#same with ronan and his universal weapon

[darthkvznblogs]

If Thanos still had the Mind Stone, could he have used it to reprogram the Geth hive mind to obey him?

He would've had to interface it directly with the Geth Consensus - a single Geth platform wouldn't work because it'd cut itself off from the servers faster than Thanos could wrestle the Mind Stone into infecting the whole network, and he'd only end up with one bot, or rather, however many programs were piloting that bot. Going into the Perseus Veil would be a commitment, spending a ton of resources when the Chitauri are already perfectly serviceable as his standing army.

[raccoonfallsharder]

do you think Rocket could've used more "tech genius" moments in the movies? For someone supposedly smarter than Stark, it's not actually really shown..

love your fics btw AAAH

yayyyy! i love asks of any variety and it’s been a while since i’ve gotten one so thank you for this! ♡ unfortunately that means you’re getting a novel ( ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)*.ﾟ I’d love to hear YOUR thoughts if you wanna share! and also thank you for saying something so nice about my fics. im so glad you’ve enjoyed them!

and i'm turning this into

headcanon 18 ˚₊‧✶

a standard disclaimer: i am highly biased in the fact that i am like “every scene should have 100% more rocket, even scenes that are already rocket”

but i think two things are going on here

the first is that i think as a general audience, we read tony’s genius more easily than rocket’s (and yes this is a cultural indictment). tony spends a long time making a pretty iron suit with his bruce-wayne-money and some cool weird holographic touchscreens in a shiny lab, and people pick up on that more easily than rocket scavenging parts from the milano to make a bunch of bombs and a moon-killing firearm in five minutes (tantamount to less than a second of actual screen time) because it’s quick and grimy and he just keeps them in a dirty box. audiences are classist ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and im making this assertion because we do it all the time with real-life geniuses too

this relates to my second point which is that i think that “tech genius moments” probably don’t play well with a general audience when there are “too many” of them, and that in the main trilogy the writers relied on a lot of narrative cues that the audience was meant to pick up (but didn’t, or didn’t in quite the same way that they did with tony because again — pretty shiny lab vs dirty box) & we’re supposed to use those to attribute intuitive technological, strategic, and piloting genius to rocket

let’s break it down! (because im up early && work doesn’t start for another hour)

in volume one, when rocket breaks everyone out of the Kyln im pretty sure we’re meant to read that as a sequence establishing him as the tech & strategic mastermind of the group. i think that is meant to be confirmed in the sequence where in like five minutes he’s salvaged a ton of parts from the milano to make his box-o-bombs & the hadron enforcer, which is the weapon that makes the end of volume one possible, having been used to knock out ronan initially and to break the stone from the cosmi-rod or universal weapon or whatever. (keep in mind he repaired the hadron enforcer within moments of crashing the warbird into the dark aster, crashing the aster into a planet, losing his best friend, getting tossed around by the cosmi-rod, AND having only the resources available to him on a crash-site/battlefield. i do wish we’d gotten more of THIS sequence but like i guess we had to make time to watch chris pratt dance. whatever; i guess i get it from a cinematic standpoint — a classic “it was your story all along but the studio wanted us to focus on starlord” situation)

in volume two, every tech advancement the team has is directly or indirectly credited to rocket. the aero rigs being the main one, i think? but there’s also the mines in the berhert forests with the yondu clan, a conflict where one lil guy almost beat a hoarde of ravagers all by his lonesome due to his strategic genius (and i suspect still would have if not for the unexpected addition of nebula). we also have the dialogue with quill where he asserts that he’s a piloting genius. and rocket’s genius is once again the main reason they win the fight — his ability to create the battery-bomb in like twenty seconds or less.

in volume three, we see him invent gravity boots, we’re meant to attribute the creation of the bowie and presumably the entire speaker system threading knowhere to him (im not sure but possibly also the ocular cannon and some other other knowhere shit??). he’s responsible for all nebula’s upgrades (⸝⸝o̴̶̷᷄‸o̴̶̷̥᷅⸝⸝) which are FANCY. and even though he’s just a babby, we see him solving complex equations, resolving problems the high evolutionary struggled with, crafting a key out of stolen odds-and-ends, and piloting a spacecraft he’s probably never even seen before.. additionally the gravity boots circle back around and are key in his overcoming the high evolutionary (through a combo of tech skill & strategic genius)

i think, narratively speaking, this is a solid amount of “genius establishment” with the time we had, imo. if we made the movies longer to add in more genius moments, i would not complain, though!

THAT SAID. look infinity war and endgame treated our boy so badly. SO badly. i feel certain that given five minutes in Nidavellir he could’ve figured out another way to get that forge up and running. I think we see rocket with the science bros working on the gauntlet (a dynamic i would quite have enjoyed more if) and working on… maybe he’s prepping the benatar for the time heist? I can’t remember, but it’s when he gives stark the classic “you’re only a genius on earth” line. but iw/endgame didn’t give a fuck about the guardians (i get it, i get it, it was the send-off for the og avengers, whatever) so it’s a lot of weak shit and i do wish we had more things establishing him as the true brains of that outfit lol

ANYWAY that’s all my thoughts!! thanks for this really fun ask!!!

[piningeddiediaz]

hello 👋 do you have any pynch fic recs?

hello! oh do i have pynch fics recs? i do. lots of them. 

Different Worlds, Same Weapons by ungoodpirate - alternate universe, established relationship, meeting the family. one of my favourite fics! it’s an au where niall lynch is alive and I think ronan’s rocky relationship with his dad is presented very well. i stand by the idea that if niall was alive ronan would have realised his dad sucks sooner or later, and this fic shows exactly that! 

tw: brief mentions of canon child abuse 

the song of glendower by brophegina - the song of achilles au!

help me (hold onto you) by tamquams (@wespers)- fluff, angst, canon, song fic. ALL of jamie’s fics are my favourite but this one!! great adam introspection, and the reason ‘the archer’ is no.1 on my adam playlist

amicus verus rara avis by leslieknopedanascully - canon compliant, missing scene trk. THEE bronan fic! 

Tedium by thrvnbys - fluff, meet cute, alternate universe. recently read this and its so cute! 

How to be an Ally by @cheeryos - wrong number au, fluff, alternate universe. So funny!! love the dynamics and banter between adam and ronan in this one

Colour Me In by KellieAltogether - canon compliant, post cdth, future fic, kid fic. I love kidfics and i love how this incorporates elements of cdth! 

roots in your dreamland by @valenight - canon compliant, post-cdth, light angst, pining. i love post-cdth fics that show adam’s reaction to ronan’s disappearance. great pining and angst, and really captures adam’s character

that perilous stuff (which weighs upon the heart) by JessJessthebest (@saywhatjessie​) - no magic au, humour, mutual pining. one of THE funniest fics in the fandom. had me laughing like mad. 

fifteen years later series by dorypop (@hklnvgl) - future fic, kid fic, found family. this is so sweet, i love how pynch are presented to be such good parents! 

tw: mentions of child abuse

same old constellations by intertwiningsouls - fake/pretend relationship, mutual pining, alternate universe. tad “plot device” carruthers is my favourite trope lol. the little speech adam gives at the end of the fic has me swooning everytime 

my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand by @alteridemlynch - song fic, alternative universe, 1800s AU. i LOVE any fics based on taylor swift songs and this one was so great I've reread it so many times! (also check out this proposal fic based on peace while you’re at it!) 

Divinity - Cazio - cancer fic, sick adam, magic, scrying, LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of angst. anyone who follows me has seen me talk about the cancer fic that ruined my life. it’s this. i read it over a year ago and sometimes i cry just thinking about it. if anyone decides to read this please please please pLEASE be careful it has some very triggering content:

tw: terminal illness, death, cancer related gore, eating disorders, medical trauma, pain

happy reading!! 

p.s. I also have a few if you’re into that 🙈

[alexandrarosa]

THE RAVEN CYCLE

I’m mesmerized by how well the circle of time is shown in the series. Maggie Stiefvater put everything in place from the literal beginning without missing the smallest detail.

We have Noah who died and allowed Gansey to live. But he needed to do something so that Gansey could fulfill his destiny - hence Glendower.

Thanks for the Glendower excursion Gansey has the chance to rescue Ronan from himself and Adam from his life. Noah brought them together because only together they could rescue Gansey again when he sacrificed himself.

Blue isn’t cursed. The universe have known that she needs to be the one who kills Gansey (her true love) so it gave her the most gentle weapon - he kisses the man she loves and he dies (because he has to). Why Blue had to love him? Because she had to kill him (in her situation it’s like one and the same). And she had to kill him so that she could see his ghost during the night at the cemetery and talk to him so that real Gansey can hear that. And so they both know that Gansey needs to sacrifice himself because it already happened somewhere. So he does. And Blue can meet his ghost and be determined to meet him. And when she did their lives started to change their excursion started to develop and magic started to wake up.

And I just love how Noah is the one who put everything in place. He didn’t have to. But he decided to give his friends who he hasn’t even met yet the best life he could. This freakin genius put them together. I just love him so much.

[apheamoon]

Lonely Souls - Chapter 2

A/N: My second chapter!! Oh my gosh you guys, I wanted to thank all of you who read the first one! It had so much engagement towards it, which I did not expect in the slightest! Thank you all so so much, and please enjoy this second part ❤️

Warnings - based off the MCU (set directly after the events of Endgame), there’s going to be a slowburn to the relationship, love triangles, slight angst.

——————————————————————————

The Milano was silent; in front of the Guardians lay a figure, wearing a broken down helmet, a torn jacket that scraped just around their thighs and boots that looked like they were 3 sizes too big for them. The view to each of them was astonishing - even Thor was intrigued by what lay on the table. For once, the prince was silent, softly scratching on his stout belly as he looked down.

Mantis was standing at the head of the desk, her antenna softly twitching as she grasped onto the figures head. Closing her eyes, she went quiet for a moment, before a small gasp of shock escaped her lips.

“What?” Quill sighed, slightly frustrated that his search for Gamora had come to a sudden halt, “What’s happened?”

Mantis looked up to the others, her eyes glimmering with a familiar look of terror. Her already pale face washed over, and she soon had a ghost-like look plastered onto it. As if in a trance, she immediately turned back down towards the figure and went silent for another few moments, before her voice finally whispered out a single word: “Grief.”

The Milano suddenly corrupted into a chorus of whispers and remarks. Standing on Groot’s shoulder was Rocket, his paw latching onto his best friends wooden neck for support. His eyes narrowed as he looked down to the figure on the table, and his ears rolled backwards, like before. Something wasn’t right. Quill shared a look with the raccoon, and sooner or later found himself walking towards the figure on the table. His eyes filled with curiosity as he looked to the mask - familiar yet different in so many different ways. Even the way that this figure was dressed...it reminded him of something that could only be described as nostalgic. The mask was a big clue as to what this person (or creature) worked as too - a scavenger. Considering Peter worked as one for the majority of his life, he knew what one would look like, but this figure wasn’t familiar to him in the slightest.

“Careful,” Nebula was standing in a shadowed area of the ship, her arms folded across her chest as she looked to the crew surrounding the table. Her voice was quiet, but definitely loud enough for them all to hear her, “We don’t know what, or who, it is.”

“I am gonna be careful,” Quill pulled a face of sarcasm over at the blue robot, his hand reaching over and pulling the mask off of the figures face, “I am the captain, aren’t I? I’d say I made pretty good choi-“

With the scavenger mask now in Peter’s grasp, he and the rest of The Guardian’s could finally see what the figure was, and his sentence fell short of silence. On the table lay a woman, her eyes closed and her mouth slightly parted. She looked an awful lot like Peter - species wise anyways. And Quill hadn’t seen another human, in space, for a long, long time.

“It is a female dude!” Drax declared, his voice serious as he looked down towards her, “She reminds me of Quill. But not as stupid-“

“No, no,” Thor cut in on Drax’s comment, tapping his shoulder and grinning, “This is clearly a fair maiden. One of the best too, may I add. Very pretty!”

Hopping from Groot’s shoulder, Rocket made his way towards the girl lying down and took a long sniff of her hair. He then gagged and stepped backwards, covering his nose with his paw and shaking his head in disgusting.

“I am Groot?” Groot tilted his head over at Rocket, making the raccoon nod his head and choke out a cough.

“Yeah, buddy. She smells like she hasn’t showered in about 5 years!”

Quill was silent, likewise to Nebula. The two were waiting for Mantis’ comment. What else was this girl thinking, feeling? What had happened to her? Why was she floating through the sky?! And why was there another human in space after the snap? Walking backwards from the table, Quill scratched his beard and raised an eyebrow over towards Mantis, hoping she would give the crew some more information before this girl woke up.

Looking to Quill, Mantis tilted her head slightly before she nodded and looked back down towards the body on the table. With her antenna glowing, she suddenly trembled.

“She feels...confusion...pain...and sadness. Loss - she has lost people dear to her!”

A look of sadness washed over Peter’s face, but he quickly wiped it off. With a sigh, the thoughts of the snap rushed through his brain. All of The Guardians had lost someone to the snap, so this girl had clearly lost people to it too. Quill didn’t quite realise the scale that Thanos had achieved to reach, but he too was snapped out of existence...so, in some ways, he could sympathise.

“Wake her up.” He told Mantis, his voice soft, yet firm.

Nodding, Mantis closed her eyes and reached her head towards, her voice going down to a low whisper, “Wake!”

Bracing themselves for the worst, Rocket had already been around and taken any weapons from the woman. On her, she had a small bounty knife and a laser gun. Apart from that, the only mechanical things the woman had held onto was her mask, but that was already with Quill at this time.

As soon as the words, “wake”, left Mantis’ lips, the girl shot up on the desk, wide-eyed and confused more than anything. She scrambled up from the table she was laying on and staggered backwards, crashing into the wall and freezing, suddenly. She was in a room with complete strangers, on a ship she wasn’t used to and it was like her brain had completely stopped working on her. Turning slowly, the girl swallowed thickly and gave the figures a shaky wave, still trying to process what exactly was going on.

“W-w-who...?” She choked out, her back pressing firmly against the wall as she looked to the crew.

“You don’t have to make owl noises at us, we aren’t gonna hurt you,” Quill smirked, walking over to the girl and handing her the helmet.

Taking the helmet from Quill’s grasp, the girl nodded slightly and cleared her throat, trying to make sense of what was going on. She was on a strangers ship, with a raccoon, a tree, a yellow ant, a man covered with tattoos, a blonde Santa Claus and someone who looked like they just walked out of a thrift store. She tried not to act confused, but she really, really was. Her head was spinning, like someone was shifting through her thoughts or something, and for some reason she was finding it hard to catch her breath.

“This better not be the replacement for my sister.” Nebula sighed, walking out of the shadows and standing next to Quill, making the girl in front of her jump. She hadn’t noticed Nebula in the shadows, and she looked like the meanest one out of the lot.

“It’s not,” Quill fired, his eyes flickering from the new girl’s over to Nebula’s, “She’s not!” Looking back over towards the girl, he cleared his throat, almost flustered, and gave her a sympathetic smile, “Do you remember your name?”

The girl nodded, slowly, but she was still confused on what to make of the situation at hand. Placing her helmet on a small desk to the side, she took a step closer and watched the others carefully. They seemed nice enough - but she had to remember that this was space. Not everyone was as they seemed in these parts.

“Y-yeah, I do,” She replied, the shake in her tone remaining, “It’s Y/N.”

“Y/N? It sounds like a leaders name!” Drax whispered over to Groot and Mantis, and the two nodded in agreement.

Quill shot them a look as if to say, “oh, c’mon guys”. Even when a new person joined the ship, even if it was for a brief moment, it seemed his crew wanted a new leader every single time.

“I’m the leader!” He said, quickly, “This is my ship-“

“-my ship...-“ The grumble came from Rocket.

“-And I have lead this team to many, many victories!”

This was a lot to take in for Y/N. First, she was still confused. Although the others seemed somewhat comfortable in her company, the whole ship was ultimately foreign to her. She was used to her own ship, back with her own team. But they were gone, supposedly. Why else would she have been floating through the air? She gave Peter a dumbfounded look when he mentioned ‘victories’. It was one that Drax noticed, and he immediately jumped to her rescue.

“Quill saved the universe through a dance battle!” He told her, his voice having the same serious tone in from before, “I thought it was stupid, and non of us joined in, but he kept on dancing.”

“I am Groot!” Groot added with excitement, though his eyes were glued down to the same video-game console from before.

“H-hi Groot,” Y/N waved over to the youngest on the ship, not quite understanding his language but going along with it anyway, “I’m sorry but...I don’t understand how any of this has got to do with victories or...leadership,” Her eyebrows quirked with suspicion and she looked back over to Quill, “A dance battle?”

Peter was massaging his forehead at this moment, his body slouched and leaning against the table that Y/N was once laying on. He let out a long, frustrated sigh. It was something he was getting used to, naturally. The insults The Guardians would innocently throw at him. But he was a good leader. He was definitely a good leader.

“Yes, a dance battle.” He whispered, his voice pained with what could only be described as cringe.

“I heard he sung too,” Nebula added, “A song from his mixtape. He sung it to my brother, Ronan, so he could get the power stone for my father, who is now dead,” She turned to Peter with a look of disappointment, “My sister really did date an idiot.”

Y/N tried hard not to smirk during this conversation. Although everyone was having digs at this Quill guy, it seemed like they were all close. Like a family, some would say, but also as a team. It also felt like, to her, that they had been working together for a few years. It felt slightly wrong on her behalf, almost as though she was intruding their ship.

As she went deep into thought, she began to ignore The Guardian’s absent squabbling and she herself began to think about her past. What had happened for her to be floating through the air the way that she did? And why weren’t her crew looking for her? She must have looked as though she was in distress of some sort, because Thor soon shadowed her and gave her the smile of a goof.

“Lady Y/N,” He started, his voice deep but quiet, “If you don’t mind me asking, why were you floating through space?”

——————————————————————————

Tags:

@peterspideyy @hayadora

[ronanivarsson]

“I WAS BORN FOR SOMETHING GREATER THAN I WAS--AND GREATER I WOULD BECOME.” | MARY SHELLEY 

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Ronan Ivarsson

MEANING:

RONAN ( IRISH ) - “LITTLE SEAL” 

IVARSSON ( SWEDISH ) - “SON OF IVAR” 

NICKNAME(S): Ronan has never had a nickname, and would never allow someone to call him by a nickname. He’s only ever been Ronan, even to both of his parents. The only acceptation would be if someone called him by his last name. 

PREFERRED NAME(S): Ronan

BIRTH DATE: December 13th, 1980

AGE: 39

ZODIAC: Sagittarius 

GENDER: Male

PRONOUNS: He / His

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Biromantic

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual 

NATIONALITY: Italian

ETHNICITY: Swedish 

CURRENT LOCATION: Verona, Italy 

LIVING CONDITIONS: Ronan lives in an expensive top floor penthouse near the center of Verona, which is furnished exactly to his tastes--dark wood, sleek metals, dark leather. He bought it shortly after being married to Lucien, but his husband rarely ever stays for more than a couple of days or weeks, which means that most of the time Ronan lives alone. It is also outfitted to be more accessible for him. 

TITLE(S): Richard III, The Vice, Councilman 

BACKGROUND

BIRTHPLACE / HOMETOWN: Stockholm, Sweden / Verona, Italy 

SOCIAL CLASS: Ronan was born into a wealthy, upper class family, and his wealth has only increased since he became the sole bearer of that family name. He considers himself to be among Verona’s elite, though in the end he holds no love for that title--in his own mind, he is better than everyone in Verona. 

EDUCATION LEVEL: Ronan graduated university with a degree in political science. 

FATHER: Magnus Ivarsson

MOTHER: Joanna Ivarsson. 

SIBLING(S): None as far as he knows, but his parents cheated on each other throughout their marriage, and his mother could have very well had other children without telling him. 

CHILDREN: None

PET(S): None

OTHER IMPORTANT RELATIVES: All of Ronan’s other relatives are back in Sweden, and he does not communicate with them. (No brothers or nephews to do anything horrible to--yet!) 

PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS:

Caleb Tallmadge: An intern at the American embassy, who was Ronan’s first serious boyfriend right out of college. 

Rafaella Capulet: The love of his life, his soulmate as far as he’s concerned. Their relationship deteriorated when he became a member of the Montagues, and with the exception of one night after Ronan became engaged to Lucien, they have not spoken since. 

Lucien Ivarsson: Ronan’s husband, who he met shortly after things with Rafaella fell apart. Ronan fell out of love with him quickly, and their relationship is barely functional at the present--they appear in public together before going their separate ways, with the exception of rare moments where they fall together violently. 

Renzo Carozza: A distraction bordering on an addiction. 

ARRESTS?: None.

PRISON TIME?: None. 

OCCUPATION + HOME

PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME: Ronan is an elected councilman in the city of Verona, and his family has several investments that he manages. 

SECONDARY SOURCE OF INCOME: His salary as a Montague Soldato--a trifle in comparison to what he already has, however, he isn’t interested in earning money from the position. 

CONTENT WITH THEIR JOB (OR LACK THERE OF)?: Ronan loves being the center of attention, and the power that he commands as a politician. His ambition extends far beyond his current office however, and he’d like to eventually run for more prestigious positions. 

PAST JOB(S): Ronan interned with the mayor’s office right out of college, and steadily worked his way to his current position. He has only ever worked in politics. 

SPENDING HABITS: Ronan felt like an outsider growing up, so he uses his money to purchase the life he feels like he deserves, the life he always wanted. As long as he has money, and lots of it, he feels safe--it’s as much an armor as the designer suits he puts on every day. He’s always aware of exactly how much he has, and ways that he could obtain more. 

MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION: A first edition of Frankenstein, his favorite novel. He bought it right after his mother died and he became the sole heir of the Ivarsson fortune. 

SKILLS + ABILITIES

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 4/10

Ronan was born with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, which means that the muscles of his arms and legs are very weak. He does what he can to stay as good of shape as possible, and he is capable of doing the bare minimum required of a Montague soldier. 

OFFENSE: 4/10

Ronan would prefer not to get into a physical altercation, but he knows the bare minimum of fighting techniques. He can throw a punch with accuracy, that would hurt reasonably. His strength is his ability to see other people’s weaknesses fairly quickly, and fight cleverly. 

DEFENSE: 5/10

Defense requires less physical exertion, which means Ronan is stronger in that area. 

SPEED: 0/10 

Ronan walks with a cane, and isn’t really capable of running. 

INTELLIGENCE: 10/10

Because he can’t fight with his fists, Ronan made his mind into a weapon. He’s well read, he attended one of the finest universities where he attained excellent grades, and he is well studied in the arts of manipulation. He can read people’s facial expressions with astounding accuracy, he is excellent at verbally manipulating people into action, and more than anything, he is capable of inspiring great loyalty in people through deception, though words, through the weaknesses they were so certain they could hide. Its the same principle as your other senses heightening when one is deprived--Ronan couldn’t fight physically, so he made sure every other power he possessed worked at maximum capacity. 

ACCURACY: 5/10 

The muscles in Ronan’s arms and shoulders are weak, but he can sustain the position necessary to fire a gun long enough to be average with it. 

AGILITY: 0/10

Ronan is not agile at all--his muscles are too weak to allow him to do anything agile. 

STAMINA: 7/10

Ronan is used to pain--his spine and his shoulders, his legs, all cause him pain on a regular basis. His daily life requires an amount of stamina that the average person doesn’t have to exert. 

TEAMWORK: 0/10

He allows others to think they’re working with him, that they’re part of a team with him, but he’s always looking out for himself and his own designs first and foremost. Other people are merely pieces he can move around, or discard, as they present themselves as useful to him. 

TALENTS: Ronan is excellent at public speaking, and his public persona is very magnetic. He is skilled at manipulating people, at reading their faces, at ferreting out their weaknesses. He played the violin growing up and still plays occasionally when he needs to clear his mind, and he enjoys playing chess. 

SHORTCOMINGS: Ronan is incredibly narcissistic, with little to no empathy for anyone. He cares exclusively for himself and the things that he wants, and he doesn’t care who he has to hurt, whatever he has to do, in order to get them. He is also incredibly greedy, and one of his primary interests is getting more money for himself. 

LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: Italian, Swedish, Latin, English 

DRIVE?: No, he’s always had a driver. 

JUMP-START A CAR?: No, that’s what mechanics or new cars are for. 

CHANGE A FLAT TIRE?: No. 

RIDE A BICYCLE?: No, he physically can’t. 

SWIM?: Yes. 

PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?: Yes, he plays the violin on occasion. 

PLAY CHESS?: Yes, and at a high level.

BRAID HAIR?: No. 

TIE A TIE?: Absolutely, a nice tie can make or break an outfit. 

PICK A LOCK?: Yes. 

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE + CHARACTERISTICS

FACE CLAIM: Joel Kinnaman 

EYE COLOR: Brown

HAIR COLOR: Blonde 

HAIR TYPE/STYLE: He likes to stay pretty trendy--his current haircut is short on the sides and long on top, slicked back. 

GLASSES/CONTACTS?: None. 

DOMINANT HAND: Right

HEIGHT: 6′2 at his full height, but he usually is hunched over to varying degrees, rendering him about 5′10-6′0 to the eye. 

WEIGHT: 165

BUILD: He has a solid build, keeps what muscle he’s able to gain. 

EXERCISE HABITS: Swimming, lifting weights, physical therapy. 

SKIN TONE: Pale, but he tans pretty easily. 

TATTOOS: None, mostly because of his physical condition--but that could change if he found a person he trusted to give him one ;) 

PIERCINGS: None.

MARKS/SCARS: He has various scars from his work as a Montague soldier, and a few from when his mother was feeling particularly vindictive. 

NOTABLE FEATURES: Keen and sharp eyes, a mouth that seems to always be smirking to some degree, a sharp jawline. 

USUAL EXPRESSION: Pensive, like he’s looking for a weakness in your armor you didn’t even know you had, like he can see straight through you. 

CLOTHING STYLE: Designer suits, designer t-shirts and jeans, luxurious fabrics that feel nice against his back and shoulders, expensive watches, silk ties, all neutral and dark colors. Even his casual is dressed up from the average person. He also has several different canes with different heads on them. 

JEWELRY: He has a weakness for a nice watch, and if he’s in public he’s probably wearing his wedding ring. He also considers a cane as an accessory, and changes which one he uses depending on what he’s wearing.  

MAKEUP: None. 

ALLERGIES: None. 

DIET: He never had to cook for himself, so he generally orders out from Verona’s nicer restaurants. He drinks socially, and doesn’t really indulge in sugar that often. If Lucien is there and feels like cooking, he’ll eat whatever his husband makes. 

PHYSICAL AILMENTS: Ronan was born with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, which means the muscles in his arms, shoulders, and legs are weakened. His lower back is curved, and the bones of his shoulders protrude in something called “scapular winging”. He wears a back brace most of the time to prevent a pronounced hunch and to lessen the pain in his spine, and he attends physical therapy anywhere from once to three times a week to deal with it.  

PSYCHOLOGY

JUNG TYPE: ENTP 

ENNEAGRAM TYPE: Type 3, The Achiever. The success-oriented, pragmatic type: adaptable, excelling, driven, and image conscious. 

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil

TEMPERAMENT: Choleric 

ELEMENT: Fire

PRIMARY INTELLIGENCE TYPE: Intra-personal Intelligence. 

MENTAL CONDITIONS/DISORDERS: None officially diagnosed--a case could probably be made for narcissistic personality disorder. 

SOCIABILITY: Ronan is very sociable--after being forced to the shadows throughout his entire childhood, he loves nothing more than commanding a room, than being the center of everyone’s attention. He doesn’t care about people on a deeper level than that, but he likes being around them--he’d be a terrible politician if he wasn’t able to make people believe that they liked him, that he had their best interests at heart. Again I quote Les Miserables, “He was a charming young man, capable of being terrible.”  

EMOTIONAL STABILITY: Ronan doesn’t allow his emotion to get the better of him most of the time--he believes that emotion gets in the way of logic, prevents people from making the best, most rational decisions. He’d like to be cold and unfeeling, but more often than not his heart has a habit of getting in the way. He genuinely fell in love with Rafaella, it genuinely hurt when she left him, etc. He has a temper, but he’s worked very hard on keeping it under control. 

OBSESSION(S): power and money, being understood. 

COMPULSION(S): He doesn’t feel compelled to do anything--he refuses to be compelled to do anything. He is always in control. 

PHOBIA(S): Failure, Irrelevance. 

ADDICTION(S): Ronan isn’t addicted to anything. 

DRUG USE: Nothing recreationally.

ALCOHOL USE: He drinks socially, but he likes to be fully in control, fully able to observe everyone and everything going on around him. 

PRONE TO VIOLENCE?: Absolutely, violence is the quickest way to come to solutions, or to prove that you’re more powerful than your opponent. Violence is necessary if you want to get anywhere in Verona. 

MANNERISMS

SPEECH STYLE: Clear, properly enunciated, verbose. 

ACCENT: Italian

QUIRKS: Twisting his wedding ring, tapping his fingers against a nearby surface, never quite smiling, rubbing his hand over the juncture between his neck and shoulder. 

HOBBIES: Reading, playing chess, playing the violin, occasionally strolling through art galleries. He doesn’t have a lot of leisure time, and prefers to be actively doing something useful. 

NERVOUS TICKS: Twisting his wedding ring primarily, other than that he doesn’t like to show weakness, and has trained himself out of having a lot of ticks. 

DRIVES/MOTIVATIONS: Ronan was cast aside the minute he was born, told repeatedly that he was monstrous simply because of a twist of fate that he had no control over. He wants to prove just how monstrous he truly is, and that he is capable of so much more than anyone ever thought he would be--he wants to see the faces of everyone in Verona when the monster they created comes to his throne to lead them. He wants control of the Montagues, the Capulets, and he wants control of Verona. 

FEARS: failure, being alone, becoming anything like either of his parents. 

POSITIVE TRAITS: intelligent, charismatic, perceptive. 

NEGATIVE TRAITS: manipulative, cruel, self-centered

SENSE OF HUMOR: dry, sarcastic, often at the expense of whoever he’s talking to. 

DO THEY CURSE OFTEN?: Not really, he thinks it betrays a lack of intelligence. But if he feels like the person he’s talking to will respond better to it, he’ll let something slip. 

FAVORITES

ACTIVITY: Working, visiting Renzo at The Dark Lady, scheming. 

ANIMAL: He compares himself to a wolf, or to a snake--vicious, hungry, frightening creatures. 

BEVERAGE: Vodka Martini 

BOOK: Frankenstein, Il Principe, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Memoirs of Hadrian, The Art of War, Wuthering Heights

COLOR: Navy Blue

DESIGNER: Yves St. Laurent, Burberry, Gucci

FOOD: Food isn’t really something he enjoys--its an annoyance he has to put up with in order to survive. 

FLOWER: Hellebore

GEM: Sapphire 

HOLIDAY: Ronan thinks holidays are trivial, and generally ignores them. 

MOVIE: Todd Browning’s 1931 adaptation of Dracula, Andrea Arnold’s 2011 adaptation of Wuthering Heights, Lawrence of Arabia 

QUOTE/SAYING:

“beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful. I will watch with the wiliness of a snake, that I may sting with its venom. Man, you shall repent of the injuries you inflict.” 

-MARY SHELLEY, FRANKENSTEIN 

SCENT: Amouage--Jubilation XXV Man 

SPORT: None. 

TELEVISION SHOW: Hannibal, Game of Thrones, The Tudors

WEATHER: Dark and stormy. 

VACATION DESTINATION: His family owns property in Sweden that he has a few vaguely fond memories of. He also owns a place in Rome that he likes to go to when he needs space. 

ATTITUDES

GREATEST DREAM: To basically fashion himself a kind of king in Verona. He may be named after Richard III, who tried to do the same thing, but Ronan vows that he will be successful where is namesake failed. 

MOST AT EASE WHEN: He’s by himself and doesn’t have to wear any kind of mask--the only person he can fully trust is himself, therefore in private he puts forward the least amount of effort to disguise himself. 

LEAST AT EASE WHEN: His family is mentioned--particularly anything having to do with their deaths. He used to be at ease whenever Lucien was around, but in the present he feels like he has to be on his guard, whenever his husband decides to show his face. 

WORST POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN: Someone manages to outplay him, to reveal his machinations and get him killed. 

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: Being elected to the Verona city council, taking his family fortune for himself, becoming bigger than the abuse his parents hurled at him. 

BIGGEST REGRET: Letting Rafaella walk away from him, marrying Lucien in an effort to fill the hole that she left. 

TOP PRIORITIES: Ascending in the ranks, eliminating anyone who he sees as a potential threat, gathering allies to himself. 

[fic-for-fic-sake]

Project Infinity

A/N: Hey! Here’s the latest chapter of Project Infinity. The Into as well as chapters 1, 2, and 3  will be linked. 

Warnings: None really, mentions of past violence

Chapter 4:

“That’s not exactly a good starting point, just ask the obvious question.” You said. 

“How did you, you know.” Steve gestured to your general direction, not sure what to point at to get his point across. But he didn’t need to. You knew exactly what he was talking about. 

“How did I end up like this?” You prompted, producing a small glowing purple ball of energy between your hands. Playing with it as if it were a silly magic trick, some sight of hand. 

“Yeah.” Steve responded, softly, somewhat mesmerized by the glow. It’s not like he hadn’t seen anything like it before. Quite the opposite. He saw the same energy every time Wanda used her powers, or Vision for that matter. But never this shade, never purple. To say his curiosity was piqued was an understatement. 

“It was uh, 2014.” You began, summoning the painful memory to mind. “I was checking out a crash site, just outside of Muncie, Indiana…

”Calling all agents, can anyone check out a crash site? Local authorities called it in about an hour ago, can’t figure out what’s happening. It’s near Muncie.” Agent Felter came in over the radio system. 

“Yeah boss I can.” You replied, “I’m headed there now.” 

“Great Agent Y/L/N. I’m sending your car the coordinates now.” 

“What kind of situation are we looking at?” You questioned, taking the next left up ahead, per your GPS route. 

“Not sure.” Felter replied quickly, “The locals say they heard a high pitched sound and then-” 

“And then what?” You questioned, only to be met with static. “Shit, Felter, I think I’m losing you.” 

You turned the speaker system off and continued to follow the GPS, figuring you were pretty much on your own from here on out. You were used to operating on your own so it wasn’t a big deal to you, that is until you got to the site. 

“What do we got?” You questioned, stepping out of the car to meet the local police. 

“Not sure.” One of the officers replied, “For about twenty minutes there was a high pitched noise, sort of like a burst pipe, coming from that direction and then it just stopped.” 

You followed to where his finger was pointing, about twenty yards away from them. But there was nothing there. You walked over to where they pointed but couldn’t see anything from your new point of view. But that’s when it happened. You reached in your pocket to pull out your phone when your elbow connected with a hard surface. Suddenly, a huge ship materialized out of nowhere. 

They were all stunned into silence until the door to the spacecraft opened and a tall blue man walked out. The police went to draw their weapons but before they could even pull the trigger they were all dead by an unknown source. Before you could so much as scream, the man knocked you out.

“When I came to, I was strapped to a lab chair and he pulled this glowing purple stone out of a case, and he” you, hesitated, remembering the searing pain as if it had just happened. You could still hear the sounds of your own screams reverberating through the ships cold metal halls. “He pressed it against my skin.” 

“What happened next?” Steve questioned, so softly you thought you imagined it for a moment, but you didn’t. Because everybody always asks that. 

“What happened next was that I was experimented on for the better part of three weeks. I was poked and prodded and tortured with that damn stone more times a day than I could count. I thought my body would fail on me, that I would die, but there was something I didn’t know.” You said, as you moved to stand, choosing to stare out the window rather at Steve’s face. The pity etched onto it was too much. 

“What didn’t you know?” 

“That the stone was bonding with me. Sharing its power with me, making me stronger.” you replied, making another small purple energy ball in your hands. Twirling it around your fingers. Steve looked at you in the semi-dark room. He could make out the lines of your profile fitted with a faint purple glow. The ball in your hands tantalizingly beautiful. 

“Stronger?” He questioned. 

“You see while Ronan was torturing me he would talk. Talk about his plans for the universe. How he would take on the power of the stone and be the most powerful being in the galaxy. But he wanted to test it out first, see how it would react to someone with a ‘weaker composition’ than him.” You said, turning back to Steve. “You see the stone was pure power itself. The power to destroy, to wreak havoc and carnage on everything in its path. That’s what Ronan wanted, absolute power. But, the stone had a different idea, almost like it had a mind of its own. Yes it could give power, but not to him. No. Instead the stone gave it to me.” You finished as you let your eyes flash a brilliant violet and took your jacket off so Steve could see the brilliant purple glow all throughout your body. 

“So you escaped.” Steve deduced. 

You nodded in response, “With my newfound power I fled the ship and landed back on Earth. Fury found me later that day, having been alerted by his source from the FBI that something was off.” 

“But I don’t get how you know Natasha, what you’re still doing working for Fury.” Steve broke through. 

“Fury had an idea,” You began, “To find people like me, people gifted with abilities by the stones. An unstoppable team to bring together to help restore balance to the universe.” 

“But he already had a team.” Steve countered, “The Avengers.” 

“Look how well that turned out.” You quipped back, “No. This team would be different. Not a team ruled by your silly politics but one who understood the gravity of the situation, the urgency it required.” 

“You don’t think I understand the gravity of the situation?” Steve questioned, offence laced through his words, “What’s at stake for the world.” 

“But that’s just it.” You shot back, “It’s not just this world, it’s every world. The entire universe. Forces you cannot even begin to understand are at play here. Beings you cannot even begin to imagine let alone defeat. You think your super soldier serum is the strongest thing in the galaxy? I’m living proof that it’s not!” 

“Who else?” Steve asked. 

“Who else what?” You questioned exasperatedly. 

“Who else was or is on this team?” 

“Classified, but I’m willing to bet you know a few members.” You replied reluctantly. 

“Can you at least tell me the name of this so called project?” Steve asked, his mind running through with a thousand questions. 

“Project Infinity.” 

[rodimusprime2017]

MCU WIKI

Real Name: Holden Price Goldstein

Alias(es): Holden Goldstein, Uni-X, The Bat, King Of The Monsters, The Equalizer, Mike Lowry, The Shapeshifter, Detective Goldstein, The Living Nightmare, True Alpha, Earth's Greatest Defender, Bravo 0-6.

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: 3rd July 2002

Affiliation: S.H.I.E.L.D, Avengers, S.W.O.R.D.

Status: Alive.

————

Portrayed by: Mitchell Hope.

Appearances: Captain America: The Winter Soldier(Mentioned), Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man Homecoming, Black Panther(Cameo), Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man Far From Home(Cameo) Black Widow(Mentioned).

"Those circus freaks brought the war to us four years ago. Jesus dad, count the dead, tens. What's next? Thousands? How many good guys are left? I'm gonna stay that way."

- Holden Goldstein to Dean Goldstein

Holden Price Goldstein, also known as Uni-X is a Palisades Charter High School student, an Avenger, and the leader of Goldstein pack in Los Angeles. He was raised alongside his sister, Tessa by his father, Dean and his mother, Samantha who unfortunately died during the battle of New York. Causing Holden to have a hatred towards the Avengers.

In 2013, while Holden was on a school trip to Cairo, Egypt with his best friend; Blake Williams, a magnitude eight earthquake struck, levelling the city as the two teenagers were among some of the survivors. The earthquake also caused a massive sinkhole to open, causing Holden to stumble across Ahmanet's tomb and the Universatrix. Using his new found powers, Holden went against the Forever Knights and Albedo as he tried to terroform Earth.

Over the next two years, Holden used the Universatrix's aliens, dinosaurs, monsters and Transformers to fight evil while gaining new forms, new enemies and new allies. In 2015, during the Ultron Offensive on Sokovia, Holden was on-site as he was helping civilians before witnessing the Avengers' destruction first hand. Due to that, Holden begins his one-man war against the Avengers and created the bat legend of Chicago.

When the Sokovia Accords was announced, Holden travelled to London to help stop a terrorist attack on Piccadilly Circus and attended Peggy Carter's funeral to enlist help tracking down stolen chemical gases. He finally got his revenge by defeating nearly all of the Avengers before travelling with Sharon Carter to Russia, and with the help of Nikolai, captured Helmut Zemo who was responsible for the Avengers Civil War, the stolen chemical gases and the attack on Piccadilly Circus.

Holden then travels to New York where h encounters illegal activities of the Vulture, who was attempting to sell his Chitauri  based weapons onto the black market. He then proceeds to help Spiderman on two occasions, at the Washington Monument and the Ferry. After Tony Stark takes his suit, Holden makes Peter Parker a new one before helping him with Liz Toomes. Eventually, Holden discovers the Vulture is Liz's father as he has a brawl with Frenzy, an alien assassin sent to kill him. Peter turns down Holden's offer to become a SHIELD agent as Holden leaves for home.

Holden then encounters Professor Timeline who recruits him for an important mission. After explaining that the dreams were in fact visions of the near future, Timeline sends him back in time to 1995.

Not long after Holden arrives, Carol Danvers arrives on Earth and began recalling her past, with help from him, Nick Fury and Maria Rambeau. Danvers had then also discovered that Yon-Rogg and the Kree Empire had been manipulating her for years, learning from Tslos that the Skrulls were merely seeking to find a new home. With this information, Danvers unlocked her true powers and defeated the Kree invasion on Earth that was being led by Ronan The Accuser, before setting off out to the far reaches of the galaxy to finish what her late mentor Mar-Vell had previously started while Holden returned back to his timeline.

Holden gets pulled into the Avengers conflict when Thanos and his forces mobilize to collect the six Infinity Stones. Finally, putting past aside, he helps Earth's Mightiest Heroes by spearheading the battle codenamed Operation Warlock. Despite Iron Man and his team failing on Titan, it was Holden who was the real as he outsmarted and defeated the mad titan, the Black Order, and his armies. This proved Holden worthy as he became the bearer of the Ultimate Biomnitrix.

Holden is now a member of the Avengers and operates out of Los Angeles to protect his city and world from threats the Avengers can't deal with.

<------>

ABILITIES

"Your powers and your suit doesn't make you an Avenger. It's how you use them with creativity that matters."

- Holden to Peter Parker.

Expert in Hand-To-Hand Combat - Holden is highly experienced in every form of hand-to-hand combat known to mankind. It comes in handy when he has to get his hands dirty as Holden is able to switch hand-to-hand combat styles quicker then his opponent can adapt.

Ace Pilot - Holden's experience with his flying forms and military aircraft has made him one of the best pilots in the world. He can fly aircraft including Quinjets, Helicopters, Cargo Planes and Fighter Jets.

Tactician - Holden is an excellent strategist thanks to Optimus Prime and Megatron. He is able to formulate battle strategies and his brilliant tactical sense allows him to alter near any strategy to fit the changing needs of the situation.

Expert Engineer - Holden is extremely talented and prolific engineer who is able to fix stuff without the use of an instruction manual. He's also known to create stuff for his forms including nanotechnology for Ultimate Optimus Prime and a vibranium shield for Killmonger.

Expert Marksman - Holden can throw and shoot with deadly accuracy and is well-versed in the use of weapons including guns, missiles and projectiles. Holden also has knowledge of a vast array of US Military weaponry.

Master Spy - Aside from being one of the strongest heroes in the universe, Holden is skilled in espionage, intelligence gathering, stealth, infiltration and sabotage.

Master Acrobat - Holden's training and experience has made him a very skilled acrobat, and has shown expertise in utilizing parkour and air attacks.

Detective - Thanks to his experience as Killmonger(Yautja) and his time at the Los Angeles Police Department, Holden has become one of the best detectives in the world who specialises in all kinds of crime including murder and attacks.

EQUIPMENT

"What did I tell you? Never come empty handed."

- Holden to Sharon Carter.

Universatrix - Holden gained the Universatrix after opening Ahmanet's sarcophagus and bonded with his DNA. Over four year, it evolved from a gauntlet to a metallic watch. It helps Holden fight evil and crime in Los Angeles. After the Battle of Earth, the Universatrix would later then be taken by Azmuth after passing the test.

Ultimate Biomnitrix - The Ultimate Biomnitrix is a more powerful version of the Universatrix with the Ultimatrix included. Holden gains it after defeating Thanos in which he gains more forms but also has the ability to fuse two forms together. Holden now uses it to defend Earth.

Grappling Gun - With his genius in engineering and inspiration from Batman, Holden creates a gas-powered grappling gun to help him disappear quickly and reach very high places. After getting the Ultimate Biomnitrix, Holden integrates the same grappling technology into the Ultimatrix.

WEAPONS

Cybertronian Gun - A sword and gun weapon held in Lockdown's armoury. When Holden and Blake to go rescue Carol Danvers from the bounty hunter, Holden steals one of his guns as it bullets can hurt Lockdown, Kree, even Thanos got a taste of cybertronian bullets. Holden has since made modifications including laser sight and scope.

ACR - After completing his SHIELD training, Holden uses the ACR when he can't transform or for stealth missions. Holden upgrades it with a scope, laser sight, grenade launcher, long barrel, and extended magazine for all kinds of stealth missions.

<------>

FACILITIES

"Los Angeles. California. Home of celebrities, beaches and Arkham Asylum. Not the one from DC Comics. But think of Los Angeles as our very own Gotham. Something like that."

- Holden to Gamora.

Goldstein Residence - The Goldstein Residence is the home to Dean, Tessa and Holden. When Dean moved from London, he chose this house in Burbank. Holden gets visits from cousins, friends and some members of the the Avengers even turn up at his door. Holden uses his room as his base of operations.

Palisades Charter High School - Holden, Blake Williams and Sophia Petrova go to Palisades Charter near Santa Monica in Los Angeles as students. It also had a Lacrosse team which is led by Holden as captain and coached by Coach Shiba.

Los Angeles Police Department - Dean Goldstein's workplace. Holden comes by every so often to during investigations to bring lunch on weekends.

[storyunrelated]

Candidate for Completion - Theodicy

Theodicy

People like to think - in the way that people like to avoid uncomfortable notions - that this is just the way things are now, that this is the way things will stay. Sure it’s bad but now it’s normal and normal is livable. Normal doesn’t need you to get up and get out of the house to take a chance on trying to fix it and maybe failing. Normal means that your peaceful life can continue. Normal is comfortable.

WHAT

Diag Fol, you see, was progress given form in this backwards world. A shining beacon of what was possible with just a little bit of human effort and a pinch of ruthless, merciless liberation. Diag Fol was proof that another way was possible, nay, preferable!  Superior!

Knowing this, how could the fine, bold, inspiring leaders of Diag Fol ever stop at just one?

That the Diags are full of small gods is just a fact - they’re everywhere! They are part of the fabric of life. They’re vital! They look after every aspect of everything, and all it takes is a little acknowledgement of this. Is that so hard?

No, no it is not, and life has continued in this way for generations. The Diags fight, they stop fighting, they trade, one of them is invaded by Those From Across The Sea again, the land between the Diags remains small godless and wild and dangerous, life trundles forward, all is well.

Or rather all was well. One day, out of nowhere, Diag Fol is overthrown! And not in the normal way where one group of small god-fearing people swap out one set of leadership for another. That’s normal.

No this time they killed the small gods. All of them. Every last one in the Diag, every single one. This should be impossible. It has to be impossible! But they did it. And they didn’t stop there - all priests killed, all icons smashed, all signs of piety purged.

A free Diag now, they claim. And they have devices now. Amazing devices! Devices against which no one Diag can stand. And can the Diags unite to fight back? Like fuck they can.

And just as things reach a boiling point - just when Diag Fol prepares to roll out the liberation of humanity from the yoke of oppression - a priest of an obscure, forgotten small god who survived the last eighty years by being dead wakes up in a box in a cupboard, and finds himself charged with a mission to, well...

Not fix things, it’s too late for that.

But they can be...

Manipulated.

WHO

Amphibalus had  never met anyone From Across The Sea, of course. Very few people had. But he’d heard enough about them to know he wouldn’t ever want to. Strange people. Long fingers, big boats, deep eyes. Questionable theology.

There is a handful of characters in this one...

There’s the main chap, the priest. He’s killed before the story really starts and first shows up as a corpse. His name is Amphibalus. Prior to being killed, he was an old man. Strange events lead to his corpse getting stuffed into a chest in an abandonned house and forgotten about for, ooh, about eighty years.

He later wakes up in a healthy, young man’s body. Also naked. Also very confused. He’s nudged in directions without a clear idea of what he’s actually meant to do. There’s an idea, but he can’t grasp it. And he’s in probably the most unfriendly place possible for a man of a small god.

Then there’s some others. There’s the leader of the god-killing revolutionaries who overtook Diag Fol and who is kind of an unhinged lunatic with some very high-scale ideas for what should happen to the world. There’s a lady weapons developer who works under him who will do...something.

There’s a spy in Diag Fol who’ll meet up with Amphibalus. She has a pidgeon.

And there’s some other guy who wanders around killing people in the name of his small god, who lives in his sword. Think he’s called Ronan. He ends up getting into Diag Fol somehow, I think.

Eh, stuff.

Oh yeah, now I’m remembering that the small god who lives in the sword is probably one of only two small gods who actually get lines in the story and I forgot how much of a bloodthirsty mad bastard I made them.

But who else would live in a sword but a bloodthirsty mad bastard?

WHERE

“I’m hiDing IN youR SKin, ronan.”

“I know.”

“i aM swiMMIng iN yOUR BLOOD. I fEEl safE.”

Ronan shook his head.

What I need is a very definite idea of the structure. There’s a lot of rambling that kind of hints at the nature of the world - and a whole chunk which just out-and-out explains the whole structure of the UNIVERSE and HOW THE SMALL GODS ACTUALLY FIT INTO IT - which might be a little on the nose.

But what really needs nailing down is just the through line.

Amphibalus wakes up. He wanders around. He bumps into some IMPORTANT PEOPLE. He runs. He obliquely speaks to the lunatic leader guy. He rusn some more. He meets the spy. He finally learns something about the world he’s woken up in. He sees a sign. Bish bash bosh, some hints at the lunatic leader’s plan, some way of stopping it, blah blah whatever.

Oh and I need a new title because, as I remembered too late, Small Gods is a Discworld book - whoops!

WHY

There’s very little as terrifying as being in a place where every single other person present believes the exact opposite about everything that you do and them all realising this all at the same time.

Many, many pairs of suddenly unhappy eyes all turning in the same direction. Fists clenching. Bile rising in the back of throats. Righteous indignation building in the bosoms of people who heavily outnumber you.

Nothing good can come of this.

The basic idea of “There are gods and they are known to exist but one day they are all murdered by humans and one priest survives and comes back later in a godless world to do a thing” is an idea I’ve had for a while and never really been able to do anything useful with.

Originally the idea involved humans cannibalising the dead ‘bodies’ of gods for power purposes or something suitably grim. This time it’s...not quite that...but still something.

This isn’t a commentary on religion or anything like that. It’s just a lark. There’s no points being made. Or if there are, I ain’t the one makin’ ‘em!

WELL

“For I am a godly woman, and my god travels with me. They’re strange like that. Pigeon is the name they go by. I serve them well and in turn I am provided for.”

“Pigeon?” Amphibalus asked. He couldn’t help himself. The woman looked a touch sheepish for a moment but then straightened up.

“Unusual, yes. Perhaps even humble. But who are we to question? Certainly it is appropriate. My small god’s domain lies with pigeons, you see. An animal with which they have a certain natural rapport and an uncanny ability to manipulate. Very useful for someone in my line of work.”

“I can imagine,” Amphibalus said.

He was lying. He could not.

To do this one I’d need to CARE, and the circumstances needed for me to CARE are very specific and esoteric. It usually only happens at night, and I have to be sitting in a chair at a table or a desk. And I have to be on my own and in a fairly cheerful state of mind.

You think I’m joking but I’m not.

Theoretically I don’t mind this story much, but nothing in it has GRABBED ME and the characters are just kind of bleh to me right now. None have formed yet because I haven’t done enough of it, and I haven’t done enough of it because the characters aren’t formed enough to grab me.

Irony!

[adambethyname-blog]

Complaints After Seeing “Avengers: Endgame”

We are a week removed from the release of “Avengers: Endgame.” After seeing it last Friday night, I pretty much went on a tear reading every interview, analysis, and commentary I could find all over the interwebs. I noticed that there was a commonality between a lot of the questions that people generated after a first pass through the movie. But this isn’t about questions, it’s about complaints and grievances.

First and foremost, a quick review: I absolutely loved it. It takes a lot of skill to wrap up 22 movies and that’s probably why the movie was three hours long, but the writers deserve a special pat on the back for not re-treading through old story lines in an effort to bring people up to speed. For example, Captain Marvel just shows up... no explanation. You were expected to have seen “Captain Marvel” back in March. You were required to know who she was and what she could do, and if you didn’t... well, that’s on you. 

Now, to be the prissy little diva that people expect me to be, I’m going to list my petty, whiny complaints. Why? Well they’re the most fun because I am never truly satisfied with anything. 

Thanos’ death wasn’t good enough: Honestly, he deserved worse. MUCH worse. They spent 22 movies building Thanos up to be this God-like villain who was almost invincible. When push came to shove and it was time to finish him off, he sat down and got dusted after Tony Stark/Iron-Man snapped his fingers. 

There were so many characters in the Marvel MCU that deserved to pull the trigger on Thanos. Drax’s family was murdered by Thanos. Nebula was taken apart a piece at a time for disappointing him. Thor lost half of the survivors of Asgard along with his brother, Loki, to Thanos’ genocide. Gamora deserved revenge for her mother’s death which we saw in “Infinity War.” Hawkeye saw his three children and wife disappear during a Hallmark-moment family picnic (Aside: there was a 15.6% chance of Hawkeye’s whole family being dusted with him surviving. Yikes,). So to just see him sit down, accept his fate, and turn into the contents of a 77 El Camino’s ashtray was a little anticlimactic. I actually said out loud in the theater, “That’s it?”

Really? Rats walking on the keyboard? : The big question after seeing the trailers leading up to “Endgame” had to have been “How does Ant-Man get out of the Quantum Realm since we saw Hope, Janet, and Hank get dusted on the rooftop in the “Ant-Man & the Wasp” post-credit sequence. I was thinking the surviving Avengers would get some lead about Ant-Man that would lead them to the van or something. Maybe his daughter finds the van (in the comics, she takes up the Ant-Man role) while looking for her dad. But no. Random rats just happen to stroll across the control panel and they happen to hit the “retrieve” button which just HAPPENS to bring Ant-Man back from the Quantum Realm. C’mon. That’s just lazy writing right there.

Stark’s Infinity Gauntlet Was Good Enough to House the Infinity Stones? In “Infinity War,” Thor travels to Nidavellir, a distant planet next to a dying star, to see Eitri (Peter Dinklage) about forging a new weapon to fight Thanos since Thor’s hammer was destroyed in “Thor: Ragnarok.” While conversing about the events that have gone down, we’re told that Thanos sought out Eitri about creating the Infinity Gauntlet for the express purpose of housing the six Infinity stones. We’re even shown the mold. 

It’s pretty much an understatement that to say that the Infinity Stones are powerful and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it would require something very special in order to harness all their power. Quite frankly, if I had to lay a bet, I’d say a molten glove forged from the heat of a dying star would do the trick. But to find out later on in the movie that Tony Stark was just able to cobble one together using old armor parts with Earth-harvested materials is a little much. Not to mention, whatever metal he used to make the Stark Gauntlet had the exact durability of the star-forged-space model. Not to mention, he was smart enough to make a gauntlet, but knowing what a snap did to monsters like the Hulk and Thanos, he couldn’t have beefed up his own version a little more to protect himself? It seems short sighted for a genius-level weapons engineer.

The Stones are still out there: “Avengers: Endgame” is supposed to mark the end of this entire storyline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Truthfully, it was wrapped up pretty tight with major story lines closed. However, Steve Rogers aka Captain America takes the Infinity Stones back to the spots in the timeline where they “borrowed” them from. That means, quite frankly, another megalomaniac can grab a stone and start this mess all over again. As definitive as the end of “Endgame” was, there’s still an opening for the dreaded “reboot.” Oh boy, get ready for gender-flipped “Iron Man” a la “Ghostbusters” in 2025.

Nebula killing herself should have created a time paradox: If someone invents a time machine at noon, it won’t be 12:05 before someone brings up the rules of time travel established by “Back to the Future.” For some reason, we, as a society, have decided that of all of the time travel rules that we’ve learned as a result of pop culture, it’s “Back to the Future’s” rules that we are committing to the Constitution of Time Travel (I’m sure some of “Terminator” is going to be sprinkled in there as well). Even in “Endgame,” we are treated to Scott Lang, professional cat burglar, pontificating about time travel and casually dropping the rules about time travel including “no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events...” Professor Hulk throws cold water on the whole theory by saying, “If you travel to the past, that past becomes your FUTURE. And your former present becomes the past. Which can’t now be changed by your new FUTURE.” 

Still with me? Head explode yet?

Nebula’s case was driving me nuts for a solid week because in order for Endgame Nebula to become Endgame Nebula she had to evolve from Past Nebula. The two confront themselves toward the end of “Endgame” and EG-Nebula shoots P-Nebula. Now, P-Nebula doesn’t have the opportunity to evolve into EG-Nebula so EG-Nebula should CEASE TO EXIST because the events that turn P-Nebual into EG-Nebula will never happen and therefore EG-Nebula won’t come to be.

I get what Professor Hulk was saying, but the Nebula’s case is different because it’s literally the same person on the same timeline, just at two different points, that were brought together at a single common point in time. Quite frankly, using my time travel theory, P-Nebula COULD have killed EG-Nebula because then P-Nebula could still evolve into EG-Nebula; however the door doesn’t swing both ways since time is linear (which was confirmed by The Ancient One in another scene). 

I thought a better ending would have been for P-Nebula to kill EG-Nebula and when it looks like Thanos is about to re-snap the world again, P-Nebula turns on him and finishes him off. Why? Well you have to go back to “Guardians of the Galaxy.” 

“Guardians Vol. 1″ revolves around the acquisition of the Power Stone. Ronan the Accuser acquires the stone and wants to head to Xandar to destroy the planet. Nebula and her sister Gamora have been sub-contracted to assist Ronan in getting the Power Stone on behalf of Thanos; however, when Ronan realizes what he has, he tells Thanos to piss off and he’s keeping it for himself. Ronan is going to destroy Xandar and then come for Thanos (who at this moment is stoneless). Nebula who watches the FaceTime call Ronan has with Thanos turns on her father. She says, “You see what he’s turned me into. You kill him, I will help you destroy a thousand planets.” It’s apparent that even way back then, Nebula was harboring some awful feelings for her father who turned her into a cyborg for losing sibling fights with her sister. 

In “Endgame,” P-Nebula comes from the “Guardians Vol. 1″ spot in time, so it’s safe to say that she is still harboring these terrible feelings for her dad. It would have been poetic justice if she turns on him right when he’s about to fulfill his destiny. 

Yes. These are petty, but I have a petty mind that questions things like this. I just hope that when you commit to 22 movies, you put a LITTLE more thought into the plot. I mean, c’mon.

Oh, before I forget. “Spoiler Alert.” You probably should not have read all of the above stuff if you haven’t seen “Avengers: Endgame.” Consider yourself warned. 

[xxgwenstacyxx]

Endgame Spoilers

Gambit Declined (Ao3 / FFN)

Summary: Tony offers to sacrifice his life in order to defeat Thanos. Nebula refuses. 

The rainbows and sunshine, everybody-lives, nobody-dies alternative for Endgame.

Chapter 1

The sight of Thanos fades into the background as Nebula’s eyes lock onto Tony.

The sounds of the ongoing battle echo in her ears – the battle cries of allies, the inhuman screeches of the vermin fighting for Thanos and the whir of Leviathans spreading destruction from the skies. The only sound louder is the blood pumping through Nebula's veins. It pounds in her ears like a wardrum.

"Tony," she whispers, and, breaking out into a run, she shouts, "Tony!"

Neither he nor Thanos seem to hear her. The Gauntlet shines golden on Thanos' hand and the fighting around them halts.

"I am inevitable."

There are no gems gleaming among the gold and Thanos doesn’t realize it. He snaps.

Nothing happens.

Time seems to come to a standstill.

Tony pants, the strain of the fight catching up with his fragile, human body. The glove of his armor – unremarkable compared to the one Thanos wears and built by unremarkable, human hands – shines with the colors of the universe.

"And I..."

Four brave morons sharing the brunt of the power stone almost died when they used it against Ronan. There are six stones, and Tony has them all. He’s alone.

"... am..."

He won't survive it. He'll die, letting the power of the infinity stones surge through his body in order to end it all.

"... Iron Man."

Tony sets his fingers in a snap and Nebula launches herself forward.

There's metal pressed against her body and a bright light. Pain. All consuming pain and  Tony's gasp sounding breathless in her ears, power coursing through her body, burning through her veins like liquid fire.

Nebula tightens her grip around Tony and screams.

She wakes to the feeling of ash on her skin and thinks, Not again.

Their loss on Titan was devastating. The years that followed were worse. Ash in the air, on their skin, in their lungs, ash where the Guardians had stood and the sorcerer and the kid. Only Nebula and Tony on a barren planet, drifting through space, wasting away. Mourning. Scheming.

Nebula pries open her eyes in time to watch Thanos disintegrate and dares to hope.

She looks at Tony and hope warps into dread.

She thinks that her mouth is moving but no sound escapes. Her lips taste like blood and burnt flesh.

She tries again to call his name and fails and decides to concentrate on her legs rather than her vocal cords. One of them is gone. The other is charred down to its pain receptors. She crawls instead, using her semi functioning arm to claw her way forward inch by inch.

She reaches Tony at the same time that Steve finds them both.

"Tony," he whispers, standing frozen in place. Useless.

Nebula ignores him and claws her spasming hand into the hem of Tony's armor. It's torn open or melted or both, dented in some places and scorched black in others. One half of his face is blistered and Nebula can't tell whether the injuries underneath the suit are superficial or deadly.

If she had control over her body, she'd check for herself.

"Tony," Steve whispers again, more frantic. "No. Tony."

Nebula tries to get her voice to work. A growl is all that she manages, closely followed by an almost feral sounding, "Do something."

Half of Nebula's body is falling to pieces. The stench of scorched wires and melted metal burns in her nose. Nebula musters all the energy she has left – perhaps the leftovers of the infinity stones' power flowing through her body – and shouts, "Do something! He's alive!"

Steve looks at her and stumbles forwards. Pepper is faster and breaks out into a run mere seconds after her armor touches the ground. Rhodey is right behind her.

"Tony," she breathes, stumbling out of her suit and to Tony's side. She has to navigate around Nebula to do so, and Nebula can't bring herself to care. "Tony."

"Peps..."

Tony's voice is weak and Nebula hates the sound of it. They survived the end of the world together. They survived the endlessness of space. They survived years in a hopeless, bitter version of reality and yet, they came out swinging.

Who has the nerve to tell them that this is the end for the both of them? For either of them?

Nebula coughs in a grovelling, harsh sound that feels like glass shards in her throat. The missing pieces of her body are making themselves known. Nebula's control circuit is screaming at her to power down and conserve energy – or else letting her know that she reached the end of her existence.

"What happened?" Rhodey asks on Tony's other side, his voice both sharp and trembling. His eyes wander towards Nebula and he can't hide the horror in his gaze. Nebula's mutilated body must make a horrendous sight.

She almost wants to tell him that it isn't a big deal – almost her entire body is replaceable – but her voice seems to have stopped working again. She shivers and wonders which part of her had been damaged to cause the malfunction.

"He used the stones," Steve says, his brows set in a firm line. His eyes twitch over to Nebula. "They did. She... They... Tony took the stones and did the Snap. Nebula shared the backlash."

Tony's head perks up at the sentence, glassy eyes struggling to focus on Nebula. "Nebula..."

"Shut up."

"Neb-Nebula..."

"Save your breath," Nebula snaps, and she hisses at the pain it sends coursing through her body. She'll kill him herself if Tony survives the backlash of the stones only to die through overexertion afterwards.

"FRIDAY. Diagnosis, now." Pepper's voice trembles as she speaks the words. She wrings her hands in the need to reach out to Tony but doesn't know where to touch that won't make it worse.

"Vital signs are deteriorating rapidly," FRIDAY says. "Condition is critical but not yet terminal."

"In other words," Nebula forces out through clenched teeth, "quit dawdling and move!" She's screaming out the last bit and exerts the last of her energy.

There's no more talking. Steve reaches forward to pull Nebula off of Tony – mumbling empty apologies as Nebula's pain receptors flare up in agony – and Rhodey heaves Tony into his arms, armor and all.

Tony’s lips are moving but Nebula can no longer make out the words. Rhodey keeps whispering, "You did it. We won. You did it, Tones," and other meaningless chatter as he breaks out into a sprint as quickly as the burden in his arms allows him to.

Pepper flies ahead of them, perhaps hunting down some sort of medical aid.

Steve stays behind. His hands hover over Nebula’s body. "Nebula. Nebula, you need to tell me how to help you. How bad is it?"

Nebula doesn't muster the strength to answer. Tony is taken care of and Nebula lets go.

There's darkness and pain, satisfaction at their victory and guilt at its cost. Thanos' demise plays on repeat in Nebula's head, years and years of longing, of yearning for revenge wrapped up in a single moment.

Tony's death follows Thanos' more often than it does not. Nebula can't bring herself to decide whether it is worth it.

Nebula dreams.

And lives.

And wakes.

"I didn't think you'd make it," are her words of greeting upon opening her eyes. Rocket isn't looking at her but sits nearby and in a comfortable position that suggests he's been there for a long while.

Nebula pushes herself up on limbs that feel foreign and strange. They work, which is enough.

"Where's Tony?" she rasps, taking in her surroundings with a fleeting glance. It isn't worth any more of her attention than what is necessary to determine that Tony isn't there.

Her eyes linger on the Guardians sleeping in one corner of the room – Gamora among them – but she forces herself to move on. Later.

"We won, in case you're interested."

"I know," Nebula growls. "I was there." She felt their 'victory' burning away half of her body. She needs to find out what it did to Tony.

Rocket grunts in acknowledgement. "Thanks for that, I guess." He turns towards the door and Nebula is tempted to try out the weapon systems of her new arms in his direction. (She doubts there are any. She already hates them.)

Rocket throws a glance over his shoulder and says, "You coming or what? He's this way."

Nebula almost stumbles in her hurry to follow along.

Tony looks better than the last time Nebula saw him. He still looks like he's on the verge of death.

Gray skin stands in contrast to white bandages. The Avengers-themed blanket somebody threw over him looks almost offensively colorful in comparison.

Pepper sleeps in an armchair next to his bed, her hair an unkempt mess and wearing clothes that look as though she wore them underneath her battle armor.

The kid – Peter – sits in a corner with a much younger child, playing some sort of silly game.

A news report is shown hovering above the bed, depicting footage of the battle and the aftermath. Images of Tony keep flashing over the screen, in his armor, without it, during the battle and being carried away afterwards. He looks like a corpse. The public is in a frenzy.

"All stations are showing the same," Rhodey mutters without looking up. His eyes twitch back and forth between the screen and Tony in an almost convulsive gesture. "The public hasn't seen anything of him besides that footage. Most think he died."

Looking at Tony now, Nebula can't blame them. If it wasn't for the mild shifting of the blanket to the rhythm of Tony's breathing, she might have come to believe the same.

"It's you!" Peter jumps to his feet and stands in front of Nebula in an instant. "Everybody says you saved him! He almost died when he saved us, but he didn't, because of you!"

He looks as though he's seconds away of hugging Nebula. Nebula shies away with a glare. He grabs for her hand instead and holds on tightly. "Thank you so much! If it wasn't for you, he... Mr. Stark would have..."

He beams, but his eyes are wet. Nebula doesn't know what to say, so she doesn't say anything at all.

"Thank you," Peter repeats, tightening his grip around her hand. "Thank you so much."

Nebula has always been horrible at dealing with sentimentalities. She squeezes Peter's hand briefly and pulls away. He doesn't stop her when she steps closer to Tony's bed.

"How is he," she says, for some reason failing to raise her voice in a question.

"He'll live," Pepper replies, evidently having woken from her exhaustion-induced nap. Her words lift a weight off of Nebula's shoulders and she closes her eyes in a moment of indulgence. "His injuries run deep, but... he'll live. He's gonna recover." She says it although she needs to convince herself of the fact.

Nebula steps around Pepper. Nobody stops her when she sits down besides Tony. Nebula leans back against the wooden frame of the bed and waits.

A/N: This story will have three parts. The next is going to be from Tony’s POV. 

Writing this helped soothe my post-Endgame grief. Enjoy!

[trc-ficlibrary]

100k Masterlist

6 March 2019

Platonic:

His World Was a Nightmare by sam_bam16 (T | 469,503 | 178/178)

He shouted to Kavinsky, "Get down!" But Kavinsky didn't look away from the two creatures. He said, "The world's a nightmare." - The Dream Thieves

His world really was one.

UNDERGOING FULL ON EDITING: completely readable, just going back & correcting grammar/spelling stuff I missed

Felt Like You Were Mine by EtoileGarden (T | 224,968 | 70/70)

Adam Parrish is an only child - not that that affords him any luxuries - for more than a decade. When Ethan is born, it changes his entire life plan, and the canon of his story.

Adam does not go to Aglionby, meets up with the other pieces of his soul through other means.

Pynch:

Finding That Love Song by LydiaStJames (M | 190,447 | 20/20)

Ronan Lynch dealt with his father’s sudden death by plunging into music. With high school coming to a close, and without any ambition to go to college, Ronan convinces his best friends to start a band. The only problem? They’re in need of a vocalist, and the young mechanic with the perfect voice is playing hard to get.

(In other words, the gang makes a band AU.)

The Obstacle Of You by renlybaratheon (T | 181,275 | 18/18)

Ronan Lynch and Adam Parrish don't know it yet but their summers are about to get a whole lot more complicated when they both separately decide to be camp counselors at Camp Cabeswater. Ronan agrees to be a counselor out of boredom and the need for something to prove to Declan, while Adam becomes a counselor in order to help pay for his new living arrangements.

i'll be there for you by renlybaratheon (M | 154,825 | 14/14)

Best friends since high school, Ronan and Adam live across the hall from each other while going to college in New York City. Ronan's trying to be a professional chef and Adam's trying to survive all his food experiments. Everything changes when Declan Lynch invites the Gangsey to his wedding in Ireland. a friends au.

Advanced Moral Relativity by StormysHealthyCopingMechanisms (Not Rated | 154,460 | 42/42)

Vigilante AU. Ronan is a non-adorable Spiderman, and Adam is the entirely adorable object of his affection. Also featuring the other members of the Gangsey in powered and augmented roles. Thus, Ronan fights crime with angry flexibility and sarcasm and tries to protect Adam while hiding his identity.

I'm an Empathetic Drunk, Ok? by EtoileGarden (T | 149,603 | 7/7)

Ronan probably needs to get his shit together.

The gangsey's all at University (well mostly all), and are fitting together into a different sort of puzzle this time round.

/rape

Light With A Sharpened Edge by poetic_leopard (M |144,684 | 24/24)

Adam Parrish works as a sober companion, but he has no idea of the storm that's soon to hit him when Ronan Lynch turns out to be his newest client. (Or the one where Adam Parrish and Ronan Lynch are trapped underneath the same roof for six weeks.)

*

Ronan, to his surprise, opened his eyes. For a breathless moment, Adam was transfixed in them. They were the color of the ocean on the most azure of nights, lightning right before it struck the ground, damp hydrangeas on a fog-swept morning. Those eyes gave him chills.

What Stays and What Fades Away by burn_it_slow (M | 123,733 | 25/25)

Adam is forced to deal with his past, i.e. his annoyingly hot and magical ex-boyfriend back home, when his best friends get engaged.

To Feel Your Heartlines by renlybaratheon (E | 119,118 | 8/8)

People in Adam Parrish's life keep getting married all around him, and Adam is not a fan of weddings, a constant reminder of being unlucky in love and his personal decision to focus on his career. But at one wedding, Adam meets the funny and charming Ronan Lynch and starts to think maybe that decision could use some revision, and that his luck has changed.

/Major Character Death

don't take the money by renlybaratheon (T | 118,996 | 10/10)

Matthew Lynch can't date until Ronan does, and Gansey's solution is to pay one of their classmates to go on a date with him. One guess who.

Like Storms by ggrantaire (T | 115,226 | 16/16)

Words are weapons that Adam is learning how to deal with.

in which Gansey and Ronan meet Adam in college, and they find Noah along the way. Featuring secret crushes, late night adventures, learning to love yourself, and cats.

Larger Than Life by belljar for seakid (T | 105,533 | 11/11)

Ronan lives with his mom, dad, and brothers at a somewhat-disused farm. They still have cows, and apple trees, but they’re not farmers, don’t make a living from it. His dad is away a lot and his mom stays at home. This means there’s always lemonade and cinnamon rolls ready when Ronan gets home from school.

Every day he sees a young boy bike past in the morning and again in the afternoon. He’s only seen glances of him, the glimpse of a worn backpack, shorts in the winter, and an old, rusty bike. He’s pretty and Ronan is entranced in a way he doesn’t really understand.

(OR: An AU with no supernatural elements where Adam and Ronan meet each other at age eight and grow up as best friends.)

(The Time It Takes) To Believe In Fate by LydiaStJames (M | 100,057 | 15/15)

When he was 16, Adam walked into a forest in Henrietta, Virginia and exited in 1800s Ireland. The day he spent with the grumpy but attractive farmer lingered with Adam for years, but the forest didn't seem like it would appear again. That is, until Adam returned to Henrietta for his father's funeral and the forest calls him back once more.

To Ronan.

Other:

King by the Roadside by nimmieamee (E | 164,596 | 12/12)

Richard Campbell Gansey III has never had any run-ins with bees. He's never stepped on a hive. He's never suffered any stings. He knows nothing about ley lines or Welsh kings.

Then he loses everything, and has to learn.

/violence

Moonage Daydream by welcometocabeswater (M | 129,095 | 49/49)

When her father dreamt her up, Violet Lynch was born with Adam Parrish’s elegant hands. All her life, she's lived under the heavy strain of being an unearthly thing when all she's ever wanted was to be a normal teenage girl. Her best friends, Sargent Gansey and Indie Sargent help her get that much closer...

Meanwhile, Adam watches Ronan fall into a downward spiral he can't escape. Their marriage hangs in the balance, threatening the harmony between The Barns and Monmouth Manufacturing that keeps Violet, Sargent, and Indie happy and stable...

/Violence

[disruptedvice]

May I have this dance (gotg fic)

Starmora week 2018 Day 2 - dancing

Peter hated people who gave themselves self-aggrandizing nicknames.

(Or undercover missions + dancing + jealousy + soft talks = starmora love)

AO3 Link

___________________

May I have this dance? ___________________

A ballroom filled with partners dancing in formal and evening wear might not be what one would first picture when thinking of intergalactic arms dealers, or that the duchess hosting such an affair on her estate would have her fingers dipped in so many criminal pots. She wasn't even duchess of anything, that's just what she called herself.

Peter hated people who gave themselves self-aggrandizing nicknames just to inflate their own sense of importance. Besides- duchess? If you're gonna go for royalty, why not just use queen or king? Even baroness would've been better- there's such a level of pretentiousness that came with duchess. Also, wasn't that like a thing people named their cats? And other pets?

Whatever, he had an issue with this lady's nickname, and it took all his self control not to make a face every time he had to say it because she wouldn't answer to anything else.

Ugh. Peter hated people who gave themselves nicknames, and the ones that went for 'high class' ones were always the worst offenders, the ones who insisted you call them those stupid monikers that implied they were supposed to be rulers of something was always markers of someone you don't want to get to know.

And, to what you're thinking: no. Starlord was different. First- because he didn't give himself that nickname. His mom did. You're in the clear for self-aggrandizing nicknames if someone else gave it to you. It's kinda like why Guardians of the Galaxy worked so well. They would've seemed like such self important dicks if they just started calling themselves that after a brainstorming session for their would be team name. But, because Ronan called them that first (it was even better that he was using it as a put down at the time), and all the people they saved heard him say it before they totally kicked his ass, they were now free to go gallivanting around the universe as Guardians of the Galaxy without seeming like a bunch of dillweeds.

Peter didn't just up and start calling himself a lord one day. Which he can guarantee this duchess lady did. That's why Starlord was different. He didn't nickname himself, because people who did that were the worst.

And he didn't force people to call him Starlord. The Duchess wouldn't respond if you called her anything else, not her real name, or even ma'am or sir. Starlord was different.

He still answered to Peter, or Quill, or even 'hey, asshole!'

He kinda hated these missions where he had to dress up nice and play a functioning member of society and go undercover as a social elite in something fancy schmancy like this.

Actually, that wasn't true. He loved these undercover as someone respectable missions as long as he had a certain someone next to him. Pretending to be upstanding citizens as they infiltrated some gathering was something he always had a ball doing whenever it was him and Gamora pretending to be normal, unsuspecting people. He loved those types of missions.

Safe to say this wasn't one of those missions.

Tonight he was just the well dressed distraction tasked with keeping the Duchess's attention at the gala while the rest of the team actually pulled off the real job.

Gamora had infiltrated the event and was disguised as a guard on the second floor, effectively running point for the team while doing 'walkthroughs' inbetween checking on Peter and watching his back from the second floor balcony in case one of the many disreputable guests in attendance at this ball recognized him for who he actually was. He didn't recognize any names on the guest list, and safe to say he looked pretty damn unrecognizable in a pressed suit with shining cuff links and hair that was actually combed. He cleaned up pretty nicely, if he didn't say so himself.

Plus, it wasn't just the fun type of dancing he was good at. He was good at this stuffy, formal partner dancing too. The one with very precise steps because rich people didn't know how to let loose.

Looking all presentable and dressed to the nines as he held one of the Duchess's gloved hands, his other hand at the waist of her deep midnight blue evening gown (which was too soft to not cost a bazillion units by the way, it was almost too blue, like she could somehow afford deeper colors than the rest of the universe) as they danced around and around in circles with all the other couples there- he fit right in. Nothing to be suspicious about. ___________

Gamora looked out across the balcony, spotting Peter in less than two seconds, still doing fine just like the last time she checked on him. She had to stop herself from grumbling at the sight, knowing that Peter (and everyone else) would be able to hear her through the com links if she did so.

Technically she didn't have to check on him so often and spend so much time literally watching his back since she'd be able to hear on the com links if something were to start going wrong for him, but she did so anyway. Rocket and the other's had their part handled, so she settled in, leaning her back against the wall as she watched him move across the floor below her.

Gamora couldn't help but notice the woman was pretty, this Duchess. Her long orange hair was piled atop her head in a loose style that left locks and curls spilling out to cascade down her shoulders in a messy but perfect way that had to be by design, and probably took hours to get right. Her smile might be what one called demure, or coquettish, with pretty pink lips and warm brown skin that could only be described as beautiful. Her bright hair and midnight dress made her look like night and day. Or like a sunset even. Gamora couldn't tell if that was on purpose, or if she was just one of those beautiful people who always had that thing work out for them, and the affect her dress made paired with the lovely shade of her skin was just an accident.

From head to toe, she was like the sun fading into the dusk fading into the night sky.

It wasn't like this was the first beautiful woman they had come across since becoming the Guardians of the Galaxy. This wasn't even close to the first time the team had been on a mission and used Peter as bait with a target who was an attractive female that he was supposed to go distract and flirt with and buy them some time.

It wasn't how beautiful this woman was that bothered Gamora (though she could do with horrible people being a little less gorgeous sometimes).

The problem was... she was actually a good dancer.

Probably what one would call a natural, as she danced with Peter. Gamora didn't have a good vantage point for seeing her feet, but she was certain that this other woman didn't stumble even once. Neither did Peter, as he led her through the steps with a skill and finesse that she hadn't known he'd possessed. Much more than an instructor, he looked like a professional. They both did. As they moved through the motions with a certain grace and ease, they both looked like they did this for a living, like they were made to be dance partners. The way that silken glove grasped his hand, the other on his shoulder, as she followed his lead with the confidence of someone who knew what they were doing- they way the whirled and twirled, almost floated across the floor with her midnight colors trailing behind them- it was almost like a mirage.

They were both so good at it. Peter never had to stop and wait, never once grimaced in pain because his feet had been stepped on or he'd been kneed, didn't have to direct her or even give her pointers. Like for the first time his skills were able to shine, because he finally had a partner who worked with him instead of against him. He finally had a partner that moved. And when he was paired with someone of similar skill level, for the first time Gamora could see what a truly good dancer he was.

The Duchess complimented him to where dancing looked like one thing they did together, rather than something clumsy or awkward or even a fight. Her movements were fluid, matching his, and Gamora would almost think it was beautiful if the sight didn't fill her with such vitriol. ___________

The job went perfectly, and the mark never suspected a thing. Sure, Peter might have had more fun if he was on the explore the rich person mansion team this time, but he couldn't complain too much. No one got shot at even once, which already had this as a big win in his books. Being a polite version of his usual witty and charming self while moving in circles the whole night was pretty boring. But as captain of a pretty rowdy team, he had to appreciate having a boring night when they were infiltrating a, once again, intergalactic arms dealer's sprawling manor. And dancing was a whole lot more entertaining than standing in the same spot for hours, which he'd had to do on previous 'boring' jobs before (and Peter never was very good at staying still).

After it was finished, Peter kept bragging about his performance and how he put the artist in con artist. So yeah, he was happy for a job well done for a not unimpressive score.

(sure, the Duchess and her operation was to big for them to take her down or anything, but she'd soon discover quite a few integral things missing that would cripple her weapons trade and some of her other illegal side businesses- but the real win were the documents that Rocket found that would soon find their way into the hands of the nova corp who could do much more damage with the papers than the Guardians could ever do in a single night)

For the first time in awhile it felt like one of their plans went off without a hitch. Plus, being the distraction this time was much easier and much less perilous to his health than it usually was. Why couldn't they all go this smoothly? Instead of them running into trouble half the time- probably more than half the time, actually.

Somebody recognizes them, somebody stabs somebody they weren't supposed to, something goes wrong- not this time.

This one was smooth and easy. Their flawless plan was executed perfectly- no running, screaming, or accidental stabbings- and they made off with the score with none the wiser.

Mission complete, without missing a beat. ___________

Or so he thought.

They made it safely off planet and made sure to get some distance between them and the dangerous criminal they just robbed before contacting the client and informing them that the job was done.

Peter was thankful to be out of the polite and mild mannered persona, Drax and Rocket were doing the whole party animal thing like always after a successful mission, of course wanting to celebrate with alcohol, Mantis was glad everyone was safe and laughing like crazy with the other two, but Gamora...

She was much quieter than usual, after everything. And Peter wasn't sure why. She wasn't in the celebratory mood like the rest of them when they just made a helluva lot of units. Normally she was happy when a job went this smooth- especially when they made off without and damage to the ship or collecting any life endangering injuries. No one got injured at all on this one.

Still- she was off. Quiet and subdued. Even her expressions seemed muted, and Peter was actually starting to worry.

She seemed upset, but not in the normal angry Gamora upset way, she just seemed... like unhappy or something. Like something was weighing on her mind.

She gave their friends non-convincing smiles (they didn't have him convinced at least) as they boarded the Benatar in their normal boisterous fashion. It was almost polite smiles that she sent around the table that evening, but she... she seemed almost sad.

Peter pursed his lips, nursing his beer as he watched her watch everyone else. Normally he would've been all too quick to join the high energy coming from the other side of the table that evening, but with Rocket and Drax drunk enough to be shouting, and Mantis playing mediator when they started arguing over whatever drinking game they were playing, he was much more concentrated on the woman beside him.

A frown tugged at her lips as she picked apart what was left of her meal, tearing off pieces of her bread like it was just something for her to do- looking for a distraction from whatever heavy thoughts wouldn't leave her head right now.

And Peter was just trying to figure out what happened, what had escaped his notice.

This was a good job. This was a good day. Or, at least, it should have been. Even as he ran over everything that had happened in the past 24 hours in his mind, he came up empty. There wasn't anything remotely upsetting that he could think of.

Like yeah, he kinda had to fake flirt with the Duchess in the ballroom that night, but that wasn't a big deal. He's had to do that before- when the team used him as that type of bait for a mission.

While Gamora sometimes did get jealous if a particular target got a little handsy- that just led to her aggressively claiming him that night. Fucking the life out of him, and telling him how much he was hers. And he loved it.

It wasn't like she was the worried type of jealous whenever he flirted with a mark for a job that they were all on. She knew it was for a job, wasn't real, and she trusted Peter either way, regardless of the situation. Sometimes she just felt a little possessive whenever she saw people touching what belonged to her (which Peter had told her many times was “hot as hell”).

Anyways, tonight, there wasn't much to get jealous or possessive over. They weren't dancing at some club.

They were dancing in a fucking ballroom for Christ's sake.

It was all elegant and formal. Definitely no inappropriate touches. The flirting was a lot more subtle than it sometimes had to be for cons. Besides, if Gamora had been upset because of the Duchess lady and Peter she would've been all growly, not quiet. Not like this. ___________

He didn't get a real chance to approach her about it until they were turning in for the night, which was probably for the best anyway. It was late when they got back anyway, so they pretty much just ate dinner and went to bed. The captain's quarters afforded them the best privacy anyway. It was the first chance he'd had to talk to her alone since they got back- but she'd been quiet and subdued the whole time. Through dinner he could leave well enough alone (besides, she was allowed to have her own, private thoughts- serious ones too) so he certainly didn't ask her about it in front of everybody else.

But she was still clearly upset with something eating away at her. And, once she shut their bedroom door, it meant they finally had a moment alone to talk.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yes,” Gamora replied immediately, almost automatically. Safe to say he didn't believe her.

She went to the dresser to pull out a fresh changes of clothes- or tried to, at least. She had to walk past him to get there, but Peter stopped her before she could make it to the drawers. He caught her wrist and gently pulled her back into him.

“Hey, Gamora, talk to me,” he said softly, intertwining his fingers in hers.

Gamora swallowed and looked at their hands- the way he held it reminded her of the way he held the hand of that woman as he took lead, as they danced together earlier that night. Now he was holding Gamora's hand like they were in a dance.

When she met his eyes, his expression and the concern written all over his face made her heart thump louder.

“What do you want to talk about?” She asked diplomatically, a tone she had picked up from him.

Peter frowned, clearly unimpressed by her trying to play dumb. “What you're upset about.”

“I'm not upset about anything. I'm not upset.” Even her denial sounded much too subdued- she could hear it in her own voice. It wasn't convincing at all.

“Gamora, clearly something's bothering you. Please. I just wanna... I just wanna help.”

She looked away from him then, casting her eyes to the floor, because she couldn't deal with that outpouring of concern from his eyes. He was worried- she had worried him. She didn't like Peter being worried, especially not on her behalf. She wanted him to smile- not furrow his brows as he tried to figure out what was wrong. She didn't like him looking so troubled. She liked Peter smiling. So she cast her gaze away, subconsciously tightening her grip on his hand.

“You looked nice tonight,” Gamora said quietly, because it was true. All dressed up, he didn't look quite like Peter, but he looked nice dancing, and he was good at it. He looked natural, and it was a pleasurable sight, watching him dance across the ballroom floor like he was made to do it. “I didn't know you knew how to move like that. You were really good at it.”

She was silent after that, and Peter waited for her to start speaking again, but it seemed she didn't mean to pause, she was just stopping there.

She still wasn't looking at him, and she was still holding tightly to his hand.

“Mmhmm,” he prompted, encouraging her to continue.

She stared long and hard at their intertwined hands, her jaw tensing and her expression twisting as she thought.

Suddenly she turned her piercing gaze to him. “Why do you try to get me to dance with you?”

Peter scrunched his face up in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Why you you always try to get me to dance with you?” She asked again. “Still? Why do you still try? I never do-” before he could object, she amended, “Rarely do. And I don't dance well when I barely even dance. I hardly move when you do convince me to. And of the few times I have, I've actually physically injured you. Only two of those times were on purpose. The rest were all accidents. I... I suck at dancing,” Gamora said emphatically, and her using that word like he always did was so endearing- saying something sucked. God, she could be so cute sometimes- without even trying. “I suck at dancing, Peter. So why? Why do you still try to get me to dance with you every change you get? Every occasion and opportunity. Why do you try to pull me into dancing with you at every opportunity?”

He gave her a crooked gin then, like he was about to say something a mix of sweet and charming (though she'd never say those words).

“Because it's fun,” he answered with a good-natured smile, like she was silly for even asking.

“It can't be fun. You can't have fun dancing with me when I never actually dance with you. I never really dance with you, Peter. You can't say dancing with me is fun when you've only experienced something akin to dancing, and even then it's few and far between. Why do you keep trying to get me to dance with you? I never do. I always say no. Why do you still do that? Why do you still try to get me to dance? You are honestly good at dancing. Why would you want to dance with me?”

By that point, it was pretty clear this was about more than just dancing. When he saw all her insecurities written all over her face, it took everything he had in him to not interrupt her to reassure her and tell her how great and awesome and amazing she was.

He knew she had to get this out. He wasn't expecting this deep, personal insecurities stuff to be following her dancing question, but he wanted to comfort her the moment it became clear she was upset about her own (perceived) inadequacies.

But he knew she needed to say what she was going to say, so he listened and waited patiently for her to finish, holding her hand the whole time.

Gamora finally met his eyes again, and hers looked far more vulnerable and uncertain than he'd ever seen them as she looked to him for a response.

And, when she turned her eyes to him, it was like his whole mind went blank. He wanted to say the perfect thing, to say something good, but he didn't even know where to start. He wanted to say the words she deserved to hear, but she had him at a loss for words far too often.

Even though he didn't know what to say, he knew he needed to say something, so he settled on winging it. It'd worked for him before.

“Because I... cause I like to, G'mora,” Peter shrugged, a sheepish, almost self conscious smile spreading across his face. “I dunno, I just- I like getting you to wiggle. It is fun, getting you to wiggle and shift back and forth to the best songs in the world. I always have a good time when we do that. When I do that with you. It makes me... Happy. When I'm with you. And I'm glad you thought I looked good dancing tonight,” he added with a wink, cause he couldn't resist. “But you know what I was thinking the whole time? How it would've been more fun with you. Cause you know, I'm always smiling and laughing when I try to get you to dance with me, cause I just can't help myself. You know how many times I had the urge to laugh tonight? Zero. Zilch. Nada. I would've been in stitches in just two minutes if I had you next to me. I would've been smiling so wide my cheeks hurt in just 30 seconds of trying to convince you to dance with me. Instead of fake smiling with that duchess lady the whole hour on the ballroom floor. So, I mean, that's why. I like getting you to wiggle with me, Gamora. And I like making you laugh and smile like you always do when I try to dance with you. I like smiling with you. I like dancing with you too. Anything with you. Makes me happy.”

From the look on her face, it seemed like he had just said the perfect thing.

Without really thinking Gamora pulled him into a warm embrace that seemed to take them both by surprise. He stiffened slightly- cause of the whole surprise thing- before he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. Gamora nuzzled into the crook of his neck, and he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. It was times like these when she was reminded that they fit so well together.

“Don't stop doing that,” she whispered. “I hope you never stop. Asking me to dance. Don't stop.”

She pulled back just far enough to kiss his lips.

It was a good, long kiss. A great one. And when they disentangled their limbs from each other, they were both smiling in a ridiculous manner.

Then Quill's lips turned up into a smirk, obviously something mischievous in mind with the spark in his eye.

“So...” he started expectantly.

“Don't push your luck, Starlord,” she told him, shaking her head, trying to hide her smile with her hair and utterly failing.

“Had to try,” he offered as an excuse. Gamora rolled her eyes, chuckling, because he was utterly impossible.

She kissed him again anyways.

___________ 

~FIN~ ___________

Author’s note: I know it’s a little late in the day, but I thought I had this one finished, then I got up today and added over 1,500 words to it. When I woke up at noon today Peter was dancing with nondescript woman on nondescript mission. This fic actually started with “While watching his back, Gamora couldn't help but notice the woman was pretty, and a very good dancer. Probably what one would call a natural, as she danced with Peter. Her movements were fluid, matching his, and Gamora would almost think it was beautiful if the sight didn't fill her with such vitriol.” Maybe I regretted not writing a mission fic for day one after reading some of the other fills yesterday. Who knows? All I can say for sure is the Duchess and Peter’s rant about people who give themselves nicknames didn’t exist this morning.

Hope you liked the additions

-

Also, it is such a shame that I posted that starmora one shot Dresses, Dates, and Dancing back in June, cause after the starmora week prompts came out and I read them I was just like ‘can I repost it? It works so well for day two, I can pretend I did a first date and dancing fic in one on purpose! I totally combined the starmora week prompts, guys! AFTER the fact!’

[originaljediinjeans]

MCU Rewatch: “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)

Ebony Maw is, like, the worst. He’s just such a sycophant to Thanos, and a real sucker for the ideology, a flatterer. Believe me his death was very satisfying.

I just hate how Thanos pretends to sympathize with his victims. Thanos is an a++ creeper

Thor is just suffering this entire film and it hurts to watch

Loki’s death: I think Loki knew he didn’t stand a chance with his butterknife. there had better be a good reason that this is how it went down because

“You consider failure experience? I consider experience experience.” This is totally Loki BSing but this is actually kind of a good perspective to have about life’s little misfortunes.

Are the stones connected to Thanos himself? Through the gauntlet? Does that connection grow? 

Considering that Vision was feeling the Mind Stone acting up in his forehead I think the Infinity Stones are connected and the Gauntlet only amplifies the connection. 

The only good explanation for the Soul Stone giving itself to Thanos is that the Infinity Stones are Sentient and Evil. It’s a stretch to justify Thanos somehow sincerely having love for a daughter he spent years abusing. IMO it’s plausible, but it’s a stretch

If any of the Asgardians survived and escaped Thanos’ assault, Marvel owed us footage of that

I think the reason that Gamora’s backstory was changed was because showing her parents being killed in front of her would have been more violent and more terrifying for the audience. It also would not have lent itself to demonstrating Gamora and Thanos’ relationship. But it still could have been done a certain way to make it less disturbing and had the same effect.

Tony got at least the idea for Nanotech from Wakanda. 

“No more surprises, I promise.” *Doctor Strange shows up* To be fair, that surprise was unplanned

Tony Stark needs to be in control because he is scared. It was true in Age of Ultron and Civil War and it is true now. 

I don’t think Ned heard a word of what Peter said on the bus

Spider-man showing up out of nowhere during the fight against Maw and saving Tony’s butt is such a great entrance, I’m so grateful we have Tom Holland as Spider-man in the MCU

Doctor Strange in his own movie was pretty cool, but Doctor Strange at his full powers in Infinity War is MIND-BLOWINGLY AWESOME

Tony built the IronSpider suit because he just KNEW that something bad would happen and the suit that Peter was already using wouldn’t be enough. 

Bruce’s struggle against the reluctant Hulk is sad but it’s hilarious

The GOTG entrance is RAD, it’s the raddest thing about the whole movie, the Guardians of the Galaxy are the grooviest thing since ever

Also their reaction to Thor is straight-up hilarious

Really, Thor, why didn’t you just stop to hang out? Do you really need a Thanos-killing weapon that badly? 

okay maybe he does

Rocket will regret leaving his friends so brusquely

Vision disguised as human in public is everything

If the WandaVision TV show isn’t as cool as their fight in Edinburgh I don’t want to watch it

Vision might be badly injured for most of the film but he is not a helpless damsel in distress and he won’t go down without a fight, and that increases my respect for him so much more

but on the other hand, if they can get the Mind Stone out of Vision’s forehead w/o killing him, they should. There’s no reason for him to die. C’mon, bro, don’t be a doormat. You’re a person and you have value! How many times have you said that about other people? At least twice in my fanfiction. 

What other thoughts did Vision have about the Mind Stone? I’m intrigued. No, scratch that, I’m beyond intrigued.

Star-lord needed a better plan for confronting Thanos on Knowhere

“Swear to me on your mother.” Gamora knows how much PeterQ’s mother meant to him, she knows how much he’s never recovered from her death, she wouldn’t have made him take that oath unless it was serious

I remember the first time I saw IW, seeing the Red Skull as the guardian of the Soul Stone SHOOK me

Also he refers to the ‘stones’ plural--Schmidt KNEW!

Peter Parker pays attention to popular film and culture in ways that matter--like, that’s where he gets ideas for how to do things. He’s good to have around

Stephen Strange should have called out Tony for wanting to run from the other Avengers for personal reasons, that was at least one factor on him deciding to go to Titan

Is it just me or is Tony Stark the first person to actually refer to Doctor Strange as “Doctor”?

Nebula :’( :’( :’( 

I have issues with the Stormbreaker arc but really though the scene with Rocket and Thor talking it out is so good

I think Thor, to an extent, is faking his anger, or at least using it to mask his sadness. he doesn’t need revenge he needs a hug and a blanket--I mean not that the universe isn’t at stake if Thanos isn’t stopped but yeah man. He was actually crying while he was talking to Rocket

Rocket probably thinks Thor’s family is pretty messed up and he’s absolutely right

You may have thought after the first GOTG movie that Rocket’s thing with prosthetics was a joke, but no, it’s pretty serious

Peter apologizing to Stark and Strange in advance in case he lays eggs in either of them was actually a pretty good thing to do. It’s something I would do.

How hard did the story development team have to work to find a part for Peter Dinklage?

Whas Okoye being sarcastic about the Starbucks comment? Is she really happy about the Avengers being there or Wakanda’s new foreign policy period? 

Oh Bucky <3 <3 <3

Proxima Midnight is FIERCE #femalevillaingoals

“You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will how nothing but dust and blood.” How prophetic. 

Ieitri has known Thor for a while. Probably since Thor was a kid. 

Nat’s face when Thor shows up in Wakanda: “Would’ve been nice if you showed up ten minutes ago.”

I don’t think Wanda needed to be with Vision for his surgery. If she had stayed out in the battlefield the Avengers and the Wakandan army might have stood a better chance. But then Idk who would have protected Vision so...

The Titan team’s plan to snare Thanos was pretty good, but it would have actually worked if they’d given Quill a job for after they tied him up

Sam and Rhodey teamwork--I’m here for it. Wish we’d gotten more of that instead of Civil War. Heck, I need a Sam and RHODEY tv show!

I love how Bruce Banner finds his moxie

Why did the one guard put Nebula back together? If he knew that Nebula was so bent on killing Thanos why did he do that? Would Thanos have ordered that?

Nebula must have gone to find Gamora and warn her that Thanos was ready to make his move sometime before Ragnarok happened. 

How much did Thanos know about Sutur and Ragnarok? Was he watching? 

Plot hole explanation: Loki took the throne and withdrew Asgard’s troops from its territories, Thanos came to Nidavellir and ordered the gauntlet made. You’re welcome. 

Wait, no, Loki withdrawing Asgard’s troops also paved the way for Thanos to attack Xandar also--Loki was trying to protect himself but instead he gave Thanos free reign to collect the stones

(if they’ve had a couple of years since Ronan attacked, though, shouldn’t they have rebuilt some of their military by then?)

Seriously, Wanda, way to go sister. 

Even if Thanos can’t die without getting his head cut off he can still get hurt pretty badly with the right weapon and I don’t think that’s a fact to be ignored. 

Okoye’s face when T’challa turns into dust before her eyes. Then her watching the Decimation as it happens around her, she’s ready to CRY, she is TERRIFIED

[lucianalight]

The Ultimate Theory: Loki, The Tesseract and The Scepter

Why did Loki attacked Earth in the Avengers movie? For a throne? For power? For revenge against Thor? Or maybe you think the director didn't get his character right? There were always theories in fandom that Loki was under duress in Avengers. All the theories have strong footings. Infinity War approaches and I fear that marvel dismiss all the evidence and paints Loki as a villain. After all it wouldn't be the first time they decide to disregard three whole movies worth of character and world building, and insult Loki and his fans, so one person could stand out by stepping on everything else(yeah, there is no end to my bitterness). So I decided to make the ultimate Loki-got-tortured theory post that if sth like that happens again, we can come back to it and remind everyone why MCU did it wrong.

I'm going to list most popular theories, then add mine and at the end of it, not only clear Loki's name but also two more people. Well, in case of Loki and one of them, clear their names may not be the right term. More like explanations. Who are they? How I'm going to explain so they don't look as villainous as you think they are? Well, stay with me to the end of line!:D

1.    Evidence of physical torture and projection in Loki’s speech

2.    The change in Loki's eye color

3.    Thanos tortured his children:

Gamora: "When Thanos took my home world, he killed my parents in front of me. He tortured me, turned me into a weapon."

Nebula: "As a child, my father would have Gamore and me battle one another in training. Every time my sister prevailed my father would replace a piece of me with machinery."

What makes you think he didn't do the same thing to Loki? Don't you think it would be stupid of him to trust Loki with an army, the scepter which contained the mind stone and bringing the Tesseract without a guarantee that Loki would stick to the end of bargain? If Thanose trusted Ronan to bring him the orb, it was because his daughters were present and Ronan had an army of his own. So why did Thanos trust Loki? He didn't. He was sure that Loki would do his bidding. And it bring us to my theory:

4.The Theory of Everything or Everything Is Connected:

Let's start with some history from Captain America The First Avenger:

The Tesseract  was in Tonsberg, Norway.

Red Skull : "The Tesseract was the jewel of Odin's treasure room"

I have no doubt that Odin and Hela encountered Thanos in the past. An Imperialist warmonger who drowned the entire civilizations in blood and tears for power, and an insane powerful being who wants to wipe out half of the universe to bring order. Yeah, they definitely encountered each other and fought. At the end, Odin got the Tesseract and the fake infinity gauntlet and Thanos got the scepter and the real infinity gauntlet(and isn't it saying sth that Hela knows the gauntlet is fake? Was there sth between her and Thanos?). Then Odin decided to hide the Tesseract on Earth(Apparently it's the dumping place for Asgard. Tesseract, Ather, Unworthy Prince!). It was no coincidence that Odin returned to Norway and called it home. It was the place that he's been to and hided the Tesseract there. Tonsberg was the same place that frost giants attacked, the same place that people knew Asgardians as their gods. Odin didn't care about humans, we saw how he treated Jane. He fought frost giants to prevent them from finding the Tesseract, claiming Earth and becoming more powerful than Asgard.

It's been confirmed that the Tesseract is a container for space stone. It's also stated in the Avengers that the Tesseract and blue energy which worked as a container for mind stone in the scepter are basically the same thing. And the scepter is powered by the Tesseract.

Steve::"I would start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

Fury: "I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube."

Dr. Selvig : "Loki's scepter. The energy. The Tesseract can't fight, but you can't protect against yourself."

My headcanon is both the Tesseract and the scepter were created by Thanos to house the stones he had before he gained the gauntlet and were connected to each other by that blue energy. These gems are so powerful that they can affect their containers to match their nature. When Red Skull grabbed the Tesseract he was sucked into space. In other words the Tesseract can open doors to space because it houses space stone. And the mind stone's container can control minds to the will of scepter's owner. And who is the original owner of the scepter? That's right, Thanos.

The Other : "You question him? He who put the scepter in your hands? Who gave you ancient knowledge and new purpose when you were cast out, defeated?"

But why Thanos needed Loki to bring back the Tesseract? Why he didn't do it himself? One answer is he didn't want to dirty his hands. He wanted to remain in the shadows. But as we see in gotg he isn't exactly in the shadows. The whole universe know him as destroyer of the worlds, the most powerful being in the universe. So why he needed Loki, to the point that he gave him another infinity stone and an army and ancient knowledge to wield both infinity stones?

Red Skull: "Yggrdasil. Tree of the world. Guardian of wisdom. And fate also."

My headcaonon is Thanos couldn't enter the nine realms himself as a result of a protection spell from Odin. As long as the Tesseract wasn't active and in one of nine realms, it was safe from Thanos. Thanos found the Tesseract was on Earth because humans awakened it(Odin left it on Earh because he looked down on humans and never thought that they can improve so much to awaken an infinity stone). After that, when the Tesseract was deactivated, it was lost to him and it was even more protected in Asgard's vault. But after Odin's death and Ragnarok, all the protection was gone and Thanos could find the Tesseract which was with Loki and in Asgard's ship.

The Other : "The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world, a human world. They would wield its power, but our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead."

How exactly Loki was ready to lead? Loki is a powerful sorcerer and we can say he is an expert in mind magic. I believe this is some kind of mind compulsion from galaxies away:

Not to mention how he could make Valkyrie see a specific memory. I imagine a mind expertise sorcerer would have precautions about the same kind of attacks himself. So it wasn't easy to just use the mind stone on him and control him. He needed to be weakened. Body and mind are interconnected. So this is why physical torture was needed. Also Loki was suicidal, there was no logical reason for wanting to rule Earth. And against six of Thanos's children plus The Other, What chances did he have? There is no information about the abilities of Black Order in MCU, but this is a list of their abilities in comics. There's also Ebony Maw who is known for his mind control abilities and you can see him torture Dr. Strange in the trailer:

As we've seen in Avengers the scepter can bring out people's worst traits(Avengers arguing). Also as Loki said, it touches everyone differently. So with the help of scepter and Ebony Maw, Loki could change to his worst version, wanting revenge, wanting to invade and rule. Even his memories had been altered("I remember you tossing me into an abyss."). This is why Loki was different and twisted and not resembling himself at all in Avengers and lacked conviction. As many fans headcanoned before me, I believe Hulk smashing him was what broke his connection to scepter and the constant surveillance The Other had on his mind. And as we see in TDW he is still somehow suicidal. He welcomes death in his so-called trial. But he looks and acts more sane.

The ability to monitor and affect Loki's mind even from galaxies away, through scepter, brings me to the second part of my theory. The events of AoU and creation of Ultron.

The scepter could be monitored and controlled by Thanos even by the long distance between Earth and Sanctuary. So when an opportunity that was in line with his goals raised, he took it.

Jarvis: "The jewel appears to be a protective housing for something inside, something powerful."

Tony: "Like a reactor?"

Jarvis: "Like a computer.I believe I'm deciphering code."

Jarvis was actually deciphering code from the housing of stone, which was affected by Thanos's control, not the mind stone. Because as we've seen, the mind stone is on the side of life, opposite to Ultron.

So when Tony left the lab, the scepter caused the creation of Ultron.

Jarvis:"Our sentience integration trials have been unsuccessful, so I'm not certain what triggered your…"

And as Tony said later they weren't even close to an interface. So the creation of Ultron was because of Thanos meddling. If it wasn't, the post credit scene of AoU("Fine, I'll do it myself") wouldn't make sense. Because how he knew what was happening on Earth. So do not even think of accusing Tony for Ultron. If it wasn't for Wanda making him see his worst fear he may never trying to create Ultron from an alien computer code. And not to mention the possibility that the scepter could affect his thoughts to do just that.

This can also explain why Ultron was so determined to destroy and hate the Avengers. His source code which came from Thanos and an intention to bring order and his animosity with Avengers were in contradiction with his mission to make peace. So as a young AI, with little sense of morality(unlike Jarvis who had years of learning and experience in human morality and it was one of the important reasons that Vision was a success) he had to find a middle ground to do all that at the same time. So he had to destroy Avengers who caused chaos to bring order, he had to destroy most humans, so only the strong could evolve.

In conclusion:

Loki was coerced by Thanos and his allies to obtain the Tesseract. Torture, mind control and persuasion was involved in it. His terrified face in Infinity War trailer is also enough evidence.

Tony was manipulated by Wanda and possibly the scepter(Thanos) to create Ultron.

Ultron was created by the scepter(Thanos) and mixed coding from the scepter and Tony, therefore his actions can be explained by his confusion.

In case of Loki and Ultron this doesn't change the fact that what they did, was horrible but it can explains a lot.

Honestly, sometimes I'm not sure if I can call Loki a villain when he has gone through so much.

[bowandarrowgirl]

You’re Not As Lonely As You Think You Are (I’m Trying to Tell You) - Chapter 11: Home is Whenever I’m With You

(read on ao3)

Title from “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Enjoy! :)

"WHAT Y'ALL DID WAS RECKLESS, DANGEROUS, AND STUPID!" Fury yells at the newly renowned Guardians of the Galaxy.

So, here's the gist of what the hell happened...after they defeated Ronan, and parted ways with the Ravangers, Peter immediately handed the real orb over to Nova Prime, who in exchange, sent them to the finest medical center on Xandar to be treated of their wounds.

As soon as everyone was patched up, they headed to Nova Headquarters for a debriefing, where Nova Prime told Peter the truth about his heritage - he was only half Terran. The news didn't surprise him, however, due to the fact that he was able to hold an infinity stone without, well, dying...It wasn't long after that Nova Prime contacted Fury, notifying him that the group of teens were safe in her custody.

Fury arrived two days later, only staying long enough to give Nova Prime his gratitude. Now, here they are - back on Earth, in his office, receiving another lecture.

"Fury, we-"

"SAVE IT, QUILL!" Peter immediately backs down, leaning further back in his chair. Fury takes a deep breath and sits at his desk. "With that being said, y'all did save an entire planet, not to mention, possibly the entire damn universe." The group of teens look at Fury with a hint of hope in their eyes. "Y'all are off the hook this time," The kids let out a sigh of relief. "But! I see any of you taking on a mission this dangerous without permission again, I will not hesitate to give any of y'all the punishment you deserve. Now, get outta my damn office."

As the teens begin to exit Fury's office, Gamora notices the one-eyed man pulling Peter aside and whispering something in his ear. Peter rips out of the man's grasp and meets up with Gamora in the doorway. As soon as the door shuts behind them and they begin to walk, Gamora grabs Peter's arm and pulls him into a nearby supply closet, locking the door behind them.

"Woah, what-"

"What did Fury tell you?" The Zen-Whoberian asks with her arms crossed against her chest and a expression on her face that the half-Terran couldn't seem to read.

Peter is speechless and begins to stutter a bit. "I-I...It was nothing important." Gamora raises an eyebrow, unconvinced. "G, I promise, it's nothing to worry about." The boy places his hands on the girl's shoulders, looking into the souls of her eyes.

Gamora pushes his arms out of her way and turns her back to him. "It didn't seem unimportant. It seemed to piss you off, if anything." Peter lets out an exasperated sigh. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Because, I-I-I can't, Gam."

Red and black tresses whip around to face Peter once again as Gamora stomps the few feet over to him and stands beneath his chin. "Don't start this with me, Peter. Why don't you trust me with whatever Fury told you?"

"It's not about trust, Gamora. Fury just-"

"He just what?"

The hazel color of Peter's eyes shift anywhere in the room besides her. He lets out a frustrated sigh and places his hands on his hips. "He just said some shitty things." This time it's Gamora who lets out a frustrated sigh. Peter finally relaxes and pulls Gamora into his embrace. She slowly returns it and digs her head into his chest. "Listen Babe, I promise, I promise you, it's nothing you need to worry about. It was just a shitty comment he made, that's all."

Even though Peter said it was nothing, Gamora is still bothered by the fact he won't tell her what Fury said. However, at the moment, she's in Peter's arms and that's all that matters to her.

"Now, listen to these words: Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier. Ooh-oo child, things'll get brighter. Then, you gotta bring it down hard!" Peter begins to do the running man as Ronan lowers his war hammer.

"What are you doing?" Peter smirks a little. It's working.

"Dance off, Bro. Me and you!" He continues to dance before reaching out to his girlfriend. "Gamora-" She thinks about it, but she doesn't know how to dance besides the slow dances Peter has taught her. The ex-assassin shakes her head quickly. "Subtle, take it back."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ronan's nerves get the best of him as the Terran doesn't stop.

Peter chuckles a little. "I'm distracting ya', you big turd blossom."

Their plan works. Rocket fixes the Hadron Enforcer and blasts the infinity stone out of Ronan's weapon. After that, time seems to slow down. "Peter, no!" Gamora cries out, reaching for her boyfriend as he recklessly catches the stone in his hand.

The boy falls to the ground and shakes violently as the power of the stone rips him apart from the inside out. Tears stream down Gamora's face as the power from the stone creates a powerful wind storm. She grasps onto a piece of the destroyed ship, feeling useless as Peter's painful cries break her heart. The girl squints in his direction, noticing that he levitated into the air. She pushes through the storm, trying to reach him again. "PETER!" She cries. "TAKE MY HAND!"

Peter looks at her with tears in his eyes and reaches out to grab her hand...but it's too late. As soon as his hand makes contact with Gamora's, he begins to slowly deteriorate from his hand to his arm to his entire body. "I'm sorry, Babe. I love you." It's the last six words he says before the stone completely consumes him.

Gamora's eyes shoot open as she begins to hyperventilate. Shifting her eyes to look at her surroundings, she notices she's back in her room at the academy. The heavy breathing subsides as she lifts a hand to her face, feeling the trail of tears streaming down her cheeks combined with the perspiration caused from the nightmare...at least she thinks that's what it was. Oh, God. She hopes to God it was just a dream.

Her eyes shift to the top of Nat's bunk, noticing that not only was she still sleeping, but Steve had snuck into their room in the middle of the night and fell asleep right next to her. As carefully as she can, Gamora pulls her sweat-filled blanket off of her and swings her bare feet to the cold floor. Like the assassin she is, she soundlessly creeps to the door and quietly pulls it open, wincing at the loud creak it makes. She glances back at Nat and Steve to make sure she hasn't woken them up. A sigh of relief escapes her lips as she continues to exit the room, believing it was best to keep the door cracked to prevent waking the couple.

Just as cautiously, she creeps over to the door of Peter's room and slowly opens the door, wincing once again as it creaks and almost hits the side of Peter's dresser. The fact that none of the students awoke at the noise of the door surprises her. She approaches Peter's bed and carefully sits on the edge of it. Her eyes shift up as she notices the white Freddy Mercury poster beside her. After staring at it for a moment, she shifts her gaze back to Peter, watching as his abdomen rises and falls with each breath. Lying on his back, his left arm is draped across his abdomen, while his right is being used as a pillow and his legs are making the shape of a backwards P.

The Zen-Whoberian shifts closer to the sleeping boy. She brushes back one of the curls covering his forehead and plants a lingering kiss in it's place. The gesture wakes Peter up, but he doesn't seem mad about it. "Gamora?" He asks sleepily, sitting up just enough to be able to see her as he squints. "What's wrong?" A stifled sob escapes the girl's green lips as she throws her arms around Peter and buries her head into his shoulder. Peter slowly wraps his arms around her and rubs his hands around her back. "It's okay, Babe, I'm here. I've got you."

It's Peter's idea to spend the rest of the night in the lounge area: a fairly small room filled with retro arcade games, a large mounted TV, and a long, Lawson couch that sits underneath the windows that separates the rest of the room from the kitchen. The boy opens the wooden, glass door for Gamora, carrying a large blanket in one hand.

As Gamora approaches the TV to turn it on, Peter sets the blanket across the back of the couch and plops down onto it. After Gamora finds the remote, she turns around to her boyfriend laying across the entire couch. His signature smirk is tugging at his lips as she walks over to him. "Where do you suppose I will sit?" The smirk only grows on his face as he lays on his side and scoots as far back as he can. Gamora playfully rolls her eyes and lays beside him, her back comfortably pressing up against his front.

Peter takes the remote out of her hand and begins to channel surf. He lets out an exasperated sigh when he's unable to find anything to watch. "I forgot...there's nothing good on this early...or this late?" It comes out more of a question. Gamora chuckles a little and retrieves the remote back from him, turning off the TV.

"Why don't we just turn it off then." The Zen-Whoberian sets the remote on the floor and shifts her position to face him. They stay like that for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes. Finally, Gamora decides to press her lips to his. It's gentle and quick, but Peter loves it all the same. She chooses to turn things up a notch and continues to kiss him more passionately. Peter wraps his arms around her and rolls them onto his back. Gamora lets out a yelp in surprise, causing her and Peter to break apart and start laughing.

As their laughter dies down, Gamora sets her chin on top of her crossed arms. Peter's smile fades as he tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "What was it about?"

"My nightmare?" Her smile fades as well when Peter mouths a 'yeah'. "We were back on Xandar...fighting Ronan. Everything seemed the same at first, except-" Tears start to well up in her eyes.

"Except what, G?"

"It-it killed you."

Peter swipes the tear that escapes from her eye and pulls her as close to him as she could get. "That's in the past. You'll never lose me, G." He presses a kiss to her temple, before grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch and draping it over them. It isn't long until they both fall asleep in the comfort of each other's arms.