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ceruleanwhore · 2 months

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As someone who enjoys otome games and also Gravity Falls, I, like many others, have thoroughly enjoyed playing the fan-made grunkles dating sim and 80’s Ford demo. Between those being released online for our enjoyment, Disney making the Twisted Wonderland otome app game, and the Book of Bill being released for an adult audience, I’ve recently started to think more about what an official Gravity Falls otome game might look like and what I would want from one. I’d like to take a minute to share my thoughts on that and I’d also love to hear all of yours.

So, first off, there’s the matter of setting. With something like Gravity Falls, there’s a lot of different options here given all the different points in the timeline plus a whole multiverse. I think it’s most likely and reasonable for something like this to be set in Gravity Falls (town) as opposed to taking place somewhere in all of Ford’s dimension hopping or something. The question then becomes ‘when’, and I think there’s really just three main options — back in the 80’s when Ford is doing science but before he meets Bill, during the events of the main series, or after Weirdmageddon is over.

The question then becomes how plot-heavy this would or would not be, which would determine when they set the game. Some otome games, like Ikemen Prince, can have a rich, well-developed plot that sometimes even becomes the main focal point and overshadows the romance of some routes (Sariel’s route definitely does this in ikepri). Others, like Wonderful Wonder World, are far more focused on the interpersonal relationships without much focus being put on an overarching plot. I think an official Gravity Falls otome game would actually be more likely to be plot-heavy, as a way for Alex to Trojan horse a bunch of new, significant content under the guise of something unserious. Personally, that’s also what I would want from such a thing. If we go with this, then it would have to either be in the 80’s or during the main series.

If it’s set in the 80’s, I see it as a way for the team to sneak in some Journal 1 (and maybe 2) pages and then watch us squabble over if they’re canon or not. I think it most likely would be set shortly before the point when, in the canon of the series, Ford contacts Bill so we get to see where he’s at mentally and emotionally and we get to hear directly from him about all the stressors that, in the main series, pushed him to make that decision and summon Bill. Now, to be fair, every single otome game I’ve ever seen has one LI who’s really sick somehow and I don’t think it would actually be far-fetched to set this after Ford summons Bill and present him like the sick LI, which would make for maximum plot and drama. Plus, if it’s set after Bill is summoned, then Bill could become the villain LI with the twist being that the MC just fully joins him and supports him instead of ‘fixing’ him. If it’s set during the series, then the plot comes from the MC getting dragged into this whole mess of trying to prevent the literal apocalypse, failing to do so, and then saving this town from the literal apocalypse, all while solving massive family issues for old men and children alike. Bill could still be a LI in this too.

The next question is then who the MC and the love interests would be. Since Gravity Falls already has canon multiverse stuff and interdimensional travel and whatnot, I really want a MC who’s from our world and ends up popping out of the bottomless pit or something one day. Plenty of otome games have something like that as a framing device and I think it would really help the audience to project onto the MC and really be able to envision themselves in these situations, which is kind of the whole point. The main thing for me is that I think the fan-made games have it exactly right and choosing your pronouns at the start is a great feature this game would need to have, but I’d also add that, if they’re going to include an image of the MC in special photos or even sprites, then the user should be able to customize what the MC looks like to some extent. If app store otome games can let you customize an avatar, I don’t see why the same customization can’t be used for the MC in the CGs.

As for love interests, there’s usually at least 8 in a game, at least from what I’ve seen. Something else I’ve seen is that you’ll start out with however many LIs and then, later on, more are introduced, typically in some sort of sequel/act II, and I think this could work really well for a Gravity Falls otome game in particular. If it’s set in the 80s, then we could start with Ford, Susan, a couple cryptids, maybe Bill, and maybe Preston’s father and/or mother but then later on we could have Stan and Fiddleford come to the shack. Maybe we could have Shermie Pines, maybe we could have a new character who’s a friend of Stan’s from prison or some shit. If it’s in the main series, then Ford coming out of the portal and Bill Cipher would be the late entries with the mains being Stan, Manly Dan, the Multi-Bear, Mothman, probably still Susan, and Fiddleford.

Putting this all together, what I personally would want is a plot-heavy game set in the 80’s where, shortly after Ford summoned Bill in his desperation after what feels like four years of getting nowhere at all, suddenly the MC just pops out of the bottomless pit. The prologue would cover that plus MC realizing where they are and when it is in the GF timeline and reacting to that. I’m thinking something like the ikesen prologue where, when they realize that this is Gravity Falls in the 80’s and science man is already communing with the evil triangle, they freak out and run off and, as they literally run around town and through the woods, they meet the other LIs. Picking your route would determine where you end up staying.

If you stay with Ford, you get to him early enough that he listens to you and starts figuring out how to kick Bill out of his mind, plus you the reader would get some bonus journal pages from the first two journals. If you stay in the woods, you can hang out with the cryptids and learn more about the lore and worldbuilding of Gravity Falls through their perspectives. If you move in with Susan in town, you could start working at Greasy’s and get the townies’ perspectives on the area’s weirdness since the memory gun doesn’t exist yet and they haven’t all had their memories stolen. If you end up with the Northwests, I would want it so you could date either of Preston’s parents and then, upon completing both their routes, you unlock a secret third ending where polyamory saves the day and you get both and get to not just become a decent parental figure to Preston but guide these people into becoming better parents as well. Plot for this variation would be around conspiracies, both the one about how the Northwests didn’t actually found the town and also some other cover-up type stuff, probably pertaining to the local supernatural activity and exploitation of it.

The ‘deadline’ would be MC going home, but I like the idea that the method of how MC will be returning varies depending on where they’re staying and what the main plot is of that route. It doesn’t matter much since, as is the case with any such otome game, the MC will just choose to stay there as soon as a way home becomes available, but I think some variety could be nice. After choosing to stay, we’d get another prologue and an Act II where MC chose to stay with Ford and he’s fixed his Bill problem, so now Stan and Fiddleford have come to town. In the prologue, we’re introduced to their characters and the MC would go over how Stan had been invited to come so he and Ford could figure their shit out and then, shortly after that, Ford invited Fiddleford to come on down so they could further explore the bottomless pit and start figuring out interdimensional travel together, without Bill. The prologue ends with a third, unexpected guest showing up though — Shermie Pines.

The way I see Shermie working in this game is that he was not the baby in the flashback and this is their chance to retcon that. Shermie is the twins’ older brother who they were never particularly close to and who went off to fight in Vietnam while the twins were in high school. After coming back, he got married and had a kid and he even got a good job in engineering with the degree he got through the military, but untreated PTSD is a bitch so that marriage blew up and, around that time, he was talking to Ford on the phone and heard Stan there, so he asked if he could come out and see them. Turns out, he quit his job and is having a bit of an existential crisis over custody issues, how he just quit his job, and all the pressure from their father. For the first time, we see Shermie as an actual person and also for the first time, he’s really connecting with his brothers. Cue MC then also coming into the picture and helping him start talking about his trauma, both from his childhood and from the military, and getting him to start seeing a therapist and all of that.

I personally don't really see a good way to do a Bill option where you join him and take over the planet but I don't doubt that Alex could make it work. It could also be another one that gets a special extra poly option with Ford, which could potentially be interesting. It would certainly be a different take on the traditional 'good ending'/'bad ending' thing we get with other otomes, like maybe you could only unlock it by playing the bad endings of all the other routes.

Idk, what do y’all think? Let me know!

#gravity falls #otome game #swooning over stans #gin-juice-tonic #80s Ford game #gfdatingsim #dating sim #stanford pines #ford pines #stan pines #stanley pines

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clowningaroundmars · 7 months

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punkflower hcs bc i need to see more of them being cute teen boys together.... like, playful and creative and stuff

looong long wall of text under the cut (no nsfw)

♡ miles and hobie definitely exchange art often, even collabing on some punk zines and graffiti pieces occasionally. hobie also makes mixtapes on cassettes and slaps a million stickers on them just for his bf. miles appreciates the kind gesture but reminds hobie that he doesnt have a cassette player. "yet," hobie tells him with a wink :)

♡ miles draws a million little doodles for hobie on scrap paper, post it notes, hobie's gear, hobie himself. ofc hobie loves them all, esp when he gets to go home with his arms and chest covered in stars, cartoons, graffiti, and hearts

♡ miles is a lot more shy about dancing in public than hobie is, but whenever they manage to have any downtime at all hobie will wrap his arms around miles and sway them around. if music is playing anywhere, hobie will bop to it and get miles to join in

♡ hobie's love language? touch. any kind, anytime, anywhere, for any reason. words of affirmation come next

♡ miles' love language? quality time, and he's big on kissing. hobie isnt much of a kisser but loves his sunflower just the same, and does not complain at all when miles places little kisses on his hands, ears or his back

♡ sometimes hobie will be a lil mean to miles just as a flirty thing. just usual teenage boy stuff like kicking miles' sneakers, manspreading to get into his space if they're sitting anywhere together, using his height to bully miles into a corner away from everyone so they can flirt some more, crashing into miles on purpose just to be annoying

♡ anytime they get to go on multiverse missions together they somehow manage to get into the craziest shenanigans. breaking into a zoo to stop a villain from mutating the animals, saving a group of schoolkids on a field trip from a killer robot (?), one time hobie even drove a runaway car to stop it from crashing right into jamaica bay and miles was scarred for life

hobie tries to control the car as he haphazardly swerves it around pedestrians and barely manages to miss a group of elderly people.

miles clings onto his seat for dear life. "HOBIE!! you're gonna kill us man, where'd you get your license from!?" he yells.

hobie scoffs. "license?! i said i could drive, mate, i aint mention nuthin' 'bout no license!"

♡ hobie's universe is set in the 1970's and living in a dystopian police-state means it's too risky to bring back a phone with him, so he's often left out of spiderkid groupchats. miles still tries to keep him up to date on the latest memes and inside jokes though. they also have their own inside jokes too

♡ hobie wouldn't bring a smartphone with him anyways since he's so mistrusting of tech in general. video games, laptops, and "smart" tech mystify him, and smart watches? forget about it. when miles gets one for christmas one time, hobie clowned on his bf so hard the watch was never seen again

♡ that being said, they love exchanging music often so the only piece of technology hobie ever brings back to his dimension is an ancient half-busted ipod (it was probably rio's at one point) filled with music miles managed to download for him that week. spiderman-ing and living as a homeless teen means hobie doesn't get much time to explore genres outside of the UK punk scene and listening to brand new genres is often a trip! hobie finds out he loves drum n bass, grindcore, industrial techno, UK drill, deep house and 90's hip hop

♡ hobie gets miles to make him cool posters for whatever venue he plans on (or doesnt plan lbr) playing at every now and then

♡ rio LOVES hobie. hobie is the perfect gentleman (gentlespider?) around her and often tries to help her around the house when he can. miles... does not enjoy how much his mom favors his partner. jeff is also not so crazy about this smart-mouthed punk

♡ miles and hobie absolutely swap clothing as often as possible, with hobie "borrowing" miles' clothes more often. miles' parents keep commenting on how much of a rockero he looks with all the punk stuff and hobie never returns clothes without having altered them in some way (pins n bits everywhere, a mysterious rip or two here n there, pinned-up sleeves, etc)

♡ miles is absolutely horrible at cooking and feels left out when he sees hobie helping his mom in the kitchen. he desperately tries to learn, but it's a wonder how he hasnt sliced his fingers off yet trying to peel and cut platanos so they can make tostones

♡ for a person who's built like a lamppost, hobie is shockingly graceful with his movements. he always slips around a room like a cat and miles is so jealous of that. long gangly limbs should be a deterrent from moving like That and yet here he is, practically pirouetting around miles for fun

♡ which is a total TRIP when they go out swinging around a city. once the mask is on, every movement hobie makes is chaotic, frantic and unpredictable. spiderpunk and hobie are very different people sometimes

♡ rio often points out hobie's thinness as a typical hispanic mom does ("jóven, pero tu 'ta tan flaco, hobie honey come eat! i have leftovers here!") and miles also agrees that hobie could eat a lil more too. he is always sneaking bits of food into hobie's pockets or bags, saving fries and last slices for his partner. sometimes hobie brings home armfuls of tupperware filled with caribbean food back to his boat

♡ in return, hobie is like a magpie and brings back shiny gifts for them, some handmade stuff too. miles' drawers and nightstand are filled with jewelry, bottles, knickknacks, and other handmade accessories. his walls are filled with collages and zines hobie makes for him and rio bought frames for some of the pieces he makes her

♡ the first person to say "i love you" was miles, but by accident. after realizing it, he was nervous as hell worrying that hobie would clown him to death since he didnt seem like a big romantic. instead, hobie went nuts about it in his own hobie way, writing lyrics about miles' face when he said it, doodling them together more often, teasing miles about it often but lightheartedly. he flaunts miles' love whenever he can

♡ miles has a lethal puppydog face and he KNOWS it! one 🥺 look and hobie immediately folds and gives miles whatever he wants. but not before hemming and hawing about it first, playing up his hesitation just to make miles laugh

♡ speaking of laughter, hobie does Thee Most just to see his bf laugh or smile. he will always goof off in the bg, crack jokes every 2 secs and pretend to get hurt sometimes. hobie is naturally sarcastic and goofs off in general anyways but around miles he dials it up to 200

♡ hobie tries to get miles in on the whole anarchism thing but 1. the texts and manifestos from his dimension are different than miles' and 2. miles is a teen boy. he doesn't know anything about the theory of alienation or effective mutual aid and won't really care at the moment. "mm, you'll learn all 'bout it soon enough, though... eventually," hobie muses

♡ miles is not as big on pet names as hobie is. hobie has like 24984 nicknames for miles but miles mostly sticks to just calling his partner by his name. one day during history class tho a lightbulb moment happens, and when they meet up again miles is excited

"hobie!! guess what, i really got it this time. i have a nickname that i know you're gonna love!"

"spill," hobie says as he throws an arm over miles' shoulders.

"so you always call me sunflower all the time, right? and your name is ho... bee. get it? so i was thinkin' i'm gonna call you 'honey bee' now. y'know, you're not the only one who's got corny ass nicknames! it's good, right?"

hobie has to fight not to grin like a jackass

♡ hobie's sleep schedule is atrocious so whenever miles can manage it, he tries to wrestle his partner into any bed and tucks him in. hobie is touched that his sunflower cares so much about him ♡

♡ miles almost never gets permission to sleep over other friends' houses but on the rare occasions he does, he leaps into portals and goes to visit hobie in his dimension. his fave part of New London is hobie's boat, bc they set up a big hammock for them to lay in, feeling the sway of the boat and letting it lull them to sleep. not to mention that the boat itself is totally badass, and hobie more often than not encourages miles to cover it in graffiti

♡ hobie lowkey (but highkey) loves when miles gets a little bossy, forceful or stern. he loves ribbing miles about it (the "ill do it, but not cuz you told me to" line in mumbattan was a total joke from hobie btw LOL) and saying corny shit in response to a demand, but he loves seeing miles being confident and calling the shots every once in a while. it makes him proud

♡ if they can, miles and hobie try to gather up as much food as they can and take it over to the F.E.A.S.T. that's in hobie's dimension. miles meets hobie's "family" there and gets to know the community, which feels so much more tight-knit and welcoming than Visions. once miles gets over the major jarring differences between his world and hobie's, he finds he LOVES New London

♡ miles and hobie teach each other slang from their countries and time periods, you can't change my mind. miles walks around saying shit like "bloody 'ell" and "septic" all the time. the one time hobie said "deadass" completely unironically, all of the spiderkids DIED laughing

♡ miles learns that EVERY spider is a total dweeb in some way shape or form. even hobie! hobie's awkwardness comes out when theyre in big groups of people. hobie is oddly comfy with performing in front of crowds but when he's invited to parties and tries mingling, it's so... sooo awkward. miles secretly rejoices when he finds out hobie's weakness

♡ i'm an adhd hobie truther and i hc that miles buys hobie the weirdest fidget toys he can get his hands on. along with his switchblade, jewelry, and whatever he stole that day, hobie carries various different fidget toys in his vest to keep boredom at bay

♡ hobie definitely writes songs for miles but takes a very very very long time to actually admit it. miles finally finds out when one of hobie's songwriting notebooks falls open when hanging out in his boat, and hobie comes clean about it. with miles' encouragement tho, hobie makes the decision to add some of those songs into the usual setlist his band performs

♡ if miles ever has time, he tries to attend whatever gig hobie and his band has going on. he loves to see hobie perform on stage, his energy and stage presence is always electrifying

#mine #across the spiderverse #punkflower #miles morales #hobie brown #stupid ass tumblr posted my 1st draft completely randomly while i was in the middle of writing this #so uh if theres any mistakes its cuz i had to rewrite ALLLL of this in my notes app #hope yall enjoy tho ♡#i am relatively new to this fandom.... kinda? well specifically punkflower #so if these hcs are basically fanon i wouldn't know lol i just skimmed the tag on tumblr recently #im going purely off of Vibes and movie/comic canon #ive seen some good takes in the tags as well and those inspired me too!!#so ye hehehe #these 2 are giving me brainworms my god i havent even written hcs for my other OTP #i should.... probably get started on that since i kinda had fun writing this!#and uh if theres mistakes you noticed at all i also wrote most of these while.... zooted as well. so. yeah lol #spiderverse

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subway-boss-jericho · 14 days

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▽ Intro // AU Mega Masterlist! ▲

Hi!! I'm Jericho! My main is @joyfulness03 so if you see me rbing your stuff that's me! I try not to reblog stuff here because then I would never post my own art,, I think it's an autism thing

I've got the classic auDHD and I use Ey/Em/Eyrs neopronouns! Also! There will never be any kind of NSFW on this blog! I am aro/ace and discussion of such makes me uncomfortable, so please don't interact with my stuff in that way!

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I do not want blankshippers or inc/st shippers on my blog! ⁿˢᶠʷ ᵃˡʳᵉᵃᵈʸ ᵐᵃᵏᵉˢ ᵐᵉ ᵘⁿᶜᵒᵐᶠᵒʳᵗᵃᵇˡᵉ. ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ʳᵉˢᵖᵉᶜᵗ ᵐʸ ᵇᵒᵘⁿᵈᵃʳᶦᵉˢ ᵇʸ ᵏᵉᵉᵖᶦⁿᵍ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶠᵉᵗᶦˢʰᵉˢ ᵖʳᶦᵛᵃᵗᵉ.

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With that aside! Hi! I ramble! 👉👈 Nice to meet you! I am super open to asks and submissions! Feel free to say hi, ask questions, and engage with my stuff :D I love all comments and questions. I don't post super frequently because my brain is not very compatible with social media, but I hope you enjoy what I do post :] And I'm trying to get better at it, one step at a time.

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If I've posted something upsetting or triggering without tagging it correctly please inform me right away! I don't plan to post upsetting stuff but if I have I will do my best to tag.

I do not plan to tag angst! If this becomes a problem I will course-correct, but in the meantime know that this blog will probably have a lot of angst and/or dramatics because I am a Hurt/Comfort writer! I will not be offended if you choose to block me! 🤍

Below the -read more- is a big compilation of all of my AUs that are currently public! Feel free to ask questions about any that catch your interest!

✨🤍Thank you for reading!! Everybody smile! All aboard! 🤍✨

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These are sorted in alphabetical order, not by quantity of content or chronological age! (NOTE: A lot of links are missing, as I am about to start queuing posts to go up! This list will be updated after each one!)

Coupled (Uncoupled) - Fusion AU Tags: #Coupled (Uncoupled), #Fusion AU, #Post Canon Befriend my reflection to find my shadow (Reflection AU) - Cross-Dimensional AU Tags: #Befriend My Reflection, #Reflection AU, #TwoLeftHands Faling, falling, with no one to catch you - Double Faller AU Tags: #FallingFalling, #Ultra Wormholes, #Reunion Fossil AU Tags: #Fossil AU, #Death, #Temporary Character Death, #Reunion Half-Ghost AU Tags: #Half Ghost AU, #Death, #Major Character Death Hero!Ingo AU Tags: #Chosen Hero Ingo, #Hero AU how could we have possibly fallen this far? (2D AU) - Real World AU Tags: #2D AU, #Mind Fuck, #Emmet in NYC, #Reunion I feel your heartbeat buzzing in my chest - Combee AU Tags: #Combee AU, #Combee PreFall, #Combee PostFall, #Vespingo, #Vespaegis, #Reunion, #Combee Ingo and Ingo and Emmet Hop The Multiverse - Dimension Hoppers AU Tags: #IAIAEHTM, #Dimension Hoppers, #NonCanon Shenanigans, #Reunion, #Fix-It Fic I See You - Song AU Tags: #I See You Legacy Tags: #Legacy, #Post Canon, #Past Character Death, #No Reunion, #OC Family Members Mechanical Dreams (can you hear the cogs clicking?) - Mecha AU Tags: #Mechanical Dreams, #Mecha AU, #Crack AU, #Extreme Canon Divergence, #OCs, #G/t, #Size Shifting My Echo - Song AU Tags: #Echo AU oh my god what the fuck is ingo doing in pokemon mystery dungeon (omgPMD) - PMD AU Tags: #omgPMD, #PMD AU, #Reunion Quantum Superposition AU Tags: #Quantum AU, #No Canon Ending, #Hurt No Comfort Static Meltdown - One Move AU Tags: #Static Meltdown, #One Move AU, #No Canon Ending Steady Tracks Do Not Waver - Pokemon!Ingo AU Tags: #Steady Tracks, #STDNW, #Steady Tracks Official Art, #Pokemon!Ingo,* #Post Canon, #Reunion, #Implied Character Death, #Past Character Death** (*this tag will change later) (**No one actually died) Take My Hand! - that one episode of ben 10 Tags: #Take My Hand!, #TMH!, #Handy AU, #Crack AU, #Disability Support Pokemon The Spirit Keeper - Spiritomb AU Tags: #Spirit Keeper Ingo, #Spirit Keeper, #Spirit Farer Emmet*, #Reunion (*Branch AU) The Whole World Is Against You - Public Enemy #1 Emmet AU Tags: #TWWIAY, #Public Enemy Emmet, #Enemmet, #Reunion Treehouse - Song AU/Childhood AU Tags: #Treehouse, #Song Fic, #Pre Canon, #Kid AU, #Divorce, #Complicated Upbringing While You Were Gone - Time Capsule AU Tags: #WYWG, #Implied Character Death, #Past Character Death, #Post Canon, #Reunion Your reflection in the mirror is reversed - Impersonation AU Tags: #Your Reflection AU, #Impersonation, #I Am Ingo, #Reunion

#Submas #AUs #Masterpost #Submas Art #Ingo #Emmet #Pokemon Ingo #Pokemon Emmet #Subway Boss Ingo #Subway Boss Emmet

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orphantearstasteprettygoodngl · 1 year

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Spiderverse Angst headcanons

I got bored and made angst headcanons of Peni, Gwen, and Spot. Enjoy.

This post includes mentions of: death

Peni Parker

Uses canon events as a way to cope with Aunt May and her father's deaths.

Remember the old ball like robot she had? That was the last thing she had of her father.

Feels like she never got a childhood (she got bit at like, 8 or 9).

Blames herself for Aunt May and Addy Brocks death.

She missed Spider Noir and Spider Ham a lot, she felt as if she was completely alone without them.

She tried to make her own multiverse hopping tech before encountering spider society, she failed.

Overworks herself a lot of the time, that's why she's so tired.

She cries a lot thanks to stress.

Gwen Stacy

Has frequent nightmares about Peters death.

When she ran away she missed her father everyday, she had a lot of thoughts about going back home but her fear held her back.

She hates herself for betraying Miles.

She's still a bit scared of her dad, she's constantly on guard around him.

Doesn't open up a lot.

Fears falling in love since most Gwen variants end up dying.

She doesn't sleep a lot, stays up late a lot of the time.

Sometimes she thinks about what she could've done to prevent Peters death.

Made a promise with one of the Peters to protect each other since they both lost a version of each other.

The Spot

He's beginning to forget what he looks like, he can't remember certain features of himself. Like eye color and stuff.

He fears he'll eventually completely forget what he once looked like.

He tried finding other people like him in the multiverse, he didn't have much luck.

He holds a lot of anger and hatred towards the ones who mocked and abandoned him.

Doing science kinda stuff helps him relax funnily enough.

He doesn't have a lot of humanity left thanks to the whole collider incident.

Can't bring himself to look into mirrors anymore.

(if Doc Ock survived) He was friends with Olivia/Doc Ock, when he went to Alchemax he ended up encountering her. She attempted to experiment on him.

Has a fear of abandonment.

#spiderverse angst #spider man: across the spider verse #mentions of death #the spot #peni parker #gwen stacy #angst #angst headcanons #headcanons #spiderverse #spiderman into the spiderverse #the spot spiderverse #peni parker spiderverse #gwen stacy spiderverse

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huffle-dork · 1 month

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Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 11: SepticPirates

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

SBTCV Masterpost

There's slight movement all throughout the night, as the crew of a pirate ship never really falls asleep. But as morning dawns, movement picks up. The crew is getting up, getting ready to cast off. Some of them grumble and hold their heads, and there's a steady stream of people heading towards the doctor's office.

The Brody brothers slowly start to wake up, groggily taking in the sight of the crew moving.

Alt groans and covers his face with his arm, curling back up in the hammock. “…fucking hell-“

Bro on the other hand seems perfectly chipper as finishes waking up and hops out of his hammock. He ties the slash back on his head and grins down at Alt. “Morning bro!”

“Shhhhh-“ Alt groans, waving a hand his way.

Bro laughs quietly. “Went a little too hard huh?”

“Shush up ‘fore I blast that smug look of yer face-“ Alt mumbles in the hammock’s fabric.

Bro just laughs again and lightly pats his head. “I’ll get you some water-“ Bro then hurries onto deck, squinting but smiling at the morning sun.

The early morning has dawned bright blue. There's a lot of rope tying and cargo storing happening up on deck, a surprising amount of movement.

"Ah, me! Or, uh—other me!" The speaker is Chase himself, standing up at the helm, speaking with the same woman who'd been manning it last night. Chase's hat is pulled low over his eyes as he waves at Bro. "How are you feeling? And your brother?"

Bro looks around for a bit then turns around and grins up at Chase, heading over to them. “Oh I feel grand, honestly.” He laughs, “Alt’s having a hard go at it though.”

"Really?" Chase looks at Bro in surprise. "Grand, hmm? Your witchcraft must be very special." He laughs.

“Eh yeah my powers help me recover from stuff pretty quick- sucks ass when I wanna be drunk though.” Bro laughs.

"Well. Does your glass eye tell you where to go?"

Bro blinks and digs around in his pockets finding the tracker. “Oh right!”

The tracker tells him that they’ll have to head due southwest. “Due… southwest-“ Bro says slowly and looks back at Chase, “Is that enough?”

"Aye, that's perfect!" Chase nods.

Next to him, the helmswoman takes out a compass, turning in place for a moment before finding their direction. "Everyone! Get ready to cast off! Loose the sails! Hoist the anchor! We're heading southwest!"

Activity on the deck immediately kicks up. A handful of crew swarm the center and start pushing some sort of massive dial in the center: hoisting the anchor. Others start climbing the rigging up towards the sails.

Bro looks around at everyone rushing around and grins, thinking of his last adventure on a ship. He didn’t really get to enjoy it last time since he was so worried about Alt.

Below deck, Marvin walks up to Alt's hammock, leaning down and waving for attention. "Headache? Easy to overindulge, isn't it? Here." He holds out a wooden tankard for Alt. "Water mixed with some lemon and tri-weed. The texture isn't the greatest but it works wonders for this."

Alt makes a grumbling noise and peeks his eye out from under his arm, squinting at Marvin. He fumbles for a second for a good way to hold it before carefully sipping at the water. He makes a face and sticks out his tongue. “Bleh-“

"I know, I know." Marvin nods. "But it does really help. I'd go to Henrik and get a tonic, but uh..." He glances over towards the doctor's office. "Looks like he'll be busy handing those out for a while. We're lucky they're really easy to make."

Alt grumbles and drinks some more, getting a bit more clarity. He looks at the line and makes a face, “Mm yeah- I wanna avoid that if I can…”

“Yep.” Marvin grins. “Well… when you’re feeling up to moving, head on up to the deck. Or don’t. You can stay down here if you want, I’m not your captain.”

Alt nods and leans back to nurse the tankard some more, “I’ll be up in a minute…” he slurs sleepily.

Marvin laughs and nods. "Alright. Sounds like things are picking up the pace up there, I'll go help. Be seeing you later." And he turns away, heading up towards the top deck.

Alt watches Marvin leave and then picks up on all the noise and curiously turns towards the sound. He looks down at the tankard and downs the rest of it before glitching up to the top of the stairs, watching everyone rush around with a bit of awe.

"Where the lock is Jackie?!" Chase shouts, climbing down the stairs from the helm deck to the top deck.

"I'm here." Jackie walks up from the stairs leading below, stopping next to Alt. He's squinting a bit. "Gods, it's bright out here."

"We're heading southwest, d'you still have that map?" Chase asks.

"Of course I do." Jackie reaches into a pocket and pulls out a square of paper. Or, well, it looks more like cloth than paper, some sort of yellowish material that's in between the two states. "Southwest, you said?" He unfolds the map. Looks like this is a miniature, less-detailed version of the world map in the captain's cabin.

Alt glitches up to look at the map next to Jackie, curiously tilting his head.

Bro hears the sounds of Alt’s glitching and grins, hoping onto the railing of the helm and then hanging off it upside down so his face is right by Jackie and Alt, “GOOD MORNING!” He greets brightly.

Alt yells in surprise and falls back on the stairs.

Bro winces, “ah- oops.”

"Damn fucking locker!" Jackie jumps backwards, teetering on the edge of the staircase, barely managing to keep his balance. "Gods. Good morning, Chase--other Chase." He shakes his head. "Going to send me off the side of the boat like that."

“Sorry! Thought it’d be funny!” Bro snickers.

Alt glitches back up and glares at Bro who just grins at him sheepishly before pulling himself back up onto the helm.

"Jackie!" Chase approaches him. "What's to the southwest?"

"Ah, right." Jackie checks the map. "The Jungle Islands, looks like. They're the nearest ports."

"Hmm. That's still pretty far."

"But that makes sense, doesn't it?" Marvin suddenly appears, Jameson beside him. "Ghost ships aren't exactly known for getting close to land. Oh Jackie, if we stop by Rojagua you can see the sweetheart you have in that direction."

"Wh--we are not sweethearts!" Jackie protests.

It's on and off again, Jameson says jokingly. If you get close to someone you like you become sweethearts while you're within range.

"There's one for each cardinal direction," Marvin adds in a teasing tone.

Alt blinks at Jackie and tilts his head with a smirk. “You have that many sweethearts?”

"I do not!" Jackie protests.

"Do we want to count out every one of them?" Marvin asks. "There's Rama in Rojagua, of course, that's the nearest one."

And that dark haired woman from Nordømme, JJ adds. Sigrun, or some such.

"Guys!" Jackie protests. "Don't forget Captain Chiu," Chase says. "Oh no you leave Fengge out of this! Leave all of them out of this!"

Alt glitches to sit up on the helm’s rail- and him and Bro share glances as they recognize some of those names.

Marvin laughs and looks at Alt. "Every time we get on land he finds someone to court for a moment, and then when it's time to leave he says something like 'sorry my first love is the sea' and they cut things off. Then we arrive in the area again and he says 'I wonder what they're up to' and ends up starting the whole thing over again."

"I'm open about my love life!" Jackie folds his arms. "If any of them had a problem with it, I wouldn't ask about it when I saw them again!"

Bro laughs, “No judgment here bro! I bet being on the sea can be like- lonely in the love department way.”

“That would explain why our Jackie doesn’t want to be disturbed when Zara gets home,” Alt smirks.

Bro laughs harder.

Oh, Zara? Jameson repeats, grinning. Jackie knows someone by that name, too. I believe she does research on ocean creatures--

Jackie shoves him lightly. "Oh shut your hand-mouths 'fore I smack you upset the head."

Jameson laughs.

Jackie rolls his eyes. "What about you and that Moizone guy, hmm? That Romitan commodore from the Inlet Sea?"

See, the difference is that I don't get all defensive with my love like you and Henrik do, Jameson says smugly.

Alt and Bro gasp in delight. “yo! That’s just like our Jackie’s wife!!”

“Oh he’s not gonna believe this at all.” Alt laughs.

“He’s gonna kill us for going on an adventure like this without him,” Bro shakes his head with a laugh.

Alt chuckles at Jameson’s comment, “I’ve noticed that! No matter what world the Jackies and Henriks get super flustered about their partners-“

“Well so do you, Alt,” Bro grins, “Should I tell them all about your tearful goodbye to Oliver?”

Alt’s face turns bright red and he slams his hands over bros mouth in a quick glitch, “No! No t-that’s okay!”

"Oliver?" Chase repeats, blinking. "Huh. you know, our captain, Jack, has a friend from Hangal who runs another crew, I think one of them was named something like that..."

"Really?" Jackie says, looking surprised.

"Oh yes, one of those four siblings who were the stewards," Marvin agrees.

Alt blinks and makes a face as he thinks- then he imagines Oli dressed as a pirate and he starts to blush more.

Bro gets tired of Alt’s hands on his mouth so- “Ack! Fucker did you lick me?!” Alt glitches back and shakes off his hand. “What are you, five?!”

Bro just giggles.

Suddenly, the sails unfurl, billowing white canvas rolling down and catching the wind. "We're underway, mate!" the helmswoman says. "Perfect!" Chase shouts back.

The brothers both look out as the sails unfurl. Alt watches with starry eyes.

The deck starts to sway more noticeably as the ship pulls away from the dock.

Alt feels the sway and yelps a bit, stumbling and holding out his arms to balance.

Bro grabs his arm to help and laughs. “It’s kinda weird to adjust to, huh?”

“It’s… so weird-“ Alt comments, wobbling along with the ship. He goes to the rail and clings to it.

"Prepare for about face!" Chase shouts. "Hard to starboard!"

"Aye, mate!" The helmswoman turns the wheel.

"Marvin, can you check the weather?" Chase asks.

"Of course." Marvin reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of eight-sided dice made of ivory. They don't have numbers on their faces, but instead strange pictographs. He walks over to a section of the deck that's clear of crew and rolls them, his eyes briefly turning green--not glowing green, as Alt and Bro are used to seeing, but a more natural shift in the color of his irises. "Looking clear!"

Alt curiously watches Marvin use his dice. “Oh woah- are those.. divination dice…?”

Marvin looks back at him and grins. "Exactly! A set of divining dice for seeing the current fate." He scoops them up. "Here, hold them if you want." He then reaches into his pocket. "I also have these." He pulls out a set of 12-sided dice in different colors: green, white, red, black, and blue. "More powerful dice, if you want to see farther, or even try to influence circumstances a bit. You have no idea how expensive these are."

"Didn't you take those from that witch on Isla de Espada?" Jackie calls.

"She tried to kill us, it cancels out," Marvin shouts back. "I also have divining cards, too." He takes out a deck of cards. Their backs are dark blue, with intricate silver patterns forming waves, crystals, and an eye-like pattern in the center.

Alt’s eyes light up and he grins holding the dice in his hands. “Oh sweet- I gotta get more into divining… it’s really fascinating I just- usually work with more… combat related spells.”

"Hmm. Rare to get that sort of direct magic in this world," Marvin says, nodding slowly. "Witches here find more indirect ways easier, usually. Subtly changing the ways of the world. Forms of divination are my specialty, actually."

“Oh really? How does that work?” Alt asks, looking fascinated.

Bro makes a face, showing his disinterest at the magic talk to the others before he looks around and starts to climb the rigging again.

Jackie and Chase also seem to disperse with the sound of magic talk on the horizon, though Jameson lingers. Sam lands on a rope nearby and he feeds them a cracker.

"Lots of knowing what the symbols mean," Marvin says. "Here." He holds out the green jade d12. "Look at this. Sun, compass rose, lock, key, wave, cloud, and fish. Those are on the eight-sided ones, too. These twelve-sides also have skull, gem, lightning, and hourglass. Each can mean different things. Many people can memorize the meanings, but witches like us often know in our gut what they're meant to say. You roll, thinking of your question, willing the answer, and the dice will respond. There are other methods too, like the cards, like mirror-gazing, but you'll find most people like using the dice."

Alt leans in closely and tilts his head at the dice, looking them over. Then he grins. “That’s so cool! I know my mentor talks a lot about more subtle magic like this… stuff like- human witches do back at home. Focusing on gut feelings and using stuff like these… I haven’t been really good at them but the art of it is really fascinating!”

Marvin grins. "It can be hard to learn at first. How do you know that you're not seeing what you want to see? It takes a lot of practice. Here, do you want to try? Think of a question. The more vague it is, the more dice will give you results. The compass rose is a zero result you can ignore any dice that land on those."

Alt hums at this then nods. What should he ask? …there’s the biggest question on his mind- if his magic will be enough to stop the red Anti that’s hunting them down. Seems kinda like a serious question but… maybe this will help him. He keeps his question on his mind as he rolls.

There are seven dice in the set. They roll across the deck with a satisfying clacking sound. The pattern they land in is surprisingly regular, with one in the center surrounded by all the others in a circle. The center one has a key. The others alternate between wave and cloud.

Marvin whistles. "You must have asked a big question. Not a rose in sight. Of course, I don't know what you could have asked, but the clouds and waves together usually mean a time of difficulty--stormy weather, you know? The key is usually interpreted as a 'yes,' or generally an answer or solution."

Alt seems to relax and smiles to himself with a nod. “Okay… so… it’ll be difficult but- I… I can do it.” He looks up at Marvin and laughs, “Guess it was kinda a big question… we’ve been on a… kinda intense journey so far.”

Marvin raises an eyebrow. "Really? Oh! Let me see if I can figure it out." He reaches for the dice, then hesitates and takes out his cards instead. "I'm sensing these will be better."

Alt blinks a bit in surprise but he’s pretty curious how accurate Marvin will be. He perks up at the sight of the cards. “Oh! Are those… crystal eye? I’ve seen those before!”

"Crystaleye...? That sounds familiar, but I'm not sure where I've heard it," Marvin mutters.

“Oh, well… I’ve seen cards similar to these then,” Alt says sheepishly.

Marvin pulls out three cards and lays them down on the deck in a line, flipping them over. Each one has a name and illustration... tarot of some sort. The Shadow: Someone dressed in white standing against a wall, a black shadow cast behind them in a mirror image. This card is upside down. The Star: An eight-pointed star shining bright in the night sky. Time: An illustration of a clock space, stars swirling around it, the background whirls of purple and blue.

"Ah... so your journey has brought you in contact with some dark mirror of yourself," Marvin says. "And yet, there have been times of rest and rejuvenation. Even so, you've been forced to continue forward."

As Marvin reads out the cards, Alt winces a bit at the mention of the dark mirror, holding his arm and curling up some. “…yeah that’s… pretty spot on, actually.”

Marvin looks at him, a bit concerned. "Do you want... a card reading for the future of your journey? That might... assure you?"

Alt is quiet for a second before looking back at Marvin with a vulnerable expression. “…if you… wouldn’t mind-“ he says quietly.

Marvin nods. "Not at all. Here." He puts the three cards back into the deck and shuffles it, then draws three more and places them down in a line, turning them over one by one. Fracture: A colorful background split by a black, shattered, cracks. The Artist: A blue-haired woman sits at a blank easel, turned away so that only her back is visible. Aeon: A humanoid figure floating in the center of the card, their form glowing yellow and surrounded by waves of bright color.

"...huh. That's... not what the Artist illustration usually looks like," Marvin says slowly. "Normally it's a person with short red hair."

Alt furrows his eyebrows together, looking at the Artist card. “Huh… I… I know an artist with blue hair, she’s my friend… god it’s been ages though.”

Marvin shakes his head. "But in any case. It looks like you'll face a great disaster, yet with the help of something--creation, or a new idea, or some great swell of emotion--your journey will be fulfilled. Aeon often means a new dawn of some sort. The start of something new."

Alt nods to the prediction, humming to himself. “….creation or emotion huh…? I mean… I knew this journey was gonna be important but… damn. A-At least the cards seem to think we’ll win, that’s good.” He tries to laugh.

Marvin smiles encouragingly. "Exactly. The cards aren't perfect, of course. But if you reach for this future, I'm sure you have the power to make it happen."

Sam the bird suddenly swoops over, landing nearby and blowing away some of the cards with the wind from their wings. "Avast!" They squawk. "Swab the deck!"

"Sam!" Marvin quickly gathers up the cards and dice.

"Swab the deck!"

Jameson chuckles. Sounds like Sam wants you two to chip in.

Marvin jerks his head back towards the masts. "Alt's brother is just climbing around, does that count as chipping in?"

Bro is indeed, just climbing to the top of the rigging and looking out at the ocean with a big smile.

Alt rolls his eyes, “Feel free to tell him to find something to do.” He glitches to his feet and looks around, feeling a bit wobbly again. “…I dunno how to help out though…”

"I never do, either," Marvin says. "Jameson and Henrik get official positions, they don't have to help."

Jameson raises an eyebrow. I do try to pitch in where I can.

Marvin gets to his feet. "Chase?!"

"Aye?" Chase leans over from the deck above. "Anything we can do to help?"

"Ah, Alt doesn't have to, being a passenger, but if you can scrub the deck--"

Marvin groans.

"You asked!"

Alt hides a laugh behind his hand. “Oof- bad luck, mate.” He laughs. He then looks up above at Bro. He grins at Marvin then gives him a little salute. “Thanks for your help, dude- I’ll go check on my brother then~” he giggles before glitching away- up into the riggings with Bro. He fumbles for a second to get a good hold on them but Bro shouts and quickly helps to right him. “hey Alt! Didn’t expect ya to come up here!”

“Wanted to see what all the fuss was about-“ Alt grumbles, clinging onto the ropes and trying to sit like Bro was.

The older brother laughs. “Never thought you’d be one for heights~ but isn’t it great up here? The wind is nice and the view is…” He trails off as he sees Alt staring out at the open sea with wide starry eyes, the wind tousling his hair.

Bro smiles warmly.

The rigging jostles nearby and Jackie appears, climbing up to the crow's nest. "You got up here fast!" he comments, looking at Alt and chuckling. "Enjoying the view?"

It's nothing but endless blue wave all around. Up here, there's a slight breeze as the ship travels through the water.

Alt slowly nods, “I’ve… never seen anything like it.” He closes his eyes to feel the breeze.

There is also a faint image of a ship in the distance, with strange sails. Jackie squints into the distance. "Looks like a Zhongu ship over there. Can't see the colors from here."

Bro leans forward and squints at the ship. “I’m guessing that’s another country, right?” He asks Jackie.

"Mm-hmm. They have very distinctive sails." Jackie takes his map out again. It flaps a little in the wind. "Here, it's on Donfang continent, right there." He gestures awkwardly. There are only about three continents in this world, none of them bigger than Australia on Earth. Most of it is water and islands. "Fengge and Zara, who you heard everyone talking to me about earlier, are from Zhongu."

Bro hasn’t seen the map yet so he balks when he sees how much water there is. “Yo what the hell?! There’s like- barely any land at all on there?? Is your map broken?!”

Alt bursts into laughter.

Jackie blinks. "No? Well, it is a simpler version, but it's pretty accurate." He pauses. "Are you saying there's more land where you're from? Really?" He sounds just as incredulous about that as Bro is about how much water there is.

“Yeah dude! Where we’re from we have like- 7 huge continents! Most of them are bigger than these guys! And even so our world is like 70% water or some shit-“ Bro explains.

"Huh???" Jackie blinks. "Seven continents?! And even then it's still seven parts water?!" He looks down at his map again. "Well I'm sure some islands are missing... I think our world is eight parts water? Don't listen to me about that, though, I'm not good with numbers, that's why Jameson's the purser and not me." He laughs.

“That’s insane-“ Bro laughs. “But- I guess not every world would be made the same way… Alt I wonder if Glasuil was this different over all! Country wise at least-“

Alt shrugs, “Who knows? Maybe we can ask next time we go.”

Jackie shrugs too. "Well, everywhere has maps, you'll just need to find one of this ah... Glasúil place... What an unusual name. Reminds me of home, of Éire."

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they were pretty similar,” Bro smiles.

Jackie points to an island on the east half of the map. "There, right next to Anglice. That's home. for me, at least. We have a whole bunch of crew members from different places. This is where Cutlass Cove, by the way." He indicates an even smaller island in the west, barely a dot. "You won't find that on many maps, believe you me. Trade secret."

“Seemed pretty bustling for somewhere that’s hidden on a map,” Alt observes.

Jackie laughs. "Every buccaneer this side of the Peridot Sea knows where Cutlass Cove is. It's a safe haven for us to trade goods and such. A bit closed to outsiders, though. But that's for good reason. Don't want a nation's navy or the Iris Armada to find it and take back all the things we've... liberated."

Alt and Bro pick up on that name, Iris, and give each other a look. That name seems to be everywhere.

“So full of pirates-“ Alt grins, “Pretty sick.”

"I'll assume that means 'good' in your world." Jackie grins right back.

“Yeah it does.” Alt laughs.

"Now. Would to like to see around the ship? the Septic Eye is a fine vessel, more than just these riggings--though they're the best part if you ask me." Jackie continues.

“Ohh a tour??” Bro asks excitedly, hanging a bit more on the ropes.

Alt makes a face then eventually shrugs, “Yeah- why not? Might as well explore.”

Jackie grins. "Back down to the deck, then!" He folds his map up and scrambles down the rigging. Like a little monkey.Bro laughs and climbs down a bit before jumping down and rolling like a parkourist onto the deck. Alt rolls his eyes at his brother’s antics and glitches down to the others.

"This is the main deck," Jackie says, gesturing around at everything. "In the center here, this is the mainmast, over in front is the foremast and in the back is the mizzenmast. The deck above the captain's cabin is called the quarterdeck, but we often call it the helm deck, since that's where the helm is. Do you know the directions of a ship? Port and starboard and all that?"

Bro nods along, repeating what Jackie says under his breath.

“Uh… vaguely,” Alt says sheepishly.

Jackie grins. "Bow, stern." He points towards the front of the boat and the back. "Port, starboard." Left and right, relative to the front of the ship. Alt points and repeats before nodding.

"We're going below now, heading down into the ship." He goes over to the staircase in the center, talking as he goes. "The hammocks are on the gun deck--you probably noticed the cannons. Or maybe you didn't, given your state last night."

They follow after Jackie and Alt blushes as he looks around, “yeah I… didn’t… notice…” Bro giggles.

"Ha!" Jackie giggles. "We're in the middle of the boat right now--amidships. The cannons line up towards the bow." He goes over to the side and pushes open a wooden trapdoor on the side, opening up a window that you can push the cannons out of.

Bro and Alt both comically peek their heads out of the cannon’s trapdoor.

"Over towards the stern are all the offices. For the officers, of course, though Chase doesn't use the first mate's place so we keep water and rum in there.”

“Huh- why doesn’t other me use the first mate’s place?” Bro wonders.

“There's also the--"

"Doctor's office?" Henrik appears out of nowhere.

Jackie jumps and spins around, closing the trapdoor. "Among other things. Hey, Hen! Good to see you finally got some time."

Bro also jumps and Alt glitches a bit in surprise. Then, Bro laughs. “morning Doc!”

"Hello." Henrik waves. He jerks his head back towards the stern. "Want to see the doctor's office? I have two headache tonics if you need them."

Alt blinks then laughs quietly, “…I wouldn’t mind one.” He doesn’t feel too super bad thanks to the drink Marvin gave him- but he can still feel one nagging at his skull.

Henrik chuckles. "Follow me, then." The group heads towards the back, where there are wooden doors that slide open. The doctor's office is the closest one, and Henrik pulls the door open, revealing a small wooden room with a desk and a bunch of trunks.

Bro blinks at the room, “Tiny-“ He comments lightly.

"And ah, the size is normal. Not much space on any ship. Why do you think we all sleep in hammocks and only the officers get rooms?" Henrik explains.

“That makes sense!” Bro laughs.

Henrik walks inside the office, "Did I hear you ask why Chase doesn't use the first mate's office? I think it is hard for him to get used to it. He started as a regular crew member, you know.”

“Oh really? Huh! Guess that would take some getting used to. How long have all of you been around?” Bro asks.

As Henrik opens up one of the trunks and reaches in for a tonic, Jackie talks. "I've been on the longest, for going on four years now? Henrik joined shortly after, about three and a half years now. Then Chase, and then Marvin, right around the same time. Jameson is the most recent, been here for about two years. I'm assuming that's all you mean by 'all of us.'"

Bro listens to Jackie and smiles nodding, “Yeah! So you guys all know each other pretty well then!”

"For sure!" Jackie smiles.

Henrik hands Alt a small, roughly-made glass bottle, about two inches tall. The creamy liquid inside is a pale pink. "You can mix that in with water if you want, or simply drink it, though some find the taste too strong."

Alt takes the bottle and looks at it with a raised eyebrow. …he should listen to Henrik and just find some water… but he’s so curious. He opens up the bottle and takes a small sip of the tonic.

The taste is remarkably close to the artificial grape taste that a lot of modern cough medicines come in. But it's clearly not that, at the same time.

Alt blinks in surprise at the taste then chuckles, “This tastes like the medicine I used to get as a boy.”

He takes a bit more then smiles at Henrik, “Thanks Schneep!”

"It does?" Henrik blinks, then laughs. "Schneep? What an unusual nickname."

Alt flushes a bit and grins timidly, “Uh- oops… that’s a nickname some if the others yous use-“

"I love it, I'm going to use it," Jackie says cheerfully. "Now, besides the doctor's office, we have the officer's quarters and the purser's office. That's where Jameson spends a lot of time."

"You know... I just realized, they probably do not know what a purser is," Henrik says. "That is the man who handles the money. Very important."

“Ooooh! That’s why he needs to be good at math!” Bro laughs, “Makes way more sense now!”

"Exactly." Jackie grins. "If I have to be honest with ye--not many of the crew know maths that well. Jameson's probably our best man for that."

“Oh huh- given the time and spending most of days at sea, guess you wouldn’t really need much maths.” Bro comments.

"Should I be offended, Jackie?" Henrik says jokingly.

"And Henrik. Oh--Schneep." Jackie laughs. Henrik chuckles as well. "So. You are giving them a tour? To the galley next, I am guessing?"

"The hold and the galley, yes." Jackie looks at Alt and Bro. "If you've seen everything here."

Alt stuffs the rest of the tonic in his pocket and nods, “I think we’re good! Lead on-“

"Alright!" Jackie grins. "Henrik, want to come with?"

Henrik shrugs. "Might as well."

The group heads down another set of stairs. "This is the orlop deck, it's where the galley is, as well as one of our cargo holds. Below that is the brig, another cargo hold for less essential cargo, and the bilge, where any excess water gets drained."

“Orlop~” Bro repeats and giggles, “That’s fun to say!” Then he blinks at the mention of the brig, “Ohhh the brig- those always sound so ominous.” He makes spooky fingers at Alt, “Imma send you to the brig, Alt!”

Alt scoffs and shoves at him, “You’re being a dork-“

Jackie laughs, but Henrik is serious. "The brig is no laughing matter. It is not a comfortable place."

"Oh come on, Henrik, don't be so serious," Jackie says, nudging him. "The word is funny, isn't it?"

"All Anglish words are funny to my ears."

"Oh, don't tell me Deutz words are not funny at all, either." Jackie laughs a little.

Bro straightens up and blinks, “Oh uh- sorry.”

"No, really, don't think about it too much," Jackie insists. "Henrik is really serious all the time, he has a stick up his--ow!" Henrik smacks the back of his head.

Jackie rubs his head. "In any case, here's all the cargo."

They are currently surrounded by stacks and stacks of barrels and crates. "This is mostly food and water... but we have the occasional something more exciting, too." He grins. "One time, we dug up a chest full of all these rubies. I'm not sure why people bury their treasure so much."

“Ooh that’s so cool!” Bro says, then he thinks, “…yeah why do they bury stuff? I swear I’d just forget-“

"That's what the maps are for, I guess," Jackie chuckles.

"They bury it so that others won't find the, ah, stash," Henrik says. "After all, they worked hard for that treasure, it would be terrible if their ship was sunk and all the treasure was lost."

Bro nods, “Ah right- cuz if something happened on the boat- it’d get lost to the sea. Damn… wonder how much treasure is just floating around down there.” He muses.

Alt glitches around a bit to look, peeking inside anything that’s open like a curious cat. He mostly sees food, like salted meat and flour for bread and the occasional crate of whole oranges. But there is one stack of boxes that is open and full of gold pieces of eight, along with smaller silver pieces, round bits of polished jade, and tiny gold coins with holes in the center.

"Hey, careful!" Jackie says as Alt looks into that one. "That's our spending coin."

Alt startles and glitches back up to look back at Jackie. He rubs his head and grins sheepishly, “S-sorry I was just curious-“

“Damn! That’s a lotta coin!” Bro whistles.

"Much like those people who bury treasure, not all of our coin is on the ship," Henrik says. "But yes, it's a lot. After all, there are many of us on this crew who needs shares of their own."

"Our most important stuff is--ah, well, that's probably not at liberty to be shared." Jackie chuckles.

Yeah keep that to yourselves,” Bro laughs.

"Want to see the brig?"

Bro perks up, “Sure! Gotta see if it’s as spooky as ya think!” Alt glitches back over to join back up with them.

They go down one more staircase. It's a bit dimmer down here, and the areas are separated by wooden walls, as opposed to the orlop deck where everything was open. There's a set of barred walls--four cells. No doubt that's the brig.

“…yeah it’s kinda spooky, not gonna lie.” Bro says with a nod. “Def would hate to be down here.”

"Yep, not a pleasant stay," Jackie says. "But luckily people don't stay down here that often. Jack didn't believe in it."

Henrik chuckles. "Though occasionally we did have to throw you in here to sober up when you went too far."

"Hey—I don't do that anymore! I know restraint!"

Henrik grins at the other two. "He used to be very wild."

“Ha! I can imagine that!” Bro snickers.

“How far is too far? Like- so drunk he’s gonna fall off the boat?” Alt asks with a laugh.

"Exactly." Henrik nods.

"That's in the past, I'm more careful now," Jackie says, waving it off. "In any case, it's around noon now. We should grab some food from the galley before it gets swarmed."

“Oh yeah! God I didn’t even realize I was hungry-“ Bro says with a laugh.

Alt nods in agreement, “Food is good.”

Jackie grins. "Let's go on up then! Cook won't be making an actual meal until dinnertime but we can grab things from the counters." He rushes up the staircase, Henrik right behind him. Alt and Bro trail after Henrik. "Hm... what are you wanting? We have just about everything, though I can't promise it'll be the best."

Bro hums and puts a finger to his chin, “hmmm I dunno! I don’t really know what to expect on a ship!”

Alt shrugs, “I’m not particularly picky. Whatever you all have is fine.”

"Let's see what's in store, then!" Jackie says.

The galley is towards the stern of the ship, built into one side with a small island of counters nearby. An older man is busy looking through the cupboards.

"Hello, Cook," Henrik says.

"Hello boys," the man says.

Bro waves at the Cook with a big smile. Alt nods politely.

"What can I do you for?" Cook asks.

"Lunch before the rush," Jackie says.

"Look around, then."

There's a variety of foods in the galley. Bread with crunchy crusts, cured and salted meats, some dried fruits and berries, a variety of nuts--and some fresh oranges and lemons. There are also bottles of rum.

"Ah, don't worry, these aren't strong," Jackie says, picking one up. "Mostly water, in fact, the rum is for taste."

“Oh that’s like us getting those flavor packets so Jackie would drink more water!” Bro snickers to Alt who laughs. They both look around and grab some of the bread and meat, Alt grabbing some of the dried berries and Bro grabbing an orange. He tries to play catch with it for a second.

Jackie grins. He grabs an orange as well, tossing it around. Bro grins back. Alt snorts at their antics.

"Idiots," Henrik mutters fondly, taking some bread for himself. "What is for dinner, Cook?"

"Using some of the veg to make a good stew for our guests," Cook says, nodding at Alt and Bro.

The brothers blink at the cook. “Fuck yeah, stew!” Bro says cheerfully. Alt tries not to laugh.

"You should be honored, we don't have stew often," Jackie says. "Gets stuck on the decks, can cause difficulties."

"This is a special occasion," Cook says.

“Daw- you’re gonna make us blush,” Bro laughs.

"And we'll probably have to have a hearty meal if something's coming up."

"Ah, yes, has your glass eye changed at all in direction?" Henrik says, looking at Alt and Bro.

Alt digs into his coat for his tracker and touches the pupil. “Oh yeah lemme see-“ The tracker says they must veer ten degrees to the south—pretty specific for directions.

Alt furrows his eyebrows in confusion and looks up at Jackie and Henrik, “it says… we need to steer 10 degrees to the south…?”

Jackie immediately takes his map out. "Hm... don't see anything in that bearing. But we're looking for a ship, so we shouldn't count on getting to an island."

"Well, I will go alert Kilani that we need to shift heading a little," Henrik says, tossing a couple berries into his mouth.

“Does 10 degrees even make much of a difference?” Bro asks, biting into some of his bread.

"When you're out in the open ocean? Yes." Henrik nods. "But I will admit, not too much. Still, we will take what we can get when dealing with a fucking ghost ship.”

“Huh- neat.” Bro says.

“I'm heading topside, want to come with?"

Alt nods to Henrik, “Yeah- think it’ll be nicer to eat up there.”

"Oh wait, good idea, I'm coming too." Jackie had been leaning against the counter, and he now stands up straight and follows the group.

The sun is beating down hard on the deck. It's actually noticeably hot for the first time in their journey. But luckily their outfits seem to have been designed for hot weather. Even Alt's longer coat is surprisingly breathable.

Henrik heads up to the helm and tells the helmswoman--Kilani, apparently--that they need to shift course a little. She nods and turns the wheel accordingly, checking her compass afterwards.

Alt shields his eyes a bit then goes to find a good place to sit and eat. Bro flops next to him, digging into his orange. He hums, “I didn’t expect it to be so warm! But I guess that makes sense when it’s just the sun beating down on you-“

"You guessed it!" Chase shows up from out of nowhere, leaning against the ship wall besides them. "Out on the sea, it's usually either hot from the sun or cold from the spray of water. Though it... probably doesn't help matters that we're close to the center of the world. That's where it's hottest, you know."

"I am sure they know what the word 'equator' is, Chase," Henrik says. "Their world cannot be that different."

“Oh yeah we know that word!” Bro laughs.

“We don’t live anywhere near it though, in our world,” Alt adds, “we live more up north. So it’s colder there- lots of rain.”

"Sounds like my home," Chase mutters. "Hen, does Deutsreich get a lot of rain?"

Henrik shakes his head. "We are not known for it. But it does get cold. There are some mountains, they get beautiful snow. Though not as much snow as up north in Rosstvo and Nordømme, I'm sure."

"Well, home doesn't get much snow at all, so you're winning in that race."

“Oh yeah it sometimes snows for us but not for long,” Bro says.

“The sea must be such a difference experience for all of you then,” Alt comments in between bites of his lunch.

"Oh yes, but it's a good difference," Chase says. "It's rare that someone will commit to spending so much time at sea and not enjoy it."

Henrik nods. "I became a ship's doctor to get away from home at first, but I stayed a ship's doctor because I love the journeys."

“I hear that! This seems like great fun!” Bro grins.

Alt chuckles, “I’m sure it has its hardships… but the adventures you all have must be more than worth it.”

Chase grins. "Aye, I think so too. Not everyone's made for it, but if you are, there's nothing better."

"Though I won't lie, there is a lot of downtime," Henrik says.

"Maybe you need more to do," Chase says. "Do you want to help swab the deck?"

"Booooo."

Alt and Bro laugh. “Yeah guess there’s not much to entertain you out here.” Alt says.

“Why do you guys always say that huh? Swab the deck- such a pirate saying!” Bro laughs.

"Well you have to keep the deck clear," Chase says, shrugging. "Don't want anyone to trip over something. And the water helps keep the ship in... shipshape." He bursts into laughter.

Henrik rolls his eyes.

Bro also bursts into laughter, “Ayy! Good one!” Alt snorts slightly but also rolls his eyes.

Chase calms down. "Well, we'll still be sailing for some time, it seems like. Keep a hand on your glass eyes, tell us if we need to adjust our bearings again. Until then--hope you enjoy the ship!"

The day passes, and the sun gradually moves through the sky, until it approaches the horizon and turns the sky orange and pink again. With everything set and the ship underway, the crew has some free time. They seem to really enjoy their instruments, as a group forms around the foremast to play.

As the others bring out their instruments, Alt moves close to listen. He doesn’t know how to play anything they’re playing but the music is infectious. He doesn’t like big crowds though so he gets up somewhere high and brings out his iPad to draw people on the ship.

Another group forms around the mizzenmast. Are they taking turns telling stories? Huh. Bro goes to the mizzenmast to hear the stories- unlike his brother he’s all for being in a big crowd and trying to act like one of the crew.

The sun's halfway below the horizon when one of the crew members comes up onto the top deck and shouts that stew is ready. Everyone cheers, Bro being one of the loudest. Alt laughs at everyone’s excitement but stays where he is, watching as everyone goes to file in for food.

Down in the galley, Cook and another crew member spoon stew into bowls, handing them out to anyone who comes by. The stew is thick and creamy-looking, with bits of meat and chunks of vegetables mixed in. There are also crackers, and to drink, water and rum, of course.

Bro hurries down to the gallery and grabs stuff for him and also some for Alt. With arms full he comes back topside and looks around, finally finding Alt hanging up on one of the masts, tucked against the middle beam and out of the way.

Bro looks around then bursts up into the air to Alt’s side and grins, “You still being a loner, baby bro?”

Alt startles slightly and then gives Bro a look before perking up at the smell of dinner.

“Hurry dude imma drop this!”

Alt hurriedly takes the bowl and rum bottle from Bro and the hero zips up to sit next to Alt, trying to balance. Alt sticks his iPad in his coat and digs in, relishing in the delicious stew.

Bro watches him with a smile before sitting crossed legged and digging in too. “I wonder if you would have been this reclusive on the other ship- the one in Glasúil.” Bro comments after a bit.

Alt shrugs, “Probably? You know I don’t like being around a lot of people.”

“You like being around us though-“ “For the most part,” Alt smirks. He looks out at the sunset and darkening sky, “…I just like the view.”

The two eat together, enjoying the moment and the beautiful ocean around them.

#swap beyond the crystalverse #SBTCV #SBTCV Pirates #septicpirates #this one is a bit more tame- just the boys having fun with pirate-y things and learning about the world :D #which i think is fun but its def not an action packed chapter agjahbk #tomorrow will be though!

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theresattrpgforthat · 1 year

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Heyo, i've got a game rec request for you! In a couple weeks i'm going to be a summer camp counselor for a cabin of teen boys (around 14-15 years old), and i'm on the hunt for some ttrpgs that i could bring to camp and try out with them! ideally something good for hour long pick-up-and-play sessions, more focused on getting into silly shenanigans than deep introspection. so far i've picked out Honey Heist, Galaxy Goons, and To Serve, but i'll take any other suggestions you can offer! tysm!

THEME: Quick Funny Camp Games

Hello friend, I’ve got a few silly games for you but I also included some games that are quick to run that have a little more focus to them in case your campers want to get their teeth into some plot.

Cryptid TV, by yanahn.

A plague of Reality TV stars has descended upon the sleepy town of Mountain Lake ready to hunt down (and capture on camera) anything that looks even remotely like a cryptid - your crew is among them to cause drama, fake hoaxes, and enact sabotage beyond all reckoning.

If the game uses the same rules as Honey Heist, then picking up and playing will be even easier! And Cryptid TV is one of those games. As a reality tv crew invades your hometown, your job is to infiltrate the film crew and sabotage the show - while trying to hide the fact that you’re one of the cryptids they’d want to get on camera! This game is set up for exactly the wacky hi-jinx that you might expect, and I feel like the vibe really goes well with a bunch of campers playing in a cabin somewhere. You should definitely check it out!

1400 Planes, by Unknown Dungeon.

The multiverse roils with boundless existence. For many, the infinite planes of creation drift past at an immeasurable distance, their alien secrets perpetually out of reach. However those who break their mortal shackles and cross that liminal space, wander such exotic spheres on an eternal pilgrimage.

If the group wants to jump into something a little less silly or just wants a chance to feel powerful, the character options in 1400 Planes included Clockforged, Birdfolk, Jotuun, and Merfolk (to name a few). You are hopping through a multiverse, and while the different planes are dangerous, your characters have gear and skills at their behest to help them face danger head-on.

The biggest obstacle that might stand in the way of this and the other 1400 games released by this designer is the dice requirement - 1400 Planes requires at least one d6, one d4, one d8, one d10 and possibly also one d12. If you want a great tactile experience though, the different dice shapes certainly deliver.

Bro Hunters, by The Other Tracy.

Bro. Ghosts, Bro. The stories are true. We've got our gear and we're gonna get famous, Bro. Bro? Bro.

Ghost stories feel like a great match for camp, so pulling out a quick game of ghost-wrangling or other supernatural tomfoolery just feels right. Bro Hunters has a built-in goofy element in that all of the characters will probably refer to each-other as “bro” - and the game also comes with structured scenes to bring you from point A to point B. This game also gives the players a chance to contribute to the narrative - if their character dies, they will narrate the creepy stuff going on in the house.

What I enjoy about this game is the number of tactile elements. You’ll need something to act as a speaking totem - or Brotem - as well as some tokens to help you change the narrative (also called Bro-kens!). This game is much more free-form and allows the players a greater amount of narrative control than the other items on this list - it's a great introduction to roleplaying if your group is familiar with telling ghost stories together.

Crime Wizards, by pewter bee.

You are the Fox Club, a magical crew of thieves and criminals. Your mission is to take what you want, work with clients to fulfill their needs, and uphold your crew’s reputation. Your leader, Juliet Thrice, is in hiding due to heat from a recent job she conducted, leaving you to act on your own until her return.

Lasers & Feelings is another system with quick character creation and only 2 stats to worry about, although it can be decidedly more serious than Honey Heist. In these kinds of games, you are typically skilled individuals with a job to do, with the challenge of operating without a key figure or resource. You’ll choose a single number and roll a d6 to attempt to roll over or under that number, with an exact roll giving you something special! In Crime Wizards, you’ll be on a fantasy heist - perfect for cool scenes while also providing moments for some fun along the way.

#dnd #indie ttrpgs #tabletop games #game recommendations #quick games #funny games #asks

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literary-illuminati · 1 year

Text

Book Review 38 – A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

This was the second novella I read on account of it being a Hugo nominee, and probably the book I was/am second-most dreading getting through (I am really not looking forward to Legends and Lattes). And, I am sad to report, that dread was entirely justified. This really isn’t going to be a very nice review, so, you know, caveat lector.

The story is a direct sequel to A Spindle Splintered, and will be incredibly confusing to read without that context (source: my roommate did so accidentally). In the five years since Spindle, Zina has been very busy being a dimension hopping heroine, crashing into one alternate reality’s version of Sleeping Beauty after another and either ensuring that the Happily Ever After goes as planned or offering an escape to Beauty’s (and presumably others, though I don’t believe it’s ever mentioned) who’d rather opt out. In the process she’s entirely abandoned Charm and Prinny, and essentially every tie she has to her own life, sublimating anxiety over her own mortality into heroine-saving adventures.

Then it turns out all the jumping between stories and screwing around with plotlines is doing structural damage to the multiverse, as she discovers when a desperate Evil Queen drags her into her castle to force her to explain how to escape the fate she knows is coming for her, after a ratty old copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales appeared on her bookshelf earlier. The queen is, unsurprisingly, not as evil as she seems on first glance, and also just smoking hot (Zina’s narration is very clear on this). The two go on interdimensional adventures, bond and open up to each other, face down an evil immortal cannibal Snow White, hook up, and write their own Happily Ever Afters, or at least something close enough. And in the meantime Zina reconnects with her friends and agrees to become the closest thing Earth has to a fairy godmother.

So, to not be entirely one-sided here: I really did enjoy the sequence where Zina and Eva are thrashing about jumping through a dozen different versions of Snow White over the course of a few pages while they fight over the magic mirror. That was fun. The close narration did an excellent job getting across who Zina is and characterizing her too, even if there were a few too many pop culture name drops for my taste. Otherwise...

This book is just..argh. Even it’s basic premise is the fairy tale equivalent of one of those zombie stories about a guy whose spent his life fantasizing about killing zombies and won’t shut up about how similar the plot is to all his favourite zombie movies, except in this case the hypothetical zombie killer has also taken half a film theory undergrad and keeps peppering the narration with commentary about how the monsters trying to eat his brains are a problematic appropriation of Haitian folklore and/or a representation of late 20th century American anxiety over mass culture and consumerism. The bit gets old so so quickly.

Beyond that – look, I’m a hard sell on multiverse stuff generally these days, versions that try to milk it for serious drama especially. And the metaphysics just make zero sense at all, and not even in a charmingly nonsensical fairy tale way – adding scifi technobabble to things that are just neer going to make sense according to any sort of mechanistic scientific understanding of the world’s usually a mistake unless you’re actually planning to do something with it, in my opinion. Absolutely worst of all, though (and now I know this is an incredibly petty and personal pet peeve), the story lampshades that it makes no sense. Okay being honest if I’d otherwise liked the book I might have found the whole conversation with the folklore professor where Zina asks how to solve the plot just kind of endearingly annoying, but as is? Unforgivable.

The Evil Queen (or Eva, as Zina names her, since in the Grimm Tale she doesn’t have any other name, you see) isn’t a bad character, but she does rather feel like she walked right out of Enemies to Lovers central casting. More than that, as a villain redemption story goes it just hits all the beats that it possibly could to make its job easier, which just makes it so much more boring than it could have been. Eva never really did anything that evil, all she ever wanted was agency and self-determination, she was motivated by fear, she’s only an antagonist for like fifteen pages before becoming Zina’s sidekick, she’s heroic and selfless when given the opportunity, she’s physically attractive and falls in love with the protagonist, etc, etc. Most of all, she’s contrasted with a real villain, a gothic horror Snow White who really does eat the hearts of children to retain her eternal youth. And just, you can feel the author stacking the deck in her own favour here – there’s just almost no actual moral conflict or drama to it all, you know?

I’m sure it was mostly unintentional, but the wider themes of the story are...weird. Or, actually, so aggressively conventional that I’m just surprised to see them in a book with this one’s explicit politics. ‘You owe the world to your closest friends and relations, but ignoring your own affairs to go help strangers is irresponsible and dangerous to everyone. It’s also an infantile response to fear over your own mortality; maturity and responsibility mean settling down and helping to raise a kid,’ is, like, really not the message I was expecting. Especially from a book that keeps peppering the narration with phrases like ‘heternormative family structure’. Admittedly a probably uncharitable read, but you really can’t spend so incredibly long hammering home how fucked up and horrifying so many of the narratives that the world is made of are, and how all the different iterations of each story are real and all the characters full moral agents, and then pivot to ‘but intruding on other stories is damaging the fabric of reality! So we’ll just stop.’ Fuck all those other not-really-evil queen’s being forced to dance in red hot slippers until they die, I guess – if they wanted to live, they should have had the good sense to be a love interest.

Also, look, it’s not a rage button for everyone like it is for me. But the bit where the narrative came out and drew a bright line between Zina ‘refusing to accept’ how she will inevitably die from her tragic wasting disease and evil Snow White eating the hearts of children for eternal youth is probably the point where the book went from mediocre to actively making me angry.

I love the whole fractured fairy tale conceit, I really do. But this whole series is just not it, at least for me. Go watch Maleficent instead, for something with the same take on an evil witch queen. Or, I don’t know, Shrek.

#book review #a mirror mended #alix e. harrow #sff #hugo nom #novella

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disruptivevoib · 11 months

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I keep hearing stuff about the cjverse chat room and I’m so curious- what is it????

The Chatroom is an RP between a hefty handful of members in the CJ fandom, specifically its geared around the CCCC album!

We made it way back in April of this year and has been going pretty steadily since!

The premise was initially alternate universes with HMS all being put into a multiversal chatroom! However, as things developed we had VoR Mind, Tinker, create a machine that allowed multiversal travel, thus allowing these versions of HMS (and Whole if present) to interact with one another by universe hopping. Occasionally this would be to other Psyches, but sometimes there is no Psyche and everyone is real, and the transmitter still works. So sometimes, you put a guy from a guy's brain into London (The TMA au).

We also had the creation of the AI AU which.... well.

A multiversal interdimensional chatroom has to start somewhere, yeah?

But yeah! It's a lot of interwoven stories with folk's aus! While it can wind up convoluted on some fronts, we are all really enjoying it and wanted to share it should anyone else be interested in the characters. Rather, the various versions of HMS we've got.

Which is a lot. We've not been keeping up with the opinions/relationship chart I made, but the last time I counted it was in the hundreds if not near it. Lots of guys.

#voidthoughts #asks #cjverse chatroom rp #dropping ai lore in the middle of an ask and running off

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chiangyorange · 2 years

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I just read the most recent chp of your fic (a superb piece of writing) and got the urge to ramble about it, if you don’t mind. (Feel free to ignore, if you want)

I really enjoy the way you write, and the interactions and characterization is splendid! And you even brought up the multiverse/diverging timeline stuff! :D

It’s such an interesting concept! Like, there’s so much to unpack! If Blue and Casey jr came back, their timeline obviously existed, but does it continue to exist? If it didn’t, would they cease to exist, as well? But if it did, what would be left? What is required for a timeline/universe to even exist?

As you know, CJ goes back in time and alters that past (now his present) so that his past doesn’t happen, and that rules out the theory that the future is unchange-able. So the future can be changed, but that implies that different decisions could bring about divergences (i.e. branches) in the timeline, causing wildly different outcomes (butterfly effect). As Donnie noted, who/what decides what these ‘big decisions’ are? Where do the divergences occur? Why?

Another possibility is that the multiverse exists, and Casey jr went back in time to another dimension (we’ll call it D2), not actually changing his dimension (D1)’s past or future, but becoming part of another dimension where the Invasion failed. (Does this mean D2 would follow the same path of D1 if CJ hadn’t travelled to D2 to prevent it?) If the past/future can’t be changed (alluding to a higher being), but the multiverse exists, then theoretically the dimensions/universes might mirror one another, with varying differences.

A third theory is that the multiverse and separating timelines both exist, and that’s a whole mess I can’t even get my head around rn. Like, do the dimension/universes mirror each others’ branches/divergences? Could separate branches of D1 and D2 converge, creating a bridge of sorts? Would they still be separate universes?

Idk, just lots of theories.

Thank you for sharing you’re amazing fic <3

first of all thank you so much for reading!!! im honestly so glad people are enjoying wmas <3<3<3

AS FOR THE TIME TRAVEL putting this under the cut because hoooooly shit anon i LOVE thinking about it sm

OKAY SO as it stands this is the scenario i think of when i think about the rottmnt movie in terms of actual canon. the invasion timeline was the main branch of what happens in universe and by sending Casey Jones Jr back, it branches off to what we know now as the movie proper.

the main takeaways for this scenario is that the butterfly effect is confirmed and true, but on the other hand it brings up the question; what happens to that future timeline? does it disappear and its linearity is continued through CJJ? or does his presence not affect things at all and the invasion timeline falls into the invasion?

personally i like to think the former, even though the world ""dies"", it still lives through CJJ unknowingly. the events of the invasion still HAPPENED, but its linearity is more like a loop rather than a break.

then theres scenario 2, the dimension theory where CJJ doesnt actually change the past at all, and instead just hops from one dimension to the other.

imo this one is a lot more bleak in terms of not changing the past, but it DOES bring up the interesting aspect where both timelines are just cocurrent, so for example while the rebellion falls in D1, at the same time in D2, the chase for the key is happening.

AND THEN THE THIRD SCENARIO which kinda of builds on the previous, but its also an option to consider. whatever ""master timeline"" is just the encompassing idea of rottmnt i suppose. we DO see in film that events sort of parallel each other (which has VERY interesting implications of fate), but in different ways (ex. f!mikey winking while opening the time gate compared to mikey winking while closing the portal to the prison dimension).

in this scenario, CJJ goes back in time like a loop, but also experiences a sort of deja vu when events from the apocalypse timeline echo and reflect on the failed timeline which ALSO runs on the cocurrent events scenario.

this one MOST opens up the meta of the peepaw multiverse too because it ALL comes from a source and the paralleling events are just the entirety of the f!leo goes back genre lol so i think this one is the most canon to wmas proper.

ack, ack!!!! its all SO INTERESTING to think about!!!!!!

#i love time travel so fucking much.#its about the implications. the implications!!!!!!!!!#i spent an hour thinking about this and literally days since i got this ask so i get to main tag this as a treat <3 #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #peepaw multiverse #casey jones jr #casey jones #rottmnt meta #<-does that count? im counting it.#wmas asks #we'll meet again soon #wmas creator commentary

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joshuasumter · 2 years

Photo

My latest epic, masterpiece poster for my self-insert Isekai-turned-multiversal saga, Joshua Sumter Meets She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Featuring the worlds and universes from some of your fav Netflix shows and movies in the Netflix-verse...

The Cuphead Show

Green Eggs and Ham

The Dragon Prince

Tiger and Bunny

Lego Elves: Secrets of Elvendale

The Sea Beast

Maya and the Three

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous

Dragon Age Absolution

AND MUCH MORE!

SYNOPSIS: Think you know the whole story of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power? Well...think again because Etheria will never be the same as Joshua Sumter himself stars in his very own block-busting, hard-partying, mind-blowing, multi-dimensional-spanning, world-hopping, fourth-wall-breaking, live-action/animation, self-insert Isekai-turned-multiversal saga retelling that not only flips the script on the hit animated reboot from DreamWorks and Netflix by Noelle Stevenson to reimagine and change the events of the show...but also spans across the wild, the wacky, the scary, the magical, the mythical, sometimes very mature worlds and universes of the Netflix-verse, featuring some of your fan-favorite Netflix shows and movies. Joshua Sumter (Me) was an autistic, creative grown man from Earth (our universe, the "real" world), enjoying a typical yet relaxing day and life eating food, reading media tie-in books and comic books, and writing fanfics. Everything seems perfectly normal...until he woke up in a bewildering, war-torn planet that is oddly familiar but yet slightly changed. It is the planet of Etheria, the world and universe of the hit animated reboot series from Netflix and DreamWorks She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, where an ongoing war rages on between the princess-led Rebellion that wants to maintain peace and harmony for all of Etheria and the dreaded Horde that wants to conquer the planet in the name of its leader, Hordak. At first Joshua believes under the impression that everything going on is all just a dream of himself being in a reinterpetation of the rebooted TV series from the 80s as a full-fledged guest star, taking the first steps of his very own Isekai adventure when he bumps into Adora, Glimmer, and Bow, then hangs out with them, unknowingly accepting the full invitation to join in on the fray as a feature of his dream (all the way from Season 1 to the Battle of Bright Moon). But Joshua's enthusiam falls flat when he quickly gets wrapped up into some very serious stuff during that experience, letting his newlyfound zany antics and madcap-style wits guide his ideas and actions enough to make Joshua fully consider the oddest possibility...that this ISN'T a dream after all. Now surrounded by characters he now considers his new Etherian pals and playing a crucial role as a Fourth-Wall Observer for being completely aware that he's starring in his very own self-insert retelling of the animated show, Joshua decides to flip the script on the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power series to make some changes around here his own way by reimaging and changing events of the show that'll help turn things around for the future of Etheria and Adora's destiny...sort of. As Joshua continues to influence the characters with his twisted action makajalaka in the form of a hard-hitting baseball bat as his holy-sword-like weapon, his sense of imagination, his Official Handbook-level knowledge and more, Adora and her friends wonder about what they make of him and his bizarre, other-worldly perspective of the world they live in. But when things in Etheria just got a whole lot more serious once more and Joshua finds himself at the center of a multiversal adventure that features the worlds and universes from fan-favorite Netflix shows, he'll have to go all Space Jam and Kingdom Hearts to beat the odds as he levels up awareness, let loose the looney-ness, and wreak some hilarious mayhem to help Adora, Glimmer, Bow, the princesses, and the Rebellion out of a real jam while getting into numerous comedic adventures across the Netflix-verse along the way and surprise them by saving their world his own way from a much, bigger threat then the Horde. Based on and inspired by the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power series by Noelle Stevenson and featuring the world of some of your favorite Netflix shows and movies such as The Cuphead Show, Green Eggs and Ham, The Dragon Prince, Tiger and Bunny, Lego Elves: Secrets of Elvendale, The Sea Beast, Maya and the Three, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Dragon Age: Absolution and more, this is the one tale that spans our world and theirs.

#she-ra and the princesses of power #shera and the princesses of power #she ra and the princesses of power #the cuphead show #cuphead show #green eggs and ham #the dragon prince #dragon prince #tiger & bunny #tiger and bunny #lego elves #lego elves secrets of elvendale #the sea beast #maya and the three #jurassic world camp cretaceous #dragon age absolution #crossover #crossovers

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britesparc · 1 month

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Weekend Top Ten #649

Top Ten Interpretations of Transformers

Do you know what I love? I love Transformers. I always have; there’s very little of my life where I wasn’t enjoying those big ol’ stompy robots in disguise, one way or another. I have a comic dated February 1985, when I was only just three. It’s been there all along, like Agatha Harkness (who, funnily enough, was also in disguise, and also had a bangin’ theme tune).

Anyway, one of the things about Transformers as a franchise is, really, it’s just a bunch of toys. There isn’t that one central storyline the way there broadly is in most other long-running franchises; Star Wars is (basically) all one thing; Marvel and DC comics have (basically) one core comic book storyline as well as all the various spin-offs and adaptations; even stuff like Turtles or My Little Pony, which have also had multiple reboots and varied continuities, seem to keep a lot of the basics, or at least don’t continuously contradict each other. Transformers, though, has so many different interpretations; if you ask something relatively straightforward, such as “how did the war start”, “why do they transform”, or even “where did they come from in the first place”, it’s impossible to give an answer without qualifying that it’s only true for some versions. What’s Vector Sigma versus the Creation Matrix versus the Allspark? Who knows? Who cares?

As it’s the fab bot-and-convention TF Nation this weekend, I thought I’d take a moment to celebrate my favourites of all these random, disparate, contradictory realities; what with Deadpool & Wolverine slicing up audiences like nobody’s business, it feels like a very good time to journey through the multiverse again, this time hopping from one Transformers verse to another like a giant metaphysical frog.

What am I on about?

Basically, this week’s list is me looking back on my favourite versions of Transformers, from comics to TV and (potentially) movies. I’ve not included toylines, as I sort of don’t think that counts really without a storyline behind it; and I would have included games, but I never got on with what I’d say is the really big “games-only” Transformers story, the War for Cybertron games, so that’s out. So: stuff to read and watch, essentially. And there is absolutely no surprise over what looms large in my psyche, like a giant predatory bird.

That’s all there is to it. Do you really want me to say it? Sigh… okay.

Roll out.

IDW Volume 1 (comics, 2005-2018): Of course it’s this. What else could it be? At thirteen years, this is probably the longest-running and most consistent Transformers continuity; it’s also the best, offering everything from bombastic action romps to complex and nuanced character arcs to thought-provoking examinations on the concepts and tropes of the franchise itself. From the slow-burn opening arcs to the tragi-comic odyssey of More Than Meets the Eye, this was long-form storytelling at its most impressive; a masterpiece of comic art. Spawned careers and upturned central tenets of the franchise: Megatron being a good guy in the most recent cartoon would not have happened without these comics; I don’t think we’d be getting Impactor and Xaaron toys without these comics. It’s incredibly good.

Marvel UK (comics, 1985-1990): I’m focusing here on the UK-originated stories, which began with Man of Iron (first issue I ever got!) and arguably ended with the text story Dreadwind’s Xmas. In here you have franchise-defining arcs that really helped establish what Transformers was to a lot of readers; long-form epics such as Target: 2006 and Time Wars that delved into places the US version of the comic couldn’t go. Looking back, the timey-wimey weirdness, high body count, and focus on B-and-C-list characters really helped solidify the things I look for in fiction.

Marvel US (comics, 1984-1991): even outside of the (IMO superior) UK-generated stuff, the “main” comic series still ruled. This is the cornerstone, the foundation myth of the entire franchise; this is where most of us get our bedrock knowledge of what a Transformer is, I’d say. Writer Bob Budiansky did a tremendous job wrangling so many characters for so long; once British writer Simon Furman took over (essentially marrying the UK style to the main US stories), it went full-bore apocalyptic. Timeless stuff.

Transformers: Rescue Bots (TV, 2011-2016): my favourite animated series might seem strange; but I applaud it for stepping outside the box, delivering a show for younger kids focused on new characters and scenarios. And, delightfully, it developed its own mythology and sense of style; the inhabitants of Griffin Rock grew into a large cast of beloved faces in that organic Springfield sort of way; and the core four ‘bots are just all-timers in our house.

The Transformers (TV, 1984-1987): I suppose, really, this is where it all began; the original animated series. For essentially a forty-year-old toy advert, it’s aged pretty well for the most part; some stories are silly, some downright horrendous, but the opening More Than Meets the Eye arc still rocks. The theme tune is iconic. And, of course, this is where we get The Transformers: The Movie; something I’d argue is probably the single most important and formative piece of Transformers fiction. Yes, it’s fun in and of itself, and for its interesting production story; but also it was the seed that bore fruit in so many ways across the franchise for decades to come. Til all are one, indeed.

IDW Volume 2 (comics, 2019-2022): when IDW rebooted their whole universe in 2019, I was a bit nonplussed; you only have to scan your eyes upwards a little bit to see just how much I revered their original incarnation of the franchise. However, writer Brian Ruckley (who seemed to steer most of the story) was able to craft an intriguing and slow-burning plot that showed how various schemes and conspiracies led to the outbreak of war. Sharing DNA with IDW’s first run, I feel it lacked a bit of the heart and the smarts, but it was still a compelling tale.

Transformers: Animated (TV, 2007-2009): another great, fun animated series, and another that sort of reimagined the core of the franchise. Here, a small team of Autobots (with an Optimus who is not the big wise old leader) are, effectively, superheroes, operating on Earth like they’re the Teen Titans or something. A slow arc builds as the war intervenes, but the combination of a new dynamic, funnier and more characterful plots, and especially the kinetic and hard-edged design, makes this a classic.

Transformers: Generation 2 (comics, 1993-1994): it took me a while to warm up to this; like when the first IDW continuity ended, I was so wedded to the original Marvel run that this odd and edgy sequel felt out of place. It wasn’t my Transformers, so I didn’t read it at the time. Now, though, I can look back at it fondly as a timely curio; a gruff, bombastic, violent ode to nineties excess, like a parody of an Image Comics version of the franchise. Explosive and propulsive widescreen entertainment, with some great art.

Dreamwave (comics, 2002-2004): they get a lot of stick, quite rightly, for the way the company was run; and also, to be honest, for the quality of some of their early miniseries. But they really did pull it together; the art improved, the spin-off series were gold (The War Within!), and by the time the ongoing was unjustly cancelled (coz the company ran out of money, basically), it looked like it was going to some good and very interesting places. And really, nothing can compare to the thrill I had of seeing that preview issue in a comic book window at university; here was Transformers, looking like my Transformers, back again.

Live-action universe (movies, from 2007): there was a lot of jostling for the tenth spot here; the new comics continuity, from Skybound, is good but I’m still warming up to it; and the animated EarthSpark has some great concepts and designs but I’ve not really seen enough of it yet. So I’m going with the live-action continuity, and quite frankly even I’m shocked. Because what we’ve got here are a series of films that are, for the most part, frankly terrible. But. But! The first Transformers (2007) and last year’s Rise of the Beasts are both good fun; explosive, busy films, maybe too long, but still enjoyable and recognisably Transformers. However, I’ll be honest: this is here entirely because of Bumblebee. I wanted to put that one film on its own but felt it wasn’t fair. Perfectly distilling what made Transformers special, the story of one-girl-and-her-car is poignantly, brilliantly old; it’s essentially E.T. with a giant robot Volkswagen. So watch that, it’s great; and if you enjoy it, watch those other two. Skip the rest, though. They’re shite.

So there we are. I kinda wish I’d managed to watch more than the first few eps of EarthSpark; but to be honest I’ve bust a gut to include Bumblebee, because I genuinely think it’s the best non-comics piece of Transformers media ever produced, so even though it’s part of a stable of films I generally do not like, here it is, propping up the list.

Anyway, hope everyone has a good time at TFN this weekend. And, of course, happy fortieth birthday to Transformers as a whole! And here’s to the next forty. Because, after all… it never ends!

#top ten #comics #cartoons #films #transformers #toys #hasbro #tfnation #tfn

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cherryrainn · 10 months

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━━ ✧ 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦

─ ✩ 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 ; gwen stacy x brownwood palms (oc)

─ ✩ 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ; this story was commissioned.

─ ✩ 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ; physical injury, momentary unconsciousness, emotional struggle, multiverse crisis

─ ✩ 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 ; @ophisoh

in the heart of the towering redwoods in northern coastal california, where the air is thick with the scent of pine, you'll find brownwood palms, known to most as woods. standing at a modest 5'5", or maybe 5'6" on a good day, woods is a vision of earthy charm. her spruce-colored curls cascade down to her shoulders, framing a face adorned with freckles that dance across her golden-brown skin like constellations.

woods moves through the forest with the grace of a creature native to the trees. her lean frame, neither too muscled nor too slender, tells the tale of an active lifestyle. she's at home in the redwoods, navigating the dense terrain with the ease of a creature adapted to its environment.

on her off days, you might find woods in the heart of the forest, enjoying the serene beauty that surrounds her. the calm, realistic demeanor she wears like a second skin is set aside for moments of relaxation and humor. she's serious when needed, but never a stranger to a well-timed joke.

now, imagine a brown-clad figure darting between the ancient redwoods, a fleeting blur that mimics the agility of the huntsman spider. this is hunting spider, or woods in her spider ‘persona’. her suit blends seamlessly with the forest hues, adorned with web-like gliders that trail down her arms.

so, today, as the sun begins its descent behind the ancient redwoods, casting a warm, amber glow across the forest floor, woods is in her element. she's perched on a massive branch, overlooking the serene landscape, a subtle breeze tousling her spruce curls. In this quiet moment, the rustling leaves and distant calls of woodland creatures form a natural symphony that resonates with her calm spirit.

lost in her thoughts, woods traces the patterns of the forest floor below. the tranquility is shattered by the distinctive beep of her communicator, tucked away in her brown-hued suit. It's a call from miguel o'hara, the leader of the spider-society, summoning her for whatever.

"brownwood palms," miguel's voice resonates, devoid of any playful banter. "a disturbance in the multiverse requires your unique skills. report to the rendezvous point immediately."

woods, ever the stoic warrior, nods in acknowledgment. "what's the situation?"

miguel's holographic image remains focused. "an anomaly. the fabric of reality is fraying, and you are needed to ensure it doesn't unravel completely. your partner for this mission is already waiting."

the portal shimmers into existence behind miguel, revealing gwen in her spider-woman attire. there's no need for introductions; these two spider-warriors are very acquainted. the unspoken history between them paints the air with an electrifying tension.

woods, alert and ready, glances at gwen. their eyes meet, and the connection is palpable. the forest seems to hold its breath, as if aware of the intricate dance about to unfold.

"ready?" gwen quips, her tone masking a hint of something deeper.

woods smirks, her response laden with a shared understanding. "always. what's the play this time?"

she shrugs, pushing off the tree. "reality's glitching or something. miguel said it's like a cosmic buffering issue. we're the tech support, i guess."

woods chuckles. "tech support with spider powers. how reassuring."

gwen smirks, her blue eyes scanning the strange landscape. "you know the drill. find the problem, fix it, try not to get squished by any dimension-hopping stuff."

woods nods, her expression serious. "got it.”

gwen smirks, a mischievous glint in her eye. "time to add another anomaly to our collection," she remarks, reaching for the edges of her mask.

as she pulls the mask over her face. spider-woman is ready for action. woods watches with a hint of amusement as gwen tosses her head, settling the mask into place.

gwen glances back at woods. "you coming, or are you admiring the scenery?"

woods smirks, her own mask in hand. "just making sure we're not forgetting the essentials.”

she slips on her mask, the transformation completing the ensemble. the two exchange a nod, and without further ado, gwen takes the lead, striding confidently into the swirling portal. woods follows suit, their figures disappearing into the cosmic unknown.

hunting spider and spider-woman emerge from the portal into a surreal landscape that defies the laws of their familiar forested home. the anomaly is palpable, a distortion in the fabric of reality that sends ripples through the air. gwen, her suit contrasting against the bizarre surroundings, scans the area with a focused intensity.

woods, adapting quickly to the unfamiliar terrain, leaps from one floating platform to another, her agility and speed showcased in each fluid movement. the giant redwoods may be absent, but her skills, honed in the dense forest, serve her well.

gwen smirks. "looks like we've found our glitch in the matrix. time to get to work, woods."

they follow the anomaly's trail, navigating through floating islands and shifting landscapes. the air crackles with an otherworldly energy as they approach the source.

suddenly, the anomaly reveals itself—a monstrous entity composed of distorted fragments of different universes, a chaotic amalgamation. its presence distorts reality further, warping the environment around it.

gwen readies herself, eyes narrowing. "well, that's a visual."

woods, claws unsheathed, moves with a calculated precision. the anomaly lashes out, reality-bending tendrils reaching for them. gwen dodges with acrobatic finesse, her movements a dance between evasion and counterattack.

woods, mid-leap, shouts to gwen, "watch your six, gwen!" gwen responds with a quick nod, acknowledging the warning.

in a burst of speed, woods leaps onto a floating piece of debris, using her claws to anchor herself. with a swift motion, she propels herself towards the anomaly, striking with a flurry of punches and kicks. the anomaly recoils, momentarily disrupted by the assault.

gwen swings in with a well-timed quip, "nice moves, woods!" her webbing creating a makeshift shield as she maneuvers through the chaotic battlefield. the two spider-warriors coordinate seamlessly, each anticipating the other's moves.

despite their efforts, the anomaly adapts, its form shifting and regenerating. gwen presses the attack, her movements fluid and controlled. woods, using the environment to her advantage, darts between platforms, launching precise strikes.

in the midst of the skirmish, the anomaly unleashes a surge of energy, catching gwen off guard. she grits her teeth, holding her ground, but the force is overwhelming. a powerful shockwave knocks her back, and she tumbles, mask slightly askew.

woods, sensing gwen's vulnerability, springs into action. "gwen!" she shouts, intercepting the anomaly's next attack, claws flashing. the anomaly recoils, but not before delivering a powerful blow to gwen.

gwen staggers, mask now completely askew. woods glares at the anomaly, her six eyes focused and determined. she launches herself into a relentless assault, a whirlwind of agility and precision.

despite her efforts, the anomaly retaliates, delivering a blow that sends woods sprawling. the floating platforms shift beneath her, and she struggles to regain her footing.

with gwen incapacitated, woods channels her anger into the fight. the anomaly, sensing her heightened emotions, reacts with increased aggression. reality warps around them as woods dodges and weaves through the chaotic onslaught.

in a burst of determination, woods charges at the anomaly. her claws slash through the distorted fragments, creating a rift in its form. the anomaly roars, but woods doesn't relent. drawing on her agility and speed, she maneuvers around its attacks with a relentless focus.

as the fight reaches its crescendo, woods delivers a series of precise blows, exploiting the anomaly's vulnerabilities. the chaotic entity shudders, its once imposing form shrinking under the onslaught. with a final, powerful strike, woods knocks the anomaly into a diminished state.

seizing the opportunity, woods lunges forward and grabs hold of the shrunken anomaly. it pulses weakly, subdued by her ferocity. determined to secure the threat, she uses strands of her webbing to create makeshift restraints, binding the anomaly into a compact and manageable size.

with the anomaly under control, woods turns her attention to gwen. she gracefully swings over to where spider-woman lies, her mask askew and unconscious. gently, she hovers over gwen, her eyes narrowing with concern as she takes in the bruises and cuts on her friend's face.

for a moment, the stoic facade that Woods often wears falters. the worry is evident in her six eyes, and she carefully brushes a strand of gwen's hair away from her bruised cheek. the sight of gwen, vulnerable and battered, tugs at something deeper within woods.

"you really know how to put up a fight, don't you?" woods mutters, a hint of a smile playing on her lips as she speaks to the unconscious gwen. despite the attempt at humor, the worry lingers in her voice.

with a sigh, woods straightens up, her six eyes scanning the surroundings. the surreal landscape remains, a testament to the chaos they just quelled. the subdued anomaly still hangs at her side, a silent reminder of the battle.

"but hey, we always make it out in one piece, right?"

as if expecting an answer, woods quirks an eyebrow at the unconscious spider-woman. it's a rare playful gesture, an attempt to lighten the atmosphere despite the lingering worry.

"you're not making it easy to keep an eye on you, you know?" woods continues, her tone softening. "but i wouldn't have it any other way."

as woods speaks those words, the air seems to shimmer, and a portal materializes nearby. miguel steps through, his expression a mix of curiosity and concern. the other members of the spider-society follow suit, their eyes shifting between woods and the subdued anomaly slung over her shoulder.

"what happened out here?" miguel inquires, his gaze moving from woods to the unconscious gwen.

woods offers a brief explanation, detailing the anomaly and the intense battle that followed. as she speaks, the other members of the spider-society take note, their attention focused on the subdued entity and the unconscious spider-woman.

miguel nods, understanding the gravity of the situation. "we'll take it from here. let's get gwen help, and someone analyze that anomaly."

the spider-society members move efficiently, taking gwen and the anomaly into their care. woods watches them, her six eyes reflecting a mix of relief and lingering concern.

as the others carry gwen away, miguel turns to woods. "you did well out there. we'll handle things from here. take a moment to catch your breath."

woods nods appreciatively, her focus shifting back to the surreal landscape around them. the remnants of the battle are evident, but the immediate threat has been neutralized.

alone for a moment, woods reflects on the events that unfolded. the worry she felt for gwen, the intensity of the battle—they linger in the air. she takes a deep breath, the weight of the multiverse pressing on her shoulders.

with a determined expression, woods joins the spider-society as they prepare to return to their headquarters. the anomaly, now in their custody, dangles ominously as they step through the portal, leaving the surreal landscape behind.

a few days pass, and gwen finds herself in a makeshift hospital bed in hobie's universe. the atmosphere is filled with a hushed quiet, punctuated only by the occasional beeping of medical equipment. the bruising on her face has started to fade, but the visible signs of the recent battle remain.

as gwen lies there, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought, a faint rustle draws her attention. the window creaks open, and a figure dressed in shades of brown gracefully slips into the room.

woods, having found her way to hobie's universe, stands by the window, her six eyes glinting with a mix of determination and concern.

"woods?" gwen's eyes widen with surprise as her friend makes her entrance. "what are you doing here?"

woods raises a finger to her lips with a playful smirk. "hey, gwen. just checking in. heard you were still rooming in hobie's dimension."

gwen chuckles softly, a hint of warmth in her gaze. "you could've used the door, you know."

woods grins. "where's the fun in that?"

gwen playfully rolls her eyes. "you're impossible, woods."

woods mock salutes. "guilty as charged."

their eyes meet, and a moment of quiet understanding passes between them. despite the hospital setting, a sense of comfort and camaraderie lingers in the air.

"how're you feeling?" woods asks, a genuine concern in her voice.

gwen shifts in the bed, wincing slightly. "been better. but hobie's been great. he insisted i continue to stay here for a bit."

woods nods, her eyes softening. "good call. you took a pretty rough hit back there."

gwen smirks. "yeah, well, not every dayi get smacked by a reality-bending anomaly."

woods chuckles. "true enough. anyway, i got you a little something.” she reveals a small, delicate flower, its petals a vibrant burst of color. gwen's eyes light up with surprise and gratitude. "woods, you didn't have to..."

she shrugs. "just a little something from my dimension. thought it might brighten up this place."

gwen takes the flower, marveling at its beauty. "it's… perfect. thanks, woods."

woods gives her a soft smile. "well, i figured you could use a touch of the redwoods' beauty. plus, it matches your aesthetic."

gwen laughs softly, a blush dusting her cheeks. "you really put thought into this, huh?"

woods scratches the back of her head, a bashful smile crossing her lips for once. "maybe a little. i mean, you've been through a lot, and i thought a pretty flower might make you feel better." gwen gazes at the flower, a warmth spreading through her chest.

"it does more than that. it brightens up my whole day. and you... you always seem to know how to make me smile."

woods shifts her weight, a subtle nervous energy in the air. "well, you're worth it, gwen. i mean, who wouldn't wanna see you smile?"

gwen's smile widens, and she gently nudges woods with her shoulder. "you're such a dork, woods."

she feigns offense. "hey… it’s part of my charm."

they share a playful moment, their laughter filling the hospital room. the flower sits in a small vase by gwen's bedside, a vibrant burst of color against the sterile surroundings.

as the laughter subsides, a comfortable silence falls between them. woods leans against the window sill, her gaze softening as she looks at gwen.

"you know," woods begins, her voice quieter, "i was really worried when i saw you go down back there. it's... it's not easy seeing someone you care about in danger."

gwen meets woods' gaze, the sincerity in her friend's eyes unmistakable. "i know, woods. but i don’t know what i would’ve done if you weren’t there. thanks.”

woods smiles softly, a mixture of gratitude and affection in her eyes. "you don't have to thank me. we're a team, right? saving each other is just what we do."

gwen nods, her expression reflecting the depth of their connection. "yeah, but it's more than that, woods. you being there, risking everything... it means a lot to me." woods' gaze lingers on gwen, a warmth spreading through her.

"well, what kind of friend would i be if i let anything happen to you?"

the word "friend" hangs in the air, carrying a weight that goes beyond the ordinary.

gwen reaches out, gently squeezing woods' hand. "friend, huh? i don’t know… i appreciate you more than words can say."

woods' eyes widen slightly, a subtle surprise in her expression. the air between them shifts, and the unspoken connection takes on a new layer of meaning.

"yeah... yeah me too," woods admits, her voice carrying a sincerity that goes beyond friendship. "i care about you more than words can explain."

the vulnerability in woods' admission is met with a tender smile from gwen. "well, you're stuck with me, then. friends, something more, whatever it is, I'm glad you're here."

woods smirks playfully, her gaze softening. "wouldn't have it any other way, spider-woman."

as they share a moment of quiet understanding, the small hospital room feels filled with something intangible yet powerful—the blossoming of a connection that transcends the boundaries of friendship and hints at the possibility of something more.

#SPIDERVERSE #across the spiderverse #spiderman into the spiderverse #spiderverse oc #gwen stacy #across the spider verse #atsv #gwen stacy atsv #gwen stacy x oc #fluff #writing commission #commission

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