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#Can I also mention that we have a saved past universe in the happy future canon
tapakah0 · 6 months
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You know
We had the canon story with where they could at least save another timeline
You did a story where they managed to have their happy ending
And now, I suspect
It's time for the complete failure?
Nope, I've mentioned before that it will be good for one person, don't worry
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dotjretion · 7 months
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My thoughts on Romeo F. "Bedman" Neumann Guilty Gear
SPOILERS FOR: Guilty Gear Xrd, Guilty Gear Strive
At the risk of sounding too nerdy, I have some predictions not just about Romeo (alias Bedman)'s current state of affairs after his death in Xrd and his young sister taking his place, but also for his potential return as his own character separate from the Bedman identity in either future Strive DLC or a post-Strive installment of Guilty Gear.
Based primarily on what I have been able to gather from Xrd and Strive's story modes, as well as the arcade mode for Happy Chaos in Strive, it is very strongly implied that Romeo is not in fact dead as it's presented on its face.
In his conversation with Axl, Romeo had mentioned that his sister was lost to the dream world long ago, meaning that she didn't even have so much as a physical body in the material world. In his final scene in Xrd Revelator we see his body straight up turn to stone and crumble to pieces. On its face, he would appear to be dead, right?
[COMICALLY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER]
You would be wrong! In Guilty Gear Strive's arcade mode while playing as Happy Chaos, if you beat I-no on stage 7 without dropping a round, Happy Chaos discusses demi-humans and their ontological implications with I-no. In doing so, he offhandedly mentions Romeo. Specifically he says, and I quote:
"Did you know there was a guy named Bedman who managed to delete his own ID and became a multi-dimensional being?"
Entities in the Guilty Gear world who lack IDs (usually vampires or werewolves, i.e. demi-humans) exist in all parallel universes at once, and Romeo is a rare example of a multi-dimensional being who is (barring his unusual psychic powers) an ordinary human. While Happy Chaos does talk about him in past tense here, all other multidimensional beings we know of (e.g. Slayer, Nagoriyuki) are functionally immortal and I see no reason as to why Romeo would be an exception to this rule.
Now, what do I think happened? I figure that Romeo saved Delilah's life by switching places with her in the dream world, which as is confirmed in his conversation with Axl and his arcade mode in Xrd, is connected to the Backyard. Much like her, he lost his physical form and now exists as a disembodied consciousness who at most has remote control over his mechanised bed. It would also fit in with some of the lyrics in Bedman?'s Strive theme.
"Pitch black, pure white, all the same!" could be interpreted as meaning that where Romeo expected to find death, he found yet another dream. This is corroborated by how in Xrd his dreams are mostly represented as being a white void, as well as a common interpretation of death being nothing but empty darkness going on forever.
"But I can't find you with access to the back of my eyelids." implies that he still has some source of agency and isn't actually dead, but that he's in some kind of sleep, also tying into the idea that he's trapped in a dream with no body to wake up in rather than just full-on dead.
While the circle that's mentioned throughout the song can very clearly be referring to the cycle of death and rebirth known as saṃsāra, songs don't just have one intended meaning and the same symbolism can refer to multiple things at once. For example the circle could also be a way to refer to the physical world that Guilty Gear takes place in, in contrast to the Backyard which is a plane of abstract data. When he says he's on the border of the circle, it could in fact mean that he exists trapped in the Backyard, on the border of the physical world.
Now, how can he come back? If he's trapped in the Backyard, there are only really two people with the power to bring him back as of right now: Asuka R. Kreutz and The Original/Happy Chaos. Asuka would be able to as he's the one in possession of the Tome of Origin, which is the Backyard's physical manifestation in reality. He can glean all information from it, and thus if Romeo tried to call for help, Asuka could very plausibly find him. In addition, Asuka has made physical vessels for people in the past. He created Jack-O' Valentine as a vessel for Aria Hale's soul, and the planned Happy Chaos unit was a vessel to be made to house I-no's soul so she could live a normal life (though it was never finished). Nothing I know about Guilty Gear's lore precludes Asuka from making a physical vessel for Romeo's consciousness to inhabit to save him from the Backyard. As for now though, it seems Romeo's only connection to the physical world left is his old bed, where he silently watches over Delilah while he can say nothing to comfort her or reassure her that he's actually there.
tl;dr Romeo's trapped in the Backyard and only Asuka or Happy Chaos can bring him back. His only connection to reality left is his old bed.
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tiredspacedragon · 11 months
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Helryx for the ask game
First Impression: So, for the longest time, I really did not care about much of the story material outside of the main plot. Partly because I had no way to access the extra content, and partly because that's just how I am. I like side characters well enough, but our main Toa teams are still my faves, for the most part. I still haven't read the serials, despite knowing everything that happens in them (I will read them though...someday). So, my relationship with Helryx was kinda like that. I remember thinking it was cool that we knew who the first Toa was, and that it was also cool that it was a Toa of Water. I thought it made sense and seemed appropriate. I also remember thinking her mace/shield combo was interesting, especially for a Toa of Water, really got the point across that Helryx meant business, as if her name starting with "hell" didn't establish that already. But that was it. I did not think much about her beyond that point, there were main story events that held my attention more. So I thought she was cool, but she was as mysterious and background-y to me as she was to most of the main characters in-universe.
Impression Now: Helryx is a badass and I could honestly stop there if I wanted to. Nowadays I find Helryx fascinating, not as much as I know some other people do, but still a fair amount. I'm certainly more curious about her now than I used to be. She's a well of potential stories in terms of both her past and her future. Her history spans the entire history of the Matoran Universe, and we know from her description that she is not one to sit idle; she has been active on the front lines of secret wars for her entire life. The things she must have seen. What was she like as a rookie Toa? What shaped her into the grizzled veteran we see today? And what will she do now that her mission has technically been fulfilled? I can't exactly see her retiring, at least not willingly. She's also a favourite of my mother's, so that earns her some bonus points. She was actually the one to point out how few non-evil female authority figures there are in Bionicle as a whole, which is a big part of why Helryx appeals to her, something I hadn't really noticed before that point.
Favourite Moment: I haven't read most of Helryx's moments, so my answer may change eventually, but for now it is definitely her entrance when she confronts the Dark Hunters on Xia, i.e. that moment when she summons a several-hundred-foot tsunami in front of the Dark Hunter fleet and just leaves it hanging in the air with no visible effort. And then jukes them out with it just to make a point. It's probably the best example we have of exactly how powerful a Toa is capable of becoming. No one else has the experience Helryx does in using their powers, but in theory any Toa could pull off something like that with enough training. Just goes to show how much the villains underestimate them. And as for Helryx herself, well, she'd have made the Shadowed One shit his pants if he'd been wearing any, and that earns her serious cool points.
Idea for a story: Like I said, Helryx will almost certainly never retire willingly. So eventually someone will probably have to make her do it. Her armour is pitted and scarred, her body is frail, and while I don't doubt that she could keep going for a long time, I think she may be nearing the point that it would be unhealthy for her to do so. I do like the idea that the Toa Nuva may not be able to become Turaga, but I'm definitely of the opinion that Helryx can, and that she eventually will, likely after suffering a potentially debilitating injury, either at the urging of her closest Order members or because Artakha or some similarly powerful entity artificially jumpstarts the process to save her life. Either way, she would not be happy about it. Actually, it would be cool if this was treated like some regenerations have been handled in Doctor Who. Everything I mentioned before still happens: Helryx takes a bad hit, and either someone else triggers the Turaga transformation process or it involuntarily begins, but Helryx resists it. She can't stop it now that it's started, but she can hold it off for a while. The rest of the story then is this ancient warrior coming to terms with the fact that her fight is over. Wrestling with her perception of herself and her vision for the future, and ultimately accepting that she has done more than enough in her current role, and that it's okay to move on, that it's a good time for a change. I can see this very poignant scene of Helryx letting go, probably on a beach or a seaside cliff because I'm unoriginal, and letting the transformation wash over her while a few other characters watch. Then the new Turaga Helryx would turn around, look at all her friends agents, and probably grumble something along the lines of "What are you all gawking at? We have work to do." Yeah, just because she wouldn't be on the battlefield anymore doesn't mean she wouldn't still be in charge. Her spine would still be made of steel, even if it was a little more bent than it used to be. Also her Badge of Office would absolutely just be a shrunken version of her mace, and she'd still have her shield, Lhikan style.
Unpopular Opinion: I actually like her "canon" appearance. I mean it's not perfect, I'd definitely make a few tweaks, but overall I think it's a pretty good look for her. I like the retro style, makes her look that much more like a prototype. I can see her and the other early Toa sporting that build before the Great Beings eventually perfected their design and transitioned to the more Glatorian-like Inika build.
Favourite Relationship: I am very fond of how Helryx's acts toward other Toa. Krakua specifically, but really in general. She's such a mom. She wants so badly to protect her younger Toa-brothers and sisters from the nightmares she has witnessed. She wants the best for them, keeping them out of the Order, even denying Krakua full membership at first because she wanted him separate from her dark, messy world. Believing strongly in the Toa Code and that Toa should strive to uphold it, to be these bright shining heroes in the sunlight, all the while excluding herself from it so she can take care of the dirty work that has to be done so her little siblings can have that. The things Helryx does aren't always good, even if they're done with good intentions, but she herself, I think, is so good. I'd love to see her interact with Orde, just to see if her attitude extends to all Toa who came after her, or if she'd recognize him as a contemporary and switch gears, going from commanding but ultimately caring, to just old work-friend banter mode. "Good work, Krakua. Go rest up, I'll have another assignment ready for you when you're back. And tell Johmak not to leave pieces of herself lying around if you see her." vs "Oh hey Orde. Piss off any other species lately?"
Favourite Headcanon: Kinda related to the above, I am firmly of the opinion that Helryx is hilarious. She's 100,000 years worth of razor sharp wit. Doesn't let it out often, of course, she has an organization to run. But when she wants to be, she can be absolutely hysterical. All while keeping a completely straight face, of course. G2 Gali would beg to learn her secrets.
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withluvsophie · 2 years
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Turning Page...
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~ 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
Since we are almost done with two thirds of 2022, i would love to talk about some natural and actually drastic changes in my life that I did, in order to become a bit more mature every and each day. Just like RM has mentioned in his speech in 2018 UN meeting " Yesterday's me is still me" and no matter what I did yesterday, I learnt and grew to the point I evolve and slowly and healthily become a better human being.
The reason why I started this mission:
The past couple of years have been a handful on me. Let's say that instead of focusing on me and myself, I stop caring about me and cared only for the people around me. That meant that I started substain my emotion and close them to myself ,locking them to a point I had anxiety or panic attacks or even extreme outbursts. The lowest point was my failure in school. It might sound wierd but hear me out. In my country, the final exams that we have, determine if or if not you will enter to a university. And unfortunately I failed miserable. And it took a toll especially in my mentality cause I start thinking that people will hate for that or that are disappointed on me and start leaving me, which is my worst fear. That summer was supposed to be the best and yet I tend to forget it purposely cause it was most of a sad moment in my life. That period was also a really bad time for my relationships. I was the WORST friend to my friends cause I couldn't feel happy and done times I felt left out when in reality I was just insecure. I start growing away from them because I thought that they wouldn't help me. At all.But during that time, I started to look back and reflect. I start asking questions on myself like " what went wrong? " or " who was at fault?". And after a long discussion with myself I realized that I have let myself down and go and I practically was killing me. That was the wake up call I had and practically saved me. I decided that i need to grow up and be more mature in order to become more and more strong in the life that i want. I need to manifest to the life I want to have and at the same time to grow in orde to LIVE that life. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙...
Academic Growth
So like I said I am not in university. But since I still chase my dream in become a vital part in the Medical Department - either as a pediatrician or a biologist or a midwife - I studied to retake the exams. To this day, I'm thankful for this decision. While many people wouldn't go down that trail of pain again, I see this journey as a reflection of the life i will have in the future so i show the same maturity towards it. Of course I'm NOT the most productive person you will see. Like it's not like i will study 10 hours every single day. Like i said I'm a human being that is still growing. So practically studying has its ups and downs. But I do see studying more as something fun than something boring and dreadful. I haven't given the exams yet so hopefully when I give them I will come back with positive news. But in overall, I'm glad that I did this to myself and ti the people I got to meet and will take with me in my life. Now I can gladly say that I'm a university student in the University of West Macedonia in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department (aka I'm studying to be a midwife) and I'm proud of that.
Physical and Mental health
While I was going through this journey, my mentality had changed drastically. From a girl who was always in the fear of being judged and mocked due to my past experiences to a woman who wishes to become a slightly better human the more a grow. I was bullied for my weight in Primary School and later on created trust issues because of past friendships. So as you can understand, for a tween /teenager girl , this left me with a lot of damages. Having suicidal thoughts, depression, feeling worthless and yet I would always smile because I felt that my problems weren't important and that nobody wants to know them. It might also be the reason on why I eat so much. A while back i was also a professional dancer. So every emotion I felt I released it through it. But because if studies I needed to stop dancing which was the breaking point of me, since the only getaway of me relaxing was now taken away of me. So food was like my comfort thing to replace dancing. And I did gain a lot of weight. To a point I hated the way I looked. Right now though I'm in a better place. I'm realizing my worth and the possibilities that I can have through my hobbies and abilities. I'm still learning of course. And I have my friends that are supportive of me. I would want actually to reach to a professional to help me but due to economic conditions it is a bit hard to do that so I'm postponing it to the moment I'm economically comfortable to do it. For the food obsession , I have to say I'm growing from it. I've realized where I come from and ik trying to lose weight not for that society or to become beautiful. I'm doing it for myself, my mental health. Maybe the factor of my moving away from my home is also helping since I have the freedom to move more actively than when I was back home. I get to walk more and I'm considering on getting ready to workout a bit going back to dancing. But that's a talk that I have to make with my wallet.
Overall
This Journey of Sophie , a High School Student has Ended
Now let's move to the next chapter of my life with a new mindset and believes. With a new perspective for both me and life. It's time to grow more to reach the goal I have put on... to become a slightly better adult and human being...
The Journey of Sophie, a University Student has started...wanna join me?
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Morrigan Watches - Doctor Who: Smile
Can we just talk about this episode? Not even the plot, but just the Doctor and Bill in this episode.
First off, you can tell how much the Doctor has missed this. He's so f-ing happy to have someone to show the universe to. He's missed it so much, getting to show someone something new every day. It's been a very, very long time for him, based on the implications of the prior episodes. (4.5 billion years in the sun dial, and apparently he's been at the university "as long as anyone can remember", not to mention that we have no idea how long he was traveling or doing anything between forgetting Clara and saving Missy.)
But the way his face lights up when he asks Bill "past or future", the way he's showing off the TARDIS, it's just so blatantly obvious how much he missed all that. Not just the traveling (though he certainly did miss that too), but also having someone to show it all to. I mean, part of the reason he traveled in the first place was to see new things. And even now, thousands of years later, he still loves it.
Also, i love Bill so very, very much, and I wish she had gotten more time with the Doctor. From what little I know of Jodie Whittaker's Doctor, I think she and Bill would have gotten along great.
But enough about that.
Just the way Bill pins it down in a nutshell "you don't call the helpline, you are the helpline". In 10 seasons, she gets it fastest. And it's that detail that makes her follow him back to the city. That detail that makes her trust him more than anything else. The fact that he genuinely wants to help, even though it seems like everyone's already dead.
I just love their relationship. Just a very, very old man getting to show someone the most amazing things they've ever seen in their life. (Remember in The Pilot when Bill begged him to let her remember, because nothing interesting ever happens in her life? yeah.)
Also, the fact that the Doctor took pictures of Bill's mum because she had no way of knowing what it was like to have pictures of your family. Having pictures of his family made him feel better, so he wanted to do the same for her. God, I love him. I love how he loves. How much he loves, even after billions of years and thousands of heartbreaks, he really is still such an optimist, so ever hopeful and so ever looking for the good. And despite what he says later in the season ("because out of 7 billion, there's someone like you."), he just loves humans so much, and I love him for it.
I'm going to be so sad to see Capaldi go, because he is well and truly my second favorite Doctor, and I love him so, so, so much.
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proton-selfships · 2 months
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🪐 & 👀
‘Imagine Your S/I Was Canon…’ Self-Ship Asks
Thank you, Lee!
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🪐: What would be your most popular AU and why?
I already mentioned here that I think that soulmate AUs would be popular since my ship canon is so much the opposite of that. Aside from that, I think the most popular would either realistically be a Realism/No Powers AU just because it seems popular in the fandom, but I love imagining myself with powers so I don't know if I'll dwell on it too much myself when making selfship stuff.
But Crossover AUs, oh man, those would open up so many possibilities for crossing over with other things! I've got ideas of what Pokémon teams we'd have if we were trainers, what Pokémon we ourselves would be in the PMD universe, and what species we'd be in a Sonic AU! I was thinking of making another slideshow post about them sometime once I have enough. I need to think of more verses to port Laurelton into, it makes my brain so happy to think about...
And fun fact, I'm actually joining a Pathfinder campaign with some friends based on Dungeon Meshi and I'm basing my character on my S/I and writing Laurel into her backstory! It's gonna be so much fun~
👀: How does your ship with your F/O influence both of your characterisations and the world? Would there be any interesting metas written about your dynamic?
Would it ever! Our character arcs are super intertwined and have major implications for the themes of the show. Not to mention, the people shipping Wednesday and Enid would have a field day drawing parallels.
In actual canon, Laurel doesn't really have an arc so much as she has one mask that's traded out for another mask at the end. I don't think either of them are truly who she is. "Marilyn" is obviously a persona she puts on, but I think there's tiny bits of evidence that parts of that character are who she'd want to be in more peaceful circumstances, like her love of her plants being a part of her even without needing to keep up an act. And then everything she does while not pretending to be that person is in service to a cause that she had no say in being indoctrinated into as a child, not to mention likely informed by the horrific trauma she experienced when she lost her entire family.
All the ingredients are already there for her to have a crisis of faith when her plans end in failure to avenge her family and the scorn of the ancestor she'd been raised to worship. My S/I just adds that final push: someone that she can't deny that she misses and feels bad for having used. And, in turn, her reevaluation of herself and rejection of what she'd been raised to believe proves to my S/I that nobody is inherently a monster and everyone has the capacity to change, something my S/I desperately needs affirmed after believing my powers and intrusive thoughts make me a ticking time bomb that nothing can defuse.
There'd be so much meta about all the themes at work there:
How our union blurs the lines between our social classes that start out being treated by the narrative as immutable and hereditary—I'm actually considering making her temporarily gaining powers from saving my S/I a permanent change to strengthen that theme.
How the buildup to our relationship demonstrates the importance of rehabilitative justice, how we should hold people accountable for their actions while also not deeming their character irredeemable.
How the fact that we become family and bridge the Addams and Gates Families represents a brighter future of coexistence, contrasting the past where Crackstone slaughtered outcasts and Goody had to sacrifice her own humanity to stop him.
How her beginning her redemption and saving my S/I specifically during my most destructive meltdown shows that people are still worthy of love and support even when they're at their worst.
So yeah. So much meta potential, and I'm sure I'll think of even more the moment I hit post and regret not adding them skjdkdshfdsfdsf
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espressokiri · 3 years
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Hi👋 If you could make a part 3 of it had to be done where Takemichi goes back to the past and everyone somehow found out it was him. Like maybe he broke for a second and let it slip. How would would they all react.But no rush and have a good day ❤️
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Tokyo Manji Gang x GN!reader
In which they find out the truth.
Warnings: Dead reader, slight violence, mentions of suicide
Genre: Angst
Note: Oop- part three as the final let's go. Also you guys are so sweet <3
Part one | Part two
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“Takemichi, welcome back!”
Takemichi blinked as he found himself in Naoto’s office, grabbing his head as he let his past actions go through his mind, remembering the vile thing he had done. Nausea crawled up his throat as Chifuyu’s screams echoed in his head.
Shooting up, he looked up at Naoto with hopeful eyes, “I-Is, is Hina alright?”
Naoto nodded with a smile on his face as he clapped Takemichi on the back, “you did it, Takemichi.”
The male let out a sigh of relief as he let himself lay back down, hands rubbing his face as he let himself relax. “I killed them, Naoto.” An uncomfortable silence settled in the office.
“You had to kill them in order to save-”
“I killed someone, Naoto!” Takemichi yelled, cutting the younger male’s speech as his breathing got heavy. “A-are they happy? Are the members of Toman happy?” Takemichi asked, running a hand through his hair, further dishevelling it.
“They’re happy.” Naoto said firmly.
“Where’s Mikey?”
Silence.
“Naoto, where’s Mikey?”
“No one has seen him in the last ten years, he’s off the radar.”
Takemichi gulped as he tried to rack through his mind, figuring out where the male could be. “I have a feeling Kisaki is behind it, his goal was to emotionally manipulate Mikey so he can take over Tokyo.”
“So you’re saying killing Y/n did nothing if Kisaki is still alive?” 
A pounding headache seemed to dull Takemichi’s thoughts, this time travel business was taking a toll on him and he was starting to see it affect his physical and mental state. The eye-bags grew darker and his mind was swirling with dark thoughts, the tremble in his body was constant, but he had to do this to make everyone else happy. He had to do this for his newly acquired friends and comrades. 
“Kisaki took Mikey’s emotional vulnerability and moulded him into his puppet after Y/n’s death. We both know keeping Y/n alive would end in the same future.”
The bustling streets did little to keep Takemichi out of his thoughts, hands in his jean pockets as he walked with his head down. His shoulders jerked as people collided with him in their haste to get to their destination, he let them as he walked through the swarm of people. It was dark, he wasn’t aware of the time as he rushed out of Naoto’s office to have time to himself to process the last forty-eight hours
‘How is Mikey killing people off so easily when I feel this distraught after-’
“Takemitchy?”
Takemichi blinked as he looked up, snapping out of his thoughts.
“Chifuyu?”
Chifuyu looked different, his eyes looked dull -almost haunted as he analyzed the male before him. “You came from the past didn’t you?” Takemichi caught sight of the thin bracelet Y/n always wore on Chifuyu’s right wrist as he fiddled with the metal nervously.
“How’d you figure that out?”
“You’re not running away from me, that’s why.”
Takemichi’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, what had transpired in the past when he came back?
Chifuyu sighed before a sad smile settled on his lips, clapping Takemichi on the back as he led him to a nearby coffee shop.
It was a rather calming environment in the cafe, the lingering aroma of the bitter drink wafting the air, engulfing the cafe in a warm embrace. The lights weren’t too bright, allowing the eyes to settle themselves from the dark street outside. The crowd was calm, the cafe only littered with sleep deprived university students who were too consumed in their laptop with two to three empty mugs on their table. 
Chifuyu was leaning back on the chair, hands in his hoodie pocket as he stared at the table in front as an awkward tension fronted between the two. Only the sounds of the laptop keyboards clacking and the rustling of papers could be heard, aside from the slight chatter amongst coworkers.
“What happened?” Takemichi’s voice was soft, it may have been ten years for Chifuyu but it was only two days for Takemichi himself. “You couldn’t handle the guilt and cut us off a couple of months after their death.” Chifuyu gulped, staring out the window to keep himself away from remembering the scene. 
“They’re okay... Mikey on the other hand...” Chifuyu sighed before staring right into Takemichi’s wavering eyes, “Mikey lost it after you left Toman.”
“You reminded him too much of Shinichiro, you leaving from Toman was like losing Shinichiro all over again. He lost himself to his own dark impulses, especially since Kisaki managed to indulge him in that darkness.”
“Takemitchy, take my advice and stay far away from the city,” Chifuyu leaned forward as seriousness took over his features, “you slipped up and Kisaki heard you muttering to yourself about killing Y/n. He’s convinced Mikey it was you, Mikey is going to kill you.”
“If that was the case then why am I not dead yet?”
Chifuyu shrugged, “thats why I was surprised to see you alive. You don’t understand how highly Mikey thought of Y/n, he would do anything and everything to avenge them. You’re lucky the Kawata twins aren’t involved in this.”
Takemichi gulped, this was not how he was planning this to go. He didn’t want to become Toman’s enemy, especially not Mikey’s after taking so long to build that trust he fought for. He has to fix this in the past somehow but he was coming up with blanks, Kisaki has to stay away from Mikey at all cost.
Chifuyu noticed a figure staring at the two through the window, his eyes narrowing at the item in his hand before gasping as it was aimed towards them.
“Get down!” Chifuyu exclaimed, jumping out of his chair and pulling Takemichi down with him as a rain of bullets crashed through the cafe’s window. Screams were heard as their ears rang from the sudden sounds of gunshots, glass crinkling under the footsteps of the visitors rushing out of the cafe. Chifuyu let go of Takemichi as he glanced up and caught the eyes of their old Toman leader. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at the, now, black haired leader. Mikey looked unhealthy despite the wild look in his eyes as he glared down at Takemichi, clothes hanging off of his frame.
“We finally meet, Takemitchy.” Mikey’s voice was void of emotion.
Takemichi shivered as he met the gaze of Mikey, this was not going in his favour at all, “M-Mikey!”
Mikey’s eyes turned from Takemichi’s to Chifuyus, the latter’s gaze not wavering from their old leader despite the shaky breathing showing his true emotion of fear. “You’re with the traitor now? Did you just forgive him like that?” Mikey released the safety of the gun, aiming it towards Chifuyu as his gaze landed on his wrist, eyes narrowing on the piece of jewelry that wrapped around it.
“How dare you wear that when you’ve easily forgiven Takemitchy for framing their death as suicide?” Mikey’s voice grew aggressive as his hand shook with rage, “did all of you just forget their importance?!”
“Mikey, there’s an explanation!” Chifuyu tried but mercy was not spared as a bullet was fired right through his skull. The thud of the slack body and the oozing blood had Takemichi screaming, his breathing erratic as he held both hand to his mouth. “Chifuyu!”
“That’s what happens to traitors.” Despite killing one of his old comrades, Mikey pushed past it as if it were a mere bug he squished.
The gun was then pointed at Takemichi, his trembling figure a pathetic sight to the former Toman leader. “Tell me Takemitchy, how was it seeing Y/n die? What was your purpose to do such a thing?”
“Do you know how much it hurt, Takemitchy? Did you know I was planning to confess to them the very next day? I wouldn’t have cared even if they rejected me because they were my everything and you took that away from me!” A broken laugh escaped the male, “how would you feel if I stole Hina from you?”
Takemichi swallowed down the bile that rose up his throat, teary eyes staring at Mikey in fear. If he dies now, everything he did would be in vain. “M-Mikey...” He didn’t know how to formulate his words, a seemingly tight hold on his throat. “It wasn’t supposed to end like this.” Takemichi murmured to himself, knowing there was no way he was going to convince Mikey of anything now, he was too far gone.
The suspense irritated Mikey as he clicked his tongue in annoyance and released the safety of the pistol, “this is for Y/n, Takemitchy.”
A loud bang resonated the room.
Takemichi curled up on himself, ears ringing. No pain ebbed away at his form, confusion settled as he raised his head up from his position. The silence was deafening. 
“Takemichi.”
Naoto’s voice had his head snapping up, in front of him lay Mikey’s corpse, a slight twitch in his fingers. Takemichi couldn’t hold down his urge to vomit any longer, he threw up the contents of his stomach as he leaned forward on his hands and knees, tears falling along with the fluid. The burn in his throat became irritating.
“I-I have to go back.” He rushed as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve, shakily getting up off his knees. 
“We have Hina saved, we caught Mikey, nothing can harm us anymore.” Naoto rationalized, stepping over the corpse and towards the older male. “N-No! If it’s not Mikey it’ll be Kisaki, I have to go back! I don’t want any of them dead! I have to save Chifuyu and Mikey.”
Naoto sighed before extending his hand forward toward the crying male, “let’s hope it’s better the next time round.”
Takemichi grabbed Naoto’s hand and a tingle went through his body as his consciousness was thrown back ten years.
The loud banging of the door jostled him awake, scrambling off of his bed and dashing towards the front door. Throwing it open, he found a rather annoyed Draken. “Listen, I know it’s rough but you can’t go missing on Toman meetings.” He grunted before giving Takemichi a glance over, a snicker escaping his lips, “also, don’t open your front door when you’re barely dressed.”
“Huh?”
Takemichi glanced down and immediately wrapped his arms around himself, only sporting briefs on his person. 
Draken rolled his eyes before turning back to head out, “Mikey is expecting you.” Was all he uttered before walking away from his residence. 
‘What could Mikey want to talk about? Does he already know I was behind this? Maybe I messed up both timelines already by doing something so drastic.’
He made it to the shrine where Toman meetings are held, gulping down his fear as he found Mikey sitting on the top steps with Draken beside him. Takemichi wished he brought Chifuyu with him but was adamant on not dragging him into this mess. He didn’t want to see Chifuyu die for his sake. 
“Ah, Takemitchy!” It was odd to see the child-like demeanour of Mikey, especially right after he attempted to shoot him, “come sit with us.” He patted the ground next to him as Takemichi made his way over.
“You know, I didn’t think Y/n’s death would affect you like this.” Mikey hummed, “I thought you two weren’t close.”
“We weren’t, but they were nice.” Takemichi muttered, despite not knowing Y/n for long, it felt like he knew them for longer due to seeing them in the future constantly.
“They were, weren’t they?” Mikey had a far off look in his eyes, perhaps he was thinking of the words he could have said before any of this took place. Maybe it was the confession that future Mikey had told him about.
Takemichi awkwardly fiddled with his fingers, gaze set on the floor as he mulled over his idea of coming clean to Mikey. 
“You’re odd, Takemitchy.”
Those three words had Takemichi break out in cold sweat, heart beating fast as he froze. “W-What do you mean?”
Mikey made sure to note his stutter, Draken eyeing the male too. The two have been discussing about Takemichi’s ability to pin-point and know certain things that they themselves couldn’t think of or predict. 
“You’re hiding something.” Mikey faced Takemichi, a serious expression on his face, “you’re different during odd periods of time, it’s like you’re in a confused haze. You can predict certain things that we can not, like Kiyomasa’s attempt at killing Draken. Chifuyu seems to have trusted you quite easily, especially after Baji’s death. You two look like you’re conspiring consantly.”
Each word that came out of Mikey’s mouth had Takemichi praying to every God that was willing to answer his prayers for things to go his way as anxiety took over and his body heated uncomfortably under the gazes of the two top members in Toman.
“Remember when I asked you if you were really a middle school student?”
Takemichi nodded, avoiding his gaze.
“I had my doubts because we heard you say something about wasting fifteen years. You also sound way too mature at times.”
It was all unfolding right in front of Takemichi, he hadn’t been careful enough and now they’re going to figure it out and kill him, but it was now or never.
“I’m Takemichi from the future.” 
Mikey leaned back as he absorbed the information as Draken look bewildered, “how’s that possible?”
“I don’t know but it just happened, and I’ve been on the mission to save you guys in the future. It started with just wanting to save Hina but... You guys are my friends and I want to save you too.”
“How bad is the future?” Mikey asked, curiosity masking his shock.
“Very. I’ve been going back and forth trying to figure out the triggers and even when I do save someone or end up changing the timeline it just got worse and worse. You guys were getting killed each time.” Takemichi bit his lip.
“That’s how you knew about Draken, huh?”
Takemichi nodded before cringing away as the topic he wanted to avoid came up, “who killed us?”
“U-um, Y/n did.”
The two best friends looked at Takemichi warily, Draken had clicked the events of Y/n’s death together as he abruptly stood up and grabbed Takemichi by the collar, “tell me you didn’t!” Draken seethed, lifting Takemichi off the ground. 
Mikey took a minute to understand where the anger Draken was feeling came from, a dark look forming on his face as he slowly stood up.
“I had to! They were miserable in the future, Y/n wanted it to be over with!” Takemichi grasped Draken’s wrist, attempting to get away from his grasp. “You framed it as a suicide?” Mikey’s voice was dark, face void of emotion as he was trying to figure out what to make of Takemichi.
“They knew what was in the drink! I told them what happens in the future and they went through with it!”
“There could have been another way!” Draken shook him vigorously, his own form shaking at the thought of them dying alone with a male Y/n hardly knew. He wondered how scared Y/n must have been. Tears were streaming down Takemichi’s face as he defended his choice, “there wasn’t! I tried! I didn’t want to do it but they were the ones to kill all of Toman each and every time!”
A kick to his head sent him flying and landing roughly on the ground. Mikey slowly lowered his leg, walking towards Takemichi eerily. The crying blonde tried to back up but a foot landed on his stomach, holding him in place.
“Did you know I was going to-”
“You told me you were going to confess to Y/n the day you found them! You told me that in the future after you shot Chifuyu and almost shot me!” Mikey froze at the confession.
He had slight doubts before but now it was confirmed, he never told anyone his plan of confessing despite the not-so-subtle affection Mikey used to showcase. Takemichi must be telling the truth about Y/n disrupting the future, albeit not knowing he himself was behind Y/n being manipulated into staying with him. 
Mikey slowly lifted his foot off of Takemichi, eyes downcast as a sullen look came over him, “I shot Chifuyu?”
Takemichi nodded, “you were after me and shot him just because he was associated with me after what I did.”
Mikey nodded numbly before glancing at Draken who looked defeated at the confrontation, “I didn’t want to do it, I really tried so hard for everything to change by not resorting to that!” Takemichi cried as he got on his knees before bowing in a dogeza formation.
“I’m so sorry!” Takemichi’s voice cracked as he sobbed.
Draken and Mikey were alarmed at the sudden prostration, sensing his genuine apology as the boy was in shambles. They realized how much of a burden Takemichi may have been carrying on his shoulders, it was like the fate of their lives was all he survived this long for. 
“Oi, Takemitchy.” Draken voiced, “get up.”
Takemichi stayed in position, chanting apologies like a prayer, form trembling as sobs escaped through his words. Mikey placed his hand on Takemichi’s back, “get up, Takemitchy. You did what you had to.”
The sobbing boy raised his upper body, now on his knees as he wipes snot and tears off his face with his jacket sleeve. Hiccups escaping him as the two males stared slightly disgusted at the snotty and tear-stained male, noting to avoid holding onto his sleeve.
“We’re not going to blame you,” Mikey began, smacking a hand on the boy’s back to get him to loosen up, “but I feel like Draken deserves to get a punch in to get his feelings out of the way.”
Takemichi gulped as he heard Draken crack his knuckles, accepting the conditions. It was only fair as Mikey got his anger out with the kick he delivered earlier. “I deserve it.” Takemichi whimpered as his head turned to the side at the powerful impact. 
It felt like Draken had poured all his power and energy into that one punch to get one hit in. Draken grinned as he rubbed his knuckles after delivering the hit, “don’t worry anymore, Takemitchy.”
“Next time, come to us and we can help you out. You don’t need to do this alone.” Mikey gave a closed eye smile as he extended a hand out to Takemichi. The beaten male looked between the two in awe, wondering how they could forgive him like this. Grabbing Mikey’s hand, he let himself be hauled up.
Mikey wrapped his arm around Takemichi’s shoulder as they walked away from the area, “let’s not tell the rest of Toman about this, especially not Smiley, he’ll kill you on the spot.”
Takemichi gulped as he agreed.
“I’m not over their death yet,” Mikey continued, “they weren’t in pain, were they?”
“No, no they were fine. They knew something was wrong the moment I stepped foot in their apartment. They knew what was in the drink but proceeded to go through with it anyway. It was painless.”
The cool wind soothed the heated body of Takemichi as he made way to the park where he asked Chifuyu to meet. He decided on staying a couple more days to note Toman’s behaviour and to make sure nothing goes awry. The relief he felt was one for celebration as he swung the plastic bag filled to the brim with snacks and drinks, he was glad it went better than he had expected. 
The hunched figure of Chifuyu on the swing has Takemichi bounding over to him in excitement. 
Chifuyu flinched as Takemichi appeared in front of him suddenly, looking less tense than he had earlier. “You scared me.” Chifuyu breathed out but smiled seeing the male out of the house again.
“I told them, Chifuyu.”
The boy’s eyes widened as he acknowledged Takemichi’s bandaged face, scanning the injuries and realizing they probably got some hits on him after the confession.
“And?”
“They’re okay, they believed me but had to get a few hits in to get that anger out.” Takemichi shrugged, “I thought I was done for! They pieced together most of it though.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he extended the hand holding the plastic bag towards Chifuyu who glanced at the contents, “calls for a celebration, huh? Toman will be okay.”
Chifuyu let out a relieved smile as he grabbed the bag to rummage through, “We’ll be okay.”
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ohnominamino · 3 years
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An Essay on Love in Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
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Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time is a movie about love in all its forms. From the love of family, friends, and neighbors, to the compassion we feel for people we have never met. The movie reminds us that love is something we continuously gain, lose, and choose, again and again. Which love is greatest? In my opinion, the answer to that question is left up to interpretation. In this essay, I will give my own personal interpretation on certain character interactions and what I believe we are meant to take away from their Rebuild portrayals. 
The character I will start with is one I’ve noticed the most outrage over from people who haven’t seen the movie and read out-of-context spoilers: Kaworu Nagisa. 
Kaworu is a beloved character among many Evangelion fans, especially those who are members of the LGBT+ community. He is a canonical love interest of Shinji Ikari and I want to reassure people that this final movie does not change that fact. However, it does not make the couple blatantly endgame either. This skirting around the couple might make some fans upset, and while their feelings are completely valid, I do not think they fully understand the difficulties faced by LGBT+ people in Japan, nor do they understand the way that romance is typically conveyed in Japanese storytelling. (I recommend watching “Is ‘Yuri On Ice’ Good Gay Representation?” by James Somerton for more about storytelling nuances.) 
What have we been shown about Shinji and Kaworu’s love? The good news is, anything you read into the original TV series and End of Evangelion is completely true for the Rebuilds— because Kaworu is the same Kaworu. This movie proves Evangelion is a single universe set on repeat, and that Kaworu and Shinji meet each other every loop, and in each, Kaworu is trying to make Shinji happy. Within the final movie, Shinji becomes aware of the loops and chooses to break the cycle and free Kaworu from his pain. 
What does the relationship between Shinji and Kaworu teach us? I believe the purpose of their love is to show the audience that first, in the words of Kaji, “love has no gender.” Second, I believe Kaworu’s love in particular is a warning about basing your own happiness solely upon another person. There are parallels drawn between Gendo/Yui and Kaworu/Shinji. Gendo could not exist without Yui, and so he was willing to destroy the world to be reunited with her. For Kaworu, it was not the destruction of humanity, but the destruction of himself that defined his tragedy. What’s important within the final movie, in my opinion, is that Shinji does not reject Kaworu’s love. With the insight he’s gained from remembering past loops, he sees Kaworu’s love and appreciates him, but he also sees his suffering and wants to ease it. He helps Kaworu into a new world where he can seek his own happiness and find balance in his life (something his father did not have). 
While Kaworu and Shinji are not seen as an explicit couple at the end of the movie, it’s significant to note that, when he sets Kaworu free, Shinji holds out his hand to Kaworu as a promise to stay together. Over the course of the movie, Shinji comes to accept his connection to others through accepting touch (in the form of hand holding and hugs from Rei, Misato, and Gendo); however, Kaworu is the only character in the movie who Shinji initiates physical contact with and that speaks to how much Kaworu means to him. This simple gesture, in my opinion, keeps the door open for Kaworu and Shinji to be a couple one day, after Kaworu has found more balance in his life. 
If I were to write an entire essay about Kaworu, it would be titled, “Out of the Coffin: How the Resurrection of Kaworu Nagisa Buries the Tragic Lovers Trope” because this movie truly does just that. 
Another potential love interest for Shinji for many years was Asuka; however, unlike with Kaworu, the nature of this relationship is not left up to interpretation by the end of the movie. Before her big final battle, Asuka tells Shinji, “I think I loved you back then” (regarding their time in middle school) and Shinji, during Instrumentality, tells Asuka, “Thank you for saying you loved me. I loved you too.” It is past tense. 
What does this relationship teach us? It’s a beautiful way of showing that we can love people, and grow and learn, and let go when we no longer fit each other. Letting go is an integral part of life. Whereas other Instrumentality scenes involve touch, Asuka’s, mirroring the ending of End of Evangelion, has a distinct lack of touch. Shinji sits with his arms around his knees and Asuka turns her body away from him. He gives her his thanks and he sends her off to find her peace. Asuka and Shinji teach us that it’s okay to grow out of relationships. You can appreciate what they were to you at the time they happened and move on. 
What about Rei? To be honest with you, this movie is less about Rei’s relationship with Shinji, and more about her relationship with the world. Rei teaches movie viewers about the simple pleasures of living. While Shinji is in mourning for the first quarter of the movie, Rei (as “Sokkuri”) is learning about crop growing and community, the wonder of babies and kittens, the joy of the bath after a long day of fruitful work, and the power of words and picture books. At the end of her life, she only regrets not having more time to spend with the people she loves. In Instrumentality, Shinji accepts her hand when it is offered to him, which I hope signifies he is ready to see life as she had come to during the final movie. 
Rei teaches us that we can love living and to not take our limited time for granted. 
Next, we move on to parent figures: Gendo and Misato. I think they both represent people ill suited to the role, who do the best they can despite it. Gendo, as mentioned for Kaworu above, is a warning about defining yourself by your relationship to another person (Ikari, afterall, is Yui’s name). He is also a lesson in how people mourn and how they can lash out. Misato, like Gendo, felt herself a poor parent, and while mourning the loss of Kaji, she gave up her child to be raised by other people, but, unlike Gendo, went forward to put all her energy into protecting humanity. Both of them reach out to hug Shinji within the movie and he accepts them where they are. 
While I wouldn’t say the movie shows that Shinji forgives Gendo, it does show his making an effort to understand and make peace with what others have done. For Misato, it is fair to say we can still hope for a better future, even when it feels like everything is crumbling around us. Her self-sacrificing love for her son and the whole of humanity is what enables Shinji to then save the people he loves (via the spear of Gaius). 
In the movie, we are also shown friendship. Touji, Hikari, and Kensuke are important members of their community who maintain open communication with those around them and respect others’ boundaries. They are patient and kind and represent the importance of being present. They teach us to meet people where they are and support them how we can, whether it’s giving them a warm meal or giving them space when they need it. 
There are many more characters that could be talked about, but today I am going to end on Mari. Mari’s love is physical. She enjoys being in people’s personal bubbles. She cuddles Asuka and helps trim her hair, she gets into Gendo’s space at college, and at the end of the movie, she reaches out her hand to Shinji to help him stand up from his seat. Upon first glance, some viewers might take Mari and Shinji’s final scene to be romantic, but the reality of it is this: We do not, and cannot, know what kind of love she is meant to represent in his life.
We do not know Mari’s relationship with Shinji because they hardly interact in the movie. She clearly cares about him, but in my opinion, it comes from a place of duty and compassion— Mari was friends with Gendo and Yui. She has been there since he was born. (If we take the manga to be canon, then Mari even had romantic feelings towards his mother. Her hairstyle and glasses are from Yui. At the end of the movie, Mari has changed her hairstyle, which to me implies she has moved on, and “getting” with Shinji would be a thematic break.)
Additionally, their conversation, while flirty, is very much one that implies they haven’t seen each other for a while. Mari is someone who is very physically affectionate. With everyone. If someone ignores that and focuses on the fact she gets into Shinji’s space and claims that’s romantic, they better acknowledge it’s possibly romantic with Asuka, who we see far more intimacy with. When Mari flirts, Shinji flirts back and her initial reaction is surprise, “Wow, you’ve learned to talk back!” Her purpose is clear. She is there to remove the DSS choker from his neck. 
Personally, I love that Mari is the one to close the movie, for the exact reason that we do not know her relationship with Shinji. For Mari to have an assigned role would be to say, “This kind of love is most important,” when the entire movie was spent showing us each love is of equal importance in the balance and building of our lives. (It’s wonderful to see those types of love embodied across the platform from Shinji at the end of the movie: Rei and Kaworu, who, just like in End of Evangelion, could signify the ability to connect with others and be loved.)
If you view Mari as a romantic love interest, then I think it speaks to the value that you as an individual give to romance rather than what the characters themselves are feeling. To me, Mari, the character who was created to “destroy Eva,” is a symbol of all love. When Shinji takes her offered hand and then pulls her to run into the new world, it’s a symbol of balance. The give and take of any kind of relationship. 
We are the product of every relationship we have ever had, from our parents to the people we once loved, from our friendships to any other person we want to stay connected to. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time is a story about these relationships. It is a story about love. 
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har-rison-s · 3 years
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pray, do tell
request: If you don’t mind me asking, request for Loki asking the other Loki’s if they have a s/o in their timeline during episode 5?
a/n: hi ! i absolutely ADORE this idea and i hope i'll write it out respectfully :)) i loved episode 5 so much, except for SOME scenes, and i especially enjoyed multiple lokis sitting around and talking, chilling, that's like... my dream place to be. YOU DON'T KNOW THE EFFECT PRESIDENT LOKI HAS ON ME. like it should be studied in labs and schools cos ??????? that feeling when he's on screen was just something else. also ! kid loki holding alligator loki my beloved <3. i'd love to be surrounded by lokis, me and loki actually have the same personality type so they're like... my people. sorry for the rant, hahah ! this one is a bit shorter than my other loki works, sorry about that :/ also it took me like 40 minutes to find decent gifs lmao. happy reading !! <3
masterlist
mcu masterlist
warnings: nothing really
disclaimer: lokis mentioned have he/him pronouns !
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Weirded out by what he's seeing, and not entirely sure it's real, Loki can't take his eyes off it, either. The way alligator Loki drinks his boxed wine is just so fascinating to him, yet weird and other-wordly (he knows those well) at the same time. And he's weirded out more by the fact that he doesn't find a variant of him being an alligator strange in any way. He's had a few trying days, as he said himself.
Loki manages to divert his eyes off the creature with horns on its head and looks to the grapes he holds in his hand. He picks small dirt away from the berries and takes a grape into his mouth with ease. The taste reminds him of many things. His childhood, his home, his family... Thor, Frigga, Odin, Sif and the Warriors Three. Asgard. The Gardens, the waters, the Bifrost. Heimdall. Visits to the city, the markets, the celebrations.
Love.
Loki blinks, fooling himself and others by aiming to portray that he's not thinking about anything important. But he is. She was the most important thing to him, and now... Well, maybe during the New York heist, she's still fine, but after Ragnarok... Loki fears too much to think about it.
He wishes he could remember everything with her that followed New York, but all he has of their future is some worn-out tape in the TVA archives. Perhaps even pictures... He wants to live through all they had now, he wishes he could do that most of all. Of course, there's the finding Mobius and helping Sylvie burn down the TVA thing, but upon remembering her, it all falls into the background.
His first love. Not a god, like him, but she was a goddess in his eyes. He smiles now, subtly, at the fond memories of her. He noticed the little moments he had with her in the tape Mobius had, about his whole future. How beautiful she always was, her subtle way of laughing and going about her smiles and giggles, how exceptional and different her clothes always were, how her hair shined in any light...
“Did any of you...” Loki starts to say, and sighs shortly before continuing, thinking he'll probably regret asking it, “did any of you leave a... a lover behind when the TVA arrested you? Prince or princess?” He looks between his variants. Young Loki shoots him a stern look. “Apologies, my liege. You seem too young for that.” Loki bids him a polite smile, but his brain whirs. “How long have you been here, anyway?”
“Don't know. Time doesn't really... exist here.” Young Loki says and throws a salt biscuit into alligator Loki's jaws. “But no lovers in my lifetime, Loki.” He pointedly looks at the older variant of himself, nodding slightly.
“Not yet, at least.” Loki points out and gets scoffs and chuckles from Boastful and Classic Loki. He looks at them with a furrowed brow.
“Oh, you and your grand plan,” Classic Loki shakes his head before taking another sip from his huge cup. Loki only rolls his eyes, but still waits for answers to his question, “well,” Classic Loki downs his drink, “it would be no surprise to you that I had countless partners before I chose isolation. Partners of any kind.” He winks. Loki nods, understanding how much alike he truly is with his variants. “But I feel there is no one truly... truly made for me. Like midgardians would say - 'the one'.“
“In my case, there were many 'the ones',” Boastful Loki says, mocking Classic's use of words. All other Lokis roll their eyes, “I actually feel like every person in the whole universe was made to be with me. I'm just that irresistible.” He smiles pleasantly to himself. Alligator Loki growls again.
“That's another “liar” from him to you, Boast,” Classic Loki nods his head towards Boastful, who only shakes his head and frowns.
“I had my fair share of men and women before I was taken,” Boastful says, “must have been the same for you, Loki.” He looks at him. “Asgard was truly a giving place.”
Loki chuckles, but looks away from his variants. “Oh, it was...” he says quietly, “it was.” His voice grows even more quiet. Young and Classic Loki exchange a look.
“Do tell us, your mischievousness.” Classic Loki urges him. Loki shoots him a nervous look, then he leans back into the sofa and sighs, his eyes strictly focused on his hands.
“I had plenty before I met... one,” he starts to say, “me and her share a past, and, it seems, a future as well. After New York, I am taken to Asgard, imprisoned, but she is there. I fake my death and rule over Asgard as Odin, and she's there. I help Thor destroy our evil sister--”
“Oh, she was a nasty one.” Boastful says, shaking his head. “We used to have a connection, but then she just... I don't even know.” He shrugs. Loki eyes him for a second before continuing.
“We destroyed Asgard, but saved its people, and saved her. We make for Midgard, and she's there with me.” Loki sighs, his eyes gloomy. “And then... Thanos attacks, destroys half, if not all our people, and...” he can't even speak further. His variants share a look, each having quite the correct guess for what could follow after that. Boastful drinks from his cup in an awkward manner. “But I feel like that's another life I lived. Or another me. I don't know, I feel so... disconnected from her, from what we had. Must be the TVA and this... void. And all that's happened, all I've learned about my future.” He sighs again.
“Meeting her again would be a wake-up call, no?” Boastful asks. Loki shrugs, a sad expression on his face.
“Rather a sign that you're real.” Classic Loki says with a wide, true smile. Loki looks to him as if looking at a mentor. “I often felt like the people I loved and the love I had for them, even if it was not reciprocated, were a reminder that I am real, I exist and I can feel all these things.”
Loki considers his words, and then nods along, finding a truth in them.
“After all, love and all other emotions are the human part in all of us.” Classic says. “And it isn't always bad to feel like a regular human being.” Loki can also find truth in those words. Love makes one feel alive, makes you feel like you're on the right path, found the right person, found your purpose. It doesn't always have to be glorious, it can be small, but nonetheless important to you.
“I used to think humans smaller than us, more pathetic and puny, but...” Loki shakes his head, “we, gods, are just the same, really.” He chuckles sadly. “Having quarrels over the stupidest things, being as imperfect as humans... Sometimes I even felt like I was too good, too perfect for something like true love, which is a pathetic emotion that makes you feel all kinds of other feelings, but...” he smiles, “often times I felt like that, she told me everyone was deserving of love, even me.” His smile grows wider.
“She sounds lovely.” Classic Loki tells him with a kind smile.
“She was that, and more.” Loki nods along. Young Loki imitates the sound of a snore and throws a crumpled piece of paper at Loki's shoulder.
“You're making me extremely bored.” He announces and sits straighter in his chair, looking over the mess that is his palace. “Love's boring.” Young Loki throws a juice carton across the room, making a face.
“You are just too young to understand and know it, your majesty.” Boastful says with a wink, and the next juice carton is flying over his head with a snicker from Young Loki. Classic Loki keeps Boastful tight in his seat so an argument wouldn't arise, and Boastful hesitantly restrains, his drink almost spilling over his cup. Loki watches them with a sappy smile on his features, and decides this is a good place to spend eternity at, even without her.
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let me know if you want to be added ! or maybe to a loki list !
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blouisparadise · 3 years
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Here are some amazing bottom Louis fics that were posted or completed during the month of July. We really hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!
1) Jealousy, Jealousy | Not Rated | 1163 words 
Harry gets jealous when James Corden hold his Louis in his lap and pets him on the Late Late Show. He shows Louis who he belongs to and takes care of him.
2) The X-Factor Judge | Explicit | 1635 words 
Harry watches the X-Factor and gets jealous about Brendan jumping on Louis. When Louis gets home Harry reminds him whom he belongs to. 
3) Didn’t Know You Had It In You | Explicit | 1807 words 
Harry sleeptalks and reveals his kinks which Louis is more than happy to try out.
4) Mine | Explicit | 1979 words 
"So you been single for a while now?" Louis gulped as the vibrator slowed down sending a thankful look to Harry before glancing back at the interview who was looking at him with great interest,
"Uhhh yeah," he replied keeping his answer short and brief. He straightened his back shuffling slightly on his chair as the vibrator shifted inside of him hitting his prostate causing him to let out a small gasp as grimaced at the interviewer who just grinned back. She must be an excellent actress or just stupidly oblivious.
5) In The Moment | Explicit | 2611 words 
Note: This is part 2 of this series.
Where it's their first time and Harry is being all fluffy and encouraging Louis to say his name and other dirty stuff?
6) Salvation Under My Breath | Not Rated | 2858 words 
Louis is pregnant...
...and Horny
7) The Sight of You Brings Forth a Peace In Me | Mature | 3254 words
Louis loses inspiration and goes on a nature walk to find some. The inspiration takes shape in the form of Harry. 
8) Put Your Sweet Lips On My Lips | Explicit | 3435 words 
Note: Part one of this fic is #23 on this list. 
Adjusting to one another’s life came as naturally as the sun rising in the morning and brightening the sky, chasing away the darkness that had dared to lurk in its absence. They did not side step each other, did not second guess their instincts once they were finally together. It was the crash of roaring waves - reckless in their paths - but upon meeting had unified into calm waters in the vast sea.
Living with Harry was like a breath of fresh air. In all his years, Louis had never felt alive. He supposed there was some credit to be given to how devoted Harry was to him. The man would rather step in a raging fire than let him suffer even a trace amount of agony.
9) Fuck U (Even) Betta | Explicit | 3568 words 
Note: This is the sequel to this fic.
Harry had sensed Louis was getting antsy all day, prodding and poking at Harry’s psyche like a game of mental whack-a-mole, trying to find that one thing that would flip the switch and push Harry over the edge. Even after all these years Louis still thinks he can get a rise, that he can in any way control the scenario. He couldn’t be more wrong.
10) We Act Like Nothing Is Wrong To Avoid What’s In Front of Us | Mature | 4179 words 
Louis sends nudes meant for Harry to the wrong person on accident. Harry finds out. Rough sex ensues.
11) Love's First Bite | Explicit | 6135 words 
Note: The pairing in this fic is Louis/Zayn.
For Zayn, love was never a part of life’s equation, not when you’re considered a lowly vampire while working in the Vampire’s royalty club, Love’s First Bite. He’s bitter and resentful and sees no point in looking into his past or future. But when Zayn saves a human named Louis, it all changes. He finds something special in him and, more importantly, someone worth giving up everything he holds dear.
12) Your Blueberry Eyes | Mature | 6154 words 
Louis tattoos and Harry falls for blues.
13) Blow Me Away | Explicit | 6471 words 
Louis likes giving blow jobs.
He doesn't exactly get off on it – he's been with people who properly loved it, and he's not quite that into it – but he doesn't mind the feel or the taste and he really, really likes watching his partner lose it, so getting down on his knees regularly is a no brainer.
Which is why it's a bit frustrating that every time he does, Liam hauls him back up again.
14) Thank You For This Prom Night | Not Rated | 6554 words 
Note: This is part 3 of this series.
It's Prom Night. Stuff happens.
15) Can We Make It Anymore Obvious? | Explicit | 6628 words 
Five times the boys accidentally walked in on Harry & Louis plus one time they did it on purpose.
16) It's The Way You Love (I Gotta Give It Back To You) | Explicit | 8153 words 
Stretching, Louis finally pulled the duvet aside and let his feet fall onto the plush rug at his feet. Louis lived for soft, comfortable, plush things. From the fairy lights and fake plants to his plush robe and thick socks, everything in Louis’ little one bedroom apartment was carefully catered to his whimsical and soft aesthetic.
17) My Eyes Want You More Than A Melody | Explicit | 8315 words 
Harry’s brain is short-circuiting at an absolutely awful time, the more expressive side of him is falling to pieces for some reason. The only responses he can give are venerated vibrations and nods, the feeling of Louis’ sweaty skin sliping him further into nothingness. Lightly dewy thighs, so muscular and plush— his lips feel just the same, so dangerously soft, a devious intention lying behind it all. “You’d do anything for me,” Louis mumbles, teeth tugging on Harry’s bottom lip, eyes dragging from his sinfully pink mouth when he lets it go to his hooded green eyes. “Isn't that right, daddy?” Harry whimpers— something that’s so foreign to him— but nods, trailing his hands up his shaved thighs, fingertips passing the hem of the dress.
18) Running Is Different Than Going | Explicit | 9018 words 
Note: The pairing is Louis/OMC.
On the run, the last thing Michael expects from a stranger is help. Louis offers him everything he needs so he can keep running, but makes it harder than ever to continue doing so.
19) Quarantine, Baby! | Teen & Up | 9615 words 
Note: There is no smut, but it contains mpreg Louis, so we’ve included it in this monthly roundup. 
When Harry and Louis get a little too bored in quarantine, they turn to each other for some x-rated entertainment. Then, what starts as a COVID-scare, turns out to be something completely different.
20) Effervescent Horizons | Not Rated | 10676 words 
Note: This is part 6 of this series. There is also no smut, but it contains mentions of bottom Louis, so we’ve included it in this monthly roundup. 
They go to college together!
21) Moments | Explicit | 10726 words 
Looking back, Louis should’ve known that the universe likes to fuck with idiots like him who think they’ve got it all sorted.
Looking back, he should’ve known that the minute he relaxed and let his guard down, when he thought things were going smoothly, that’s when it would hit him.
Looking back, he should’ve known to be on the lookout for a curveball.
He just hadn’t accounted for that curveball to have long legs, green eyes, and dimples; a curveball named Harry Styles.
22) The Blood Is Rare (And Sweet As Cherry Wine) | Explicit | 14270 words 
Note: The sequel to this fic is #8 on this list. 
"Officer, I see you're giving away my secrets already," Harry said as he entered the room.
"It's hardly a secret," Louis accepted the delicate glass, cutting a glance at the man when the underlying scent hit him, "A little early to indulge in such things, isn't it?"
"You've had a long morning, I'm sure. Merely looking after your health, Officer," Harry smiled.
"You don't need to concern yourself with that."
"Someone has to."
23) Violent Delights | Not Rated | 76174 words 
Prince Harry is arranged to mate Princess Charlotte, but first he must spend a month completing courting traditions which ends in a mating ceremony. When he arrives to the Tomlinson castle, he finds the forbidden North wing holds that which the family has worked hard to keep secret. Mainly: the sickly sweet Prince Louis, who’s rare gender has forced his family to keep him locked away for his own protection.
24) Truth Behind Golden Eyes | Explicit | 228727 words 
Louis is a royal servant born with magic in a kingdom where his sole existence is outlawed with a war he has no idea he has a part in upon him. Harry is the prince on whom the burden of mending a broken kingdom falls upon and he might be willing to risk it all for a simple servant if only he admitted it to himself.
Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.
You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.
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maybe-theres-hope · 3 years
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Those Four Words
So yeah I JUST finished Desperate Measures and I literally had to get this out before I could sleep. 
5.03 Coda | 1.6k | Summary: How I would love to see them get their shit together. Title from the episode, referring to Eddie saying “We need to talk” because YES YOU FUCKING DO. *puts on clown nose*
Buck finds Eddie sulking on the bench in the locker room. Because this was becoming a pretty common occurrence as of late, he takes it on himself to do the best friend thing he always does, and walks in to sit beside him. 
The fact that Eddie doesn’t automatically look up at him with annoyance--like he has most of the time Buck has done this in the past few weeks, when they both know what the conversation is going to sound like--is unsettling but not off-putting.
“Hey,” is his opener. Quiet and courteous of Eddie’s obvious pain. Buck’s good at this best friend thing. Had a lot of practice lately.
He gets nothing in reply for long, long moments. He waits it out. Eddie’s a closed-off guy at the best of times, but when he’s hurting, it’s like a steel wall is up between him and the world. Buck’s taken a sledgehammer to that wall a few times and it hasn’t ended pretty. Lately he’s been just simply knocking at it, hoping the man on the other side can hear that he’s not alone. That’s all he can do. 
Then, “I broke up with Ana. Like. Officially.”
Buck is quiet for a moment. “Was there an...unofficial breakup before that?”
“I don’t know. Probably when I panicked twice in front of her at the mere mention of us as a family. Think that set off a few warning bells in her.”
Buck very carefully remains silent. 
“Well, actually. I don’t know if it did because...she was pretty devastated when I told her it wasn’t going to work. Like she didn’t see it coming after all.”
“What did you tell her? At the official breakup, I mean.” Buck doesn’t move, doesn’t speak above a low tone that barely breaches the two-foot divide between them. 
“Not the truth, that’s for damn sure. But. Something maybe close to it.” Eddie still hasn’t looked at him. His hand is half-over his eyes, fingers pressing at his temples like he’s trying to stave off a migraine. Buck’s presence is sometimes migraine inducing, he knows, but he doesn’t think he’s ever done it to Eddie.
...Maybe?
Nah. 
Hopefully not.
“What’s...something like the truth?” he asks.
“Basically that I thought I could grow to love her eventually. I tried hard to do that, but...it’s never going to happen. I know it’s not.”
Buck remains silent, waiting.
“She...she’s not stupid. She figured out that what was sending me into...whatever was happening to me--”
Buck very pointedly does not point out that what was happening were full blown panic attacks, Eddie--
“--was triggered by the thought of a future with her. It’s not even that she’s a bad prospect. She’s perfect, actually. In every way except that she’s not... Nevermind.”
“So, she was good with Christopher, right? I mean, you said she was--” Buck’s concern is hard to hide. If she did anything to hurt Christopher or make him feel...any type of way, Buck will be livid. But he doesn't think that’s the case. He even likes Ana. She’s nice, friendly, caring. She’s just...
“She’s just not for me.”
Buck can clearly see this is distressing Eddie to the nth degree, but he doesn’t know how to fix it. He’s never had to save a relationship before. And is that what he should be doing? Sure, he’s great at this best friend thing and he wants his friend to be happy--more than anything in the world--but he’s at a loss as to what the actual problem is here.
“But Eddie, you said yourself she’d make a great mother for Chr--”
“He doesn’t need another mother! He had one, and she’s gone. He doesn’t need another.” The raised voice makes Buck pause for a moment. It’s the loudest either of them have spoken the entire time, and he’s sure it has a lot to do with the Shannon of it all, but...it doesn’t seem like that’s the whole thing. 
“I don’t know why I tried to force it. I knew it wasn’t going to work from day one. But she’s just...she was the best alternative.”
“Alternative to what? Eddie, what--”
“I’m in love with someone else! Okay? And I know I should have told her that, but I couldn’t. I can’t even...” he cuts himself off with a huff, but for the first time, he looks up to meet Buck’s gaze. His eyes are shining, but he’s not sad. He’s frustrated. Buck’s learned to tell the difference over the years. 
Best friend and all.
He weighs his options, because this is brand new information to him, which is saying something, and he’s not quite sure where to go from here.
Sure, he absolutely knows where he wants this to go, but. He’s also learned over the years that that’s just...not in the cards. Not for Buck, anyway.
Finally, he opens his mouth again. “I...didn’t know you were seeing anyone else besides Ana. Thought you two were, like, a serious thing.” Understatement of the year. How on earth was Eddie seeing someone that Buck didn’t know about? They practically lived out of each other’s pockets half the time. 
Eddie huffs out a small, horrible laugh. “I’m not. Seeing anyone. In that sense, anyway. Though we do see a lot of each other. A disgusting amount, if I’m being honest.” The laugh he lets out here is not horrible. It’s almost...fond. 
“O...kay.” Somewhere inside, Buck’s heart falters. “So, what’s the problem? Do they...not feel the same way?”
Another huff of a laugh. “Dunno. I never asked.” Eddie’s back to rubbing his temples again, almost hiding his face on purpose. 
“Alright, well, that should probably be step one.” Buck can’t keep the hint of scolding out of his tone, but he can see that it makes Eddie smile. “I can help you, if you want?”
This makes Eddie smile even wider, but it turns sad in an instant. “I know you would. But you can’t.”
Buck takes a moment--or several--to consider himself. To weigh all his options and arrive at a logical and sensible conclusion.
Who is he kidding? Buck opens his mouth on impulse, praying to every deity he’s ever heard of that he’s not wrong and he’s not about to ruin everything.
“I can try.” Another small laugh from Eddie in response, a hopeless, resigned one. “Eddie.” When he gets no reaction, he tries again. He really needs eye contact for this, no matter how much he knows Eddie hates it during emotional conversations. “Eddie.”
Slowly, Eddie’s eyes meet his. Buck goes for broke. 
“Step one. Ask.”
Eddie stares at him for a moment, no discernible change in his features. Buck’s eyes plead with him. And then, it’s like Buck can watch the switch flip behind his eyes. When he catches up to what’s being said here. 
Buck holds his breath for what feels like ages and feels his skin grow cold with shame because he was wrong, he was wrong, he was so so wrong--
“Are--” Eddie begins, strained. Buck’s heart stops. “Are we--” Buck’s sure his heart can’t actually stop twice, but it definitely does at this addition. 
His eyes are glued to Eddie’s, though. Like magnets. Pulling in the only direction they can ever go. The way the universe wills them. 
Eddie seems to come back to himself for a moment, flicking his eyes to the glass. Buck’s eyes tear themselves away to look at what’s caught his attention. The entire B shift and some of the A are still milling around outside. 
“Are we really going to do this here?” is the question Eddie actually poses to him. But, when Buck’s eyes snap back to their target, he sees something that kickstarts his heart again, and he lets out the breath he’d been deliberately holding for the last 45 seconds, give or take. Eddie’s tiny, timid smile seals the deal. 
“We could go to my place?” Buck offers. Tries desperately not to think about what could happen. What he wants to happen. 
“I need to get home to Christopher.” Eddie’s standing, grabbing his duffel. Buck’s nodding, because yeah, that’s true. He scrubs his mind of the...thoughts that were just playing through it.
“And so do you,” is what’s tacked onto the end, just thrown out there, like it’s the most normal, logical thing in the world. Eddie’s face is still a little timid when Buck looks up, but his own face must give away his heart because Eddie’s smile after that is radiant. He hands Buck his own bag, also giving him a hand up off the bench.
Yeah, his legs are a little wobbly. Good best friend actions, Eddie. Thanks. 
Though. Buck doesn’t know if that term still applies. Are they friends? Are they more now? But they haven’t talked about anything so, like, they’re not anything yet, right? But Eddie said he was in love with--
His thoughts halt when Eddie lands a small kiss to his lips, there and gone again in a nanosecond and wow, that had no right to be as earth-shattering as it was, it was just a peck, for Christ’s sake, and--
“Buck. Get your shit and lets go, yeah?”
“Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.” Smooth. 
But Eddie’s smiling. For real this time. Buck will take that.
lbr, the show wouldn’t acknowledge Taylor during this conversation. It’d be wrapped up the next episode and she would storm out and never be heard from again. Definitely NOT how I’d want that to go, but. We all know it would. *honks clown nose*
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kawaiijohn · 3 years
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Rewind, Rinse, Repeat Chapter 1
For Invisobang Minibang 2021
Ao3 Link
Chapters: 3 finished, 12 total Rating: T+ Warnings: Major and Minor Character Death- all temporary, Implied Child Abuse/Neglect, Strong Language, Mild Body Horror, Mild Injury. Other warnings listed by chapter Characters: Clockwork, Danny Fenton, Pariah Dark, Levi | Leviathan (OC), Mal (OC), Observants, Mentions of other characters Ships: Lost Time, Dark Ages, CW & OC child, CW & Levi | Leviathan (OC) Genre/Tropes: Human AU, Magic AU, Found Family, Character Origin, Hurt/Comfort, Original Magic System and Lore Additional Tags: Existentialism & Existential Angst, Memory Loss & Amnesia, Corruption, Clockwork Centric, They/Them Pronouns for Clockwork, The Fenton's A+ Parenting, Obersvant Bashing
Summary
“Clockwork can I ask you something? How did you become a ghost?”
The tale surrounding the mystery of Clockwork's existence; a world where magic is common and ghosts are not. A world where one lonely, average mage tries with all their might to save what means most to them. A world where things need to be remade into something better.
Shout out to my betas @bibliophilea and @moonlights-shadow-warrior for keeping me sane, @13thdoodle for letting me use their OC, Levi, @dailudannos and @sailor-toni for providing art for later chapters, and all the folks over at @invisobang for being awesome!!!!
Chapter One below the Cut. The rest is available on my Ao3 account because tumblr linking/posting is hella broken.
Chapter 1: An Inquiry
“Hey, Clockwork? Can I ask you something?”
Clockwork looks over from the mirror they were watching intently.  “You already have, Daniel,” they reply, offering the other a smirk.
“Oh, ha ha.  You've never said that to me before.”  The reply is filled to the brim with sarcasm, as per usual.  Danny rolls his eyes, but a small smile gracing his lips betrays the fact he isn't annoyed in the least.  “Seriously, though.  It’s something that's been on my mind like... every day for the last two weeks!!"  He raises his hands towards the sky, flopping back in the air dramatically.  "But... it's kinda, y'know.  Personal-”  Danny trails off, slightly embarrassed.
Of course.  Clockwork finds themself smiling fondly- Danny thought he’d said something he shouldn't have- an inquiry that could make his guardian upset (as if it's even possible to upset Clockwork like that).  A question is a question, and this is a worrying habit of his that the Time Master is trying to help break, even if it's still somewhat endearing to them.
“I uh, I mean... it’s personal about- to you, not to me. That’s what I meant!!” Danny continued.
Clockwork stares at him, unblinking.  An idea (or thousands) of what he may ask flashes through their mind’s eye.  With a single, calming pulse to their Core, Clockwork pushes the involuntary slideshow of timelines aside as if they're no more than curtains.  They need to focus on the window in front of them; the here and now, not the temporal drapery.
It's a habit they are trying to overcome for Daniel’s sake.  To ensure their ward's growth, they need to stop peering into the near future as often- not discourage his asking of questions.  After all, what is a child if not but a well of endless curiosity?  Cutting Danny off is also sure to disallow the development of any trust or patience Clockwork needs to build within their young ward.  They wouldn’t receive either of those things if they assume what he wanted to ask.
It's common decency to not assume, lest it ‘make an ass out of you and me’, according to Daniel.
It is going to be a tough habit to break, but by the (other) Ancients, they're trying their best.  Their ward deserves the infinitesimal choices all other children have when asking things of their guardians, so even if they do glimpse to the future, they will not mention it to him.  Clockwork refuses and will continue to refuse to take their ward’s agency away; to not have a choice in things is a fate worse than fading.
The boy has been quiet, stuck deep within his own thoughts even after an impressive five minutes and thirty-seven and a half seconds of silence (uncharacteristic of the boy, Clockwork notes).
Now that just won't do- he must have lost his train of thought.  Clockwork gestures at the ghost boy, motioning for him to continue.  It works- Danny adverting his eyes and clearing his throat, "Well, it’s just like- you know so much about me- like, how I died, the whole Ghost Zone Prince business, that entire disaster doomed timeline with Dan... I just keep thinking- no- realizing, that I barely know anything about you!!”  He throws his arms up in thinly veiled frustration.
Clockwork smirks. “You had another question, did you not?”  They place a hand along the edge of the closest Temporal Mirror, turning to face the mirror- still halfway facing Danny.  They can see his inner debate clearly written on the boy's face- the mirror reflecting as if it were an ordinary object (for now).  They turn towards it fully and watch Daniel's reaction from behind them, acting as if they aren't finding joy in their ward's hesitation.  It's always adorable when he tries not to offend Clockwork. "I may be able to work with time, but that doesn't mean I wish to float here waiting for an answer all day."
Danny blinks a few times, rolling his eyes again in response.  Clockwork is certain that if they weren’t secured to his skull by human musculature they’d fall out and roll away.  “Well, I’m sorry for trying not to be rude and like, asking outright... but since it’s you I have to always be super direct!!  Jeeze you’re frustrating sometimes!”  He floats towards his mentor, crossing his arms.
Danny often forgets Clockwork isn't easily upset over trivial things such as questions.  Most questions are about things they already know the answers to, anyways.  And the few things that they don’t know when asked, they figure out soon after.  Such is the duty of the Master of Time- to be a step ahead of everyone and everything else always.  Besides, in most timelines (68.3% of them, to round up) the question Daniel wishes to ask is along the lines of ‘What was your past like?’ Another small fraction (a little under 20%) the question is ‘How did you get so strong?’ .  And even in the remaining timelines, the question would be along the lines of ‘How do your time powers work?’
They are each things Clockwork expects Daniel to ask them at some point or other, as it were.  There isn’t really anything Daniel can ask that could be too shockin-
“Clockwork, I was wondering… how exactly did you become a ghost?”
They... did not see that coming… in any of the timelines they’d glimpsed.  Clockwork stills for only a fraction of a moment, but it’s long enough for Danny to flinch, feeling as if he’s crossed a line.  They hear more than see Daniel shrinking in on himself as they look off into nothing, buried memories waking slowly in their mind.
Clockwork is brought from their introspection by a mumbled curse.  “Shit!  I mean... uh crap??"   They just stare at Danny as they are brought back to the present.  "Never mind just... sorry for asking...  Oh man!  Did I offend you somehow?  Ancients dammit, this is what I was worried about!!”  They watch him curiously, soft whirring coming from their ward's anxious core.  “We can just forget about it if-”  Daniel’s hands wring together nervously, shoulders tense with worry and face full of guilt.
Right- facial expressions are also important for a young ghost's emotional communication and development.  Sometimes the Time Master wonders if their isolation in Long Now affected their social behavior (it did).  Their face is carefully blank most times, so they set to fix it- they offer a small grin, hand coming to rest on Daniel’s shoulder.  “It is more than fine, Daniel.  You asked if you could ask a question- which is in fact, two questions, I should note- but I gave you consent to ask it of me.”  They squeeze his shoulder to placate the worry.
“It’s about time I told you this story, as it were.  I just did not foresee it being told at this very moment."  Clockwork floats slowly, turning away from their Mirrors.  "Come along- it’s best we sit for this.  I’ll have one of your friends bring us some tea.”
Danny floats after his mentor, looking around the room the two normally use to study history of the Realms.  “So, uh… is it a long story or...?”
“Oh, it is very long, indeed.”  They fly through an ornate door and over to their favored 'chair'- a stack of comfortable cushions in violets and blues, both impossibly cool and warm at the same time.  They recall Daniel discovering the room, eyes full of wonder and posture relaxed.  Clockwork chuckles- the first time their boy had wandered in here he'd decided to take a running dive into the pile, jumping up in surprise when it was cold as ice, yet warm as fresh laundry.  The expression on their ward’s face is one of their fondest memories; a happy moment amongst all the tedium of watching time.
“It may take a while to tell this tale proper. But, it is a story that ought to be told.”  Daniel makes himself comfortable on his chair of choice- an unholy combination of 'borrowed' pillows and what appears to be a more modern gaming chair- complete with an obnoxiously bright green-black color scheme.  Clockwork has to hide another smile as Danny wiggles himself deep into the pile.  “So, Daniel- what do you know of the phrase ‘Totems of Power’?”
“I thought I was getting a story, not a pop quiz!  Unfair!!”  His disdain for schooling makes Clockwork laugh fondly before the boy continues.  “But they’re like… hmm how do I explain this?  Well, there’s the universe right?  Like every timeline and every result of every timeline all at the same time kind of ties into the main universe thingy- but there's still a main timeline, and that's kinda like... Main Street, and the other possible timelines are uh... like side streets with dead ends?  But there's other forces that like, aren't time and… uhhh...”
He hums, crossing his arms deep in thought.  Clockwork takes the time to purr-sing-hum at one of the many blobs floating in and out of their lair; Daniel had asked them to keep some around as pets and the Time Master was happy to oblige.  They were unable to deny something so beneficial to the young Prince, after all.  The one deemed ‘Mr. Pants’ by one of Daniel’s friends answers their call.  Clockwork buzzes to it a quiet request- ‘bring Daniel's favorite tea and mugs for two, please.’  The little thing chirrups and zips off through the walls- eager to serve the Lair’s owner and be (potentially) rewarded with pats (from Daniel).
The Time Master brings their undivided attention back toward a grumbling ghost boy, lost in thought.  “Daniel if you need to ask for help I’m glad to-”
Danny snaps his fingers, coming to a realization before his mentor can finish.  “I got it!!  The best way to explain it is ‘The Universe needs to run smoothly, so there’s certain forces- like Time or Space- that are upheld by a powerful entity, like a person or like… the avatar of that concept?  Yeah, something like that, but they ensure the aspect they represent is properly cared for so the universe doesn’t completely like, die.’”  Danny nods to himself.  "It's why you stepped in to stop Dan, to make sure the world didn't end like that."
“That is correct- it is my job to ensure this universe of ghosts and reality doesn't crumble prematurely.  Now, do you have a recollection of any other Totems you may have encountered?”
“Well, yeah!  We call them ‘Ancients’, though- so like… Pandora is the one for war and history, and Nocturn is for like… dreams?  The Void or something, maybe?  And then there’s old man Pariah who isn’t one, but he said there’s a Leadership Ancient somewhere, and then-”  Danny pauses, blinking at Clockwork in realization.  “Wait, you asked that for a reason, didn’t you?”
“That I did.  Becoming the Totem, or Ancient of Time is where this story starts.”  Clockwork hums, seeing Mr. Pants fly back towards the two- nearly spilling scalding tea all over the ground.  “Now then.  We have drinks.  We are sitting comfortably.  I believe it’s time I spin my tale for you.”  They take a sip, closing their eyes in bliss.
They open them once more and see Daniel sitting, eyes full of stars and eager- Eager to hear, eager to fire off a question a minute.  It makes a chuckle bubble up in their throat, to see their favorite person so excited to learn.
“Once upon a time, there was a human; average in most ways, a simple person living a simple life.  They would get up in the morning, perform their daily tasks, and go to sleep at night.  Day in, and day out- a boring, but fulfilling existence.
“However, where this story differs from what we recognize as reality, is that in this realm, humans who could control magic were the norm.  Think as if it were like one of those fantasy games you and Tucker play together- mages, healers… all of those and more were commonplace when I was alive.  Yes, humans can wield magic now, but it is nowhere near as frequent as they could in our tale.”
They pause, seeing that Danny was about to interrupt.  “Wait wait- this realm?  Like- this is a completely different reality?? And people can wield magic now???  Are you messing with me?  Like… I thought it was all just-”  The boy stops, his train of thought drifting off the tracks as it tends to now and then.
“Yes, first, this is a completely different realm from either the Mortal Plane or the Ghost Zone.  Second, Daniel- tell me... have you not noticed the magic of those you have encountered?  Blood blossoms… a reality warping gauntlet?  The existence that is ‘Freakshow’ in general should be a red flag, seeing as his talents were… strangely non-ghostly in origin.  Not to mention objects such as the Infi-map...”
“Man, I wish I could forget about Freakshow… who mind controls ghosts???  He was the worst!” Their young ward crossed his arms and grumbles.
“If you’re done sulking about your past misadventures and former foes, I was in the middle of telling a story, if I recall correctly.  One you asked I tell you…”  Clockwork simply stares, unblinking as steam wafts from their slowly cooling tea.
All is well, they knew Danny would only take approximately 4.85 seconds to snap his attention back to their story.  Clockwork sips their tea, waiting.
Danny snaps out of his thoughts only a millisecond off of Clockwork's prediction. “Sorry... it’s just super weird to think that magic actually… still exists?  Like ghosts are real and all but magic being a thing feels a bit far fetched, don’t ya think?”  He pouts, brow furrowed.
The Master of Time finally closes their eyes, removing the hood from their head.  White hair floats gracefully behind them, settling just past their shoulders.   Clockwork opens their eyes again- a serious, yet warm expression directed at their ward.  “Magic is simply defined as reality altering acts using both energy and the willpower of a sentient being, if that helps.”  Another sip.  Mr. Pants made a wonderful batch of tea, as always.  They smile wider when they notice Danny’s expression- the boy has never seen them without a hood, and they know doing this will (in 99.78% of all possible timelines) convince the boy to take what they said seriously.   ”Just as ghosts can be defined as ‘ectoplasm given form and consciousness’, forces beyond humanity and the physical realm can be explained with scientific terminology if you know where to look.”
“So like... what all did magic have to do with this ‘simple human’ version of you?  Did you ever have the power to shoot lightning??  Could I shoot lightning if I tried?  Like were you some sorta time wizard?  Is that why you’re all… timey-wimey and powerful?”  Danny wiggles his fingers with a look of confusion on his face.
Clockwork always finds their Core warming when their boy acts his age.  He's abnormally prone to shoulder the destiny of the world on himself and often forgets he's just a kid.  “You could continue asking questions one at a time, or you could allow me to tell my story.  The choice is yours, Daniel.”  They smirk, watching as Danny purses his lips, his steady flow of questions stopping short.  The best answer.  “Perfect- all is as I thought it would be.”
They close their eyes and reminisce as they continue.  “Now- to answer your last question… Yes.  You could say magic is how I came to be the Master of Time in both the Infinite Realms and the mortal plane, but there is much more to the story than that.  Other players, situations, and pure circumstances.  The universe in its infinite chances and possibilities brought myself, as well as many others to the situations they face here and now.”  Clockwork pauses, taking the moment to stare straight through Danny’s soul.  “Even yourself.”
The boy shudders, an appropriate response.  “Wait... me?  Did you… do something in the past to like… a past version of someone we know??  Can that even happen???”  Danny is already enraptured by the story, eyes twinkling as his mentor opens up about themself.  The boy is obviously thinking about everything that has happened, everything that could possibly have happened, and everything that Clockwork could possibly drop on him.
They feel Daniel cautiously tug on loose strands of time to see if he could possibly scope out what is about to be said, quickly failing to do much else beside give himself a small headache.  “Time stuff is still really confusing, Clockwork…”
“You could say that.  You could even say that trying to mess with time in the inner sanctum of Long Now is the most confusing ‘time stuff’ one could do if they were not myself.”  They grin- a Temporal Mirror appearing behind them with a thought.
“What’s the mirror for?”  Danny catches sight of himself and looks away, embarrassed that he’s been literally glowing with power after trying to do something so simple with his developing powers.  The glow is something he’s been working on suppressing recently.  After all, it would be a shame if other ghosts could see the boy powering up by aura alone.
The Master of Time smirks, bringing tea to their lips again.  “I thought it would be fun to attempt braiding my hair and doing my makeup for once.  It has been an awfully long time since I’ve done either.”
They stare at Danny who just bursts into laughter.  “Did you just use sarcasm???  Man, I didn’t know you could lighten up, Clockwork!”  The boy laughs harder, sinking deeper into his nest of pillows.  After a few minutes he was finally wiping tears from his eyes.  “But no.  Seriously… what’s the mirror for??”
“Why, what they are always for, Daniel- seeing through time and space.”  Clockwork waves their hand.  The mirrors show an image of a human with dark hair and burgundy eyes.  They have a large, hooked nose and medium brown skin- and Danny finds himself having a hard time guessing their gender.  The human sits at a desk, paused in time with the delicate gears of a clock sprawled along the desk surface, tools in hand.
Behind Clockwork, the image changes, showing the human living through an average day- images play in small spurts, never showing the whole story.  “Do you understand what’s being seen?”  The young boy nods, grabbing Mr. Pants out of the air as the blob drifts between the two.  Good, he will probably need the companionship, especially towards the end.
This isn’t the easiest story to tell, nor is it easy to listen to, but with a sip of their tea, Clockwork continues.
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blackbat05 · 3 years
Text
Day by Day
Shangqi x Reader 
A/N: My love for this man has hit an all time high so let me capitalize on it while I still can! If you read everything, I sincerely thank you for doing so!!! And holy cow 2 fics in 2 days have I gone back into my prime days? 
Genre: PG-13
Notes: As the title mentioned, I’ll probably set it some time after endgame. You could see it as a prequel to my first post! Reader is a social worker and she’s just dealing with all the mess that the snap bought back. The reader’s name as Jen Lee. I also apologize in advance for the potentially long fic. 
***
‘Excuse me, I’m looking for my child? Her name’s Wang Yiman and she’s seven.’ Another frazzled-looking parent fought her way to the front of the receptionist, approaching the helpless intern who looked like she was going to be on the verge of tears if another request came in. 
‘I got this,’ a hand calmly reassured the young intern as she beckoned the relief parent. ‘Mrs Wang? My name is Jen Lee and I’m the social worker here.’ I offered my hand for the anxious mother. ‘Oh thank god! Is Yiman ok? She must have been so scared!’ I slowed to a stop outside the room at the end of the corridor, gently sitting her down. 
‘Yiman has been a very brave girl Mrs Wang, but I will not lie to you. The sudden disappearance of their parents has traumatized a lot of kids. We’ve managed to explain to them what was going on but they will need a lot of support.’ I gave a glance over Mrs Wang’s shoulder, nodding to my colleague, Tammy who was holding the hand of a little girl in pigtails and a floral dress. 
妈妈! mā ma (mommy!)
The young girl ran into her mother’s open arms, allowing the floodgates to open from both ends. I turn to Tammy as we shared a silent agreement to leave the area. ‘That’s the last one for the day,’ Tammy unceremoniously plops herself onto the chair, letting out a groan. ‘Thanks for your hard work Jen.’ 
‘Right back at you.’ I entered the last bit of paperwork before uploading Yiman’s case file onto the portal. Yiman’s reunion with her parents meant the Children and Youth Centre were halfway in getting every displaced child back to their parents. Looking at the dingy television that was hung on the walls at the waiting room, despite not being able to hear anything, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. S.W.O.R.D was apparently in a stand-off against Wanda Maximoff? Reported rumors that Sam Wilson didn’t want anything to do with the shield? It’s been a crazy few weeks but that was utter- 
‘Bullshit! If anything it’s the government. They must have psyched him into giving up the shield.’ My chair swiveled to face Tammy who returned a nonchalant shrug. ‘What? You know I’m right. Doesn’t matter if half the world’s gone or our universe gets split into two - they’re the true evil here. I’m still struggling to find a place after I found a couple making out in my apartment! And you know what the global repatriation council told me? We’re only dealing with urgent cases right now. Well I say f-’
The incessant ringing of the bell interrupted our conversation, replacing Tammy’s tirade into a cheeky grin. ‘Look who’s here!’ 
Shangqi stands behind the counter, dressed in his usual red varsity jacket and jeans, holding bags of what I could only make out as takeout from the Chinese restaurant that was run by a friendly Singaporean couple. ‘Did I interrupt something?’ He scratches his head nervously. ‘Nope, in fact you just saved me from Tammy’s monologue, any further and she’ll explicitly tell me what she saw in her apartment when she got dusted back that day,’ I shivered in mock fear. ‘Still haunts me up till today.’ Tammy meets us by the door, bag in her hand. 
‘I thought you were staying? We got fried dumplings and 泡饭  pào fàn (poached rice).’ 
‘Last minute duty - A parent called, gotta run! Enjoy your dinner date.’ She waggles her eyebrows suggestively, much to our embarrassment. ‘What? It’s not...’ Shangqi stutters, trying to form intelligible sentences. ‘Get out before I throw a fried dumpling at your face Tammy!’ She winks at me, before darting out of the door. Once my nosy colleague was out, I turn towards a red-faced Shangqi. ‘I’m so sorry... just don’t mind her.’ 
‘Huh?’ The man was knocked out of his stupor. ‘Oh yeah... sure,’ in an attempt to forget everything that had just happened, he opened the packets of fried dumplings. ‘Ready for war?’ 
‘I was born ready.’ 
Thirty-five minutes later, all that was left were the remnants of fried dumplings and three empty containers. 
‘This should be illegal,’ I patted my stomach in satisfaction to his amusement. ‘Laugh at yourself! You lost track of how many dumplings you had and ended up taking my share!’ 
Raising his hands in defeat, Shangqi starts to clear the table up. ‘So how’s the center? Everything alright?’ I nodded numbly. 
The past five years had been a blur. Hazy, even. All I remembered was a kid running into the office telling me that half of the staff disappeared during a school holiday program that we were running with a dozen other kids. Parents who survived the snap rushed to our center, demanding to see their children. We couldn’t give them any answer as we too, were equally perplexed. Maybe the only thing that made sense was Shangqi and Katy bursting into the center to help us with the chaos. 
Coming back from what could be the 1000th phone call, I got a glimpse in the children’s playroom where the five years old kids were at, treating myself to an amusing sight. They all had red cloths draped around their neck, each holding a stick that was from the abandoned prop box. Katy wasn’t spared to as she was wearing her own red cloth that seemed a few sizes to small for her. Not that she didn’t seem to mind. 
‘Alright my warriors! Chargeeeeee!!!!!!’ 
In unison, little pairs of feet pattered across the room towards their ‘enemy’, a cardboard cutout of a monstrous creature who was really just Shangqi in disguise. 
‘RAWR! I’ll eat anyone who stands in my way!’ He stands up, mimicking a dinosaur that was about to trample an entire city. I decided that the paperwork could wait, standing near the door to watch an Oscar-worthy performance. With great effort and bravery from the kids, they finally managed to take down 5 foot 10 worth of muscle. 
‘Again! Again!’ 
I chuckled upon seeing Shangqi on the floor, about to drift off into wonderland. It was time for me to step in. ‘Alright kids that’s enough for today! Dinner’s here.’  As the kids dispersed with the help of Katy, it was just the two of us left to clear up the mess. ‘Thank you so much, both of you. I honestly can’t think of what would happen if you guys didn’t come to help.’ 
Perhaps my body language was screaming ‘I’m dead tired, please just knock me out’ as Shangqi takes a cloth from me, folding it back into the box. ‘It’s what we would have done, this place, it means a lot to us - to me.’ 
A small knock on the door diverts our attention away from the trash. Little Yiman stands at the door, as she stares at the both of us with big round eyes. 
‘Yiman, it’s late, what are you doing here?’ I squat down to her eye level. The little girl beams, ‘ 妈妈 said that I could give this to you!’ She passes me a juice box together with a handmade card with colorful scribbles. Maybe I was carrying too much on my shoulders, as I suddenly felt a boulder lifted off me. ‘Thank you,’ I smile at her sweetly, ‘I love apple juice.’ Happy with the response, she runs to Shangqi. ‘Shangqi 哥哥 gē ge (brother)!’ 
He breaks out into a smile, opening his arms wide. Yiman nuzzles her head into his shoulder before breaking out into uncontrollable giggles from his sudden attack of tickles. ‘Are you hear to help Miss Jen?’ I took the trash from his hands, giving him some time with the girl. 
‘Yes I am. Miss Jen needs some help so I’m here today!’ 
‘Are you her boyfriend?’ 
Shangqi freezes on the spot. He had undergone what could be the toughest training by his father, fought the greatest assassins in the world and here he was - stumped by a question from a seven year old. ‘Well... I’m her close friend since when we were very young,’ Yiman looks at him expectantly. ‘She helped me when I was in trouble so I had to be a good friend when she was in trouble too.’ 
‘Like how Ningning helped me when I injured my knee?’ 
‘Yeah... something like that.’ He breathes a sigh of relief, thankful to escape his first crisis. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if he was telling himself the truth. 
‘Yiman! Your mother’s here!’ The little girl gives him one last hug before running to the waiting room. Shangqi takes a moment to recollect himself. ‘Here I am thinking that you finally managed to have some stamina while interacting with young children, maybe I was wrong.’ I teased as I sat beside him. 
‘Har har, hilarious.’ He tosses me a straw for our peach teas, as we were greeted by the amazing night view of San Francisco. ‘Enough about me, you good though?’ Looks like he didn’t forget the conversation that was cut off earlier. My mind goes back to a few minutes earlier, eavesdropping on the conversation.
‘I had to be a good friend when she was in trouble too.’
Life has been so unpredictable, I don’t even want to think too far into the future. With appearances from more superpowered beings, I don’t know what’s real anymore.
‘Yeah. To be honest, it’s been so crazy and overwhelming but I’ll get through it. I have you don’t I?’ Giving him a wink, I slowly sipped on the sweetness of the tea, savoring the pearls. He pauses for a moment, nodding thoughtfully. 
Life isn’t the same as it was before. But maybe, just maybe... if I had Shangqi, I’ll take each day on one at a time. Day by day. 
[END]
A/N: Hoho! I literally spent the whole afternoon writing because I just had to get this idea out and also because work was pretty slow today. I have no idea what is up with my first two fics hinting at unrequited love? I guess I got inspired by Shangqi’s and Katy’s platonic relationship because I thought it was so well written but I also love Shangqi so I guess is a compromise kinda thing. Again, do like and comment if you wish! Really thankful that y’all have been so kind to me so far! 
Perhaps I’ll try my hand at shorter ones like headcannons before this girl exhausts herself out and I don’t want to do that because I believe I have more to show! 
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shades-of-stony · 3 years
Text
Time Travel Stony Fanfic
Character from the Future travels to the Past 
A Shadow Hanging Over Our Fate by CaptainDean13
Summary: The Avengers get sent back in time to WWII where they run into the Howling Commandos... complete with Bucky and Steve. Little hard to explain that away, especially when you are trying to keep some major secrets. Secrets like how you ended up in the future and why the hell Bucky is now a scary (reformed) assassin with a metal arm, not to mention that you married your friend's son.
Note: A 1000/10 READ. THIS IS SO FREAKIN’ GOOD THAT I READ IT 3 TIMES SINCE I FIRST FOUND IT LAST YEAR. It’s a nice and well written time travel fic with the howling commandos and past Steve and Bucky!!
A New Way For Us by ann2who
Summary: They fight Thanos—and they’re losing. And before Tony knows what’s happening, he’s standing with Doctor Strange in front of the Eye of Agamotto and gets send back in time. Can he find a way to fix things this time around, or are they doomed to fall apart all over again?
Note: This is where Tony went back in time to fix everything that went wrong and prepare for the arrival of Thanos! Due to an unexpected twist of fate, he found himself getting closer to Steve of all people!  
Two More Miracles (To Be A Saint) by queenpenthesilea
Summary: “Get up, Stark, you sleep too much. You said you would teach me paper football.”
Tony’s eyes snapped open. No. No. Had it all been a dream? Had he just imagined five years – five years - of an idyllic life, complete with a beautiful, wonderful daughter? He pushed himself up, looking around; he was on the Milano – he was on the fucking Milano, and either this was a really weird version of hell or everything had been a dream. Or, a little voice whispered, something had gone horribly, horribly wrong with the infinity stones.
Note: A nice and juicy post-Endgame Time Travel fanfic!! Though, this one held a few what ifs. 
Saving the World is a 12 Step Program by janonny
Summary: Tony and Steve fall to pieces when Thanos’ wins.
Then they pick themselves up, and find a solution. They also find something infinitely more precious in the process.
-
“It’s going to sound pretty outrageous,” Tony admitted, rubbing a hand over his brow. While he had put on some weight and wasn’t as gaunt anymore, he was still easily tired nowadays.
“More outrageous than talking racoons and a purple villain traveling through space to collect magic stones?” Steve asked drily.
Note: This is another post-Endgame fanfic but with a twist and different take on the whole time travel!
Oh, Snap by wedelia
Summary: Peter wakes up, and he’s simultaneously five years too early and right on time.
Or, Post-Endgame Peter goes back in time and accidentally-on-purpose gets Steve and Tony together before the initial snap happens. And, oh, yeah—he also recruits a former-Air-Force-pilot-turned-galactic-hero, has lunch with Black Widow, and somehow befriends Nick Fury. This changes things.
Note: It’s Peter who time travels this time around!!
If We Never Got This Second Chance by Pookaseraph
Summary: When Tony and Steve’s son from the future, Jake Jensen, arrives at Avenger’s Tower, the two of them are forced to confront some hard truths: Tony that he might not actually become a horrible father, and Steve that he might not be able to set aside his discomfort with sharing a child with another man. When they both get a second chance at a first try at fatherhood, it’s up to the two of them to learn from their own future's past.
Note: Anyone up for some future son time travel? Enjoy this nicely written fanfic of Stony’s future son traveling and meeting the past versions of his parents! Past versions that are not even together yet! Things are about to get weird for Steve and Tony. 
Your Name on Every Wall by Sineala
Summary: The Time Gem throws Steve into the past rather than the future, and in doing so, it gives him the opportunity to undo his past mistakes. But when it turns out that all of his mistakes involve Tony Stark, Steve begins to wonder if he's ever going to be able to mend things between them.
Note: A unique plot where Steve travels to the future and realizes what he is missing on!
Together, At Dawn by RoseGoldAmpersand
Summary: Steve returns the Infinity Stones to New York and finds himself in conversation with Tony of the past. More mature and willing to listen to Tony he realises that what he previously thought were taunts was actually Tony flirting with him.
In light of this new discovery and alone in Tony’s workshop after the battle of New York, one thing leads to another...
Note: ohhhhh, some juicy smut anyone?
  Don't Look Back, You Can Never Look Back. by iL0Vsuperman
Summary: Tony Stark: billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and, now, superhero.
It’d only been a few months prior that he’d revealed to the world he was Iron Man and life couldn’t be better.
That is…until he stumbled upon an old abandoned Hydra lab and kinda set off one of their machines by accident. A blast of blue light later and he found himself in the same lab…only it is seventy years earlier and it is full of Hydra agents.
Cue the entrance of the Howling Commandos led by Tony’s childhood hero, Captain America.
Suddenly, Tony is living out a dream. He’s joining up with the Commandos in the search to get Tony back to his right era. It’s the adventure of a lifetime and, at first, it’s amazing…but then he and Steve connect in ways more than just friendship and he finds that he is torn between wanting to stay with him or go back home.
In the end, whatever the result, he loses.
Note: Tony meets his childhood heroes-the Howling Commandos and Captain America! 
The Future is Yet in Your Power by FestiveFerret
Summary: "Now." Wong leaned back in his chair. "What would you do to save this world from Thanos' attack? What would you sacrifice?"
"Anything," Steve said. "Anything at all."
Wong considered him for a moment, expression unreadable. "There's one thing, maybe."
Note: This is nice fanfic about Steve putting everything on the line to hopefully make a change. 
The Good or Bad Thing by petreparkour for SeetheSea
summary: “It’s the metal suit,” Thor informed Steve, his normally-booming voice tinny over the SHIELD comms. “What did Stark call it—Iron Man?”
“But he’s down here,” Steve protested as the Hulk roared in Stark’s face, startling him into waking with a shout. “How could—”“It’s damaged,” Thor reported. “But it looks different. More advanced. And he—ah. He’s carrying you, Captain.”
“Please tell me nobody kissed me,” Stark breathed out, and then Stark’s voice suddenly came over the comms, but the man lying next to him hadn’t moved.“
Guys, come on, you’re killing me here. What is it, 2012? God, I hate time travel. First, I'm fighting Thanos. Now, I have to deal with my past self and Thor's bad haircut? Oh my God, Cap, yes I hacked their comms, they’re my comms.”
Steve nearly opened his mouth to protest that he hadn’t said anything when he realized that this replica of Tony Stark wasn’t speaking to him.
Note: Future Tony and Steve accidentally traveling in the past!
  Character from the Past travels to the Future
hold the things you wanna say by SailorChibi
Summary: Tony is still a consultant, and between SI, the team and SHIELD he's overworked and exhausted. That's okay.
He and Steve have been having sex for weeks but that's all it is, just sex, and Tony wants more but he'll never get it and that's okay. Really.
What's not okay is the fact that Howard Stark has somehow appeared in the future and is the same as always.
This is definitely going to fuck up his schedule.
Note: ANGST! READY YOUR TISSUES.
Twice Upon a Time by TsaritsaElena
Summary: Tony Stark has never had an easy relationship with his father, but when Howard Stark circa 1983 time travels to the future in a freak accident, things get even more complicated, especially since Tony is dating his dad’s idol, Captain America, and Howard doesn’t know. As they work toward a solution that will restore Howard to his own timeline, will Tony get a second chance at a father-son relationship with his dad, or is he in for more of the same unforgiving treatment from Howard? Time travel, Avengers missions, and a secret project of Howard’s: things at Stark Tower are about to get a little crazy.
Note: SOME MORE ANGST AND HOWARD TRAVELLING TO THE FUTURE. 
The Future Is Ours (Whether We Want It Or Not) by ann2who
Summary: After a hit from the Time Stone, Steve switches places with his future self.
Note: Another of Steve traveling to the future! Though this time, it features both timeline! Both POV of the past and future! 
Ordinary Men by RiaRose
Summary: "Aren't you at all happy to see me?" Howard shot back, holding his glass out and pointing with his index finger. At Steve's stony face, he dropped his arm. "Want a glass?" he tried, picking up an empty tumbler, "This is good stuff."
"Tony doesn't skimp on - well - anything. And no, thank you."
"Was that Tony?" he queried, gesturing toward the hallway the other man had disappeared down. Steve nodded but didn't give any more information, so Howard repeated his earlier question, "Aren't you happy to see me?"
It took Steve a moment to answer. Howard could see his jaw working. 
"No, not anymore."
OR
In which Howard travels to the future and just messes up everybody's day, Steve is conflicted, and Tony is a piping hot mess, as per usual. It's not going to be easy, but Steve and Tony have to somehow navigate through Howard's arrival and the strain it puts on their relationship.
Note: From the summary alone, you can tell that THIS WILL BE ANGSTY. 
To Have My Time Again... by WilmaKins
Summary: It's been two years since Siberia, and Tony Stark is still dealing with the fallout - personal and political. Life is quite complicated enough, without Bruce falling through a wizards roof yelling that Thanos is coming.
Thor and Loki are stalling, but time is running out. The fate of the universe is at stake. Steve Rogers is back in the picture. Really, the last thing Tony needs is for their plan to go horribly wrong and bring Howard Stark forward in time.
But his Dad *is* standing in his office, whether he likes it or not.
So, it looks like Tony will have to fix that mess too.
Note: There is just something about Howard-travels-to-the-future fanfics. 
Howard Stark Meets The Avengers by SerlinaBlack
Summary: Howard Stark unknowingly travels to the future with his son and wife. Luckily the heroes of the future were somewhat ready for it. Unluckily , they don't seem to like him very much
Alternative summery: when will Howard learn? Not now lmao.
Note: ANOTHER ONE.
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rivalsforlife · 3 years
Note
Do you have anything you wished was different from Ace Attorney canon?
Hello I'm finally slowly starting to get around to answering some of these! Sorry for the wait.
Uh this ask got super long so a basic summary of it: narumitsu being canon in a well-written way would be nice even though I don't think it would ever happen, I stand by not bringing back Phoenix as a main protagonist in DD, and I'd also want to rewrite all of SOJ so that Apollo goes to Khura'in in place of Phoenix, to have more interesting character stuff going on.
So the longer answer is this:
Aside from some of the actually problematic stuff that I don't feel qualified to talk about, story-wise, I answered a sort of similar question about a year ago here. I have changed my opinions a little bit since then, particularly with regards to the canonicity of narumitsu... because while I do love narumitsu I feel like I don't trust Ace Attorney to actually do it properly. After all if this past November has taught us anything "making a ship canon" could actually be quite undesirable and I have no desire to see Phoenix and/or Edgeworth sent to superhell. (I literally know nothing else about supernatural sorry about that.)
If capcom were somehow able to make narumitsu canon but in an unobtrusive way and as a natural progression of the storyline, like oh hey, the court record profile for Miles Edgeworth's Obligatory Last-Case Appearance has Phoenix mention they're dating, and maybe there's a few lines suggesting they live with each other, but it's not like... taking the entire story to force them together and otherwise does not change the way they interact with each other and butcher one or both of their characterizations in the process? I'd definitely be happy about that. Not gonna lie even if they made narumitsu canon in the most terrible way possible I'd have a "holy shit I can't believe they did that it's the best day of my life" kind of moment before I could think about it critically. But I honestly see no chance of them ever actually making narumitsu canon, so that's quite unrealistic to hope for anyways.
Aside from that in that other ask I talked about basically the premise of an Apollo trilogy and not bringing back Phoenix as the main protagonist in DD, and I still stand by that, buuut in my other ask I did touch on making SOJ a different game where Apollo goes to Khura'in instead of Phoenix - and you know what I'm going to take some time to actually talk about my dream version of SOJ because there were a lot of little things about the one we got that I didn't like. And it's going to be very long. So it's under a cut.
SO yeah I talked about it a bit in the other ask. I think that Phoenix going to Khura'in is a rather weak idea both externally and in-universe. In one of the interviews, too lazy to find which one, Phoenix basically goes to Khura'in because the writers couldn't figure out how to challenge him anymore. ... And then they don't actually challenge him at all. Because oh well now we're going to this new country where they KILL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS WHO LOSE and then it's supposed to be *shocking* that Phoenix would risk his life for a kid or his best friend. you know the guy who ran across a burning bridge to save his best friend. you know the guy who got punched in the face, nearly killed by the mafia, and tazed trying to save his clients. This doesn't tell me anything new about Phoenix's character. His whole travel in Khura'in doesn't tell me anything new about Phoenix's character. Basically the only reason he's there is to see Maya - Maya who theoretically would be returning home in about two weeks. Maya who was still in her training for two more weeks when Phoenix visited so he wouldn't be able to see her anyways. ... And in the meantime Trucy had the biggest show of her life that was going to be on TV and Phoenix wasn't there for it. And of course Phoenix didn't return home after Trucy was accused of murder (yes he couldn't be there for the trial, but he definitely could have for the emotional support afterwards) and instead just sits for two weeks in Khura'in doing literally nothing after Ahlbi's trial.
(And yes I know about the anime prologue that has Phoenix think Maya's in danger... but that's not strictly canon since it's never mentioned in game, isn't technically a part of the game, and even still, why wouldn't he go home after knowing that Maya's safe and that Trucy had been ACCUSED OF MURDER. Honestly that's what makes me angriest about this whole thing is that it makes Phoenix out to be a terrible dad. We really don't need any more takes like that, especially not from canon.)
And what about Apollo, you may ask? Well, given case 5 of SOJ, Apollo actually has a personal link to Khura'in and ends up staying there afterwards... after being there for like a day or two. I should note here that it has been a while since I went through SOJ in its entirety so I am fuzzy on many of the details. But both through what I remember and some conversations with people who actually played the game recently, the motivation for Apollo to actually stay in Khura'in isn't that great. It mainly seemed like guilt about his dead dad who he hadn't been in contact with for years and had completely written off until a few days ago but oh he died and then went to go visit him so... better take up the law office!
If Apollo had gone to Khura'in in place of Phoenix and spent more time there, reconnecting with his childhood home and actually getting passionate seeing how corrupt the legal system is there (even though we have a corrupt legal system at home) and being driven to fix it, that would make for a stronger story, I think. The Khura'in plot is more personally focused around Apollo than it is Phoenix. Phoenix's connection to Khura'in is through Maya, but Maya doesn't really have much of a connection to it aside from "it's where spirit channeling is from and she trains there". But Apollo, I guess, grew up there. So it's so strange to me that they force all of Apollo's connection to Khura'in in the last case while Phoenix is running around doing who-knows-what for the rest of the game. Phoenix spends more time getting to know the state of Khura'in and the Defiant Dragons and case 3's whole thing but he isn't the one who in the end decides to sit down and fix it; that's all on Apollo. It almost feels like they forced one of the two plots in to everything. And it was probably conceived as a Phoenix story that they needed to fit Apollo into last minute because oops he's supposed to be a protagonist too.
Some other strengths to Apollo going to Khura'in include that it would shake up the character dynamics a bit. Instead of Phoenix defending Maya, it's Apollo defending Maya, and that's a particularly interesting thing to look at in the context of Khura'in's "we kill defense attorneys" system. Of course, Phoenix would risk his life to save Maya, 100%, every time. But what about Apollo, who hasn't met Maya, who only knows her as "Mr. Wright's former assistant" - would he risk his life for her? And I feel like Maya would argue more against him defending her because of that. "We're strangers, you don't know me, you don't have to risk your life defending me." (Sidenote that I was always upset that Maya didn't protest much when Phoenix offered to defend her, knowing his life was at risk - sure she knows him better and knows he's always been able to get her out of these situations, but at the same time, the fact that there was no "what about your daughter?" conversation sucks. I really wish SOJ wouldn't have like. completely forgotten about the phoenix-trucy father-daughterisms.)
Let's say Apollo goes to Khura'in. Phoenix stays at home. Phoenix gets a call from Apollo that's basically "uhh hi Mr. Wright you know your friend Maya, she's been arrested for murder, if I defend her and I lose we're both dead," then you can tie in to that moment in 6-2 where Phoenix (who can't make it in time for the trial!) believes in Apollo and his skills as an attorney, not just to save Maya's life, but also his own. It ties in a bit more to the overall challenge of defending someone at the risk of your own life. Again, Phoenix would have very few hesitations, if any, risking his life to defend Maya. Apollo may have more defending a stranger at the risk of his own life.
Then if you can actually have Apollo and Maya talk together that would be neat - Maya can tell him embarrassing stories about Phoenix's rookie days, for instance. Their dynamic would be quite a bit different from Phoenix and Maya's, and that would be an interesting thing to see, unlike what we have in SOJ where all of Maya's substantial interactions are with characters she already knows or brand new characters.
(It would also be pretty neat to know more spirit channeling politics and dive in more to Maya's perspective on Khura'in and also her role as upcoming Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique and where she plans to lead the village in the future and also reconcile with her family's bloody legacy, but I'm not quite sure how to fit that in right now.)
And how about Phoenix, back home in Japanifornia? Evidently he'd end up being in charge of defending Trucy. Now, I did love the siblingsisms in canon 6-2, but I feel like there is still potential for Phoenix defending Trucy. All of Apollo Justice has a bunch of good moments between Apollo and Trucy, and she's co-counsel on all his trials, but we've never had any substantial Phoenix and Trucy investigation or co-counsel moments. I feel like AU 6-2 would be a great opportunity to dive more into Phoenix and Trucy's relationship and how it may have changed after Phoenix got his badge back. Plus, Phoenix being "the only one who knows how she really feels on the inside", he'd have unique insider knowledge into some of the Gramarye stuff that comes up in the case and Trucy's personal connection to the Gramaryes, which Apollo knows a bit of, but Phoenix knows more of. ... Or at least, should know more of, given that he raised Trucy for nine years at this point and they're very close, and Phoenix knows her better than anyone else does, even if capcom has forgotten this.
... Of course having Athena defend the case would also be great because more Athena spotlight is never a bad thing, but it's hard to come up with a reason why Phoenix wouldn't be there to defend her. And doing more switcheroos in terms of role in the plot is a bit beyond the scope of what I have in mind right now. Sorry Athena.
Aside from that, Athena still gets Storyteller, Apollo still heads Turnabout Revolution, and Phoenix still gets the DLC case. Apollo stays in Khura'in in the end with a bit more to his motivations. Rather than it just being about carrying on Dhurke's legacy, it's also something Apollo is passionate about after all he witnessed here. While we're at it I'd still rework a lot of Turnabout Revolution to make it so that Phoenix genuinely believes in Atishon because that makes for sooo much more interesting of a plot and actual character development on Phoenix's part than "Maya was kidnapped again and Phoenix is only wrong when he has no other choice", but that'd require some more detail and this post is long enough already.
And in terms of other details that need to be sorted out, there's the question of why Apollo would need to go to Khura'in in the first place. I'd probably say something to do with Dhurke. Maybe he comes back a bit earlier - actually alive, maybe, though crossing borders would be a bit of a challenge, or he reaches out to Apollo remotely somehow and Apollo goes to yell in his face about abandoning him (or at least that's what he thinks he wants.) Then we could have some more Dhurke and Apollo bonding time, potentially? Idk, if you switch up Phoenix and Apollo you're pretty much writing a whole new game and obviously I have not worked out all the details, but I think if Capcom had tried to go with this route from the outset they'd have a stronger game. At least stronger character motivations.
So... yeah. Those are my opinions. If you read through this whole thing I'm very impressed because it got very long!
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fireemblems24 · 3 years
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Post Grondor Field AM Analysis
I'm prefacing this by saying that I'm still not sure I can write a good analysis of this scene for two reasons:
1. I don't know what comes after, and
2. I'm very emotionally involved in what happened.
But I tried my best. One thing is for sure though, what happened in Grondor in AM was an incredibly significant turning point for AM and Dimitri and my thoughts and analysis on it will definitely expand as I keep writing about and playing the game.
Part of me is just so happy I got to see Dimitri's supports, have the inevitable turn around, and get to do things like tea and dinner time again that it's hard to be objective about this scene.
And by "this scene," I don't mean that actual fight at Grondor, but everything from Fleche's attack to Byleth's words in the rain later.
It wasn't all about Byleth . . .
Given how poignant Dimitri's character arc has been so far, I had a deep rooted fear player-pandering would ruin it. Byleth, as a concept, isn't bad, but too often the heaps of praise feel underserved and other things (like Claude's intelligence, Edelgard's relationships with everyone else) get ignored to make more room for player-pandering.
Thankfully this did not happen. Byleth, throughout the early chapters of AM's part 2, failed to reach Dimitri. And, honestly, seeing Byleth actually struggle for once has done wonders for how I view her character. Still, I worried that player-pandering-power, rather than something that felt earned, would cause the inevitable eye-opener for Dimitri.
But it wasn't just Byleth. Fleche's vengeance kicked everything off, what veered Dimitri away from his fate in other routes. He accepted his death at her hands, not bothering to defend himself. Rodrigue stepping in the way and his parting words forced Dimitri to confront things he'd ignored. Throughout AM so far, people have posed questions to Dimitri who refused to answer them because he didn't want to face what they asked. But Rodrigue dying for him, spending his final words telling Dimitri to live for himself - combined with Fleche's attack - forced Dimitri to confront things he avoided. It wasn't until after all of that when Byleth steps in.
And Byleth didn't "fix" him either. Dimitri's supports show a young man who's still very much struggling with his mental health, poor self-image, his previous actions, and wondering if he deserves not only to live for himself - but if he even deserves to live. Byleth didn't hand-wave Dimitri's problems away.
Everything about the scene is stronger because it didn't fall back on player-pandering, but more earned, realistic, and dramatic actions and consequences - including Byleth's involvement which felt far more earned than usual because of prior failure.
But I wish Dimitri's friends played a bigger role.
Not everything was perfect though. I wish we got a little more than we did from Dimitri's house mates - especially his childhood friends Sylvain, Ingrid, and extra special mention to Felix and especially, especially Dedue.
Throughout all of AM, none of the above mentioned characters feel utilized to their full potential. This isn't a problem exclusive to AM, and by all means it's far from the biggest offender, but given how close all the ties are in AM, it's felt when it's not there.
I still don't know what exactly I would've done with them. Maybe I'd need to make the game an actual novel to do it, and you can't forget how perma-death has historically held back games at times, limiting major moments to a select few "retreat" candidates.
Still, though, getting a bit more from Ingrid, Sylvain, Felix, and Dedue would've made the scene even more powerful.
I actually really liked the scene in the rain.
I haven't made it a secret that I dislike Byleth. Or maybe disliked is more accurate. Lately I've been rethinking my stance on Byleth, in part because I've heard from people who like her or found ways to make her work and from my own thinking about the game while planning future write ups.
I don't think it's Byleth I really dislike, but the player-pandering. Separating the two isn't easy, but it's easier since I've starting coming around to seeing Byleth as her own character.
There's been a few moments that made me care for Byleth, and this scene in the rain was one of them. Because she didn't just fix everything. She tried and failed for months to reason with Dimitri, and despite everything she never gave up on him or failed to keep offering her hand.
I'm not going to lie. I got all the bubbly, heartwarming, heartbreaking feels the writers wanted me to in this scene. Seeing Byleth reach for something and fail, and then finally, finally get through was rewarding in a way many of Byleth's prior accomplishments aren't because this one felt earned. And by God did she earn it.
Some people will likely disagree with that last point, but I disagree with them. She asked Dimitri hard-hitting questions, forcing him to come to unpleasant conclusions rather than trying to force him into anything. She kept Dimitri from veering to far off course, even at expense to herself when she killed Randolph. She saved Dimitri from Fleche when he refused to save himself. She quietly supported him, coaxing out the good she knew was still there and refused to give up on.
I'd never in a million years say someone in real life should put up with Dimitri's toxic behavior and verbal abuse, even considering his extreme trauma and aggravated mental illness. But seeing someone fuck up so badly still get forgiven, still get supported, still struggle but honestly change for the good, still get loved, start to accept and forgive himself through the power of love and forgiveness from others is very powerful, especially since media so often downplays those "softer" things as weakness in comparison to the "badassery" of ambition and stoicism. Using Byleth, who previously had little experience with feelings, who was encouraged to experience them in healthy ways by Dimitri, return the favor isn't really the worst choice.
It's cliche, but cliches aren't always bad.
The mentor dies. Redemption in the rain. Revenge against the protagonist's actions opens their eyes. Etc . . . This scene was chuck full of cliches, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Tropes serve an important narrative purpose because a writer can rely on them to convey a message to the audience that either saves time or sets them up for something unexpected or even expected. Fire Emblem has always and will always be incredibly cliche and full of tropes. It loves tropes so much there's in-universe ones that make some unit or character discussions sound like a foreign language to people outside of or new to the fandom, talking about "Ests" and calling someone a "Camus."
What matters is if a story pulled something off well, not if it's terribly unique. A mentor dying is powerful because it forces the student to grow. Redemption in the rain is high symbolic of water washing things away + the somber atmosphere rain creates. Someone trying to get revenge against a character provides an eye-opening experience about the ripple effect of their actions. We see these things in fiction all the time because they work.
All the tropes worked like expected in this scene. Using images instead of cut scenes did make less of an impact, but more on that later.
Tl;dr: There's nothing unexpected or terribly unique about what happened. It was honestly painfully predictable, but that doesn't make it bad and is in a series that does this all of the time.
The voice acting carried because those images can't.
A major downside to this scene is that it used vague images instead of a cut scene. I get that budget and time were likely concerns, but many cut scenes from earlier in the game seem rather trivial. Did we really need that dance one? Really? I don't think so.
This was a hugely important, action heavy moment. Using one or two still images to convey everything that's happening and all those emotions, really makes it less than it could've been.
That said, the voice acting saves it. I've raved about how amazing Chris Hackeny is as Dimitri, so nothing new here. Rodrigue's and Fleche's VAs also did a fantastic job. No one oversold or undersold the emotions. Even without the cut scene, you felt what happened thanks to the skill of the actors. This scene would've been so much harder to engage with without them, if this was an older FE game where all you got was text. This is 100% one of the moments highly elevated by the decision to have a fully voiced game and choosing high caliber talent (let's not talk about Radiant Dawn's voice acting).
Questionable support timing.
One issue I had came right after the scene when I viewed Dimitri's supports. The nature of some - like his with Raphael and Alois - didn't quite line up with the character I saw in dialogue right after. I wish they staggered them a bit more or got picker about what you could get in part 1 or 2.
This isn't limited to Dimitri either. In the same support batch, I also got a Marianne B support where she still had no confidence or self-worth. And then like 10 minutes later I talk to her in the monastery and she mentions about how seeing all the death in Grondor made her value her life even more.
In the past, I've also received entirely valid opinions that Dorothea in part 2 is hard to understand because she's cherry and flirty in her supports, and morose and hates the war in her monastery stuff, making her seem inconsistent.
It's a bit jarring. It's not really an issue for characters who don't change much like Edelgard or Raphael, but even for characters with more subtle differences than Dimitri, Marianne, and Dorothea - like, say, Lorenz - you get a lot of weird stuff because of supports. I just think Dimitri's stands out because he's a main character with a really prominent, important turning point for his growth.
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