#save the sweetest girl in the whole colony

[spotsupstuff]

What happened to suns?

NSH: This man has done irrepairable damage to my mental facilities. That's a crime, y'know?! Messin' up an Iterator's noggin cogs??? They are a *filthy* criminal.

serious answer: a sequence of unfortunate events, basically. idk how long you've been here so i'll start from the beginning

Suns is a very early Gen 2 Iterator. the jump between the 1st n the 2nd Generation went physically very smoothly, but when it comes to the more subtle aspects of a person, it went worse. early Gen 2s r known for bein bad with emotions (the other Iterator that is like that that shows up is Fish. he's rather emotionally crass and unwieldy)

Suns scored the worst possible lottery result while spinning the early Gen 2 emotion capability wheel and their emotional skill and ability to produce the stuff in the first place is in the single digits. they are very conscious of this fault of theirs and instead of doing something more productive with it more often, they rather spend their single digit emotion capability on bemoaning and despising this fault

they do come to Nish for help with it, basically have therapy sessions with him (Nish is the most emotion-capable Iterator in like... Ever) and they do put up a front of this cool, chill, amazing guy persona around themselves to get better accepted by the other Iterators (all of them except Gen 3s know that this cool guy thing is a ruse though. they appreciate the effort however). so they kinda awkwardly fake emotions n go on through their life. this persona is who Pebbles ultimately decided to look up to as his mentor btw. it was never really the real Suns, only maybe some glimpses of it

next unfortunate event shows up first mentioned in my old big headcanon post for the canon Iterators:

(Suns is built quite close to the south pole, though the summer months can still get stupid hot)

at some point i started headcanoning that my Suns has very slow processing time. like absolute Shit reflex time. like

this is canon ☝

n then i put these two headcanons Together ✨ so basically: because of the lack of emotional capability, Suns feels a big need to compensate for stuff. even though the Solis colony is one of the sweetest and kindest colonies out there, they felt like they need to give More. so they started running hotter for the sake of their citizens. but yanno, periodic basically overheating is going to cause damage to hardware shit, not to mention the poor fauna that makes up an Iterator Hivemind. and that's how Suns damaged their processing speed

now as to why i say Suns would go offline in the post-mass ascension off string au: they are falling apart at the seams. torturously slow, but terribly. they are rotting alive- but not in the same way as Pebbles, it's not THE Rot. it's just... a rot. natural decay, not godly cancer. their nickname in DMs between me n shkiki is literally mr. Decay cuz of this

because of a combo of their slow processing time, their location (snowstorms + changing temperatures that go into extremes on pretty much both sides of the spectrum) and their pre-occupation with Pebbles related matters, Suns got yo normal booboo and didn't treat it and when they finally directed attention to themselves, a good portion of them has already decayed including the puppet

yes, they are That wigged that they didn't notice one of their most important parts rotting alive while even using it. this whole thing i refer to as hot girl summer arc btw

after Spears' campaign (they notice they have an infection during the slug's journey back to them) Suns is so fucked up over everything that they just go "Fuck it. why try anymore. i won't fight this. at least i feel *something* rather than nothing, i suppose. i deserve this." and allow their condition to only worsen and don't tell people about it

in the time of the Hunter's campaign i can imagine that they'd be so caked in all of this shit, all physically, emotionally and mentally, that they just wouldn't try at all to save themselves

and fact is, the others will try to help them. especially Wind will. but at some point a person needs to recognize that nothing is going to go anywhere if the other party refuses to put in any effort into getting better too and only drags the innocent one down right along with themselves

[blubrrychef]

Ok ok so my personal Francis 2 (Scarlet Milkman) and Francis 1 headcanons (they are canon to me because. I kin them.)

Francis 2

Incredibly cat-like. He can purr and he kneads with his hands and he likes laying in sunbeams

This is more of a general doppleganger headcanon but he is a bacteria animating a human corpse, so if he doesn't get a steady stream of food he'll have a very short lifespan

He tried to join The Colony (a group of more sentient dopples) but they kicked him out because they had enough people. He ended up going to the apartment because he was desperate for shelter. Francis 1 ended up letting him in and now he lives there!

His favorite foods are grapes, flapjacks with syrup, and pot pie (in that order)

He acts childish but he is a full grown man. He is just so happy to be alive and have the opportunity to exist. Sweetest guy around.

He likes planes. For. Reasons.

He/they lesbian king hell yeah

Francis 1

HE MISSES HIS WIFE TAILS HE MISSES HER A LOT

He has had really bad depression almost his whole life and it makes communication really hard for him

He is incredibly blunt, but that can also make him really sweet if he likes you

He is awfully cuddly he needs someone to hold him

Personally I do headcanon that he and Nacha were married for a few years but she got fed up with him not telling her anything so she ended it. He still regrets everything.

He used to deliver milk to the neighborhood the apartment is in. He no longer delivers milk there by his own request for. Un Nacha related reasons

Being a girl could save him.

(// I FORGOT YOUR @ BUR I KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND TO THAT I SAY I LOVE YOU /p

your francis 1 headcanons are ON TOP. lord i am so!!!!! /pos

you don’t know how HAPPY i am seeing the last hc for both of them . .

bigender/femme francis my beloved 👅 transneu he/they lesbian doppel francis my second beloved.

HOLDS YOU BY THE SHOULDRWS. THANKJ YOU FOR SHARING THIS HOLY SHIT I LOVE IT /gen)

[hollymbryan]

Blog Tour: Top 5 Reasons to Read CITY OF VICIOUS NIGHT by Claire Winn! #tbrbeyondtours

Hello and welcome to Book-Keeping! I’m happy today to be hosting a spot on the TBR and Beyond Tours blog + bookstagram tour for the conclusion to the Requiem Dark duology by Claire Winn, City of Vicious Night! I’ve got all the details below, plus my top 5 reasons to read the book/series.

About the Book

title: City of Vicious Night (Requiem Dark #2) author: Claire Winn publisher: Flux release date: 23 May 2023

For the most hated crew on Requiem, the only way out is up. It’s been four months since runaway heiress Asa crash-landed on the matriarchal outlaw colony Requiem, bringing a nasty AI and a host of deadly secrets with her. Now, she runs with her almost-girlfriend Riven’s smuggler crew, stealing kisses between gunfights and heists. But when a mysterious hacker sabotages their latest job, other gangs turn against them, blaming them for the destruction the rogue AI caused. Nowhere in the city is safe. The only way to protect their crew is a series of trials for control of an underworld faction–and vying for a matriarch’s throne is a dream Riven can’t let go. But as the trials intensify, the saboteur hounds Asa and Riven’s every step, determined to kill Asa and right her father’s wrongs. When the saboteur reveals a horrific conspiracy threatening all of Requiem–one involving the crew member they thought they’d lost–the girls must decide whether to risk their own skins for a city that loathes them.

Content Warning: death, violence, body horror, references of sexual assault

Add to Goodreads: City of Vicious Night (Requiem Dark #2) Purchase the Book: Amazon | B&N | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Claire Winn spends her time immersed in other worlds—through LARP, video games, books, nerd conventions, and her own stories. Since graduating from Northwestern University, she’s worked as a legal writer and freelance editor. Aside from writing, she builds cosplay props and armor, tears up dance floors, and battles with boffer swords.

Connect with Claire: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Facebook

Top 5 Reasons to Read

I had wanted to read the first book in this duology, City of Shattered Light, since it came out but hadn’t done so yet, so I loved getting to binge this series for this tour! What amazing fun this set is! Below are my top 5 reasons to read City of Vicious Night, which really goes for the whole series, just FYI.

1. These books are such a great example of both sisterhood and the power of female friendships. Asa would do absolutely anything to save her sister Kaya, and book 2 really digs deeper into their sisterhood.

2. We have an incredible group of misfits and outlaws that are an amazing example of why I love the found family trope so much! Riven, Asa, Ty, Samir, Diego, Kaya...I love them all separately but together they’re unstoppable!

3. I love the LGBTQ+ rep in this series; kind of like in the best TV show ever, Schitt’s Creek, it’s just a version of the world in which people are what they are and love who they love and there’s not really any need for explanation or justification.

4. We’ve got heists and deadly competitions -- in space! Enough said.

5. AI, cybernetics, and spaceships, oh my! Seriously, everything we love about cyberpunk sci-fi is here and I just love the world Claire Winn has created with this series.

Really there are more reasons to read this (both kick-butt and ridiculously smart women, budding romance, the sweetest pup) but these are my top 5. I hope you’ll check out the Requiem Dark duology today! Both books were 5-star reads for me.

**Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of this tour.

Make sure you check out the Bookstagram tour too! You can find my post here, and the full schedule is here.

[galrakythel]

voltron s7 liveblogging

episode 1:

so?????? keith wasn’t raised by shiro? of course

keith is so adorable

did he say the emo kid’s doing it???!?!?

dalterion belt? so the older paladins were in the same area of space?

krolia knows keith loves shiro alsjdalksdja

coran is so ridiculous i love him

oh my god honey i shrunk the kids

and then altean linguistics omg

ooooooo so keith and shiro didn’t know each other OOOO so he didn’t raise him i see

holy shit keith and shiro are wonderful omg

but he made that jump to save shiro

but what’s kieth’s dad’s name???

omggggg shiro’s chronically ill this show is something else

yooooooooo adam you in the wrong man

keith never left you shiro, he loves you

romelle is so cute

episode 2:

yo matt is still in space where are you man

okay i’m gonna say it, but i’m wary of romelle

krolia is so annoyed right now i love her

yo is krolia gonna see kolivan???

cosmic wolf is the sweetest space dog ever

so someone got a hold of Lotor’s tech.... so haggar/honerva???

hmmmm pirates?? that stole galra tech and equipment

lance and keith’s teamwork is amazing

yooooo mama krolia protecting her boys

how did romelle take that guy out

you’ve got to be kidding me

these girls can’t work with anyone

episode 3:

coran is still in the black lion

yo this crew looks to be all made of galra hybrids yo

zethrid is so gay, ezor is so gay, and they are gay together

acxa whoa babeeeeeeeeeeee you look so good

acxa got cute ass horns

she’s always been sweet on the one with the flippity hair lmfao wowwwwww ezor

holy hell is this show going with acxa/keith now omfg i love it

acxa is so hot i’m dying

three years ago??!??!!?!?!?!

got damn

episode 4:

yoooo this season is all over the fucking place omg

omg it’s saw

keith is fucking adorable

this episode is cray 

zarkon is so cute

what the hell is going on omfg “the dumb one”

omg antok ANTOK YOU BUTT

LOTOR TOO CUTE

wt flying f

haggar snack pack omfg

aslkdjaslkcjoiasjlkdasjd

why does keith always have to do his model pose lmao

episode 5:

yooooo krolia taking care of her kids i love her

kolivan please let it be kolivan

let krolia be reunited with her people

askdjsalkdjasdkajdlasj where are the fucking BLADES?!?!?!?!

are you fucking saying that all these people are fucking ddead

kolivan is dead? are you fuck waittttttt

holy shittttttttttt no way holy fucking hell what the hell just happened

keith you gotta save your entire family again

yo thse druids are fucking scary

so haggar has exiled people what???

allura baby you are the best

let kolivan live please

krolia my sweet peach

episode 6:

what in the hell

these guys cant catch a fucking break yo

lemme say that no sleep keith looks hot as fuck so yeah

they hallucinating

hunk saving the day again

so this thing has been hunting them for ever, angler fish style

these kids need a vacation jfc

episode 7:

i can just feel from “part 1″ that this is gonna be intense

where the hell is matt????

damn sendak done fucked up 

let’s see what the hell happens with this garrison

colleen gonna kill these ppl

garrison being shady as usual

sam preach baby preach

but you literally just let the blue lion go, iverson

LMFAO these graduates lmfao

yo though, they all just went through all this resistance and then the galra just dropkicked them???!?!!

colleen is the real mvp

omg the family videos

admiral got her ass handed to her yo

episode 8:

is sendak behind it

yupppp

yoooo he’s got nothing else to do with his time, like just retire my man. get married to some dude, have som children and shut up

iverson yooooooooooooooooooo

is that adam doing what he does best, telling ppl what to do

wowwwwwwww listen to holt

world war 3

veronica??????? is that lance’s sister????

I KNEW ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

episode 9:

everybody be fitting into those things

keith is so pissed right now

omg this is so hearbreaking tbh

their whole planet is just like every other one that theyve liberated before

omg these ppl and they families

keith is such a good boy

this giffin kid is sooooo fucking annoying. he antagonizes everyone

keith and hunk omgggggggggg

these characters have all come such a long way

a royal galran?!?!?!?!!? lmao okay sendak

episode 10:

yo shiro’s knew fucking arm is boss

damn i love the way lance interacts with his sister

sendak has earth locked down holy shit

veronica lmfao

why the hell is he doing this, never mind keith answered

........

where the hell has romelle been these past few meetings and such

and didn’t kolivan say that the altean colony was empty?????

is the romelle theory correct?!??!?!?!?!

allura and lance yessssssssss

yo something weird is going on and i’m not really sure what is happening

they were ready for you bcause there is someone on the inside

ROMELLE

THE FUCKING ADMIRAL WTF

i dont understand your whole planet is going to be killed and you’re okay with that

wow what a fucking traitor

episode 11:

these kids gonna go through another fucking trial

lmfao the admiral thought

she thought yo, she thought

but seriously where the hell is romelle?

yo coran i love you, the castleship is going to power the atlas woot woot

shiro is all grown up, captain shirogane, i love you

shiro, fire when ready, yeah fire into my gay ass

but seriously, where the FUCK is ROMELLE?

remotely. they are remotely controlling them. i love it.

welp snitches get stitches 

episode 12:

another part one

i think sendak is just jelly he didint get a chance ot pilot the red lion for zarkon lmao

lmfao yes they will

sendak has already stated he doesnt give a shit about people

but like after this is all said and done theres still going to be a power vacuum within the galra society. this isn’t gonna be over

shiro is so bae when he’s dishing out orders omg

this boy better not die i cant lose him

stop making shiro suffer jfc

shiro better be okay, let shiro retire please

yo showdown since season one

keith saving his husband. AGAIN.

episode 13:

haggar or comet???

oh nooooooo its fucking lotor

or zarkon?

or? who?????!?!?

okay so my guesses: haggar, lotor, or zarkon.... or...

ROMELLE! lmao

part of me really feels like it may be haggar because she had spent her time in some kind of quintessence field but idk

it felt like the komar

it’s haggar omg

it’s fucking haggar who else uses magic like that

wow they cant catch a break

OMFG

omg shay came to visit

kolivan and krolia yooooooooo

acxa yooooooo

haggar took those alteans yo

now let these people rest

[dismalzelenka]

20 Questions

@buttsonthebeach tagged me in the getting to know you meme, but since I did that one recently I took the liberty of breaking the rules and finding another tag meme to answer instead. >:Dc

1. One thing you would change in your personality?

The constant undercurrent of social anxiety that renders me completely unable to speak coherently at the worst possible moments. I would love to have steady employment, social anxiety. Please stop cockblocking my job status. :^)

2. What is your DA rare pair?

MARIAN HAWKE AND RALEIGH SAMSON

GO RAID MY AO3, MY KIRKWALL TRASH HEAPS ARE WAITING

Sweetest Downfall

Arms Around the Past

3. A song that made you cry?

Passage by Vienna Teng. I've never had a song get me completely unglued on the last six words before this.

4. The best movie ever?

Love, Actually.

Fight me.

5. Food you will never eat?

C I L A N T R O >:(

6. Your celebrity crush?

Felicia Day. Mark of the Assassin DESTROYED me. 😅

7. Your favorite DA location and why?

Vigil's Keep. Because like. You're the head dumpster fire, in charge of recruiting more dumpster fires, and also you're apparently running an Arling that you never asked for and you have to deal with all these shitty nobles all the time but YOUR DUMPSTER FIRES are all right there beside you and you have the best papa dumpster fire ever who kicks nobles out of your dumpster fire house when you're tired of partying and basically it's this tiny fucked up little family and you all stumble down to breakfast in the morning in various states of hung over except for that one dwarf guy who's probably still drunk, you eat your eggs and toast in cranky silence, and then you go be big goddamn heroes.

....I really loved Awakening ok. Fite me.

8. You’re a night or a morning person?

I'm like a "night but the part of night where it's technically morning right up til morning" kind of person.

9. You have any tattoos?

Yus.

Nobody sigil from Kingdom Hearts wrapped in a treble clef between my shoulder blades.

A design of Helios on my left upper arm with "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" underneath it because House Martell prideeee.

The Arabic word for "cat" on my left forearm, drawn to look like a cat.

I'm saving up for a griffon tattoo and maybe a stylized one of "can I get you a ladder so you can get off my back?" :3

10. How many languages you speak?

Fluent in English. Can understand Korean fairly well, but can't speak it quite as easily. Basic fluency in Italian. I can read it much better that I can speak it.

11. Where would you most like to visit?

The mountains in South Korea. I was born there and I've only ever been back to Seoul and a village on the outskirts where my grandparents lived. I want to spend like a week or so out there under the stars. ❤️

12. What’s the best book you’ve read?

The Poisonwood Bible.

So I was forced to read this in high school. And I went to a Baptist high school, so of course when I saw this summary of it I immediately went "oh fuck no."

"The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, is a bestselling novel about a missionary family, the Prices, who in 1959 move from the U.S. state of Georgia to the village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo, close to the Kwilu River."

Like. I was FULLY prepared to grit my teeth and spark notes another goddamn glorified colonialism story.

And then I read the damn thing.

And y'all this book is FUCKED UP. That missionary family? It's told from the POV of all of the daughters as they watch their father get more and more fanatical and abusive, as they struggle with culture shock, NONE of them wanted to be here, the majority of them slowly start to lose their faith and abandon their religion.

One of the girls is very clearly neurodivergent, but she's not really written as a character you're supposed to feel sorry for, and she's a total badass.

It has its problematic elements, but I think the fact that it's now seared indelibly into my brain is because I was 100% expecting a fucked up pro missionary story and ended up finding a story of the shit that happens to everyone else in the periphery of said pro missionary stories.

Was incredibly surprised to have read this in my AP Lit class at a Baptist high school, but goddamn, it shook me.

13. Who is your favourite BioWare character?

A N D E R S

Anders is my boy. I will ride or die for Anders. Anders was right. Fuck the Chantry. F I T E M E.

Bonus: fine Dwarven crafts, direct from Orzammar

14. Who’s your least preferred BioWare character?

Going to stick to Dragon Age because I'm too tired to rummage through my brain for other fandoms. And there's so many people I hate in Mass Effect. Hah.

Anyway. Livius Erimond kind of grinded my gears a lot, so much so that in my first mage playthrough I pissed off a ton of people and made him Tranquil. Like. My entire inner circle disapproved, it was fucking amazing. I'll never be able to make myself do it again because I felt so dirty after that I literally had to pause the game and take a shower, but man. Erimond is really good at pressing buttons.

15. What’s your favourite game?

Dragon Age Inquisition and Mass Effect 3. And Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark. Valen Shadowbreath was my first bioware love.

16. What’s your spirit animal patronus?

According to Pottermore it's a dragonfly but I'm pretty sure it's actually a cat.

Going with patronus instead of spirit animal because I've been asked to avoid appropriating that term as someone who is not of Native ancestry, and so I shall. Respect indigenous cultures. ✌️❤️

17. Cake or ice cream?

Fine Dwarven cakes, direct from Orzammar. Preferably almond or Chantilly. :D

18. Dogs or cats?

🐈 Kitties 🐈

19. What was your favourite DA romance?

3 Way Tie (although this could change since I haven't done all of them myself.)

Anders - because his whole arc is just so FUCK THE CHANTRY and he's such a Good Person who is Struggling and at the end of the day he's a soft feathery boy who loves you and cares about making people not hurt anymore and also is into some wild shit in bed and also loves cats. Let's be mentally ill cuddly softs together, Anders, I will give you my everything always, my soft feathery mage boy. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Leliana - soft but stabby song princess becomes the pope and her devoted girlfriend wife swoons quietly through all of it.

Cullen - weirdly enough, I did not expect to enjoy this romance as much as I did. I kind of hated him in the first two games, like when I ran into him in 2 I still hadn't forgiven him for the "KILL ALL THE MAGES" outburst and was just like. "Ugh it's this motherfucker." And then I saw him again in Inquisition and was like WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHITHEAD DOING HERE? HE'S FIRED. FIRE HIM, CASSANDRA.

But then Cassandra never reciprocated my affections, Blackwall yelled at me on the battlements about propriety and we're at war so I dumped him, and then Vivienne turned me down and I was like FINE FUCK ALL Y'ALL I'M GONNA SMOOCH CULLEN OUT OF SPITE.

And then he's all like. "I went through some shit. I said some really fucked up stuff. Also I'm trying to get clean and it's literally killing me but I don't want anything to do with that old life anymore." And the chess scene, and then me getting really personally enraged at all the Orlesians copping nonconsensual feels at Halamshiral and then I woke up one day and was like wow OK this dude's alright, he's even kind of cute, I guess I can-

"marry me?" "OKAY YES."

*shrug* I'm weak.

20. Do you prefer sunshine or are you a winter person?

Sunshine in winter, ideally, but if I have to choose between one or the other, winter.

Anyway. I broke rules, oops. Gonna tag @sasshole-for-rent @suzumicchi @joufancyhuh @laraslandlockedblues @becauseanders @inner-muse @ladymdc @agentkatie @kawakaeguri @a-shakespearean-in-paris @ekoorb03 @lyrium-lovesong @5ftgarden

[sun-avenue]

odinson.tales.//.01.

{this is an attempt to write thor:ragnarok fiction as if it was a sit-com.}

                                                             _

“Hi. (Should I start it like that? Maybe I’ll change it. Anyway. REMINDER: change it!) My name is Thor Odinson, and I know you’re all interested in facts about my life, but before we get into that, there are a few people I’d like to introduce to you first, as a way of getting to know the real me.

My mom passed away a few years ago, when I was younger. I don’t remember much, but what I do remember is that she had the sweetest voice and warmest smile. She used to sing lullabies for me and my brother, and she remains, to this day, the greatest woman I’ve ever known. After that, things got kind of hazy, but I’m sure dad tried (and still tries) his best. He’s called Odin – and I’m Odin-son. Get it? Odin’s?son? Bet you didn’t see that coming, right? From what I’ve heard in those stories mother used to tell us before bed, our people were a kind of a big deal at the beginning of civilization in Europe. As far as I know, years later they were absolutely destroyed after finding themselves war after war against powerful countries (you know how it works, colonialism, am I right?) but our culture still lives in us.

Like I was saying, Odin tries his best. He’s a good father in his own way, and I’m sure his harsh tone is only to protect us from ourselves, despicable kids, as he’d like to say. Even though he spends most of his time out of the house as the hardcore workaholic he is, I don’t really mind: I know his goal is to provide for his family and to keep his business running the best way possible. Deep down I know he has a good heart.

You must be wondering: no mother, father only gets home to sleep… You’d think I’d be the loneliest kid around, right? Totally the opposite of the personality I’m trying to sell you (we’ll get there, eventually). You see: there’s more to this story. That’s where my siblings come in.

Hela is my older sister. The thing about her is that she’s always mad about something, but I’m afraid to mention that because once I asked her if she was at that time of the month and she literally pushed me in the face. But don’t worry, I would never, ever, use physical force against anyone. I don’t even know how to fight! I’m already regretting even mentioning punches at all. Moving on. Physically, Hela looks a lot like me – blonde hair, blue eyes, dashing smile (so I’ve been told). Except that one time when she was 17 and she died her hair black and only wore smoky eyes with lots and lots of eyeliner. I guess she was going through a phase. Dad hated it, so I think that’s why at that time she looked like she was living her best life. The black hair is long gone now, but if you ask me, I still catch her listening to Panic! at the Disco sometimes. Quite a lot, actually. Hela is in college, but she still lives with us, for her own disgrace (in her own words, all she ever wanted was to get out of here). Dad says he’s not going to pay extra money for her to move out, and since she doesn’t even have a job, there’s not much she can do about that. Besides, her college is literally 1 hour and a half from our house. With traffic.

Skip one kid (me) at our timeline and you’ll get my younger brother, Loki. You see, this part of the history is complicated: he’s actually adopted. But you know sometimes I forget about that? He’s as much family as Hela is to me. Mom loved us equally, and I still remember the careful way she held Loki in her arms when he arrived at our house, small as a button. It always made mom sad when we fought – and while growing up we used to fight a lot. Loki was a little devil in disguise, he could fool mom, Hela, and even dad sometimes, but he couldn’t fool me. And Loki as a kid loved to use his pretty face and cute smile to get away with situations he was pretty much the only responsible for. Once, he put his snake under my bed and I woke up to that thing crawling upon me. That wasn’t nice.

You can see I’m a survivor – not thanks to Loki. But even after arguments, lots of yelling and crying and Dad losing his mind with both of us, we couldn’t live without each other. He’s my little brother and he’s a terrible one but I love him either way.

Oh, and in case you’re still wondering: just like Hela’s black hair, the snake is gone now.

And then there’s me. Saving the best for last, am I right?

I’m Thor. I’m the middle one. Besides that, you can also classify me as: the pretty one, the smart one, the strong one. I have the looks, but I also have the heart, and the knowledge. My family is great, and they made me the man I am today, but there’s a reason why I deserve this chance, and I hope you understand the reasons why I should be the chosen one. With this opportunity I would –”

“Oh my God. No. No. I can’t. This is LAME. This is pure bullshit.”

“What the hell, dude?? I’m not even at the half of it. There’s still like 3 pages left to read!”

 Hela rolled her blue eyes so hard she could probably see the wall facing her back right now. Thor continued to give her an annoyed look, his letter still on hand. Loki remained quiet.

“If this is your actual admission letter to college I’m so sorry to be the one to break the news, but you will die without a degree.” The older sister said, unbothered.

Thor groaned in distress. “How did you do it? I have absolutely nothing good to say about myself. Except for the fact that yes I’m really pretty and my body is smoking hot but that’s what the 3 remaining pages are all about.”

Loki sighed. It was too early in the morning for that and he’d like to stay away from the silly drama, if possible.

“Jesus Christ. Get your head out of your ass. Go read some Shakespeare. Educate yourself.” Hela insisted, but she knew it was useless. Her brother was clueless and there was nothing in this world that could make him stay focused on something for more than 10 minutes that it wasn’t himself and himself only. It made him look like an egocentric son of a bitch sometimes, but they all knew he didn’t do it on purpose and that he meant well. He was just really, really spoiled. The more Hela considered that, the more she hated their father. Fuck Odin and his nerve to give everything and a little more for his only, true son.

Thor turned to Loki for the first time since they reunited at the kitchen table to have breakfast, their father long gone to another day of work.

“What do you think?”

Loki didn’t bother to look up at Thor, his eyes still on the cup of coffee in front of him.

“I think you’re an idiot.”

“Fair enough.”

“And I think I should’ve let Tanny the Snake suffocate you when she had the chance.” Loki said, finally taking a sip of his cup, as if it meant nothing to him to plan his brother’s death.

Hela snorted.

“Hey. Be nice.” She warned him, but the smile in her lips proved she couldn’t care less about Loki getting on Thor’s nerves.

                                                            _

Thor, Valkyrie and Bruce have been best friends as long as they can remember. It all started when they were all seven, going to the same school and living on the same street. It all happened pretty much because of it, really, since they had nothing in common. It just felt like destiny. Besides, Hela never wanted to play (she was always insulting boys and their manners anyway) and Loki was too busy being a wicked little boy and trying to prank his older brother. Thor didn’t really have any other choice other than socialize with the girl who sited next to him at History class who never smiled and the smart boy with funny glasses who always offered to help him with homework. Now, 10 years later, Val still only gets to smile when watching other people suffer and Bruce still wears funny glasses, but they’re don’t remember how it was to live a life without each other.

“So, guess whose father is not going to be at home the whole weekend because of a business trip?”

“Your father’s never home, how is that supposed to be a big deal?”

Thor forced a serious expression, even though he knew it wasn’t a big deal. He was pretty sure he’d seen the lady from the cafeteria who just served him lunch more times this year than his own father.

“I’m going to tell you why this time is a big deal, Bruce. Are you ready for it?” He asked, making sure Bruce and Val were paying full attention to him and neglecting the plates with food in front of them. “PARTY AT THOR’S!! FRIDAY NIGHT, MY PLACE. IT’S ON FACEBOOK. BRING YOUR OWN ALCOHOL.” Thor shouted the last part, trying to get everyone’s attention in the room. If he was going to throw a party as a senior, it had to be the most epic party this school had ever seen, so of course everyone should be there to see it.

He just invited the whole school and he had zero regrets.

“Are you kidding me?” Valkyrie asked, mouth full of rice, staring at everyone around her grabbing their phones just like they were in one of those tv shows where text messages were a big deal, so cellphones were always on scene. They were definitely searching for Thor on Facebook to get his address. She could tell by the way they moved their fingers and by the excitement in their faces – getting an invitation from Thor himself to a party at his house was a big deal.

Thor was known for his parties and for all the stories people had to tell Monday morning about what really happened at his place. It all started during Student Election, when Thor wanted to be Class President and, even though he was very likable, not everyone knew him. But because he was loved by those who knew him – ladies wanted him, boys wanted to be him, etc., etc., that stupid cliché -, one day at the beginning of high school he decided to use that in his favor: Party at Thor’s, as he liked to call it, was born. His friends invited a few friends, who invited other friends, and, after a few months, Party at Thor’s became a famous thing. He got the attention he needed to become class president and people got stories to tell. It was a win-win situation.

“Oh God, not again…” Bruce murmured to himself, staring at his food. The poor guy hated social interaction and crowded places. He made it all look really painful and it was almost like he was afraid he might explode by communicating with someone or something. Sometimes Val felt bad for him: while growing up, being Thor’s best friend (who was an attention slut) was sometimes hard, especially for Bruce. Now, at present day, Val didn’t really mind – if there was free beer she was alright with it. But Bruce didn’t work like that, and she knew it was going to be a long, long Friday night in two days, because she felt morally compelled to stay with her socially awkward best friend the whole time.

If Thor heard anything about Bruce’s complaint, he pretended that he didn’t.

“Guys, it’s going to be amazing. I’m betting is going to be the best Party at Thor’s ever!”

“Please stop repeating your name in third person, it’s weird.” Val said, to which Thor just replied with a playful look.

“No, listen – everyone’s going to be there, we’ll be celebrating our senior year and free booze! Ugh, it’s going to be a blast. I think I’ve outdone myself this time. Oh! Hela’s not attending any classes this weekend, I bet I can ask her to help me with-“

“Hela’s going to be there?”

The air around them suddenly changed. Valkyrie’s heart skipped a beat, and she had to focus hard not to punch the table they were all sited at. Bruce looked at her face and made sure to place his hand at her knee, in a silently attempt to calm her down. Bruce, bless his soul, always knew how to calm someone down. He could feel rage and anger from miles away. Even though it wasn’t enough to make Val feel better after hearing Hela’s name, she was grateful for him. Suddenly she didn’t feel too bad about not enjoying the party as much as she wanted to if that means to spend more time with her nerdy friend.

Thor had always been clueless about pretty much every aspect in his life, so he didn’t notice the way Val’s face twisted like she was in pain, nor Bruce trying to calm her down.

“Hm, yeah, she’s at home this weekend. Don’t worry, we’ll still have our privacy, she’s always locked in her bedroom anyway.”

 Valkyrie didn’t reply. Her eyes were fixed somewhere else, burning the wall in front of her even though there was nothing there to see. Bruce turned to look at her and he was almost 100% sure she was thinking about at least 5 different scenarios about how to kill your best friend’s big sister.

“Sounds awesome.” Bruce finally said, forcing a fake smile.

Thor replied with a wink, and, as he returned to ramble about all the things he had to prepare until Friday night, Bruce could not help but think about all the ways that party could go wrong.