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fiftytwotwentythree · 1 year ago

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Wellness Wednesday:

Knocking Out A Challenge

There's nothing better...

Picking a goal - setting up a challenge - and completing it.

I've been consistently setting goals for myself since 2013...

I think I am slightly addicted to waking up in the morning and having an objective for myself. I'm not talking about work or chores either - no - I'm talking about something that engages, provides fulfillment, and causes me to stretch myself.

This Groundhog Day Diet Challenge was an interesting one. If I did it again, I would do it differently as I feel I shortchanged my self when it came to portions/calories, but I did enjoy aspect of having to stick to a rigid meal plan - even if that meant traveling with my own toaster.

Getting to the meat of the matter - Let's Discuss the Pros and Cons.

PROs:

I didn't have to think twice about a meal. Fast, easy, efficient.

Saved money on my grocery bill.

Really opened my eyes to simplicity of the food I eat - aka - I can survive without condiments, snacks, seconds....

Due to the strict calorie intake (an uncalculated accident) - I hit a massive bout of weightloss especially after a long, stretched out plateau

CONs:

Couple weeks ago I mentioned "side effects" - well, what I was experiencing was blurry/loss of vision every time I stood up. Hit me hard during week 2, but went away some time during week 3.

Early on, my morning hunger was ravenous. To the point I know I was not thinking clearly until I had my Turkey and Swiss.

Having to eat on schedule was a pain - especially when traveling.

I can't find a direct correlation (as other factors besides the diet may be at play), but this month by far was my moodier month of the year so far.

What am I going to do with any of that information - I don't know - but at least I can check it off the list.

Now,

With 8ish weeks left in the year I need to start plotting on my next big challenge for 2024.

In Other News...

I Officially Loss 100 Pounds!

44th CHECK-IN:

Current Goals:

Lose 52 lbs: Completed

Loss 52 pounds as of 4/12/2023

Milestone: Loss 100 as of 11/01/2023

New Goal: Maintain or Continue on The Weight Loss Path

Avoid "Junk Food"

Minimize Take-Out / Fast Food Consumption

Short Term:

Vegetarian-ish Diet: Completed

End Date: 4/09/2023 - 46 Days Total

Groundhog's Day Diet: Completed*

10/01/2023 - 10/31/2023

Eat the Same Thing Each Day for 31 Days

Stats from October:

Food:

Cans of Soup: 31

Leftover Meals: 0

Oranges: 0

Salads: 0

Bags of Popcorn: 0

Take Out: 0

Candy/Sweets: 0

Workout:

Jumping Jacks: 12,400

Push-Ups: 3,100

Glute Bridges: 3,100

Reverse Leg Lifts: 3,100

Leg Kickbacks: 3,100

Sit-Ups: 3,100

Plank (mins): 155

Squats: 0

Assisted Push-Ups: 0

Weight Loss:

Weightloss This Month: -15.4 lbs

Average Weightloss per Week: -3.85 lbs

Total Weightloss: -100.0 lbs

Entertainment:

Movies Watched: 11

Favorite from the Month:

Love At First Sight

Hours of Television Watched: ~ 54 hours ( Modern Family, The Simpsons (specifically Treehouse of Horror episodes), Selena + Chef, Only Murders in the Building, Stranger Things)

Books:

Books Completed This Month: 0

Book Title(s) Completed This Month: -n/a-

Book Total for the Year: 2

Comics:

Comics Completed: 3

Trades Completed: 11

Comic/Trade Titles Completed:

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 4. I Kissed A Squirrel And I Liked It (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015-2019))

Betty: The Final Girl #1 (Archiw Horror Presents)

Lumberjanes Vol. 2

Chew Vol. 4: Flambe

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 5. Like I'm The Only Squirrel In The World (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015-2019))

Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1: Gifted (Astonishing X-Men (2004-2013))

Fear the Funhouse (Archie Halloween Spectacular)

Deadpool by Skottie Young Vol. 3: Weasel Goes to Hell (Deadpool (2018-2019))

Archie Halloween Spectacular (2017) #1

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Vol. 4

Spider-Man/Deadpool Vol. 1: Isn't It Bromantic (Spider-Man/Deadpool (2016-2019))

Astonishing X-Men Vol. 2: Dangerous

Batman (2016-) Vol. 1: I Am Gotham

Curse Of The Man-Thing (Curse Of The Man-Thing (2021))

Favorite Comic/Trade Read:

Spider-Man/Deadpool Vol. 1: Isn't It Bromantic (Spider-Man/Deadpool (2016-2019))

Magazine(s):

Magazine(s) Completed: 0

Meal Tracker:

THURSDAY

Lunch:

Turkey & Swiss with Toasted Wheat Sandwich

(5) Baby Carrots

(1) Cup of Del Monte Peaches

Snack:

Serving of Good & Gather's Tex Mex Trail Mix

Supper:

Can of Progresso Lasagna Style Soup

- 10 Crackers

(1) Glass of Milk

FRIDAY

Lunch:

Turkey & Swiss with Toasted Wheat Sandwich

(5) Baby Carrots

(1) Cup of Del Monte Peaches

Snack:

Serving of Good & Gather's Tex Mex Trail Mix

Supper:

Can of Progresso Lasagna Style Soup

- 10 Crackers

(1) Glass of Milk

SATURDAY

Lunch:

Turkey & Swiss with Toasted Wheat Sandwich

(5) Baby Carrots

(1) Cup of Del Monte Peaches

Snack:

Serving of Good & Gather's Tex Mex Trail Mix

Supper:

Can of Progresso Lasagna Style Soup

- 10 Crackers

(1) Glass of Milk

SUNDAY

Lunch:

Turkey & Swiss with Toasted Wheat Sandwich

(5) Baby Carrots

(1) Cup of Del Monte Peaches

Snack:

Serving of Good & Gather's Tex Mex Trail Mix

Supper:

Can of Progresso Lasagna Style Soup

- 10 Crackers

(1) Glass of Milk

MONDAY

Lunch:

Turkey & Swiss with Toasted Wheat Sandwich

(5) Baby Carrots

(1) Cup of Del Monte Peaches

Snack:

Serving of Good & Gather's Tex Mex Trail Mix *

Supper:

Can of Progresso Lasagna Style Soup

- 10 Crackers

(1) Glass of Milk

TUESDAY

Lunch:

Turkey & Swiss with Toasted Wheat Sandwich

(5) Baby Carrots

(1) Cup of Del Monte Peaches

Snack:

Serving of Good & Gather's Tex Mex Trail Mix

Supper:

Can of Progresso Lasagna Style Soup

- 10 Crackers

(1) Glass of Milk

* And Then There Was None... well, except a for surplus of crackers and trail mix *

* Crushed It *

WEDNESDAY

Lunch:

Chili Mac

- Can of Campbell's Chunky Chili with Beans

- Individual Cup of Bob Evan's Macaroni and Cheese

- 10 Crackers

(2) Slices of Bread

Snack:

(1) Cup of Del Monte Peaches

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

Supper:

(2) Seasoned Ribeye Steaks (1.78lbs)

Side of Green Giants Restaurant Style Garlic Parmesan Green Beans

Side of Birds Eye Oven Roasters: Sweet Potatoes Potatoes, Carrots, and Red Potatoes

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

Workouts:

THURSDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

FRIDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(10) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(10) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

SATURDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

SUNDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

MONDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

TUESDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

WEDNESDAY

(400) Jumping Jacks [8 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges[4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Reverse Leg Lifts [10 sets of 10]

(100) Leg Kickbacks [10 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 Sets of 20]

(5 min) Planks [5 Sets of 1 min]

WEIGHT TRACKER:

Starting Weight (Noon, 1/01/2023): XXX.X lbs

Weight at Last Check-In, 10/25/2023:-4.4lbs

Weight As of Noon, 11/01/2023: -3.6 lbs

Total Weight Loss: -100.0 lbs

Closing Thoughts:

The Good:

The Groundhog Day Diet is over. My mouth is already watering for all the tasty possibilities.

Loss 100 Pounds - All without Ozempic!

Ending the "Wellness Week" with "classy feast" aka Steak and Veggies. I stated before that I would never use food a reward, but I broke 100 pounds AND just wrapped on eating Sammies and Soup for 31 days... I think I can break my Food as Reward Rule just this once - especially since it will be a home cooked meal.

The Bad:

I've been tad moody lately. Hoping I can chill out this coming November.

The Ugly:

My Ankle/Achilles is very sore/tender. Continuing with my scheduled workouts, but babying it as much as possible. The pain seems to get worse with each passing day.

#52 in 23

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phantom-z0ne · 2 months ago

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Chapter 2: October 24, 20XX

Brooklynn picked at her lunch, a chicken sandwich paired with a salad bowl that her mother packed for her, as she listened to her friends bicker. They switched topics every couple of minutes, getting sidetracked with ever other comment. How they went from talking about the smell of Professor Lilac’s classroom to the pros and cons of industrialism, she has no idea. Her friends were just special, she supposed.

The cafeteria was loud, a cacophony of rambunctious students chatting with their friends and enjoying their lunch filled the room. The line for lunch was waning, most students having already grabbed some or brought their own from home, like Brooklynn. She could spot a couple of her classmates at the other side of the room, giving them a nod of acknowledgment when she caught their eye. She ignored the shenanigans some of the students were up to, like Maddison Lively trying to, once again, stain the school banner with food.

Her post the other day had done surprisingly well, gaining hundreds of interactions. Though, it was mostly due to skeptic comments and those who used her post to troll others. Interspaced between those two types of comments, however, were the rare users who believed her warnings. Almost overnight, she had gained a small but trusting audience, something she thought would be impossible. Gothamites were notorious for hardly trusting anything, let alone someone foretelling the future online. If she weren’t the one who posted the prediction, she would have scoffed and believe it a scam.

Brooklynn was drawn out of her thoughts by a nudge from Aaliyah, who said with a determined face, “Tell her I'm right!”

“Right about what?” Brooklynn questioned, setting down her fork. Max raised an eyebrow, asking, “Haven’t you been listening? The newest WaynePhone is a technological wonder and wayy better than an L-Phone and she’s obviously wrong to think otherwise!”

“You’re asking me, who owns a WaynePhone if you haven't forgotten, whether an L-Phone or WaynePhone is better?” Brooklynn lifted an eyebrow in disbelief, a smirk tugging at her lips.

“Well, when you put it like that…” Aaliyah smiled sheepishly, her usual prim and proper aura softening slightly in embarrassment. Max’s eyes turned into crescents, snickering at the reply.

Brooklynn shifted in her seat, leaning forward as she put her elbows on the table, cupping her head between her palms. Not a moment after she opened her mouth to tease her friends again, a sharp jab caught her in the side. She gasped, lukewarm liquid soaked her pleated skirt and dripped off her, smearing onto her shoes. Thankfully, only small droplets landed on her shirt, her uniform vest receiving most of the lunch soup. She shivered as thick, gooey vegetables slid down the sides of her legs.

An unnaturally pitched voice spoke up, “Oh! I wasn’t looking where I was going. My bad.” Brooklynn glared at the one and only Alexander Stone. Faux concern layered over his face, though his glee filled eyes betrayed the charade. She usually couldn't care less about him, but it was situations like this that reminded her why she avoided him.

“Alexander.” Brooklynn grit out, an eye twitching in irritation. The rude bastard simply chirped “That’s me!”—it was strained, she noticed. He hated being called by his first name, preferring everyone instead call him Stone—and placed the lunch tray on the table, whipping out a white handkerchief from out of nowhere.

“Let me help with that. It's only fair, since I was the one who—” Brooklynn only had a moment to glimpse the embroidery on the handkerchief before Alexander began to smear the vegetable soup where it hadn’t yet reached on her navy blue—now stained green—vest. That f—

She smacked his hand away from her, irritation lacing her voice as she practically shouted, “Don't—touch me!”

Alexander dropped the handkerchief, eyes going comically wide as the neighboring tables quieted and turned at the commotion. It was all just an act, one that she kept managing to stumble—more like shoved—right into. He always did this, pretending he was innocent despite being behind so much of the trouble.

Brooklynn seemed to be his prime target, and she could see why. He was the rich, kind—she couldn't help but snort internally whenever he was described as such—student who could do no harm, while she was the scholarship student from The Bowery, someone who so many believed Gotham Academy could do without. It's no question the administrators believed his word over hers. He had gotten her into trouble multiple times, to the point that she could only have so many more demerits put in her record before her scholarship would be stripped and her kicked out of school.

Brooklynn stood abruptly, grimacing as the now cold soup trailed down her body. “You’re not helping.” She said stiffly. She couldn't make another scene, not with Alexander, especially when she was “known” for bullying him. Hah! It was the other way around. If the administrators could stop licking his fancy rich kid shoes, they would have been able to see that. Instead, they cower behind the veil of money his family sends them.

She turned away, fuming at how he’ll, once again, get away with treating her like this. Her friends scrambled after her after they shook themselves out of their shocked states. While they knew she had problems with Alexander, they certainly hadn't expected it to be like this. That was purposeful, though. Brooklynn didn't want them to be involved and ping on that self-absorbed bastard’s radar, instead reluctantly telling them a heavily edited version whenever they asked about it.

Aaliyah and Max fussed over her as she marched towards the locker room. It had a shower, thank god for rich people, and her gym clothes were tucked neatly away in her locker. After shooing away her worried but well-meaning friends with some well-timed assurances, she prepared her gym clothes and turned the shower on, checking the temperature with her forearm.

Brooklynn stripped and stepped into the shower, careful not to let her hair anywhere near the hot stream of water. The last thing she wanted was to get her braids wet and have to redo them.

It was a bit strange, Brooklynn thought as she scrubbed down her body quickly. Her visions were usually related to her or her surroundings, namely Gotham, and yet the earlier event caught her off guard. She didn't foresee it, despite it affecting her greatly.

Now that she thought about it, her visions never directly involved her. Usually, she was in the general vicinity—again, Gotham—of the visions’ location, but it abruptly ended or shifted away the few times when she would actually appear. Brooklynn scrubbed harder, brows knitted in thought. Did that mean she was her own blind spot? Why, no—how? Was that just how seeing the future worked? Did this happen to other seers?

Brooklynn let the thoughts stew in her mind as water flowed down her body, rinsing away the soapy suds, and reached for a towel. Once she dried herself off, she quickly changed into the yellow t-shirt and navy blue sweatpants, both with the Gotham Academy logo sewn onto them. Her shoes, however, she would just have to deal with until the end of the day. It still smelled slightly of the vegetable soup despite her attempting to clean it the best she could. Thankfully, she kept an extra pair of socks in her locker so she didn't have to wear her soggy, soup-soaked socks.

She jolted at the warning bell. Gathering her ruined belongings and storing them in an empty plastic bag, she slammed the locker door shut with a loud metallic thud. Brooklynn did not want to be late on top of everything that happened today.

Quickly shouldering her thankfully untouched bookbag, she booked it to her next class, barely managing not running through Archie, a ghost she managed to somewhat befriend; he had a surprisingly hilarious sense of humor despite his gloomy appearance. She slid into the classroom just as the late bell rang, giving the frowning teacher a sheepish smile as she made her way to her seat. Despite the few pointed comments from both teachers and students alike, the school day flew by surprisingly fast. No other incident transpired, to her pleasant surprise. For Brooklynn, when it rained, it poured, so it was just a tad odd that not even a minor hiccup occurred.

Brooklynn took her time packing away her notes, lingering behind as the rest of her classmates spilled out into the hallway. Her original plan for the day was to stay behind after school for club activities or study at the library, but after Alexander’s stunt, she was doubting whether to do so or not. On one hand, she had a couple projects to study for and homework to complete. On the other, her uniform needed to be cleaned that day since she only had one uniform, plus she didn't want to walk around in her gym uniform outside of club activities.

Then again, Destiny had agreed to pick up Jayden in her place and Brooklynn had already set the time aside. She wasn't expected to be home until around 5 pm and she didn't want to ruin her carefully planned schedule. It irritated her to no end when her plans for the day were disturbed without warning and she had to redo her whole schedule.

Destination set, she left the classroom. But first, she made a quick detour to the locker room. She wrapped her soiled clothes in a black trash bag, in case it seeped through the thin plastic she swaddled them in, and placed it at the bottom of her bookbag.

Now that that was done, she finally made her way to the nearest library, Gotham City Public Library. It was her go-to library. One, because it was the closest to her school and home, and two, the staff were surprisingly kind. They offered assistance if they saw you struggling with something, or sometimes just popping up and handing you a small snacks unprompted.

It was bare bones for librarians, she knows it's part of their jobs. But this was Gotham. No one gives out assistance, and especially not food, without wanting something in return. Kindness had a price in Gotham, one should never forget. Brooklynn would have summed it up as the staff being outsiders had it not been for their accents that just screamed Gothamite. Plus, she recognized most of them from her youth. She had been going to this particular library for years, and most of the employees had been working there before she was even born.

Of the younger staff, those she did recognize were a couple years her senior and alumni from Gotham Academy. She remembered Barbara Gordon in particular, or rather, her and her father, Jim Gordon. The commissioner had been the one to break the unfortunate news of her father demise.

Brooklynn remembered the day it happened. Destiny was in the other room, sulking because dad missed her dance recital that he promised to be at. Her tiny, 6-year-old self sat in the kitchen, not too interested in the large, ginger haired man who blocked the doorway. Instead, she had been invested in coloring a flower just right while waiting for her mama to finish up her conversation so she could pin the drawing she had been so proud of onto the fridge. That was until the glass cup in mama’s hand—her favorite, Brooklynn dimly remembered, because of the hand painted irises crawling up the sides—shattered. Her mama’s blood dripped onto the floor, once, twice, before the bloody hand was sluggishly raised to her chest.

The man, Commissioner Gordon, she knows now, seemed flustered. He guided mama to the sink and helped rinse out the glass shards under Brooklynn’s shocked gaze. She had been frozen, unable to process why mama was hurt, why her blood was pooling atop their polished floors. The startled shout of her sister knocked her out of her stupor, and she rushed after Destiny towards her unconscious mother.

The image of her mother that day had stuck with her since; small shards of glass pierced the bloody hand that laid atop her red stained shirt, her usual plump, rosy face replaced by an ashen pallor, and worse of all, her still, unmoving body, as if she were a puppet with its strings cut.

Her sister turned on the commissioner when their mother wouldn't wake, angrily demanding what was said for her to collapse. He looked conflicted for a moment, she remembered, before steeling his face and lifting her mother into his arms.

‘Your father passed away.’

The rest of that day went by in a daze. Brooklynn vaguely remembers being handed her baby brother, swaddled in his favorite mint green blanket, and being told to keep an eye on him as they were rushed to a hospital. She thinks she was guided to a waiting area as they checked over her mother, she had no memory of going there herself. Destiny eventually took over holding Jayden, occasionally bouncing him when he fussed. The only people who kept the three of them company were the commissioner and his daughter. The warm hand that squeezed hers reassuringly was something she often recalled for comfort in the coming times.

They spent the night at the hospital, Imani only waking up the next day. The next couple months, no, years even, were hard for a handful of reason, but the main being the loss of Carter Banks. He was the sun to them, someone who their whole lives revolved around. And just like that, he was gone, never to be seen again, leaving a black hole in the hearts of those who loved him.

Fortunately—or unfortunately, it depended on how one saw it—her father hadn't reformed as a ghost. Brooklynn didn't know what she would have done if he had. What any of them would have done if he appeared before her as but a ghostly shade of himself.

She used to have nightmares of her father haunting her, chasing her through her home as he wailed, “It's your fault! You turned me into this!” Of her touch transforming her mother, sister, brother into wailing, vengeful ghosts, like those who used to haunt her in her childhood.

Brooklynn shook her head sharply, trying to dislodge those morbid times out of her head. Thinking of her father and everything that came with it always brought her to a mental stand-still, and right now, she needed to be productive. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a customary flash of grief for the man she could barely remember.

Taking a deep breath, she marched up the stairs to the library and entered, making a beeline to her usual place; bookshelves cut off the old, wooden table, nestled deeply within a cozy nook, from the rest of the library. It gave her a view of almost the entire room, bar the spaces the bookshelves obstructed, which was why she used it so much. While she was used to having people just appear out of nowhere, it wasn’t something she very much liked.

Brooklynn sat down, unaffected by the groan the aged wooden chair unfailingly let out every time she visited. She laid her belongings before her, homework on her right, textbooks and notes to her left, and a laptop virtually smothered in stickers between them. At the very edge of the setup, she gingerly placed her water bottle, but not before making sure it was firmly closed.

She cracked her knuckles and stretched her fingers, warming them up. Brooklynn tended to immerse herself in her studying without realizing the passage of time, and that really does a number on her hands. Besides, she's gotten used to it. It's pretty much part of her study ritual at this point.

Grabbing a pencil and a worksheet, she got to work, mindlessly filling in the answers she knew and referring back to the textbook when needed. While it wasn't the most stimulating work, the satisfaction that came with the completion of a task motivated her. A sip of water moistened her dry throat and she continued, her pencil moving steadily across the creamy white paper.

A rap against the wooden table freed her from her study induced trance. Brooklynn blinked before her gaze jerked towards the new presences. A tall, dark skinned boy practically towered over a tired looking boy holding a steaming cup of coffee and a blonde with her hair tied up, the one who caught her attention.

The blonde smiled once Brooklynn turned towards her questioningly, “Hi! Do you mind if we sit here? The library’s surprisingly full today.”

“Go ahead.” Brooklynn gestured to the empty seats, trying not to stare as they settled themselves. A niggling feeling in the back of her mind told her she should recognize them, but she couldn't quite place their faces. She turned back to her notes, having more important things to worry about. Before she could resume, however, a bubbly voice asked, “Are you also a Gotham Academy student?”

The blonde eyed the sewn GA logo on her shirt, smiling again when Brooklynn looked the trio over. They all wore Gotham Academy uniforms, though slightly altered. Blonde added small embroidery to the hem of her collar, and if she looked closer, changed the buttons of her dress shirt. Fade clipped on little Robin and other vigilante pins to his vest, which she thought was quite cute. Brooklynn wondered where he bought them from, she wouldn't mind getting a couple if they weren't too expensive. Eyebags—she really needed to learn their names—wore a red hoodie under the gray blazer, a silver necklace peeking out from over his collar. If a professor paid close attention to these three, and if they actually cared, the modifications would be undoubtably be confiscated and a week's worth of detention would be thrown at their heads.

“Yeah, I am. You guys are, too?” Brooklynn answered, flushing a bit at the lame response. She wasn't usually this bad at socializing, her brain just needed a minute or two to get out of study mode.

The three nodded, Blonde a tad more enthusiastic than the other two. “What grade are you in? I'm a senior, and so is he.” She jabbed Eyebags in the ribs just before he took a sip of his coffee. He yelped and nearly dropped the cup, glaring accusingly at Blonde after he juggled it between his hands and finally stabilized it. Brooklynn nearly giggled at the sight, instead smiling as Fade watched the two with amusement swirling in his eyes.

Blonde turned to the other boy, eyes still twinkling with mischief. “And he's—” Fade hastily interrupted, his hands up placating as he said, “Junior! I'm a junior. Duke Thomas, nice to meet you.” Blonde lowered her elbow, giving Duke a look.

“Likewise. Brooklynn Banks, also a senior.” Brooklynn smiled wider at the display. The three of them were clearly close, and it was pretty entertaining to watch their dynamics play out right in front of her.

“Stephanie Brown, but just call me Steph. Nobody younger than thirty calls me Stephanie.” She introduced herself, practically spitting out ‘Stephanie’ like a curse. Eyebags took a quick sip of his coffee, eyeing Stephanie dubiously, before clearing his throat. “Tim Drake. You're a fan of Batman?”

Brooklynn blinked. Stephanie and Duke stared at him, eyes wide. He made a face, “What? She has Batman stickers all over her laptop.”

“Two or three doesn’t count as ‘all over.’” Duke pointed out at the same time Stephanie exclaimed, “Oh my god, Tim, you can just ask people if they’re a fan of Batman!”

Brooklynn smothered a laugh behind her palm, eyes turning into crescents, at the reference. She wasn't the only one to laugh, Duke barked out a laugh as Tim snorted. Steph let out a toothy grin, triumph dancing in her eyes.

“I'm not the only one.” Brooklynn answered when she finally composed herself, though the smiled stayed on her lips. She pointed at pins adorning Duke’s vest. “Speaking of, where did you buy those? They look really well done.”

“They’re from a comic and print shop called Narrow’s Nook, on Davidson Ave. They sell a whole bunch of these—” He tapped one of his pins, “— and print out custom designs for cheap. You should definitely check it out sometime, it's pretty neat.”

Brooklynn hummed as she eyed the pins, memorizing the address as she thought over the offer. She had been meaning to buy something for her bookbag so it would match her laptop. She wondered if they sold keychains.

“I'll take you up on that, then.” She smiled lightly. Her smile slowly dropped at the extended silence, and she looked at the trio in puzzlement. Tim and Steph looked at her wide-eyed, before shooting each other a look. Duke himself was frozen, staring at nothing until they made eye contact. He was quick to look at anything but her. Weird.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Sure.” Duke flustered, then cleared his throat and looked her in the eye. “Sure.” Steph shot him a wicked grin and held out her phone, encased in a sparkly, purple case. “Let's exchange numbers, ‘kay?”

“Okay…?” Brooklynn handed Steph her phone when she made grabby hands towards her, exchanging it for Steph’s. She typed in her number, sending a smiley face to herself. Her phone chimed in Steph’s hands. Quickly adding Steph as a contact once it was handed back, she sent a text that read ‘Hi! This is Brooklynn.’ A wave of emojis the reply. Oddly enough, Brooklynn felt that it suited Steph.

She turned to Duke, ready to ask for his number too, when Steph said, “Don't worry about him, I already added him to your phone.” Surely enough, when she went to check, there Duke was, with an extreme amount of emojis next to his name. Brooklynn raised a brow at Steph, but all she did was give her an encouraging smile for some reason. The text she sent was similar to what she wrote for Steph, only meant to be a brief introduction.

Tim paused his furious typing to add her as a contact, his first text a short and simple ‘Hello.’

“So… I've been meaning to ask, what's with the gym clothes? Is PE your last class and you didn't feel like changing?” Steph asked innocently. Brooklynn grimaced, reminded of the awful encounter she had earlier that day. “No, I have PE third period. Some food spilled on my uniform, so I decided to change.”

Brooklynn ignored the pause in Tim’s typing, instead focusing on trailing the grains on the wooden table with her eyes.

“What other classes do you have?” Duke tilted his head slightly. He seemed to have gotten over whatever came over him earlier, thankfully. Brooklynn tapped her finger against the table, recalling her schedule.

“I already said PE, so there’s Anatomy, History, Art, Precalc, Chemistry, Agriculture and… I think that's all. ”

Tim finally set down his phone face down on the table, ignoring the buzzing of incoming notifications that followed. “Do you have Professor Milo? Me and Steph have his Chemistry together. The class itself is easy, but his workload is insane.”

Brooklynn nodded, “Right! How am I supposed to complete all those papers while juggling the rest of my classes, who also have heavy a workload?”

Steph perked up, exclaiming, “Same! It's like he thinks we don't have lives outside of school.” She threw her hands up, dropping them as a nearby librarian hissed at the to quiet down. She gave the librarian a sheepish expression and turned back to them, saying this time with a lower voice, “I have Agriculture with Professor Brown, funnily enough.”

“That's quite the coincidence.” Brooklynn grinned, mildly amused. Duke piped up, “If you have Professor Burner, we can work on Art together.” It was quite the coincidence that they had most of the same teachers, even if it were different periods. Most could go up a random student and realize they never attended the same class, let alone the same teachers. That was how large Gotham Academy was. It boggled her mind her freshmen year, she was used to the small, somewhat run down public schools in the Bowery, not such extravagence.

“So that's Art, Agriculture, and Chemistry we can all study together with, right?” She counted down with her fingers, only to look up and be faced with Steph trying and failing to contain her mirth, Tim once again typing extremely fast but this time snickering under his breath, and Duke repeating his strange behavior from earlier, looking at anything else but her. Still, that didn't stop the cozy feeling from settling in her stomach. She hadn't felt this comfortable with a group of strangers—could they even be considered strangers at this point?—in a long while, not since Max and Aaliyah.

A quick jingle emerged from her phone, interrupting her thoughts. It was Destiny, wondering whether she would be back soon. She checked the time then blinked, double-checking didn't change the time. She hadn't realized how long she’d been talking with the group. Two hours had passed by in the blink of an eye and before she knew it, the time she was meant to be home by had passed.

Brooklynn bolted up, stuffing her belongings into her bookbag. Sending an apologetic look to the group, she explained, “I have to go, I've been here way longer than I should’ve.”

“Don't worry about it, we were just about to leave too.” Steph assured her. Brooklynn smiled, threading her arms through the straps of her bag. “See you soon?” A chorus of agreement was their response. Waving goodbye to the trio as she bounded away from the isolated table, a lightness filled her chest. She wasn't the greatest at making friends—case in point, her only true friends being Max and Aaliyah—but she had a feeling that those three would become a staple in her life.

She paused, turning to rush back to the nook. “I almost forgot, when and where should we meet?” She paused, before rushing to clarify. “For the study session, I mean. I'm not always free after school.”

Tim pursed his lips in thought. “All three of us are usually free on Wednesdays, are you?”

Monday and Thursday afternoons were off the table since she had club activities then, but Jayden’s soccer practice was on Wednesdays. If she really wanted to hang out with them, which she did, then she could meet them here after she dropped off Jayden. “I can make it work. If I can't make it, I’ll just text. So here's fine?”

The answer was a resounding yes.

With that sorted out, she turned on her heel, tossing one last goodbye over her shoulder as a grin graced her lips. She gave Barbara a polite smile as she passed her restocking the bookshelves, receiving one in return. She headed for the exit, pushing open the large wooden doors and stepping onto Gotham’s shadowed streets.

The walk home was spent tightly clutching her bag and scanning the corners for any lurking figures, as always. She regrets not bringing her bike, having to ditch it at home or risk missing the bus. Brooklynn shivered, rubbing her hands against her exposed arms. At least on her bike, she wouldn't feel the freezing winds whipping against her for as long.

Despite needing to focus on scanning for potential dangers, her mind kept returning to her earlier conversation. She's still surprised by how quickly time passed when she was with them. That rarely happened on first meetings, where she was painstakingly aware of the passing of seconds. Still, it was a pleasant surprise, one she would welcome with open arms.

Her mind wandered to the vigilante pins Duke had. She was right in that they were professionally done, and she hoped the price would be too high. The Batman and Robin pin especially would match with her laptop quite well. She supposed she should visit soon—

Brooklynn froze, the words ‘I'll take you up on that, then.’ repeating in her mind. Did she— no. No way. She did not just ask him out on a date. There's absolutely no way…

God, she did! No wonder he was acting like that! She must have seemed so weird. Who asks someone on a date on their first meeting?! She barely even knew the guy and she said something like that!

Brooklynn flushed, her footsteps taking on a faster pace as if it would alleviate the mortification she felt. She rushed inside the moment she laid eyes on her house, bowling past her sister lounging on the couch, and slamming the bedroom door shut behind her. Her bookbag fell to the ground with a thud as Brooklynn launched herself onto her bed face first. She let loose a low groan into her plush pillows, embarrassment coursing through her.

A sharp ‘ding’ sounded, cutting through her pity party. She scrambled for a minute trying to find where she threw her phone before untangling it from between her bedding. 10 new texts lined her notifications, all but one from a new group chat named ‘woe studying be upon ye’. The last was from Duke.

Brooklynn pressed her lips together, praying it wasn't what she thought it was, and opened the chat. ‘Are you free this weekend? I'm going to Narrow’s Nook and have time to show you around.’ Crap.

The text stared tauntingly at her frozen form until Brooklynn admitted defeat and buried her head into her pillow once again. Her mind raced to find a way to explain that she didn't mean to ask him out on a date! It was an accident, she swears!

Brooklynn let out a sigh into the pillows, unable to not take a moment to rub her face against them. They were brand new, bought just a day ago, and the texture felt heavenly against her skin. She couldn't help herself, okay?

She shook her head, hard. Back to the issue, Brooklynn! She needed to find a way to let him down gently. She genuinely had fun talking to him and didn't want to ruin the fledgling relationship they currently had over a misunderstanding.

She laid on her belly, flipping her braids out of her face, and opened the chat again. Chewing on her lips, she began typing, pausing every minute or so to rephrase her text.

“Whatcha doing, Brooks?” A soft, melodic voice rang from over her shoulder.

Brooklynn yelp, fumbling to catch the phone she tossed in surprise. Once she made sure she didn't accidentally send anything, she tucked her phone under her legs. “Nyla! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

A young woman stood before her, the hem of her green flower dress brushing against her shins at the tiniest of movements. Her arms uncrossed as she climbed onto the bed, tossing her hip length locs over her shoulder as she did so, but the smirk stayed plastered on her face. “Texting boys, I see. Who’s the lucky boy?” Her voice lowered, as if sharing a particularly juicy secret. “You haven't gone to third base without telling me, right?”

“Nyla!” Brooklynn exclaimed, voice shrill, scandalized. She would’ve pushed her were she able to, but it would have no effect. Nyla Summers had died years ago, and funnily enough—according to Nyla—in the summer. Nyla had all but worn that particular joke to death. Brooklynn inwardly winced at the pun her ghostly pseudo-sister would surely snort at.

She had tried touching Nyla before, their first meeting in fact. She had been a curious child, with only a couple years of experience that told to grab onto the shiniest object nearby, which was at the time Nyla’s golden watch. Her arms had slipped straight through, terrifying her at her young age. Nyla was quick to calm her down at the time, though told her later on that being seen after so many years of drifting through the living had been a shock to her nonexistent systems. She had stuck by Brooklynn’s side ever since, likely because she was the only one who could see the dead in Gotham.

Nyla leaned forward, leered at her until Brooklynn snapped, “What are you doing here? I thought you were haunting your niece.”

She rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath something that sounded suspiciously like buzzkill. Likely sensing Brooklynn’s annoyance beginning to bubble over, she explained, “I was with Amina, but something came up.”

Brooklynn frowned, echoing, “Something came up?”

Nyla slid off the bed, floating a couple inches off the floor, and turned to her window, grimacing. “There’s someone you should meet.”

There wasn’t anyone there, she thought at first, just her sheer, blue curtains fluttering in the night wind. A figure, once hidden by shadows, slowly formed before her, perching on her windowsill. She noticed his eyes first, a startling, bright amber that flicked around her room. His expression was neutral at first glance, but his knit eyebrows and tightly pressed lips betrayed his unaffected facade.

His gaze finally landed on her, dissecting eyes pinning her under his scrutiny. Brooklynn stayed silent, not breaking eye contact as he finished his inspection. He found what he was apparently looking for since he licked his lips, a nervous expression flitting across his face, and spoke.

“I need your help.”

This whole chapter was just Brooklynn taking things into her own hands and running with it. That bit about her father? NOT meant to be there, and neither was her whole thing with Duke. I may need to change the relationship tags if they keep this up, they were never meant to interact this way!!

I hope that last part didn't come off too awkward. I was kinda drawing on my experience of being confessed to, the mortification I felt afterwords was unreal. Luckily for Brooklynn, she won't have to stew on it for too long, she has work to do >:3

Anyways, here are the ages for the batfam members that appeared this chapter:

Duke Thomas - 17 years old

Stephanie Brown -18 years old

Tim Drake - 18 years old

Barbara Gordon - 24 years old

<< Chapter 1 | Masterpost | Chapter 3 >>

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living-d3ad-gh0ul · 1 year ago

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Tuesday 17th October 2023, 02:45am

I really should be asleep right now. But I can't seem to get comfortable and when I do, my brain just won't shut up. So here I am, writing to you. I've been thinking about you a lot lately. I don't know why. I think I've been missing you a bit. Is it strange to miss you? I don't know. I'm sorry if it is.

I really hope your blood tests came back okay and everything is all well with your health. Do you know when you'll have surgery yet? I was thinking about that the other day and hoping I hadn't missed it, so I could wish you good luck for it. I'm really glad to hear that you've found a job you can do that will turn into a career too and that you can get the training for it. Has that happened yet? Or are you still waiting?

I knew you were thinking of leaving the band, and that's okay. If it's ran it's course for you, then I'm sure your bandmates will be understanding, especially if they're your friends. I really hope the last two shows went well and that you enjoyed playing them at least and I hope the last show you do next month is good too. Will it be near your birthday? Because I know that's coming up really soon too. It's the week after I get back from another comic con, I go away on 17th November and come home on the 19th, so I'm just gone for the weekend. This time it's in Wales, I've only been there once when I was a kid.

Aw no poor Chonky :( I really really hope she's okay now. It sucks when our pets get sick, because they don't have a voice to tell you exactly what's wrong, so it can be pretty worrying. It's a good job that owners can usually tell though when something's wrong and what it could be, because they know their pet well. But it sounds like you did the right thing for her and I hope she's feeling much better now. I'm sure she loved having you look after her and care for her and make sure she was all okay.

Don't worry about streaming and stuff, you can come back to it whenever you feel like it, whenever you have the time. I look forward to the next time you do, I've missed chilling in your chat and just.. hanging out. I liked it before. I actually was playing some of the Cyberpunk DLC myself the other week, it was quite fun haha. But I definitely think I need to start upgrading my PC soon. Definitely a new fan and CPU and maybe a secondary SSD. I would upgrade my GPU but those are so expensive and my 1080 still serves me well at the moment.

I'm sorry it's been a little bit since I last wrote, I've just been busy with work mostly. I haven't had much going on or much exciting happening. Apart from going over to Belfast to surprise my best friend, that was quite cool. We went to another convention, I just booked a flight and a hotel and turned up. She had no clue I was coming and was really surprised when I got there haha. I literally just went over for like.. 24 hours. I'd felt bad cause I had to cancel a trip to go see her at the end of this month just due to work and not being able to get the holidays and stuff. So I was pretty upset and just wanted to do something kinda.. fun and spontaneous? Idk

Ian Somerhalder walked by me too and didn't even notice it, it wasn't until my best friend pointed him out and I was like "oh shit" hahaha. But I was more excited about Peter Facinelli and Jackson Rathbone from Twilight, I used to love that when I was like.. 14. I would have met Ian and Paul too, but it was far too expensive for me. Maybe some day I will. I recently started watching The Vampire Diaries again, since it's spooky season and all and I haven't watched it for years. So I've went right back to the start, I'm at the end of season 1 right now where Isobel is in it (I hate Isobel. And I fucking hate John Gilbert too)

It was also my dad's birthday on 8th October. That was a pretty hard day. I was quite sad and upset all day, but I watched a lot of my dad's favourite programs and stuff and tried to distract myself. Red Dwarf, Monty Python, The Mighty Boosh (which me and my dad actually started watching together) and some Billy Connolly. I also listened to some of his favourite music too. And I got a clootie dumpling from a local bakery (it's like a Christmas pudding kind of but not as rich), coincidentally it was the same bakery me and my dad and grandma and grandpa would go to, it was just down the street from my grandma's house. My grandma used to make him one for his birthday every year when he was a kid, instead of a birthday cake because it was cheaper. And he loved it. It was one of his favourite things. He'd always ask me to bring him some down when I'd go down and visit him in Nottingham, because you can't really get it anywhere in England and to make a proper one yourself, it's a bit of a pain and really easy to mess up if you don't do certain things right lol. When he was in the nursing home, I remember one day the chef had came to talk to him and asked him about food he liked and stuff. He was telling me that they'd asked him what kind of birthday cake he wanted and my dad immediately asked if he could have a dumpling. The chef agreed and said they absolutely could do that and I remember my dad being so so happy. His face was just.. completely lit up, big wide smiles, all excited. I think that's what made me extra sad, because he had been so excited for his birthday and his dumpling. He really liked the simple things in life, honestly.

So even though he wasn't here, he got his dumpling. I went out early on the Saturday morning and picked it up, had a chat with the guy who owns the bakery (who actually weirdly recognised me and asked me who my family were, so I told him and he immediately remembered me from when I was a kid, telling me about how he remembered I'd come in with my grandma to get the rolls and the papers, how I'd come in with my dad for a yum yum or a strawberry tart lol. I unfortunately had to break the news of my dad's passing to him, he didn't know. And he was quite sympathetic. He was a nice guy, just as friendly as I remembered when I was a kid. I'll attach a picture of the dumpling to this so you can see. I stuck a candle in it and everything for him. Sang him happy birthday and cried while doing so. But I knew he'd be nearby. I knew he'd be standing right behind me hugging me while I did. God just writing this is making me tear up a little bit.

I've started some grief counselling too. I think they are really helping me. I'm getting it through the hospice who helped with dad's end of life care, even though the were only involved for.. well a few days.. they've given me more support that some family have (my mother included. I'm still at odds with her. She's done more horrible and nasty shit since we last spoke and.. honestly I'm just seeing her for her true colours now, realising that I've been gaslit, emotionally neglected and manipulated by her for a very long time). My boss has been more than happy to allow me to attend these sessions, because they know in the long run it's going to help me and isn't going to affect my performance at work or anything. I'm actually doing really well at work at the moment, even considering that it is incredibly stressful and emotionally/mentally taxing at times, but I've had nothing but good reports in my weekly catch ups with my manager so far. So I think it's safe to say they can see that I am more than capable of doing the job. I just wanna try get through my probation and then move to a different department. Something that doesn't involve talking to customers lol.

Gran also got out of hospital, which is a good thing. She's back home and still resting and stuff, trying to get her strength back. She was in there for like.. just over a month. Unfortunately we don't think shes gonna be able to get any more chemo though, which sucks. But we're hoping her oncologist will still be able to do surgery for her, we just have to keep trying to get her strength up and make sure she's eating well and we're getting her walking and stuff. Even if it's just to the kitchen and back or around the garden. Small steps. It hopefully will make a big difference. I've been making sure to go see her at least once a week, even just for a couple hours at the very least.

I don't have much else going on right now. It's just work and looking forward to next month when I go to Wales. I don't think I have anything incredibly exciting planned for Halloween, which sucks, but I'll be working this year unfortunately. Maybe I can just relax and watch some spooky movies after work, eat some terrible sweets and enjoy myself a little. Oh and I'm on some new medication too actually, I'm not sure if it's working yet, I don't feel anything different. This is for a physical thing, not a mental thing. But it's nothing too serious, just something I need to like.. manage symptoms of.

I really hope you're doing well, E. I hope everything's going good and that your health is good and Chonky is good and work is starting and surgery is getting scheduled and all the good things. I know it must be getting warmer there too, because it's definitely getting fucking colder here haha. I've been absolutely frozen in the mornings for a couple days now, until I turn the heat on again and warm up. I think it's gonna be a reaaaaally cold winter this year which is unfortunate.

I really hope to hear from you soon. And I hope I've got more exciting things to tell you next time.

N x

"I saw you in a dream then it came to an end, I wonder if you'll come visit me again"

(the selfie was me at the con in Northern Ireland. It was SO fucking hot, I was boiling all day. But I still looked cute I think.. maybe haha)

#him

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datura-meloxia · 8 months ago

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This is so wonderfully kind, thank you so much!! I’d love to talk a little more about my cosplay (this ended up being very long, sorry in advance haha!) ☺️

So in total honesty, I still very much consider myself a cosplay newbie - Wylan was my first cosplay that I put together back in October for comic con!! It was something I always knew I wanted to try out and have a little bit of fun with, and I think I’ve definitely found a new passion!

Given I’m so new to everything, I haven’t had much time to develop many new skills just yet - I’m also a uni student, and so my budgets are pretty small, and things like craft supplies or even a sewing machine can seem quite intimidating and a bit out of reach! That being said, one of the brilliant things I’ve learned about cosplay is how you can still create something really wonderful from things you find or already own, and I’m such an advocate for things like casual or closet cosplay!!

Most of the base pieces of the costume are things I found in charity shops or online marketplaces like Vinted - even the tie! Not everything is completely screen accurate of course. This was kind of a push back for me at first being such a perfectionist - I really wanted to get every little detail to match how it was in the show until I realised that it was really taking the fun out of things for me. So I honestly just went for vibes!! Still trying to get the general look and silhouette for Wylan, the colour palette etc. but being a little more relaxed about the details.

I think the waistcoat and jacket are both great examples of this - whilst they’re not totally show accurate, they still *feel* very Wylan and look like something he would wear, and once I saw it all put together, I realised how much I actually liked the look of it all and how recognisable i actually was as him!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the little details, and so for me this is what really pulled my Wylan cosplay together. Again, although these aren’t necessarily things he had on him in the show, the bunches of flowers and the chemical bottles I had attached to my belt all felt very Wylan-esque. He’s our demolitions man, so of course he’d have some explosives ready at hand! The little vials of powder are just old crushed up eye shadows I had laying around - I wanted red and white to represent the Red Phosphorus and Potassium Chlorate that Wylan buys in Shu Han, and the other two are just there for a bit of fun! The flute also felt like a must have - that was one or the few things I found online, it was very cheap but did the job perfectly!

The flowers are of course a reference to the Datura Meloxia flowers from season 2 of the show, and I knew I wanted to include Cyan Morpho butterflies somehow but worried they’d be too overwhelming. So, I managed to find these teeny little butterfly hair clips that I attached to my waistcoat, goggles and the flowers in my bag! I think they work just perfectly, they don’t overpower anything, but are still a cute little detail for anyone who gets the reference!

(Edit to original post because I just completely forgot!): Another very small detail to this cosplay that no one has actually seen yet is one of my favourites - in the little pocket of my waistcoat, I keep a small bronze key. This may seem quite random, but the key is meant to be the one that Jesper gives to Wylan in the deleted scene from Season 2. The key represents so much about their dynamic, and the ways in which they've both had to navigate their worlds up until that point, and it's a truly special moment for me that I wanted to make sure I could represent. So, that little key is always in my pocket, right by my heart, just as I think it would be for Wylan.

I think something I always worried about with cosplaying Wylan was that I wouldn’t do him justice. That I wouldn’t portray him the right way or people wouldn’t understand who it was meant to be. But once I let loose and just enjoyed myself with it, I knew I had nothing to worry about!

All of the feedback I’ve had on my Wylan has truly meant the world - never would I have expected people to like my rendition so much, let alone the cast voting on it as their second place winner in a competition?! Having everyone tell me afterwards just how happy Jack looked, how much he was cheering and up on his feet for me was the most heartwarming thing. Hearing from Freddy just how much Jack had paid attention to all of my little details and mannerisms and poses, and how enthusiastic and excited he’d been to see it was just the most surreal experience. Even Archie telling me he’d wanted me to win the whole thing felt like a fever dream!

It’s been such a wild journey, and I think Wylan will always be my favourite cosplay to do. I’m sure I’ll be wearing him again very very soon.

Much love from your favourite demolitions expert ;) 🧪💣

Into The Fold this last weekend was so unbelievably incredible - I had the most amazing time, met some truly wonderful people, and managed to come away from it all winning second prize for my Wylan cosplay??

Hearing everyone say how much they loved the cosplay was already magical enough, but to hear it directly from the cast - from Jack!!- took my gratitude to a whole new level. I had so many people tell me afterwards just how wild their reactions had been, and I’m just so happy that I could do Wylan justice!

#cosplay #wylan van eck #jack wolfe #into the fold #shadow and bone #six of crows #sab #soc #crooked kingdom #wylan hendriks

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p-redux · 2 years ago

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Hey ‘all in the know’ P - Have you heard when OL goes back into production? Diana Gabaldon will be at NYCC in October…don’t think she’ll be alone! This strong indication Season 7 may be split in two 8 episode installments like Season 1 🤔

Hi, Anon, I'm not "all in the know," as I keep saying, I know some very specific info given to me by insider sources...and then here and there I'm given other info, depending on the situation. To find out more specifics and DETAILED info about my sources, click here 👇

As for your question about Outlander Season 7 filming. Given that the cast is on a 6 week or so hiatus, and that hiatus started around mid-July, they should resume filming end of August, early September.

As we saw yesterday, Sam was still in Glasgow, but I'd been told previously that he's most likely going to be in Los Angeles end of July, beginning of August, so we'll see if that's the case or if that changes.

We already know that Season 7 is going to be 16 episodes. So, they've split the filming, hence the weeks' long hiatus. Most episodes take 2 weeks to film. They started filming early April, so let's say by mid July, when they went on hiatus, they'd filmed 1-2 episodes in April, 2 episodes in May, 2 episodes in June, and 1 episode in July, that would mean they've already filmed 6-7 episodes.

When they start filming again, they'll go up until the Christmas and New Year's holidays, take a couple of weeks off at that time, like they usually do, and then finish up whatever episodes are left after.

As for anyone from the cast joining Diana Gabaldon at New York Comic Con in October, it would be difficult due to filming still going on and no official announcent has been made. BUT New York isn't that long a flight from Scotland AND it would be the perfect opportunity timing-wise to do promo for the upcoming season. When I got your Ask, I contacted a source to see if they know anything about NYCC and anyone besides Diana attending. Sometimes, panels are added later, depending on scheduling. If they know any details, I'll post them.

I'm VERRA excited about 16 episodes-thanks for stopping by, Anon!

#samheughan #caitrionabalfe #outlander #outlanderseason7 #dianagabaldon #hiatus #nycc 2022 #nycc #source #sources

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maerenee930 · 2 years ago

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You met Matt Smith? Can you share the details please?

hi anon! i am so sorry it’s taken me so long to reply to this!!

so yeah i met Matt Smith 🥰

it was at Motor City Comic-Con on October 16.

it was through the professional photos done through the convention. i was with two of my best friends and we waited in line for quite a bit cause Matt not only had a very long line (understandably) but he also had other photo opps to do with Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvil and Alex Kingston.

so when it was finally our turn, we walked in and he said hi to us and asked how we were. and he asked we were enjoying ourselves at the convention. it was so sweet 🥰

Matt and i were very much not ready when they photographer took the first picture cause my eyes were closed and matt was in the middle of saying something lol. but then we took another one and it turned out so well 💙

it all went by pretty quick, tbh. it was because he had such a long line. but it was soo worth it because he thanked us for coming out and he said he hoped we had a good rest of our day.

he was seriously so genuine and sweet. it broke my heart cause it seriously looked like he wanted to have like a proper conversation with us and he looked kinda sad cause he couldn’t and cause things had to live so quickly.

i would love to meet him again sometime and have an actual and like proper conversation with him.

like i feel like just sitting and talking with him would be so much fun.

and going to see him, Alex and Karen later in the evening for the panel they did, it seems like he’s truly just a laid back and friendly guy.

he’s so funny and again so genuine and kind and he just is a really good guy.

i would love to properly get to know him and become friends with him 🥺

long shot i know, lol. but idk… even though i didn’t get to talk to him or see him like in person or face to face for very long and even though we only saw him at the panel for about an hour, in that short time, i could definitely get the feeling from him that we could become friends and that we have a lot in common 💙

if you ever get the chance to meet him at a convention or wherever, it’s seriously worth it! he’s such a good, sweet, kind and genuine guy! 🖤

#mattsmith #motorcitycomiccon #doctor who #the eleventh doctor #eleven #geronimo #i adore him #karen gillan #alex kingston #arthur darvill #amy pond #river song #melody pond #the doctors wife #rory williams #the last centurion

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poupeesdecirque · 1 year ago

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Travel Blog Polaris Hamburg! - 14. October 2023

As another rather local-ish convention I decided to check out the Polaris in Hamburg this year. It's a travel of 2 hours by train but a rather convienent route with only changing trains once and I was in Hamburg quite often, therefore Ticket was booked for a day quickly even though I was going there alone with not knowing anyone there. I had some brief contacts who were supposed to be there but didn't end up meeting.

For the full day:

It started super early for me as - like mentioned - the travel time by train was 2 hours and I wanted to get there quite early as autumn break just started and I feared the trains would be filled to the brim (which would be turn out to be true later on). The overall ride was quite relaxing, I had time to read further into the book I started earlier this year. I went into the train in full cosplay as I didn't want to change later on, I didn't want to travel with a wig head and all that.

As I arrived in Hamburg gladly the dear mahein.design (insta) had spotted me in the train before and asked if we would go to the Convention location together, I was full on lost Allen mode and agreed. We took another train and walked a bit. Lost each other then though as he had to change into his cosplay attire and go through the weapony check, I just had Timcampy with me.

The first (of two) Halls I went to was the one with Muchi Markt - the food theme was all over here, you had different food vendors like Bubble Tea, Japanese Crepe etc, also the fitting stage to go with different workshops/events.

Then Valdhaym a roleplay/tabletop based part of the hall, merging with Neo Taki which had also a bigger stage for Quiz and Anime themed presentations. All over you had TONS of artists showcasing their work, no matter which themes, Anime, Manga, Series, Comic, Cute etc. you had different other Content Creators and Photographers, even a Stage for Just Dance performances, vendors with merchandise and pottery. it surely was a lot. Also there was the possibility to book Meet&Greets with bigger names of the german YouTube/Twich Community.

What I really loved was that you had SPACE to walk around even when a lot of people were around, the artists had space to move around, you always were able to navigate around.

The other hall had the Sandbox and the Cyberdome.

The Sandbox was all about gaming, they had vendors like Nintendo and Capcom, an exhibition about consoles and games, a fleamarket for games and more photo corners.

The Cyberdome was all about PCs, from Modding to anything else. They also had a Parcour you could use to show off your skills and a huge stage for the program. As you can see it was a lot of room.

The only downside I saw here truly was: there was only two (three if you counted outside) sanitary spots and ... you basically had to decide 30 minutes prior if you had to pee :') some more toilets set up outside would help greatly, especially if the day is sold out.

I mentioned photo spots! There were some set up like in the first pic here but also bit pop up spots and some were set in containers with differend themed to take photos at, that's a super cool idea! Sadly I didn't have a photographer with me therefore I skipped on taking pics there.

I was able to make some people smile with my Allen Cosplay and even able to talk a bit about the fact that the series is indeed still on going!

Also I'm very proud of myself to ask every cosplayer of DGM I came across for photos. You might now I suffer from severe social anxiety and usually need a safe person to push me forward. That's why I was a bit nervous in regards of attending the whole convention alone. Usually I get to a point in which I space out and then am overstimulated and it's just dead end for me, either mental breakdown or braindead.

But I managed super well. I went slow through the con, over and over again, taking breaks here and there. And I actually bought things I was eyeing for a while, commissioned a drawing and even bought food (yes that has been an issue too, like actually talking to people and ordering food, like a normal human? Gasp nope.).

My personal highlight and the first thing I got was this japanese crepe by Mimi's Crepe, a store I wanted to visit for a while and just had learned they would vendor at the con! What a great coincidence, they even had a convention special, with Matcha and Azuki Bean Paste.

The little foodie that I am I decided to try more later on, I am still super proud I ordered so much and just went for it. One is a falafel bowl with salad, sweet potato fries and Mango Chutney, as the serving was super small I got a Matcha Latte Bubble Tea as Desser, never had one with Tapioca, super chewy and fun.

With another 2 hour ride upon me I decided to head back to the train around 5 in the evening and said good bye to the convention, it was getting a bit empty anyways.

This time going back to the train station all by myself. Adventure underground here. Hah. but I remebered that line from a doll meet years ago luckily. It was easier than before as I arrived directly at the main station this time.

I had a few minutes left at the main station before boarding my train and wanted another little something .. I got a yogurt with berries but look at those pretty donuts. German Donuts are expensive af though and I felt like I only lived off sugar the day, therefore i only snatched a photo.

The train back was incredibly full... the security personell even dared to evacute the train if people wouldn't remove their bags from the seats (wtf why is that still a thing?) - I got a single seat at my first train.

Also we had another announcement which was "It's nice to know none of you likes to move but there is plenty of seats in wagon 5, 6 and 6! You know this is a train, it's hollow from the inside, you can walk through it" .. I had to laugh.

Drew a bit and enjoyed my little snack. Later as I had to change trains I stood next to a non german speaking family and their kid pointed fingers at me and laughed, I was seriously too tired to begin a fight against a full family but please teach your children some manners. Also kid: at least be brave enough to insult me in the native language of the country you are in. I have the courage to live my life to its fullest and walk around in a costume in a train full of people, I don't hide behind a full family to be an asshole about not understanding why people dress differently like you are used to see. No I tell people they should move aside and stick to the rules, even with severe social anxiety. Suck it up.

As I then changed trains I .. met Mahein.Design again and we shared the space in the other train, chatting along a bit until I had to get off. Thank you for the nice hour it was a pleasure to meet you! I also read and sketched a bit more.

#convention #travel blog #polaris #polaris hamburg #dgm

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elly-hiddlesherloki · 10 months ago

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Thanks for the tag, I'm not entirely sure how you're supposed to pick, but I'm gonna choose 10 characters!

Loki (obv)

gosh I love him, I could probably go on for ages about him. I first saw him in Avengers back in October of 2012 and I have been smitten since. I was crushing on a different character (casually) at the time and Loki showed up in his suit and I just ??? well I've been here 12 years now...

2. Jason Todd

difficult to do this because looking for a picture means I have to search for one and that is very distracting. Oh man, so Jensen Ackles voiced him in UTRH and like? that helped? but then he was just so snarky and funny and intelligent and just outmastered Batman and then I went comic looking and video game looking and he's beautiful??

3. Batman

my casual crush before Loki. I dunno, his voice is just beautiful and I guess I love voices more than anything in the world. Yes most people think his Batman voice is dumb (I acknowledge) but gosh do I love it. I watched the Dark Knight from halfway through at a store back when it first came out on DVD (the truck scene) and I was just enamored.

4. Legolas

I like gushing about my favorites, no lie. But Legolas was my second love from babyhood (or as far back as I can remember). I thought he was so badass and I've always thought archery was fun. I really need to try rereading the books - I have an eye tracking problem that makes some books hard to read and welp... I also named my Build-A-Bear bunny after him (much to the teasing by my brother)

5. Darth Vader

my first love (hahah) but seriously, since I saw the movies when I was like 4? Darth Vader was my favorite, I don't know what brought it about (other than the voice thing) but my goodness... to this day, I still have a soft spot for him. (and humorously enough, I hated Anakin who is Darth Vader, but not as cool as Darth Vader in child me's eyes, very complicated, I know.) Darth Vader beanie baby would always beat up Luke beanie and team up with (self insert) Leia beanie and be cool. This is wholesome memories, glad to share.

6. Meg Masters

Sorry, this is male heavy list, but I adore Rachel Miner and her portrayal of Meg. I got to meet her at a con and she was amazing. The character is beautiful and clever and snarky (and no lie, the voice), she's just been a wonderful unicorn of positivity for me, and I appreciate her to today.

7. Halt (Ranger's Apprentice)

Little bit obscure, but I loved him so much. I even wrote the author (hahaha) when I learned he was going to write a book called "Halt's Peril". Was a great, wholesome, lighthearted but still adventurous enough series that was just great growing up.

8. Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)

Another voice one I'm certain. I have a dear friend I've made because of him (many other dear friends from other characters, but they came to mind and I appreciate them) I can't think so well to gush about him right now, but c'mon, the dad vibes, the badassery, just good fun Star Wars fun.

9. Dean Winchester

Alright, I can't really go without including Jensen Ackles' Dean Winchester (voice again). Supernatural has its flaws, but it's been great seeing it grow on Tumblr as I've aged, and Dean was my favorite brother (though Cas is a close tie).

10. Hit-Girl

This was harder to choose, but while I didn't enjoy the comics as much (a little too dark) the soundtrack for Kickass was amazing, and it was a fun plot. Messed up, definitely, lots of swearing, way violent, but a bamf 12 year old just was so cool. Terribly inappropriate but it's one of my favorites regardless.

Oh man this was fun, who to tag? :o feel free to join in, sorry if it's a repeat tag and I'm so sorry that I'm limited to 10 people: @makerofrunevests @dinmadness @galaxythreads @frenchkissogram @butterflies-and-bumble-bees @smokeyloki @lokis-bad-ass-sister @lida-y @schrodingers-blursed-kitty @batbyte-alghul

Feel free to ignore, but I had a lot of fun reminiscing, dunno if I did it right but these are some of my favorite characters :)

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags

Thank you so much @idle-brit for tagging me!This was lots of fun :) 💖

My tags: @delyth88, @elymusplant, @galaxythreads, @chemical-processes. No pressure to answer, of course :)

1. Loki (MCU)

As much as I love everyone on this list, there is absolutely no competition for number 1. Loki has been my favourite character of all time for nearly 6 years now (because clearly the best time to join someone's fandom is after they've just been murdered), and is showing absolutely no signs of being replaced anytime soon. I have a Loki blog, for god's sake. The brodinsons are my favourite relationship in any kind of media, ever. I love them so, so much. Loki's a million different things and feelings, all at the same time, all fighting with each other, which makes for a wonderfully complex and nuanced character. Also, he's hilarious. Look at that eye roll. This is a man who hates his life, which makes me feel better about mine. Thanks, Loki.

2. Klaus Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)

As will become obvious throughout this list, I love me an emotionally traumatised crazy person. Klaus is that. One of the characters who makes me laugh the most, ever, show-stopping dress sense, and a bucketload of unresolved trauma which goes largely ignored by Klaus, the other characters and the narrative itself? It was love at first sight. Their banter with the other characters, especially Ghost Ben (rip) is one of my favourite aspects of the show. Here's to hoping that Klaus won't be getting the Allison treatment in season 4!

3. Pippa Fitz-Amobi (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder)

I binge-read the entire AGGTM series earlier this year, and instantly fell in love with it. Pip is one of my favourite protagonists ever. Impossibly clever, compassionate, obsessive, badass, and a teensy bit unhinged. What's not to love? I would die for her. I'd say that I'd kill for her, but I think she's got that covered. I think she's written in a very realistic way, firstly as a genius 17 year old girl who doesn't really know what she's getting into, and later as a haunted individual who wants to stop investigating but can't. The way she politely knocks on people's front doors to dig up their traumas, accuse them of murder and all-round ruin their lives is everything to me. She is my blorbo. I am so, so excited for the show to come out, and I'm sure that Emma Myers will do a wonderful job as Pip!

4. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

One of the best-written characters, in one of the best-written series ever. Reading from her perspective is such a delight- she's endlessly suspicious of everyone around her, constantly on survival mode, trusting very few people and relying on exactly no one (to begin with, at least). She's a random teenage girl, from the poorest district, and she wins the Hunger Games. She's so mentally unstable that she has to be sedated, and still she's made to be the face of a rebellion. She's rude, and kind of unlikeable. She adopts all the weakest tributes, at risk to herself, knowing that they won't win. She's doomed to fail by the narrative. She's the it girl of 2010s dystopian YA fiction. Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing actress, who does a beautiful job portraying the depth and conflict of Katniss in the films. The themes and social commentary of the Hunger Games is one of its (many) strong points, and I am so so glad that people are talking about it again, because it is my favourite book series out there.

5. Mitchell Pritchett (Modern Family)

I have no idea what to say about this man, I just love him. He just like me fr. What an icon. Impeccable music taste. I've started saying, "no my god" now, and nobody understands what I'm talking about. Even in a sitcom, my favourite is the one with issues that he refuses to talk about or fix. The episode where he's trying to hide that he dressed up as spiderman makes me cry-laugh. Claire's speech at his wedding makes me just cry. He's not a perfect man, but he's certainly better than everyone else.

6. Shin Tsukimi (Your Turn to Die)

My favourite cringefail loser! I said Katniss was doomed by the narrative in a metaphorical way. This idiot is actually doomed.

No but in all seriousness, I do really love him. Before the beginning of the game, he was just a relatively normal young man- but, when confronted with the inevitability of his own death, he made himself into a monster to survive. He has a violent vendetta against the local badass teenage girl, who is traumatised as hell already and does not need Shin chipping in as well, thank you very much. I love his relationship with Kanna, his biological sister; how he uses her, manipulates her, and still cares for her so much that he dies for her with a smile on his face in the Emotion route. Conversely, in the Logic route, his actions are a direct cause of her death, and I just love how much YTTD hates siblings. I hope that his past with Midori is explored more in either a mini-episode or the final part of the game, because I find it sooo interesting. I'm super excited to see whether he actually has no chance of survival, or whether he makes it out, against the odds, on one of the routes. He's a bit useless, so I won't get my hopes up.

7. Rue Bennett (Euphoria)

I think it goes without saying that Euphoria has its issues, lol. Sam Levinson is an idiot. While a lot of the show (especially season 2) feels shallow and like it doesn't care about its characters, Rue's storylines always have heart and depth and I am so invested in her arc. It's no wonder that Zendaya won 2 Emmys for this role, because her acting is phenomenal! Rue feels so real to me, in the way that she's trying so hard to stay sober but she falls down and relapses time and time again. Recovery isn't linear, but she's getting there, and I adore her with all my heart. Her relationships with Lexi, her mother, her sister, and her sponsor, Ali, are my favourites, and the healthiest for her, in my opinion. Her brief friendship/ romance with Jules may have kept her more solidly sober than anything else in the show, but Jules (understandably) cracks under the pressure of Rue's mental health, and can't be there for her. Rue needs to heal for herself, which she appears to be doing at the end of S2.

8. Max Mayfield (Stranger Things)

Duffer brothers, please just let her be happy.

Despite only being introduced in Season 2, Max has, in my opinion, had the best character development out of everyone on the show. Her growth from someone standoffish, rude, and uninterested in the group (maybe I'm being a bit harsh. She was, like, 12) to someone who is willing to risk her life to help her friends and Hawkins means so much to me. The scene in "Dear Billy" (S4, Ep4) where she escapes from Vecna remains my favourite in the whole show and will probably be burned into my brain forever. Her relationships with Lucas and El are very sweet, and some of my favourites in Stranger Things. Her final line in S4, after all her struggles over the season, being that she doesn't want to die literally breaks my heart. I hope she gets some degree of a happy ending in the final season. She was my first profile picture when I joined this hellsite, and I love her a lot.

9. Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables)

The shenanigans that this girl gets up to never fail to make me laugh. The bit where she accidentally dyes her hair green and then has to hack it all off makes me feel awful for her, but. it's hilarious. Sorry, Anne. Her friendship with Diana is so sweet but also so funny to me because they really are the most chaotic duo of the 1880s. The scene where Anne accidentally gives her alcohol instead of fruit juice is so mortifying but so, so funny. Amidst all of the insane situations that Anne gets into are a lot of really heartwarming moments and relationships. Matthew and Marilla adopting Anne, even though they wanted a boy, because she's so endearing and alone in the world is probably what made me who I am today. I still haven't gotten around to watching Anne with an E, but I've heard it's amazing. I look forward to watching it when I have the time :).

10. Daphne Blake (Scooby Doo)

My first ever favourite character! Another one who I don't have a tonne to say about. She's an icon, she's a legend, and she is the moment. She has done nothing wrong, ever. She knows martial arts, so watch out.

Honourable mentions: Thor (MCU), Finnick Odair (The Hunger Games), Gretchen Weiners (Mean Girls), Jake Peralta (Brooklyn 99), Maurice Moss (The IT Crowd), The Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who), James (The End of the F***ing World), Ali Abdul (Squid Game).

If you read all of this then thanks, and have a great day!

#long post

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9worldstales · 3 years ago

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MCU The Avengers - How did the fandom came to believe Loki was tortured by Thanos? (aka when God, Saint Paul and Dante seem to say the same thing)

Everyone has probably heard how there are people who say that, after falling into the Void at the end of “Thor”, Loki was tortured by Thanos and then sent to Earth. Of course every time this story comes up there’s a debate because this is not explicitly shown and some say it’s just a theory (word of Dante), some say someone involved with the work said so (word of Saint Paul) and some says the creators, be it Marvel or Joss Whedon or another director/scriptwriter said so (word of God).

Well, the truth is a collective chat about the three.

But first...

SOURCES MENTIONED:

Movies: “The Avengers” (2012), “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014), “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2″ (2017), “Avengers: Infinity War”

Series: “Loki” (2021)

Comics: None mentioned

Direct-to-video animated film: None mentioned

Motion comics: None mentioned

Books: “The art of The Avengers” (2012)

Novels: “Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: The Avengers” (2015)

Webs: The official Marvel web

Others: Interview: “‘Thor: The Dark World’: Tom Hiddleston on boom times for evildoers”, Interview: “Tom Hiddleston - live on stage Q&A: Popcorn Tax.i October 8, 2013, Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney”, Interview: “Tom Hiddleston THE AVENGERS Set Visit Interview”, Interview: “Joss Whedon told Comic-Con the question he doesn’t want us to ask ever again”, Interview: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ director explains why a major death had to happen so early in the movie, Script: “The Avengers”, Interview: Secrets Revealed in Joss Whedon’s Avengers DVD Commentary

Let’s start with...

WORD OF DANTE (aka fancanons)

Undoubtedly fans noticed some suspicious things in Loki which has brought them to draw certain conclusions.

1) At the end of “Thor”, when he control Selvig, his face seems to be bruised, as if he had been beaten. It’s easy for fans to assume if he seems to be beaten maybe... well, he was?

2) When he arrives, in “The Avengers”, in some scenes he seems unsteady on his feet and in poor shape as if he’d been beaten and, in one scene, he seems unable to stand straight. Same as above, Loki will prove through the movie he’s very resistant. If something made him unsteady on his feet... well, this can mean someone beaten him.

3) The Other threatens him and keeps him under surveillance, as if he’s controlling him somehow, both during the movie and in a deleted scene, which seems to imply Loki is working under coercion more than willingly.

THE OTHER: You will have your war, Asgardian. If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can’t find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain. [The Avengers]

4) Some wondered if Loki could have ended up being possessed as well by the sceptre as the sceptre could control minds.

5) Some noticed how Loki’s eyes appear as blue in “The Avengers”, a characteristic of the possessed guys, while in “Thor” they seem to be green was a hint Loki was possessed, same as Selvig and Barton.

6) Some wondered if Thanos might have tortured him to force him to cooperate as Thanos is known for having tortured people working under him. We saw him torturing Nebula in both “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” and we also have those bits:

Gamora: He’s not my father. When Thanos took my home world, he killed my parents in front of me. He tortured me, turned me into a weapon. [Guardians of the Galaxy]

Nebula: You were the one who wanted to win. And I just wanted a sister! You were all I had. But you were the one who needed to win. Thanos pulled my eye from my head… and my brain from my skull… and my arm from my body… because of you. [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2]

Gamora: All my life, I dreamed of a day... a moment when you would get what you deserved. And I was always so disappointed. But now... you kill and torture... and you call it mercy. The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize, and it told you no. You failed. And do you wanna know why? Because you love nothing. No one. [Avengers: Infinity War]

7) Others assumed that, if Thanos didn’t do it personally, another of his children could have done it for him. We saw Ebony Maw torturing Stange in order to get the stone for Thanos.

Ebony Maw: You’ll only wish you were dead. [Avengers: Infinity War]

8) Since Thanos was willing to kill Rohan should he fail to bring back to him the orb, Thanos would have killed Loki if he hadn’t brought back the Tesseract so Loki was working for him under coercion.

Thanos: I shall honour our agreement, Kree. If you bring me the Orb. But return to me again empty-handed... ...and I will bathe the stairways in your blood. [Guardians of the Galaxy]

Ebony Maw: In all the time I’ve served Thanos, I’ve never failed him. If I were to reach our rendezvous on Titan with the Time Stone still attached to your vaguely irritating person, there would be... judgement. [Avengers: Infinity War]

9) Loki’s willing cooperation wasn’t needed if Thanos had the feeling Loki could do it. He had blackmailed Gamora into giving him the location of the soul stone and he had killed Tivan to get the reality stone.

World of Dante is, as usual, very charming but if not supported by anything else it can’t ascend to canon. This doesn’t mean it’s false unless Word of God ends up stating the opposite, but this doesn’t mean it’s true either. Just possible but unproved.

So is there someone else that’s a little stronger than fan theories?

Enter...

WORD OF SAINT PAUL (aka what Tom Hiddleston says)

For start that he has blue eyes and, from the way he speak, apparently he was never made wear green eye contacts.

Loki is a sexy villain, but that’s not part of his ambition, is it? He doesn’t seem to be interested in love or sex but he has this sexuality about him, maybe it’s his lust for power. What do you think of Loki as a sexy beast? [Laughs] That’s the first time anyone has ever used that phrase about Loki. It’s fascinating isn’t it? I don’t know because it’s not a part of the conscious construction. I take relish in playing him. I think there’s a physical self-possession about him, a self-acceptance. Of course I’ve been very exacting about his physicality. You know, I was born with very blonde, curly hair, and a mixture of Scottish and English genes, and my complexion is very ruddy and healthy. In making him with this raven black hair and blanching my face of all colour, it changes my features. Suddenly my blue eyes look a lot bluer, which lends a severity to my face. And even my own smile has a distorted menace to it. Whatever comes through me naturally is distorted. It’s almost like a filter on a light. [‘Thor: The Dark World’: Tom Hiddleston on boom times for evildoers]

This disproves Fan theory point number 5. You might have noticed though that the theory about Loki being possessed by the sceptre is point 4. You’ll see later why I hadn’t placed those two points together.

And now let’s see what he has to say about what happened between “Thor” and “The Avengers.

In your opinion, what happen to Loki when he fell in to the void? Like, what did he experienced? HIDDLESTON: “You mean at the end of Thor?” “Yeah.” HIDDLESTON: “I think he went like with everything else to… Joss Whedon and I discussed it, to a sort of… hum… as… It was like the worst place imaginable. I think, he went to sort of all of the darkest recesses of the Universe, you know. I’m sure he had a brush with… with... with... several brushes with death. I think he ran into the shadiest characters you can find in the Nine Realms. I think he had to rely on his wits to protect himself. Hum… It was really, really, really unpleasant, I think. Umm… and all I have to, you know, I don’t have any frame of reference for that, really, except for imagining what it might be like to be… I don’t know, to be kidnapped by sort of a terrorist cell or something. And have to survive very very frightening and precarious existence. But whatever it was, it was important when Loki came back for the Avengers. Whatever compassion he had left, was absolutely kind a shrivelled to a minimum. Because of the experience he had. Harrowing, I think, and scarring for life. In a way that Odin and Thor, and Frigga find very, very difficult to understand. It’s a good question. Happy Birthday.” [Tom Hiddleston - live on stage Q&A: Popcorn Tax.i October 8, 2013, Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney]

How different is Loki in this film when compared to how he is in Thor? I think that he comes into his own power at the end of Thor. Is he just very angry and bitter in this film? HIDDLESTON: Well, what can I say here? I swear to you that in that building over there, there are sniper rifles. [laughs] I think that what was interesting about the journey of Loki in Thor is that he went from second string and damaged prints to being the God of mischief and God of evil. I think somewhere between the end of Thor and the beginning of The Avengers, Loki has been to the Marvel equivalent of the 7th circle of hell. At the end of Thor you see him let go. He lets go of the spear, he lets go of Asgard, and he lets go of the need of his brother and father’s affection and approval. He has bigger plans now. [Tom Hiddleston THE AVENGERS Set Visit Interview]

HIDDLESTON: “At the end of Thor, Loki lets go of that spear and falls into a wormhole,” Hiddleston said. “And the question in the audience’s mind, one hopes, is what happens to Loki in that moment? And in the time between the end of Thor and the beginning of The Avengers, Loki has explored the shadowy highways and byways of the universe – and he’s met some terrible, terrible people and probably has some awful experiences, which he has survived and overcome. So by the time he arrives in The Avengers, he knows the extents of his power – and he’s unafraid to use it. And more importantly, he’s unafraid to enjoy it.” [The Art of The Avengers]

There’s actually more but I think I’ll stop here.

Overall Tom Hiddleston seems to be a big supporter of something terrible happening to Loki, something equivalent to being ‘to the Marvel equivalent of the 7th circle of hell’* evidently at the hands of someone, the ‘shadiest characters you can find in the Nine Realms’, ‘some terrible, terrible people’.

Basically he says ‘I don’t have any frame of reference for that, really, except for imagining what it might be like to be… I don’t know, to be kidnapped by sort of a terrorist cell or something. And have to survive very very frightening and precarious existence.’

[*7th circle of hell: For who’s curious the 7th circle of hell in Dante Alighieri’s Divina Commedia is where are punished those who had committed violence against others and against themselves (suicides). Loki committed both sins. For Dante people who committed violence against people is immersed in a river of boiling blood with centaurs shooting arrows at those who try to escape while suicides are transformed into bushes and trees, gnarled and thorny, fed upon by the Harpies for all time. Likely that’s not what was done to him but anyway that’s not a nice place to be.]

Yes, Tom Hiddleston never said it was Thanos and his men who ‘kidnapped Loki and put him through the equivalent of the 7th circle of hell’. He’s very vague on this but we now Tom Hiddleston is careful not to give information which could constitute spoilers.

He also never mentions Loki being mind controlled as far as I know.

So we need an even higher source.

We need...

WORD OF GOD, or, in this case the WORD OF GODS, plural, because in the Marvel world there’s plenty of people who can claim authorship for the stories of those characters.

Whedon avoided speculating about his future plans, claiming he had too much on his plate to think about what will come next, but he did reveal that he’s bothered by a bit of unresolved backstory for Loki. At the end of Thor, Loki was emotional conflicted, but at the beginning of Avengers, he’s a demented villain, with no qualms about unleashing alien hell on Earth. Asked about how happened in between, Whedon said: “Well, I can’t tell you exactly what went on because it’s this dark, dark secret that I didn’t make up yet. But, the other day, I had trouble with that because he had this very passionate Shakespearean tragedy thing going on in Thor and then I needed a villain who’s not only capable, but ready and willing and anxious to take on all these heroes. For me, he just basically went on some horrible walkabout… That was pretty much as far as I got.” [Joss Whedon told Comic-Con the question he doesn’t want us to ask ever again]

God confirms what Tom Hiddleston said, Loki went through something terrible... but he had no idea what because he still had to work on it. He didn’t want to establish what. But, as I said, Marvel has plenty of Gods willing to talk.

After Loki fell in the wormhole... where did he fell?

Arriving at the Sanctuary through a wormhole caused by the Bifrost, Loki met the Other, ruler of the ancient race of extraterrestrials the Chitauri, and Thanos. Offering the God of Mischief dominion over his brother’s favorite realm Earth, Thanos requested the Tesseract in return. Gifted with a Sceptre that acted as a mind control device, Loki would be able to influence others. Unbeknownst to him, the Sceptre was also influencing him, fueling his hatred over his brother Thor and the inhabitants of Earth. [MARVERL official web]

So no, after falling into the wormhole Loki didn’t go on a touristic trip through the universe, met someone bad unrelated to Thanos, changed and then met up with Thanos.

He straight out ended up at the Sanctuary and met with the Other who worked for Thanos.

Yes, they don’t say he got tortured in this bit but they confirm the sceptre was influencing him, ‘fueling his hatred over his brother Thor and the inhabitants of Earth’.

There’s some more that comes from Joe Russo and Stephen McFeely.

If you’ve watched every movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you shouldn’t have been too surprised Thanos killed Loki. His death has been a long time coming since 2012’s “Avengers.” You may not recall, but it was Loki’s job in “Avengers” to secure the Tesseract and deliver it to Thanos. Loki never made good on that promise. It was only a matter of time before Thanos came after him to collect. Co-director Joe Russo says Thanos ultimately murders Loki “for disobedience.” “Remember, he [Thanos] had a relationship with Loki, even if it was off-screen where he entrusted him with a duty in ‘Avengers 1’ and Loki failed,” pointed out “Infinity War” screenwriter Stephen McFeely. “He’s [Thanos] making him [Loki] pay,” added Joe Russo. “Thanos has a long memory,” McFeely concluded. [‘Avengers: Infinity War’ director explains why a major death had to happen so early in the movie]

And then... then there’s something that’s even above World of God.

So finally we have...

CANON, aka what the movies say, and they say the weirdest canon lines in this regard if I can say so.

Thanos: [Walks over and drops Loki’s body in front of Thor.] No resurrections this time. [Avengers: Infinity War]

Loki: Is that the only reason you brought us here? To kill us? I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been killed, so go ahead. Do your worst. [Loki Ep 4]

How all this translates? (aka Word of Dante comes back because God and Saint Paul are just too obscure and canon is no better)

If Loki after falling into the wormhole ended up straight to the Sanctuary, the ones who played the part of the terrorists and lead him to an experience similar to ending in the 7th circle of hell where he had many brushes with death where either Thanos or his men.

Do your pick if the Other took care of it personally, if Thanos did the job or if he let the pleasure to Ebony Maw and what they did to him, if they forced him to fight with others same as Gamora and Nebula where forced to do, with the loser also losing a body part or if they just beat him.

The fact that Loki, in the “Loki” series say he has been killed so many times he lost count and that Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War” says there will be no resurrection this time seem to be connected.

That Loki as far as we know only attempted suicide by letting himself fall in a wormhole once, and Thanos couldn’t know Loki was given up for dead in Svartalfheim so the idea that Loki was killed many time and that Thanos know he had been resurrected should be connected.

How? That’s beyong my understanding as, as far as I know, no one in Thanos’ group has resurrecting powers. Can the mind stone do it? This would open up another theory.

As for the sceptre controlling him ‘fuelling his hatred over his brother Thor and the inhabitants of Earth’ what does that mean?

That he’s clearly not completely brainwashed as Selvig and Hawkeye.

So which is his level of brainwashing?

Very likely it’s at the same level as the one of the Avengers when they are in the same room and start arguing and the discussion degenerates to the point they seemed about to go at each other while the gem in the sceptre starts to glow, which is something both the script and the novelization reference...

[As the “team” argues, they don’t realize the BLUE GEM on Loki’s sceptre is glowing brightly.] [“The Avengers” Script]

None of them noticed when the gem set into Loki’s sceptre started to glow. [“Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: The Avengers”]

...and that the visual remark, turning the scene upside down as the gem is in full focus.

The novelization describes them as arguing without even knowing exactly what they’re arguing about.

Tony and Cap squared off over an argument that they couldn’t remember starting. Tony was still mad about the last thing Cap had said to him... whatever it was. [“Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: The Avengers”]

We also see Bruce picking up the sceptre without realizing, something that’s referenced both by the script and the novel.

BANNER: You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm? [BLACK WIDOW and Fury have their hands down to grab their guns.] STEVE: Doctor Banner... put down the sceptre. [BANNER LOOKS DOWN AND IS SHOCKED TO SEE HE’S HOLDING LOKI’S SCEPTRE. The computer beeps. They all turn to it.] [“The Avengers” Script]

“Dr. Banner,” Cap said. “Put down the sceptre.” Bruce looked down. He hadn’t even known he’d picked it up. He looked back up and saw Natasha’s hand on her sidearm. Fury was also ready to draw. The others were drawing back from him as well. Even though he could see what was going on, the hostility in the air was still tick enough that Bruce didn’t know wherever he could back everyone down... or wherever he could back himself down. He could feel the tension rising inside him. He could feel the monster trying to get loose. [“Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: The Avengers”]

The implication is that the sceptre is influencing them, pulling out their worst feelings and competitively and whatever which matches with what it did with Loki, it fuelled his hate.

It’s interesting how, when Loki arrives on Earth, the gem is glowing...

Also, the stranger held a kind of spear in his right hand. Set into its head, a gem glowed the same icy blue as the energy that had spilled from the Tesseract. [“Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: The Avengers”]

...and he also looks at the sceptre as if he hadn’t realized having it in his hand.

“Sir,” Fury called as armoured S.H.I.E.L.D. agents closed nearer, “Please put down the spear.” The man looked at the sceptre as if he had only just noticed he had it. Then, slowly, he looked back up at Fury, and a vicious smile spread across his face. [“Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: The Avengers”]

It’s worth to mention though, in that scene in which the Avengers argue, none of the Avengers has his eyes turning blue, although they weren’t themselves any longer.

So, it’s possible this is the distinction, Clint and Selvig have completely lost their will and are subjugated to Loki’s will, and as a result they’ve the blue eyes, Loki and the Avengers instead only had their mind warped by increasing exponentially their negative feelings to the point they might have started losing focus of the situation and only operate on negative feelings... if that’s make sense. They’re still themselves but their perception is warped so they’re acting in a way that’s not normal for them.

On another note it seems that in Joss Whedon’s Avengers DVD Commentary he said that

Hawkeye’s blue “possessed eyes” were added in post very late in the game, to make it more obvious that he and Eric Selvig were under Loki’s influence. [Secrets Revealed in Joss Whedon’s Avengers DVD Commentary]

This means that originally they weren’t meant to turn blue.

In the novel there’s no mention of it, in the script they’re described just as glowing black and then nothing more.

LOKI: You have heart. [Loki places the tip of the spear against Barton’s chest. Barton’s eye glow black, and he stops resisting. Loki begins controlling other agents around the room. Fury sneak up, grabs the Tesseract, and places it in a briefcase, trying to sneak out.] [“The Avengers” Script]

In the movie instead they turn all black for a moment and then settle on blue.

It’s an unnatural blue though, where Loki’s normal.

But again, this too is a fan explanation. A fan explanation based on canon, but still a fan explanation since God didn’t bother to explain further and at this point I’m afraid he’s not even interested in explaining it since the “Loki” series could have dug on this and instead expressed 0 interest in digging into the past movies.

Sometimes we’ve just to accept that fan theories are all we have and that we can like or dislike them.

And that’s all. Thank you to who remained till the end of this long post!

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