#the eternal battle of 'there is comics for this I will draw them in the future' and 'i dont wanna brush off all asks I get with 'lol SOON''

[kenandeliza]

A Marvel Family Fantasy AU

A few days ago, I randomly dreamt of Drawing Billy and Tawny in a fantasy setting.

Billy was this kid wizard and Tawny was his companion (or an animal to ride on like a horse)

Then it got me thinking, maybe in this setting, Mary could be someone of high status in this fantasy setting (since she's in a rich family in the golden age comics)

I'm inclined to think Freddy would be a captain of a ship for irony-sake but I have a feeling pirates and fantasy settings don't match well?

It's just funny for me to think of him with a peg leg xD

After further discussion with @the-brash-spud :

Warning: Too many text :>

These are the ideas we have so far (if there are quotation marks, those ideas belonged to @the-brash-spud ):

—

Maybe Billy and Mary were prince and princess separated by birth, (i'm not sure if its a kidnapping or the baby got lost on his own) but the wizard founded billy and trained him.

At the ripe age of (insert young age below a teenager's), The wizard decided to grant him the power of shazam to turn him into the world's mightiest Wizard!

Captain Marvel!

Wizard dies and then Billy and Tawny have adventures together, maybe helping people along the way (maybe somehow found out that Mary is his sister :p idk)

“ I think you could go angst if you made the wizard get brutally hurt in a battle to protect Billy and the rock of eternity so in a last ditch effort he transports the rock to its own pocket of existence and then giving Billy powers of shazam because its as ready as he'll be able to make the kid :) and it's his last effort for Billy to be protected even if he has to do so himself because he has failed :)) made Billy cry as Wizard turns into dust in Billy’s hands :)))”

—

Uncle marvel can be a con-man/thief who took pity on Billy or realiz, teaching Billy that the world isn't always honest and he's like, "Billy, don't always give money to the poor on the streets, sometimes they faked their illness to be lazy”

" Billy: "The man in the shadowy corner needs my help."

Uncle: "No, the hell he doesn't!”"

—-

How Billy Met Freddy

Billy probably met Freddy in a bar fight. How did the kid get into a bar?

Billy looked at the man exiting the pub with a bottle.

Billy: Ohh! So this is where you get refreshments here! I wonder If they have enough Milk for Tawny..

Pub sign written NO KIDS ALLOWED!"

*Billy can only read magic scrolls and not regular alphabet*

Cue him meeting Freddy (who's armwrestling with one of the people there)

(Insert Bar fight for some reason because The child decided to drink a white cocktail thinking it was milk and the fact that Billy is a Kid)

“Freddie is definitely that kid having his ass thrown out of the bar/pub/inn”

I'd like to think he and his brother are a team, prolly sailed a ship together.

“Yes, they target slave ships. Unless you wanna go different routes. Then, he is focused on certain nations' flags that have a whole lot of red in them

Also, he goes to the bars just to start bar fights over drunks being mean/nasty to the landlady. The landlady doesn't appreciate it bc now she has a broken table and four broken chairs”

Freddy faces the Captain Nazi equivalent of a pirate [Captain Arian? Like Aryan?] XD, Freddy lost his leg the same way, from his encounter with Captain Arian.

Kit (probably a necromancer or a ghost who's cursed to be bound in the ship Freddy's in, making Freddy more attached to the ship) can still summon crewmembers.

Maybe they both meet mary during the birthday ceremony parade

Maybe Mary snuck off from her family (disguise herself as a regular girl, i know, generic plot) and then meet Billy accidentally

Billy: It's my birthday today!

Mary: What a coincidence! It's mine too!

The-brash-spud: “Billy, in his innocence, thinks ,"There must be something to us sharing birthdays!" While Freddy calls him stupid, Billy tries to get a look at the princes and then cue the lung-fu panda rocket incident, but maybe something else more fitting with Freddy being pulled along”

On an unrelated note, i think Billy knew about Freddy's peg legafter either a pirate slashed it clean and Freddy just used it to bonk his head.

Billy is still screaming from the shock and immediately casted healing spells (i'd like to think everything about billy is lightning based- so yes getting struck by lightning is a healing spell for him :D) Freddy got shocked lmao

And what about boarding Tawny on the ship?

Billy:"Please???"

Freddy: "I'm not letting a tiger into my ship."

Kit who absolutely adores animals: "YES"

Freddy:"NO!”

Kit:" Does he love belly rubs??"

Billy:" yes but you have to ask him politely for his permission-”

Freddy rolled his eyes, realizing he has to clean cat fur everyday off from the furnitures.

___

How did Mary, a royalty tag along with a kid wizard and a pirate?

“Yeah, I guess forced separation would work better. Hell, go with a scenario that will allow them to have Mary with the parents' blessings as long as she's kept safe (she isn't, but that's because she is the danger herself)”

Mary and Billy: "Yay adventure"

Freddy: "Oh great, now I have to take care of two kids and a tiger in my ship!?"

*Freddy looking at Kit and the kids + a tiger playing together, kit seems happy*

Freddy: "...i guess it's alright..”

___

How Freddy and Mary found out about the wizard?

“Hmmmm, maybe Billy takes them to the rock because they were in a pickle, and unforeseen effects happen?

They got surrounded maybe?

Also I can see the aftermath

"You were raised by THE Wizard!? THE Wizard?! A Wizard of legends so often told he is recognisable even if his name was lost?!"

"Oh, his name is Shazam-" *BANG*”

____

Hopefully i could draw these AU ideas, I don't plan on making this into a story, i just like the concept that my dream gave my a few days ago and I’m just expanding it. Sorry for too many text xD

I don't mind if you want to add something to this silly lil AU, It's just a fun thing for me to do :p

[blueskittlesart]

Hi!! I just want to say about your TOTK comic it's so beautiful and heartbreaking! I'm crying sobbing crying omg😢😢😢 You draw Zelda's eternal so well... Her thoughts her feelings her forgetting being a human and how she reaches Link in the end this just too much😢 I thought about what was it like for Zelda to comes and catches Link at the final battle, and your comic is the perfect answer for that, "she loves him still". So beautiful...

I don't know how this app works so I commented and do this ask at the same time, sorry if it bothers you... I really want to share this beautiful art with my friends, I want them to feel it too. Please can I translate this into Chinese? I promise I'll credit you and mark link to your blog! If not it's okay I'm just I just love this comic...

Thank you for your amazing art!!!

yes i’m totally fine with translations as long as you link back to my blog!! thank you so much for asking and i’m glad you liked it!! ❤️

[aghastro]

Two characters I developed for a wizard-themed OCT years ago. That's an "Original Character Tournament" For the uninformed! A collaborative comic-making game where you have your characters fight and advance a story. (there are non-battle versions, but that's besides the point)

I never finished my audition comic, but these two remain. I ran into them in my old notes a few days ago and thought I'd share them somewhere, finally

This is all their old concept art, and some stuff about em. I'm too lazy to fix the signatures on these to my modern username so don't worry about that.

Whellik is an Odd girl and only child of a wicked enchantress. (Whether by adoption or by birth, it's unclear.)

They are both deeply paranoid people. They live together in a floating fortress, their only companions being sentinels made with the enchantress' own magic.

The enchantress is obsessed with gaining eternal life- Or rather, she's obsessed with getting one over on hypothetical enemies that may want her dead. She refuses to be killed, because being killed means losing, being lesser, and has tasked her meek, obedient daughter with an important mission to harvest the magic necessary to become unkillable.

Whellik is not a strong person, mentally or physically. Should the tournament have gone forward with her in it, my idea was that her first "win" would've been by complete chance; an environmental accident, the other wizard's spell backfiring, etc. Once a sorcerer was effectively "fallen" the lantern would be used to remove all of their power-- a very painful and deeply unnatural process for both parties.

She really doesn't like doing this. But what choice does she have?

Let Mother down?

Despite having zero contact with her mother once leaving the fortress, she continues to criticize Whellik's every decision. Each cruel, self-depreciating feeling in her mind is narrated in her mother's voice. She begins to see distorted apparitions with her mothers face, but mistakes them for long-distance, magical communications of some sort.

They would've become more aggressive and tangible to her as the tournament- and her violent magical theft- progressed.

I wish I went thru with the competition! It would've been fun to adapt to what powers Whellik would've gotten with each traumatic victory. It would've also been.... interesting...... to ask people if I could permanently remove their oc's magic forever. (It's commonly a rule in these things to ask your opponent first if you can kill their character- I feel like Magic Death would be similarly grave)

I had some ideas in my mind about the true nature of the lantern that I have tucked away on the chance I end up finding a new OCT that she could be reworked into. Who knows! "Why not a standalone story?" She's narratively designed to be a springboard for other characters- Most of the fun for me was going to be working with what my opponents had going for them! It's not impossible though.

Here's more pictures of her shithead mother

Woman Who Sucks. Incredibly fun to draw, though.

[superectojazzmage]

Of everything that happens in the new issue of Immortal Thor, this scene stands out the most to me as something I feel will be one of the most important scenes of both the issue and the run as a whole.

In the very beginning of gods, of Earth, of humanity, of stories, among the very first incarnations of the archetypes that Thor and Loki embody - the mighty warrior and the devious trickster - see each other and immediately get into a fight out of sheer revulsion of everything their twin stands for.

Good vs evil. Light vs dark. Order vs chaos. Brawn vs brain. Control vs freedom. Life vs death. Fate vs choice. Peace vs war. Mundanity vs magic. Law vs crime. Creation vs destruction. Love vs hate. And many more. Clashing opposites, battling for supremacy. A cycle of violence and debate passed down the generations, from father to son, mentor to student, predecessor to successor, and so on. Brother waging battle against brother just to prove a point, to fulfill their role in the story. An ideological blood feud applied to archetypes and titles and narratives. Trickling all the way down into it's present expression... Thor and Loki.

Already it's clear that cycles of this sort are going to be a very large theme of Immortal Thor. The concept of recurrences and stories being retold over the years have been talked about a lot by the narrator. The comic goes to great lengths to draw attention to how Thor and his cast and, by extension, their own world in the form of comics are falling into patterns that transcend through time. And I feel that's going to be the crux of a great deal of the plot.

Loki hates the cycle. In their roles as both the goddess of stories and the god of mischief, they abhor stagnation and repetition. They want to be free of the roles "assigned" by the narrative. They want to be free of the debate, the never-ending battle of good and evil that ha destroyed their family time and again. Thor would want to be free of it too, if he realized he were part of it. But he struggles to do so. He's a rock in the sea of time. A god among mortals, a child of two worlds watching in confusion and grief as his human friends age and change and die around him while his divine brothers and sisters continue to stay the same. In this, they are trying to do what Gaea wanted to do but couldn't; to break the cycle.

Toranos and Utgard-Loki don't want to break the cycle. They ARE the cycle. Embodiments of the sins of the forefathers carrying down to their children. Representations of the archetypes of Thors and Lokis at their absolute worst, shorn of all true depth and compassion and true belief in their aspects in favor of continuing the godforsaken argument. Shades of the old festering in the blood of the young, infesting them with their baggage, holding them back from growing better, and lashing out at them when the new generations fail to meet the standards of the elders. And they may not even realize they're doing so.

This isn't the first time this theme has come up in Al Ewing's work.

Immortal Hulk presents the conflict between the Hulk and his archenemy, the Leader, as a similar generational feud. Both in a literal familial sense (the Banner and Sterns families being divided and warring after Robert and Samuel Sterns turn on each other) and a larger ideological sense (people using the power of gamma for good or ill, going all the way to the first Hulk being born from a leader's selfish desire to misuse magic as a tool of conquest). Sometimes the thoughtful man is the hero, sometimes the brute is. But they always fight. Senselessly and pointlessly. And the Green Door and the horror it brings was only stopped... by breaking the cycle. By defying it. By Hulk choosing to never sink to Leader's level, or those of his predecessors, and instead choose to forgive.

And Ewing makes clear cycles and wars spanning centuries like this are common in the Marvel Universe. The Eternity Mask is passed down generations of men and women, always fighting for freedom against those who would deny it. Nick Fury passes his name and identity and role onto his son. There's always an Ant Man, inheriting their predecessor's problems, and there's always an Ultron, trying to claim dominion. Arakko and Krakoa alike are divided between those who hold to the old ways and those who seek new ways. Ebony and Ivory Kings do their work, from within and without. On and on, the wheels turn.

It even goes back to the very beginning. To prior multiverses. All tracing back to the first super battle, the first superhero and first supervillain - Lifebringer-One and Anti-All, the cosmic knight and the entropic dragon - fighting for the fate of the nascent world.

Effectively, Ewing views and represents the narratives of superhero comics as we know them, as a sort of repeating song. The metatextual commentary is that all this has happened before and will happen again, because humanity will always dream of heroes battling monsters. There will always be a knight and a dragon. A warrior and a trickster. A superhero and a supervillain.

But he also acknowledges how this can go too far. How comics can fall into stagnating loops of repeating stories and stall status quos. Spider-Men being denied their stories because editors want to live in nostalgia instead of the now. X-Men getting their progress towards coexistence undone because writers can't handle change.

And this is all what Immortal Thor is about and will be about. The struggle for balance between opposites and extremes. Cyclical narratives and worlds. Ideas and stories being inherited and passed on. And all of it a commentary on comic books themselves and their history and role in culture.

It's brilliant stuff.

[paragonrobits]

I'm exploring a few different ideas for a fic that ultimately focuses around the idea of damaged people from ruined worlds or little left to go back to coming together in the form of Farmworld Finn surviving his battle with the Scarab and traveling to Vampire World to continue the good fight in a way that matters to him while his kids get to grow up somewhere safe; there, he meets up with Vampire World Bonnibel, and they team up to fix things as best as possible, possibly even following their worlds merging as a result of cosmic auditors noting that their worlds are otherwise untidy enough and better suited mashed together

But its not enough to just have Princess Bubblegum, Finn the human and Jake the dog together again; there is a FOURTH member of that found family. It's not complete without Marceline, adopted Petrikov. But the Marceline of that world is... perhaps, too far gone. A corruption of the Marcy we know and love. Redemption is for her, perhaps not IMPOSSIBLE, but certainly something outside the scope of what I want to do. But you know one possibility?

The unknown fate of the original Marceline of Winter King's world. And one potential vibe I have for why she might be angry at Winter King even after his death and the source of some complex feelings, and what Ice Marceline actually was, can all be summed up by a relevant panel of Protoman from the Mega Man comics:

Winter King Marceline raises a LOT of questions and open ideas.

We don't have anything to go on, besides the fact that an Ice Marceline acting as a play replica implies that she is either gone or Winter King THINKS she's gone. Betty is also dead, or that Winter King believes she is. So here's my idea; the Marceline of that world IS still alive, but quite different from mainline Adventure Time world; I propose that she actually occupies a similar role to Magic Woman Betty, as a magically powerful wizard who has done complicated things and even acted as an antagonist in her desperate attempts to save Winter King from himself, but in the end it was too late, and she couldn't save him.

The idea I have is that for various reasons, she is not connected to the Finn of her world or Princess Bubblegum; its likely that if they ever knew each other, the circumstances behind her Simon's death and his crimes against that PB left her with a very severe conflict of loyalties and was ultimately too distanced from either; its not impossible that at some point she MIGHT return to them, but I'm thinking that the mode her is that these are people who were meant on some level to unite in the Finn/PB/Marceline family triangle, but due to accidents of fate or bad circumstances, it didn't turn out that way.

In this case, that particular part of the eternal recurrance did NOT work out for them, but through the actions of Fionna and Simon bringing other worlds together, they have a chance to start anew; Magic Marceline comes to vampire world and meets up with them, deciding that she can at least fix SOMETHING even if she can't save the man that used to be her father.

This take on her draws much more on her demonic nature; her soul sucking powers have been honed so that she's stolen magical power from others with the intent of ultimately trying to find a way to do the same with the Ice Crown without harming Simon in the process, and she's garnered a bunch of different wizard powers that let her do the sort of things Marceline can otherwise do. This version of her most likely looks more human, similar to Marshall Lee in Fionna's world; not sure why yet but maybe she has actively altered her appearance to distance herself further from her father, or she simply looked more like her mother here.

As another detail on how warped and tragic the dynamic of Winter King was, I'm also thinking that her relationship with him was full of conflicts leaving her feeling tremendously messed up; she loved him but she hated what he'd become, she known for a while there was not coming back from what he'd done but she still tried so hard, and in the end he deliberately forgot her in favor of an illusion of the child she once was.

[doctorstrangereview]

0045: Strange Tales #151

Cover Date: December 1966 On-Sale Date: September 8, 1966

And we're back! A family crisis prevented me from posting these for a couple of weeks. I wonder if I'll get back any momentum I had built up? This issue is a clip show. There's a lot of retelling previous tales as Umar catches up on what she's missed while she was imprisoned by her sweet brother Dormammu. According to the credits, Stan himself apparently wrote this one. Maybe he was in a rush or tired and decided to cut and paste old stories into a new(ish) script. Surprisingly Bill Everett decided that he wouldn't cut and paste Ditko's old art and redrew the old scenes. Way to go, Bill!

So powerful is Umar that's she's magically changed the color of her dress from green to red. She still looks very fetching. The weird glow around her head from last issue has developed into a full flame. Eventually we will learn these are the flames of regency and appear around the noggin of whoever rules the Dark Dimension. Yup, the rulers are literally hot stuff! The slit in her dress reveals strapped sandals that are even more awesome than what Wonder Woman wore in the 50s! She may have been imprisoned for millennia, but she knows her fashion!

Umar then flies to something called the Lamp of Lucifer. It looks like a typical Aladdin's lamp with the filigree that edges Doc's cloak of levitation with a funny demon face on it. It's adorable!

The lamp works like a mystical VCR and replays events surrounding Doc and Dormie. Bill uses this to draw an angry Ancient One.

Dormie finally gets the look that will become familiar to us all of us in the future. The purple body suit with the Superman red undies over his clothes and Superman's yellow belt look great as always! Everett even gives Dormie the mad-on eyebrows.

The lamp plays back Doc's origin story showing him studying with the Ancient One and some of the various dick measuring contests with Baron Mordo. Umar pauses the lamp long enough to confirm that her brother is actually alive.

The lamp un-pauses the tape and the playback continues with Doc kicking Dormie's butt and pulling a WWE move on him.

I think I like this version better than the original. Thanks, Bill! Then we get a replay of Dormie's battle with Eternity where the spaceman vanishes and flame-head gets mushed between two celestial bodies. Suddenly, the lamp reveals Clea's fate. Umar doesn't seem to know her and, to be fair, it'll be another decade before she's retconned as Umar's daughter. Of course Umar is a really bad parent so maybe she just forgot she had a daughter.

For good measure, we get a replay of the end of Doc's battle with Kaluu which immediately preceded the current action. Presumably, Umar was freed when Dormie was destroyed/lost/banished. For some unexplained reason, her reappearance took longer than all the other imprisoned people who managed to pop back almost instantaneously. It's a good thing those 60s comics didn't care too much about continuity!

Umar decides to pop a look into present-day Earth and spy on Doc a bit. For once his lack of security has some genuine grounding in reality! The Sanctum Sanctorum is a mess from his battle with Kaluu. Actual consequences from a battle! Who woulda thunk it? We immediately see Doc being a dick to Wong who just wants some cash to repair the Sanctum.

(The pink rectangle is a CONTINUED AFTER NEXT PAGE message unnecessary in the Masterworks reprint. These would usually be under the art, but it would have clashed with the "WATCH MARVEL SUPER-HEROES ON TV" ad at the bottom of the page. These were the incredibly crude cartoons from the mid-60s that looked like someone cut out the comics and dragged them along on string in front of a camera. Crude as they are, they're very faithful to the original material and they gave us wonderfully incongruent theme songs, particularly the Iron Man one!)

Doc powers up and poor Wong actually thinks for a moment that Doc is gonna blast him. What a dick! This isn't the case, thankfully and Wong will live to have many, many more adventures. Doc just gives a woe is me speech about how all this mundane crap is interfering with his cosmic stuff. Then he conjures up some cash. As is typical for 60s Doc, he is never apologetic to Wong or shows any remorse for they psychological trauma he just inflicted.

I really need to learn how to do that!

Doc feels more evil forces at work, and the Crystal (Orb) of Agamotto catches fire!

Umar kidnaps Clea and sends her scream over to Doc. Umar is a schemer, she is! Not content to just wait for Doc to take the bait, she kidnaps him as well.

And now, we wait! For the next installment.

I like this one better than I remember. Despite half the story being flashbacks to old issues, it's fun. Doc is an arrogant jerk again, to his man-servant no less! Poor Wong. Umar's character is developing nicely. She's more manipulative and subtle than her brother, but her patience isn't limitless and when it's exhausted, she just grabs what she wants. It's quite sad Jacqueline Pearce is no longer with us. She would have made a perfect Umar in a live action production. Eternity awaits! (Yes, he will show up again too!)

[leatherbelt1295]

Your Daily Smile #2617

@ehan281

This should have been posted yesterday, but I didn't really get a chance to. I spent the previous 2.5 days with EHAN irl, and man they were just so wonderful... I'm so grateful we got to hang out again and do more than we did last time. Went during this time for a multitude of reasons since things lined up perfectly, but most importantly it was like a birthday present to him (5/29) and myself (6/3). We haven't seen each other since October 2017, so naturally I really missed him so much. ;w; That's way too long!!

We got to eat yummy food each day, got to meet his adorable doggy Sparky, met his folks, go through a mirror maze, played a laser busting game?, watch him do little runs of SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom, watch the new Spidey on opening night with his brother, and went to a convention together and even cosplayed which was super fun! I went as Peppino Spaghetti from Pizza Tower (so if by chance you were there on Friday and saw Peppino, it might've been me!) and he was an excellent Cameron from Ferris Bueller Day Off. It was cool how often we were recognized, heheh. Really nice to see people's faces light up like that. Of course, we saw a lot of great cosplays too! Here's a few I saw myself that I got pics of, really nice stuff!

We got to play my favorite beat-em-up The Simpsons by Konami, and I'm glad EHAN and his brother really enjoyed it too! Really cool stuff all around, found plenty of gifts for my folks at home but also a couple things for me. Oh and Petra stuff and even comm'd a Petra for EHAN. :]

I haven't been to a con in 7 years, so being back at such a fun one was something I absolutely needed and appreciate immensely. Good times all around! I'm happy he and his brother enjoyed themselves too.

Here's my loot, though only the Jolteon and black shirt are for me.

We headed to Red Robin later on, and that was nice too! At least for me and his brother. :)

I went with the intention of recreating a certain Bocchi the Rock comic to EHAN. :))

And it worked. :)))

And the waitress didn't believe him when he said it was my birthday too. :))))

Ended the night with some 3 player Mario Party 2 on Pirate Land. We lost to the CPU DK because of usually MP shenanigans lol. Still fun!

And followed that up with me and EHAN rewatching Space Patrol Luluco as we do every June 5th, but a little early this time so it could be irl. A wonderful time as it is every year, but made more special being together and having fun irl! I'll be taking about that more on tomorrow's YDS though. :)

Wrapped up the visit with another good breakfast and visiting a lovely park, I really enjoyed that too.

Again, overall, I totally needed this trip and I'm eternally grateful for being able to do so. I really miss him though. ;w;

And I suppose I should mention a bit how my birthday was yesterday aside about half the day being with EHAN. I received gift art from friends through the day, including right at midnight and even today... Y'all really didn't have to... ;; But thank you so much... And to those who I know may read this and wanted to draw me something or whatever the case may be, but couldn't for any reason, just know it's more than okay and the fact that you even thought of me in the first place means a lot to me already. Wishing me hbd means a lot too... 🥺 So thank you guys too!

Even had a big surprise on the flight back home before departure. Someone close to me with connections actually informed the crew on board that it was my birthday, and if they could deliver a message to me for them, which they absolutely did... Even gave me free snacks and water, and invited me to sit in the pilot's seat which was !!!!!?? It was so cool what the heck... I'm grateful for that... 😭

Nice time spent at home with family, always nice to see them. It ain't a birthday without being with em, I'd say. Nice lil gifts too, they shouldn't have... ;; I do wanna show this Hank Hill in particular, gave me a good laugh and I love it, heheh. The Bocchi doodle too!

But yeah, I just wanted to dedicate this YDS to thanking @ehan281 and his brother for a wonderful time and express my gratitude of a happy birthday too. Hoping the next time we meet won't be so long! ^^

[tamarakkoarchive]

Shin Megami Tensei II livetweet thread (6/8)

oh geez

he was sooooo easy he didn't dodge even once. and i'm pretty sure i reached him the earliest i could since i visited this place just a while ago. smt2 matador was still a little virgin

~

smt2 is slightly harder than smt1 but i think it's mainly because you don't have much money to spend on better equipment (i'd rather only spend it for summoning since mag dries super fast so you'd prefer to only have your demons out for important battles) and you can't... use guns on auto. yeah don't ask me. but tbqh i've been pretty fine even with these things so lol

~

HMMMM okay i got my prediction wrong. i got misguided into thinking zayin wasn't law because at first he was a blind follower then realized he doesn't condone fascism but he actually never switched alignments

when i started this game i was tempted to detail everything that was happening but the plot structure is a lot harder to figure out so i'm constantly under the impression things are not what they seem. i'm actually surprised by how much i'm getting wrong

I FINALLY REACHED THE FULL REVEAL SCENE AND WHEW it's no wonder i barely knew anything about this game because you just can't explain aleph's background and the way his companions behave without spoiling the whole ass plot and there's... a lot

~

the absolute unit is here

idk if it's just the fantranslation but it seems they didn't make dick jokes in his debut

~

hiroko learning teleport almost nearing lvl60... :) yeah fuck you too girl

we had no other partners aside beth to compare here but fuck it, i can't stop thinking how the heroines in the snes games suck at learning actual shit we need fast compared to all your male companions wtf

~

big walltext because 4 screenshots aren't enough to put the whole context so you guys can understand me losing my fucking mind over the twist

HE'S JUST LIKE KNUCKLES'S FATHER IN THE SONIC COMICS, I'M SHITTING MYSELF

amazing

so THAT was the reason this mf stayed alive the most

now he's ready to go to a disco

the shadows on his eyes look so much like sunglasses in the sprite. dude is literally the cooler daniel meme

while the earliest kaneko artwork circa mt2 is where his stuff objectively could look better in redraws, i honestly think his smt/smt2 drawings in general all look better in his old style instead of when he tried to remake them using the nocturne shading for the psx ports

like, the nocturne shading is INCREDIBLE and looks amazing in games like digital devil saga or the raidou ones but they just don't fit the mood of 90's smt

~

sometimes i sulk a little when remembering of smt4a's faults but then i see stuff like that ntr brainwashing scene or aleph doing this shit in front of his now-aware-mother and then i sigh in relief

i think i lost the count of how many fucking blondies are in this game. lucifer, hiroko, that governor, the abyss npcs, the fairy that hit a spell on hiroko, the fairy that is fucking daleth, now the lake nymph-LIKE ENOUGH!!!

~

guys i tried to face lucifer two times and....... after all those games, right in very late smt2, it finally happened. i think i'm underleveled for a boss

like he can't kill me but i'm on the exactly same boat. i use everything i have but the fucker has so much hp all my mp drains out like poof. it just becames an eternal battle where no one can kill no one and it goes on until i give up

[llitchilitchi]

I saw a tag on the au comic of George wrapping the burn from sapnap about making excuses to push that nothings wrong and it’s been churning in my head since, is George’s willingness to ignore the bad stuff something that gets confronted or addressed?

Like does George see it’s affects on dream or when a particularly bad reaction to a trigger gets worse? Does dream bring it up in anger about what he sees as a transactional relation (his life for George’s kingship) or when he pushes down his trauma too much and backfires? Is it something sapnap notices once he doubts dream’s trauma less or (if the situation with the burn isn’t the only time his anger hurts dream physically/mentally) is it guilt that sees how pretending nothing wrong is causing more cracks?

Or does it resolve slowly as they trust more and begin to see what’s really happened?

Sorry if this is too long or a bit confusing! I’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to angst that gets worse before the healing starts 😅

ohhh this is a juicy one, thank you anon

for a disclaimer I want to say that while a lot of the fun in this au is the exploration of how thoroughly toxic c!dream team would be if they were to team up now and address their problems in an in-character way (which is not addressing anything at all lmao), I as a major dteam enjoyer would feel far too guilty about not trying to fix their relationship. so while I have no plans of a direct confrontation of MR!George's attitude and blantant ignorance of issues at hand, especially not by MR!Dream, he will eventually have to face reality and change his attitude and live with the simmering guilt of telling Dream to suck it up after Sapnap defended the man who tortured him for months in his face.

before anything else, Dream does try to make the relationship as close to purely transactional as possible. he finds comfort in putting a pricetag on everything he does and doesn't dwell on anything that happens between him and George or him and Sapnap, at least not externally (though he does keep track of things, for his own safety).

George takes care of him, mentally and physically, but he never goes beyond what is absolutely necessary, and Dream very much sees it as a good thing! it gives him space he needs and the fact that George "doesn't care enough" to pry means that the relationship is transactional and not something much much deeper (even if it hurts and he wishes they could go back, sometimes). he treats it very much like c!dream treats his relationship with c!punz - definitely close, definitely friends, definitely give each other enough space and don't ask uncomfortable questions so they can keep a vague facade of both of them doing it for personal gain.

because George will wrap the burns, and he will check on Dream's injuries daily, and he gives Dream regen potions, and he holds him in his arms when Dream has a particularly bad panic attack, and he knows when to step back because Dream faced an unexpected trigger. but he doesn't ask what the trigger was, doesn't ask why Dream cried for Sam in desperation through a nightmare. and I will not say much more since the next comic should cover this (hint hint: dream has a fringe in this au despite the rest of his hair being long)

it does become significantly easier for them to actually notice things when they are willing to look though. when they actually think about the subtle changes, the flinch away from Sapnap's axe, the crease in his brows when Sam or Quackity are mentioned. it's an equal part of Dream revealing something after being pushed and the two of them being more willing to listen after he has said (in Dream's opinion) far too much.

but the resolution is a slow process. threads unravel on their own when given enough time. and once the unraveling goes too far they can't go back, so might as well make the best of it and maybe for once, in a quite out of character way, sit down and communicate.

tl;dr: it's a mix of natural progression of time and a series of incidents that prompt them to actually confront their views and properly talk. there might have never been much of a change without Sapnap pushing until Dream snaps, or Dream having a moment of weakness and telling Sapnap how he views his attachments, or him melting into the familiarity that is George's hands cupping his cheeks as George counts to 10 and Dream slowly remembers how to breathe.

[rocorambles]

Until Death Do Us Part

Pairing: Akaashi x Reader

Genre/Warnings: Yandere, NSFW, Sea Warlock!Akaashi, Mermaid Reader, Non-Con/Rape, Mind Control, Body Modification

Summary: As a little girl you’ve always dreamed of marriage, but maybe you should have been more careful of who you decided to exchange eternal vows with.

This is for @terushimooo's Aquatic August collab. Happy swimming~

You love Itachiyama, love waking up and seeing the endless sea of blue, love waving down at all the sea creatures, sirens, mermaids, and so much more who cheerfully greet you. You love Itachiyama and Itachiyama loves you, the citizens of your kingdom eagerly calling your name and shoving free samples of tasty food and merchandise in your hand as you swim by the marketplace, excited to interact with their favorite (and only) princess.

But as much as you genuinely love your realm, you’ve always been too curious for your own good, your sheltered life forcing your imagination to go wild as you listen intently to merchants and travelers from out of town who tell you about corners of the ocean and sea creatures you’ve never even heard of.

There’s a limit to how much pretty words and mental images can satisfy you and your cousins Sakusa and Komori roll their eyes and sigh when you begin to repeatedly try sneaking out from their protective watch, eager to experience what lies beyond the borders of your safe haven.

It’s a comic joint effort between the citizens, your cousins, and the royal guards as they all work to keep you as safe as they can. It becomes a game of sorts, one that they all begrudgingly begin to enjoy, and laughter fills the kingdom when citizens take turns cheering for you or your cousins as Sakusa and Komori rapidly swim after you, leaving ripples and bubbles in your wakes as your tails flick back and forth.

They’re hesitant to let you wander off on your own at first, the creatures of your realm and the palace guards begging you to at least let them accompany you when you’re insistent about exploring the surrounding areas. Sakusa scolds you, always dragging you back to the palace when you do manage to escape, although you hide your smile when you see how he wordlessly takes all your new discoveries from you and carries them back for you. Komori also nudges you back when he’s the one sent to find you, although he always lets you wander around for a while longer when he does locate you, indulging your whims before finally enticing you back home with the promise of a new seashell necklace, his treat.

But over time they begin to relax, just wishing you safe travels and exploring when they do see you ready to slip past the border, Sakusa and Komori reminding you not to stray too far and not to stay out too late when their schedules don’t permit them to leave with you.

You love meeting new people, exploring new towns, seeing the sights outside of the bubble you’ve grown up in. But novelty wears off and even the surrounding territories begin to become familiar to you, an old itch beginning to creep inside of you once again, a desire to see even more churning inside of you. And it’s that yearning inside of you that has you secretly wandering in a different direction one day, going far further than you’ve ever been before, leading you to Akaashi’s lair.

Akaashi sees you long before you even realize you’re in his territory and he’s intrigued to say the least. He can’t even count the number of greedy, selfish, desperate souls who’ve sullied his grounds, disgustingly groveling at his feet, whining for their wishes and desires to be granted. But you? You’re different. He can tell just by how unaware and genuinely curious you are as your eyes flit about the unknown area, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the site of different coral and species of fish you’ve never seen.

You’re not here for him. He’s sure you don’t even know exactly whose lands you’ve naively fluttered upon. And before he even realizes what he’s doing, his legs have transitioned into a mass of swirling tentacles, rocketing him towards your direction.

When’s the last time he’s talked to someone outside of the lowlife scum who begged and pleaded for his help? When’s the last time he was able to enjoy another’s company? The warmth of another’s body entwined with his?

There’s a painful tug at his heart when he sees how you tense at his presence, fear lacing your gaze when you connect the mass of glossy black tentacles on his lower half and his piercing blue orbs to his true identity.

It’s not hard to understand exactly who you’re face to face with, the rumors of the sea warlock’s appearance and reputation having spread far and wide. You’ve always been horrified by the stories you’ve heard. Maybe it’s because you’re far too simple-minded, far too easily satisfied as both your cousins fondly tease you about. But you can’t imagine wanting anything enough to give up your voice, your tail, your ability to love and laugh.

You know Akaashi only takes from those who seek his help, that you technically have nothing to fear. But you still cower in front of him, folding your tail in front of you and clutching it to your chest, a small silly part of you scared that he’d snatch it away from you.

The gesture makes Akaashi laugh and you stare wide-eyed at the handsome creature in front of you, your tail slowly flopping from your arms and floating freely as you let the lovely tinkle of his laugh echo around you.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on taking your tail. Unless you’ve come here for me to grant a request?”

You furiously shake your head from side to side, still a little apprehensive as he sends a small amused smile your way. But as he continues talking, you can feel the tension ease from your body, your body matching Akaashi’s pace as he gives you a tour of his neck of the woods. He’s so well-spoken, a soothing tone to his voice that easily lulls you into a sense of peace as you eagerly listen to him tell you about the local wildlife and terrain.

He tells you stories of worlds and creatures you can’t even begin to fathom. He tells you of life above the waters and in the sky. And you find yourself returning back to him over and over again, although it would be a lie to say it’s purely out of a desire to learn more.

Your curiosity is as insatiable as always, but you get distracted more often than not when Akaashi speaks. You get lost staring at that striking face and into those gorgeous eyes. Your eyes glitter in awe as he effortlessly transitions between gracefully swimming upon a mass of tentacles to fluttering two human legs in the sea, appendages you’ve never seen before.

You’re falling fast and hard for the sea warlock and you don’t think there’s any going back.

Akaashi knows there’s no going back.

He’d fallen for you the second you had opened up to him, the moment you had seen him as just another creature to befriend instead of a wish given genie whose only purpose was to dole out wishes. And he’s not ignorant to the way your eyes wander across his figure, his face, how you badly try to hide your growing attraction to him.

So it only makes sense that he doesn’t resist temptation anymore now that he knows the feelings are mutual and he hungrily lets his tentacles wind around your waist, pulling you towards him so he can embrace you in his warms, closing his eyes in bliss as your barely covered torso presses against his own bare chest. One of his hands snakes to unclasp your seashell top while his lips devour yours, sighing at how sweet you taste.

But he grimaces in displeasure when your tail begins to wildly flail from side to side, your hands annoyingly pressing against his chest. And he pulls back, brows furrowed as he tries to understand what’s wrong, only to scowl when he sees hesitation tinged with fear in your pretty eyes.

He thought you were far beyond this point. What is there to be scared of? Why are you so skittish? But he hasn’t gotten as far as he has by blowing his fuse so he forces his tentacles to relinquish you, lightly replacing them with his hands as he brings you over to his bed, letting you sit on his lap and tuck your head under his chin as he gently rubs his thumbs soothingly over your waist.

It’s a good sign that you feel comfortable enough to bury your face in his chest and he lets you sit there silently, waiting for you to speak up. And his patience is rewarded when you nervously draw aimless partners on his skin as you begin to talk.

He bites back a laugh when you ramble on about how you’ve never even had a boyfriend before, never done more than platonically hug and kiss your family and friends. This is all so new to you and isn’t it too fast, too soon? What even are the two of you? Does he even like you? Love you? You don’t want to be just a notch in his bedpost. You want to date, get married, have a family. Only married people can do the things...the things that…

You trail off in embarrassment, unsure how to even phrase things you’ve only whispered about in hushed voices with your friends, that you’ve never experienced for yourself before. But your face heats when a low chuckle reverberates in your ears, gasping when one of Akaashi’s hands digs into your skin, the other traveling sensually up your spine before roughly grabbing the back of your head and pulling you in for a kiss that’s all heady hunger that leaves you breathless.

It would be so easy to just give in, to melt and moan as his nails threaten to pierce your skin, his arms caging you against him until all you can feel, see, and smell is him. Your tongues entangle with each other and you gasp when his fingers begin to slip under a seashell, the other hand teasing the transition of skin to scale. But when he begins to tweak a nipple and palm your ass, you’re jolted back to reality, the morals of chastity and purity you’ve been raised with battling against the temptation of Akaashi’s touch.

“Wait, Keiji. Wait!”

This time there’s no hiding his irritation and you flinch at the annoyance in his eyes as he stares you down, a coldness in his face you’ve never seen before. But you press on, believing that if he truly cared for you, he’d understand. All your girlfriends had told you that if you found the right one, they’d be patient, they’d wait until you were ready.

“I- I really like you, but I don’t think I’m ready for this yet. I want to go on dates, get engaged, get married. And maybe it’s old-fashioned, but I want our first time to be our wedding night, after we’ve said our vows and promises to be together forever.”

“You want to be together forever?”

Akaashi can’t help but smile at the hopeful look in your eyes when you nod your head in affirmation.

“Then until death do us part.”

You’ve always wondered what magic would look or feel like and now you know. You whimper as you feel something powerful, something foreign surge through you, Akaashi’s eyes glowing far more than they should, the shadows of his cave seeming to grow and loom over the two of you. There’s a searing pain on your lower abdomen and the expanse of your chest and you scream as it fills like your tail is being torn into two.

And suddenly there’s a feeling of something wrapping around your heart, an ache between your legs-

Your legs?

You stare in horror, tears forming in your eyes when you see your beautiful tail replaced by two legs, strange black markings permanently engraved over your womb, the scrawl of Akaashi’s name taunting you from its loving placement above your heart.

“Don’t cry, my love. Look we can match now. Consider it a reminder of our new beginning together, the start of the rest of our lives.”

This is a mockery of everything you’ve believed a marriage to be and you only sob harder as Akaashi pins you on your back, his legs in between yours pushing them apart. But he tires of your pained and agonized cries and you gasp as the new markings decorating your skin begin to glow blue. Fear is replaced with lust and all you can think of is Akaashi, all you want is Akaashi, all you need is Akaashi.

There’s just enough of your own will to know this isn’t right, this isn’t truly you. But you can’t do anything against your body and mind’s cravings, the way you instinctively lean into every kiss, every touch. Is this how it always feels? You can’t tell if the delirious pleasure you’re feeling is normal or if it’s being heightened by whatever incantation Akaashi has you under. But you can’t bring yourself to care about the details, not when your eyes are rolling back in your head, something slick leaking from between your new limbs as Akaashi makes his way down your body, mouth and fingers lapping at your new slit.

Your chest heaves, nipples standing at attention, gleaming with Akaashi’s saliva as your body contorts as he continuously pumps in and out of you, adding finger after finger until it feels like you’re going to burst. You don’t even recognize the wanton cries in the air as your own, lewd whines of “Keiji, Keiji, Keiji” filling the air. And then there’s a snap, your body going rigid as something coils tight inside of you before you’re wailing, body thrashing and convulsing around the four digits stuffed inside of you, your arousal coating Akaashi’s fingers and dripping down his wrist.

You hate how wrong it feels to be empty, a whine escaping your lips at the loss of his fingers as he pulls them out. But you flinch at the sight of Akaashi seductively licking his skin clean of your mess, desire making his eyes dark as he contently hums at your taste. You try to use his distraction as a chance to slowly crawl away, but you let out a surprised cry when strong hands drag you back in place, spreading your legs once again.

“We’re not done with our wedding night yet, darling.”

Something hard and thick nudges at your entrance and you struggle anew to no use as your markings glow blue once more. And suddenly you’re pliant and aroused all over again, overwhelmed tears streaming down your face as despair and lust mix together, only heightening the dizzying feeling of having Akaashi’s cock balls deep inside of you. It’s too much, too soon and yet it’s not enough, desire pulsing inside of you, need making you go mad.

But it doesn’t matter what you want or how you feel and Akaashi reminds you of that as he uses your body to chase his own end, hips thrusting in and out of you, cock dragging against your oversensitized walls. On and on he goes, following through with a relentless, brutal pace, spurred on by your lewd moans and the way your nails draw blood as you claw at him, body trying to ground itself in any way.

You’re tumbling over the edge once more and what husband would he be to not join his lovely new wife over that precipice of pleasure? So he follows you down, groaning and burying his face in your neck with a kiss as he thrusts one last time, sinking deep inside of you as he fills you to the brim with his seed.

Reality sinks in as the blue glow emblazoned on you begins to dim until only skin and dark markings are left and disgust makes your guts churn. All you want to do is curl up into a ball. All you want is to be back home with your cousins, joking with Komori, being a brat to Sakusa. All you want is to go back in time, go back to the carefree days of innocence and fluttering your tail when Akaashi was just a faceless name.

But there’s no going back and all you can do is lie there and accept your fate as Akaashi reverently kisses and caresses his marks on your body.

Until death do you part.

[mimuranda]

BKDK fic recommendation

23/09/2022

And now that I've expressed all my frustration in previous post, I am going to talk about BakuDeku and THE recommendation of the month.

So, yes, as already stated I love this ship (call me basic, but the rivals to lovers dynamic is one of my favorites) and more since Bakugo seems to have a REAL evolution in the cannon story.

He is exactly the kind of character I love (I accept I have a problem with secondary bad boy characters).

But, as usual, that does not mean I accept everything. My criteria for any prompt -including ships - to be sold to me is it to be well-written. If you are to tell me their relationship, I want you to convince me. And so I am particularly strict with fanfics.

I am a big fanfic lover, and I've been reading fics for SO LONG that I've now come used to filter them so I can find the hidden gems under the high amount of not-so-good stories. I know that fanfics are usually underestimated, and I want to fight that misconception, even if it comes from the fact that, as anybody can write fics, the level is not always that high (still very legitimate for these fics to exists, anybody should write fics if they want too). What I mean is that I am very exigent regarding fics.

And it has been a long time since I read an excellent one. Who could have told me that the first one I would look for in the BNHA fandom would be so PERFECT?

I've already talked about this fic (I shared the first chapters comics one marvelous user made- thanks @twyutd) , but it is time to talk about it properly:

THE WAY YOU USED TO DO , by edema_ruh on Archive of Your Own is the MOST AMAZING THING I have read in a while.

It had me completely scotched to my computer 3-days-long. It is so beautiful, well-written, and the pace! The scenes! The battles! The characters! Their development! The slow-burn love story! The longing! The friendships with the other members of the academy! The angst!!! I WILL REPEAT IT: THE ANGST!!

It is undoubtedly and INCREDIBLY well-written story, but of course, what your preferences are will have an impact on how do you like it.

For me it was perfect jam. Long, very long fic, with slow-burn love story, bkdk-centered, with changing point of view, and with A LOT OF ANGST and a happy ending. AND THE IDEA IS SO ORIGINAL. It is a soul-bound story and I just could think that if one day I want to write a romantic story it should be inspired by this one.

If you like any of this elements, you'll immensely enjoy it.

I am frankly obsessed, only can think about is drawing my fav scenes (omg the bkdk moments... ) I think the author really mastered their personality all that while telling an entertaining story.

The only thing I did not enjoyed that much was the least chapter, I found it too long, but I'll accept it anyway because this is 30 long chapters of GOLD.

Just seriously, if you like BNHA and ship BKDK go, now.

The fic:

Art from @YukarietD on twitter .

"We're really sorry," his father says, in a teary-eyed, wobbly way. "But your friend, Izuku, he's... He's gone, son."

Katsuki can do nothing but blink up at them for moments that feel like an eternity, eyes darting between both his parents in obvious confusion, disbelief, and, more than anything, indignation. "What the fuck are you two talking about? The damn nerd is standing right beside you!"

During a battle, Midoriya gets hit by a villain whose quirk detaches his soul from his body. Stuck in a ghost-like state, the boy enters a race against time in order to save himself from permanently dying. Much to his luck - or lack of it -, the only person who can see and talk to him in this state is no one other than Kacchan.

Alternatively: Deku and Kacchan are soulbound.

The link:

What are you waiting for? I on my own will going praise the author for such an amazing piece of art:

@edema--ruh thanks, thanks, thanks for this!!! I cannot express more my admiration to your AMAZING story.

And if you guys happen to discover and enjoy this story because of me please let me know and share impressions!

(I will maybe create a whole tumblr account for sharing my fav fics... still thinking about that possibility).

[doctorofmagic]

Defenders #5 review

It’s been a nice (and a bit difficult to understand) ride but here we are!

So the Defenders finally reach the third cosmos, in which Stephen explains that nothingness is fighting existence, a battle that will determine whether things will come to life or not. They find Zota and Stephen questions him about where he’s drawing power from, but before they can do something, Zota raises a force field. That’s when the Masked Raider intervenes.

The Masked Raider and Zota fight but, as Stephen points out, the Eternity Mask only grants the wielder an equal chance to fight, not win. And this is how Zota defeats the Masked Raider and reveals his identity.

Ngl, at some point, I was expecting this to happen. We’re dealing with time travel so it was not a surprise to me that the Masked Rider is Carlo Zota. Maybe I’ve watched too many shows with this prompt but well, that’s just life.

Next, Eternity is revealed and I swear to Vishanti, Javier’s art is just breathtaking! This panel is beautiful.

Eternity’s words make Carlo realize that he’s wrong, granting him a change of heart. And so he fights the dragon.

Stephen has an idea to combine Taaia’s technology and Harpy’s control over magic as seen in the third chapter. Together, they channel their powers to Lifebringer One (for those who were not here for the last review, Galactus is kind of a broken Celestial, and his potential is to become a Lifebringer instead a Destroyer of Life. This one is supposed to be the first Lifebringer). On a side note... *breathes in* there’s no way you’re telling me this is not the pan flag. I had enough. AL EWING, BREATHE IF THIS WAS INTENTIONAL BECAUSE BOI

You’re telling me that Stephen, Taaia and Harpy saved the universe with the power of pansexuality? BECAUSE MOOD.

Zota sacrifices himself in order to defeat the Anti-All and suddenly the dragon is shattered, while Eternity’s Mask floats towards the Defenders. And here’s more of Harpy bashing Stephen lmao

The next page shows that a hero called Blind Justice will deliver the mask to Zota, which honestly I don’t get that much because I skipped Marvel 1000, I confess.

And thus the heroes are called back to their own cosmos. Taaia leaves her helmet to Stephen as a gift in case he needs her aid once more, which is super sweet of her. Taaia is really precious. This whole panel is very precious, even Harpy’s grumpy mood haha.

And thus Stephen returns to the Sanctum. Wong wonders what he has been doing but the man is too tired to share the whole adventure for now. And so Al Ewing’s run ends with this beautiful panel! I need to zoom in and point every reference I found, of course!

But first, can I just say how much I love the fact that Eternity Mask resembles a sweet ghost floating around? BECAUSE I LOVED IT!! And yes, I noticed the foreshadowing about DODS :(

Now, let’s get started with Stephen’s taste in books.

Why is it all about music and dance? woehewoghwog at least one of them is a book about well, comic books haha.

NOW, to the easter eggs and references!!

To the left, some of the new Defenders after Stephen left the team due to the curse: Beast, Iceman, Angel and Moondragon. A pendant of Clea hanging (she can also be considered a Defender btw). A statue of Gargoyle, and behind him, Nina and Kushala (again!!!! Marvel, what are you cooking behind the scene??)

And here we have Loki’s helmet, probably a reference to the first Avengers/Defenders crossover, the original founders, Namor and Hulk, Valkyrie and a figurine of the Nameless One (nice reference to Defenders #1!).

And this is it. OR IS IT? Because the Defenders will return!

Overall, I liked this book. It is not as deep as it could be assuming how amazing Al Ewing’s writing is, but we also need to consider that 1) it’s a limited series and 2) the Defenders are rarely about deep stories, even though we did manage to see character development.

I’m kinda sad because I could swear Silver Surfer would return, but that’s on me for having expectations (the variant cover baited me tho). Again, this book wouldn’t be the same without Javier, and having these working together to bring this piece of art to us is just... I can’t wait to have my hands on a physical copy. This is a MUST BUY!!

AAAAND I’m excited to see more of the Defenders. Perhaps the next volume won’t feature Stephen to give room for the ones who didn’t make up (Hulk, Namor, Valkyrie, Angel, Beast, Iceman, Hellcat and so on), but that would be awesome for them. And, in case Stephen does appear, all the better hehe.

Lovely reading. Definitely recommended!

[bullshit-in-disguised]

No no please go off and make the Talisman as fucked up as possible. It’s good for the soul

Ah I see that people agreed that the talisman is a fucked up artifact do I have news for you!!

The talisman came out of nowhere in the last knight. But for me I was fascinated of it’s existence and role. Cause the information that we have about the damn thing is that it was made by the knights of Iacon and it was supposed to be Excalibur or something. I find it bullshit cause one like what was the damn point to hype up the thing and never mentioned it again like hell it was never used in the final battle again quintessa.

So I decided to make my take of it

Did some research on the subject of the Talisman in TF media and apparently according what I found is that it’s an extremely powerful artifact in the IDW (2005) comics. In my mind…

“It’s so fucking cool as hell, why don’t I add this in Requiemverse” - My dumbass brain

I been playing around the idea of the Talisman having ties to…

Unicron

OK BEFORE ANYONE JUMP ON ME LET ME EXPLAIN-

Unicron in requiemverse is not just a pure evil being. But more like a chaos god who is fucking tired of everything. Wants to nap for all of eternity and the fact that he’s pretty much attached to humanity (that emerged from his body during his sleep) he’s chaotic neutral and does not want his creations to get hurt, but has a deep hatred with Quintessa for Obvious reasons.

It would been a crazy twist that the Talisman have been a cursed artifact this whole time. At someone point it was originally a powerful artifact that it was created along side the matrix of leadership. It’s the artifact that was used by the first High Lord Protectors to use to protect cybertron from threats, granting the user incredible power. But also those who wields the Talisman can also be seen as the leader of Cybertron’s Knights.

Until the whole mess with the Fallen happened and Quintessa being responsible for that hot mess. Not to mention that they’re will be a future event that Quintessa will attempt to destroy earth.

In order to ensure the Talisman’s power doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Someone was able to curse the Talisman by infusing it with a fragment of Unicron’s power.

So the whole thing turning someone into a cybertronian is something that can be triggered if the user is in near death, they can either accept their death or “Wish” to return to their loved ones with a cost.

in Cade’s case it was his human body, plus the Talisman had to siphon the energy from the matrix so it can preserve Cade’s humanity, cause this damn cursed metal pancake grew attached to it’s stupidity stubborn wielder.

So yeah the Talisman’s “Curse” can be activated when the user is in near death battle or when they are exposed to a lot of emotional stress, in godly amounts of fury, and the possibility dark energon. It turns it user into a rabid beast with intense strength but it can mutante the user into more “Beastial” form. The draw back it’s that it drains the user and places them in a unresponsive state of going feral and reoccurring nightmares. Which is ironic as requirements of wielding the Talisman is that you have the traits of a knight or to be a person who has a good. It’s the choices of the user actions of what they are going to do with it.

It also possesses a fucked up regeneration ability, unlike Bumblebee’s who’s parts can come back to his body. It’s more like a metal liquid would cover the injury as it starts to “heal” the wound. It can sped up if the user can find a piece of metal and places it on the affected area. The liquid consumes the metal and absorbs it, making the wound brand new. But if the material is filled with rust it do more harm then good to the user. The larger and fatal the wound is the longer it takes to patch up the wound without “consuming” enough metals to speed up the process.

It can also react whenever or not that Unicron is about to wake up or close to waking up. So that’s useful as hell to have.

The user can see some partial memories of past holders but in the form of nightmares.

It can be the artifact that can fully damage and kill Quintessa.

Now for the other question that most people are going to ask do anyone knows about the truth about the Talisman?

The answer yes

Only Stormreign (Who was the second in Command of the last Holder before the Talisman got cursed), Quintessa, and Cube know about the truth of the talisman.

So yeah that’s the Talisman for ya

A fucked up Fancy Cursed Metal Pancake.

[beevean]

SEGA and its most recent Sonamy side – more canon than ever

[Translator’s note: this article was originally written in Spanish by @latin-dr-robotnik​]

Hello again! Today we’d like to discuss about something that’s been happening recently, and probably taking Sonic fans by surprise: what is going on with SEGA and its stance about Sonamy?

At the beginning of this year, to celebrate the 200 articles on Seaside Hill Paradise, I finished what I call “the Sonamy trilogy” of articles that I started in 2018 and which cover different themes, such as:

SEGA and the eternal issue of the Sonic-Amy dynamic

“I love you” – Forbidden words in Sonic

SEGA and the eternal issue of “Sonic’s girlfriend”

The idea was to offer a more-or-less complete analysis about the many facets of their dynamic in the last 27 years; a dynamic that, you may have noticed, is not that easy to pin down, and that we’ve been updating almost regularly (although I also intended to investigate on other dynamics, like Knuckles and Rouge’s for example, and write about them). Generally speaking, in these articles I don’t draw objective conclusions about the status of the ship in canon (despite the fact that the available information tends to confirm it in various occasions). I also like to repeat myself and say that shipping is supposed to be for fun, not for tearing each other’s hair in that black hole of misery that is Twitter, but recent events left us slightly perplexed, and this is why we’re here once again.

We left the status of the Sonamy canonicity with these two peculiar instances back in August: Sonic mentioning his “girlfriend” in the Japanese version of Sonic Battle, and the Twitter account of SEGA of Europe saying Sonamy is their “favorite videogame romance”. Now, let’s recap a bit…

Sonamy in Sonic IDW... Round 3

[SPOILERS ALERT FOR IDW SONIC #14-#35]

In 2018, when IDW just started, I decided to study a little how the Sonamy dynamic worked in this new universe. To our surprise, the comic didn’t waste time in dropping its biggest bomb, in one of the cutest scenes we had seen in ages. Since the very beginning, IDW proved that it didn’t intend to deceive those fans that looked for a bit of development of both characters.

I wrote an article about it in June 2019, and it coincided with the beginning of one of the most infamous arc I’ve seen in a Sonic comic for a long time: the Metal Virus Saga. The question is, what has happened since then?

Well, in 2019, with the same accuracy of an aimbot, I said “We’ll probably see some new interactions between Sonic and Amy sometime around IDW #20”. And wouldn’t you know, as misery and tragedy settled in that arc, it was exactly around IDW #20 that we saw some Sonamy interactions: both exhausted, to their limit, with a Sonic that couldn’t even touch Amy to soothe her pain, due to him being infected with the virus.

The arc developed like this in what felt like an eternity, to finally conclude in one the most absurd ways in Sonic history. But it wasn’t a complete disappointment, as, after months and months of asking and discussing on the internet about how much Sonic and Amy deserved a hug at the end of the arc… it actually happened.

Since that moment in IDW #32, we shippers thought that it was what both of them deserved after so much time spent separated and pushed to their limit to survive, but also that after the end of the arc everything would go back to normal. However, what we didn’t know was that the Sonamy train had no intention of stopping, not in IDW, nor anywhere else.

A recurring detail in IDW Sonic is that Amy’s tail starts wagging every time she sees Sonic, as if she was a happy dog. I swear, it happens every time.

Come IDW #35, once again we have some hugs and bits of dialogue between our hedgehogs. For sure, the question here isn’t their relationship itself, as it was for IDW #2, but rather the issues this arc is slowly dealing with. But it’s really nice to see them again, sharing that closeness that they’ve had in the comic since the beginning– be it with some gestures of affection, a wink, a gesture, a private joke.

My favorite image is the first one, Belle’s reaction to seeing Amy hugging Sonic. It’s like she’s thinking “oh, is she his girlfriend?”, and she wouldn’t even be wrong in thinking that.

It can’t be denied that IDW Sonic provided us the conversations and the emotions that the games seldom do. Certainly, the comic has its share of issues and it’s not really a story that I personally follow for its own merits (it’s more because it’s still Sonic, for my interest for things like this, and Belle’s existence… whom I already ship with Tails, sorry not sorry), but what it does well it does really well.

For now, we have to see how IDW Sonic will follow the development of the characters, especially in view of the closure of the current story and beyond. And we may be done with this part of the article, but there is still a lot left.

Sonamy in merchandise

Taking us completely by surprise, recently SEGA launched, in collaboration with Hot Topic, a series of Sonamy-themed t-shirts. No, seriously.

So many people told me this as soon as the voice spread (you know who you are, thank you guys for thinking about me <3), and I can’t help being still surprised that this is actually a thing. T-shirts with lines like “You’re my favorite”, “Love in the fast lane”, and my personal favorite, “S&A Forever”, with drawings of Classic Sonic and Amy… in SEGA-approved products. I don’t know if you realize how much of a big deal this is, even more than “Celebrate the 25 years of Sonic’s girlfriend” from 2018.

One of the things that surprised me the most (aside from how explicit they are in officializing the relationship, and the fact that there are still 2 months left before Valentine’s Day 2021), was the decision to use Classic Sonic and Classic Amy. I tried to understand this decision by analyzing the simplicity and easiness with which the Classic designs convey a message (let’s not forget that Classic Sonic was so iconic because it was specifically designed to convey his expressions without words), besides the fact that they’re inherently cuter than their modern designs. There’s also the controversial aspect of post-Adventure Sonamy, with all the dubbing and weird interpretations that the fandom made over the years… By comparison, the Classic design are a much simpler choice.

What is actually going on?

Well, let’s take a step back and think about what we just saw. The way SEGA has been recently trying to push Sonic and Amy in front view (and for the entirety of 2020, based on the articles I mentioned in the beginning) tells us the harsh truth we all have to accept sooner or later: Sonamy sells, and it sells a lot.

From a strictly business point of view, the ship is so iconic and popular, with fans and detractors alike, that it would be absurd for SEGA to ignore the chance to print these two characters and get a load of money. As I said in my 2018 article, despite the fact that in Japan Sonic isn’t as big of an icon as it is elsewhere, they know pretty well that Sonic + Amy = love, and they have huge amounts of merchandise to back it up. It’s in the West that because of different cultural values, of which we’ve already talked about, along with some internal resistance, left this aspect of the franchise a little on the side. But they’ve been trying to fix it… and how…

Let’s not forget that a decade and a half ago Sonic Team seriously favored Sonamy. They officially said it, Sonic X was their purest view of Sonic they had at the time.

Outside of the business perspective, I believe we’re facing the moment that we’ve been waiting for: it’s time they’ll establish once and for all the dynamic of these two characters, following more closely the original Japanese vision of Sonic. I said many times that, in trying to change canon, the West, especially SEGA of America, did nothing but confuse fans and generate more discussions than needed, by introducing different data and portrayals that contradict the canon established by Sonic Team.

We’ve talked about Unleashed and emotional support, about Sonic X, about the major moments that opened the door to interpreting this dynamic as something more. We don’t threaten at gunpoint those who would rather stay away, but we respond to those declarations that still try to violently discredit the simple fact that Sonic and Amy, who are most of all close friends, form in some measure a couple that, even with its imposed limitations, manages to captivate fans and not fans everywhere in the world. Even the Simpsons used it as a joke, and that says a lot.

What the future has in store for us.

Unless something else happens in this last month of 2020, this is the most complete compilation I can offer at the moment about the status of Sonamy in the fandom and in the official canon. Yes, canon.

It’s impossible to ignore the signals. As you may have noticed, I’ve been considering Sonic and Amy as an official couple, with its clarifications (for example, that at the end it’s more of a friendship, that it’s not a romantic relationship in the most explicit way, that it’s more of a personal perspective to justify a more mature vision of the relationship in the future, not right now), but nowadays I think that SEGA has spoken loud and clear. I think canon is ready to negotiate the idea that Sonic and Amy, apart from being excellent friends who would risk their lives for each other in a heartbeat, have something else on their hands (probably the other’s hand). This won’t automatically translate into a kiss, or a complete love declaration (although Sonic X came close…), or a commitment to a formal relationship like we know them in real life. SEGA canon affirms that Amy is “Sonic’s girlfriend” and nothing more. Outside of that detail, they still pretty much function as friends interacting with a little flirting here, and a little Sonic running away there. It’s the basis of their dynamic, now enhanced by the fact that SEGA is giving us a clearer message.

I think that this all may culminate in a game or an animated series, but I wouldn’t completely count on that. It is good to recognize how far the official position goes on this issue, but at the same time I want to reaffirm that there are things that are better left in the hands of the fandom, and in the meantime that IDW or any other continuity gives us hugs, winks, gestures and words of encouragement, we as the fandom will take care of exploring other avenues and hypothetical scenarios.

This is all I have to say on the matter for now, and I hope you’re happy with this wonderful Sonamy experience we’re going through – I certainly am. See you next time!

[insanityclause]

There’s a moment that every child who aspires to movie stardom dreams about. They practise it in front of the mirror: graciously thanking their parents, their first drama teacher, their favourite hamster; smiling; waving; trying valiantly to cry. No, it’s not an Oscar’s acceptance speech – at least, not anymore; it’s the moment that super-producer Kevin Feige offers you his hand across a conference table and tells you you’ve landed a Marvel movie.

Yesterday came the first reports that Olivia Colman is in talks to slip into full-body lycra and join the MCU, via the studio’s next small-screen series Secret Invasion. The news follows a recent clutch of arrivals of actresses of a similar age and calibre to Colman to other Marvel projects, including Kathryn Hahn’s show-stealing turn in WandaVision, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ surprise appearance in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Such casting choices may once have sounded insane. Why would the woman who just two years ago won an Academy Award for her grief-stricken, crumbling performance as Queen Anne in The Favourite, and who is up for another one this weekend for The Father, choose to submerge her pristine brand as the reigning monarch of British acting, both on-screen and off-, in a barrel of brightly-coloured, pop-sountracked, quippy-scripted comic bookery?

Secret Invasion sounds even more deranged than the average Marvel project: it will likely focus on the race of green, reptilian aliens called Skrulls (Ben Mendelsohn will reprise his role as Skrull commander Talos from Captain Marvel), as they invade earth by shapeshifting to imitate superheroes. Colman as an alien reptile? It’s hard to think of a more unlikely piece of casting since Judi Dench dressed up in a catsuit.

But over the last decade, a foundational piece of Marvel’s strategy has been signing-on not just fresh-faced stars like Chris Evans and Tom Holland, but some of the world’s most serious performers: inde darlings (Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton, Brie Larson), BBC-drama-grown Brits (Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch) and awards-laden  powerhouses (Annette Bening, Scarlett Johansson, and even Anthony Hopkins, Colman’s co-star in The Father, who is also up for an Oscar) have all rocked up in the MCU. Much as the Harry Potter franchise once was, the films have become a who’s who of Oscar after-party invite lists.

So why would the great and good of Hollywood acting willingly attach themselves to a franchise that one of the greatest directors of all time not so long ago declared to bear a greater resemblance to theme park rides than cinema? Marvel films are delightful but they are also frequently silly (inevitably, in the transition from cartoon comic book drawings to full-sized, three-dimensional adults leaping around on-camera dressed in skin-tight lycra suits and capes, some space for ridicule is opened up).

The studio is fully aware of this, which is why these films are comedies, but that does not make them any more obvious as vehicles for artists interested in rendering psychological depth on-screen. In 2012, Kiwi wunderkind director Taika Watiti told Interview magazine that he was suspicious of the way feature films can often “turn into commodities”. Yet five years later, his own Marvel movie, Thor: Ragnarok, hit cinemas.

The financial incentives to any actor are obvious and no doubt play a part but there is something even more valuable to someone like Benedict Cumberbatch – not exactly strapped-for-cash following Sherlock, The Imitation Game, and The Hobbit films – inextricably wound-up with those mega pay packages. That something is audience size. Avengers: Endgame, the highest-grossing film of all time until Avatar’s re-release in China in March last year, took $357 million at the domestic box office on its opening weekend.

In America, the average price of a cinema ticket that year was about $9  – that means, by the roughest of calculations, that within 48 hours of the film’s release, 12% of the population, or some 40 million people, had seen the film. An actress like Colman has not exactly been confined to niche audiences – The Crown is not a small show – but even so, the prospect of such unparalleled exposure must be seductive.

The dream of a Marvel movie has not replaced the dream of an Oscar – it all but guarantees it. A symbiotic relationship is emerging between the franchise and the Academy, as the popular reach of one feeds and is elevated by the prestige of the other. There is no better example of this than the tragically-curtailed career of the late Chadwick Boseman.

From a handful of critically-lauded but quietly received biopics (42, Get on Up), he was propelled overnight to global stardom by his MCU roles as Black Panther, Marvel’s first black superhero, culminating in the Black Panther film in 2018. Now, just months after his death from cancer, he is a shoo-in to win a Best Actor award this week for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The opposite of a Marvel film in almost every sense – it’s claustrophobic, literary (it’s based on an August Wilson play), and tragic – it was Black Panther nonetheless that secured him the part.

This give-and-take between superhero flicks and prestige dramas extends beyond actors: Watiti, who has just wrapped shooting on another Thor film, was nominated for an Oscar in 2019 for his German Resistance drama Jojo Rabbit, while Chloé Zhao, who is sure to win Best Director this weekend for Nomadland, has just wrapped her own Marvel movie, Eternals, which is slated for release in November.

Kathryn Hahn, meanwhile, was brought into WandaVision by director Matt Shakman, better known for directing prestige shows like Mad Men and Succession. His vision, in collaboration with the writer Jac Schaeffer, led to a formally wildly innovative show, providing the opportunity for Hahn and the show’s pair of stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany – both outstanding actors – to flex their comic and creative muscles. Such starpower behind the camera is itself an attraction for actors of Colman’s calibre, and while there is as yet no word on who will direct Secret Invasion, there are many exciting possible names in the mix.

A few powerhouse industry figures were instrumental in fostering this mutually-beneficial relationship. The first was Robert Downey Jr, the original posterboy of the franchise. When he agreed to star in the first film, 2008’s Iron Man, it was a huge gamble – director Jon Favreau had to battle the studio to accept him – as he emerged from a wilderness decade marred by drug addiction, but it was also a huge coup. Downey Jr had just been nominated for an Oscar for Ben Stiller’s comedy Tropic Thunder and had recently starred in David Fincher’s instant cult-classic Zodiac; his personal reputation may have been in tatters, but as a serious actor, he brought chops.

His Iron Man would become the emotional and dramatic heart of the franchise over its next three phases. Kenneth Branagh, who directed the 2011 film Thor, also bridged the gap between the big flashy studio and his own thespy circle: he brought his protégé Tom Hiddleston, who at that point was best known for his British TV and theatre work, onboard to play Loki, a decision that Feige apparently described as the most important the studio would ever make. Hiddleston capitalised on rather than abandoned his roots: he approached the character like “a comic book version of Edmund in King Lear, but nastier.” It paid off: Hiddleston is a global superstar, frequently touted as the next James Bond, and his dedicated Loki spin-off show is the Marvel TV release of the summer.

Of course, there’s one thing that Marvel offers its actors that money simply can’t buy: a bit of fun. “If my actors aren’t having a good time on set, then I’m doing something wrong,” Waititi told Polygon in 2016. Reflecting on her playfully heightened performance in the early episodes of WandaVision in a recent interview with the New York Times, Hahn said that her husband said her performance had reminded him of her younger self in her college days. “I haven’t seen that part of you in so long – just you, hamboning it,” he told her. Colman, who is by all accounts is a mischievous on a film set, may simply want to bust out of those period costumes, slip into a bodysuit, and have a good time.

[avengerscompound]

Small Gods: Lost Objects - 5

Lost Objects:  A Thor Fanfic

Lost Objects Masterlist | More Small Gods PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Thor x F!Reader

Rating: E

Word Count:  1722

Warnings: Mentions of sex, oh umm... hey there’s a little bit of talk about things in the trailers for the loki series some people who don’t know anything about the comics might not have picked up.  Should have warned on the series for that.  I wouldn’t personally call them spoilers, because ... i haven’t seen the series to spoil it, but if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like to know anything...

Synopsis: Thor has lost a lot in a very short period of time and he’s worried about losing himself too.  He goes to the one person who understands loss.

Chapter 5

Barnaby the fat ginger cat sat down and began grooming himself as the black one seemed to stare at you and Thor.  In what really was only a few seconds, Thor seemed to have a whole thought journey.  It started with how close the green of that cat’s eyes was to Loki’s and ended with the conclusion that the cat must be Loki.  The journey took him through a lot of stops, including Loki’s ability to shapeshift, the fact he had faked his death twice in the past, and the fact you could draw lost things to you, but once he landed on it, his eyes went wide.

The cat mimicked Thor’s expression as the man jumped to his feet.  “Loki!”  Thor shouted, sending the black cat running.  Barnaby seemed to watch him go with a look of contempt like he was above such things.  “Loki!”  Thor shouted again, chasing after him.

“Thor?”  You asked, following on, though with much less urgency than Thor.  “It won’t be Loki.”

“It has to be,” Thor said, looking around.  The cat had vanished, but two rows over there was a bang and the smell of sulfur followed by a cat yowling.  Thor charged in the direction of the sound and when he came around the corner and came to a screeching halt as he reached his brother who was lying up against a partially knocked over shelf, his legs in the air, rubbing his head as various pieces of cutlery, jewelry and stuffed animals clattered down around him.

He looked up at Thor with an expression of resignation.  “Hello, brother.”

“Loki!”  Thor roared, pulling his brother to his feet and drawing him into a tight embrace.  “I knew you must not be dead.  You are always the trickster.”

Loki did not hug back but did not resist the affection either.  Just allowing it to happen.  “What are you talking about?”  He asked, dryly.

You appeared behind both the men and looked between them blinking.  “What?  How?  How are you here?”

“That is a very good question,” Loki said, pulling back from Thor.  “As is, why I can’t seem to leave.”

“Come,” you said, gesturing to both men.  “I think this is a tea conversation.”

“Yes,” Thor said, clapping Loki on the shoulder.  He hadn’t felt so light and genuinely happy for years.  He had resigned himself to be the last of Odin’s lineage and yet here was his brother, returned to him again.  “Come.  Let us celebrate!”

Loki allowed himself to be dragged down to your kitchen, where you began to potter around.  You brewed tea and coffee and tried to find some kind of sweet to be served with it.  Eventually finding a packet of slightly stale cookies behind a teapot with a mismatched lid.

“Tell us, how did you escape Thanos?  And how is it you are here?”  Thor asked as you moved around the kitchen.

Loki picked up one of the cookies and sniffed it before taking a hesitant bite.  When he appeared to deem it satisfactory he shoved the whole thing into his mouth and grabbed a handful of others.  It was very un-Loki-like and reminded Thor more of his old friend Volstagg than his much more dignified brother.  “How do you even know of Thanos?” Loki said through a mouthful of cookies.  “Besides, I don’t know what he has to do with anything.  After I escaped from Midgard with the tesseract, I used it to travel around.  I worked out a way to move through time, which was fun…”

“Wait?  What?”  Thor asked.  “When you were on Midgard with the tesseract?  The last I saw you we were in space.  And how did you get the tesseract after Thanos destroyed it?”

“You are speaking nonsense,” Loki snarked.  “Thanos never obtained the tesseract, and he certainly didn’t break it.  The Time Variance Authority confiscated it.”

You put a sandwich down in front of Loki, and Thor wasn’t sure if you’d made it or just found it like that. It was on a large crusty roll, filled with various meats and salad, and wrapped in thin white paper.   Loki picked it up and sniffed it before taking a large bite.

“Why don’t you tell us when you last saw Thor and what has happened to you since,” you said, taking a seat at the table.

Loki rolled his eyes.  “After the battle that I brought to Midgard, you shackled me and were going to let the Midgardians lock me up.  There was some kerfuffle in Stark’s building and the tesseract fell from its case.  I took it and used it to leave.  I went to some friends who removed the restraints you put on me and I was traveling around, entertaining myself.  Then the TVA took offense and locked me up, confiscating the Tesseract.  I was just breaking out to go get it when suddenly I was here and you and this lesser god were fornicating.”

Loki spat the words lesser god the same way he used the word mortal or Midgardian. Like even the words themselves were beneath him.  Thor considered addressing it, but he was more distracted by the tale Loki had just spun.  It didn’t make sense and he was having trouble getting his head around it.  “You were taken back to Asgard and locked up.  Mother was killed when there was a prison breakout,” he said.

Loki started at Thor mid-bite and slowly lowered the sandwich to the table.  “Mother was killed?”

“You know this!”  Thor roared, slamming his hands on the table.  “You were there!  Why are you saying these things?”

“I know not of what you speak, brother,” Loki said.  “When I last saw mother she was alive and well.  Certainly, I have not returned home since I fell from the Rainbow Bridge, but if she passed…”

Thor looked at you like you might have some answers to what was happening right now.  You took a sip of your tea and seemed to think.  “The time variance authority exists outside of time, correct?  I don’t know much about them, but it is generally accepted that they are not of this universe exactly?”

“That’s what they say,” Loki said in a bored voice.

“And when you were escaping, had they realized you were gone?  Were they looking for you?”  You asked.

“Yes,” Loki said.  “Which was why I was in the form of a cat.  I was moving through the vents.”

You nodded and looked at Thor.  “This is just a hypothesis, because… this isn’t how my powers work, Thor, but-” you glanced at Loki and shook your head.  “I don’t think this is your Loki.  At least… not the one you knew more recently.  After the battle there was a divergence, this Loki got away and yours did not.  And just now - I think there is power in you worshipping me, Thor.  What I am… Loki said it himself, I’m small-time.  People don’t actually worship me, they pray and they beg the universe for the return of their missing keys or cell phones.  It’s never to me directly, and it’s never very hard.  Yet here you are, one of the Norse gods, and you were on your knees for me.”

Loki scoffed and took a long drink of his tea.  Thor ignored him.  “You think you brought him here?”

“Yes,” you said.  “I can’t be sure.  I’ve never brought a person here before.  Small pets are the limit of the living creatures with free will.  But maybe if Loki was in cat form, and maybe if they were wishing for him back, while we were… doing what we were doing… it was enough to bring him here.”

“Well, I’d like to go, if it is all the same to you,” Loki said, sounding bored.

“Brother, I haven’t seen you for a long time.  I saw the life choked from you.  Surely you can stay for a little while.  We have much to catch up on,” Thor said.

“The last time I saw you, you had planned to lock me up for eternity,” Loki said.  “What has changed?”

Thor frowned and shook his head.  This was not the Loki he had worked with to save Jane and stop the dark elves, nor the Loki who had helped him escape Sakaar and stop Ragnarok.  This was the angry Loki who had attacked a city at the behest of a titan and whose pain of finding his father had lied to him about his past for over a millennium was fresh and raw.  “You are my brother.”

“And what else?”  Loki asked.

“And I have lost everyone,” Thor said.  “Mother and father are dead.  Jane left me.  Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, Heimdall, even Stark and Rogers.  They are all gone.  Loki, Asgard is gone.”

“And that is why I find you hiding with this lesser god?”  Loki scoffed.  “Why would I want to stay in such a world anyway brother?  Where I am from, everyone is alive and well - as far as I know.”

Thor lowered his eyes.  “Why must you be so cruel?”

Loki started laughing and patted Thor’s shoulder.  “Oh brother, I’m sorry.  You are in a bad way, aren’t you?”

“It might be a moot point,” you said with a shrug.  “You’re mine now Loki.  I can return you to the ones looking for you, and perhaps you could leave with Thor because he was also looking for you, but otherwise, you are stuck with me.  That’s why you didn’t go anywhere when you tried to teleport out.  Would you like me to return you to the people of the TVA?”

“I obviously do not,” Loki deadpanned.

“Then you might as well make yourself comfortable,” you said, pouring him more tea.  “You clearly haven’t eaten properly for a long time.  Why not rest and recharge and we can work out what to do?”

“Fabulous,” Loki snarked.  “Just what I’ve always wanted - to be stuck with some hoarder deity.”

“Cheer up brother, it isn’t so bad here,” Thor said, grinning and clapping Loki on his back.  He had his brother back, even if it wasn’t quite the Loki he knew, it was still one he was familiar with.  Soon he’d have Mjolnir too.  Coming to see you had been the best decision he’d made in a long time.

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