#t1: your brother will be the death of me

[aresenics]

𝒻𝑜𝓇  :   @bloodycrxwn   !

𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤  :  vero   &   santiago   .

𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟  :    up   to   you   <3    .

     𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆   𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊   𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄   𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒   𝐎𝐅   𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃   𝐀𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐇𝐎𝐋,  one   behind   the   other   was   but   another   nod   to   his   pastimes,   allowing   the   liquid   to   burn   the   small   of   his   throat   until   teeth   are   clenched   with   a   low   hiss   —   digits   curling   around   the   empty   glass;   an   anchor   for   reality.   the   creak   of   an  opening   door   elicits   tension   within   his   shoulders,  not   particularly   in   the   mood   for   conversation.  nevertheless,   he’s   moving   on   to   find   himself   another   drink,  hopefully   a   lure   for   oncoming   stranger   to   aid   in   his   search   or   leave.   eyes   flutter   toward   them,   taking   in   recognizable   figure   with   an   internal   breath   of   relief.   fortunately   enough   santiago   had   been   most   aware   of   vero’s   sudden   odes   of   silence,   but   with   familiar   face   the   will   to  avoid   communication   is   gone   momentarily.    ❛    tu   hermano   sera   la   muerte   para   mi.     ❜      he   muses.       ❛     puede   pararse    justo    en    frente    de   él   y   todavía   se   preocupará   de   que   algo   ande   mal.     ❜     sly   digits   continue   rummaging   through   oak   cabinets,   finally   rewarded   with   an   entirely   unopened   bottle   of    tequila,   a   fox   -   like   grin   sliding   across   his   lips.   the   seafarer   places   it   on   the   counter,   gaze   meeting   with   the   prince   that   stalks   further   in.    ❛     convincing   him   to   leave   is   a   mission   of   its   own.     ❜   

[doctorbunny]

MILGRAM THEORY: The Girl in the Weakness Drawings

So in Haruka's first song Weakness, we see a variety of crayon drawings he made. Most are characters we already know:

Haruka and his (two faced) mother

Godzilla (no copyright infringement intended)

Snakes and butterflies under a big tree [I have no proof of this but it always invoked the idea of the garden of Eden in me] which also makes an appearance in Undercover on the drawing pad

But there's always been one uncertainty:

Who is this drawing depicting?

This was a heavy point of discussion back in T1 and this post by @mrgoodenough254 suddenly reminded me of the discussion

The conclusion I came to back then is that it must be Haruka, after all he's standing in front of it. It could represent how he views himself now he's older and no longer recieving the attention of his mother. A self loathing monster~

Of course, this wasn't the only explanation, some thought it could be his still unseen father or something else entirely... But having gone back for a second look, I have a good guess

The girl (who might be Haruka's sister but we don't 100% know yet, either way the one he strangles)

First: look at the hair At first I thought it was just messy like Haruka's But the part that would be Haruka's fringe trails lower, and appears to be tied into a green bow. More like a clumsy attempt at drawing how the girl's hair leads into a plait

Second: The colour of the eyes Haruka's eyes are a blue-green. But the drawing has glowing purple eyes Now, we haven't seen the girl's eyes yet. But we do know someone who has a similar colour of purple hair to her. And she has purple-pink eyes

So we can guess this is the girl's eye colour.

Third: the "mermaid's tail" The drawing doesn't specifically have legs, which is part of why I thought it looked like a monster or mermaid

It looks jagged at the bottom and there's a bunch of lines running through it However, whilst in weakness the girl is wearing a nice dress, we know she died in a middle school sailor uniform, which often have longer skirts

(you can tell because of the sailor collar, also look! her plait falls on the same side as the hair in the drawing, this will be important in a second-) This means the lines could represent the skirt folds

Final note: How the girl is drawn The first and most obvious thing to say is how she was drawn to look like a monster, what with her glowy eyes and spiky teeth And this is a common, if childish way siblings who don't get along may depict each other You don't like your brother? Draw him as a big ugly monster!!!

But I think the more interesting thing is everything else: Part of why I thought this was a drawing of Haruka for so long is because behind the hair is blue scribbling, which I figured was just part of the hair However, in weakness we see something else coloured blue

Blood (We know Haruka killed her via strangulation but its possible when she fell back she hit her head on something? Or Haruka just associates death with bleeding) The drawing also shows the arms bent at odd, stiff angles And the neck is long and crooked The 'skirt' is also ripped and covered in something green (grass stains??)

This may not just be a drawing of Haruka's sister But one depicting her death

(artist's rendition)

[lullabynorth]

(if ur still doing this) your opinion on 0308? other than that... your opinion on 0110? 👀 (no pressure)

ah yes hello! ty for the question hehe

0308..... i love their sibling dynamic so much. i feel like fuuta would be such a good big brother for her and at least try to help her understand. but also barring her attempts to "save" fuuta i feel that amane would also help him be more mindful :3

0110...... haruka is likely terrified of kotoko, esp after t1. imagine watching helplessly as someone ran around and attacked those who were restrained, some of which to the brink of death. imagine knowing that this person is only 3 years older than you. imagine knowing that one of the adults close in age to you is like this.

i also feel that kotoko would be the one to try and stop haruka's attempt, restrained or no. to me, if her philosophy is still "protect the weak," why would she let someone like him die, guilty or not? i feel like she would at least try to talk him out of it, even if she uses harsh words and doesn't get anywhere. is that just me?

[linagram]

𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚊'𝚜 𝚝𝟷 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗!

it's the last interrogation! thank you sm for sending questions for them! after riku and reina get their verdicts, the first trial will officially be over and i will make a post about eiji and miki discussing the results, kinda like the official t1 results video.

Q.01. Have you ever had a lover?

Riku: Yep, I had a girlfriend, but she broke up with me because.. this is embarrassing to admit, but she left me because she thought that I spend more time with my friends than her and they're more important to me.

Reina: Nope!

Q.02. Have you ever gotten angry at other people?

Riku: .. Yeah.

Reina: Of course. And then I killed them for making me angry!

Q.03. What's your favorite season?

Riku: Summer. I love going to the beach with my friends, we always have so much fun together!

Reina: Winter. I love snow and I love cold weather in general!

Q.04. Do you have any siblings?

Riku: An older brother and two younger sisters, they're twins. My big brother has very bad health problems though, so I always had to look after him and my sisters. I always had to play the role of the older brother even though I'm the middle child. But I'm not complaining, of course!

Reina: Just my little brother. He's fifteen.

Q.05. Is there someone you like?

Riku: Miki-san!

Reina: Yurika-chan is so cute! Her hair is so soft and she always smells so nice, haha.. She's basically an angel compared to me.

Q.06. How do you spend your time in prison?

Riku: I write song lyrics, play the guitar I've asked for, do my makeup and paint my nails!

Reina: Coming up with all kinds of evil plans~

Q.07. Which prisoner do you think is most similar to you?

Riku: Kei-san! Our personalities are very similar and I feel like his crime is similar to mine in some way. He feels like a big brother that I've never had, to be honest.

Reina: Hard to say, I don't think any of these prisoners are just as messed up as me. Um, if we're talking about personalities, maybe Riku-kun? We're just chilling~

Q.08. What do you think is evil?

Riku: Making someone solve all your problems when they already have enough problems to deal with.

Reina: Me! :D Ah, wait, you wanted me to say "what" is evil and not "who" is evil..

Q.09. What is the right punishment for someone who betrays you?

Riku: .. I don't want to think about it.

Reina: Death! Haha, just kidding, getting betrayed is not a big deal to me. Actually, someone like me deserves to be stabbed in the back.

Q.10. Which is more important, the goal or the means you take to achieve it?

Riku: The goal. I would do anything to achieve my dream.

Reina: If you have to do something that you hate doing to achieve your goal, is it really worth it? You should have as much fun as you can.

Q.11. Is there something you admire?

Riku: I really admire people who are hardworking, but know when to stop and when it's better to take a break. I also like people who are kind to others, but also can stand up for themselves.

Reina: I admire people who refuse to change for others. If you still do what you want to do and stay true to yourself no matter what others say, that means you're a very strong person.

Q.12. Do you feel sorry for your victim?

Riku: No. He got what he deserved. I was the real victim.

Reina: He was very young. Even someone as cold-hearted as me would feel sorry for him.

Q.13. How do you think you should atone for your sin?

Riku: It wasn't even a sin though?

Reina: I will never be able to atone for all of my sins. There's just too many of them.

Q.14. What would you do if the world were to end tomorrow?

Riku: I would play one last song with my friends.

Reina: I think I would apologize to my family for everything. Even if that apology isn't sincere, it would be nice to say those words to them.

Q.15. If you were allowed to do anything, what would you want to do?

Riku: .. Taking a break from being the one who always has to take care of everyone would be nice.

Reina: I always do what I want, it doesn't matter if it's allowed or not.

[tyrannuspitch]

Your Thor metas are interesting. I agree that the neck-touching is very unusual and seems to carry abuse imagery throughout Loki's entire arc (and it's how Loki died by Thanos). I have siblings and I don't think I've ever touched their necks. I am not sure if you like being perceived, so let me know if not.

hi! thank you :D i don't mind being perceived - the reason i post in my own tag rather than the main ones is because there was a stage when i was making 30 or more posts a day and i didn't want to either a) get discoursed or b) get banned. comments questions criticism etc are all welcome :)

and yes, i don't think i've ever done that to my siblings either. but, then again, i've also never used "brother/sister" as a serious form of address. i'd say that, as a non-aggressive gesture of affection, it seems to be a lot more normal within an asgardian cultural context. we see it in a few other relationships:

thor to sif in T1. thor persuades sif to leave the battlefield when it becomes clear she can't win. thor is quite forceful here too - he fully turns her around to look at him, and he's clearly giving her orders - but there's no anger or threat in it.

thor to jane in TDW. they argue - jane actually hits him - and then thor puts his hand on her jaw/neck to tell her "fate has brought us together". thor is trying to get her back on his side, and to cover up his own nerves. (the latter doesn't entirely work.)

odin to frigga in TDW. this is just a gesture, no real tension, but it is a little possessive - he calls her "MY queen" at the same time - and authoritative - he's trying to dismiss her fears for him.

thor to bruce in T3, i think? i can't remember the specifics of this one, but at some point, thor uses it to try to keep bruce calm so he can stay in his human form.

which gives us an interesting bundle of connotations, even before we get to how it mingles with violence for thor and loki specifically.

it's a medium-intimate gesture (friends, family, fellow warriors, etc) that's meant to project an air of invulnerable authority, calm down the recipient, and impose order and social cohesion (which is sometimes a synonym for obedience.)

there are two couples on the list, but even disregarding loki and bruce, the presence of sif makes me pretty confident asgardians don't view it as romantic by default (the way some viewers seem to), since thor not having feelings for sif is A Whole Thing.

HOWEVER. i do think it's subtly gendered - we always see it done by a normative/ideal man to someone with less social power - a woman, or an "overemotional" man, or someone who acts outside their gender role (loki + sif)... etc. (not saying that's a hard rule, to be clear. just an interesting pattern.)

(and it's also relevant that the three recipients of this gesture in TDW - frigga, jane, and loki - all either die a sacrificial death or, in jane's case, very narrowly escape one. TDW treats (self-)sacrifice as a form of subjugation.)

[it's also interesting that there is, as far as i'm aware, precisely one reversal, where the gesture goes up the power dynamic instead of down (loki to thor), and it's in a *deleted scene* in T1. i know a lot of people like to take deleted scenes as canon, and sometimes i do too... but i also like to consider the fact that they ARE, deliberately, deleted. they could've shown us a break in this pattern, but they never did.

(i mean, this certainly won't be the main reason for deleting that scene, given that the motif was solidified in the avengers, but still... it could be a factor. and regardless of intent, the pattern is interesting.)]

[edit: i misremembered the deleted scene! it's STILL thor to loki in that one. so we have NO reversal at all...]

so ummm yeah! overall... in this story, it's not always overtly aggressive to touch someone's neck, but it IS generally pretty hierarchical. and it is pretty normal in asgardian culture... but of course, they're an absolute monarchy. a lot of bad things are "normal" to them lol.

[0809sysblings]

the girl, the myth, the legend..

just gonna dump a bunch of stuff <3

杜本 (Tomoto) 心受 (Shinju)

Age: 18 Height: 165cm Bloodtype: AB

Image color: #349563

T1 static voice line

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... You'll forgive me, right? Of course you will...!"

T1 interrogation questions

Q: What's your current occupation? A: I'm a high school student~

Q: Family? A: Dad, mom, older brother, and me

Q: What do you think about your family? A: I'm close with my older brother! I don't really like my parents all that much, though... ... these questions aren't gonna become public, right?

Q: What's something that's more painful than death? A: Living life alone. Just thinking about it scares me!

Q: What is pain to you? A: Pain is how I know I'm alive!

Q: Do you regret your "murder"? A: I don't know...

other info:

she uses the first person pronoun "atashi" (あたし／アタシ) and writes it in katakana. it's a more casual, feminine, and cutesy form of watashi

this is her voice <3 x

her hair is dyed. if that wasn't obvious

her prisoner uniform is supposed to resemble a sailor fuku (female japanese school uniform. you know, the sailor-looking ones). her name tag thing hangs to look like the tie/bow. but i just didnt draw that far bc im lazy <3

[lokiinmediasideblog]

Outside of Marvel:

Loki x Komand'r (Blackfire)-The most perfect Marvel!Loki crack ship in existence. Spurned space royals with unhealthy sibling rivalries! Ice and Fire! Alien disabilities. Loathed by their subjects and mistreated by parents. Evil older sister and evil younger brother! Like I kinda want to analyze that a villainous princess is often presented as the older one and that a villainous prince is usually the younger one + the associations of age with gender (I know Loki is genderfluid but that happened until the 2010s and they were merely queer-coded until then).

Loki x Mordred-Usurper bastard (literal) princes keen on patricide. Also, is it me or does Mordred's death in La Morte d'Arthur is very reminiscent of myth!Loki's death in Ragnarok?

Not ship-related because there's too many characters, unless you want to play olympic polyamory. I'd love to see Loki interact with The Doom Patrol or The Umbrella Academy members. I feel they'd be kindred spirits in the whole super fuck-up/destined to lose departments.

With TDP, Loki would probably summon them for some bullshit, and it'd be a weird whacky Grant Morrisonesque adventure. Maybe Willoughby Kipling was fucking around trying to summon Baphomet cus of his massive crush, and ended up contacting Loki who told him of some impending disaster, but he has to remain a living battery. And so Kipling goes off to get TDP on it. It's also interesting that they all have regrets, and many of them were not kind people and are very insecure about themselves. So if Loki manages to get free, it'd be interesting to see how they interact. Maybe they try to convince him that the multiverse will be safe and try to get him out? Maybe he grants them a favor in return? TDP is the best super-hero adjacent show I've ever watched, btw. Highly recommend!

With TUA , they're all "adopted" through unethical means and were pitted against each other from birth, and grew up in a mansion with their very powerful and abusive adoptive alien dad played by Colm Feore (who also played Laufey in T1). Not to mention, a lot of them could pass as Loki variants (Luther is Captain America with some Thor thrown in, Diego's the knife guy with a rivalry to his blonde brother with a dysfunctional relationship to a bottle blonde whose childhood was ruined by a time organization, Allison's power is words, Klaus is a gnc queer disaster often looked down upon, Five is a cranky know-it-all and capable of timefuckery/ends up in fucked up places often, Sparrow!Ben and Luther have that fandom Thor and Loki dynamic in that Sparrow!Ben is constantly doing crimes and Luther bailing him out. Umbrella!Ben on the other hand was afraid of his abilities and died, Viktor was lied to about not being something he wanted to be and is trans while Loki was lied to about being something he wanted to be. Loki taking the role of a protective yet murderous eldritch older brother to the rest of them would be cool. And it'd be funny to have this eldritch guy bearing a very strong resemblance to their alien "adoptive" father show up and he's like "I'm gonna kill him AGAIN". Insert rant about how bad/inconsistent the characterizations and writing for both Loki and TUA characters became as time went on.

MCU:

Loki x Valkyrie is my MCU OTP. They both had to do horrible things they're not proud of to survive around a madman in a lawless place, and they're both foils to Thor. I guess they appeal to me in that they both were forced to learn to deal with the GM. They were in Sakaar long enough for that to happen. The fight scene between these two made me ship them. And I personally think Valkyrie was one of the good things in TR; I just think she's neat. I like that she met Loki outside of Asgard and has been outside of the loop. The dynamic of "Your adoptive dad forced me to fight his wars and then i ended up in a place where time runs differently" is intriguing. I don't know why I ship this with an intensity rivaling my shipping of Zutara D: I knew it'd not be cannon because Marvel are cowards, but I'm upset they are no longer standing next to each other!

Frostshield-A fic made me ship them. I liked that the fic HC'd that Loki was also sickly as a child, but he was vengeful. It showed that they dealt with being perceived as weak in very different ways.

Loki x Nebula-Loki might know her already, and they have a lot in common. They're even both blue! LMAO.

Marvel comics:

Doomki-It's really fun. They're on equal ground just playing chicken with each other. I love the "Aww, you poisoned my food!" thing.

Scarletfrost-That comic made me ship them even if they didn't end up together cus Marvel are cowards xD

Loki x Lin Lie-Loki was flirty as fuck to him, and I find it funny that they're both black-haired with a green/gold color scheme.

I briefly shipped him with both Hulkling and Wiccan during YA V2 but I don't anymore.

Do you have any crackships featuring Loki?

[evilkitten3]

i think one thing i hated about thor 3 that i never see getting discussed in thor’s response to loki’s reappearance on asgard post-sakaar.

ignoring the extremely weird behavior loki’s been displaying throughout the movie (especially the whole “your savior is here” thing which. makes me miss tdw’s “ta-da” line), the last time thor and loki interacted in the film was thor leaving loki to be electrocuted on the floor with no way of freeing himself while telling him that they probably shouldn’t ever see each other again.

thor arrives on asgard with val and bruce. and that’s it. he’s taking on the goddess of death in the realm where she’s at her most powerful, her giant zombie wolf, and her horde of undead warriors (and skurge but like. this isn’t the comics; skurge isn’t a threat here) with two other people. not that the three of them aren’t pretty fucking dangerous, but there’s no way they can win this; they’re outnumbered and outmatched. oh, and the ship they’re on (the commodore) is fucking tiny.

loki literally shows up with a small army and a ship big enough to fit all of the survivors on. and thor’s response? “you’re late”

this isn’t fucking lord of the rings you actual sack of shit this is the absolute last person in the universe who owes you anything showing up to save your reckless ass. fucking heimdall at least gives him a “welcome home” and is overall pretty damn friendly given everything that’s happened between the two of them. which i personally find hilarious given that in the actual ragnarok loki and heimdallr are supposed to kill each other.

but anyway, i think that particular interaction between thor and loki showcases everything ragnarok did wrong with their relationship specifically. namely, it was one of the worst possible conclusions to the arc started in thor 1. in t1, loki is struggling to feel like his existence means anything next to thor’s, and thor is so hotheaded and generally oblivious that he’s completely unaware of how deeply loki is affected by his casual remarks. obviously a1 and t2 have things significantly worse, for fairly understandable reasons, but the overall connection between them was still easy to see - brothers who cared for each other at one point but were caught up in such a toxic family dynamic that they were incapable of even properly communicating with each other.

come thor 3, though, thor’s not even pretending to care. he’s entirely indifferent to the guy who has been by his side for over a thousand years. i’d say he treats loki like a dog, but honestly, he treats loki more like a boomerang - just an object you throw at your problems and if it doesn’t come back then it’s probably broken and you should just throw it away.

loki and thor didn’t “reconcile” in ragnarok. thor stopped caring about anyone else (don’t get me started on how he treated bruce/the hulk) and loki gave up on ever being treated like a person. i’m not sure if loki sacrificed himself in infinity war to save thor or to get away from him. and honestly i don’t know if loki was sure either.

[wrenhyperfixates]

Loki Series Thoughts—Glorious Purpose

Ok, I’m always nervous about posting my thoughts, but here we go. Spoilers ahead of course!!! (Disclaimer: Any gifs or images are not mine.)

Let’s start out with the episode’s name: Glorious Purpose. I know some people were a bit miffed about the emphasis put on the line, but I actually thought it worked well. It’s not so much that Loki actually believes in this “purpose,” but rather he is clinging to what he’s been told his purpose is. And by the end of the episode, he’s finally working through some of the things he’s been hurt by, abandoning what he’s been forced into and ready to be who he wants. Granted, it’s still going to take some time for him to come to grips with all that has happened, but I’m excited to see the journey.

The TVA. They undeniably suck. Whether or not it will be addressed directly, they are the (or one of the) antagonists in the show. What they are doing is, frankly, tyrannical. Three “time keepers” have taken it upon themselves to force countless versions of time and people into one single stream. And you know what? They can’t control that timeline. Not like they want to. As much as Loki’s line about “the weak” applies to himself, it applies to the TVA, too. It’s a facade of control that they cling to; if they truly had the right, the ability, to control time, everyone would follow their path. There would be no variants. Now, I could write a whole separate analysis on the MCU’s explanation of time travel. It’s convoluted and in a large way doesn’t make sense.

I’d like to talk about Loki’s characterization. I am, in a word, relieved. From the trailers, Tom seemed to be over-acting, something rather strange for someone so good at conveying deep emotions through nuanced actions. Now I believe any exaggerated lines from the trailers are just Loki trying to separate himself from who he’s been told he is, and trying to reinvent himself. I don’t think that’s a bad thing either; they’re not rewriting Loki, he’s just growing in a new way. And though this way is “new” I think it will be similar to what we’ve seen before. From what we’ve seen so far, there is good continuity, and they are addressing things about Loki that should be addressed in canon.

Loki projects. Most notably in the Avengers, but also a bit in Thor 1 and The Dark World, a lot of Loki’s lines can be applied to himself, though he is talking generally or towards another group. What comes to mind is actually something he touches upon again in the series. The illusion of freedom. And though it is not said that line in particular is him thinking of himself, it can be inferred based on his admission that the line in the gifs above apply to him. Also that little gesture when he says “weak” breaks me. He’s hurting so much.

Loki is not a villain. He may think he’s one because everyone else is telling him that, yet we’re already seeing it brought up that it’s not true. I can only hope that we’ll see Loki state this himself later in the series. He was largely forced to do what he did. It is not his fault, so how can he be a villain?

Loki cares. Tom’s acting is just *chef’s kiss* Seeing his mother’s death hurts so much. I love that his first response is denial. Loki is thrown into something he’s never known about before, being shown things that, to his knowledge, have never happened. But then when he’s had a few seconds to wander around the TVA on his own terms, he’s more come to grips with all that’s going on. So, when he’s by himself and see’s Frigga lying there, dead, it gets to him. Then seeing Odin still call him his son, he feels the slightest glimmer of hope, but also regret; he already knows in the back of his mind that he’s not actually going to get that. Loki’s living from second to second, trying to hold on. He probably thinks this ends with his death. (I do have issues with that Odin scene in context of Ragnarok but that’s more a tangential aside, so I’ll gloss over it for now.) Then seeing Thor and himself acting like brothers again is heartwarming. So just when he’s feeling uplifted, Thanos comes into the picture. He realizes how much control the titan still had over his life; he never really escaped. And in the end, Thanos made good on his promise. And that is terrifying! And he laughs at it. It’s a sad sort of laugh, one that’s slightly crazed. Loki feels that no matter what he does, it ends in pain. By the end of seeing all that, he is a man broken. Rather, more broken than he already was.

Loki is struggling. That’s nothing profound; it’s obvious. But where it really stands out to me is actually in a part I originally thought to be out of character. I am referring to “What if I was a robot and I didn’t know it.” Upon closer inspection, I realize it’s actually that his perception of himself has been so thrown that he really isn’t sure about his own chemical makeup anymore. Odin and Frigga keeping from him that he’s a frost giant made him so unsure of himself, he thought he might not even be a living being.

Nervous tics. Was I the only one noticing his leg bouncing when he talked to Mobius? And what about that scene when he’s sitting on the steps? He begins to pick at his hands. Note, that’s something he did in T1 after finding out he was a frost giant and while confessing to the Warriors Four about how he was the one who told the guard of their trip to Jotunheim. Just a little detail I really appreciated. (If anyone has gifs of any of these things, feel free to share :)

Mobius. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit undecided. I’m hesitant to say he’s evil. After all, we haven’t seen that much of him yet. However, I will say he is unscrupulous and manipulative. His questions weren’t to help Loki work through his trauma. Mobius was trying to goad him into helping, and likely was trying to gauge how much this Loki is like the variant he’s tracking. When Loki makes any admission of his feelings, it’s something he already knew, not a conclusion Mobius helped him reach. Mobius mocks him a bit and pushes his buttons because he sees Loki as a means to an end, and wants to know how easily he can get him to work with him. And what strikes me is how similar Mobius’s deal is to Thor’s deal in TDW. Thor doesn’t offer Loki freedom, he offers revenge. Mobius’s deal is just another variation of this. He can’t offer “salvation” but he can offer something “better”. Working for the TVA really isn’t better, though. So what does he mean? Well, I think he means a chance for Loki to prove he’s a hero. I hope as the show progresses it’s addressed that Loki doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone. That’s what he’s been doing his whole life, but I want Loki to see for himself that he doesn’t have to.

Miss Minutes. Propaganda. Plain and simple, it’s propaganda. Besides the way it praises the “time keepers” as amazing saviors, necessary to keep the world in order, it’s essentially saying “don’t think for yourself.” The whole point of the video is “the time keepers are great. The TVA is flawless. Trust us to decide everything. You have no autonomy in the world we want, so surrender your free will. Submit to the system we’ve decided is perfect and everything will be just fine.” Of course, by “just fine” they mean the variant will be pruned and the timeline will keep going as the time keepers see fit. The animation style was great though! It really fit.

The infinity stones. I think their inclusion makes sense. If you remember from Endgame, the stones being in the right place in the right time keeps the timeline from branching, and thus prevents the multiverse from being created. Likely, the time keepers used the stones to make their “sacred timeline.” Naturally, any variant time stones would cause a problem. That’s why they have so many extras. But think about how pointless so much of what happened seems. Nat, Gamora, Vision, Tony, everyone who was snapped, everyone who was left. So, literally the entire universe was flipped upside down for paperweights. It really puts Thanos’s pursuit of the stones into perspective, doesn’t it?

The cloaked figure. I think there’s some misdirection going on here in one way or another. Mobius says he’s chasing a Loki variant, then immediately it cuts to a scene with the cloaked figure. Our minds are likely to assume that is the variant then. But they don’t actually say it’s Loki, so I’m inclined to believe it’s not. Though, I don’t have enough information to say who I do think it is, I could make a couple of educated guesses and say Mephisto (he certainly interacted with Loki in the comics, plus there’s the stained glass window) or Sylvie. Well, whoever Sophia Di Martino’s character is. I know she was previously listed as Sylvie on sources such as IMDb, but that has since disappeared. But why would you have a “young Sylvie” (Cailey Fleming) without an older version? There is speculation Di Martino’s character will be Lady Loki, but I hope this won’t happen. If they make Lady Loki her own character, I doubt we’ll see Variant Loki get to be fluid. Even if it’s confirmed on the record, it’d be nice to see actually happen beyond a piece of paper. And with twist villains being such a prominent force in modern media, I’m interested to see who our cloaked friend really is.

Time travel. Like I said earlier, this is a lot. But I can’t talk about the episode and not mention this aspect in at least a little more depth. I don’t like how the MCU deals with time travel. I think it’s an unnecessarily complicated mix of a number of different, already complicated theories. However, I think Loki will ultimately escape from the TVA and create a multiverse too difficult to prune (and maybe he’ll actually get to burn the place down too!) This will then tie directly into Doctor Strange 2. Do you guys know what that’s called? The Multiverse of Madness. Actually, in the Miss Minutes propaganda, they almost exactly say “will throw the multiverse into madness.” Will we get to (finally!) see a certain raven-haired god meeting Dr. Strange? And maybe even the Scarlet Witch herself? Well, I’m not sure, but right now I think it’s looking pretty good!

And some random things that didn’t really anywhere else:

Peggy is in the background?! My thought here is that Steve wasn’t supposed to stay with her. This made not only a Variant Steve, but also a Variant Peggy. We may not see Steve, but I bet he’s been taken care of too!! And who knows? Maybe there will be a cameo later. Otherwise, it might be something that was cut from the show, or just a fun easter egg of sorts.

The score was so good! It sets the mood perfectly.

Loki is a good fighter. Even if he’s overpowered, he finds a way.

Some of the humor didn’t land, but that might just be a personal thing.

So now my final thoughts. It’s their strongest pilot yet. So much emotion crammed into less than an hour. A lot of exposition, too, yet it didn’t feel tedious (Endgame I’m looking at you). And then we get to delve into Loki’s psyche, something that really appeals to me! Overall, 9/10. I hope the rest of the series is as good!

Did I miss anything? Was there something you were hoping I’d mention and didn’t? Or do you have something to add or (politely!) disagree with? I’d love to hear it all! Remember, fandom is a safe space to talk about, analyze, and debate about things you enjoy. My ask box is always open with anon on. Reblogs and comments are great too. Thanks!

Me after watching the episode:

[tonystarkbingo]

TSB Week 2 Roundup!  Another HUGE list for you this week, AND at the end of the roundup, we have a list of our participants that earned their participation badges last week!

Go forth and give our creators some love!

Title: This king flies away from you Collaborator: used_songs Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3 - AU: Ancient Civilization Ship: Nefertiti/Tony Stark Rating: Teen Major Tags: none Summary: The moment between collapsing and being rescued Word Count: 768

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Title: No One Else But You Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T1 - KINK Alpha/Beta/Omega society Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: As far as they where concerned they were the bottom of society’s barrel.

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Title: "I am Iron Man” Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S3 - IMAGE: Iron Man Armour in workshop Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: He was made of Iron, forged in the fires of life.

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Title: the kiss of death (brings us life) Collaborator: MarvelousMenagerie (HiddenOne) Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - Maria Stark Ship: Bucky & Tony Rating: Teen Major Tags: temporary major character death, angst with a happy ending Summary: When Bucky is snapped in the wake of Thanos’ win, Death gives him two gifts. One gift is for himself, and the other he must give to Tony Stark. Death calls it balance. Word Count: 2790

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Title: Secrets We Keep in the Dark Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A3 - free space Ship: Stony Rating: Mature Major Tags: Sexual content, moodboard Summary: Steve and Tony decided earl on in their relationship to keep it all between them. No one else needed to know, no one else mattered. They didn’t need to worry about the press, public opinion or SI’s shareholders. All that mattered was them and the moments they stole together. It was all theirs, the secrets they keep in the dark.

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Title: Somehow we get around it Collaborator: feyrelay Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted - Time Loops Ship: Edwin Jarvis & Tony Stark Rating: Gen Major Tags: implied/reference child abuse, angst with a happy ending Summary: Edwin Jarvis knows precisely how much hidden power can fit up the crisp cuff of a butler. It's, apparently, almost as much as can fit on an Infinity Gauntlet. Word Count: 1602

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Title: A Place of our Own Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R1 - handle with care Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: After everything they been through, Steve and Tony decide to start settling down. Their first step was to move into a house together, somewhere accessible but far enough away from people so they can have their peace. A large but cosy house. All it needs is a cat or a dog, possibly both… and maybe… a kid.

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Title: After the End Collaborator: 27dragons Link: AO3 Square Filled: A2 - AU: Good Omens Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Good Omens crossover, happy ending Summary: Tony and Bucky have both been on Earth for a little over two thousand years. They’ve been lovers for just a little less than that, hiding it from their superiors Above and Below. But now the Antichrist has been delivered and things are swiftly coming to an End. How can they say goodbye, knowing they’ll never meet again? Of course, things don’t always turn out the way they assume. God’s plan is ineffable, after all. Word Count: 1871

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Title: Like Gears Fitting Together Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T4 - AU: steampunk Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: Stony Steampunk AU

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Title: Multiple Exposures Collaborator: dixiehellcat Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted - Tony Stark/Pepper Potts Ship: Pepperony Rating: Teen Major Tags: canon divergence, terminal illness Summary: After Tony tells Pepper about the palladium poisoning, she calls for help and gets more than she asked for. Word Count: 1927

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Title: A New Beginning Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R3 - holding hands Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: After the Avengers defeated Thanos and the stones were returned things quietened down. Steve and Tony where able to mend things between them and tern over a new leaf properly. Moving forward they developed an understanding of one another, and love budded between them.

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Title: Untitled Collaborator: Pyrone Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T4 - Ho Yinsen Ship: Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: Since Afghanistan Tony’s Bots have been taking more and more of a life of their own. Tony just thinks it’s because he’s been spending more time with them. Pepper isn’t so sure about that. Nothing harmful has come from it at least. He is alive because of one of his bots after all.

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Title: (The Upgrade) You're Missing Collaborator: wakandan_wardog Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted - Riri Williams Ship:  Harley & Peter & Riri, WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: past character death Summary: Riri Williams is having a bad day, and though her AI TONY can't fix it, he can call in reinforcements. Word Count: 1468

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Title: By His Side Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: K3 - sick fic Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: Tony catches a cold, but he insists that he is not sick. Steve is there to take care of him.

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Title: Stay hungry, kid Collaborator: feyrelay Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - Eating Disorders Ship: Obadiah Stane & Tony Rating: Mature Major Tags: MIT-era sexual harassment/assault (non-graphic), implied/reference alcoholism/alcohol abuse Summary: Tony is great at living hand-to-mouth, always working. Sometimes, he minds whose hand it is, though. Word Count: 552

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Title: For a Better World Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T5 - Bruce Banner Ship: Science Husbands Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: Working together to solve to worlds problems, maybe they found more than just solutions and explanations. Maybe they found answers to the questions they were to afraid to ask for themselves.

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Title: Thicker than Water (Blood Brothers) Collaborator: RoseRose Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - Image prompt of Tony and Rhodey hugging in IM1 Ship: MIT Bros Rating: Teen Major Tags: poetry Summary: Rhodey's thoughts on Tony during IM1, while Tony is missing. A poem. Word Count: 321

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Title: I’d Give You The World Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S4 - AU: College Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: They worked together on an extra credit assignment and things evolved from there.

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Title: All I Needed Was The Last Thing I Wanted - Chapter 2 Collaborator: martianwahtney Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - fighting together Ship: Tony DiNozzo/Tony Stark Rating: Teen Major Tags: none Summary: tony squared dates, and paintball shenanigans Word Count: 1856

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Title: Take My Hand, Let Me Lead You Out Of Hiding Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: K4 - magic Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: Tony was perfectly fine living in his castle… until Sir Rogers showed up.

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Title: Hold the Mint Collaborator: bennettmp339 Link: AO3 Square Filled: R1 - AU: Coffee Shop Ship: background Stucky Rating: Gen Major Tags: soulmate AU Summary: After the events of In Cups of Coffee, Tony Stark pays a visit to Wide Awake. Word Count: 752

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Title: Warm Comfort Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T3 - sharing a bed Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: Tony welcomes Steve into his bed to keep the nightmares at bay.

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Title: Titanium, Claw & The Captain Collaborator: betheflame Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted - Kink: pornstar/rentboy/sex worker Ship: Stuckony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content Summary: Tony was expecting The Captain that night. When the stranger showed up with a friend, Tony simply hoped his jaw could keep up. Word Count: 1631

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Title: Love in the Night Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A1 - Vampires / Werewolves Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: Their love was unconventional. A Vampire and a werewolf. Well, they both prided themselves for living outside of the box.

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Title: Brought Low Before His God Collaborator: buying_the_space_farm Link: AO3 Square Filled: R5 - Kink: Collars Ship: FrostIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, BDSM Summary: Loki takes care of Tony in the best of ways. Word Count: 1791

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Title: A Hand Gladly Given Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R4 - Marriage of Convenience/Pretend Couple Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: Steve and Tony a kings of neighbouring kingdoms. They both have a problem that the other can help solve.

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Title: At the Bottom of the Bottle Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A4 - Alcoholism Ship: none Rating: Teen Major Tags: Alcoholism Summary: He knows he can’t forget, he hasn’t earned that mercy, but at least for a few hours he can switch it all off.

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Title: let the soft animal of your body love what it loves - Chapter 1 Collaborator: deathsweetqueen Link: AO3 Square Filled: K5 - old married couple Ship: Stony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Time Travel, Endgame Steve goes back in time to be with Post AOU Tony, Explicit Sexual Content, Dirty Talk, Past Domestic Violence, Post AOU AU, Breaking Up and Making Up, Marriage Counselling, Superfamily, Team Iron Man, but not Steve unfriendly, he's just a moron, a lot of fighting and arguments, Dubious Consent due to Identity Issues Summary: In 2023, Steve Rogers, after burning his husband's body, goes through the timelines to return each of the Infinity Stones. In 2015, Tony Stark’s husband returns to him and for the first time in years, he has hope for his marriage. Word Count: 4223

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Title: Not Who He Was Collaborator: darthbloodorange Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A2 - abducted Ship: none Rating: Teen Major Tags: Blood and Injury Summary: A terrorist group abducts Tony Stark as he leaves a stakeholder meeting. The group demands he produce weapons for them… they have somehow managed to get hold of some of the blueprints of his old designs. He refuses, he’s been through all this before and will not bend to their whims. He’d rather take what they could throw at him than make those weapons again, there is nothing they could do to him to make him reconsider that stance. He is not who he was, he’d rather be spitting blood. He tells them as much. He’ll survive. He always does.

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Title: Everyone Has Their Limits Collaborator: Tonks22 Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted - Kink: Sex in New Locations Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: semi-public sex Summary: Tony likes to think his and Bucky’s sex life is a healthy one. Could they do with less exhibitionism? It depends on who you ask. (Steve and Natasha say yes, Thor and Clint would like to know if they can join, Bruce has just started walking into rooms with his eyes closed). Still, there are some things that took a long time to finally get done. Word Count: 1617

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Title: Your Toes and My Car Collaborator: ThoughtfulBreadPolice Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - interrupted by super villains Ship: WinterIron, ShieldWidow Rating: Not Rated Major Tags: none Summary: Tony's not a girl, but he's secure enough in his masculinity to go on a girl's day out with Natasha. It's just unfortunate that it got interrupted by super villain of the month.   Word Count: 546

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Title: where the heart is Collaborator: ohjustpeachy Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - first time Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: none Summary: Steve is bringing Tony home to meet his mom for spring break, and he's having a lot of feelings about it. Word Count: 816

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Title: when the night falls Collaborator: ohjustpeachy Link: AO3 Square Filled: T5 - Warm and Fuzzy Feelings Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: none Summary: Tony's away on a business trip and neither of them are coping. Word Count: 617

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Title: Sunflower Heart Collaborator: newnewyorker93 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R1 - handle with care Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: art Summary: drawing of a sunflower with the arc reactor as the center

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Title: Brooklyn Boy  Collaborator: bibliophile Link: AO3 Square Filled: T4 - Writing Format: Nonprose Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: None Summary: It’s just not fair that Steve is so perfect... How could Tony not love him? Word Count: N/A

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Title: Sh*t Happens  Collaborator: laufire Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A1 – image prompt “ Life Happens (tony and armor on the sofa in harley’s garage)“. Ship: None Rating: Gen Major Tags: None Summary: A Tony Stark in IM3 Playlist Word Count: N/A

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Title: Just Let Me Breathe Collaborator: sierranovembr Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S4 - Hanahaki Disease Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: None Summary: Mood board for the Hanahaki fic “Just Let Me Breathe” by ali_aliska Word Count: N/A

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Title: Intent Collaborator: singingwithoutwords Link: AO3 Square Filled: T1: AU - Noir Detective Ship: IronWidow Rating: Mature Major Tags: None Summary: Natasha Romanov is what people politely call a private eye. She's not looking to make a name for herself, or even to make it particularly rich. She just wants to get through life with a bottle of the good vodka and all her limbs intact. Then Tony Stark wanders into her life, and she starts wanting so much more. If this case doesn't kill her, that man's ass will. Word Count: 1001

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Title: Misbehavior Collaborator: RoseRose Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3: Image Prompt - Life Happens Ship: None Rating: Gen Major Tags: None Summary: Steve lectures Tony and JARVIS Word Count: 100

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Title: the thing with feathers Collaborator: Tonks22 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T1 - Super Soldier Serum Ship: Stuckony if you squint Rating: Gen Major Tags: None Summary: Bucky wants to do more than survive. Word Count: 100

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Title: Down Collaborator: thoughfulbreadpolice Link: AO3 Square Filled: S2 - Apology Ship: Stony Rating: Not Rated Major Tags: Depression Summary: Tony always told Steve to ‘Speak Steve. You have to talk to me you know? I'm not a mind reader I can’t predict what you're thinking or feeling about things you actually have to tell me.’. The thing was though that Steve didn’t know how. Everytime he opened his mouth nothing came out. Nothing worthwhile anyways, and Tony always looked so disappointed and sad, like Steve not talking about what’s going on was his fault in some way. Word Count: 787

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Title: Natasha Romanoff Collaborator: journeythroughtherain Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T3 - Natasha Romanoff Ship: None Rating: Gen Major Tags: None Summary: Natasha Romanoff polymer clay fridge magnet (along with some decorative fridge poetry magnets just for funsies). Word Count: N/A

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Title: The Sacrifice Play Collaborator: politzania Link: AO3 Square Filled: R2 - Amnesia Ship: Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: None Summary: Whatever it takes. That was what they had promised each other and Tony had meant it. Word Count: 982

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Title: let the soft animal of your body love what it loves - chapter 2 Collaborator: Simi Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - Fighting Together Ship: Stony Rating: E Major Tags: Dubious Consent Summary: In 2023, Steve Rogers, after burning his husband's body, goes through the timelines to return each of the Infinity Stones.In 2015, Tony Stark’s husband returns to him and for the first time in years, he has hope for his marriage. Word Count: 9074

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Title: Stuckony Winter Wonderland Fills - Chapter 1 Collaborator: hogwartstoalexandria Link: AO3 Square Filled: R1 - Steve Rogers Ship: Stuckony Rating: E Major Tags: BDSM Summary: BDSM used as comfort. Word Count: 537

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Title: Stuckony Winter Wonderland Fills - Chapter 2 Collaborator: hogwartstoalexandria Link: AO3 Square Filled: S2 - Dark Ship: Stuckony Rating: Gen Major Tags: Nightmares Summary: Tony has nightmares of Afghanistan, the boys are there to help him through it. Word Count: 663

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Title: Nice Day for a White Wedding - Chapter 1 Collaborator: ceealaina Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - Futurefic Ship: IronHusbands Rating: Teen Major Tags: None Summary: After years living happily together, Tony has finally gotten up the courage to propose. The wedding is going to be perfect, and all his dreams are coming true. The only problem? Rhodey maybe wasn’t paying attention when he asked, and maybe doesn’t know what he agreed to. Word Count: 5455

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Title: Nice Day for a White Wedding - Chapter 2 Collaborator: ceealaina Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - Dares/Bets Ship: IronHusbands Rating: Teen Major Tags: None Summary: After years living happily together, Tony has finally gotten up the courage to propose. The wedding is going to be perfect, and all his dreams are coming true. The only problem? Rhodey maybe wasn’t paying attention when he asked, and maybe doesn’t know what he agreed to. Bonus chapter with all the Avengers betting on Tony and Rhodey’s wedding. Word Count: 515

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Title: The Sweet Smell of Coffee Collaborator: BeTheFlame Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - Free Space Ship: Stuckony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: A/B/O Summary: Omega Steve goes into heat at the grocery store and is rescued by Beta Bucky and brought back to Alpha Tony for the best heat of his life.  Word Count: 5073

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Title: The Three Rings Collaborator: HogwartsToAlexandria Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Denial Ship: StarkerStrange Rating: E Major Tags: PWP, BDSM Summary: Peter's bored at work, and Tony's right here, looking up at him from his spot between his legs, on his knees under Peter's desk. What is Peter to do? Just leave him there? And if a surprise arrives once he succumbs to Tony's beautiful brown gaze, well, it just makes everything even better.  Word Count: 2179

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Title: Stuckony Winter Wonderland Fills - Chapter 3 Collaborator: HogwartsToAlexandria Link: AO3 Square Filled: R2 - Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier Ship: Stuckony Rating: E Major Tags: Edging, Teasing Summary: Bucky and Steve spend hours and hours edging Tony. So long, in fact, that they're all quite surprised when the first fireworks of the New Year start. Word Count: 827

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Title: let the soft animal of your body love what it loves - Chapter 3 Collaborator: deathsweetqueen Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Day in the Life Ship: Stony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Time Travel, Endgame Steve goes back in time to be with Post AOU Tony, Explicit Sexual Content, Dirty Talk, Past Domestic Violence, Post AOU AU, Breaking Up and Making Up, Marriage Counselling, Superfamily, Team Iron Man, but not Steve unfriendly, he's just a moron, a lot of fighting and arguments, Dubious Consent due to Identity Issues Summary: In 2023, Steve Rogers, after burning his husband's body, goes through the timelines to return each of the Infinity Stones. In 2015, Tony Stark’s husband returns to him and for the first time in years, he has hope for his marriage. Word Count: 13,873

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And the list of those that earned their Participation Badges during Week 1!

newnewyorker93 Tisfan PoliZ Chel rebelmeg Gavilan Rebel-author-chick hddnone ceealaina thewaythatwerust SierraNovembr Trashcanakin 27dragons RoseRose bennettmp339 Tonks ABrighterDarkness Pyrone Fey Dracusfyre

Well done and congratulations to you all!

[lbibliophile-mcu]

Tony Stark Bingo 2019 Masterpost

Masterpost for the @tonystarkbingo

I got a blackout!

And far more fills and fill types than I expected when I started, including trying several new art methods (ie. drawing with tongs - DUM-E’s Drawings).

Overall I did (some fills with two types):

Fanfic - 8

Drabble - 4

Poem - 5

Art /craft - 7

Gifset - 2

Picset - 5  (moodboards and screenshot collections)

Links and details for each of the fills are below the cut.

Thankyou to the organisers/mods for encouraging and spreading so much great content!

Babysitting

S1 - WTF Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Fanfic [500 words] Characters: Obadiah Stane x Tony Stark Tags: Pre-IM1, young Tony Stark, pillow fort, Obadiah Stane’s B+ parenting Summary Obadiah looks at the construction before him and suppresses a sigh. Apparently, it’s going to be one of those days. Carefully ensuring his jocular ‘Uncle Obie’ tone is in place, he approaches.“Hey, Tony, how ya doing in there?”

Everything and Nothing

T1 - Jealousy Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Fanfic - drabble Characters: Tony Stark Tags: Public image, retirement Summary: People think Tony Stark has everything. But their ‘everything’ isn’t what he wants.

Arm Catalogue

A1 - Shopping together Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Image edit for Veto Power Characters: Bucky Barnes x Tony Stark Tags: Bucky Barnes’ metal arm Summary: Tony is maky Bucky a new arm, and has so many ideas for the paintjob. A pity Bucky doesn’t like any of them.

Understanding

R1 - Cannon: MCU (Pre-CA:CW) Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Gifset Characters: Pepper Potts / Tony Stark Tags: Iron Man 3, PTSD Summary: She tries, but she doesn’t understand what it’s like. And that’s good. Because if she understood - truly understood - that would make her as broken as I am.

TON-E’s Valentine [DUM-E’s Drawings]

K1 - Arc Reactor Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Art  Characters: DUM-E x Tony Stark Tags: Tony Stark has a heart, method drawing Summary: DUM-E was learning about Valentines day. He knew that you gave a card to someone you care about. He knew that it was supposed to show a heart. So that’s what he drew.

Aftermath

S2 - Writing format: Unreliable narrator Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Poem and moodboard Tags: Avengers (2012), collateral damage, outside POV Summary: When real life superheroes saved New York, it was like a something out of a story. But then the cleanup began. And continued, and continued... New York, Greenwich, Sokovia, Lagos. Suddenly, superheros are a lot less exciting. Rubble all looks the same, whether it was made by the heroes or the villains.

RUI (Rescued Under the Influence)

T2 - Confessions under the influence Link/s: AO3 Fill type: Fanfic [1300 words] Characters: Bucky Barnes / Tony Stark Tags: First meeting, rescue, non-consensual drug use, drugged confessions Summary: When Bucky entered the base, he expected to find Hydra agents (to be destroyed) and computer files (to be copied if useful, then also destroyed). He was not prepared to find a drugged Tony Stark. Nor was he prepared for Stark's reaction to seeing him. How does he deal with someone being excited to meet him?

Lab-yrinth

A2 - Labyrinth Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Art / Puzzle Characters: DUM-E Tags: Maze, Tony’s workshop Summary: Help DUM-E find way through the lab to get TON-E a smoothie.

Avalanche

R2 - Sharing body heat Link/s: AO3  Fill type: Fanfic [1600 words] Characters: Steve Rogers x Tony Stark Tags: Steve Rogers needs a hug, nightmares, touch-starved Summary: Sometimes, all it takes is little things. A minor annoyance that leads to another and another and another. Until it all comes crashing down and you are helpless to stop it or escape.Waking up in a new century was hard, but Steve thought he was coping. (He wasn’t.)

Befriending a Cat

K2 - Cat!Tony Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Fanfic - drabble sequence  [600 words] Characters: OG6 Avengers team x Tony Stark Tags: 5+1 format, Domestic Avengers, metaphorical cat Summary: Befriending Tony Stark, the Avengers decide, is rather like befriending a cat.

He loves me, he loves me not...

S3 - image [’Proof Tony Stark has a heart’ plaque] Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Art Characters: Pepper Potts / Tony Stark Tags: IM1, pining, arc reactor Summary: Pepper Potts knew she was falling in love with her boss, and tried to find subtle ways to show it. What she didn’t know, was if he liked her back…

Flashbacks

T3 - Sickfic Link/s:  Tumblr Fill type: Poem and moodboard/image edit Characters: Tony Stark Tags: PTSD, mentions of torture and near-death Summary: PTSD flashbacks are never fun, and now his brain has a whole selection of scenes to choose from…

Iron Man themed braid

A3 - Free Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Craft Tags: Iron Man theme, weaving Summary: Tablet woven braid made with crochet cotton. Iron Man colours with pale blue triangular ‘arc reactors’.

Shoot for the Moon

R3 - Galaxy Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Image edit / gifset Characters: Tony Stark Tags: Quote, story arc Summary: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars “

DUM-E’s list of what not to put in a smoothie  [DUM-E’s Drawings]

K3 - Historical Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Art Characters: DUM-E Tags: DUM-E at MIT, method drawing Summary: It took a while for DUM-E to get the hang of the whole making (edible) smoothies, so he left himself notes as a reminder.

Honestly, Pepper

S4 - Writing format: Non-linear Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Fanfic [960 words] Characters: Pepper Potts x Tony Stark, Avengers team  Tags: Dialogue only, non-linear narrative, domestic Avengers, disaster Avengers, crack Summary: Pepper Potts, CEO and sometimes superhero-wrangler, walks out of the elevator onto the Avengers Tower common-floor and stops in shock. How is this even her life? And why is she not surprised?

Cuddle Pile (Whose limbs are these?)

T4 - Puzzle Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Poem and moodboard Characters: OG6 Avengers team (including Pepper Potts and Bucky Barnes) Tags: Avengers family, romantic/platonic OT8, song parody Summary: After a hard day/night/fight, nothing is better than curling up in a pile with all your friends… at least, until someone has to get up

Hey, Remember Me?

A4 - Amnesia Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Fanfic [560 words] Characters: Scott Lang x Avengers team Tags: Based on the Endgame teaser trailers, time travel, post-Snap, amnesia, open ending Summary: The Snap didn’t just kill half of all life, it erased it from existence; first the physical form, then their more intangible presence. For those who remain, it’s hard to maintain the drive to fix things when you don’t remember what you’re missing…

TON-E’s Hero [DUM-E’s Drawings]

R4 - Tony in workshop Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Art Characters: Dum-E x Tony Stark Tags: Tony’s workshop, DUM-E’s fire extinguisher, lab safety, method drawing Summary: TON-E is not very good at remembering about lab safety. That is why DUM-E has to be ready to protect him!

Curse of a Superhero

K4 - Clint Barton / Hawkeye Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Fanfic - drabble Characters: Clint Barton x Tony Stark Tags: Family, angst Summary: Sometimes Tony wonders how Clint did it; managed to be both a father and an Avenger, balance duty to his family with duty to the world.

No Shit, There I Was, Undercover at a Gay Bar...

S5 - Undercover in a gay bar Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Fanfic [1200 words] Characters: Clint Barton / Tony Stark Tags: Pre-slash, identity porn, undercover as gay Summary: No shit there I was, undercover in a gay bar... and you'll never guess who I ran into and how.

Legacy

T5 - Confessions in desperate situations Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Poem and moodboard Characters: Pepper Potts / Tony Stark, James Rhodes x Tony Stark Tags: palladium poisoning Summary: Tony is dying. It's an inescapable fact; the clock ticking down with every burnt-out reactor core. He tries to tell them, but the words won't come. He can only give them pieces of his legacy, and hope they forgive him.

I Came Out to Have a Good Time...

A5 - image [bruised Tony in the F1 racing suit] Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Gifset Characters: Vanko x Tony Stark Tags: Iron Man 2, Monaco race, car crash Summary: Tony is Done with villains interrupting his days off.

Status Report

R5 - Last chance Link/s: AO3 Tumblr Fill type: Fanfic [1300 words] Characters: JARVIS x Tony Stark, OG6 Avengers team Tags: Dialogue-only, Major character death, heavy angst, self-sacrifice, AVALON protocol Summary: Iron Man is a superhero, but Tony Stark is only human. And sometimes, what is asked of a superhero is more than a human can give. So Tony makes contingency plans. He makes the AVALON protocol. He makes sure that Iron Man is able to help the Avengers even when human Tony Stark… can’t.

Faith, Against all Logic

K5 - Robots Link/s: Tumblr Fill type: Poem - drabble Characters: FRIDAY x DUM-E x U, Tony Stark Tags: Post-IW, bot feels Summary: Tony is lost in space, and Friday doesn’t know what to do. Her big brothers give her some advice.

[sofia-nox]

As I said before, Thor did not try to commit genocide because he physically could not. In Jotunheim, they were six people against a whole realm, and on Earth, he was human, so to say it in my mother language, "Ma dove vuoi andare?!"

The fact that Thor could not does not mean he did not want to.

As I said, the W3 and Sif were traitors. In a feudal society, deserters were punished by death or torture, so technically Loki was in his right to go and send the Destroyer after them. I do not know where you are finding the tyrant vibe. Loki did not allow them to go back and fetch Thor because it would go against Odin's last order, and by Asgardian law the new king cannot go against the last order of the previous ruler. Also, bringing Thor back at this time, during a possible war against Jotunheim, would have brought no benefits should Loki found a more diplomatic way to solve the problem. Jotuns seeing their would-be killer standing next to the throne would not have made a good impression, now, right?

As I said, the Jotuns are regarded as little more than beasts. Why the hell should Loki not kill the pack leader and show Odin he is a good son?

Mortals, as we fully know from Frigga's words ("A realm of... of mortals!") aren't really considered a worthy species. If Jotuns are swine, then mortals are dogs -cute, yes, but they are absolutely not on the same level as an Asgardian. A mortal or two or twenty four two hundred dying because of the Destroyer are of little consequence.

As I said, I can only make hypothesis on why Loki set the Destroyer on Thor, but I do not believe he wanted to kill him. Wound? Yes, maybe, but not kill. Why would he? So that when Odin wakes up he can execute Loki too for killing the crown prince?

As for the centuries of resentment, we only have Sif's words to corroborate that hypothesis, and tbh she is not the most trustworthy informant, nor are the W3. Up to this point, the interactions between Loki and Thor haven't been hostile on Loki's part, although Thor was a dick to him in more than one occasion (the battle and tricks, and the disregard of Loki's treatment by the W3 and Sif).

If Thor truly had grown and become a better person, he would have thought about all this BEFORE going to Earth in Avengers 1, because his stay on Earth in T1 should have made him more aware of the impact he has in the life of others, and that his racist ways were Not Cool. From his words, it is clear he did not do any of it.

Lastly, you brought up your own mental breakdowns and used them as an example in a scale to Loki's own. I will do the same and say that if I thought my brother dead for any length of time, upon seeing him again, I would not think about the fact that he punched me in the face, but only about the fact that he is alive. Nothing else would matter.

I hate this goddamn fandom so fucking much sometimes.

[livingwellpage]

After I Lost My Dad to Suicide, Picking Up His Yoga Practice Helped Me Cope

In September 2002, Kara Edwards was in the car on her way home from a weekend in the country with friends when her phone started blowing up with messages. “We reached an area with cell service, and I started getting bombarded with texts from my three brothers and other family members,” she recalls. Frightened, she called one of her brothers: “He told me that our father had committed suicide.”

“It felt like my world had spun off its axis,” recalls Kara, now 37. “My father was one of my best friends. I’d been a daddy’s girl from the time I was little, and even though he lived in another state, I talked to him all the time. We had just spoken before I left for the weekend, and he seemed fine. I was so stunned and distraught I couldn’t think straight. I had to ask my friend to pull the car over to the side of the road so I could get out and walk around. It felt like life would never be normal again.”

For a long time, it wasn’t. “I went back to work a couple of weeks later, but it was the least productive time of my life,” she says. “I couldn’t concentrate or get anything done because I was so paralyzed by shock and grief.”

She wasn’t functioning well socially, either. Kara, a single mom, and her three-year-old daughter shared a townhouse with a friend who loved to have people over, and Kara began to feel resentful and judgmental of their ability to laugh and have fun.

“They didn’t understand what I was going through, and I thought they were shallow, so I became more and more introverted, staying in my room and writing songs and crying,” she recalls. “The more alone I was, the more depressed I became. I was in a downward spiral and, without my dad, I didn’t know where to turn for help.”

RELATED: I Was in an Abusive Relationship—But Yoga Gave Me the Strength to Leave

Forging a connection

Six months after her father’s death, she was sorting through a box of his belongings and found a Kundalini yoga video. “I didn’t do yoga—and I didn’t know he did,” she says. “But I’d been listening to lots of his music, and I thought this might be another way to connect with him, so I tried it.”

Kara remembers, “I cried off and on the whole practice—not in sadness, but in release. I’d been struggling with the feeling that I wasn’t good enough because I wasn’t enough to make my dad want to live. But something about the movement was incredibly comforting.”

She started doing the tape every other day, and over time, the practice helped her absorb the reality of what had happened—and find ways to cope.

“Yoga helped me discern between real limitations and false limitations. For instance, Kundalini is a cardio challenge, but I was able to push myself to do more of it than I thought I could—which made me realize that I could push through my pain off the mat and get to a better place emotionally as well,” she says.

“At the same time, I saw that my flexibility posed true limitations, and in order to get past those I needed to be gentle with myself—just like I had to be gentle with myself in real life, and gentle with my friends. I’d had unrealistic expectations of other people’s behavior. Acknowledging that helped me get past my judgment and reconnect with my support system.”

Most importantly, yoga helped Kara feel connected to her father—and continues to even now. “When I’m practicing, I feel like he’s here. I may not be able to see him or hug him or laugh with him, but his spirit is with me, and that’s incredibly comforting,” she says.

“Yoga was my dad’s legacy. My practice keeps me grounded, focused and confident in my own resilience. It allowed me to move on, to get married and have another child. I believe my dad left that tape for me, because he wanted me to learn to manage my feelings in a way he was never able to.”

After I Lost My Dad to Suicide, Picking Up His Yoga Practice Helped Me Cope published first on your-t1-blog-url

[yehosera]

UK Nationals 2 Fire/Ice

This article will look at the deck I played for UK Nationals 2 and give a rundown of what happened during the day.

Nationals 2

UK Nationals 2 was a 52 man event taking place at Dark Sphere in London, with the top 2 winning a slot each at Euroes. The structure was 6 rounds of swiss, then a top 8 cut. Swiss was best of 1 and top 8 was best of 3. Luckily for me, my 3rd place finish was good enough to get a spot at Euroes due to the 2nd place finisher being unable to take part.

Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/178597038

3rd place match

Game 1 -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ueke3tGApGQ

Game 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPsr1MTom7s&t=2s

Fire/Ice Cid Raines & co.

http://ffdecks.com/deck/5083178385539072

--Generated By FF Decks (www.ffdecks.com)--

Deck Name: UK Nationals #2 3rd place

Created by: yehosera

Forwards (24):

2 Zidane (3-154)

1 Vivi (3-149)

3 Vivi (3-017)

1 Firion (1-021)

3 Tifa (1-189)

1 Tifa (2-011)

2 Cid Raines (1-192)

3 Kuja (3-030)

2 Rinoa (2-047)

1 Serah (1-195)

3 Genesis (3-033)

2 Vayne (2-026)

Summons (9):

3 Belias, the Gigas (2-019)

3 Bahamut (1-018)

3 Zalera, the Death Seraph (3-037)

Backups (17):

3 Red Mage (1-003)

2 Selphie (2-009)

3 Zangan (1-188)

3 Jihl Nabaat (1-193)

2 Mog (XIII-2) (1-196)

1 Summoner (1-053)

3 Devout (1-048)

Swiss

Round 1 - Wind/Water. This game was vs Pre Temp who went onto win the whole thing. The game was fairly simple, but Pre should have won. He made a big mistake in the last turn, his hand consisted of Brother, Y’shtola, 2x Valefor, his field had 3 backups, 2 of which were wind and one had the name Yuna. He made the mistake of playing brother while there were 0 targets in the deck. Instead if he had played Y’shtola and both Valefor while pinging in between the Valefors using the spare mana, he could have cleared my 5 forward board and easily won from there.

Round 2 - Wind/Water. The guy was fairly new to the game.

Round 3 - Wind/Water. A more experienced player. However, this matchup was clearly not something he had practiced. My opening was T1 - Backup, T2 Kuja + Zidane + Backup. His opening was far too slow to handle this and as a result he took 7 damage fairly quickly despite having an oracle.

Round 4 - Mono Fire. I got deconstructed 7-0. A series of mistakes starting from the mulligan phase of the game lead to my defeat. However, my opponent played well, took his time and didn’t make any obvious mistakes to seal the deal. During the mulligan phase, I saw a hand that had Kuja and Red Mage in it. I kept this hand because, against all of the Wind/Water I had played vs prior to this game, that hand had the potential to go the distance. The next mistake I made was, once I had confirmation I was playing against Mono-Fire, I still played the Kuja onto the board without a copy of Belias, the Gigas in hand. This meant I finished with 4 cards in hand, leaving the Kuja vulnerable to both Vivi and Black Waltz 2. At the time, I had an additional Red Mage in hand I could’ve played to be safe vs both of those cards. Finally, after Emperor Xande hit the field, I once again played directly into Vivi, by playing a Vayne and finishing with 4 cards in hand allowing for Vivi to flat kill the Vayne.

Round 5 - Mono Fire. I opened more reasonably, didn’t make as many mistakes.

Round 6 - Wind/Water. Again I opened aggressively and played Bahamut once my opponent started trying to climb onto the board.

My record at the end of swiss was 5-1, guaranteeing top 8.

Top 8

Round 1 - Ice/Lightning Manakins. A friend of mine was playing the deck. He opened very aggressively both games, however, due to Cid Raines and Vivi in game 1 and Bahamut in game 2 the early pressure was shut down.

Round 2 - Wind/Water. Played vs Pre, once again he played solidly, but this time did not make any crucial mistakes. Taking it 2-0 over me easily.

Round 3 - Mono Earth. Both times he opened with Yang/Ursula and both times Vivi + Cid / Bahamut shut it down.

The deck

Forwards

Each forward has a specific purpose relative to the deck’s overall plan of snowballing a board in the early game and closing the game out during the mid game.

Cid Raines is the first card worth talking about, as without him, the deck does not function too well. His effect allows for the player to put themselves a step forward by developing a forward and put their opponent two steps behind, by removing a forward and by forcing a discard.

Firion exists within the deck mostly for the purpose of synergising with Cid Raines. He also allows for smaller forwards, like Cid and Vivi, to trade up into bigger forwards via the battle phase while developing an 8,000 power body.

Vivi exists to do similar things to Firion, however, it is not uncommon for both Vivis to be able to destroy a forward on their own without assistance. Vivi is exceptional vs aggressive decks where the forwards are smaller. Most aggressive decks rely upon certain forwards (Snow for example) dealing a lot of damage early on, Vivi’s ability to shut down any early aggression upon entry and threaten Firaga if left unchecked makes Vivi a must have against any aggressive deck. Another benefit Firaga has is that every Steiner deck plays a lot of 7,000 power forwards. This means it is possible to blow those decks out of the water with Firaga if a second Vivi is drawn before their anthem card is. Starter Vivi has some niche interactions due to the number of forwards in the deck it kills. Vivi can kill Rinoa to dull an entire board, or can kill a Tifa to allow for the Tifa to be revived via Devout for additional points of damage.

Tifa’s waterkick is the perfect ability to use in tandem with Cid Raines. Not only dulling the target for Cid, but also dealing 6,000 damage. With Zangan on the field Tifa gains haste making her a strong target for Devout at any point in the game. In addition, haste makes her invaluable against Lightning decks (as she’ll be dull and as such Al-Cid will not be able to prey upon her). The haste aspect Zangan gives Tifa makes any racing situation dangerous for your opponent and can essentially gain you life as the game goes on. Situations whereby the opponent is dead to a topdeck’d Tifa means that the number of attacks that can be made a turn are reduced in order to play around her potentially being on the top of the deck. The legendary Tifa is played over the 2 drop Tifa, both are viable for the deck as a 4th Tifa name is needed, however, Tifa L can steal games against slower decks and decks that have limited removal options, such as Earth or Water based decks.

Serah is a bit of a weak link, not doing much of anything. She’s mostly in the deck as an additional Mog XIII-2 target. Her slot used to be Fang’s, however, into an empty board Serah is the better card due to her on entry ability and Fang not having one. Essentially, as the first forward played generally dies soon after being played, Serah is worth less overall than Fang and does something on entry making her death not as meaningful.

Zidane much like Serah exists to be thrown into dangerous situations with the expectation that the genome will die. However, Zidane comes with the added bonus of having a reduced cost if a fellow category IX forward is on the field. This allows for big tempo swings to take place in any turn Kuja + Zidane are played onto an even board or when Vivi cleans up a forward, putting twice the forward pressure onto the board.

Rinoa has some fancy lines of text, but all that really matters is the dulling all forwards line. This lets the card attack and if blocked, Cid will be able to finish off the forward. Rinoa also sets up many checkmate positions whereby the opponent will be on 6 damage with forwards of equal or greater power, and thus it will be impossible for them to avoid all of their forwards being dulled. In addition, Rinoa sets up Zalera, the Dark Seraph making the card harder to play around. Lastly, in a situation whereby the gamestate has become very complex, she tends to be the deck’s last hope at dealing points of damage.

Vayne stops the opponent playing 5 cost or higher forwards.

Kuja goes onto the board first and starts dealing damage. Provided the opponent plays 1 forward at a time, this card will always connect and as such it demands answers or for two forwards to be played in the same turn. Due to how much of a removal magnet this card is, 3 of them is required. Kuja lets the player start to snowball a simple board state very quickly, applying a lot of pressure and causing a lot of problems with his auto abilities. The downside is how frail the card is, Kuja requires support from Red Mage, Selphie and Belias, the Gigas in order to attack every turn if two or more forwards are present. It cannot be stressed enough just how devastating this card sticking around for a turn is.

Finally, Genesis. A prime devout target, an even primer Belias, the Gigas target. Much like Kuja, Genesis is on a need to kill status. This card cannot be allowed to connect, if Genesis is able to start dealing damage and costing the opponent cards from hand, the game will be very easy. Genesis keeps problem cards like Warrior of Light at bay for two of the players battle phases. Finally, any game that Kuja sticks a turn and is followed up by Genesis, the pressure that is applied over the next two turns will be game ending.

Summons

Belias, the Gigas has too many fantastic lines of text not to be included. Giving Genesis haste is very problematic. Playing the card from hand, can allow your forwards to avoid being killed by enemy Legend Vivis. As most of the forwards in the deck are 7,000 power, being able to buff them up to 8,000 is fantastic. The first strike aspect means the forwards are never trading, always killing and lastly it has EX burst written in the top right hand corner.

Bahamut is the ultimate snowball card. Any even gamestate is blown apart by Bahamut. The card also serves as a check to any player that opens badly and tries to beat you up with large forwards. Yang Ursula, Exdeath Capricious most notably in this tournament.

Zalera, the Dark Seraph is in the deck to help with the abysmal Water matchups the deck has, as all Steiner decks are very weak to the card. The card also happens to beat most aggressive decks, due to the decks wanting to play a lot of low costed forwards and in general low numbers are prime numbers.

Backups

Sephie protects your forwards and lets them trade up into bigger forwards, incentivising the opponent to let smaller forwards hit them or kill off their more valuable forwards.

Red Mage is basically satan once the opponent has hit 5-6 damage. Forcing the opponent to perpetually be on the defensive due to Red Mage essentially removing a forward from their side of the field.

Zangan says add Tifa and give Tifa haste. That was all the convincing I needed. Also has a nice symbol in the top right.

Jihl Nabaat has a similar symbol. The card is very weak at the start of the game, so initially only 2 were played. However, as time went on, I just accepted some games she’ll be in the opening hand and I’ll just have to accept that I’m paying 2 mana for an evoker. The upside is that anytime the opponent starts to get aggressive, Jihl can shut it down and open a window for the player to try and win the game or put the opponent into a position whereby they have to play defensively.

Mog XIII-2 has the text add one copy of Cid Raines to your hand. Thus making this card a worthy inclusion.

Summoner is there to add to the number of 3 drop backups in the deck. Due to fire having none worth playing outside of Black Waltz 2, at least 3, preferably more are required to have a smooth curve of backups during the early game.

Devout is another powerhouse of a card. Setting up big swing plays and allowing the breakzone to be treated as a toolbox for cards like Vayne, Genesis, Firion depending on what the situation needs.

Final Thoughts

I was exceptionally lucky to make Euroes. I was not expecting anywhere near as much Wind/Water as there was, it seems to have been the case that only 1 Wind/Water made top 8 because I kept being paired into them. There aren’t many changes I would make to the deck. There are however a pile of cards that could’ve made the cut. Those are:

Shiva 3-032 - Is functionally the same as Bahamut during turns you’re going for lethal.

Lann - Very strong vs Mono Earth and Wind/Water, but didn’t make the cut as there was no room. Would’ve helped a lot during the day though.

Emperor Xande - As a permanent Cid Raines activator, a big dude that’s likely to deal damage every turn and a nonsense catcher like Bahamut.

Black Waltz 2 - 3 drop backup that sets up Cid Raines.

Snow - Any board that gets both Snow and Kuja onto it seems very strong

Argath - Another forward that lets me be 1st onto the board with no real downsides

TL;DR Cid Raines got me a spot at Euroes

[wesonerdy]

When the Capulet/Montague feud continues to escalate, Rosaline and Benvolio find they have little choice but to marry (despite their own desires). Get a sneak peek of Monday’s Still Star-Crossed.

Courtesy of ABC/Jose Haro

In all honesty, Still Star-Crossed is just as amazing as I thought it would be. Shondaland taking on period drama might seem unexpected, given their other smash hits. But, from the beginning, Still Star-Crossed is imbued with that special *something* that hooks us on Shondaland shows. The plot is quick-paced and full of drama from several sources−secret romance, political scheming, family discord. While the premiere begins with the Romeo and Juliet narrative we’re familiar with, the series inserts some key twists that turn the episode into a launchpad to explore some interesting dynamics in and around Verona.

Yes, there are several tropes in play, but let’s be real, these days, everything is derivative in one way or another. And as long as the story is entertaining, what’s the harm?

Plus, Still Star-Crossed is simply gorgeous: the cast is stunningly attractive (of all races and ethnicities, thank goodness!), the costuming is sumptuous, and the set locations are breathtaking.

“In Fair Verona, Where We Lay Our Scene” does just that, starting with the parts of Romeo and Juliet’s story we know and using it to set up previously unexplored parts of that world.

We open with Romeo and Juliet’s wedding, conducted by Friar Lawrence. We seen that they are joined by two witnesses, Romeo’s cousin, Benvolio Montague and Juliet’s cousin, Rosaline Capulet. Both Benvolio and Rosaline are extremely reluctant to let their cousins get married in the face of the giant obstacle of the Capulet/Montague rivalry. But Friar Lawrence is determine to see a love-match breach the divide between families. After the ceremony, the group parts ways, with Romeo and Juliet promising to break the news to their fathers.

Interestingly, Benvolio and Rosaline are in similar places. They’re both orphaned and now living with their uncles/aunts. Benvolio and Rosaline are also resented by their relations. Lord Montague believes Benvolio to be a whore and wastrel, while Lady Capulet treats Rosaline and her sister Livia as servants. (In this case, we soon learn that Lady Capulet’s disdain arises from jealousy of Rosaline’s mother. She wanted to marry Rosaline’s father, younger brother to Lord Capulet, but sacrificed love to have a title by marrying the older brother.)

Elsewhere, Prince Cosimo, leader of Verona is dying. His daughter, Princess Isabella is with Cosimo in his last minutes and soon Escalus (who has just returned to the city after a long trip) joins them. In his final moments, Cosimo wants nothing but to protect Verona from falling prey to the Capulet/Montague feud. He passes a proclamation that anyone who commits murder will be executed without trial. Cosimo asks that Isabella marry to strengthen the city and that Escalus should always put the city first. When Cosimo dies, Escalus is immediately named Prince of Verona.

To celebrate becoming Prince, Escalus hosts a ball, which Lady Capulet (grudgingly) allows Rosaline and Livia to attend. (Incidentally, Juliet gets out of going by claiming to be ill and tired. But really, she’s consummating her marriage with Romeo 😉 ). At the ball, we see that, despite being friends when they were younger, there’s a tense relationship between Rosaline and Isabella, mostly on Rosaline’s side. However, she totally thaws when she greets Escalus…

Later, in the midst of celebration, Tybalt Capulet (Juliet’s cousin) seeks vengeance for Capulet fields being burned and begins a fight with Romeo and Benvolio. Romeo’s friend Mercutio intervenes and is killed (“a plague on both your houses”) and in retaliation Romeo kills Tybalt. Given the Prince’s new edict, Romeo is forced into hiding. On top of that, Lord Montague arranges for Juliet to marry Count Paris, future Prince of Mantua. Things are getting complex and Romeo and Juliet become desperate.

Juliet and Rosaline go to Father Lawrence for help and he gives them a potion that will allow Juliet to fake her death. Friar Lawrence will send a note to Romeo about the ploy so they can meet in the crypts and run away together. The potion works, but Romeo never gets the note. He’s totally distraught when he arrives at the crypt and sees a “dead” Juliet. Romeo kills Paris (who is at the tomb to pay his respects, claiming to be Juliet’s fiance). Then Romeo kills himself with a potion. Juliet wakes up to see her husband dead beside her, and then kills herself too. Rosaline arrives in the aftermath of the whole thing.

For me, the most OMG-twisty twist is that Lord Montague knows about Romeo and Juliet’s relationship the whole time. He encouraged it! Apparently Lord Montague likes the idea of his house being strengthened by Capulet blood, uniting the families under the Montague name.

The Capulets and Montagues have a joint funeral for Juliet and Romeo, and Escalus takes the opportunity to call for peace between the families to honor their children’s love. The Montagues have even commissioned a statue of Juliet as sign up good faith. But when the statue is unveiled, someone has painted “harlot” across it. Lady Capulet screams “a curse on the House of Montague” and then total mayhem breaks out. (Romeo and Juliet haven’t even been buried!)

In the danger, Escalus breaks free of his guards and rushes to make sure Rosaline is safe… 😉 She eventually leaves to make sure Livia is alright and once they get home, Rosaline makes plans for them to run away. But Livia reuses to leave the only home she’s known. Before Rosaline can get too far, she receives a letter to come to the palace.

When she arrives (after an attack that Benvolio saves her from), Escalus makes his plan known. The Capulets and Montagues will unite with Rosaline and Benvolio’s marriage. We know Lord Montague likes this plan and even Lord Capulet seems onboard. However, Benvolio doesn’t want to marry a harpy and Rosaline doesn’t want to be forced into a loveless marriage.

She flees the room… and Escalus chases after her. The furtive, longing looks all lead to what we’ve been guessing: Rosaline and Escalus are in love. (Epic kiss with camera circling is EPIC.) Yet, he has to put the city first and Rosaline’s marriage to Benvolio would help achieve the peace he needs. Plus, with this marriage, she will no longer be a servant and be restored to her status as lady. But what about love??? In any event, Benvolio sees the kiss, and now the drama can really begin.

Other notable points:

(1) Speaking of tropes, this Rosaline/Escalus/Benvolio triangle is giving me life! Now, I usually hate (HATTTEEEE) love triangles, but I’m really attracted to this one. If you’ve been following the We So Nerdy Tumblr, you probably already know my affinity for this triangle. I really like both ships. Roscalus have been in love since childhood and the passion persists. Yet, I adore the idea of Rosvolio becoming friends and developing an affection in their arranged marriage. They could be the ones to end the animosity between their families.

(2) Paris lives and Livia is now nursing him back to health. Does anyone else see potential here? Livia is determined to find a husband and have a family of her own…perhaps Paris, once he’s healed, might offer that to Livia. (And Lord Capulet would still get the bride price Paris originally intended to pay when marrying Juliet.) So now I’m shipping LiviaXParis. (P.S. Why must the fact that Paris is alive be a secret?)

(3) When are we going to find out the source of the animosity between Rosaline and Isabella?

  In Monday’s episode “The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth” (written by Raamla Mohamed, directed by Jonathan Jones):

THEY SAY LOVE CONQUERS ALL, UNLESS THE CAPULETS AND MONTAGUES ARE INVOLVED−With Verona in crisis, Rosaline and Benvolio have no choice but to follow Prince Escalus’ decree to marry one another in an effort to restore peace, which Rosaline struggles to accept. Lady Capulet continues to mourn Juliet’s death, but unsettled by the way she died, is determined to figure out what or who influenced Juliet’s decision. Meanwhile, Livia and the nurse work tirelessly, hiding a secret of their own. (via ABC)

So the Rosvolio wedding is happening… take a look at two clips from the upcoming show. In the first, Lord Capulet moves Rosaline into Juliet’s old room, now that she’s to be treated as a lady instead of a servant. In the second clip, Escalus hosts a dinner to announce Rosaline and Benvolio’s engagement, and once again, a moment meant to inspire peace completely falls apart:

  Yep, Rosaline is well and truly a captive. Although… Escalus may have already taken care of that virtue thing, no? 😉 I have to say, I’m really looking forward to learning more about Benvolio. I think he and Rosaline could become partners and help one another through a situation they both despise.

  Check out 40+ images from “The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth” and remember to live tweet with me (@WeSoNerdy) Monday, June 5 at 10:00pm ET on ABC!

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PREVIEW: 'Still Star-Crossed' Season 1, Episode 2 "The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth" When the Capulet/Montague feud continues to escalate, Rosaline and Benvolio find they have little choice but to marry (despite their own desires).

[gn1450]

Yea... sadly that Thor had already died soon after AoU... now only Chris Odinson remains, the frat boy who is so far from Kenneth!Thor that I am confused, Didn't that guy got paid to act or to joke?

The Original Thor wouldn't dismiss those closest to him like that (except for Loki. He had been shitty to him since childhood anyway, judging by the small interactions, Loki's reply and Thor's dismissal:

"know your place, brother"

"imagined slights"

the deleted scene before Thor's coronation where Thor is dismissive of Loki's talent that had saved them during their youth.

In Avengers where Thor shouted where is the Tesseract during their first encounter to his supposedly dead brother instead of asking how he is, what happened, how did you survive, etc..

In TDW, he didn't even visit his brother in the cell during his supposed eternal imprisonment, that Loki's reaction to see Thor in front of his cell after Frigga's death is rather hateful:

"Thor, after all this time now you come to visit me. Why? Have you come to gloat? To mock?"

TL:DR : Thor is a dumb oaf, but at least he still likes his friends, his midgardian friends (Jane, Erik, Darcy) that his dismissal of Jane in TR is kinda shocking after what happens to both of them in T1 and TDW, and how worried he was when he talked about Jane to Coulson in Avengers 1.

And it clearly shows during the 1st three films they were together, and whatever weird baseless retcon TR and TW did about Thor being bullied by loki, those aren't the Kenneth Branagh Loki from the first three films.

Those are the spiteful version of TR.

And it's heavily implied by their interaction, since the first scene of their childhood, who the "Golden Child" and the "Scapegoat" were.

After all.. amongst this two quote, which one's a bloodthirsty brat, and which one's the bullied one (If we're using the TR logic)?

A: "Do the Frost Giants still live?"

B: "When I am king, I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all! Just as you did, Father!"

The recent, after!Ragnarok Thor changed in the ways so odd that his 1000 years of Archaic speech turned into a frat-boys' mumbles. It deviates from the main line so much that the Russos even rejected the 'update' during Infinity War, hence the Actor's protest..

The new Thor is weirdly apathetic, to a fault.

The new Thor didn't even mentioned his most loyal 'friends', Fandral, Hogun, Sif, Volstagg... not even a glance.

The new Thor didn't even bat an eye when he passed by TDW Loki's cell.

It's so baffling that some had started to call him Chris Odinson.

Can we just get the normal pre-Ragnarok Thor back please? Or change the actor if he didn't want to act and up his game?

Thor didnt even check to see if Jane was alive in the present timeline. After everything they have shared, he didnt check on her status once. I’m still in shock over this honestly. This is so out of character. That’s not the Thor I remember. That’s not the Thor Kenneth Branaugh introduced.