#writers get in the damn lab and write some stuff

[lalitjdsc]

That literally a boyfriend grip

[pickyourpoisonandevolve]

Stars in Her Eyes

Part 2 here

Do you ever have thoughts that are absolute bangers, then realize “man I wish I was a better writer.” Anywho, brain worms, back again, Price is fighting self doubt about decisions in the field. Reader is fighting self doubts of ability and also a head ouchie. This was the compulsory preface my brain forces me to write before I can write the cool sex stuff. Metaphorical dinner before dessert. Big inspired by @beloveds-embrace , particularly the designationless!reader.

—

The blood today was excessive, to say the least. Bad intel, having to navigate this lab in the middle of nowhere Russia by foot in real time. Casualties. Thankfully the other side took more. And thankfully, none on the team, although the injuries were plenty. You were all very cognizant of the mental load needed to be a soldier but some days were easier than others. This one was the worst in a while.

Price and you were clearing a section of the building, warehouse by the looks of it. Doors locked leading to it, just to be met with rockets having eaten away at the walls like rats on the other side. Basically just outside, you thought to yourself, looking at the edges of concrete leading to treeline. Already beating yourself up about things outside of your control, Price sensed a distance in you. He felt it before you did half the time, although you’d never tell him that. “Head in the game, sergeant.” He pushed out.

You were a “great addition” to the 141, so sayeth official mission reports and calls to Laswell. Focused, fast, malleable in the field. But distant sometimes when out of the field. Not quite reclusive, like your lieutenant, but just distant. You were funny, sometimes even extroverted when you wanted to be. But something pulled you back, like a hand down a long hallway, snatching you into a dark room. Locked away and the key long gone.

Prices bite in his voice brought you back momentarily. “Hey, I said get in the fucking—“ A door blasts open and enemies filter through, a large man grabbing you amidst the motion, bringing you close to the edge of the floor that fell away to empty space, a few floors of nothing and the Siberian wilderness. Patting yourself down for a knife with one hand, and defending from being choked out with another, you start half in, half out mentally. Fighting should have been your priority, but the disappointment in Prices voice had you a little fractured. “I’m fucking this up, they won’t want me anymore, please don’t get rid of me, you’re the only—“

Price fighting through the rest of them, took cover as he saw you struggle. If you weren’t so distracted this would be one of the moments you’d love to watch him in. “A real flow state” Gaz called it once, as he moved as fluid as the wind. No wasted motion, a knife here, a bullet there. Propelled purely by the sake of making sure his team was okay. But you had his heart pounding. More than usual anyways. A half dozen men down, you stab at your assailants neck as Price makes it to you.

A double misfire in decision making, you think. As you stab at the man’s carotid arteries, Price heard more footsteps approaching. You just heard blood rushing and doubts. You just saw Prices angry face push you back into the void, hoping to god the snow and dead body behind you would break your fall. Your eyes would haunt him for a while. A broken “No” laying on his ears as he turned back.

—

Soap stayed quiet, keeping his eyes on his captain. Price was tearing through the now silent building, kicking doors in and scanning everything. Price reached them in a sorry state, covered in other people’s blood and moving as if he stopped he would die. “Lost ‘er in the east wing, need to get ‘er.” The rest of the team a little shaken by his lack of composure.

“Why the hell would she still be there?” Ghost fussed, making his way through hallways with the rest of the team.

“This part of the building was locked down tight. Seemed like they were protecting something, before Marakov damn near tore the fucking place down from the outside.” Gaz relayed. “She’s either there or in the woods shooting bears.”

Reaching the door to the wing, Price crowbarred it so fast, Ghost thought he threw his shoulder out. Wind and snow blasted down the corridor, as they filtered into the… room? Floor level hallway straight to the outdoors? Broken racking and file cabinets littered the floor, alongside snow and other detritus. Gaz noticed the bullet holes and gashes in the steel door. Someone tried to leave, but was unsuccessful. Sweeping the area they moved with purpose, until Price heard you first. Sniffling and singing, voice shaky. Coming around a corner to the view from the lower level this time, he saw you two. A large Russian, face down and bloodied in the snow. A missing jacket. A trail of various pieces of gear, and lastly you, curled up in a corner. Blood coming down your face from your hairline.

Their collective hearts broke at the sight, but only Ghost noticed his captains hands shaking. You were humming and singing a tune to yourself, rocking and rubbing your own chest, eyes unfocused watching the treeline.

“You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are gray

You’ll never know dear

How much I love you

Please don’t take

My sunshine away”

Without a word, your team got to work. Gaz and Soap called for evac, thanking god there was enough flat ground for the heli to land next to the building. Ghost went back to secure the door to other visitors, giving Price some privacy to approach you.

He put a hand on your shoulder, as you jumped. A secret he held close to his heart was how much he enjoyed looking in your eyes. Like those fancy pictures the satellites take. Dark at first glance but always more to see the longer you look. Like stars were born in them. But all he could see now was the dark. No lights present in the deep space. A concussion very present however. And, confusion. Then hurt. Whatever knife he didn’t know he had in his chest twisted as you spoke. “You threw me away, I’m—“ A gasp of air as you fought to navigate the fractured thoughts. His eyebrows twisted as he tried to understand. “It’s not like last time, like home. I belong here, with you all. I… I’m. I earned it this time. Please don’t leave me here.”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t, no tears sweetheart. What are you talking about, who’s throwing you away?” He choked out as he snatched you into his chest, fingers gingerly holding your scalp and his lips whispering into your hairline, fighting tears of his own. “I would never throw you away, love. I’m so sorry, I needed you safe. I… I needed you safe.”

The other three approached slowly, wind preventing them from hearing the interaction. Price saw you shift to look behind him as he composed himself. Standing up slowly he turned to the team. “Evac in 10. How is she?” Soap asked kneeling next to you, taking your hand in his.

���Concussion from the fall, cuts and bruises. Fighting hypothermia.” He replied, voice rougher than usual. “Take it easy, not sure she knows where she is right now.”

As the heli landed, hands grabbed and led you gently, a seatbelt around your waist and pats comforting you. Most eyes were closed on the ride back, trying to get some rest after a nightmare of a day. John’s eyes stayed on the horizon.

[nogu-d-reamers]

I'm hooked on Transformers, I've rewatched TF PRIME and I love it… but… I have a problem with KnockOut.

Don't get me wrong; I love KO, I love his character, I love his design (this damn racer-car makes women fall in love and caused a bi/gay panic in men without a doubt), I love his villainous actions, I love his comedy and quotes… but I don't like how he joined the Autobot team in the end. As if the creators had become so attached to him that they didn't have the courage to give him a dead or captured ending.

When you read between the lines, they could have gotten to that same point by making a redemption arc.

so.

HEAR ME OUT PLEASE.

Are you still here?

Perfect!

I don't know if this is considered a character rewrite or a "whT IF"; and I'm not a professional writer, just someone who, thanks to a friend, recently got me hooked on the TF fandom and grew fond of this villain, but not enough to forgive the inconsistencies, so consider this a disclaimer of OOC stuff and a canonical character rewrite.

Thanks~

The things I would change are:

Knockout is presented from the start as something "too out of place" for the Decepticons. Of all the vehicles, and being from a faction where aerial vehicles stand out above all else, he chooses a land-based sports car. He often says and cites that he enjoys certain human activities, such as going to the movies or competing in underground races, and if they tolerate him, it's because he was the only medical personnel trained before Shockwave's arrival.

He loves that appearance so much that it's a necessity to maintain it in good condition. I don't know if it was an unconscious idea to emphasize it or if it was always intended to show that he didn't quite fit in with the Decepticons.

Nerf his lab skills=Make him make more mistakes in the lab and be reprimanded. Knockout is a doctor, not a scientist; And even if he could rival Ratchet's abilities, Ratchet had more capability because, in his disadvantaged position, he had to be more resourceful in taking a scientific approach. This is something KO couldn't match, even if he tried. Doing things like stealing information about artificial energon would give him an even bigger chance of victory. Also, even if he didn't receive physical punishment, he'd be terrified knowing that if he doesn't end up like Starscream, it's because he's still useful, but the day someone more capable arrives, he'll already know his fate.

Intentionally ending the rivalries on an unfinished note= I noticed that KO tried to create several rivalries against him that didn't go very far in the end (Bumblebee being a sports car, Ratchet being a doctor, Arcee for… some reason) but that were either cut short or didn't go very far. Okay, I know the most logical thing would be to give him a fixed one and forget about the rest… but… what if we make this point on purpose? And no matter how hard he tries to antagonize someone on the opposing side, he simply can't muster anything but respect for the Autobots? You know… like Bulkhead and Breakdown.

More human fascination= KO is a weirdo because he loves many things of human use and authorship; but it's so easy to imagine that before torturing Jack, he wants to extract more information about human culture or extend the conversation when he kidnaps Agent Fowler or June, that it's a plot that writes itself. Even imagine that, in what begins as manipulation, he befriends a teenager from Jesper to get him up to speed, and in the end, the teenager runs away in fear when he realizes he's a robotic alien. That would make him resent them but also create a need to know more about them. Something that would give him more negative points (and please, someone introduce him to Miko; these two would destroy the world if they wanted to).

Failed escape attempts (aka. Why did he help Starscream assassinate Megatron?)= Okay, I've already included the points where he doesn't quite fit in. Doesn't ends up hating the Autobots and he doesn't end up hating humans. What's his best bet? that while Megatron is offline he tries to manipulate Starscream to be able to leave the ranks and take advantage of any weak point so that they leave him alone... something that didn't end up happening but he was able to manage to get out of it, but at the same time feeling envious of Starscream's expulsion.

Breakdown= okay, let's talk about the conjunx... and how it's a [___] that they gave us absolutely nothing about their reaction to those events!! I'll deliberately ignore the series' clear censorship of calling them conjux → patners because we all know this. I could indicate Breakdown as the indirect trigger for Knockout's change of attitude as light mentions; as the resignation of remaining in the nemesis to risk changing sides after some thoughts from the episode "Operation: Breakdown" and other events lead Breakdown to doubt out loud whether it's still worth it to continue on the side of the cons' at that point. and that the facts surrounding his death and the theft of his body by Sylas are deliberately omitted towards him by order of Megatron to avoid deteriorating his work. and his empty reaction is due to a set of mixed feelings = anguish over his death, anger at what they did to him, anger because his own side lied to him, an uncontrollable desire to harm everyone and especially Silas... etc. He starts sabotaging, damaging, hurting or doing anything without his tracks being discovered by applying a "fragged me, fragged everyone!". In his lowest and cruelest moments he mutters things that perhaps Breakdown would like that... but he knows that's not true.

Alliance and union with the Autobots = After many things and thinking about running away, he prefers to give up, already fed up with all that, unlike Starscream. With less hostility but with all his sarcasm, he helps the Autobots and ends up becoming one even though he doesn't really want to (in fact, he would joke that he thought he would have at least a couple of groons in jail). For a moment he considers that it would be better to stay on Earth than return to Cybertron, claiming that he had unfinished business in the earth and that he could avoid jail if he revealed all the information that the Decepticons had that he knew. He doesn't feel he deserves the badge or to be called that; but since he's switched sides, at least he'll do it by opening his mouth as wide as possible to even the odds.

And that's all~

I know it's not much or the most refined ideas; but it's what occurred to me. I also didn't want to include Airachnid or any revenge against her because... it actually makes sense that he doesn't know it was her but rather Sylas all along.

And as a bonus, that strange habit of admiring something beautiful only to immediately destroy it would disappear.

[runebears]

i’m just talking out my ass rn but i do kind of feel like brba might’ve done a bit better with victor than bcs did. which feels crazy to say considering how much i was just going on about ignacio and him And how many more episodes he was in. but. so many of the things i love about that and victor in bcs at all is because of things said by jeremiah outside of the show during interviews and shit!! and not necessarily even something that would’ve been going on in the writers’ minds. all that to say i think bcs really leaned into making vic seem almost cartoonishly evil the entire time and we never got to see anything else out of him. (same goes for tyrus despite being a bit less crazy abt the ignacio thing cause they made up for it with the whole mike conflict so he’s back at just looking like some asshole who works for gus to the general audience instead of a guy who’s alive). and there’s nothing really saying why. like yes jeremiah has said victor was definitely newer on the team trying to make a good impression with gus And he’s a bit odd when it comes to violence which makes him the perfect candidate for the evil shit he does in the show. but they never actually show any of that! that’s all interview type stuff. and you could go back to the previous show to sort of put together Ambitious Asshole + Probably chill with violence. but well he was literally not violent whatsoever in that show and also difference between cooking a bit of meth and being handpicked to hogtie a man on the ground while he suffocates with a plastic bag wrapped around his head. etc. so tldr all i mean is with bcs to the average viewer who’s not allergic to thinking about the show for a few extra minutes the entire victor situation still really only comes across as: Dude is crazy loyal Probably just guessing and is also cartoonishly evil about it at times. Also not even mentioning how Tense it always feels with both gus and vic and mike and vic!!! i think it did a fun job of showing off vic and tyrus in the past since we didn’t know if they even knew each other before this + adds a fun layer to brba with the whole situation. but damnnnn everything else… I think in s3 they had a small vision for gus and vic but it’s hidden in a deleted scene and people in youtube comments are writing paragraphs on how the way gus said “what” means he wants to stab him in the chest 30 times.

while with brba yeah he was an ass Lol but i think just because of the nature of box cutter especially we got to see a lot more out of him. things that don’t necessarily need to be spelled out in interviews. his overly ambitious attitude especially when it comes to impressing gus (cooking meth!!). we got to see him in a situation where he’s obviously completely in hell while also trying to act normal about it because he’s at work and in front of walt and jesse (box cutter right after he brings jesse back to the lab. kicking the table, the conversation with mike where he won’t even look at him). and i think it did a lot for showing his relationship with other characters as well (mike’s entire 4 episode grieving process after he died. Gus (< not sure what to say there…)). and as i said i think box cutter pulls a LOT of weight with him. but honestly they could’ve had a similar I hate my damn life moment during bcs but they just didn’t use it.

anyway all i mean by all of this is if you separate the two of them and step back and attempt to view them from the outsider perspective of somebody who watched the show maybe three times and enjoys thinking about the characters but doesn’t go out of their way to view outside interviews or official dvd/podcast material - this is what you’re getting:

brba: victor shown as someone who’s maybe a bit reckless or overly ambitious. seems to care about what gus thinks of him. seems to get somewhat physical (kicks table) and sort of shuts down a bit after something extremely stressful happens. prone to making mistakes during stressful situations as well. has a solid relationship with mike enough that mike had multiple scenes where he thought about him after his death. the entire “the guy” speech about him working alongside mike before the events of the show. had some of his own moments with gus that seemed like gus didn’t mind him all that much either despite the fact that he killed him. also the entire implication that victor is somebody who’s capable of having his entire face on a police bulletin board for months without ever being identified.

summary: flawed man with personality traits and a complicated relationship with his boss who murdered him. very very extremely vague hints at his own personal life with the fact nobody gave a fuck once he disappeared.

bcs: younger than previous show of course. a bit rough compared to gus and tyrus still. cigarette smoker, music loud as fuck in his car enjoyer. extremely skilled with a firearm. him and tyrus working extremely well together and having a good contrast between silent dude with a gun vs more personable guy doing more of the talking. (< ALL OF THESE ARE GOOD THINGS). (S4 Hits) shown to be capable of extreme violence. no problems with the desecration of bodies either. .. no problems with kidnapping and threatening old men. (thinking) mike doesn’t seem to like him. gus talked with him on the phone once and broke the thing in half. nobody is sure whether or not vic genuinely just enjoys doing this shit to this odd bald man or if it’s just a job to him until s6ep3 where jeremiah sneaks in a smile. we have no idea how mike’s relationship grew from where it ended and where it is now. no elaboration on why vic is the way he is with gus. there’s a whole 4 episode window where fring’s men are working insane levels of overtime and we don’t even get the smallest hint on what victor was doing in that time or how something like that would affect him as a person. is even a bit of a dick to kim after he shows up at fring’s during the worst time of her entire life.

summary: extremely promising start that turns into “Worlds Biggest Cartoonishly Evil Asshole Who Everybody Hates Except for Tyrus. Even His Boss!” written on his forehead. and never tries to go further with his character and make him a little more interesting.

not even the smallest thing to sort of confirm what brba brought up with his personal life. nothing saying Why he cares so much about fring’s opinion. no attempt at even Implying that him and mike will end up chill with each other. and because of this we got a million people actually going back and saying the guy speech was retconned to be about ignacio when that doesn’t make any damn sense!!! because of how nothing mike and victor were in bcs. and nothing with him and gus! it drives me crazy it drives me crazy sorry. i absolutely love the things they added to his character but makes me so sad to see how many more episodes he had in that show without ever actually doing anything with him! less shots of him stalking somebody in his car i want to see him shown as a person with genuine feelings about himself and his job and the people around him instead of Evil Guy Who Stands Quietly And Sucks. < that’s the best tldr we’re getting. i’m making it bold. okay it’s bold.

“the show isn’t about him” well the show wasn’t about him in brba either but look where we are and he’s got over 2x the episodes now.

[saintguard]

I had some big ol' hyperfixation this weekend that actually got me to write some stuff (and lose some sleep, because apparently the best time to have ideas is in the middle of the night).

This kinda midnight revelation-style of creativity has happened before, when I ended up writing a whole fan rewrite of the Legend of Korra at 3am on my phone. It's kinda wild and remarkably coherent, but I'll leave that for some other time.

This weekend's hyperfixation that I'm going to focus on came out of two places:

Some worldbuilding I'd done on a stream back in August 2022 using some of the campaign/worldbuilding guidelines from Beam Saber by Austin Ramsey (it's a wonderful game, highly recommend it). I'd created two settings in it, one of which was a manufactured war between megacorporations taglined as "Imagine if the Tour de France/Formula 1 was mech battles". The other, which is actually important for this, takes place in an unnamed region on an unnamed planet with an overall cold climate, currently split between three factions who are all trying to get their hands on some old (and sealed) super-technology. The region has the incredibly unlucky distinction of being the place with heaviest indication of said super-tech, so these three offworld factions rushed in to try finding the tech first, sovereignty and the concerns of the millions of people living there be damned.

I've been trying to get myself back into drawing lately, and I had the idea for a scene that turned into a short (at this point just sketched out) comic. It goes something like this: Pilot: "Again, why are we doing this?" Handler: "To keep us going another day, Mai." Pilot, watching a battle unfold in front of them from their obscured position: "...right."

My brain turned out to be very fond of this idea, to the point where I started thinking of scenes and characters for a whole comic. I ended up with a page of notes on my phone and another page on a doc on my computer. I'm fairly pleased with that, after being so creatively burnt out this year.

Here are some highlights from those notes:

I've come up with eight characters, but only two of them are named: Mai-Lin, aka Mai, a local mech pilot and our protagonist, and Kestrel, a Vraskan mech pilot who might be a lab experiment (the Vraskan State is one of the offworld factions, a military dictatorship ala Starship Troopers).

That comic I was sketching out would actually function at the beginning of the comic, with Mai and her squad third-partying a fight between the Vraskans and the UFL (different faction, a stratified democracy).

The cold climate means lots of cold weather clothing, including greatcoats for the Vraskans and a whole variety for the UFL. Not too decided on what the local fashion is yet.

One of the main throughlines would be Mai and Kestrel continuing to encounter each other, with Mai trying to break Kestrel's programming. They kiss at some point. Is it a good idea? Who knows!

I wrote not one, but two separate flashbacks for Kestrel. I'm really starting to understand the writer thing of "I love this character! I'm going to have absolutely terrible things happen to them."

Outlines of a few other scenes, with the highlight being just before a diplomatic summit. Kestrel's CO, a violent, domineering sort in a violent, domineering society, is accompanying a Vraskan diplomat who's also a military officer. The CO makes a comment about how much of a waste of time this whole summit is, to which the diplomat shows their full displeasure, culminating with “Your rank may be higher, but I outrank you. Are we understood?”

I love all of this, with one caveat - I don't know if I can deliver on my own promise. I can see in my mind's eye what all this stuff should look like, but I'm not sure if I could put pencil to paper and actually make it happen. Still, it's nice to gush about it, especially after all this time of feeling creatively empty.

[outlineyourfeature-blog]

Time to make it happen!

My most precious, delicate and cherished Treasured Souls(tm)....

I come to you with aligned chakras, an activated third eye and a totally rockin' vibe as we head into the Fall season! The 12 week groups are half filled, I want YOU to take up those remaining spots! Let's write your scripts! I've added a lot of structure and clarity to this format and you also get two 60 minute 1:1 sessions with me! Don't finish the year without getting that project out of you and into the world. You can't beat the support and inspiration of the groups, you deserve this! 

Writing Gym is back! Mon-Wed-Fri 10-12pm pt on Zoom! Details below!

I've pushed back the Intuitive Filmmaking class two weeks, so it'll start Sunday Sept. 24th 12-3 and run for 8 weeks. I am also going to rename the class Acting, Writing, Directing.  The more I develop the class and bring myself to it, the more I realize that I want to create a class centered on the symbiosis of these three disciplines. When I wrote, directed and acted in my first feature, it was a transformative experience and I saw how the three disciplines build on each other and one of the most powerful ways to grow in one discipline is to stretch yourself in one or both of the other disciplines. I'm saying discipline a lot! This is a class where we will get present, open our hearts and create work from the most inspired and alive place inside of us. You can bring in an existing project or we can jump in and create something for you in the lab. You will leave the class clear on how to embody and execute your story as an actor, writer and director, even if you don't intend on playing all those roles in the final product.... PS I attended the "Actor's Gym" at the New Collective Acting Studio (where the class will be held) and it was so healing and energizing! The space is incredible and the vibes were so powerful. To be in person with other artists, working on our craft, using our emotions and experiences to create was something I needed so damn much and didn't realize how creatively dehydrated I felt until I was back in that mode again. Let's get together and get back to the deep magic of in person collaboration and create some amazing filmmaking shit! Let's get it!

For those who aren't in LA, I'm offering the Write to Shoot short film class that will be in the same vein as the in person class! It's all about letting go and creating deep work with no premeditation and empowering yourself to actually make stuff! So many of us are afraid because we think we have to know a bunch of shit to write and direct something, but the truth is you just need to stumble through and learn as you go. I'll show you how to do it! Let's go!

Here are all the class details!***$50 off for any class if you sign up with a friend!!!***

WRITE A FEATURE/PILOT IN 12 WEEKS

Develop and write a feature or pilot with Scott and a concentrated group of writers. I've also added tons of structure templates and writing exercises to support the process. This course also includes two 60 minute 1:1 sessions with Scott throughout the course! 

Sessions Begin:

Tuesdays starting Sept. 19th 10am-1pm pt (3 spots left)

Wednesdays starting Sept. 20th 6-9pm pt (2 spots left)

Cost: $750

You can break into two or three payments if helpful!

ACTING/WRITING/DIRECTING

8 week in person class designed for filmmakers to help them develop their work and deepen their filmmaking craft. The class merges acting, writing and directing in a playful and focused lab environment that enables students to discover the beating heart of their story and refine their vision and voice as filmmakers. You'll learn practical skills like how to break down and block scenes using "beats and actions," how to shot list and how to work with actors, but more importantly, you'll learn how to use your emotions and intuition to create and execute your vision! (7 students max)

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 24th 12-3pm pst ... 8 weeks, in person at the New Collective Acting Studio in Los Angeles

Cost: $725 

payment plans available

***Email me to Apply***

WRITE TO SHOOT - A PUNK ROCK SHORT FILM CLASS

This is a new class I'm offering! The goal of the class is to remove all blocks between you and your creativity and to get you creating a film that only you can make! Students are encouraged to begin with NO IDEA! I will guide you through a process to organically create a script and eventual short film using only the things you already have at your disposal. This is not a class where you learn how to make a film with a proper crew and budget, this is about growing your filmmaking craft using tools and resources accessible to you. You'll learn the nuts and bolts of writing and directing by doing it! Students will block and shoot a "sketch" version of one scene in their film within the timeline of the class and they will end with a finished script and plan for shooting the full version of their film. 

FRIDAYS starting October 6th 10am-1:00pm pt runs for 6 weeks

Cost: $500

Can split into two payments if helpful!

***This class includes a 60 minute 1:1 session with Scott! 

WRITING GYM

This is a supportive place to get writing done and connect with fellow writers. It starts as a chill hang zone and then turns into a silent, focused space to get shit done. I'm going to be on Zoom from 10am-12pm pt Mon, Wed and Fri for all who want to join! We will chat and discuss projects from 10-10:30 and then we will do a loose pomodoro style from 10:30-12 taking 5 minute breaks every 25 minutes. Come hang, invite a friend! You can stay for one or both hours!

This is totally FREE!!!

Here is the Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7249165836

Lots of love,

Scott Rodgers

[vic394]

Eddie Munson's Upside Down Chronicles

A/N: Started as a hc and became its own thing. Established Steddie. Enjoy!

Between composing the lyrics for Corroded Coffin and planning out the DND campaigns, Eddie Munson turns out to be quite the writer. It helps that he reads a lot, too, with Lord of the Rings being one of his favorite series. He spaces through a lot of fantasy, thriller and horror novels.

He's practically born to be a storyteller.

So it's really no surprise for Steve to find him sitting down at their kitchen table on an early morning, pouring words into one of his notebooks like his life depends on it.

"New campaign?" Steve asks casually as he prepares coffee for the both of them. He offers Eddie a cup and plants a kiss on the top of his head.  A quick look over Eddie's shoulder doesn't give him any insight, the writing too messy to be deciphered from afar.

"I don't know, not really... but sort of?" Eddie doesn't really know how to answer. It's not a DND campaign, but in a way it's their very own campaign, isn't it?

"Why don't you take a seat and give it a go?"

So, over breakfast Steve reads bits of their own story, pieces of information about the Upside Down, the battle against Vecna, the aftermath they've had to deal with.

It's heavy for him to relive it, and he has to stop from time to time to take it all in, making a final pause when he's finished.

"Eds, this is... This is really good" he says eventually and Eddie beams at him, drinking the last of his own coffee.

They both still have nightmares, of the monsters and the war and those damn bats, but Eddie has just come to find out that putting it on paper somehow makes everything less scary, to a point where it's almost cathartic.

"I think I might be onto something."

---

Day by day, he keeps adding entries, some longer and more detailed and other ones messy and feverish as he struggles to get the memory away from his mind and onto the pages, where it can't hurt him.

Steve soon enough starts to fill the gaps in Eddie's knowledge, having been around for most of what happened before Eddie came along.

It's been a few years, a lot has happened and they've grown some more since, but Steve tries to be as accurate as he can.

Eddie starts keeping a notebook specifically for his Upside Down Chronicles (a temporary title before he can think of a better one) and as time passes he starts collecting Robin's side of the story, then  Dustin, Mike and Lucas. Everyone gives him a piece of the puzzle he's slowly putting together.

One afternoon before Christmas, Nancy invites him over for a cup of hot chocolate. They chat about everyday stuff for a while and once they’ve gotten comfortable enough, Nancy gets to the point.

“Mike says you guys have been talking about some things”

And just like that she opens up to him about Barb, giving him all the details that had to remain a secret for the public, details no one outside of their group would have believed, details that Eddie suspected because of what Steve had told him, but that he’d never dare ask to Nancy. By the end of it, Nancy is sobbing in Eddie’s arms, his already black shirt now showing darker stains of mascara. He lets her stay there as long as she needs and she eventually pulls away, composes herself and thanks him.

“I didn’t know how much I needed this.”

Her face is red and her eyes puffy, still glossy with tears, but the smile that breaks through is sincere. Eddie smiles back, his chest filled with warmth, and only now does he truly understand that what he's doing is helping the people around him just as much as it’s helping him.

“Anytime” he says.

---

He meets up with Will and El when they come visit from California, and it feels like winning the jackpot. El is an incredible source of information and while there's some stuff she doesn't want to talk about (and Eddie never insists, he’d never want her to feel uncomfortable) she does help him a lot and sits down with him for hours with her tales of Hawkins Lab and the ways she’s developed and used her powers.

Will also contributes, but in a slightly different way. He asks for a pencil and a piece of paper and gets to work. It's a simple drawing of the Mind Flayer, only the necessary details, but Eddie falls in love with it as soon as he sees it. He begs and pleads and manages to convince Will to make more, and after some more begging and pleading, Will agrees to contribute as the official illustrator for the project.

So, when Steve tidies up the table in the evening, he finds it full of Demogorgons, Mind Flayers, even the Demo-bats that Will has never seen but that he drew based on Eddie's detailed description. Steve smiles; Will has done a superb job.

---

It takes a couple years to collect and edit everything, and by the time he's finally done Eddie has a stack of notebooks and drawings on his desk and smaller papers with notes and memos scattered everywhere.

Steve, being the proud and supportive boyfriend he is, gets everyone’s permission and then starts mailing the first chapters to a bunch of publishing houses. Eddie hadn’t really thought things would get this far, after all what he wanted to do was find a good way to deal with his nightmares and leave it at that. He decides to humor Steve though, convinced that no one would respond anyway. Steve shrugs as he looks up more publishers on the phone book.

“I mean, stranger things have happened-” and suddenly the phone book lays on the floor and Eddie has Steve pinned against the wall and he’s kissing him with all his might because that right there? That’s a freaking good title.

A few months later, a small editor gets in contact with Eddie, wanting to hear more about the story. Eddie has to suppress a laugh when the editor says it might be a successful “fantasy horror” novel.

And he might cry with joy when Steve finds the first copy in the mail, a heavy hardback edition, larger than life going over a thousand pages, with one of Will’s best illustrations on the front cover. Eddie opens the book with trembling hands, glances at the foreword by Dustin Henderson, the acknowledgements where he thanks Steve and the entire Hawkins gang, and he has to choke down a sob at the dedication page, two words standing out on the empty space.

For Chrissy.

It becomes a bestseller, gaining popularity through word of mouth. It makes its way to the top of the New York Times charts and it stays there for a few years. In an interview, he’s asked if he’s planning on writing a sequel;  Eddie can’t help but laugh at the journalist and all he has to say on the matter is “Oh, I sure fucking hope not”.

He keeps up his work with the band too, but by the time he’s turned 30, so many more people know him as Eddie Munson the author as opposed to Eddie Munson, the lead singer of Corroded Coffin.

He can’t say that he minds.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

I blame you... I blame you so much. I spent the night bingeing your Invader Zim comics and fanfic instead of going to bed. They're all so good! But I need sleep, dammit

Awwwwwwwwww! that makes me so happy!

I'm going to go back to the Post-Florpus au at some point.

It's not really in haitus, moreso it's just taken less priority over my fnaf stuff. I still attempt to get out monthly updates for my patreons, but at the moment the comics are at kinda the "boring part" before it gets to the real meat of the thing.

Basically, the comics being working on right now, are the lead into the GIR-arc, going back full circle to how the series started, and from then on, a few more elements need to be put in place (like why is the fridge broken and why does Zim have a moment of emotional maturity that seems out of character for him to comfort GIR) before the Sibling Arc occurs (which I'm going to redraw) and we'll actually lead into the ZADF of the story, and the final conclusion.

In terms of story structure, we're probably at the mid-way point before the climax, which is ultimately boring to write. (To reiterate, I do not think my writing is dull or boring, I am super proud and love my work. But I think any writer can tell you that there are just some parts of the story that aren't as engaging to WRITE as other parts. Example... Writing the Trail where Zim was forced to see the entirety of his race cheer for his deactivation and coming to the slow realization how much he was hated and wanted to see suffer and force a reality he always knew was GREAT! I loved that and it's still my favorite part of the whole damn au. ....Writing about GIR and Dib talking in the Taco place while Zim just tinkers in his lab after getting his groove back....... Not so much... but the elements need to be put in place so the climax and future events can make sense later.)

Forgive my rambling. I still have a lot of passion for the Post-Florpus AU and it's probably my first long-term fan comic where I actually crafted an ending beforehand. (RIP AKACHOU.... you still don't have an ending after 13 years and multiple haituses ;m; ... it's my old naruto fan comic that's still on deviantart. I plan on coming back to that eventually but the story started when I was a teenager and knew little about how story structure worked so a lot of the humor is very 2009 in some places. I will go back to that probably...eventually. Maybe. But I don't think anyone cares about my old Naruto content) So I'm really excited to get into future installments.

It's just breaking that glass ceiling of a few reveals and not-that-interesting plot elements that's brining my drawing to a snail's pace right now... leading to me diverting my time into more interesting projects... Like the origins of animatronics that kill children and people. XD

Thank you for loving my Invader Zim stuff and I PROMISE it's not over.

[c-is-for-circinate]

So as close as I am to fully escaping Hades for the first time, I figure I might take this opportunity to write down a couple of things I'm scared of from this ending. The story is so good so far! But I have seen good stories before! And there are patterns, right, patterns it's so easy for even good stories to fall into, so yeah, I have fears, and they mostly come down to Hades himself.

(Yep, this one got long again! People seem to be enjoying my game-reaction rambles, so, for your enjoyment under the cut: themes of separation and reunion, predictions for what Zagreus is the god of, and a whole lot of discussion of familial abuse dynamics, how they're depicted in fiction, and the work it takes to change them in real life. Stay warned! Stay safe!)

(ALSO, I still haven't made it past the first couple of chambers in the Temple of Styx, so no spoilers in the reblogs/comments please! Yes, even though the whole post is me going on about predictions and hopes and concerns about the path the story might take. I WILL GET THERE SOON.)

It has been really interesting watching some of the stuff the game is doing with themes of parting and reunion, and how that corresponds to life and death. So many of our social links are about reuniting estranged loved ones: Chaos and Nyx, Eurydice and Orpheus, Patroclus and Achilles. Hades is estranged from Olympus, Persephone left. And every time we leave, or try to leave, it is both an attempt at a parting (and Meg and Than are so hurt by that goodbye, or lack thereof) and an attempt at a reunion with our mother. Every time we die it's a reunion, every time we die it's fun, it's great, we get to go back home and check in with all of our friends and be impressed by whoever made Employee Of The [Timeperiod] and sell fish to the cook and put down yet more rugs. (My Zagreus has something of a rug addiction. What can you do.)

It's at the point where I feel pretty secure in stating that Zagreus is going to discover eventually that he is both life/death/rebirth god, and god of partings and reunions. Both halves of both of those things. People leave each other when they die and re-find their loved ones in death; you go away from one group of people to come back to another; you have to depart to return, and I really think that's where we're going to end up with Zagreus. He's going to reunite his various friends with their loved ones, he's probably going to restore communications between Hades and Olympus and even Persephone, he's going to reunite with his mom, and he's going to come back to the Underworld before he leaves to see everyone up top all over again. And of course the vehicle for all of this coming and going is death, because death is the ultimate departure and reuniter. (This is absolutely a religious concept containing a whole bunch of "oh hey our culture has a lot of Christian influence, doesn't it", Greek trappings aside, but that's fine, it's a game made in 2018 not 300 BC, these things happen. They keep calling the Underworld 'hell' and 'infernal'. It's all good.) Of course he's a cthonic god. Of course he bleeds, because you have to bleed in order to die, and Zagreus has to die again and again and again. That's his whole thing.

Thing is, though, looking at those themes, I am also continually aware of the fact that some partings are for a really good reason. Some partings should not end in reunion.

Yes, of course this is about Hades the abusive dad. I have been talking about Hades the abusive dad basically non-stop since I started playing this game, where did you think this post was going.

There are a few things I'm nervous about, separate but related, and at the core it all comes down to, I'm not okay with it if we learn why Hades got to be this way, and Zagreus forgives him as we-the-audience are meant to do, and Hades promises to do better, and nothing concrete about the situation is forced to change. Actual, meaningful, practical, logistical, non-hypothetical non-metaphorical change, not just for Zagreus but for Hades himself.

Because I know how this story tends to go, in fiction. Fictional abusive parents (especially in fantasy/sci-fi stories) tend to come in two types: 'coerced their offspring into actual murder with a side of physical abuse and optional unethical lab experimentation', or 'this was here to create character conflict, we didn't mean for it to read as actually abusive, this parent just has flaws to make them a good character, we swear!' Hades isn't the first type--we have never once seen Hades strike his son, or anybody, or even come out from behind his desk--which means that the fear is, always, always, in every piece of fiction, that he's the second. That the writers are going to decide that the right response to his abuses is remorse, forgiveness, and one really good conversation. That they don't realize it's abuse in the first place.

And, like. They have to know, right? They have to. They can't have done this by accident. (Sometimes, writers get so close by accident.) They can't have done so well at drawing out this situation simply by going, 'well, people are meant to fear this god, so they'd probably react like this, and I guess based on what I've seen in other stories or vague acquaintances they'd then do this,' and never put the name on the situation. Every single time we leave to the tune of a Hades word-flash, he's being dismissive, insulting, and sometimes downright cruel. He is cruel. They have to know!!!

But oh boy have I been consuming media for a lot of years, and oh boy have I run into a lot of writers who don't know.

Reconciliation is such a loaded word, but stories about dysfunctional families really do love it. Stories based around themes of reunion are primed for it. And of course, it's nice, it ties a happy ending off with a sweet little bow, everyone gets to be with the people they love and the family is safe and nobody gets hurt, but so rarely have I seen stories that show the actual work required to rebuild those relationships in a realistic or meaningful way. So rarely do stories trying to build that happy ending actually let the victim of abuse set and maintain boundaries. The character never gets to actually just cut the damn ties to the thing that hurt them. The character so rarely even gets to be safe.

And it's so hard in this game specifically, because "THERE IS NO ESCAPE", because every single thing about this game says that the story's not over when Zagreus gets to the surface, that no matter what he's going to have to come back. It's so hard, because this is a game about reunions. I am not going to get an ending where the abused kid trying to flee his toxic home and abusive dad actually gets to leave and stay gone, not in this one. And that hurts (I have watched and supported and done my best to help multiple real-life friends get the fuck out of homes like that, and stay gone, I have seen how hard it is, how complicated, how awful, and there are never stories for that), but I can live with it, if I get an ending where Zagreus is at least safe. Where things change. Where they really change.

Which is why I need actual, concrete, material changes in the logistics and power structure of the Underworld for this ending to be okay. Understanding why Hades is Like That doesn't cut it. Remorse doesn't cut it! Because look, even if Hades wants to do better, even if he admits he's at fault and tries to be better, he is still set up in a position as an all-powerful tyrant, and trying to become a better person is hard. There is nobody around who can keep him in check when he starts backsliding, which he will. Even if he doesn't want to, he will.

Because people are people, and it's really difficult to break patterns! Especially if everything around them stays the same. Hades is going to slip at some point, be cruel, be callous, be tyrannical, no matter how much of an effort he's making. Not to mention, it is STRESSFUL to face your own crimes and improve, it sucks, it feels bad. And what do habitual abusers do when they feel bad? What's the only coping mechanism Hades appears to have established for dealing with his own shit? That's right, it's inflicting suffering on everyone else around him. (This is why it doesn't really matter what circumstances drove Hades to act this way, why it can't matter--I believe that he is suffering, but he copes with that suffering by inflicting additional suffering on everyone around him, everyone who relies on him, and that's still true no matter what made him feel bad to begin with.) So then we just get a great old guilt-->lashing out-->more guilt-->more lashing out merry-go-round of abuse even as Hades is trying to change. That's how these things work. And yes, change is possible, improvement is absolutely possible, but the environment needs to change first. The system that enables and rewards Hades for acting this way can't stay in place. Things need to actually change, with people who are around to support Hades in his growth and also check his power, people who have power of their own to stop him. And however it happens, for this story with this protagonist with these goals to feel like a happy ending, Zagreus needs to be safe.

It would be okay, though a little disappointing, if those changes were mostly based in magic and fate and, idk, divine mind-control. (This story has been so grounded in actual human dynamics that a fantastical solution to a realistic problem would feel like a letdown, but if it actually solved the problem I'd be okay with it, more or less.) It would be okay, though a little disappointing, if the responsibility for bringing Hades to heel fell upon Zagreus and Persephone, if the two family members who he hurt badly enough that they felt the need to run away from him entirely now had to shoulder the burden of helping him fix himself. (There are definitely ways to write that dynamic better and ways to write it worse, and I think I trust these writers to land on the 'better' side of the scale, but I still don't love the implications.) I think I'd be pretty into it if Hades took a vacation off to Olympus to Work Out His Shit with his own family, while a coalition of Meg, Nyx, Thanatos, Zagreus, and Queen Persephone took over running the Underworld in his absence. I think we might end up getting some combination of those things. I'm hopeful. I think these writers might know what they've written. I think they might have a sense for what it'll take to fix.

But yeah, I'm nervous. (Nervous enough that I might switch to God Mode just to get through, combat has started getting really tedious instead of fun, I want to know what happens next, and this is a game and there is no shame in making it more fun for myself by making the boring parts a little quicker and easier.) I've seen so many stories go wrong. This one has done so much to earn my trust. We'll see if it breaks.

[monster-bcrn]

SPOOKY’S 100 FOLLOWER SHOUTOUT!

Okay for real this is the fastest growing blog I’ve ever had hehehe. Never expected Grundy to get this popular this quickly!

Freaking love this zombaby and I’m so glad y’all love him too! As promised, gonna shout out some fantabulous bloggos that helped get Grundy to where he is today. XD

@akasupergirl/ @azombieme (I FREAKING ADORE GRUNDY AND KARA AND LIV. I swear Grundy’s loyal to Kara like he was to Shayera and Jade and Liv is totally his baby sister and is gonna protect her from.....everything. :P

Even pigeons, because they’re legion.)

@thecatgoddessbast (A blast from the past! Glad to see you again after I rampaged and caused chaos as a certain deranged pincushion of a mushroom way back in the time before present. XD

Now I get to do that as a zombie. :D Win/win!)

@starcityvigilante (OLLIE. FFFFFF-okay for real I’m HYPED to plot wacky ideas with you. Grundy has a MASSIVE grudge against Green Arrow and I’m like......*push these two together* you both get along right now.)

@folcire (We literally just started talking and I’m loving your Ivy already! Can’t wait to see how Grundy grows to see her the more he talks to her because they’re both sassy plant people that way. XD)

@themartlans (FFFFFF-J’ONN. Everyone’s favorite green uncle :D I freaking adore him and I HATE how the most he ever interacted with Grundy was him being tossed into the bay. >_<

They really need to talk more, and MAN! That Injustice verse of yours is SICK. Definitely hyped for making Grundy into an insurgent and a good zombie instead of Supes’ lapdog.

( Look at this face....LOOK AT IT.)

@blackwingsbluedings (One of the best Dick Grayson’s out there and definitely loving seeing Grundy be less smash and more “......hug?” They both need hugs I swear.)

@marvelousdamsels (We haven’t talked much but I adore your muses and I just hope Grundy doesn’t come off as too weird or clingy.......wait.......that’s......literally Grundy.....

:D)

@theirfirstexperiment (GRUNDY ON A RAMPAGE YOOOOOO! Better run fast. XD)

@amazonexile/ @gothamprens/ @captainstevertrevor ( Freaking love your muses and I love seeing Diana and Bruce actually WANT to help Grundy. It’s too easy just beating on Grundy and I love seeing them actually bother to try to get to the gentler side of the Hulk’s crazy cousin. XD)

@justiceebound / @nighttfight ( *slams fist on the table* YOU ARE AWESOME! Your Shayera is awesome, your Bruce is a national treasure and I can’t wait to throw Grundy at Supes and Diana, because these guys need a big reconciliation thing after all the chaos from literal years of slugging it out.

And I LOVE it. >:D)

@ofamazonia 

@theamazondiana   (Both of you are AWESOME Wonder Women and MAN I love plotting ideas. I’m tired of seeing Diana being turned into too much of a warrior while negating her role as a peace-maker and y’all NAIL her kindness and wisdom and need to give everyone a chance. Freaking LOVE IT!)

@raininginkyxto (LOL I always love imagining Grundy in Marvel and now poor Weasel is kind of stuck with him. XD Man, if the Hulks meet Grundy then that poor bar is going to really get smashed.....)

@notatomo (GIANT. Man I loved that movie as a kid and I LOVE the subsequent giant robot and tiny kid works inspired from it (example being the CRIMINALLY under-appreciated Sentinel series by UDON.) Can’t wait to see what happens when Grundy talks more to someone bigger than him. XD)

@liminalstctic (GRUNDY HEARTS TINY GIRL. XD Yeah he’s trying his hardest to help her. ;A;)

@dolceclavier

@gobsnacc

@adrenalinesaint

@ninelivesruined

@yellowskinnedwackyman  (CREEPER! I’ll forever ADORE these two butts because they’re team Tree Lobsters.)

@collidingxworlds/ @thecursedhellblazer (I. Love. Your. Constantine. I swear I have so much fun writing Grundy trying to get drunk (and failing) and learning to cuss up a storm while still being a mad lad ready to throw down with mega-zombies to protect his tiny friend.

DC, make this friendship canon or so help me Grodd...)

@chaosmultiverse (I love your Klarion so much! He’s so much fun! XD And Teekl for the epic win!)

@raichoose (Herbert West and Solomon Grundy? THAT aIN’T GOOD! D:>)

@gctjinxd (Freaking LOVE your Jinx! LOL how she manipulates Freeze and how Grundy isn’t even REMOTELY phased by her powers. Like he is TOUGH. Even bad luck won’t stop him.)

@killcrcroc (BIG BAD KILLER CROC! I love your Waylon and I adore how he has a collection of watches and that awesome suit. XD Croc definitely deserves more love since he’s much smarter than he looks, and tough enough to even get Grundy to back down in a serious fight.)

@babydxhl (Baby Doll is criminally underappreciated and I love how she’s the opposite to Grundy. She looks child-like but is very crafty, mature and knows how to get what she wants, while Grundy is physically strong and big enough to bully his way into anything he wants, but is very simple and child-like and would rather watch the birds. XD)

@theednygma (An awesome Ed Nygma and I love how Grundy is so unsure of everything yet still goes along for the ride as a support. XD)

@sleightlyoffhand (BUNNY MAN! Okay the idea of Josiah monching on carrots in Grundy’s pocket makes me smile so much. XD)

@thanagrian (BIRD-NOSE! Honestly every time I think of Grundy and Shayera I get the feels big time. These two definitely deserved more than just two episides to give them a unique friendship.

(I love that STAR Labs mission so much in Injustice. XD)

@the-arkham-librarian ( I love Eliza so much! She’s crafty, stubborn, sweet and kind and just cares about everyone so much when few don’t. Grundy grew so attached to her I swear she’s like his little sister at this point. XD And he’s totes the best uncle along with Eddie.)

@fatherdamned ( I LOVE YOUR RIDDLER OMG! He’s so snarky but man he is SO DAMN FUN to write with! Grundy is there for his green friend, no matter what!)

@fartemis-crockpot

( I freaking LOVE Artemis and Grundy, especially in the Injustice Society stuff. Yeah Grundy’s been a butt before but he genuinely likes and cares about her and the rest of the team and I’m like....

Look at these bunch of a-holes. Yeah they’re a family and even if they’re bad.....they’ve got each other. And that’s what counts. C:)

@powerhours/ @lastofmars (Green dad? Green dad. I love your J’onn so much and I’m like *throws Grundy at green dad* Here give this disaster some love. XD)

@gothamdad (YET ANOTHER AWESOME BATMAN. :D)

@redsleuthed (TIM! I love Tim and I swear these two should talk more because Grundy doesn’t WANT to fight and I think just letting someone hear him out would help him immensely.

Plus that stuff with Freeze? Poetic cinema.)

@themusespace

@12thlevel​ (On this blog we stan socially awkward green boi with angery grandpa genius mastermind. XD)

@pluckyingenue

@seekthedarknesswithin (SHADE! I love Shade in Justice League where he constantly throws Shade at everyone so you can imagine how excited I was to see Shade on Tumblr! We haven’t done much but man.....even Grundy was excited to see an old friend from the Injustice Society/ Injustice Gang.)

@youstolemycoat (Okay, hands down, Nick Necro is so much fun to plot with. His Robin verse is so fun too and poor Grundy tries to help but a certain birdy won’t let him. XD)

@ufotm (Tiny alien baby. :3)

@thetrigonborn

@kitfreeman

@partcfyouruniverse/ @diamondcladclown ( An awesome mun and my goodness her Harley is EPIC! I love the metas about Harley too and you just GET HER. And that????? Is the sign of an excellent writer and mun.)

@bigbadkillercroc ( I love your Croc and the brotherly bond he has with Grundy! It’s so refreshing to see these two bonding instead of Grundy tearing off Waylon’s face like he did in the Solomon Grundy mini-series. :C)

@blizzardmuses (I LOVE YOUR MUSES OMG. Your Batgirl?????? I ADORE HER. I love Freeze as a member of the Birds of Prey and I love tossing Grundy at your muses because the guy needs love and an excuse to smash.....and I really love both lol.)

@starfirechan (You’re Starfire is so freaking CUTE! I love how she and Grundy get along so well since they’re kind of two misfits that aren’t very well-versed in city life. XD)

@gotham-crusader/ @maximummuses (One of the best Batman and Damian Wayne RPers out there! I have a lot of fun with our threads and even if they fizzle out there is so much heart to them that they’re some of my absolute favorites no matter what muse I put on. C:)

@teufortsquidman (PRAWN! Okay, a giant mega-zombie and an Eldritch abomination? Yeah they’re gonna be good pals lol. XD)

@tragedybcrn (Hands down one of the BEST Batman RPers I’ve talked to and plotted with. I love how Bruce helps Freeze and even Grundy try to be better than just crooks. Grundy though has had so many bad experiences that he can’t trust anyone anymore unless there is some SERIOUS help. But he’ll learn to at least try to trust Batman.....because Batman was genuinely nice to him.)

@krygothite ( I freaking LOVE your Bane! We haven’t written much but FFFFF0yeah he’s epic. XD And Grundy is kind of nervous about bringing Bane to Slaughter Swamp because Bane is tough but not kaiju-sized gators and snakes tough....

Or....maybe he is.....let’s test him. >:D)

@batvvmn

@redwinefangs (VAmpire Batman? Vampire Batman. We have an epic trifecta of vampire Bats, Freezy-wolf and zombaby Grundy and I LOVE it. These three are so much fun to plit ideas around. XD)

@bclaur

@stcrshnes

@titanicscionofthestars ( I freaking LOVE Sara! All across my blogs I love her and the way you write her! And I swear her reaction to Grundy being impaled????? MY HEART. ;A;)

@jcinthedance  (JERVIS! Okat for real I love the image of Hatter and Grundy just enjoying a tea party at the asylum and being weird dorks. XD)

@adventurepunks (I absolutelky LOVE your Zatanna! She’s so fun and I’d love to plot more with her! :D)

@shesquiinnsane

@laughter-in-white (YOU????? Are??? Like the BEST Joker. Hands down. Your Croptop J is so much fun to plot with and he’s funny and being dramatic for Bats. And Grundy is like ‘yeah he’s crazy but he’s my crazy.’)

@yourfavoritesidekick

@smartvulpix (* glomps on you for being epic*)

@thehouseofivo (Your Freeze and Julian are AWESOME! Love throwing my guys at them both lol)

@lil-miss-romano

@sweet-tea-solly

@slauhter

@occultsleuth

@wiisectrpillar

@wonderlandcarpenter

@gunborn

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

Things Duggan could do/could have done with Pyro in Marauders:

This list is partially me being bitter, but it’s also just kind of a creative exercise, thinking about the development potential that Pyro has.

1. Redemption arc - This seems obvious.  Pyro is already hanging with the good guys, but is he actually undergoing a redemption arc?  Is he actually changing his views or becoming a better person?  We don’t really know because we barely see anything from his perspective, and it’s usually shallow comic relief when we do.  The groundwork is there to give Pyro a redemption arc.  He was already regretting his actions and questioning the Brotherhood’s methods when he had the Legacy Virus, leading up to him saving Senator Kelly.  Why not follow up on that?  Does he still feel the same way, or is he disillusioned because Kelly was killed right after he saved him?  Are the Marauders (all of whom are better people than Pyro) rubbing off on him a bit?  Maybe he’s starting to enjoy helping others or learning to trust humans?  (Or not?)  In today’s issue, Iceman was confronted by a Reaver that he had previously maimed, which was interesting, but that’s another storyline that I think would also fit Pyro.  Pyro has surely been maiming some people - maybe being confronted with the results of that would help him reconsider his actions.

2. Legacy Virus stuff - Pyro hasn’t said a damn thing about the way he died, and I understand him not wanting to talk about it.  But again, that sparked a semi-redemption arc for Pyro back before he died.  And now he’s on a ship that is taking medicine to humans that need it, and just built a hospital in Madripoor.  Maybe his experience being sick has given him a greater sense of empathy, and a desire to help sick people.  If Masque can find meaning using his powers to help humans, you’d think there would be space for Pyro to say something serious about his Legacy experiences while they are dedicating a new hospital.  Even just a throwaway line.  Hell, Storm was dying of some kind of nano-virus for part of Marauders (although it was never mentioned in the book at all), maybe he could have sympathized with her over that?  Maybe having Yellowjacket inside him - another case in which his body has been invaded by something microscopic that can kill him - triggered some Legacy feelings?  We could have explored that, instead we got a “funny” scene of Magneto pulling Yellowjacket out of Pyro, and Pyro wanting to kill him. 

3. Team bonding - Pyro has been accepted on the team surprisingly quickly.  Faster than I would expect, really.  And of course, he’s small-potatoes evil compared to even some people on the Council, but I’d still expect a little bit of friction between him and his team-mates, given that he used to try to kill them.  Even without that history, he’s still the odd man out on a team that already knows each other, and are friends, or at least former team-mates.  We had that kind of friction with Emma and Storm, why would we not get that friction between Pyro (the former terrorist criminal) and the others?  I would have expected at least a little bit of distrust, followed eventually by some kind of bonding issue where Pyro is more accepted by the team, and in turn accepts his place with them.  Who does he even consider a friend when he refers to them as “his friends”?  He seems to like hanging out with Bishop and Iceman, but we’ve mostly gotten that through wordless background panels and a couple of “funny” scenes.  Do any of them even like him or consider him a “friend,” or do they just tolerate his presence?   

4. Writer - One of the things I find most interesting about Pyro is that he had a whole-ass career before joining the Brotherhood.  He traveled around Southeast Asia, he was a journalist in Indonesia and Vietnam, he wrote romance novels.  And most writers don’t explore that at all, but you’d think it would come up when the Marauder is traveling around the ocean.  Maybe he speaks another language that would be helpful.  Maybe his investigative skills as a journalist come in handy.  Maybe he takes them to an old haunt or meets up with an old contact he knew in Vietnam.  Maybe he spends his spare time writing smutty historical pirate-themed romance.  I would have enjoyed that much more than the goofy “dream sequence” that Emma planted in his head, at least that would have felt like authentic character development rather than something being pushed upon him from the outside.  Most comics writers don’t really get into Pyro’s civilian career, but as a regular on a book, I’d expect it to come up at least once, even as a thowaway line.

5. Brotherhood and past history - Pyro has had absolutely no contact (that we know of) with his old Brotherhood pals.  He doesn’t even mention them.  Why is that?  Why isn’t he hanging around the bar with Blob when the Marauder’s at Krakoa?  Why isn’t he texting Avalanche?  Has he become estranged from them after saving Kelly (which would be an interesting plot point if Duggan developed it), or is he just hanging out with them off panel?  You’d think there would be some mention of his past history at some point.  Even in today’s issue, when he, Iceman and Bishop got attacked by Reavers.  Pyro has a history with Reavers!  He fought them on Muir Island as part of Freedom Force, and the team lost both Stonewall (which happened right in front of Pyro, and he seemed broken up about it) and Destiny (which completely destroyed Mystique).  The Reavers in this issue were not the same ones, they were a new breed, but you’d think Pyro might have something to say about encountering Reavers again. 

6. The gay thing - This is more my own personal preference, but Pyro WAS deliberately queer-coded in his earliest appearances, and John Byrne intended for him to be gay.  They couldn’t openly write him that way back in the day, but nowadays I think no one would bat an eye if Pyro, a fairly minor villain, was somewhere on the LGBT scale.  He wasn’t always queer-coded, but he had an ambiguous relationship with Avalanche, his sexuality was never firmly established (he was never in an open romantic relationship anyone), and he died a lingering, painful death from the virus that was intended to be an AIDS metaphor.  It would be quite interesting to see Pyro as a closeted gay (or bisexual) man resurrected in a world where different sexual orientations are far more accepted, and slowly opening up about it to Bobby and Christian (or even Shinobi).  Not to mention, it would give Bobby and Christian more to do, and Christian could talk about his own traumatic experiences without it being all swept under the rug.

7. Doubts about Krakoa - When the team first met Pyro, he was trying to steal a boat and run off, because he’d realized that his resurrection was mostly just a lab experiment to test the process.  Now he seems to be all-in, and dedicated to the Marauders’ mission.  What changed?  Does he harbor any doubts about the Quiet Council, or is he a true believer now?  Does he EVER talk to Mystique, to whom he used to be extremely loyal?  Pyro can be written as dumb at times, but more frequently he comes across as one of the more intelligent and thoughtful Brotherhood members.  Maybe he’s decided that everything on Krakoa is so new and confusing, he’s just gonna turn his brain off and enjoy his new life?  That would also be fine, if it was actually treated as character development.  

8. Divided loyalties - If I’d expect anyone to betray the team, it would be Pyro.  And that doesn’t necessarily mean I want him to do that, but I’m surprised it hasn’t come up.  You’d think Shinobi or Sebastian Shaw would approach him to act as a mole in exchange for lots and lots of money.  Hell, I half-expected him to be spying for Mystique when he first showed up.  And again, it could still happen, but there’s been no lead up or suggestion of that at all.  I would honestly find it disappointing if Pyro suddenly turned on the team or was revealed to be a spy, because he hasn’t bonded with them well enough for it to be meaningful at all. 

The thing is, any of these ideas could be explored, and still keep Pyro as the comic-relief party animal that Duggan is currently writing.  He wouldn’t even have to have significantly more focus (although some focus would be nice).  This could be accomplished through small scenes, little asides, throwaway lines.  Duggan wastes so much page time setting up “moments” and atmosphere (Kitty and Emma riding horses up to Sebastian’s castle comes to mind).  He spent a whole issue beating up Sebastian Shaw without any other significant plot advancement (then crams all his plot into the issues that feature other characters).  He spent a few pages on a goofy fantasy dream sequence that told us nothing new about Pyro, and again, turned out to a falsely manufactured dream that Emma planted in his mind.  We could have used those pages to show Pyro writing something, or show a different side of him through Yellowjacket’s spying, and it STILL could have been comic-relief.  If Duggan actually wanted to explore Pyro in a more serious way, there’s both the space and potential for it.  He just.....doesn’t. 

Anyway, this is all wishful thinking of what could be.  I’ll just have to write fanfic or something. 

[tamamatango]

Let’s talk about Kururu, again

Apparently the fandom is growing all of a sudden so I feel like talking about Kururu again cuz that’s all I know how to do and it’s been a while

First off disclaimer that fandom is fandom and anybody can interpret any character any way they want and if you like to portray a character a certain way for whatever reason go for it, more power to you (unless you put them in pedo/incest relationships that are displayed as good in which case fuck you). But in my personal Kirbpinion(TM) the Funimation dub was a fucking mistake because so many fan content creators write a way different Kururu than what he is in canon cuz the dub never got to his best episodes and also upped the sadism to ridiculous levels. Listen I know it’s funny to joke that he’s the kind of guy that has 3 medieval torture chambers but hear me out. Kururu is by no means a perfect person, he’s genuinely pretty rude/blunt (though sometimes his straightforwardness is justified :P), has an ego, sometimes acts pretty gross around others and likes extreme and elaborate pranks way way way too much BUT.

Assuming you’ve watched far enough into the series (like 100+ eps) I do not really understand the interpretation that he doesn’t care about anyone and that friendship and love are things he is totally incapable of. He says that yes but if you pay enough attention to his dialogue it becomes pretty apparent that he displays this attitude for multiple reasons. One is that he does genuinely have a hard time expressing the emotions he feels and often has awkward/guarded ways of doing so. But also he says many times over the course of the series that he has a “reputation” to keep up and wants people to call him a jerk; he wants to look cool and rebellious all the time and he thinks a nasty apathetic attitude is what earns him that status (not claiming that’s a healthy mindset, mind you). He wants to have full control over the way people see him and he gets super frustrated and humiliated when he can’t. This is probably why he gets so upset when people talk about how unpopular he is, because he’s spent so much time honing his image to a T and is like why the fuck isn’t this working?! In other words even though sometimes he is just an actual pain in the neck a lot of his asshole antics are part of a carefully manufactured persona, and he will do anything down to labeling his own memories to prevent other people from seeing through his facade and discovering the parts of him that are vulnerable.

And God forbid anyone does figure out that he does care quite a bit for the people around him, or at least if he didn’t at first he does now. Early on in the series he was commonly referred to as “depressing” and while the meta reason is probably just the anime writers just didn’t know how to adapt the character yet (he started out a little differently in the manga), in canon I believe he was just even more inclined to push everybody away from him, and as he began to get used to working in a group he gradually opened up. He commentates on how “soft” he’s gotten since he came to Earth a couple times, and the fact that he’s surprisingly one of the most loyal to Keroro out of the whole team (in many episodes where everyone abandons Keroro for being dumb he leaves last) and goes out of his way to help when he thinks it’s warranted (he asks for money when things aren’t dire yeah but hey labor deserves compensation :V) shows that he is dedicated to his team. There’s even episodes where he doles out some kind of moral lesson to the squad in his own Kururu-y way, especially to Keroro and Tamama. Even the Hinatas he’ll pitch in to protect when he has to, and we all know he’ll pretty much drop everything if Saburo needs him.

Speaking of which. I think the unspoken reason why he’s best friends with Saburo (besides the surface-level stuff like they’re smart and nerdy and seen as enigmas by everybody else) is because Saburo is the only other person in the cast who understands Kururu’s particular struggle of putting on airs as a means of self-defense all the time. He basically has a carefully managed celebrity life (that he has to constantly work to hide in anime canon), a somewhat formal/reserved public life, and the more quirky enthusiastic side of himself he only shows when alone and to the few people he’s close to and god damn that just sounds like the most exhausting juggling act ever. He has an outlet to free himself through his art but he still has to live with nobody quite knowing what he goes through on a daily basis, which is probably why we see him off on his own for most of the series (until he gets to warm up to everybody better...wonder who that sounds like) and occasionally have his bouts of frustration and insecurity like in 229 where he says “fuck it I’m gonna fight the apocalypse alone because I need something to do,” 354(? I think that’s the number) where he talks about just dropping everything and starting over, and I think one of the Christmas eps where Giroro has to like beg him to go to the Hinatas’ party cuz he says he’s “busy” even though he’s just sitting around pretty much (UPDATE: it’s 294 the implication is probably that he has his show or something but cmon that’s only like an hour lol). I am going off on a tangent now but anyway the point is he and Kururu are the most complicated communicators of the cast and they share feelings only they understand which is why they can more or less read each other’s minds and know exactly what to do when the other is in trouble.

Back to Kururu. Keroro, from what I can tell, is the closest to him out of the Platoon; Keroro gets freaked out by Kururu’s pranks sometimes yeah but they have a lot of common interests as the fun-lovers of the group and Kururu’s also kinda been interested in Keroro enough time follow him around for almost his entire life up to this point so there’s that. He also gets along with the other people he‘s around; we know he and Aki get along from the beginning because of how dynamic their personalities are but later on he gets close to Fuyuki to the point where they just hang out for the heck of it sometimes, and even though Natsumi is very justified in generally disliking him (many of Kururu’s more Eugh moments tend to involve her) even she seems to rely on him often, and in the cursed puppy episode she knows all his favorite foods by heart so she must care in some fashion lol. Dororo and he aren’t evidently super close but I think they get each other on some level as the (in-universe) least popular of the platoon and Dororo at least respects his abilities, and has clearly come to figure out his subtleties based on 229. Giroro and Mois...things get complicated. Just putting on record that I’m not a fan of either ship between Kururu and them. I’ve said this before but I think Giroro and Kururu are in a turbulent sibling-adjacent relationship in that they have completely opposing attitudes but they have a begrudging sense of respect for each other and, ultimately, they’re teammates, so they’ll defend each other when someone they don’t know tries to mess with them. I really don’t think the flirty stuff on Kururu’s end goes beyond teasing and I got kinda sick of that running gag if I’m being honest. (You can probably tell which frog I ship Kururu with by now :P) Mois went from something of a rival to Kururu to his lab partner, which is probably why he goes easier on her than he used to and even strikes up something of a friendship because the only other person he knows that might be capable of handling his technology is an Earthling who’s still against the invasion despite his lax attitude so. She helps :V

Now the question is why Kururu acts like he does if his relationships really aren’t all that bad and I think there’s two components to this. I’ve made it clear by now I think he’s autistic but your mileage may vary there. I think personally his childhood did something to the way he processes things as well. In Secret of the Kero Ball, he’s got a bandage on his head which may imply he got hurt somewhere and then he almost drowned which canonically definitely did something to him lol, was mostly seen alone so who knows if he has a family he still talks to, and then he got drafted into the army and placed into a high-ranking position of great responsibility at a very young age; it’s kind of a no-brainer why he rebeled and got demoted eventually. I’ve got plenty of headcanons about what his early days in the Military did to him but that’s for another day because good God this post went on too long.

In short: Kururu is possibly the most complicated character in the show and the F in Flanderization stands for “Funimation.” That’s it I’m never writing another essay about pee-color frog again I will make real content again at some point I promise

[drsenkustone]

Shy Lil Writer~

Senku x Reader REQUEST SUBMITTED:

You sat down in the school courtyard with your friend Yuzuriha on one of the benches. A comfortable fall day with a couple leaves falling, casual talk and your yummy bento boxed lunches. Yuzuriha was one of your best friends, she was sweet, caring and soft, all traits you thrived to be around. She was a crafts club member through, so she did stand up and out more than you. It didn’t bother you though, you know you aren’t like that. She’s stated your just more shy, otherwise you both share many interests and beliefs. Her friends (that quickly became your friends) Taiju and Senku agreed with her immediately.

Senku became the closest male friend you acquired at school surprisingly. To be honest, you didn’t think you’d really make any male friends, since many high school males had only a couple things on their minds. Taiju was sweet but he was SO loud. He was microphone-at-max-level loud! Though he means well, it does tend to make you shy away from him a bit more. Yuzuriha has asked him multiple times to at least keep the volume a tow down, since kindness was never unwelcomed.

You unconsciously compensate for your shyness when you write. You loved to write fictional stories and fantasy worlds! Creating characters, story plots, it gave you free range and full control at the same time! You had like nine different journals of different stories you were writing and editing. None of them you ever planned on submitting to be real books, but it was your calm to the hectic world of forward people.

Senku (of course) noticed how much you write during classes. You were a smart cookie but you tend to write in your journal half of the class, and each class he had with you, he noticed it was a different sized and colored journal. He knew it had nothing to do with class notes, you wouldn’t lift your head up for almost anything when you were scribbling away.

“What exactly do you write in there (y/n)?” He asked one afternoon during study hall. Since the science lab was the quietest during this time and Senku basically owned it, you liked to hide here to write during study hall too.

“Just random stories…” you muttered in response, your hand still scribbling and your mind in complete thought to your words. It intrigued Senku enough to pull his gloves off his hands and walk up behind you and try to peak over your shoulder. You felt his presence behind you though and before he could read a word, you snapped the book closed and pulled it close to you, curling up around it. It took the scientist a bit by surprise.

“With that kind of reaction, I’m ten billion percent sure they’re as random as you say they are,” he chuckled lightly, leaning against the counter next to you, a slight smirk on his face. You met his eyes for a moment before glancing away, to keep your cheeks from flushing if you stared at him too long. You could tell he wanted to know…

“Well…I’ve always wrote stories for as long as I can remember…I have about 9 different journals of stories that I’m constantly writing and editing.” You spoke softly, now a soft pink gracing your cheeks. It wasn’t that embarrassing telling this to Senku, but at the end of the day you were still shy about sharing it. “It’s just..what I do…Like how you do science-y stuff.” You looked back up to his red orbs that were solely focused on you. Damn he was a good listener when he wanted to be. But it proved he cared and it warmed your heart a bit.

“May I read a page?” That was the question you were scared of, but after some consideration, you flipped through your journal and found a section you thought would be okay to share with him, handing him the book.

“Just one...” you responded softly.

Senku read through the page in a moment or two, then the next page. He flipped it and read the next two. Your anxiousness was staring to get the better of you while he kept reading, slowly reaching up to take the book back. He was reading so much!! It felt like an invasion of sorts.

“S-Senku-kun?” Your hands had slowly reached for the book and just when you were about to grab it, he used one hand to move it opposite of you and kept reading. You practically fell of your stool in surprise and when you looked back up, he flipped to the next page again. Your cheeks were flushing more, he’s not supposed to read this far!!!

You stood to your feet to reach up to the other side of him where your book was. He lifted his arm higher and tilted his head back, obviously STILL reading. “Senku!!” You whined and tried to pull his arm down, not realizing you were pressing against him to do so until you felt his chuckle rumble against you, and he let his arm be pulled down and you stole the book back, taking your seat on the stool again in a ball of embarrassment.

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to hide (y/n), that’s a damn good story you got!” He grinned. Your eyes widened a bit, damn you can’t get rid of the blush on your face now. This cute scientist who strictly loves facts complimented your work of pure fiction! He noticed your blush, but he thought it was just because you’re extremely shy in general. Of course a compliment on your work would make you blush.

“You should seriously consider contacting an editor, or maybe join the schools writing club. That teacher would love to read your stories, and if you’ve got more like that you’re writing, you ten billion percent sure to write a hit like the British Harry Potter stories! You could probably sell beyond that line! You’ve got the ideas, flow of words, grammer, everything to make a proper and wonderful story.” Senku knew he was highly praising you but he didn’t know, for you, it was an overload. He calculated that it might be what you need to feel more confident in your work. Maybe then you would share more with the world, or at least share more with him. He wasn’t much for works of fiction, but he enjoyed reading your story, truly.

However…his idea didn’t really go as planned. The excessive praise was too much for you! Your head was spinning, your face was red from ear to ear, and you felt like a teapot that was ready to pour. Well, actually, you did pour. You slipped off the stool and would have hit the floor if Senku didn’t catch you, even if Senku’s method of catching was him just breaking your fall to the floor by holding your body while he sat on his ass on the floor now. He was more stunned you passed out from praise! You really were shy! Maybe a bit more than he calculated for. He felt a bit bad for over-doing it, now that you were unconscious in his lap. He lightly tapped your cheek a couple times and called your name, you slowly woke back up and stared in in the eyes.

“…what happened?” You questioned the scientist, feeling your arms still wrapped around your book, and you were on the floor with your torso and above in Senku’s lap and arms. You still felt a little light from the situation so you didn’t want to move yet. But there was a part of you that didn’t want to move at all.

Senku smiled down to you, brushing a couple strands of hair out of your face, his fingertips lingering against the skin of your forehead and cheek. You felt a light shiver and your cheeks flush lightly again. Senku noticed.

“I over did the praise...I’m sorry. Just rest for a few minutes, you passed out.” He offered as he leaned against the back of the desk to be a little more comfortable himself, his thigh supporting your head as his hand combed through your hair. His touch was memorizing you and you were so tired from the long day of school. It was super easy to fall asleep in your crushes arms, you were you were safe and so was your story in your arms. Senku felt a little bit closer to you too, you were letting him into your shy bubble. He knew you would always be shy, but you don’t have to be shy around him.

[thevictoryofthepeople]

*♡･ﾟ:* Get To Know The Writer!

REPOST DON’T REBLOG

———  BASICS! ♡

NAME: mc / mimi / charm / vi

PRONOUNS: she / her ( but lately been questioning a lot of things about myself so we’ll see how it goes )

ZODIAC SIGN: cancer ( but my best friend will scream scorpio or sagittarius lmao )

TAKEN OR SINGLE: taken for like the better part of 2 & 1/2 years

———  THREE  FACTS! ♡

i have a bachelors in psychology and i’m currently saving up money to go to med school to be a psychiatrist. i have worked and taken interest in a lot different psych fields but i notably worked during college in an education lab studying the effects of multilingual learning in the classroom especially for minority students, and a sleep lab so if you want fun facts about sleep and memory my dumbass self can probably tell you some things

i have a series, a novel, a poetry book, and short story collection currently in the works but i’ve been super busy and tired that i have not had time to actually write them ( big sad ) 

i like to dance and sing and make music. when i was less busy and frantic, i wrote songs and made beats and i have some things saved up. i was also learning 8 other languages but fucking life so now i’m only re-learning spanish and learning french. but i’m just...busy cuz adulting and living in america isn’t cheap

———  EXPERIENCE! ♡

i was in the percy jackson fandom and i got into roleplaying then like a long time ago. then my two longest and most wonderful rp partners also mentors, drew-a-tanaka & ribbedxgloves, took me under their wings and wrote with me and taught me stuff about the rp community. i haven’t left since. i never really went on any other platform and this blog is ancient. all my characters are ocs and even my gods are mainly of my own creation, and i continuously add more because no one stops. i have ocs that seem like au’s of their fcs and they’re not but after a while of being here and thinking of elaborate backgrounds and just having them pile up, sometimes i get lazy changing their first name which is super dumb of me because their last names are different but i was like hahahah not changing your first name

———  MUSE  PREFERENCE! ♡

i like muses that can make me feel honestly. who i can instantly vibe with. i also have 150 muses ( maybe more, i’m kidding i’m not that crazy sometimes ) so it’s never really difficult to find the right one that can connect with someone else’s character. i just really love storybuilding and interlocked muses. like my whole world now ( in the main verse ) is based off the world i created with my girlfriend and you will see me mention greyson or cho or pack when it comes to some of my characters because it’s from having interlocked muses, and i am always down for that. just make all the worlds with me and let’s just have fun

———  FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡    

FLUFF: listen i have so many assholes they need the fluff lmao, but also like in general i adore it. i write pretty things when fluff is involved and it just makes me happy and giddy so give it to me always

ANGST: I LOVE ANGST. like please give me toxicity and anger and frustration and questioning loyalties. i did this more when i had my horror blog but sometimes i just want my muses to suffer for no damn reason. and then sometimes i really do want a well-thought out plot for angst

SMUT: i will write but i also don’t feel much for it. like if it happens, it happens. i go into explicit detail when i write it but it’s always under a read more. and honestly i only true care about smut when the ship involved is super well thought out and there’s more to than just sex. even with my like super sexually charged ships ( i.e. geryon and drew ) they both have this elaborate plot going on and this demon / demigod dynamic that’s fun to write and they’re not all just about sex despite it being a factor in their relationship

PLOT / MEMES: i ramble a lot so give me the plots, all of it. i’m always so excited and happy and i just love them so much. i like exploring new ideas. memes are great too but honestly i tend to post a lot of memes so people can reblog without having to go to the source lmao. you all can always reblog from me i do not mind and you are more than welcome to send me stuff <3 <3 <3 

TAGGED BY: @lighthousc​ ( my light thank you ! ) TAGGING ( please only do if you want ! no pressure ever ! ): @drew-a-tanaka​; @ribbedxgloves​; @etcrnalsunshine​; @catcherisms​; @heartsawaken​; @tckkis​; @thewhitepoison​; @xxsacrificiumxx​; @kitsunewrites​; @snowdrcps​; @cinnamcnhearts​

[writing-whimsical-worlds]

Lab Rat

Eventual Peter Parker x Stark! Reader

Summary: English enthusiast and art-minded y/n feels like she is disappointing her father, and Peter Parker’s newfound presence in Tony’s heart does nothing to quell her fears.

A/N: This is basically a set up for a series if there is any interest. Let me know!

“I just don’t understand how you can have such a gifted brain in sciences and mathematics and yet you refuse to utilize it. Make it make sense!”

“Dad, come on. Is it so hard to believe that maybe I want to pursue my actual interests instead of doing what is expected of me? I’m a good writer and I just want to see where I can go with that.”

This whole “what is y/n’s future?” conversation has been going on for months because Tony, for some reason, thinks he can change my mind about my future endeavors. Yes, I do have over a 98% average in all of my honors and advanced placement science and math classes, but that does not mean I enjoy it. I loathe every second of them but I’ll be damned if I get a less-than-outstanding grade in ANY course. He raised a perfectionist, what can I say?

“I just need you to recognize your potential, y/n. You’re a Stark! You have so many opportunities right at you fingertips! Write as a hobby, I don’t care. But I will not allow you to waste the talent and intelligence that you clearly have,” Tony continues.

“I don’t want to. I will be miserable! And my intelligence is not being wasted; I want to pursue further education in English, maybe some foreign languages. I can and will be successful doing so.” I stand up from the kitchen bar-stool ready to leave the room. This conversation never ends until one of us gives up and leaves, so I guess I’ll be the one to call it.

“No no no, you aren’t leaving right now, y/n. This is important-”

I keep walking towards the door but he doesn’t quit.

“You know I just want what’s best for you. I’m thinking of your future!” He has to shout that last part a little since I’m already halfway down the hall.

I know it seems a little bitchy to walk away from a parent like that, but sometimes it’s necessary to stay sane in this household. And by household, I mean the Avengers compound - since nothing in my life can ever be simple. 

I slow from a fast stride to a stroll, nearing my quarters where I can finally get away from my dad and our endless bickering. I love him to death, but I need a break. 

To my dismay, I happen to pass by the last person I want to see right now, Peter Parker. He’s my dad’s newest addition around here and all I ever do is hear about it. “Peter is so smart, y/n, you should really learn from him. Peter is so great, y/n, why can’t you be more like him?” God, I have nothing against the guy, but after hearing his name come out of my fathers mouth so much, I was just about fed up.

“Hey y/n, you coming down to the lab later to help work on my suit? Your dad and I are making a ton of progress,” he says, practically buzzing with excitement. I do admit that his boyish charm is a little hard to resist. I still have no interest in his proposal, however.

“No thanks, definitely don’t want any part in that,” I roll my eyes. 

“Is everything okay? Your dad told me you you haven’t been... working as hard lately...” I can tell he’s nervous saying that, and he sure as hell should be.

“Excuse me? Just because I don’t spend my entire life in the lab doesn’t mean I’m not ‘working hard.’ I can do other things! Other valid things with my life that don’t involve astrophysics or whatever the hell he wants me to be doing.” Maybe it’s unfair to take this out on Peter, but he’s the one who brought it up.

He holds his hands up in placating surrender. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. But you really shouldn’t take this stuff for granted, y/n. You’re a Stark.”

You’re a Stark. 

Yeah, no shit. 

I ignore him and head to my room to change into workout clothes rather than the lounge wear I was planning on wearing. I’m too worked up to finish the editorial I was working on. I may not be into the science part of my legacy, but I loved my affinity for kicking ass. I could train for hours in the gym and, hopefully, my favorite sparring partner would be down there.

Luckily, he was. 

“Hey Buck.” I can tell he already knows what’s coming. My recent blowouts with my father have not been very subtle around here.

“Here to blow off some steam, y/n/n? Bet Tony never knew what hit him.”

“Actually, I’m sure he thinks he won this one,” I grimaced. “It’s like running in circles with that man.”

“No comment,” he laughs. It’s no secret that he and my father don’t really have the best relationship either. However, we don’t have to dwell on it. One thing I love about him is he doesn’t pry, and he can tell when I’m not here to talk things out. He can also tell, though, when I want to beat the shit out of something. What better than a super soldier?

Of course, this is said loosely considering I am merely a teenage girl with mediocre fighting skills. I have been getting a lot better, though, with Bucky as my teacher. He’s hard on me, but I learn a lot. 

Between hits and dodges, I huff my most recent grievances through labored breathing.

“He.... never... listens to me! I see him... with... that spider kid... and it’s like... just adopt him already!” We come to a standstill and I can tell Bucky doesn’t really know what to say to that. “I’m sorry, Buck. I just feel like if I’m such a disappointment, at least he has Peter, ya know? He already acts more like a dad to him than he ever has to me.”

It was harsh, but wasn’t entirely false. My father, while caring for me deeply, was really hard on me throughout my life. He’s always been so judgmental, and I can’t help but feel like he’s unhappy with me constantly.

Bucky gives me a look that tells me he thinks I’m being a little over dramatic. “Come on, kid. You know how important you are to him. Peter is just... a lot less stubborn,” he adds with a grin. 

I roll my eyes and punch him in the shoulder playfully. He continues, “Oh, come on. You know you don’t exactly make things easy on him. It also doesn’t help that you guys are so different. I mean, aside from the mutual bull-headedness, you guys are like day and night. Go easy on him, doll.”

He’s right, and it pisses me off. I do really care for my father and feel a little guilty about how I stormed off earlier. It’s probably due to my strenuous workout, but I felt a lot less inclined to argue and sought to make peace with my dad. I guess I’ll head over to my room to shower and get changed. After that, reluctantly, I’ll go apologize to Tony. 

-

Walking into the lab did nothing to brighten my mood as I see Peter and my dad working together amicably. It differed greatly than the way my dad and I worked together - it usually ended up with various items flung across the room as frustrations rose and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. Hey, he raised me.

“Hey, uh. Can I talk to you, dad?”

Tony raised his head from his work, surprised to see me standing there. Mostly because he hadn’t expected me to come back and talk to him for the rest of the day, and also because he didn’t hear me walk up to him, too engrossed in whatever he was working on.

“Hey, princess.” He’s hesitant. I know he doesn’t enjoy arguing with me, and the truth is, I don’t enjoy it either. Lately, it’s just been inevitable. “Uh, I really want to get this done as soon as possible and Peter can’t make it over tomorrow, so it has to be tonight. I’ll probably be up late, too, so... maybe we can talk tomorrow?” 

I could see he really was busy, and knew for a fact that Peter had academic decathlon meetings every Wednesday afternoon, but I couldn’t help but take offense at his dismissive tone. For once, I took the high road, and he can’t even tear his eyes away from Peter’s stupid spider suit long enough to hear me out. 

It all comes back to Peter, doesn’t it? We’ll see about that...

[magicrowiswritingstuff]

Tagged by @din-damn-djarin thank you so much for thinking of me!💜

Nickname: my nicknames are the ones I go by on tumblr, so Francy or Francis

Pronouns: she/her

Star sign: Capricorn

Height: 160cm or 5′2

Time currently: 04:09pm

Birthday: 30th December

Favorite groups/bands: Three Days Grace, Evanescene, The BossHoss, ABBA, Deichkind, Studio Killers, Mother Mother, ... (it changes often but these are the ones I always come back to)

Favorite solo artist: currently Left Boy, TJ_beastboy, Shania Twain, Melanie Martinez, Billie Eilish, ...

Song stuck in my head: Never Gonna Give You Up ... that song is in my head 24/7

Last movie you watched: Wonder Woman 84

Last show you binged: currently binging “The Blacklist“

When you created your blog: 30th December 2019, yes on my 18th birhtday lol, but I’m only really active since October/November 2020

Last thing i googled: “mafia” ... I have morbid curiostity (I also often research a lot of forensic topics... my 30 page essay in my last school year was about inaccuracies of forensic proceedings in media soooo that’s that)

Other blogs: I have an art blog too (magicrowisdrawingstuff) but that’s it

Why I chose my url: “magicrow” I started using in 2014/15 on different fanfic sites, it's just a fusion between magic (because I began writing fanfics for the Harry Potter books) and crow (because they are one of my fave animals), I just decided to stick with that name and added “is writing stuff” which is pretty self-explanatory

Do you get asks: I love getting asks but sadly I only rarely get any

How many people you are following: 61

How many followers: 412

Average hours of sleep: between 5 and 6 hours currently (there was a time I ran on 3 hours of sleep for months so I think I’m doing good at the moment!)

Lucky number: I don’t think I really have one

Instruments: I played recorder (or fipple flute? couldn’t find any other translations) for 7 years or so, then I took guitar lessons for 3/4 years but quit because I hated my teacher, I bought a electric guitar in 2019 and try to teach myself how to play it but I don’t really have time anymore

Currently wearing: black jeans, black belt, black turtleneck with a silver necklace ... just a lot of black in general

Dream job: in some kind of research lab or, my absolute dream and probably not so suprising... I’d love to work in a forensic laboratory! I just think it is very interesting and helpful to the ones who want justice for their loved ones. Or something with animals like a caretaker in a zoo? Or a writer.

Dream trip: a roadtrip with my friends with only the most necessary planing (that’s gonna be a challange for me), I generally want to see more of the world but places I really want to visit are Canada, America (especially around Las Vegas just sightseeing all the canyons, etc.), Australien, Japan and South Korea

Favorite food: Fries! I can never get sick of them, I love them. And sweets of course

Favorite song: currently “Her Life” by Two Feet

Top 3 fictional worlds to live in: StarWars (The Mandalorian era specifically because... Din) because I love StarWars since I can remember and I’ll never grow out of my StarWars phase and I just ... I wanna fly a X-Wing or something. Then ... I don’t really care. I’mma just be basic and say Marvel (movie universe) and DC (animated/comic universe)

Tagging (No pressure)- I’m bad at tagging so if you already did it just ingore this, haha. @remmysbounty @moonlit-djarin @smoldjarin @peoniarose and anyone else who wants too. Feel free to tag me, I’d love see your answers, too!