#i'm in the endgame now and it hurts so badly

[almondcroissantsandink]

“Didn’t you think it was weird...not matter how much you got hurt?”

[genericpuff]

Hey puff! So you said Hades is a "mess who hasn't spilled over" and there are definitely some warning signs even now - Artemis' dislike, the ominous grin in the last chapter does not bode well for Alex, him treating Minthe pretty badly and dismissively, being open about his attraction to Kore while acknowledging Minthe, eating Dio to shut him up and laughing about it (No Kronos flashbacks, Hades??) Of course he did a lot of this in LO too but that was framed as a good thing and you seem more self aware than that.

My question is are he and Kore still endgame with his bad traits? Or is Kore just hiding a much darker, more selfish side who would like all this?

Hades and Kore are both very, VERY complicated people with complicated backstories that involve both the good and the bad. They're both victims of circumstance as well as their own wrongdoings (even the ones that were well-intentioned, they're both walking the road to hell wink wink), they're both holding on to some pretty dark shit and we're going to be exploring plenty of both sides along the way. I'm obviously trying not to spoil anything, but I will say that Hades and Persephone are not going to have a cut-and-dry 'fairy tale romance' like what was attempted in LO, Rekindled is attempting to be a more faithful retelling of the original Hymn to Demeter after all (or at least its original themes and messaging). They're both incredibly damaged people with a lot of tightly-sealed baggage that DESPERATELY needs to be unpacked and we all know what happens to relationships built on those types of foundations ;0 So that's all ima say on that ~

As for the irony of Hades 'eating' Dionysus, hurt people hurt people. Though I wouldn't worry about Dionysus, he just projects his consciousness into berries, he's alive and well ;) As for Hades... let's just say you shouldn't eat berries possessed by the god of madness, guy is gonna have a harsh comedown LOL

[bougiebutchbitch]

I love your fic recc masterlists. any for our flag?

YES. They all feat. my favourite angry little man getting fucked. I. Uh. Will gather some more T-rated and G-rated ones in time, as I love found-family stuff with the crew. But for now... Have a compilation of Izzy getting railed, as he so badly needs and deserves?

ALL FICS ARE EXPLICIT! BE YE WARNED! check the tags, too - I may have missed a few warnings!

If Not Now by Buukkin

I've reccommended this before, but it truly is THEE modern AU. A gorgeously drawn comic with spot-on characterisation and growth. It will hurt your heart, in the best possible way. Please heed the tag warnings - there's some domestic abuse.

You're An Idiot (do it again) by sweveris

The perfect chaser for That Scene In The Bar. After talking about Ed being "A complicated man," things get equally complicated between Stede and Izzy.

Doldrums series by xylodemon

READ THIS. It's got some of the best writing and characterisation out there! After Ed and Stede get back together, Izzy decides the best option is to leave. He winds up sailing with Jack Rackham. They set out to sea to make something of themselves, separate from the legend of Blackbeard. Only - why the fuck is the Revenge in hot pursuit? (The answer: Ed is incandescently jealous. Steddyhands is the beautiful endgame.)

you take me, untangled, by shatteredhourglass

A/B/O steddyhands. Hot, filthy, and absolutely freaking hilarious. “Oh god,” Izzy says faintly, with slight despair. “I’m going to take Stede fucking Bonnet’s virginity.”

Domestication by SpinelessDragon

I am in love with this Steddyhands A/B/O fic, starring feral Omega Izzy. I have read it an embarrassing number of times. Please go give it some love! Izzy has never had a nice heat in his life, but apparently Stede motherfucking Bonnet has decided to change that.

Good Things (you deserve them too) by IWillBeYourPet

Lucius/Izzy - Lucius decides to prank Izzy by paying a random man to flirt with him, just to see how he reacts. The plan backfires when Izzy is tentatively interested. Suddenly, Lucius can't bear to see this all go wrong - or for Izzy to get hurt.

A Deal with the Devil by Moonlessnite

Aka, how Izzy got Jack to distract Ed. this one's bittersweet and beautiful, and kinda fucked up. I dig it. Calizzy? Calicozzy? Calico Jizzy?

in the presence of touch by hawkeyedkoi

Obviously, the answer to Izzy moping after Ed is for Ed to fuck him once. Just to get it out of his system. It goes as well as you'd expect (i.e., eventual Steddyhands.)

Sharp and Steady by Lizardbitch

Stede figures out just how to dom Izzy. Established Steddyhands deliciousness! Read the sequel for fun fucked up Calico Jack/Ed/Izzy shenanigans~ ;) No, seriously. Read it. Hot damn, that hurt so good.

bet on losing dogs by f0urshame

Ed and Izzy are stuck on the Revenge post-mutiny and desertion, destined to die either at each other's hand, or by the uncaring cruelties of the ocean. Obviously, they fuck about it.

I have a million more reccs because there are sooooo many good fics out there - but these are the ones I'm currently obsessing over! Enjoy!

Feel free to add more Izzy-gets-fucked-to-within-an-inch-of-his-life fics! Or boost your own! I'm always hunting for more.

[class1akids]

Forgive me if you've already answered this somewhere (I dug around but didn't see it!!) But I'm curious what you think Hori's endgame with Dabi is? I want so badly for him to be "saved" because I think it would help complete Shouto's character arc.

Overall theme

OK, so here is the most important thing to keep in mind with the set-up:

Izuku - Tomura

Ochako - Toga

Shouto - Touya

I think we all agree that these are the main hero-villain pairs set up all the way back in the Forest arc. They are different from other "fated villain" set-ups, in that the kids' win condition is not only to defeat their counterpart, but save the crying child inside them and this became a very important theme over time.

I think fandom opinion is unanimous that Toga will be saved and will survive. Also, a majority thinks that Tenko will surely be saved, but may or may not survive. The only one whom I see fandom say that he's a too far gone sociopath with no redeemable qualities and who will burn himself in pure hatred is Touya.

I tend to ignore these people personally, because I think the story gave us enough clues both that Touya is capable of caring and that there is a love-hate mixed together when it comes to his family. He gets the same child-coding as Tenko and Toga, as recently as Ch 352. So I think the three main villains undoubtedly will have the same ending in that their inner child will be saved. This for Toga should mean acceptance, for Tenko should mean a hero who comes and for Touya should finding the meaning of his existence.

Another question is whether their adults selves will survive - or we get something like a moment of relief / closure, to be followed by redemptive death which is a common trope.

2. Precedents

We don't really know what Horikoshi is planning - we have a couple of clues though. I think we can all agree that there is no scenario where the kids will kill their counterparts. It's not that kind of story.

In Heroes Rising, which is the "original ending", Nine is defeated by Deku and Bakugou, but they don't kill him - the one who kills him is Shigaraki though I think it's less to do with the original ending, but rather HK not wanting to leave a loose end where one of the Shigaraki prototypes is still potentially walking around. The other villains the kids defeated survive, including Chimera, whom Shouto froze from the inside.

The ending of Vigilante is not HK's writing, but he supervised the manga, and we don't know if he had input on the endgame. Still, since the main villain, Six, is another Shigaraki prototype, it's worth taking a look what happens there. Especially, because some of Six' things aesthetic - including his Ghostrider look - are not only parallel to Shigaraki, but also to Dabi. "Proof that I existed" - does it sound familiar?

It's an impactful, heart-breaking death scene, but it's quite dark. Koichi reaches the child in Six, but can't save him.

So, ngl, this ending is always in the back of my mind when I think about Dabi's endgame as one small fear.

But it's also important to note that Vigilante in tone is a darker, more mature manga than MHA, which is known for never really killing off characters. In Vigilante, there are other hurt/no comfort kind of deaths - like Shirakumo's.

3. In-story set-up of the Todoroki endgame

Now, after this long introduction, let's see the set-up that's in the manga. So the general set-up is that Deku, Ochako and Shouto should all reach and save their villains. Physically beating them is not a win (as seen from Shouto's fight and now Deku's too), only reaching and saving them will do.

Beyond the overall theme, there are two "foreshadowing" moments specific to the Todoroki plot.

The first is Endeavor's dream:

Now you can treat is "prophetic" that Endeavor and Touya are not meant to survive the endgame. But can you imagine Shouto, Natsuo, Fuyumi and Rei be happy and laughing when they lost two of their family members? So I take this dream to mean that Enji has no place with his family unless Touya can return too. Endeavor's endgame happiness is conditional on saving Touya.

The second is Shouto's wish:

When talking about Touya, Shouto's wish is not only to beat him or stop him, but to get to know him. That's Shouto's happy ending - not just a win, but eating noodles with Touya.

If you look at Touya vs Shouto, they struggle with the same question: the meaning of their existence - Touya as a "failed creation", Shouto as some whose mere existence hurts others.

Shouto's Phosphor - a move born from his heart to connect his two halves - is what he sees as a tool to "affirm the reason he was born". And I think with Touya copying this move, the set-up is there - Shouto can save Touya if he can help him realize that it's up to him to give meaning to his existence.

Now, this could still go in the direction of a redemptive death if you just look at Touya's character in isolation - but there is the other part of the equation - Shouto's endgame; his success as a hero (stopping Touya from killing not only others, but also himself), and his happy ending as a person (someone who gets to bring together the family and build a relationship with his brother).

So I think even if you think Touya dying and maybe Enji dying with him would be a tragic but fitting ending for them, it still doesn't really work for Shouto - who despite other claims from fandom is still the main protagonist of the Todoroki saga. We started this family journey with him, this is the kids' story mainly on their path to be heroes, so I think what makes sense for him simply cannot be disregarded. And because of that, I believe that Touya will be saved (find meaning), but will also survive (Shouto's win) and get a hopeful ending where the Todoroki family will get a chance to heal.

4. What about his burns?

"But he's burnt to crisp - there is no way he can survive" - people will say. And to that, all I can say is, look at the guy with the exploded heart. We had the same arguments - Bakugou's survival "makes no sense", "you cannot put a heart back together", etc during those weeks. But those of us who saw Bakugou's death and felt that narratively it makes no sense for his character or even for Deku's character, were pretty chill because we knew that if the story needs him to survive, the story will find a way to do just that. And along came Edgeshot with Wash's soap bubble - things that weren't really set up in the story before were found because the narrative demanded it.

I think the same is true for Touya. I cannot predict what will be the thing that saves him in "medical terms", but if the narrative requires that he lives, the tool will be provided in that story for it.

TL;DR: So putting all this together, I'm 100% sure that Touya will "turn good" and find some meaning and closure and I'm about 80% sure that he will survive too.

[hyperactivewhore]

GIRL HOW DARE YOU

HOW DARE YOU RECOMMEND ALLURE TO ME

ITS YOUR FAULT IM BROKEN NOW

holy hell that book is destroying me piece by piece i was actually sobbing its so well written everything connects even when you dont notice one detail its important

also im sorry to say but.....i like klaus and mia together from the way you spoke i got the feeling you ddint but i cant help but squeal when i read their scenes especially at homecoming they have sexy hot chemistry its suffocating

team stefan and mia all the way though as endgame but i think klaus and mia deserve a second chance

you were right about mia being a new kind of oc its very nice to see a oc care for characters who arent just love interests i didnt like elena but after reading it i understand her same with tyler and i hated him most of all but now i love him

this book is my roman empire and i blame you because i cant think of anything else

KSKSKKS I KNOW RIGHT???

Listen I absolutely adore Klaus, he's a bitch even tho I acknowledge all of his wrongs but he just makes me so fucking mad in Allure. He's just making her confused and hurting her and if he doesn't go back to being Nik with her, not Klaus, then he's about to catch some hands. And anyway his lifestyle is just gonna put her in danger, my girl needs to have a happy life with Cami.

I'm also gonna recommend you a wattpad fic about Klaus that I completely forgot about mentioning in my last post. It's A Dark Twisted Fantasy by @saintsir4n and it's just golden, the Klaus depicted there is 100% canon Klaus and he makes me want to strangle him so badly.

(@viavolterra)

[nancydrewwouldnever]

As a swiftie, I don't even care if this is a stunt - she looks happy and is having the time of her life, he shot his shot and sat his grown ass self down and made a friendship bracelet, they both are hot and rich and don't take life to seriously. I think that was the biggest problem with Joe is that he didn't quite understand her level of fame and so while Taylor does like to be private, she doesn't want to be hidden and I think the 6 years took a toll on her, she rebounded with MH, and now this...whatever this is...I hope it's Endgame if that's something they both want. His brothers wife is perfect sister in law material, Travis loves his nieces and is such a big family guy, and Donna and Andrea would be the best of friends, proud of their kids.

*while the tmz picture made me feel icky for this privacy, I'm all like a kid in the candy shop kicking my feet, blushing and hoping they hit it off. 🥰

I feel like the TMZ photo is most likely a strategic PR leak, so I don't think you need to feel icky about it.

I mean, like you, I'm just enjoying this for whatever it is. It's a fun distraction and I feel like everyone badly needs that right now. The everyday news is horrible and getting worse, so why not take a break with two celebs acting like they're living inside of a music video? They're hurting no one and entertaining many. At least they seem comfortable around one another and like they're also enjoying it, whatever it is.

[acourtofthought]

I came to a realization/prediction/hope this weekend which I feel the need to share with you.

I think there’s going to be a moment in the Elucien book when Elain is going to hurt Lucien, badly. Idk if it will be telling him about Azriel or something else, but I think Lucien is going to tell her he needs time.

I think it will be obvious how hurt he is, and Elain is going to feel terribly about it. Whether or not she comes to this conclusion herself or someone else will remind her (Vassa? Jurian? Eris? An entirely new character?) I don’t know, but she’s going to remember that when she needed time, Lucien gave it to her. So, she’s going to need to swallow her wants (& maybe pride) to give him that same courtesy in return. And in doing so, she’ll gain a new appreciation for him, and his character.

I believe this will be after they’ve built a banter, hell maybe even after they’ve already kissed and been quite intimate. Something which truly makes her scared that she might loose him for good, and forces her to face that deep seated fear of rejection. A similarity between herself and her mate, but something she’s previously avoided and now can’t.

Obviously, I think they will end up together. I think Elain will let Lucien come back to her, and when he does, force him to hear her apology (because he never gets the apologies he’s deserved, and can be too forgiving, somewhat to his detriment.) And, I think this will be the foundation of her protectiveness of him. Not that she wouldn’t have been be before this situation, but that now she’d have a newfound fire in facing anyone who came for him. A loyalty and fierceness equally matched by her mate.

Anyways, I just wanted to share and ask what you think!

🧼💖

NTSSM!!!! I wouldn't be surprised if we already had that happen in SF. That scene where Cassian says, "Where's Elain?" and Lucien responds (voice dripping with discomfort), "I am not always in this city to see my mate" then he later goes on to look at her with longing on Solstice but the whole thing with Az happens. I'm not sure how much Lucien is aware of what nearly went down that night but he must have sensed something in the last year. I imagine he's gotten to the point, regardless of how much he longs for her, where he's frustrated with the situation, where he is hurt with the situation. And I think the start of their book will be with him fed up with her actions and where we maybe see a little bit of a temper from him. Where he's kind of given up on the idea of there being hope for them. Though I'm not sure I see them having progression in their book only for him to be hurt by her and him telling her he needs more time (at least not in a major way) because that halts the story overall. If Elain and Lucien's arc involves them traveling to Spring, the human lands, the continent, etc., they're going to be forced to interact for that fact alone and I don't see either Elain or Lucien being the one to hold a grudge during that time. I also don't see Lucien being so hurt that he would shut her out for any reason. Normally mated males would rather sacrifice their own happiness than cause distress to the female. Though maybe it would be something along the lines of what we saw with Feyre and Rhys, when she lashed out after their visit to the CON or Nesta and Cassian after he said he didn't have a choice in being shackled to her and she called in their bargain. Both Rhys and Cassian were hurt by some things their mate said and though both pairings need a few days to clear their minds, it didn't make the guys question wanting to be together. With her endgame pairings, she usually has the FMC apologize for her past behaviors but she doesn't have the male typically push her aware for anything. I do think though, when Elain finally lets go of her stubbornness in regards to the bond and she gives that big apology to Lucien for her behavior the last two years, that's when we'll really see the protectiveness you mentioned come into play.

[crusherthedoctor]

It's been a long time since I've last seen Secret Rings' story but if I remember correctly the issue I have with the whole deal between Shahra and Erazor is that while yes it was handled in a somewhat tactful manner for a game mainly directed at younger audiences, it also felt... sorta thrown in like that?

Of course the game couldn't have delved too deeply into such a relationship, otherwise it would have delved into uncomfortable territory for the franchise's standards, so from a Sonic-storytelling point of view it works...but from a more general storytelling point of view it feels cheap to only scarpe the surface of such a sensitive matter (for instance I don't believe we're ever told what it is that she sees in the guy, what kind of positive facade he must be using to manipulate her, hence kind of undermining the entire crux of a toxic relationship like that) and only treat it in broad scopes.

I'm not saying we should've had scenes of Erazor being explicitly abusive towards her, God no! Just that I feel like that whole subplot felt somewhat unneccessary? Like it's so minimal that you could scrap it from the game and very little would change

If we're going to criticise things that are seemingly inserted for its own sake in Sonic stories, we'd be here all day. And I don't just mean comic examples.

Yeah, the story as is could have probably worked decently without it. But considering how much focus is given to Sonic and Shahra's growing friendship, I think it provides a strong contrast to drive home the difference in how they both treat Shahra as a person and as a genie, on top of fleshing out Shahra and Erazor at the same time, as well as justifying Shahra's inner conflict in the endgame. I also don't think there was anything cheap or insensitive about it just because it wasn't shown overtly.

What Shahra had previously seen in Erazor is certainly a mystery, but since the game doesn't dwell on it much, I think it's deliberately left to the player's imagination, since all that truly matters in the present time of the story is that they once had a history together, things went south due to Erazor being a dipshit, and Erazor is now exploiting their past history for his benefit. Sonic himself doesn't dwell on it and respects that she must have had her reasons, so it seems that was the intention. By sharp contrast, '06 spends a lot of time trying to convince us so badly that Mephiles is the ultimate chessmaster, and Silver falling for his obvious bullshit is somehow understandable because Something Something Desperation.

IMO, adding something extra to a story/character, even if it's not 100% necessary, doesn't hurt as long as it still has a purpose for being there, and doesn't take away from anything else that's already been established.

[forcebookish]

the fact that the one time ray took care of mew, ray ended up kissing him without his consent yikes 😬😬😬😬 that relationship is going to end soooo badly especially since I don't understand why suddenly mew wants to be with ray, I get that he's hurt but he's going to get together with RAY. when he even said that ray is "just not right" in the same episode. i hoped that he was playing ray but after the previews for the next ep, i don't think so 😭 but who knows at this point.

but the one thing I'm sure of is TOPMEW ENDGAME ‼️‼️‼️

you either die a normal viewer or live to become a crazy theorist😔 i too think mew is playing ray, anon. the worst part is that everything that i could say to explain why i think so sounds almost identical to all the stupid takes about mew being manipulative leading up to this 🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣 i don't even want to say "hear me out" 😭😭 i AM going to get into it though.

let's start here: i'm not totally convinced that mew is going to actually do drugs. he might no longer be a "good guy" but it just seems like SUCH a pivot, and it doesn't seem like he's lost his senses or anything based on how meticulously he is planning out his revenge on boston. binge drinking? sure. he's still going through a breakup, i get that. and whatever this thing with ray is, ray's still going to be a bad influence. however, i'm hoping that this

is a red herring/not related to drugs, or at least that top is misunderstanding the situation. mew goes back on years of telling ray to stop using, scolding him for getting high at his birthday party, and specifically saying this to top?

which brings me to mewray. something is... off no i can't say that okay let's try again, i'm getting bad vibes FUCK I CAN'T SAY THAT EITHER ok ok

in the same episode that mew says this,

and, like you said, that ray wasn't "right," he suddenly changes his mind? it all just seems a little too... convenient for ray. mew is the one to bring up the subject about ray liking him, he seemingly says all the right things, all but dangles a relationship in front of ray, and even says THIS

which feels completely out of character, right? after years of telling ray that he's an addict and that mew can't stop him, not to mention that mew clearly believes that people should live their lives on their own terms and make their own choices,

he would go and blame himself for someone else's behavior? i don't buy it.

now we get to the why. i do think that mew is trying to take revenge on ray as well, but i feel like whatever he has in store would be excessive for just sharing the recording and ruining mew's birthday - i think ray might have done something else that we don't know about yet. for one, we still don't know who edited the audio not to include boston's coercion (or if that even comes up😭), or what is up with that sex tape that boston showed top. why was top so convinced it was real? something about it had to be real, and that must have been: ray. how did boston get ahold of a sex tape of ray?

and does boston think that it's real? or was he lying again here?

(it's possible that boston first told top that mew was a virgin just to discourage him and because it's what mew has been telling everyone, idk, i always thought that was one of the few times he wasn't lying but now i'm not so sure if he knew he wasn't lying🤔)

and now mew knows that there is a supposed sex tape of "him" and ray...

if it's just to "get back" at top, then i don't know what this dancing is about. i wish i knew how to put it, but mew just... doesn't look like himself here. i made a little post about this already, but doesn't he look and act more like he did with gap than he did during his genuine moments with top?

vs.

see? we know the look he has when he's actually horny/flirtatious and that just... isn't it. i know he's going through something right now, and it could all be part of his transformation into this "sexier" persona. but look at him when he's with gap. any time that gap isn't looking at him, he goes back to the mew that we've come to know.

and isn't it weird that he doesn't put his hands over ray's and the camera focuses on it?

what i'm saying is, when he's dancing with ray, mew looks like he has his game face on. he looks like he's "in character."

plus, i think mew may have a tell when he's being deceptive (and he's not the only character who has one):

I DON'T KNOW, ANON. THE BRAINWORMS COULD HAVE FOUND ME. MAYBE THIS FANDOM FINALLY MADE ME SNAP. I COULD BE TALKING NONSENSE. but i'm glad that i'm not the only one, and among the fans who don't think mew's been "evil" from the jump. thanks for enabling me😅🫶

AND TOPMEW ENDGAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!💗💗💗💗💗

[booasaur]

Did you watch the new promo clip? With Cruz, Joe and Kaitlyn? 1x07 is going to make me cry, I just know it. T_T

Oh, I did, I was just giffing it.

I'm a little surprised both that they released a clip that reveals so much and tha by this point in ep 7, some pretty big stuff's already gone down? That Cruz and Aaliyah have talked about their relationship, possibly even more when the transmitter was off, that Kaitlyn and Joe know about it.

I guess I'm used to much slower pacing for this kind of thing, or just less things happening at all. But I have to remember, the ship isn't the thing here, it's just a device to up the stakes and frankly, is just as soapy as the rest of Taylor Sheridan's writing.

I'm still so shocked that I'm watching this unfold on a Taylor Sheridan show and as much as I know it's going to end badly, I just want to say up front, when it does, I will still be incredibly sad and angry! I'm not gonna take a single lesson from this!

Also, I have to say, I'm pissed that we're having to watch THIS show to get this kind of central fanficcy ship, what's everyone else doing? There's a reason it's grabbed so many people so quickly, actually, my friend binged all the eps this week and while she had many criticisms of the show and writing itself, lol, she did have this to say about the ship itself:

It's kinda normal to have this ..... draw. To stuff like this. Okay yeah, it's because these are very beautiful women, absolutely. But secondly, there is something about a storyline with high stakes and real leverage. And I don't mean the high stakes IN the story, but outside of it, right, the meta high stakes. That all odds are stacked against them, it seems 100% like this won't work out, that one of them or both will be killed, with a shitty ass writer, and so forth. But then the reward would be so insanely high, right, this golden ass trope of an asset and a mark falling in love and there's this deception and the hurt puppy backstory and the misogyny and they're fully main characters and the main story

And that was a good point, right, that part of the draw IS the high possibility that it won't work out and yet every one of us is hoping against hope that it'll still be okay. The true will they/won't they, surprise stories, those are the ones that feel so much more rewarding when they work out than being told up front, this is going to happen or even when you watch after a show's finished, knowing they're endgame. That is its own kind of comforting, but as much as the lows don't match the potential lows of watching live, the highs don't either.

Although, not to say that other shows haven't done anything, NCIS Hawai'i is still there, hell, Shelter right now? I'm kinda really digging it! I'm still on the fence about The Afterparty but I think at this point, I'm going in and adding to the gif list. Of course Harley Quinn! But I'm still way behind, I never did catch up from s3. :x

[theowritesfiction]

'Lake Laogai'

I think this is the first episode where Sokka's artistic 'skills' are really addressed. Okay, I'll admit, it's a genuinely funny comic relief Sokka moment.

I'm a bit upset at Iroh for having zero loyalty to the man who hired him and Zuko, two refugees off the street. Not saying he shouldn't have accepted the Upper Ring offer, but he was kind of a dick about it. 10 Jerk Points.

I'm really curious about the game Katara and Sokka were playing. I wonder if anyone knows what it was.

I get that Aang is frustrated about being stymied by the Dai Li and their bureaucracy, but Toph lashing out and destroying a part of the house is just... dumb? You live there, dumbass. Just destroy someone else's house. 20 Jerk Points.

Long Feng is a clever villain, despite his eventual demise. Him acknowledging that he can't confront the Avatar directly is a smart strategic realization. Misdirecting the Gaang to leave Ba Sing Se and go all the way back to South Pole to look for Appa is a great plan, actually. He couldn't have known about Jet's connection to Smellerbee and Longshot.

Guess who's back? Back again? Jet is back. Tell Katara... who is more violent than I remembered her being, but you know what, good for her. I wonder about her blush there. Was it all just from anger? I like to think it was the memory of her crush on Jet. I think it's all but confirmed by Katara's reaction to Toph calling out her lies of having feelings for Jet.

Sokka is pretty clever to realize that Jet has been brainwashed by the Dai Li, although I have to wonder... how did he know that brainwashing even is a thing that exists? There are a lot of interesting little details in the scenes with the Gaang trying to break Jet's conditioning. Aang not liking Sokka's idea that Katara should kiss Jet, whatever, shut up Aang. I had completely missed the detail that it was Mongke and Rough Rhinos who burned down Jet's village. They're Iroh's old buddies, I shouldn't be surprised. Also, I love Katara still deciding to soothe Jet's mind with her bending even if she's deeply mistrustful of him.

The secret HQ of the Dai Li is a scary place. The training of Joo Dee's... what a creepy scene. The Dai Li agents hanging from the cavern ceilings like some kind of creepy bats, that was pretty awesome. You have to admit that Jet is a badass when it comes to a fight. I also like how Long Feng being a very different kind of villain comes across in this scene. As soon as the battle starts to turn, he makes the calculated move to flee.

Iroh confronting Zuko in the catacombs was an interesting scene. Iroh finally has his golden ticket of having an Upper Ring teahouse of his own. He's got it made. He's not going to let his nephew's bullshit ruin his dream, so it's time for some tough love.

Comparing Zuko trying to steal Appa with his kidnapping of Aang at the North Pole was very on point. They are both the worst examples of Zuko's plans. Zuko tries to brush it off as if doing stupid shit has something to do with his 'destiny'.  But I also think Iroh's point about Zuko trying to follow someone else's idea of his destiny would come across better if Iroh himself wasn't pushing the destiny of Zuko serving tea onto his nephew. There really is a huge disconnect between the life that Iroh wants for Zuko and the life Zuko himself wants. Can anyone here see Zuko being happy serving tea? I can't. Iroh seems to be the only one.

Also, doesn't Iroh later embrace Zuko's destiny of becoming the Fire Lord anyway?

I have said that I'm not a big fan of Jetara, absolutely not as endgame, but I still think the way some of Jet's thoughts that helped him break Long Feng's mind control focused on his feelings for Katara was very tragically romantic. Anyway... I have very mixed feelings about Jet's death. No, actually I hate it. We've seen Katara heal some pretty bad injuries, and Jet didn't look that badly hurt? A part of me is now left thinking that if Longshot and Bee hadn't asked Katara to leave maybe she could have still saved him? Also, uh, she had the spirit water... I wrote an entire 70 chapter story about Katara using it on Zuko in Crystal Catacombs, and being unable to save Aang. It would have made ten times more sense if Katara had used it on Jet, and ugh, I now wish I had written that scenario instead. Honestly, it would have been far more in character for Katara to stay and save Jet. Also, check out the shot of Katara as they fly away. She had real and strong feelings for Jet. I haven't sensed anything remotely strong (romantically) towards Aang up to this point of the story.

Anyway, Appa returns and wipes the floor with the Dai Li. I guess it's something positive at the end of a depressing episode. For mind-controlling Jet and killing him, Long Feng gets 350 Jerk Points.

Jerk Points for Book 2:

Iroh, Long Feng - 560 Azulon - 300 Ursa, General Fong  - 200 Aang - 160 Zuko, Toph - 120 Ozai - 100 Sokka - 70 Bumi, Lao Beifong, King Kuei - 50 Pakku - 30

[kierreras]

This is going to sound bad but I’m going to say it. As someone who has watched the show and read the books Jeremiah is the right choice at this point of the story completely they heal each other and are a cute young relationship. but it’s obvious that Conrad is her soulmate he is the person who gets her and the person she truly wants and I feel this way because I read the story through belly’s pov, and tried to watch the show through belly’s pov. the people gunning for Jenny to change the story are just wanting her to end up with Jeremiah because they have a preference of Jeremiah over Conrad, I don’t think they actually care about belly as a character because otherwise I don’t know why they wouldn’t think that Jeremiah deserves his own big love and this is belly’s story and how two people have been through it all make their way back to each other.

it doesn't sound bad at all! honestly, i think at this point the right choice for every part of the love triangle is to stay single and heal, but belly choosing jeremiah now is not a bad thing per se. yes, they'll damage each other in future and all, but when belly chose jeremiah she was badly hurt by conrad, so for once she chose a boy that potentially could not hurt her. i think she did have feeling for jere when she chose him, but she also wanted to be with someone who didn't have the same effect on her as conrad did. and i also think that when she said "the future is unclear, but it's still mine", she confirmed that she gained control over her life, so maybe her choosing jeremiah would also be her gaining control of her own heart, because she didn't choose to love conrad, but she did choose to love jeremiah. you can even make an analogy on how conrad describes when he fell in love with belly and how jeremiah does it. jeremiah knows the exact moment something changed for him (conscious, controllable situation) , but for conrad it was like waking up (which you have no control of). for me it's obvious that no matter what belly felt towards jeremiah she always loved conrad more. it's not even a question that when belly overcame her grief and finally faced conrad alone she realised that she still loved him. in the show she even said it herself, she would never be able to love someone the same way she loved conrad. people who want jenny to change endgames after (spoiler) jeremiah cheats on belly are not "anti bellyconrad", they are anti belly. and i would say it hundred times, no matter what you consider cheating, for belly what jere did was cheating. if someone think that staying with a cheater is an okay thing to do, well, i don't even want to have conversation there because it's obvious what i'm going to say. and again, jeremiah also deserves to finally find someone who would not stir up his internal conflict with his brother, everyone in his life made him question if he's worth it, so for him to finally be with someone who would love him and only him is really something that i would be glad to see. if people say that they are jeremiah fans, i think that they would want to see it too. those passionate fans who want jeremiah to end up with belly after everything that happened in third book, well, i think they are just conrad haters, not jeremiah fans.

[niobiumao3]

Found a little bit more energy to talk about why the cancer plot in Thor: Love and Thunder is just so insufferably bad.

So setting aside weird inaccuracies (infusion sitting literally right next to some random person? lol no, sterility and infections are a thing; why is a woman Natalie Portman's size in a huge, widebore MRI do you know how hard it is to get one of those as a fat person who actually needs it; why does she still have hair; where is her port), the part where she's working on her OWN cancer while making jokes about Stages is just awful writing and intensely insensitive.

You know who works on their own cancer? No one who wants to live. I work with cancer researchers and when they have cancer guess what--someone else does the leg work. Colleagues, possibly, but not them. Sure they can understand the ins and outs better than a layman but they don't do their own pathology.

And Jane isn't even a biologist or a doctor, she's an astrophysicist. Sorry guys but she's not Shuri, she doesn't know fuck all about how to do this shit. There are professional technicians and oncologists who do these things for a REASON. They specialize in it. And the MCU has a biologist/doctor, fucking Helen Cho. Why is it not her that Jane consults with? Erik isn't an oncologist either. And why is the lab Jane wants to get back to not an astrophysics lab in Atacama or something, you know where her own damned work might be??? No she's randomly checking blood samples under a microscope.

This also makes no sense in light of the staging 'joke' with Darcy. Are you going to tell me someone who doesn't know staging is going to work on their own cancer?! Worse, they could have written this joke with proper gallows humor and completely missed the mark. (Eg. "You're stage 4, Jane." "Stage Four A, Darcy, *A*." "Okay that's still distant metastasis soooooo..." " Yeah but it's not as distant as 4B." Darcy, offering a donut: "If yoooouuu say so.")

It's grotesque to see something as serious, life-destroying, and terrifyingly common as cancer dealt with so frivolously. I fucking hate it and I'm disappointed in Taika for putting this kind of garbage out there about goddamned cancer. I don't care how funny your movie is meant to be, this was awful.

And to add insult to injury, the only reason she has cancer is so she can be Thor. That's it; she wouldn't be seeking out Mjolnor otherwise. Later they walk this back by showing her mom dying of it as well, but why was that not brought up initially?? Oh also, it's a retcon! Her mom is ALIVE in Thor 2. Now she's dead since childhood, I guess. Or something.

Also bringing up her mom is clearly meant to signal breast cancer, except no one wants to say that because how can she be Thor's love interest if she's had a radical double mastectomy? Guess we need to allude to it rather than owning up to the narrative we chose.

There are things I liked. Waititi continues to handle Thor's powers in a way I prefer; I also loved the notion that Mjolnir being broken wasn't actually relevant to its power. Why was that not the actual narrative thrust? This is something a person with terminal cancer can relate to--the idea that when you're irreparably damaged you want to still do what you can while you can. Plenty of terminal patients opt to stop treating so they can live what they've got left. (This is one of my favorite lines from Endgame, Rhodey, who walks only with the aid of technology, to Nebula: We work with what we've got. God, very real and relateable.) That would have worked as a central thrust; instead it's relegated to the final like 20m of the film and tossed in on the side.

Just, overall it's a badly written movie. It just is, and the fact that it involves things pretty close to home for me and which I would love to see more about makes it hurt that much more.

So. Fuck this movie. It sucks, don't watch it.

[wizardpink]

Hey if anyone wants to read my long rambling WWDITS / Nandermo thoughts have at it.

Been thinking a lot about the state of nandermo after today's episode because:

I do not see what Guillermo is doing to his boyfriend to be anywhere as obviously wrong as what Nandor is doing. I don't buy into the idea that he is "emotionally cheating" by ignoring his bf for work stuff. Every moment he isn't doing familiar/ bodyguard stuff he is on the phone. And I don't think he is more emotionally invested in Nandor right now than his boyfriend.

Why?

Because Nandor absolutely is doing all those things with Marwa. He is faking being in love with her SO HARD. I think Nandor's arc is leading him in two directions right now: the first, having to realize that a relationship is not the cure for his depression, and the second, realizing he is down bad for Guillermo. Which yes, are conflicting struggles, but that's what makes his journey compelling. It insures conflict and plotlines for a loooong time. That's great.

And I think what they are trying to show us is that Nandor and Guillermo have passed each other like ships in the night, essentially flip flopping with each other on how they feel. Nandor has to come to terms with not only being hot for his familiar, but his familiar that has moved on without him. He's not gonna take that well.

But anyway back to Guillermo. I've been thinking of how this season (or maybe into next season) is gonna shake out for him. And I've been thinking-- Guillermo is getting off pretty easy in the public opinion department this season. Even though he has always been the nicest of the main characters and easiest to love, he is STILL a serial accomplice to murder. But even more important to the writing of this show, Guillermo's constant misfortune is the backbone of like half the comedy of WWDITS.

What I'm saying is, he is not getting his happy ending just yet.

Which has led me to the personal theory that his boyfriend has no idea that Guillermo is a vampire familiar / slayer / bodyguard.

It isn't just because of the low hanging fruit of hijinx ensuing while he tries to hide his life from his love interest, and the inevitable fallout. But also because we need to be reminded that Guillermo can be an asshole too. Guillermo, who alienated all his friends and family to chase this dream of being a blood sucking vampire, who has missed his mother's birthday three years in a row and only tried to save Jeremy at the very last second.

We need to see Guillermo do something to warrant all the shit he is subjected to, because ending his torment just isn't an option right now.

At this point though him doing something shitty to any of the main cast isn't enough, because THEY deserve it too. Guillermo needs to hurt someone who doesn't deserve it.

Now he could do that by cheating on his new boyfriend but I don't see that for him, and I really don't think Nandermo as an explored concept is there yet, nor will they be in the next six episodes. I believe Guillermo when he says he's not jealous and when he smiles at his phone. He loves this guy! He wants to be with him! So how else can he hurt him? With his past, and with the truth. And it's totally within Guillermo's character to be afraid to tell someone he loves all this vampire shit (and honestly can you blame him...).

So I think this is going to end badly for Guillermo and I have a million and one thoughts on that, from a jealous Nandor outing Guillermo, to the boyfriend getting accidentally killed but it looking like Nandor did it on purpose (ESPECIALLY if Nandor has confessed just before the guy is killed), to Guillermo feeling guilty about lying to this sweet innocent guy only for it to turn out the guy is also a vampire slayer and playing him to get to Nadja and the Supreme Vampiric Council so Guillermo has to kill him himself (I AM REALLY HOPING FOR THIS ONE).

Anyway the point of all this babbling is that if Nandermo are endgame in this series I think we have a long way to go. I think they have an enemies to lovers arc in their future and they aren't even at the enemies stage yet. And even if they aren't, Guillermo AND Nandor have some more shit to wade through personally and plot wise before either of them has a happy resolution or a healthy relationship.

And also I hope Marwa gets all of Nandor's treasure in the divorce and runs off with the Djinn because he is hot.

[bitofthisandthat]

ASAMI SATO.

► Are you single ➔ ( Verse Dependent! )

► Are you happy ➔ "Yes...Mostly!" ( She works hard at it. She struggles with hurt, guilt, & regret. )

► Are you angry? ➔ "Sometimes."

► Are your parents still married ➔ "They’re both deceased now, I’d like to think they’re reunited in the Spirit World at last. So. Yes."

NINE FACTS

► Birth Place ➔ Republic City, [ Formally a prefect of north-central Earth Kingdom, now an independent melting pot of ALL the Elemental people. ]

► Hair Color ➔ Black.

► Eye Color ➔ Pistachio Green.

► Birthday ➔ 152 AG. 

► Mood ➔ "Optimistic!!"

► Gender ➔ Female.

► Summer or winter ➔ "Summer."

► Morning or afternoon ➔ "Morning."

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love ➔ ( Verse Dependent....lbr she is ALWAYS in love )

► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ "Yes, but it can fizzle and end if nothing develops out of that initial spark. Learned, fated love is more powerful. Love in all its forms is needed to work."

► Who ended your last relationship ➔ "Me. No comment."

► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ "Probably? I'm sorry if I did, I swear I didn't do it to be cruel, that's unforgivable."

► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ "No!!!!"

► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ "Yes!!"

► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ "Yes…but I don't want to talk about those...people." ( She has "people" at F.I. that filter that kind of thing out for her, though. She’s unaware about many of the past ‘pursuers.’ Asami has sta/lkers )

► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ "..........Yes."

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔ Both; she muddles both often, feeling all at once. She’s not shy about attraction either. But love is her endgame.

► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ "Lemonade, I guess."

► Cats or Dogs ➔ "Just...Cat? What is that? Not a Catfox or a Lionturtle? Weird."

► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ A few best friends, and lots of reliable co-workers/employees she can trust.

► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ Depends on her mood; or BOTH in one night!

► Day or night ➔ Asami is active whenever she needs to be. She doesn't have a lean either way.

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ➔ No.

► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ Yes.

► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ YES.

► Wanted to disappear ➔ Yes.

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes ➔ Smile.

► Shorter or Taller ➔ Doesn’t matter. Asami’s a tall gal. XD

► Intelligence or Attraction ➔ Attraction.

► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ Verse dependent! 

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along ➔ Complicated; her father and her have good and bad history, but she forgave him before he was killed. Her family is very small now.

► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ Yes and no, but she’s far more privileged than most. And despite what her dad did, she had a good life before his meltdown; and all is forgiven.

► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ Not technically, but she was on the lamb for awhile. ( Team Avatar fugitives LOL )

► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ Sorta. VERY complicated situations arose.

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ No! Annoyed by some though…

► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ Yes, because she has so few.

► Who is your best friend ➔ ( Verse Dependent! )

► Who knows everything about you ➔ ( Verse Dependent! )

[sinestrosmind]

A Chance to Say Goodbye (2023)

Summary: Tony Stark, ever the futurist, had put a hidden protocol behind Flame's Pack Rally Protocol. When Pack Rally is activated, this hidden protocol, the Recovery Protocol, is activated. And as per protocol, Alpha aided in carrying it out.

Flame has followed Alpha's guidance, had led her through finding the pieces and putting together the heart of the Recovery Protocol. Now, she receives a final message from the late Tony Stark, has a chance to say goodbye, and finally meets Recovery.

Warnings: Endgame spoilers, Grieving

Characters: Tony Stark (Hologram), Flame Copps

Wordcount: 2,138

In front of Flame stood a reflection of the past with its chest wide open. A spitting image of Tony's MK42, but with the colors and color placement of his MK3. Admittedly stunning metallic candy apple red paint with a bold metallic candy gold, highlights of silver in select places. Another stunning creation by Tony Stark.

The now late Tony Stark.

Who Flame had watched leave the world just 24 hours ago.

The image was still fresh in her mind, and it hurt. It hurt so so badly. But his little Recovery Protocol, a failsafe he'd added in the back of her Pack Rally Protocol, did just as intended. Alpha guided her, as per protocol, even in a heavily damaged and barely functioning suit, from the point of drop-off from Wakanda in California to the small walk to the old mansion. He walked her through finding the pieces, from her suits to the parts of the machine that stood before her now. It kept her occupied, focused, didn't let her mind wander away from her down a dark path.

She'd found her suits; sixteen brand new, shiny Iron Cat suits, hidden from her over the years. And she'd put together the… What appears to be a robot. Definitely not an actual Iron Man suit, she's seen the insides of it. There's no room for a human to ever fit within the machine. But there was just one last piece to put into place; the arc reactor.

A New Element reactor specifically, the latest mark. This robot's heart. She connects the plugin to the baseplate within the protected cylinder for it before pushing the glowing device into place with a small click. She then guides the plates of the robot's chest to close, the plates locking into place with various small clicks. Then, she steps back, nervous to see what will come of this.

The machine's eyes flick on, a pale cyan glowing softly, and it tilts its head down to look at Flame with a slow, soft mechanical whir. The android stares for a moment before tilting its head up just slightly, like it was looking at another person taller than Flame, and then a hologram is projected from somewhere near the arc reactor.

Flame gasps softly, ears tilting back and she takes a step away when she sees who the hologram is of. And then she covers her mouth as tears well up in her eyes when he speaks.

"Hey Flame," the recorded hologram greeted with his hands tucked into his pockets. "Welcome to the Recovery Protocol. If you're seeing this, best case scenario you broke in or stumbled upon this. I hope it is. God, I hope-…" He trailed off, a hand raising to cover his mouth as he looked away and to the ground as he normally does when he was in deep thought. His mood was quick to change, though, lowering his hand and his eyes falling back onto the general direction of Flame as he quickly picked back up his previous, normal, somewhat playful yet firm tone. "If it is, turn this recording off now, now's not the time and you don't need to worry about the future. Leave that to me."

There was a pause as the recording of Tony thought. "But," he began, the playfulness of his usual tone being replaced by a sadness. "Worst case scenario, you followed the instructions I left you- built the suit, installed the AI for it, watching a hologram recording of me explain this all to you. Which means I'm dead- or presumed dead. Or in a coma." He was rambling, which he usually did when he was stressed or had something on his mind. "-Just, something happened to me to engage A.L.P.H.A.'s Recovery Protocol, leading you here."

Tony sighs, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head as he took a couple steps across the front of the room he was in when he recorded the message. "You probably haven't flown in a while," he says, a sadness still to his tone. "Either too busy or too depressed- or too busy being depressed." Tony clearly was trying to cheer Flame up with a little joke, as his normal tone had somewhat come back, but it was quick to fade again with his next words.

"That's fine, really," he reassures with a nod, looking to the general direction of Flame again. "You'll get back in the air when you're ready," he continues. "And hopefully technically-not-me me will be by your side, just like how you and I used to fly." There's a pain in his voice, and clear in his eyes even in the holographic recording.

"He's, really just a glorified sentinel robot, if I'm being honest," Tony explains, beginning to ramble again. "Nobody can wear him, don't have to worry about anyone putting him on and flying off in him. Don't have to worry about anyone stealing him either, he can fight," he says with a shrug.

There was a pause for a few moments before Tony began speaking again."Y'know, I just realized," Tony says with a sharp turn and a couple steps across back where he started when the recording began. "You're probably pacing around him- curious, maybe a little weary, definitely wide eyed, just like when we met." Tony was right, he was generally always right. Flame wasn't surprised at all that he was right.

"Or," Tony began again. "You've locked onto hologram me and haven't moved since this started, and I really don't blame you." Another attempt at a joke, the life back in his voice, and it did get Flame to crack a smile. "If you're pacing," Tony quickly continues. "You probably have noticed how he always turns to face you, how when you turn and switch directions his head follows, like he's studying, learning, calculating. Because he is, to a degree." As Tony speaks, he's gesturing to the Iron Man suit that is projecting the recorded message.

"There was really only so much I could do before I ran out of time to work on him," Tony explains. "I got the important stuff. The personality, I absolutely had to get the voice synthesizer working, you always said you enjoyed hearing me talk so I just had to get it right." As he was listing off and explaining, Tony had been wandering a bit, his back now to Flame- or where she would be if she was sitting still. "I think I did okay," he begins, quickly as he turns around to face the way he was originally again, hands out of his pockets and open, palms facing Flame as if he was explaining or introducing something. "But it doesn't really matter what I think. It only matters what you think." Tony says, hands ending up back in his pockets again.

"I made sure to add major memories of us," he starts, turning to look at the Iron Man suit beside him. "The dates, working on our best suits, and things you like, a lot- among other general major memories, like the… New York thing. All of it I uploaded into his databanks. Maybe then he could really connect with you and help you." Tony sounds worried and hurt again as he stares the suit down. "He's got all my schematics, all my plans, all that I've ever written down or recorded in my personal files or in any Stark Industries files. He can build anything you want him to, just like I could." Of course he would, he wouldn't leave Flame of all people flying in the dark. Alone.

"Make sure to watch those recordings of all my tests on my suits I did when I first started, I think you'll like them- especially if you're feeling down." There's a forced playfulness to Tony's voice now, Flame can hear it. He's hurting just as much as she is, he's just able to hide it.

"And, hey," Tony starts, kneeling down to be closer to eye level with Flame. He knew she'd be on the floor, he had to, the holographic recording of him is looking right at her, right in her eyes. "Flame," his tone was soft, kind, hurt. "It's okay," he reassures. "I know how you are; you probably fought yourself to exhaustion and then some and you were unable to say goodbye to me. Or they wouldn't let you into the hospital to see me one last time." Tony pauses for a moment, letting Flame breathe and trying to collect himself. He didn't have to fully hide with Flame.

"It's okay, Flame." he says, voice pained and hushed. "It's okay." He gives Flame a reassuring nod and time to breathe again. "Now's your chance to say goodbye."

Flame takes time to catch her breath, trying to control her breathing, trying to steady herself so she can speak. It seems Tony had planned for this as well, he moves to sitting instead of kneeling now, and it seems he's waiting.

It's a few good minutes before Flame is able to compose herself enough to move closer to the holographic recording, and she waits. She waits for his wandering eyes to settle, and once she and the recording of Tony lock eyes, Flame almost breaks again. A flash of his wounded self that she had seen just yesterday appears in her mind's eye and she flinches. She closes her eyes, looks away, pained as more sobs are ripped from her. The feline shakes her head. She couldn't-

It's another few minutes before Flame composes herself again, and she moves towards the hologram seeking comfort. Head bowed, ears tilted back, fur on her face damp with tears. "Goodbye, Tony." Flame whispers, her voice hoarse and weak. That somewhat familiar faint hum was shortly replaced with silence after she'd spoken, and it was deafening.

"Well hello to you too, Flame." An all too familiar voice broke the silence. Gentle and caring with a hint of playfulness. Deeper than what she was used to, and with a slight robotic echo. Flame stared up at the robot, tired and irritated eyes wide. Similarly, the robot stared down upon her for a moment before moving and speaking again.

"Alright, c'mon. Hey," it had began as it knelt down and wiped away a stray tear from Flame's face. "No more tears." It- he. He told her, helping her to stand and supporting her. Flame complied, though reluctantly, but she had no strength or will to put up a good fight. "Time for sleep, come on." He urged her gently, staying by her side and resting a hand on her shoulder as he walked her over to the nest of pillows and blankets in the corner of the workshop.

Flame slowed to a stop as the robot stepped away and tossed a few of the topmost blankets out of the way, revealing a premade nest beneath. He then promptly sat down in the dip in the blankets and looked to Flame, seeming to expect something from her judging by his posture and the small "Well?" gesture he'd made with his hands.

The feline's gaze fell to the floor, one ear locked onto the robot as he spoke up once again. "If you don't get to sleep on your own within an hor of Tony's message being completed the first time, he's programmed me to give you a dose of melatonin." He told her bluntly, and Flame knew by his tone and body language that if his face could emote, he'd likely look bored but worried. "C'mere."

Flame's gaze slowly fell upon the suit again as she took heavy, slow steps forward. "What do I call you?" She asked as she neared, voice just barely above a whisper. The feline gave him a confused look as he just shrugged and reached out for her as she began to climb into the nest.

"I'm called "Recovery" in all my files," he began as he gently pulled Flame in close and covered her with the uppermost blanket like she likes. "But Tony programmed me to respond to anything you want to call me."

"Recovery…" Flame echoed quietly as she settled next to him and tucked herself closer to the robot, resting her head on his chest. The familiar hum of the arc reactor and the comforting weight from the blankets on her back, along with a gentle and protective arm wrapped around her, had brought a weakened purr to rise in her own chest. Recovery rewards Flame with a gentle "Good job" as she closes her eyes and finally allows herself to relax.

Within an hour of laying down, Flame had fallen asleep. Peaceful and thankfully dreamless this night. Recovery seemed to have followed her lead in his own way, eyes dim and metal body relaxed.