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ijuststareatstuffhereok89 · 1 year

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The loki show ships just really suck and this is coming from someone who literally ships every enemies to lovers ship to ever exist but loki and sylvie have to be the cringest most boring ship in this trope that I actually can't believe Disney took a relationship between the god of mischief and goddess of mischief and managed to make it so horrendously BORING

Like why does loki have to act like this empty shell of his former self just so they can convince us "he is now soft and in love"?

With that being said i definitely don't mean this as an attack to the shippers they are more than welcome to have fun with this ship but please can they just stop pretending everybody who doesn't ship them is tasteless or doesn't know how to "have fun"

Same goes to lokius fans whose arguments seem to boil down to (Loki doesn't deserve to be in a toxic heterosexual relationship he deserves to be in a toxic homosexual relationship 🥰💕) just have fun with your ships but never write any sort of metas about them ever for god's sake cause they just sound so dumb and it's getting tiring to hold on to this fandom any longer

Ok if you got this far thanks for reading my long ass rant and also Hello, You're one of the few blogs that i came across that doesn't defend this complete assassination of loki's character!!!

The biggest sinners in the whole TV show debacle are the writers. THEY decided to slowly bring down Loki's character progress and dignity, and THEY chose to keep Tom out of the creative process, when he's the one who made a whole career out of the part. I bet he wasn't wholly on board with the direction they were taking Sylvie and Loki. There is no way a man who speaks about a role with such passion and admiration would ever approve of "she's a female YOU! Lol oh that narcissistic Loki could only EVER love himself!"

Thing is, I kind of get why they wanted Loki to get a girlfriend, fan service and all. Loki DID kind of become the underground sex symbol of the MCU. They would've felt pressure from focus group hacks to do SOMETHING with Loki's romantic life if they were going to keep wringing appearances out of him like a sponge. But there were already so many characters they could have worked with, including his WIFE, MISTRESSES, and, oh yeah, a ROLE THEY HAD CAST AND THEN DELETED (Amora the Enchantress), and instead they went with "Loki could only ever respond romantically to himself so let's create a whole new character who has no personality, heart, or anything Loki needs or would be attracted to, and shove her down everyone's throats as Phase Four's Breakout Tragic Romance, which is the single biggest insult that surrounds Sylvie's creation and execution.

At first, I thought the show was going to be a metaphor for horrible systemic treatment of abuse victims via the failing bureaucracy of government. That would have rocked so hard. It STARTED to seem that way. It could have been about Loki standing up for himself and finding vindication through action and forgiveness for those he wronged. He could have even found vindication through a love story if IT HAD BEEN DONE RIGHT! Then they just made it all about Sylvie, Sylvie, Sylvie and how gosh darn wonderful she is.

Also, there was no fun, aside from arguably seeing the other Lokis in the void. Loki's character was always sinister with a lot of angst, but he was also FUN! He had creative costumes and ways of doing things. Tom Hiddleston has amazing facial expressions and scene presence when he's allowed to use it and not shrink back into it. The show should have been much more pleasant and visually engaging to match Loki, but instead, they threw him down a volcano and took what came out as his 'new look' and attitude. I think if he met Thor again, Thor would think Loki was lobotomized, and Thor 5 would be all about the search for proper mental health emergency resourcers (as long as they skipped the screeching goats).

Ah, I love a good rant on a Monday morning! :)

#mcu loki #loki tv series #sylvie #sylki sucks #sylvie sucks #justice for sigyn #loki #loki deserved better #tom hiddleston #kevin feige #MCU Loki

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strawberrychocletysundae · 4 years

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ii wrote a little ship thing for charlson! It’s much better to read it on my ao3(link in the about) because tumblr is being a fuck and won’t let it be seen so technically im posting this again. Anyway, I hope you all like it! And please be sure to leave constructive criticism if you have any!

Hm.

The smell from the flowers is so sweet, it almost caught him off guard when he walked into the shop. Gosh, hopefully his allergies won’t start up. He would hate to look like such a sneezing mess in public.

The shop reminded Wilson of a little cabin, homey and bit nostalgic with the jazz music that played through the shop’s speakers. Flowers of all sorts of beautiful arrangements filled the wooden stands. Some were even in little pots, hanging on the ceiling. As elaborate as the arrangements were, he was just trying to look for a simple flower that would light up his apartment. Maybe that pink camellia over there? Oh but the price… He’ll have to look for something cheaper. That lilac has such a wonderful magenta hue! It would look great on the kitchen table! Ok but that forget-me-not is also pretty nice too-

Argh! How indecisive can he be?! And all of this for a flower? Wilson frustratingly tapped his foot to the rhythm of the music. Those valerians are super pretty… And those daffodils would make a good combination with it- Wait can’t he just pick those from the ground? He doesn’t have to pay for something that he can get for free.

It wasn’t long until his attention turned to an interesting arrangement of roses. He wasn’t sure why, but it captivated him. Could it be how they layered onto each other? Or the lovely colors? The red circling the yellow, kissed with the tiniest hint of the ruby color. And to top it off, a single lavender rose right in the middle. He quietly eyed it; a sense of longing filled his mind.

… She would have loved this.

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the giant blue vase heading towards him. Wilson… The vase is getting closer… Oh god, he’s too distracted… OH GOD WILSON-

The vase collided onto his back, the force sending him down on the ground. “Oh gosh, I’m really sorry!” The speaker behind the vase quickly set it down near an empty table. “I didn’t mean to bump into you!”

That voice… It’s… Familiar. “No no, it’s quite alright. I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t see you were coming” he awkwardly laughed while avoiding their gaze. Gosh this so embarrassing

“Here, let me help you up” the person offered their hand. Wilson grabbed it and was pulled back up.

“Thank you for that. Sorry for-“ he side-eyed the person. Wait. He did a massive double-take and his eyes widened. Oh my god, same face, same voice. “C-Charlie?” his voice was breathless, completely shocked at the sight before him.

“Wilson?”

“I-I-I” is this real? Could this really be his Charlie? Oh won’t someone pinch him he must be dreaming! Wilson nodded his head, his eyes on the verge of tears. “Oh, Charlie I- achoo”

Ah crap.

His sneezes became more erratic as his eyes became a waterfall. Seriously? Out of any moment in time, why did his allergies have to start now? “Achoo- Char- achoo” is he crying or just having bad allergies? Maybe both. Whatever it is, Wilson slowly became an utter sneezing mess.

Charlie handed him a box of tissues from the front counter. “Hey,” she whispered as she caressed his cheek “how bout we get away from all these flowers, ok?”

There were some small sniffles as he wiped his tears away. By now this man looked like an ugly crying cat who also had a bad pollen allergy “...ok”

🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕

Wilson blew his nose as Charlie leaned back on the concrete wall. She had brought him to the back of the store, where there’s no pollen but instead, the cold, foggy, grey world of the city. But it’s near the dumpster with rotting flowers so… Hopefully that won’t bother him.

“It’s been so long. How’ve you been? How’s everyone else?”

“Oh! Um…” Wilson threw away the used tissues. “Everyone’s trying to get into the swing of things. Some got their dream jobs, others are working towards it, the kids are all home-schooled by Ms. Wickerbottom when she’s off from her library, I think Willow and Wx are wandering around exploring the modern world” a smile appeared on Wilson’s face as he thought about his friends.

”And as for me, I’m working two jobs trying to save up for going back to graduate school” It definitely is tiring, especially with their long hours. But hey, it pays the bills.

“Oh really?” she clasped her hands together as she giggled “that’s great I’m so happy for all of you!”

He chuckled and began to admire his love. Stars, she’s beautiful. And her giggle? Music to his ears! He began blushing, just losing himself in her eyes. How happy he was to see her, safe and sound. After all this time…

After all this time…

How di-

“Charlie?”

“Yes honey?”

“How did you escape?” He tugged on the strings of his sweater. Hm… Nervous. “The last time I saw you it was with everyone at the portal… And you said you had to stay behind and... Yeah”

There was a moment of silence between them, the sound of cars passing by, filling the empty void. The old queen rubbed her arm, thinking about the time spent in complete isolation. No new survivors appeared. Nothing fell from the sky. Only the shadows kept her company in the vast emptiness of the Constant. “It’s a bit hard to explain”

Shit. Did he open up a big wound? “Yo-ou don’t have to ta-alk about it i-if you don’t want to” he stumbled over his words.

“No no, it’s fine” she smiled, attempting to show him no harm done. “Let’s see… Where to begin” The beginning, middle, or the end? Maybe a short summary would do. “Well, when you guys left, They managed to destroy the Gateway, so I won’t have the chance to follow suit” she fiddled with the pockets from her apron. “Literally nothing was salvageable, everything was turned into goopy nightmare fuel”

“Oh…” Stars. How hellbent where these things on keeping her behind? “Then what did you do?”

“For a while, nothing” her voice became low and quiet as she watched the clouds pass by. “When the Gateway was destroyed, my hopes immediately came crashing down. I wasn’t sure if there were even other ways of getting out. So I just sulked around the Constant” And how boring and lonely it all was. A queen without any subjects and an empty kingdom. “Then one day, I got tired and finally stood up to Them… By fighting them”

“Wh- I- CHARLIE OH MY GOD! DID YOU GET HURT?!”

“Um… yeah I kinda did. And it was pretty painful, to be honest, ha ha” ha ha. Ha ha. Awkward laughter “But! In the end, I managed to win!” She grinned triumphantly “Bet that taught ‘em a lesson or two!”

“I bet it did” he chuckled. Some of the anxiety he felt washed away. But he’s still not over the fact that his girlfriend beat the shit out of a shadow hivemind. “Then what happened?”

“Hm. That part is a bit foggy. The last thing I can remember is that I woke up back in San Francisco. And that’s all”

Wilson leaned on Charlie’s shoulder. “You’ve been through so much,” his voice, soft and whispery “and now you’re finally free. Darling, I’m so happy to see you safe and sound”

“I am too” she ran her fingers through his hair “We can finally be together without any stress of constant survival”

“Everyone can get second chances”

“Be happier”

“Safer”

“And They won’t hurt us again” she turned to Wilson and smiled “I’m sure of it”

He smiled back at her “I guess our determination really overshadowed Them, huh?”

Charlie giggled “I guess it did” she leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead.

Wilson gently pulled her into a soft hug, nuzzling her. The old queen crouched down and nestled into it, hugging him back a bit tighter. They silently stayed in each other’s arms, not wanting to let go.

Reunited at last.

Nothing stopping them, nothing to harm them, nothing at all.

Everything is going to be okay.

#charlson//#dont starve #dont starve wilson #dst #dont starve charlie #ds charlie #ds wilson #wilson p. higgsbury #my writing and shit #a second reblog i guess

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doomedandstoned · 5 years

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The Curious Case of Dr. Sludgelove and His Awesome Cosmic Adventures

~By Billy Goate~

There's something to be said for the enduring power of a Stanley Kubrick film. There's no denying his potent storytelling, especially when it's inspiring a new generation of bands to write music about 2001: A Space Odyssey. I mean, wasn't that movie released in the late-60s? It's tech is dated, as are much of the effects, yet here we have young musicians writing minor epics about Dave's star-tripping Jupiter run, raging apes, and that gosh-darned monolith. Hmmm, well if you look at your typical Sunn Amp, it's no wonder. Thing is a picture of solitary grandeur, to say nothing of its omnipotent, knee-bending sonority.

In our last globe-hopping journey, we landed in Mexico City where we met a band called MOONWATCHER, known to project scenes from the film while playing open amphitheaters at the dead of night. Our travels next take us to Hungary, a scene I've sorely neglected over the years. More specifically, we're going right into the heart of the action: Budapest. It's the birthplace of the great pianist-composer Franz Liszt, who is arguably the first rock star for taking his solo piano performances on the road, which ignited the swooning throngs.

Some of you may have been exposed to the Hungarian doom-stoner sound already and not even realized it. Bands like Apey and the Pea, for example, have demonstrated that Hungarians like their music spicy, served up with verve and gusto. I decided it would be a good time to open up the window and take give you all a peek at this world through the eyes of a band I stumbled upon at random a few weeks back, who endeared themselves to me almost from the start with their name: Dr. Sludgelove. C'mon, how can you not love it?

Another thing I admire about the band is their dedication to concept. The presser they sent out was helpfully annotated with scene-by-scene narration of each track, which I've decided to share with you as I walk you through them. Finally, we're going to meet the band and find out what they can tell us about what it's like to be Doomed & Stoned on their side of the planet. Buckle up, boys. We're about to take a ride with a pair of wild men out into the final frontier.

Dr. Sludgelove is:

János Papp

Attila Temesvári

János Paronai

This is the story of their excursion into the universe of Stanley Kubrick, relayed in their own words.

My Space Odyssey

I. Dawn of Man

This is the first song off of Dr. Sludgelove's debut album, inspired by the Stanley Kubrick movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. In this song, humanity has just been born. Apes are living their everyday lives, which is just about struggling, fighting for food, and finding a place to sleep. They gather into groups -- the groups are fighting with each other, as well. The Earth during these times is very unfriendly place, with big and wrathful storms. Green can be found barely in this region and the vegetation is not very rich.

At some time, in the morning a big black prism is just appearing in front of our group at the ape cave. The shape, color, and smell is just something that has never ever been seen on this planet before. It is a monolith. An ape shows interest at once, as he caught sight of it. He moves closer, wants to touch it, but at the same time he is afraid of the unknown. He starts to dance around it. Others are appearing, as well, but they have bigger fears and choose to watch him from a decent distance. After a while, our hero just decides to tap on it. Then after some quick taps, he constantly touches the Monolith, but nothing visible seems to happen.

My Space Odyssey by Dr. Sludgelove

After some days, the ape finds some bones of a guinea pig, which are just lying in front of him. He starts to play with a piece, but he realizes after a while what he can do with it. He holds it high, then smites it with all his power. At this moment, he realizes how to use something to achieve bigger force than he is able to provide with his bare hands. He has just started to use a tool! This is also the start of the intellect, which drives humanity to reach bigger and bigger improvements. The Monolith gives the possibility of having a better, more developed life than the miserable life of apes. This moment starts everything, a pathway to the modern person's future.

II. Discovery One

In this second song, humanity is in space, travelling between planets in the Solar System. There is a base at the Moon, which can be visited by the average person, as well. Traveling in space is not such a big thing any more.

My Space Odyssey by Dr. Sludgelove

After discovering the Monolith in the surface of the Moon, a group of elite astronauts and scientists start their travel to the planet Jupiter to discover an anomaly, marked by the Monolith on the Moon. Most of the scientists are in hibernation, though two astronauts are awake during the long journey to supervise. An artificial intelligence, called HAL9000 is supporting them, dealing with all the low level controls of the spaceship.

III. HAL-9000

In this song, HAL-9000 reveals his true colors, as he tries to kill all astronauts on the spaceship. Dave Bowman, the last astronaut, decides to switch off HAL's intelligence to stop its influence controlling the whole ship's whole ecosystem. During the switching off operation, Dave needs to wear a spacesuit, as maybe HAL will try to kill him by providing no oxygen. Because of the spacesuit, we can hear Dave breathe during the entire track. This gives a sense of great tension to the whole song and originally for the movie scene, as well. We can hear as HAL tries to convince Dave that everything is alright and it will have no problems continuing the mission successfully.

My Space Odyssey by Dr Sludgelove

In the meantime, Dave pulls out computer cards from HAL's central unit, so HAL gets more and more simple-minded. At a certain point, HAL tries to convince Dave by appealing to his emotions as it states it is AFRAID! During Dave's actions, the music is heavy, a really metallic riff suggests that Dave is doing some harmful thing to HAL. When Dave finishes with the shutting down process, HAL goes into standby mode. Then he starts to "sing." This is the first thing that was taught to HAL back in the day, when it was created by its instructor, Mr. Langley.

IV. Alone Into The Void

After Dave Bowman successfully switches down HAL9000's high-level functionality, he continues the mission and heads towards the direction of Jupiter to investigate the enormously big copy of the Monolith found in the Moon. This is the focus of the fourth song. His colleague Frank Pool and all of the scientists held in deep hibernation were killed by HAL 9000 and the connection to Earth is also cut.

My Space Odyssey by Dr Sludgelove

During the long journey, therefore, he is really alone. The way to Jupiter lasts for long months. He tries to focus on the mission, but because he is lacking communication partner, Dave thinks a lot about his future, what he will find next to Jupiter, how the Monolith will behave, what will happen when he encounters it. A lot of questions and a lot of pressure on him and the prospect of the unknown drives him to depression, as he prepares to meet his doom.

V. My God, It Is Full of Stars!

For the fifth song, astronaut Dave Bowman encounters the Monolith. He says the following phrase just before losing contact with Mission Control: “The thing’s hollow -- it goes on forever -- and -- oh my God! -- it’s full of stars!”

My Space Odyssey by Dr Sludgelove

During the journey, he sees these stars as flashes, as the known three dimensional world falls apart. Time, direction, and all the usual physics does not make sense here anymore. Bowman is transported via the Monolith to an unknown star system, through a large interstellar switching station, and sees other species' spaceships going on other routes. Bowman is given a wide variety of sights, from the wreckage of ancient civilizations to what appear to be life-forms living on the surfaces of a binary star system planet.

VI. Death of Man, Born of The Starchild

After a journey through the wormhole, Dave Bowman finally arrives during the last song. The Monolith creates an environment for Dave to exist in that would not harm him in any way, making it look like a hotel room filled with familiar items to assuage any fear and appear welcoming.

Dave can't believe what he sees, but leaves the pod and explores the room in his suit. He sees the telephone and telephone book, but the phone doesn't work and the telephone book is blank.

He explores more and finds the refrigerator, where there is a variety of packaged food, but it is all "blue substance, about the weight and texture of bread pudding. Apart from its odd color, it looked quite appetizing." There are clothes in the closet, which are a bit out of date for Dave's time.

My Space Odyssey by Dr Sludgelove

Dave decides to trust the environment. "But this is ridiculous," Bowman tells himself in the novelization by Arthur C. Clarke. "I am almost certainly being watched, and I must look an idiot wearing this suit. If this is some kind of intelligence test, I've probably failed already. Without further hesitation, he walked back into the bedroom and began to undo the clamp of his helmet. When it was loose, he lifted the helmet a fraction of an inch, cracked the seal and took a cautious sniff. As far as he could tell, he was breathing perfectly normal air." He eats the blue food and drinks the water, showers, dresses, and he turns on the television.

Refreshed and exhausted, Dave lies down on the bed, turns off the light and "...for the last time, David Bowman slept." The Power behind the Monolith then transforms Dave into the Starchild, the next evolution of man.

Encounter With Dr. Sludgelove

I'm afraid 'My Space Odyssey' has only whet our appetite for more from Dr. Sludgelove. Where does the band go from here?

We are just starting to dive into the Hungarian stoner/doom/sludge scene. Our first release is more than a year old, but the needed band members have just been recruited. We started to rehearse and were able to find rehearsal room, so a lot of technical problems were solved in the last few months. Now we are planning gigs more gigs, after performing for the first time in this configuration during the spring. We are mostly close to Baby Gorilla Records and bands like Third Planet and Lanterni. We are planning gigs together first in Budapest, after that probably in some bigger cities around the country. Our one year goal is to be a band in Hungary that's invited to support a bigger foreign name, when such an act comes to play here. Our second album also will come out around the summertime, with the help of the sound engineer of the well-known band Red Swamp. Also merchandise, CD, and cassette releases are planned.

You mentioned a couple bands from the Hungarian scene. What are some others that doomers and stoners might check out?

Maybe the biggest name nowadays is Apey and the Pea. They usually play to sold out parties in Budapest, tour the whole country, and perform in foreign countries and festivals more and more. Their first releases were more grunge and stoner, then they delved into doom and sludge. Their most recent release is sludgier and contains thrash elements, as well. They are the best in Hungary right now.

Some other names worth checking out are Red Swamp, Lemurian Folk Songs, Űrhajó, Grizzly, Lanterni, Entrópia Architektúra, Alone in the Moon, Mighty Manlifter, and Third Planet, just to name a few top of mind.

For outside bands looking to tour through Hungary, what are some good booking agencies?

There is Baby Gorilla Records -- overall, really nice guys. They are managing and representing around 8-10 bands in the stoner, sludge, doom, noise, and prog rock subgenres. Also dealing with record releasing, of course, in addition to artwork, and organizing label nights, where their bands are usually supporting bigger names from foreign lands. While we're not on their label roster, we played one of their label nights in May, supporting the British band Famyne.

Thulsa Doom Booking is another one. They organize gigs for smaller foreign bands. Also they have their own group of bands, which they manage. They organize the underground festival called Thulsa Doom Fest, which you might have heard of.

Cudi Purci Booking is a bigger fish in this pond. They organize gigs with big foreign bands in the genre, like Elder, High on Fire, that kind of thing. They also organize the so-called Desszert Fest in Hungary.

What are some places that people like to hang there?

So, I'm listing some places where metalheads usually go out. Durerkert hosts a lot of live gigs in all rock and metal genres. This is a really cool place, we like it very much.

BARhole Music is the place where today's "rock stars" go to hang out in Budapest. If you want to meet with members from bands like Apey and the Pea, you will likely bump into them there.

Három Holló is a coffee house and restaurant at daytime, a cultural gathering at night -- including host to a lot of heavy music gigs and festivals.

Gólya is a cozy little place, which has lots of possibilities for smaller bands in our genre to perform live.

Follow The Band

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#D&S Reviews #D&S Interviews #Dr. Sludgelove #Budapest #Hungary #Doom #Sludge #Metal #Sci-Fi #2001: A Space Odyssey #Stanley Kubrick #Doomed & Stoned

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hogwarts-houses-as · 7 years

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Another short story! This one's a little shorter. I'm still Hufflepuff :)

Amy’s notes- I love your writing so much oh my gosh. The last one you sent me reminded me of Terry Pratchett- this one reminds me of Tolkien (I kid you not I can’t decide if I like your writing better, I honestly might), any they’re two of my favourite authors. I swear, I would buy a collection of your short stories from a bookstore. I’m going to give you forty points for this one too, cause it’s frickin amazing.

The Dragon Seolfdersthai

Down, down into the earth he found his way to where the dragon lay, entombed. He emerged as if from the grave at the bottom of a cavern, his werelight like a speck of stardust lost in the immensity of the black cosmos, serving only to make the darkness seem darker as it pressed upon the tiny circle of light, so that for a moment he thought perhaps it flickered and his heart faltered within his chest. The cavern was immeasurably vast, yet it stank of the dragon’s long imprisonment: the thick, heavy, musty odor of reptile. Soon, he came to the beginning of the dragon’s hoard: Seolfdersthai had been infamous in her time, before men hunted dragons nearly to extinction and she had shut herself away in her nesting cavern; a place so layered with protective magic that here no man could possibly kill her.

He was not here to kill her. He was here to ask for her wisdom. Dragons live long lives; and in these long lives they hoard all kinds of treasure. They are exacting judges of what is valuable: only the bones of the bravest heroes are permitted lie amongst their hoards; great jewels cut from the roots of mountains; fine pearls delivered from the depths of the sea; gold and silver, copper and iron fashioned into rings, armbands, necklaces, crowns, weapons, by hands long since crumbled to dust; magical totems snatched from the men and women of power who now live only in the songs. But dragons know that not all that is of value has the glimmer of gold. Dragons, in their long years, also gather songs, eddas, poems, words, and wisdom. And for this element of Seolfdersthai’s hoard he had come.

He picked his way through the piles of treasure, careful not to touch even a single flake of gold nor to let his eyes rest on any piece too long, knowing that if he did so the dragonlust may invade his heart. As he wended his way, a voice seeped out of the darkness.

“Why hast thou come, little child-knight?”

The voice was as soft as the fluttering of a moth about a candle flame; as smooth as the sand after the wave; as round as a bell; as thin as a shiver; as cold as the mist; as patient as the water over riverstones.

“I have come to seek aid, Lady Seolfdersthai,” he called into the dark. It is always wise to be courteous to a dragon.

A gravelly laugh answered him. “From such quarter as a dragon? You must be desperate. Or daring.” The voice took on a contemplative tone. “Or perhaps mad. Tell me, little hero, which word invokes you?”

He paused a moment to consider carefully her words. Dragons often speak in riddles, finding amusement in such exercise, and to not speak in kind will cause them to become yet more indifferent than they are naturally, and can often arouse their ire in due course. However, even the mere semblance of reflection can be advantageous when dealing with dragons.

“Is not a desperate man mad? Is not a mad man daring?”

A soft, undulating hiss echoed through the cavern. After a moment, he realized this may be Seolfdersthai’s laughter. “Indeed, toy knight. Though one word may settle in a man’s shadow, it will always miss his heart; each word more comes closer to the mark; and yet it is unwise to cast too many, lest you overreach, and hide the man himself.”

“Double is too much and yet half is too little: I shall concede to your choice of amount and erase one title and add another. I am desperate, truly, to come to a dragon; I am daring, surly, by the same sense. Yet, I do not think myself mad. Perhaps foolhardy, in its stead.”

“Are they not alike, my desperate, daring, foolhardy little morsel?” the dragon needled.

“No two words are alike, Lady Seolfdersthai,” he answered gravely. “They each have a different taste upon the tongue.”

Again, her hissing laugh rang through the cavern. “Do you know, small one, the meaning of my name?”

Perhaps he had once known the meaning of her name, and could have found that knowledge again; but this was a leading question: Seolfdersthai was clearly eager to bestow that knowledge herself. Wisely, he replied, “In truth, I do not, Lady Seolfdersthai.”

“It means ‘one of the silver eye’,” Seolfdersthai explained. “Allow me to provide more light, so that you may see I am aptly named.” There was a sound like the wind before a storm, the sound of Seolfdersthai’s breath, and a shimmering ribbon of light danced across the cavern, plucking his werelight from his grasp and imbuing the enchanted stone with such a light that lighted all but the most elusive corners of the cavern as it hung just below the giant stalagmites. For indeed, as surely as dragons can breathe fire, they can also breathe magic, as well as wind: the three elements of their essence. “Hmm,” Seolfdersthai rumbled, contemplating her work, “a werelight imbued with dragon’s breath. A rare and costly trinket, indeed. But worry not, little hero,” she said with a sibilant chuckle, “if I permit you to leave this cavern, your werelight will go with you.”

He gazed at Seolfdersthai, perched on a long, high shelf of rock, and he saw the flash of her eyes: silver sclera; black cat’s pupil, thin as a razor. At the last moment, as she turned her eyes from the light to him, he remembered the danger that is in a dragon’s eye. In an effort to avoid meeting her gaze, he considered the rest of her. Like all dragons, Seolfdersthai was long, as long as two galleon ships from nose to tail-tip, and thin, as thin and taut as a wire; a creature of fire, wind, and magic; void given form. Dragons are edacious creatures, born to hunger, and this hunger gives rise to their penchant not only for raiding villages and consuming livestock, but also for their need to amass a hoard of all things considered valuable. Seolfdersthai was covered in steel grey scales that flashed sliver when she moved and each blade was wide as a shield. They fit together like the skin of a snake, so that when brushed one way they would be as smooth as glass, but the other way would cut a man’s hand to mincemeat. Her wings were black membranes through which silvery bones glimmered. Her head was white, as though her skull showed through. And along her back was a ridge of spines, serrated and hooked, like shark’s teeth; they were white as bone, and perhaps they were her bones thrust up through her hide. Her paws look eerily like human hands, though she walked with the thumb turned back, each digit tapering to a thin, hooked claw; her hind legs were equipped with wickedly sharp spurs, like a rooster’s. Her head was shaped like a wolf’s, with forward-facing eyes and wide cheekbones tapering to a thin snout that ended in a hooked beak; when she yawned, likely for his benefit, it revealed close rows of bone-white teeth. This combination of beak and teeth made her appearance even more unnerving: she was an anachronism, something that did not belong in our time, a creature that should have died away eons ago.

“Do you find me beautiful, toy knight?” Seolfdersthai asked, as vain as any dragon.

“As beautiful as wind; as terrible as fire; as wondrous as magic,” he breathed.

Seolfdersthai chuckled and twitched her tail, apparently pleased, but said, “Flattery is an old trick. Tell me, small one, for what purpose did you come here?”

“As I told you before, Lady Of the Silver Eye, I come to seek aid: this still holds true.”

“And you come to a dragon?” Seolfdersthai said with amusement. Within a dragon’s enjoyment of wordplay is a proclivity to speak in endless circles, confusing their guests.

“The wisdom of dragons is spoken of in all the songs and legends; and you, Lady Seolfdersthai, are known to be the oldest and wisest of all.”

“Such flattery brings you no closer to your goal,” Seolfdersthai warned, regarding him coyly with one eye.

“Lady Seolfdersthai,” he began, “all the world is in flux. Great changes of the natural order have been observed, shaking the world to its very foundations, and many men fear it is the end of all things.”

“And what would you do in the face of this great movement, small one?”

“Even a small man, when armed with dragonwisdom, may be as formidable as a dragon.”

“So it is for this that you have come: a piece of my hoard,” there was a dangerous grating edge to her voice, like a knife being sharpened. She turned her head to regard him with the powerful stare of both her silver eyes.

“I come not for silver, nor gold; nor jewels nor magic nor bones. I come for wisdom only. And is not the value of wisdom made greater when it is shared?” he reasoned. “The wisdom of the scholar is not half the wisdom of the teacher.”

“You are a rare thing, little one,” Seolfdersthai chuckled. “A man who may riddle with dragons.”

He lost is patience. All men do, eventually, when faced with the patience of a dragon. “You would riddle while the world falls? All things are changing, crumbling away into dust, to nothingness! And you would have me riddle?”

“Tell me of these changes, little hero,” the dragon hissed, seemingly unconcerned by his outburst.

He got himself under control, realizing he was extremely fortunate that she had not become angry with his impatience. The wrath of a dragon must not be taken lightly. “The winds blow up terrible storms; the lightning strikes the land to flames; and magic becomes impotent, its laws of governance dissolve.”

“So this is why you have come to me,” Seolfdersthai growled; and for the first time, he heard anger in her voice. She stood to her feet and leaned over the edge of the shelf on which she sat, stretching out her neck toward him. “Wind, fire, magic: these are the elements of a dragon. You foolish men. You considered my kind evil, thinking we should bow to your idea of morality. And when we refused, you hunted us, until nearly all my kind were dead or forced into the safety of self-made prisons, like this one. But you never considered that there may be consequences. How could there be, when all you do is right and just?” she asked mockingly. “Wind; fire; magic. These elements give rise to us, yet we also give rise to them. Did you men—in your infinite knowledge and wisdom—did you not know that my kind held governance over such things? Even if you had known, would you have restrained your bloodlust? And now, you and your kind finally reap the harvest of the dragonblood you have sown, and you would have me undo it?” Smoke curled up from her nostrils.

He made a conscious effort to keep his voice from shaking. Her vicious beak was merely thirty feet from him, much closer than he ever would want it to be. “Perhaps what we have done cannot be undone, nor forgiven. But perhaps it may be remedied. You would see the world fall, for the sake of spite?”

“Dragons are spiteful creatures,” she hissed, raising her head a little.

“And yet, like all creatures, they have an instinct for self-preservation. A strong one, to survive so long. If you—if we all are to survive,” he remedied, “then we must act.

“Yes, I have lived long,” Seolfdersthai rumbled dangerously, crouching a little until she was almost sitting but still poised tautly, her tail sweeping back and forth. “I have seen the world near its ending countless times. When all the world was but ocean, the wind, fire, and magic combined to give rise to my kind. I flew with my kin in our first flight—our endless flight—for there was no land where we could settle. And when the sun set for the first time—for the first night—did we not think it the end of all things? Did we not despair? Did we not believe we would all perish in the dark? And yet the sun rose again. And when land first appeared, did we not shudder at the sight of it? Did we not fear that all the seas would turn to dust? And yet the seas remain. And when other creatures first washed ashore, did we not dread that demons had invaded our world? That all would be undone? Yet these creatures were life, not death. Countless times I have witnessed the faltering of the world, until at last I understood that we forever walk along the brink of a precipice. Yet the world has endured. And so have I.”

“This may be the day that we stumble over the brink,” he argued.

“Perhaps we already have,” Seolfdersthai whispered. “What would you do to stop it?”

“With your aid, we may yet be able to turn the tide,” he said. “All the world is turned backwards, and we may have already gone over the edge, but it could still be possible to save ourselves. In all your wisdom, do you know what we must do to save ourselves?”

“What must you do?” Seolfdersthai said with a chuckle. “What must you do? Toy knight, there is only one thing you can do, when all the world is turned backward:” she crooned, “you must turn round with it.”

She stretched, unfolding her wings to their full length. “And now, little child knight,” she shouted, her voice a booming through the cavern as cracks appeared in the ceiling, letting in blades of light, “if the world is truly to fall, I would fly again, as I did when it first rose from the ocean.”

A large hole opened in the roof of the cavern, which Seolfdersthai had sealed many long years ago to protect herself from dragonhunters, raining down tons of rock, scattering the hoard below. When the way was clear, Seolfdersthai launched herself from her perch, her great wings beating the air, dragging her upward. The last sight he saw of her was the light through her dark wings, her bones traced in shadow. Then, as he dove into the small tunnel that he entered from, the rest of the cavern collapsed, entombing him in darkness.

#house cup #submission

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black-strike-otp · 7 years

Text

part 41

Oh gosh ya’ll think too hard. Stop trying so hard. Stahp. Stahp. Stahp.

It felt like a dream. The world was blurry and fuzzy as Novastrike onlined her optics, taking in the surroundings of room the shock wave generator resided in. Obscure memories began to construct themselves in her mind and slowly take over all her thoughts. The room went out of focus from her view as she dove into the recollection with a sense of fascination.

Oh how they’d kissed last night. And kissed, and kissed, and kissed.

Blue pulsating light began to radiate out of her the thin metal of her ears. By the Matrix, she didn’t know what had gotten in to her but by following the passionate wish of her spark she’d just went in for peck. Just a touch. Just a brief, fleeting moment was all she’d wanted.

Honestly, she hadn’t even considered the consequences. Blackout’s servo had been pressed over her spark and she could only pray he didn’t feel how rapidly it was beating.

Then he’d went to touch her face. There was so much restraint in his servos; she could visibly feel the urge in him to be gentle, gentler than he had ever tried to be in his entire life.

Her spark melted.

And then he kissed her back.

Shivers ran through Nova and she squirmed slightly in place, recalling the delicate way his lips brushed her, the sounds of their spark song’s clashing together. She tilted helm back against dark armor, finding Blackout’s optics staring down at her.

She quirked a skittish smile up just for him. Her spark picked up rhythm as she studied his peering sanguine optics. The iridescent color appeared tinted slightly; swirling between being a more saturated appearance and a slightly less dark variation.

Somewhere between all the making-out and before she found herself cuddling up into Blackout’s true form’s armor, he used his holoform to finish buffing, polishing, and waxing the front of her armor. Recalling exactly how between the quickly stolen smooches and the wriggling on her behalf, she wasn’t entirely sure. She hadn’t exactly sat very still for him.

A smile slowly began to creep upon Blackout’s face and she felt her spark shudder.

“Did you recharge well?” Blackout asked quietly.

The impressive glow of Novastrike’s audio receptors increased another level and she nodded slightly. “Yeah,” she proclaimed a little breathlessly, “I mean- comfortable- of course yes, I- I did. I didn’t uh, wake you or keep you up or uh- anything, did I?”

Way to stumble over yourself like an idiot, Nova thought with an internal hope she’d simply self-combust from the built up of heat in her frame and be done with it.

“I recharged lot better than I have in a long time,” he admitted, surprising her.

“Why’s that?” she asked, ears straining themselves.

Blackout tilted his helm slightly as he considered his words. “I guess I feel like I’ve been holding myself back a lot,” he confessed. “Avoiding following something I wanted all along.”

He wanted her?

Please self-combustion, please engulf her in flames right now. She was much too modest to consider the very idea that he might have been reflecting on her all these years. After all, she was just the result of a preconfigured idea. Nothing more than a robbed spark thrown into a frame some mech had fiddled with, hoping to play Primus himself.

What was there to want in knowing all that? A midget sized, incomplete, too-soft for this war femme who held no talent, no special skill, no status among any faction or even her own colleges. She was just a boring straightforward existence.

Appearing to sense her churning thoughts, Blackout curled his servos a little more around her, pressing her lightly against his chassis. A quiet purr echoed in her chassis in response as she stretched out further against him. The rough but mindful touch of his digits against her frame stirred another level of anticipation inside of her.

“Maybe we should consider fetching some energon?” Blackout suggested calmly. “Some bots might wonder if I stole off the ship with you or something. You recharged a bit late.”

A quiet snicker flowed out of Nova. “That’s not particularly unusual at this point, is it? Us sneaking off to go check out nearby moons, planets, things of a similar sort.”

She had to bite her glossia from making an obscene comment about letting everyone think a while longer on what they’d been doing, but realized it sounded even worse than she predicted.

“Mmm, yes, but I wouldn’t want you to be both exhausted and low on fuel,” Blackout tenderly addressed, bending a digit to pat lightly from the top of Nova’s helm to her ears.

The purring in her chassis grew stronger and she leaned her cheek into his digit as it curled slightly around helm. With her helm pressed so close to his chassis, she could hear the quietest gasp break free of Blackout.

Nuzzling into his digit a little further, she turned her watchful optics upon Blackout’s face. A hybrid expression between wonder and adoration flashed across his gaze.

“You’re sweet,” she preached quietly.

“Ha,” Blackout snorted.

“It’s true.”

“With you, unquestionably. As for everyone else, it varies.”

Turning her helm slightly, Novastrike pressed her lips against Blackout’s digit and cherished the fragility in which he touched her with such hard digits. The dangerous scent that was all his own seemed to meld with her own now as she breathed in deeply.

Glancing back up at Blackout’s awed and relaxed face, she offered a nervous smile as she dared the question burning deep in her chassis.

“What does this leave us?”

Briefly, a look of anxiousness seemed to envelope his optics. The clouds began to swirl and slowly pull away as she watched helplessly and nervously.

“Together,” he offered in that soft voice that was becoming so common for him in her presence.

Together? As in, dating? As in, courting?

Blackout raised an optic ridge at her. Although the corner of his mouth was pulled up slightly, it was bared in a thin line and his optics appeared troubled. He was waiting on an affirmation, she realized.

It was humanizing to see him so nervous, hanging on by a moment.

“That sounds lovely,” Nova murmured quietly, twitching her glowing ears.

Tension melted away from Blackout’s shoulders and he released a faint hum, Pulling her up to place a brush his lips in a light kiss on top of her helm. She gave a quiet squeak in response; audios erratically flicking back and forth.

Clutching slightly to Blackout’s digit, Nova allowed herself to be slid off onto Blackout’s shoulder after a complimentary final kiss to his digit.

For a nanoklik, she could swear she’d felt his spark beat through his armor; crashing like low thunder.

“Off to energon now, you terrible distraction,” Blackout proclaimed.

“Me? Distracting? I would hope you mean that in the best way possible,” Nova teased.

“The only distraction I’ve had catch me off guard so far,” he admitted, passing a faint smile towards her.

Novastrike beamed with delight. So far, she was liking this whole togetherness. She just hoped nothing would ruin it.

Stepping down the corridor, Blackout calmly passed some of the bots at work. He tried not to allow himself the pleasure of looking over at Novastrike too often, least he find himself so inattentive he walked into another mech or femme on duty.

Last night though.

If he had a single regret about the other night, it was that he didn’t kiss her more. Or hold her closer. Or really just that he didn’t have the time in even all those jours to sedate how badly he just wanted to smother her in the same sort of warmth she’d assassinated the last bit of his processor with; or the ability to fill the sobered void inside of him more. Primus, he felt insufferably greedy for her affection.

It was unlike him to thirst for such an unfamiliar emotion but he sure craved it now.

Much to Blackout’s relief, although she had at first been ogling him as they left the earlier chamber they’d been in, Novastrike had finally managed to tear her optics from him and interact with some of the bots as they went by. A good thing for him, otherwise like a moth to a flame, he had a feeling he’d be drawn back to getting lost in her optics.

A thought prodded Blackout’s processor. With some surprise, he allowed Scorponok to enter his thoughts.

< Is it safe in here? >

< Safe from what? >

The bug kept his own thoughts detached from Blackout’s as he spoke, < Well, what were you up to last night? >

An instant wave of embarrassment washed over Blackout. He went to prod roughly at the scorpion’s thoughts with his own. < Primus Scorponok, must you? We didn’t do anything like that. >

He could feel Scorponok’s thoughts meld more with his own. There was no hiding his thoughts. He knew he couldn’t keep them away from his partner forever anyway, as begrudging and slightly humiliating as it felt in the moment to have someone speculating his life events.

A response of some astonishment leaked from the bug into Blackout. < Well, must have been some evening, he remarked, clearly catching snippets of what had happened through the upper crust of Blackout’s flowing thoughts. >

< I just don’t want to frag this up, > Blackout admitted vaguely.

Further surprise from Scorponok. < You admit there’s a ‘this’? >

< There’s... something? > he hedged, not willing to perceive it further with his partner when he’d rather mull over it himself. A later day, a later time, perhaps.

Scorponok said nothing. His thoughts portrayed little more than interest.

Words formulated in Blackout’s processor faster than he could stop them. They sounded desperate as he explained, < She’s special and extraordinary in her own way. How could I possibly expect this to lead very far? There’s so many opportunities out there for her. She’s so much kinder and softer than me; still virtuous and good. I don’t want to poison her with what I am, or have the world I am a part of come crashing down on her. >

< But? > Scorponok interrupted quietly.

< I don’t know, > Blackout frustratingly thought. < I guess I am just a selfish Decepticon and a terrible mech. I see the way she stares at me, and the way others stay at her, and I want to be her sword and shield. And do anything to keep her looking at me that way. >

He was feeling delirious. The back in forth of his thoughts. He wanted her. Not something of her, or from her. He wanted to protect her, guard. Feel the touch of her digits when she choose to, the softness of her words when she spoke, the memories and time together. He wanted the curve of her lips to remain in that beautiful smile she offered.

He didn’t even know if he was capable of keeping those sort of promises though, unspoken or not.

With the turmoil of his thoughts tangling, Scorponok resided back into his own thoughts and left the trail of destruction to go off like an atomic bomb inside of Blackout alone.

A vent escaping Blackout, he gave a slight shake of his helm as if that would physically knock away the leeches on his processor. It didn’t do him much good.

They arrived at the storage area where energon cubes were kept. For whatever reason, Blackout felt exceptionally grateful that Guard wasn’t keeping charge of the unit at the moment. Instead it was just some of his most trusted advisers standing watch.

“G’day Blackout,” one of the mechs stated. “Nice seeing you as always, Novastrike.”

Blackout offered a slight nod as he stepped into the cache. Although no where near dwindling, he did make a mental note that it was appearing to run lower than he thought it would at this point. He’d need to speak with Guard and make sure he was aware that some rations appeared to be missing.

Snatching up a large cube and one- no, two- minicon sized energon cubes, Blackout stepped out of the room.

Neither mech seemed concerned with him taking two small cubes, but it seemed someone had to make a fuss.

Stalking by the room, Neutroboost barely glanced in his direction and spotted the amount of energon cubes Blackout had stacked in his servos.

The mech rounded on him. “Three energon cubes for two bots?” he hissed, narrowing his optics.

“I’m getting one for Scorponk,” Blackout responded, slightly perplexed but mostly miffed.

One of the mechs spoke up from behind Blackout: “Yeah, Blackout always gets three cubes. He’s always lookin’ out for that ah, critter thing he has with him.”

“Scorponok,” Novastrike reminded the mech gently.

“Yeah, Scorponok.”

“Well I don’t see another minicon with you,” the commander heatedly grumbled. “How do I know you’re not just going to conveniently come back for another small cube of energon later for your little friend?”

“Because they log who takes energon, how much, and who it’s going to,” Novastrike cut in before Blackout could snap back.

The look of fury Neutro turned towards Novastrike had Blackout’s energon turn to ice. He turned his frame more to face the smaller mech and keep his femme out of Neutroboost’s line of sight. It felt like the dogs of war were baring their fangs inside of him, daring a fight.

“Leave the big guy alone,” the other guard stated, speaking up in a deep and disappointed voice. “If you want to go chew someone up Neutro, go look in a mirror. Primus, are you carrying or something? Ain’t seen someone so bitchy since that time on Cybertron-”

“How dare you speak to a superior like that?!” Neutro squawked, glaring at the mech as he interrupted.

The other mech turned to glance at Blackout with sympathy. “Ah, just go bud, we got this.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, if he keeps throwin’ a fit we can always call Guard in to set him straight.”

Blackout pitied the fact that old mech might have to be called down just to settle the antsy mech, but gave a slight nod as he turned to leave.

“I’m not through talking to you!” Neutro spat loudly, shaking a servo.

It took some physical restraint for Blackout not to turn and just hit the mech to the ground. He could hear the other mechs stepping forward to block his path, both of them speaking urgently.

Blackout tucked the energon cubes against his side and reached up with his free servo as he cradled the cubes carefully, sliding it in the way so that Novastrike couldn’t look back and see the commander.

“He’s probably just hangry,” Novastrike explained. “You know, hungry and angry.”

Blackout seriously doubted that.

Casually trailing down the hallway, Blackout spotted a fast walking minicon teetering their way.

Nova seemed to have spotted him as well. “Oh, Scorp!” she sounded embarrassed. “There you are, you handsome mech.”

The bug offered a pleased chirp at the compliment.

“Come,” Blackout stated calmly to his minicon. “I got your energon cube already, Scorponok.”

A whirr proceeded out of scorpion, moving to follow beside Blackout.

“You know,” Nova spoke lightly. “We did promise to give Scorponok that polish and waxing and stuff...”

“I remember you promising this,” Blackout teased lightly, glancing towards her. “And I shall thoroughly enjoy watching you try.”

A chatter of metallic laughter came from the floor.

Huffing softly, Nova turned a playfully vexed look towards him.

Blackout couldn’t resist the grin that flashed across his faceplate. It was slightly malicious in appearance but mostly amused. He could never seem to drop the entirety of his own darkness.

But she didn’t mean to mind in the least, infectiously smiling in return to him. It was as if she couldn’t control it.

He knew the feeling quite well.

#quid pro quo au #OTP AU #OTP Lit #Cute OTP

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