#so I have to quickly release it to the world before I'm deleting everything

[vingler-mirror]

So let's talk about the lyrics Isolde and Kakania were singing at the end of "Through the Glass"!

As the story described, Isolde was singing a part of the opera "Tristan und Isolde," specifically the part where Isolde is waiting for her rendezvous with Tristan.

In this part, Isolde ignores the calling of horns that signals the arrival of King Marke—the king she's supposed to marry—, insisting that it's just the rustling of the wind or the trickling of the stream, even though her maid tells her over and over that it IS the sound of the horns and the king is nearby.

In our Isolde case, I think we can interpret the call of horns as symbolizing the reality that Isolde doesn't hear—or rather, doesn't want to hear. Because "the calling of horns does not sound so sweet" compared to "the silence of the night" (the peaceful dream she doesn't want to wake up from), and the promise of meeting with "He who is waiting for me in the silence of the night," which—I think we can agree—is Kakania in her dream.

And unlike the "run away with me, Cavaradossi" scene, this time Kakania responded with her part!

Or at least... in the loose sense of it, because the part Kakania chose to sing skipped a lot of events ahead from Isolde's part, which is very interesting! Isolde's lines are from Act 2, while Kakania's are from Act 3: after the king catches Tristan and Isolde in the middle of their rendezveous, Tristan gets stabbed by his betraying friend, and he wakes up with a severe injury that will kill him very soon.

I think this might be intentional—to symbolize that Isolde is stuck in the past, in the happiest moments of her life, while Kakania is facing the reality of the present, in the aftermath of everything that has happened to them.

Unlike Isolde, who sang her part faithfully to the opera, Kakania took the full creative liberty of only singing a few lines from Tristan's part and straight up skipping the rest of it. Which is a bit disappointing at first (the time she actually played along with the opera act and she didn't even do it properly, smh), but this means that every single line she sang was deliberately chosen to convey what she wanted to say to Isolde!

I interpreted the first part of the lines as her expressing how lost she felt after the Storm washed away their era. She fully expected to get reversed by the Storm to atone for her sins, and now that she's left as the only survivor, she has no place nor people to return to. Her life, her purpose, the dream she worked on all her life, and the people she strived that dream for... all gone. She no longer knows where she's standing in the world and what lies ahead for her.

We can also interpret this as Kakania responding to Isolde, who was singing and waiting for Kakania as her "Tristan," saying that she can't meet her in fear of triggering Isolde's trauma and making her condition worse.

And the second part... is Kakania's resolve, that even if everything has changed, even if she's stranded with no era to return to, she will still stay on her path of striving to the betterment of the world, of trying to fix "the cracked mirror" no matter how fragile and broken it is. Back then, by fighting for the rights of arcanists and the other "outsiders" in Vienna, and now by doing all she can to help with the Storm.

...and this also means goodbye. Because Isolde chose to stay in the past, and Kakania, who took a different path, respected Isolde's wish and headed on alone into the future.

But goodbyes don't always last forever. And as Kakania said at the end of her story:

[maikissed]

a secret sweetheart

jude bellingham x reader

summary: an unexpected article containing an appaling gossip is out. everybody wants to know who Jude's secret sweetheart is... warnings: none, maybe some misspells, I'm sorry, I'm writing like crazy to release some stress as of late...

You jumped up on you seat as soon as your eyes landed on the article. Your mouth wide open, you were hurriedly eyeing the words written in the most outrageous and presumptive manner. And the pictures too, how was it that the moment captured by lenses of a camera was showing such inconsistent image? Giving off the impression that everything described below might most likely be real. Your eyes turning wider and wider with every read word, you turned restless in a span of a second. You huffed analysing the photos, your lip nervously placed between your teeth, you were fuming. It perfectly presented your wide smile, little summer dress on you, his hand placed on your hip, he was looking down at you, his eyes engrossed in something you might have had said seconds before the picture was taken, delicate, tender smile upon his lips. It was indeed sending some kind of message. And you were furious.

“Jude” you called after energetically entering the living room.

His eyes shot up from his phone, he eyed you curiously.

“Have you seen this?” you approached him quickly, the screen of your phone practically in his nose.

He groaned, grabbing your wrist to steady your hand and fleetingly eyed the article. Not even giving it a proper attention. He didn’t seem bothered at all, your eyes widened at his reaction, or lack of it, truth be told.

“What about it?” he asked nonchalantly in a calm voice.

“What about it?! Can you see what it says?!” you screeched, feeling almost hysterical.

“I can see they called you stunning” he beamed at you, relaxing on the sofa.

“Jude!” you almost yelled “The whole world now believes that I am your secret sweetheart!” you accented the last two words using your fingers to present the quote gesture; these were in fact words used in the material.

He opened his mouth to comment on that, but you silenced him angrily with a quick flick of your hand and started to read:

“Now we can say that it is kind of unexpected turn of events for us. Jude Bellingham, an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the England national team, finally presented his secret sweetheart! Not yet spotted accompanied by any lady, despite many rumours of dating the prettiest lot of models and famous influencers, was seen strolling the streets of California with an… unknown beauty. We must say she is stunning, true pleasure to the eyes. And we are surprised, we’ve been hearing so much about his latest infatuation with the Dutch model, Laura Celia Valk” you could hear him scoff but you did not avert your gaze from the article, raising your voice to make sure he won’t interrupt you “But there weren’t any unveiled revelations about their relationship and now we can openly say – multimillionaire star has his eyes and attention somewhere else. And his eyes are full of adoration! We have it all on pictures! Just take a look and tell us this is not the most enjoyable view of a young love blossoming between these two. Why all this secrecy, Jude? Scream, shout and show your happiness to the whole world! We’re waiting for some more sweet content from these two!”

Your cheeks heated, your chest rising and falling in exasperation. You looked at him expectantly. You could see he was fighting a smile, the corner of his lip rising in a smirk. He was amused, you were vexed and anxious.

“When will all this shite with Laura end?” he frowned and you grabbed the nearest pillow placed beside him to throw it in his direction.

“It ends now because the whole of Internet will blow out with these pictures!”

“Wait a second, let me call them and tell them to delete it this instant. What was the name of the site again?” he leaned to grab the phone from you but you swiftly yanked your hand up.

“Be serious” you growled.

“We were on vacation, they were smart and took the pictures. It’s how media and paps work, there’s not much we could do” he shrugged, still way too calm about this for your liking.

At some point you were prepared that the ongoing, growing interest in his persona would make him more vulnerable and seen, followed. You knew people were very much interested in private lives of stars, especially the rising ones that were the hottest subject around, but you hoped that none of such assumptions would be brought regarding the relations between you two. It was a threat for your own life, your privacy. You feared the repercussions, yet somehow you turned a blind eye. And there you had the consequences. Right in your hand.

“What happens if Kit sees these?” you murmured looking away from your friend.

“Is he that insecure?” he mocked, but you didn’t answer him, your gaze timid and withdrawn as you looked at him briefly “What is it? You didn’t tell him who you’re friends with?” he asked in a simple voice, you stayed silent and a second after you could hear him let out an amused gasp “Ooh, were you keeping me secret, sweets?”

You sharply turned your head to spot a cheeky grin painted on his face. You started to look for that pillow once more.

“Why would I bring up the subject of Mister Jude Bellingham so soon? It’s very fresh, he’d probably end up pining over you” you spat, crossing your arms on your chest.

“Is your choice in men that poor?” he chuckled.

“Don’t be rude” you fought “Like your choice in girls is most tasteful”

“From that appealing article I’d say it is”

Your hands fell down your body and you squinted your eyes at him, agitated by his unmoved attitude and ignorance.

“You will not use me for your good press!” you hissed turning around with intention to leave the room, but Jude quickly grasped your hand before you stormed off.

“That’s not what I meant, y/n” his voice calm and gentle when he pulled you closer to where he was seated.

You stood between his knees, upset and worried, your head down.

“Come here” he murmured making more room for you to sit beside him.

Many thoughts kept raging through your brain. You’ve been thoughtless and silly, hoping that your lives would stay easy and uncomplicated no matter the odds. There was worry blooming inside you, but not exactly about your own self, your own private life; you worried such events would made you both have to choose. Choose to be close, or choose to finally part. You were fearful.

“What’s on your mind now?” he whispered, gently nudging your side.

“How can we be friends amongst all this?” you asked turning your head to look at him.

He had the extraordinary ability to calm your nerves with a soft blink of his eyes, delicate, reassuring smile and tenderness seeping into his gaze as he looked at you. You held it in highest regard, the fact that he always was your safe haven. It should worry you, it did sometimes, but you relished in it still.

“Oh no, don’t start with it” he whined with a funny look on his face “I’m not breaking up with you because of some gossips”

You snorted at his reaction.

“How will I be able to date if any man I meet would most likely compare himself to you?”

The sarcastic question made him laugh loudly and you slapped him briefly on the arm, feeling abashed. How infuriating this boy could be.

“Too bad for them” he shrugged “You can date me then, everybody thinks you already are” that added sentence making you scoff.

“Fuck you” you retorted.

“Sure, why not, we could start with that to break the ice”

“Jude!” you gasped in protest, adding a frustrated groan at his flippancy, trying to stand up from the sofa, but he was quick to snatch you back into his arms.

Your life would most likely complicate much more as long as he was present in it.

[sound-of-scoups]

Moth To A Flame | JJK & KMG | Teaser

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Female!Reader x Kim Mingyu  Genre|tags: Idol!au, series, established relationship, infidelity, love triangle, lots of angst, lots of drama, smut, maybe fluff.  Word count: 597 words (this teaser) Rating: Explicit adult content (MINORS DNI). Warnings: Reader is lowkey a bad person but we love her anyway, afab!reader, cheating, high infidelity, graphic sexual content.  A/N: 1. I do not agree with, nor do I support infidelity. I also do not believe that Mingyu would be capable of doing anything like that. This story is purely fictional and meant for entertainment purposes only. If you don't like it, feel free not to read it. Consider this also as a warning. 2. This is highly inspired by two edits I saw on TikTok, one of them featuring 'Moth To a Flame' with Wonwoo and Mingyu, and the second with Jungkook and Mingyu using the audio 'She chose me.' 'Did she?' I no longer have the links to them, but they stayed in my head for days (long enough for me to create this story). Release date: October 29th.  (I'm just posting the teaser again because my clumsy ass deleted it 💀)

Summary: Four years ago, you crossed paths with a charming member of the K-pop group Seventeen during their tour stop in Osaka. The two of you shared three intense, unforgettable days before life took you in different directions. It was painful for both of you, but you knew you couldn’t take things any further and had to say goodbye. Now, back in Seoul for good, you’re in a new relationship with another idol: Jeon Jungkook—whose charm and stability make him everything you thought you wanted. You are very much in love with him, and as your connection deepens, it feels like your life is finally falling into place. That is, until you meet one of your boyfriend’s best friends and are stunned to discover it’s the same man you fell for in Osaka all those years ago. As buried emotions resurface and secrets begin to unravel, you find yourself torn between these two men, caught in a whirlwind of love and conflict, testing the boundaries of loyalty and the choices that could change everything. 

READ HERE!

As you weaved through the maze of tables, your nerves began creeping back in, your heart pounding in your chest as you approached the table. You forced yourself to focus on Jungkook, on the fact that he was here with you, and that tonight was more about him than anything else. But as your eyes scanned the faces at the table, you couldn't help but search for the one you were dreading most.

“They’re just over here,” Jungkook said, bringing you out of your thoughts as you approached the group. 

And then you saw him.

Heart skipping a beat and breath caught in your throat as your eyes landed on the man sitting at the far end of the table, his eyes downcast as he filled his glass with a cabernet liquid. 

The man you never expected to see again in your life.

Kim Mingyu. 

The sight of him was like a punch to the gut, the air in the room suddenly feeling too thick, too heavy. The world around you blurred, your vision narrowing to just him—the man who had occupied your thoughts for so long after Osaka four years ago, the one you had tried and failed to forget.

It felt like slow motion as all eyes turned to you, and Mingyu slowly looked up from his drink, following suit with the rest of the guys.

Your breath caught in your throat as your eyes locked with his. A flicker of recognition crossed his gaze, his eyes widening slightly before he quickly masked his surprise with a neutral expression. Even though you knew he would be there, nothing could have prepared you for the rush of emotions that surged the moment your eyes met.

It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room, leaving you breathless and frozen in place. The world seemed to tilt on its axis, the noise of the restaurant fading into the background, and all you could hear was the rapid beating of your heart.

Mingyu held your gaze, a slow, knowing smile curving his lips. In that moment, a jolt of electricity shot through your body—a mix of fear, guilt, and something else, something you didn’t want to name.

“Everyone,” Jungkook’s voice cut through the haze in your mind, pulling you back to the present. “This is Y/N, the amazing woman I’ve been telling you all about, and the love of my life.”

Jungkook’s tone was joyful and proud as he kissed your cheek. You tore your eyes away from Mingyu, forcing a smile and trying to steady your breathing. Meeting the gazes of the guys around the table, you spoke, your voice steadier than you felt. “Hi, it’s so nice to finally meet you all. 

“Babe, this is Yugyeom, Bambam, Chan, Eunwoo, Jaehyun, Seokmin, Minghao… and Mingyu,” Jungkook introduced, oblivious to the tension simmering beneath the surface.

Mingyu stood up almost immediately, one of his long legs hitting the edge of the table, causing the silverware to rattle. He offered you a polite smile, but you noticed the tightness in his jaw, the way his eyes avoided yours as he reached out to shake your hand across the table.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Y/N,” he said, his voice calm and measured, as though nothing was out of the ordinary, giving nothing away.

Your hand trembled slightly as you shook his, the contact sending a jolt of electricity through your body that you desperately tried to ignore. Heart racing, you managed to reply, your voice barely above a whisper as you forced a smile, “You too, Mingyu.”

[cowgurrrl]

ok what am I supposed to do now the one for the money, two for the show is done!!!?! I would love more lord while I go back a reread everything from the beginning!

If you’re taking requests maybe quick snapshots of the year apart? Not to get too personal but I have a crush and I’ve been stalking their social media but like in a chill way (or I’m trying to) I imagine reader and Joel both seeing each others accomplishments or posts or being tagged in things and just being happy for each other but also….the longing

A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant to Be

Pairing: rockstar!joel miller x actress!reader

Author's note: this is so angsty i'm sorry

Summary: This ask

Warnings: angst, yearning, oh it's so sad

Joel Miller's New Album Set to Break Records

Everything We Know About Joel Miller's New Album Glass House

Glass House Expected to Go Platinum Before Next Month

What Songs on Joel Miller's New Album Are About Famous Actress Ex?

You almost text Joel about the headlines and theories flooding your timeline. Almost. You actually started typing out a message before reading the last message you sent him almost four months ago and quickly deleting it. You're happy for him. You really are. In the pictures from his album release party, he looked insanely happy, posing with Ellie and Sarah and hugging his musician friends in celebration. He even played one of his newest songs, "Love-in-idleness," at the party with only his acoustic guitar and that deep voice of his. You think you would know it's about you even if he didn't tell you about it before you left. Love-in-idleness is the flower used in A Midsummer Night's Dream to make a love potion to unite the couples. It's common knowledge, but Joel might be one of the only people in the world who knows how much that play means to you. The song quickly becomes one of your favorites, but you don't tell him.

You scroll through his social media unashamedly. Dave Grohl and half the world congratulates him on his album release. He's making the music he's always wanted to make. Sarah told you she got into UCLA, and Ellie is drawing again. He's happy. They all are. So, why do you feel so shitty? Neither of you has deleted the pictures of each other from your profiles. It feels like a staring contest, seeing who will hold the torch of your relationship longer. It doesn't help that people are screenshotting the pictures of you together to "add context" to Joel's lyrics. The one that makes you break down is a quick snapshot someone took of you leaning on him in Central Park when you were watching the guitarist with lyrics from "The Yellow Subway." 

She knows more than me. You better believe

That city couldn't hold her right, but then

I couldn't either.

Despite the heartbreaking lyrics, you two look comfortable together— your head on his shoulder and his hand in yours. You cry in between scenes, ruining your makeup and having a mini-therapy session with your makeup artist, Saoirse, as a result. You don't post anything about his new album, but you put on a happy face and post snapshots from your time spent in Ireland thus far. Pitchers of Guinness, the Cliffs of Moher, stunningly green mornings, and a picture of you and the film crew hiding out in a tent while the rain comes down around you. Joel likes the photos but makes no other move to communicate with you.

You wonder if he's torturing himself in the same way you are. You wonder if he's waiting for a headline about you dating someone new like you are for him. You wonder if he's hurting the way you are. Selfishly, you hope he is because that means he still thinks of you. You also want him to hurt because he hurt you. You still love him, but you can't be the woman who crawls back to someone who can't trust her with things, like telling her the mother of his child is back in town. 

This is what's best. It's what needs to happen. You need to be here, working, and he needs to be there, being a dad and making music. It doesn't make it any easier or soothe the ache in your heart, but it's necessary. It's for your own good. Right? 

Right?

[candidateofloyalty]

For the ao3 wrap ask: 22 and 25 please?

25. Free space: Recommend a fic!

I'm going for please don't take off my mask, which manages to take my favorite things about the Persona 5 protag being a silent protagonist and examine them in a fic in which he speaks regularly. The Akechi POV is also really good, capturing the feeling of being 17 and convinced you're irredeemable because you're rude and angry (and also maybe a serial killer but don't worry about that). It does have some non-violent gore but that's all part of the Palace so it's not happening to real people. Also the imagery of it rules.

22. Share a deleted scene, if you have one.

It's not really a full scene but here's the opening to a fic I started about makoharu moving in together and then totally lost track of where I was going with it (under the cut for your sanity).

AO3 Year In Review

They’d talked about living together for college, giggling and a little loopy from staying up too late, but Maruki’s nightmarish paradise had them both ready to move up the timetable. They hadn’t spoken about it directly. Haru just invited Makoto over to look at apartment listings the first chance she got.

Makoto thought that maybe she was having trouble readjusting to living alone. That was certainly something Makoto could understand - a week of having her own fake father around had been enough to rehaunt the apartment she and Sae had spent years exorcising.

By mutual agreement, they didn’t commit to anything before the 3rd. They knew Maruki wasn’t influencing the Thieves' cognitions anymore, but still, it felt like tempting fate. This was supposed to be the bridge to the future, and it needed more solid foundations than the ever-shifting Metaverse.

Of course, neither of them had fully realized the implications of a world put back to rights. Without a Goro Akechi to confess to everything in Ren's place, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was quickly swallowed up by the criminal justice system that had tried so hard to devour him in the first place. It was hard to feel like celebrating a new beginning after that.

Haru would have backed out at that point. It wasn't so long until college, really, Mako-chan. It made sense to time a lease to the academic year anyway, so Makoto wouldn't have to juggle coursework along with moving. There were a number of perfectly good reasons for her to keep drifting through the remains of her former life.

Makoto wouldn't have it. Haru had a lifetime of practice justifying her own discomfort, and even with Milady's help, old habits were hard to kill. Makoto knew that better than anyone, and if she could provide a baton pass against this one, so much the better.

And so it was that, on a cold day in late February, the two of them went to the furniture store in Kichijoji. Haru had suggested they look through catalogs, apparently unaware that there was any other way to shop for furniture, but Makoto wanted a chance to test things out and see them in context. Besides, she thought to herself. It would be good for both of them to get out for the afternoon. They'd been so focused on the campaign to get Ren released, and as important as that was, it was exhausting as well.

[seaside-coffeemilk]

Thinking about what would have happened if the Lightkeeper project had continued.

(this is mostly for the Alpha feels and angsty ramblings.)

----------

1. The first generation of clones might have to be raised by servitors, since the alphas passed away unexpectedly early. 😢

2. Or, to make things less sad, by the time they were at GAIA prime, they already had their successors learning alongside them. (Maybe technologies could speed up growth, so the first lightkeepers quickly were starting to learn alongside the zero dawn staff.)

But since the alphas met their fate in that meeting, to swallow their grief, the next generation of lightkeepers would try to focus on undoing the damage of APOLLO, while trying to ensure project zero dawn could still run as expected.

----------

3. Eventually, MINERVA would find the code to deactivate the swarm.

After the broadcast towers were built and finished, The Lightkeepers would continue to focus on healing the biosphere through monitoring GAIA.

4. Omega clearance would still be a issue, though there's nothing they could do until the outside world was stabilized.

----------

5. With different generations of Lightkeepers continuing the work, I'm imagining it would not be easy for the Lightkeepers' mental states, or to accept the purpose of their birth. Some might be depressed or lack the will to live / continue on.

6. If, for some reason, against all odds the Lightkeeper plan got to continue, They would form their own identities, and maybe some sort of culture or tradition would develope among them? Such as getting to choose their own individual names, or rewatching the hologram of Elisabet saying goodbye to the alphas as a way to pass down their history.

(If the deletion of APOLLO also affected the memory banks in GAIA prime, I also had the thought that they would try to pass down everything through writing down whatever they could remember. :( )

-----

5. Across the years, they worked really hard in helping GAIA settle the biosphere.

Somehow the generations continued, until the time came for the first humans to be released from the cradles.

----------

6. I imagine the newest gen of Lightkeepers ( also being the final one :( ) leading the first humans out to be settled, reintroducing them to the technologies from the world before.

7. With a new, advanced starting point + GAIA and the subfunctions, I imagine human civilization would develop to coexists peacefully with nature.

----------

8. For the next 700 or so years, humanity continues.

Eventually, the extinction signal + Nemisis would enter the picture.

I'm not sure how the once again advanced humans would do in the future. Maybe they continue to be even more advanced? Or does a highly developed civilization fall again before Nemesis arrives?

(In real life history, for some reason, civilizations with a more basic technology level seem to be the ones that last longer? compared to modern times, although humanity has only rapidly advanced during the latest 1 or 2 centuries.)

----------

No matter where the future of humanity ends up, I like to think there's a possibility that a good ending would be easier to reach, since they have GAIA and the subfunctions to guide them in managing the planet.

[eternallyfrustratedwriter]

And I Lit A Fire That Wouldn't Go Out

Chapter 2

Prev Next

Earth 10005

Year 2000

Westchester, New York

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

Dia was walking back inside after having spent her afternoon developing photos in the darkroom shed that Charles had constructed for her towards the back of the property. Her ever-present camera was bouncing against her chest from where it hung around her neck, the photos in a manilla envelope labeled 'Things That Make You Happy Project.' The envelope got deposited on the coffee table of the professors wing common room as the light from the setting sun cast a slight orangeish glow about the room. 

She was, of course, aware of the other person in the room, his scent alerting her to a newcomer before she'd even set foot in the building. Her enhanced senses could be considered both a blessing and a curse. They gave her insights into things that would be impossible to know otherwise but they also made living in the outside world almost impossible. It had taken her a lot of training to be able to consciously dull them so she could exist with others. Even with that, working in a school could be pretty taxing since kids were unpredictable and not usually very caring about if they were driving her insane or not. 

A click was heard as she quickly caught his pose in her lens, honestly not really thinking about it. When the camera was lowered, though, the man was now in front of her with an angry expression on his face as he gripped the camera in his hand, the strap now digging into her neck. 

"Delete it." was all he said as he gazed down at her, his grip still holding her camera hostage. 

"Not that kind of camera."

"Then give me the film." 

"No. Look, if it bothers you that much when I develop the photos in a few days I'll give you that one to destroy. Deal?" said Dia as she tried to distance herself from him, heart racing as her claws itched to come out and hack at his face. 

"Fine." said the man as he released his grip on her camera and walked off towards the kitchen. The sound of the fridge opening could be heard as well as him roughly rooting through everything in search of something specific. 

Dia took the chance to calm down her breathing before she retreated to her room to store her camera and take a shower. An hour later she was padding into the kitchen, expecting it to be empty as everyone else was in their rooms doing their own things. She was in the process of putting together a sandwich when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. When she turned her head and saw the man from before she jumped, causing the plate that was going to hold her sandwich to fall off the counter. Before it could land, though, the man caught it before setting it down again in front of her. 

Just like before, he had that same air of 'Danger, do not approach' that made him look like a feral animal. 

"Thought someone with ears as big as yours would have heard me coming," said the man, the corners of his mouth just slightly raised. He was now changed out of the sweatshirt/sweatpants combo he'd been in earlier, now wearing jeans, a white tank top, and boots. 

"I dull my senses until I really need them. Being in fight or flight mode 24/7 isn't exactly pleasant. Though I'm sure you already know that." said Dia as she took a bite of her sandwich, her nose having picked up the adrenaline that seemed to be a constant presence in his blood. Looking at him now she could see that his muscles were tensed for a fight even though they were the only ones there. 

He ended up grunting in response as he stepped away and started rooting through the cabinets, in search of something but also curious about what all there was in there. Dia ate as he made a loop around the kitchen until he was back at the island, her hand going over the next cabinet in his path. She then moved in front of it before crossing her arms, head tilted to the side. 

"Are you looking for something specific or are you just channeling your inner raccoon?" asked Dia. 

"Is there any alcohol in this place?"

"Charles doesn't like to keep alcohol in the main building. He thinks there's too much of a chance of one of the kids finding it and being irresponsible," said Dia as she shoved the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth as she saw his expression fall slightly. "But I do know where to find some." 

"Okay, where?"

"Ah ah ah! Let me keep the photo I took earlier and I'll give you a full bottle of whiskey," said Dia, watching the gears turn in his head as he weighed her deal. 

"Fine."

After a small stop to her room to grab a key, they were walking outside and headed down a well-worn path beyond the giant estate. After ten minutes of walking, they came to a small building with no windows but there was a small chimney, the door adorned with a small knocker, and a sign that hung from it that said whether or not you could come inside. There was a small sign nailed into the ground that read 'Photography'. 

Once inside, the lights were flipped on to reveal that half the space was dedicated to photos while the other side looked like a rec room. There was a loveseat, two large chairs, a table, a record player, and a locked liquor cabinet among other things. She grabbed the key from its hiding place and opened the door before gesturing for her companion to take his pick. She grabbed a bottle of rum she'd been working on for a while, pouring it over some ice before topping it off with a can of coke. 

"So, now that I've given you some alcohol, can I know your name?" asked Dia as she settled on one of the chairs, her shoes now abandoned on the floor as she curled up. 

"Uh...it's Logan." said the man, taking his mouth away from the bottle that was already halfway empty to answer her. After a little hesitation, he walked over to the chair furthest from her before sitting down. 

"Diana."

Logan gave her a slight nod before going back to his drink, taking it a bit slower now. A comfortable silence settled over them, each in their own little world but still aware of the other. 

"So, do you live in those weird suits or do you not own any other clothes?" asked Logan, gesturing to the jumpsuit she was wearing despite it being obvious she'd taken a shower not that long ago. Her fur puffed up slightly in annoyance but she did her best to push the feeling down, knowing the man was just trying to get a rise out of her. 

"My mutation makes it so that regular clothes are impractical. If I shift with anything else on, it either shreds or just falls off of me depending on what I turn into," said Dia before taking a long sip from her glass. 

"So you're a shapeshifter?"

"Only animals and even then mostly just mammals. I can turn into one bird but that one is really hard so I don't do it often," said Dia as she twisted in her chair to face him as she slung her legs over the other arm of the chair. "What's your deal? Does it have anything to do with why you smell like metal?"

In response, Logan simply tensed his fist before three razor-sharp claws emerged from between his knuckles. They stayed out for a few seconds before retracting, the skin knitting itself back together until there was no evidence anything had been there in the first place. 

Their conversation ebbed and flowed through the night until they both fell asleep where they sat. In the morning, light that had filtered down through the chimney played at Logans eyes until he woke up with a groan. A flash of panic went through him as he didn't immediately recognize his surroundings until the events of the day before filtered back to him. He could see Dia still passed out in the large chair, curled up under a blanket she'd pulled off the back of it. 

He stood up silently and watched as her ears twitched slightly in sleep and how her tail was swishing back and forth like it couldn't stand to be still. A small smile went on his face before he set the empty whiskey bottle on a nearby table and made for the door. 

"See you around, Kit." 

[a-gal-with-taste]

hi! pls feel free to delete this if it’s not up your alley but i was wondering if you’d be down to write a soulmate au with silco? like everything is in black and white for silco and reader until they make eye contact for the first time. and maybe when they finally meet it was on the bridge to piltover? so the bright light and specks of gold just overwhelmed silco… how would he feel to meeting his s/o who’s a citizen of the topside (fluff)? i’m sorry if it’s too specific and thank you so much!

Bold of you to assume Soulmate AU's are never up my alley! I may actually have something like this in my drafts, but not for a Piltover X Zaunite ship, so I'll jot this one down really quick! Hope to release the otherone i have in the next couple weeks, been hammering it out between my other works :^) Enjoy!

Silco X GN!Reader (Soulmate!AU)

Warnings: Bit of world-building, Piltover Vs Zaunite prejudices, violence/blood, illness, tension, brief-kidnapping, hurt/comfort/fluff, kinda speedrunning enemies-to-lovers, Soulmate AU

Vander might just kill him for doing this.

But how could Silco care, consitering the situation they were facing?

"They... our people, are dying, Vander, and you want to wait?!" He had snarled, up-close in the taller man's face with fury etched into deep lines on his own. "Only 'nother week, ya wanna bring Topside down on us if we go out 'n steal what we need-?!"

"They toss us what they don't need every chance they get! What's so different about going up and simply taking?" Vander's frustrated growl was undercut by the sound of coughing from the building they stood just outside of - a makeshift quarantine. The closest thing they had to try and separate the sick from the not-yet sick, in the cramped underground. Like all consequences of the rotting, forgotten city, the newest plague sweeping through civilians, fellow Sons and Daughters alike, was as deadly as they came, quickly becoming more unstable and wild-spreading than normal bouts of sickness.

Even the natural defenses Zaunite's biologically had, after generations of the hellish conditions in the undercity, seemed to do little good. Higher-level medicine was needed, urgently, before the daily tolls could continue increasing in numbers. They needed something, now, but Vander seemed hesitant at the risk.

"...'zo already started hacking last night, we can't go and burst in there only half-armed, Silco." He insisted, grey eyes narrowing. "Enforcers will still be huntin' for us after last months dock-raidin', we just hold on for a few more days and check the incoming shipments-" "We don't need an army to sneak into a clinic. Just one, determined, and I am more than ready to go," Silco assured him coolly, patting his fingers on the knife strapped to his thigh.

His co-leader frowned immediately shaking his head, "No, won' send ya up without backup. I can't afford the risk to lose ya too." Silco could scoff; he did. "Lose me? I'd be back by sunset, Vander, the Upperlings won't even know what's missing until morning." Vander reached out as Silco began to walk away, placing his hands on his shoulders and that hard, fierce look in his eyes that was shared between all their fellow Brothers and Sisters, was dissipating to show his genuine concern and worried.

"Sil, please. I'm askin' as a friend... Just wait. Help me out down here, we're losing people by the minute, and I need ya. The Children need ya."

A pause, then Vander reached down to take Silco's fist in his own tight unyielding grip. "For the Nation."

"For the Nation." The mantra, sacred at this point, slipped reflexively from the lean man's lips, silver eyes narrowed still as Vander relaxed his grip. Silco was often the most level-headed plotter of the Children of Zaun, despite posessing an infamous, feral temper once provoked. Smuggle and raid plans were often referred to him before they were even consitered to be put into action, and the young man was not one to keep quiet with his scathing critiques of doomed plans.

That's probably why Vander didn't see the swift punch to the abdomen coming, a sudden, silent, perfect distraction as Silco slipped from his suddenly lax grip, racing around his larger co-leader to begin his journey. "Sil, shit...!" His friend was smart not to attempt to give chase, knowing fullwell the wiry man was the swifter of the two. Instead he hollared after the man, exasperated, "Just don't get killed, you asshole! And don' bring any Topsiders down to us!"

A dark smirk crossed Silco's face as he dashed through the streets of Zaun to the closest lift.

Those were some simple enough goals.

-

The dark charcoal of the Enforcer's vision reflected your pinched expression. "I have a permit to cross," You said with a small sigh, pulling your satchel closer to your side as the uniformed officer continued to stand at ready. "Please, it's urgent."

"Crossing is barred at sundown, less than a half-hour." The muffled voice was barked loud enough to hear without straining, and you could detect the cool indifference in the officers tone, as they continued to stand at-ready at the barricaded front of the bridge. "It will remain closed for crossing the rest of the week, unless you have direct signatures from Concil or Sheriff. If you don't have either for a return, go home, Citizen. You don't want to be trapped in that hellhole if you can help it."

A small swallow as you looked behind the symbol of protection in your city, the Bridge, and the thick barbed-wire steel at it's entrance. It was a lovely, coiling and curved gate, as the idea of barbed-wire had been a scandelizing idea for Piltover citizens, until the genius of the cities artists had created something beautiful, almost artistic, out of the gate blocking unauthorized persons from one side to another.

The beauty of the gate didn't hide the dry, dark grey speckles along the spikes, that hadn't been hosed off from the last attempted trespassing from the Lanes side.

You swallowed again, the light fog of the upcoming night making it hard to see through the gate, the expansive path of the silver bridge into the Lanes. The officer was correct about one thing, you didn't necessarily want to find yourself on stuck the other side. But your mentor, a pharmacist who had taken you under their wing at the urging, and financial aid of your well-off family, had been nearly shrill as they woke you up, missing a quarter of their respiratory stocks.

"I smell the Lanes, you can taste the reek they left behind!" They had cried, a bit dramatically, falling back into the desk chair and covering their face with their hands. "Gods help me, the last thing I need is a sick rat from the Lanes coming in here! Enforcers will think I'm supplying their little tantrum across the channel, we'll be ruined!" Dragging a hand along their face, they grumbled unhappily, "Not to mention what kind of nasties that pest left behind. We'll have to disinfect this entire shop..."

"Thankfully, they didn't take our sterilizers," You attempted to sooth, frowning as you ran a gaze over silver, grey vials missing their brethren on the shelves, before turning to your mentor. "We can fix this without the Enforcers, i'm sure. There's only one way to-and-from Piltover to the Lanes, I could try and cut them off, figure out why they needed it..."

"We know why, it's because they're greedy, foolish and enjoy damaging our city for no good reason but for laughs and boredom." Your mentor scoffed, sighing after a moment of agitation mutterings, "Oh, I'll just call an sheriff, explain things. Hopefully they'll find the thief soon enough, and do that poor wretch a favor by putting it out of it's misery before it spreads a sick throughout the city..."

The offhand thought of someone in desperate need of medication, punished to the highest degree in their frantic necessity, made you uncomfortable, and you were quick to cut them off. "No need, truly. If I'm not back by tonight, you can make a report. But let me check about and make sure it's not just a prank, or something we can resolve non-violently."

"A prank," Your mentor repeated dryly, but eager for any sort of resolution, they waved you off before hobbling back upstairs to the adjoined apartment of the clinic's building.

The moment they were out of sight, you took a moment to wrestle with your head and heart. Your head, ever clinical and detached, was telling you to simply walk out, flag-down the nearest officer and have them clear up this mess with a set of cuffs and a returned bag of medications.

Your heart was whispering of the plight of someone desperate, running about with what could be any sort of lung-ailment, and grabbing your day-satchel, you sighed deeply as you felt your heart winning.

Thankfully, your head chimed in once more to grab your mentors signature and stamp in order for a bridge crossing. If it was truly a fissure-folkperson, there was only one way in-and-out of Piltover they could've taken, and, in present time, as you stepped through the opened twisted metal gates and onto the iconic Piltovian bridge, you hoped the setting of a true middleground between cities would be enough to calm any nerves.

At the very least, yours, because you could feel your normally steady hands shake as you slipped behind a pillar just a quarter of the way out, hands reaching down to grab the marble railing with a small breath.

You glanced up over the expanse of charcoal and gleaming silver waters, before raising your gaze over to the beautiful show of silvers, greys and whites that stretched across the horizon as a ivory sun began to dip along the horizon.

Once, you were told the sun was golden; a rich, exciting and warm color, a trait of Piltover in fact. You had to take the word of it as fact, for in this life, it took making eye-contact with a single solitary other being in order for the world to come to life in a million more shades and hues than you could ever dream of.

As a child, you had tried to squint into the eyes of every passing person, before your parent scolded you for the impoliteness of such an action. You had not been able to contain yourself, the world of color seemed so distant yet within reach. The only favor you had to do in the universe, to earn such a privilege, was to connect your gaze with that of a stranger. For the child-you, desiring and ever-curious, it had seemed like such a simple task, and one that made your eyes water slightly every time you failed, and your world remained in shades of monochrome.

You had outgrown most of such desires, but even now, as you feel your hands calming as you tasted the salt of the sea on your lips, you felt a small pang in your chest at the idea of how much longer it would take, if ever, to meet your predestined other half.

The last thought you had, before a shot rang out and cries of alarm and barking orders sounded at the mouth of the Piltover side, was if your soulmate too felt the desire to see the fabled other-world of hues and shades as much as you did.

-

The barbs, sharp as cat-claws, dug through his gloves as he hauled himself over, but Silco pushed through the pain as he threw himself over the top of the hideous gate, landing effortlessly before taking off. Cuff hanging off the one hand they managed to grab before he wrestled free, still swinging on his wrist. The creaking of the gate opening behind him, at the behest of outraged Enforcers giving chase as his legs pumped, and he heard the telling-warning of a rifle cocking behind him.

Silco judged the time near-perfectly to duck into a pillar, feeling the breeze of a bullet rocket dangerously pass before the young man took off again. Taking advantage of the pause between reloads, Silco casted a gaze around as he raced down the strip of walkway on the bridge, silver eyes pausing at the sight of a figure couching close to the ground, barely in view, behind a pillar with arms protectively braced over their head.

A rarity for him, he mentally hesitated. Topsider, certainly, but a clear civilian, the greyscale attire clearly unarmored and meant for a pleasant living, not being caught in the crossfire of Zaun and Piltover.

Vander always warded away from civilians, and if this were any other scenario, Silco would agree. A battle for the right to live as one deserved, was a battle between those at the top who step on those on the bottom - those in the middle were simply bystanders.

Unfortunately, in this scenario, a bystander was the perfect distraction Silco needed.

There's was a choked scream as he looped the chain of his cuff over the head and around their neck, fingers looping through the other open cuff as he tugged you up onto your feet, his chest flush to your back as he turned the two of you around to face the approaching Enforcers. "Relax. Listen carefully. You'll get to go home and forget this little nightmare soon enough."

He felt a jolt from his temporary captive as his words breezed past their ear, before you shakily breathed out, eyes locked on the knife he had in his grip, in the same hand he was holding the chain against your throat. In summary, close to your face. "I-i... you're the sick one? From the Lanes, y-you... you were in my shop." An unfamiliar, unnatural but warm crawl went up his spine as he heard the muttered speech, but he kept his eyes forward, at the stone-still line of Enforcers a dozen yards away.

"I'd apologize for the stealing," He lied, smoothly enough for it to sound like truth. "But the supplies were quite necessary. And I'm a bit busy at the moment." A beat, than he breathed even lower, "Follow my steps, and play nice." There was a thick rustle of chains as he felt the echo of your hard swallow, but as he took a step back, you were quick to follow.

One step after another, not daring to tear his gaze from the equally-slow backing of the squadron in front of him, they were at the apex of the bridge when the gate clanged shut, the firm, cold locking mechanism echoing over the length of the bridge before them.

"Don't worry, you're one of them, they'll let you back in." He muttered bitterly as he felt you stiffen against him at the sight of your way home barred and closed to you. "You had a permit-" Silco stilled as he heard the echo of a rifle being cocked once more, an order to ready fire.

"Yes," You muttered weakly, a tremble in your voice. "But the Officer was very, very hesitant to let me cross anyway. Thought it was a forgery."

"Damn it."

The Zaunite smoothly released the doomed Piltovian from the chain looped around their neck, before grabbing their upper-arm securely before turning with them and racing back to the Lanes side as the first bullet ricocheted off the ground the they speed over.

The pain of a lucky hit skimming the side of his arm, has Silco letting out a pained hiss as they race through to the Lanes...

The pain of his arm, however, is nothing compared to the pain that shakes his entire being as, after depositing the two of you on the docking area a block from the bridge, he turns to look at the panting Topsider he was stupid enough to save.

-

Meeting his eyes, your world explodes, and you wonder if a Enforcer marksman somehow got the luckiest hit in the world from a quarter-mile from the bridge you are. The choked scream you release is echoed in his own loud groan of pain. You feel one hand blindly reach out to secure yourself on the rusted railing overlooking the docks, the other grinding the heel into your eye as your mind and vision struggle to comprehend the total overstimulation of your senses.

It feels like everything is alight, and frigid at once. Like the full-body shock you had, upon hearing his voice for the first time, but amplified to cover all of your senses.

Your legs give out as you begin to pant, the sudden stabbing-sensation behind your eyes fading as you suck in breaths from your teeth. Hearing he is no better, but his growls instead of the pained whines you make, makes you want to reach out and see if he is alright, though you dread opening your eyes to all... that again.

Still, your heart once again winning over your head, you slowly begin to crack open your eye, wincing immediately at how... vibrant. How bright. How different the world suddenly looks, and you hear a similar sharp-intake of breath, signaling your half-captor, partial rescuer, is looking upon the same thing.

It would take a couple of days for the two of you to familiarize yourselves with colors, picking up the exact names and cues for the shades known. At the moment, however, you don't need to know the titles of a single hue as your lips part, and you stare around at the significant changes of the world around you. The ever-shifting blues and navy's of the channel. The pinks, oranges, reds and approaching darkness in a sky highlighted by a ball of golden so bright, it might as well still be the ivory you've seen all your life...

It's the bridge, though.

Because, of course it is, it's that bridge that truly is the first thing to take your breath away, and on shaky legs, you raise yourself up on the railing to peer up at it in the sunlight. Someone had told you the sun was golden, but the sweeping creams and shimmering accents of the bridge truly makes the definition of golden mean something to you: warm, exciting and rich.

You could stare at it for hours. Stare at a lot of things for hours, actually, but you hear the young man (your soulmate, Gods...) give a small hitched breath, and you turned to see the awed expression he just couldn't hope to contain.

"It's..." Voice hoarse, arm braced on the top railing, he looks up with the wide, bright, and later you'll find out, green eyes of almost childlike astonishment. Like he'd never expected this to happen, trained himself not to wish for it, but had longed for it anyways; the gift of color. You imagined your expression was no different, but watching the emotions fly through his wide gaze, it can't help but soften, and warm, as you stare at this man the universe has decided to forever link you to.

"It's... pretty." Something forlorn and miserable begins to fill his otherwise amazed eyes as he runs his gaze along the clean, gorgeous and powerful icon of Piltover. Like he's looking at something he can't have, and you, some silly sentimental part of you that's still the child who would openly stare at other kids in hope for your world to be awashed anew in light, open your mouth and say the first thing that comes to mind:

"You're beautiful in color."

The man turns abruptly, and looks at you; at something he can have.

"And... you're a Topsider." He points out, eyes slowly narrowing despite the flush on his ears. You can't help but openly run your gaze over him, closing your slightly-parted mouth as you take him in fully, not just as various shades of monochrome.

You know he's doing the same, but attempting to be more subtle. Still, you catch the way his lingering eyes flicker over you nonetheless, the natural guarded look in his eyes softening slowly in the peace between you two during your studying. That is, until your gaze settles on the dark patch on his arm; for a moment, you think it black, but there's a furious tinge to it that makes you think of blood, and your head finally wins over your heart.

"You're hurt," You breathe as you stoop beside him, reaching despite the flinch he gives as you take his arm in yours. "Full of observations, aren't we?" He mutters, attempting to be dry but there's a genuine layer of humor in his tone.

"Only of the obvious," You murmur back, pushing up his sleeve to his elbow and quickly reaching into your satchel to pull out the necessary needs, a washcloth, small vial of disinfectant and wrap. Needed for on-the-run trips around your city, you're grateful to have it as you reach out to him, stilling slightly as he again flinched back.

You meet his eyes (seafoam, you'll later decide) and quietly assure him under the narrowed, still suspicious gaze, "I'm going to clean it. I'm a pharmacist, but I know how to heal, I was trained." The neutral curve of his mouth dips into a frown, despite your words as he counters, "I'm from the Undercity. You truly want to assist with a fissure-folk's injuries?"

A challange, based on the way he spits out the Piltovian term, that you meet head-on as you straighten. "You need help. I would do it, no matter who or what you are." "And if I wasn't your soulmate?" "Still would've done it. It doesn't matter to me."

A beat, as the two of you gaze at each other. Then you repeat it, slowly, low and firmly as you gaze into his eyes. Piltovian or Zaunite, it doesn't affect you, "It doesn't matter to me."

He holds your gaze for a moment longer, searching for a waver, a flinch or a lie in your eyes. He must find none, because he then slowly holds his injured arm out, and quietly says, "My name is Silco."

You give him yours, gently holding a firm grip on his hand as you apply the sting of the disinfectant, holding him as he fails to hold back a wince at the cool sensation. You feel your soulmate, Silco's gaze on you as you work, muscles growing relaxed under your touch at the repetitive motion of you wrapping his arm up. They tense slightly once more as, once done, you reach for his hand, quietly opening his fists to reveal barbed-cut palms.

"... What symptoms are you experiencing?" You ask after cleaning the first palm, tightening the wrap on it before reaching for his other. He gives you it with more ease now, though frowns at the question, growing deeper at your next, "For the medicine you took. It was all for the lungs, right? I can't detect any respiratory issues during our... run, so I'm a bit lost..."

"... not for me." He admits after a minute, "There's something running through Zaun, it's catching onto a lot of people... we've already lost too many, and waiting for a lucky-break in the next shipment would've cost us much, much more." Frowning, you look up at him as you finish tightening the final bandage into place, not moving your hand from his immediately. "Might be neumona, it spreads quickly and is catastrophic, especially in the undercity... What did you take with you?"

Hesitance beginning to evaporate, he reaches up and pulls the strap of the bag he has slung over his chest, handing it to you for you to inspect. Your breath catches as they dart over the colored vials in the bag, stunned in the realization that so many vibrant shades had been lining the shelves of the shop mere feet away from you, but you take in the types that he's grabbed with a critical look. "This is a good start, but it'll only help slow the spread. We'll need to experiment a bit to find something to heal the ones already infected..."

"We?" He repeats, and again, you meet his gaze, and the faded, but not-quite-gone challange in his gaze. "We," You confirm, watching a bit more of that frostiness melt from his gaze as you manage a small smile, tilting your head towards the bridge. "Can hardly go home now, anyways... and it sounds like you could need all the help you can get." Silco lets out a small huff, tired, but a small bit of relief in his eyes. From the idea of his Brothers and Sisters getting the help they need, or the fact that you were planning to come along into the underground with him, you don't ask in order to clarify.

You only realize you're still holding onto his hand when he reaches up, lifting himself onto his feet and pulling you up with him. Once standing, you find your eyes unconsciously flicking back over to the grand Bridge of Piltover, once more taking in the ornate details of the bridge. You're not quite sure when you'll see it again, and despite a part of you squirming at the sight of the place where Enforcers, the defenders of the city, had opened fire on two suspected Undercity trespassers, you want to hold the memory of it's impressiveness for a while yet.

You glance back at Silco, and the two of you share a small, breathless chuckle when you both realize you've been looking at the exact same thing.

His chuckle surprisingly doesn't stop as he turns the two of you away from the waterfront - in fact, it grows into a quiet round of laughter as he leads the way for you into the Lanes, his wrapped hand warm in yours as he leads you down to the Underground.

"It's, heh..." He glances back to you, the shadows of approaching-night making his green eyes glow as he takes you into the shadows, smirk just as prominent.

"It's just a bit funny... Vander told me not to bring any Topsiders home."

[marvelmusing]

Making Time

Mobius M Mobius x Reader

Part 3

My Masterlist • Series Masterlist

“Here we go.” You whisper, looking between Mobius and Loki, then up at Mount Vesuvius.

“Shh, any minute now.” Mobius adds.

“Until this entire town is wiped off the face of this planet. Imagine. All that volcanic ash-“ Loki starts.

“I know. We don't want to get too giddy.”

“Oh, come on! It's cool.”

“No, it is cool, but it's just not in good taste because...”

“They're all gonna die anyway.”

“I know. Now listen, I'm gonna watch the TemPad for any variance energy.” He says, pulling the device out from his pocket.

“Okay.”

“Okay, because we gotta be careful.”

“If you're wrong, and there's a good chance you are, anything we do can create a huge branch.”

“Oh, Mobius! You make even the end of the world sound boring.” Loki complains.

“Listen! Okay, we're not meant to be here.”

“And we don’t need Minutemen rushing here to arrest and delete us, okay?” You tell him. He nods,

“Okay.”

“Anything we do can impact the course of history. Do you get that?”

“Yes. Yes.”

“So we're gonna start with very small disturbances. Very small. Can you make bird noises?” You both frown at Mobius.

“Bird noises?”

“Yeah. Bird noises. Like some, like whooshing noises?” He begins to imitate a bird call. You roll your eyes,

“Moby? I was on the side of caution. But we’re going to need more than that.” Mobius continues his bird impressions to the disdain of Loki who groans and runs off.

“Loki!” You hiss. He doesn’t go far, standing on a nearby cart and proclaiming to the people of Pompeii that they are all going to die. On a positive note you’ve come up with a new scale to rate nexus events: starting with bird noises and ending with prophesying the future. Loki then decides to release a hoard of goats. Fantastic. Loki halts his Latin monologue to look over at you and Mobius for a fact check,

“We are from the future, right? What is the TVA? I mean, it's from the future. It sounds from the future. It's pretty futurey.” You’re about to answer him when you realise you don’t actually know. You’d always assumed the TVA just existed outside of time. Though you’re not sure how that would work. You’re about to ask Mobius when the volcano erupts. Loki then proceeds to have what looks like an existential crisis. “Nothing matters! Nothing has any consequence! Dance while you still can!” You lean over Mobius’s shoulder.

“How’s it going?” You ask, nodding towards his TemPad.

“I don't believe it. Zero variance energy. No branching in the timeline.” He tells you. Overhearing what Mobius says, Loki approaches you,

“The TVA would never even know we were here. If it were me, this is where I would hide.” A colossal cloud of ash rolls down the hillside, quickly approaching the three of you.

“Erm, Loki, bud?” You say, concerned that he hasn’t noticed. You point over his shoulder, “You got a little something-“

On your return to the TVA, the three of you head to the archives, searching for all naturally occurring disasters. Turns out there’s a lot of them. Mobius hands you a pile of events from before you existed, which you appreciated. Whilst you were curious about what happened to the world after you left it, you’re not too eager to see the long list of apocalypses. After what feels like hours of searching the three of you decide to take a break.

You and Loki are sat in one of the TVA cafeterias, waiting for Mobius to return with some food. Two hunters pass by your table, and you keep your gaze on the papers in front of you.

“Why do they look at us like that?” Loki asks suddenly. You look up at him.

“Like what?”

“Don’t act like you haven’t noticed. You and Mobius don’t get the looks that you and I get.” He observes. You sigh,

“That’s because when it’s me and you, they see two Variants possibly plotting to overthrow the TVA.” That shocks Loki.

“You’re a Variant.” He states, and you nod,

“I was set to be deleted, until Mobius stepped in and saved me.”

“You must be very grateful to him.”

“I am.”

“So you believe in the all powerful lizards which dictate the existence of trillions of people?” You smirk, looking down at the papers in your hand.

“I didn’t say that.” You glance up at him, recognising the look on his face immediately. He was scheming. “Look Loki, I may not be a hundred percent loyal to the TVA, but I am to Mobius.”

“Mobius, who is a part of the TVA, who you don’t fully trust. How can you know he has your best interests at heart?”

“I don’t. I’m just hoping, that he does.” Mobius soon joins the two of you. After a brief discussion about jet skis the conversation quickly turns far too philosophical for your poor ‘I’ve just read about a million case files’ brain.

“I don't get hung up on believe or not believe. I just accept what is.” Mobius says with a sigh. Loki looks at him incredulously.

“Three magic space lizards?” Mobius nods,

“Time-Keepers.”

“Created the TVA, and everyone in it?” Mobius nods again. “Including you?”

“Including me.”

“But not me.” You add. Loki laughs softly,

“Every time I start to admire your intelligence, you say something like that.”

“Okay, who created you, Loki?” Mobius asks.

“A Frost Giant of Jo

“And who raised you?”

Odin of Asgard.

Odin, God of the Heavens. Asgard, mystical realm, beyond the stars. Frost Giants. Listen to yourself...

It's not the same. It's completely different. No. It's not the same.

It's exactly the same thing. Because if you think too hard about where any of us came from, who we truly are, it sounds kinda ridiculous. Existence is chaos. Nothing makes any sense, so we try to make some sense of it. And I'm just lucky that the chaos I emerged into gave me all this... My own glorious purpose. Cause the TVA is my life. And it's real because I believe it's real. “Fair enough. You believe it's real.”

“Yeah.”

“So everything is written. Past, present, future. There's no such thing as free will.”

“Well, I mean, you know, it's an oversimplification...”

“But practically, yes.” You say, not wanting to hear the in-depth workings of the timeline.

“So, in fact, in a way, us three here at the TVA, we're the only ones who are actually free.”

“Where are you going with this, Loki?”

“How does it all end?”

“That's a work in progress.”

“Those lazy Time-Keepers. What are they waiting for?”

“Au contraire. Because while we protect what came before, they're toiling away in their chamber, untangling the epilogue from its infinite branches.”

“So when they're finished, what happens then?”

“So are we. No more nexus events. Just order. And we meet in peace at the end of time. Nice, right?”

“Do we get to live in peace or do we just disappear because we aren’t needed anymore?” You ask, suddenly concerned that he mentioned the end of time. Loki continues his own questions,

“Only order?” Mobius hums in response. “No chaos? It sounds boring.”

“I'm sure it does to you.” Loki suddenly changes the subject,

“You called me a scared little boy.”

“I called you a lotta things.”

“You did. You're wrong, though. You see, I know something children don't.”

“What's that?”

“That no one bad is ever truly bad. And no one good is ever truly good.” Well that was deep. Mobius looks down at the table in front of him.

“Scared little boy.” He repeats.

“Yes, it was quite patronizing. I thought it was a bit too far, actually.” Loki admits. Mobius looks up, an idea dawning on his face.

“You're very clever.” He tells Loki as he stands up.

“I know.” Loki makes a ‘well obviously’ face as you stand and follow Mobius as he makes his way to the archive.

“The Variant left something behind at an old crime scene. A cathedral. A candy box. An obvious anachronism. I gave it to Analysis, but they couldn't find anything real.”

“Why does that matter?” Loki asks. Mobius unlocks a box on a nearby shelf, before opening it up.

“Cause now we have two variables. Apocalyptic natural disasters and... Kablooie.” He pulls out the candy box.

“What's that?”

“Candy. Do you have candy on Asgard?”

“Yeah. Grapes, nuts.”

“No wonder you're so bitter.”

“There’s a massive vending machine near Renslayer’s office. One time, I’ll buy you one of everything.” You tell Loki as the two of you sit down at your desk. Mobius returns with a huge stack of files.

“Okay. Kablooie was only sold regionally on Earth from 2047 to 2051. All ya gotta do is cross-reference that with every apocalyptic event.” The three of you sit, sorting through the files for sometime. Mobius looks up at you,

“Anything?”

“Well, it's not the climate disaster of 2048.” You tell him, flicking the page over.

“Or the tsunami of 2051.” Loki adds.

“Let's go. Let's go. Come on.”

“2050. The extinction of the swallow. Is that a thing?”

“We killed off the swallows?” You stare at Loki. “How the hell did that happen?” Mobius shrugs,

“Completely screwed up the ecosystem.”

“Krakatoa erupted in 2049 as well. No Kablooie.”

“God, it's just one damn thing after another, isn't it? Cyclone, famine, volcanoes, floods...” Mobius lists, and you can’t help but agree.

“Got him. That's where he is.” Loki pulls open a case file before offering it to you and Mobius. The two of you peer at the papers inside.

“Alabama, 2050.” You read aloud. Loki looks at you both, seeming rather pleased with himself. Mobius grins,

“You're gonna take my job if I'm not careful.”

Tagslist: @n0obmaster69 @mackycat11 @wibblywobblyjeremybearimy @boriqs @aloisia @fandom-lover-4 @lam-ila @momos-peaches @gracey07 @morganwilliams @greeneyedblondie44

If you’d like to be tagged, just ask!!

[dailydoseofserotonin]

A New Day, A New Dawn, A New Life

Words: 1,806

Beta: @bambii-brambles

Notes: Alternate Universe. Not really any ships, but some are implied, No Quirks but some people do have abilities

Warnings: Nothing besides Bakugo's language

"Report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. We are under attack. We are under attack!"

The sound of gunfire and explosions ring out loudly as two boys join hands. Just outside, heroes known as the World's Avengers, are in the process of infiltrating a LOV base in Sokovia. 

Making her way towards the base, Creati crashes against a forcefield, the impact taking her completely by surprised. "Shit!"

"Language!" Reprimands another voice, Lemillion, as he takes down armed men. "Hatsume, what's the view from upstairs?"

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Imasuji's technology is well beyond any other LOV base we've taken" 

Landing between several men, a blonde man swings his hammer taking out several of them. This is ChargeBolt. "Sero's scepter must be here. Imasuji couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last"

Several feet away another blonde takes out more men. This one is known as DynaMight. Locking his legs around one of the soldiers, he shifts his weight and swings the man off his feet, effectively knocking him unconscious. "At long last” is lasting a little long, idiots"

Taking cover behind a tree, a duo colored hair man fires multiple arrows. "Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise"

"Wait a second. No one else is going to deal with the fact that Mirio just said "language?"

 "I know" He sighs as he throws his bike at some soldiers driving up in their truck. "It just slipped out"

Inside the base, Imasuji made his way down towards the science lab. "Who gave the order to attack?"

Following behind him, one of his men answers. "Goto Imasuji, it's the Avengers."

"They landed in the far woods, the perimeter guard panicked."

Cursing under his breath, he turned to the scientist, Kyudai Garaki. "They have to be after the scepter." He then turns back to address one of his men. "Can we hold them?"

"They’re the Avengers!"

Clicking his tongue, he turns away. "Deploy the rest of the tanks."

"Yes, sir."

"Concentrate fire on the weak ones. A hit can make them close ranks." He ordered. As soon as they filed out, he turns his attention back on the scientist. "Everything we've accomplished... But we're on the verge of our greatest breakthrough."

"Then let's show them what we've accomplished. Send out the twins." He says.  There's a certain mad gleam in his eyes. 

"It's too soon."

"It's what they signed up for."

Shaking his head, Imasuji turns away. "My men can hold them." With that said, he makes his way towards the door. Taking the stairs he makes his way to where he knows his men are gathered. Entering the room, he takes a quick survey of the room's occupants, spying the aforementioned twins in the corner. 

Once he's in the middle of the room and has their attention, he clears his throat. "We will not yield. They sent their circus freaks to test us. We will send them back in bags. No surrender!"

"No surrender!" They echo. 

Quietly, so as to not draw any attention to himself, he turns to Garaki behind and whispers. "I am going to surrender. You will delete everything. If we give the heroes the weapons, they may not look too far into what we've been--"

"The twins." Garaki interrupts. 

"They are not ready to take on--"

"No, no. I mean... " He points to where said twins were standing, but are now gone. "Twins."

Back outside, Shoto continues to take out armed men. Just as he goes to fire another shot, lined perfectly at the enemy's bunker, his arrow is snatched right out of the air the minute he releases it. "What the.. " Frowning, he repeats the motion and fires another shot only for the same thing to happen again, however this time a teenage boy saunters onto the field, his arrow in hand. He then winks and before he knows it he's knocked on his back, the wind successfully knocked out of him. 

Smirking, the boy looks down at him as he goes by. "You didn't see that coming?" He taunts and then speeds off once more as Shoto quickly rights himself to fire another shot at him. 

Rocked from the hit and the boy's sudden emergence, he doesn't see the enemy fire coming until it's too late. 

"Peppermint!" Off to the side, Bakugo quickly runs over as his friend goes down. 

Not too far from them, Mirio also gets knocked flat by the same speedster. "We have an enhanced in the field." He relays to the others, a bit dazed. 

"Shoto's hit!" Bakugo yells, dragging him away from the bunker firing at them. "Somebody want to deal with that damn bunker?" Immediately after he voices this, a hulking mass of muscles barrels into said bunker, taking it out. "Fucking thanks"

As Mirio exchanges blows with the soldiers, he glances in the general direction to where he knows Creati is. "Momo, we really need to get inside."

"I'm closing in." She says, engaged with the enemy. "Hatsume, am I...closing in? Do you see a power source for that shield?"

"There's a particle wave below the north tower." 

"Great, I wanna poke it with something." As he says this he fires at the forcefield, successfully bringing it down. "Drawbridge is down, people."

"The enhanced?" Kaminari questions as he lands besides Mirio, his landing creating a small seismic event that knocks nearby soldiers off their feet. 

"He's a blur. All the new player's we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't."

"Shoto's hit pretty bad. Fuck, we're gonna need evac." Bakugo relays over the comms.

"I can get Todoroki to the jet. The sooner we're gone the better. You and Momo secure the scepter." Says Kaminari. 

As they converse, reinforcements make their way closer towards them. 

"Copy that"

Gesturing towards the incoming soldiers, he cocks his head. "It looks like they're lining up."

Shrugging his shoulders, he glances their way. "Well, they're excited." 

Twirling his hammer around, Kaminari jumps into the air then slams it down on Mirio's shield with his hammer. The resulting wave from the joint attack knocks the soldiers off their feet and destroys in the incoming tank. 

Twirling his hammer once more, he addresses Mirio. "Find the scepter." He says as he flies off. 

"And for gosh sake, watch your language!"

Sighing, he looks to his feet. "That's not going away anytime soon."

Entering the LOV base, Momo makes her way through as soldiers immediately begin firing at her. "Please, stop, we can talk this through. As she says this, she knocks them out with explosives from her suit. "It was a good talk."

One of the men groans. "No it wasn't"

Typing away at his computer is Garaki. Clearly he's attempting to clean everything from the system before the heroes get to it, but he's intercepted by Momo who shoots him down. 

Stepping out of her suit, she walks over to the computer the man was working at. "Sentry mode" She orders as she looks over the files on screen. "Okay, Hatsume. You know I want it all. Make sure you copy it to Ashido at HQ."

"We're locked down out here." Bakugo says, as he surveys their surroundings.

"Then get to Kirishima, time for a lullaby." Mirio answers. 

Back inside the base, Momo continues looking around the room. "I know you're hiding more than files. Hey, H, give me an IR scan of the room, real quick."

"The wall to your left...I'm reading steel reinforcement... and an air current."

She makes her way over towards the wall, mumbling to herself as she goes. "Please be a secret door, please be a secret door, please be a secret door…" She pushes and the wall opens up. "Yay!" 

Back outside, Bakugo makes his way towards Red Riot. "Hey, shitty hair. The sun's getting real fucking low." 

He scowls at him as Bakugo kneels in front of him and puts out his hand. He regards his hand warily, before reaching out to touch it.  Bakugo then begins to stroke his palm slowly, smirking a bit as he calms down. 

Pulling his hand away, he stumbles as he begins to shift back into Kirishima. Still smirking, Bakugo watches as he stumbles away. 

Inside the base, Mirio encounters Imasuji. "Imasuji Goto. LOV's number one thug."

"Technically, I'm a thug for HPSC" He answers back with a smirk.

"Well then technically you're unemployed. Where's Sero's scepter?"

"Don't worry, I know when I'm beat. You'll mention how I cooperated, I hope." As he speaks, his eyes leaves Mirio's form for a second to something behind him before locking back unto him. 

"I'll put it right under illegal human experimentation" He says, unaware of the approaching figure behind him. "How many are there?" He's then blasted into the wall. Scrambling to his feet, his eyes lock unto the boy's own as he quickly leaves, sealing the door shut behind him. "We have a second enhanced. Male. Do not engage."

"You'll have to be faster than--" He's cut off as he's knocked out by Mirio's shield. 

"And I got Imasuji."

"Yeah, I got... something bigger." Inside the hidden room, she's found a variety of technology, as well as recovered artifacts from the Battle of New York, including a gigantic Nomu leviathan and some of it's scrapped armor. She then spots the scepter. "Kaminari, I got eyes on the prize."

The same figure who attacked Mirio from before creeps up behind Momo. As soon as he gets close to her, he raises his hand to her head and curls his fingers, releasing a sort of energy that creeps into Momo's mind, turning her irises red briefly. Quickly he steps away. 

Blinking rapidly, Momo shakes her head as if to clear her mind. When she glances up once more, the corpse suddenly comes to life and lunges at her. Flinching, she squeezes her eyes shut in reflex. After a few seconds, she opens them again to find her friends laid out before her, dead. Walking closer towards their corpse, she kneels beside Mirio, horror frozen upon his dead face. Suddenly, as if out of a horror film, he grabs her wrist and they lock gazes. "You… could've.. saved us.." Turning away from his body, she looks up to see Nomu's invading Earth, but it all melts away as she's snapped back into reality. 

Unbeknownst to her, off to the side are the twins, who watch as she calls her armor towards her to surround her fist. 

Stepping forward to stop her, the taller of the two is stopped as his brother raises his hand against his chest. "We're just gonna let them take it?" He questions, frustrated. 

Not answering, the brother simply smiles to himself as Momo takes the scepter. 

To be continued…

[igarbagecannoteven]

hello hello i saw the writing ask game but did not know which one to send so i'm gonna go with the freebie question AND bonus will you tell me more about your superhero malum au?? i like it a lot and i wanted to hear whatever you have to say about it! where the idea came from, why malum, why calum as the superhero, which installment was your favourite to write (you don't Have to answer all these i'm just curiosu and giving you directions in which to answer in case you need them kbdfd!!!) - taylor <3

hi taylor!! thank you for showing superhero malum au love 🥺 you don't know the monster you just released by asking for what i have to say about it bc i have so many Thoughts klsjfkjsdjd so thank you for giving me the excuse to talk about it <3

25. freebie! what question do you wish i had asked? answer it here! well since you asked my dream questions about superhero au i'm just going to tie one of my answers to your other questions to 12. where do you commonly find inspiration to your stories? about 80% of my fic ideas come from hearing a song lyric and saying to myself, 'that would make a great fic title! now what kind of fic would i have to write in order for the title to fit?' which is maybe not the most orthodox way of coming up with ideas but it works for me lol. the idea for my superhero au came from the song "the last of the real ones" by fob. ever since i heard that song i've wanted to write a superhero au for it, but i never had the medium for it until i started writing 5sos fic. (the title idea was "i know this whole damn city thinks it needs you (but not as much as i do)") (yeah it's long i know) i love superhero stories as a concept but often don't enjoy the way they're executed (i find action/fight scenes boring and would rather focus on the psychological impacts that would come with having that kind of life). i came up with a (very) rough outline for a songfic but quickly realized just how long and difficult a project it would be, so i set it aside. (i have a rule that i don't work on more than one longfic at a time.) but the au kept niggling at me and then one day while listening to 'hate it when you see me cry' i thought about how that could fit into my superhero au, and the rest, as they say, is history!

okay i'm going to put the rest of my answers under the cut bc it got long and i do not have enough self control to cut any of it.

why malum? well when the whole au came into my head, it was at first about how hard it would be to be in love with a superhero who you know is putting their life on the line for people who maybe don't appreciate them, while also having to muddle through whether or not they feel the same way as you do. i think it would be hard to tell if someone who gives everything they have to everyone is really in love with you because how do you know they wouldn't do this for other people? anyways when that idea came into my mind i automatically went to malum. to me, as a pairing they fit the old friends to lovers trope the best and also tend to work well with mutual pining, so it seemed like the most logical fit. when i was planning to turn it into one giant songfic i thought that not all the lyrics reflected their relationship so i thought it would be cool to maybe have two parallel love stories side by side, one friends to lovers and one enemies to lovers. that threw me for a loop for a bit because i don't think of lashton when i think enemies to lovers, and so there was a moment when i seriously considered changing the pairings to be friends to lovers cake and enemies to lovers mashton (i know everyone tends to jump to muke for enemies to lovers but i was already attatched to ashton as the superhero who started first and also thought it'd be a more original concept to have enemies to lovers mashton since the difference in dynamic could be cool to explore) but in the end i just couldn't get cake to fit the dynamic i wanted for the friends to lovers plot (not that i think they don't work well as friends to lovers, i just didn't think their dynamic would fit the concept i was going for very well) so in the end i went back and looked at the enemies to lovers plot and realized how i could pretty easily make it work as a lashton story. (and who knows maybe someday i'll write a different superhero au with enemies to lovers mashton, it just won't be in the same world as this au.)

why calum as the superhero? to be completely honest i don't really remember why i came up with that idea. i just pulled up my outline (i don't like to delete ideas so it just has the things i threw out striked through instead of deleted) and when it was cake friends to lovers luke was the superhero so who tf knows. honestly it was probably just a gut reaction to what i thought fit their dynamic better, and also i tend to find michael's perspective easier to write and i think in the longfic i was planning on having the story mostly be told from ashton and michael's perspective, so it was just easier. or maybe not! my memory is like a sieve so who knows what past megs was really thinking.

which installment was your favorite to write? probably the first one, tbh. it was more rooted in personal experience than the second (not that i'm bffs with a superhero or have ever had to talk someone through seeing someone die in their arms for the first time lol) which made it easier to write and i kinda feel like it's a better written fic? like there are tons of lines in the first one i'm really proud of and while there are several in the second i enjoyed writing, (dissected frog simile my beloved) it's not as much. i mean, writing in general isn't a very enjoyable process for me so it's kinda hard to say definitively (i'm just coming out of wanting to pull my own teeth out during the second one but i def felt that way about the first one as well) but yeah. probably the first one.

i have so many thoughts about the world itself but this is getting insanely long so i'll stop here before you regret sending this ask lol. thank you so much for asking about my boys!!! i love you and hope you're doing well <3

[hollandsmushroom]

Hi Mae!! You're wonderful and I hope you always remember that. You're so so kind and sweet and I'm so glad to have found you on here! 😘

❤️ Compliments! Sammy, you are so kind and comforting, you make everything seem a bit more calm when I talk to you. How passionate about your work you is something that I find so truly amazing! You are truly a great person and I wish nothing but the best for you!

🌈 Color Association! You remind me of bright sunshine yellowy orange, because that color has always reminded me of smiles and positivity and that is what you seem like to me, a positive and glowing presence in such a negative universe. How loving and passionate you seem about your work makes you glow like the sun!!

💯Blog Rates!

Since I can't bold on my phone I will write it out

URL |1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10| 10/10 your url is amazing and iconic, corgis are my love and Babylon is probably my favorite song ever!!

Icon |1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10| 10/10 honestly I don't understand how something could possibly be that freaking cute, it murders me!

Header |1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10| 8/10 let's take on the world together, my love?

Aesthetic |1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10| 10/10 OMG ITS SO CUTE AND IM DEAD

Overall |1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10| 9/10 Sammy, you run great blog and I will follow you until I delete my blog!

✏️ Blurbs!

So, if y'all haven't noticed I base the blurb off of something about the blog so here is you and Cal walking Duke!

His tan hand griped the clothe of the leash as his other hand was intertwined with the fingers of his love, he looked up from the small pup that was nuzzling at his Vans, eyes landing on your parted lips as you laughed at the dog. He admired the way the sun hit your skin and how how your hair waved in the breeze, memorizing every aspect of your being like he had done millions of times before. The crosswalk changed, the beeping bringing him back to reality as the both of you stepped off of the curb, Duke jumped due to his short stature. Your hands swung back and forth, between your bodies, with every step that you took, strides perfectly in sync as you walked back to your home.

The door shut behind the three of you, Cal bending down to unhook Duke from his harness, the small dog running to his water dish immediately after being released. You slipped your shoes off of your feet, standing barefoot on the floor of your entrance way, staring expectantly at Cal.

"Can I help you, Babe?" Cal asked, meeting your gaze, you nodded your head yes as an answer to the question. "What can I help you with?" You didn't answer, stepping forward and locking your lips with Cal's, knocking him back onto the couch, you stayed this way for a while, until you let out groan, the noise leaving your lips was followed quickly by a small barm from the ground beside the couch making you pull away from Cals lips, your makeout session ealier than you would have wanted it too as you bent down to pay Duke on the head before Cal caught your chin and brought you back to his lips, as soon as he touched you, you heard another little bark, deciding to ignore it, you continued, but everytime Cal would get near you, Duke would bark. Thats when it clicked, pulling yourself back from Cal.

"He thinks you're hurting me," Calum's eyes widened at your words, not liking the idea of anyone thinking he was capable of hurting his love, even if it was his dog.

"The keep the groaning to a minimum," he mumed before returning to the kiss.

[anhed-nia]

THE EMOJI MOVIE

I've actually tried to watch this several times, and never made it past the first twenty minutes or so. The whole concept--that emojis inside a boy's phone struggle for survival when their glitchy antics provoke him to try to wipe the device--is so uninspired that it was hard for me to imagine it even being kitschy enough to justify watching the whole thing. However, since its release (only a year ago, but isn't it starting to feel like it's been with us forever?), THE EMOJI MOVIE has become so notorious that suffering through it feels like some sort of rite of passage. As of this morning, I can say with absolute certainty that this experience is actually much worse than you probably think it is.

I don't even want to get that much into the "plot", but for the sake of whatever: TJ Miller is a "meh" emoji by birth, who is secretly plagued by a full spectrum of emotions. When he is classified as a "malfunction", in a series of repetitive arguments that sound uncomfortably like they're just barely skirting "the R word", Meh goes on the run to avoid destruction by his fellow emoji, who need to manage this crisis before their user erases all of them.

If that is like...not very heroic-sounding to you, then you're hearing me right. THE EMOJI MOVIE is I guess about being yourself or something, but the details of Meh's adventure are so outlandishly stupid that it's hard to even worry about the moral of the story. To my apoplectic shock, our hero's escape from peril is totally dependent on Dropbox. That's almost all you need to know about this movie, actually: That it requires you to somehow reimagine a collaborative file management product as the Millennium Falcon, or Dorothy's ruby slippers, or something. Even if I were able to accept this proposal, it still remains beyond me why a tween boy would have Dropbox on his phone. I mean, is he going to Project Management Junior High or something?

Of course, this is only one example of THE EMOJI MOVIE's inability to produce exciting, easy-to-understand ideas. It may not be surprising, on paper, that an unwieldy chunk of the story involves a loud advertisement for the money-grubbing mobile game Candy Crush. However, it's still jarring when the movie has the sheer nerve to insert its characters into a 3D version of the very-2D Candy Crush board, have them discuss the rules and mechanics of Candy Crush at length, and then have them actually play Candy Crush, in a scene that really accomplishes nothing other than exactly what is on the screen while it lasts. The audacity of the thing makes the McDonald's breakdancing sequence in MAC & ME look downright subtle.

The aforementioned scene should really be enough to sink basically any cinematic ship, but THE EMOJI MOVIE doesn't settle for less than 100% failure. Almost everything in it is so poorly considered that there isn't enough time in my life to get through it all, but I have to get *some* things off my chest. I mean, how the fuck do you take a concept like this, and decide that a whole bunch of your movie should involve DANCING? How can you possibly ask me to look at a bunch of Pac-Mans with little rudimentary limbs, and expect me to be able to tell that SOME of them are really good dancers and SOME of them are really shitty dancers, and ALL OF THE SUSPENSE hinges on this distinction? And while we're talking about physical activity, what are even the rules of this world? Apps are both giant monolithic cubes, like they are on your home screen, that can slide around and crush you between their unyielding walls, and they are ALSO little subdimensions that you can enter (not that we really see how this works) and dick around in. "Internet trolls" are somehow not separate human users, but technological entities that exists inside the world of the phone, right alongside junk mail and computer viruses. And speaking of junk, like, why is the phone owner deleting individual apps WHILE he's on his way to a Genius Bar to get the whole device reset? What the fuck is going on in any part of this movie?

While I'm talking about how ~completely~ disastrous this movie is, though, I should admit that maybe I blew past the plot too quickly. The most remarkable thing about THE EMOJI MOVIE is that it manages to be so fathomlessly moronic, AND so majestically pretentious at the same time. There is something interestingly perverse about the idea of taking humanity's most vapid, dehumanized linguistic development, and using it as some kind of allegory for the supremacy of emotion, and the prismatic nature of the soul. It's disturbing, actually. On the one hand, the movie cannot resist advertising for office products and parasitic IAP-driven games, and all of its ostensible charm is predicated on the viewer's preexisting familiarity with fun icons for human shit and compressed fish byproducts. On the other hand, the movie makes a big deal out of identifying the fascism inherent in controlling how people express themselves, and confining their potential to the dictates of their heritage. At some point the movie even drags in some shallow commentary on the tyranny of gender roles, with a subplot about a "princess" emoji rejecting the few, oppressively girly options for females of the species--just in case there were any audience members left who didn't feel personally condescended to yet.

At this point, you might be wondering why I even bothered to write all this down, having already suffered the unnecessary indignity of watching the thing. The truth is that I have an insatiable curiosity about the psychology of productions like this. When I see something so abjectly catastrophic, I start to have enthralling nightmare visions about what it must have been like to make this movie. Especially considering the fact that it is animated: At what point did people begin to realize that something really bad was happening? Who noticed it first? Was there a protracted period of convincing oneself that everything was going to be fine, or did the darkness sink in at the very beginning? What happened when the movie came out? Have all of the actors even see the whole thing? How did they manage their social lives when it started to become common, international knowledge that they had participated in the creation of one of the worst movies in the visible history of the medium? Does one lose relationships over a movie like this, either among friends who don't know how to address it, or comrades who can't stand the slightest reminder of what they've been through? I am completely entranced by my own fantasies about what happens with movies like this. I would happily watch a documentary about the making of THE EMOJI MOVIE, or better yet, some sort of distorted psychodrama about the emotional environment of the production. Somebody get Peter Strickland on the blower.

PS Mike White, I am so, so sorry. What happened to you?

[jooheongif]

it's theory anon,hi!!how are YOU?i'm really good rn thanks:)) thank you for your kindness again,i'm really happy i could somehow help to help you feel even a tiny bit better and hope you're doing well now,too(and it's ok to not rest on your day off but it's also ok to do so if that's what you feel is right for you atm!).about the mf(ilm), i thought the same thing, it felt like a parallel universe type of story!i also really love plotlines about friendship, (again cont.i'll try to be briefer!)

(i’m so sorry i wrote a rly long reply so i’m gonna put this under read more !!)

2. friendship is beautiful and i feel oftentimes underappreciated(but not mx!there they go again being amazing) so i love the concept. personally i like not knowing what exactly the producers were thinking because having my own interpretation of something and seeing other ppl have their own fills me with wonder,like,that's art!so many people think so many different things and no one's wrong i love it!!your thoughts about them appreciating everything they've done so far,you're absolutely right(cont) 3. i hope they are able to bc everything's so hectic for the.i get lost just looking at their official schedule,i don't know how they do it but i also hope they are aware of all these things bc those are all mindblowingly huge accomplishments in my opinion and i just want them to feel like their hard work is worth it,yknow?(is this comprehensible?)and i know they feel pressure because as you said the business is nasty but yea i hope at the end of the day they can feel like (cont.???again 4. everything they've put so much of themselves into is worth it,i love their energy and fierce determination and i just don't want them to lose it but maybe as you said feel less pressured..but then the only way would realistically be to make sure they get awarded in the Real World so we're all doing our best in the system&hating it as you said:/ they just mean so much to so many people i want them to feel that too!i try to contain myself but here i go again! sorry it's so long AND i have more(con 5. also!thank you for your big reply and sharing your thoughts i mostly just agreed with (but you're right so what else can i do),i don't have mbb friends to vent to and fanperson(is there a gender neutral term for fanboy/fangirl?) over mx with and this is really nice and fulfilling(again,if i'm boring you,you can just delete the messages and not reply!) so THANKS!it's great to strive to be a better person but i feel like one(you) should also acknowledge the good things they're already doing(cont?) 6. you showed such pure kindness and really melted someone's(my) heart and that's a Big Deal!djkghddgwe can agree that we both inspired each other :') also please i feel like you're such a wonderful soul and you really deserve every bit of gratitude and appreciation i managed to express(i feel a lot moreprobably) so!yeah!reminder that you're lovely and deserve to be appreciated and i'm also very,very happy you're here!you made my day brighter for the 2nd time now wow!thanks! i hope you and(cont.:() 7. your gorgeous heart are taking good care and enjoying your day/night! and this cb!i really like it i haven't had time to listen to the entire album but jealousy!is a bop honestly it's my type of jam and the choreo is stunning and so are their voices!iwas so skeptical about the lyrics(they could've been like hero or stuck and those made me a bit >:/ honestly) but i really should've known they wouldn't fail me in any way ever!i can't wait to hear the rest of the songs i hope you enjoy them too!bye

hi theory anon, it's nice to hear from u again ! firstly, i am so sorry for the slow reply to this ! but im rly glad to know that u are doing good :-) i'm doing ok too thank u !! how are u ? kfjjfdsjfdf sorry that u had to read my tags but thank u for saying that !! i just feel so guilty when i do nothing bc im absolutely terrified of time passing too quickly ? just the thought of letting a few minutes go to waste is overwhelming ? even though i know it's not rational to think like this but ??? theres just this constant feeling that im running out of time so i try to get rid of it by always doing smth ?? and feel bad when i dont ? idk ?? but anyway im working on it and ill be ok ! sorry..not to be dramatic and tmi and all that kjdfdj istg this blog gives me too much freedom to say...too much :( (hope the internet folks that collect metadata never read the garbage i write bc..yikes they aren't gonna hav the best time) anyway..yea. what a paragraph to start off this reply :( sorry for the honesty and saying so much all the time btw :( not that being honest is necessarily a bad thing but ! idk every time i write smth i suddenly feel extra self conscious and feel like deleting it bc im rly embarrassed and always end up having big regret later when i reread anything ive typed up !! but i just keep writing them anyway bc...idk ?? i'd rly hate it if someone got discouraged from sharing their thoughts/worries/feelings which i think is a rly important human thing :( so  yea im rly embarrassed w anything i write but i'll keep doing it anyway bc i'm all for that kind of stuff and sometimes i know its not easy and it takes someone a lot to share that and its a good thing and i dont ever want anyone to feel discouraged from doing that ! anyway i just felt like i rly needed to say all of this..but pls dont feel obliged to reply to this mess !! anyway back to mx ! you are right :( i also hope mx feel like what they've done is worth smth w/e their definition or standard of that is :( like.. all of the hard work they've put into being mx it certainly means so much to fans but i hope all the hard work they've put into being mx also means smth to them at the end of the day and they are happy w what they're doing and what they've achieved so far :( and yes we'd love mx to always be rewarded in the real world :( though we love them and we want to get them a win, i know that everyone has their commitments, means and different circumstances and we can only do so much :( but even if u think its just a small contribution, everything adds up and counts and i know that all mbb hav contributed in some way in helping them get another win for this cb ! there are some mbb who can't buy albums or streaming passes and things and i hope they don't feel bad for this :( even if all you can do is watch the mv once or twice, even if you could only vote, i hope you know that it all counts and matters !! abt mx's schedule, i get tired just by looking at their weekly one idk how they can even put up w it all ?? after this they'll hav their japanese album and things and then they'll have their concerts and on top of all that apparently [some of them are also studying] ????? they are so hardworking :( HOW do they do it !! just..thinking abt their schedule is overwhelming !!! also pls dont think that you're boring me or anything like that :( im so thankful for any msg i receive and the fact that u actually took the time to type out smth to send to me ?? im so grateful ?? u are never boring !! honestly even if u sent me a stainless steel dishwasher manual w the page length of like..23 bibles, i'd still love u for it and i'd prob read all of it :( btw thank u sm for saying all those kind things !!! receiving kindness for the 3rd time is rly !!!!!!! and once again i've done nothing to deserve it :( i dont even know what i can say to you that will ever be enough to thank u again or to top what u hav already said ! if there was like a...maslows hierarchy of kindness of smth, ur at the very top of that triangle and anything i say will never be as kind as what you have said !! for you, i can agree that we both inspired each other :-) but really thank u so much from the bottom of my heart :( i hope you know how kind and lovely u are too ! if nobody told u this today, i wanted to say that im rly grateful to know u and i'm happy that you're here !! thank u again for being so kind and thoughtful and for making me smile !! :( same, i havent properly listened to the whole album either bc ive just been letting it stream in the background (but i dont count that as a proper listen unless i listen w headphones tbh) ill give it a good listen one day ! also im a repeat 1 kind of garbage person until i feel the need to listen to a new song ?? and rn jealousy to me is a song that gets better w every listen ??? shes too powerful atm :( one day ill listen to another song but today is not that day ! Actually.....I think jealousy is my fav mx song ???? before this cb i didnt hav a fav bc i couldnt pick the song i liked most out of blue moon/blind/fighter/incomparable. i was just gonna base it off the one w the most play count out of those 4 but now i know its jealousy ! what are ur fav mx songs ?? btw i know im always saying that anything mx releases is always a masterpiece no matter what, but in all seriousness its ok if u didn't like smth they released. i don't think it makes u any less of a mbb if u didn't enjoy a certain release or if u only liked one aspect of a thing but not so much the rest of the thing. anyway not to sound so...stale and commonplace but for lack of a better word/sentence, at the end of the day your own reactions and feelings to a piece of art like music...it's all just subjective isnt it ?? not liking that thing doesnt mean that its not a masterpiece or its any less of a masterpiece to someone else either so !! it's ok !! anyway this is rly....ive written a lot and its all over the place and incoherent probably :( i'm sorry !! feel free to reply whenever u feel like it, or no pressure on never replying at all btw ! also feel free to disagree w anything i say ! thank u sm for talking to me abt mx bc ive also got no mbb friends so !!! thank you :( theres so many times where i rly want to start a conversation w someone but im too scared and also i've got no clue abt how to initiate conversation ! and the times when i do manage to...i get stuck on how to keep the conversation going ? but when i figure smth out then im coming for u @ friendship !! i hope u had a good weekend and that you got some rest and that ur doing ok wherever u are !! until next time, take care ❤️❤️❤️