per post and I don’t want to flood people with this thing. 

Also fair disclaimer for people who understand music; I don’t, I just enjoy this shit enough to try and share it with others. So if this sounds like a five year old trying to explain music, I’m sorry. I just am like that.

Also also disclaimer that not all of the songs have lyrics that I can find, so for some (if I posted lyrics) they are what I can decipher.

ANYWAY.

Epitaph on its own is a very beautiful sounding instrumental. It feels quiet, a little somber, but also uplifting. After going through it a few times, I can hear bits and pieces of the other songs on the album, which is a neat touch. And then it ends and smoothly transitions into A Stroke of Magic. Now, I’ve already done a shill for A Stroke of Magic, however the song, even weeks later,

STILL SLAPS. 

I love it. It is definitely a shift from Epitaph with its intensity, but it still carries over some of the instrumental into the song. I love the lyrics, I love the musicality of it, I love everything. It is one of the slower, more... forceful, if that makes any sense, songs on the album. It feels like something is slowly building and building as the song goes on, and this intensity carries into Steal My Crown. 

Steal My Crown is an absolute banger. I love it for so many reasons. I love how it opens, I love its riffs, I love how the lyrics are sung, it just is an absolute BANGER of a song. I love it so very much. It is also a bit of a slower and forceful song, but it still has that more signature intensity I’ve come to associate with these guys. 

The verses contrasting with how the chorus is sung is something I’m a sucker for. Especially with the guitars and synths hyping up the chorus and adding to this wonderful buildup. It makes the chorus sound even more powerful and amazing. I absolutely LOVE THIS SHIT. It is AMAZING.

Also love how the song ends. Just. It’s so good, guys. It’s so fucking good.

And now we come to Knights in Shining Armour.

Or, as I know it, 

“THE D&D SONG!”

Knights in shining armour, On a quest for power, Taking charge of things you'll never know. To raise the name of glory, Is bloody mandatory, If you want to end this puppet show! Knights in shining armour, Embittered by the hour. Taking charge of things you'll never see. But the road is long and torturous, Paved with steady progress, To bring this villain to his knees!

Classic D&D, anyway. It has that jaunty adventurer feel to it, and the chorus is just. It’s D&D. It is simply D&D. It’s fucking great. It is a nice lil jaunt. Don’t have much more to say, it is just a very enjoyable listen.

Bird of Prey is next. It’s maybe the weakest song on the album. I do not hate it, nor do I dislike it greatly. This entire album is amazing and absolutely slaps. However this one just feels like a song I’d hear while watching a trailer for a romcom or some sort of superhero movie with a romance b-plot for the hero. It’s not as particularly amazing as the other songs, but it’s far from horrible. Nice lil song to listen to.

Your Last Call is interesting. It’s intro is a bit different, a bit choppy, but it still definitely works for the song. That choppiness carries over throughout the song and it fits. Very nice to listen to. This one is also a bit weak on the album, but it’s still a nice song. 

AND now we come to Particle.

LET’S TALK ABOUT P A R T I C L E.

I'm chasing every particle of you, I don't wanna fight no more. But I can't believe it, I'm following your shadow's out the door. Calling out your name, but I know, I'm easily deceived and alone!  

First off, love it. Love love love it. It has a similar style and feel to Steal My Crown with that intense opening and then a more subdued verse that begins to lead into a very powerful chorus. Plus it has that little choppiness in it. 

The pre-chorus leading into the chorus just gets you ready for it to just... explode. AND IT FUCKIN DOES.

AND IT SLAPS.

And then it gives you some time to try and catch your breath before it punches you in the face again. But it’s still just... amazing. Wonderful. 

Also the lyrical content is grand and I enjoy it immensely even if it is maybe potentially a love song? Not sure completely. Still love the song anyway. 

I’m gonna be 100 with you okay.

Seeing this next song’s title I thought it may have been a cover.

It is not.

INDESTRUCTIBLE STILL FUCKING SLAPS SO DAMN HARD THOUGH.

I don’t know what we’re fighting for, Why are we trying to die so young? We are in-de, We are in-de. I don’t know what we’re fighting for, Why are we trying to die so young? We are in-de, -structible in life.

It is intense. It has that buildup. It has a great chorus. It has everything I praised the last few songs for. 

Its pacing does feel a bit different to that of Particle or Steal my Crown, but that’s part of why I still think it slaps. It just. Slaps. THE WHOLE ALBUM FUCKING SLAPS OKAY-

Alright so Transcendence.

It has a guest singer! She has a nice voice to listen to. I’m not a fan of femenine singers personally, but I like her voice.

The song itself, it feels... more somber, more like the title track than some of the other songs. Of course it has that signature intensity, but it also feels just...

Can’t really describe it. Slower. Calmer. Like a bit of a breath, for the last leg of the journey. 

Anyway.

Final Hour.

Uh.

Feels.

First of all, it just jumps right into the song. Not much of an intro before the lyrics begin. I like that. And the rythym of it is nice to listen to. 

And then the chorus...

Oh honey.

In our final hour, When the times are rough. We were sworn together, Last chance -- it's now or never! In our final hour, For the greater good. One man, of fifty million, In our sense of brilliance.

(Don’t feel too confident about those last two lines to be honest).

Fuck man. I just. Undescribable love for this song. Its entire feel of it just makes me feel kinda sad. This has a similar feel to Heroes (of Dundee) by Gloryhammer. I can’t catch all of the lyrics, and I can very well be wrong, but it feels like it has a similar theme. Of a sort of inevitability that something huge is about to happen.

Warriors are about to go off and potentially sacrifice themselves to save lives. 

A bit heavy, but I love it. 

Anyway. From something a little heavy, we get to World Forgone.

Aka something even MORE heavy. If I’m reading the lyrics correctly, it’s a song referencing how the world is becoming polluted, and how it’s dying. 

Mournful. Depressing. That somber feeling is back. Still a really good song.

And now.

We come to the end. A 12-minute song called The Time Traveler.

And GOOD FUCK I WOULD LOVE LYRICS BECAUSE THIS SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY COOL STORY IF I AM HEARING THIS CORRECTLY.

May do a Bonus Shill for this song in particular when the lyrics are released. 

This song features two guests in it, and I will say the guest singer kinda reminded me of Fabio Lione. However I haven’t heard much of that guy’s stuff outside of the song he did with Ancient Bards. 

(The guests are Lance & Matt King)

This is a very nice way to end the album. There’s talk of timelines, of maybe a sorcerer or warlock who is gaining power/succumbing to darkness. I say maybe cause THERE ARE NOT LYRICS OUT YET. I would LOVE them. I will do another shill when they come out.

SAME FOR THE OTHER SONGS WITHOUT LYRICS. Damn it. 

Anyway, this is a very good song, of course it is. The pacing of it doesn’t make it feel like you’re listening for eternity, which is something I appreciate. 

But I suppose that’s all I have to say. This post is long enough. 

THIS ALBUM SLAPS. LISTEN TO IT. ITS GOOD.]

[odeuteros-blog]

                --------------------- deutero- ;

                                                               second; secondary: //; (  deu·ter·ag·o·nist :  the person second in importance to the protagonist in a drama. )

           hey what up i’ve got stats homework im neglecting !!

    * slaps the roof of this post * this bad boy can fit so much useless fucking info in it ( including my ooc intro but like , ) 

     ----- alrighty lets rock & roll buckaroos i’m linx, i’ve been on this earth two decades too long,,, and i’m in the est. canada baby. i’m super excited to write w/ y’all and i haven’t written an oc in ten years so bear w/ me & my word vomit yea?

mattias eriksson was born and raised ( for the most part)  in an itty bitty tiny fishing village in iceland. by itty bitty we’re talking a population of about 300 ( pretty much based off suðureyri ). he was the middle child in a family that was ( now looking back ) at most times insufferable.

there’s tragedy somewhere in there. before he was capable of remembering anything. his parents sung praises when it came to his older brother but time reveals all truths. or at least articles and news clippings do.  he’s four ( give or take ) when his brother is ‘ murdered ‘ by a super-human. he’s about fifteen when he puts the pieces together ( his brother wasn’t savagely murdered - on the contrary - he antagonized and harassed the ability harnessing girl until it boiled over & blew up in his face. all too literally. ) finally, he’s nineteen when he gets the FUCK out of there. 

plenty happens in the in-between. he’s raised in an intolerant household. anyone who wasn’t STRICTLY human was an abomination, a curse, a plague upon this earth. his parents constantly spitting venom when it came to the loss of their firstborn son // while matti, conflicted, found it hard to mourn for a man he hardly knew. his focus much more so on his younger sister - who was, well, alive. there. real. 

from a young age, he thrived on challenge. puzzles. anything to exercise the brain. there was always a better way to do something. he was often scolded for sticking his nose where it didn’t need to be - in adult business. eventually having enough of being chased off - he branched out. made some friends. two, in particular, stood out. a brother and sister ;  patrek and magnea. in time the trio was inseperable. 

eventually, a strain showed itself. patrek didn’t fit the strict /human/ criteria that mattias’ had grown up on - but time healed wounds, and his had barely been there. he couldn’t carry his parent’s grief. couldn’t pin that on his friend. but patrek’s secret wasn’t his to keep and it came out - with it came an unspoken ultimatum ; cut his ties with his friends or suffer the consequences with his family. the choice was fairly clear, though no less painful.

knowing there was nothing there for him in his hometown, except a life of fishing, it was time to take leave. the siblings aspired for more just as he did & so the three parted with their respective homes. no goodbyes. no notes. mattias leaves while his parents are at work - his biggest regret to this day is never saying goodbye to his sister. if they knew, he’d never have been able to leave. he needed the headstart. 

like something out of a film, patrek aspired to do more with his abilities and so begun mattias’ life as the man behind the scenes. finally able to stick his nose in ‘ adult business ‘. it was a bit campy - but it was exciting. they lived a life on the road, constantly moving. helping where they could. mattias learned his way around technology, being hands on where he could. however, he never wished for the limelight. did not want to be on the spread of a newspaper. he just wanted to help his friends. there was some petty theft on their part ( you had to eat and sometimes money was short ) but they managed to stay on the straight and narrow. this lasted for three years.

something had to go awry eventually. he’s too close to the scene, catches an injury that initially looked, not horrible. a scar would become a permanent fixture on his skin - but he’d survive. --------- until infection sets in. until it blossoms into something their petty medical skills can’t cover. maybe slapping some bandages and medical tape on it & calling it a day hadn’t been such a good idea. they were still kids ---- and they’d fucked up. 

their hand is forced. petrek and magnea drop him off at the nearest hospital - welcome to crystalline city - and have no choice but to continue on their way less their reputation should precede them and they get caught up with law enforcement. sometimes it was just easier to be ‘ the man behind the scenes ‘. 

one hefty hospital bill later and he’s now resident in crystalline - much, MUCH, larger than where he’d originated. there’s some forgery on his part and plenty of loans and he eventually lands himself an apartment with the bare minimum. it’s a lot at twenty-two with an education that is scarce on paper - but he’s worldly & where there’s a will, there’s a way.

you can’t say he doesn’t have drive. it takes some time to scout out a job but he’s not above some begging and pleading if he has to ( he wants to keep that roof above his head somehow ). haggis tech is his beacon of hope and saving grace * finger guns to the real MVP harriet haggis. perhaps there was embellishing on his part - a resume and interview really was just about selling ones self - but he knew he had what it took to back it up - and nothing he’d ever done thus far was out of malintent. eventually ( more like somehow ) he lands on the radar of the harriet haggis and finds himself as a trainee. godspeed. 

TL ; DR or the simplified summary

he’s just happy to be here.

on an emo note ; the type of person to feel lonely in a room full of people. would rather shy away from large crowds. 

perpetually homesick even though his family / save for his sister / were assholes. they were still his mom and dad. also probably a little heartbroken because the likelihood of them ever looking for him or putting out a missing person notice is slim to nothing and he knows it - probably checked. shit was just too :/ rough. the relationships were kind of shot.

probably checks in on their online activity - discreetly though. like a window into their lives. it’s probably the part of his life he keeps tight-lipped about. partly ashamed and partly hurt. 

& his friends kind of up and left him in the city so that adds to that sweet sweet homesick feeling. since that was his last tie. 

probably also overcoming his conflicted feelings about people with abilities. it’s more like having to correct a negative thought. he knows it's not true - but he can’t help but feel it upon first meeting. oh they’re inherently dangerous. but like ?? he sees heroes all the time. 

wanted/ideas for connections !!

give me that replacement for his little sibling. someone he dotes on. just let him fill ONE void in his life. 

someone who he’s just like ?? attached himself to. something about them makes him feel better. the kind of relationship where he’s put himself on their doorstep waiting for them to come home. he’s that friend who spends more time at your house than their own. he’s pretty solitary but this is like the one person(s) that he likes to just have occupied space?? like they don’t even have to be doing anything - just the presence alone is enough - listen im jsut trying to fill this sense of loneliness in his life don’t @ me. if you want to spice things up this person can be a villain / someone he probably shouldn’t be associating himself with. 

honestly im an angst hoe too so like throw anything angsty at me - enemies, friends to enemies idc. 

friends are fine

GIVE ME A BICKERING. oof i love a good hate/love. 

rivals

someone he might be trying to steer back onto the right path of life idk i mean he’s not squeaky clean but like out of villainy ?? that shits wack.

 he’s my dumb son and i LOVE HIM. sk;ld also my dumbass doesn’t have discord but if you want to plot my IMs are open just like ??? know me and plotting have a rocky relationship. 

[cutepresea]

3-2 Kimono Rumble: A World Without Wielders

Again, sorry for the spam.

If you want to blacklist these, you can use either the tag #kimono rumble for just this event, or #xdu event scripts for all these posts in general.

Reminder that these are copied straight from XD Unlimited itself, so any grammatical weirdness, mistranslations, and/or mischaracterizations are not my doing.

Chris Yukine: "Here we are. Another day, another world."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Nothing seems too different."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Yeah. Are we really in a parallel world?"

Chris Yukine: "That's usually how it is. If you take a good look, you'll find plenty of differences."

Chris Yukine: (I didn't think they'd send three of us to investigate.)

Genjuro Kazanari: "There was an alert from Gjallarhorn this morning. I'm sorry, but I'll need you to investigate it."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Sure! You can count on us!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Please let us go."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Shirabe-kun, Kirika-kun, I understand that you're enthusiastic, but--"

Maria: "You two..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "We both want to lend everyone a hand."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "We want to do whatever we can to help. As wielders... and as comrades."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I see. But neither of you have much experience in parallel worlds. You'll need another wielder with you."

Elfnein: "I agree. Investigating parallel worlds brings with it many unknowns, along with difficult battles."

Elfnein: "We have dealt with Karma Noise and other powerful Noise in the past, so being in a team of three is a must."

Maria: "Then I'll--"

Kirika Akatsuki: "You should come along with us, Chris-senpai!"

Chris Yukine: "S-Sure..."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "We would really appreciate it."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Yeah, yeah! Come with us!"

Chris Yukine: "W-Well, if you really want me to..."

Maria: "Shirabe... Kirika?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "That settles it. You three will lead the investigation."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Roger."

Kirika Akatsuki: "All right!"

Chris Yukine: "Understood."

Chris Yukine: "But why me? Poor Maria looked like she was about to cry..." [1]

Kirika Akatsuki: "We want her to rest a little. She's been on missions for so long now, and she hasn't had any time to rest."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "And besides, Maria is too kind to us."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Yeah. We can't help but let her spoil us. We have to get stronger so we can support her when the time comes."

Chris Yukine: "I see. So you chose me as your most dependable senior then."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Maria is good friends with Tsubasa-san, and Hibiki-san has Miku-san..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "I figured you that you were probably pretty lonely by yourself, Chris-senpai." [2]

Chris Yukine: "Well excuse me for living by myself!"

Chris Yukine: "Hey, is that the Noise?!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "We have to hurry!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "I knew it was them!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Where are the wielders in this world?!"

Chris Yukine: "I guess we'll have to deal with the Noise ourselves!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Yup!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Wait, there's someone over there!"

Chris Yukine: "He's being protected by the Self Defense Force."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Maybe he's some kind of VIP? Looks like he's wearing a white co--"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Hm?! Something doesn't feel right here."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "You, too? I'm getting goosebumps."

Chris Yukine: "I don't feel anything... Anyway, let's go help them!"

Soldier A: "They're defeating the Noise..."

Soldier B: "Who are those girls?"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Looks like this area's clear of Noise."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Not a problem for us seasoned wielders!"

Chris Yukine: "That level of Noise was never going to be an issue, anyhow."

Chris Yukine: "So, who are you guys?"

Soldier A: "W-We're soldiers from the Self Defense Force. We appreciate your help, but who are YOU?"

Chris Yukine: "We're..."

Chris Yukine: "Hey, what do you think we should call ourselves?"

Kirika Akatsuki: "W-W-Wait a minute! How would I know?!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Umm, we're part of S.O.N.G.-- No, I mean Special Disaster Response Team Section--"

Soldier B: "Special Disaster what now? I don't know any civilian organization that goes by that name."

Chris Yukine: "What?! H-Hey! What's going on here?!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "You mean there's no Section 2?!"

Soldier A: "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Soldier B: "They seem fishy to me. Maybe we should restrain--"

Chris Yukine: "Hold on! There's nothing fishy about us!"

Soldier B: "That's what a fishy person would say. Now stand still while we restrain you."

???: "That is enough!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Whaaaa?! Brrrrrr!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "That voice... It's making all the hairs on my body stand up."

Dr. Ver: "We owe these girls our lives! They are true heroes!"

Dr. Ver: "You will follow my orders, and put down your weapons."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "The Doctor?!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "A-Anyone but him!"

Dr. Ver: "You can relax. I must say, your battle prowess was something to behold."

Chris Yukine: "S-Sure..."

Dr. Ver: "Oh? What's wrong? Why are you moving so far away?"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Get away!"

Dr. Ver: "Was there something I did to make you hate me? Why must you treat me so coldly?"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "I'm sorry, but I...need a little more time to process this."

Dr. Ver: "Huh? Well no matter. Just take your time."

Dr. Ver: "Anyway, how about a little self-introduction. I am the world's leading researcher of relics, Dr. Ver!"

Dr. Ver: "Those things you girls were wielding earlier, they have to be the relics themselves, surely!"

Chris Yukine: "I mean, yeah, but..."

Dr. Ver: "So my eyes didn't deceive me! There is a technology which activates and wields relics. Fascinating!"

Dr. Ver: "But even more fascinating are those songs you sung in battle. Tell me all about their power! Don't be shy!"

Chris Yukine: "H-Hey, slow down there! Don't you come near me!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "So we don't exist in this world."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Not only that, there might not be Symphogears, either. Section 2 doesn't exist, after all."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "But that overeager pushiness... That's exactly like the Doctor we knew."

Dr. Ver: "Wonderful... Just wonderful! Show me more! Tell me more! Come on, don't be shy!"

Chris Yukine: "Oh, geez! Fine! Just calm down a little!"

Dr. Ver: "My god... I never would have thought that parallel worlds existed. Let alone Symphogears or the Sakurai Theory."

Dr. Ver: "It seems that your world is much more developed in relic research compared to mine."

Chris Yukine: "You don't have any wielders here?"

Dr. Ver: "None. At least, none that my esteemed self is aware of, anyhow."

Dr. Ver: "But to think that relics respond to song... How splendid! How incredibly romantic!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "What I want to know is how you guys deal with the Noise without the wielders of Section 2?"

Dr. Ver: "It's just like you saw earlier. The US Military and Japanese SDF work in tandem to deal with them."

Dr. Ver: "However strong the Noise may be, we aren't helpless. Although I can't say we're very effective either."

Dr. Ver: "Except ever since the incident the other day, we've been witnessing abnormalities."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Abnormalities?"

Chris Yukine: "Just what happened in that incident--"

Kirika Akatsuki: "What is that alarm?! A cup noodle timer?!"

Dr. Ver: "No, some Noise appeared. Didn't think they would return so quickly..."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "The Noise!"

Chris Yukine: "Where are they located?!"

Dr. Ver: "Do you really want to go?"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Of course!"

Dr. Ver: "My goodness... My eyes truly weren't mistaken. You girls are just the finest, bravest heroes I've ever--"

Chris Yukine: "Yeah yeah yeah, just tell us where the damn Noise are already!"

Dr. Ver: "I-I understand... Then let me guide you there."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "But why, Doctor?"

Kirika Akatsuki: "It's too dangerous."

Dr. Ver: "My overwhelming curiosity must be quenched! I simply must see you fight up close and personal!"

Dr. Ver: "Wonderful... Just wonderful! Such exquisite displays of battle prowess!"

Chris Yukine: "That's kind how it goes with our Symphogears."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "They're designed specifically to defeat the Noise."

Kirika Akatsuki: "This amount of Noise is a walk in the park for us!"

Dr. Ver: "Hehe... Wonderful, just wonderful..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Ugh... I feel sick..."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "I know he looks the same, but he's a different person, Kiri-chan."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Yeah, I know that, but... Ugh."

Chris Yukine: "So, about that abnormality you mentioned earlier?"

Dr. Ver: "Recently among the Noise, there have been specimen that appear quite different from the rest."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "That black cat looked like it was a hurry." [3]

Chris Yukine: "Who cares about some cat? So what do these weird Noise look--?"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Hm? More Noise?"

Dr. Ver: "No way, is that--?!"

Chris Yukine: "Heh! It's just some Noise! I'll finish this easy!"

Chris Yukine: "What?! My attack didn't work?!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "It cut her bullets in half!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "I don't believe it..."

Chris Yukine: "Dammit! How about you try this on for size?!”

Chris Yukine: "You've gotta be kidding me! Even that got sliced in half?"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Diiiiiiiie!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "I'm joining in!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Aah!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Aaaaah!"

Chris Yukine: "Hey! Don't trip over nothing!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "We just got a bit careless, that's all! Let's go, Shirabe!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Okay!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: (We tripped over nothing? Something isn't right here...)

Kirika Akatsuki: "Our attacks aren't even making a scratch!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "It's seeing right through all of our attacks."

Chris Yukine: "You cheeky little--! I'll get you!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Chris! You can't go alone!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "The both of you need to calm down!"

Chris Yukine: "Guh! Watch out!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Whoa! We're gonna crash!"

Chris Yukine: "I'm trying to dodge here! Get out of the way!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Now you're just talking crazy!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Look! It's going to attack!"

Chris Yukine: "Aaaah! What?! H-Hold on!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "How?! It cut through my attack like it was nothing!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Stand back!"

Chris Yukine: "Tch... Now we know this isn't some ordinary Noise. Time to go all in!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "You got it!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Roger!"

Chris Yukine: "What is this thing?!”

Kirika Akatsuki: "It's deflecting all our attacks..."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "It's not just that. Unlike the regular Noise, it's watching our movements."

Chris Yukine: "You know, I feel like I've seen this thing's movement before."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "I was just thinking the same."

Kirika Akatsuki: "I don't have any pals that move like that!"

Chris Yukine: "Guess we've gotta get this tricky bastard with one big attack!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "And it's not even a Karma Noise..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Time for a fully powered attack!"

Chris Yukine: "Don't stop now! Keep pushing!"

Chris Yukine: "All right!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "We managed to take it down..."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "But I'm exhausted..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Hm? What is this?"

Chris Yukine: "What the? It doesn't look like a Noise fragment."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "But it came from where that Noise vanished. It must be related in some way."

Dr. Ver: "Thank you all for such a wonderful display. I feel I saw every aspect of your power!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Great, now I feel sick again..."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Pull yourself together, Kiri-chan."

Dr. Ver: "Oh? Looks like the SDF and US Military finally arrived. They certainly took their sweet time..."

Soldier: "Doctor! What happened to the Noise here?!"

Dr. Ver: "Those girls cleared them all out! And they didn't leave a single straggler, might I add!"

Soldier: "Huh? You mean those girls in the strange outfits?"

Dr. Ver: "How rude! Can't you tell how wondrous this is?! This is precisely why I hate the uncultured!"

Soldier: "S-Sorry, Doctor!"

Dr. Ver: "Whatever. Everything's fine here, so explain the situation to your unit, and return to base. We're done here."

Soldier: "I-I see..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "They're giving us funny looks."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "It's like they don't believe we defeated the Noise."

Chris Yukine: "Don't pay them any mind. They're free to choose whether to believe it or not."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Chris-senpai even didn't retort back at them."

Kirika Akatsuki: "We're going to see flying pigs at this rate!"

Chris Yukine: "Oh, I get it. So that's how you two see me."

Kirika Akatsuki: "N-Not at all. That was just a figure of speech, like a joke, that's all."

Dr. Ver: "Hehe. You three get along wonderfully well; precisely how a relationship between senpai and kohai should be."

Chris Yukine: "You've got it all mixed up. I'm the senior here! What makes you think I'm their kohai?!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "She's letting this whole senpai thing get to her head."

Kirika Akatsuki: "You can say that again."

Dr. Ver: "I mean, they didn't see you fighting, so it's natural for them to doubt your abilities."

Chris Yukine: "By the way, that Noise from earlier is the abnormality you mentioned, isn't it?" Is it all over now?"

Dr. Ver: "It's not quite that simple. There's more than one of those Noise."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "There are more?"

Dr. Ver: "Yes, there are."

Kirika Akatsuki: "We barely beat one of them with the three of us teaming up. How many more are there?"

Dr. Ver: "Well... There is likely a few dozen more at least."

Chris Yukine: "A few dozen?!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "No way..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "That can't be right! How's that possible?!"

Dr. Ver: "That Noise absorbs relic fragments. I calculated that number based on the number of fragments that exist."

Chris Yukine: "Fragments? Wait, like the one from earlier!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "You mean this?"

Dr. Ver: "My god... It's exactly as I thought."

Dr. Ver: "This is a fragment of Muramasa."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Muramasa?"

Dr. Ver: "Sorry for making you come all the way here. I thought it would be better to explain on-site."

Chris Yukine: "On-site? What do you mean?"

Dr. Ver: "This shrine is where a Muramasa blade was housed."

Dr. Ver; "They are cursed blades, crafted by the blacksmith Muramasa Sengo."

Kirika Akatsuki: "C-Cursed blades?"

Dr. Ver: "Yes. They may not have as deep a history as other relics, but they are said to have cursed the Tokugawa family."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "I've heard the name before, but I didn't know they were cursed..."

Dr. Ver: "They indeed embody a powerful curse, and the Muramasa enshrined here was the very first ever made."

Dr. Ver: "It is a bona fide cursed blade that has taken who knows how many lives."

Dr. Ver: "It brings misfortune to anyone or anything that comes near it."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Misfortune... Could it be that we felt sick in battle because of the blade?"

Dr. Ver: "It must be. In fact, those who have touched it directly have all been struck with some kind of misfortune."

Kirika Akatsuki: "That's one scary sword..."

Chris Yukine: "D-Don't be scared of it. It's just some curse..."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "So how does the Muramasa effect the Noise?" [4]

Dr. Ver: "I do not know. But right after a failed activation experiment, those special Noise started appearing."

Kirika Akatsuki: "You tried to activate a relic? What were you thinking?!"

Dr. Ver: "I was against it! But those barbaric government imbeciles got greedy and forced the Muramasa's activation!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "And then the activation failed, causing it to shatter?"

Dr. Ver: "Yes. Muramasa went berserk, and then shattered instantly as a result."

Dr. Ver: "The shattered fragments scattered over a vast area. If they had only let me handle the experiment!"

Dr. Ver: "Ahem. But I digress. The Noise that were affected by Muramasa--the ones with Muramasa fragments--"

Dr. Ver: "We call them Warrior Noise."

Dr. Ver: "We had no way to deal with them. We either fled, or waited for them to carbonize their victims--"

Dr. Ver: "--But now thanks to you all, we have a ray of hope! You are true--"

Kirika Akatsuki: "True what?"

Dr. Ver: "No, it's too early to say. Anyway, that is what happened in this world."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "You know, there's something about that Noise's name..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Like, I get it, but it's pretty cliché if you ask me."

Dr. Ver: "That was something the higher-ups decided on. At the end of the day, they make all the decisions."

Chris Yukine: "So these Warrior Noise were affected by Muramasa, making them stronger?"

Dr. Ver: "Yes. There are no other possible causes I can think of."

Chris Yukine: "You know, I think we've found the abnormality we're looking for."

Kirika Akatsuki: "No doubt about it!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "I agree."

Dr. Ver: "I hate to ask this knowing full well that you're visitors from a parallel world, but would you help us?"

Chris Yukine: "Sure. That's why we're here in the first place."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Yeah! Our mission is to resolve that abnormality!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "It's ultimately our problem, too."

Dr. Ver: "Thank you so much! I knew I could count on you all! Hehe..."

Note:

[1] Chris doesn't use others' names outside of very rare cases and here she didn't used "aitsu" in Japanese rather than "Maria"

[2] There's an extra "you" in this line

[3] They left out a word, "in a hurry"

[4] They should have used "affect" rather than "effect"

[atelcphcbics]

Mass post with all the new tags. I’m also gonna go through all my threads/posts and change their tags soooo

[[MORE]]

Verses/Family

Bonus:

v; I know everything's gonna be fine // ‘Cause I got all my friends with me - Pokemon verse for all muses

v; let 'em scatter in the wind // I have been to the movies // I've seen how it ends // And the joke's on them - crack verse for all muses

Ilia:

v; If you're lost out where the lights are blinding // Caught in all // the stars are hiding // That's when something wild calls you home - main

v; don’t you dare look out your window // darling everything’s on fire - Escape verse

v; I used to have a home // now I don't even have a name // I'm nothing but a number - Lab verse

v; I was raised in a deep dark hole // A prisoner with no parole // They locked me up and took my soul // Ashamed of what they'd made - weapon adult verse

v; I've seen the storm clouds in your past // But rest assured 'cause you are safe // At home at last - raised outside lab verse

v; You might have some bruises // And a few of scars // But you know you're gonna be okay - South park

v; Every road they let you down // felt so wrong // So you found another way - Animated Alt

v; i never thought a hero // would ever come my way - Alley’s verse

v; I need someone to be my friend // Someone who won't run away // Maybe send me an angel // The nicest angel you have - @kitakaze-no-ryu verse

v; Cross my heart and hope to die // Taking this one step at a time // Got your back if you got mine // One foot in front of the other - Traveling with Jax verse

family ties; your trust // honesty // helped me believe // a ray of hope shined through // you set me free (dr. sung and ilia)

family ties; from a world away // I journeyed just to hold your hand // you will never be alone again (connor and ilia)

family ties; and in the darkest night // i feel you by my side // what will be will be // you’re always here with me (hank and ilia)

family ties; we all have pain // we all have sorrow // but if we are wise // we know that there’s always tomorrow (cole and ilia)

Family ties; I always thought I might be bad // Now I'm sure that it's true // cause I think you're so good (Genji and Ilia)

Family ties; The missing piece always trying to fit in // The shattered heart // Hungry for a home // No you're not alone (Jackson and Ilia)

Jax:

v; I packed my pillowcase with everything I owned // And in my head // I said goodbye // then I was gone - main

v; My brain has given up // White flags are hoisted // I took some food for thought // It might be poisoned - camp camp

v; nevermore // Will I be afraid // Nor will I run away // It’s behind me - @rouletskey

Family ties; I was nowhere // I had no one // I felt nothing // Lost without a voice and on my own (Hank and Jackson)

Family ties; I won’t stay a martyr // It’s my turn to take back what you stole (William / Sera and Jackson)

Otp; Should i just give up? // What's a fool to do? // Could you fall for me // Like I fell for you? (Vale and Jackson)

Vale:

Set my fears on fire // like a phoenix // I am new (Vale)

v; Burned by my mistakes // A phoenix // I rose from the flames - live action verse

v; We'll go on forever // Like the phoenix // we will rise up from the ashes - Animated verse

v; You got the heart of a phoenix // So let them see you rise - Alley verse

Clementine:

v; so she sings there // Soft as a siren // luring the ships off their course// how alarming - main

v; Let the tide swallow me whole // Like morning light through windows // Let that dark water take me home - fantasy

v; I can't breathe // I can't speak // I was afraid of the dark // radio silence // I know you're here but I can't speak - Alternate

v; i went to the rocks by the ocean // but the weather changed quickly - mermaid

family ties; honey you should know // that i could never go on without you // green eyes (Tomas and clementine)

Family ties; At your side // got your lateral // back // your front // diagonal (Clementine and Talia)

Talia:

v; a small town like ours aint much // but sometimes home // is where your ass ends up - main

Family ties; Into a chalice // she carved out of stone // Her only friend // it was a big black crow (Carlisle and Talia)

Family ties; Through whoever you'll be // Through whatever you'll lose // You will always have me (Jack and Talia)

family ties; then you appear // together we’re here // and that’s all that matters // somehow (castiel and talia)

family ties; I'm not your pet // not another thing you own // I was not born guilty of your crimes (raphael and talia)

Artemis

v; one track mind // one track heart // if I fail // I’ll fall apart - main

v; One humanoid escapee // One android on the run // Seeking freedom beneath the lonely desert sun - escaped from Talon

v; Your hands are tied // You're free no more // Injected comfort // no fight involved // Your thoughts are altered // You're their android - alternate

Otp; Why cant I see // All the colors that you see? // please can i be // Colorful and free (coldsnxp and artemis)

Hisoka

v; I am no one’s blessing // I’ll just bring you harm - main

v; A guaranteed catastrophe // A tear that’s bound to fall // A sure train wreck // And you’ll soon regret // the day I came to call - villain

Otp; We’ll sit for a while // As I drink in your smile // It feels like a dream that’s come true (chooseyourmuse(Denki) and Hisoka)

Otp; Don't you worry about the dark // I will light up the night with the love in my heart (Neon and Hisoka)

Neon

Some super fun surprise // around each corner // Just riding on a rainbow // I’m gonna be okay (Neon)

v; So hold your head up high // It’s your time to shine - main

v; All the rain in the sky // Cant put out your fire // Of all the stars out tonight // You shine brighter - alt

Otp; Now the flowers // Are in bloom // And you chased away my darkness and gloom (Sunxconsumed and Neon)

[pendragonfics]

Silly, Blink-And-Miss, Short Human Life

A Gem in a Rare Trove of Treasure: Chapter One | Chapter Two

Paring: Loki/Reader

Tags: female reader, reader is a waitress, reader is cousins with Maria Hill, canon compliant, set vaguely around Avengers (2012), set in both Midgard and Asgard, fluff, healing, angst with a happy ending.

Summary:  When most people say they have taken a lover, it sounds almost Bond-ish; like they had a day job, and a classy uptown life and had to splash out one day and find a person to warm their sheets by night and heart by day. But for you, the waitress who worked downtown by the train station in your little old town, when your friends suggested that's the label to put with you and the handsome stranger who won you over, they laughed.

Word Count: 2,173

Posting Date:  2017-01-22

Current Date: 2017-06-18

When most people say they have taken a lover, it sounds almost Bond-ish; like they had a day job, and a classy uptown life and had to splash out one day and find a person to warm their sheets by night and heart by day. But for you, the waitress who worked downtown by the train station in your little old town, when your friends suggested that's the label to put with you and the handsome stranger who won you over, they laughed.

You'd laughed too; the idea that you, the waitress who had only finished community college because a generous check to pay the lot, taking a lover? You, who wore sneakers with more holes and wear and tear than the second-hand apron you wore to work, who belted out pop music in the car when nobody was listening, taking a fancy-schmancy lover? But that moment passed quickly, because it was true. You had a ... bedfellow, as you'd heard an elderly couple call it once. He was tall, with raven locks that grew longer with every time he came. He was pale, quite porcelain, and spoke with a clear voice, a practised lilt.

He said his name was Loki, which you decided was a fake name. It was the most exotic of fake names you'd come across in your line of work, where cheques came under Hermione Niehaus or John Smith. Whoever he was, whatever he did for a living, he somehow thought to name himself after a Nordic God, and yet, he dressed like a biker, all leather.

He was kind, and warmed your heart and bed, yes, but he got you, really got you - he understood your need to understand what was honestly out there in the world, and talked of his home like it wasn't from here. He brought a book, once, which was older than you were, and leant it to you. He said it was literature translated from his language to yours, and said he hoped you would like it. In fact, that time was the last time you heard at all from Loki, the one man who wasn't after your body and time like all the others you had come across. He had lusted for your mind. Spoke poetry in everyday ways to woo, but he - he never came back.

Months passed, jobs came and went, and you spent the months slowly working your way through temporary gigs closer to the city of Washington, closer to where your roots were, to try to make something come of your silly, blink-and-miss, short human life. In your new work, an after-hours joint where people wore pretty shoes and drank toxic shots, the TV blared, the news waking them from their pretty party facades.

There was smoke, on the screen, heavy, thick, the type that chokes you once it enters your lungs. Through it, were the echos of screams, the pulse of police sirens, the hum of German voices, panicked, shrill. The words 'hostage situation contained' darted onscreen, the figures of several people on screen. The Iron Man, the star-spangled Captain America, and -

You screamed.

The tray you were holding fell, toppling down, down until it smashed upon the ground. Your boss gave a shout, but you didn't hear his words, not over what was happening in Stuttgart. Because behind the two men, the American hero, and the billionaire superhero, was the dark-haired man you had become one with on more than one occasion, sitting there, bound, eyes wild, mad like a madman.

"__________!" Your boss boomed, "Clean up the mess, and take five out back to breathe."

---

You took ten, your pay packet, and ran to the one place where you hoped would help you with who you were searching for. After time passed, your cousin Maria had grown distanced from you, but no matter what, in every obligatory Christmas card she sent, there was always her work phone, and scribbled under it 'if you see something, say something x'. You'd always assumed it was because she worked for Homeland Security, and that's why you never heard from her, but when you dialled, a computerised voice intoned. You've reached the message bank of Agent M. Hill of S. H. I. E. L. D. - just as it went to enunciate the next part of the message, the familiar voice of Maria answered.

"There's a man on the television who I know, Maria," you burst, the words blurted out at once. "On - on the news. Dark hair, pale skin. Stuttgart." your voice sounds as wobbly as you are upon your feet.

You almost hear her grin in her voice. "Good, good, you're good, ________ - I knew giving you my number would be useful one day!" she nearly whooped, if counting her joyous business-talk counted as excitement. A lead. "Where are you? I'll send Coulson to get you on his way to Germany."

Coulson came, and was as silent as ever, the typical man in a suit, wearing shades indoors like he was a top government agent, but as far as you knew, that was exactly what he and your cousin were. As you sat in the small plane - a quinjet, he called it - hurtling towards Germany to pick up the man you had fallen so deeply for, the man who you had thought was a man, who, per the briefing from Agent Coulson, was man in gender, alien in race. From Asgard, the land of the immortals, the Gods of the Norse. You decided to be quiet. Listen. Because as soon as you came to Germany, the man who you had shared secrets with would get an ass-whooping.

But, alas, he was in deep custody by the time you got there, held by a man with an eyepatch, and, oddly enough, your cousin herself. Maria Hill. Before she looked you in the eye, the man with the eyepatch – Director Fury, as Coulson had told you – looked you up and down, handed you a clip board and a pen, and harrumphed.

"She'll be the second to go in, after Agent Romanoff." Director Fury glanced away, focusing on the screen by the front of the atrium, where the man you thought you knew was pacing. He looked almost feline in there, almost more inhuman than you'd ever thought you'd see another being become. "I have a mask, and a voice changer, as to protect you, Miss ________, if you will agree to use them. On the board are instructions, things to do and do not do in a situation like we are under as of now."

Your eyes graze over the paper in your hands, and back to the S. H. I. E. L. D. agents before you. "With all due respect, sir," you hand back the clipboard, "I'm not quite sure you've had a situation like this one before."

---

The mask changes your features to be of a woman of ethnic appearance, wrinkled by the sands of time, the voice changer making you sound like someone who had just swallowed a beach, salt water and sand, and all the sandcastle toys too. Natasha Romanoff had exited, having found his play (something to do with the resident time-bomb, a very smart man you knew from the headlines of New York, Dr. Banner) and counting five minutes, you entered.

"I'll guess you're hired help," he commented on your appearance into the room in which he was confined in. You didn't look to him, ignoring Loki's words, the taunts. He was nothing like this when you were with him. His heart had sung poetry, and lain with you like a man without an idea of what time did to those who rose from the bed and went on with life. "What, are you deaf?" He jeered.

You shook your head. "Only to the man standing before me." you replied.

He seemed to like the riddles; from what you knew, the Loki before you was somewhat like the Loki before, who had made you fall in love with the idea of words being different to what they truly were, having side doors and passages through meanings from times before. 

"Another elder, lecturing me on my life." he dismissed. "You are all the same, here on earth. Saying you know me for what I am, because of my actions."

You shook your head, steeping your back to sit on a chair by the front of the glass. They had given you a shawl to cover yourself with, much like the ugly old wench who had cursed the prince in Disney's Beauty and The Beast. "But oh, I am deaf to your insults, trickster. I know you, I know your heart. What froze it?" you whisper. 

Loki frowns, silent. A beat passes between you, but before he can speak, you continue. 

"I read the words you shared with me, and took you in my home like a good stranger would," your voice crackled over the emotions, coming through strange with the voice modulator. "I felt your soul beside my own, and you come here, and spit on my feelings like they are nothing."

"Who are you?" He growls, fist raised to the glass. 

You shake your head, giving a rueful chuckle. "How could I think, a thousand year old god would remember my name?" you ask the cameras, the microphones planted in the walls, ask the man captured before you. You hear them protesting in the earpieces, telling you not to shed your disguise, but your heart bleeds for the man, and not with pity. Despite their interest, you shed the modulator, the shawl from your shoulders, the cybernetic mask from your face. "Loki, I loved you." you look at him with your own eyes.

He is silent.

Then, "________-"

"But the man I loved is dead," you interrupt, rising from the chair, turning your back to him. "He cared about life, never hurt a soul, at least, not with the raw fury, the intention I saw in Germany. You are dead to me, Loki, and if you come to my bed once more, expect more of your anatomy to be dead to me, in the literal sense." At this, you walk out, leaving him in there, alone to ponder. 

---

The melee fades, and New York is in tatters, and people are saying there was no such thing as aliens like it was just another episode of Doctor Who and not real life that you had almost nearly died from the Chitauri, at Loki's lead. But when the base is blown up, and you are huddled in a shock blanket in the depths of the Helicarrier, you see a change in Loki as the mask is slapped on, manacles upon his wrists through the video-com link.

"I need to see him," you shout out, only to be heard by your cousin, Maria. 

She gave you the look. It was the look that suggested you were crazy, or that maybe what you believed was wrong, and it was just some dramatic How I Met Your Mother crap that you were sprouting, but before you pleaded once more, she nodded. "They're in the centre of the city. I'll have an agent drop you down there before they take him away." she nods.

Before you know it, you're running across the field, through the barriers and hesitant police, because nobody in the history of the world messes with someone running toward the one they've been a lover to. You stop just short of them, watching the famous faces of Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Clint Barton -- with your own two eyes.

"Hell-o," Agent Natasha Romanoff grins, "You're _________, aren't you? Hill mentioned you were incoming." 

You glance to Loki, whose eyes are back from blue to green, who is watching you expectantly over the mask, through the gap his burly brother Thor shared. "Could I speak with him? We were...close at one time." 

The blonde Asgardian nods. "Yes. I have to him to Asgard for punishment very soon, so please, do not tarry." He urges, and releases the darker haired man from the mask across his mouth. 

He flexes his jaw, yawns, and almost at once, falls to his knees before you, like a priest worshipping their god, or pantheon. 

"I still love you," you tell him, voice soft like the breeze threading its fingers through your hair. "I think I know you were under the influence of something beyond my understanding, well, because you weren't you at all, and - please don't leave me." you utter, falling to your knees too.

Loki nods. "I will be punished for my crimes upon Asgardian soil for that here on Midgard." he tells you, voice solid. "But I shall return. This I vow, because you are a soul I will never find a likeness to, a gem in a rare trove of treasure." his words sway you like they always do. "I love you too, my _______."

And with that, he is gone. 

>> NEXT CHAPTER

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/06/23/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-62317/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 6/23/17

  It’s gonna be a quick one this week, as I’ve got too much real life stuff going on. Plus, there was a lot of little news, but no big whammy.

Last Saturday I took in Awesome Con which, in its fifth year, was being held at the Washington Convention Center. Normally I’m all about con reports. You’ll see my cosplay pics, and hear about all the stuff I bought. Not so much this time around. I don’t know what it was, but it didn’t feel very Awesome this year. I hate cons that are filled to capacity (like NYCC), but I felt like this one could’ve been better attended. Sure, there were a lot of folks there, but I still bet they fell short of the numbers that had been expected. No cosplay really caught my eye. There were only, like, 7 comic vendors. The show really doesn’t seem to know if it’s a pop culture con, like a Wizard World show, or if it’s a comic-con for the DC area, rivaling Baltimore’s.

It wasn’t all bad, though. I got to hang out with my buds @KeithDavidsen and @ClassickMateria, plus I had a great conversation with 2/3 of the 3 Black Geeks Podcast. Oh, and I totally gushed over Christopher Hastings, who currently writes I Am Groot and The Unbelievable Gwenpool for Marvel. I’ve been a fan of his since his indie series, The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, and I’m a huge Gwenpool fan. I pretty much went just to meet him, and he was totally gracious and nice. Meanwhile, I was gonna confront Scott Snyder and get him to sign my Dark Days: The Forge book. And then ask him why he blocked me on Twitter. But the stars were not aligned, as his line was capped before I got there. I suppose it was for the best. So, while lacking in awesome, there’s still room for improvement, and I’m sure I’ll be right back there next year.

While a lot of folks are getting excited about it, I have some problems with the way Netflix’s The Defenders series is being marketed. Something seems off with the tone of everything. See that poster above? As I remarked on Twitter, it looks like a TV Guide ad for a show Fox canceled in 1994. I can hear the promo now: “The Defenders, followed by an all-new New York Undercover. Thursday, at 8/7 Central.” There’s nothing about it that *pops*, and it just looks so pedestrian. Are they a rag tag group of NYC street-level heroes, or is it a coming of age drama about 3 guys and a girl trying to make it in New York City? I still have 3 more seasons of Marvel Netflix shows to catch up on before I can even watch this, so maybe I’m not the target audience. It’s just all so formulaic now, though. “Hey, look – a hallway fight!”

We finally got a premiere date for the long-delayed Star Trek: Discovery, bowing September 24th at 8:30 on both CBS and CBS All Access. What’s with the 8:30 start time, though? I guess we’ll get some kind of half-assed, 30-minute Trek retrospective before the show. And, taking a page from cable shows, the season will be split in two, with the first 8 episodes airing in the fall, while the remaining 7 will air starting in January. I couldn’t be less excited for this show. So many damn hoops to jump through, so many broken promises regarding its premiere date. At this point, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they requested a blood sample before allowing you to watch it. That’s how crazy this has become. What was once thought to become the most pirated series of all time, I’m now starting to think most of us aren’t even gonna bother.

I had no clue that Phil Lord and Chris Miller were the directors on the Han Solo film (how’d I miss that?), and I would’ve told anyone who’d listen that they were a terrible choice – which is why I’m not surprised that they were fired this week, citing “creative differences”. Sure, The Lego Movie was great. The Jump Street franchise was great. But I don’t see them fitting into the “Star Wars vision” that Kathleen Kennedy clearly has. They would’ve given us something great and entertaining, but I don’t know if it would’ve been a “Star Wars movie”. Then again, I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan, so what do I know. I’d like to think there’s room to do a lot of stuff in that franchise, but I just don’t see their style fitting into what’s already been established. And then Ron Howard was announced as their replacement. I really don’t know how I feel about this. I mean, gifted director, but this seems sort of out of his wheelhouse. Any of y’all have strong thoughts either way?

Meanwhile, somebody needs to make up their mind about whether these Spider-Man spinoffs are gonna be set in the MCU or not. We were basically told that only Spider-Man was crossing over, and even that’s been threatened as a possible one-time deal. But then Amy Pascal did a press junket earlier this week, where she danced around the matter, saying that the Spider-Man spinoffs would build upon the world that is being carefully crafted, leading some to believe they might actually be set in the MCU. That’s how some folks saw it. I just saw it as Pascal trying to keep her job. I guess time will tell. Meanwhile, Spider-Man Homecoming 2 is already being discussed (which I hope is called Spider-Man: Sadie Hawkins Dance), and there will reportedly be a cameo by another MCU character who’s not Iron Man. Keep it in your pants, boys. Let’s see how this one does first, OK?

Song of the Week

Yup, it’s a Taylor Swift song, but it’s NOT sung by Taylor. She gave this song to Little Big Town, who have ridden it to #1. It’s got her trademark juvenile lyrics, but I still think it’s beautiful. I kinda wish I didn’t know she wrote it, but I think that was part of the push that got it to #1. Anyway, here’s “Better Man”.

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Shonda Rhimes had to fail eventually, which is why her summer Shakespeare series, Still Star-Crossed, has been moved to Saturday after 3 low-rated episodes. Stick a fork in that turkey!

Speaking of dead shows, CMT couldn’t make the numbers work to revive Last Man Standing, so the sitcom is officially dead

Dule Hill’s real-life fiancee, Ballers actress Jazmyn Simon, will play Gus’ love interest in the Psych reunion movie

Apparently Nickelodeon is prepping a one-hour reunion, called Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling. I didn’t have cable growing up, but I know this means something to some of you.

Virginia Madsen won’t be back for season 2 of Designated Survivor. I was kinda hoping she and Kiefer would bang, so now I have the sads…

Six cast members are out at Taken, amid a major shake-up prior to season 2. I guess you could say they didn’t have the right set of skills.

They’re teasing a Downton Abbey movie for 2018. I hope it’s called Downton Abbey: Matthew’s Revenge!

There are rumors that Damon Lindelof is in talks to do a Watchmen TV series for HBO. That network is really into dongs lately, so I guess this is a perfect fit.

Daniel Henney is shifting his Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders character over the main Criminal Minds series, following the former’s cancellation. Remember that when your CBS-watching grandpa asks you where he’s seen that “Oriental fella” before…

The CW is interested in a Supernatural spinoff called Wayward Sisters, which would star recurring guest star Kim Rhodes. I don’t watch Supernatural, but she was Zack & Cody’s hot mom, so I’m a supporter of giving her more work!

After a thorough investigation, Warner Bros found no evidence of misconduct on the set of Bachelor In Paradise, and production has resumed on the season. Now it’ll probably be the most-watched season of the show, but there’s no way they saw that coming, right? Right?

As a reward for being the #1 daytime drama for the past 28 (!) consecutive years, CBS has renewed The Young and the Restless for another three seasons

NBC is scrambling to do some damage control, as Megyn Kelly’s highly publicized interview with Sandy Hook truther Alex Jones was beaten by a rerun of America’s Funniest Home Videos. That’s right, it was beaten by a show that’s been rendered virtually obsolete since the proliferation of the Internet

Heroes is coming to Crackle on July 13th. You know, that free streaming network that nobody watches? So, if you’re still itching to save the cheerleader, there ya go.

The sequel to Jurassic World will be called Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Meh. That shit ought to be called Jurassic Galaxy. Take those dinos into space already!

Daniel Day-Lewis has quit acting, meaning we’ll never get to see him in the Fast and the Furious franchise like we’d always dreamed!

Fresh off his mistrial, Bill Cosby plans to give speaking engagements where he will instruct folks how to dodge sexual assault charges. I couldn’t make this shit up! “If you put the pudding pop in the Jello, make sure you’re not caught on any Kodak film!”

Transformers 5: Bad Touch had the lowest opening day box office for the franchise, with $15.7 million.

In the ultimate Fuck yo’ Father’s Day move, Beyonce’s dad announced to the world, via tweet, that her twins had arrived. I hear he was dragged away by wraiths soon afterward.

Adam West’s unaired episode of Powerless can now be seen on DC All Access, as well as Hulu.

No one had the West Week Ever this week. As Nina Simone sang, “It be’s that way sometimes”. I do have a correction from last week, though. Like I said up top, I’ve got some real world stuff going on and I wasn’t really thinking clearly. I inducted Adam West into the West Week Ever Hall of Fame, when my pal @zacshipley pointed out that a better honor was staring me right in the face: that honor should be called the West Life Ever. So, the post has since been corrected and, going forward, that is what will be bestowed upon those greats that we’ve lost along the way. Adam West had the West Life Ever.