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banapsha · 2 months

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Plotting like a Pro: The Only Guide You Need to Outline Your Next Novel

So, you've got this brilliant idea for a novel swirling around in your big monster brain, but you're not quite sure how to wrangle it into shape. *read this next line dramatically* Fear not, soldier, for I am here to guide you through the tumultuous journey of outlining your masterpiece. *you can stop now* But do get ready to dive into the wild world of outlining – where chaos meets creativity, and brainy think-think meets handy write-write.

What Exactly is an Outline?

An outline is basically like the blueprint for your novel – it's your roadmap to success, your guiding light through the abyss (too much?) It breaks down the events of your story in sequential order, ensuring that you stay on track and don't accidentally veer off into the land of plot holes and confusion. Think of it as your comic relief best friend (minus the comic relief), always there to keep you in check as you navigate the treacherous waters of writing.

What Does an Outline Look Like?

Now, technically speaking, there are rules for outlining. But hey, as long as whatever you decide to do works for you, you need no rules. Some fancy folks swear by fancy formats like the skeletal outline or the flashlight outline (let me know if you need details on said fancy formats), but honestly, as long as it works for you, you do you, boo-bear (that’s definitely not my thing). Whether you prefer bullet points, numbers, or hieroglyphics (AKA code), the format doesn't matter as long as it's easy for you to understand. After all, the point is to simplify the process, not complicate it further.

Benefits of Outlining:

Oh boy, where do I even begin with this one? Let me count the ways outlining will change your writing game (maybe even your life. Okay, that was too much.): (TIP: read the headings dramatically for a better experience)

It’s Your Beakon Through the Murky Waters: Ever feel like you're navigating through a dense fog with no compass in sight? Fear not, my friend, because outlining is exactly that for when you enter the said forest to write your book; your guiding light. It's like having a trusty co-pilot by your side, whispering sweet plot pointers in your ear as you navigate the treacherous waters of storytelling. No more aimless wandering – with outlining, you'll always know which way to steer your literary ship.

Plot Holes? Not on My Watch: Say goodbye to those pesky plot holes that seem to pop up out of nowhere like weeds in a garden. Outlining is like a preemptive strike against narrative inconsistencies, ensuring that your story is as tight as corsets from start to finish. With each plot point neatly mapped out, you can rest easy knowing that your readers won't be left scratching their heads wondering what the heck just happened.

It Helps You Defy the Abyss: Picture this: your story is like a runaway train hurtling down the tracks at breakneck speed. Without proper guidance, it's all too easy for it to veer off course and crash and burn in a fiery wreck (That would be an awesome scene but not what we’re looking for.) Outlining is like the conductor that keeps that train chugging along on the right track. No detours, no distractions – just a straight shot to narrative greatness.

Crafting a Killer Climax: Ah, the climax – the moment we've all been waiting for. With outlining in your team, crafting a jaw-dropping climax is as easy as pie. No more floundering around trying to figure out how to tie up loose ends – your outline has already done the heavy lifting for you. So go ahead, crank up the tension, unleash those plot twists, and watch as your readers' jaws hit the floor.

Also, Adios, Writer's Block: Writer's block – the nemesis of every living writer. But not anymore, because outlining is like a magical antidote that banishes writer's block to the furthest corners of the earth. With each plot point neatly laid out before you, there's no room for procrastination or self-doubt. So grab that pen, flex those creative muscles, and get ready to slay the blank page like never before.

Less Revision, More Celebration: Let's face it – nobody likes revising their work. It's like trying to untangle a knot of Christmas lights – frustrating, time-consuming, and guaranteed to give you a headache. But with outlining, you can kiss those revision woes goodbye. By nailing down your story's structure from the get-go, you'll save yourself countless hours of agony down the line. So go ahead, pat yourself on the back – you've earned it, champ.

Stuck While Outlining?

Feeling like you're trapped in a maze with no way out? (Lucky for you, you're not Newt. Get it?) Don't sweat it, my friend. Because Mama’s about to drop some bombs!

Work Backwards Like a Boss: Ever heard the phrase "it's easier to navigate a maze when you see the finish line"? Well, tiny, it's time to put that theory to work. When you find yourself stuck in the tangled web of outlining, start with the climax – the grand finale, the pièce de résistance. Then, work backward, asking yourself how the f*ck you got there in the first place. It's like retracing your steps through a labyrinth, armed with the knowledge of where you're headed. Suddenly, those tangled plot threads start to unravel, and you're on your way to outlining glory.

Outlining Ain't Easy, But Neither is Writing: Let's be real for a minute – outlining is hard. Like, really hard. But here's the thing: so is writing. You're basically creating something out of nothing, conjuring entire worlds and characters out of thin air (or neurons). But when you tackle outlining head-on, you're tackling that frustration right at the source. Instead of letting it simmer beneath the surface throughout the entire writing process, you're ripping it off like a band-aid and getting it out of the way upfront. Sure, it might be tough, but trust me – it's a heck of a lot easier than dealing with it later down the line.

Don't Skip Outlining, You'll Regret It: Now, I get it – outlining can be a pain in the @$$. It's tempting to skip this step altogether and dive headfirst into the writing process. But trust me when I say this: if you’re new and want to make your life easier in the long run, outlining is non-negotiable. Think of it like laying the foundation for a house – sure, it takes time and effort, but without it, your literary masterpiece is destined to crumble (with all the people still inside). So don't shoot yourself in the foot by skipping outlining just because it's difficult. (You shoot your foot now, something is gonna come bite you in your backside later.)

Does Outlining Ruin the Creative Process?

Ah, the age-old question. Does outlining zap all the creativity out of writing? Short answer: absolutely not. In fact, outlining is like flexing your creative muscles on steroids (or any other choice of d*ug). It's your chance to invent an entire world, complete with characters, conflicts, and plot twists in like a jiffy! Think of it as storytelling in shorthand – compact, efficient, and oh-so-satisfying. Outlining isn't the enemy of creativity – it's the ultimate wingman. It's like playing god in your own little literary universe, and let me tell you, it's a heck of a rush.

Forget what you've heard about outlining being dry and boring – it's anything but. (This is your GOD era) Trust me, there's nothing more satisfying than seeing your world completely mapped out in full.

Embrace it, harness it, and watch as your dream narrative becomes a reality.

With an Outline, You Know What's Coming Next...But Does That Lessen the Excitement?

With an outline in hand, you're always in the know about what's coming next. But that doesn't take away from the thrill of writing the novel. Honestly, it's quite the opposite for me. I find myself even more excited to dive into my story because I have a roadmap of where it's headed. Knowing the next scene waiting to unfold keeps me on the edge of my seat, eager to see how it all plays out (I like to know that I am heading towards that one gut-wrenching bit that will make my audiences wish I was dead. It's really fun; sometimes waiting for deaths and stuff.) Plus, there's no room for boredom when you're constantly propelled forward by the anticipation of what's to come. Unless, of course, you've outlined a snooze-fest of a story – but let's be real, who wants to write that?

What if I Need to Deviate from My Outline?

Ah, the age-old dilemma of sticking to the script versus going off-book. Here's the deal – your book, your choice. The outline you wrote is not carved in stone. It's more like a rough sketch, a guideline to keep you on track.

So what if you hit a snag and need to deviate from your outline? It happens to the best of us. Sometimes while writing you realize that you have something more interesting than what you’ve written in your outline. Do it. We’re all not perfect.

Now, a common gripe among writers is when their characters seem to have a mind of their own and they veer off script. But let's get one thing straight – your characters are as fictional as a unicorn riding a rainbow. They don't have any authority; you do.

So when you say your character "decided" to go rogue, what you really mean is that your outline didn't quite sync up with their psyche.

The solution? Plan your characters alongside your outline, ensuring they're in harmony with the plot. Build characters that fit snugly into your story's framework, and vice versa.

How Long Should My Outline Be?

F*ck, I don't know, ah, your outline should be as long as it needs to be. *nailed it*

Some writers prefer short, concise outlines that just cover the basics, while others go full-on novel mode with lengthy tomes that leave no stone unturned. There's no right or wrong answer here, folks – it's all about what works best for you.

Some Famous Authors Don't Outline, Why Should I?

Well, here's the deal – you're the captain of your own writing ship, and nobody's forcing you to walk on the wooden plank.

Sure, there are legendary authors out there who craft masterpieces without ever touching an outline. But unless you're a seasoned pro, it might be wise to outline before beginning to stay away from C.H.A.O.S. (not me foreshadowing my next book) (Follow me on Instagram for updates!)

Remember the writers you are comparing yourself to have likely got years of experience under their belts, while you might still be finding your Nemo.

Let's say that outlining just isn't you. Maybe you thrive on spontaneity and the thrill of discovery. Or perhaps you're still figuring out your writing groove. That's cool – we're all on our own journey.

But do not forget: for every famous author who shuns outlines, there are plenty more who swear by them like a sailor (get it? Coz a sailer swears a lot). So instead of trying to walk in someone else's boots, lace up your own and run on that race track like no one has ever baby.

It's your story – so tell it your way.

Do I Have to Outline?

Nyet. (And Da)

See, in the wild world of writing, there are two main camps: the planners and the pantsters. Think of them as the yin and yang of the literary universe.

Now, there's no denying that there are some writers out there who can weave an epic novel out of thin air with the grace of a ninja. But let's keep it real – those folks are like The Avengers of our world. Sure, they exist, but they're definitely the exception, not the rule.

For us mere mortals, outlining is like a trusty lifeboat in the stormy seas of storytelling. It's the secret sauce that turns a plate of pasta into a plate of pasta; if you catch my drift.

If you're finding yourself drowning in a sea of plot twists and character arcs, maybe it's time to give outlining a whirl. If you're one of the lucky few who can thrive without a roadmap, more power to ya (you nasty little b*tch. Yes, I am jealous of you!)

Just remember – if you ever find yourself shipwrecked on the shores of writer's block, the outline lifeboat is always there to rescue you. There's no shame in admitting you need a little help along the way.

How to Outline:

Step #0: Brain Dump: You're struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration, and suddenly, your brain is buzzing with a million ideas. What do you do? Simple – grab a pen and paper, or your laptop (or your phone, you lazy @$$) and unleash the chaos onto the page. Let it all out – every random thought, half-baked concept, and outlandish idea. It's like a creative free-for-all, with no rules and no judgment. It doesn’t have to make sense, that’s the whole point. This messy brain dump is your starting point, your raw material to mold into something magical.

Step #1: Making Sense of the Madness: Now that you've got a heaping pile of ideas to work with, it's time to roll up your sleeves and get down to business. Think of this step as your personal pitch meeting with yourself. You've got a mess of concepts, characters, and themes swirling around in your head – now it's time to wrangle them into submission. Start by sketching out the basics – the premise, the characters, the vibe, the themes, the subplots – all of it. Keep it loose, keep it flexible, and above all, keep it open to change. Play around with different ideas and see what sticks. Once you've got some ideas that make sense and that you're happy with, it's time to move on to the next step and bring your story to life. Buckle up, Buttercup.

Step #2: The Rough Sketch: This is where the real magic happens– where you take that messy somewhat sensible pile of ideas and start sculpting them into the masterpiece they are going to be. First things first, dig deep into the heart of your story. What are the main conflicts your characters are going to face? What obstacles will they encounter along the way? This is your chance to map out the twists and turns that will keep your readers on the edge of their seats. Now, break it down into four key areas: Who, What, How, and Why. Who are your characters? What drives them, what haunts them, what makes them tick? What's the basic premise of your story – the very thing that'll hook your audience in 30 seconds flat? How will your characters go on both internal and external journeys, and what will they learn along the way? And most importantly, why are you passionate about this story's theme? What do you want to shout from the rooftops, and what big ideas do you want to explore through your character's journey? At its core, the rough sketch is all about finding the story in the mess. It's about distilling your ideas down to their purest essence and uncovering the beating heart of your narrative. So don't be afraid to explore and experiment. Dream big, think outside the box, and create something truly extraordinary.

Step #3: The Outline: Now, after what seems like decades of work, it's time to take that rough sketch of yours and start turning it into something truly spectacular. I usually use the Three-Act Structure. This bad boy is like the backbone of storytelling – it's what keeps the narrative strong and sturdy. If you have any other story structures you swear by, use one of those. Basically, you’re grabbing a story structure that you believe suits your rough sketch and breaking down your sketch into the key story beats of your structure. For the Three-Act Structure, it is usually like this: Act One: the setup, where you introduce your characters and set the stage for the adventure to come. Act Two: the confrontation, where the action heats up and your characters face their biggest challenges head-on. And Act Three: the resolution, where everything comes together in a satisfying conclusion. You can choose to go as in-depth here as you want. (Maybe write like a 20,000-word outline, I don't care.) Now, if you’re not a big fan of writing a 20,000-word outline, the bullet-point outline is here to save your day. It's like the shorthand version of outlining – short, sweet, and to the point. This outline gives you a sense of your character arcs, internal conflicts, and transformative journeys, all without bogging you down with unnecessary details. The beauty of it all? You get to choose your own adventure. If you're happy with your bullet-point outline and ready to dive into drafting, go for it. But if you're itching to go deeper, to explore every nook and cranny of your story, then by all means, keep doing more. The important thing is that you feel confident in your outline, knowing that it's the solid foundation upon which your masterpiece will be built.

Tips and Extras: (some juicy details)

Brainstorming the Centerpieces:

If your story is a jigsaw puzzle, the key scenes are the biggest, boldest pieces. These are the moments that make your heart race, that keep your readers glued to the page, and that make your story truly unforgettable. So start with laying out those major scenes or events. Think big – we're talking key turning points, epic locations, and jaw-dropping plot twists. Don't worry about the order or details just yet – this is about getting those main parts out of your head and onto the page.

What if you don't have all the pieces yet? Well, kitty-kitty, this is a quick, flexible way to brainstorm the centerpieces of your story. Don't stress about getting everything perfect on the first try – just let the ideas flow and see where they take you.

Getting Specific:

Now that we've mapped out the key scenes, it's time to add some meat to these bones. Think of this step as adding color to a black-and-white photo – it's the step where your story starts to come alive. For each scene, jot down a sentence or a short paragraph that captures the essence of what's happening. No need to stress about getting every little detail perfect – just focus on what's being communicated in the scene, the location, and the characters involved.

As you add these high-level details, think about how each scene fits into the bigger picture of your story. How does it move the plot forward? What themes or motifs are being explored? And most importantly, how does it connect with the scenes that come before and after it? This is when you start weaving together the threads of your narrative, creating a tapestry that's rich with meaning and emotion.

Remember, there are no rules for how much detail to add – do what works best for you. Some scenes may only need a few words to capture their essence, while others may require a bit more fleshing out. Trust your instincts and let your creativity guide you. After all, this is your story – own it, embrace it, and let it shine.

Connecting the Dots:

Now that we've fleshed out those key scenes with high-level details, it's time to step back and take a bird's-eye view of your narrative landscape. This is where you can make connections between themes and concepts that you might otherwise miss if you dove straight into writing.

Grab your outline and give it a thorough re-read. Look for scenes that feel out of place, transitions that need a little extra love, or characters who make a sudden appearance without a proper introduction. These are the hiccups that can disrupt the flow of your story and leave your readers scratching their heads. Highlight these areas and make a note of any plot points or scenes that need to be moved around to get the sequence just right.

Think of this step like conducting an orchestra – every element needs to be in perfect harmony for the performance to truly shine. So don't be afraid to make some tweaks, to shift things around, to fine-tune your narrative until it sings. Listen to the rhythm of your story – it knows where it wants to go, you just have to follow its lead.

Unlocking New Ideas:

While it's true that imagery and videos won't make it into your novel, they can be incredibly powerful tools for sparking creativity and bringing your story to life. Think of it like adding fuel to the fire of your imagination – it's a surefire way to kick-start new ideas and breathe fresh life into your narrative.

Get experimental! Dive into Google Images, Pinterest, or anywhere you find a photo that might fit. Start saving images or movie clips that resonate with your scenes. Whether it's a striking landscape, a compelling character portrait, or a mood-setting photograph, let your imagination run wild and see where it takes you.

If you're the type of writer who loves to create mood boards, now's the perfect time to put those skills to good use. Take a look at your existing mood boards and see if any images could help evoke the feeling you're trying to capture in your scenes. Whether it's the warm glow of a sunset or the eerie silence of a deserted street, let these images serve as inspiration as you continue to shape your story.

The Importance of Feedback:

With any creative endeavor, whether it's writing a novel or painting a masterpiece, feedback is key. It's like having a fresh pair of eyes on your work – offering insights and perspectives that you might have missed on your own. So if you’re still not sure about the first version of your outline, it's time to seek out that invaluable feedback.

When asking for feedback, be specific about what you're looking for. Are you seeking input on the sequence of events? Plot points that need fine-tuning? Character development that feels a bit flat? Whatever it may be, make sure to communicate your needs clearly so that your reviewers can provide targeted feedback.

The important part is that you need to stay open to suggestions and improvements. It can be tough to hear criticism of your work but try not to take it personally. Remember, the goal here is to make your story the best it can be, and sometimes that means making tough decisions and embracing constructive criticism.

The Moment of Truth:

Now it's time to dive headfirst into the exhilarating world of drafting. This is where your story begins to unfold before your very eyes. Your outline and your drafts are perfect companions. They're like the dynamic duo of storytelling, working together in perfect harmony to guide you through the creative process.

As you begin sketching out the details in your draft, remember to trust the process and let your creativity flow. Embrace the freedom of expression that comes with drafting – after all, this is your chance to bring your story to life in all its vivid detail. So don't hold back – let your imagination run wild and see where it takes you.

Comrades, now armed with the knowledge of outlining, you're ready for war. So go forth, brave souls, and let your imagination run wild as you craft worlds, weave characters, and spin tales that will captivate hearts and minds.

Remember, outlining is not just a tool – it's your secret weapon, your trusty guide through the wilderness of creativity. And if/when you find yourself lost in the midst of your writing, grappling with plot twists and character arcs, just remember these wise words originally said by yours truly: you've got this.

Happy outlining, and may your pens never run dry!

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That's all, see you later, soldier. 🫡)

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notthatiwilleverwriteit · 3 years

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Hello!So there's always been this theory that he tian will join the family business.but dosen't this a contradiction to everything he had done until now? he tian wanted mo to be good and even he tian was trying to be his best self throughout all this time. so he tian joining the business will be like joining the "dark side" at least that what he tian also thinks. so I don't know what reason there would be to make him join because he would need to do some bad things if he would be part of it, im afraid it would ruin his whole process

Hello, dear anon!

I have talked quite a lot about my thoughts regarding the future of HT (and Tianshan). Here are two previous posts that I feel like could be useful for your questions, especially:

Would HT work for his family in the future?

About the distance in Tianshan and HT’s future

However, your question had an interesting character development angle that I don’t think I have pondered before as such. And I feel like the recent chapter had some curious crumbs that also got me thinking about this whole thing again. So, at the risk of repeating myself, I am once again diving into this.

A quick note before getting further, though. The translations of any chapters that come after 341 used in this post are done by @1154lizz Please, go support our fandom’s precious lifelines!

“there's always been this theory that he tian will join the family business”

This has actually been one of the things that the new chapter got me to reconsider. I have heard the theory of HT potentially working for his family in the future, and I have always thought it very likely based on the Christmas specials.

I still think he might end up in the family business, but after the newest chapter, my focus somewhat shifted (ch. 348):

In the Christmas specials, the boys are at college age. ZZX is going to a university while JY is catching up on his high school education. MGS seems to be working, but the pile of books hints that he might be studying something, too.

Considering the He family a bit more, I actually think HT might be going to a university in the Christmas specials. Despite their presumably criminal line of work/involvement, I think the He family puts importance on intelligence and prestige. HT always scores top of his class. He is viewed and treated like an apple of the eye by the teachers, their prized pupil. I also think that if HT is to inherit the position of his family, he is expected to be smart and educated. Not to mention, prestige always means a lot of money which attracts powerful people to rub shoulders.

So, HT having a university degree (in business, perhaps) would make sense in my head. And if Mr. He is located abroad, HT is probably going to a foreign university as well. Of course, that doesn't mean he can’t be already somewhat involved in the family business by then, but I would say it’s entirely possible he’s still being groomed.

But this was just a side note. Whether he is already working for his father or otherwise getting close to that doesn’t really change things that much regarding your question.

“dosen't this a contradiction to everything he had done until now? // I don't know what reason there would be to make him join because he would need to do some bad things if he would be part of it”

This is actually something I haven't really thought about before. At least, not in so many words. I was talking about HT’s future with a friend of mine, and she said that she wishes HT won’t “give up on himself” in the sense that he stops rebelling against this father/family. Especially after everything he’s been through with MGS trying to make him fight for his own future and not submit. What would be the point of him telling MGS to be his own person if HT himself then joins the dark side even if it’s against his will?

Before I get to my thoughts regarding all that, I think it’s important to remember that the future is very much a question mark to us still. Even though the fact that HT seems to be staying abroad (among other things) gives us a base to make certain guesses, we still don't know for sure what he is up to in the future-related chapters. It’s good to keep that in mind when pondering the overall character development.

But I do take my friend’s and your points, dear anon. I could see why it would be disappointing if HT basically undid the progress of working on himself and went against his own principles. I could understand why it would be sad to see his fight have been for naught in the end.

But...as much as I do see where you’re coming from, I still kind of prefer the idea of HT getting involved with the family business one way or another in the future. Instead of disappointing, I would find it realistic and more interesting. HT having to compromise on his rather idealistic principles but still having them represented in MGS would have the kind of angsty layers that personally appeal to me. Both the good and bad being present in HT’s characters in a realistic way - imagine the complexity of that! The bitter-sweetness of “don’t become what I became”. Also, HT trying to keep the world of his family and whatever he has with MGS in the future separate would definitely be my kind of mafia ship aesthetic.

As far as potential reasons why HT might join his family business in the future, I think there are some possible reasons that have been hinted at in the current timeline already. I have talked about these before in the previous answers I linked above, so I won’t go as deep into this topic.

First of all, I think the He family has the kind of resources and influence that could help HT protect his friends and people who are dear to him (ch. 244, 245, 267):

HT’s character seems to have this contradiction that he despises his family’s behavior and way of dealing with things, but he will take advantage of that manpower and influence when it suits him. Granted, he does use them to protect his friends and I’m sure relying on them is less than ideal in his mind, but it still goes against him “being his own person”. In the end, resources matter and even HT can’t ignore that which makes his situation realistic.

Ultimately I think HT using his family could lead to him owing to them and basically being made to submit to his family’s will that way. In fact, I would say it has already happened a couple of times. At the back of one of those incidents, HT had to agree to go see his father. I don’t see why that arrangement couldn’t escalate further in the future as the steaks go higher. I think it very likely that in the future he will keep sacrificing his own ideals and principles to protect the good people who don't deserve to be oppressed by people like Mr. He.

Secondly, despite everything, this is still HT’s family we’re talking about, and I think he is more hung up on them than he would like to admit (ch. 229, 251, 252, 292):

I think the topic of family is very difficult for HT and he has a love-hate relationship with them. It’s painful to be disappointed and let down by the people you love as instinctively as one loves their family. HT has clearly been put through a lot of pain and trauma by the dangerous and ruthless life his family has chosen to lead.

But I don’t think even that has made HT completely given up on them. Perhaps not even when it comes to his father. I’m not sure if he is naive enough to expect them to change their lifestyle, but on some level, he might be waiting for something. When it comes to our families, the human mind works in mysterious ways. It’s easy to stay in a toxic environment and wait for something to change. And really, there are only two things that can change in those situations: them or us. Either they change themselves for better or worse or we make a decision whether we stay or leave for ourselves. I would say HT’s situation belongs in that last category where he is at this mental crossroad of trying to be separate from his family but also not being able to quite see it through.

Which brings me to another detail that got me thinking in the latest chapter. The issue of HC’s view on Mr. He that has been brought up before in the comic already (ch. 252, 348):

I think when it comes to their father and family in general, HC and HT are in very different kinds of mental positions. As the older son, HC has been subjected to the teachings and principles of their father for longer. I’m not sure if I would say he’s internalized them as such, but he has at least accepted them as a way to live his life. As an older brother, he has also naturally fallen into the role of responsibility a lot more than HT. He hasn’t had the position and freedom to rebel like HT has.

So, when HC tries to defend their father to HT, I think it’s wise to take his “background” into account. I’m not saying he’s lying when he believes their father does care about HT, but I think his disposition as the older brother makes him somewhat biased.

And yet...

And yet, I’m curious about how the new chapter brought this issue up again. Whenever HT accuses their father of just seeing his sons as pawns for his own gain, HC always seems genuinely taken aback by the outburst and how HT is talking about their father. The way HC said HT will “understand in the future” especially piqued my curiosity. Does HC know something about their father that HT doesn’t? Something that could - if not justify - then at least begin to explain his apparent ruthlessness? If that was explained to HT, would there be a chance that he would be less declined to join whatever his family is doing? I would even go as far as asking is HT waiting for a reason that would make thinking about his family less painful if there was something behind it all? Is it possible that HT had learned something like that by the time of the Christmas specials?

Now, that would be interesting.

Overall, I do get why it would feel like a setback in HT’s character development if he indeed ends up working for his family. But personally, I would be more interested in the complexity and realism of him being a part of both good (MGS and their relationship) and bad (the family business) at the same time. In my opinion, including the idea that life is much more complicated and grey-shaded than noble ideals would be really interesting to see.

Thank you for your question and ponderings, dear anon!

#19 days #he tian #he cheng #Mr. He #answered ask

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theres-an-impulstor-among-us · 3 years

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That last one was just amazing- by the way, if you ever want to directly address me for whatever reason, call me Raven!

Now, from the two among us Zed oneshots you’ve written, I think I can draw a conclusion. Zedaph is a hacker. His next hack would probably be a more wholesome one, just to balance the horror his friends have witnessed recently. Maybe he gives himself the jester role, or makes the impostor role different. Maybe he switches it to the werewolf impostor, and who else to have fun as a werewolf with than Rendog himself? :D

Thanks for being my best requester Raven! I love your ideas :D Also I couldn’t choose between the jester and werewolf mods so I went with both :)

…

When Zedaph first arrived on this ship for his first ever round of Among Us with his friends, he had assumed that his ability to hack into a game’s code would be utterly useless here. Or, at the very least, that it would take a long time for him to gain access to all the different modifications he knows exist within the game.

Now he knows how wrong he was.

He senses after a while that the others might be getting bored of the same old routine. Sure, every round is unpredictable. But perhaps it might be time for a slight deviation to make things more exciting and bring back the spark that his friends have for the game.

When the last round ends, Zedaph dives into the library of mods, looking for some roles that might make a fun combination. He immediately spots a role he desperately wants, along with an imposter modification that will definitely make the game more interesting. Already grinning at the possibilities, he selects them and leaves the game’s code.

There Is One Werewolf and One Jester Among Us

Everyone stands around the table, staring at each other in confusion over the different and rather worrying message.

Grian is the first to speak up. “Wh-What is going on? What’s with the werewolf? And what the hell does jester mean?”

“The jester is the officially assigned third imposter,” replies Zedaph, grinning. “Their job is to act sus and get voted off. If they do, they automatically win.”

Luckily, nobody questions how Zedaph knows this. He figures they put it down to his enthusiasm for the game.

“And the imposter is actually a werewolf,” he adds. “They- Well, I guess we’ll see what they do, huh?”

“This is gonna end badly,” groans Skizzleman, “This is gonna end SO badly.”

“Let’s get on with our tasks,” Grian says. “There’s only one imposter, apparently, so they should have a harder time than usual.”

Zedaph watches his friends split up to do their tasks. He smiles; already, there seems to be more of an air of anticipation surrounding the group than at the start of the previous round. His plan to make things more exciting seems to be working already. He’s very happy that somehow, the randomised game has given him the role of jester right off the bat.

However, unbeknownst to Zedaph, the game sensed how much he wanted to be the jester and assigned him the role accordingly. He also doesn’t know that the game has a sense of humour in who it chose for the werewolf role.

Ren finds a new option alongside “kill” and “sabotage”. Surely an option with this long a cooldown can only be something spectacular.

So he risks it and waits.

He kills Scar in communications and quickly leaves, passing Bdubs in shields on the way, before activating the werewolf option.

Immediately, his vision increases; he can see way further than he ever could. When he runs, he’s extremely fast, zooming at least three times as fast as he could before. Some unknown energy is fueling him.

He makes it all the way around the right side of the ship and over to medbay without meeting anyone before his werewolf boost runs out. The cooldown is painfully long, but at least his kill cooldown is almost over.

Spotting movement in medbay, he heads inside and finds Etho and Skizzleman inside. He senses an opportunity here.

He kills Skizzleman as the latter is standing on the scanner.

Just as he expects, Etho reports. “I just saw Ren kill Skizz right in front of me.”

“Hey, I was nowhere near you,” Ren retorts. “He’s self-reporting.”

“Can anyone vouch for your movements, Ren?” asks Grian.

“I saw him in shields not that long ago,” Bdubs says. “And he was heading up to nav. I highly doubt he could get all the way from there to medbay in that amount of time.”

Ren frowns, wondering how Bdubs had not discovered Scar’s body. Then he realises. His vision had increased, so the crewmates’ must have decreased.

“Nice try, Etho,” Bdubs snickers. “Next time, pick someone who wasn’t halfway across the ship when you murder.”

Etho starts to protest but he makes eye contact with Ren and stops.

“When the game doesn’t end, you’d better vote Ren out next,” he says.

Bdubs shakes his head. “It literally COULDN’T be him. He was on the other side of the ship.”

Ren grins to himself as Etho is ejected. He has this round in the bag, he thinks.

But he has forgotten about the jester.

Zedaph decides to follow Ren this round. He knows the powers of the werewolf almost as well as he knows Etho; the cyan crewmate wouldn’t make up such an obvious lie, especially when he’s already known as a self-reporter.

And if the game’s sense of humour made a joker like Zedaph the jester, why wouldn’t it make Rendog the werewolf?

He follows Ren discreetly to electrical and watches him kill Tango inside. As Ren leaves the room again and heads for storage, Zedaph ducks inside electrical and waits for a few seconds before leaving.

As he hoped, he passes Grian just heading into storage, moments before their vision decreases again. Ren has activated werewolf mode. Zedaph can no longer see Grian; he can only hope that the red crewmate is heading for electrical.

Sure enough, the body is reported a few seconds later.

Before Grian can speak, Zedaph blurts out, “I saw Ren vent.”

“Wait, what?” Ren blinks at him. “I didn’t vent!”

“I saw you vent into shields while I was doing my task,” Zedaph says calmly. “I ran off towards the button but the body was reported before I could get there. You guys need to vote him off; Etho was right about him.”

Ren doesn’t understand. He’s the only imposter; why is Zedaph accusing him of venting when he didn’t?

“I didn’t vent into shields!” Ren protests. “I didn’t vent anywhere. I wasn’t even near shields; I was in reactor. I don’t understand why you-.”

He breaks off as Zedaph makes eye contact with him, and that’s when Ren realises what is happening. His friend is the jester and he’s in control of the situation completely. If the crewmates believe Zedaph and vote Ren out, he loses. If they don’t believe Zedaph and HE is voted out, he wins.

Zedaph has created an unwinnable scenario for Ren.

Now the question becomes… which ending is preferable?

After less than a second of thought, Ren decides to fight. If he’s going to lose either way, he’d rather Zedaph win through his own intelligence than the crewmates receive a victory they didn’t earn.

“Ren?” Grian prompts.

“Zedaph is lying,” Ren says. “He’s trying to frame me. Where’s the body, Grian?”

“Electrical,” Grian replies slowly, eyes flickering from Zedaph to Ren.

“Did you see anyone around?”

“Yeah…” Grian hesitates. “I saw Zedaph around the area.”

“There, see?” It pains Ren to do this, but he knows it’s the best option. “He knows you saw him around the spot where the body was found and he decided to cover his tracks by accusing me of venting.”

“Nuh uh!” The slightest hint of a grin is visible on Zedaph’s face. “Don’t try and throw me under the bus, Mr Werewolf. Just look at those furry little ears on his head!”

“That’s a coincidence and you know it,” says Ren, internally sighing as he finally realises the irony. “Guys, you have to believe me; I’m not the imposter. Zedaph was literally seen around the area the body was discovered AND he’s trying to claim he saw me vent when I was nowhere near him. It’s obvious he’s the imposter.”

Zedaph shakes his head. “No, it’s Ren. I saw him vent.”

Grian, Bdubs, and Impulse exchange looks.

Zedaph watches them make their minds. He’s not worried. If Tango was there, he would be; Tango knows him far too well. But Impulse, despite their long history, isn’t quite as familiar with the inner workings of Zedaph’s mind as Tango is.

Finally, Grian says, “I think it’s Zedaph.”

“No!” Zedaph protests immediately. “I literally saw Ren vent! It’s not me.”

Impulse doesn’t seem quite as convinced. “I dunno, guys. Zed might be the jester, remember.”

“If he was the jester, surely he wouldn’t be fighting so hard to make us believe that Ren is the imposter,” Grian responds. “Plus, we already established Ren couldn’t have killed Skizzleman like Etho said he did.”

Zedaph snickers internally. He can almost hear Tango’s groan from the afterlife.

The timer is running out. Everyone locks in their votes.

Zedaph and Impulse have voted for Ren. Grian, Bdubs, and Ren have voted for Zedaph.

Frowning, Impulse turns to Zedaph. “Zed, I’m sorry.”

Zedaph pats his friend on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.”

He waits until they’ve put him in the airlock before he grins and says, “Thank you for your help, Ren. That was so much fun.”

Ren chuckles and shakes his head. “You deserve this, man. Well done.”

Grian and Bdubs exchange confused frowns but Impulse nods, turning away so he doesn’t have to see his friend being ejected. Their exchange can only mean one thing: a rare scenario has occurred.

The imposter AND the crewmates have lost.

#hermitcraft #hermits among us #hermitcraft among us #zedaph #rendog #Vaunna writes

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tema-makes-art-sometimes · 3 years

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Just saw your vent post and I think diving into your self indulgent stuff might help. For me personally, when working on original stuff, that's when I'll think about things like appealing to others/marketability/etc, but when it comes to fandom stuff, the only audience I care to pander to is Me, Myself, and I. Other people sometimes end up liking it, mostly it just goes ignored, maybe a like by a mutual if they see it. I prefer it this way, since worrying about appealing to more people when writing fanfic makes it feel too much like Writing I Do For Work, and I even never use betas for that same reason, it makes it feel too much like Work Writing, when fandom is Fun Writing.

I'm not sure what you do outside of fandom, but you have so much creativity, I've kinda assumed you've either been doing creative work or are studying to go into it--I can see you in a character design shop tbh, I can see Pin being a villain people would just eat up and love or love to hate.

If you're in a creative field, I feel like it's just good practice to go into Work Creative Space and Fandom Creative Space with different intents, if anything for the sake of mental health, as I've been in a very similar place, where silence on my fandom work would make me rethink what I'm doing, make me want to retcon WIPs, thinking "Maybe if I change this to that or this ship to that ship or change this character to be closer to fanon, more people will want to read/will comment/whatever".

You sound like you already very well know this isn't a healthy mindset, so I'm not going to go into that. I'll just say dive into that self indulgence, whether or not you're doing original creative work in the background as a job/part of study. You have great stuff, but audiences can get burned out just like creatives do. Sometimes it's because they're also creatives. Sometimes it's just burn out from seeing so much art/writing/media ALL THE TIME.

Something a professor told me was that if you got to go to an art museum, and you tried to really appreciate each piece, you'd end up exhausted before finishing even one section of the museum. This can lead to the 'mindless scrolling' a lot of the time. Fandom is becoming a large part of a lot of people's lives, but for most people, it's secondary or even tertiary media, and they're already putting a lot of energy into enjoying and appreciating the media they're in fandoms for. (Yes, there are some people who 'set fire to canon' and are in the center area of a fandom, but most people are closer to the sides, occasionally popping in from time to time but not setting up tents, if that makes sense.) So many of those people just don't have the energy to really get involved with a lot of media produced my fan creators, especially if they follow a lot of them and can only comment or otherwise get involved with a few posts/creators at a time. This can be what often leads to some 'visiting' the same 3-4 creators more often than they may go to another creator.

Setting up a place and waiting for more people to filter in can feel exhausting all by itself, especially when you're trying to create more to fill more of that space and hopefully entice more people to pop in and see what's going on.

When you focus on self indulgence for a while, you're not always looking at the door, since you usually don't expect people to walk in (at least, I never expect it), so when people actually do come in and tap you on the shoulder to see what you're working on and if they can see, it can really help offer that extra boost you need.

I really don't think you're doing anything wrong. A lot of artists who don't do what those "How to get more followers" tips still find an audience, sometimes due to the niche, sometimes starting out niche but expanding as more ideas get tossed in. Some artists who by the book, seem to do everything right, don't get nearly as much. There's really not a right or wrong way to create or share your creations. There are just a /lot/ of creators, so a lot of times, it boils down to how people find your door.

These are all really good points so I am going to share. Honestly a lot of my GerCanMano stuff is pure self indulgence but you're honestly right I think I'm probably gonna focus on some self indulgent shinanigans for a bit, and stop worrying as much about getting things out on time and making it perfect

but I do wanna point out this cause it hit me;

I was in school, but I never declared my major so I had to stop temporarily because I honestly don't know what major to be. There's so many things I like to do, but I don't know if I want to make a career out of them if that makes sense.

Like art, I love art and video games, I'd love to do things like animation or graphic design or be my own indie developer, but I worry if thinking about a game like a business slash whats making me money will ruin the creative process. It wont be making things for the joy of making things, it would be for my job because I had to, and idk- that just isn't as fun. Im worried about that mentality sinking in. I like them but idk if I wanna have to take them full on seriously as a career.

I'm trying to get a minimum wage job right now but its hard to find a job right now in the US job climate, especially with the fact that I have to find job willing to cater to a disability I have currently offrecord because my doctor wouldnt listen to me. Which is even harder because Ive had to walk away from jobs before because they wouldnt give me accomedations without doctors recommendation.

I am planning to set up a Etsy shop right now actually. I need to get a printer, but otherwise hopefully soon I will have a store up with stickers and preorders for keychains. One day I plan to get a button press and make my own buttons. I have hetalia merch planned, as well as my ocs. I'd love and have designs for all sorts of stuff, custom tshirt designs- like subtle hetalia fan stuff like pockets on the chest witht he character "sticking out" with familiar hetalia patterns. I have miraculous ladybug stuff planned. My friend gave me the idea of aster's heart as a friendship necklace and I love it, I could imagine all sorts of needle and thread themed pin merch I have a lot of ideas its just designing and making them and seeing if people would buy them.

I dont quite know what you mean by character design shop if thats something different or not, but yes.

Ill save a ramble about pin for a seperate post this ask is long and so is my response so Ill stop

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jasmine-tea-latte · 3 years

Text

Since nobody asked for my input, here’s a lovely PSA for antis in general, because some of y’all need a reminder / a reality check.

(Excluding the folks who properly tag stuff as anti-__, of course, because that’s the whole point of that tag.)

Also, please note that I’m not saying don’t engage in debates ever or feel like you should be silent about subjects that matter to you. Create dialogue! Learn from other people! By all means, share your POV! Discuss the numerous other things you’re passionate about. Speak your mind.

Also, this is not in reference to critical thinking posts regarding fandom content or metas. This is about being an ass on a post that harms absolutely no one.

This post is strictly about how we consume media for entertainment (I.e. ship preferences) and how, if you’re constantly seeing posts pop up for something you hate yet you keep diving into the tags of said thing and feel compelled to comment on it, especially if it’s that stupid “No❤️” shit - congratulations, you’re playing yourself, and I’m about to show you why.

Also, the point of this post is not to be holier than thou or overtly preachy. I posted plenty of obnoxious stuff on fandom forums back in the day, so learn from my mistakes, okay?

Here’s something you need to understand right here, right now:

You are responsible for cultivating your own internet experience.

Don’t like seeing tons of posts about a show / ship / topic you dislike or have no interest in?

Don’t interact with it.

Just keep scrolling along.

I’m serious.

Let it go.

Devote your time and energy on things you do enjoy and let the fans of whatever it is that you hate enjoy that thing in peace.

Take for instance pecan pie. I hate pecan pie with a passion. Guess what I’m not going to do, though? Go over to a forum or group of people who like it and start screaming about how gross it is and how anyone who likes pecan pie is a terrible, horrible person.

Because why waste my time deliberately going somewhere that I don’t have to be and know I won’t like, picking fights and being an asshole in general?

But if it’s posted in a public forum it’s up for debate, I hear you complain.

Yeah, so?

What do you honestly think you’re going to accomplish by raining on someone else’s parade?

Seriously, I’m asking you, what do you really think is going to happen if you waltz up and start yelling at fans of something about how they’re stupid or awful for liking XYZ?

What’s it going to cost you to keep scrolling and find something that sparks joy instead of rage?

Answer:

If you’re lucky (that is, if you present a well-thought out and cohesive argument) then you might convince some people over to your side.

But realistically in the best case scenario, you’d have a civil debate where absolutely no one changes their mind.

If that’s what your goal was, congrats! You successfully shared your opinion without making yourself look like an asshole who has nothing better to do with their time than pick unnecessary fights and looking to stir shit up just because you’re bored.

But if you go up to a table of people chowing down on pecan pie and tell them that they’re stupid for liking it when cherry / chocolate / whatever pie flavor that floats your boat exists, guess what’s gonna happen?

You will get eyerolls and be considered a douche, but no one will give an actual fvck what you have to say.

I straight up insulted a group of fans for liking something I hated and I did so by going out of my way over to their corner of the fandom. AITA?

Yes, YTA (you’re the asshole) in this scenario.

There’s a post floating around out there explaining how you wouldn’t walk into an Italian restaurant and yell about how you don’t like the food and that you’d rather eat at the Chinese restaurant across the street.

Who in their right mind would do that? Nobody, that’s who, and that’s what you look like deliberately poking around a fandom you hate to cause discord.

Also pro tip: you’re ultimately shooting yourself in the foot when you do obnoxious things like that.

The more you interact with a certain topic or spend time posting about it online, the more you’ll see of it, because that’s how the algorithms work.

It doesn’t matter if you post “I love pecan pie!” or “pecan pie is the worst!”

All that algorithm picks up on is the keyword “pecan pie” so if you hate it? Guess what, you just served yourself another slice of crap and you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.

A few years ago some people on Facebook got sick and tired of seeing Buzzfeed constantly post about KUWTK. Which I get, because idgaf about them, tbh - don’t hate them but don’t care, either. But someone decided to fill the comment sections of those posts with pet pictures as a protest of sorts to prove that literally anything else was more entertaining. Yeah that’ll show them!

Except that it didn’t matter that all of their comments were irrelevant. The algorithm just saw a bunch of traffic on the KUWTK posts, which in turn caused Buzzfeed to post about them even more. It turned into a cycle of self destruction by the commenters, because the more they posted pet pics, the more traffic they gave to the very posts they wanted to destroy.

Hence why I preached earlier about how I keep scrolling whenever I see a post for a ship or movie / show / other media for something I dislike. Because guess what happens? It goes away and I only see posts for things I dislike on rare occasions.

Also, the block / hide option is sitting right there, folks.

I just don’t understand the mindset of someone who spends all their time online complaining about a ship / show / media and actively seeks it out to further spread their discontent, then is Suprised Pikachu when the topic keeps showing up in their recommended lists.

Look, I’m ultimately here to have fun and interact with other fans of media that I enjoy. I’m not here to tell you what to do or how you should use your time. If going out of your way to antagonize fans of the thing you despise fills you with warm and fuzzies then don’t let me stop you if that’s how you actually choose to live your life. Some people just want to watch the world burn, so you do you, boo.

But the fact of the matter is that you can waste your time whining about how gross pecan pie is or you can choose to spend your time by promoting the kind of pie you do like, cultivating a much more pleasant experience for yourself, not to mention peace of mind.

You don’t win the pie war by hijacking posts and acting like a tool. You win it by creating content of your favorite pie until it outnumbers the kind you dislike.

Plus, if you put out more posts praising and promoting things you do like, it’ll help the algorithm suggest more content that you actually would enjoy.

Yeah but it’s my right to do that! I hear you argue just for the sake of being argumentative or because you genuinely enjoy the attention that it gets you. So I have to ask,

Why are you making yourself mad when you could make yourself glad instead?

Basically what I’m saying is that when it comes to spewing contrarion opinions in a forum for the sake of causing drama:

The world is a shitty enough place at times already, and fandom is meant to be fun.

Stop seeking out things you hate and then bitch about seeing them. Love yourself and take care of your mental health.

Don’t be that asshole.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

And now, I’m off to go find some delicious key lime pie and be thankful that it’s not pecan.

#I was in some kind of mood y’all #but seriously #don’t be an asshole #my stuff #not atla

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thekisforkeats · 3 years

Text

Killing Care and Grief of Heart (Let all the Broken Pieces Shine, Chapter One)

Info: The Magnus Archives, D&D AU. JonMartin in this chapter, more ships to be added. Rated T. Post-Canon. Jon is amab nb and uses they/them, Martin is a trans guy.

CWs: Character death, stabbing, grief, webs, manipulation, apocalypses, alternate realities

Summary: MAG 200 from Martin’s viewpoint, setting up what is to come after. The idea of Martin being Orpheus and Jon being Eurydice comes from the poem “Eurydice’s Retort” by Aiden. The poem quoted is the last stanza of Margaret Atwood’s "Orpheus 1" from Selected Poems II: 1976-1986, published 1987. The chapter title is a line from William Shakespeare's Orpheus.

-------------------------------------------------------

It’s easier than Martin had thought it would be, killing Jon.

He’s thought about it before, of course, and well before he walked through his own Domain and spoke to the other version of himself. Thoughts of Jon’s death have been a constant companion for the weeks (months? years?) they’ve been walking through the Apocalypse, and for more than a year even before that.

Keeping Jon alive was the whole reason he kept working for Peter Lukas, after all.

The first time he thought about the idea that he might wind up responsible for Jon’s death was some time after they went through Oliver Banks’ Domain, the one with all the roots. Jon had been waxing philosophical that night(?), while they were resting in one of the between-places. They’d gotten to talk about the classics, about story and narrative, about how the dream-logic of everything they were dealing with could be understood through the lens of myth and metaphor.

That was when Martin had brought up Orpheus and Eurydice, pointed out that Jon had played Orpheus in diving into the Lonely to bring Martin out. He had quoted Margaret Atwood’s poem, the one from Eurydice’s point of view. Jon, of course, had never read the poem (and honestly, how is he so in love with someone who could barely stand to read anything once, let alone twice), had questioned Martin as to why he liked it so much. (Martin’s answer: melancholy. It’s about Eurydice not really wanting to come back to the world of the living, after all.)

“But you didn’t want to stay there, not really,” Jon had said, looking perplexed.

“Well… no… I mean, I sort of did while I was in there, but once you got me back out…” Martin had sighed. “It fits, that’s all I mean, and it was the first time you’d really used your powers the way you’ve been doing here. You killed Peter Lukas, you drew me out of his Domain, you’ve been doing it ever since. You’re Orpheus.”

Jon had looked at him for a long moment, with those piercing eyes that always took Martin’s breath away, and then said, “That’s ridiculous. I could never make the mountains bow themselves when I did sing.” (Of course he knew Shakespeare, and Martin did love Shakespeare but in this case he really did prefer Atwood), and then Jon was smiling at him and saying, “You’re Orpheus, love.”

“Now who’s being ridiculous?” Martin had countered. “You’re the one who went in there to rescue me. You’re the one who led me out. Forget the Lonely, I’d have been lost in the tunnels forever without you.”

“Ah, but,” and Jon had put up a finger, “I’m the one who actually died.” He’d grinned, as if he were winning something. “I died, and you could not stand the thought, and so you dove into the underworld of whatever plot Peter and Jonah had concocted, and you sang your sweet words at them, and charmed them, and pulled me out of the hell they were trying to trap me in.”

“But… you’re the one who led me out of the Lonely,” Martin had repeated, baffled.

“Yes,” Jon had said softly, “and the problem with Orpheus and Eurydice was always that Orpheus could not trust that she would return to him. He went into the underworld to begin with because he didn’t trust that the gods would reunite them when he died. When he was leading her out he could not trust that it hadn’t been a trick, that he hadn’t lost her, and so he turned around to be sure. His doubts brought everything crashing down around them.” His gaze had been gentle, soft, maybe a little chiding. “If Eurydice had been leading the way, and Orpheus could have seen her the whole time, they would have made it out together.”

The thing neither of them had said aloud was that in the end, whatever Martin had done to pull Jon out of the “underworld” of Jonah’s plans hadn’t worked. The entire world had fallen in around them instead.

Jon had kept the thing alive since then, occasionally calling Martin ‘his Orpheus,’ usually when Martin was making up some ridiculous doggerel to amuse them both. And Martin didn’t mind, and was honestly somewhat flattered, but it started something gnawing at him. Two things, really: first, that Orpheus was the hero of the tale, and Martin did not want to be the hero, did not want to be the one upon whom all responsibility sat. Making choices for himself was all good and well; he didn’t like the feeling of maybe having to make choices for all of humanity.

The second was the nagging, aching remembrance that in every version of the myth Orpheus ultimately loses Eurydice. Death will not be overcome for long, no matter how charming one’s music. The idea that Jon would die to end this Martin had considered more than once. He hated the thought, and would rather die himself than see his lover sacrificed once more.

The idea that Martin himself would have to kill Jon to save the world? It fit perfectly. He knew it fit the moment he first thought of it, and it felt as if his heart were breaking in slow motion ever since.

Orpheus could not return to the world of light and joy with his Eurydice, after all. It just didn’t work that way, no matter how they twisted and turned to try to avoid the truth.

When they’d made a plan Jon had not wholly acquiesced to, Martin had felt that throbbing ache in his chest again. When he’d gone to talk to Jon, and hugged him, and Jon had talked about how everything was his fault… he knew. He just knew, and he did not like the decision he could feel settling in his chest. Jon was going to do something stupid, and Martin was going to have to be the one to fix it.

He could not trust Jon. That was the long and the short of it, he’d thought, as he’d stood there holding the smaller man in his arms, listening to his sniffles. And because he could not trust Jon, he’d stopped when he should have been following the other man, and turned to the others, and told them to go and blow up the gas main now. He’d turned away, and when he’d looked back, Jon was out of his sight and too far gone for Martin to catch up in time to stop him from killing Jonah Magnus and taking his place in the Panopticon.

Ironically enough, this time what doomed Orpheus was looking away from his lover, instead of looking at him.

So now Jon is in the Panopticon, because he could not be anything but self-sacrificing, and because Martin could not trust him long enough to just go after him, could not trust that he would have been able to talk Jon out of killing Jonah once they’d got up there. He’s in the tower, hooked in as the Pupil of the Eye, and Georgie’s lit the gas main already, and the whole thing is blowing up while Jon screams in pain.

For just a moment, Martin has a fleeting memory of Basira telling him that she’d convinced the police not to just burn the Institute to the ground, and oh, if she hadn’t done that…

Well, no use for that now.

For everything Martin’s said, every moment he’s refused, aloud, to admit that he could kill Jon if he had to, he’s known for some time now that he can if he must. He’s thought about it over and over, turning over everything, thinking about how to kill the Archivist. The answer is simple and obvious. Jon already gave it to him, before they’d left the Institute, and it’s narratively appropriate in that dream-logic mythic way the Fears work. So he knows what he has to do.

Martin pulls Jon out of the Panopticon, and they say they love each other, and they kiss. And then Martin pulls Jon’s head back and stabs him swiftly, once in each eye. Jon only gasps once, the first time, and maybe he’s already dead by the time Martin stabs the other, but he won’t take the chance of leaving the job half-done. It’s clear that it was the right choice--stabbing someone in the eye shouldn’t kill them so quickly, but the Eye was all that was keeping Jon alive, and so he’s dead now, gone.

And so, Martin thinks, Orpheus loses his Eurydice. Atwood’s poem echoes in his mind:

Though I knew how this failure would hurt you, I had to fold like a gray moth and let go. You could not believe I was more than your echo.

Martin sobs, then, just once, and he’d keep sobbing but there’s a rising static, the sort he’s used to hearing while listening to the tapes. And then he sees that actual tape has come into the Panopticon writhing up from between cracks and over stone to wrap itself around Jon, around his legs and arms, trying to drag him away.

Martin cannot speak, he’s too wracked with grief, but he’s damned if he’ll let the Web take Jon from him, not now. Wherever Jon is going, he’s going too. That was the deal. So as the web of magnetic recording tape grabs Jon and pulls him through the air like he’s some sort of insect to be wrapped up and devoured, Martin holds him tighter, refusing to let go.

The tapes are somehow strong enough to pull them both out of the Panopticon, through the air, across the landscape. There are other things being pulled toward wherever they’re going, a thousand or a million, too many to count. Martin can see the web of magnetic tape criss-crossing the landscape, touching all the places they’ve been, the Domains they’ve traveled through, the avatars they’ve encountered. He can see with eyes that should have belonged to the Web had Peter Lukas not gotten hold of him and claimed him for the Lonely. He can see the extent of it all, the scope of the plan, the thing the Web had wanted all along--the Fears, bound up by the Archivist’s Knowing, connected by the tapes at a thousand little points, dragged screaming out of this reality toward the hole at Hilltop Road.

For a moment it strikes Martin as a thing of beauty. Wretched, horrid beauty, but beauty nonetheless. A plan at least three decades in the making, finally come to perfect fruition. Reality re-made in order to allow the Fears to manifest strongly enough for the Web to bind them and pull them out and… ascend.

They fall toward the hole, and then into the hole, and then suddenly Jon spasms in Martin’s arms. Martin clutches him more tightly so as not to lose him, so he’s right there when Jon’s mouth opens and sound begins pouring out. Words, but more than words, and none in his own voice. It’s as though he’s become the tape recorder, playing a statement. People talking--Basira and Georgie and Melanie. The world is safe, it seems. The plan worked. And maybe it’s better than Jon’s dead, because surely whatever the people who remembered ‘the Archivist’ would have done to him would have been far more painful and horrific than Martin stabbing him in the eyes.

The Admiral’s okay. Martin wishes Jon were alive, so he could know that much at least.

The voices echo in the darkness they’re falling through. Basira’s voice: “What do you want me to do with this?” She must mean the recorder she found in the ruins.

Georgie replies, “Leave it. We’re done with tapes.”

“Want me to smash it?” That’s Melanie, because of course it is.

Basira says, “I think… we can probably just turn it off.”

Martin can almost hear the shrug in Melanie’s voice. “Okay.”

There are footsteps, two pairs, presumably Melanie and Georgie walking away.

Basira addressed the tape recorder. “If anyone’s listening… goodbye. I’m sorry, and… good luck.”

There’s a final flick, and then Jon actually speaks, despite being dead, the words resonating in the darkness:

“STATEMENTS END.”

Martin almost sobs, clutching Jon, eyes squeezed tight. He’s not sure he ever liked Basira much, and he really barely knew Georgie and Melanie--and really it’s been so hard, for so long, to be sure he liked anyone much, aside from Jon--but he takes the good wishes for what they are, clasps them into his heart. Wherever the Web is taking them, it has to be better than what they’re leaving behind.

Wherever it is, Martin is sure there won’t be any more recorders, any more statements. They, too, are done with tapes.

Next Chapter

#the magnus archives #tma #jon sims #jonathan sims #jon the archivist #martin blackwood #jonmartin #jmart #fanfic #my fanfic #tma spoilers #otp: one way or another together #tma d&d au #let all the broken pieces shine #okay here's the fic proper up on tumblr #time to post the rest of the chapters #wow i put the 'keep reading' in a weird place but it's what worked #long post for ts

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orionsangel86 · 4 years

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Hi. I've seen you reposting art by thefriendlypigeon. Just wanted to tell you that she draws explicit in*est and refuses to put a trigger warning on it. She's also besties with Magdalena, Latizze other Misha haters. She also ships Sam/Jack and said that she wants to draw smut of Jack offering himself to Dean and Cas on Father's Day. Now Kelios uses this as an excuse to claim that Destiel shippers are into ped* stuff. When Friendlypigeon is a win*est shipper and has been for a long time.

Hi. I need to state that I hate getting asks like this because I have been involved in the fandom policing thing and its utter bullshit. No one involved is righteous or “doing the right thing” regardless of what they think. Fandom policing is wrong and I have absolutely no desire to involve myself in it. Therefore I would prefer to not be dragged into any fandom wank or wars between fan factions.

I reblogged (not reposted as I don’t condone reposting others creations) a piece of art work of Dean and Cas because I considered the artwork beautiful and well done. I do not know the artist, but the art itself was wonderful. Should we really be condemning all art based on the shortcomings of its creators? This is a bigger conversation than anything within SPN fandom and frankly I’m not interested in diving into those murky waters right now.

I will just say this. I absolutely do not in any way endorse the likes of Magda, Latizze, Kamidox, Vinnie or Kelios. They are nasty, cruel, hate filled people worthy of nothing but our pity. They are best left ignored to wallow in their own hatred. I have far better things to do than concern myself with those sad individuals. If the artist in question interacts with them, then I only hope that they don’t get dragged into the hatred those vile individuals radiate. Anyone who involves themselves with such pure forms of hatred is in for a bad time. As someone who has experienced first hand the more hateful side of Destiel fandom, I know what happens when you get too close to people filled with hate. Don’t concern yourself with whatever bullshit Kelios and her cronies are currently focusing on. No one takes those idiots seriously. Block them, and move on with your life.

As far as wincest art goes, I quite obviously can’t stomach it. I have the very word “wincest” blacklisted and blocked across all social media. But I know plenty of people who are multishippers who are into it. Each to their own. So long as they aren’t pushing for incest to be mainstream, canon, or normalised in society, then I honestly don’t care what other people get up to in the privacy of their own bedrooms. I haven’t ever heard of anyone shipping Sam and Jack, or Jack with Dean and Cas *shudder*. That to me is just as disturbing as incest. I don’t understand it and don’t intend to even try to understand it either. By me reblogging the destiel art of one artist, that does not mean that I support everything else that artist might say or create.

I’m not gonna start some all out attack on people who are into fucked up shit. Because nothing I personally say or do is going to change that, and frankly, I came back to tumblr for a peaceful time away from the fandom wars of Twitter. I’m not interesting in attacking anybody. I block and move on. This particular artist has never done anything to offend me, and I have never seen offensive art by them. I’m not gonna stop reblogging beautiful works of theirs I find just because of one anonymous message either.

There are lots of messed up things in this world, but if we dwell too much on what others are doing we will only end up corrupting ourselves. My suggestion nonny is that you block this artist and blacklist their name. By blacklisting a persons url you are effectively removing them completely from your tumblr experience even if others you follow reblog their work. I have to do this with a well known destiel artist that is always being reblogged by people I follow for my own particular reasons - nothing against the artist themselves, just their artwork makes me uncomfortable and I don’t want to see it.

I’m not sure what you expected by sending me this message, whether you wanted me to publicly condemn this artist, delete my reblog of their work and tell all my followers to immediately unfollow them or whatever, but I’m not going to do that. Sorry to disappoint you if that is the case, I’m just not interested in the constant wars and drama of SPN fandom anymore. I just wanna reblog cute pics of Dean and Cas kissing whenever I can, and enjoy my remaining time in fandom whilst it lasts. Follow whoever you want to follow, reblog whoever you wanna reblog from, ideally tag accordingly as courtesy for peoples blacklists, and utilise the block button as often as you can. Above all things, be kind to others, and practice self care on yourself. If you don’t like something, remove it from your online life, and please consider why you might be going to other bloggers to “tell” on people you don’t like. All it does is cause more unnecessary negativity.

#fandom drama #fandom policing #man i dunno #please don't send me asks like this #I don't really care about what other bloggers are doing #so long as they aren't actually hurting people #and even then what do you honestly expect me to do about it #i am one small blog #i just want this to be a positive place #asks #anon #Anonymous

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whenimgoodandready · 5 years

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4 years ago, I heard about “Star vs. The Forces of Evil”. I didn’t think much of it, but I gave it a shot (it was like a childhood callback to my “Sailor Moon” phase when I was younger) to see how it was. I made a little review about it to let everyone know what I thought and after a couple of more episodes, I was drawn to it! A twist on the Magical Girl genre of the heroine open with her being magical and fighting villains while still going about an everyday life. Neat characters, funny dialogue, cool storylines, original music scores, plot twists and the shipping dramas! I was so obsessed I made fanart/animation, bought whatever merchandise there was of it! (Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering Every Dimension (original and Stump Day Edition) and The Magic Book of Spells) and been having dreams of the show as well! My reviews have changed since the first season. It started out as just words, but then came frames and then later pictures and now, finally gifs! Writing is my passion. I just love writing down how I feel about things and having others see it and what I have to say about it as if I’m a voice to the people. Speaking of which, I gotta get to this finale review before I’m over my writing limit is up. Lol!

We open with what we saw in the promo for finale. Star transforms in her golden Mewberty form getting ready to enter the portal to The Realm of Magic, say The Whispering Spell there and destroy all the magic. Despite the major drawback to the aftermath (No Starco😢). She turns down Eclipsa and Moons advice on taking on Mina all together and is just single minded on her plan. Star, maybe that would’ve been a better idea. You know, like the whole Total Annihilation Spell thing that Eclipsa used! That could still work! Huh!? HUH!? HUH!? C’mon!!! (are we not gonna call her out for making a hasty decision based on her impulsive anger from her Moms betrayal!?) Before that however, she didn’t tell Marco the bad news of her plan to save him from heartbreak and Hekapoo was cool with Star going forward with her plan. Uh, seriously Hekapoo!? YOU’RE GONNA DIE! WHO’S THIS CHILL ABOUT DYING!? Guess after literally everything she thought, “Eh, I lived a long life. Besides, magic sucks a**”. Okay, I mean, if that’s how she feels then.

Marco goes with her and after getting one last back handed burning slap on the head (“Running with Scissors”), takes the wand from Moon and gives it the old “Marcos wand” look! (“Deep Dive”) Unknownst to Moon that he’s used it before. (the drawn on mole would’ve been a nice touch. I’m just sayin’). This is it! Their one last adventure before the whole things over. With that, they hold hands (Marco choosing the top arm of Stars left) and walk into the portal to destroy the magic. Oh God!

They arrive in The Realm of Magic and Star tries to do The Whispering Spell while Marco eats pudding that Glossaryck left behind for him and Star. Unfortunately, Star starts to lose her memories and Marco realizes he’s still fine. He finds out it’s the pudding! The Pudding!? OMG! You mean to tell me this is why Glossaryck kept eating pudding the whole time!? Not just because it was delicious! WOW! Marco shoves some pudding in Star which help keep her memories and then they see..............

Thomas Draconius Lucitor! Riding on the corrupted dark unicorn from “Mama Star”! Hey Tom! How you been!? Haven’t seen you since well, that episode I just mentioned! Last we checked, you were stuck in your demon form on fire and with that seatbelt still on!..............which you’re now wearing as a sash for some reason. Guess you never were sent back to Mewni, or the Underworld, or wherever else cuz no one bothered to mention what became of you. Tom, we can explain! A lot of sh*t happened in Mewni and it was all Mina (and Moons) fault! Also Starco is for finally canon and Stars gonna destroy the magic! Btw, why do you have glowing blank eyes like Stars real/fake ancestry?....................Tom, you’re scaring us............Tom, why are you charging at Starco!? Are you pissed that they forgot you!? TOM! TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Back on Mewni, River and Eddie finally make it to the sanctuary to save Globgor and just before they could open it, Mina catches them and the two biggest idiots of Mewni accidentally blurt out what they’re gonna do! (face palms). No thanks to that, Mina now tries to get into the sanctuary.

Over to The Realm of Magic again, Marco fights off Tom using the wand by blasting every bit of whimsical spell Star does and some with his own while Star finally does The Whispering Spell and for the finale, we actually hear what all that whispering was! “Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic” again and again. And it works! HOLY SH*T IT ACTUALLY WORKS! I didn’t think her plan would work by doing that, but it’s true! It’s freakin’ true!

However, it still doesn’t work. I knew it, I mean, saying the Whispering Spell in The Realm of Magic to destroy all magic! Puh-leeze! It’s only for the wand! :P. Just then, Moon and Eclipsa w/ Meteora show up and decide to help. That’s the quickest moment of forgiving I’ve ever seen, after all what Moon did, Star just accepted her again! Marco finally stops Tom from killing him w/ the corrupted dark unicorn by feeding him pudding, but in the process, getting stabbed! Don! Don! Don! After Tom is cured, he and Marco head back to Star.

Star, Moon, Eclipsa and Meteora Dip Down in their Mewberty forms (the fandom gets their wish on seeing Eclipsa do that) and are joined by the Past Queens of Mewni (starting from Skywynne not the 26 before her cuz that’s all the queens the book mentioned cuz the staff didn’t have enough time to come up with designs, personalities, history, etc for them and also Skywynnes mother, Lyric, didn’t save the original Magic Book of Spells :P) in spiritual form assisting them with destroying magic. They still don’t talk as they didn’t have time to that and cuz it’s the last episode and we’re about wrapping up here, so :P to that.

Mina finds The Realm of Magic and charges after Star, Moon, Eclipsa and Meteora, but gets distracted when she sees her queen, Solaria, and gets attacked by the dark corrupted unicorn. Mina calls out to her for help, but Solaria, the queen that created Mina, transformed her and thought of her as her answer to finishing off monsters, did nothing! Nada, ZIP! Sure she hated monsters, but did she hate monsters more than she loves her daughter!? Some things are just more important.

After he was done with Mina, the dark unicorn goes after the queens, but Marco f**king flips the horse! DAMN! Well, he’s fought monsters, did a bunch of cool sh*t in the Neverzone, helped save Mewni twice and punched Toffee right through him! So yeah! He can flip a horse!

Suddenly, the magic starts getting destroyed, the baby unicorns melt, the wand is no more and the realm prepares its destruction.

The Queens start disappearing with Moon seeing her mother, Comet, one last time, Solaria accepting of Eclipsas monster love and her hybrid granddaughter and most of all, Glossaryck goin’in bye bye. Farewell Glossaryck, you were pretty annoying, but kinda right. It was nice knowin’ ya.

Star then tells Marco he needs to go up the waterfall to Earth, but doesn’t answer him on the bad news that they’ll never see each other again :’(. However, I think he figured it out from their tearful good-bye.

Everyone comes out the well, but Star makes a big sacrifice and decides to go to Earth to be with Marco. Turns out, Marco stayed behind in the destruction of The Realm of Magic cuz he too thought, with or without magic, ღ they belong together! ღ STARCO FOREVER!

With that, they hug for the very last time with their last bit of magic giving them their glowing cheek marks, unknown what will become of them during the destruction (possibly death) and then 💥BOOM!💥

The sanctuary is now gone along with the magic, well dimension traveling, (the narwhal blasting) and most of all, no more signature cheek marks on Star or anyone else who had ‘em on the show! And Star floats a drift on an alligator where Moon finds her riding on another alligator like a jet ski.

The new Solarian army falls apart and all the Monsters, like Buff Frog and his kids, are now finally safe from harm all thanks to Star. Destroying the magic actually did turn out to be the solution to fix everything (I personally didn’t think so cuz I would’ve preferred Star go with Eclipsa’s Total Annihilation Spell from the beginning) and Stars tapestry did predict the outcome of it:Magic gone, no more Glossaryck, Mina defeated, Monsters safe, Reconciled with Moon, Eclipsa and her family alive and well and the Monster Temple still standing, but still, no Starco 😢. However, Star was still happy all the monsters were okay, her family safe and even Eclipsa and her family safe.

With the magic gone, Mina Loveberry has been brought down to normal and unfortunately, still coo coo! Now, with the other villains in the show, most of ‘em got redeemed (Ludo, Tom and Meteora) and others died (Toffee), but our final “Forces of Evil”, Mina, who can no longer transform into her Hulk-like warrior self, still remains mentally ill (there’s no cure for that). Moon tries to talk some final sense into her and help her out with her diseased mind, but Mina refuses her help cuz despite the fact that she’s depowered, she runs off continuing her goal on eliminating monsters cuz it “lingers to her”. Well, she’s a lost cause and no one really gives a sh*t about her anymore (except maybe Manfred), so good-luck to ya ya psycho b*tch!

Moon apologizes to Star for working along side with Mina and making the biggest f*ck up in history, but Star easily forgives her since she (Star) always f*cks up too. I guess the apple doesn’t really fall far from the tree after all, huh!? Star says it’s cuz all families f*ck up (some more so than others), but that what they need to do is just live and learn from it all. So yeah, it’s true. Star heads back to the infirmary to check up on her friends and since the magics gone, those Solarian fatal wounds have already disappeared and everyones okay. Like Pony Head and Rich Pigeon! Star tells Pony Head that destroying the magic was the only solution there was to defeat Mina and save everyone, but despite the fact that she’s happy all is well and done, the tragedy of it is there’s no more Marco Ubaldo Diaz! NO MORE STARCO! IT DIDN’T LAST! 😭 He’s just back on Earth with Janna cuz that’s where they belong much like how Kelly went back to Woolandia and Talon at that Dragon Spit bar thing and that she can’t deal with Pony Heads sassy character trait stuff right now!

Pony Head sees how heartbroken Star is and cheers her up by saying that Kelly is crying tears...........of joy! And happily goin’ on adventures with her “Battle Buddy” Jorby and that Talon is making up cool stories about his adventure to the bar taverns and it does in fact cheer Star up.

From the magic gone, we learn what became of the MHC and that they were reduced to just junk. Omnitraxus Prime is now a lifeless skull like the ones you see stereotypically in the desert, Rhombulus is now a lifeless crystal which was originally his head and his free will snake arms are now just regular old snakes and Idk what happened to Hekapoo, but I’m assuming since she was a demoness, she must’ve just turned to a poof of smoke or something. Omnitraxus was so close to be mature, but sadly he failed to realize what Hekapoo saw. Still disappointed in how Rhombulous turned out (sigh) oh so disappointed. Oh! And uh, Sean just overfilled himself on pizza. He was never important. Whatever.

Just then, Tom shows up and he’s okay too! Pony Head didn’t mention that he was looking for Star after she decided to supposedly leave Mewni to live on Earth and I think it’s cuz she ships Starco now cuz we all know Tomstar failed not once, but twice! Hey! It’s the finale, so I’m tellin’ it like it so :P (third times not always the charm). Any way, Tom shows Star a portal that”s floating around in the distance and that it leads to Earth! (gasp)

Speaking of Earth, since the The Realm of Magic was located under Britta’s Tacos, and is now gone, the restaurant is too. Oh great! 😒 First we lose The Bounce Lounge, then Quest Buy and now the taco place! (as if it wasn’t bad enough we don’t have Starco!). The whole destruction to them was known as an “earthquake”.

Marco is on a gurney, but he’s safe and healed now that the magics gone with that unicorn wound no longer there and his parents and baby sister are relived he’s okay. Sadly, much like Star, he's miserable without her.

Janna rolls in on her gurney attached to a heart rate monitor and she cheers up Marco by saying even though he lost Star, they still have each other as friends. Despite the fact that she drove him nuts most of the time, he did in fact consider her a friend and vice versa. Janna then tells Marco about a portal from a distance that leads to Mewni! (gasp). Janna then tells Marco that he should run for it while she fakes her death in 60 seconds to distract everyone. DAMN! RUN! DIAZ! RUN!

So I’m guessing their last bit of magic together while embracing one last time was the result of that portal (no it’s not a “gas leak” from the “earthquake”), but how long is it gonna remain open!? Both our heroes run like Hell to see each again with a build up theme tune playing with Star punching her way through the Forest of Certain Death and Marco violating traffic laws cuz one thing is set on their minds, make Starco canon!

Marco uses Jackies skateboard to head faster while Star turns down a friendly game of basketball with Ludo and Dennis. So nice that we saw more of the minor characters again. sk8er girl Jackie with her new French mate, Chloe, starter villain Ludo fully redeemed and happy, those two guys that Daron never wanted to exist, Alfonzo and Ferguson, fangirl Starfan13, mean girl Brittany (well finally! Where was she!? Still wish we saw Jeremy though even if he was a little sh*t, I’d still would've liked to have seen him) we even saw that creepy woman and her new dog, “Willoughby”! (”Fetch”).

Okay enough about them, let’s get back to Starco! They’re getting closer!........

closer!.........

CLOSER! AND-

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHY!? THIS CAN’T BE! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME I WAITED 4 YEARS, WATCHED 4 SEASONS AND WENT THROUGH 4 SHIPS (JARCO, OSTAR, TOMSTAR AND KELLCO) FOR NOTHING! Why does Daron hate us!? Huh, why!? This is it! THIS is how the story ends!? No Starco, no endgame, no HAPPILY EVER AFTER! NO NOTHING! WHAT’S IT GONNA TAKE TO MAKE STARCO HAPPEN!? WHEN DRAGONCYCLES FLY ACROSS THE EARTH SKY!?

Wait! Are those dragoncylces? Flying across the Earth sky!? Holy Sh*t! They are!

And are those, mermaids!? Swimming in the aqueduct!? (was that a giant spider?).

Is that Rich Pigeon getting chased up a tree by Earth dogs!?

Did a helicopter just fly by the Cloud Kingdom over the Pony Head family!?

Whoa! Whoa!.....WHOA! Are you telling me, that Earth and Mewni have merged into one whole dimension and that it’s now Earthni!? Was it that last bit of Starco magic from the embrace that caused that portal to open and explode to do this!? WOW! Now I get it! “Cleaved”! Good one there, good one! Okay, so it’s a little hectic what with the two worlds becoming one thing, but maybe with time, everyone will get used to it (shrugs).

So if the two worlds merged then that means.............................

STARCO AT LAST! The final unification! Better than the one from “Battle for Mewni”, not awkward like in “Lint Catcher” just pure unadulterated Starco and with their beautiful theme music playing once again to emphasize it. They meet, they smile, they walk towards each other and...............they say Hi. No big kiss or hug or even a silent stare, just plain old “Hey how ya doin’?”. It’s a little tame, but considering this is a children's show, it’s still sweet and more importantly, it was endgame ;).

🎶 I wanna be your endgame,

I wanna be your first string,

I wanna be your A-Team,

I wanna be your endgame, endgame 🎶

Since Star Butterfly wasn’t there to do her closing inner monologue like how she did with her opening one in the pilot of the show, I’ll be doing it here. So the show ended with Starco like we all hoped for except with the unexpected twist that both their worlds, Earth and Mewni, collided together. Never in a millions years would we have thought this would happen! I’ve seen fan works of Starco either living together on Earth or living as royals in Mewni with their “Starco child(ren)”, but the fact that we got a best of both worlds finale was a huge surprise! Now the happy couple can still be with their families and friends and even have Meteora and Mariposa grow up together like they promised they would. If you ask me, this sounds more like a new beginning, like how are the Humans and Mewmens gonna adapt to their new surroundings and interactions among each other like it’s the start of a whole new season! But I guess that was left to the fans to use their imagination on how that’ll go cuz so many people already had left the show to pursue other things and that they needed to wrap it up quickly. However, we’re still left with some unanswered questions such as why we didn’t see the Septarian, Seth, and how he was the head honcho of the Septarian army cuz he was a big deal in The Magic Book of Spells and since that book was foreshadowing everything in the final season, I assumed we might’ve gotten a look at him and maybe have him make an appearance since it was last said he disappeared, but I guess like in the book, he’s history. Second, there’s Toffee, from the very beginning he wanted the magic destroyed such as having Star use The Whispering Spell in the Season 1 finale and then corrupting it in the tv movie and it wasn’t until near the end where Star realized he was right to do so after all the chaos that’s been goin’ on. Granted it wasn’t for the same reasons she wanted, but overall just doing away with it to not give anyone an advantage to use against someone. I actually thought (like some fans) that he’d come back again, cuz he was mentioned a lot and it was hinted in the final seasons episode premiere about the use of magic and that he might’ve, but after two seasons and a movie, I suppose it was enough and at least he got a cameo in one. Still, his actions were a big concern for Star. Thirdly, the rebel princesses, last we saw, Meteora blew up the whole school after finding out about her true background and we never saw what became of ‘em. Hopefully, they’re fine like Pony Head is and that our minds shouldn’t go into a dark place thinking about that. Speaking of darkness, monster arm, he looked to be hinted at coming back after his defeat, but instead he was just left as a scare gag and irrelevance to the plot. Lastly, the same goes for that mysterious sun/moon/star room in St.Olga’s. It looked to be a big plot point to bring up in a later episode, but alas, we got nothing out of it! We suspected it had something to do with The Blood Moon, but even that was all for nothing! Never did we find out what that room was supposed to mean and I guess it was never meant to have been pointed out in-universe cuz that was for us fans to see it as an up and coming big Starco moment like how the Blood Moon was never magic and that it was just a gimmick with the whole “soul binding” thing to spice up it’s appeal. The finale was good. Could’ve done it as an hour long special or tv movie to close it off, but since Daron and the staff kept goin’ through so many changes in episode plots (and believe me, I’ve seen plenty of “what-could’ve-been” plots like the original idea for the show with Star younger and non-magical annoying everyone around her with her big imagination of her being a magical girl princess), I kinda think maybe they rushed into it, but even so, it was a nice finale and it left a good memory for me. I found some nice people through this fandom and just to name a few there was that ever popular head cannon blog, @svtfoeheadcanons which than went onto @seddm. Thank you for your words and blog and answering some of my questions (even though it was kinda anon, but I think you might’ve recognized me from my writings) you are brilliant, @moringmark, your comics of the Starco/Jarco child clashing story were fun as well as your Starco Child Headquarters comic and I am now enjoying your “F.R.I.E.N.D.S” parody of the Past Queens of Mewni and also the Meteora and Mariposa comic, thank you for your comics, I always check on and comment on ‘em and last, but certainly not least, my good svtfoe friend, @agentpfangirl1997. Hey girl! I love how I found her and we chatted about what we thought about the show and checking each others reviews and fan arts of it. Her drawings are awesome! Glad I got to know such a great person. Even with the show, we still keep it alive through our love for it and will treasure it for years to come. Thank you, Daron Nefcy! @daronnefcy

#svtfoe #cleaved #svtfoe cleaved #svtfoe finale #thank you daron #farewell svtfoe

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overdorklord · 5 years

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🍹 for a short fanfic/headcanon of our muses

[Send 🍹 for a short fanfic/headcanon of our muses

As always, short in my imagination. I took longer than i thought damn it ]

Necessary snack

It didn’t happen often for Overlord to allow new guards to follow him in such complicated missions.This time however, he didn’t have enough time to bring Cyberbug back and continue alone. Yes… because a simple rescue became something much more delicate when one of the prisoners attempted to escape.If before those poor mechs’ biggest problem was a kick in the denta every time their jailor approached their cels to feed them, now the Autobots of that ship became enraged.

Sir Soundwave let Overlord know that the first unfortunate prisoner was already being tortured while they were almost there… and from the sounds he could hear, they were having their sweet revenge on the mad Decepticon who attempted to escape.

He wasn’t sure why he decided to do that, but possibly it had something to do with the threats of his captors.

Echo was sitting outside, over the ship plating, but it was obvious he would have soon returned in. The young satellite and the Communication Officer gave Overlord these worrying news at the same time. Problem was that if Sir Soundwave was used to this, hearing terrible screams of pain and words of hate and amusement followed by more cries and pleads for mercy… Echo wasn’t.

It happened to have him hearing all this a couple of times, but now so loud and clear, probably shook him much more.

And in fact, there he was, quickly floating inside and pressing his servos over his audials.

Overlord instead was nervous and as soon as the little mech arrived, he picked him up, cuddling him.

Cyberbug surely would have wanted to to go comfort him, but as he though, maybe for the moment it would have been much better to let his “creator” do the work. Who better than Overlord to comfort the little satellite?

He wasn’t as worried for the prisoners as he was for Echo, he really didn’t need to hear all those cruelties his old colleagues used to say and do to their victims, it was like a nightmare.

Surely the little mech stopped listening but he’d say he heard enough by now! He was keeping the situation under control when suddenly everything started and he stopped listening when things already started. It wasn’t much, but for that kind of mech, more than enough!

«Overlord» he called, once the tiny mech stopped shivering, but then didn’t say anything else. He wanted to go too, he wanted to follow the pink Sixer.

Anyway… better not insist now. Better just wait for them to arrive first, instead of insisting and insisting.

The satellite eventually calmed down and the duocon was careful to lie him down on Trepan’s berth, just for the mnemosurgeon to emerge from underneath and swiftly reaching up to cuddle him.Two problematic mech left together alone. Maybe Cyberbug should have remained, but then realized it wasn’t the case to add a third.

When they arrived, Overlord walked over the exit and the blue mech followed. The duocon looked at him, huffed but didn’t even try to say not to follow. There was no time and knew the mech well enough to be sure nothing was going to stop him now. «It’ll be dangerous… make sure to stay out of my way, I’ll be making quite a riot.»

Then next thing he knew, he was flying across space inside Overlord’s combined jet mode. He wasn’t the fastest vehicle ever, but damn. The Autobot’s ship must have spotted him when it was too late, they shot a couple of missiles and they both shattered against the Sixer’s hard armor. Cyberbug got pushed back from the impact, but for the size of those weapons, it almost felt like Overlord just hit against a couple of fragile glass bottles… maybe already cracked.

He let the blue mech land opening the cockpit and allowing him to jump down. On all four, he found himself over the ship and had only a couple of seconds to brave himself for what came next: Overlord transformed in the air and let himself fall. Heavy pedes cracked the metal, a jump and the second time they came in contact with the ruined surface, he was falling down the hole he created. Destructive. But effective!

Cyberbug grinned and dived into the darkness. Broken metal shards and wiring all around this deep hallway. It should have been terrifying for a normal mech maybe. But this descent into the depths of the enemy territory made his optics shine bright with excitement. All he had to do was to stay out of Overlord’s way. He could work with that. The last floor became visible and that’s when he decided he reached his destination. His arms pushed forward and sharp digits rasped as hard as they could against cabling and broken pieces of metal all around. A warm trail ran down the wrist to the elbows. Hm, he got wounded… but that has never been a problem, at least these weren’t self inflicted or caused by one of his ex-companions. In those cases he could have started to worry.A swift look around to see where his jump leaded him. It seemed to be a long corridor with nobody around. Even better! The blue bot pulled himself up before giving a last look down the hole, seeing how the last floor where the deacon landed was just ten meters below. Instead, when he looked up, he saw the tiny exit that leaded outside. Well damn, Overlord… such an entrance he made! And he was continuing from the loud noises and tremors he heard. All the mechs must have went there to get him… or they just ran away in fear.

Overlord was such a kind mech, too kind for the type of weapon he was, and yet some of these autobot still feared him. He suspected that this was caused because they knew he caught them alive. Sometimes, especially in times of war, people known for catching their enemies alive were considered more dangerous. There were many reasons for that. Being alive meant they could still suffer tortures, and this alone was enough. It meant they could be interrogated and let information fall into the opposing faction’s servos.

And even if they wouldn’t have been tortured, sometimes left to rot in a cell was even a worse option… yes, because Cyberbug knew of mechs preferring to save even the energy of a swift kill. Yeah, they caught the enemy, threw them in a cell and let them starve to death. Usually they didn’t even bother to throw them away… they herded these corpses in small cells just to sell them all once they happened to find someone interested into metal or spare parts.

Somehow, he was sure this ship didn’t have such lazy workers. It was huge, clean even. He had no idea who the commander was, but his men weren’t just a group of losers. These were refined.

A light chuckle escaped him. And that was why Overlord’s fighting style was the best choice really. Chaotic, random… almost as if he was playing. The Sixers passed through walls, broke things on his way and these couldn’t expect anything, because when they seemed to be getting used to his randomness… well, the deacon stopped and began to fight. And what a way to fight: he gave such strong kicks these poor soldiers flew down the corridor and remained there or because of the shock or because they fainted.

The Blue mech swiftly flattened himself on the wall and let two soldiers pass by as soon as he spotted someone’s leg appearing down the corridor. He wouldn’t have been noticed, knowing how worried they were and thanks to the iron pipes that partially shielded him with their shadow. Surely he’s been lucky to be there in that moment. And he was even luckier when pushing an audial to the silver metal had him hearing some weird sound.

The cold surface rattled unnaturally and muffled howl could be heard coming from the inside. Cyberbug focused more on it, the finally deciding to break it open. A part of him really wished he hadn’t done it. The the howl was clearer now, and it wasn’t a howl. It was a cry, a mix of sobbing and confused rambling. Oh well! What did he find here? He found a pipe connecting directly to the cells it seemed!

His expression changed again from bold to disgust when he looked at his servo, the one he used to scratch and break open the metal. A dark grey-purple goo covered his digits. The pipe was a… residue drain. The confirmation came when he took a deep intake near it. Ugh! The smell coming from it was horrible! A mixture of rotting energon, oil… and something else, something viscid. The mech was fast to clean the servo quickly over the wall. It wasn’t the time to guess wha kind of disgusting substance he had on his digits: it was time to climb up and follow this fragging pipe!

Surely he couldn’t pierce the wall like the Sixer did, so began to look for stairs or a lift, keeping an optic on that pipe, trying to follow it, keeping an optic if it disappeared, if it turned…

It did indeed turn at one point and that was when the little blue mech began to follow it. The level he reached was probably below this cells area. He found it to be impossible to continue upstairs. There were too many bots! Whatever happened, they were probably starting to kill the prisoners huh?

This whole area was empty instead and to reach up, Cyberbug knew that in this case, piercing the wall was the only option. It wasn’t so hard however, when he found an air vent. Sure, dirty and tight, risking let him remain stuck, but at least it made digging less complicated. He climbed up, reaching around the area where he found the pipe disappear up in the high floor. The noises were louder and it was possible hearing the torturer. Or the executer in this case.

A sharp scream, followed by strangled sounds, as if the victim was being… drowned? What was he doing??

Other yells could be heard… screams of horror rather than pain. Uh-oh. This gave Cyberbug the idea to start digging now, immediately. Overlord didn’t react well when he found dead Decepticons. Nope.

The little mech started to dig, sinking his claws deep in the ceiling above himself, scratching, tearing apart the pieces he managed to pull away. The screams became more sobs, panicked flows of words, begs… And he could still hear that drowning sound. What the Pit where they doing??

Finally, claws met nothing but air and everything stopped. His servos were all ruined, leaking energon and dripping.

When the hole became wider, Cyberbug jumped up, emerging from the ground and getting ready to fight. He was used to disgusting views but this still made him wince. Mostly… mostly because he imagined what would have Overlord felt if he saw this.

There were three Decepticons chained on the wall, all of them had their frame covered in cuts. The obvious weapon being a sharp whip with metallic blade at its end, left there over the wall, still dripping.

Probably they’ve been having fun until they realized Overlord arrived.

It was… at this point they started to get a bit faster with the execution. Even if despite everything, these psychopaths seemed to be enjoying taking their sweet time despite knowing they had to hurry.

He saw these two tormentors holding the unfortunate mech, tied on the floor, right above the drain. He looked terrible, dripping energon and.. something else from the mouth. He clearly purged his tanks not too long ago because of the fresh mess on the ground and all over his front. He missed parts of plating behind his back, had a wire attached to it. It was a torture device… electric. It was a metallic sharp and that once stabbed deep enough in soft cabling could send electricity across the whole circulatory system. And they probably used it at some point, judging by the smell of burnt cables…

Apparently, he arrived just in time before his demise at least. He wasn’t drowning… but his mouth was occupied by a tube, some sort of pump. The autobot behind his back holding him up from the nape and chin, showing they must have forced his mouth open… the one on the front responsible of this pump. Cyberbug quickly eyed where the tube connected. A tank full of a transparent fluid… where a pack of hungry scraplets swam.

The poor mech stared at his savor’s direction with optics wide open, trying to spit out the deadly weapon and struggled to get free before it could be too late and they could begin to fill his tanks up to get eaten from the inside.

The two Autobots smirked at Cyberbug. «Would you look at that…! We were just starting to kill the trash here.» The one holding the pump said, and the other chuckled «Traitors end up in the same group of trash.»

The blue mech hissed at the two, who only laughed at his threat. Who did they think they were? Immortals? did they think they had the upper hand because they were two? Because they were two big enemies, bigger than him, with more weapons they could use? Did they think they were safe? Protected?

«Oh well, let his present you some friends, they’re very hungry and a snack like you won’t ruin their appetite.»

The pump was extracted from the Decepticon’s mouth and jet of water was shot in the blue mech’s direction.

There were many things Cyberbug was at the moment. Angry for being called trash, for being laughed at. Numb… mostly for the prisoners, who were nobody to him. Worried, for Overlord: if he saw what happened here he was going to blame himself.

But there was something else, something that was no emotion, something primitive. Something that instinct controlled, something that would have blinded rage and hate…

«I am hungrier.»

That was all they heard before the Ex-Autobot swiftly lowered himself to dodge the jet and throwing himself at his targets, jaws and claws bare to sink into metal.

The pink duocon arrived soon.

He sadly wouldn’t have had made it in time to save that poor mech that Cyberbug happened to rescue just in time. Luckily for them, he followed him and Overlord let him.

The blue bot was busy untying the other prisoners’ wrists. At the moment one would have taken at least a couple of seconds to understand if the mech was originally pink and got stained in blue or the other way around. Cyberbug looked like he’s been washed with a bucket full of energon.

Overlord approached him and picked him up, making sure he was fine…. that wasn’t all his, right? No? No he…

«I’m fine, I’m fine Overlord!» he assured, giving a swift hug.

«What happened? Where are the guards?»

He looked around and saw at least fifty scraplets jumping around on the floor, mostly over the biggest pink stains where metal pieces remained.

«A-a-ate… t-them»

The shocked and scared voice of the mech over the drain reached the Sixer’s audials. Oh. He swiftly went to scoop him up. That was the very mech that made all this possible… since he was crying and shouting over the drain.

Overlord hugged the poor Decepticon tightly and looked at Cyberbug. He… didn’t want to know if it was the mech’s doing..or the scraplets’. He wasn’t so stupid and knew the answer, but at least he could pretend He could… pretend not to know and have doubts.

«Cyberbug… thank you for saving them»

The blue bot smiled, proud of himself. While those who saw what happened here… well, give them a few days to realize what would have happened to them if he didn’t arrive in time. They would have calmed down and stopped fearing him eventually.

#meem #meme #kitty-chansart #tw violence #tw gore #tw torture #i hope it's good after taking so long

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onwesterlywinds · 5 years

Photo

Malla Velius assembles the first wave of Riskbreakers in her tiny chambers aboard the Prima Vista. Malla Velius is a short woman with red hair shaved to her head. She greatly resembles her niece; perhaps she is an indication of what Ashelia Riot will look like in twenty years, with or without a lifetime of hardship. When she speaks, however, her voice is unlike the Grand Steward's: low, even, and containing not a trace of an accent.

Sylvan Rain nods to her, offering a smile. Malla Velius: Greetings. To all of you. Malla Velius' gaze passes across the assembled crowd. Orella Steelhand nods. Priscilla Scaevola gives a small bow when entering and picks a corner - the place felt cramped before with a tenth of the people in it. Timid Fawn simply dips her head in greeting. Eindride Stokys nods, but looks a bit nervous. Malla Velius: Apologies for the lack of room. However, this may be the safest place in imperial airspace to say what needs to be said. Malla Velius: There's been a change of plans. I've lost contact with my primary contact within the Resistance - a man with ties to their leader, Princess Ashe. Akhutai Urit looks half amused but decides not to say anything. Sylvan Rain's eyebrow quirks upward at the 'change in plans'. Ivaan Arkwright keeps one ear on the door, half expecting a double-cross. Orella Steelhand gives her a measured once-over - checking for weapons, no doubt - and folds her arms, not trusting being aboard the ship. Orella Steelhand: What sort of change? Timid Fawn scowls pensively, clenching her jaw a bit as she listens. Malla Velius has something hidden in her left sleeve - something metal. Alaq'it Moks plunks herself onto a basket by Priscilla Scaevola. Malla Velius: My contact was killed by a turncoat - a man by the name of Grissom. Grissom has stolen intel, supplies, explosives... and the auracite that was meant to go to the Riskbreakers. Akhutai Urit gives a very long drawn out sigh. Aidea Lee frowns at the mention of auracite. Sylvan Rain can't help but nod in agreement with Akhutai Urit. Malla Velius: The Grand Steward has told me to be as transparent with all of you as possible. I will say, then, that I bear no love for the auracite. Malla Velius draws back her left sleeve to reveal her arm - a dark metal prosthesis with fingers like claws. Malla Velius: It was /auracite/ that took my arm - auracite in the hands of anti-imperial rebels. In the hands of Garleans, it can do far worse. Orella Steelhand frowns at that - deeply. Orella Steelhand: Auracite did that to you? Eindride Stokys eyes widen in awe, and he holds one of his hands in the other instinctively. Malla Velius taps the metal. Malla Velius: /This/, technically, was the Empire. They could not suffer an Aan to retire early. Akhutai Urit looks like he wants to say things, but Ashelia Riot isn't here so he will refrain. Sylvan Rain: Is that inevitable with all that choose to use auracite? Malla Velius: I did not use it. Rather, it was used on me. Aidea Lee adjusts her aetherial sight so she can take a better look at the arm; it's exhausting, but worth it. Timid Fawn looks uncomfortable at this point, but remains outwardly stoic. Malla Velius: Whensoever you find the auracite, do with it what you will. The Dalmascans believe it to be the only way to defeat the Empire... but in anyone's hands, it is a dangerous tool. And now it is in the possession of a traitor to the Resistance. Alaq'it Moks slides in by Akhutai Urit to quietly stare at he arm while the explanation continues. Ivaan Arkwright: Anybody know where the traitor went? Malla Velius: South of Rabanastre - into a treacherous wood called the Snowfly Forest. In the meantime, there are other complications. Akhutai Urit can't help himself and actually laughs at this point. Akhutai Urit: Very well. Malla Velius: Grissom may have planted at least one of his explosives deep under Dalmasca on his way out of the city. Ideally the Resistance would handle that themselves, but with Garlean surveillance so thorough... to do so would be to threaten their entire number to capture. Orella Steelhand pinches the bridge of her nose; it's all getting to be a lot, suddenly. Malla Velius: Their needs, then, are twofold: to find the traitor, and to save the city. So too is there a need for external surveillance, and monitoring, and all sorts of tasks. Priscilla Scaevola brings out a piece of parchment, thinking of shorthanding some notes, but stops herself. Eindride Stokys purses his lips, thinking this whole situation seems grim. Aidea Lee knows how to defuse a bomb and wonders how much digging is needed to go under Dalmasca. Orella Steelhand sighs, deeply, lets her hand fall, and looks at the woman carefully. Orella Steelhand: What are you asking of us? That... isn't an insignificant amount of things to task us with. And if the Garleans are watching that place... Ivaan Arkwright: Does the Empire know of this bomb? If they wanted to level the city, I imagine they would have done so already with war machines. Priscilla Scaevola: If I understand... If we just go for the Griss guy, we risk him exploding the city. So we would need a group to defuse it while we capture the sod. Malla Velius nods at Priscilla Scaevola's answer to Orella Steelhand's question. Malla Velius: As far as whether or not they know... no. But the Empire would delight in anything that would wreak havoc upon the Resistance. Even if it destroys the city. Orella Steelhand nods slowly at the answer and the explanation, but she still has a frown on her face. Orella Steelhand: Who is this Grissom? Sylvan Rain shrugs to herself, knowing her only real use here would be helping in the capture of the rebel. Malla Velius: A senior member of the Dalmascan Resistance. I met him only once - he seemed to me rather /subdued/, but he had to have been planning this escape for years. Orella Steelhand snorts - she's known turncoats for decent causes before, and she hates this guy already. Malla Velius: And I was never as instinctive a judge of character as... well. Malla Velius was about to say "Ashley Riot." Alaq'it Moks is scribbling notes on the parchment from her boot, though most of them are pictures instead of words; a bundle of garlic with menacing faces lurks at the edge of the paper. Malla Velius: Now, then. I can send an encrypted message to the Grand Steward with whatever you choose to do. I certainly will not keep you here. But I will leave it to you to determine who will be going where - and what your plan of action may be. Priscilla Scaevola mumbles to herself. Priscilla Scaevola: If the bomb is remotely activated, we could fashion a device to track its signal... Akhutai Urit: ...So we're in need of at least three teams according to you. Surveillance, capture, and... bomb disarming. I can go wherever I'm needed in regards to any of those; I've no preference. Orella Steelhand glances around the room; she still doesn't really /know/ any of these people, but... if they're Ashelia Riot's picks, she trusts them. Timid Fawn glances around, quietly interjecting. Timid Fawn: Regardless of the teams... There's needs for protection... So I will go whereever. Orella Steelhand: I'll go after the guy. Is he supposed to be brought back? Killed? Malla Velius: Whichever you feel is best. Malla Velius makes it clear in her voice which she would prefer. Sylvan Rain: I will go with Orella to find Grissom. Aidea Lee: I have heard from a Dalmascan naturalist staying at the Sandsea of an extensive sewer system beneath Rabanastre. Perhaps we can start bomb searching there? Do you think imperials would lurk in sewers? Akhutai Urit: I'm sure they could lurk in all sorts of places. Priscilla Scaevola: I am certain they won't leave a place untouched. Timid Fawn: No doubt... Ivaan Arkwright: I can either aid in capture, or provide surveillance from above. I would do more harm than good trying to tinker with a bomb. Alaq'it Moks closes her eyes. Alaq'it Moks: I think... I think I would help in bomb-searching. My tryings at surveillance have not had a good track record of late. Aidea Lee smiles with relief at Alaq'it Moks. She was getting afraid of crawling underground alone and possibly blowing up. Eindride Stokys: Capture or espionage may be better suited for myself... I'm afraid I am not too familiar with such technology. But ultimately I will go to where there is need of me. Malla Velius: Thank you all. Malla Velius again resembles Ashe in the way she smiles her relief. Sylvan Rain: What sort of resistance should we expect from this Grissom, should there be any? Malla Velius: ...None can say. He has the auracite, after all. Sylvan Rain: Hopefully we can get to him before he has the chance to use it. Orella Steelhand: A challenge for us if he does. Sylvan Rain smirks confidently at Orella Steelhand. Sylvan Rain: I /kind/ of prefer he put up a fight. Priscilla Scaevola remembers Eorzeans’ lack of self preservation and sighs slightly. Akhutai Urit can't help but wonder if others are eager to get new arms. Malla Velius assesses Timid Fawn from the opposite corner of the room. Malla Velius: Your garb - are you Abanian? Timid Fawn: Ah... Yes. Malla Velius: ...Going into the Snowfly Forest requires a skilled survivalist. A hunter, preferably. You would do well to accompany that group, I should think. Timid Fawn offers a stiff and eager nod. Timid Fawn: I will do my best. Priscilla Scaevola: I will need some time to make us a radar - a few days at most. That way we wont be sewer-diving aimlessly. Malla Velius nods to Priscilla Scaevola. Malla Velius: That should be feasible. And if there is anything that any of you need to prepare in the meantime, the principal of the Majestic would be glad to accommodate you. Despite all that's at stake... I hope you enjoy your time aboard. Akhutai Urit smirks. Orella Steelhand snorts. Sylvan Rain: All I need is a place to train and I'm fine. Priscilla Scaevola: Are there plays happening on the meantime? Priscilla Scaevola, at least, is excited for their stay. Aidea Lee: Oh, I do hope we can see at least one Majestic performance! Their dancers are lovely. Malla Velius: They're in reading for their next performance. The Zodiac Brave Story. Priscilla Scaevola is excited no more. Eindride Stokys smiles politely, but has a hard time believing he'll be comfortable with the ships' passengers outside of the fellow company members. Sylvan Rainlooks to Orella Steelhand. Sylvan Rain: Only thing I really need to know about all this is the surrounding area of where he'll be when we attempt to capture him. Things we might encounter.. Malla Velius: I would be happy to share everything I know later, once we procure a map. Orella Steelhand nods again, then looks to Malla Velius and asks the most important question she can think of. Orella Steelhand: Is there anything to drink on this ship? Priscilla Scaevola: We could find some sake back in Kugane if we need to restock. Malla Velius winces visibly. Malla Velius: ...Only if you enjoy Garlean spirits. Orella Steelhand sighs and makes a face. Orella Steelhand: ...They'll do. Sylvan Rain: Well, Orella and I are going after Grissom.. Others are welcome, of course. We shall see who tags along. Orella Steelhand: Aye. Not to forget any others- I'm hard-pressed to believe this many fit in /this/ room... Orella Steelhand looks at Malla again, thoughtful. Orella Steelhand: When did Grissom go missing? And where? Malla Velius: Last night, in the sewers. Two members standing watch reported him exiting a heretofore unknown tunnel with supplies. Orella Steelhand: That soon ago? And /sewers/, no less... Orella Steelhand looks up at Sylvan Rain. Orella Steelhand: Hope you like trekking through shite. Malla Velius: I have yet to determine the extent of his involvement with the 9th Bureau, or with any other part of the IVth Legion. I will do so before you leave. Sylvan Rain looks less than amused but doesn't object. Wouldn't be the worst thing I've had to do... Malla Velius: If there's nothing else pressing, I'll relay things as they stand now to the principal. For the record, he's one of the few aboard who can be trusted. As far as the others - as I noted before - watch yourselves. Akhutai Urit hopes she appreciates the withholding of many a snide remark. Eindride Stokys nods. Malla Velius: Thank you all. And please, take care. Malla Velius squeezes her way out of her own room. Alaq'it Moks: I- well, perhaps. I do have some experience in throwing things that have exploded. Alaq'it Moks puffs herself up a bit. Aidea Lee: Um, that is to say, we will find the bomb. We will not be bombing anything. Alaq'it Moks shrugs at Aidea Lee. Alaq'it Moks: Well, the experience will still help! Aidea Lee is getting nervous. I have healing spells should we get hurt, but um, maybe do not lose any arms? Magitek can be pricey. Akhutai Urit: ...And you have to keep it maintained. Aidea Lee nods to Akhutai Urit. Alaq'it Moks waves a hand impatiently. Alaq'it Moks: If we make such a mistake, I do not think I will be worrying about arms, will I? It is a bomb meant to blow up a city. It will definitely blow up me. Sylvan Rain turns to Orella Steelhand. Sylvan Rain: I'll be following your lead here. You seem to be more familiar with what we're dealing with. At least those involved. Orella Steelhand: To an extent. I... Orella Steelhand hesitates, but there's no point in hiding it. Orella Steelhand: I was conscripted into the Garlean army after Ala Mhigo's fall. And the Mhigan army for years before that. I couldn't handle any other part of this expedition. Ivaan Arkwright: Between the two of you, I would think our man is already caught. I might be best used taking to the rooftops, and keeping an eye out for Imperial movements. Unless you think you could use a third? Orella Steelhand: Depends how tricky he gets. Sylvan Rain: A birds'-eye view could certainly help us. Ivaan Arkwright: I admit, I know nothing of magicite. But if it can remove limbs, well... I have always been served well by a healthy dose of paranoia. Orella Steelhand: ... Nothing like the threat of limb-removal to keep one on their toes. Sylvan Rain: If you feel more comfortable staying out of sight and keeping watch from above... I think that would be fine with us. Ivaan Arkwright: To the sky with me, then. Besides, forests are familiar to me. Alaq'it Moks looks up to Akhutai Urit and gives Eorzea's longest sigh. Timid Fawn quietly slips out the door to elsewhere. Akhutai Urit shrugs. Alaq'it Moks: Are you certain you do not wish to chase a bomb... Sylvan Rain: I'll be off training if either of you need me. Hopefully I can find a spot that can accommodate me. Akhutai Urit: If that is where I am need, I will go. I am simply resigning myself to surveillance currently has no one had volunteered. Alaq'it Moks takes out her note paper, attempting to make scribbles of who is going where, but sighs and stuffs it back in her boot. Priscilla Scaevola meekly raises her hand to Akhutai Urit. Priscilla Scaevola: I'll help with surveillance if i can, after I fashion the radar. Akhutai Urit: Radar would be helpful indeed. Priscilla Scaevola nods. With some more time, maybe we can make something to listen into their comms. I have a bit of experience with those. Akhutai Urit: As do I. I've hacked into my fair share of linkpearl communications... Akhutai Urit is healthy. Priscilla Scaevola agrees wholeheartedly with Akhutai Urit. Aidea Lee goes to watch the dancers practice; she is not slacking off. Priscilla Scaevola: I'll be in your capable hands then. Priscilla Scaevola winks. Akhutai Urit smirks, I will try not to disappoint. Priscilla Scaevola: Be seeing you, then.

#Phantom Pains RISK

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sir-adamus · 6 years

Note

I’m on anon because of the bee fandom & their bullying. Look at you mocking me by saying my uncle works at ninetendo. So every ships shippers say their ship has buildup. And guess what songs can come on later soundtracks for different ships & 1 isn’t canon. The company who states they aren’t going to force anything in for the fans? arryn saying she likes the bees more then she probably should & has been pushing for it to happen in livestream & afterbuzz interviews? The writers owe you nothing.

Anonymous said:

If it happens good for you but stop acting like it’s the only route or option they have.

yes, how convenient that your claims can’t be verified because you’ll be ‘bullied’ by those oh so toxic wasps who are only ever guilty of harassment in people’s heads because a quick search into the actual events of any claims of harassment will reveal jack shit (seriously i see claims of toxicity over bee shippers making jokes while seeing some truly vile shit out of many of the same non-bee shippers making those claims without a hint of self-awareness, but you don’t see me diving into people’s inboxes and constantly trying to convince them that their ship won’t happen based on facts i just made up), meanwhile bee shippers are harassed constantly for their preferences and for having the sheer audacity of using their eyes and ears and connecting what they’re seeing on screen with their brains and coming to the conclusion that “oh shit, they’re doing something with this that they’re not doing between other characters and it’s given significant attention and build up that other shows don’t do” (and that was my point about the songs, by the way, not a lot of shows have their own soundtracks and their own ship songs, and the ‘songs can come on later soundtracks’ yeah, because they’ll waste time making the songs for ships now when they’re not gonna happen. suuuuuuuuure - also the ‘1 song isn’t canon’ claim was never officially backed up, there was no official statement on it, which means the writers are held accountable for it if they don’t address the elephant in the room)

and yeah, i’m gonna mock you for making a claim you can’t back up which sounds a lot like that old “my uncle who works at nintendo” shit, because you can’t back any of the shit you say up and so everything you say has to be taken with a grain of salt and no one’s gonna believe you when your claims sound exactly like “well actually i know a guy who knows a guy who heard a rumour from this other guy and they said that Captain America dies in the next movie”. it’s not a credible source and hiding behind “well i’ll be bullied” doesn’t help your credibility (especially as the ‘source’ you’re claiming is production for live action network shows in LA, this is an animated web production with no network interference based in Texas and so an entire world of difference)

also i just wanna address this “Arryn saying she likes the bees more than she probably should”. she did that in volume one. we’re at volume six. the bees not being in the plan then has nothing to do with now (after significant buildup with explicit parallels to canon romances and specifically romantically coded dialogue - anyone can put together what that means. hell my 60+ year old Irish, Roman Catholic-raised father put it together after one scene in volume 2)

also “If it happens good for you but stop acting like it’s the only route or option they have.” don’t act like you have any moral highground here, you’re the one coming into my inbox and pestering me and others over this, trying to tear people down when they just want to enjoy what the show is giving them and then acting like they’re the ones attacking you when, surprisingly enough, you can just shut up and leave them alone. you’re on anon there’s no way to trace it back to whatever blog you run, you can block them, curate your own experience on this hellsite and seek out content you actually enjoy instead of trying to ruin someone elses enjoyment of something and acting like you’re doing them a favour

#rwb/y #Anonymous

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odanurr87 · 6 years

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Watching Voltron Season 3

Welcome to another epic instalment of Watching Voltron! Today, we’re watching Season 3 of the Legendary Defender. I already watched and commented Season 4 in case this post would be better served by commenting both seasons as a whole rather than separate. I was surprised to find that the last episode of Season 3, “The Legend Begins,” does work like a sort of season, or mid-season, finale. It’s a brief interlude, recounting the tale of the original Voltron paladins, before we’re back to the action with Season 4′s, “Code of Honor.” There’s a noticeable time skip between the two episodes and, more importantly perhaps, a shift in the way Team Voltron is working, that mark a clear separation between the two seasons, even if there is an overarching plot linking the two together.

Before we dive into it, I’ll leave you the links to my other Voltron reviews and commentaries:

Voltron Season 1 Review

Voltron Season 2 Commentary

Voltron Season 7 Commentary (yes, I have noticed the gap)

There we go. Now it’s time to watch Season 3 of Voltron: Legendary Defender!

Episode 301: Changing of the Guard

“We can’t always put the fate of the universe in the hands of a giant weapon.” Agreed.

Teamwork! Our Paladins are getting better.

Oh, I forgot, Lance still hasn’t grown up.

“The universe needs Voltron.” Not right now it doesn’t.

Lance standing up for Kolivan? I’m impressed.

You could’ve easily lied and said the lions were liberating other planets. It’s probably half right.

This season we’re getting Pidge’s brother back. Got it. (next season but so close!)

Don’t be an asshole, Keith. You were making such good progress last season.

Finding a new Black Paladin isn’t the same as giving up on Shiro.

Introducing new villains.

Why do they keep asking about Voltron? They’ve seen the lions, haven’t they?

Nice going, Keith. You just blew it.

I hate to bring this up again, but, seriously, this is supposed to be our mighty leader? Someone who can barely control his temper?

Badass villain introduction scene?

A conspiracy’s brewing.

What, does Lotor have Superman’s hearing now? I don’t like him already.

I’m skipping this. It’s obvious who’s winning the fight.

Meet evil Team Voltron.

Oh, so Lotor’s evil? Who knew? #sarcasm

Leave it to Lance to start the conversation.

Episode 302: Red Paladin

Surely calling for help would’ve been the first thing to do, right?

Oh, god, it’s Kuvira all over again. This is gonna be painful to watch.

“Keith would be the worst leader of Voltron.” I have to agree, we’ve seen nothing to show us otherwise. Won’t stop the show from making him the leader though.

“And Lance is the goofball.” How long are you going to keep this up, show?

It’s about time Allura joined Team Voltron!

“Keith, stat, make me a sandwich. I’m the leader now!” Hunk’s trial was the best!

“This is your moment.” That’s precisely why you’re not fit to be the leader at this time, Lance.

Yup, the Black Lion chooses Keith. Shocker. You could’ve at least set him up better in previous seasons. Whatever.

At least Keith is willing to admit it. Gotta give him props for that.

Wow, that was rather wise and accepting coming from Lance. In fact, I could picture Shiro saying the exact same thing. There’s leader material somewhere in there!

No takers for Red?

Admiral Ackbar said it best, “It’s a trap!”

Blue’s not responding? I think I know why.

“No way. Keith probably trained it to bite my head off.” I chuckled.

The first of several parallels between Lance and King Alfor.

Lance got the hang of Red pretty fast.

Allura joins the fight!

“Sometimes what we want isn’t necessarily what we get.” Someone’s giving Lance some great lines this season.

“This is how I lead.” By totally blindsiding your teammates?

Episode 303: The Hunted

No, Hunk, attacking right now is a decidedly bad idea.

A single fighter against all five lions. I guess it’s time to show how badass Lotor is. I’m rolling my eyes.

“Everyone stay out of my way.” Great leadership.

Now the enemy knows you can’t form Voltron. Happy now, Keith?

I know I’m getting ahead of myself but, how could anyone trust Lotor after pulling this shit?

There’s only so many times I can bring up Keith being reckless and a bad leader.

Lance’s back to being the rational one.

The explosions damage the lions but not Lotor’s ship? Okay.

About time you recognized you screwed up. I’m liking the Keith-Lance dynamic here.

“What would Lance do?” I don’t think that’s the right question to ask.

“The universe depends on me.” Whoa, slow down there.

“Someone’s learning.” Someone’s a little full of himself.

Voltron’s back, baby!

All that he’s missing is an evil moustache.

Episode 304: Hole in the Sky

Well, considering you learned in the previous season that Haggar’s Altean, I’d say it’s certain you and Coran are not the last Alteans.

Why not try tugging it out of that hole first?

First, the fact that a distress call was triggered doesn’t mean someone’s alive on that ship. Second, I can’t believe Keith is going all prudent on me, but I agree, this is probably a trap.

“I’ll do it myself if I have to.” Who’s being reckless now, huh?

Hang on, hang on. They’re only now realizing this “wormhole” connects to a different universe? Did they fail to see the other half of the ship wasn’t there when they crossed?

Alternate realities! This is shaping up to be an interesting one.

Couldn’t you have told them Alteans are evil in this reality?

Do we really need to have Lotor and his cronies every single episode?

Lotor wants to create his own Voltron. Got it.

Altea’s rule, huh? That doesn’t sound good.

The hoktril. Need any more evidence?

Someone needs Allura as a puppet head. (getting the ship moving works too, but I’d have preferred if they’d tried to convince her to impersonate Empress Allura)

The Alteans’ true colors revealed at last. Muahahaha!

Remember when Allura gets tricked by Lotor later in the series? Someone should’ve made her rewatch this episode.

Steal the comet? Why not blow up the ship? Who wants to bet the episode ends with Lotor getting his hands on that comet? This is so predictable it’s boring.

What did I say? Boring. None of Lotor’s victories have been earned, it’s like he’s getting a free pass to the season finale.

Episode 305: The Journey

Is that you, Shiro?

Something’s wrong here.

What are you remembering?

Oh, so they let him go. Trap anyone? I wonder if these guys are working for Haggar and not Lotor.

Well, looks like stage three of Operation Kuron was short lived.

Lucky that’s water and it isn’t poisonous.

Looks like there’s a lot of people invested in Operation Kuron not failing.

Subject Y0XT39, huh? You mean there were more of him?

That anomaly is probably the guy sent to spy on Lotor, right? Figures.

Self-destruct?

Oh, so this episode takes place at the same time Episode 3 does?

He didn’t get to Voltron in time. Not quite what I’ve come to expect from this show.

They found him in the end though.

That ending was… odd?

Episode 306: Tailing a Comet

Lance has a sniper rifle now.

I’d say Allura’s way past learning to use her bayard.

Black Lion’s ability to teleport? Why would it teleport its pilot away from it?

Shiro’s back. Wait, weird headache? I suspect foul play!

Shiro took command awfully fast.

I know this scene, I’ve talked about it before. Lance is willing to give up his spot on Voltron for the good of the team. An unexpectedly selfless gesture on his part.

Uncomfortable moment for Shiro and Keith. I feel bad for Keith, he only led Team Voltron for two episodes and now he’s out.

Civil war!

Keith is being the bigger man here. I feel it was Shiro’s place to stay put.

The Black Lion isn’t recognizing Shiro. The plot thickens.

Oh, it’s that guy again.

I don’t get it. Why is Lotor infiltrating a base under his command? Didn’t he have the comet already?

They’re after the teludav?

He made a ship out of the comet? A prototype?

So this is one of Haggar’s bases. Got it.

Remember what happened the last time you tried to go after Lotor, Keith.

It was Acxa alright.

Keith’s learning teleportation, nice!

Why didn’t they blow up the fighter while they had the chance?

It’s too quick for Voltron? Okay.

Well, it’s easier to destroy the cargo ship, right?

Is Lotor tapping into their communications that he knows what they’re going to do?

Good one, Keith!

Episode 307: The Legend Begins

Are we getting a flashback episode?

Flashback episode!

So Alfor was the Lance of the group? That is... interesting.

Zarkon meets his wife. Also, he was scared of a cat. Just saying.

Yes, pursuing knowledge is good but nothing says you can’t be prudent about it. What am I saying, this is Haggar we’re talking about.

Looks like someone screwed up.

No doubt about it, King Alfor had style!

What if the lions hadn’t chosen any of them? That would’ve been quite the predicament.

Oh, so when Alfor built these lions he didn’t know they could turn into Voltron? Guess there’s precedent for the Atlas then. Damn.

That’s it? One punch and it’s down? These paladins had it easy!

Not so fast!

Thus begins the rift and Zarkon’s turn to the dark side.

Yeah, yeah, and what else did they discover while Voltron was protecting the universe?

Daibazaal is about to pull a Krypton.

Alfor should’ve probably blasted the thing with his lion then and there.

Something tells me Zarkon is not being straight with the paladins.

How did Alfor send away the Black Lion? Did he shortly become his paladin, like Keith?

It kinda works as a season finale, doesn’t it? Hmm, perhaps more of a mid-season finale.

Closing Thoughts

Not much to say other than that I feel Lotor is not as good a villain as Zarkon was in previous seasons. Like I said in my commentary, Lotor’s victories are unearned most of the time and, naturally, he’s good at everything: fighter and melee combat, strategy and tactics, alchemy, etc. He can anticipate anyone and has planned for everything. In other words, he’s so perfect right off the bat he’s boring. Zarkon may be an archetype, true, but at least he’s an archetype done right. The only new villain I could kind of get invested in was Acxa, given her previous interaction with Team Voltron and her restraint when facing her enemies, unlike her partners. Having said that, evil Team Voltron didn’t do it for me.

Beyond that, Lance unexpectedly comes to terms rather easily with the idea of Keith leading the team, going so far as to encourage him to accept the Black Lion’s choice. Despite a catastrophic first mission as leader of Voltron, Keith eventually recognizes he messed up in a heartfelt conversation with Lance, and becomes more prudent as a result, slowly growing into his leadership role. Sadly, that’s all out the window come Season 4, but that’s a story for another post.

Having read that Shiro’s quick return was mandated by the show’s executives, I didn’t expect it to be nearly as good as it was. Even though it didn’t feature Voltron or the paladins, it was an entertaining episode overall, hinting at a bigger mystery left to unravel. However, it’s unfortunate since Shiro’s return cuts short Keith’s growth as the team leader, a fact the writers decided to double down on in Season 4. I was honestly looking forward to seeing Keith and Lance settle into their roles as leader and second-in-command, and how their relationship evolved as a result.

Going back to the past with the last episode was a fitting choice to end the season, all things considered. While not as good as The Legend of Korra’s “Beginnings” two-parter (few episodes can be), “The Legend Begins” serves the same purpose by exploring the origins of Voltron, the rise of the Paladins, and the tragedy of Zarkon and Honerva (Haggar). I must say it’s impressive how deftly it achieves this over the span of 20 minutes, though I’ll admit I found Honerva’s radical transformation a little harder to swallow than Zarkon’s.

Not a half-bad season all in all, but still not as tight as Season 1. Also, I’ve only just noticed, was there less humour this time around? Could be, could be, and that’s not bad at all in my book. See you around in Season 4!

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #voltron season 4 #anime #voltron spoilers

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dentelle-grise · 6 years

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Your Latest Trick - Chapter 20

(Loki x Reader NSFW) Long after everyone has stopped talking about Loki and his misdemeanors, his failed attempt to take over Midgard and his punishment, you meet him at a party.

All chapters to date at AO3 (50K, NC-17) Tagging my rebloggers, commenters and other folk who asked. Please let me know if you want in (or out) of the list: @joanbushur,@frenchfrostpudding, @lovely-geek, @wolfsmom1, @sigridlaufeyson, @lokislonelylady, @monitoroutside, @daniissuchadani, @devilbat, @deadlydreamersecrets @helenisabel, @stardustandangelsfanfiction, @ely-seum, @wendyrobson1978, @the-ships-i-ship, @shemart101, @dreamourbrainout, @sadghostomg

Chapter 20

He’s gone again and you’re none the wiser as to where.

You roll into the warm space he left and doze. Imagine a safe place he’d said. So this is what you have – a nest, an invisible print on your skin, and a warm hole left in the bed. Every night when he comes to you you forget the strangeness of the situation with the comfort of his nearness.

There’s a faint tapping. Far off to start with, then louder, like someone walking closer. By the time you are awake enough to recognize knocking on your door it’s become an agitated banging accompanied by yells.

“Open up. I know you’re in there.” comes a woman’s voice.

You sigh, slip out of bed and pad around barefoot looking for your robe as there comes another bang. You pull open the door and there’s Sif in full battledress, a quarterstaff in her hand.

“Too early.” you groan. Now Sif is someone you’ve known since forever but you’d hardly say you were close, certainly not close enough for her to knock you up first thing in the morning to go and spar. And anyway, after your performance the last time, you hardly think you’d make her a worthy adversary.

“He’s here isn’t he?” Sif looks murderous and you’re glad she’s not carrying anything sharp.

“Who?”

But your word is spoken to empty space as she’s already pushed past you into your rooms. “What?” What presumption. This is your home. How dare she. You follow in her wake. Then you see what she sees.

There’s towels strewn around the floor, your clothes from yesterday in a heap, and the bed looks like someone had a fight in it. The door to the bathroom stands open displaying the bath still full and a couple of burnt-down candles.

She looks at you skeptically, paying particular attention to your collarbone where you know there’s a bruise, even though it was from the training the other day and quite possibly her work.

Who is she looking for? If it’s Loki then he’s long gone, but there’s no reason she’d be searching for Loki. None except a prickle of your conscience and the fear that there’s more to his secret than he’s let on.

Turning from you, she creeps toward the closet.

“What? Sif! Stop!”

With the point of her staff she pushes back the row of hanging dresses. She runs it all the way along, setting them swinging while you stand there speechless, your outrage unheeded. Then she turns with a huff and paces back toward the bed. The bedclothes are all bunched where you pushed them aside. Sif takes her staff and gives the bundle a less-than-gentle poke.

To your shock and her satisfaction there’s a yelp from within. “Got you.” breathes Sif.

What is he doing still here? He was gone. The idiot. Why is he back if he doesn’t want to get caught?

“Well what have we here? Fandr-”

She flips the sheets revealing a head of dark hair and stops short in shock, missing the wince you make.

Later you will remember guiltily that in that precise moment, as well as the terror at discovery, you also felt an intense sense of relief - that the secret was out, that you didn’t have to pretend anymore.

But right now, the figure rises, throwing back the sheets flamboyantly and it’s your turn for a shock. It’s not Loki.

It’s a woman, with raven hair, a red-painted mouth and large bare breasts she has no shame in displaying.

Sif has no shame in staring either, though it’s probably out of surprise. For a moment no one says anything and the woman stretches luxuriantly and smiles at you both.

“Why don’t you try the kitchens.” The woman says, flicking back her long black locks. “Perhaps he was looking for something sweet.” The last word drips honey and ice and Sif looks on in shock a second longer, before turning without a word and tearing out of the room. The bed’s occupant grins wickedly.

“Ooooh! someone’s in trouble.” She breaks into laughter. Familiar laughter. There’s only one way she could have gotten there.

“Loki!?” It wasn’t the voice that tipped you off or even the words but the whole set up, the trick and it’s recklessness. Now you search the woman’s face for his features, morphed into someone else, but still strangely recognizable. And there they are, when you know what to look for. And there, around her neck, is the pendant, it’s color a smoky violet but it’s form unmistakable. You’re staring, incredulous.

“What?” Loki looks at you innocently, her larger eyes blinking slowly and fuller mouth pouting slightly. “I saw her heading up here and thought I’d have little fun.”

She climbs out of bed and strolls towards the closet, considerably shorter in stature, with a figure that defies belief - breasts very full, a tiny waist and broad, curvaceous hips.

“Loki, what is this? I mean, who are you?”

“What this?” she makes a grandiose gesture to her body, turning to display delicate shoulders, rose-pink nipples. “Why, this is me.”

“You’re not impersonating some… friend?”

“Oh no. I’m not imitating anyone.”

You struggle with the idea a moment. Loki is also a woman? Or can pretend to be a woman? You find those curves rather unrealistic to tell the truth. They look more like how a man might idealize a woman than any true woman you’ve ever seen. You get a picture of adolescent Loki dreaming this up, sketching out this fantasy on the corner of a spell book.

“You mean you designed yourself a female self, you sat down and drew a woman-“

“I not drawn. This is just the way I am.”

Loki’s clearly very proud of this form and not remotely shy – with a deliberate swing of the hips as she approaches your clothes. Unlike Loki’s male form, her body is unmarred by scars, it’s perfect, her skin has the same glowing paleness and her hair is the same bottomless black.

She touches one of your dresses and it appears instantly on her body.

It doesn’t fit in quite the same way as it does on you. Of course not. It’s obviously tighter around the bust, and there is more of her shoulders on view. She’s changed it, by magic.

“Hummm.” She looks at herself in the mirror, then moves on to the next outfit, a pale blue one, one you always found a bit too modest and serious. She performs a transformation so there’s more cleavage visible and a slit up the leg to the upper thigh.

“I remember the first time when Thor went into battle.” Loki says as she admires her work. “I was left behind.” You watch her expression, - scheming - the same and somehow not.

“So I chose to ‘welcome home the warriors’ instead. Like this.” She points to herself, now in gold and russet, skin paled to translucent by the strength of the color.

At least five of them the first night.” She gives a little shudder of delight that makes her breasts jiggle, and adds. “Something you’d know a bit about.”

Struggling to maintain your composure and treat this new development like something quite reasonable and normal, you protest. “Oh no, never more than one at a time, that’s a waste of men.”

“Warriors.” Loki corrects. Letting the word hang there. She’s grinning again, teeth white and dangerous against the red of those lips.

Loki changes into a green dress now, one you don’t know, so you guess it’s one of her own called from some magical wardrobe. The neckline is a huge V in front, diving between those ample breasts and mirrored by one at the back that almost reaches the cleavage there too.

“Mother and Father found out of course.” she continues. “I made sure of it.” Now she’s smiling smugly. “And strangely enough, the next time, I was allowed to go and fight alongside Thor.” She examines her nails, which are polished a black so shiny she’s probably admiring herself in them.

“But it’s still of great use to me to be able to change. For a start, it’s far easier to find company for the night like this.” She smirks and you don’t know if its complicity or flirtation. Both perhaps. “In fact,” she says slowly, looking you full in the eye as though to be sure she’s understood. “I find a lover every time I take this form.”

That expression you’d know whatever form Loki chose to take. You don’t know if what you feel is fear or attraction. To push it home she adds.

“I’ve no objection to ‘non-warriors’.”

It’s that moment that the penny drops about ‘warriors’ rather than men. Could she possibly mean Sif? That Sif and Loki…, no Sif and Lady Loki…? And without Sif even knowing who she was.

Sif’s reaction just now takes on a whole new meaning and you feel a ripple of fear – or is that jealousy? – run though you.

And Sif ran out of here thinking what about you and this woman?!

Still, those huge green eyes are waiting and watching. You must be the picture of confusion.

“I could turn you into a man, you know”

“What! No!”

“Don’t you want to know what it’s like?” She’s taken a step closer.“You might enjoy it.” And she leers at you as though she most certainly would. Your stomach drops.

“No. Please.” The idea of you both being other people is too much.

“You’d prefer if we both stayed the way we are now?” her eyes flash.

“Change back.” you insist. “I want the real you.”

“But this is the real me.” She reaches out to you. “Does this form make you uncomfortable.” Well there it is. It’s not something you’ve given much thought to. It’s not as if there were opportunities. Unless you count that one time Sif ‘mistook you for Thor’…

“You mean you’ve never.” She stops before she touches you as though you might startle, as though you were something infinitely desirable but sacred. “Oh but what fun we could have…”

“But Loki. I want the real real you.”

There’s a flicker of something across her face. Disappointment? Even though this is Loki, you don’t know these morphed features well enough to read their expression. But then her eyes crinkle and her face breaks into a mischievous smile you recognize very well. “You know what you like then.” While you’re beginning to have some doubts in that area, her implication is as lewd and as clear as if she’d made a gesture to go with it.

“But, any time you want to try…” she gives you a wink and in an instant changes back to the form you know, body drawing out, flattening, filling out differently. He regains his usual height, his usual garb and all at once radiates a different sort of power. You have a moment of regret for his other self, the full mouth and large eyes, the rounder everything, and hope after all that you haven’t seen the last of her…

He draws you into his arms right away and the familiarity is a balm, but you’re still on edge from the ruse, from the conversation,from the things you didn’t say or dare. Your heart is hammering already and he’s hardly touched you. He slides a crafty hand inside your robe and you melt into him. When he feels how wet you already, he he challenges, “So you do like me in my other form.” He starts to work you with his hand and it becomes impossible to think of a clever answer if there ever was one.

“I thought so.” He delves deeper and you cling to him. All of a sudden he stops and pulls away his hand. He holds it up so you can see it glistening. “What did that? I wonder.” He licks a moist finger and raises an eyebrow as you squirm. “Which one of my wicked ideas took root?” He feigns idle curiosity, returns his hand to its work and with the crook of a finger sets you writhing against him.

“Just. You.” You force out, breathless despite your immobility.

You expect him to disrobe you, to take you to bed, but no, he continues relentlessly with his fingers until you are begging. It’s not just him, though. It’s everything he’s been saying and doing. The unrealized possibilities and your imagination.

“You are enticingly curious if not courageous.” He breathes

You’re frustratingly aroused and unsettled and mad at yourself and confused and mad at Sif or jealous or afraid of her, or of yourself. You don’t know. You want to drown it all out in him; just want him to take you and let you forget the rest.

Outside, a bell is ringing. The day has started without you but in this instant you don’t care, if only Loki would… crush your body to the bed with is own. But he continues his slow massaging accompanied with deep kissing till he has you past a point where there is only want left and you cease caring how you get there. You just want him to make you come. He brushes off your attempts to please him. He does not relent, just keeps playing at a steady, frustrating rhythm and it’s driving you crazy, the fire mounting unstoppably but so so slowly, and more powerfully for it. Just as you give up waiting for him to take you to bed, he pulls your robe fully open cups your breasts with his hands while he kisses you. The one hand is wet with you and he slides his thumb over and over the nipple while thrusting his tongue down your throat. You can feel him hard under his clothes, but then you’re overcome by the culmination of your desire. You can’t stop bucking and shaking and crying. He just keeps on playing until as you come apart in his arms. When finally you are silent and still and weak and spent he lays you on the bed, grinning cheekily and, for the first time since his return, vanishes taking nothing for himself.

Chapter 21

#loki #loki fanfiction #loki x reader #MCU #imagine-loki #your latest trick

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cuppykin · 7 years

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The Adventures of Tintin: The Dressed Cattle, Chapter 1

This is the beginning of a few chapters of fanfiction for the Adventures of Tintin series, BUT, the focus here is my dear self insert, her name in this being Terry Westenburg, the shy baker who develops a feeling for a certain old salty seadog.

YEP this is mostly a self ship fanfiction but extended to be loyal to the source material (or as loyal as I could be), but if that isn’t your cup of tea, you’re not pressured to read it. If you are interested in reading, hopefully I’ll have Chapter 2 posted in maybe the next week or two weeks. So with that, enjoy!!

It was a nice, cool morning that day, the perfect weather for something warm and sweet. Terry was awake at a nice hour like any other day of her life, and was dressed, a nice skirt, blouse, and pretty black shoes. She brushed out her kinky black hair, short for a woman to have, even for a black woman to have, but it was easy to manage.

She could say she was in a nice mood, but something last night really shocked both her and her aunt. Outside her street, she couldn’t hear too much, but her aunt said she heard a confrontation, before a loud gunshot, which is what woke Terry up in the first place. They didn’t wanna dwell on it too much, and went to sleep, sure that whatever happened was just an incident that meant to happen to a specific person and not somebody random in the streets. The tension seemed to have been all around the apartment building, as nobody called the police until dawn broke

Terry had been greeted by her Aunt Ines, who had cooked breakfast for the both of them. Ines was her primary caretaker ever since Terry had moved back to Brussels after spending a good portion of her life in America. In some ways, Brussels felt very unfamiliar to her, but Ines loved the company Terry brought her.

“Good morning dear,” Ines smiled, the two of them putting up a casual front despite what they had both heard last night. “Are you sure about going to work today?”

“I gotta, it’s good to have spare money in the house, for nice things,” she said.

“Oh you would know something about buying nice things,” Ines chuckled. Terry was a bit girly, always wore pink with nice earrings and pretty shoes. It was all for her, she didn’t have much in the way of money for a while growing up. But she always was there to spend money on whatever Ines needed if the time came.

Terry got a piece of bread and spread honey on it, her aunt poured a cup of tea for her as she sat down.

“That reminds me,” Ines said. “That Mr. Laurent, you’ve been working with him for what, two years? He should’ve given you a raise by then.” Mr. Laurent was Terry’s boss. Her aunt never really liked him, despite his friendly exterior there was something about her she didn’t like, but Terry liked him. He was a good boss and she went to work in the back preparing food, since she was nervous actually talking to people during the day. But he was also old and she knew that for a little while he had trouble keeping the business afloat.

“I don’t mind, but I’ll ask him eventually,” Terry commented. “I think in the past few months the business is improving and by then he’ll have enough to increase my wages.”

“Alright, if you say so dear,” Ines said. “Want something else aside from bread dear?” Terry shook her head and stood up. “I get plenty to eat during work, love you Aunt Ines, I’ll see you later today.” Terry hugged her aunt and left the apartment they lived in, taking her coat and walking out into the streets of Brussels. She was immediately stopped by two very similar looking detectives, whom she only slightly recognized.

“Good morning miss,” the two said simultaneously with a tip of the hat.

“Good morning er, Thomson and Thompson was it?” Terry said.

“Right you are miss,” Thomson said happily. “Can we ask you a few questions?”

“About what?” She had figured it might be for that gunshot heard last night.

“Did you witness the murder of last night?” Thompson asked. It was a murder? Terry froze up in fear.

“N-no, just heard it.”

“At what time did you hear it?”

“I-I think it was a few minutes before midnight, but that’s all I know, I never looked and saw anything.”

“I see.”

“And you didn’t act on the murder at all did you?”

“What? No I could never,” she exclaimed.

“Very well miss!” Thompson smiled.

“You have a nice rest of the day,” Thomson said. Terry nervously walked past them, not daring to look any place where the murder might have taken place. It sounds much worse knowing that somebody was found dead not far from where she lived.

She quickly arrived at work, Mr. Laurent already there as he was the one who opened up, and Terry walked in with a smile. Mr. Laurent grinned as she came in. “Terry! How are you doing dear?”

“Great, it’s nice to come in,” she said, going into the back to put on her apron. “What’s the plan for today?” She wanted to go straight into talking about work, cause the murder was just eating at her after she found out.

“Start making a fresh batch of bread for the day, your hot cross buns recipe is getting rather popular,” Mr. Laurent smiled.

“Happy to experiment when needed,” Terry said. She went to the kitchen, getting all that she needed to cook some nice fresh bread rolls brushed with honey.

As she was beating dough when making the bread, she heard the phone ring in the other room. Mr. Laurent never really let her answer it, and she didn’t know why, but she didn’t think too much on it. Mr. Laurent took the phone, and Terry went back to focus on working at molding the dough into its proper shape for buns. Mr. Laurent soon came into the kitchen, as Terry put the buns in the oven.

“Terry dear, can you please do me a favor?” he asked. “I’ll pay you extra for it.”

“Yes sir?” she asked, wiping off her hands.

“Please, can you operate the front for me, there’s something I have to do urgently, and I’m not too sure how long I’ll be gone.” Terry stiffened a bit. Very, very rarely did she ever work in the front, Mr. Laurent preferred that, and it made her extremely anxious talking to others and taking their orders. But, this was her job, she had to overcome it eventually.

“Uhm...yes sir,” She said. “But right now I just put something in the oven, but no fears, I’ll monitor it while I look after this place.”

“Thank you so much, so so much,” Mr. Laurent smiled through his bushy grey mustache. Something about him seemed nervous, but Terry didn’t want to ask, as not to butt into his boss’s business.

“Of course sir, happy to help,” Terry smiled nervously. “I’ll make sure to do my best while you’re away.” Mr. Laurent smiled down at her, before he left in a hurry. Terry took a good look at the buns as they were cooking, and then went to the front of the bakery to start helping as saw fit.

The day seemed to start out a bit slower than other days, but of course people did come in for things like breakfast pastries. Terry was mousy and quiet, but got people what they needed, and soon grew a bit into it. Talking to people for her was the equivalent of stepping into a pool of cold water on a hot day. Hard to get used to, but forcing yourself to dive in is more comfortable when you get used to it.

It was past noon, and her boss still wasn’t back, and Terry had just sold a few slices of pie to a mother and her kids. The door opened again minutes after the mother left, and Terry had came to attention to help them.

“Good afternoon and welcome to Laurent’s, how may I help you?” she said as she did to others coming in. Walking into the bakery, a red headed young man and his pure white dog, and a dark haired older man with a bushy beard, who looked more irritated than anything. “Good afternoon miss, sorry to come in so suddenly, but can I ask a few questions?”

“Uh, yes, of course,” Terry said in surprise. “About what?”

“The recent murder not far from here near an apartment complex.” Her face dropped.

“Oh, that, I lived right where it happened,” she replied. “It kinda scares me, the thought of why whoever was killed was killed.”

“Whoever did that is a coward!” the dark haired man said loudly behind the red haired one. “Coming after a disabled sailor like that! To kill a man who can’t even run away from you is an act of a weak man with a gun!”

“Wait, who now?” Terry said in response. She might know the murder victim. She knew him as Wout. He was a bit of her aunt’s friend, and a sob story. He was a sailor for years and went on multiple voyages in his lifetime to many places, but one injury made his legs crooked and painful to walk on. As a result, he lost work, and went to live with his already elderly mother in the same apartment as Terry. She never talked much to him, but when she did, he seemed like such a nice man. Who would want him dead?

“Was his name Wout?” Terry asked.

“It-”

“It was!” The bearded man interrupted his younger friend. “When I find out who in the world would kill such a harmless man I’m gonna-”

“Captain, please!” the red headed man said, trying to calm him down. “This must be rough to hear, and you’re upset, and right now, we need answers from whoever we can.” He turned to Terry, a similar expression of concern as on her face. “I’m so sorry, miss, my name’s Tintin, you?”

“My name’s Terry,” she replied. “And uh...sir?” she turned to the bearded man, obviously enraged. He turned to her, trying to calm down in front of her.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” she said sadly. “I knew Wout too, but not as much as you might have.” She went and got a slice of cake from the stand, holding it up to the older man. He looked surprised to say the least.

“Miss no I can’t accept that, I’m just having a rough-”

“I uh, well, you know, even a little bit of sugar makes the most bitter medicine better,” Terry said. He took it, but went in his pocket afterwards for money.

“It’s on the house sir.”

“I know, but, if we’re gonna be at a bakery, might as well order something for the rest of us.” Tintin smiled a bit.

“I appreciate it, Captain,” he said. “I’ll have a berry tart, and, maybe a meat filled bun for Snowy here.” Terry leaned over to get a good look at the small dog at Tintin’s foot, and grinned.

“Awww what a cutie!” she grinned, the cute little dog yipping in response.

“A best friend of mine as well,” Tintin smiled.

“My name’s Haddock by the way,” the older man told Terry. “Captain Archibald Haddock.” Terry smiled a bit.

“A captain, what a nice title,” she said. “A man I’d figure have a care for former sailors.” She presented the pastries to the group, and they sat at one of the two tables there at the bakery (nobody really sat there in all honesty). As they ate, Terry went to Tintin and Haddock, and began telling Tintin what she could, which admittedly, was very little on this case, and did explain a lot about her reaction to the ordeal.

“And nobody called the police, at all during the time of the incident?” Tintin asked.

“Not to my knowledge, because I didn’t see the police until the morning when I left for work,” Terry answered. “Poor man wasn’t the richest, in fact was very very poor, how him and his mother could still afford to live in that apartment I have no idea.”

“He was only out of commission for the last six months,” Haddock said. “An injury like his could change a man so drastically in such a short period of time.” Terry looked to him sadly, and went to pour the group some glasses of water.

“Bad things can happen to such humble people,” Terry said. “But uh...I’m sorry, I didn’t know Wout nearly as well as I imagine you’d have.”

“No, it’s fine,” Haddock said. “I feel better knowing that people knew him fondly.”

“Captain, hopefully the man who did this will be brought to justice, and we don’t have another tragedy like the one last night,” Tintin look to his notebook, closing it after that. “Thank you so much Terry, say, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten here before.”

“That was a really nice slice of cake,” Haddock smiled, Snowy barking as to agree with them. Terry smiled.

“Thank you both, hopefully you all can come again, but I might be in the kitchen instead of up front.”

“Don’t like to show your face much do you, lass?” Haddock asked. Terry blushed a bit in response.

“I get nervous around customers a lot,” she said.

“You’re doing just fine with us aren’t you?” Haddock smiled. Terry smiled back, rather flustered. Such a friendly duo, and a rather charming captain despite his anger earlier. She didn’t expect to be so comfortable around these men so fast.

“Thank you so much,” Tintin stood up. “Stay safe going back home tonight.”

“Thank you, have a nice day,” Terry smiled at the two. “Come by again, maybe, if you want.”

“I’m certainly stopping by if the sweets here taste that good!” Haddock grinned, as they left. Terry smiled, and she let an excited chill run up her body. Despite the discussion of something so grim, Terry enjoyed her time around those two. A rare feeling that was so unfamiliar it was weird. She wanted to see them again, maybe be friends, if they even wanted to be her friend in return. Her default assumption, sadly, was everyone only tolerated her until she was told otherwise.

It was the evening, an hour before her scheduled time to head home, and yet, Mr. Laurent wasn’t there yet. Terry didn’t want to be worried, and yet, she was wondering what he was doing for so long. She spent the entire day baking, cleaning, and serving customers all at once. How that man could do so much on his own before she never knew. But the radio on the shelf of the bakery tuned into the news. Terry listened in closely as she mopped the floor. It was about the murder, and she wanted to start to drown it out, until one feature about it stood in her mind.

“...the murder victim was shown to have a mark of an X branded into his cheek, and is one of three other men in the past several months that have been murdered in this fashion, shot, branded, and left on the side of the street.” Terry knew about these incidents, 3 men before him murdered, with a single gunshot wound to the head, and an X branded into their cheek. She never thought that this would be a reality until it happened so close to where she lived.

The door to the bakery opened again, and Terry wondered who would come for cake at 6 in the evening. She turned around, and there was the man from earlier. Haddock, the dark haired bearded captain.

“Oh! Good evening sir,” Terry said. “What brings you here?”

“Don’t you have another one working with you?” he asked too abruptly. “You look too young to be owning a shop on your own.”

“My boss has been out all day, actually,” Terry explained. “I don’t know what for, but I don’t really mind, I think.”

“Hopefully you’re not a total pushover to him,” he said. “I came back to order a devil’s food cake slice, and apologize for earlier.”

“Apologize?” Terry went to the glass case to get a slice of cake for the captain.

“I imagine just bursting in here yelling shook you up a fair bit, eh?”

“Well, I mean, it’s fine, really sir, what am I to judge?” She gave him a slice of devil’s cake. “You’re rightly upset, I’m more shook up at the fact that it happened right in the apartment building I live in. You never think this stuff can happen so close to home, and to you, but then it does.”

“Oh, Tintin and I know a thing about that,” Haddock chuckled.

“You all get into danger a lot?”

“That ain’t the half of it.” Terry’s eyes sparkled in curiosity.

“That, that sounds really nice, I would love to hear some stories, but I have work right now.”

“I don’t see anybody in the shop except for you and I, how about we sit down and spin a yarn or two?”

“Oh! No I can’t do that what will my boss say?”

“Don’t worry, he won’t mind you taking a few minutes to chat, he’s the one who's been gone all day anyhow.” Terry smiled a bit. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t happy to see this man again, and did sit down, putting the mop aside. “Tell me anything you can, sir.”

Terry listened with great interest to Haddock, his life as a captain on the high seas, meeting Tintin in the first place and find the riches of his ancestor that got him to own Marlinspike Hall, travelling to the arctic to discover an odd asteroid and competing against a boat on the race to claim it. She was intrigued, it was so much more of an intriguing lifestyle compared to how she lived for a good portion of her young life.

“Sir, that sounds so, well, I’d say fun but a lot of that sounds borderline life risking,” Terry said. “I’d wanna experience that, maybe just once.”

“Be careful what you wish for, dear,” Haddock said. “You just might get it.”

“That’s why I wished for it in the first place!” Terry giggled in response. The door opened up, and Terry looked to see who it was. It was her boss! Terry stood up. “O-oh, good evening sir, don’t worry I kept the bakery running-”

“Terry, don’t worry, you did great in my absence,” Mr. Laurent said. Terry looked at her boss, and noticed the state of him. He had a horrible black eye, there were several bruises across his face and his lip was bleeding underneath his mustache.

“Sir…? Are you alright?” She asked, Haddock stood up and took a good look at him as well. “Looks like ya got into a nasty fight.”

“What? No, no, this was all in an accident on my way home,” he said. Terry noticed something very, very faint on one of the bruises across his face. It couldn’t been seen unless you were really staring, but there was an odd X on one of the bruises on his face, like something hit, or even slapped or punched him.

“Terry, you did good, and you can go home for the day, you’ll get a good sum of money for taking care of the shop for the day.”

“Will you be okay sir?” she asked.

“Of course, no worries, you can go home and rest for the night, I’ll take care of everything else.”

“A-alright sir, I’ll pack up for the night.”

“Oh, I still have to pay, don’t I?” Haddock said. “I ordered a cake, sir.” Terry went to the back and removed her apron, coming out and grabbing her coat to leave. “Have a nice night, Mr. Laurent.”

“I can walk you home, miss,” Haddock offered. “With what’s going on it’s not safe for a woman to be out here on her own.”

“I uh...are you sure?” Terry asked. “I don’t wanna be a bother.

“Of course, come on, get enough rest sir.” Haddock left with Terry down the street.

“I don’t live far from here, it’s quite alright,” Terry told him.

“Still, doesn’t feel a little better to walk home with someone for the night?” He was right about that, and Terry just nodded in response.

“Sorry, it must be creepy for an old man like myself to be so buddy buddy with a woman your age.”

“It’s fine, really, I don’t talk to people much because I assume well...I’m just an inconvenience in their space.”

“Nonsense, you’ve been a delight so far, if you don’t mind me saying.” They eventually made a stop right by Terry’s apartment building.

“This is where I live,” she said to him. “Told you, it’s not very far from the bakery.” She saw the police tape and chalk on the side of the road, where the man was murdered, and sighed. “I guess it is rather dangerous, but I don’t really, have friends to walk with me after work.”

“None? No friend in the world?”

“Just me and my aunt, I get scared finding my place amongst others, and I just fade out and not talk to them. I guess it’s gotten worse for me living here, I don’t look like anyone here as far as I’ve seen.” Haddock furrowed his brow, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“There’s no need to feel like that, I know this seems odd but, perhaps I can come around when you’re able to, and we can maybe go on walks or get a drink or two.” Terry blushed, looking at how Haddock had his hand on her shoulder.

“You...you want to do that with me? Are you sure, because I was just ranting about my own stupid issu-”

“Of course, you seem nice enough, a part of me wishes we bonded over something less…” he looked to the chalk lines of the body once there. “...tragic, but, it’s still something.”

“I’d love that!” Terry smiled. “I live on the second floor, the only door on the second floor that’s black, so it’s not hard to spot.”

“Can I count on you being there tomorrow?”

“In the morning, I leave for work at nine, but…” Terry thought back to the injury her boss had. “I’m not sure I’ll be in work, Mr. Laurent will probably have to close because of that nasty injury.”

“That one, I noticed…” Haddock thought about it. “What kind of accident gives a man that look?” One that makes you run into a fist and boot multiple times.

“I hope he’s alright, the older you are, the less likely you’ll bounce back from injuries like that.”

“I can agree, but still, have a nice evening dear.” Haddock left at that, and as Terry entered the apartment his face went bright red in embarrassment. “I’m an idiot, a dunce! What kind of a man my age just asks a young woman that?” He hopes Tintin could join them, at least he’s closer in age with that young woman, but she was awful nice to him.

Terry breathed a sigh of relief as she arrived home. “Hello? Aunt Ines?”

“You’re home early,” she smiled, on the couch with a book and tea. “I haven’t even started dinner.”

“I had to leave sooner, Mr. Laurent looked to have gotten hurt pretty badly.”

“What happened to him?”

“He just told me it was an accident.” Terry took off her coat and rolled up her sleeves. “But since I am early, how about I help you with dinner?” Ines stood up and smiled, walking off with her young niece into the kitchen to cook for the night. They talked as they do usually at the end of the day, Terry bringing up how she met Tintin and Haddock.

“They sound like nice men,” she said. “And this Haddock man is coming over tomorrow morning?”

“Maybe, we never really confirmed anything solid.”

“It’s nice seeing you make friends dear, I love being with you, but a girl your age, living here for two and a half years with not a friend in site, I get worried sometimes.”

“I’m fine Aunt Ines, really.”

“I know, but I care about you, as any guardian figure would.” Terry smiled, her forehead being lovingly kissed by her aunt. The two finished a simple dinner for the both of them, and they sat and ate, in silence, but a nice, comforting silence that only two people with a strong bond could experience with each other. A nice, comforting end to a day that was both pleasant, and a little scary.

#cuppywrites #the adventures of tintin #self insert #selfship #the dressed cattle

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