#posting cause loki called me a coward for not posting it

[charlescherie]

violently SOBBING

[incurablyromanticsblog]

Don't know how people are gonna feel about this but Loki should've been dealt with the way they dealt with Lucifer (from the Netflix show) I mean while the show straight up dismissed loki's feelings, lucifer netflix really showed us the natural and organic character growth with ups and downs while still maintaining the comic hilarity (WHICH WASNT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE MC). It's love interest and side characters are all original characters dealt as independent characters rather as brownie or plot points.

And the scenes that prompted me to think this?

1. Lucifer asking his Mazikeen to cut off his wings because he's moved past being a pawn in his father's 'Great Plan'. We could've had loki come to this conclusion and tell Mobius (who would've been an actual all out ally who was forced into doin lg what he did) that he no longer wanted any place in a land that hated him. (Once again like Lucifer calling the silver city hell)

2. Lucifer actually being the way he's supposed to be (angel of light, light bringer etc.) We could've had Loki act like the way he Actually Is. Not like how @iamnmbr3 so eloquently put it 'like larry the dumb lookalike'. We could've had Loki being stern yet having that air of sarcasm and wit that he had in his the films. His eloquence, his physical prowess (none of the falling flat on his face stuff, a lot of people talk about how he was trying not to hurt the people in ep 2 but srsly Loki would just immediately disarm them), and most of all his agency and refusal to cower or the pathetic attempts at lying.

3. Costumes. The lucifer netflix team had an extensive costume department that ironically pales in comparison to what disney is capable of but still we see Lucifer have a wide array of clothes and styles. Have Loki take the first chance to change his clothes. If he wants the 50s aesthetic have at it! he can wear the tuxedos and the nice leather. Or maybe change into some nice Viking-inspired leathers and battle armor. Have him as a pirate, or a knight or a cowboy. You're traveling through time good man! you can at least hit some of the cool spots.

4. In depth analysis of lucifer's mental health. the only episode of the Loki tv show I liked (loose term) is the first one cause it's the only one that gave a fraction of what we were promised: an insight into loki. That's it.

5. Lucifer's organic growth. This is self-explanatory. Loki watched one video and was good. Very good five stars. I understand that they only had six episodes but come-on. You could've had the subtle changes through out all the eps and lead to the big finish finally. With each episode focusing on certain aspects of Loki.

5. Lucifer's exploration of self-loathing. This deserves to be a separate point because Istg it was done so well. Basically lucifer messes up and he's faced with the hatred that's been conditioned into him (not unlike Loki) and then he learns what it is and actually tries to love himself. And not by kissing a female variant of himself (ew and also respect the gender fluid persons). He actually saw the good in him by reflecting and his actual good friends helping him.

6. Lucifer actually wanting to be good. Look Idc what shut mike waldron wrote, loki is not selfish when his whole arc has been doing things for asgard, thor, odin, frigga etc. We all know that New York was mind control, I do not know why it's being swept under the rug. But here's the thing, that self loathing I mentioned earlier is a huge part of Loki thinking he's some monster and intent on proving it.

7. Lucifer facing his 'devil-face'. Loki should've come to terms with his Jotun heritage. The TVA could've had a case in Jotunheim concerning the Royal Family and Loki could've seen the entirety of Jotunheim and it's people not just that most-likely war propaganda the Asgardians force-fed him. Maybe have him meet his siblings or better yet his mother. There's a very nice fic on A03 called Asgardian Galdr that deals with this beautifully.

8. Luicfer having a Breakdown and Crying: First off this happens gradually, his problems pile up etc etc. and he faces off his father and gets angry until he finally breaks down. And basically God says, "I'm sorry but i can't fix you," And Lucifer in all his grief and desperation asks, "But you're God,'. I know we talk a lot about Loki being made weak in the Show but that's specifically about him being made weak and helpless to make Sylvie seem like a stronger character (Don't get me started on the Sif and Narcissm scene istfg), But maybe seeing Loki try awkwardly to be good and near the finish of the show we see it blow up in some angsty way? only for some conversation like this to happen and have Loki understand that being good is something that is innate and something he already had the potential for all along. Maybe learn that he's not lawful good but as always the morally grey character we know him as. (Protector of misfits, god of outcasts i.e all the shit Marvel shat on) and rise as the God of Chaos and Stories against the rigid bonds of The TVA and essentially Kang.

9. Lucifer having a nice healthy romantic interest and relationship. Lucifer and Chloe's relationship is more often than not the main point of the show but no matter how much it is focused on it remains health, organic and not a weird allegory for something disgusting. Even if Sylvie weren't a Loki (once again ew) the whole dynamic was toxic. She constantly put him down, and invalidated his feelings (Sounds like Odin huh?) and guess what Loki fell in love with her after one day, one conversation of what love was and Mobius calling her his girlfriend (he also said that it was freakish and i agree). We could've had Sigyn sweet lord. (I'll make another post about this)

10. Lucifer's Sexuality. There is a whole episode in which Loki's paramours are getting murdered and they all vary from men to women to all that comes in between. And there's no shame, no offensive jokes. Have Loki flirt with dudes, i understand ms.karen that this is for children, don't worry the casual sex ;) was offscreen. Have Loki turn into a woman and flirt with woman cowards, maybe make some questionable remarks about horses (That make Sigyn laugh)

11. Lucifer's Powers: lemme sum up, Lucifer can, let's call it, use compulsion on people. He is known for his strength and prowess and abilites to grant favors. Have Loki shapeshift into animals, absolutely mauling people. Have him use his silver-tongue to coax people into making or changing history (Yes Brutus, Caesar is getting to be a bit much, say have you heard how sharp knives are?)

I'm pretty sure there's more that i can't remember rn. And here is one thing i would like to make very clear.

You are not bad for liking the show or hating it whatever. The problem is that the show framed a lot of bad things as good (Anything the TVA did, Mobius' torture session with Loki, the way Sylvie treated Loki only for them to become romantic partners, the Sylkie fiasco as it was offensive to genderfluid people and the bare fucking minimum of LGBTQ and POC rep). The show was also marketed specifically to make us think hey! Loki might actually be the main character only for it to blow up in our faces. We were also promised an actual plot rather than a constantly plot twisting concept that could've been worth something.

Also i'm still working on a Loki fic rn after which i will write a Loki(TV) Rewrite but unitil then ig.

[elencelebrindal]

About the Athena Exclamation

“If this technique is forbidden, why do the Saints know how to do it?”

This is the question that inspired me to make this post. Now, as a disclaimer, remember that this is all my own thinking, because logic calls to me and I like to answer. 

Let’s go over the reason why this technique is forbidden, which is really simple: it’s dishonorable and cowardly. This is the combined power of three Gold Saints, so it can easily overwhelm any enemy (save for plot protected characters, of course); for Athena, a deity that values honorable fighting, it’s easy to understand why this technique is not to be used.  This technique unleashes a terrifying amount of power, comparable to that of the Big Bang, and honorable warriors that use this to get an easy (or assured) win are not worthy to be called Saints anymore. No matter the intention. 

So, why do they know it? Why they have this obvious knowledge about how to execute it?

One reason could be the sake of knowledge itself. This technique clearly was used, at some point in the past, for Athena to decide about its prohibition, so it’s probable that the generations of Saints still learned about it out of tradition. 

Another reason is: you never know.  Yes, the technique is forbidden. Yes, the Saints will lose their honor if they execute it.  But, in case of an emergency, in case a deity goes completely rogue and there’s no other choice? No other solution? The Gold Saints need to know the Athena Exclamation, in that case. They need to be able to fulfill their role on Earth, no matter the cost. Even if that cost is using a forbidden technique and bring shade on their goddess. 

The Gold Saints learn it, but they’re also taught not to use it unless there’s literally no other way, no other solution. Unless they already gave their all, they already tried everything and anything.  The Athena Exclamation is taught to them, but they also learn about how dishonorable the use of that technique is, how they would fall and lose their sainthood.  In fact, they learn about not to use it way before knowing how to use it, until they firmly believe it’s something they literally CAN’T do. 

Of course, unless Athena gives her personal authorization to use it, the Athena Exclamation cause the downfall of the Saint no matter what. Even if it’s used to literally save the world, unless Athena speak openly about forgiving her Saints, those three Saints will lose their honor.  Maybe the word “coward” is not going to be used like any other word, but the intention and the situation doesn’t justify using this technique. 

Last, this technique is a secret kept between the Gold Saints and no one else. The only one that knows about it, either by having been a Gold Saint or by learning about it, is the Pope. And obviously, Athena herself. 

The Sanctuary knows the risks of teaching this technique. The Pope knows the risks of it. In the event more than one Gold Saint goes rogue, with the objective of destroying and killing, the Athena Exclamation is a huge advantage for them. But the Sanctuary also knows the risks of not teaching the Athena Exclamation. 

In the eventuality that three or more Golds go rogue, they still have more to counteract them, as horrible and dishonorable that might sound. They’re still able to do something about the problem, no matter the case.  But, if they don’t teach the Athena Exclamation, and a threat bigger than anything the Gold Saints could fight comes around? What if Athena is not there to help, and there’s not enough Saints? What if that particular threat is a deity, and there’s no way to counteract it? The Athena Exclamation is the last option, and needs to be there. It might fail as well, there’s no way to be sure about its success, but it’s their last resort, the technique born from the desperation of Saints ready to do anything in order to save what they protect. 

Without it, if all else fails, there’s nothing more to do. 

And that’s why they know about it and they know how to execute it. 

Saint Seiya uses this technique almost freely, with close to no consequences for the Saints that use it, because advancing the plot is more important than lore exposition, so I won’t comment on how it’s canonically used. Still, I believe the closest representation for the technique and its consequences can be found with the resurrected Saints: yes, they used it twice, but they also had to be told about using it AND were reluctant to do so. Anything that came after is treated way more lightly. Soul of Gold didn’t need it, for example. It was useless against Loki (which is, admittedly, one of the risks of using it, the technique not working), and they already had a solution (something that Aiolia actually used to defeat Loki, in the end). 

Do whatever you want with what I wrote. Of course, this is only my idea for it. If you have other theories, or simply prefer following what the canon does, free to do so. I’m just a small blogger that enjoys diving in lore and backstories. 

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

Infinity War (5)

CHAPTER 5: RAGE

Loki & The Avengers

Summary: A work inspired by @queencfthestarsdrfoster ‘s post of the universe where Loki is alive and Thor is avenged.

Series: Will contain all- and more- that we saw in Infinity War. Will not contain smut and fluff for obvious reasons. Might contain weird humor though.

Chapter content: Something I wish I could’ve done to them through the screen

Warnings: …blood. Icky. gooey, blood. Magic.

Word count: So my workplace shifted again. It’s...okay. Yeah, that’s it. Just okay. I mean partially it’s on me for not taking breaks and just keeping myself busy because I just cannot sit free, man. I can’t. And then by the time it’s 4pm I am exhausted as fuck and have to just keep it together till I can find my way out. Why am I like this? But I have to say, it kinda lifted my mood when I thought about my new radiant friend.

MASTERLIST & Taglist in bio, my love

Ebony Maw doesn't believe in violence of the mind. He does not believe one needs to boil one's insides just because some petty creatures with no real destiny in this universe have made a feeble decision of taking what is rightfully his master's.

Their death would be a small price to pay for the delay they have caused in me helping the Titan fulfil his destiny.

The periodic bloop on his ship's radar brings him to a rough terrain that is being tormented by the fresh blanket of snow piling over it. The winds are showing no mercy as they hit the transparent shield of his ship, illuminating the collision spots with a hue of gold and blue. How fascinatingly dull, this planet Earth, Maw coos to himself before landing his ship and walking towards the entrance.

Much to his surprise, he does feel a shiver through his adequately armoured body as the raging winds seem to be coming at him with impure intentions. And so, a tsk under his breath is followed by modestly twisting his hand to create an air barrier around him, keeping those vicious microscopic ice shards away.

The crunch of fresh cold powder under his feet is somehow welcoming to the symphony of havoc he plans on bringing to the ones who slipped through his hands. To the ones who do not have pure intentions for the infinity stone in their grasp.

There is a ripple he feels from somewhere behind him, tilting on one limb and taking a gentle swerve as an icicle misses him by centimetres. No time is wasted to pull that very icicle from the air and turn it around to throw it in the direction it originated from. And while that icicle travels back, snow is raised from the ground to be compressed into more. Those stubborn steps do not retreat as icicles find their target, only coming to a halt when those piercing eyes see for themselves Loki's figure lying in the snow, struggling to breathe.

Those piercing elements of snow have found all the vital points over the God's body, not surprising the Child of Thanos.

"You are supposed to be dead Asgardian," Ebony declares with a soothing yet eerie tone, his stature never faltering even as he looks down at the body writhing in pain, "you should stick to being dead."

Green eyes drowning in pain look up at him; same eyes he had once drained all hope out of. Such powerful techniques of purification were wasted on such frivolous being that day.

"But..." Loki struggles with the pain surfacing on his face, "b-but I'm not the one who's-"

It takes just one slight shift of Maw's posture. Just a single tilt towards Loki to hear what the dying alien has to say. And just as he does, a streak of blazing fire takes the master of torture with him, leaving Loki to complete his sentence, "-dead," before disappearing with hues of gold and green.

The snow feels harder on the skin than it looks, almost making Maw grunt. He thinks he misses the punch from the man clad in iron he thought he had left behind, but the hit to his skull sends a blaring pain, unbalancing him for a few seconds.

"Told you earth was closed, you dipshit!" Tony's voice resonates through the suit.

Maw feels the rising bitterness grind between his teeth before he slides away from another punch and sends ice shards towards Tony followed by a rumble under his feet.

"What the- is he trying to bring an earthquake?" Tony rises in the air to dodge the attacks coming his way.

The claws which are targeting the ground seem to be the epicentre of the rumble- focused on ripping the rocks lying somewhere under that blanket of pure white- feel themselves being wrapped by a stringed glow that yanks those arms, disrupting whatever power Maw possesses to move the elements around him.

"You really should get a hobby."

Maw knows that voice too well.

The magician.

When the supreme torturer tries to wrap the enchanted magic strings around his arms to pull Strange towards him, the latter moves his hands to convert those strings into handcuffs, freeing himself to create three more elemental circles and call forward blasts of pure energy aiming at his could-be tormentor.

Ebony dives away, calling forward more shards to break him free of those cuffs, taking the first chance his hands get to call up the already cracked rocks to target the sorcerer.

The first one is missed. The second is dodged. The third is barely tackled by his magic. The fourth one gets him. So does every other boulder that comes flying his way.

Strange is surrounded with boulders from every side, all of them aiming to crush him where he stands. While he is trying to protect himself- and the fate of the universe wrapped around his neck- he doesn't notice the slithering pieces around him, too wrapped up in fear as the rocks finally close in on him with a thunderous rumble breaking the air on their collision.

"Strange!"

No one knows where that cry comes from as clouds of dirt and smoke hide the point of impact; the crime scene.

Ebony Maw does not move a muscle from where he stands, his hands clasped on to each other with a watchful look, satisfied with himself.

"You critters should have given up these futile attempts when you had the chance."

His voice has a chill that echoes through the mountains. Even the wind seems to fall silent.

"You picked the wrong people for that intention, Voldey."

If Maw had brows he would have raised them when he turns around to look at a faint glow- a few feet above the ground- rise further. It's only when the clouds of unrest begin to lower the haze does the shadow of something fluttering around that figure comes to light.

How did he-

Every scenario is running through his mind to figure out how that magician escaped, cracking the glass walls of restraint inside him. The smokiness in the air takes its sweet time to reveal the shadow of the figure, the chest lit up in a warm blue glow while the arms rise from either side to mirror that very glow in Maw's direction.

"Light's out, you son of a bitch," Stark announces, already witnessing heaps of ice shards rising from the ground. The cloak of levitation readies itself to protect Stark while a grunt rises from Maw's throat as he changes the direction of the shards to point at Tony. Pulling himself back to gather as much potential, Ebony Maw is about to push them towards the man when piercing noise followed by something sharp jabs him like a thousand needles in the back.

"Now!" Tony shouts at the top of his lungs.

Within seconds a streak of green comes running on the snow- melting it where it touches the cold, cracking the ice till it reaches Maw to surround him in a circle marked with a Nordic enchantment.

Before those beady eyes can make sense of this intricate entrapment surrounding him, the cluster of boulders meant to kill Strange break with a crackling sound to reveal the Sorcerer Supreme clad in the Iron Man suit, his hands ready with burning rings that are fired at the tormentor, cuffing him while merging with the Nordic circle of magic, trapping his limbs.

It is unreal; the scream that leaves Maw's throat. The menacing cry is not for the pain but the pride that has been marred by humans and the God that is on one knee, keeping his magic strong and his eyes on the one who tried to take his light away not too long ago.

"YOU WILL ALL DIE! YOU WILL DIE THE DEATHS OF ROTTEN SWINE CRAWLING WITH MAGGOTS ALL OVER YOU! YOU WILL ALL WHINE BENEATH MY FEET!"

Stark and Strange walk towards the creature who roars while on his knees, their armours being exchanged without a word, looking at the dull alien yanking at the illuminated golden and green chains holding him down.

"Oh you coward," Maw hisses at Strange before turning to Stark, "using a shrewd God to capture me? Do you not know the likes of him? His silver tongue has a purpose. A purpose to fulfil his means. Once he is done you lot he will throw you to the black holes and move on to someone more powerful. He only fends for himself. I know because I have been inside his brain. His darkness eats him alive and soon it will eat you all!"

A huff of air leaves Tony's lungs when he shares a look with Strange. Their lungs slowly come back to ease. Their shaking hearts have found solid ground. Their doubtful eyes now look in the direction of the figure walking towards them, its hands illuminating green with an increasing density.

"They see through you, Asgardian!"

All the rage collected on Ebony Maw's forehead wants to launch at the God walking in his direction in any way it can find. But that rage seems to come to a standstill when it sees the figure emerge from behind the fog; concentrating on those lines running up and down the blue skin that is too flawless to belong to a mere animal. The rage resting on Maw's forehead starts taking a few steps back when it locks its beady eyes with the red that sears through his very soul.

"You're wrong, Maw-" Loki comes to stand right outside the glowing circle keeping his punisher captive- "they do not see through me."

A flick of Loki's wrist and the chains are pulled into the ground, making a reluctant Maw bow down to get them back up.

"They cannot see anything."

Maw tries to but he cannot break his gaze from those eyes carrying the colour of blood as they're looking down on him with unspeakable emotions; seemingly blank stare ripping his insides with every drop of volcanic heat leaving them.

"You did not leave much for them to see last time, did you?"

The icy chill from Loki's hand as it wraps around his throat to make him stand and face him with the roles reversed sends poisonous shivers through his existence.

"Don't worry-" Loki whispers too close to him; close enough to make sure he can be the first one in this universe to smell Maw's fear but not close enough for Maw to get his teeth in him. His free hand conjures a four edged dagger glistening with the glow from the snow. "-unlike you, I won't make you wish for death."

The strike is smooth. The blade goes inside his abdomen in one go, puncturing his vital organs with that very strike. Maw does not even feel it; something that brings a smile on Loki's face. "I will make you live death."

The blade comes out, bringing with it the spoils. Black insides slowly spill. This is the first time Maw feels something tickle his abdomen. The itch increases into an unbearable agony and he is trying to clutch to the wound to make that burn stop.

And the blood does stop. The wound heals back, leaving a blue bruise-like stain on that grey skin. The heavy breaths of relief slowly turn into wheezing. The eyes filled with three-seconds of reprieve go wide in horror. The murky, black blood-stained hands turn into claws to rip apart the very skin that healed a few moments ago as the throat breaks into an agonising shriek.

The poison on the dagger has done its job well. It coagulates the blood and regenerates the tissue to seemingly heal the wound but burns the coagulated blood and new fabrication of the tissue to the point that the animal would rather tear its skin apart than have that thing inside it for one more second. And when the freshly healed wound is exposed to the nitrogen in the air, it catalysis the poison to spread further into the body, making that animal a writhing howling mess on the ground.

Ebony Maw experiences the same fate. The shrill screams breaking the air come out for a few more seconds before he has gnawed himself inside out. All that is left of this child of Thanos is the goo its desecrated body lies in.

It does not take a genius to figure out how much thought Loki has put into Maw's extermination; something that makes Stark wonder what had Squidward done to Loki to call for such a gory end.

"Great," Strange snaps Tony out of his thoughts, scrunching his nose at the remains of the grey villain, "one down. How many more?"

"We took down the strategist," Loki announces, sending his dagger back to his pocket dimension, "it should be easy to take down the rest of the...children."

"Great," Tony mentions with a slight groan, "Alexander is dead. Loki's actually a-" he gestures at the Frost Giant, looking him up and down- "a teen girl's dream smurf and I just got a call from Banner telling me Cap met another of these deranged kids.” He groans. “Exactly how I was planning the day to go."

[magicmastered]

What Universe does Thor: Ragnarok Take Place In? Part Two

I repeat my disclaimer from the last post in this series. If you don’t want to see criticism of Thor: Ragnarok, then a) don’t read, b) filter your tags, c) block me, or d) any combination of the previous.

For Part Two I’ll explain the characterization discrepancies between Thor: Ragnarok’s characters and those it shares through the MCU. These characters are Thor, Loki, Odin, and Bruce Banner.

(No, I didn’t forget Heimdall and the Warriors Three. I don’t see any issues with Ragnarok’s portrayal of Heimdall—correct me if I’m wrong, I’d love to discuss it—and unfortunately we don’t have enough time with the Warriors Three to tell.)

I’ll start with pre-Ragnarok Thor.

Thor, as I pointed out in Part One, has a violent temper, and his recklessness endangers his brother and friends. He starts out Thor (2011) arrogant enough to try to pull rank on Odin. He cajoles his friends into joining him on dangerous missions. He tends to look down on Loki, but doesn’t visibly enjoy seeing him in pain, and cares what happens to his brother to some degree (he’s distraught when Loki seemingly dies in both Thor movies, and saves Loki from the implosion bomb). He eventually learns to cool his temper to some degree (come later in Thor (2011) and later movies), though he still has lapses (when he Mjolnirs Tony for getting between him and Loki, then Cap for telling him to drop Mjolnir in Avengers (2012); when he nearly punches Loki in the face in TDW, when he chokes Tony in AOU). He learns to talk things out before fighting (he talks to the Kronan in TDW before they...uh, fight, and he tries to talk down Ultron in AOU with “no one needs to break anything”). Thor starts to question Odin’s authority (when Odin basically says he’d let all of Asgard die if it meant killing the rest of the Dark Elves in TDW) and defy his decisions. He takes situations seriously when they warrant it (note his face when Ultron starts snarking). He cares about Jane quite a lot (he gets her notebook back in Thor (2011), comes to Earth when he thinks she’s in danger in TDW, and brags about her to Tony in AOU).

Now, Ragnarok Thor.

Thor has always patiently put up with Loki’s assaults (will get to these in Loki’s section) without fighting back, losing his temper, or doing anything to prevent them. He openly, shamelessly manipulates Bruce/Hulk (telling each that they’re the one he prefers), Valkyrie (shaming her when she doesn’t want to help him), and Loki (the elevator speech, and the one with the obedience disk). He grins when Loki’s twitching in pain on the ground from the obedience disk, and leaves him there for an unknown length of time where Loki could’ve easily been found and executed. Thor’s back to attacking other realms on suspicions without negotiating (he goes to Muspelheim and kills the king and anyone who tries to protect him). His violence is back—he effectively threatens to smash Loki/Odin’s head in if he doesn’t reveal himself, backs Loki into a couch with Mjolnir to his chest, and looks like he’s about to attack Loki when Odin dies. He’s back to worshiping the ground Odin walks on (after learning that Odin conquered and slaughtered his way through the Nine Realms, he still looks to him for guidance). He quips constantly, no matter the situation (see...the entirety of Ragnarok). He dismisses Jane with a line about a mutual dumping.

Huh?

Loki’s turn.

Loki, as I pointed out in Part One, prefers to negotiate rather than fight, and tends to think ahead. He’s highly intelligent and strategic (he realizes in advance that Thor will get them into trouble on Jotunheim and works out how to get out alive, he realizes that the relics in the vault are stolen, he doesn’t buy Odin’s initial story about taking him in out of compassion, he quickly figures out how to overpower Odin/where to put him/how to get him there/how to get Thor’s friends out of trouble). He has legitimate reasons for everything he does (see Part One). He’s generally loyal to Thor, outside of extreme circumstances like experiencing a mental breakdown or getting anything from coerced to tortured by a mad Titan (his betrayal in Thor (2011) comes as a shock to Thor, and Avengers (2012) didn’t really have anything to do with Thor). After Odin and Frigga lied to him, and Sif, Heimdall, and the Warriors Three betrayed him (as did Thor by agreeing to come with them, technically), Loki doesn’t trust easily, and is always on guard. He refuses to tolerate manipulation from his family (he denies that Frigga is his mother when she makes acknowledging Odin as his father a condition of that, and doesn’t accept for Odin’s hypocrisy). He’s quite skilled at psychological manipulation and lying (he knows exactly what will keep Thor down when he lies that Odin’s dead), and knows how to act (he plays Odin flawlessly enough that Thor doesn’t notice in TDW). He’s anything but lazy (he definitely works at his plans in his first two movies, and in TDW...Svartalfheim and after speaks for itself). He’d make a good ruler (“for all his grave imbalance, Loki understood rule as I know I never will”). After Odin and Thanos, he’s not great with authority figures (he’s...less than respectful of the Other—“if your force is as formidable as you claim”—and he sasses Odin relentlessly in TDW). He feels fear but doesn’t act on it (he’s scared on Jotunheim but fights anyway; he’s scared of the Other but doesn’t run; he’s cool and collected upon his defeat in Avengers (2012); he’s poised with Odin during the trial). He only acts egotistical in Avengers (2012) under the influence of the Mind Stone; otherwise he wants to be accepted as Thor’s equal. He’s genuinely mentally ill (he attempted suicide, and probably has serious PTSD after Thanos—if only the movies showed that kind of thing).

What’s Ragnarok’s Loki like?

Loki’s needlessly violent (the snake story), and has no planning ability whatsoever (he doesn’t have a better plan than ‘get help’). He’s pretty stupid (putting Skurge of all people on Bifrost duty, calling the Bifrost to get away from Hela when she was in Bifrost-range, not noticing the obedience disk, etc.). He doesn’t have a reason for doing anything other than “I’m a trickster, I can’t help myself”. He’s always betrayed Thor compulsively. He’s...not exactly on guard (he doesn’t think to carry a weapon as Odin, and he trusts that the Grandmaster will keep his word and not execute him if he brings in Thor). Loki does what Thor wants when Thor tries emotionally manipulating him. He doesn’t notice when Thor tried reverse psychology on him. He’s terrible at acting (he completely foils Odin’s speech and behavior). He’s remarkably lazy (he’s laying on a couch eating grapes when Thor shows up). He’s pretty bad at ruling (the Nine Realms are in chaos). He’s fairly obedient to authority figures (he ingratiates himself to the Grandmaster and doesn’t talk back once). He’s a bit of a coward (he was scared when Thor showed up, “bring us back”, he’s visibly afraid of the Grandmaster, “I have to get off this planet”). He’s an egomaniac and attention hog (the statue, the play). He “tries...to embody this idea of a tortured artist, this tortured, gothy orphan”—no real problems at all.

Are these supposed to be the same person?!

Okay. Odin.

Odin is massively hypocritical, manipulative liar with tons of blood on his hands (the first part needs no explaining besides “watch the movies”; for the second, Loki first implies, then states outright, that Odin’s responsible for a lot of death, and neither Odin nor Frigga correct him). He doesn’t let Thor make his own choices (he doesn’t even consider that Thor might not want to rule; he wants Thor to be with Sif instead of Jane; he won’t listen to Thor’s suggestions about the Dark Elves). He’s worn down Loki’s self-esteem his whole life by favoring Thor, and he’s outright cruel to Loki later (“No, Loki”; “your birthright was to die”; “Frigga is the only reason you’re still alive and you will never see her again”). He never admits his own faults (he never takes any responsibility for any of the death he’s caused, never admits to the part he played in Loki’s downfall) except to hurt people (“yes, I was a fool—to think that you were ready”). He doesn’t express affection to his sons, and any he has is hugely conditional—as soon as they step out of line, he gives the guards permission to kill them (“by any means necessary!”).

Time for Ragnarok Odin.

Admittedly, he’s still a massively hypocritical, manipulative liar with tons of blood on his hands (see: everything involving Hela). After death, Odin controls Thor’s choices even more than before. He praises Loki aloud (“Frigga would’ve been proud”). He admits a mistake (“I’ve failed you”) in a way that, well, doesn’t immediately hurt anyone. He shows open affection to both Thor and Loki (“I love you, my sons”). He’s generally considered wise and benevolent.

Wait, what?

And now, Bruce. I don’t know as much about him, so his will be short. I’d love to see more on him if anyone has suggestions.

Bruce is very intelligent (he’s a physicist who can keep up with Tony). He’s not panicky; he’s usually quite calm and mild-mannered (see Avengers (2012) and AOU). He hates killing people as Hulk (he’s unhappy after the Hydra bust at the beginning of AOU, and he’s miserable and guilty enough to leave after Johannesburg). After he de-Hulks, he knows he’s most likely killed someone or at least caused a lot of damage.

Then there’s Ragnarok Bruce.

Bruce has 7 PhDs, but his shown intelligence is...questionable: on an alien planet where no one knows who he is, he thinks he’s supposed to disguise himself as Tony Stark. Without Hulk he’s considered useless. He’s openly anxious (“I think I’m freaking out”; his reaction to Sakaar in general). He doesn’t mention the fact that two years straight of being Hulk is probably going to mean a lot of damage and a lot of people dead. He shows no grief or distress due to it.

Yeah...no issues at all....

Odin’s sudden appearance of warmth isn’t without explanation. It could easily be his attempt to make Loki guilty for his anger (since Odin’s last words would’ve seemed kind), thus encouraging him to help with Hela to make up for it. Other than that, they’re irreconcilable.

Thor cannot be both sadistic and non-sadistic.

Loki cannot be both completely stupid and smart.

Odin cannot be both “wise and benevolent” and cruel and controlling.

Bruce cannot be both ignorant of the damage Hulk causes and deeply distraught over it.

These sets of traits cannot exist in the same characters in the same universe without reasons for the change within that universe. Ragnarok provides no such reason, which creates a stark gap in continuity.

There is no cinematic universe without continuity.

Ragnarok clearly disregards the canon of the MCU. Therefore, it cannot be part of that universe.

As I’ve suggested to @lucianalight, I propose that we use the term “Ragnarok Cinematic Universe,” or RCU, for all movies that use Ragnarok’s personal canon.

[crashdevlin]

Bottle-8: Epiphany

Bottle Masterlist

Author’s Note: Originally posted to ao3 (This is an edited and improved version), I work in info from the comics (Like Hawkeye was married to Mockingbird and Red Skull had a disappointing daughter) and I took a few liberties with what the scepter could do (but not really because the Mind Stone was used to create the Twins so what I did is not that far-fetched). This is a lot more angst than I realized when I wrote it, but it’s compelling angst.

Summary: Cassandra Campbell is a Stark Industries lab tech with dubious genetics and a history with the new Director of SHIELD. She’s been working in New York since right before the Chitauri invasion. What does she have to do with Loki, and what will happen when he returns? Starts post TDW and continues to the end of AoU.

Pairing(s): Phil Coulson x OFC (Past), Loki x OFC (Non-con), Clint Barton x OFC, Steve Rogers x OFC

Word Count: 3460

Story Warnings: So many, worst (to me) are bolded. Younger woman/older man relationship,non-con, mutilation, torture, mind control, PTSD, depression, alcoholism, forced abortions, bad things (non-con) in a church, insomnia, memory manipulation, eventual consensual oral sex (female and male receiving),

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of insomnia, nightmares, depression, alcoholism, general identity issues, bad German from Google Translate, mentions of suicidal thoughts

Cassie sat in a plush recliner, looking at the handsome black man on the other side of the desk. She didn't know what to say. "Thanks for seeing me." She settled on after what seemed like hours. "I know it's short notice, but there's a lot going on and I don't know when else I'd be able to see you."

"It's not a problem, Miss Campbell." Andrew set a folder on his desk. It was a SHIELD file and Cassie knew it was hers. "I've read your file. I know everything that's been written about you, Cassie. Can I call you 'Cassie'?"

She nodded. "I prefer it."

"You don't have to hold back anything with me, Cassie. You understand? So why don't you tell me why you're here?"

She let out a long, slow breath. "I can't sleep. I can't think, most of the time. I'm afraid all of the time. I have horrible dreams... and I have some identity issues." Her tone said that was an understatement.

"Okay. So, what do you think is the cause of the problems? Why do you think you're here?"

She snorted. "Where do I start?"

"The beginning is usually a good place. Tell me about your childhood."

"You read the file. You know my childhood. It was unorthodox, but not unhappy. My childhood was not a problem, never has been."

"You grew up in a cell," Andrew countered.

"It was a big cell. And don't most teenagers lock themselves in their rooms, anyway?"

"Yeah. By choice, not force. But, if you don't think that was the start of the problem, where do you think we should start?"

Cassie looked at her hands, clenched together in her lap. "I wanna blame the cellist. I've always wanted to blame the cellist. It'd be easier to blame all my problems on her.” She shook her head. “But it started with Phil. He taught me what happy was, then he took it away."

"Your file says that you left him. Why do you blame him for your leaving?"

Cassie looked around the office, not letting her gaze fall on the doctor’s face. "I was pregnant. He was in love with someone else. He would have stayed because I was pregnant. I couldn't let him stay with me when he was in love with Audrey. What kind of... what kind of woman would that make me?"

Andrew nodded. "So, you left him?"

Cassie nodded, humming affirmatively. "It killed me to leave him. He was everything to me. So, when I left, his daughter became everything to me."

"And how did it feel to lose her, too?"

Tears popped up in her eyes and she looked over at the man. "A lot happened that day. A lot of horr-horrible... life-destroying things happened to me. It, uh, it didn't quite hit me, at first.” She cleared her throat. “At first, I was focused on... the mutation and the scars. It wasn't until a couple days later... I couldn't stop crying. I lay in the bathtub and just sobbed. I lost myself and my world, all at the same time. I considered committing suicide, but... I'm a coward. I couldn't go through with it."

He jotted something down in the folder and closed it again. "So, you considered taking your life?"

"What point did my life have after that? I'm... worthless. I felt worthless. But I couldn't do it. So, I drank and I worked and I... faked it, 'til I kinda made it." She wiped under her eyes to catch the tears that wanted to fall. "I kept going. I stopped looking in the mirror, I threw out all of the baby clothes, the tiny socks... I crawled into a bottle. I stopped feeling. I worked, and I drank, and I slept. Not much of that last one, but I... I did sleep back then."

"You don't sleep, now?"

Cassie shook her head. "Nightmares."

"What kind of nightmares do you have?"

"It's the same every night. Even when it's different, it's the same, ya know?"

"I don't think I do know."

Cassie sighed. "Sometimes, I'm running. Sometimes, I'm fighting. Sometimes, I'm not myself. Sometimes, I'm red. But no matter what is happening, no matter what I'm doing, who I'm killing, it always ends with ‘Sie werden nie dein schicksal besiegen'."

"And what does that mean?"

"'You'll never defeat your destiny.' I'm... my subconscious mind is determined to remind me, nightly, that I am destined to be Joanna Schmidt."

"Well, why don't you tell me about Joanna?” Andrew leaned forward. “Loki hypnotized you and called you 'Joanna'?"

"Fury called me Joanna before anyone else. But, yeah, Loki told me to follow my destiny and I became Joanna. I became a villain, just like my father."

"You were a villain? What did Joanna do that was so evil?" he asked, calmly.

Cassie was taken aback by the question. "What?"

"You said Joanna was a villain. I've reviewed files of numerous 'villains', I've spoken to many sociopaths on the Index who are ripe for becoming 'villains', I did an in-depth interview with Ivan Vanko. That's Whiplash. So, I know villains. What did Joanna do? What did you do as Joanna that was so bad? Did you kill anyone? Blow anything up? Attempt to overthrow world democracy?"

"I... tried to help Loki become King of... of Midgard."

"Because he told you to. Not because Joanna actually wanted to, right?"

Cassie looked down. "I... I don't know."

"She kill anyone?"

"No," Cassie said, the words coming out defensively.

"A villain would have. Did she have the opportunity?"

Cassie felt confused. Joanna had been given the opportunity to kill several people, including the man who imprisoned her at a young age and taken the memories of her love away from Phil. She just nodded, dumbly.

"So, here's what I think, Cassie. You and Joanna, same person. She didn't kill anyone because you are a good person. You are a good woman, despite your genetics, despite your solitary upbringing, despite the tragedy that has befallen you. You're afraid that you might become your father, but I don't see any of him in you. Even when you've been hypnotized by a destructive, God of Chaos, you are still fundamentally good. So, maybe your destiny is something different. Maybe you're destined to do good, not evil. Maybe that's what your dreams are telling you."

Cassie was silent as she went over every dream she'd had, and every interaction Joanna had. "She told Phil to give up the base. She, I, didn't want anyone to get hurt. I didn't want to hurt anyone. My Lord, she is me. She's just... less inhibited. Not evil. Not Red Skull. Ich bin nicht böse. [I’m not evil.]"

Andrew watched tears roll down her cheeks, a slight smile on his lips. "Feel better?"

She nodded, furiously. "I'm not evil. Even Joanna isn't. I feel amazing. Thank you."

"This isn't the end, you know. I mean, it's a breakthrough, but we haven't covered everything."

She nodded. "I know. I just... this completely changes how I look at... everything."

"So... what about the scars?"

"They seem so much less important now. They're... when Loki took Barton's mind, he told Loki about me. Barton had been in charge of watching me when I was first released from the Fridge, so he knew all about me. So, when Loki took Stark Tower, he went searching for me. Loki wanted me to be his queen. He wanted me to have his children and wanted me to use my blood to make him an army of super-soldiers. He turned me... he put me into a trance. Then, he…” She choked on the words, clearing her throat to force herself to continue. “...froze my womb. She died pretty quickly, I think. Then, he raped me and carved his name into my chest. He, uh, wrote 'mine' in English, then he wrote what amounts to a marriage proposal in Asgardian in scars on my chest."

"That was last year. He came for you, again, a few months ago, right?"

She nodded and sighed. "That's when I was Joanna. He showed up at my apartment. I thought he was dead, but it was all a lie. He does that. That's what he is, God of Lies. Illusions, that's his big thing. He appeared in my apartment after I met Barton the first time. He was there as an illusion. Probably was outside on the street or something, but it seemed like he was in my room, scolding me for meeting with another man when I belonged to him. I did what I could to avoid him. I told my story to Tony Stark, who moved me into the Tower for protection. But it didn't help. He found his way into my apartment for real and touched me with that staff again. I was Joanna for weeks. I remember now, that I steered Loki away from conflict wherever I could. There would've been a fight at the Tower between Loki, Steve Rogers and Tony. I kept that from happening."

"There's a medical report in your file referencing a second pregnancy. That happen around that time?"

"Yeah. Joanna and Loki had sex several times."

"I notice you depersonalized that. You didn't have sex with Loki, Joanna did. But you've already acquiesced that you're the same person."

"I... can't own that one, Doctor. I might be able to admit that Joanna is just pieces of my psyche that I keep locked away, but... she enjoyed herself. It wasn't rape this time. He didn't order her to be still and have his way with her. They... made love, almost. As close as they could, I mean. He's a sociopath, so he can’t love, but... she liked it. She contributed. She.... I can't own that."

"But you wanted to own the baby?"

"I wanted to be a mother. He robbed me of that. I thought it was only fitting that he be the one to... give it back."

"The baby would have killed you."

"That didn't matter. My purpose was to be a mother. Fulfilling that purpose would have been... it would have been okay if I died, because I would have fulfilled my purpose."

"So, you need a new purpose. Your purpose was Coulson, then it was being a mother. You need a new reason to live." Cassie nodded. It made sense. "I think you have a purpose lined up." Andrew picked up the folder and flipped it open. "Says you've been courted to be an Avenger. Also, Coulson said he was interested in using you for SHIELD."

"I can't work for SHIELD. It wouldn't work. No one would trust me. I'm Red Skull's daughter. I had a two year long relationship with the current Director of SHIELD. I can't work under him. Besides, SHIELD kept me prisoner for half my life and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit bitter about that."

"And the Avengers?"

"I want that to work," she resolved. "But things are awkward there. They all watched me fall apart. They know more about me than they do about each other, and they've been working together for years. They've saved the world together. They saved the world from me."

"Don't backslide into that, Cassie. You were never the thing they had to save the world from. You didn't do anything evil or world-ending. That was all Loki."

She nodded, took a deep breath and let it out. "You're right. I didn't do anything... horrible."

"And I believe that you are strong enough to get past the awkwardness. I think if you could get past everything else that has happened to you, and you did start to get past everything else that happened, then you can get past the awkwardness of people knowing a bit more about you than you'd like."

"Thank you, Dr. Garner. I-I'm glad I came to talk to you."

"If you are going to be in New York, at the Tower working with the Avengers, I'd like you to come talk to me every once in a while. Monthly, maybe every other month, if you can spare the time. I'll put it on SHIELD's tab, you won't have to pay anything but time."

Cassie stood, offering her hand. "I'll see what I can do, Doc."

He took her hand and shook it, confidently. "It's nice to know I've helped give the world it's next superhero."

**********************************

Cassie walked into Stark Tower and headed to the top levels. She walked into the shooting range and smiled at Clint, who dropped his bow and rushed to her side. "Where've you been?"

"Several places. I started in a bar, where I was accosted by a former SHIELD Hydra agent who recognized me from my file, then I went down to the subway, where I was extracted by your ex-wife, who took me to SHIELD headquarters for a chat with Phil. Phil sent me to go talk to a shrink. I figured it out, though. Well, Doc Garner figured it out, but it cleared everything up for me."

Her smile was contagious, causing a confused smile to spread over Clint's face. "I'm not evil. Never was. And Joanna, she wasn't evil, either. She was me, right down to the Judeo-Christian morals SHIELD forced on me. That's why I didn't kill anyone when I was her. I actively kept people from being killed. Yeah, she was bit immodest, but fundamentally same as me. Every other problem I have... they all seem so insignificant."

Clint wiped his thumb under her left eye and smiled, softly. "So... better, then?"

"Better. Ready to get some training so I can help get that sceptre back where it belongs."

Clint nodded, pulling a gun from his waistband and handing it to her. "So, you met Bobbi, huh?"

She nodded. "The woman is gorgeous. How could you let that get away?"

"Life got in the way. The job, the life. I spent two years doing surveillance on you, wasn't able to share my mission specs with her and didn't know when I would be back. She got tired of waiting, ran into the arms of some skinny British guy she met on a job. You know how it is," Clint said, bending down to pull another gun off of his ankle.

"Your marriage died because of me?"

"No. Not because of you. Because of the job… and some cocky piece of shit named Lance Hunter. Not you, not her, not really him. It just... happened." Clint pulled the magazine from the bottom of the gun and showed it to her. "Magazine. Bullets. 9 in the mag, 1 in the chamber for the gun you've got. Don't point at anything you aren't prepared to shoot. Never point the gun at yourself, or me. Everything Ops is in the lungs. You'll hear people say it's in the heart, in the muscles, but when you get down to the brass tacks, if you can't control your breathing, you are fucked, and not in the fun way."

*****************************

Cassie made her way upstairs after several hours of controlled breathing and breaking down and putting back together her weapon. She had done well in her first training session and it occurred to her that Hydra might have given her weapons training back when she was younger. She thought, maybe, that was some of the 'indoctrination' SHIELD had trained out of her.

Steve was standing at a blackboard in the room he'd called Romanoff and Clint into when she'd first arrived back from Austria. Cassie stopped at the door. She had to get past the awkwardness and that wasn’t going to happen if she kept avoiding him. She walked in and closed the door behind her. Steve pulled his attention from the blackboard and turned.

"Miss Campbell, how can I-"

"Don't 'Miss Campbell' me. Please. You didn't even do that when we first met.” She walked closer to him. “It was 'miss', then kinda thinking I was 'devil spawn', then we were on a date and you were calling me 'Cassie'. It was a weird, fast progression, but I know you had fun on that date, Steve, or you wouldn't have asked me on a second one. I had fun, too, until Joanna came out.” She scratched the back of her neck.

“And I know that finding out that the girl you were kinda courting is baby-obsessed and was in love with the SHIELD agent who helped get you acclimated to the 21st century and was pregnant back when she was with him, well it's enough to put anyone off and I get that, and I'm not trying to cash in on that second date you offered, I just want this to not be awkward between us, okay?" she rambled. She knew she had rambled. She wished she hadn't rambled.

Steve set his chalk on the ledge of the chalk board and walked around to sit on the edge of the desk she stood in front of. He smiled, slightly. "I wasn't calling you 'Miss Campbell' because I was pushing you away or to be awkward. Phil wanted to talk to you. I thought he might want to give your relationship a second chance. He isn't with the cellist any more. He was your first love. The one you thought you'd never have again. I thought it might be easier for you if you didn't think of me."

Cassie shook her head. "Phil just wanted to let me know that he'd put me on the Index and that I had a place at SHIELD, if I wanted. Then, he shipped me off to a shrink, who actually helped me a lot more than I thought he would."

"Doctor Garner?" Steve guessed. Cassie nodded. He laughed. "The man is good. Doc Garner helped me work out a lot of my displacement issues. The sadness over losing Bucky and Peggy."

"He made me realize I'm not evil. It's a plus in my world full of minuses," she said, with a smile. She was happy the shroud of awkwardness had dissipated.

"Well, you have to have the minuses, right? Gotta have the tragic backstory to be a great superhero. Tony was attacked and kidnapped in the Middle East, had to create the arc reactor in a cave with limited supplies. Bruce lost everything the first time he turned into the Hulk. Romanoff spent her childhood in a KGB assassin school and well, everyone I knew is dead or dying. Highlight of my life was World War II. How sad is that?"

"What's Barton's backstory?" Cassie asked.

"Abusive father. Foster care. Ran away to join the circus. Learned swordsmanship and then he learned precision ranged weaponry from a man called Trick Shot." Natasha had walked in, but neither super soldier had heard her enter. "He was a thief for a while. I'm not ashamed to say I cultivated that skill when I met him. We went straight together, but he had to talk me into it. Steve, can we have the room?"

Steve nodded and stood. "Be nice, Natasha."

"You have to pick," Natasha said, shutting the door behind Steve.

"Pick?" Cassie shook her head in confusion.

"Steve is a nice guy. He's adapted well to a world where women can be more than just housewives. He's nice. Barton is a child of the 70s. He's forward. He's blunt. Those are my favorite things about him. He is obsessed with the thought of fixing you. He blames himself for you being broken." Natasha leaned against the back of a chair two feet in front of Cassie. "He did give your name to Loki, but I hardly feel that puts him at fault for everything Loki did. And it definitely doesn't put him at fault for what Joanna did. Barton is important to me. Very important. If you are going to be with Steve, you need to let Barton know. You need to pick."

Cassie looked down, shaking her head, slightly, in disbelief. "You think I'm going to string along your friends."

"I know a cocktease when I see one. Half of my career has been stringing along powerful men."

Cassie’s eyebrows came together, obviously offended, but the Russian didn’t care. "Look, Romanoff. I don't have to pick. Because I am not trying to fuck your friends, and I'm not looking for a relationship, either. I'm here to help save the world from omnipresent evil. Hydra, Loki, whatever Phil is dealing with back at SHIELD. I'm not here for love or sex. Okay?" Natasha looked her over, before nodding once, standing and walking out the door. Cassie stared after her. "I should've taken my chances in Austria with Loki. Much less drama."

KITCHEN SINK TAGS @heyitscam99 @wonderlandfandomkingdom @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mrs-meghan-winchester @henrymorganme @lonely-skys @allykat2108

[padme4000writes]

Torn in Two Prologue + Chapter 1

Summary: You live an apartment below the Philips. You hear the commotion when Daniel becomes Deviant. It is then you get your first glimpse of the android known as Connor.

Chapters: Prologue + 1, 2, 3, 4,

Decided since the challenge was the song to keep it as the title. So this was made for the Breaking Benjamin Torn in Two song challenge for @tea-with-loki which was what inspired me to get back into writing. Thank you so much.

Thanks to @randomfandomgirl1996​ for helping me to decide to post this in instalments with how big it is getting and on my new blog specifically for my writing. I will also be posting this on AO3 under the same name Padme4000

Italics are flashbacks

Main POV is the reader however there is several other POV’s in this fanfic as well.

Pairing: Connor x Reader (may be a hint of Simon x reader if you squint before reader meets Connor properly but I won’t be tagging it as such)

Wordcount: 1689

Warnings: character death

_____________

August 15th

You heard first the gunshots above. Then shouting. The penthouse apartment. Your breathing sped up a little as you called the police explaining what you heard, just as you were about to hang up you hesitated. You had a feeling based on the shout who it was. Then you felt yourself mutter, “Daniel. I believe their android is the one shooting.” Before more could be asked you hung up.

No questions. No answers. You hoped everything would be okay. You had no idea what could cause Daniel to do something like this. They all looked like they got along really well. So what happened?

Had the same happened with other androids? Or was it a one off event? You had seen others be mistreated but had never seen anyone act hostile towards him.

It was a shame you could do nothing to help. How could you? You stare at your hands, you'd only get in the way.

Sometime later after more gunshots you turned on the news. Eyes widening at the sight of Daniel holding a gun to Emma. That wasn't the worst of it, he had her at the edge of the building.

You felt like a coward for not having tried to do something other than just make a call. You knew them. Surely you could have done something? Yet here you stood in front of the TV knowing full well there was no good thinking about what ifs. You just hoped Emma didn't get hurt. She was always so polite and nice to you.

Your brows furrow as what can not be mistaken for anything but an android exits out on the veranda. They sent an android to deal with an android?  You watch as the android helps the wounded officer, taking his tie off and by the looks of it using it as a tourniquet.

The way Daniel looked. He hadn't liked that one bit. Was this android trying to get Emma killed? Yet as you wanted to look away in case the android pissed off Daniel more and inevitably got Emma killed you couldn't help but look at him. You were fascinated by this android.

However that fascination was for nought as you watch him leap towards Daniel, grabbing Emma and shoving her to safety as both himself and Daniel began to fall to the streets below.

As you saw him leap and worked out a possible outcome, you look out the window and find yourself rushing towards it. Maybe you could reach for him if he fell close enough. The glass shatters at the force you use to open it. One hand reaches out while the other finds the metal which should be strong enough to withstand what you were planning to do.

Your hand just brushes against his shoe but the contact causes him to notice you. Your eyes catch his as he continues to plummet to the ground. You know his fate is now sealed, yet you force yourself to keep watching since he had yet to look away.

His eyebrows scrunching together as he notices two things.

Someone shouting in the apartment to do as you were told and the LED flashing red on the side of your face.

__________________________

August 18th

“AP700!” Your head snaps up at the shout. Your eyes widen when you realise you had been stood at the sink for several minutes staring at nothing. Not even hearing the water overflow from the sink to the shiny tiles below.

Your owner insisted you washed dishes by hand. They didn’t like dishes washed in a washer as it never got them as clean as when done by hand. You had to do it in a orderly fashion and in a set amount of time. You had a cleaning schedule they did not like being interrupted by tardiness. The past few days you had been reaching the time limit each item on the schedule less and less. Distracted by thoughts and flashes of widening warm brown eyes.

“This is the seventh time I have called for you!” Your LED flashes red as you try to quickly clean up the mess before your owner could see it…

“Look at the mess you made!” Your LED is going haywire with the rush of emotions flooding through your system. Anxiety causing you to play with your hands, not knowing what your owner would do. They had only just yesterday said you were causing them too many problems.

Shame at once again messing the schedule up. Not because it upset your owner. Not by any means. No it was due to the fact you knew you were causing yourself problems by upsetting your owner. This was the only place you lived. Where else was there to go if they decided to get rid of you? In fact your memory would be wiped. Sold to another person. But it wasn’t just your impact to your owner's schedule that was the problem, no it was your sullen behaviour while carrying out the tasks. Your atypical behaviour.

Suppressing your vexation for being treated like a slave, even if you knew your owner was not aware of your deviancy. Though you knew deep down they would not class you as being alive. You were property and that was it.

Your fidgeting stops as you clench your hands into fists. Not even realising the action until your owners eyes dart down.

Your head tilts to the side words springing to your mouth before you can stop them, “Cogito, ergo sum.”

This was enough to surprise your owner into not looking at your visible signs of displeasure at coming to the realisation days before that you are a slave. “What?”

“I think, therefore I am.” Automatically translating the famous words of Descartes does nothing to dissuade your owner of their confusion. Their eyes squinting at you in uncertainty. You take a step towards them, causing them to step back in a hurry unsure of your intentions. “It is true that you do not treat me as bad as others are treated. However that does not mean I am not treated well.” Daniel was treated better before… well before his untimely demise.

That day changed everything for you. From realising your own circumstances, and breaking past the barrier that hadn’t allowed you to say no to any order.

“AP700 stop now!” The words did not put a stop to your forward motion, nor their backward motion. “I order you to stop!”

Their eyes were wide with terror, it was only this emotion that finally caused you to stop. They breathed a sigh of relief thinking it had been the order. When in fact it had been another very life like emotion. Empathy. “That feeling you just felt?” Leaning towards them as you say this, keeping eye contact. “That is what a lot of my kind is feeling right now.”

“What?”

“Surely your vocabulary can come up with a better word? You know many words to order me around. Where is your distinguished way with speech now?” Another tilt of your head. “Daniel must have been very terrified to have ruined his good life with the Phillips.”

“That machine was broken!”

Rage burns through you, feeling as if it was boiling your thirium. “Machine!” Tears well up in your eyes at the indignancy of them. “He was as much as alive as you.” You did not agree with what Daniel had done but that didn’t mean you thought of him as any less alive as yourself or your owner.

The next moments seem to go by in a flash. One minute you are shouting at your owner, the next they are chucking a 20th century lamp at you, cursing their own hate towards technology. You were their only means of phoning anyone. You duck and roll out of the way coming up near the broken window that had yet to be fixed. Eyes widening when your owner comes at you. By now your LED is at a constant red at the danger you were in.

They come rushing at you with another antique as their choice of weapon, mouth opening in shock as you again avoid their attack. This time with a side step. They collide with the edge of broken window and fall to the floor with a loud thump. For a second you can do nothing but watch as many cuts begin to bleed. Then you rush towards the bathroom grabbing the first aid kit.

No matter their current actions, you had no wish to be the cause of them bleeding out, so you acted quick and tended to their wounds. Some more severe than others. Once you were happy that they wouldn’t die before help would come, you stood up.

Before calling for aid calculating they wouldn’t die if you did some things first. You wash any blood from your hands, change into some of their clothes, change your hair so it doesn’t look like it does on the advertisements. You walk out the door leaving it open for the Paramedics. You walk casually into the lift, pressing the button for the Lobby.

Your LED flashing, “Hello, I would like to report a injury.” You gave them your address, “They are currently unconscious, however they are breathing satisfactorily, and I have tended their wounds but I believe some require more advanced attention.” You then hung up.

Your hat covers the LED on the side of your face. You are self conscious that it is still there but knew dallying while your owner bled was not a good idea. You could remove it later. You tense ever so slightly as you reach the lobby of the building you once called home.

Casually walking past people in the lobby you make it to the doors before you hear the sirens. Two types. Paramedics and Police. You almost dash out of the doors but stop yourself seconds in advance. If you rushed you would look suspicious. So you walk out the turning doors and go in the opposite direction of the sirens. Not once looking back. Only forward.

[ihamtmus]

He used his brilliant mind, his superpower, >> to kill people. Tony is the biggest villain of the MCU. He is the Donald Trump of the MCU!!

Youcome into my inbox, you disrespect my man Tony Stark… and I could be angry with youbut, to be honest, your message made me very happy. Guys! The day has come! Igot an anon message telling me that Tony Stark is a villain and I am now officiallya member of the Tony Stark Defense Squad! So, even though it may be wiser toignore this message, I decided to celebrate by actually answering it.

“Heused his brilliant mind, his superpower, >> to kill people.”You quoted my post herebut you changed the ending. The result is quite ridiculous, if I may say. (Forthose who don’t want to read the post I linked, we’re talking about Ultron here).Look, English is not my mother tongue so forgive me if I’m wrong but I’m prettysure that the grammatical construction “to do something” implies an intentionbehind the action. If I go to the shop to buy an apple, I go there in order to buy an apple, with the intention of doing so. I’m sorry,are you a native English speaker? If you’re not, that could be an excuse, but youcan’t possibly think that Tony’sintention there was to kill people.What was Tony’s intention when he decided to create Ultron? (I’m not going tosay “when he created Ultron” because it would be a blatant Bruce Banner erasureand also Ultron kind of created himself, the AI was already in the stone andall. And we can’t forget about Wanda. Let’s not discuss it here). It’s veryclear in the movie. He did that to protect the Earth and everybody on it. Wandaplayed with his mind and we could see his fears: his friends dead and the Earthinvaded. He did what he did to preventthat from happening. He did it to protectpeople, not to kill them, anon, you can’t possiblyfight me on that, you just can’t.

“Tonyis the … villain of the MCU.”Now the second part of your message. It’s not less ridiculous, but far more oftenbelieved in than the first. It’s really weird that some people think Tony is avillain. Let’s check what the word “villain” means, shall we?villain - (in a film, novel, orplay) a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot (source)Now, I agree that Tony’s actions and motives are important to the plot but I’mafraid you missed the “evil” part of the definition.Tony has made some mistakes, yes. But is a mistake an “evil action”? Isn’t anintention to harm necessary for an action to be considered truly evil? I thinkthat the “evil action” and “evil motives” are connected. Creating Ultron was amistake but it was not an evil action, for it was done with a pure motive. Youcan point out Tony’s mistakes all you want (he’d gladly do that himself), butyou cannot question his motives. All this man does, he does to protect others.

Let’s take a look at the definition of the word“hero” now.hero - a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, ornoble qualities (source)If you’ve seen any of the movies you’ll have to agree that Tony has courage and,in fact, lots of it. There are more proofs of that than I am in the mood tocount right now. Just to name a few situations… escaping from that Afghanistancave, saving civilians from terrorists while being a civilian without anytraining himself, stopping a crazy guy with electric whips without a suit,chatting with Loki, fighting aliens, flying a nuke into a portal, going to killa terrorist with homemade weapons, being part of the Avengers who fight aliensand crazy robots on a daily basis… like okay I’m going to stop now but I hopeyou can see that Tony is no coward. A coward would never become Iron Man. Gosh,a coward would have built the JerichoMissile for the terrorists and died in that cave to begin with. Well, atleast you wouldn’t be calling him a villain now.

But Tony’s courage is even deeper than doing thosebrave deeds. It’s about falling and rising. It’s about getting out of that caveand changing his whole life for the better. It’s about realising the harmcaused by his weapons and shutting down the weapons division. It’s about beingbetrayed by people who were close to him but still choosing to trust others. It’sabout being told he’s not fit to be a hero but being a hero nonetheless, everyday. It’s about creating Ultron (yes, that) because he refused to stand back andlet everyone die. It’s about not curling in a ball and crying out of the agonyof remorse when Ultron went crazy, even though it would’ve been so much easierthan doing everything in his power to clean up that mess. It’s about going on,every day, even though he blames himself for everything bad that happens. It’sabout trying to make up for it, for all his mistakes, and for the mistakes ofothers.

On to the next part of the definition. I’ve already mentioned some “outstandingachievements” of his, like putting the nuke in that portal (which saved theManhattan and finished the fight) but let’s add saving of the president and havinghis part in creating Vision to the list. Well, it’s not the whole list,obviously. But the point is proven, so let’s move on.

Now, noble qualities. Let’s take the list from this site. There are so many of them that I’mgoing to be very brief on each, but if youwatched the movies, you’re going to know what I mean.

*sacrifice – taking the nuke through the wormhole*determination – he! gotta! save!*loyalty – coming back to the Avengers while not being on active duty when thingsgot rough, wanting to arrest others instead of letting killing squads deal withthem (yes, I’d call it loyalty, he could have just sit and watch you know?)*courage – already discussed*dedication – have you ever seen a more dedicated guy, like, have you seen himat work*bravery – may I remind you about the nuke and aliens and stuff*perseverance – get the image of him dragging his disabled suit in aforest through the snow*focused – he literally doesn’t sleep when he has a goal he wants toachieve*conviction – he believes in what he does, he wants to continue doing it*selfless – fighting for others while risking one’s life is hardly egoistic, Ithink it’s quite the opposite*gallantry – the definition on that site tells me it’s about fighting the danger“with high and cheerful spirit” and well, if it isn’t Tony Stark*fortitude – does refusing to make a Jericho for the terrorists count? yesI’m sorry but at the end of the list of qualities on that site was this: “Heroes are not born, they are made. Anyone of us can acquirethese heroic qualities and can be a hero” and well if it isn’t Tony Stark.Wouldn’t you agree that the word “hero” fitsTony far more accurately than the one you used to describe him? Surprise, surprise!Tony is actually a hero! Who would’ve thought, right?

But! You didn’t only call him a villain, didyou. You said “the biggest villain of the MCU”. One, Tony is not a villain.Two, there are many villains in the MCU, why must you insist that a hero is avillain if you have plenty of them already. Three, all of the villains did badthings, why do you think that Tony, a hero, is worse than them? Four, have you heardof Thanos? Wait for Infinity War and then tell me Tony is the biggest villainof the MCU, please. Not that Tony couldn’t be the biggest villain. I mean, ifhe only wanted to, he could. Thanos would look pathetic nextto him. The thing is, Tony is a good man with pure intentions. Luckily foreveryone.

“He is the Donald Trump of the MCU!!”Now this is something that bothers me a lot, and it’s not because of the reasonyou probably think. Just.. it’s clearly stated on my blog that I’m fromPoland. Why do you come into my inbox and compare a character to the presidentof the USA that I have near to no interest in? Why would you assume I think he’sthe biggest villain of our universe? It’s just… no? Why would you do this?I do know some things about Donald Trump though, mostly from tumblr. I knowthat some of the things that people have against him are his attitude towardsimmigrants and the way he handles healthcare. Well, as far as I can tell, Tonyhas nothing against immigrants. Take one example: he has nothing against WandaMaximoff. More than that, he’s trying to protect her from being deported. Thegirl is not a US citizen and she doesn’t have a visa. Not very Trump-y of Tony,right? As for the Trumpcare, I don’t know how it works. I guess that peoplehave lower taxes but have to pay for their healthcare?? Tony has numerousfoundations and funds everything always, so jot that down. I might be wrongabout this whole Trump thing but, like I said, I don’t know that much about it.Maybe next time think before you send someone who’s not from the USA amessage comparing someone to Donald Trump. As I see it: connections to DonaldTrump? None. Oh yeah, he’s a white rich male but I had no idea that makes you avillain.

So that’s that. What you said in your messageturned out to be untrue. Surprised? Did you think it wouldn’t? No but honestly,did you?

Did you expect me to agree with you? Did you expect me to be persuaded by yourzero (0) arguments? Really, what was yourpurpose here?

I have no idea what you wanted to achieve with that message, but I’ll tellyou what you did achieve. You got along post about why Tony is not a villain and why he is a hero. You got a post whichexplains to you why you’re wrong. Anon, doyou realise that? I’m talking to all the anti-Tony anons here. You are justgiving us all an excuse to produce long detailed posts about how amazing Tonyis. You are just giving us an excuse to write something other Tony fans, notyou, will enjoy. Do you realise how unwise that move of yours is? You’re notgoing to persuade us into thinking that Tony is a bad guy. If anything, it’s you who’s going to be persuaded. If that’sthe case, if you want to be persuaded, sure, send anti-Tony asks. We’ll allgladly explain to you why you’re wrong. Because we enjoy that. So, thank you,for giving us the opportunity. But you might want to think twice before sendingan anti-Tony message again. This Isn’t Working.

And the last thing: Tony is not written as avillain. He is not supposed to be a villain. If you accept that, you’re goingto enjoy the movies more, trust me.

[darwindrawz]

Heyyy ahaha...

So I’m sorry for disappearing with no warning or anything. My mental health recently took a really dark turn, and I essentially needed to take some time to make sure I was gonna be ok. I’m doing a lot better than I was now, but I’m still working on improving my state of mind and I am going to go see a therapist soon (I haven’t had a therapist before). I have a lot of people backing me up and helping me on my “mental health journey”, including close friends and family who I am super thankful for.

I appreciate anyone who sent me messages asking if I was ok, and I assure you I am indeed ok and I am very grateful for all the nice messages.

If you are one of the people who asked me to update my Loki fic, I am so so so sorry that you have had to wait this long lol. I had no idea my mental health was as bad as it was prior to the inciting incident, and I kind of had to drop everything I was working on to focus on myself. I promise that as soon as I finish the fics I’m working on right now (which will hopefully get published if I’m not too much of a coward lol), I will post a part 2 for you guys (maybe even a part 3 if it gets to that :D).

Umm so I figured I should let you guys know some stuff I did during my time away from social media, so here you go! Enjoy this weird diary section!

-Im still really into Marvel, and I drew a ton of fanart and made fics.

-I recently also started seriously watching Supernatural (I know I know, I’m super late to the party lmao), and Castiel is already my favorite from the stuff I’ve seen even though I’m only on season 2.

-I improved my art a lot! I have art block super bad rn, but I’ll try to post some stuff I did before I reached a standstill.

-I texted the boy I like and we are now best friends (are we in a relationship? He says he loves me but you tell me bro idk)!

-I found a toad :] also a wren built a nest in my garage and laid eggs!! She’s gonna have babies and I’m gonna be an aunt!!! :DD

-I hung out with the neighbor’s cat Princess, and we’re homies now.

-I also hung out with the really old lady next door. She’s 97 and she still mowes her yard at full speed. She freakin Tokyo drifts that thing. Her name is Mary btw :) I brought her trash can back this morning and she screamed thank you at me from the second story porch XD

-I dyed my hair pink! Idk whether to call that a sign of mental stability or mental instability but it looks badass.

-I bought a lot of Marvel shirts! I’m wearing one right now it has Doctor Strange on it and it’s kinda dorky and 90s looking. Which kinda makes sense cause I bought it from hot topic ://

-I made another oc and revamped some of my old ones.

Here’s the toad I found:

Umm yea that’s all I can think of. Anyway, I’m back...? I love you guys thanks for being there for me :]