#should figure out some way to move my 'here's why the 'Mel is a manipulative bitch' narrative is

[tacticalgrandma]

Looking in the Mel Medarda tag & seeing “Mel represents privilege & Piltover & [doesn’t actually say slut but] while Viktor represents Goodness & Virtue” takes & knowing I’m not going to be physically safe on this site when s2 comes out

[purplesunrisefanfic]

A long-ass defence of the unsexy sex scene between Abby and Owen.

(No pictures of it are included here because gross)

So, at the risk of alienating pretty much everyone who follows me, I actually think **that** scene with Abby and O🤢🤢n is a worthwhile storytelling element, and I see why that scene was included but not a Dina/Ellie one. (Even though “I wish things were different.”)

With Dina/Ellie, they love each other, they have a fairly healthy relationship, they have chemistry. Everything that, story-wise, needs to be shown can be (and was) shown without needing a full sex scene. Yeah, I would really like to see a sex scene between them, for sure, but I can’t pretend that because I think there’s vital story elements hidden in there. Not at all because, let’s be honest, we KNOW they had great sex. No one who wants that scene wants it because they’re wondering if they had good sex or not, we want it because we wanna see some great sex.

You‘re not seriously doubting that I’m good in bed, are you?

I’m not dissing us for that, representation matters, and I think Neil made a HUGE error of judgement when he spoke about a sex scene in a context where we’d all assume it was Dina/Ellie. (And that was a moment of terrible judgment that I would be classing as queerbaiting has it not been for the SO FUCKING MUCH groundbreakingly excellent representation in Part 2. In this case, I think it was an example of how even when you work really hard at things you can still make mistakes, still be thoughtless to how much impact you can accidents have on a representation-starved group. And yeah, it’s not easy to let him off the hook for something that important to me, but I do think he’s done enough overall to earn an assumption of good faith here. Not least because I don’t really don’t think anyone’s purchase actually hinged on whether we saw a Dina/Ellie sex scene vs a make out scene and a well-developed queer relationship, and the whole point of queerbaiting is to manipulate us into buying or consuming things we otherwise wouldn’t.)

But to get back to the main point, I think it’s important to recognise that we don’t wish we’d had that scene because we feel like there’s something vital to the story that we don’t know for not seeing it. We have good reasons for wanting that scene, but thinking that we missed out on some vital characterisation, relationship or story elements isn’t one of them.

Now, the sex scene that we do see is very different. First thing I wanna say is that this isn’t a sex scene that only lesbians or people who dislike Owen find to be uncomfortable. I’ve seen some critiques where I feel like a gulf might have opened up with that. Where it’s maybe kinda of assumed that if you are into that type of sex and don’t hate Owen, then that’s an equivalent to the Dina/Ellie scene that we didn’t get, and it’s NOT. Dina and Ellie having sex for the first time is a situation that opens a door (a door which then walk through with them in other ways, such as the small moments of love and bonding that we see portrayed so beautifully) while Abby/Owen having sex for the last time is a scene about reaching a dead end. It’s about realising that the past is a dead end. It’s a scene that I’ve not seen anyone, even people who didn’t find it uncomfortable, describe as sexy.

Abby has dwelled on the past for four years. She trained herself up to kill Joel. She took no notice of what she was doing and who she was becoming in the present because all she thought about was the past. She ended up “top Scar killer” without really noticing (though that point is more my subjective opinion than the other points here, but I see no evidence she was proud or that or even really trying to achieve that). She killed kids and parents ruthlessly without paying any mind to her own morals or whether she even wanted to be a Wolf at all, because she was living in the past, getting whatever the job in the present was done without asking any questions because her head was never there. Everything she did as a Wolf was just a means to survive long to find Joel and be in a position to kill him when she did.

Eventually, as we know, she does find and kill Joel, and the experience doesn’t give her any of the closure she imagined. Her friendship groups fracture, her self-image is damaged, and she’s now both without closure and without purpose. But she still hasn’t quite figured out why. She hasn’t yet realised that dwelling on the past is the problem. Her ex is still in the picture, an ex that she lost “because of Joel” (in the sense that the main tensions we see in their relationship are linked to Abby’s dedication to revenge).

So caught up in revenge through 4 formative years of life, she’s not had the space to develop in ways she likely would have otherwise. She hasn’t moved past the idyllic childhood sweethearts idea, she’s not moved on to thinking about what she actually wants and needs in a partner. She’s not even noticed that her friends have moved on to more adult relationships, relationships where you might settle down with children, until she’s shocked into that realisation by the news that Mel is pregnant. (This is similar to a point Druckmann has made in an interview.)

Even then, the way she talks about suggests she’s still struggling with seeing the present clearly. She talks about it (especially to herself in Jackson) as if they are still teens, as they are 16ish and should have been more careful. There’s ample evidence, in my interpretation, that Abby’s ability to notice the present, to notice change, and to grow up herself has been near-stunted for the 4 years between Jerry’s death and Joel’s death.

So when she has sex with Owen, it’s another way of looking back. It’s another attempt to look for a future in her past, and I think that to really see and understand just how much she has tried to find a future in the past, and how much that has led her to betray her own values, betray her friends, and to be blinkered to the consequences of her own actions and how she finally realises all of this herself, we need to see the sex.

Because the sex is like the receipts. Like the death certificate for the long-overdue passing of her idea that her future can be made good by a fixation on the past.

Say they had had a shitty kiss instead. Well, that could be Owen holding back because he’s torn about Mel. They could be Abby holding back because she’s torn about Mel. If they do anything less than completely betray Mel, then there’s still room for Abby to believe that, if Mel were to suddenly never had existed or whatever, that her and Owen would be 16yo idyllic sweethearts forever.

So they have to totally betray Mel, they have to have clearly and totally disregarded her, for us (and for Abby) to see their relationship clearly. So it has to be sex. And for us to share in that process in Abby’s mind, the realisation that life has moved on, the realisation that her love for him is based on assuming nothing much has changed in 4 years when it has, the realisation that the past is dead end, we have to be with her for that.

Then we can see how she’s gotten to where she is and how she finally realises that there’s nothing that the past can give her. And then, she’s finally ready to see the present for what it is. She’s finally ready to see that what she does in the present matters, that she can chose whether or not two children live or die, and that she should focus on that. She’s ready to see that Owen was a guy she loved 4 years ago, not a guy she loves today. She’s ready to “Let It Go!(sorry, couldn’t resist!). She’s ready to question whether she’s actually this person who wants to be “top Scar killer.” We’re able to see just how much of herself has been lost on her revenge journey, how she can get on a better path, and why we think she’s worth having that chance. I don’t think that story could come together so richly without the visceral discomfort and the layered realisations that seeing her having (imo terrible, some folks have gone as far as “mediocre” and I’ve genuinely seen no-one rate it any higher) sex with Owen.

Abby: I’d rather watch 10 live amputations and have my own arm amputated than ever have sex with Owen again. In fact, I’d struggle to choose between sex with him and sex with the Rat King at this point.

Yara: I think you should try your luck with fucking the Rat King, can’t be any worse, can it?

Side point: This argument also touches on why I don’t believe that Abby is categorically canonically straight, because her whole arc relies on her being too stuck in the past to consider who she’s actually attracted to in the present. Normally, it’s kinda on the people making the media to show us queerness and not expect us to be satisfied that “well, they could be bisexual because we’ve never said they aren’t,” but I think TLOU does enough in terms of active representation to merit an exception, especially when there’s a strong storytelling reason why we never see anything of what she’s into beyond her childhood sweetheart. (I’m not saying she’s def bi, just that I think saying she’s canonically straight is dicey and that, unlike with almost any other form of media where I’m with y’all in the “straight until otherwise proven” approach, with Abby specifically I find it does give me some of the bi erasure feels that I get all the time irl when people describe her as canonically straight.)

I’m gonna pick Lev up from Scar Island, then find myself a hot woman who likes big arms, boats, and my precious adopted children.

[austerlitzborodinoleipzig]

Seventh Doctor era

Mind you, I have not watched Survival yet. Like with all good food, I’m saving some of it for later. But I’ve seen the rest.

First thought : holy shit that’s good. Perhaps the strongest era of Doctor Who. At least it’s up there with the Capaldi era. But really this is some ridiculously strong stuff, that churns masterpieces after masterpieces. 

Second thought : Yes, Season 24 is the weakest of the bunch, but in no way the disaster fans usually describe. Yes it has two episodes below average. But the other ones are good.

Third thought : In theory Seven’s character should not appeal to me that much. I am extremely fond of morally ambiguous chessmasters, end-justify-means grey eminences, but I don’t think that characterization suits the Doctor. I do like my idiot in a box that relies on improvisation and bullshitting to save his life. I still like Seven a lot. Probably because McCoy does a great job at cutting down the badassery and turning on the charm. Also that’s a bit of variety so that’s nice. 

Fourth thought : Ace was wonderful, as expected. But the biggest surprise was Mel, who I never expected to like as much as I ended up doing. 

Someone please tell me, is there any Big Finish stuff that picks up from when she travels with Glitz?

So here are the McCoys stories, ranked from worst to best 

Time and the Rani : yes that story is rubbish. But not the worst of Doctor Who by a long shot. There are still some good moments to be found. And none of the offensive stuff of, say Tomb of Cybermen or The Celestial Toymaker, so that’s a plus. The Rani pretenting to be Mel for a third of the story is hilarious and Kate O’Mara is delightfully camp. It’s so nice to see Seven at his very beginning, suffering from amnesia, and totally out of his depth. And the Leonians are ridiculous, but provide perhaps the most striking moment of the story : that Leonian skeleton. 

So let me explain. Leonian explodes, and we see his skeleton imprinted in the rocks. The skeleton is at first hilariously bad. And then the Doctor, still being manipulated by the Rani, says “that sad skeleton”. And that just punches me. It’s just a weird and sad, and mournful moment. And after watching Six casually murdering people left and right, that’s a welcome moment. 

Silver Nemesis : the bad apple of the Season 25. Because yes, the Cybermen are boring generic evil robots. And there’s nothing remotely new or interesting in the plot. But Lady Peinforte is great fun, and there are still some awesome moments. Also Ace gets to kill a bunch of Cybermen. 

Dragonfire : yep. I don’t like this one that much. Actually this is a bit of a noble failure, because the story really tries. There’s some cool aesthetics, that iconic cliffhanger, lots of philosophical jokes, and perhaps the most gruesome villain’s death in the show’s history... But to me, it doesn’t quite work. I just found it boring. The plot was boring, and the resolution a bit of a rushed job. But still, yanno, they tried.

And that’s it. That’s the three below-average stories of Seven’s era. 

Delta and the Bannermen : this is a solid one. It’s a lot of fun, mixed with some horrible stuff. People will say the tone is all over the place, but that’s what Doctor Who is about. That’s one of the rare shows where you can get away with that, so enjoy and revel in it. Also it’s so weird? Delta’s baby. Guy eats jelly to turn into basically a space bee.  There’s a mysterious bee-keeper who is also a Doctory-like figure. Also some American spies, for reasons. All this versus space tourists that get disintegrated, while Kurosawa-like alien samuraïs try to genocide another alien race. It’s mad. It’s fun. It’s shocking. And best of all it doesn’t take itself seriously at all. 

Remembrance of the Daleks : I understand the love because it’s well done. The Daleks are scary. And there’s Dark!Seven in it. So it’s objectively good. I just don’t love it. I think I like Daleks stories best when there’s a moral dilemma behind, or at least some questioning behind the plot. Here it’s a bit straightforward : two Dalek factions are fighting, and Earth is in the crossfire, and the Doctor manages to find a way to destroy them all (and what a way). There’s some commentary about fascism in 1960′s Britain. And that discussion about ripples in time. It’s great! I’m just not that interested in what it has to say. 

Paradise Towers : Oh, this is a great one. I love nearly everything about it. It’s a good social satire episode, and a brilliant commentary about housing projects, brutalist architecture and its connection to fascism. Also brutalism is something that fascinates me, mainly because of its endless dystopian possibilities, so that’s right up my alley. The world-building is fascinating. You have that bleak post-apocalyptic society, where abandonned children have formed gangs and have ungoing territorial fights, cannibalistic old women, Nazi caretakers and janitors. There’s some genius decisions, like having all the Kangs have names like Fire-Escape, or Garbage-Bin, because the tower is all they’ve ever known. Sure the main villain’s acting is over the top. But everything else is great. Including Mel and Pex. 

The Happiness Patrol : I love me a good political satire. And I love everything about the aesthetics. The Tardis painted pink. The blues versus the camp. And yes the Kandyman is scary, and a great villain, because he’s a petulant child. The plot is a bit meandering at times, which is why I don’t find it as successfull as the Sun Makers, or Vengeance on Varos. But it’s still damn good. 

And now the remaining episodes are all 10/10 in my book

The Curse of Fenric : I have two minor problems with that story. The first one is the excruciatingly bad accents of the suposed-to-be Soviet soldiers. That just breaks the story whenever they speak. And the big scene between Fenric, Ace and the Doctor, when the Doctor betrays Ace doesn’t quite land for me.

Battlefield : I have raved on and on about how great Battlefield was. I should do a separate post about it. But really it’s so much more than nostalgia UNIT tour and Brigadier hommage, because there’s a whole lot of commentary and criticism aimed at UNIT and the Brig. Mainly it’s a story about how the past had its highs and lows. Like the Brig has its failures, but we love him anyway, and now it’s time to move on. And nostalgia of the past never did any good. Also Brigadier Bamberra. Enough said. 

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy : that episode scared the hell out of me. Also damn great, and so much meta. And anything involving McCoy performing magic tricks is gold. 

Ghost Light : At first the biggest WTF?? But also a story where you need to stop thinking too closely about the plot and just go with the flow, because this is a story that is held together by the images it creates. It’s not so much plot driven, as association driven. And its layers on top of layers on top of layers of metaphors, Victorian Gothic, and ferocious criticism of Victorian society and th British Empire. And to me, the best story of Classic Who. 

[canumoveurseatup-no]

In the Dark (Myself pt.4)

Summary: You and Stephen were now going strong and you couldn’t be happier. Stephen meets up with Steve and they exchange a few words.

Pairing: Stephen Strange x Black!Reader; Steve Rogers x Black!Reader

WC: 3.5k

Warnings: uhm, angst? dark stuff!!! Reader and Steve’s relationship is based off of a toxic situationship I had (Steve’s own dialogue and point of view is based off the other person’s words to me/about me, etc) and like I’ve said in the other parts, I write to cope, especially since this person has tried to come back in my life.

A/N: Glad you guys are still into this series. If you like this, please leave verbal feedback and reblog :)

----------

“He told you he loved you?!,” Mel almost dropped the dirty cups of coffee, “While he was deep in it?,”

“Jesus, Melanie. Why do you always have to phrase things like that?,” you grimaced at her. 

“Y/N. You should know by now that I’m the blunt friend with no filter,” she looks at you and purses her lips, “Anyway, did you say it back?,” 

“N-no,” you give a customer their pie with a complimentary cup of coffee and tell them to enjoy before turning back to her.

“Now that’s what I like to call ‘fucking yikes’“ she widened her eyes, “That’s like him proposing and you saying no,” 

“You just love to blow things out of proportion don’t you?,” you roll your eyes and grab yourself a cookie from the case, “He was totally fine with me not saying it. He told me I don’t have to rush it, looking at my history of love... he said it didn’t matter if I said it in that moment because he just wanted me to know that he loved me,”

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to be saying the ‘L’ word?,” she squints at you, 

“Were you not just low key guilt tripping me for not saying it back? You’re like a Sudoku puzzle, can never figure them out and I hate them,” 

She laughed at you and softly punched you shoulder, “I just like to come at you with different arguments to see how you think. I’m like a mind game, just like Sudoku, baby,”

You huff and spin around in your skates, hand on your hips as you stared at her, “My reply to your question would be..,” you thought about it for a bit, “You can fall in love as fast as you want. There are no rules and your love isn’t any less valid because it came fast,” 

“I love keeping you on your toes,” she patted your cheek and pointed to the door, “Your bodyguard will be the one picking you up today,”

You turned to the door and saw Wong coming up to the counter, “Where is Stephen? I mean, not that I don’t like walking home with you it’s just-,”

“Y/N, you’re fine,” Wong laughed at you, “He said he had some business to take care of some business and didn’t want you to have to call a cab or walk alone so he summoned me,”

“You’re not some demon, Wong,” you laugh at his choice of words and he smiled at you with those cute chubby cheeks of his.

“My shift will be ending in about 15. We have that crumb cake you love so much so I’ll cut you some slices before we leave,”

————

Steve sat on the couch in his therapist’s office and all that raced on his mind was ways to get you back. That night at Tony’s party had lit a fuse in him when he saw you. Everything he had worked for to fix had shattered when he saw you in that forest green dress. When you were with him, you hated that color. He realized his actions weren’t the best but he felt you were so stubborn and were too blind to see he loved you. You were it for him and he was it for you.

He would not let all those plans you two had be thrown away just because you felt he wasn’t treating you right. He did everything he could for you. He took you out when he asked, he cooked for you when you had a rough day at work, he would love all on you when you were feeling bad about yourself. He spoke loving words, that built you up. He called it tough love, but it was to build you up but maybe you were too weak to see that. 

Maybe he was too sturdy for you?

You just complained too much. You would bitch and moan about how you were feeling but you just wouldn’t understand that some things you had to keep to yourself. Just because you talk about things doesn’t change the fact that those problems were still there. You never knew how to just take it as it is, shut up and move on.

But Steve loved you despite that and he always told you so, you were just blind and selfish. 

Tony chewed his ear out that night. He had made a big scene and heard what he was saying to you. Tony knew Steve could be manipulative, but not like that. Tony saw the fear in your eyes as you screamed back at Steve at the top of your lungs.

“You don’t know anything about love,” Steve scoffed as his mind replayed your words. If anyone knew about love it was him. He had lost Peggy and he would do everything in his power to keep from losing you. That’s why he treated you the way he did, so well and caring. He reached to the ends of the Earth for you but you were just ungrateful. 

“Those plans are gone, the old us is gone,”

What you didn’t know is that those plans would never be thrown away. He would win you back. 

“Steve, some things just aren’t meant to be. Not everything will last like you want it to. Is this because you lost Pe-,”

“Don’t you bring her up. This has nothing to do with her!,” she clenched his fists and glared at his therapist.

“I’m just saying, I think you’re internalizing a lot of what you had with her and now you’re trying to force the same thing with Y/N, which in turn became toxic because you later became obsessed with keeping her. Despite her clearly being unhappy,”

“Oh please,” Steve chuckled, “She wasn’t unhappy. She just wanted attention. She was ungrateful and selfish. I did all I could to make her happy. I always came home to her, I gave her everything she wanted. I built her up,”

“If I remember, long ago when you first started coming here.. you explained that the fight that probably tipped the scale was the one where you called her..,” the therapist flipped through the notepad of notes, from the plenty of visits Steve made, “The human embodiment of an aneurysm,” The doctor looked at Steve expectantly but he just shrugged his shoulders.

“She just makes me.. angry!,” he wiped a hand over his face, “You think someone would get sick of complaining but she just never did!,” his voice rose.

“I love her so much but she was overwhelming. Her poor mental health fucked with mine,”

“Maybe it’s because you didn’t know how to properly listen to her. Maybe because you weren’t sure how to properly love her. You assume everyone would have their bearings together like Margaret... but times have changed, Steve. There are a lot of factors that have changed over time to affect a person and their mental state. At least Y/N was willing to admit she had bad moments and was working on it. You on the other hand are not willing to take responsibility for your selfishness and actions. Y/N always sat with you and listened to you talk about what had happened with you during a mission, or a day of training recruits. What did you do for her besides project the idea that you were there for her?,”

Steve scowled and cursed his therapist out, “You don’t know shit,”

“Maybe not,” shrugging and clicking the pen, “I only know what you tell me and what you simply tell me does not always paint you in the best light, Mr. Rogers,”

Steve laughed bitterly and stood up, grabbing his coat, “I don’t need this. I don’t need you guilt tripping me, I need you to tell me ways I can get my girl back!,”

“I’m not guilt tripping you, Steve. I’m reading you and simply giving you the results. I can’t tell you how to get her back. That’s not what these meetings are. These meetings are to help you cope and move on but you’re stuck. This isn’t martial counseling, this isn’t a matchmaker service. This is therapy to help you realize that some things just need to die in the dark,” 

Most of their sessions ended like this. His therapist would tell him the unwanted truth and e would storm off getting angry because that’s not what he wanted to hear. He wanted his Y/N, not some stupid advice about his past actions.

But what he didn’t realize was that “stupid” advice about his past actions was the one thing he needed to help him check himself so that even if he didn’t get you back, he could at least be in your good graces and move on and be healthy for the next.

------------

Steve walked to his car and the night breeze blew across his face. He preferred nights because less people were around which meant less people to recognize him and be in his business.

He heard the beep of the car unlocking and before he could get his hand on the handle he heard a deep voice behind him, 

“Steve Rogers,”

He turned around and saw the same pretentious asshole that took his girl from him.

“Not sure what you’re doing around these parts but it’s not safe for a rich, pretty boy doctor like you,” Steve clenched his jaw

“I think I can handle myself just fine,” Stephen stepped forward and smirked, his cape moving in a motion that made it seem like it was waving to Steve.

“What do you want?,” Steve rolled his eyes and clenched his fists, getting ready to fight if it came to it.

“I just wanted to suggest that you stop trying to get Y/N back. If you truly love her you’ll stay away and I’m not asking... or really suggesting at all to be quite honest,” Stephen shrugged and gauged Steve’s reaction.

“I’m not going to do that because I love her. She is my girl. You just so happened to be begging for thread,”

Stephen chuckled at Steve, “That would seem to be more your style since you’re driving yourself mad trying to get someone back who doesn’t want anything to do with you. Especially after that stunt you pulled back at Tony’s last month,”

“Listen. why don’t you go crawl back into whatever sci-fi romance novel you poofed out of and let Y/N and I move on, huh,”

Stephen looked at his watch and noticed the time. You should be getting home any minute and he at least wanted to greet you.

“I don’t have the time to argue with you, you off brand G.I Joe. So, just stay away from Y/N and we’ll be square. If not, well I don’t think you’ll want to find out,”

Before Steve could open his mouth all the way to reply, Stephen was gone. Steve almost rips his car door off trying to get inside. He slams the door and starts banging on the steering will while shouting angrily,

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!,” His face reddened and he was practically blowing smoke out of his nose and ears.

There was no way he was going to let someone like Stephen keep him from winning you back.

--------------

Stephen had transported himself back to the house with fresh take out. It was “Takeout Tuesdays” where you two sat on the couch and watched reruns of Modern Family while you ate your food and drank your wine. It was pretty much a weekly holiday for you guys and he would never want to miss it. 

He quickly changed his clothes and when you and Wong walk through the front door, he’s walking out of the kitchen carrying your take out trays.

“Stephen!,” you rush to him and help him set the food down on the table before wrapping your arms around his neck and kissing him. You had just seen him this morning, but after a long day, you were relieved to see him.

“Hey, sweetheart. Thanks again, Wong. Ran into some trouble at the hospital and had to help a rookie with a recovering patient,” Stephen didn’t want to lie, he never lied to you and didn’t want to start now but he had to do it to keep you safe.

“Oh, it’s okay. Plus I compensated for you by giving Wong free crumb cake,” You looked over your shoulder and saw him walk away with his plate and peeling back the aluminium foil to take a piece out and start munching on it.

Stephen helped you take of your jacket and skates before sitting you down to relax, “Be right back,” he holds up an finger and runs into the kitchen, not even thirty seconds late he’s coming out with two wine glasses and a nice bottle of cheap risata pink moscato. You were never one for the expensive ones, you like to keep things simple and just because it was cheaper, didn’t mean it was bad. 

He opened the glass and poured you a glass, handing it to you as well as your tray of food. He sat beside beside you and poured himself a class, sitting back with his food in lap, finally resting beside you and enjoying your presence.

“How was your day?,” he questioned.

“Long. This asshole came him early as hell, guess he was hungover and just had theeeee worst, piss poor attitude ever. Was just disgusting and you wanna know what he did?,” you turned to him and scooped some food into your mouth,

“What’d he do, baby?,” Stephen arched a brow and took a sip of his wine

“So get this... he orders a black coffee, hot, and a side of eggs. He barely ate the damn eggs and drank a third of the coffee, so when it’s time to pay, I tell him it was 3.52 I have my hand out and he puts the change in the steaming cup of coffee and the three dollars? smothers them in the eggs, Stephen!,” you yell exasperated.

“How do you deal with ingrates like that?,” Stephen frowned, thoroughly bothered that you endure stuff like that on a daily basis.

“Not sure. At first the stress would never end, even when I clocked out and went home, for reasons you know. But now... now I have the best thing to come home to, better yet, it comes to me before I even clock out for the night,” you lean over nudge him, smiling bashfully and he just looks at you up and down before leaning in to kiss you.

“Y/N Y/L/N. You never cease to make me fall deeper in love with you,” 

You felt you face heat up and your cheeks hurt from smiling so hard, “You’re the best thing to come into my life,” you whisper.

He knew you weren’t comfortable to say those three words yet, so you took it upon yourself to find other ways to say it, and he was beyond okay with it because he knew what lied behind the words you said in place of what you truly wanted.

------

Throughout the next few weeks, things have been calm and peaceful at the diner. Mel had called out sick so it just left you to serve all day long. Hank and Finn were the only others but they were the cooks so they couldn’t be much help when your lunch rush came. 

You still had a few hours left before it was time to close down and clock out. It was around this time that not many people came in because of how late it was getting. It was 10 on weekday so you always expect it to be deserted and have maybe one passerby come through for a donut and coffee or a piece of pie. 

“We’re taking our break, smiley!,” Hank called from the kitchen. Your smile beamed at him as you nodded. The staff and the regulars came up with the nickname smiley simply because you’re always smiling at work, even when the shitty customers would come in.

“All right, take your time, I’m gonna start cleaning up in here,” you called back. You were given a simple okay from Finn and Hank and the back door slammed shut. You skated around the diner sweeping and cleaning the tables. You put the dishes in the kitchen for Finn to wash and you went back to the front. 

You had your back to the door as you counted your tip from today and you heard the bell of the front door open, “I’ll be right with you,” you called over your shoulder not really looking at the customer. You heard them scoot into a chair at the bar and sit patiently. Once you were finished counting your tip, you put it in your purse and got your notepad out, in case this person wanted something too big for you to remember. 

Spinning around in your skates, you click your pen still looking at the notepad, “Hi, I’m Y/N, how may I he-,”

You lifted your head up to see the man and you audibly gasped, dropping your notepad and pen.

“As much as I’d love a cup of coffee, that’s not exactly what I need,” Steve tapped his finger on the counter.

You couldn’t even breathe, you couldn’t move, you were frozen. 

“How you been?,” he reaches into the donut case and takes one out and plating it, breaking a piece off and eating it, “Don’t act so speechless now, sunshine. You could never seem to shut up when we were together,” he laughs to himself before clearing his throat, “Sorry, that’s not why I’m here. I’m not here to yell o-or anything,”

“So why are you here?,” you finally spoke and slowly started to move backwards to your bag to grab you phone and call Stephen in an SOS.

“Why else would I be here? I want my best girl back,” his smile is wicked and nauseating. 

You reach towards your back and Steve slams his fists on the counter, scaring you, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you... Smiley,”

“HANK! FINN!!,” You shout but Steve lets out a heart laugh.

“Oh, they’re out cold, it’s just us,” he shakes his head and takes another piece of the donut, popping it in his mouth.

“Steve, don’t do this,” you grit through your teeth. You would not cry. Not in this moment, not in front of him. You would not let him have that power over you anymore, “Just let me go,”

“Only way you’re leaving is if you leave with me. That’s the only option and you can either leave willingly or I knock you out and take you with me. I’m really not in the mood to fight against you so, let’s just go, yeah?,” he gets up and you could run out the back if you were quick. He’d have to jump over the counter and by that time you’d already be at the back door, pushing it open. Once he turns his back to leave you make a run for it but you, just that easily, forget you’re wearing skates. You could have used that to our advantage anyway but no, you fucked up and slipped on your ass, hitting your head in the process.

Steve kept his back to you and sighed shaking his head, “I told you, Smiley,” he comes around the counter and squats right in front of you, picking your head up to make sure you look him in the eyes, “We’re gonna go now, okay?,” 

“Steve, no,” you grunt but he already had his hands around your throat. You claw at his hands and kick your feet to try and get him off of you but you were clearly losing. Your vision starts to blur and you’re gasping harder for air, but to no avail it doesn’t work.

“It’s okay, we’re going home,” is the last thing you hear from him before you’re out cold.

And left alone in the dark.

------------

Stephen was just getting ready to leave to pick you up when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and rolled his eyes, wondering what trouble he’d gotten himself into this time to need his help.

“Yes, Tony?,”

“Stephen,”

“Pepper?,” Stephen frowns and wonders why it’s Pepper on the other line, “You don’t sound so good, is everything okay?,”

“You need to get down to the diner, like now,” her tone is rushed and frantic

“I’m on my way now, has something happened?,”

“Stephen, Y/N’s gone. Her stuff is still here but she’s just gone!,” she panted, “Her coworkers were found knocked out in the back of the diner by Peter when he was doing his town rounds and Peter called Tony, Tony called the cops and now we don’t know what to do!,”

-----------

Cliffhanger 0_0 

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[team-skull-admin]

My favorite 40 games of all-time

Made an arbitrary list of my favorite games of all-time cause I wanted to figure out where Breath of the Wild is on it. It’s, uh, pretty high. Assload of text below the break.

40: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow I'm not the world's biggest Symphony of the Night fan (outside of the incredible soundtrack) and I think this is where Iga's seamless platformers found their footing.

39: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger I love goofy, experimental games like this and Far Cry: Blood Dragon, but I think the schtick in this (an unreliable narrator bragging about their heroic exploits) works better than Blood Dragon's dorky 80s nostalgia.

38: Rayman Origins A beautiful platformer with incredible level design. The music for the diabolical secret level is seared into my memory.

37: Cibele A short, story-centric indie game that captures the essence of playing MMOs in the mid-2000s and long-distance relationships. The awkward conversations in this game made me think about my WoW years for an entire weekend.

36: Mario Kart Wii It's not technically the "best" Mario Kart, but I actually enjoyed the motorcycles and I have fond memories of crushing my brother while we downed beers and talked shit.

35: Guild of Dungeoneering I'm usually not super into "We made X game, but added CARDS!" even though I love card games, but they nailed the loop here. I vaguely remember one of the decks being super busted, though.

34: Tropico 4 Adding a political slant to Sim City by making you the leader of a banana republic was just the slant to that formula I was looking for, and I lost a weekend circa New Year's '13 just delving into this hard.

33: Gran Turismo 2 My brother bought a PS1 off a friend when they upgraded to a PS2, and I grabbed a copy of this cheaply at the local EB Games. Once I wrapped my mind around the simulation, upgrading cars and havin fun with them here might have more to do with me being somewhat of a car person than anything else.

32: Metal Gear Solid 4 I should really put the whole series on here, but MGS4 deserves special note for making the core stealth actually fun and somehow tying all the loose ends of the insane plot together while dialing up the insanity even further.

31: Sim City 2000 I figured out how to make a 50,000 person city when I was like, 8. I still have no fucking idea how I did this. It took me till my 20s to crack 100k.

30: Pokemon Black/White People are torn on this game, but the contentious design decision to hide the old Pokemon in the postgame made every new encounter incredibly exciting in a way the series hadn't been since the orignals. The writing also shows signs of the maturity that Sun/Moon would follow through with.

29: Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 I think most would deride this series as a soulless Pokemon cash-grab on the surface, but they're actually roguelikes with a crazy monster breeding system and the most rote of stories to get you into the core loop of exploring new keys to breed ever crazier monsters.

28: Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Diablo 3 vanilla's reliance on the auction house created design issues that were hard to look past, but Blizzard abandoning it for the expansion made the game into an incredible dungeon crawler. I never laddered, but had fun for hundreds of hours chasing loot with friends.

27: Fallout 3 I'll never forget the feeling of walking out of the vault for the first time, and feeling like I could go anywhere. I also think this is the only Bethesda game that regularly pays off when exploring - weird shit like the Republic of Dave or the man stuck in the tree are fantastic rewards for poking at the less inhabited edges of the map.

26: Bassin's Black Bass featuring Hank Parker I'm honestly wondering if the rest of the world has picked up on this game's low-key genius since I saw it for 15 bucks at a retro game store recently, but this game's arcadey fishing is incredibly satisfying and snappy. It has some major, obvious, irritating mechanical issues, but the core gameplay loop is so good I don't care.

25: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor I still remember my nemesis. This motherfucker was right at the beginning of the game, inside the first quest area, and was like level 5 or 6, but had a defensive ability that made it harder for me to gank him easily. So he killed me. Twice. And leveled up each time, becoming a level 12 badass who could literally sniff me out when I hid. But he was weak to fire, and I lured him to a campfire and set him ablaze, getting my revenge.

24: Super Metroid I feel like most people would have this game higher on the list, but I think the controls are floaty and Meridia is overly confusing. The rest of the game is incredible and I can't believe they pulled it off on a Super Nintendo.

23: Pokemon Sun/Moon After XY and ORAS were disapointments I was cool on Pokemon, but Sun/Moon challenged a ton of series conventions and got a lot right in the process. I can't believe how deftly this game handles dysfunctional families.

22: A Link Between Worlds This was Nintendo's hit at what was to come with Zelda - a smart, experimental take on the franchise that's easily its best 2d outing.

21: Muramasa: The Demon Blade Vanillaware's magnum opus, a gorgeous Metroidvania where everything is hand-painted. The combat's loop of mixing launchers with sword management is also incredibly fun, if not particularly deep. But fuck I loved looking at it so much and it felt good.

20: The Walking Dead Only time a video game made me cry.

19: Banjo-Kazooie The only 3d collect-a-thon platformer from that era that still holds up, it combines cheeky humor and an incredible soundtrack to craft a world that's always surprising.

18: Borderlands 2 is better crafted, but I enjoyed the dry wit and more grounded guns of the first. I've replayed this like 4 times and I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a blast each time.

17: Doom (2016) Apparently the secret to making this license work in a modern context is to give Halo combat arenas a healthy dose of cocaine and play Meshuggah riffs over it. It so fucking works.

16: Saints Row: The Third I think the writing in GTA is usually sophomoric at best and its attempts at commentary are eye-roll worthy, but having a game say "FUCK IT" and just Mel Brooks that experience is such a wonderful idea. It's also hard to pull off, and SR3 totally sticks the landing (unlike the sequel).

15: Super Mario World The best traditional Mario game. I replayed it recently, and it struck me how much secret exits add to the level design versus 3, and how freed Koji Kondo is by the new hardware. The castle music's classical overture sticks out.

14: Monster Hunter 4 I liked Monster Hunter 3's various iterations but I hated swimming. Taking out swimming and replacing it  with mounting was enough for me to sink hundreds of hours. I actively avoided getting Generations because I knew it would interfere with school.

13: Mario Golf (GBC) The perfect portable game. Golf works well on the platform, and adding basic RPG hooks was enough to make a rote story totally engaging.

12: Super Mario Maker I think the real triumph of Mario Maker isn't the levels (which are usually terrible), it's how Nintendo imparted the feeling of being creative in such an easily digestible and satisfying way. It's an achievement that ascends past Mario design (which still works here) into something greater and more profound.

11: Hearthstone I fucking hate this game and I keep playing it because the Arena is like literal fucking crack and every time I have an opponent at 1 life and they beat me they can eat fucking dicks.

10: Super Mario RPG Clever writing and a strange world grabbed me way harder than Intelligent System's later Paper Mario games. It's too easy and doesn't look as slick now, but the writing still holds up.

09: Mass Effect Trilogy You can't really separate these, as the experience that makes Mass Effect great was carrying your Shepard and their decisions from one game to the next. Everyone will remember Garrus, Wrex, and co. Shame about the ending.

08: Tetris I am weirdly good at Tetris. I know what a T-Spin is. I sank hundreds of hours into it on Facebook. I don't regret it.

07: Persona 4 Describe a game to me as a mix of a J-RPG and a slice-of-life anime and I'll run to the hills, so the fact this game's sharp, mature writing and "just one more day" calendar mechanic combined into one of my favorite games of all-time is a shock. They also put in Pokemon with fucking demons, how cool is that shit?

06: Ocarina of Time I can't believe this game came out in 1998. The world is still fun to traverse, and the dungeon design (especially as an adult) still holds up at the top of action-adventure puzzle design.

05: Magic: the Gathering I wish it was less expensive otherwise it'd be higher.

04: Breath of the Wild I can't believe Nintendo reinvented the wheel so well that I'm putting the game so high on the list. Every design decision in this game is carefully considered to make exploring this iteration of Hyrule that much more satisfying. And its incredibly clever chemistry engine, where every object in the game has chemical properties that can be manipulated as well as physics, creates a ton of emergent gameplay scenarios where you're constantly asking "Can I do that?" and the game almost never lets you down.

03: World of Warcraft Sometimes I regret the 4000 hours I spent in Azeroth, but I'd have a hard time giving up the friends I made there. I could probably shred and like, speak another language though.

02: Pokemon Red I was the perfect age for Pokemon mania, and the fact that the core game was literally designed to appeal to me didn't help. I still love collecting the things and min/maxing ways to beat the Elite 4 with minimal grinding.

01: Mega Man X I think this is literally the perfect platformer. Moving X feels incredible. There's nothing in any of the levels I think is out of place. The soundtrack is a masterpiece. And the game's hidden secret is so insane you'd probably call bullshit on any kid who told it to you at recess. I'm really glad the rest of the world picked up on it after Arin Hanson did a Sequelitis about it, because I've been beating this drum for decades.

[aristarshower]

Star Catcher

Masterpost

Adventure Eight- Category A

So we have to hop at least seven wormholes just to get close to this stupid location?

Yup.

Sounds dodgy, Alina. Dex sat by and watched Alina and Harpie discuss the new job. He had no experience whatsoever and every time he closed his eyes all he saw was the money he would get once they are done. So he gently extracted himself from the discussions and let the experts figure out the details.

We’ll need category A dust at least. We can’t just dash off into unregulated space without a backup.

You’re right. We’ll get some A and we need tech support too. Harpie nodded.

“I’ll contact my guy and see if they can hook us up with someone who knows what we need.”

Do we know what we need? Dig asked from their spot beside Dex. They were both working on dinner while V and Nisha were in charge of monitoring the ship. The remaining three were busy planning.

“There’s three stages we have outlined so far.” Dex and Dig leaned forward to watch Alina project a little screen to write on. “Stage one-getting to the star.” She pulled up a map with the target area circled. It was almost the other side of the universe but Dex kept quite. If it was only seven hops away like Harpie said they could make it there in a month and half or two without dust and sooner with.  “Stage two-harvesting the star.” Here she pulled up a few specs for harvesters with huge question marks beside it. “Stage three-getting safely back through the wormhole and delivering the dust.” Dex knew theoretically that wormholes were dangerous but in the two days since they got the job he read up on every accident that happened with unregulated ones. There were some terrifying facts about being ripped apart and getting lost in the universe or ending up in the middle of a star or a planet or worse a black hole.

“Stage one is easy. We need some dust but that’s our job so we’ll just steal some. Then it’s Dex and Nisha’s job to plot a course and get us there.” Dex saluted Alina lazily. Drunk on the new found confidence and camaraderie, he felt like he could do anything.

“Stage two will depend on Dig and Amani.”

I’ll pull some strings. See if anyone knows anything but i assure you even if we have a full harvester plan, we’ll need The Element which we’ll never get.

“Amani?”

“Sorry, kiddo, even my resources have limits. It’s impossible to get enough Element for a harvester.” Alina slumped in defeat.

“What’s Element?” Dex whispered to Dig.

Thing they use in harvesters to uhhh attract dust? I am not sure how it works. Ask Harpie. They went back to pondering the problem of stage two.

“Stage three should be easy enough. We’ll leave a tether on our side or split the crew while entering the wormhole.”

“My shift’s done! Amani you’re up.” Nisha announced. “What’s cooking, Dig?”

***

Dex spent most of the day planning a possible route through the galaxies. SC was a fairly small ship so the resources they could store were limited. They needed stops to restock and stops for ship maintenance. With Harpie’s help they managed to find some places they could do both at the same time. Some of the planets they chose were not traditional rest stops but it was the best plan they had.

“Ready for the heist today? We need all hands for this one.”

“Of course.” Dex lied. Nisha raised one perfect eyebrow.

“No. I’m scared. Can’t Alina just as her dad to lend us some dust?”

“And ruin our rep?” Nisha screeched.

“Ok ok sorry. No asking for help then.”

“Look, Dex, this is serious business. There is no help coming. We trade in favors or money, that’s it. Just because he is Alina’s dad doesn’t mean Yoen is going to change the rules for us.” Dex was taken aback by the sudden gravity of Nisha’s voice.

“I hear you. How do we steal A dust then?”

“I am glad you asked!”

***

There were no straws this time. There were five patrol ships circling the star and the different harvesting stations around it. At any given time, there was at least one patrol ship watching one of the harvesters.

“The only way in is to be blend in.” V told Dex who did not expect V to mean literally blend in.

V and Nisha were getting into suits that looked like jello Dig made as a treat sometimes. Amani called them camo suits. They bent the light around so whatever is behind shows in the front and in the end it made them almost invisible.

They won’t have any tethers either. Dig told Dex earlier. Just the two of them in and out.

“Why don’t we create a distraction?” Dex gathered his courage and asked. Watching V blend into the side of the ship’s deep blue interior made him nervous, replacing the happy haze from before.

That’s the best way to blow our cover. Our best bet is to get in and out without letting them know someone is stealing their dust. Our entire operation will be shut down if they ever find us. Why do you think Yoen has such a small number of crews?

Harpie said all that in one continuous hiss and turned away to adjust V’s suit. V shrugged apologetically at Dex. They were all on edge with the suddenly raised stakes.

***

There was a lot to do even if only two of them were doing the actual work. They couldn’t keep the ship stationary with all the patrol ships around the star. Dex had to constantly chart new navigation so they can simultaneously stay in all of their blind spots. It was easy to cloak the signals between the ship and V and Nisha. The star’s radiation did most of the job for them. Harpie assisted Dex in silence. After their outburst before, Dex tread lightly around them. Dex found a whole new level of respect and fear for Nisha, he was a cyborg and most of the calculations were being done by the mechanical part of his brain but Nisha had done it all by herself and kept the ship running.

They’ll be fine. Harpie’s voice crackled through the comms. Dex made a mental note to check them later. Dead comms could mean dead ship.

“I know.”

***

Amani kept a tight grip on the controls for the shifting interference they ran for the patrol bots. Dig sat beside her monitoring the bots and the observation station located on an asteroid close to the star. The station was currently on the dark side but if they find one single anomaly they could alert the patrol ships.

Station holding.

“Bots holding.”

“Ships holding.”

SC check.

“Go!” Alina ordered and V and Nisha slid gracefully from the ship into the void of space.

***

Dex knew it would all go to shit the moment Mel sat in front of him. He swatted at the pet. He did not want to think of Mel as a cat but it was the closest he could describe her. Mel narrowed her eyes and turned away from Dex. Dex shrugged but went back to his job. It was a tight operation. V and Nisha made slow progress across space and entered the field around the harvester. This one was at least twice as big as the one from the C star and would need longer time to get into. Sweat beaded on Dex’s right temple. The coolants on the left side worked twice as fast to keep the machine inside safe.

Mel whistled, low, broken and very unlike her usual tea kettle scream. Dex was concerned despite himself.

“Alina, what’s wrong with Mel?”

“Nothing.” Alina answered distracted. She never turned away from the monitor showing Nisha and V’s vital readings.

“Are you okay buddy?” Dex tried to pet Mel but she snapped at his hand and moved out of reach.

There was another broken gurgle from her a few minutes later and suddenly she threw up in Dex’s face.

***

The patrol bot screamed like it was never swallowed by a hell beast. The patrol ships zoomed around confused, unable to pinpoint the location of the signal with so much interference around SC. This was the only reason the crew of SC was saved.

***

Shut that thing off! Harpie hissed but it was easier said than done.

Mel had thrown up the chewed up patrol bot along with some miscellaneous stuff all covered in slime right into Dex’s lap. She now sat contentedly licking a small stinger that the end of one of her tails.

“Mel!” Alina shouted but Mel ignored her.

“What the hell, guys?” V’s voice was faint over the comms. Dex’s heart lurched.

“Abort!” Alina shouted and Dex watched as V and Nisha’s little dots struggled to escape undetected.

***

“There’s no way they are getting out, captain.” Amani’s voice was casual but Dex felt dread curling in his stomach at the captain instead of kiddo.

“We are not abandoning them!”

“Of course not. But we need to abandon cover to get them. Fire now before they find them.”

No. Dig’s voice was soft but firm. I have a better idea.

***

Every bot on all of the harvesters raised the alarm at once. Added to the din of the previous alarm it made for a confusing cacophony of signals. It also meant that the crew would lose connection with V and Nisha but it was a risk they had to take. Bot malfunctions are common and manipulating the interference to hit the bots was easy. It wouldn’t hold the ships forever but the initial confusion over which direction to go to gave V and Nisha the time they needed to get away.

Dex methodically hacked away at the slime covered bot on his lap until it finally fell silent. The following moments, everyone’s ears were ringing faintly and the patrol ships were still zigzagging around. The station would come out of the dark into the light soon. The hatch opened and closed as Harpie let V and Nisha in. SC zoomed off as fast as they dared to urge her without drawing too much attention.

***

“Well that was a bust but good job Dig.” Amani patted Dig’s arms. Alina led the crew to the airlock which was just letting in V and Nisha. Alina threw herself at Nisha. Dex was tempted to do the same with V. V smiled at him and let the others fuss over him for a bit.

We’ll think of some alternate to the dust. Harpie assured Nisha. V smirked. He hefted the heavy canister and let it hit the floor with a loud thunk.

“Did someone order a large Dust A canister?”

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