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unsettledink · 3 years

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(Part two of looking back at the fandoms I was in and the fics I wrote in 2020)

(Part one here.)

Most popular story:

By Kudos (and comments), Seiche : By hits, Indefensible : On tumblr, Pocket Change

Story you wish was more successful:

Well, that’s kind of the curse of writing rare pairs. I want anything with Tony/Quentin or Peter/Quentin to be more successful, lol. Defining the feeling of success in fandoms/pairings like that is tricky, because— do I wish they’d gotten more attention? Of course! Do I consider them fairly successful because they got any attention? Yeah, kinda.

Something like Intent got very little response, but considering the size and age of the fandom, it actually felt successful to get any response?

The entire Old Adages series I really wish had found an audience; I’m very fond of it, and it’s… softer than I usually write? The filthy smutty kinky stuff always outpreforms anything else, and that sort of thing feels easy for me. And I’m extrapolating a lot for young Quentin’s characterization, so I’m a little insecure about that as well.

Most "Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story:

You know, there are several stories I feel like should be that? But let’s be honest, considering what I’ve written in the past, they’re not that bad.

So I’m going to have to go with Creepy Crawly. I mean, I get squicked a little if I read it in the wrong mindset. SPIDERS D:

Hardest story to write:

Causality. I just… could not quite connect somehow. I had the image in my head fine, but when I went to write it I felt pretty meh. I think I hadn’t done much (any?)Peter POV at that point, so that was a stretch. And I think I’d been spending so much time in the world of Gotcha that any other version of Peter/Quentin felt strange. I got it done, I have a sequel planned, but it was a struggle.

No Lies was also tricky. I picked the prompt ‘make-up’ because I had this crystal clear mental image of someone kneeling, crying, makeup smeared all over them. But I didn’t know WHO. I tried so many pairings and characters, and even when I figured out that I really wanted that to be Tony… who with? Could I actually make Peter behaving that way believable?? Once I got it sorted out the writing was easy, but getting there - gah.

Easiest story to write:

Indefensible was bizarre to write, because it literally just arrived in my brain in one giant chunk, complete, and I just had to transcribe it over a day or two. Very odd.

Pocket Change was much the same. The idea appeared and that first image of Tony holding the bill was just… there. The rest of it fell into place so easily as I went along.

Most fun story to write:

Just a Bite was a lot of fun to write. It’s a topic I enjoy anyway, and I like trying to focus in on one element like that. Peter discovering a new thing he liiiiikes is always a ton of fun.

11:59 was also surprisingly fun? Like— three characters that have interesting dialogue patterns, a slightly darker Tony, being able to indulge in nasty Quentin without him being quite a villain, the constant shifting of emotions for everyone in the room. Just so much going on in small ways. There are totally at least three more fics set in that universe.

What’s your personal favorite thing you wrote this year?

Tough call, but probably A Perfect Fit. Really, the entire insane little universe that’s expanding into. Definitely not something I would have expected at ALL back in January.

What’s your least favorite thing you wrote this year?

Maybe Can’t, Wont? Idk. I didn’t have a strong enough idea for the prompt to really make something of it, I guess. And writing Peter/Quentin is kind of difficult at the moment. It feels weird because I’ve spent so much time in the world of Gotcha that other takes on the characters are odd.

If you could go back and change something about one of the fics you wrote this year, what would it be?

Probably Want What I Want. I knew what I wanted and I just couldn’t quite make it function. So I went with a slantwise version of it - which isn’t bad, but doesn’t have the focus I wanted it to. It felt like more of a twist on the prompt than I wanted. I’d like to go back and expand it out, dig into the specifics of the prompt a little more.

And tbh, I got a comment on that very point. I’m normally really good about letting go of comments? But it was something I’d questioned myself, so it stuck more.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:

(Just) Waiting Around? Maybe? As much as I love top/experienced!Peter, I had to sit down and figure out how I might be able to actually get him there, convince the reader that this was a Peter that current Peter could become.

And any of the Tony/Quentin fics. There’s not a lot given for Quentin in canon; taking those little bits and trying to follow them back to these younger version of Quentin was really interesting and difficult. How do I make this character the softer, more open, more vulnerable, less confident version of himself from 10/15 years ago, and still keep those sharper edges that will grow and take over? How do I make the reader believe both that this version could have existed and that version could actually become the canon one?

Story that was most different from what you usually write:

I mean, Relief? I’ve never written het before (and probably never will again, lol), but I wasn’t going to let the chance to write redwings pass me by.

In general, all the freaking ABO. Which I’d never written before this fandom, though I’ve read tons of it. Not something I really expected to write? And then suddenly I’m not just writing it, I can’t seem to stop.

Sustain felt pretty different, and it took me a moment to figure out why (don’t laugh at me!). I’ve never written straight up non-sexual kink before. Not just a kink scene that doesn’t have sex, but a kink scene that doesn’t even have the intention or desire for sex. Completely removing that additional layer of tension and complications is fascinating. I’m really interested in expanding that verse.

Most unintentionally telling story:

Oh, other than Gotcha, lol? Um. I don’t know if any really are? Maybe Backhand, or Sustain. Hmm, maybe Getting Started, though it’s not finished.

Now I wonder what conclusions those have people drawing.

What’s your favorite piece of description or narration?

Oh my god, what an impossible question. Uh. This is difficult because I… think of images in words? I feel very odd about the bits I picked, Idk.

It’s so small, and I don’t know if I captured it as well as it is in my head, but I come back to it so often:

Stark sits on the bed, and then seems to get lost, or distracted, not moving again until Phil pushes him gently towards the middle of the bed. He gets Stark curled up on his side, just a sliver of his back touching the sheets.

There's a chair against the wall that doesn't look too modern, so hopefully more comfortable than most of the monstrosities around here; Phil has a feeling he's going to be here a while, watching Stark come back up. He stands, about to walk away when there's a soft touch on his hand. He looks down.

Stark's arm is stretched out, his fingers just barely resting on the back of Phil's hand. He's looking up at Phil out of the corner of his eyes, head just barely turned towards him. It's a clear a request as anything spoken; stay.

"I'm not leaving," Phil tells him. "I'm not even leaving the room. I was just going to get a chair.'

There's a breath, a hesitation, Stark's hand not leaving his, and then it's gone, Stark dragging it back in, turning his face into the pillow. That was the wrong response, something about it was just... wrong.

"Stark," Phil says, leaning onto the bed. "Do you want me to stay here? On the bed? I wasn't sure you'd be comfortable with that." After all, this doesn't seem to be at all sexual for him.

Stark doesn't say anything—Phil's not entirely sure if he's nonverbal or not—but he turns his face back towards Phil a little. Doesn't quite look at him, and doesn't make a move; he's not going to ask again, not after what he obviously took as a rejection. His reactions are odd, not much like Phil had expected.

- Sustain

Or:

Beck gets Peter turned around, still kneeling but settled back against Beck's legs, leaning into it. "Toss me his shirt," he says, and Tony throws it at his face, Beck managing to catch it before it connects. Laughs, like this is fucking funny. He slips his hand into Peter's hair and tugs his head back a bit, wiping the come off his face.

"Take five, baby," Beck says, and Peter hums, resting his head on Beck's thigh and staring at Tony. Beck's petting him, hand sliding slowly though Peter's hair, and it's a fucking nightmare that Beck knows what that feels like and Tony doesn't. "You see?" Beck says. "He likes it a little rough. A lot rough, sometimes, so don't worry about hurting him. Don't worry when he cries," and Tony glares at him.

Beck's looking down at Peter, though, and then Tony is too. He's turning red again as Beck talks, but he's not denying anything, and not looking away from Tony.

Beck's hand trails down Peter's neck, hooks around the front and pulls him back; Peter's head tips back, exposing the whole of his throat to Beck's hand. "He's a little embarrassed by it," Beck says, "but he's an awfully sweet submissive too. Aren't you, honey?"

Peter looks up at him, his expression soft, open. "Yes, sir," he says, and Jesus Christ, Tony had no idea how much he wants Peter to say that to him. Peter likes it too, not just giving it lip service judging by the way his cock is getting hard again. Beck smiles.

"I'm going to miss you," he says. "You've been a lot of fun, baby." He looks up, catching Tony's eye, a smirk growing slowly on his face. "Guess I'd better make sure the last time makes up for it."

- 11:59

What’s your favorite piece of dialogue you wrote this year?

I mean, I’m very fond of Hang Up, it’s like 85% dialogue.

Alternatively:

"Looks like you're finally ready to be fucked," Tony says. "Bets on if you'll come on my cock, or if I'll have to give you a reach around with this?" settling the gauntlet on Quentin's hip.

"No," Quentin says, shaking his head as much as he can manage, "no, no, Tony—"

Tony leans in, thighs pushing Quentin's legs apart, the head of his cock bumping up against Quentin's ass. "If you manage it just once without my hand," he whispers, ducking his head and rubbing his beard over Quentin's shoulder, "I'll fund every last thing you ask for."

"No," Quentin moans, because he can't.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Tony says. "I'll make sure you can."

- Make Sure

Story with the single sexiest moment:

AHHHHHHHHH fuck this is the hardest one.

Secondhand and Gift Wrapped both have some of the hottest moments, I think:

Peter's so hard he can barely think, absolutely can't control the way his dick jumps in Quentin's hand. He doesn't want to hear about this, doesn't want to imagine Tony with Quentin at all. Doesn't want Quentin to stop.

Quentin kicks off his pants and then he's crawling up over Peter, staring down at him with that manic glint in his eyes that Peter knows well enough by now to worry about. "He fucked my face like that," Quentin says, watching him. "Kept babbling that shit and fucked my throat nearly raw. Can't you hear it, honey?" and Peter can, he can.

"Can't you imagine it?" Quentin asks, and Peter can.

- Secondhand

And:

Peter wants— he curls his fingers in Tony's hair and yanks, Tony's head hanging loosely from his hands. He looks wrecked, sweaty and his whole face is dark, his lips wet and red and puffy, all from Peter's cock. When he opens his eyes, it's like he's not even seeing Peter, completely lost in his own little world; he's stiffening slowly, his spine rounding and he tries to brace himself, his eyes going wider and his breath getting shorter and— and is he about to come, Peter wonders. Is he really going to come just like this, from being fucked like this?

He is, he totally fucking is because a moment later Tony stops breathing entirely, his head jerking hard against Peter's hold, his whole body jerking as he comes. He gasps, eyelashes fluttering, and Peter can feel Tony's come landing on his legs, holy shit.

Pepper eases her thrusts, sinking into Tony and just rocking against him while he comes. Waits until he's gone limp, sunk down even more between her hands and Peter's; "Peter," she says. "Get a good grip on him for me. He gets all wiggly afterwards and I'm not done."

- Gift Wrapped

But if it comes down to what is probably my favorite -

Peter had already been pretty out of it when Tony came back, already wound up and just existing, no thoughts and no worries, nothing but want and feeling and response. He’d already been awfully close to flying, and this— this drops him over the edge, completely.

Some part of his head is aware of the way he’s thrusting up into Tony’s mouth, Tony taking it happily, drooling around him; is aware that Peter’s tossing his head back and forth, fighting against Rhodey’s tight grip on his hair, only making it worse with every yank. Is even a little aware that the others must be watching him, watching them, watching just like Rhodey’s looking down at him, Tony looking up, their gaze so heavy on Peter he can feel it, just like he can feel everything, every touch and every texture and every single spot his body is in contact with anything. Can feel everything, too much, overwhelming, amazing, and he doesn’t know if it’s that, or the pain of Rhodey’s grasp, or the wave crashing down on him as he comes that have him crying. Maybe it’s all of them, or maybe it’s just that he’s wanted like this, kept and held and wanted.

Rhodey kisses him, gently, and Tony crawls up over him; kisses Rhodey and kisses Peter and Peter could stay just like this forever. He can see Tony’s mouth moving, talking to him, then Rhodey, then him again, but his head is full of nothing but static, white noise.

- Flaunt

(So, uh, what does it say that all of those are threesomes?)

Stories I haven't yet written, but intend to:

SO MANY. Beyond the fics I’ve got going for other people and Gotcha, and the (hopefully) one off continuations of kinktober fics, I really want to focus on -

The rest of Deep End (I know it all exactly!)

The sad AI Peter/Tony, real!Peter/Tony

Branches of Aegis

ONE of my longer ABO pieces.

Fluffuary & Kinktober, again.

Fingers crossed. I don’t even want to think about how many more ideas will come creeping in.

#end of year #unsettled rambles #starker #spiderio #quentony

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riathedreamer · 4 years

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So, I talked about “File Not Found” which was a fic @creatrixanimi and I planned, what, three years ago, but was eventually abandoned. I realized I actually had the first chapter ready, written such a long time ago, and while the story won’t be continued, I might as well share it with you here on tumblr instead of just letting it rot in my folder. Here you go.

File Not Found

Sole Survivor

”That’s not how it works.”

“Pfft. It’s totally how it works.”

The scene was so familiar at this point. The two of them were standing on a ledge, staring at Chorus’ tropical landscape below. Maybe the one change was the fact they were no longer holding onto a rifle. With the newly achieved peace, weapons were no longer needed, and they could enjoy the view of the sun rising above the treetops unarmed.

“You are comparing a bite with a phobia. Just what is the connection between those two?!”

“Batman. Spiderman. Animal plus man equals superhero.”

“Okay,” Simmons admitted gingerly, “but what about the superpowers? Batman doesn’t have any. Spiderman got his from the bite of a radioactive spider. Batman just had a phobia of bats.”

Grif snorted as a slightly offended look snuck its way to his usual bored expression. “Well, maybe he got bit by a bat! Maybe that’s why he has the phobia!”

“That does not make the bat radioactive!”

“It’s a bat, Simmons. It doesn’t need radioactivity – it’s already fucking terrifying!”

They had reached that point of the argument where Simmons would throw his hands in the air. “Batman does not have superpower! He chose his name after his chiroptophobia!”

“So what. Chirowhatevername is cool!”

“Just because you are afraid of bats as well it does not make the phobia cool,” Simmons let him know.

Grif crossed his arms. “Cooler than your snakophobia.”

“Ophidiophobia.”

“Holy crap, how did your tongue not cramp up?” When Grif’s question was answered with a light shrug, he continued, “Whatever. My point still is – Batman and Spiderman are the same shit. You have the recipe for a cool superhero right there. Take an animal and add man to the end of the word.”

Simmons had opened his mouth with the argument against that statement ready on his tongue, but before he could utter a word, Donut seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

The pink soldier gasped in excitement. “So if you take the most dangerous animal on Earth, you get the toughest superhero!” He spread out his arms for the dramatic introduction. “Mosquitoman. When he first starts sucking, men will fall to their knees before him!”

“Nope, this conversation is over. Donut ruined it.” Grif groaned and looked up at the sky that had changed from red to blue as the sun rose. Somewhere back in the headquarters, Sarge must be going through his daily round of disappointment as not even the sky would cheer for their team.

But Donut’s interruption had managed to direct the conversation towards something Grif was not ready to discuss (Mosquitoman’s sucking abilities had to wait for another day - where Grif preferably was not present) and that was a problem bigger than it would seem like.

It was important to keep the dialogue flowing. A statement from Grif, then Simmons would disagree, and so they were kept busy with light-hearted bickering. Grif even had a mental list of possible subjects ready (ukulele versus guitar where ukulele would obviously win - did the fruit pie or the meat pie come first - since this place was called Chorus was there a planet called Verse).

It was rather uncharacteristic for Grif to be so well prepared since it was usually Simmons who would worry himself sick over future scenarios that only might happen. But the bickering was necessary now since it kept them from talking about certain subjects that had appeared when a certain someone had shoved his stupid thing inside a place where it never should have been.

Just to clarify: stupid Tucker had stuck his stupid sword inside the stupid temple, and suddenly Grif and Simmons had been stuck in a too hot closet and some stuff had happened that should never ever be brought up again unless you truly wanted Simmons to swallow his own tongue in pure bewilderment.

The bickering was familiar and required little to no effort since it was almost a bit too easy to make Simmons frown and argue against his points. It was a nice little dance between those two, steps well-known after years of practice. Nothing like Simmons on an actual dance floor which was just a disaster waiting to happen.

“Ugh, Donut.” Simmons’ tone revealed he was just as disappointed with the interruption. “Didn’t you say you would stay and help the Lieutenants?”

“They’re doing fine! Well, either they are planting the trees or they are feeding the birds, but either way helps the wildlife!” With the war finally done, it was time for the planet to heal. That meant rebuilding since humans had a habit of fucking up stuff and so they had to make up for that destruction at some point.

Actual functional cities were starting to appear, people were slowly starting to take off their helmets every once in a while, revealing too young faces with too many scars, and an odd sense of peace was finally beginning to settle. It had taken a while since the Temple Party had stirred up the planet (in a much happier way than a war, at least) and then the reporters had shown up like too many annoying flies on the cadaver called the fall of Hargrove.

“But Kimball said she needed you two back at the headquarters and since you two weren’t wearing your helmets, I of course had to intervene.”

They could feel Donut winking at them through his visor, and it was rather clear that he had his own imaginations of why they had felt the need to take off their helmets on their break. Not that it mattered since they knew the truth; Grif had taken off his to smoke, and Simmons had mirrored the action to reveal his very dissatisfied frown at the sight of the cigarette.

“What now?” Grif groaned at the same time that Simmons worriedly asked, “Has something happened?”

“A new ship landed,” Donut revealed with excitement in his voice.

Grif could not relate. He groaned for the second time within a minute - Donut had the ability to make people moan like that, and oh god that was a thought Grif immediately regretted due to poor wording. “Is it another reporter?” he asked. “Why are they all asking the same stupid questions?! Why the fuck don’t they just steal each other’s work or just make up something? Way easier.”

The swarm of reporters had actually grown to the point where Kimball had talked about relocating them. Which Grif might not disagree on if it could give them some well-deserved peace. He was tired of answering questions over and over, where most of his answers would be “no comments”.

“Kimball says this person is… different.” For dramatic effect, Donut could not help but spread out his fingers in a weak attempt of jazz hands.

Simmons tilted his head. “Different?” And Grif had to resist to moan again. Different was not good unless different meant someone giving them a free vacation to Hawaii or decided to thank them with a supply of snack cakes instead of those meaningless handshakes and empty words about how much their work meant to the rest of the galaxy.

“Maybe the reporter is from Vogue!” Donut suggested with too much hope in his voice. “That would certainly be much more interesting.”

To be honest Grif would probably rather deal with the normal news reporters than someone from a fashion magazine. It was tempting to stay away, but if Kimball was this firm about them facing a newcomer it would mean they would have to show up eventually; if not by their own choice, then one of the Freelancers would track them down and drag them back by the ear.

And Simmons had already picked up his helmet, back turned towards the ledge as he was already lifted his foot to march back to base. “Fine,” Grif said and shoved his own helmet over his head, his HUD revealing the missed radio calls from Donut he would not have answered anyway. “But if someone asks me again what our plans are for the future, I’ll tell them it involves dead journalists.”

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Carolina let them know in a tone that made Simmons flinch.

But before the maroon soldier could actually apologize, Grif leaned his head back and whined, “Why did you not start without us?” The less bullshit he had to deal with the better.

“Because she is asking for you,” Kimball told him in a matter-of-fact voice, and despite the fact that she was looking directly at Grif it took him a few seconds before he realized she was indeed referring to him. He could not help but frown though his helmet hid his confusion.

Apparently, he was not the only one shocked by Kimball’s statement as Tucker blurted out, “Grif? What the fuck do they want with him?” He sounded both surprised and dumbfounded but there was also the tiny hint of jealousy in his tone that made Grif narrow his eyes in annoyance.

The entire gang had gathered in the waiting hall in front of Kimball’s office, and at Tucker’s words, they all seemed to shift awkwardly, making it clear that they were all thinking the same question.

“Maybe they wanted a Red to have the spotlight!” Donut suggested carefully, but there was still the slight undertone that he would have been ready to sign up for the task at any time.

Tucker snorted. “Then why pick the orange one?”

“Tucker.” Carolina sent him a warning when the conversation just dragged out without getting closer to give them an answer.

“Hey, no offense, but it just does not work with the pictures. Myself on the other hand…” A true feeling of humor was lacking from Tucker, proving that his stupid jokes mostly served as a distraction to not talk about all the sore subjects that were lying just beneath the surface. There had been a lot of weak jokes since the battle against Hargrove...

“You like playing model, we get it.” Carolina turned her head towards Kimball. “But you said this was not a reporter.”

When Simmons finally spoke, he was wringing his hands. “Then what do they want with Grif?” He glanced briefly towards said teammate before focusing on the general again.

“They didn’t say. Yet. They would not reveal much detail before you were present.”

“Am I in trouble?” Grif asked because, honestly, that was his biggest worry at the moment. Most of the time he would be called to an office by name the whole thing would end with dish duty, and he had better ways to spend his evening. Especially now when Simmons had brought up another Star Wars marathon.

“Always,” Sarge let him know with a huff. “Constant disappointment requires constant punishment. What did he do this time?”

“How about we actually face this reporter and listen to what they have to say?” Wash suggested, and no one could really disagree with that.

One question kept bothering Grif. “If they just want me why the fuck are you assholes all here?”

“‘cause since when have we given a shit about personal privacy?” Tucker asked sarcastically.

Caboose made a disapproving sound. “Ah, except Tucker’s magazines. Always stay away from those.”

“That’s right, Caboose, and don’t you ever fucking dare.”

Kimball let out a quiet sigh at this point and turned around to enter the office, gesturing for them to follow. As the group slowly began to move forward, Grif and Simmons shared a glance. Not knowing how to answer, he just shrugged despite being aware it would not exactly calm his teammate’s anxiety about the whole thing.

But there was only one way to gain the answers they wanted and that was by stepping into the room, pushing themselves through the crowd of colorful soldiers that had gathered, and when Grif was finally in the front, facing this strange investigator turned out to be rather anti-climatic.

When a mysterious stranger asks for you by name, Grif had expected troubles. An intimidating presence, probably a mean stare, definitely some sort of superior who was not a fan of positive words.

But when Grif saw the newcomer, the first thought that hit him was: whose grandma is this? That was perhaps a rather quick judgment but since this planet was mainly inhabited by battle-scarred teenagers, this investigator definitely belonged in the older end, with her grey hair and wrinkles. Though, her furrowed forehead could probably from stressful work through the years.

While she seemed far from fragile - no shaking limbs since she was able to rise from her chair in a swift and elegant movement - she did not seem like a soldier. Her rather stern expression - thin mouth and focused eyes - reminded him of the some of the UNSC staff he had met back when he had been drafted, one of those ladies behind the desk who was spending half of her life reading paperwork.

When her dark, almond-shaped eyes settled on him, the corner of her lips turned upwards in a polite, satisfied smile. Judging from the half-empty cup of tea on the table, Kimball had let her wait for some time.

“Heroes of Chorus,” she said as she greeted them with a short bow. “I’m honored to be here.”

“We still haven’t been informed of why you are here,” Carolina reminded her, keeping her voice just gentle enough to keep the statement from being rude.

“My apologies. But I had preferred to keep some details confidential.” Sensing that confession did not exactly help with the tension in the room, she added, “My name is Marisol Rizal and I am currently running an independent investigation of the Uplora massacre. Which is why I requested to speak with Captain Dexter Grif.”

As soon as she finished speaking, three words were exclaimed at once.

“Uplora?”

“Grif?”

“Hi.”

It was Wash, Simmons and Caboose that had spoken - in that order.

She briefly smiled at Caboose’s greeting, but then set her eyes on Grif again. The orange soldier had gone completely still, stiff as a statue, and Simmons had turned his head to stare at him.

In truth, every single person in the room was staring at Grif who was a little bit too busy dealing with the invisible punch to the stomach which the investigator’s words had caused. He was suddenly grateful that he had put back on his helmet before meeting up with the others - despite the secret pride of his poker face abilities, he doubted he had been able to keep his expression neutral when he had been granted this piece of information.

Kimball was the first to direct the attention back at Rizal. “And what do you require from him?”

“An interview, first of all. And I have managed to uncover some evidence I would like to hear his thoughts on. The entire business should take less than a day.”

“A day?” Carolina repeated, and Grif understood the confusion - none of the earlier reporters had requested more than a few hours from them, and they had been lucky if they had granted them the time.

“I-” She seemed to search for the right words for a moment, eyes darting around before settling on Grif again. “From what I’ve gathered from the previous reports, I understand that you prefer to keep quiet about the experience. I can explain further under two eyes if that is what you want.”

Grif blinked, slowly understanding that this was a question directed towards him and that they actually demanded answers. Too bad his mind was still stuck in oh shit-mode and scrambling a simple sentence together proved to be quite the task. “Uh…”

“Wait, what the fuck is Uplora?” Tucker kept turning his head to look from Grif to Rizal, waiting for one of them to give him an answer.

His question made Grif’s stomach twist itself again, and it was that dreadful feeling that finally allowed him to speak. “Not really a fan of interviews. So, I’ll pass.”

“It’s important,” Rizal insisted. When Kimball looked like she was about to speak again, she quickly added, “I understand you want this business over with as quickly as possible, which is why I decided to seek you out first. Please. I am first of all doing this for the ones who lost someone dear in the massacre, and reading your profile I believed you would be interested in-”

“Massacre?” Donut gasped. “That doesn’t sound-”

“Look, just-” Grif held up his hands, feeling an unfamiliar and unwelcome panic traveling up his spine. “Fuck. Fine. Five minutes, but two eyes and all that. So fuck off,” he told his friends. Perhaps it came out rather harsh but honestly, the only reason he agreed to this talk with a reporter was the make sure they were not told shit.

He has resisted the urge to run out of the room, only because he knew that it would leave them alone with this Rizal and he was not counting on her to keep quiet. Just when she had spoken the name, and oh it had been a long time since he had heard someone say it out loud, things had been stirred up.

“Are you sure?” Kimball asked. She almost sounded concerned which just increased Grif’s need to get away from the scene.

“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Whatever. It’s fine. Five minutes,” he said again, and Rizal nodded.

“I will explain the situation. You can make your choice about your involvement then.”

The group was slow to leave the room, especially Simmons who had to stare at Grif for four long seconds before finally trudging after the others.

When the door finally slid closed and they were alone, Rizal had already sat down in the chair when Grif turned around. She had folded her hands which were covered by white gloves. They matched the rest of her pale uniform; white with dark green trims, and her neck was surrounded by what seemed to be an uncomfortable stiff and tall collar.

“I am sorry for causing all this. I know it must be unexpected. And unwelcome.”

Grif considered whether to take a seat as well but in the end chose to stand. “Your point?”

“I’m afraid I can’t say much here. But since beginning my investigation I have found remains that will, eventually, stir up attention. By contacting you now I hope to save you from potential troubles later on.” She actually sounded apologetic which reduced Grif’s annoyance, just a little bit.

“Question,” he cut in. “Just what the fuck are you investigating?” The matter had been left behind years ago. They had asked him a lot of questions while he had still been stuck in the hospital, but then they had told him there was nothing more they needed to know. They had declared him fit for duty, shoved a glass of pills into his hand, and the day after he had been dropped off in Blood Gulch.

It had been quiet since then, and Grif had honestly preferred the silence.

“Because,” she said, voice careful and leveled, “I wanted to know the truth. And as I can show you on my ship, I don’t think the previously given details match up.”

“And what does that have to do me?” Grif grunted, losing patience.

She tilted her head slightly. “Because I figured you wanted justice for your dead teammates.”

He was not sure if it was intended to be a low blow, but that was what it felt like. For a brief moment he recalled pale, still faces before he forced the memories away.

“You’ve been through a lot, Captain Grif, and I understand why this is subject you would prefer to avoid. But I am doing this for your sake as well, so you can gain the truth, and so you cannot be lied to once more. I know I am asking for a lot-”

“Just what are you asking for? Some assholes in coats interviewed me back then - can’t you just copy their work? Less effort required and you’ll probably get the same grade. Worked for me in high school.”

To his surprise, she actually laughed softly. “I wish it was that simple. But in order to get my hands on something presentable, I must gather the evidence myself. So here is what I ask from you: you come to my ship, I get to film an interview and I will show you what I have found so far.”

“And just what am I gaining from this?”

“I would point out that you will be doing the right thing, but I understand that is not what you need to hear. You would be gaining my discretion, and it would be the last thing I ask of you. I promise to get this whole thing over with as quickly as possible, and as comfortable for you as I can manage.”

Her last arguments were definitely more convincing than her moral reasoning. The part that Grif found most compelling was the mention of her ship. Right now he had the growing suspicion that his teammates had their ears pressed against the other side of the door, hoping to gain some more information.

And his friends finding out about his past was the biggest of Grif’s worries right now. The few mentions that Rizan had dropped was bad enough, and Grif knew a storm of questions would hit him the moment he left the room.

At least he could tell them to fuck off and mind their own fucking business. But he had sensed the underlying warning in Rizan’s explanation. If he did not take care of this now, this whole thing could escalate and the last thing he needed was actual reporters on Chorus just to discuss the colony. At least Rizan had offered to keep his friends out of it.

“What would we be discussing?” he asked, trying to sound as casual about it as possible.

“A lot of the questions will be familiar to you since I know the UNSC did make a report after the disaster. I am looking at the entire case from a new angle, so hopefully I can shine lights on parts not explored before.”

He did not want to talk about this whole thing, he did not what to remember what he had spent so many years to forget, but if she just stuck to the same questions like the one the UNSC had asked he could manage. He had done it all before.

“If I go too far, you tell me, and I will drop the subject. I will share what I have found so far, if you want to. I am… deeply invested in coming to the bottom of this. I lost someone dear in the chaos, and I firmly believe that the victims, you included, deserve more than what was done. What little information you can give me would be much appreciated.”

Grif held back a groan as the headache became apparent. This was not how he had planned to spend the day.

And the voice back in the corner of his skull, reminding him of how close Kai had been to become one of those left behind, did not help at all.

“Details about the investigation and its progress must await till we reach space. I am sure you of all will appreciate that we keep things quiet. You would be back by evening, tomorrow morning at the latest. If we board my ship now-”

“Wait, we’re leaving Chorus?” Grif frowned, unsure of what exactly this meant.

Rizan nodded. “I’m afraid that General Kimball and I discovered that Chorus’ political situation is rather fragile at the moment. You have just been put back on the galactic map, and if this planet’s next big stunt is to be directly involved in my investigation, you are only known for rather controversial scandals. Both the General and I agreed it was best to keep Chorus out of this.”

“So… Space?” Grif said rather weakly, unsure of just how to comment on this. He understood Kimball’s choice but on the other hand, it just left him more questions about just what Rizan was trying to discover.

“As close to Chorus as possible. You’ll be back as soon as I’ve gathered what I need.” She smiled again, softly. “I have refreshments ready on my ship. Coffee or tea?”

He answered the joke with an amused huff. He closed his eyes, thankful for how the visor shielded his face. “How about something stronger?”

“A very black coffee then. Does this mean you are willing to help?”

Her hopeful voice almost caused him to groan out loud. It was not like he had a handful of options. There was apparently no way of avoiding this subject being brought up again - now he just had to get it dealt with as quickly as possible.

This was going to be the most dreadful tea party he had ever been invited to.

“And there is no way you won’t just take no as an answer?” He shrugged, not even believing she might give him a pleasant answer.

“To your surprise, I think you might become rather invested in my case once I show you my progress.”

“Yeah… I seriously doubt that.”

“We’ll have to see about that, won’t we?” She winked, apparently deciding the matter was done with. “I’ll exchange contacts with General Kimball so you can be contacted should the need arrive. I would not want to steal one of their beloved Captains.”

Grif snorted. “Beloved is a very strong word. Unless we are speaking about Matthews.”

“I’ll meet you in an hour,” she informed him, cutting to the chase. She definitely seemed like one of the paperwork ladies now.

“Right. And you won’t-”

“I will keep quiet about any details of the massacre. Any. It is rather obvious you want them uninformed about this. I understand.”

Grif searched for something to say, tongue running across dry lips. It would be nice to have the final word in the conversation, mainly to keep up the weak illusion that he actually had a say in all this, but Grif could feel his control over the situation slipping through his fingers. But it seemed like there was not anything to add to what had already been said.

So he turned around, marching out of the room, and when the door slid open he tried not to comment on how his friends seemingly had been leaning against the wall. Tucker almost had to leap backward when Grif did not slow down his steps.

“She wants to talk with you,” he informed Kimball with a shrug before someone else could break the silence.

The questions came immediately afterward. “Dude, what was that about?”

“Sorry,” Grif said without a hint of caring, “confidential knowledge and all that.”

“C’mon. Really?”

Grif continued his way down the pathway, more determined than ever to dodge their question. But Carolina took a step forward, slowing him down just enough for him to hear. “I was not aware you had ties with the Uplora incident.”

At least it was not directly a question. Grif appreciated that.

“Let’s just…” He clenched his hands in frustration. “Not.”

In the corner of the hallway, Donut tilted his head. “Grif-” Simmons was standing quietly next to him.

Knowing he would have to spend the rest of the evening answering questions, Grif decided he needed a break now. He continued to walk away.

“Where the fuck are you going?” Tucker asked, obviously not ready to let go of the newest source of slander.

Grif flipped him off without looking over his shoulder. “Mess hall. It’s lunchtime and I am not letting Bitters steal all the tacos with extra cheese.”

The did not follow him, at least. But he sure as hell heard the hushed muttering among his friends before he finally gained enough distance between them so he could walk in silence.

He did not go to the mess hall. The last thing he needed right now was someone asking for yet another autograph - which meant he had to avoid Gold Team. Matthews had been saving the papers with handwriting, probably hiding them under his pillow or some shit, and Grif had discovered that Bitters was trying to gain a stock of autographs, only so he could sell them to other soldiers for some quick cash. Grif could almost respect that, had the constant requests from his soldiers not been so freaking annoying.

If Bitters truly was smart he would just start writing fake autographs. Much easier and it would increase production. Now Grif just felt a bit disappointed in his Lieutenant.

Grif went to the quarters he and Simmons shared. For a moment he just stood in the middle of the room, wondering what to do next.

Should he pack? Rizan had mentioned he might have to stay overnight and so bringing a toothbrush could be a good idea… Grif nearly burst out laughing, remembering he would never bother to bring a toothbrush around anywhere.

He sat down heavily on his bed, removing his helmet so he could run a hand through his hair.

Grif liked asking questions. Most of his pillow talk with Simmons had started from what if’s, lot of hypothetical scenarios, questions about the mysteries of the universe where he never truly expected a final answer from his teammate.

Switching roles and being forced to answer questions on the other hand…

Most of the UNSC’s questions had been reduced to numbers. Grif could deal with that. Numbers were simple, short answers with no need to dig further into it. When had the attack happened, how many attackers, how many aliens had died, how many of his teammates had died, when did he wake up, how many days until help had arrived…

Numbers. Simple and quick. The answer could be shorted down into one word, minimum effort required. Still annoying as fuck but he could deal with them.

He could not talk his way out of this, no way to change the subject. It was not like the closet accident which he could easily avoid since neither he or Simmons wanted to bring it up.

The first days afterward had been awkward as hell, since Simmons’ face was constantly red, and if Grif as much as said his name he would jump in surprise and his voice would break. Anyone watching must have thought Simmons was trying to cover up a murder with that amount of anxiety.

After they had agreed that the whole thing had never taken place - since that agreement made it easier it easier not to talk about it - things had still been… tense. It was suddenly too easy to make Simmons stutter, too easy to make him blush, too easy to make him storm out of the room, and it all seemed to have lost its amusement value.

Whenever one of them lost their cool, it could take hours before they could begin another normal conversation. When the movie night had been suggested, it had seemed like the first step towards constant normalcy. A casual, not-awkward, comfortable, totally normally friendly friendship movie marathon like they had done so many times before.

They probably had to sit at different ends of the couch, since Simmons still withdrew his hands like if he had been burned every time they accidentally touched but it could still work…

Grif was so busy planning a movie night that was not going to take place that he did not notice when Simmons stepped inside the room. He did, however, become aware of his presence the moment he closed the door - the action was just a bit too forceful than normally.

Simmons placed himself in the opposite end of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “You wanna talk about it?”

“Nope.” Grif smacked his lips before readjusting himself so he was lying down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“Yeah. Figured.”

Simmons had taken off his helmet, revealing a very deep frown. He seemed to be chewing the inside of his cheek.

Grif could not help but catch the bitterness in his voice. He turned his head so he was staring at him. “What?” he asked with a slight sneer to his voice. He hated when Simmons was acting passive-aggressive. He sucked at it.

“Nothing.” Simmons looked away, slightly lifting his chin.

“Great.”

“Yeah.”

“Awesome.”

There were two seconds of silence and then Simmons started shuffling his feet. “I mean, you have apparently been a part of a big galactic controversy and you never really felt like telling me, despite knowing me for years so…”

Grif sat up, groaning. “Seriously, Simmons?”

“I just thought we had reached that stage where we would tell each other stuff like that.”

“Stage? We are we - in a fucking play?!”

“You know what I mean!” Simmons was sounding flustered again, but this time from annoyance rather than awkwardness. His eyes were narrowed.

“Tough shit, Simmons. I love sharing tragic backstories. I am sure you are all up to talking ‘bout your sweet daddy. It really brightens up the dinner conversations, huh.”

Simmons seemed to choke on air. “At least you know about it,” he muttered. The strength returned to his voice when he started to accuse Grif again. “I had to hear it from an investigator-”

“Why the fuck do you care?”

“Because I should know-”

Grif stood up from the bed, headache stronger than ever. “What the fuck kind of right is that?!”

Simmons inhaled sharply, finally looking directly at Grif’s face. His mouth was twisted in a manner that looked like a painful scowl. His feelings were hurt, and Grif did not want to deal with it. The maroons soldier sighed. “I just thought we were-”

“We were what?” Grif challenged.

Their staring competition lasted for around five seconds. Then Simmons turned his head. “Never mind.”

“Exactly,” Grif agreed but he was not sure if Simmons heard him.

When his teammate slammed the door behind him as he stormed out of the room, Grif could not help but flinch at the sound. He blamed the headache.

#file not found #my rvb fic #grif #simmons #grimmons

30 notes · View notes

theshinsun · 4 years

Note

4, 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 36, 39, 40, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60 [Which do you prefer between Knb and Haikyuu?] for the ask you recently reblogged please?

4. what are you looking forward to?

I'm looking forward to school starting again, even if it's just a weird hybrid of online/flipped classes, I miss my teachers and like, being productive. also if I'm in class I can't be worked borderline inhumane hours right…. right??

5. is there anyone who can always make you smile?

yeah, my roommate. she always either knows how to cheer me up, or blunders around trying to find the right method to the point that it's funny and I end up smiling anyway. she's really awesome like that.

7. what was your life like last year?

it had a lot of ups and downs. I had a great job, but the people I worked with eventually made it toxic and awful. I was doing really well in school, but stressed all the time, had an awesome relationship but kind of ruined it w my anxiety, and had serious roommate issues that made me afraid to leave my bedroom or even come home, sometimes. I remember a lot of very high highs and very low lows especially in the fall/winter of that year.

10. are you good at hiding your feelings?

well, yes and no… I don't tend to show a lot of emotion to begin with, but what I do show, I'm basically incapable of hiding, and apparently I'm a terrible liar bc my face gives me away.

13. how do you feel right now?

I'm pretty alright… kind of anxious, kind of tired, but that's just been the status quo lately tbh.

15. personality description

already answered, so I suppose I'll elaborate. I'm simultaneously like, the most confident and the most self-doubting person I know... like there are certain things I'm super certain of and times when I feel no shame, and there are others where I'll just shrivel into a ball of anxiety and mortification and never come out. in the same vein, I'm simultaneously very trusting and open and very wary and cautious with people… it really depends on the situation and the person I think, I'm a very "you get out what you put in" person.

16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn't?

yeah, I’m still holding onto things I’ve wanted to tell certain people tbh… I used to be a lot more forthcoming and not worry about the consequences of what I had to say, but now that I’ve seen what power words have to ruin relationships and impact people I tend to hold back quite a bit.

17. opinion on insecurities

I have… many, but I understand that I shouldn't and am working on the ones I do have. I think feeling insecure can lead to some of the most ugly, toxic emotions and responses in certain people, so I'm trying to be conscientious of that.

23. fear(s)

um let’s see… jump scares, the dark (sometimes), corners I can’t see around, drowning/suffocating, pain, failure, losing control...

27. things I hate

wet socks, sunburn, acne, willful ignorance, bigotry, excessively negative people… uh… idk hate's a strong word that's all I've got

28. I'll love you if…

if you are genuinely, authentically yourself. if you’re the kind of person I can feel comfortable and at ease with. if you show me patience and compassion and make an effort to know me and let me know you… then yeah you’re never getting rid of me.

29. favorite film(s)

The Road to El Dorado, Into the Spider-verse, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirit, Life of Pi, The Truman Show, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

30. favorite tv show(s)

Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basuke, Avatar, Bojack Horseman, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Beastars, Dragonball Z

31. 3 random facts

already answered so here's three more

1. lately I've been carrying a fanny pack with the trans flag (there's an unfortunate but very tempting pun in there) and it's still got the security tag bc they forgot to take it off in the store so now every time I walk through the doorway to like, a drug store, I set off the alarm. I would get it taken off but it was sent to me from Chicago lol.

2. I've got a lot of outdoorsy skills bc of my gym class in high school, like rock climbing, kayaking, building fire, etc. I'm not super adventurous in my daily life but while I was in that class, I did all kinds of things.

3. for awhile I worked at a cat cafe, and helped take care of the 12-15 rescue cats we'd have there at any given time. I stand by that it was the best job I've ever had, but the people I worked with, not so much.

33. something you want to learn

I really want to learn to skateboard or surf. it's been a dream for a long time and I have (suspiciously acquired) both, but my balance is shit and I have no patience for new skills lately, so...

36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill?

already answered so here's three more

1. someday I want to have a pickup truck, I've been looking at, like, bright orange Tacomas and stuff, but of course I'd need a license to be able to drive one

2. I'd like to have a garden again, or maybe have a plot in a community garden. I've been growing nasturtiums and things on my balcony while in school but it's not quite the same

3. still waiting on the day I can get top surgery tbh. I just… want to be able to be shirtless at the beach and wear tank tops with nothing underneath, okay?

39. favorite sport(s)

ahahahaha… favorite sport you say. to play or to watch? 'cause I generally don't like to do either, tho I do like watching the folks who play volleyball on the beach. and considering one of my favorite shows is about volleyball and it was the sport I sucked at the least in school, maybe we’ll go with volleyball? but in general I’m not a sports person.

40. favorite memory

I have a vague memory… of helping my mom in the garden of my old house when I was a little kid, mostly just digging in the dirt in the spring and being outside with my family… it's not very clear or specific but I think those days were some of the happiest of my life.

52. something I'm talented at

I'm good at learning the lyrics to songs, I've got over 1000 downloaded in my spotify library and I'm pretty sure I know the words to at least most of them. in a similar vein I'm good at learning the scripts to movies, and just… memorizing things in general especially audio.

53. 5 things that make me happy

already answered so here's some more!

1. songs with a light, strummy acoustic feel and creative lyrics… I've got a whole playlist for that vibe there's just something about songs like that that make me really calm

2. I really like being hugged or cuddled by my friends, just being in close proximity and hanging all over each other, makes me all warm and fuzzy inside tbh

3. I love driving with the windows down (I can't drive so I mean riding passenger lol), especially in the canyon by my house, through the forest and by the beach.

54. something that's worrying me at the moment

I’m so afraid things won’t go back to the way they were. ...that applies to multiple aspects of my life, not just with this pandemic but school, work, friends, relationships… it seems like I’m always chasing the past and dreading the future, so much that I can’t ever be satisfied in the present moment, and that’s something that’s been on my mind a lot.

55. tumblr friends

@hadenxcharm, @spaztictwitch, @kurokonobaka, @taigainside, @hybristophilica and you could be too! all you gotta do is message me tbh I'm easy

56. favorite food(s)

strawberry cheesecake, fried shrimp, key lime pie, tuna steak

59. why I joined tumblr

I joined in 2012 bc my friends told me to, had a brief recession where I didn't use it at all, and a pretty lengthy sidetrack through the RP community, and then I came back bc of the friends I'd made here, and the unique-ness of the platform that I kinda can't find anywhere else. I'm stuck here just like the rest of y'all.

60. ask me anything you want (which do you prefer between KNB and Haikyuu?)

now this is a tough one… bc I really love them both a lot, and tbh in terms of quality of writing, art/animation, thematic music, character development and general story, I think Haikyuu!! has KNB beat, buuuuuut…. in spite of its flaws, I have such a soft spot for KNB and I keep coming back to it over and over again even as it falls into relative obscurity. It's the only thing I write for anymore and I'm still, somehow, utterly obsessed with the characters I first fell in love with over five years ago. KNB has problems, for sure, but the things it gets right (like setting a mood, strong emotional beats and character relationships) it knocks out of the park. I don't know if I could ever choose one over the other in terms of like, "you can only read/watch one of these and have to give up the other forever", but in terms of which has had the biggest impact, and still hits me the hardest, I'd probably have to go with KNB… but it's not by any means an easy choice.

#shin speaks #answered #sorry this took forever it was... a lot of questions and I've also been working pretty insanely lately #thanks so much for asking!!#<3

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renaroo · 4 years

Text

Resonance (2/15)

Disclaimer: Spider-Man, Miles Morales, and associated characters are the creative property of Marvel Comics. Into the Spider-Verse and associated characters are creative property of Sony Pictures. Both of these things and neither of them are true, all I ask is to not be sued. Warnings: Teen Angst, Pregnancy, Mourning Pairings: PeterxMJ in many forms Rating: T Synopsis: Miles Morales is the brand new Spider-Man with all the responsibilities, burdens, and heartache therein. With the crowds being harder to please and his rogues gallery looking more formidible by each day, Miles doubts his competency as the one and only Spider-Man. At first, he looks to his predecessor’s support group for advice, and what he ends up getting is a lot more complications.

A/N: I am late by a whole day and I absolutely cannot apologize enough for those of you who were waiting for this update yesterday! There is no good excuse. As much as I’m still working and teaching, I had time to get this done before today and the delays were all my own laziness. I am so sorry! Hopefully I’ll get better and back in the swing of writing regular updates and have the next chapter out Friday!

That being said, I had a blast writing this chapter and am so excited to lay the ground work for the larger world Resonance will be taking place in! And I’m grateful for everyone who has shown their support for this fic so far!

Special shout outs to @babybatbrat, @secretlystephaniebrown, and @notatroll7 for their support on tumblr and AO3!! It means so very much, thank you!

Chapter Two: A Visit to Forest Hills

Miles looked into the mirror, hands gripping the sink, and turned his chin slowly side to side.

“This sucks,” he surmised to his reflection. He groaned as he reached up and drug his hands down his face only to predictably flinch at the pain from his bruised jawline.

The bruises on his jaw were molted looking, purpled and pinked shining against his dark skin. It was noticeable, especially in how puffy his neck had grown overnight. But, he supposed, it at least wasn’t over his cheek or one of his eyes. That would have been near impossible to cover.

Sighing, Miles looked over and poked suspiciously at the scarf Ganke had offered him.

His thoughts on the scarf did not have too much time to develop, however, as the bathroom door came swinging open. Said roommate shouldered on in, carrying a load of books and papers.

“Hey, man, you need to knock before busting on into places like this!” Miles croaked, voice still sounding off and sore.

“I knew what you were doing in here, you were starring in the mirror and complaining,” Ganke said, putting down the laundry basket full of books and beginning to dump them out on the floor. The moment it was clear, he began picking up the towels sprawled around the tile. He still hadn’t looked up to make eye contact.

“Dude,” Miles groaned, dropping his shoulders to give further effect to his full-body eye roll. “I’m not complaining!” As the eye roll ended, Miles’ shoulders hitched and he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. From the new angle, he could see even more of the bruise purpling the skin just beneath his ear. He reached up and tenderly stroked it. “Aw, man.”

Catching himself, Miles glanced down toward Ganke just as Ganke was looking up to raise an eyebrow at him.

Forcing a cough, Miles cleared his throat. “A-anyway, thanks for the scarf. Looks like I’ll definitely be using it today. But maybe I can, like, spider-heal up quick or something.”

Ganke’s brows knitted together in confusion. “You still don’t know all your powers?” he asked critically.

Despite himself, Miles shrugged. “Hey, I had like ten minutes with the first guy and, like, less than a day with everyone else. I’m lucky I learned the web-shooters were mechanical.”

Any time Peter Parker — their Peter Parker — came up in conversation, no matter how casual Miles attempted to make it, Ganke shifted uncomfortably. It was like he suddenly couldn’t get enough room between the two of them when he remembered that Miles was not that Spider-Man.

It was enough to make Miles mildly uncomfortable as well.

“It’s something you’ve got to find out,” Ganke said determinedly. “You’ve gotta find all of this stuff out about your body and your powers and, well, how you don’t end up Spider-Splat. It’s really kind of negligent for you not to, Miles.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Miles said, glancing at the mirror again to get more of a look at the rest of his body.

His jaw had its workout, but it was the rest of Miles’ body that had taken the brunt end of the punishment from his tangling with Electro the day before. And it had definitely been the rest of his body that he had felt that morning after he rolled out of bed an hour later than his morning workout schedule had required.

As far as he and Ganke had been able to determine, there were no broken bones, but Miles’ arms, legs, and ribs were a patchwork of angry bruising.

Worst of all, though, was the ugly open sores on his back, black and red with the skin singed. He had made the mistake of brushing his fingers over it the night before when Ganke was helping him clean them, but he hadn’t attempted again.

“Imagine if that suit wasn’t insulated,” Ganke whistled, his gaze following Miles’ own.

“Dude, after yesterday, I’m not even sure I believe it is,” Miles whined.

“Oh, it definitely is, or else you’d be crispier,” Ganke replied easily, picking up the basket of dirty towels to take out of the bathroom. “Remember those pictures we looked up last night?”

Gagging, Miles shivered. “How could I not, dude? I’m scarred for life now!” He looked worriedly at his back. “Um, hopefully only metaphorically.”

“Look on the bright side,” Ganke offered, shrugging his shoulders. “The worst of it can be covered with your uniform. People may notice you walking stiff, but at least it’s not going to be visible like it is on your face.”

“Yeah, real great,” Miles sighed, finally reaching for his neatly folded uniform on the side of the sink’s basin. “Guess I should think ahead for those situations, though. Never really worried about it before, but I guess that could be something kind of regular if that’s what one of the old Spider-Man’s basic baddies is capable of doing.”

“You could just not get hit,” Ganke deadpanned. “Always the best option in my opinion.”

“Gee, thanks for the stellar advice, man,” Miles grumbled as he pulled on his undershirt. Try as he might maneuver around it, the fabric grazed over the burns and caused a chill of pain to rush outward through his spine. He bit his lip to keep from getting too loud, but couldn’t avoid the rush of strung together expletives from sputtering out of his mouth.

Panting, Miles felt the wave of shock pass him. He opened his eyes to see Ganke’s shocked expression.

Grimacing at himself, Miles finished tenderly pulling down on the rest of his undershirt. “Um. I meant ow.”

“Hmm,” Ganke said in response, leaning back against the doorframe.

“Hey, my dad’s a cop. I’ve picked up a few choice expressions,” Miles defended, grabbing the rest of his uniform.

“It’s not that,” Ganke dismissed, tilting his head curiously. “Did you think about what I said yesterday? About getting some medical-grade supplies to keep in our room for stuff like this? I think it’s going to be a smart move.”

“I thought the best option was to not get hit,” Miles retorted.

“I’m being serious here,” Ganke said in earnest.

“And I’m definitely not using my weekend trip to stock up on my mom’s nursing stuff,” Miles groaned. “Do you know how much she’d freak if she even saw this bruise? I got a scab on my knee once and she had me elevate it and ice it for the rest of the afternoon!”

Ganke hummed again, glancing toward the door to leave. But he lingered instead of making his way out.

“Miles, you gotta get supplies, start being more prepared,” Ganke lectured. “Like with your web-shooters.”

“I know, man,” Miles grunted, popping his head through the cream vest of his uniform and finally putting on the last layers of clothing. “How quick do you think we can whip up replacement fluid in chemistry lab today?”

That caused a sputtering of noise from Ganke before he violently shook his head. “What? No way, dude, I told you. Until I know exactly what I’m doing, I am not going to make that web shooter fluid for you. I don’t want to—“

Throwing his head back, Miles moaned at the ceiling. “I know, I know. You don’t want to be the guy who killed the new Spider-Man. I get it.” He rolled his head carefully, avoiding the sporadic shots of pain from his jaw as much as he could. When he met Ganke’s gaze, he tried to look as emphatic as possible. “If we don’t make our own, though, I’m going to have to go get some. And if I do that, it means I’ll have to, you know,” he motioned with his arms, “go and see, like, her again. And I just don’t know if I can handle that level of awkward.”

“You’re going to have to,” Ganke said pointedly. “And why wouldn’t you want to see her? She seems like a cool old lady. And you said she was supporting you. And made tea. What more could you want?”

“Uh, to not remind an old lady constantly that her nephew-slash-son died and I’m going around wearing his hand-me-downs like a skin suit and taking his identity,” Miles countered quickly. “That’s kind of how I would like to live my life — spider-wise or other — if I could.”

“Well you can’t, at least not today,” Ganke argued, shouldering the door to leave.

Miles was more than prepared to leave the conversation where it stood. He stepped forward, though, and immediately felt his foot slipping from beneath him. Catching himself on the wall, Miles glanced around the floor of the bathroom. Where his foot had been was one of the several notebooks and papers.

“Hey! Wait!” Miles called, just in time to get Ganke to half step back and look over his shoulder.

“Yeah?” Ganke asked back.

“Why’d you throw all my books and stuff on the floor? What was the point of that?”

“Oh, while you were healing up last night, I did some partial work for the classes you skipped the homework for,” Ganke answered nonchalantly. “It’s not everything, but it’s better than zero and failing.”

Miles blinked in surprise. “Whoa, really? I don’t even know what to say to that, dude, that’s really cool of you. And unexpected. Thanks.” He then looked back down to the mess on the floor. “Wait, no, that still didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh, I knew the teachers needed to believe it was yours and had been shoved into a backpack overnight, so some wear and tear needed,” Ganke shrugged again.

“You are an evil genius, Ganke Lee,” Miles grinned, bending over to begin picking the books up.

“If I were, you chose a poorly in who to reveal your identity to, gotta say,” Ganke answered, rotating his wrist as he walked on to finish up his morning. “Please don’t ruin my scarf. My mom got it for me.”

“Scarf?” Miles repeated before snapping his fingers. “Oh, right! Good call!”

He grabbed his books from the floor and Ganke’s scarf from the sink counter before finishing up his morning.

From his morning onward, Miles’ school day was a practice in anxiety. More than once, he felt the eyes of his peers falling onto his scarf and looking perplexed or snide over it. It was enough to make the hairs on Miles’ skin stand on edge. He’d whirl around in the halls to see the faces of the people staring at him.

Each time he turned, however, he never found any eyes lingering on his wardrobe. At least not for long enough to equate to the rush of anxiety deep in Miles’ person.

In hindsight, it made sense.

Miles didn’t have many friends at school still, and few would notice a change to his wardrobe which still fell into the dress code.

In fact, Miles saw several scarves and scrunchies worn by students which were out of academy colors and arguably could have been called out but weren’t.

After lunch, Miles’ tension had left his body and he was instead looking more toward the anxiety of his chemistry lab with Ganke. Despite Ganke’s pleas, Miles was determined to talk his roommate into making some web fluid for him. He argued, mostly to himself, that it only made sense to become self-sufficient. To not bother May Parker all of the time.

He was so consumed with thinking through his debate with Ganke, that by English lit class, Miles had forgotten himself and began feeling very stuffy and hot.

Pulling on his scarf, Miles sighed and leaned back against the metal desk chair.

A jolt of pain radiated out from Miles’ back and he leaped to his feet with a yowl. His arms stretched back, reaching for the source of pain before Miles head began to throb with sharpened anxiety.

Looking around, Miles realized the entire classroom plus his teacher were staring at him. The looks ranged from surprise to giggling.

“Oh,” Miles muttered before offering a sheepish smile. “Sorry, sorry about that.” He lowered his hands and began to sink back into his seat only for the teacher’s throat to clear.

“Mister Morales,” he fussed, eyes beady behind thick wireframe glasses. “Is there something you would like to share about Wuthering Heights? Or do you have a spider crawling down your back?”

The students giggled in response, many shifting to glance toward their friends.

“Uh, probably the last one,” Miles said, sinking toward his seat again.

“Probably?” the teacher asked. “As in you aren’t sure if there’s a spider crawling down your back?”

Shiftily moving his eyes around the room, Miles grimaced. “I mean, I’m not a fan of, uh, spiders, so hopefully not? We could just, uh, keep talking about the old British people.”

That earned a few other giggles from the students, but they didn’t work to relax Miles exactly. Especially not when he realized the teacher was still staring intently at him.

“Mister Morales, is that some sort of rash on your neck?” he asked.

“What?” Miles asked before reaching up to his jawline and realizing there was no longer a scarf covering him. “Oh, uh,” he stuttered before his mind clicked with an idea. “Oh, shoot, I think maybe it was a spider after all. I should, like, go to the nurse!” He glanced toward the teacher, watching as the man straightened his glasses. “Please?”

The moment his teacher nodded in affirmation, Miles gathered up his belongings and booked it out into the hallway. As soon as the door closed behind him, Miles leaned against the nearest wall and let out a long, heralding breath.

He was not going to the nurse, but he suddenly lacked his appetite for class and for debating Ganke to make his new web shooter fluid.

Rubbing a hand down his face, Miles sighed. “Aw, man,” he moaned to himself and shook his head.

While he had only had the opportunity to be with his mentor for the better part of a day, and the other Spider-People even less, Miles had learned quite a few things from them. Things that had carried into daily life ever since.

Some he wished he had paid more attention to from the start, like with using the bus whenever possible.

Perhaps if he had, it would have saved him some web fluid over the month.

Miles took the advice more that day, though, because he had no web shooter fluid and even with spider-heightened endurance, Forest Hills was a fairly long walk from Brooklyn.

While Miles had made a point of not visiting the Parker house, he had the memory of the location burned into his memory. The neighborhood played out easily in his nightmares.

Walking from the closest bus stop, Miles couldn’t stop himself from pausing at a gated off alley, his eyes falling on broken pavement and tattered brick.

It made his chest tight and his body heavy to look down on the alley. It was barren save for the trash bin. But, for Miles, it was as haunted as any place in the city could be.

Mouth dry, Miles glanced over to the wall where he threw up the memorial to his uncle a month ago. It was already faded some, the sun must have hit the alley more than Miles estimated. He should have risked putting a finish on it, but then his father would have eventually noticed it and had questions about how Miles knew where Uncle Aaron had died.

It took a painstaking moment for Miles to finally rip himself away from the alley and continue the less than a block from the bus stop to the two-story home of May Parker.

In the last month, Uncle Aaron’s onsite memorial had faded obscurely in the background for most people, but the stacks in memoriam to Peter Parker seemed to be ever-growing, ever-changing. Wooden stars of David lined with bows and web decorated masks, candies and stuffed animals, pictures, melted candles, paper floats, weighted down balloons. It was impressive and daunting. And, a month later, more than a little messy.

Just from his small contact with May Parker, Miles had to imagine that she was not a fan of her yard becoming a cheap reminder of her son every day. The pain of it — similar to that pain for Uncle Aaron which had kept Miles away from Forest Hills — had to be unbearable.

For Miles, though, the real surprise came from the bent and folded signs which underscored the same message. RIP the REAL Spider-Man. Missed NOT FORGOTTEN OR REPLACED.

The last one caught his eye as he stood at the start of the sidewalk.

Thinking back to his missed lit class, Miles pulled out one of his fat sharpies and frowned. He leaned over and scribbled a messy N onto the sign so that NOR read more correctly on the board.

Running out of distractions and delays, Miles finally walked up toward the house and reached out to knock on the door when he heard low voices from the other side of the wall. He hesitated, eyes narrowing intently on the doorknob before he leaned in.

“I should have been here more, May, I’m sorry,” he heard a faintly familiar voice say. “Truth be told, I haven’t been much of anywhere since…”

Glancing away from the door, Miles could see that the lone front window had the glow of light. He knew there was a living room on the other side and that it would be awkward to explain his presence to most company.

He should turn around and come back another time. But the voice was so familiar he just had to know where he knew it from.

Glancing around the neighborhood, Miles made certain he wasn’t going to be seen before he reached out with both hands and begun sticking to the siding of the house.

After crawling toward the window, Miles timidly stuck his head down to look upside-down through the Parker house and catch a glimpse of May sitting on the plastic-lined couch with her guest.

The flash of brilliant red hair, the designer coat — Miles knew almost immediately who he was looking at.

“Mary Jane,” he mumbled to himself.

May reached forward and took Mary Jane’s hands into her own, squeezing them affectionately. “I know,” May said affectionately. She sounded heartbroken. “The important thing now, though, is we’re in this together. And I mean that.”

That was all May needed to say before Mary Jane let out a loud sob, folding forward and only catching herself on May’s shoulder before continuing to cry.

The two women held each other for a long time.

It made Miles feel intrusive and dirty to witness the moment. He cringed as he pulled himself back and away from the window.

Whatever was going on with the two Parker women didn’t involve him, and there was no telling how long that they would be wrapped up in their emotions. As they deserved to be.

Miles knocking on the door and blurting out Hey, Ms. P, mind lending me more of your nephew’s stuff? was downright ghoulish.

Still, he came all the way out to the middle of Queens, and Miles needed to make sure he spent as much time away for the second time as possible.

Everything in Forest Hills was too raw. For him. For Aunt May. For everyone.

But Miles only had enough fare on him for a one-way trip to Forest Hills. He had nothing to get him back because he was supposed to be able to make his own way back.

“Man,” Miles whined to himself.

Sticking to the walls, Miles climbed upward, away from the window and the all-too-private moment. By the time he reached the rooftop, it was simple enough to flip onto the top and walk to the back slope of the roofing.

He glanced over the obvious patches and still present damage to the singles. For a moment, he hesitated and wondered if he should have done more to repair the damage from the large fight he brought to May’s doorstep. A pang of regret came over his system.

Pushing it down, Miles shook his head and tried to focus on the immediate needs he could address.

The moment his feet hit the grounds of the backyard, Miles could feel what he needed to do. May had told him before that she rigged the shed entrance to let him have access whenever he needed it. And Miles, while appreciative, had made a point of avoiding needing it until that moment.

The lock popped off, a faint glow of a spider emblem dazzling Miles again as he approached.

It was still amazing — that May and Peter had built so much with so little available to them. Miles knew they had connections, access, experience with science and fields that would have made Ganke’s eyes swim in confusion. But walking onto the platform and descending into the original Spider-Man’s lair still felt like a dream.

Once he began to descend, Miles noticed voices and explosive glows of alternating colors. His eyes widened as he recognized some of the lights and sounds to be of the other Spider-People’s portals — mysteriously showing up on the large computer screens below. There were also, though, images and people he had never seen before.

“That looks suspicious,” Miles said, flipping his backpack around and quickly changing while the platform still descended.

The moment his suit was in order, Miles threw his backpack over his back and crouched, eyes narrowed. His body flickered into nothingness as he easily camouflaged into the world around him.

There was nothing too out of the ordinary beyond the computer screens. He crawled in preparation of things changing, but it continued to seem ordinary.

“Maybe Ms. Parker still comes down here,” he decided out loud, circling the main areas of the lair.

He came to a stop in front of the gala of costumes where he had taken his own. He looked and, with some apprehension, saw a new suit where his had once been.

It was tattered and bloody, broken up in pieces, with the eye lens shattered out.

Miles had seen the suit before, but not on a mannequin.

Slowly, Miles dropped his camouflage and continued to stare at the suit his hero had died in. He could see himself — small and insignificant, his face barely overlapping with Peter Parker’s chest.

Slowly, Miles reached up and placed his hand on the glass, pressing against the spider of Peter’s chest, running his thumb across it. He didn’t know if it was an apology, an appreciative thanks, or if it was anything at all.

All Miles knew was that it felt like there was more than glass and a few centimeters of empty space between himself and the Spider-Man who used to be.

His senses blared, a tickling feeling down his spine and neck.

Miles pulled his hand from the glass and looked over his shoulder just as the lift began to ascend without him.

Irrationally, his first thought was ghost.

Again, screaming that time, his senses picked up and Miles dropped to the floor just before a green blur sliced through the air with enough force to bust open several of the glass display cases.

“Well, well, well,” a very familiar voice spoke in delight from behind Miles. He looked to her — seeing the familiar wild hair, eyes beady behind thick octagonal glasses, and a sharp, pointed face. “If it isn’t Peter’s little invisible friend back again.”

“Dock Ock?” Miles gasped.

#Miles Morales #Spiderman #Ganke Lee #May Parker #Mary Jane Watson #writing #spider fic #Spider: Resonance

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dontgetflashed-blog · 5 years

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I am sick of my wife getting flashed.

I’ve had enough.

I’ll undeniably regret this post a couple years down the line.

Right now? I don’t care. I need help.

About a year ago, I created a blog called “Media Warning Labels” for an idea my wife and I had about creating a database providing photosensitivity ratings for popular media. Then, all this other "life stuff” came up that provided convenient excuses to put it off. We daydreamed where this could go but never put anything to action. We were figuring it out. We needed to figure it out so we did it right.

Then, I saw my wife have a seizure.

We don’t know what caused it. It was one of those perfect storms of maybe she forgot her meds in the morning but she was also tired and got a stressful new job and what are her hormone levels at and we were driving on the freeway at night with a bunch of incoming headlights but it’s been two years since her last seizure what went wrong that will probably never be explained. She came out of it okay, and she said I took care of her very well. We’ve been together for over 5 years, and she never seized around me. She said it was because I made her feel relaxed. I kept the seizures away.

Did this mean I’m not her anti-seizure hero anymore?

I felt so helpless. Afterwards, I felt guilty for needing to process it. This isn’t about me. I don’t have epilepsy. I’m not the one who had a seizure. I should be taking care of her. Instead, she recovered in a few days, and then she helped me reconcile my feelings until I got to a place where I could stop fixating on the exact floorboard where she fell. I made this blog. I put together a stronger timeline for how Don’t Get Flashed! will grow as a movement and as a community. I started talking to a lawyer about maybe becoming a legal entity in addition to a community.

This leads me to today. My wife’s sleeping because she’s sick with a pretty bad cold, so I’m alone in the living room alternating between Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter when I see a post from the Epilepsy Foundation about photosensitive epilepsy. It’s totally harmless, just a little lead into clicking to their page for tips on living with photosensitivity.

But I snapped.

The advice for watching films boiled down to “Wanna watch a movie? Phone a friend or ask the audience!” and it pissed me off. We’ve asked friends for their opinion on the flashiness of movies, and they were so wrong. This was the best that the largest resource on epilepsy could come up with because the education and resources for photosensitivity are so few and far between. What about for someone new to photosensitivity? For a parent who’s child just got diagnosed with photosensitivity?

This isn’t new. My wife was just like, “yup, this is why I don’t get angry very easy” when I told her about my experience. She was diagnosed at 13, so she got to deal with this frustration while also dealing with puberty and high school. So why am I just sitting on my hands, dawdling and feeling confident that this will get taken care of “eventually,” when I can get started on it now?

tl;dr,

If you have photosensitivity that is triggered by sequences in film, television, music videos, or other various media, please submit an ask, send me a message, or reblog/reply to this post with details on your trigger.

Don’t Get Flashed! will provide metrics for the frequency and duration of various photostimuli in popular media. The primary focus is on films but will include popular music videos as well. There are no plans for television shows at this time, and Don’t Get Flashed! will never provide metrics for video games.

I’m using my wife’s severe photosensitivity as the basis for the database, but I want this to be as comprehensive as possible. This doesn’t have to be limited to epilepsy. I’m still learning about other medical conditions that have photosensitivity, like migraines, and you can help educate me to be a resource for you, too.

I’m starting with kid’s movies because photosensitivity tends to occur more frequently in children. I’m not going to do any superhero, action, or animated movies that are blatantly photosensitive-unfriendly (looking at you, Incredibles 2 and Spider-Verse) even if those tags are more popular on tumblr. I want to focus on the movies that somebody with photosensitivity might try watching because they seem safe. I can take movie requests, but I make no guarantee that I will get to them in the order the requests are submitted.

Please reblog to spread the word. I have so many plans for this - websites and apps and social media and conversations - but it starts here where I know there’s already a community of people who care about others’ well-being and health.

As a side note, my wife was formally diagnosed with photosensitivity and mild audiosensitivity, and she has been trained as an epilepsy-specific counselor by the Epilepsy Foundation. She has access to this blog and is very open as a resource for questions or non-medical advice.

If we can be a resource to help you navigate life a little happier, then we’ll consider ourselves successful.

Thank you,

#sorry for the tag spam #actually epileptic #epilepsy #photosensitivity #medical #migraines #spoonie

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metalandmagi · 5 years

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December End of the Year Media Madness!

It’s a new month and a new year! And what a crazy month it was what with Tumblr imploding and all. But I’ll still throw this on here just because I’ll be on this site until it literally boots me out. But I do have a twitter now…@metalandmagi where I’m also barely active at all.

Anyway, why make top 10 lists for the entire year when I can just ramble about all the media I consumed this month? There’s only a marginal amount of holiday things on here by my standards!

November media

Movies!

Give me some credit there’s only four Christmas movies on here.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: A documentary about Mr. Rogers starting with the birth of the television show to his death. This is the fluffiest most heartwarming thing I could have possibly picked to watch on Christmas, and I encourage everyone, even people who hate documentaries and/or never grew up with Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, to watch it. There’s a lot of important messages about acceptance, dealing with tragedy, and mental health that people can learn from and feel good about. Not to mention how he completely revolutionized children’s television. So yeah, he was awesome.10/10

Spider-man Into the Spider-verse: When a rip between dimensions is opened, a bunch of different spider themed superheroes from every comic fan’s wet dreams all get together to close it. Guys I’m not that big of a Spider-man fan, but dang this movie was a ton of fun. I came for the amazing visual effects and stayed for the amazing...everything else. The music, the performances, and the story were all top notch. Also I now have a new favorite Nick Cage role. If you thought the trailer made the animation look interesting, it was just the tip of the iceberg because it is the most visually interesting movie I’ve seen in the last three years. I strongly suggest any fan of animation...or even any fan of great stories and movies in general go see it even if you’re not that big on Spider-Man. Now I’m demanding a Spider-verse Aunt May movie because I have so many questions! And the post credits scene was the best out of any Marvel movie. Period. 10,000/10

The Wiz (2015 musical): I should start making a section for musicals or plays instead of just lumping it in with the movies. It’s the Wizard of Oz...but cool. I’ve never seen any iteration of The Wiz and it seems like I’m constantly hearing about it. So I watched the 2015 version of the 1975 Broadway musical that NBC aired. And yeah it’s good. There were some great performances. But I wasn’t very impressed with the songs themselves, and it’s not really the same without a dog along for the ride, but whatever. 7.5/10

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle: The surprisingly fun reboot/sequel thing of Jumanji where four teenagers get stuck in a video game that follows every “stuck in a video game” trope you can imagine but actually does it well. It’s a sweet, funny romp through the jungle with some great comedic performances. I really don’t have much to say about it except that this movie is better than it has any right to be. 8/10

The Christmas Chronicles: Two children stow away on Kurt Russell’s, I mean Santa’s sleigh and go on a dangerous, balls to the wall adventure throughout Chicago trying to save Christmas or something. After everyone started talking about how crazy this Netflix movie is I had to watch it to verify if it is indeed as wild as they said. And yes...yes it is. It is so laughably ridiculous and questionable that it’s impossible to actually hate. The elves are some unholy mixture of minions and gremlins, one of the children is a literal felon that no one is concerned about, and Kurt Russell is super into the role but has some sort of thing about fat-shaming Santa. I just...have so many questions! But it was certainly a trip, so I’d have to recommend it just so you too can witness the insanity. -10 “savvy, straight-talking St. Nicks”/10

Arthur Christmas: No, it’s not a Christmas special related to the aardvark cartoon! This is the 2011 animated movie that no one remembers exists. Santa’s clumsy but enthusiastic son Arthur must deliver a forgotten present in less than two hours while the rest of his family deals with some Arrested Development style family drama. This is by far the most underrated Christmas movie of all time; even I didn’t realize it was actually good until I watched it for the first time in 2016! The fun road-trip style plot and the entertaining characters were victims of bad marketing. Arthur is hilariously endearing, and there was so much heart and effort put into it that I can find new things to notice every time I watch it. Not to mention the amazingly animated opening spy sequence! And also Mrs. Claus is secretly a total badass and Bryony the elf is the coolest female character in a Christmas movie ever. The movie’s message of old vs new is nothing we haven’t seen before, but I really don’t care because at the heart of it all, it’s about making people happy on Christmas. If you’re like me and just assumed this movie would suck...or didn’t know it exists, please give it a chance. It’s not perfect, but it’s worth seeing. 9/10

Neo Yokio Pink Christmas: Yes, it’s the Christmas special for Neo Yokio. No I cannot accurately describe it with mere words. There’s a rich bachelor gift exchange, demon possession, and pompous French aunts slinging insults at each other. It is unironically my favorite holiday episode of a show ever, and to me it’s the best Christmas special ever made. I thought I was prepared for the absolute bat-shit ride I would go on, but no...I wasn’t even close. At this point I don’t know if it’s written like this on purpose or if some divine twist of fate made the executives believe this is truly brilliant television. Either way, it is a masterpiece in its own right. There’s even a somewhat intriguing plot and a message about gift giving and capitalism under all the crazy! If you haven’t jumped down the rabbit hole yet, I implore you to watch the insanity that is Neo Yokio and follow it up with Pink Christmas because it will truly make your holiday season. 100,000 demon DNA drugs out of 100,000!

Die Hard: Nothing says Christmas like terrorists taking over a skyscraper and Bruce Willis having to take them all down by himself. Yeah...so I’ve never seen Die Hard before, but this is one of those movies that is so famous that I felt like I’d already absorbed everything important through cultural osmosis. And even though it’s pretty good, I would have liked it better if I didn’t know what was going to happen. My only real complaint is that I think it goes on way too long. More than anything it just made me sad to remember that Alan Rickman is gone. And it bothers me so much that John McClane goes through this building that’s under construction WITHOUT SHOES! 8/10

Books!

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis: The 4th/6th book in the Chronicles of Narnia, in which Eustace Scrubb and his classmate Jill Pole go to the underworld to find King Caspian’s long lost son. Even though my children- the Pevensies aren’t in it, I actually think this book is my favorite of the series so far. Jill and Eustace are both sassy enough to play off each other, Puddleglum absolutely hilarious, and the book actually has a clear cut plot! It reads much more like a Greek myth than a children’s fairy tale since there aren’t nearly as many of Lewis’s trademark author interjections, and you know...it’s a literal journey to the underworld. And can I just say that it’s super refreshing to have an author write two main characters WITH ZERO ROMANTIC INTENTIONS! Especially since they’re freaking children! Now I just wish Disney had continued the movies even more! 9/10

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare: I’m going to do this with only minor spoilers. It’s the final book in The Dark Artifices trilogy. Will Emma and Julian break the parabatai bond? Will the reflection of the modern day American government- I mean the Cohort/ the Clave fuck up the relationships between Shadowhunters and Downworlders forever? You’ll have to suffer like the rest of us to find out! In my opinion, 99% of this book is amazing, but in the last 50 pages there are some...bullshit ways of solving problems. Like everything that went down with the Cohort in Idris. Not to mention we’ve been so invested in the parabatai curse and how Julian and Emma’s bond would go down and...let’s just say the resolution was way too easy. And if you thought Clare’s other finales were jam packed, you ain't seen nothin’ yet. My copy is 880 pages and there was still more stuff that I wanted to happen...like any sort of scene between Dru and Ash...or an ending between Kit and Ty that doesn’t make me want to cry (the Wicked Powers is going to be brutal). But the rest of that 99% is mind-blowing! There’s so much good I can say that it mostly outranks anything I didn’t like...I mean we finally got a Malec wedding and a proper polyamorous relationship for the Angel’s sake! It may be my least favorite of her finales by default but it was still a fun ride! 9/10

TV shows!

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018): An elite soldier finds a sword that can transform her into a super buff magical girl who helps princesses take down the forces of evil. It’s a reboot of the 1980s cartoon, and holy crap it’s AMAZING! I have a whole new group of children to adopt, each episode is entertaining in its own way, and there’s so...many...good...ships! And it gives Steven Universe a run for its money with the care that went into making every character a different kind of warrior, which I love because the cast is 99% female. My only real complaint is that I never warmed up to Catra because she wasn’t particularly sympathetic to me from the beginning. But I understand why some people love her. If you love well crafted adventurous character driven cartoons and haven’t watched it yet WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? 10/10

Nailed It Holiday: Yes, my favorite baking show (and by that I mean the only baking show I watch) has a holiday season out on Netflix, in which newbie bakers are tasked with making incredibly professional desserts with a very short time limit. And whoever makes the best treat gets 10,000 dollars. I’ve talked about this show before in my June media madness, and I don’t know what it is but I’m so addicted to it. 10/10

Brooklyn nine-nine (season 5): Come on we all know the cop sitcom. It’s the best sitcom. Just in general it’s the best. Great characters that subvert expectations, great humor, and a lot of heart. I’ve known that this show is supposed to be amazing for years, but I only started watching it a few months ago. And since I couldn’t find season 5 anywhere...I got a Hulu subscription just to watch it before season 6 comes out. That’s how good this show is. 10/10

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (season 2): Our favorite underdog comedian is back, and she’s slowly gaining popularity and doing...stuff. Like going on tour. And hanging out with Zachary Levi. Yes, this season is great, but my problem with this series is that every character aside from Midge and Susie are the fucking worst, especially the parents. Midge’s parents suck, Joel’s parents suck, Midge and Joel are appropriately neglectful parents for the time period...I could go on. And it’s not even in a funny way; like it’s just disgusting to watch these power dynamics. Not to mention how old the comedic bits for the parents get (how many times can we hear about Joel needing to date or Midge needing to get married?!) Yes, I realize that we’re supposed to be annoyed AND YES I realize that this is a product of culture and how society was, but none of the parents have any redeeming qualities. In episode one, we’re led to believe that Midge’s parents will grow and change through the season and they never do! At least there are moments where Joel can kind of be redeeming and expand on his actual character before he reverts back to being an asshole. Anyway, my thoughts are pretty much the same as the first season. It’s funny and interesting to watch, but it can be ridiculously frustrating when you hate almost all the characters! 8/10

Fuller House (season 4): Yes I do watch the ridiculous Netflix reboot of Full House. And yes, it is absolutely terrible! I really really hate it! But will I stop watching it? Let’s just say you can pry this pile of garbage from my cold dead hands. I don’t know if I’d call this a guilty pleasure or a hate watch type of show... it’s certainly not so bad it’s good territory like Neo Yokio...but Full House was pretty much my entire childhood. And yes, the original show is also not great. I loved it as a kid, and it was my first real exposure to a non-traditional family in live action, but yeah it doesn’t age well. What I’m trying to say is...I have no good reason for watching this.

I don’t mean to say that there’s nothing good about it, especially this season. They really back off on the more cringe-worthy catch phrases, Stephanie being aware of how stupid the writing is and constantly pointing it out is actually funny, their Christmas episode was surprisingly genuine, and they impressed me by actually make two female characters try and work through their difficulties instead of pitting them against each other for laughs. It has its moments, just like the original but definitely not enough to make up for the worst of it. Maybe this generation of children will like it the way lots of my generation used to like Full House...but yeah it’s awful, I hate it so much. -1 missing Tanner child out of 3

Voltron Legendary Defender (season 8) SPOILERS: It’s the final season of Netflix’s Voltron, and boy it was...something. I didn’t want to make this a big rant/defense of the show...but I feel like I have to highlight some things because this fandom is a shithole that refuses to see the good in anything.

There is so much good and so much...not good I can say about it, so here’s a couple things. I know this show didn’t go the direction anyone wanted, but that doesn’t make it bad. In addition to the stunning fight scenes and music, the performances this season were just amazing! I literally wanted to cry every other episode even though sometimes I didn’t know why the fuck something was happening. I don’t know how I feel about Honerva’s plan. I understand her motivation, but I was constantly questioning how we got from point A to point B... so yeah the plot and writing could be...weird at times. Also everyone seemed to have super pointy chins this season...

Spoiler alert: Not many of us wanted Lance and Allura to happen, but I truly believe it wasn’t done in a half assed way. At the very least, I appreciate that they had a genuine bond that developed over so many seasons. BECAUSE YES IT DID! Anyone who says they had no development or that it felt forced never paid attention. I wanted it to stay platonic; I wanted Klance to happen, but...I can’t be too mad at the writers because they at least tried. I still believe that Klance was endgame and the creators were forced to change the outcome of the show later on. AND YES LANCE DID GET A CHARACTER ARC! It may not have been the one we wanted to see, but I’m baffled that people think Lance living with his family, surrounded by people he loves-which is what he wanted all along- is not a happy ending. I just wish his relationship with Keith wasn’t pretty much ignored all season. But I believe Allura is his past that taught him to genuinely love and Keith is his future who will make Lance his “first choice”. And I’m not even gonna try to explain how I feel about Shiro and Allura’s endings because everything I feel is so complicated and layered. There is good and there is bad.

TLDR: This show teaches us that we’re stronger together, and I think the “fandom” completely missed the point because they do nothing but tear others down and refuse to look at things from other perspectives. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO NOT LIKE IT, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE AWAY OTHER PEOPLE’S ENJOYMENT AND BE A DICK ABOUT IT. It may not have been everything I wanted, but I’m glad I went on this ride. Besides, there are canonically infinite realities so there’s got to be a reality where all your dreams for the show come true. As a season, I’d say it’s a 7.5/10.

Honorable Mentions

I watched Avengers: Infinity War again. And yes it’s still great.

I’m watching Superstore because when another sitcom comes on before The Good Place, why not? Also since I finished season 5 of Brooklyn 99 I had to use my Hulu subscription for something.

Camp Camp has a holiday episode...so naturally I watched it...several times. Please watch Camp Camp.

Hellsing Ultimate Abridged finally ended, and I feel obligated to shout this out because, hey when you put out one episode a year it’s a big accomplishment to finish it!

Super Smash Bros Ultimate is finally here!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE WINTER ANIME IS ENDING!!! They were all so amazing! So shout out to Iroduku-The world in colors, Bloom into You, Hinomaru Sumo, Dakaichi, Banana Fish, Jingai no Yomen, Golden Kamuy, Skull-faced Bookseller Honda-san, Tsurune, AND RUN WITH THE WIND even though they’re not finished yet.

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builder051 · 6 years

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Survey says...

Ok, time for a little (jk, intensely long) debrief on the survey results.

I’m glad you guys like the writing-to-art balance I have going right now. I’m gonna keep it up.

I’m glad you’re cool with the life updates too. I’ll keep up the surface level/important stuff kind of posts I’m doing now. If you want more detailed mouthing off/journal-style meditations on my life (mainly my transition), you can follow my sideblog @my-wayward-son.

I had a feeling most of you were here for the fanfic, but there’s a solid number here for the OCs as well. That’s awesome.

Your favorite OC group is Casa Deangles-Carson. They come out way on top, and everyone else is pretty equal in terms of popularity. I’m loosely organizing an arc for them, but I don’t have a ton of ideas. I plan on rotating groups and churning out about 1 OC fic per week. I have longer arcs planned for H and P (ofc, they’re still pregnant) and Jax Beach.

I’m pleasantly surprised you guys like the slice of life fics so much, and that helps a lot with moving the characters forward. Sickfics are my fave too, but there’s a different kind of character development that can happen without whump as a factor.

You guys are split pretty equally about whether you’d enjoy a Troy backstory novel. A lot of you are undecided, and I’ll poll you again when it gets closer to November. I’m tentatively thinking I’ll split the difference and go ahead and take the time off to work on the book, but maybe open short drabble requests on weekends to keep up my content presence (I’ll still be around for headcanons and random chatter throughout the month). I’d probably post the finished book on AO3 once it’s done and edited, so you’ll get to enjoy the completed project for free and within a few months of completion, if that sways your thoughts at all.

You’re also split pretty evenly about introducing Kris and Khalil. I think what I’m going to do is let them pop out a little bit more in H and P’s arc, and maybe bring them out with a solo fic and character information around December after you’ve had a chance to see them in action as side characters.

As for fanfic, Spider-Man is predictably the favorite. You also seem to really like Stucky, Iron Man, and Daredevil (that one’s really surprising; those fics get low notes and I get very few DD prompts).

Criminal Minds has a slightly smaller but extremely loyal and vocal following, which I’m well aware of (and I’m sorry I put Spencer on the back burner so much).

Black Panther is also pretty up there, which is super awesome, and the ladies (Nat and Jess) have small yet solid popularity as well. There’s some interest in Loki, but ngl, I have a hard time writing him, so I’m not sure how often he’ll pop up. But if you have short drabble prompts for him, send them my way because you never know when something’s going to light a spark.

I don’t think anyone knows what Titan A.E. is, and that’s ok. I’d flip my shit if I ever got a Cale prompt (but I’d looove it).

I’m going to keep up mostly the status quo in terms of content and themes (it’s what you guys seem to like, and it’s what I like). So that means a lot of emeto, some fevers and other illness, migraines, motion sickness, and angst/depression take center stage with some injury and other mental health/ED stuff on the side.

RE: writing eating disorders, I figured there were a good number of you who don’t prefer that content. I totally respect that, and I realize I’m taking a risk when writing it. It’s a pretty big part of the canon for some of my OCs and fandom characters in the ‘verses I’ve created, so I’m going to keep writing it. I’m hoping that as it becomes less of a pressing issue for me personally it will kind of fall off the list of things at the forefront of my mind and therefore maybe show up a little less in my fics? That’s one we’ll have to feel out.

RE: writing depression, I got several responses saying you like it, and a couple saying you don’t like it. I personally like writing it (but it’s also a big issue for me, so it may be on or off my radar depending on how I’m feeling). I’ll always be sure to tag it and/or put a warning at the top so you can avoid it if you want to.

As for other content you don’t like so much, if you ever really want me to avoid a topic, don’t be afraid to call it out in a prompt (such as specifying you want to see illness without emeto, or you want the person to be sick at home only). That said, though, I write whatever comes into my head, and it's primarily either angst, emeto, or both. As far as hurt/comfort goes, I prefer way more hurt than comfort, and I’m a little picky about which characters I like to use as whumpee and caretaker. I realize I fall into ruts, but that’s also just how I roll.

If I filled a prompt for you and you weren’t satisfied, I’d love to take the (private, non-confrontational) constructive criticism. You’re not going to change how I write, but I’d still like to know. If you’d like to provide input to a requested fic during the writing/editing process, I do take commissions ($1 per 100 words), so if you’re looking for me to write something extremely comfort-heavy or otherwise different from the norm, this would be the route to take.

You guys are very interested in Starbucks Sundays, so that’ll be a go for sure. I’ll let you know my schedule as it rolls, but I’m looking at something like 1 or 2 in the afternoon to about 5ish (US Mountain Time [-7]) on most Sundays, starting TODAY (in like an hour). That would make it afternoon in most of North America and late evening in most of Europe, so I think I could hit availability with a lot of time zones. There will be a few weeks here and there that I’m busy with other things, but this is looking like a solid addition to my schedule.

For the holiday mailing, that’s another pretty even split. I’ll poll you again when it gets closer, but here are a few clarifications: you would not be required to use a real name, though cards would have to be sent to a real physical address or PO Box. It would be open internationally, though the post might be slow. I would not keep your address on file. It would be deleted as soon as it’s written on the envelope. Custom cards have to be purchased with a minimum of 15, so if I knew I had at least 15 interested people, I’d do it.

To the few of you who have said you’re too shy to reach out to me, I 100% understand the anxiety (I still feel it sometimes, and when I was a Tumblr noob I was way too scared to talk to a lot of people). I admit I’m kind of awkward on chat during the getting-to-know-you phase, but I love hearing from you through asks, submissions, chat, whatever (and as long as there’s no hate, I will always respect a desire to remain anonymous). I know there are times when I’ve been a little frustrated, but please don’t be scared to reach out if you have something to say.

Thank you a million times over for your kind comments and compliments on my writing. I do a lot of my writing for my own health and happiness, but your feedback really means the world. I appreciate each and every one of you so much.

#survey says #laur talks #sickfic chatter #your vote counts

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freya-amelia-smith · 3 years

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EVALUATION !

This project is called MULTIVERSE, and my task was to create a zine using a collection of words linking to this topic that was given to use on google classroom. With these words, I were asked to pick out a minimum of 12 words and did so, but I only dedicate my zine to four words out the 12, and those four words were PARALLEL, REALITY, TIME AND ELEMENT, all the work I create during this project was created using the programs of adobe photoshop, illustrator, Lightroom, InDesign and procreate.

A zine is a small looking magazine that norThis project is called MULTIVERSE, and my task was to create a zine using a collection of words linking to this topic that was given to use on google classroom. With these words, I were asked to pick out a minimum of 12 words and did so, but I only dedicate my zine to four words out the 12, and those four words were PARALLEL, REALITY, TIME AND ELEMENT, all the work I create during this project was created using the programs of adobe photoshop, illustrator, Lightroom, InDesign and procreate.

A zine is a small looking magazine that normally is used for advertisement or to spread the word about something, In my case, it was to show artwork that portrays word that I have chosen.

A big part of this project was researching because I need to first research about zines as I didn't really know what they were I also need to research how to make one and how they work so I was able to create mockups and outcome that are the right size after doing this it helped me a lot to understand zine, and I was able to get on with creating, but then I knew it was time to create the outcome to go in my zine so I had to research and look up a lot of artist and designers for inspiration the pain website I used for inspiration was Pinterest due to me being able to create a board that I could go back to and inspire me.

The artist that I research that helped me a lot would probably be Ranganath krishnamani because he enables me to find a style that I like and help me open my mind to think or outcomes that I create this artist help me with the topic of reality as he a series of outcomes called a shift in the playing field and before I found him I knew I wanted to use social media and technology in my outcome, but didn't know how to do it so when I found his work it inspired me and I was able to think of loads of different ideas.

Each page in my zine is dedicated to a topic of my choice and the target was to show that word through artwork, for example, the word PARALLEL I used images such a building and shapes line and by doing this I put art together that represented parallel another page in my zine was about time so I used a lot of clocks to show that topic, the big part of this project is the MARS side or it MATHS ART RELIGION AND SCIENCES so another thing I had to have it mind was making sure I was showing this throughout the project and in my outcomes.

With me creating my zine I thought they would be a load of different problems doing it but in fact, there wasn't that many the main problem that I came across was one finding artist that had focused on the word time as I was really struggling with inspiration I need someone to inspire me but after a lot of searching on Pinterest and Google I finally came across outcomes that inspired me but was still unable to find an artist that focused on the topic time another struggle and I think the last struggle I had was trying to keep a team throughout my project and in my case, it was a colour pallet I wanted to use my colour pallet through but sometimes it would fit with the aesthetic so I have to think and think until I come you with and outcome using the colour pallet that I choose but overall the journey of my project had many ups as i was creating consatly but had some down fulls exspesaly went I have a brain block on ideas but came over quickly due to looking at pintrest the that got the ball rolling so a smooth journey i would say with this project.

As this project had a task that was very different from the other projects that I have done there was a lot of learning involved and learning new skills and techniques including different programs to learn such as in design and new techniques on photoshop the main skill that I learn that I’m really pleased with was the dissolve effect/liquefy effect on photoshop that is used in my time poster in my zine another new technique that I approached was a log print/rubbing this was another technique that I used on my time pages for my zine and it was interesting to learn a new skill and in the future, I may want to learn about wood printing similar to linocuts and screenprinting but using wood. Are used a lot of old skills that I have collected over my time at college including collage thing halftoning and just my way of laying out my artwork and also a big part of graphics and getting my topic out there was using typography and I learnt a lot about how important typography is and I learn every day when creating new outcomes.

My favourite skill overall that I have learnt would be the liquefying effect on photoshop and also photography. I knew a lot about photography as I have grown up in a photographers household but I learn a lot more about capturing the topic of something through a photograph and I also learn a lot about Lightroom as that is where I edited the photos. With photoshop I watched many videos on how to do the liquefying effect and now I have that skill which I’m really happy about. I mentioned in my blog that I wanted to learn the program in design and I’m learning as I go along and I’m still figuring out the program watching videos but hopefully, I will be able to use that throughout my time at college and after and hopefully mastering it similar to illustrator and photoshop.

Due to us being a national lockdown the college isn’t open so we have been having to work from home and to present our work we have been using the website Tumblr I created account name is multi-verse and was adding all my outcomes and journey throughout this project onto my blog I really do prefer doing it a digital way rather than writing in a journal and sticking stuff in a sketchbook as one it gives you better quality pictures and it also allows you to choose statics and have a theme of your whole website page. Are used different ways to show my work and the journey of here the most common way was doing screenshots of how I got to an outcome and explaining step-by-step how I did it I also uploaded videos on my blog for me drawing on my iPad which is a cool way of seeing the development of an outcome. By doing all this work in this type of way I feel that I have displayed multi-verse and the project brief well on my blog and I feel that if someone was to look at it they would get an understanding of what it’s about and know what it’s about. Because especially at the beginning of my blog by explains a lot about space the multi-verse and theories delving into the more science and maths side of it and then as you go along through my blog you see research in me developing outcomes and by doing this I was able to develop outcomes to the best of my ability and be pleased with the outcome is at the end and then look well done.

With my blog I started off with a brain block I didn’t know what to do so the first thing I did to plan for this project was create spider diagrams that I could put all different connotations of my chosen word onto and search pictures on Pinterest and add them to the board by doing this I was able to refer back to them when I had another brain block further into the project. I also created a layout of how I wanted my zine to look and this helped me have a strict approach onto the scene as I knew that I wanted it to look like that so I stuck with that and as it was on my blog I knew that that’s what I showed that I wanted to be like so I wanted my outcome to show that I had followed my planning. And there are many different ways once I finish my outcomes that I evaluated them but normally I would just put my outcome on my blog and explain what my intentions were and what context I wanted to show and talk a little about the piece of artwork. One thing that I find it’s really important with any project is you try and see your work from someone else if you and try and give yourself critical feedback so you can push yourself and work harder I always do this on every topic are normally I get my family members to look at my artwork and say things about them and things that I need to change and things that are good so I work on it until I’m happy and pleased with everything on the page.

With this project a big part to me was the context as I wanted to show the words well through using artwork I feel the best piece of our that does show context is my reality pieces because you can see many different feelings and emotions through that piece of artwork and people can link personally to it where is with the other ones they do show context but not as deeply as the reality pages. But overall this project has worked really well and I’m really happy with how my final mock ups came out each page portrays a word in a good way and you know what the theme of the pages I’ve used many different skills and techniques including digital drawings typography log prints etc, but there are weaknesses to my outcomes and I would like to work on them in the future if I had the time and that would be maybe changing the theme of the background within the project as that was one thing that I was wary about and was concerned but the reason I chose are quite bold and colourful background with me looking at the word multi-verse and focusing on the word multi and thinking of loads of different colours so I had different approaches to the topic and they link back to everything which I think is a good thing to have but I play to my strengths which is always a good thing as you know that there will be a good outcome at the end by also worked on my weaknesses and learn new skills which I will use in further projects.

#MULTIVERSE #END #OF #PROJECT #EVALUATION #HAPPY #ZINE #PARALLEL #TIME #REALITY #ELEMENT #SKILLS #LEARNT #PHOTGRAPHS

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maneaterwithtail · 4 years

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youtube

The politics are the cough. the disease is flooding to chase the trend of personal brand building. Events and confusing communities and arguably the arrangement of the direct market itself. No simplicity and lots of expense with shakeup one after the other.

And some transparently business or out of story disrupting existing (in humans versus mutants)

Starting Marvel, as an example, is harder than figuring out where to come in on the Fate series. I mention this because Comics are often compared to manga and yet however convoluted in silly may get for the most part you buy one collection, or let's not kid ourselves pirate, or wait until an animated adaptation comes out realize that it's pretty much faithful, go back to the core comic and so long as you start from the beginning you can follow to the end. Even if it's based off of a visual novel chances are everything will progress from beginning to end. It's usually when that models messed up with that something becomes destructive and difficult to follow or deal.

Unlike with manga where if you're having trouble following where to start with, like the Fate series, you can at least enjoy the latest Nasu verse offering. especially if you can turn your brain off and just engage with one example. Or if you don't want to deal with that you can just go to an entirely different property from a similar publisher that scratches a similar itch.

Like the premise of America Chavez buts I think she did it wrong? Well it's not like you can just switch over to Champions because that's a mess as well along with Miles Morales Spider-Man and ms. Marvel or spider woman.

it's expensive, patchy, filled with all sorts of weird continuity that you end up having to buy just to start. As such only the dedicated fanbase could possibly tolerate it but that also is exclusive in the sense that it's so to them with a history that it feels kind of off-putting.

I like the comicsgate comics I have heard of. I can also understand why we try to move away from that. Such as very obvious p*** tracing. And so on. Yes supposed diversity has basically led to a similar story of we're here now we're going to f*** the status quo too strongly relating to the audience or the author's pandering.

But it's not just they're going to have a trans person in an announcement. Which is a pretty major character trait I imagine that they want to talk about that or include it in the announcement.

the discontinuity does not help you build upsetting characters characterization and Circumstance. This is what I mean you're following themes story and events building to something then a new author will come in and he or she will wreck all that up so that they can go in an entirely different direction. Okay maybe you don't like the homosexual overtones of Eddie Brock and Venom. Maybe you want to stick it to all the slash shippers on Tumblr. But they've been the people who been following the comic and there's been a multi-year build up with sleeper, Eddie Brock and Venom's son.

going no now Eddy has a son he doesn't know about. oh and he was in the car that killed a child and him and Venom hate each other? Basically says f*** that other story we're going back to this story because I liked it better when I was young and I like it this way. And this kind of hostility is constant with every Changing of the Guard which can happen almost every two to three years. This keeps happening right when things are starting to get good or conclusion is reached. this undermines any death any major event or twist especially when it's in the headlines as if it's going to be meaningful

we can't even engaged in the illusion that someone has a plan charting something out when it feels like it's always fly by the seat of the pants the slightest whim can blow off the direction. We know in our conscious nothing that happens matters or at the very least when things end and we don't move on to something else then realize that there was a change but it seems seamless. Or at the very least it's a damn good seem that makes a very likeable and unique and distinct quilt. Again comparing and contrasting with manga

basically constantly ragging on the Politics as if that's what's causing the problem as opposed to Poor practices is off. yeah the customer service is definitely a no-go. But let's not kid ourselves Fanboys started it

I can straight up say that if you had a book that was straight up gay. like it starred the gay couple that once was Rescued by Captain America including his childhood hero And they were joined by the gender-bending exiled courtesan. you know those girls that always hang around in the background of Thor comics and everybody talks about winching and all that stuff? What if we actually focus on one of them and we threw in some mythological deviant queerness with the idea that men who practiced a certain form of Witchcraft had to be ladies. Now in practice this often meant anything from cross-dressing to performing ceremonies with a freaking dildo. But this is Comics so instead I can just go with the idea that after he uses magic so much he can turn or does turn into a lady. At first it's inadvertent but then he Masters the power so much that can transform into any lady. So he can go from weak little nerdy witch man to a Vanir (super durable pretty strong) or she giant.

It gets even more so when apparently he can change not just to a generic woman but any specific one. so he can literally clone an individual lady alive or dead. If she's dead you can act as a vessel for her soul so effectively while he might be booted deep within he can resurrect anyone's female loved one. Until changes back. The Twist is that while he won a beauty contest to be one of Odin's many many side pieces due to the politics and sociology of the time and the setup Odin didn't like admitting that they were both men or equals. Now the crossdressing courtesan isnt necessarily the nicest person. In fact the number one thing that characterizes him is that he hates the alpha male warrior culture or at least what he perceives of the negatives of it of Asgard. But that doesn't necessarily mean that he provides a good alternative. This will be a total retcon. not only would this make Odin effectively bisexual -although it's long since established that it seems like he's banged about so much he has had a child with everyone but his wife- but the idea that Loki and Thor grew up exposed to this weird gender-bending courtesan who tried to compete with the affections of their Queen Mother just so that that way he could get ahead and hated showing the absolute loyalty and Devotion to Asgard seeking glory in battle and death as opposed to conniving Gatling favor and trolling for booty while having to serve drinks for the Warriors that came by and were celebrated in the castle Hall.

Probably make up all sorts of relationships with other lesser-known Danny's that haven't been as much part of Marvel Thor but are important or at least well-known for the tradition. I would also shamelessly ripoff @gumon and her take on Norse mythology. With giants that just naturally produce children whether male or female. anyway ignoring all the continuity just so I could bring in the mythology that I want I would have it so that he was ultimately exiled because he got set up on a failure assignment. He got assigned to the Blue Mountain the traveling planet or set of rocks now that was the home of one of the Warriors Three the blue guy well the guy who wears blue and looks kind of like Angus Khan

The entire point of this is to get a different eye view of the Marvel Universe. What was it like to be one of those disposable pin-up girls. What is the gay population in gay culture and gay people been doing and light of the world that's been invaded from the ground been in a Perpetual fight with remnants of terrorists from World War II. And of course how they've been in for you property and making their lives and how are they responding to the fact that New York finally recognizes their marriage and of course life in the Twilight years as a gay couple that's constantly facing mortality. Also with the usual hey I'm an immortal mystical being who's having to relearn how to be human after having lived a life with a God's but neither being loyal to them nor a particular loyal to my own people. Along with the issues of the shapeshifter gender Dynamics and identity and all other sort of things. Pretty damn gay book. But I read it

Kids like imitating what they see so ripping the idea that someone's going to take some of the more iconic X-Men looks and style themselves after them when they know that their mutant doesn't seem wrong. I like the idea that we're going to open with someone who manages an online community for mutants. I like the idea of Trailblazer I like the ladies thick and I like the fact that she has a more utility power that she's going to have to work with and around hopefully being clever though that backpack does run the risk of becoming the Omnitrix and having the solution for every problem that you need.

Basically I like the children of the atom a bit more than the whole lineup of the new Warriors. I think people really should give the characters a chance so if you're turned off by yet another set of incest siblings in Marvel ya no problem or argument here.

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