#how tha fuck do you hit someone with your death machine and not like. make sure they were ok ???????????????????

[mymarifae]

like i said. it’s very exciting to be a millie. things are always happening to me

[medeafive]

Blood and Stone - 23

Masterpost

“Bruce, I- He’s not waking up.”

“Hm? Oh, sorry. Who?”

“Steve. I went over, just wanted to check because he has been asleep for so long, and- I think he’s not waking up anymore. Could you just take a look?”

“That sounds bad.”

She hears scrambling and a door falling shut and then she must have nodded off again because the next thing she hears is “Nat. Nat!” She pries her eyes open. Bruce is standing next to her bed, looking panicked. “Nat, I need the drip. And the bed. Quickly. Sorry.”

She blinks, slipping her feet out from under the blanket. Cold outside. “What’s going on?”

“He has sepsis, probably,” Bruce replies briefly, pulling the needle from her arm. “Sharon, get Sam, and Bobbi, tell her we need to do a white blood cell count, obtain blood cultures- sorry, Nat, you really need to get up.”

She has no idea what’s going on but Steve, who Bruce drags in on the stretcher, really looks bad and Sharon, before she disappears, looks very pale, so Natasha pushes herself up, even though her heart starts drumming. “Put something on it so it doesn’t bleed too much,” Bruce orders. “You’ll find something. Could you- no, just get out of the way.”

Oh, this is bad. She moves slowly to the cabinet with the bandages, holding onto things in order not to fall over. Bruce starts dragging machines towards the stretcher, one of them the ventilator. “What does that mean, sepsis?”

“Inflammation,” Bruce replies briefly, changing the needle on the IV drip. “Immune system goes into overdrive, then stops. Leads to organ failure, leads to death.”

She takes one of the bandages, presses it to her arm. She’s feeling dizzy. Shouldn’t have gotten up so fast. “Can I help?”

“You stay where you are,” Bruce rejects, pressing two fingers to Steve’s neck and checking his watch. “He has a fever, he’s breathing hard, his heart rate is up- did he seem confused?”

“Well, yeah,” Natasha replies, gripping the other table for stability. “Of course.”

Bruce gnaws on his lip. “Shit. It’s probably the lungs. Where’s the sphygmomanometer?”

She’s about to ask him what the fuck that is when James rushes in. “Are you okay? You’re bleeding.”

Of course he smelled that. “She’s okay, he’s dying,” Bruce returns. “Oh, there it is.”

Her head tumbles off her shoulders just then, or that’s what it feels like, but James catches her before she drops like a stone, narrowly avoiding the edge of the table. “Take her away, give her fluids and food,” Bruce’s voice says. “I can’t right now. Oh, did she hit her head?”

“She’s fine, just weak,” James replies, cradling her head. “Can I do anything for him?”

“If you have no idea, just get out,” Bruce returns. “God, I should have monitored him better.”

Someone else comes rushing in. She blinks until Bobbi’s frame slowly sharpens. “Fuck. Did you take blood already?”

“Blood pressure is low,” Bruce reports. “Help me move him to the bed first. One, two-”

“Are you okay?” James asks, caressing her cheek.

She blinks, still dizzy. “Think so.”

“I’ll take you upstairs,” James suggests. “Is it okay if I carry you?”

She nods quietly. Bruce and Bobbi have moved the body, Bobbi has a syringe- James picks her up. Sam comes through the door. “How bad is it?”

“Very bad,” Bruce states. “I think it’s the lungs, pneumonia, his breathing-”

She’s out of the door by then. All of this is surreal. James is moving slowly, carefully. “Is he really dying?” she whispers.

“I don’t know,” James replies, shifting her head so it rests against his shoulder. “But he smells really sick.”

  James puts her on the couch in the common area and the others slowly join there. She eats cornflakes and an apple and some sausages, despite not having any appetite. Sharon's crying quietly, Pepper stroking over her hair while Fury asks her questions about the vampire fledglings from their last patrol. Natasha dozes off again, James right arm around her. Tony went downstairs a while ago, trying to help, but came up empty-handed. Clint's staring into empty air.

It's tense and it takes hours. Natasha eats and drinks mechanically, like breathing, just her body keeping itself alive. "I thought he was getting better," Sharon whispers to herself.

"Rumors spread," James remarks to Fury. "Even if vampires don't necessarily like each other, there's still a sense of belonging. Schmidt will take advantage of that and declare war on specific cities or regions. All the vampires, young or not, sanctioned or not, know they can go there and bite and kill as many people as they want, without penalty, and they will. He did it in Moscow, he did it around Sarajevo and he tried it in Northern France."

"So there will be more," Fury states. "A steady flow of vampires into Prague."

Tony snorts. "Well, isn't that just what we need."

"But did he really declare war on us?" Pepper asks. "Is that what you heard?"

"I didn't hear anything," James replies bluntly. "If he sent me a message, I made sure not to receive it. But that's probably what he did, keep you busy and wear you down while he gathers black cloaks for the final strike."

Fury frowns, which is probably the height of his facial expressions. "Rumlow won't clean them up anymore?"

"It's an unspoken deal," James states. "They help take the city, they get to live. If you call this living."

Someone's coming up the stairs. Sharon spins quickly. "Is it- how is it- is he-"

"Not good," Bruce admits quietly, wiping his glasses on his shirt. "I'm afraid we're going to have to make a decision."

"What decision?" Fury asks.

Bobbi sits down heavily. "He's in very bad shape. We gave him antibiotics and fluids, put him on ventilation and tried to drain fluid from his lungs but- I'm afraid it's too late."

"We also gave him a blood transfusion, and vampire blood as well," Bruce adds. "200ml, what we gave Nat. But it's just not enough."

"What's the choice then?" Tony asks. "Turning him into a vampire?"

James' left fist contracts, metal clacking. "I don't want to bite him."

"We could give him a lot more vampire blood," Bruce explains. "His blood pressure is very low so he could easily take a few liters. Of course we have no idea what will happen, but I would say we try it. Bobbi disagrees."

Bobbi sighs, wringing her hands. "I just don't think we can save him. He's so weak already. Either it kills him or does nothing to stop him from dying, or it turns him into something completely unknown to us. And that's going to be a lot harder than losing him now."

"We three can't make that decision," Bruce remarks. "And so we thought… you two are the closest to family he has."

"Me?" James replies incredulously. "Sorry but I don't even remember anything about him. I can't decide over his life."

"Killing people is also deciding over their life," Clint remarks.

James hisses. "I don't kill people, I kill vampires. Most of the time."

Sharon groans, rubbing her swollen eyes. "I should have checked on him earlier. If we found him earlier-"

"We haven't been able to identify what he's infected with," Bobbi explains. "So even starting earlier might have been useless. And we should have all monitored him, that's not your responsibility, but there was just so much going on."

"We really don't know what will happen when we try the treatment, Bobbi is right," Bruce says. "Natasha can correct me but I don't think anyone ever got injected with so much vampire blood."

She shakes her head weakly. Somehow, she feels like this is all her fault. "If you give him the vampire blood," James asks, "would you still have enough for Natalia?"

Tony snorts. "Oh, don't worry about that. We could pump both of them full of it and still have leftovers."

Sharon's chewing on her nails. "So it's my decision."

"Sorry," Bruce replies. "I think we should, Bobbi thinks we shouldn't and Sam said you should decide."

"We're not sure this won't turn him into a vampire, right?" Clint questions. "Or some other monster. What do we do then? Hope we can reason with him? Kill him?"

"I can do that," James offers quietly. "If it comes to that. I wouldn't want to place that burden on any of you."

"James," Natasha interrupts, alarmed. "Don't do that."

"Maybe this doesn't make sense but-" Sharon sighs. "I can't believe he got all this way here, the crash, the ice, the- just to die now? There has to be a way."

"I thought we were going to give him a lot of vampire blood anyway, initially?" Tony adds. "What changed?"

"Natasha and I had something of a plan," Bruce admits. "She told me about experiments with vampire blood that I didn't know about, that went horribly wrong, and- if it had gone wrong, we would have taken him out and told you it just didn't work. Spare you the pain."

"You're all a bunch of self-sacrificial idiots," Fury hisses. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"It was Alexei," Natasha whispers. "Alexei went farther than anyone else, than anyone ever should, and- I burned the evidence, I killed him, I made sure nobody would ever find out and get the same ideas."

"Oh, you really killed him yourself?" Tony questions. "So you're even worse than what they say."

"He was building an army of mindless drones," Natasha hisses. "He was going absolutely insane. I couldn't make him listen anymore. So yes, I cut off his head, and then the fledglings tore him apart, covering it up. And I'd do it again."

"Where are the mindless drones coming from?" Fury asks calmly.

Natasha sighs, staring at the ceiling. "When you- when you inject dead people with vampire blood, they get up and move again. But they'll only do what you tell them. Whatever you tell them."

"Oh, like zombies," Tony remarks.

"Like brain dead," Bruce corrects him.

Natasha snorts. "Well, we had a lot of bodies. And enough vampire blood. And Alexei had enough desperation and broken morals to- it was the only way to stop him."

"So you had no problem tearing your boyfriend's head off," Clint remarks bitterly. "And now you think you can have a baby ?"

"That's not fair, Clint," Pepper admonishes. "I'm sure that wasn't easy for her."

It was too easy, though. That's the problem. "Hey, plenty of people who shouldn't have kids have them anyway," Tony interjects. "Like my dad. Or yours. If she thinks she can do it…"

"Guys," Fury interrupts. "There's someone literally dying in our basement, so get to the point."

"Is that the worst that could happen?" Sharon asks. "That he turns into a mindless drone?"

"He could turn into a vampire," Bobbi replies. "Or something like that. He could try to kill us."

"But maybe even that wouldn't be so bad?" Sharon insists. "Maybe it's from seeing Natasha's friend, or maybe I'm just hopelessly naive but- I just can't imagine Steve being anything other than Steve."

"I wasn't always like this," James mutters, tracing down Natasha's arm to the wound from the needle. "I don't remember much of the early years. It took decades until I had any semblance of control."

"Okay, but she's optimistic and she wants to try?" Tony asks. "Is that right, Sharon?"

Sharon bites her lips, swollen glassy eyes. "I- I can't give him up."

Bobbi sighs, slapping her hands on her thighs, straightening. "Then- I guess we'll just restrain him and try. Hope for the best."

"Should I come with you?" James asks.

"We'll have to prepare first," Bruce replies. "Wait here until we'll get you."

Sharon presses her face into her hands while they disappear down the stairs again. "Fuck."

"It's going to be alright," Pepper mutters, hugging her. "Either way."

"You're remarkably calm, for just having found out she beheaded her last boyfriend," Tony remarks.

"I killed the fledglings," James admits. "They told me they found him already dead. Nobody else knows. I assumed she had her reasons."

"So did I," Fury admits. "Or I would not have accepted her here."

"Well, you definitely earned your nickname," Tony decides. "And I guess turning him into a martyr was better than everyone finding out even he was losing his mind."

"Today is really great," Clint mutters. "We're gonna get overrun by vampires, we're doing crazy experiments with people who can't say no, and also Tasha personally murdered the biggest icon in the fight against vampires. Isn't that great."

  James has to go down eventually and from there on, it's even more of a nail biter but somehow, Natasha still manages to eat another bowl of cornflakes and to fall asleep. She should probably get another dose of vampire blood but she doesn't want to ask. Somehow, this is her fault. If she hadn't taken up all of their attention, they might have had more time for Steve-

She wakes up because someone’s moving. God, she must have slept forever. The lights are off and the shutters are closed. “Oh, you’re awake?” Pepper’s voice asks.

Natasha stirs. “Uh, I guess. What’s- anything new?”

“No,” Pepper replies. “We thought we’d go downstairs and check. Do you want to join?”

Natasha groans. She really should get up. “Yeah, just wait a second.”

“Just gonna throw in a quick look,” Sharon states nervously. “I don’t wanna disturb, or endanger anyone-”

She doesn’t want to know, and simultaneously has to find out. “Oh, I’ll help you up,” Pepper offers, coming closer. Natasha’s eyes are getting used to the dark. “There. Should I lend you an arm?”

“Thanks,” Natasha mutters, grunting as she pulls herself to her feet. “Oh fuck.”

“Maybe Bobbi should take a look at you later,” Pepper suggests, steadying her. “Take it slow.”

They make it down the stairs, Sharon ahead and turning around nervously because they’re so slow. But then they’re down there and Natasha leans against a wall while Pepper takes a deep breath and cracks the door open, Sharon right behind her, biting her nails. There’s voices inside but Natasha can’t really see or hear, so she just leans there, eyes closed. She can hear her heartbeat in her ears. Oh, maybe she should sit down. “Oh, hey,” Bobbi’s voice says. “Just wait, I’ll be out in a second.”

The door closes. “Was that…” Sharon starts.

“Yeah, right?” Pepper remarks. “Weird.”

Natasha pries her eyes open. “What?”

“It looks like-”

The door opens again. “Sorry, we were too busy and forgot we should update you," Bobbi says. "He's stable but not waking up."

"But it looked like he-" Pepper starts.

Bobbi giggles. "Oh yeah, he's super jacked now. Sorry, I shouldn't laugh, he's not out of the woods yet- but I'm just exhausted and that was super weird."

"But what about the inflammation?" Sharon asks, worrying away at her lip. "The lungs? Is that better?"

"Slowly," Bobbi replies. "But his lactate went down and the fever as well, blood pressure is normalizing- basically, the symptoms subsiding. And his muscles are growing huge, which is unexpected, but whatever."

"And he hasn't attacked anyone?" Pepper asks. "Or, you know, grown fangs or anything?"

"Not yet," Bobbi admits. "I reserve judgment until he wakes up. And you should be prepared, even if he doesn't try to hurt anyone- he's probably not going to be the same. Physically, mentally, personality-wise."

"You think it was- right?" Sharon questions. "Trying it?"

"Let's say it doesn't look too bad," Bobbi admits. "But the jury's still out. And if you hadn't tried, you'd beat yourself up about that, too."

"Should we leave you to it, then?" Pepper asks. "Let you go back to work?"

"We're still trying to identify the microbes causing the infection," Bobbi agrees. "Less urgent now, but still. Uh, Natasha, your friend is still in there, I hope it's okay if we borrow him a little longer."

She nods. Not that she likes this, James thinking it doesn't matter if he kills another person, that it's less bad because he's already a monster- he's not a monster. But she needs Bobbi, Sam and Bruce to be safe and James can keep them safe.

"Well, Nat, you should keep eating and drinking, even more now without the IV," Bobbi recommends. "And then we'll do your check-up later, if that's okay."

"We'll look after her," Pepper assures her. "So you can focus on Steve."

"Thank you." Bobbi grins. "I'll let you know when he grows an eight-pack."

  Once again, she eats and drinks, and then she's tired again. This time, she uses the opportunity to sleep in her own bed again. It smells like James, the cold, less human one, the old book. It's been a while.

She wakes up countless hours later, and it's again dark outside. Normally, somebody would be out on patrol. She's not so sure now. But she feels- okay. Someone, either Pepper or Sharon, probably Pepper, left a sandwich on her nightstand while she was sleeping, plus a glass of water. Natasha's hungry. She swallows the sandwich and downs the water, feeling her heartbeat in her throat. It could be wrong but she thinks the baby's moving, though it's not kicking as hard as that one time.

She decides to go downstairs, where there turns out to be no one, then goes down to the basement, slowly cracking the door open and peeking in. Bruce is looking through the microscope, Bobbi is surveying the choice of drugs or antibiotics or whatever, Sam is just sitting there, arm splayed across a table, dozing. All of them look very tired. James smiles at her, standing a bit away from the patient. She slips in, closing the door behind her. "Is it okay if I stay here?"

"Hm?" Bruce looks up and boy, those circles under his eyes. "Oh, yeah, sure. Just stay over there."

She takes a chair and sits down next to James. The guy- Steve, he's nothing like before, now he's broad and muscled and- he doesn't look real, to be honest. There are black straps all over him, keeping him down on the bed. He doesn't move, though she can see his chest heaving and lowering. His face isn't swollen and red anymore, just- normal. His eyes are closed. "Do you think he's better?" she asks quietly.

"I think he's going to make it," James states, staring at the blonde man strapped to the bed. "But he smells nothing like anything I've ever smelled before."

That could be good or bad. She stares some more. He's really- he looks less like a man and more like a statue. "I really hope you don't have to kill him."

"I don't want to kill him," James admits. "Maybe I've been staring at his face for too long but- I don't remember him but I know that face. And I- I feel a certain way about him, even if I don't remember him. Like I have to protect him."

She smiles. "That's sweet."

He snorts. "Well, we'll see. Did you get some sleep?"

"A lot," she returns, brushing her fingers through her hair. "And I ate a lot and drank a lot. And now- now I just want to sit here and do nothing."

"Mhm." He shakes his head, still staring at the comatose body. "That's fine by me."

[icyxmischief]

Thor: Ragnarok Review

The strength: the brothers’ chemistry. The weakness: tonal disjunctions and choppy pacing.  Overall rating: B/B+.  I was both disappointed in ways that I expected to be, and pleased in ways that I didn’t.   If you are a Loki fan, see this movie.  If you are a Thor fan, see this movie. If you are a Loki’s Resistance member or someone who has suffered from family bullying, abuse, or neglect, maybe be careful about seeing this movie.  It could trigger.  

See under the read-more for a breakdown. 

--Before I say another thing: I am SO PROUD of Loki.  Even though he is STILL LOKI, who deceives, changes, and shifts convictions, he also REPEATEDLY, thanklessly and without recognition tried to save Thor’s ass, both when Thor was first forced to be a “contender,” and when he arrived on a giant ship that boarded the Asgardians safely from a Surtur-burned Asgard, AND when he risked his life to release Surtur at Thor’s request.  Loki, who is not a hero, still did heroic things. And the tension between his trickery and his capacity for goodness remains.  And that delights me.  

--The recurring motif of Thor and Loki and Loki casting a doppleganger/illusion, the idea of him “being there” and “not really being there,” is wonderful, and is indexical on a deeper level of Loki’s willingness to let down barriers against trust, out of love for Thor.  More on that Later.  

--The only thing that I miss about Loki’s characterization is his ferocity.  He seemed a little TOO benign in this installment.  It’s subtle but Loki is vicious and I missed the viciousness.  The only time we catch a glimpse of it is when he’s talking to Bruce (which is a brilliant moment).  

--I DESPISE that we were never given an explanation for Loki’s “death” or how he could “fake it” so profoundly well.  I also feel like it might have been nice for someone to recognize that what he did, whether he faked his death and ran off to take the throne or not, was still done out of love for his brother. 

--The entire Dr. Strange scene was pointless advertisement for another MCU character, done I am convinced because Dr. Strange did hideously in the box office and needed a signal boost, and was implausible given Loki’s lifetime of training in sorcery.  Given that Loki fell to his attempted death of suicide in the  first film, it is insensitive and unnecessarily cruel to make him “fall for thirty minutes.”   The worst part is that it interrupted the narrative flow and took time away from Odin’s death scene.  

--I’m on the fence about Hela being Thor and Loki’s older sister.  It drastically alters the sibling dynamic. This may be something I just still need to get used to as I’m fresh from the movie.  I wanted to see more of a thing pushed where Thor realizes that Loki, UNLIKE Hela, is still invested in the welfare of their family and home.   --I am surprised and ultimately pleased at Odin’s gentler, more redeemable characterization.  I am pleased that Frigga talked to Odin through the separation between Valhalla and earth and obviously got through to him about a number of things.  I am pleased that Odin called BOTH Thor and Loki his “sons” (which obviously had a positive effect on Loki) and said he loved them and failed them, finally owned up to his culpability in the family’s messed up dynamic.  And I loved that he went to Norway and that Norway is probably where “New Asgard” will be.  At the same time, I feel like it was too little, too late.  Did he really have to be so rigid and machinating through his whole life and leave both his sons so scarred?  So it’s bittersweet. 

--Odin to Loki: “Your mother would be proud.” :’)  --Thor losing an eye was shocking, but I ultimately like it, and hope that it implies that he will follow in Odin’s footsteps but with greater compassion.   --Heimdall also finally won me over in this installment, rescuing and caring for the Asgardians after Hela took over.  

--I do not agree with or understand why Loki was portrayed as a glory hounding lazy monarch.  It’s antithetical to the fastidiously hard working obsessive character we’ve seen before. Yes, the big statue was funny, and yes, the play was (mostly) funny, but I cringed a little bit at how OOC it was, just to provide a joke.  I was also disappointed, though I knew I would be, that Thor and Loki’s reunion was rushed and made funny.  At the same time I loved how Thor was perceptive to Loki’s deceits; in an odd way it shows how close they are. More on that later.  --Also, a thing about the play that rubbed me the wrong way was the part where Loki’s written or sanctioned it so that the Odin actor openly discusses his real racial heritage???? Because he’s???? A very private person, and used to be utterly ashamed of that part of his identity???? And I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m GLAD he’s evidently learning to move past his internalized racism, but it also seems like a huge jump in four years????? And also not something to joke about in the first place?????  --Which leads me to the humor for which this film has been praised. I both agree and disagree.  The humor was largely effective, but in parts, felt like an unnecessary strain on a scene that should be serious.  For instance, things that brought the epic characters down to a relatable level, like Thor hitting himself with the ball he threw against Hulk’s wall, or Hulk’s disappointment at not being allowed to kill Surtur, or Valkyrie being so drunk that she fell off her hovercraft, were hilarious and great.   --My main complaint is that there were too many flashy fancy action sequences, which make for a fun movie, but crowd out potential scenes to show character background and development.  All the scenes we got with Thor and Loki were solid gold, and yet they went by at 30 second to 2 minute intervals and I was left thinking “wait? what? it’s over already???? come back!”  --Hela was a badass with so much potential but her characterization was extremely flat.  We were shown that she was ambitious and iconoclastic, but we got no window into what made her that way, or the nature of her relationship with Odin.  And I attribute that flaw to the issue above.  --Same goes for Valkyrie. Wonderful potential. Adore her.  Also think she’d be better shipped with Bruce than Thor but that’s neither here nor there.  But I wanted more than Loki’s magical mind-reading flashback of her last battle with Hela to see what sort of person she’d been and could be.   --Bruce’s scenes were touching and enjoyable. I’ve always loved Bruce and his self-sacrificial act of Hulking out again during the battle with Fenrir was deeply moving. --I love Jeff Goldblum, he was delightful, and his portrayal of the Grandmaster was a salient and much needed satire on political leaders who are really greedy glorified entertainers (read: Donald Trump) but I also felt like he was over-utilized at the expense of other characters, and, again, for the sake of humor, when both jokes and action sequences were already well covered.   --I found it contemptible that Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun were killed so quickly and unceremoniously--again, to cram in more flashy action sequences.  That was jarring and sad, even though I know it fulfills the events in the comics. Skurge’s death was made more meaningful than theirs and that felt wrong. Also, why was Sif missing???? 

--I love the notion that “home is not a place but a people.”  Personally, I really needed to hear that.  

Now to the most controversial issue: Thor and Loki’s relationship: I believe that Thor was frequently unfair to Loki and did not recognize how his own hasty words and actions precipitated Loki’s now hardwired bad habit of dodging and double-crossing.  When he blamed Loki for Odin’s death and Asgard’s fall into disarray, that was unfair.  Let’s not even go into how Odin’s parenting directly contributed to Loki’s depression, caustic jealousy, and instability.  Beyond that, Loki did not kill Odin or even make him uncomfortable; he left him in an old folks’ home with a benign memory loss spell. And he sure as fuck did nothing to release Hela; Odin was dying already because IT WAS TIME FOR RAGNAROK, NO MATTER WHAT, AS THOR HIMSELF LATER REALIZES. LOKI DID NOT PRECIPITATE RAGNAROK.   And that Thor never acknowledges this later is poor writing.   The fact that Loki reaches out verbally to comfort Thor in that moment, when a storm is brewing, and Thor responds with that overblown accusation, is also kind of awful.  

Later, when Thor is trapped in the room with the other warriors, and Loki appears in doppleganger form, and Thor throws objects through him while he’s telling him that he put a wager on him, and to be careful, and survive so that eventually the two of them can assassinate the Grandmaster and get out, that whole scene is a nice touch.  

You already all know what I think of the elevator/lift scene and “Get Help.”  It’s painful but it also shows that for centuries these two have worked together and know each other inside and out.  Same goes for the anecdote of Loki turning Thor into a frog and the anecdote of eight year old Loki turning into a snake and Thor picking it up and Loki surprising him with a knife lol.  

The very worst moment for me was indeed when Thor used the shocking implant on Loki.  It wasn’t even that Thor did it, because yeah, Loki was gonna sell him back to the Grandmaster (though I doubt Loki thought Thor would live out his life and die on Sakar).  What bothered me was HOW LONG he left him lying there writhing in EXCRUCIATING AGONY.  I also found it ironic that Thor is preaching on about how Loki “could be better but doesn’t want to change” (though it’s true, I admit!) when Thor literally could say the same words verbatim to and about himself. :/  And the way he was taunting Loki, it was....very cold and ooc for Thor.  

It’s important to note how Loki tried to bring attention to other people so they could empathize with his situation.  He isn’t even asking people to feel sorry for him, he JUST WANTS THEM TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE UNFAIR ODDS.  From “feels bad to be lied to, doesn’t it?” to “THAT’S what it’s LIKE!” about the Hulk smashing. 

I teared up and laughed happily when Thor conducted all his lightning into blasting Hela off the balcony of the palace, and Loki looked up mid battle and smiled with such knowing pride. I DIED!!! In that moment!!!! <3 BROTHERS!!! 

Also, note that Thor says “You’re late!” to Loki, which implies that even though he slowed Loki down on Sakar, he never expected Loki not to eventually join and help him.  Loki does NOT deny it, he simply says, with a bit of fussy concern and amusement, “You’re missing an eye!” 

You can argue that their relationship is salvaged later, and certainly by the end of the film, they are in a better place than they’ve been since before the first Thor movie.  The only thing that bothers me is that Thor seems to take that for granted, as the way it always should have been, without acknowledging how far they’ve come, or how often Loki has tried to meet Thor halfway without compromising his own agency/selfhood.  

However the whole movie was worth it for me for a scene in the last five minutes.  “I’m here.”  What more do I need to say about that wonderful moment? When throughout the film and all the implied earlier films a major point of their friction has been Loki’s absence, his evasion, his two-faced deceit, and instead, here, he chooses to make himself vulnerable, to be honest, to be present, in order to comfort his big brother.   <3  The hug DOES happen, guys. It’s just off-camera.  :’)  

[fanroi]

The Interpol, the FBI and a gunshot

So agents, gunshots, Charles being stupid and Erik worrying

Hope you like it! :)

---

The whole world is spinning, there is a vague sense of pain on his left shoulder but it doesn’t somehow feel like it’s his own. Actually it kind of feels like it does when he is in someone mind so Charles tries to reach out with his telepathy, but it is not there. He panics, he gets scared, and he does not know what’s going on.

“Charles, you’re going to be okay, you hear me? Don’t panic, please, you’re just going to hurt yourself more.”

Charles opens his eyes, but everything is out of focus, so he closes them again. He recognizes the voice though so he smiles a little.

“Oh you know me Moira, I’m always A-Okay.” This is all he can say before he passes out again.

---

Charles has been in hospital enough times to know when he is in one, although he has no recollection on how he got there. He peeks under his eyelids and is relieved to find that there are no bright lights in the room. It’s nighttime and Moira is there sleeping in a very uncomfortable looking chair beside his bed.

He lifts his hand to his shoulder, where he can feel some discomfort and when he feels the bandage, he remembers what happened. He got shot. He’s a stupid idiot who is really lucky that he is not hurt even worse. Running into the house without backup could’ve gotten him killed, but he just couldn’t let the suspect to run away again.

He approached the suspect and he is pretty sure that he put him to sleep but the suspect unfortunately fired at the same time and his shoulder was hit. Charles grunts and lets out a sigh. Erik is right about something at least. He is always saying that the protocols that restrict the use of his telepathy on suspects are stupid and…

Erik. Has someone told Erik that he has been shot?

Charles goes on to get up. The machines surrounding him rattle and beep when the accidentally shakes them, waking Moira up.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she says and grabs his hand. Moira looks tired and angry, but Charles chooses to ignore her. He tries to turn so that he can swing his legs over the edge of the bed but he notices an IV attached to his hand.

“I need to go, Moira. I need to call Erik. He must be freaking out and---”

“Who the hell is Erik?”

“He is my fiancé! Oh my god, how long have I been here?”

Charles opens looks around to locate his phone and nearly misses the look of surprise on Moira’s face. If he wasn’t so worried about Erik’s mental state he would’ve laughed. Luckily Moira isn’t a one to stay surprised for long.

“Okay, calm down. I will tell an agent to get your phone from your clothes, they are still in evidence and meanwhile you’re going to lie down and tell me all about Erik, okay?”

Charles is a rational person and he knows that it’s his quickest way to contact Erik, so he lies back down. After Moira has sent someone a text she sits back down too and levels a stare on him.

“We’ve been engaged for four months. You’ve met him. He’s from FBI and we met during that one case, the one with the serial killer targeting mutants from two years ago?”

“Wait… Erik Lehnsherr? The grumpy, anti-social bastard, who made you absolutely crazy during that investigation? That Erik?”

Charles finds that he very much enjoys the look of surprise on Moira’s face and chuckles.

“Well, it seems that we were both enjoying each other’s company more than we let on. We, well… I think you don’t want to know all the details,” Charles does not usually blush, but although Moira is more of a friend than a supervisor, he feels like she would not approve or enjoy knowing about of everything they did with Erik during that case and later on.  Moira clears her throat and a sly smile is now appearing on her face.

“So that is why you were so eager to get the transfer to New York? I knew you weren’t telling me everything, because you loved staying in London, but this is definitely not what I imagined. Why didn’t you tell me? And more importantly why isn’t Erik your emergency contact?”

“Well you know… We didn’t really want to broadcast our relationship to the whole Interpol or FBI and… well we just didn’t think to change it at first and then we just forgot.”

Moira nods and then the agent comes in with Charles’ phone and when he sees that he has 34 missed calls from Erik, he quickly picks Erik number and calls him.

“Charles!? Where the hell are you? I’ve been calling and calling and I would’ve tore a second one to everyone in your office if you had fucking told me where it is!”

“Oh, Erik. You have never asked me where my office is. It’s not a secret.” Charles laughs and he is a little bit ashamed to notice that he is tearing up.

“Charles? Are you crying? Are you okay? Where are you!?”

“I’m fine, darling but… I need you not to freak out, I’m in the hospital.”

There is a silence on the other end and Charles grimaces, Erik’s silences are very telling.

“Which hospital?” Erik answers and based by his tone, he is furious.

“The Presbyterian, but Erik, I’m getting out in the morning. You just get some sleep.”

“I will be there in half an hour.” And then the line goes dead.  Charles looks at Moira who gets up from the chair she’s been sitting in and looks at him pointedly.

“You are getting what you deserve. I was going to lecture you, but it seems that it can wait until you come back to the office.”

“Noo… Moira, stay. Erik won’t rip my head off if you’re here.”

Moira leans in and takes Charles’ hand and squeezes it.

“I’m really glad you’re okay Charles.”

Charles smiles and squeezes back.

“Thank you, Moira.”

---

Now that the adrenaline surge from worrying about Erik has passed Charles realizes how tired and sore he is. It was probably very stupid to think that he could’ve gotten up and go home yet. Usually those kinds of antics are Erik’s specialty and Charles chuckles to think about how Erik has rubbed into him during their time together. The doctor comes in and explains what has happened to him and that he has so stay in the hospital overnight but is going to be released in the afternoon if everything is going smoothly.

He fights to keep his eyes open. Erik should be here any minute. Moira said that he gave orders to the hospital that they should let Erik inside even though it’s not visitor hours and knowing Erik, he will find a way inside even though he would be denied of access.  In order to stay awake Charles tries to focus his telepathy enough to catch Erik when he comes inside, but finds that it is too hard to do that with the drugs still in his system and the exhaustion he has.

Charles dozes off but wakes up when the door to his room is almost ripped of its hinges.

“Sir! Do not disturb the patient! You are not allowed to be in here!”

Charles opens his eyes and sees a harried, exhausted looking Erik with wild eyes and some poor nurse trying to block him from entering. He clears his throat.

“Please, let him in. He’s my fiancé. I will throw him out if he’s of nuisance, I promise,” he says and after the nurse shoots a disapproving look on Erik, she leaves and Erik walks to his bed and takes his hand.

“Are you okay? Really okay? What happened?” Erik truly looks terrible and Charles feels bad that it’s him that made Erik to look that way. Charles smiles and lifts Erik’s hand to his lips. Erik drags the chair closer and cradles Charles‘ face with one hand and keeps his other holding Charles’

“I’m okay. Better now that you are here. We were pursuing the suspect and I got shot in the shoulder. But it’s fine, love. I just lost a bit of blood,”

Erik purses his lips together and it’s pretty clear that he does not share Charles’ view of the fineness of the situation.

“There is something you’re not telling me. There is no way that you wouldn’t have called me if everything went like it was supposed to be. How much is a “bit” of blood, Charles?”

Under Erik’s stare, a blush rises to Charles’ cheeks and he knows he is going to get the lecture that Moira so graciously didn’t give him.

“I… I went in there without backup. I was tracking him alone when I found him. But I couldn’t let him go, so I entered the building and… he must’ve had some kind of mutation because he knew I was there and as soon as I entered he shot me. I… managed to take him out with my telepathy but… I was there for a while before anyone found us.”

Erik isn’t big on interrupting but Charles can see, he can feel, that Erik is getting angrier and angrier while his story progresses. There is a long silence and Charles’ actually manages to open his mouth to say a joke to lighten up the situation but Erik lifts his hand up and Charles stays silent.

“So basically, you could’ve bled to death because you didn’t put your safety first? Is that it, Charles? Hmm?”

“Well… yes. But you would’ve done the same! You can’t get angry with me when you would’ve done the same!”

“Yes! But I can make sure that the suspect doesn’t shoot me! And you cannot blame me for getting angry at you when I love you so much that it makes my blood run cold to even think of you entering a building with a serial killer, without backup and…” Erik takes in a shuddering breath and lets it out with a long sigh, “I love you, you stupid idiot. I’m going to get angry every single time something like this happens and I know that you’re going to get angry with me if I someday do something as equally stupid.”

“You mean “when” not “if”?” Charles says but really cannot fight with Erik, and doesn’t want to, now that Erik is here and is still holding his hand gently. They bicker a lot but that is just how they are, and this time Charles actually realizes his own stupidity and is feeling bad that he made Erik worry about him.

“Go to sleep, Charles, you look awful.” Erik chuckles and pets Charles’ hair. Charles smiles and let’s his eyes droop and when he is going under he hears Erik whisper. “I’m glad you’re okay, Schatz,”

---

The next afternoon Charles is back at home and very glad that he is. He doesn’t particularly like hospitals and now that he’s home he can just relax for a while. Moira called him that the serial killer they had been hunting is being transferred to France to await his sentence and that he can take the week off from work. Erik’s boss also called him and told him to stay home and take care of Charles, since he terrorized everyone with any connection to Interpol while he was searching Charles.

They ordered Thai food and are now watching nature documentaries, which Erik finds a little bit dull, but Charles finds that getting shot earns him a few perks and Erik just plays with Charles hair, while Charles just lies in his lap and tells Erik the most intriguing bits of information on any given animal that appears on the screen.

“Maybe for the next time we could go for a holiday somewhere where we could swim with the sharks?” Charles asks and Erik just shakes his head.

“Whatever you say. Maybe I could just watch you walk around in your wetsuit and sip on a great mojito and then get you out of the suit at the end of the day. That would be enough for me,”

“Well. I don’t think that wetsuits are not really that sexy. Maybe you can convince me otherwise when you put on one too. I think you would actually look quite dashing in one.” Charles says and wiggles his eyebrows at Erik making him laugh.

“I know that you look sexy in one, Charles. That was the moment I really fell in love with your body. The first time I saw that I saw that photograph of you trying to surf in your Facebook”

“Really? You old stalker, stalking your crush on Facebook”

“I was trying to figure out what kind of idiot I had to work with. So I wasn’t crushing on you,”

“Mmmm… Whatever, I’m still telling everyone that you stalked me on Facebook before we got together. I’m glad that Moira knows about us now; she is going to find the story absolutely hilarious.”

Charles expects Erik to joke something back but he falls silent, so Charles bends his head so he can see Erik’s face. He is thinking about something so Charles lets him think and continues to watch the sharks swim around in the deep blue ocean. Then Erik moves his thumb so that Charles looks at him again.

“I’ve found out a solution to the problem of you always doing something stupid and making me worry about you. I’m applying for work with Interpol.”

This makes Charles turn around and hiss in discomfort when his wound twists in the wrong way. Erik frowns and helps Charles move so that he can now stare Erik directly on the eyes.

“What did you say?”

“You cannot stop me. I’m getting tired of worrying about you when I know that you are doing something dangerous and I’m not there to help. I know that you are not going to quit your job so this is the second best solution there is.”

Charles doesn’t really know what to think. He knows that they make a great team and he cannot really say that he doesn’t worry about Erik as well when he’s out there, but he’s really not sure that it is such a great idea. They could be stationed in different parts of the world and there is no way that their relationship would stay a secret when they are working in the same organization. Charles tells Erik this but it only makes Erik shrug.

“The Interpol has been after me for years. I speak six different languages and have a mutation that is very helpful in our line of work. Furthermore, you have so much pull in Interpol and together we can say that if we are not stationed together we’ll go work for CIA or we just go and live in Westchester as hermits. It would suit me as well. At least then you would be out of harm’s way,”

Charles has to admit that Erik has a point so he deflates and lies back down.

“Well, if you’re sure. But when I become your supervisor you better not step on my toes,”

Charles buries his face on Erik’s stomach and inhales the scent of clean clothes and little bit of sweat. Erik brings his hands back to Charles hair and hums.

“Well, we’ll see about that.But first we are going to make each other our emergency contacts. Tomorrow.”

Charles smiles against Erik’s stomach.

“Sounds good, darling, that sounds good.”

---

I know nothing about FBI, Interpol or gunshots what I haven’t seem form movies but I hope you enjoy it anyhow

[derenyanai]

Ashes of the Old World Session Branch 13-B Part 4

Time: Sometime after Session 12 Characters: Zealous Terminator

This is a continuation from Part 3

If you would like to start from the beginning here is Part 1

You wake up sometime later, head hurting somefin fierce, good thing this wasn't a death match or...well you get the idea

I check around my belt to see if this fukr stole my money pouch!

He's actually sitting right to you happyly humming a turn, your belt of money is still with you, you're currently on one of the tables tha used to have people cheering, actually....the building looks empty now"

I looked at him and then rubbed my own face. Man, that guy sure had given me a beating. I should have thought about the consequences... but it was a worth a shot. "Alright, alright... you got me good, fair and square."

"Heck yeah i did, Thanks for the Pr, Makin my potions look impressive, should have seen the crowd reaction, I mean you were unconcious at the time, but whatever" he laughs, Daniels hands zealous a bottle of red looking liquid

I look at the bottle of red, "I take it this is the same potion? What is that called?"

"What? No, Its healing, not gonna just hand out strentgh potions, those are expensive" Daniels Scoffs

"Alright, alright... well... thanks." I said as I pulled out my bag and gave him 300 gp in return as I retrieve the potion, "Here's your reward as promised."

"Gotta another deal for you actually, You can keep that gold And I'll help you out with Sexy Fred, i'll even throw in 300 myself, if you do a little something for me"

"Hm? And that is?" I ask.

Oh also get 1000 exp for beating Legs

"Someones been breaking into my shop after dark and stealing my stuff, my really expensive stuff, Every night for the past three days, Guards can't seem to help because, of course they can't, so perhaps you can....wait for them and teach them a lesson?"

"What sort of lessons? I need to know so I can carry proper equipments! I kinda need to, I told Legs that he should, and I should represent that very example."

"Just....Kick them out of my store, spook them off, Try not to kill them, key word being try" Daniels frowns

"Okay, I'll need to bring some ghost costumes then."

"........" Daniels just looks at  zealous "Sure...I...Whatever man, you do you" giving you the adress to his shop and the time to come by

[you gonna drink the health potion or....?]

[ yeah of course ]

its a juicy good health potion giving you 31 hp

Whenever Zealous inevitably exits the building, the arena fighty punchy building known as Richards Butter Slam, on the way to [insert location here] he doth percieving sounds of a rough and loud banging nature within an alleyway nearby, this shrouded space between two adajecent structures, holding a mystery of vaguely mysterious description, like what in my bag of cereal, does get toy? and then you realize it 2017 and they dont do that anymore and you do a cry in your soul

In that case! I shall inspect the sounds! Off I go! TROTTING MY WAY OVER THERE!

Looks like one of the opponents you've had in the arena previously, Legs, is having a rough house with some angry looking fellows "I lost 100 credits on you, so i'mma show you what happens to losers in this city" is said by atleast one of them peoples with the moustaches an hat, Legs dosen't look like he's recovered very much from his last fight

I wasn't liking what I was seeing. After the first second at glancing this, immediately afterwards, without thinking.... I ran toward them with my arms flailing and I am screaming at top of my lungs in order to scare them away.

>Roll intimidate  Well you've certainly startled them, an amount of them actually step back with concern

"I AM ZEALOUS TERMINATOR AND THIS IS MY SIDEPUNCH, LEGS!" I shout at top of my lungs. I hope they get the pun.

...Omfg, Well they don't appear to get it, Legs seems to laugh under his breath "You just git outta here this dosen't concern you" One of them says with their mouth words

"THIS CONCERNS ME! You are attacking a man who fights in the ring! You attack him, you attack me as well! He fought well, you punks! I'll show you why he lost to me if you dare!" I pound my chest with my fists, "Unless you are scared!?"

Three have come up to you pulling out sords >roll initiative

wow 20

I activate the RAGE. And then punch the man on my right.

>roll away A narrow miss, the Bandit just barely shifts out of the way of the punch >Bandit turn

Somehow all three of them fucking miss, as they just can't seem to land a single swing onto your supple gnome flesh >your turn

AH YES! IT'S TIME! I TURN TO THE SAME BANDIT AND THEN SWING MY PUNCHES AWAY LIKE MACHINE GUN

Knocked across and into a stray barrel, this bandits be two, remain and it is their turn

Despite thier attempt at flanking they somehow keep rolling stupid low, you can partially see when they miss thier own sords hitting against each other >your turn

I flip backwards behind the bandit and start pummeling away on this man's spine! Acrobatics first?

acrobatics then the opposite bandit aquires an attack of oppurtunity which bandit?

The one behind me. In this instance, the one on the left.(edited) I MEAN RIGHT. Right.

oppurtunity attack hits,Take 3 slashing damage, reduced to 2 becuase rage, and you flip over him like a majestic fuckign eagle

AND NOW THEN, I WAIL AWAY ON THIS BANDIT!

You bap him about once in the back with a resounding yelp from him afterward .bandit turn

One manages to clip your shoulder while the other is a fucking dissapointment, take 7 damage reduced to 4 because rage. >your turn

EXCELLENT! I continue to pummel into the same bandit!

And he's out sliding along the ground like a sack of potatoes, one remains, and he's looking mighty concerned turning to the rest for help but they've fled, and so will he

I'll let him flee to tell the stories to his friends about the fearsome Zealous Terminator!!! But my mind is elsewhere, I turn to Legs and walked toward him, "You alright?"

"I will recover, thank you for the aid, Hopefully i can repay the favor somehow"

"Actually.... there's one way you can do that... I am kind of in a jam. I need to scare off some goons at a guy's house. An extra pair of hands will be nice."

"Oh, well I can certainly lend a hand, or a foot" legs nods   Ally aquire: LEGS the half-elf

"Excellent! We should be on our way to collect things. The guy would like to get that sorta thing done asap." I said.

Alright so Legs is going to be following you, any preperations you're going to make before going to the potion dudes place?

I should probably find some health potions for Legs! And some to take to the guy's house.

alright, given how populated this city is, isn't to hard to find several potion stores, and alchemists and what have you, but the consistent price for your standard health potion is 50gp

Alright, I'll buy 5. So that's 250 gp.

Indeed, Alright good stuff you now have 5 health potions

Alright, so I hand two potions over to Legs and three to keep myself. "Alright Legs, I am going to go ahead and give you two. If you don't need the other one, you can hand it back to me after this is done?"

"Thank you very much" he downs both of them, looking significantly better than before

"Alright, I guess not!" He shrugs and then makes his way toward the place with Legs!

When you near your destination you notice its a building with the sign [Potion Roulette] above the door, and next to another building with a similiar sign that says [Shop of many things], it seems this is his store and not his actual home that he need people spooked out of

"Alright, we are here Mr. Legs! Let let's see if this guy's home so we can let him know we'll patrol the place out."

Upon entering The dude is inside, he waves at you, The majority of this building just seems to consist of this massive roullete wheel and a series of barrel on the wall, "Ah! good you came, Its rather difficult to run this business with the thieves having thier way with my things" Legs is squinting at this gentleman

"Ah! I brought a friend, I hope you don't mind." I guesture toward Legs and then to the man, "This is the man I was telling you about."

"Oh,you....." Your employer groans "Well i can bare helping this cheater i guess" Legs Sighes "Its not cheating if the rules allow me to do it" They apparantly already know each other

"Hey, hey... I got beaten by this guy fair and square. It's our fault for not establishing rules when it comes to potions or spells either." I said, "Anyway, let bygones be bygones. We have important things to do."

"........" "Yes of course, either way, Some time during the night someone manages to keep entering my shop and steal the potion components I use for my wheel, its becoming....expensive to replace each time, I locked up my doors at night, they get in, I've even bricked up my windows and they still get in, I don't know how, its frustrating" Daniels explains "So i figure if i have someone here when it happens, Bam, spooked the thieves, or atleast give them second thoughts"

"Hm.... do you have a cellar somewhere?" I ask.

"....Not that im aware of, When i had purchased the space, it was merely a cube space with a door and some windows, admitly it use to be apart of the shop next door but there has been renovations since then"

"We should probably check out if there's any tunnels in this place that leads to this store. It's worth checking.... hey Legs? Mind helping me move these barrels to block the doors and windows in case we spook them? I don't want them running out of the houses that way."

"Sure thing Zealous my man" "I was gonna leave while you two....nevermind guess i'm staying" " :D " So you barrel that door up real good

"Sorry mate. If you happened to see them enter a particular way, you'd know how to bar them from entering the place next time too." I say as I look around.

"....Fair enough" Daniels lil unhappy but dealing wit it >roll perception There is this straneg crease in between a couple bricks where you moved the barrels from

TO BE CONTINUED->