#keep it up with the timeline timetravel bullshit

[tally-ace]

Hey just reached gold saucer and quick question, what the FUCK is going on?

[kidcooper02]

i know the chances of YJA getting a season 5 are extremely up in the air right now but regardless i know i would still LOVE to hear your thoughts on Bart and Ed's relationship and how what happened in s4 could continue into a hypothetical s5 when it comes to them specifically, if you feel like sharing! your takes are awesome i love reading them

IVE MULLED ABOUT THIS ASK FOR A WEEK BECAUSE I DONT KNOW HOW TO GET WORDS?? BUT I DREW A SHITTY DRAWING TO HELP WITH AN ARC IDEA

(Also just know, I do not understand things when it comes to fictional sciences, I'm making up bullshit and I know it and I apologize if it's painful how wrong I am)

OK SO, Towards the end of season 4 the Legion talked a lot about Chronoton radiation. This is basically radiation specific to timetravel, meaning whoever is exposed to it becomes immune to any timeline changes. Which is why Bart can stick around, Neutron in the future remembers Bart leaving, Yada yada yada..

Basically, Bart's time machine was practically leaking the shit which is how they knew he truly was dealing with time stuff.

So I had an idea about investigating things with the potential to be Chronoton irradiated.

This bleeds into a "Wally's not dead" storyline (I'm not sure which way I fall on how I want it to end tho, with him being alive or not idk I have a differing paths).

Bart's time with the Legion refreshes his memory on time shenanigans, he hasn't needed to think about all the time he messed with since he's been settled into the present and helped with the Reach invasion. Especially with their end scene where they aren't even sure they're going to be able to get back to their own time due to their radiation. I think, besides the whole experience being traumatizing, that conversation could've gotten Bart on a certain path of thinking.

This is where I start making up bullshit lol

With all the crazy shit that goes on around the world (and galaxy) that the League deals with, I imagine some world building could be bunker like locations scattered around to keep inventory on "Shit We Wrecked" for stuff they don't know what to do with but want to hold on to in case. So, up in the North Pole bunker, lies the dormant MFD from the attempted Reach invasion.

Bart is not in the best head space I would think. Lots of past memories of things he went through but also the people who were around him. He's feeling angry and sentimental and a little lost if he's being honest. All this thinking about the people he lost in the future and the ones he lost in the present, boils him over to want to just.....DO something.

There's nothing he can do for Joan, and he knows that. It was a grounded way to go. But Wally? It was rushed and unexpected, it didn't even make sense because no one knew it could even do such a thing. So, why not try to figure out why it happened the way it did. Along the way, get some closure and time to think. (This is a self indulgent thought but if anyone has read "We Look Both Left and Right" by theatrythms on ao3, I'd love to incorporate their Bart backstory into flashback snippets as Bart travels to the North Pole to really examine the MFD for the first time since 2016)

But, Bart can't truly expect to be left alone through all this.

Ed was hurt by Bart's actions, either by not being made aware or by the way Bart seemed to brush off what just happened to him. Ed is feeling all kinds of ways but the one thing he knows is that, Bart needs help. Canary is one thing but Ed would want something more for Bart, more than what he can or the League can provide.

Ed and Bart have a conversation on how everything affected Ed, and open the dialogue for Bart to express everything he went through. But it won't come that easy. Ed had real grounded problems that were triggered by Bart's actions. Bart...hasn't even sorted through the existential nature of himself let alone know where to exactly dig at with his issues. But Bart is a doer, so when he comes up with the idea of investigating the MFD to get closure (really to gain a sense of control over loss), Ed isn't leaving his side (both in he doesn't want Bart doing this alone and, Ed is feeling a little soft. He needs to feel like he isn't alone ((and maybe convince the lost boy inside that Bart needs him too-)))

So, Ed and Bart go on their own little mission to the North Pole. I'm not sure how to organize the rest of my thoughts but stuff I wanna hit on is

Ed keeping and encouraging Bart to having an open dialogue with the others not on their little mission. Just, emphasizing that knowing the Team awaits their correspondence and cares for their wellbeing is something I need Bart to learn (and Ed to get a refresher on)

I think the comic is building up a Markovia n Taos conversation, and I want Ed to have that plot line of being the defender of the MHYC and wanting to know why/how their peers are ending up in Markovia. I want Ed and Brion dialogue (I'd even be down for a fight but I love them both please don't fight)

With Ed wanting to stay by Bart but also having to think about the situation with the MHYC, I want it to be a lesson inside Ed to learn. Coming full circle into potential struggles we talked about Ed having, in which he feels like he isn't worthy of having people stick around for him, having that scab start bleeding again with Bart's mission with the Legion. (Ed feeling like he has to prove himself again to Bart that he's reliable, that Bart doesn't have to leave him because Ed can help!) Letting the two of them talk out this issue, that throwing away your ambitions to support your partner isn't how you "prove" you're "worthwhile." Letting them hug and confess all over again (and for the audience the first time) that they want the other around because they like them, not because of an arbitrary thing they provide. Giving Ed the reassurance that, it's not about physically keeping yourself bound to the other that shows you're not alone

In turn, teaching Bart that it's good to have someone right by your side. That he doesn't have to burden himself into doing things alone. That when he's feeling down, isolation isn't the only thing he can do. That people WANT to be there for him

I just want them to have a healthy dialogue about relying on each other more while also not tying their worth to what they can do for the other

So Ed can feel comfortable having his own storyline of dealing with the Metateens and leaving Bart on his own without the fear Bart will just disappear. And vice versa that Bart can have his moments of silence to piece together his thoughts and feelings, knowing that he has Ed in his corner to come back to him so he won't stay bottled up

Again, that fic I mentioned earlier would be SO GOOD for Bart flashbacks that he can open up about to Ed, real catharsis for Bart to open up and for Ed to be an ear

If they discover Chronoton Radiation on the MFD, what does that mean for Wally? Maybe Bart gets a little "Failsafe" moment in convincing himself this means Wally is alive

MAYBE WE CAN BRING UP THE FACT ED WAS ABLE TO TELEPORT INSIDE GRANNY GOODNESS'S TORTURE POCKET DIMENSION DESPITE NOT SEEING IT AS A PHYSICAL LOCATION AND PRESUMABLY BECAUSE HE JUST TELEPORTED TO BART, and what this could mean about how Ed's power can grow (previously mentioned fic, Ed's only line about teasing Bart that maybe one day he can grow to teleport through time and Bart won't be the only time traveler on the Team anymore.....now wouldn't that be interesting)

ALSO IDK HOW BUT AGAIN, I WANT THEM TO KEEP IN CONTACT WITH THE TEAM BECAUSE ITS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT THEY DONT JUST MOVE FROM ISOLATING THEMSELVES TO ISOLATING WITH ONE ANOTHER, I WANT THIS TO BE A REAL HEALING ARC

BASICALLY, IGNORE THE MAIN PLOT, BART AND ED ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS NOW

Again I'm not sure how I'd end this, end it with proof that Wally is in the time stream and Bart and Ed travel together? Proof that it wasn't quite Chronoton radiation, Wally is dead but Bart learns at least why AND he got a lot more off his chest? I like what both can do

[kuronekonerochan]

The laziest compilation of thoughts about the mess that was Alice (spoilers)

I finish a lot of shitty dramas. Like a lot. I could review them, but I won’t bc there’s too many and I’m too lazy (when you ff some dramas from 45min to 5 per episode it doesn’t really count as watching too many dramas bc it’s really a commercial break, lol). Some I watch for the so bad it’s good content, or love hate watching or just to have something to watch while I eat, even if they’re boring af. It’s also a tiny bit of ocd bc I need to see how they end (even the ones I drop I check out the finale). I only drop the ones that as Marie Kondo says *Do Not Spark Joy, more specifically...annoy me and make me cranky.

I sometimes bitch about it on DMs with ranty spoilers without structure and that reference other unrelated dramas or shows, because ADHD and my mind refuses to stay on topic, which would make it probably unintelligible except if you are in the niche who happens to have watched the other unrelated dramas, so it’s probably useless as a review.

That said, here are some random disconnected thoughts about Alice.

MAJOR SPOILER ALERTS BEWARE

(this is like partly copypaste of DM rants bc I am that lazy biatch. Also, fair warning I will seem super harsh or this drama because that’s the thing about a bitching dm versus a proper review... I am not bringing up all the points and talking about the good and what I liked as well as the bad, it’s just the bad...and although the drama is imo a mess, it does have some good in it. So if it were a review I’d always argue pros and cons...ranty thoughs who cares about pros? boring..I will not be bothered with devil’s advocate).

This was fascinating to watch, interesting but not good... but like a trainwreck.

I continued watching this mess despite the headache inducing convoluted plot (I watched a lot of timetravel stuff and I love it...encompassing all the theories about it, from butterfly effect, to effectively changing the future (with characters forgetting it or keeping it in memory because “eye of the storm” theory, the “efforts are futile and you can try to change it but the future is set in stone”, to “small changes can be made but big events are fixed points in time”, to “every change creates a new time line” and multiverse, etc... and trust me, all of them can be done well when well written or turn out a confusing illogical mess and that has nothing to do with the theory chosen, but with presenting how time travel works for that story and what the basic rules are and sticking to them...or when something happens that contradicts them, come up with an explanation as to why that happens.

 I don’t mean the drama should be an exposition borefest with too much pseudosciency jargon...but this drama gives you too little in the way of rules and the viewers sort of figure out how timetravel works (which is not bad per se, huge fan of show don’t tell...but there’s a limit to how much they cannot tell or the characters chose not to ask just for the sake of plot and not without any logic to it). Anyways, the little “rules” that we gather along the way...the writing doesn’t stick to them and keeps contradicting itself without addressing or explaining it and hoping we’re so confused we don’t notice. Some dramas you just say “eh, forget it, it doesn’t make sense, let’s turn off our brains and enjoy it”, but here if I wanted to try and follow what was going on at all it required “brain on” mode for their convoluted plot twists...which also made me aware of so may plotholes the time road should have looked like Swiss Cheese. I could go into them...but I cannot be bothered and the list would be extensive and still incomplete, so I will just put 3 here bc I can’t help it:

 1) Hot Daddy with emotional turmoil the entire drama of “Oh no, I abandoned her in 92 and regretted it, it happened 1 year ago for me, and now I find out she died in 2010. How was she, did she suffer? What did she know? Oh god, if only I were a time traveler eventually going rogue who could show up and talk to her any time in the timeline between 92 and 2010...Alas, I have to live in misery with the consequences of my actions...there is just ABSOLUTELY no way of solving this. I guess I’ll just keep making unauthorized time travel journeys from 2050′s time agency back to the year of 2020 and only 2020 to constantly be blindsided by murder attempts on everyone everywhere without having a clue to what’s going on when I could simply go back to before 2010 and talk to the one person who is proven to know what is going on.” Here is where there could be a bullshit reason as to why he could go only go to 2020 and not before, but the drama didn’t even bother.

 2) They say Tae Yi’s mom was originally a time traveler who settled with her physicist dad in the past, eventually making way for her to discover time travel herself. The mom is missing and this is never addressed again. 

3) The book...who wrote it? Because I have guesses but they never outright answer it... and if the biatch author knew that stuff why the alice in wonderland stupid analogies?

 Coward, or petty, or both.... or maybe just a chaos gremlin godlike entity who wanted to watch them all squirm, like the author from Extraordinary You...and that I could get behind, but sadly they don’t go that metaphysical/theological with the plot...which is honestly the main problem with this drama. It seems ambitious in concept but it’s never explored decently in any way, not in the pseudoscience, not in the philosophical sense of the meaning of time/space/existence, not even in its relationships, with the constant back and forth and weirdness of it.

Besides the timetravel migraine, we had the weirdest directing, that made the relationship between the leads feel a bit too incesty...which was the main reason I kept watching this drama...morbid curiosity of how they wrapped up this mess of a plot AND especially the relationship payoff...would it keep being weird with trope romance drama scenes like the female lead and second female lead facing off and being jealous, or that weird hair washing that felt more sensual than maternal? I knew it wouldn’t happen but my inner chaos gremlin wanted kdramaland to grow some balls and go full “predestination: oedipus edition” with this mess. Alas they sort of did, mostly didn’t. Even that angle was a whole inconsistent mess: there were times where it felt too romantic, then for a short minute I misguidedly shipped the journalist friend, then it seemed the dude was ace, then they calmed their tits with the whole weird romantic vibes and it got platonic cute, then with the memory merge thing finally motherly vibes, then I shipped the journalist again for 1 sec only...and then the ending:

Alice ended with the lead solving every problem by shooting himself (technically) in the head...and that's the second meta perfectly fitting ending for a drama with a good cast and terrible writing that drove itself into a corner this year, after the sleepless princess ended with the leads jumping off a cliff. I don't think it's a self aware choice of the writers, or an admission that they themselves know it was bad, but the irony is delicious.

Spoiler for the ending: he undoes timey wimey stuff from when his mom first got killed in high school and closed the time travel door. So he became an architect and new Tae Yi just woke up in her bed remembering everything, but in reality she had just come back from a conference abroad and had never met him. So mom TaeYi didn't die then, but never got back on screen after the time undo so who the f knows what happened to her. 

Also, if new Tae Yi remembers, does that mean hot daddy from the future does as well, but he is just stuck in the future without a time door to ever see them again? The drama doesn’t care answering that and forgets his character is even a thing...I will miss you, my fave who looked emotionally and literally constipated 24/7 (it doesn’t care answering much at all tbf... a little known fact about the time travel paradoxes according to the physics of this world is that besides doppelganger chickenpox it induces severe lazy writing).

Anyways new Tae Yi went looking for architect (? okay...I guess) ML after she woke up, at first he didn't remember her, but it ends with him meeting her, apparently remembering her and they stare at each other... you know, like any bad traditional romantic kdrama finale....so there is still THAT vibe. 

Honestly, the usual romantic ballad score for scenes between the leads WAS NOT the most intelligent choice for this drama in specific but boy did they stick with it (not to mention the ending song... that goes, in english ��we be like Bonnie and Clyde we ride or die...which...k, sure)...so technically the ending was exactly the cliche post amnesia running back to each other and staring for the final scene while romantic music blasts trope. Take it as you will.

[inwardphae]

Not my Steve (please share!)

Alright, it took me three days to digest Avengers: Endgame enough to be able to write this rant and it’s SOLELY about Steve Rogers. Please, read and share if you agree ‘cause I believe that there are things that Marvel should be made aware of. 

Thanks for the help, love you all xx Obviously, spoilers from now on.

First thing I wanna say is that I loved the movie, I found it a great homage and the rightful conclusion after 11 years of movies, and the right conclusion for so many characters with their specific arc and personal development (never been a fan of Tony Stark, but I truly appreciated his arch in the movie). Except for Steve Rogers. Here’s why.

I found Steve splendid and so well made throughout the whole movie, him trying to help others to move on but at the same time being unable to do it himself exactly because Steve is Steve, because of what he represents. I LOVED the fact that they let him hold Mjolnir -honestly, it was long overdue.  (There’s a bit of a debate about whether or not he should have been able to call the lightning: we know that both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker are catalysts that help Thor direction his own lightning, and in that sense Steve shouldn’t be able to do it. But it’s also true that in the first Thor Odin said “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor”.)

But let’s get to the true problem, the absolute bullshit, the denial of 10 years of work on the character: THE ENDING. There are literally tons of reasons why this conclusion doesn’t work, let’s start from the more obvious ones. And please, note that I’m saying all this not because I personally ship Stucky -I doubt that any Stucky shipper in their right mind would have expected for it to become canon, honestly-, I’m saying his because I’m a person with eyes and that’s enough to realize that there’s something terribly wrong with this choice. Regardless of whatever I wanted or hoped for Steve in this movie.

I find this conclusion an utter and complete disservice to a character who’s had his arc and a specific characterisation: it negates all the efforts, the pain, all the space in the world that Steve managed to carve out for himself in the 21st century. It’s a disservice to Peggy who loses her autonomy as a character, who loses her personal history -we know from TWS that she was married, with kids at least a niece that we know of, she lived her life. It’s a disservice to her own words “none of us can go back, sometimes the only thing we can do is start over”- WHICH, just to remind everyone, was also a quote used in one of the Endgame teasers. I’m saying all this despite the fact that I personally appreciated Peggy very much and despite having loved Peggy and Steve together at the times of TFA. And moreover, after all the pain, the family that Steve managed to create for himself, the battles he fought, what does Steve do? He goes back? He goes back instead of going forward? Steve, “the kid from Brooklyn too dumb not to run away from a fight”, Steve fucking Rogers RUNS AWAY and goes back to the past? Steve denies himself, abandons everyone and goes to the past? No way, no fucking way. I swear I’ve never seen so much OOC in one scene.

There’s also the problem of the potential huge plot hole. There are two options: let’s break it down.

Option 1: Steve goes back to the 1950s, marries Peggy and, as suggested by the timetravel theory used in the whole movie, he creates an alternative timeline to the main one where they live together. And where he (presumably, I hope) goes to save Bucky to prevent 70 years of torture, brainwashing and conditioning, and to prevent the reconstruction of Hydra. Then again, presumably after Peggy’s death in this alternative timeline, he travels through the quantic realm again and gets back to the main timeline where he meets Sam and Bucky. Problems with this option? Well, it doesn’t contradict the timetravel theory of the movie, but there’s still the problem of the other Steve in the alternative timeline, who’s currently frozen in the Arctic. What happens to him?

Option 2: Steve goes back to the 1950s, marries Peggy, he doesn’t create a different timeline and simply lives his life to the point that he meets with Sam and Bucky in 2023, as it seems to be suggested by the fact that Steve is already there, sitting on the bench, when Bucky spots him. He doesn’t get there through the portal. Problems with this option? TONS. First of all, it contradicts the whole timetravel theory of the movie (see above), it implies that at some point Old Steve and Young Steve must have coexisted, and especially it implies that Steve radically changed the past. If he marries Peggy, Peggy doesn’t marry her husband, and the whole future should change. Does it mean that Steve has been Peggy’s husband all along, like in a time loop? Then does it mean that he kissed his own nephew? Sharon *coughs* Carter? As you can see, there are HUGE problems with this option.

But let’s move on from these incongruences for the moment and let’s get to the other utter bullshit: BUCKY BARNES (how handsome was Sebastian Stan in the three seconds that he was on camera by the way?). Now, whether one believes that between Steve and Bucky there’s a romantic interest or just a platonic, brotherly love, it doesn’t really matter. Bucky and Steve’s dynamic has been the focus of the whole Captain America trilogy, and there’s no denying that. Steve, when he tries to distract his double in the 2012 timeline, says “Bucky’s alive”, and honestly that’s the most honest moment dedicated to their relationship, and Bucky wasn’t even there! They drowned us for a whole trilogy with “I’m with you till the end of the line” moments, and the only thing that they leave us with, and the very end, it’s a come back from the first movie with “Don’t do anything stupid until you get back” and the famous reply “How could I? You’re taking all the stupid with you”, and THAT’S IT? Steve goes to live his life and all the best to everyone? Not even a word once he comes back as Old Steve, he’s just there to pass the shield to Sam?  Bucky, the best friend of a lifetime? Bucky for whom Steve fights against the Avengers? Bucky for whom he’s ready to die, Bucky for whom he’d sacrifice himself thousands of times? Bucky for whom he stormed into a Hydra base without proper training and without even knowing if his friend was alive? Bucky for whom he gave up the shield not once, but twice? No way. No fucking way.

This is not about appreciating Bucky and Steve and their dynamic or not, this is about the absurd choice of denying the entire arc of two characters that occupied the space of a whole trilogy. But why?

And come on, Steve’s at least a hundred years old, probably about to die, and they don’t even exchange a few words? I could have handled something like “Hey pal, we made it to the end of the line", I could have lived with that. But not this way. Some part of me tries to think that if anything, at least Steve got to come home from the war. He lived his life. But it’s so terribly wrong, and Steve would never deny himself and his choices, and not because he can’t live without a war, but because he’s always been true to himself. And he would never leave Bucky behind to go back in time and live a life with a woman that -let’s be honest- he knew for two years back in the 40s and with whom he’s already got closure after her death in CA:CW. He moved on. And so did Peggy, to be perfectly honest. Let’s all remind ourselves how utterly destroyed Steve was after Bucky’s ‘death’ and how much he blamed himself: his guilt is literally what moves the two following movies. But the Russos decided to ignore this.

It’s such a horrible thing to do and it’s so unfair that I feel like I want to cry again. And in all of this, Steve didn’t even die, he’s not dead but he doesn’t even get a closure that works for his character. He’s still there, but he’s not really there anymore, is he? And for all those who keep saying how nice is that he got to dance with Peggy, sure it’s nice. But then you really don’t know Steve Rogers at all.

In conclusion, I loved the movie and I’m totally happy with it as a farewell to the MCU as we know it, as a farewell to characters like Tony and Natasha. The only discordant note, sadly, is Steve and his dynamic with Bucky. I don’t know if the Russos did it cause the shipping fandom made them uncomfortable, and honestly, I don’t even want to know. It’s just something that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive Marvel for. And they need to know.

#notmysteve

[whenthesunburnsout]

I can’t let go of Endgame, I’m sorry.

ENDGAME SPOILERS! (This is not what this blog was meant to be but it’s my Endgame dumping ground now. Sorry.)

So, I wrote Nothing Breaks Like A Heart to deal with my feelings after Endgame. And then I began to think... how can I bring Tony back and get him and Stephen together without invalidating the beautiful Tony/Pepper and Morgan relationship? This is the result. It’s a novel I could never write so have 1.6k of outline.

I have have a totally sappy title for this: “Learning to Live in Daylight”

I’d love to know what you think about it.

Imagine that Steve, after his travels to bring back the Infinity Stones to their proper places and times, makes one last stop before he settles down with Peggy. He has to have a spare Quantum Realm/Timetravel thingy in case his breaks, right? So he has the tech, the time and the Pym particles to go to Titan, right after the Snap, and get Tony. He gives him all the info he has and sends him 5 years into the future, before he himself fucks off into the past to his fairy tale ending with the love of his life. (Or to change stuff around to create his own branched timeline. That's sounds more in character for him.)

Only, Tony overshoots.

And so the man, who hasn't lived through the last 5 years of pain, trauma, happiness and married life with a daughter lands about 6 years into the future in a world that is almost back to normal. A world with no Nat and a new Captain America in the form of Sam Wilson, a world where Pepper has mourned him and has begun to piece her life back together. And a daughter who he already loves but doesn't know and begins to cry when he doesn't react to "love you 3000" except for a confused look. He cries himself when the little girl runs away from him and Pepper runs after her with tears in her eyes, unable to really look at him.

He may be alive but he's still lost them and he hates Steve for bringing him back so, so much. It would be better to be dead, right?

After some weeks of trying to come to terms with his new reality and new chance at life he decides to confront the one person who is as if not more responsible for the whole fucked up mess than Steve.

The doors to the Sanctum are opened by Wong who takes one look at him and lets him inside. His survival has been covered by the news, but the details have been kept vague. But Wong is neither blind nor stupid - he sees the past right in front of his eyes and can extrapolate from the rest.

"Stephen's not here," he says but Tony can smell the lie.

"Bullshit. He's just a coward afraid to face me."

Wong just stares but it somehow communicates just how untrue those words are. Tony looks around and notices the general state of decay around a building that has felt ancient, welcoming and downright homey the first time he's been here, only a few weeks ago in his own personal timeline.

"What happened?" This time the hostility is gone from his voice and as soon as he truly looks he sees the utter exhaustion and desolation in Wong's eyes and posture.

"Your death." Wong makes an inviting gesture and leads him upwards. "He took his part in it not very well."

"Why?"

Wong just gives him another look. They come to stand before a big door and something instinctively tells Tony that he doesn't want to know what lies behind it. Wong judges him yet again for some minutes. "He's still alive," he finally says. "Barely."

The door opens. Tony takes a deep breath and forces himself to face whatever lies in front of him. All thoughts of revenge, screaming and extracting explanations flee when he sees Stephen floating in the middle of the room, surrounded my bands of magic. He looks lifeless and Tony has to watch him for a couple of seconds before he's sure that the man's still breathing.

Stephen does that. But nothing else. He looks emaciated, skin stretched too tightly over bones. His hands are still shaking lightly, even now, Tony notices.

"The magic's keeping him alive?" Tony guesses and Wong nods tiredly.

"He's over exhausted himself literally to death after your funeral."

Tony shudders at that. Pepper has shown him the hologram his future self has left behind and he knows what happened down to the very last detail. He gets it, he really does, but he looks at Pepper and their daughter and can't help wanting that life even if it ended in a horrible, painful death. At least the other him got to marry Pepper and have Morgan with her. He? Has nothing. He can't just slip into the life of a dead man even if it was himself.

He doesn't ask why Stephen did that. The memory of Stephen on Titan, collapsing after looking into uncountable futures, is still fresh in his mind and he's seen the shock, fear, panic and despair in Stephen's eyes. He still hears his mournful "Tony, there was no other way". Now he knows what Stephen meant and since he had time to pour over all the research the Avengers did after the Snap he knows a lot more about Stephen Strange than he did back then when they were strangers.

He now knows what it means to be the Keeper of the Time Stone and what sacrifices it demands. Bruce has told him about the Ancient One.

Stephen has stopped eating after the final battle, Wong tells Tony, unable to keep anything down while he's been busy with keeping everything together. It didn't take long before he collapsed since he wasn't in good shape from Titan. He's being kept alive - barely - by magic in the hope that his depleted reserves can recover. He's needed more than ever since he's the strongest sorcerer around the threats haven't stopped even with Thanos defeated for good. (Something Tony can still barely wrap his head around.) As much as Stephen might wish it - and Wong knows that he does - he's simply too valuable to be allowed to die.

Tony kind of knows that feeling.

He finds himself drifting into the Sanctum and Stephen's room more and more often in the days and weeks to come. He learns a little bit about magic and talks to an unresponsive Stephen. He's just as elated as Wong is when Stephen recovers a little bit and they can dial back the magical help.

When Stephen finally wakes up he looks into the eyes of Wong and a younger Tony. He thinks he finally lost it for good or that he made a mistake, choose the wrong timeline and that everything was in vain. He breaks down crying before they can even explain what happened. It takes him a long while to recover and be able to listen, even longer before he can even start to believe.

Wong stays for as long as he can and comes as often as possible but he has other things to attend to while Stephen slowly recovers his strength in mind and body. Tony has nothing to do and spends pretty much all his time with Stephen when he doesn't try to connect with Morgan.

Pepper and him are over. They love each other but he's not the man she conceived and raised a child with and they can't slip back into their old dynamic. Too many things have happened and while it breaks both their hearts they agree that a deep friendship is much better than a relationship that just won't work. Morgan is theirs and they will raise her together but they can't be together anymore. Tony spends days crying over the end of their relationship.

So, the Sanctum and Stephen it is. He has to take his mind of things, somehow. Sometimes, Tony brings Morgan with him. Stephen has no clue what to do with her but she's lovely and he can't help but love her. She is Tony's daughter. She shines so brightly it almost hurts.

Stephen looks at Tony trying to be a father and Morgan slowly responding to his overtures and falls in love even more. He's loved Tony for ages now and the constant contact doesn't help.

Tony sees Stephen struggling with weakness and pain, sees him playing with Morgan and earnestly discussing things with Wong. He listens when Stephen tells him what happened whenever anybody but Tony wielded the gauntlet. He begins to cook because he has nothing better to do, Stephen can't do it and Wong seems to be fine to live off sandwiches.

The first time he reaches out without thinking to steady Stephen's shaking hand to help with bringing a bowl of soup to the table there is a spark between them. It's magic that even Tony can feel. They begin touching each other - carefully and innocently at first. Tony's not quite there yet and Stephen's still too fragile for anything else. A steadying hand here, a lingering touch after one gives something to the other. Shoulders touching when they sit together on the couch.

It escalates to handholding and sleeping against each other on the couch. They share a bed after a long day when Tony's too tired to go back to the place he stays. He realizes that the Sanctum and Stephen have become "home" just before he falls asleep and wakes up with Stephen cuddled up to him.

It's the most natural thing in the world to put his arm around Stephen and gather him closer. Later this day, after a mild panic attack and a short talk they share their first kiss. Tony initiates it and Stephen shakes like a leaf in the wind. Tony's not much better, to be honest. But it feels right somehow.

Tony is seven years younger than he should be and Stephen is so much older than he should be. Both are scared and scarred but are determined to find a little bit of happiness in a world they both never could have thought possible.

Little by little they do.

✨

[sudsyrants]

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology

No continent is safe from the plague of remakes, remasters, reboots, reanimators and so on. With the coming of the Nintendo Switch this problem has made us all very well aware of some sort of hostility toward making new games, and instead remaking every fucking Wii U game except the ones that actually matters, like the two Zelda remasters. Yeah, you heard that, I want a remaster of a remaster. Atlus has followed suite, and Atlus has some good ol gems which often are forgotten by the tides of time, and this one coming from the oft forgotten lines of awesome RPGs on the Nintendo DS- to the 3DS! Enough poetry, let’s talk about this awesome little JRPG, since JRPGs seem to be a running thing around here.

You take control of Stocke, an SI operative (SI stands for Special Intelligence or something). Stocke has a canny fucking need for doing things right all the time, and when his allies die in battle he is saved by some child-like twins. This is because he was given the White Chronicle prior to going out on his mission. This book gives Stocke access to history, or rather shortcuts to important events in his recent life. This means he’s able to go back in time and save his comrades, and he does it over and over again. That’s pretty much the plot of the game. Of course there are cool things in the story, but I found myself just not giving a shit. Something cool is how you’re given options every now and then, and depending on your decision the world might end. Like how when you tell a scientist how to grow coconuts and it turns out his coconuts were used as a weapon by the Alistelian forces to pretty much eradicate the entire continent.

Underneath all this timetravel bullshit is a pretty straightforward JRPG. Battles are turnbased... With a twist! Because there’s always a fucking twist. You can see in what order actions will happen, but by switching the order of your actions you can string together some epic combos. There’s also the possibility to simply erase your enemies’ turns by using some sort of burst thing, which whenever filled up allows either a powerful attack, heal or simply erasing a turn. The game also uses grids in battle, so you can push enemies left, right, back and pull them toward you, allowing you to line them up with your combos or simply just bag em together and beat the shit out of all of them at the same time.

You also get to choose from different characters, most with their own unique abilities and styles. My favorite team consisted of Stocke (you have to use him) as a melee puncher, Raynie to dish out elemental damage with freaking brutal magic spells and Aht, some sort of satyr girl who can put out traps for the enemies to get pushed into for some massive damage and delightful poison effects. Even though the graphics look dated it works just fine. It does feel a bit awkward having voice actors for 2D sprites but who am I to judge, I eat my melon frozen.

Overall the gameplay is relatively fast paced with very few sections that actually bog the whole experience down. The story gets a bit too intense at times, with long fucking cutscenes with little substance. The timetravel thing can get confusing, since you’re playing through two timelines it can be a hassle keeping track of when certain plot points in timeline A makes you access a new plot in timeline B. That’s why we have online walkthroughs though, and I made the mistake of putting the game off for a month and coming back confused as fuck.

The game comes from Atlus, so of course it’s fucking quality. We’re talking about the people who’ve brought us Shin Megami Tensei, Persona and Etrian Odyssey, of course it’s aight! And as is expected with JRPGs, it even has some fanservice. Enjoy.

[skrub-ttrpg]

The Aspects as in Skrub

here is the complete explanation of what Homestuck’s Aspects  mean in the tabletop Game Skrub, ripped straight from the rulebook. if these seem interesting to you, and youve ever felt the desrie to play through Sburb with your friends, come check this game out!

7.2.2 The Aspects

Painting metaphors have been used before, so I will continue with that. Aspects are the media of the painting, and each aspect is like a different color (as compared to the Classes which are like different painting techniques).

But truthfully, that's an oversimplification. The Aspects are a metaphysical system, in of themselves they are Abstract concepts. This means they are the fundamental structure of the universe, and that they are not directly physical. You can not simply walk about and find ‘Breath’, you can only find things that represent Breath. More specifically, aspects are the Metaphysics of a Story. They are the sum of the fundamental concepts that make up a story. Each of the aspects opposes another, which means their purposes compare and contrast each other.

But how do abstract concepts make a story?

Through the use of Symbols. [Rose’s apple speech that symbols hold all the power]. A symbol is something that represents something else, it’s meaning manifest. Symbols can be as simple as a physical object like a pumpkin, and action like a kiss, an emotion like anger, a game mechanic like ~ath, or more complex things I call themes, like Love. A Symbol is the means to the Aspect’s end. But, interestingly enough, since they are only a means to an end that is perceived and thus subjective, a Symbol in its performance may produce multiple ends, it might unintentionally represent many aspects. This is why most people have such a hard time differentiating the aspects in the story, because they are looking at things that are being used multiple ways. It is better to look at aspects in what they are trying to accomplish rather than what they are.

This guide is organized like this;

The binary between the next two aspects

The Number; I have associated on a d12, the Aspect itself and its Trait

The Meta; what the aspect at its metaphysical core

Themes: complex concepts that don’t have specific mechanics to express them, and exist in general in  the story, but still are used to support the aspects

Interaction: direct actions of the aspects, often what has to be done in order for the powers to take place

Objects: what physical objects are direct symbols

Strife Component: the in-combat representation

Status: what Emotions support them

Ultimate: the ultimate status of each aspect, and the greatest physical symbol in the Medium

Talents: talents that can be used to support the aspects

Space & Time, the basic building blocks of a story. [Screenshots of Calliope explaining space like the pages of a book, time is the turning of them]

12, Space, Imagination

Meta: the Setting.

Space is where everything takes place. The here, the there, and what's there. Its the set of the play, the buildings and props and the colors painted on everything. Anywhere that is Anywhere is Space (if you're nowhere, its void)

Themes: Creation, art, possibility, beginnings, Location. Space without time is the beginning of everything,  its looking at the stage and all the props before the start of the show, nothing has had time to do anything yet, it is the setup, infinite potential of all the thing that could happen to it before whatever does happen happens. Pure space without time is simple being without action, change, cause or effect.

Interaction: moving from place to place, touch, setpeice movements.

Objects: art supplies, any physical location, plants

Strife Component: the Chess board that represents where everything is

Status: Weird, Lonely, creative

Ultimate: Noblebright, (space is omnipresent, but either Skaia or Bilious Slick could work)

Talents: Art, Dream, Science, Cartography, Fashion

1 Time, Pulchritude

Meta: the Plot

Or more specifically just the chronology of the plot, the fact that event occur one after another, and that they continue to keep occuring. Not why they occur, or the specifics of what occurs, or how they relate, just that they do.

Themes: storytelling, Destruction, music, eventuality, endings, progression. There is a later section called Timelines (itll be at the end of the pdf, cause its a mess) that explains the horribly convoluted hell that is Timetravel in this game.

Interaction: letting time go by, playing music

Objects:instruments, clocks, metronomes

Strife Component: timing in combat, turn order, Actions

Status: aloof, entropic,

Ultimate: Grimdark

Talents: rhythm, fashion, nonchalance, dance, roast

Breath & Blood, [ i dont know how to describe the relationship between Direction and Investment]

9 Breath Adroitness

Meta: Story Direction

Breath is the why to Times when. Breath is moving to what's next, where you are going, what you are doing. New, unexpected events that are introduced that push the story towards a conclusion.

Themes: the mail, flying, goals, motivation, freedom, being let loose, not tied down, New Things

Interaction: anything touching the air or wind, moving around, breathing

Strife Component: Movement, Initiative, Absconding Strife

Status: flighty, confident

Ultimate: [free? Off the Railroad], The White Queen

Talents: ride, prank, rant, nonchalance, cartography, lift

4 Blood Vim

Meta: Investment

Do you give a shit about what's happening? Blood is if and how much you care about the story and characters. Your connection to it, your bond.

Themes: Relationships, Drama, Intensity, Family, Duty, Class Structure

Interaction: contact/ submersion in a liquid, especially with blood, bleeding, grappling and holding on

Objects: blood and other liquids, Rings,

Strife Component: Teams and Leaders, Being stuck in Strife

Status: <>,<3,<3<, c3<, angry, burdened

Ultimate: Stuck. The Black Queen.

Talents: Grip, Ship, Rant,

Light & Void; Relevance

8 Light, Sagacity

Meta: Importance

Even though there a literally trillions of bits of information streaming at you at every second, you only focus on a few sparse details. This concept is utilized very visually in stage shows, you can hardly look at everything on the stage, instead, our eyes tend to be led by a tool, the spotlight. This is the role of Light, it's the way the story signifies what is important, be it objects, locations, actions, or even the players themselves.  

Themes: Luck. Fortune. Agency, Sobriety. Knowledge. Attention.

Interaction: anything illuminated, in the light of some object, but especially in the light of Skaia

Strife Component: Focus, Crit Success, revealed areas

Status: Lucky(unlucky), conscious, illuminated, Smug

Ultimate: Enlightenment. Skaia.

Talents: Snark, Judgement, Wiles, Gumshoery

5 Void, Adroitness

Meta: Unimportance

If light is what is under the spotlight on a stage, then Void is what is everywhere else.  Void is where you aren't supposed to look, it allows the stage crew to move around the set, because if you can't see (or hear or perceive the event in some way) it's like it doesn't even happen. But thus goes deeper than just light and shadows, it's about attention. The street magician doesn't use magic, he keeps your attention one place, and in the void that creates he performs his magic and switches the cards around.

Themes:

Objects:

Interaction: any space where light is dim or nonexistent, especially in direct shadows

Strife Component: negative Focus, Critical Failure, Non Action, hidden areas

Status: Shy, unconscious, (lack of a status afflictment)

Ultimate: Nirvana. The Noble Circle of Horrorterrors.

Talents: Creep, Ride, Prank, Nonchalance, Lie

Hope & Rage; the suspension of disbelief

11 Hope, Pluck

Meta: Suspension of Disbelief

Hope is accepting something as believable. It is saying yes, this fits, this is explainable and justifiable in the setting and tone it is present in. Hope never needs to provide an explanation why, the answer is that when you believe in magic, anything is possible!

Themes: Belief in Magic, Romantic Crushes, Imagination, Shonen Heroism, Idealised Sexuality/bodies

Interaction: in dreams

Objects: globes, white stuff, phallic symbols

Strife Component: Dealing Damage, amount and note

Status: Hopeful, ( <3 and <3< but only when they are unrequited)

Ultimate: Magical. The White King.

Talents: Pester, Dream, Ship

2 Rage Vim

Meta: Contrivance

Breaking the suspension of disbelief. Rage is the realization that no, it doesn't fit, there is no believable explanation. It is complete and utter bullshit. Things that simply do not work, that are utterly impossible and unforgivable. And Rage is the reaction against this, screaming out that something is unacceptable, or reveling in the fact that it doesn't have to work, that its simply absurd and there is no changing that.

Themes: Disillusionment, Absurdity, Reality, Real human sex/bodies

Interaction: in nightmares, when things are in pain

Objects: clowns, game Glitches,

Strife Component: Deafness Resonance, Taking Damage, Response Actions

Status: Angry(calm), Afraid, Entropic

Ultimate: Berserk. The Black King

Talents: Rant, Lift, Lie, Science, Hack

Life & Doom; Tone

10 Life Pulchritude

Meta: Light Tone

Life is about having fun! Doing silly things, remembering to laugh, doing things that excite you, not always following the silly rules we make for ourselves. Rewarding yourself to a slice of pie, the sweetest pie called life.

Themes: Fun, Enjoyment. Endulgence. Growth. Power and the will to obtain it. The power to not have worry about the rules, to laugh without fear of retaliation, the power to afford sugar. The kind of power a monarch feels as they stare down upon the ants that are their subjects. The power to enforce their will upon the world.

Imagine an eagle as it swoops down to pull trout from its watery home. Imagine the strength it must feel, the rush of excitement as it swoops down from the sky, the power it feels knowing no other birds can compete, and the satisfaction it feels with the fish meat in its stomach. That is raw, unadulterated Life.

Objects: Organic structures, food, eating utensils

Interaction: consuming something, making a Joke

Strife Component: Vigor, Refill, Vitality Gel

Status: Sweet, Sour, Excited

Ultimate: Trickster. Prospit

Talents: Roast, Wiles, Fashion, Prank,

3 Doom, Sagacity

Meta: Heavy tone

Doom is Serious business, quite literally. It is the gravity of the situation, the weight that says right now is really not the time to be making a joke.

Themes: Rules. Law and Order. Structure. Should and shouldn't or Morality. Karma. Limitations. Sacrifice. Punishments. If Life is splurging and eating the entire ice-cream cake, then Doom is eating nothing but unsweetened, bland food for a diet.

When Life is the predator, Doom is the prey.

Interaction: Dying. Following the rules. Suffering from an Ailment

Objects: Dead things,

Strife Component:Despair, Decay, Ailments, ~ath,

Status: Bitter, Salty, Afraid, Paranoid, Ailments

Ultimate: Doomed. Derse.

Talents: Snark, Gumshoery, Hack, Judgement, Grip

Mind & Heart; the Self

7 Mind, Imagination

Meta: Choices.

What the player gets to decide for themselves.

Themes: Free Will, Pure rational Insight, Politics

Interaction: words, ideas, and concepts  read or heard, anything that causes a thought

Objects: clothing, Coins, Synapses, Hats

Strife Component: Strife Techniques

Status: Confused, Pretending(Mind cheats by making any feeling a Mind status,  but only if the player is pretending to feel it)

Ultimate: Fake. Denizens.

Talents: Lie, Cartography, Dance, nonchalance, Judgement

6 Heart Pluck

Meta: The person playing the game

Heart is the Ultimate Self, which is literally the person playing the game. Heart represents thing’s character, what they are regardless of choice. The character traits that make up “you”. The things that you were born with.

Themes: Capabilities/Talent, Preferences/Taste, true Love, True Friendship, Desire, Intuition

Interaction: touching, especially a kiss, direct eye contact

Objects: Shoes, player symbols and color, Hats

Strife Component: the players inherent stats, Talents, Weapon Quirks

Status: (heart cheats as well by making any feeling a heart status,  but only if the player is honestly feeling it),  <>,<3,<3<, c3<

Ultimate: Real. Denizens.

Talents: Pester, Ship, Lie, Dance, Dream