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positivelybeastly · 15 days

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Love reading through your analyses and I was wondering if you had insight on something I noticed with Hank/Beast and Kurt/Nightcrawler: writers often use both of them in the visible mutation metaphor and emotional cores, but Kurt's approach is more from faith and Hank's is more from curiosity. Often when one or either are gone/dead/changed, things seem to get worse for the Team overall.

Do you think those two would benefit each other's characters? Even just to have spirited philosophical discussion?

So, this actually touches on a funny thing that I've noticed with Beast and Nightcrawler over time - which is that they're almost never on the same team together, probably precisely because they serve an extremely similar function in a team composition, for the reasons you've kind of touched on here.

They are, after all, both heavily visibly mutated individuals who were, or are, considered figures of great integrity and morality, with a strong code of ethics and a depth of feeling that expresses itself in a deeply vivacious personality - romantic, friendly, charming, and erudite.

Therefore, having them both on a team is, unfortunately, somewhat redundant.

That being said! They do still interact, and they're shown to be sources of great comfort and friendship for one another. Their first meetings were - somewhat inauspicious . . .

See, this is the funny thing about old comics - storylines just flow and flow and flow. Comics didn't stop after ten issues and get restarted with a new #1 every few months, they just ran and ran and ran, and the pacing reflected that.

There aren't usually month long gaps where you can assume nothing happened and people just got to hang out, they're working hard! Hank has been working with the Avengers so much that he literally hasn't even had time to meet the new X-Men properly! Wild.

But, eventually, things did slow down, and they got a chance to properly socialise, and, as expected, they got along like a house on fire.

Like, these two are just born to be friends. They have so much in common. Where Hank leans more to the obscure, the erudite, and the scientific, Kurt leans more to the dashing, the swashbuckling, and, of course, the religious, but they're still both fundamentally cut from the same cloth - acrobatic, charming, philosophical, heroic, fun.

But, that same alike quality means you don't get a ton of interaction between them, so I cling to what they do have. One of my favourite interactions between them is in Nightcrawler's 2004 solo series.

First off, absolutely adore Hank in this art style. The fact that the artist decided to include the detail of his fur poking out of the shirt like that is just. It transfixes me. I really want to go over and just. Run my fingers through his side fur. But mostly, I just like their chemistry? Hank's a great supporting character because he's so emotionally intelligent and reflective, and he's great at giving people perspective, usually with a healthy dose of sarcasm and teasing.

That being said, this scene is always the one I point to whenever I say that the X-Men really have no idea what's going on in Hank's head a lot of the time, because this took place after Hank had been psychically brutalised, nearly beaten to death, and one of his best friends had just been murdered - and he's doing a really very good job of hiding that trauma.

So much so that Kurt thinks he's just fine. He's just fine. There's nothing to worry about. But it's not Kurt's fault, and it's nowhere near unique to him, either. He had no way to know, he had his own stuff going on (the subject matter of this solo series, as it happens), and Hank is doing well enough that it isn't interfering with things, so, let him deal with it in peace, I suppose.

At least on this occasion.

Kurt is, after all, an emotionally intelligent and caring individual. You can't stop Nightcrawler from trying to help where he can. And I think that even just the reaching out, just the show of support, can be enough for a character like Hank.

Moments like these matter, in my opinion. It's important to show that teammates and friends care about each other, in the moment to moment stories, otherwise it can all feel very impersonal and like no-one cares about one another. This is how you establish dynamics over years, even between characters who have, technically speaking, never really been on a team together before.

The next big milestone I can think of comes after the X-Men's move to Utopia, where, again, Hank and Kurt don't share a ton of panel time together, but . . .

This is one of the few times you'll ever hear anyone say that Hank was right. And it's not really a surprise that it comes from Kurt, because, again, these men are cut from the same cloth. They come at it from different angles, but they believe in much the same things.

And . . . that's why it hits so hard when Kurt dies.

I don't necessarily agree with the decision to have Hank break from the literal funeral procession to call Scott out for Kurt's death. Some fans of Nightcrawler really appreciate that moment, because it shows how much Kurt's death affected Hank, but I personally just. Don't think it tracks, for Hank to be quite that disrespectful.

After the funeral, or even before, but during it? Nah. Matt Fraction made a good few Hank characterisation choices I don't agree with, and this was one of them.

This felt a bit more apropos.

Remember what I said about how little moments build to dynamics between characters who have never been on teams together? I buy this moment so much more with the context of that moment from Endangered Species, where Kurt is literally positioned as the light trying to pull Hank out of the dark path he's following with obsessive fervour. The fact that he was trying went a long way. Hank felt it, even if he didn't take him up on it at the time. That moment mattered.

And that's why I absolutely buy Hank's reaction when Kurt came back to life.

Hank believes in Kurt. He believes the very best of him. On teams where Hank can often feel alone or isolated, someone like Kurt will reach out, and make him feel connected, and welcome, and pull him back. Temper his scientific pessimism and realism with optimism and belief. Restore his fervour, and remind him of simpler, happier times.

A lot of the best scientists, who have contributed the most to scientific inquiry, were religious, because for a lot of them, there's no real conflict between science and religion, they're both two sides of the same coin, in a way - a belief in a higher power. It's just how they react to that higher power that changes.

And while Hank was explicitly religious for a while, I always interpreted him as losing that faith over the years, becoming bogged down in the real over the sublime as what he went through wore him down. Someone like Kurt was able to spark that in him again. Maybe not his faith, per se, but at the very least belief in the human spirit.

It's important. As you say, massive benefit to each other's characters. Underrated dynamic, these two. Absolutely love 'em.

#aximeck #outofmuffins #hank mccoy #kurt wagner

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cuckoo-among-beasts · 5 months

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Ok, I'm finally writing this, the Ezra and Huaisang connection, aka how I came to feel some kind of connection to this gremlin. I can't tell when that exact moment happened and by that time I had finished the donghua and started on both the novel and web series. In general, I tend to get attached to characters similar to myself, but me and Huaisang doesn't share that much, the biggest difference being him fine with seen as useless and frivolous, while I'm the exact opposite, terrified of being seen as useless, lazy and good-for-nothing. He's also considerably more social than I am. I also tend to rp more "hero-like" characters and although Huaisang isn't a villain, imo, he's definitely not a hero either (the first mdzs character I thought of rping was actually LXC). So what made me steer out from my comfort zone?

Well, we aren't completely different, Huaisang and I, but I'm not going to go into details about that. I'm just going to write about main things that made me love this lazy, cunning, lovable gremlin. This might end up being a bit rambling and it will be very personal. Might end up being long too. I will probably not re-read it, so if it ends up sounding weird or grammatical errors and whatnot, sorry about that. And yes, most of it will be about me since I need to explain shit for anyone to get it.

I was born during a blizzard, it was -40C at the time, this was all a rather unlucky sign since children born during storms are said to bring chaos. Therefore, my parents... ok, I'm kidding. Well, not really, I was born during those conditions and tradition says that will bring chaos, but it has nothing to do with what I'm about to write, I was just thinking about how to start and this popped up. Sorry, sorry.

Let's try again. For as long as I can remember, I've always had a love for art and beauty. I used drawings to communicate before i could properly speak (which I have no memories of). I always loved to draw, but also appreciated others' art, including crafts, sculptures and so on. As a very young child, I could randomly start crying because I found things so beautiful, which also included music and the sounds of words. During early childhood tests, my parents were always told I seemed gifted, if not particularly sociable and communicative. I was a sensitive child, who cried easily and frustrated easily. A child that was either constantly moving or could sit for hours staring, who froze in the middle of things and just daydreamed (I'm still guilty of this) or who could just flop down and take a nap whenever. My three main interest as a child was: drawing, reading (in which ancient China ended up being a favourite subject xD ) and walking around in the forest where I lived watching nature and animals, especially birds (we had several different bird houses, since both my parents are nature lovers as well). This all sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? And it was, at first.

I was repeatedly told off for being too sensitive (funny enough, I was also told off for not emoting enough, all this is still a mystery to me), for not being attentive and sociable enough, for being lazy, for being too chatty (but also too quiet, once again this weird thing where I'm still not sure where the limit goes). Hearing this and other things enough times and you start to realise you're wrong and I started to do my best to change. This was also when I realised that people prefer too little over too much, so even if I couldn't grasp what was emotional enough or chatty enough, if I kept myself stoic and quiet (even when I wanted to and could speak), that was more acceptable than me "overreacting" and "never shutting up". I was still an outsider though, something I would always be and still am. No matter how much I've tried to fit in. At least I still had my interests. For now.

As I grew older and things like job and career starting to creep into my life (around the age of 12, since that's when they start asking you about high school and by then you need to know if you want to study a theoretical or practical program and also what kind of that you want, you can't mix and match subject in the way you do in the US, for example) and I had no answers to what I wanted to do. All I know I liked, and wanted to do, was read, write and draw. I was repeatedly told that's not a career and I should stop with those fancies and not waste my intelligence on "aesthetics" (by this time, I had been in three class plays with fairly prominent roles in all three and I started in the church choir at the age of 8). Hearing this over and over, as well as being severely bullied (by both students and teachers), I basically stopped drawing and at 16, I quit the church choir too, saying I needed to focus on my studies, in reality, I had begun to develop pretty bad anxiety (this all culminated in my early twenties when I basically shut myself in in my flat, it's gotten better since, but I still struggle to talk to strangers or show anything I've created out of fear of rejection and ridicule as well as me being extremely sensitive to criticism. And yes, I do miss the acting and the singing sometimes, especially the singing, I've always loved that too). And yes, I did not choose the "art program" in high school, I went to the "social science program - focus: environment, humans and society" (a mix of science and social science). To keep things short, I eventually got my current diagnoses and began drawing again, which helped. I still don't do it as much as I should. I also still don't allow myself the rest my brain seems to need. I do allow myself to cry when needed when I'm alone now. To make it even shorter, I started to try and find my "true self" again. This included being honest about my transmasculine gender identity. And then it came again. The negativity. How I couldn't be things because "real men" aren't this and that way again. Scared of being unaccepted, I once again hardened myself. Now it also included stop wearing nail polish and getting a more traditional masculine appearance and just generally removing anything "feminine" with how I looked or acted: no emotions, no crying, no softness. Hell no. I just wanted people to believe me when I said I'm not a woman. Since that was it. I wasn't, isn't, a woman, but I'm also not a man and not until I moved her to the UK did I find out that you can be neither and still also be masculine (I'm not going to go into details about my gender identity here, feel free to ask if you want to, but to quickly specify it, I'm a transmasc agender).

Anyway, this is where Huaisang enters. Here is this fictional guy where many of my bad traits and many does dislike him for them, but he doesn't give a shit about that. He is unapologetically himself, and as much as Mingjue complains about him, I think we all know he indulged his didi, making him feel loved for who he is for most of the time. And not only is Huaisang unapologetically himself, he prides himself for his artistic interests, his sensitivity, his uselessness and laziness. My mind made a 360 at that and then... once I realised, I cried. I'm admitting that. Why did this fictional character get to be what I weren't allowed to be? He's even a (cis) male! Outrageous! Yes, I admit that too, I got angry and jealous at a fictional character. It went over quickly. Instead I started to love him and also realise that if someone could come up with a character with these traits that were loved and had friends and so on, then maybe, just maybe, I'm not completely wrong and broken?

Huaisang has partly helped me to try and start taking steps to find who I am now. I'm working on growing out my hair, I've bought nail polish again (only used black so far, but I have a lovely pale mother-of-pearl pink next to me I want to use) and I want to wear beautiful clothes again (still needs to be comfy though), even if I haven't dared checking out the women's section yet (since the men's one are boring and we all know it), but at least the will is there now. I'm trying to get back to drawing and painting more again, but that's also effort since it requires me to take things out and put it away each time. I've returned to some bird watching though.

Huaisang might not be the best fictional role-model you can have, but I think I needed him, still does, he makes his gremlin comments to me sometimes (obviously, I know this is me talking to me). He definitely drives me insane at times (I'm too much of an "Orderly Lan" to him), but it's worth it. The true charmer he is, he managed to even charm me into stepping out of my boundaries, both as myself and for the type of muses I usually portray.

Now, where can I find a real life Mingjue for myself? xD

#ooc #very very personal #long post #ramblings

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crocswithoutsocks · 6 months

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High Roller First Impressions

Just finished my first High Roller fight so I'm going to ramble about it for those who want to listen. If you want to go in completely blind like I did then, BEWARE! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Just for a little bit of context so you can understand where I'm coming from, I'm a puny little 59 laff toon at the beginning of the Mezzo Melodyland taskline, and the only kudos manager I've fought so far is Brian. I haven't seen footage of any fights I haven't fought/naturally encountered yet (I like going into things blind) but I know of and about all of the other managers from art, memes and fanfiction. With that out of the way, let's begin the ramble of a lifetime! I'm going to yap a lot here and also probably go off on a cople tangents, so be warned.

First off, my toon's big head was in the way for half of the low ballers' introduction, so I missed like half of it (caught up through chat though, horray for chat!). I love how you can't refuse the invitation to join the high roller fan club, that's very silly and goofy and seems totally in character for these silly little ducks. I'm usually not keen on games forcing your hand regarding choices, UNLESS it's for the bit, which this totally qualifies as! Anything with comedic value automatically gets a big thumbs up from me. (As a sidenote, I also like when games manipulate the availability of free choice for the bit. Like, in super paper mario where the game straight uo just kills you if you agree to join the bad guys. I didn't think it would let me, and then it did, and then I died and the outcome made me laugh.) Also! I like that in the chat instead of being classified as "toon" or "cog", the low ballers are "silly". They're silly little guys! Upon teleporting to Dave's theare, I was met with a massive group of people (as expected given the game had only gone back up about 10 minutes prior) which provided an excellent atmosphere for the fight. I flung myself at those cog sigls, not caring who else I was going into that fight with as we all shared the same goal: Defeat the stupid gameshow duck. (As another sidenote, any time I call anything stupid, silly, goofy, wacky or anything else similar, I mean them with the utmost respect and praise! They are all positive and affectionate!)

Incidentally, no one on the team I went into the fight with had ever fought High Roller before, which i think probably added to the chaos and overall experience of the fight. No one had any idea what they were doing.

As previously mentioned, this was my first time seeing Dave in game. I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR HOW HIS VOICE SOUNDS. ITS LITERALLY JUST PIANO KEYS SMASHING TOGETHER THATS SO FUNNY. As usual, I couldn't understand a word he said (the fact that I have the reading level of a middle schooler combined with the fact that I'm a slow reader made it very hard to keep up) BUT THEN BUCK SHOWED UP AND STOLE THE SHOW! I may be incredibly biased towards Buck due to the fact he's my (current, subject to change) favourite manager, but he is literally the epitome of silly and goofy during this cutscene. The fact that he enters by dropping from the ceiling, fumbles his introduction, runs in front of the stage like a gremlin only to somehow get himself on top of a giant anvil (I love the comedy anvil), spawns next to dave and randomly rotates for a few seconds to funky music before doing a full on FUSION DANCE with Dave to form high roller. What more could you want from a guy? The toons walking in on the wall instead of the floor was funny too (I assume that's meant to happen and not a bug lol) AND I would like to give a special shoutout to the audience as well! It was nice seeing all of the other managers all together, some of them sat together (Flint and Graham, of course, Chip and Spruce, Bell and Ben the gossip girls, Cosmo and the satelites, the ENTIRE litigation team etc.) Poor Misty is sat by herself, and Mary seems to be swimming in her seat rather than actually sitting in it. It was also cool to see Count Erclaim (and (presumbly) Count Erfit hiding in the back), since I've never seen them in game before. Big mention of course also goes to William and Rain sat together at the front. Gotta wonder how that happened, but either way it's really nice to see! This is all probably old news to anyone who knows the fight, but it brought me a lot of joy! Also, the fact that there was a big sign saying the entire event was non-canon made it even funnier.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING TOONTOWN! - High Roller is LOUD, and I cacked at the absolute cacophony of duck and piano noises that came out of this guy's mouth. He's hot shit, and he knows it. (I am assuming here that the phrase 'hot shit' is positive and not negative, please assume so as well.) The fact that he's level 100 as well??? If he ever decided to quit his career of being silly and goofy and also a gameshow host, he could probably win the war for the cogs single handedly. And also maybe if he existed outside of april and was also a canon entity. His animations are also so fun and expressive, like, this thing does not walk anywhere. He either slides with no expression on his face or he FROLIKS. The silly hat with the ducks too, I like that a lot!

Okay, now onto the actual fight. Finally. It took me and my team about an hour and 10 minutes to beat it. I'm assuming that's not the length of time an average high roller fight takes, and I'm also assuming that it took that long due to the fact that none of us knew what we were doing. I really liked the trivia questions, those were a lot of fun! It made me feel like knowing all of the lore that's been eating my brain for the last month was totally worth it, even if I only knew the answer to one out of the two questions asked. I didn't really get the puzzle bit at first, and then I figured out how to actually look at the board and then I did get it and it was okay. I probably would have liked it more if I'd gotten to do more of them after I got the hang of it, given I only got to do the one puzzle. I liked shuffle as well, that was a nice break from all the thinking in the fight. The actual fighting part was pretty stressful, and I think that's the most I've ever had to think in a toontown battle. I'm assuming that most of the kudos managers are like that though (requiring more thinking, I mean) and that its more a me having not progressed that far through the game thing and less a this is a particulary brain-useage heavy fight. Also, can we talk about how if you haven't defeated all of the cogs at the end of the fighting portion, HR just snaps his fingers and disintegrates them??? Like, as if they were hit by a strong zap gag disintegrated. Did he kill them? Are they dead? Have we just witnessed multiple cog-v-cog murders????? I know high roller isn't technically canon, but it's interesting to think about. My only small gripe about phase one of the fight was that it could have been a little longer. We only got to spin on the roulette wheel like four times, and in my head that was one of the main gimmicks of the fight that I didn't get to see very much of. On the other hand though, the fight did take like a whole hour, so it really probably doesn't need to be any longer. I'm sure I'll be very greatful for the shortness of the first phase when I'm grinding for the low baller sticker later.

I don't really have much to say about the second phase. It felt quite like an interlude between the first and third phases, which I think worked quite well. Just a classic battle, no chaos, (relatively) no gimmicks, just me, Mr Hollywood and the piano that I'm about to drop on his head. Another thing I did really like about this fight was the fact that I, a relatively low level toon with no drop track, got to drop pianos on people and pelt them with wedding cakes. That made me feel very powerful, especially when I was taking down level 25 cogs. Another really small detail but something I really liked in this fight, when you use the stagelight zap gag the lights above the Mr Hollywood you're aiming for go out, like the stagelight actually fell on them. Thats super duper neat and I love it a lot. One of the people in my party also said that the music for this section uses a theme from Dave's fight, so I'm going to have to trust them on that! If so though, that's really neat, and makes sense given this bit in particular is an omage to Dave's fight. I love leitmotifs very very much. I also found it very funny how HR introduced the Mr Hollywoods as the Dave Brubot Quartet, and then only three of them showed up. That ain't a quartet buddy. I've realised now that it's because Dave himself is in the quartet, and thus missing from it, but it's still funny to me.

And then the third stage of the fight is CARNAGE. ABSOLUTE CHAOS. High Roller's cool-pose-into-hollograms-quick-change-into-a-different-colour-suit move was only the beginning of the massacre about to happen (and was really cool). This part of the fight made my game lag, but thats probably because a. my computer is a potato and b. I was screen-recording the fight. The atmosphere in this section went crazy though, with the darkness and the coloured lights totally making the hollograms and HR look way more awesome. AND THE MUSIC!!! THE MUSIC GOES CRAZY HERE!!! THE GUITAR AND THE CHIMES AND THE SYNTH AND JUST WOOOOOOW. It captures the absolute carnage and chaos of the third phase in a way so perfect that words cannot properly describe. It was like WOWOWOWOWOW and made my brain go like bzzwzzbzzzwowowo and AAAHHHHHHHH. And then the guitar leaves and the music calms down and goes back to going bwow bwow and it feels like you can finally breathe again. This was also the part of the fight that absoluelty fried my brain. Having to think about which gags to use, whether or not to use my pip dice, keeping track of my pips (although I never really ran out) and then the different effects of all the holograms? Madness. We ran out of time a lot, used the wrong gags a lot and took a lot of unnecessary damage in return. Wanna trap the yellow hologram? Can't do that, the red one will damage you if there's trap gags on the field at the end of the turn. Oh, that's fine, we'll just lure the yellow one, activate the trap and it'll be fine. Sorry, the green one just gave the yellow one lure resistance and now there's still a trap on the field. That's a bar on the head for you, loser. And also high roller is going to drop a cruise ship on your head (I think the free cruise attack is really funny, by the way. It's like a twist on classic gameshow stuff, which I know is the point but it's still awesome). That's one of the reasons why I felt like playing with a group who had never fought high roller before was better, because no one could really get mad at anyone else for doing the wrong thing, given we were all doing the wrong thing all the time. They were also just nice people, which helped. When we finally got rid of all the holograms, it was such a relief and we were all raring to go and finally go all out on HR. So we did that. AND THEN THE HOLOGRAMS CAME BACK. WE THOUGHT WE WERE WINNING! So we took down the holograms again. We were only a couple HP off killing the red one, which then accidentally killed itself with a bar which was pretty funny. Then HR also dropped a dice on his own head which added to it. The Ace in the hole attack was absoluetly a shock. I wan't paying proper attention, so suddenly there was just this GIANT High Roller head that looked like it was going to eat me and I've been crushed by a giant card and I've no idea whats going on. Going thorugh my head mostly was: " WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT? ????????? SIR????? HELLO???? WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? WHAT IS HAPPENING???". A lot of that, and then he's back to throwing dice and cruise ships at us. We're finally got our act together by now so after two more rounds of holograms High Roller FINALLY goes down at the hand of the almighty final blow dealing cupcake.

He got right up in my space and said I was "top banana", which I'm assuming was a complement but also maybe just because I was a yellow, vaugely banana shaped gator. The credits came out of nowhere and made me laugh, because that's so stupid and in character. Shoutout to the last remaining con artist with a job (being Foley Artist, I don't know what that is) and Flundger the "Drip Meister". I aspire to one day have a title as cool as that. Also to the pencil pusher who won 500 high roller sticky notes :) good job buddy! ALSO THE END NOTE AT THE END OF THAT FIRST CREDITS SECTION?? AS MANY FLUNKIES AS POSSIBLE WERE HARMED DURING THE PRODUCTION OF THIS EPISODE??????? WHERE ARE THE FLUNKY RIGHTS?????? And then High Roller gets hit by a cruise ship and honestly, thats what they get for dropping like 17 of them on me. Deserved. One of my party was stuck saying "YES!" during this section which made it look like they were cheeing for Roller's demise which was particularly amusing. I got crushed by the comedy anvil, it all went very well.

So overall, my thoughts on this fight were that it was INCREDIBLE! I think everyone should play it, or at least give it a try. One of the things I really, really like about it is that its accessible to everyone, no matter how good/bad/new at the game you are. It means that I can at least try to convince my non-toontown friends to play it with me. Out of the tutorial, into the high roller fight, baby! This especially, since HR is only avaibable once a year and unlike FTF (I don't see myself being strong enough to play that one before the end of april) I actually get to play it and enjoy it, with everyone else. I also got to try out some new gags that I wouldn't really see myself getting to use otherwise (piano), and that was a lot of fun! Overall, very very fun, very silly, very goofy, 10/10 would fight again, will probablu fight at least 11 more times because I want that sticker. I'll have to see if my opinion changes after that. Hopefully they won't all take me an hour.

Anyway! That was. A lot of words. If you made it all the way down here, thank you very much for listening to my spiel! It means a lot! Have a virual cookie, or something to that extent. Maybe a duck? Either way, I really need to go to bed. I'm sleep deprived and very very tired. This is Sir Biscuit Weaselchomp, Curious Creature, signing off! Happy April Toons!

#toontown corporate clash #ttcc #high roller #crocsyapping #this one really is a yap #buckle up because this is one HELL of a ramble

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helloalycia · 3 years

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The Wrong Lifetime – Six // Wanda Maximoff

chapter five | story masterlist | main masterlist | wattpad | chapter seven

author’s note: i’m glad you all seemed to like the last chapter! i’m all for slow burn but i didn’t want to leave you hanging too long aha. Now onto dating territory!

Since going to Blackpool with Wanda, we hadn't actually gotten another moment to ourselves. Wedding plans were picking up which kept her busy, and if not that, then I'd only see her in passing in which we'd exchange smiles before moving on.

So, I though it would be good to take her out on a date. A proper one, even if it was to be disguised as a simple outing between soon-to-be sister-in-laws. The plan was to 'bump' into her in town, which we did, then I asked her if she wanted to go to the art gallery. She'd been before, but they'd put in a new exhibition which I thought she might like.

We couldn't exactly hold hands when there, but I made the most of her presence and stood a little too close to her than a friend might. Since she'd kissed me at the beach, I wasn't able to think about anything else. And when shot me a knowing smile, I knew she felt the same.

"I like this one," I told her, pointing to a piece hung on the wall, before squinting to read the plaque. "Jedburgh Abbey from the River by Thomas Girtin."

"And why's that?" she asked, watching me with humoured eyes.

I pursed my lips, glancing between her and the painting sheepishly. "I'm not gonna lie, I just like the way the guy painted the clouds in the sky."

She stifled laughter, not wanting to draw attention from passers-by, and nudged me in the shoulder. "You're unbelievable, milaya (darling). We didn't have to come here if you don't like art."

I gave her a knowing look. "Hey, I love art. Especially when it's by a certain Sokovian artist named Wanda Maximoff."

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. I grinned at her bashfulness, wanting to tease her but also very true with my words. Her work was my favourite, biased or not, and I still had that amazing portrait she'd done of me in my room back home. It was tucked into one of my drawers where nobody would find it. I didn't want anyone else to look at it since she'd done it for me and it was private... it was a beautiful reminder of the amazing day we'd had.

"You're poking fun, but in all seriousness, I'd actually love for my work to be up here someday," she said softly, looking at the painting before us with hopeful eyes.

"They wish they were that lucky to score someone as talented as you," I said without skipping a beat.

She cracked a smile, tilting her head in my direction. It was obvious she was losing her patience with me, but I enjoyed watching her lose it. She didn't know what to say, especially when being complimented, and it was endearing to witness.

We remained civil for the remainder of the 'date', refraining from holding hands or gazing at each other longer than friends would, and I was pretty proud of myself for not thinking about kissing her once when we were done.

As we got into the carriage to go back home, the door closed and I was going to ask her how she found it when she moved towards me in an instant, kissing me without question. I raised my hand, caressing her jaw and closing my eyes as she leaned forward, practically on my lap, not that I cared. She sucked on my bottom lip sensually before she opened her mouth, pushing her tongue into mine. I almost forgot how to breathe as she did, unprepared for such an intense kiss.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," she revealed when she pulled away.

I flushed at the contact, a dazed smile on my lips. "Huh."

She chuckled as she sat back beside me more 'appropriately'. "Thanks for taking me. I loved it."

I nodded lamely, still trying to recover from our kiss. "I'm– I'm glad."

She smirked playfully, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to my lips before sitting back. "You're so cute."

My words still hadn't returned, so all I could do was nod before looking the other way. Her laughter filled the carriage and I wondered how I'd gotten so lucky to be in the presence of someone so perfect.

After exchanging some more kisses and actually being able to hold hands without prying eyes, we reached Wanda's home and she invited me in for some tea. Sadly, that meant we had to let go of one another, but I think she'd given me enough to remember her by as we parted, and she must have thought the same, judging from the smirk she sent my way.

We sat on the patio outside to have some tea and biscuits, enjoying the sunshine and blue skies, a rare occurrence for England. We were chatting mindlessly when her brother decided to make an appearance, helping himself to a seat between Wanda and I.

"How lovely of you to grace us with your presence, Miss Y/L/N," he said playfully, shooting me a charming smile, before reaching to grab a biscuit. Wanda slapped his hand but he stole one anyway, making her roll her eyes.

"Nice to see you, Pietro," I greeted with amusement, always enjoying his presence.

"And you," he returned, before chowing down his biscuit.

Wanda gave me a fed up look over his shoulder which he was oblivious to, and I tried not to laugh as she clearly wasn't a fan of him interrupting our time.

"So, I caught a glimpse of the wedding invitations," Pietro said, making conversation. He glanced between us with a nod of approval. "They're coming along well."

I hummed in agreement, smile becoming less real when he mentioned the wedding. Wanda didn't acknowledge his words as she fiddled with the handle of her teacup.

"Is your brother behaving, Y/N?" Pietro continued jokingly, looking to me. "I know how many admirers he has, but my sister should be his first priority."

"Oh, Piet...," Wanda breathed out with embarrassment, facepalming.

"Of course he is," I assured her brother with a small smile. "He wouldn't dare try hurting Wanda or he'd have a lot of explaining to do."

There was some playfulness in my voice, but an underlying truth to my words.

"It's sweet how close you've gotten," Pietro noticed, looking between us, before settling his gaze on me. "It's about time Wanda made friends with people who aren't me."

Cue another slap. I chuckled at her sheepish expression, amused by Pietro's antics.

"Anyway," he changed the subject for his sister's sake, "mother has been getting on my very nerve about finding a bride because you decided to get married."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "We both know I didn't decide, Piet."

He sighed over-dramatically. "Well, it's because of your engagement that she's now on my back about it."

"Join the club," I joked, knowing exactly what he meant. "My mum was already on my back about finding a husband, but since this engagement, it's ten times more annoying."

Pietro laughed. "Oh, no. Has she lined up suitors? My parents like to point out every pretty woman they see to me in hopes I'll make a move. It's hardly productive."

"I haven't asked her for fear she'll pull out a folder with all of the eligible bachelors in town," I said, half joking and half serious.

Pietro snickered as Wanda rolled her eyes in the background. She should have been happy I was getting along with her brother. He was actually quite entertaining to be around.

"It's funny you say that because you're one of the women my parents pointed out," he admitted.

"Oh, God, so they're saying the same thing to you?" I asked with a groan, and he nodded regretfully. "Isn't it just the worst?"

"You're a lovely girl, Y/N, don't get me wrong," he began gently, "but I don't like you like that."

I raised my hand for a high five. "Me and you both."

Laughing once again, he returned my high five and I was glad we were on the same page. The amount of people that had been hinting at getting to know Wanda Maximoff's very single brother was getting pretty annoying. It was nice to know he was just as irritated at the insinuation as I was.

"Okay, I should leave you both to it," Pietro concluded, slapping his knees and standing up. Looking to me, he said, "Miss Y/L/N, it was as lovely as ever to make your acquaintance."

I smiled as he winked playfully before looking to his disgruntled sister.

"Dear sister, the pleasure is always mine," he continued to tease, and she slapped him once more, making him dodge her and begin to leave. "Love you, too!" he called before heading back inside.

I laughed at his silliness and relaxed in my seat, looking back to Wanda. She didn't seem half as amused as I was as she drummed her fingers on the table and chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"I may be mistaken, love, but it looks like you're jealous," I poked fun at her.

She rolled her eyes and her jaw tensed before she finally looked to me, expression softening. "Can you blame me?" she asked quietly. "You're both single. You're both similar age. Everybody talks."

I shrugged nonchalantly, having a sip of my tea. "True... but I've got my eye on another Maximoff anyway."

She sighed, small smile creeping on her lips. Subtly moving my chair closer to hers, I grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed. My thumb stroked her hand softly as I leaned on the palm of my hand on the table.

"You look really beautiful today," I admitted in a hushed voice. "I should have told you earlier."

She, too, leaned into the palm of her hand as she watched me with an enchanting gaze. "So do you, milaya (darling)."

Unable to resist, I glanced around quickly before kissing her cheek and pulling away. Letting go of her hand, I busied myself with the tea and biscuits again.

"Biscuit?" I offered her, and she began to laugh at my attempt at acting casual.

Playing along, she accepted the biscuit from my hand. But a knowing smile was on her lips as she nodded. "Thank you."

—

Being with Wanda was a luxury in itself, even if we had to keep it private.

To everybody else, we were merely two women about to become family who happened to create a bond that was close. But we both knew what it really was and weren't eager to say it. Because saying it made it true and that meant that what we were doing became realer than it was in our daydreams and hidden moments.

I did find myself wracked with guilt sometimes – particularly the times when Y/B/N would gush about how excited he was to marry her. Wanda was technically cheating on him with me, his sister, but that fact was something that was still blurry to me.

We had no choice but to lie and be secretive. In a world like this, where we would never be able to be together like we wanted to, all we had was secrecy and deception. Did that still make us bad people?

I tried not to think about what would happen when she actually married my brother. The future was something I was adamant on pushing to the back of my mind because I knew what it would hold and I just wanted to enjoy the time I had with her. Convincing myself that what we had wasn't serious, just a heat of the moment relationship maybe, made things easier to accept. But really, I knew that whenever she looked my way with her signature smile and dazzling eyes, it was way more than I envisioned. She was way more.

So, trying not to be dragged down with the weight of reality, I vowed to myself to only focus on the now. Focus on the moments I shared with her whilst we could. Anything beyond that and I'd surely snap.

"Medovyy (honey), the Y/L/Ns are here!" Iryna called behind her, before looking to my family and I as we stood at her front door. "Please, all of you, come in!"

She ushered us into the main hall before closing the door after us. Perfectly timed, the rest of her family left the living room and came to greet us.

Automatically, my eyes found Wanda's and she was already looking my way, her dimple making a show as she attempted to reign in an excited smile. I did the same, trying to ignore the way my heart stirred upon seeing her.

Oleg and Iryna welcomed my parents and then me, kind expressions accompanying genuine greetings. In the corner of my eye, I saw Pietro shaking Y/B/N's hand before Wanda took his place, accepting a kiss on the cheek from Y/B/N. It wasn't jealousy that I felt whenever they were together, at least not entirely – they were to be married, what more could I expect? – but it wasn't anything pleasant either.

"Ah, my favourite Y/L/N," Pietro beamed upon shaking my hand, making my lips twitch upwards. "You excited for dinner? We're having salmon."

"Ecstatic, Pietro," I answered with a playful eye roll. "All I've been thinking all day."

He chuckled at my sarcasm before letting go of my hand and moving over to greet my parents. Wanda was next, her shoulders relaxing when she stepped before me with a soft smile present on her lips.

"It's good to see you," she said, but her eyes said much more than that. "How have you been?"

Exchanging a friendly-looking hug, my body was warm where she pressed against me. Touching her always sent a rush of emotion through me and I looked forward to it every time.

"I've been good," I answered aloud, before whispering into her ear, "Better now."

She squeezed my waist inconspicuously in response before letting go. "That's good. You know, we've got time before dinner and I wanted to show you the painting I've been working on lately. Wanna see?"

I glanced at my parents and hers for permission, knowing they'd heard her question.

"Just try not to take too long since dinner will be on the table soon," Iryna said with a nod. "It's so good to see you girls getting along."

Breathing out slightly, I smiled gratefully before letting Wanda intertwine our fingers and drag me up the staircase. She led me past several doors before we finally reached hers and she tugged me inside.

As soon as the door closed, she was quick to connect our lips in a heated, desperate kiss. I relaxed against her instantly, my hands falling to her side and pulling her closer. Her fingernails gently scratched the sensitive skin behind my neck, giving me goosebumps, and I let out an involuntary gasp at the feeling.

When we pulled away for a breath, her nose brushed against mine and she pressed a final kiss to my lips, slower and more tasteful compared to the first, before smiling at me.

"I missed you," she said, as if reading my mind.

A breathy laugh escaped my lips. "It's only been a week since we last saw each other, love."

She shrugged, arms laced around my neck. "A week too long."

Raising a brow judgementally, I gave her a knowing look. She wasn't embarrassed in the slightest as her half-lidded eyes met mine with a confident smirk.

"Did you just pull me up here to have a quick snog?" I teased her.

"Well, yes," she said, making me laugh again, before adding, "And I wanted to ask you if you'll go to the park with me tomorrow. A picnic. If you want."

She bit her lip anxiously, eyes darting elsewhere as she waited for an answer. I always found it amusing how she could be so confident one second and then so innocently adorable the next.

"Wanda, I'd love to." My thumb rubbed circles on her waist as I kept ahold of her. "I hear it's supposed to be nice weather tomorrow, too."

She pursed her lips. "Even if it rained, I'd still drag you to the park with me."

"Somehow, I feel like that's true," I countered with a ghost of a smile on my lips. She tried to hide her own smile and I continued, "Was there an actual painting you wanted to show me or...?"

Breathing out with amusement, she intertwined our fingers and pulled me to the back of her room where her 'studio' was. Since the last time I'd visited, there were plenty of new additions to her work, all as wonderful as the next.

"This one is from the beach at Blackpool," she said, stopping before a medium-sized canvas depicting the horizon. "When we sat on the bench. Just before I kissed you."

My heart fluttered at the memory and I studied the canvas, recalling it looked similar to her watercolour painting of the same view. She'd done a spectacular replica in oil paints, reminiscent of the trip we took.

"You should already know what I'm going to say," I said, looking to her knowingly. "But just so you can hear it again, I absolutely love this. You're so talented."

She rolled her eyes to distract from the pink spreading across her cheeks. "Thank you... and again, thank you for taking me. Seeing an actual water source upfront really helped me refine my paintings. It feels so much more real now."

I looked back to the painting, noticing what she meant. Either way, I loved both versions of her work, before and after going to the beach.

"You did good, love."

She squeezed my hand gently before sighing quietly with realisation. "We should probably go back down."

"We should," I agreed, glancing at her. "Thanks for showing me these."

She cracked a smile, teeth nibbling on her bottom lip. "Always."

Reluctantly, the two of us returned downstairs and joined the others as they were settling at the dining table. Wanda and I sat side by side, and this time when her fingers brushed mine, I made no move to pull away.

The meal was good, but as usual, I found myself zoning out. The conversation made its rounds, falling to me as the Maximoffs wanted to know how I was doing, then moved on, giving me chance to focus on eating my dinner and getting through the evening. I knew that at one point, everybody was talking about some play that was showing in the theatres.

Bits of the conversation were going in one ear and out the other and I was minding my own business until Wanda's bare foot rubbed against my leg under the table. The sensation of her skin against mine made my knee bounce up and hit the table with surprise, earning everyone's attention.

"Are you okay, dear?" Oleg asked, noticing my discomfort.

I cleared my throat, straightening up and ignoring the stifled smile Wanda had in my peripheral vision.

"I'm good, sorry about that," I apologised awkwardly, shivering when she dragged her foot back down my leg. "You were talking about the play, right?"

That seemed to distract them, as they leapt right back into conversation, giving me a chance to breathe out with relief. I looked to Wanda, watching her lean on her palm and hide a smirk as she stared at me with mischievous eyes.

Glaring and nudging her in the arm subtly, I looked back to my food, but she didn't move her foot, nor her hand. Both brushed my against me, starting a fire on my skin and making me swallow hard. She kept like that for the whole evening, making my head dizzy and leaving me at a loss for words.

And when I looked her way, she was already staring, definitely knowing the effect she had on me.

—

"I just need to find my shoes and we can go," I told Wanda the next morning, before our date at the park.

She'd come to pick me up at my house and was hanging around my room as I finished getting ready. From her place at my desk, she hummed in acknowledgment before distracting herself with my notebooks.

"I see you're making great use of the notebook I picked out for you," she commented, and I glanced towards her mid-search for my shoes, seeing she was flicking through the already-filled book.

"I have a lot of ideas, what can I say?" I joked, before looking under the pile of clothes near my wardrobe.

She chuckled, before falling quiet again. I wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing until she spoke up after a few minutes.

"Y/N, your writing is beautiful," she said, making me look her way to see an amazed smile on her lips. "I didn't know you could write like this. I mean– I should have because you helped write that letter Y/B/N gave to me, but this..."

I shrugged awkwardly, distracting myself with my search again. "It's okay, I guess."

She exhaled mockingly. "Okay? Y/N, this is miles better than okay. Why didn't you show me this sooner?"

I smiled satisfactorily as I finally located my shoes. Grabbing them, I approached Wanda and took a seat on the edge of my bed, opposite her seat at my desk.

"Because it'll never be anything more than what you're looking at?" I said rhetorically. "It'll only ever be words confined to pages that nobody will see?"

She gave me a knowing look. "I think you forget that my brother is a publisher, dorogoy (dear)."

"And I think you forget that he is the publisher to my brother, dear," I retorted playfully.

She sighed, shaking her head and putting the notebook back on my desk. "You know Pietro would love this, right? He'd sign you in a heartbeat."

I snickered at the ludicrous thought. "Wanda, you're a little biased, love."

She rolled her eyes. "Writers write for audiences. I am an audience. I consume literature. And I'm telling you that it's not just me who would read what you have to write."

I tried not to laugh as I pulled my shoes onto my feet.

"Are you really telling me that you'd never want to get published?" she asked with a raised brow.

My heart ached at the thought of such a fantasy. "Of course I would, Wanda." I met her eyes, which were already peering across from me patiently. "I've dreamed of that. But it's just not what's to happen. My family have told me that many times. In another lifetime, maybe."

She pursed her lips, studying me thoughtfully. I offered her a smile and stood up, holding out my hand.

"Forget that," I told her. "I believe you promised me a picnic."

Thankfully, she dropped the subject and accepted my hand, letting me pull her up. The topic wasn't brought up again and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

We went to the park like she wanted and she brought a picnic basket with her, having packed a lovely variety of finger foods and snacks.

As she was unpacking the food onto the blanket, I narrowed my eyes at her. "You know, now that we're finally alone, I can say how unfair it was of you to do what you did last night."

She played dumb, shrugging, focusing on neatening up the sandwiches on a plate. "I don't know what you mean, milaya (darling)."

"Huh. Sure you don't."

Giggles flew from her lips as she glanced at me through her eyelashes. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I just love seeing you squirm. You get all tense and it's so cute."

I pursed my lips. "I figured. You've been watching me squirm since we met."

She grinned knowingly before straightening up. "Okay, I made sandwiches and there's also some coleslaw, fruit, cheese... I made some Sokovian dishes, too, if you want to try them. Okroshka – it's like a cold soup. Then there's this olivye salad. It's... well, salad."

I smiled at the thought she put into it all and grabbed her hand between us. We'd set the picnic out behind a tree so we wouldn't have curious eyes watching us. It didn't look like we were overtly hiding, but we still got our privacy, too.

"It all looks great, Wanda," I said with appreciation. "I can't wait to try it."

She squeezed my hand in response before letting go to grab some paper plates. After popping a strawberry in her mouth, she asked, "Do you just want a bit of everything?"

I leaned on the back of my hands as I hummed a 'yes'. She began to put me some food in and I watched her, admiring the sight.

Her hair was half-pulled back today, falling in waves down her back and exposing her perfectly sculpted jawline. Everything about her was perfect – the way she moved was elegant and graceful, even when her hair fell over her shoulder and in her way; she simply moved it back with a flick of her hand and resumed what she was doing. The sun caught her immaculately, her hair glowing bright under the light and her eyes magnificently green as they focused.

As always, she took my breath away.

"Here," she said, holding out the plate towards me and pulling me from my reverie.

I accepted the plate and fork, returning her smile, before she watching as she began to make another plate for herself.

"You sure this is fancy enough for you?" I asked jokingly, stabbing my fork into a carrot. "I heard you and my brother went to a very luxurious restaurant the other night."

She met my eyes, holding amusement in her own. "Jealousy doesn't look good on you, milaya (darling)."

I kissed my teeth and rolled my eyes. "I'm not jealous, I just– it's so annoying listening to him talk about how beautiful you are or how funny you are or how kind you are."

"Oh, so you don't think I'm any of those things?" she teased, trying to get a rise out of me.

I titled my head towards her. "Of course I know you're all those things. But it doesn't mean I like hearing him talk about it constantly..."

Clearly amused, she erupted into laughter and I felt my face heating up with embarrassment. I know it sounded like I was whining, but it was true. Sometimes, I wasn't envious of my brother but rather at the fact that he could actually take Wanda out properly. He could be seen with her in public and hold her hand without fear of getting looks or disowned. He had the privilege of being with her and it wasn't fair.

"You may hear him talk about it, but there's one thing I can assure you that you get that he doesn't," she said when recovering from her laughter.

I stared at her with an exasperated sigh. "And what's that?"

She smiled confidently, glancing around quickly, before leaning forward and kissing me softly. As quickly as it came, it disappeared, leaving me desiring more.

Licking my lips, I couldn't tear my eyes from hers. "You know, you're a really good kisser."

She chuckled at my reaction and I found myself leaning in again, entranced by the way she tasted. Putting my plate to the side, I raised a hand to pull her closer, getting better access to her mouth.

She tasted sweet like the strawberry she'd just eaten and I swiped my tongue across her lip, indicating I wanted her to part her them. She did, allowing me to slip my tongue in and wrestle with hers, revelling in the way she tasted. My heart was thumping loudly in my chest as she let out a moan, it reverberating in my mouth and giving me goosebumps.

When lack of oxygen became an issue, she pulled away breathlessly, flushed cheeks adorned with a smile.

"As lovely as that was, I actually want to eat what I made," she ridiculed playfully.

"Yes, we will," I assured her, my hand moving from her neck up to her jaw. My thumb touched her lips, outlining them tenderly, subconsciously committing them to memory. "We'll get back to it."

She wanted to laugh, but I moved forward and caught her bottom lip between mine, unable to stay away. It was wrong, the rush I felt in my gut and the warmth that spread all over my body and the tingles that travelled down my spine. Because I knew what it all meant, but admitting it was a different story. So, I didn't.

I just continued to kiss the girl before me, knowing I could have kissed her forever and not regretted a single thing.

#wanda maximoff au #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #scarlet witch imagine #elizabeth olsen x you #elizabeth olsen #elizabeth olsen imagine #marvel #mcu #marvel imagine

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bluecreations · 2 years

Note

Hello, Hope!

I really hope I read your bio right and that was your name and not you saying like... we should hold onto hope or something 😅

ANYWAY. This ask is in regards to the ask event you just reblogged that I'm running JUST today (about another 11hrs).

The OC I picked from your list was Diego.

So, Diego, when was the last time you laughed? What made you laugh? How would you describe your sense of humor?

Would you call yourself a person that takes life seriously?

Who are your best friends and what makes you so close to them? Like, do you share similar interests or have they helped you through a lot, etc?

What is the most important aspect of a really close relationship, romantic or otherwise?

How much would you say you've moved through your life? A lot? A couple times? Never at all?

Thank you for participating! :D

fajfdajkljfsla yes that's my name. Thank you for running this event!

Now for the Interview:

So, Diego, when was the last time you laughed?

Uh, I think about 8 or 9. I've been actively trying to suppress any memories from before 4 years ago. So you know. It's a little fuzzy. Not as fuzzy as I'd like it to be but with any luck if you ask me this a year from now I'll hopefully draw a blank. Complete mental fucking nirvana.

What made you laugh?

Uh, I think it was my dad. We were driving out of the woods from this 4 day camping trip, we were not camping people so it was a shit show. We were all un-showered, dirty and starving and we pulled into a Wendy's which was BIG deal when I was a kid cause they never let us have fast food. Anyways, my dad was like, teasing my mom about how she was eating her food. Like narrating her like they do on nature documentaries. I don't know. I just thought it was like the pinnacle of comedy at the time. Then nothing funny really ever happened after that.

How would you describe your sense of humor?

I don't know. Dry.

Would you call yourself a person that takes life seriously?

Sure.

Who are your best friends and what makes you so close to them? Like, do you share similar interests or have they helped you through a lot, etc?

Well, there's 9, and Winnie, and Eris, and I guess technically Kid is my friend but he's really more like a forcibly acquired little brother.

What makes me close to them? Well we-[This part of the Interview has been Redacted]. Also me and 9 go way back. But I guess if I had to pick like one of them for best friend status, it'd be Eris. She knows all this shit about art, it's crazy cause like, she isn't even an artist. She's like...I don't know what it's called but she's like the one of the people who work in IT. IT worker? Computer nerd? I don't know. I don't think computer nerd is politically correct, so uh, sorry. The point is she can do wild shit with computers. Anyways, she just knows all this art shit for like fun. Like it's a hobby. I just think it's cool. Also, she never broke my femur or shot me, unlike SOMEBODY-

[He calls loudly to Subject 9, who's being interviewed in the next room over. She is staring down the interviewer with a cold, unwavering gaze and not answering any of the questions, making the interviewer increasingly flustered and anxious.]

What is the most important aspect of a really close relationship, romantic or otherwise?

I guess, like, I don't know, like acceptance? Like, so you know how 9's telepathic and shit, so she read all our thoughts and see into everybody's heads like it's no big deal. Oh, you didn't know that? My condolences. Don't think too loudly. Try to keep your most annoying thoughts on the back burner for later. Yeah, she's probably reading them right now.

Anyways, so 9's a mind reader and she can like, she can see in my head and all the things I can't stand about myself. And instead of being like judgmental, or trying to change me or use these things she uh...she just accepts as is. Just takes me as I am, but also, like if I were to change, she'd accept that version of me too. It's nice. I guess that's really important important in a relationship. [He's visibly flustered, avoiding eye contact or looking at the wall where 9 is sitting on the other side of. He repeatedly itches the back of his neck].

How much would you say you've moved through your life? A lot? A couple times? Never at all?

Yeah I've moved a lot. Ever since I escaped [REDACTED] I haven't stopped moving. They can't catch ya if you don't stay in any one place for any length of time.

[He says this final sentence while doing finger guns].

This concludes the interview.

Thank you so much @queerlilchinchin !!!!

#writeblr #writing asks #wip #oc #i hope i made it clear he is a little bit of a himbo

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plasticnightmaredoll · 3 years

Text

(art commission by the lovely and talented @curious-menace)

It is a time where I would like to see what my followers think about various concepts I have in mind pertaining to alternate versions of one my fics. It may take some time to write out any alternate versions since I've been busy and stressed out so much lately, but I am very curious as to what others would find intriguing to read.

But first, some backstory so be patient. We'll get to the voting at the end of this post.

I've been having a lot of bad days lately, and my mood has plummeted to a major low. This includes my self-esteem, which has always been in the dumps but is now basically a dumpster fire.

However, I don't want to be entirely cruel to myself. I deserve some sort of happiness, some sort of reprieve, and writing can be a good coping mechanism. I put a lot of my own thoughts, emotions, struggles, opinions, etc. into my works, as they serve as a way for me to get things off my chest. Sometimes, it's just cute and funny stuff, other times angsty but eventually fluffy stuff, and other times it's quite depressing and dark.

One fic, in particular, stands out, and that is the Mortal Kombat/Batman Arkhamverse crossover, "Volunteer," (trigger warnings: mentions psychological torture and suicide...more about this fic in a bit for those who would rather not read it because of those triggers) which features Arkham Knight Edward Nigma and Jonathan Crane, as well as a lady friend for Edward named Sara. It also features Erron Black and Cassie Cage from Mortal Kombat (Cassie is only mentioned in the story a few times).

If you read the blog intro/self-introduction post pinned at the top of my Tumblr, you know very well how I feel about Cassie Cage (particularly in MK11) and the Erron Black x Cassie Cage (BlackCage) pairing. Those negative feelings are mostly due to a very bad experience with a pushy BlackCage fan who just wouldn't relent one bit on their stance and it was emotionally and mentally draining to try and talk to them, including providing counter-arguments.

I've come up with alternate versions for "Volunteer" recently due to the spike in stress, depression, anxiety, and insecurities I've been dealing with as of late. This is where my followers come in!

I would like people to vote on which alternate take on "Volunteer" they would be interested in reading. Now, I can't guarantee when I'd get to it because, as I mentioned already, I've got a lot going on. However, I really want to try and write at least one alternate version of that fic, just to get some insecurities and negative thoughts off my chest.

Now, for those who are wary of reading "Volunteer" because of the trigger warnings, here's my advice: Just read the first chapter, if you want to. Chapter 2 deals directly with the sensitive subject matter, although, you can probably guess what happens anyway just by reading Chapter 1 and if you know anything about Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow...well, he likes to mess with people...mentally. To put it very mildly.

Now it's time for the voting. I have three different scenarios I've come up with that are variations/alternate versions of the current "Volunteer" fic's concept/storyline. I'd like followers to select 1 (one) alternate telling of the fic. I will open anonymous asks again, so if you are shy or just want your vote to remain a secret for some other reason, then that's fine by me. Otherwise, you can reply to this post with your choice.

Edit: if you are turned off by the idea of a Mortal Kombat/Batman Arkhamverse crossover, I get it. I don't read crossover fics myself, and that's usually because the crossovers either make no sense or do make sense but the ideas are poorly executed.

This crossover I'm talking about, though, isn't a full-on crossover of MK and Batman. There's no world-building, no larger plot, and no other characters in MK even appear or are mentioned except Erron Black and Cassie Cage.

If anything, it's more of a Batman Arkhamverse standard AU with Riddler and a female oc, and Erron and Cassie are the only concrete elements of MK brought in. I mean, yes, the other MK characters exist, I guess, but they have no purpose in this crossover I've written, and won't make any appearances.

So, if you had any concerns about the crossover aspect, I hope this clears things up

Choices below the cut!

A) "Don't You Wish"

This version is inspired by a song from Pink, called, "There You Go." In this alternate telling, Erron manages to survive Scarecrow's fear toxin, and escape (most likely because Erron is out of his mind and panicking, thus not a threat, and he has no one to help him, so Scarecrow doesn't give a damn what happens to the dude). The first thing Erron does is go to Sara's place, having already broken up with Cassie after realizing dating her was a mistake, and Sara means more to him than he thought.

Well, it's been several months since Sara basically pushed Erron out of her life for his poor choice in women, and (Arkham Knight) Edward Nigma has proven to be a much better (and, wiser and more sensible -- yes, I know, but he's not a skirt chaser, Guys) friend to Sara. While Erron ran off with a blonde selfie princess, Edward offered genuine comfort and companionship, and now Sara has been in the process of moving on from Erron even further.

Sara humors Erron and lets him tell her -- while sounding terrified, confused, and conflicted beyond belief thanks to the fear toxin -- what happened to him. Now, Sara doesn't know Edward asked Scarecrow to take care of Erron as a means of getting revenge for her. Doesn't matter anyway. She's unsympathetic towards Erron's plight, feeling as if he didn't even give her a chance to confess her feelings towards him, nor did he even seem to notice how she felt; it was like he was too busy with thinking with his privates to realize he had someone in front of him who would have treated him better.

Sara tells Erron -- in a flat, disinterested tone -- that his situation is tragic and all but wtf is she supposed to do? Why not go to his dumb blonde gf? Oh, they broke up? Well, how predictable. And Crane is also a (sort of) friend to Sara, which shocks Erron and leaves him feeling worse than before.

Sara sends Erron on his way, and he wanders off in a daze, unsure of what to do with his life now.

Sara and Edward meet the next day, and they have a pleasant time, obviously moving towards becoming a couple. She chooses not to mention Erron as she is completely severing the cowboy from her life.

B) "I Don't Even Miss You"

This alternate telling is similar to the previous one, but this time it's inspired by a Miley Cyrus song, "WTF Do I Know" (Hey, her Plastic Hearts album is actually fantastic!), and Edward is with Sara when Erron arrives at her place in a distressed state. At first, Sara deals with Erron in the hall of her apartment building, unsympathetic to his plight and basically telling him, "I told you so," and "too bad." Erron is getting more and more upset, even angry at Sara's callous tone, and starts to raise his voice, demanding to know why she is being so cold at a time like this?

Edward overhears Erron raising his voice to Sara, giving her a difficult time, and he gets pissed. Edward steps out into the hall and not only mocks Erron in various ways, but demands that he leave immediately, or what Scarecrow did will seem like a trip to Disney Land. Erron has caused Sara -- who is currently moving on and growing closer to Edward -- enough problems and heartache.

Edward reveals he set up Erron, and while Sara is stunned to find this out, she handles it better than expected. Edward said it was his way of getting revenge for her, and he'd do it again if need be. Erron is sent away feeling so much worse, feeling lost, hopeless, and betrayed.

Sara and Edward talk and she admits she's upset that he did something like this without speaking about it to her first. However, he explains that he genuinely did it for her and he doesn't want her to feel pain at the hands of some "idiotic cowman," who doesn't consider the feelings of others and who behaves like a greedy, violent Neanderthal. (And yes, Edward does care for Sara, and he didn't send Scarecrow after Erron out of jealousy -- maybe a little jealousy but it was mostly rage over Erron causing Sara so much emotional pain)

Sara means more to Edward than he can express, and he may not be the best when it comes to emotions, but he does care about her and wants her to be safe.

Sara forgives Edward, understanding that, through his heartfelt but very nervous and shy confession that he is sincere about his feelings for her, and they make amends. She of course tells him to never do something so extreme without consulting her first, though, because what happened to Erron -- while she doesn't care what happens to him in the slightest -- was a bit too much.

C) "Listen When the Devil's Calling"

Another title inspired by a Miley Cyrus song, "Night Crawling," and this alternate telling involves Telltale Riddler and no Scarecrow. Almost a year has passed since Erron went with Cassie and Sara, out of bitterness and heartache, refused to speak or see him. This didn't sit well with him as she was his only friend, and his relationship with Cassie dies within a few months.

He goes looking for Sara, realizing she has moved out of her apartment. It doesn't take him long to find out where she is, and she's with The Riddler, a notorious criminal genius and one of Gotham's elite villains. Erron is worried for Sara and seeks her out.

Turns out, Sara's just fine. This isn't one of those scenarios where the girl is with a guy who just using her and taking advantage of her vulnerability. No, Edward does actually love her and takes good care of her. He finds people like reckless, selfish, and ignorant people like Erron to be a disgrace but also amusing because of how pathetically primitive they are.

Edward also doesn't appreciate how Erron pushed aside a good thing in Sara to pursue a girl who is a social media brat and has more selfies on her phone than brain cells in her, well, brain. It defies all logic to Edward, but he's also not surprised because of how much of a disappointment Erron is as a human being (hey, this is Riddler we're talking about, and he's not one to be sweet and gentle to those he can't stand). Edward doesn't say these things out loud, though, as it's a bit too vulnerable and personal for him to do such a thing with someone he doesn't know or trust.

Sara is upset that Erron has resurfaced and she remembers how heartbroken she was when he went after Cassie Cage. She wants Erron to leave her alone like she asked, so she can move on. She can't trust him anymore, because he's just a skirt chaser in her eyes.

Erron tries to plead his case, tries to apologize to Sara, and expresses how he really feels, but this just distresses her further. Edward steps in and tells Erron he's done enough to Sara, she clearly doesn't want to see him, and he needs to take his leave.

This isn't a request.

Edward pulls Erron aside, telling the cowboy that the only reason he's going to walk away from this alive is that Sara hasn't asked for him to be killed. Should she tell Edward to take care of Erron, well, you all know what Telltale Riddler is like.

And those are the three variations on "Volunteer."

If you could be so kind as to: