#or as i've decided to call it... mojo

[daydreamsandafternoonteafics]

Crossroads- Chapter 3

banner by shesaidpoptarts

I had already decided it was going to be a crummy day before my feet even hit the floor.

With a loud yawn, I slammed my hand a final time against my alarm clock, dragging a hand across my face to wipe the sleep out of my eyes. My head had hardly left the pillow before I was hit with the strongest wave of nausea that sent me running straight to the bathroom. I could never prepare myself for the nasty feeling that crept its way into my system each morning and refused to settle down until well after noon. As the final days of my first trimester came to a close, I only seemed to feel sicker than ever.

This baby was making me pay for every moment I've spent doubting it.

I hovered over the toilet in a violent dry heave, wishing I could just cancel the day and crawl back into bed but I had goals I needed to meet. I had two dozen lemon cupcakes to make for a bridal shower and a plate of chicken salad for an office going-away party. Plus after a three-week hiatus I was dying to get back to my Pilates class. No matter how horrible I felt I was determined to not let my temporary condition hold me back from everyday life.

After completing my morning routine I threw on a pair of leggings and a sports bra that was almost too small and headed to the kitchen in search of some sort of caffeine. Food was still very much an unsolved issue. I could hardly keep anything down and because I now had the job of growing another human being, I was running on low energy. Coffee was my only saving grace.

I'd hardly noticed Harry leaned against the countertop as I made a beeline for the coffeemaker.

"Morning, darling." he drawls.

He's dressed smartly in a button up and blazer, a clear indication that it was a day at the office for him.

"Morning," I reply shortly balancing on my toes to peep in the cupboard for a mug.

"Where are you off to today?" he asks casually.

I grab the first mug in sight, a standard tiffany blue one that had been apart of a china set Mom had given us for as a wedding present, and pour as much coffee as it can hold.

"Pilates. Haven't been in a couple of weeks. I need to get my mojo back,"

He raises an eyebrow pressing his own mug to his lips.

"Don't you think you should quit for a while? That can't be totally healthy for the baby, yeah?"

I hadn't really thought about what I should and shouldn't do during my pregnancy. As far as I was concerned I was able to do everything any other woman was capable of doing until I could no longer see my toes.

"Exercise is good. Just because I'm growing a baby between my hips doesn't mean I have to become a couch potato. I'm pregnant, not an invalid." I reply sharply before taking a generous sip of coffee.

A dimpled smirk settles on his lips.

"Shouldn't be drinking that either. Caffeine's not good for the baby."

My eye twitches in annoyance. I haven't been up for a whole hour yet and he's already bossing me around.

"Oh really? Says who?" I question defensively.

"A little search engine called google. You should check it out sometime, Riv." he replies smoothly.

I set down my mug with a twinge of guilt and curiosity. We'd still had yet to sit down and properly talk about how different life was going to be in the following months and as always Harry was a closed book. There were still so many things I wasn't sure of and hearing the word 'baby' suddenly in his vocabulary was confusing.

"You researched this?"

I run a hand through my barely brushed hair awaiting an answer.

Harry shrugs.

"Sure. Why'd ya look so surprised? " he rasped. "this is important information you should know."

I chew at my lip in thought avoiding his penetrating jade eyes. I hate to admit that I've developed a level of mistrust. Sometimes it's so hard to tell whether or not he's being genuine or looking to start a fight.

"I'm just surprised," I weak slowly, searching his face for some sort of offense. "and disappointed. Coffee's my kryptonite right now."

He chuckles slowly, abandoning his coffee to move closer to me.

"Well, you'll just have to find another, babe," his eyes shift to the kitchen clock briefly. "I've got to run. I'll be late if I don't leave now."

He leans down pressing a quick kiss to my mouth.

"Lay off the caffeine and don't work yourself too hard, yeah?"

He stares at me pointedly and I bite back my grin.

"Can't keep any promises. Have a great day, Harry."

He's gone in the blink of an eye and I find myself with a permanent blush for the rest of the morning.

Why is he so hard to read?

**** "River! Long time no see,"

I'd hardly had a chance to place my mat down before the petite, wide-eyed brunette was squealing at me. My pilates class was full of spoiled trophy wives and catty soccer moms whose main loves in life were yoga pants and iced coffee. This hour of exercise was like the holy grail of their day because nothing beats a good work out and some juicy gossip. The thought that in seven-plus months I could possibly be one of those women made me shutter.

"It's only been three weeks, Hannah," I reply whilst pulling my hair back away from my face.

Hannah was a young, bubbly mother who talked too much for my liking. We were 'mat mates' in that our mats were positioned near each other but that was the extent of our relationship. In her mind we're the best of friends but I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth.

"That's almost a whole month! I gain like ten pounds if I miss a week. But look at you, still runway ready and glowy as ever. I don't know how you do it, especially with your job and all. I'd be eating non-stop! My body's never been the same since I had Bristol,"

I was still failing to see this 'glow' that everyone kept mentioning but I didn't mind the compliment.

"I had a bit of a stomach bug. Been drinking a lot of water and vitamin C. That's probably it," I lie hoping to shut down any more conversation about babies and weight.

I was certain that I'd gained at least ten pounds within the last month but with my height it was easy to disguise. I wonder how I'm supposed to explain myself once I finally start rolling up to class sporting a full-on baby bump.

"You poor thing!" Hannah squeals. "I don't know whether to pity you or envy you."

I'm saved from any further conversation when our instructor enters the room and lies her mat on the floor immediately diving into the warm-up. I take a deep breath as I'm told, hoping to rid my body of its newfound stress and tension.

I bend down preparing to settle into downward dog when the blood rushes to my head all too fast almost causing me to lose my footing. Down dog was never my favorite stretch and by the violent churning of my stomach, I can tell the baby's not a fan of being turned upside down either. I take a few deep breaths, hoping that the feeling will pass but the bile is already rising to my throat.

Trying my hardest not to make a scene I spring up from my mat and stumble off to the nearest restroom, hardly kicking open the stall before I'm regurgitating what little contents I'd consumed into the porcelain bowl.

I let out a weak groan of exhaustion, hot tears spilling from the corners of my eyes. When the second wave hits I'm gripping the edge of the toilet seat as if my life depends on it, full on sobbing in anguish.

Why is this so goddamn miserable? "River. River are you okay?"

Hannah's loud voice echoes throughout the empty restroom doing little to startle me in my delicate state. She looks surprised once she finds me crouched in a fetal position.

"You poor thing!" she coos.

Her figure is blurry through my tears and I brush the stray tendrils peaking from my ponytail out of my face, not wanting to risk looking any worse than I already did.

"Here, let me help you up."

She reaches out her hand but I shake my head.

"Honestly, Hannah. I'm fine," My voice comes out in a miserable croak that isn't very convincing. I bear down on the stall's ball to help myself up. The room still feels like its spinning when I stand to my feet and I squeeze my eyes shut only to realize I'd never stopped crying.

Hannah smile sympathetically following me as I head to the sink.

"I've got a Gatorade in my gym bag and I've always keep a packet of goldfish in my purse for Bristol. You're welcome to have them."

I ignore her offer as I stoop over the faucet and swish the water around my mouth in hopes of getting the bitter taste of bile off my tongue. Grabbing a paper towel I dab away the perspiration on my forehead whilst staring at my reflection. Apart from a slight puffiness around my eyes, I had a healthy flush in cheeks. I didn't look my worse but I certainly felt it.

"You're expecting, aren't you?"

She stares at me through the mirror, a knowing smirk upon her lips.

My stomach drops and I nervously chew at my lip.

"What-what makes you think that?" I stutter, blurting the first thing that comes to mind.

I hadn't even told my own mother I was pregnant yet and the last thing I wanted was the mouth of the South to be the first to know.

"C'mon River. Stomach bugs last no longer than what, forty-eight hours? Plus that glow just doesn't come from drinking water. I'm not stupid. I've been pregnant before, you know."

Damnit. I've got to learn to be consistent with my lies. I stare down at my bare feet with a defeated sigh, nodding slowly.

"Oh my gosh! " she squeals "That's amazing! I'm so excited for you! Bristol will have a playmate!"

She doesn't hesitate to pull me in for a hug, her thin arms squeezing tight against my torso. She smells like cupcakes and her embrace is warm and so of full of genuineness that I find myself tearing up again.

"Don't cry. I promise not to tell anyone if you don't want me to," she speaks whilst pulling away.

I wipe away my tears slowly, swallowing the large lump in my throat.

"It's just been a huge adjustment. I've never felt more miserable in my life."

The words sound stupid coming out of my mouth. I know there's many people in the world with larger problems and all I am is an emotional pregnant woman but there's so much more to this. When I realize that a random woman in my pilates class has been more supportive of my pregnancy than my own husband all I can do is cry.

"Morning sickness is a real bitch, I know. It'll get better soon. Once you get past the first trimester you'll be as happy as a fat cat."

I want to be happy. I want to be happy so badly but I can't help but feel like this baby is spoiling everything: my exercise my marriage, my sanity. I open my mouth to say protest but I quickly close it as not to reveal too much information. I simply plaster on a smile.

"I should probably go.I've got so much to do." I announce feverishly. "Thanks for your help, Hannah."

She grins.

"No problem. Sure you don't want those goldfish?"

I chuckle.

"Sure, why not?" **** I somehow felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders after admitting my pregnancy to Hannah. It felt nice talking to someone who seemed to understand at least part of what I was going through and I didn't have to feel like the village outcast carrying around a deep, dark secret.

If only I was certain that I had the support of someone else.

"Audley,"

The muffled familiar voice and the wrapping of knuckles against my car window woke me with a start. After making my food rounds, I'd arranged to meet up with Ryan at the farmer's market. It had been a few weeks since we'd seen each other or really even talked and I'd needed to get some shopping done anyway. I must have dozed off while waiting on him to arrive. It was so hard not to have a quiet moment to myself and not take a nap these days.

I flash a sleepy grin, slowly unbuckling my seatbelt.

"Sorry to wake you, Angel. You looked so peaceful but I'd probably be stuck standing here forever."

I chuckle slamming the door behind me.

"I'm fine," I reply staring into his blue eyes. "best fifteen minutes of sleep I've had in my life."

Ryan flashes his boyish grin pushing the hair that falls in his face away from his eyes.

"Haven't seen you in like three weeks," he speaks casually throwing an arm over my shoulder as we head over to the produce. "Harry keeping you locked away in his castle?"

I roll my eyes whilst grabbing a shopping bag.

"You know that's not true and you know I hate it when you say that." I replied sharply before tearing away from his to ogle at the fresh papayas on display.

He sighs.

"I know. I just can't help but notice that every time he comes back you disappear for awhile."

It wasn't a lie. The carefree days of childhood when our parents had to practically pry us away from each other's homes had been replaced with the adult responsibilities like work or my case, marriage. I often found myself struggling to balance my time between Harry and Ryan and usually ended up spending extended periods of time with one or the other until something changed that. If Harry knew how much time Ryan and I spent together when he wasn't around he'd probably flip.

"Well I'm here now," I reply tossing the heavy fruit in the bag and hoping to change the subject. "what have you been up to lately?"

I'm far too busy salivating over the various amounts of fresh fruit to really pay attention to what he's saying. It was strange. This morning I was chugging coffee like my life depended on it but suddenly I felt as if I could live by fruit alone.

"I drove up to the beach to see Dad last weekend," he speaks from behind me. "ran into your mom. She said you were acting a little.. strange the last time you stopped by. Thought I might know what was going on."

I'd almost squeezed the orange in my hand to a pulp upon his last sentence, my stomach that had yet to be disturbed since this morning twisted into knots. I was sure I'd acted completely normal around my mother so why would she tell Ryan otherwise? Damn mother's intuition.

"Strange?" I squeak trying to control the flush of my cheeks."what does she mean strange? I'm totally fine."

He raises a thick eyebrow at me in concern. I could just come clean and make the announcement to my best friend that I was having a baby but I'd rather not go through this spill again for the second time today. I was sure there was a better time to have this conversation.

"You sure?"

I nod slowly.

"Positive. I'm fine."

I go back to tossing fruits in the bag and Ryan chuckles.

"What's with all the fruit? Your bag's going to burst if you keep piling it on."

I'd hardly noticed that I'd mindlessly loaded my bag up with mangos, peaches, avocados and probably fruits I didn't even know the name of.

I shrug.

"It's spring. People like fruits in spring."

Ryan grins.

"You're a mess,"

If only he knew.

[yeetmetotheforbiddenwildwest]

I've created an alternate universe in my head where Sam and Charlie are siblings, both 16-18 in the first movie, and instead of Sam having annoying parents and having to do the 3 A's thing and his dad buying it, they find the yellow Camaro in the same scrapyard as in the Bumblebee movie when Charlie goes to find parts for the corvette, and get it for free from the old guy as a birthday present for Charlie and/or Sam. Charlie is still a part-time mechanic and she knows about her brother's crush on her also-a-mechanic friend, Mikaela, who helps them with the Corvette. That night Bumblebee drives off, causing Sam to think their new car is being stolen so he get's his sister up and they grab their bikes and chase after him, arriving in the junkyard where they both are arrested.

Their Mom, Sally (yes I changed their parents) is a nurse and was working the night shift when she had to go pick them up from the station. Morning comes, and Sam and Charlie go to eat breakfast and find their new car that was stolen in their driveway and freak out, grabbing their dog(haven't decided if it's Conan, or Mojo; it might be a completely different dog) , and Sam calls his friend Miles.

Charlie decided she wants to go investigate, especially after what they saw last night. Sam agrees, so the two of them grab their bikes and get out of the house but the car(Bee) starts following them.

They drive past the Burger King, Sam flips his bike, but gets up. Mikaela asks if he's okay and he says he thinks he's going crazy before leaving to catch up with his sister. Mikaela tells her friends she'll see them later and follows Sam to find out what's going on. Cue Sam meeting Barricade and running into Mikaela just like the movie.

Meanwhile, Charlie finds the Camaro which then transforms in front of her. This is when she finds out Bee is a transformer. Bee transforms to his alt-mode, she gets in and they go to find Sam. Sam and Mikaela are being attacked by Barricade when they find them and Bumblebee screeches to a halt, the window rolls down, and Charlie immediately tells them both to get in.

Basically the same thing happens next, Sam tells Mikaela the '50 years from now' thing to convince her to go with them. She does and they meet the other bots. After this they go home to get the glasses and basically the same thing happens but Charlie's there too.

Do with this information what you will.

[doctorstrangereview]

0070: Doctor Strange #175

Cover Date: December 1968 On-Sale Date: September 3, 1968

This issue we kick off the next big arc. This issue Gene Colan abandons any attempt at a traditional panel layout. Heck, he takes two pages to give us the issue's title. This is probably why the story is a page longer than the usual count of this era. He goes hog wild and it's magical. Marvel isn't crediting the colorist yet which is a shame. Colors in this issue pop in all their gaudy wonderfulness. Gene makes it a point to show us lots of contemporary fashion and the colorist makes them impossible to ignore. Despite his extreme overuse of the exclamation point, Roy Thomas gives us tight plotting and great character moments.

After traveling down the sewers of New York City to reach our arc's main villains, the Sons of Satannish, we find them spying on our heroes, Doc and Clea, through their version of Doc's Orb of Agamotto, the Satan Sphere! We finally break the green-coded villain trope of the series. These cultists are wearing wonderful scarlet robes. They are a huge improvement on the plain grey ones we saw Mordo's minions wearing a bunch of months ago. They even have head gear to make The Flying Nun's wimple look modest.

Our voyeuristic cult members follow Doc and Clea in their walk through a park. The narrative doesn't tell us which. My guess is Washington Square Park. It's the closest to the Sanctum Sanctorum. Doc and Clea are having a fairly mundane conversation. While Doc has donned a nice casual suit, forgoing a dress shirt and tie for a turtleneck and medallion that looks like a cross between his cloak's collar and Doctor Who time lord collar. It's eye-catching to say the least. Despite Wong having purchased Clea a new wardrobe last issue, she walks about in her Dark Dimension outfit, still ducking her collar through the Earth dimension's narrow doorways. Clea complains about the sameness she see's everywhere including dress and then this guy crosses their path.

Clea decides she can't take all this mundane walking and decides to give everyone a show of her skintight body suit by flying in the air.

Doc brings her back to Earth and attempts to explain why this is a bad idea. The nearby crowd confirms Doc's explanation. Doc non-consensually wipes their memories of the incident.

Has anyone ever written about superheroes and consent?

Clea starts to feel woozy and Doc decides it's time to grab a cab and go home. Fortunately for them, Herman the cab driver accommodates them even though he usually doesn't pick up those in hippie get ups. (While Clea may be wearing something that could be interpreted as Hippie, Doc is just a bit casual.) This is all being watched the cultists who decide it's time to act and we spend a page and half of them summoning Satannish in a very trippy way. When he arrives, we find that Gene has redesigned Satannish so he no longer looks like flesh cylinder with a face in the middle and arms growing out of the top of his head. To show off the new look Gene uses an entire page to awe us with.

Asmodeus, head of the cultists, pleads for more power in a snobby and elitist way. Satannish bristles when Asmodeus calls himself "supreme among this equals," but gives them the extra mojo anyway. It's immediate turned against Doc and Clea in Herman's cab. Doc senses this. Not wanting to disturb Clea who is resting on him or tip off Herman, he goes ghost for the first time since Gene took over art. And I lied. There are a few panels that are rectangles.

Doc's astral body is surrounded by rings of force which threaten to crush him. Doc is resourceful and manages to free himself. Gene and the mystery colorist give us a wonderfully surreal depiction of the battle.

That looks really cool! I've read that this type of image was a nightmare for the colorist. Doc's mystical feat feeds back into the Satan Sphere causing it to shatter. How will the cultists get their voyeuristic jollies now?

Doc returns to his body just as the cab arrives at Clea's new pad. Doc decides to walk the rest of the way back to his Sanctum. While walking he starts changing into his usual threads to the consternation of the some of the locals. I'm not sure if this was on purpose or if Doc was just being absent-minded.

Doc reaches his Sanctum and, after startling Wong by dropping the last of his illusory street threads right in front of him, he heads to the Book of the Vishanti. After Kaluu kidnapped the book, Doc has been keeping it under something called The Shield of Not-Seeing. Roy, you really could have done better than that. Doc reads up on our devil Satannish. Yup another Faustian bargain! Good thing Clea is safe! Wait, he didn't non-consensually wipe Herman's memory! Uh-oh!

Meanwhile, Clea is brooding in the dark inside her apartment in a delightful Dutch angle.

Miss Clea will be giving us all sorts of melodrama! Her brooding is interrupted by who she thinks is Wong. "Wong" tells her the master has instructed him to bring her to him right away. They set out as Doc finds Herman in his cab, entranced. Clea is in danger.

Switching back to Clea, she suspects there is something up with Wong just as they are attacked by a street gang. Clea tries to fight back even causing one of the attackers to vanish, but her wooziness from earlier has returned and she's out of juice. Just as they close in, Clea is dragged into a nearby alleyway by a scarlet-clad cultist. He tells the weakened and naive Clea he is her friend.

This is a rather exciting start to the next arc. We get some tender moments between Doc and Clea. Doc keeping her at arms length by getting her a separate pad leaves us guessing about the nature of the relationship. Clea is still getting used to this new world that is much more restrictive than where she grew up. Roy weaves in more plot threads with Clea losing her power. How will the confused Clea react to Asmodeus? And most importantly, will Herman be okay? These questions and more will be answered in the next installment!

[thesixthplaneteer]

Hey ho! For the fic writing ask game, I would love to know: ✅ + 🎶 + 🎀 + 🦉 + 🔥

Thank you so much 🙏

Hellooo! thank you for the ask <3

✅ list one or two favorite lines you’ve written and explain why they’re your favorite

“You watch your attitude! You need to keep the racket down, quiet hours begin at seven PM! I’d fine you if I didn’t have to give you a verbal warning!” She tore into him like a crusty white dog going feral over someone walking too close to their favorite bone.

This is a bit from my main project! Basically, HOA grandma didn't appreciate the "oh go I'm a vampire!" angst of the MC.

🎶 do you write with music? does the music you’re listening to influence your writing?

I do sometimes if it's something I want to tune everything out and focus on. I don't think the music influences the writing but having a music that match the mood of what I'm writing really helps. But most of the time I'm listening to the Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus OST.

🎀 how do you decide when something is done?

This is a difficult one. I still have a hard time knowing when something is done. One way I decide is if writing it or writing out a specific scene feels like it's a slog or dragging on then I consider if it would feel the same way for the reader. So I force myself to move to the next part or stop.

As far as when I'm done editing, still trying to figure that one out myself. Basically I hit a point of "fuck it" and call it done

🦉 give yourself a piece of writing advice

Create more story structure before starting the prose on larger projects.

Something that Novella November made me realize is that I need to work on my planning and structure more.

🔥 what’s something that’s currently going really well?

I already talked about my main project going well so I'll tell you about something else.

I've picked up my Star Trek project again and it's fun to work on it because it's self indulgent and is helping me get my mojo back my main project after Novella November wore me out.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Writer asks: 1, 6, 7, 20, 25

Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

Finding a current project is kind of a problem. After focusing on short fiction, it's hard for me to commit to one story. I'll get excited during brainstorming, and by the time I go to write, I'll either find major holes in the concept/things that need further development, or I'll lose interest and get invested in a different project. So maybe I'll just talk about the top contenders for my attention and the appeal of/issues with each.

Goose Girl retelling: I've got two different options here. One that focuses on the Goose Girl going to the court of a king who's known for his political ruthlessness, getting betrayed by her best friend, and having to decide if she's got what it takes to survive in politics. The other is a more worldbuilding focused one, about a cultured princess having to overcome her prejudices against the "barbaric" people she was supposed to rule. The different pieces of each story keep mashing together so I can't decide which direction to take. I love the king in the first option, and I love the princess' character arc in the second. But I can't quite decide if either is worth telling on its own, or if I'm just drawn to the puzzle aspect of filling in the fairy tale.

Shadowstruck: I love the set-up I have here. I love the themes and world. But after the set-up, I'm not sure how complicated I want the plot to get. And I feel like I should flesh out these characters more--I especially need to figure out her father's character.

Paper Wings: An epistolary Cinderella retelling set in an Edwardian world of airships and planes and floating islands. There's a lot of fun potential in the different voices and the character arc/romance, but again, not sure if it's worth telling.

Arateph: I wanted to work on my Princess and the Pea retelling but lost my mojo. (I love the FMC's arc and themes here). The Cinderella is intriguing, especially now that I'm considering keeping it mostly from Cinderella's POV instead of stressing how to fit it into Tanza's timeline as a sequel.

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

I've kind of forgotten how to write for characters, honestly. I want to learn how to do that again. I had fun writing William and Margaret in "For Love of the Princess", and I had a ton of fun writing Alistair and Faith in "A Wise Pair of Fools". I also was surprised at how fun it was to write Snow White in "Reflections"--she's so impossibly innocent and sweet.

7. What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?

Aside from what I've already mentioned, I love writing in second-person--I love to have my narrator talking to someone. I also like to use that POV to write a surreal fairy tale every once in a while.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

"Loving Memory" was a mashup of "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" and "Alleleirauh", and I kept being shocked at how perfectly those fairy tales filled in each other's plot holes and deepened the symbolism. Like, it never made much sense to me that the troll princess was willing to sort-of prostitute out her fiance for random gold objects, but one-of-a-kind dresses made of the sun, moon and stars are something worth almost any price, and one dance isn't too much to trade for. The wife having Alleleirauh's coat of all furs as her only possession after betraying her husband deepened the Eden imagery of the story--it calls back to Adam and Eve being clad in furs as they were cast out of the garden. I was shocked by how well they meshed.

25. What part of writing is the most fun?

Right now, it's just writing things on the fly and seeing what I can come up with--playing with images and voice and letting myself be surprised by the results.

[cherry-bomb-ships]

8 and/or 9 for mojo? :^O -hotrodharts

Aaaaaah thanks Robbie!!! 💙💙💙

8) Does your f/o have any animation trademarks/”ticks”? 

YESSSS And this is something I adore so so so much, I've been wanting to mention it for a while now 0w0 So if we're talking abt little quirks SPECIFICALLY in the animation, one that I absolutely adore is that, about uhhhh.. let's say 80% of the time, Mojo Jojo's cape is dramatically blowing to the side behind him even if there's definitely no possible wind source. It is just never stationary and it rly adds SO much to his presence on-screen, I love that they decided to do that 😭💖😭💖😭💖

9) Do your recognize your f/o’s voice from other productions?

NO AND I TRIED, I actually went on Roger L. Jackson's wikipedia to see what else he was in and learned that he's done ALL the voices on the phone calls in every Scream movie??? INCLUDING RECENT ONES??? I went back and rewatched the start of the first Scream movie (which is an amazing movie btw go watch it) after reading that, and there is not a single moment where I think to myself "oh yeah this is the guy who voices Mojo Jojo" not ONCE. VOICE ACTORS ARE SUCH WIZARDS

💜 ask game here! 💜

[emmalostinwonderland]

I've been in a slump for about a month now, but I decided to just start working on a oneshot until I get my mojo back to finish the two looming WIPs. Here's a snippet from something cozy I've been putting together.

So now here they are, Henry dozing peacefully with Alex resting his head on his tummy. The racing, overlapping thoughts that tend to occupy his mind have quieted down to just a simple melody - a blessing, really, since Alex had suggested the day before that they leave their phones shut off and out of reach. He’s certain he has at least 68 unread texts by now, not to mention the missed calls and work emails and and and… He closes his eyes again and nuzzles into Henry until his mind quiets again. The anxious buzzing turns to total silence when long fingers find their way into his curls.

tagging @babygirlbridger @insertmeaningfulusername @materassassino @malakia215 and open tag for anyone else who wants to post

[mechanicalinertia]

STMPD Recommends Black Lagoon Fanfiction: Ragna Crimson's Bullets

Oh. You didn't notice? Over the past two months or so I've gotten really into Black Lagoon. Like, to the point that I'm working on a BGC crossover fic with the franchise. The Knight Sabers in Roanapur... whatta concept.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about! That can wait! Instead, I'm trying to get my creative mojo back by talking about a fanfic I just finished reading last night, but which is unfinished, and oh boy it's a blast. That's the only adjective which fits Bullets: A blast.

Look, I think the author summarizes it perfectly in the FF.net description, anyway:

We are moving away from murky, emotionally strong stories and dark plots. This story is about a bunch of characters doing crazy shit, where anything can happen.

So. Lot of people, specifically those in the Lagoon fandom, like Black Lagoon for the murky emotionally strong stories and dark plots. And Ragna Crimson, who seems to speak Spanish as his first language (Bullets is in both languages), is acknowledging that. Okay. Good.

But... Crimson also is 'moving away from that'. Which is an interesting challenge, because as much as the fandom likes the dark stuff in Lagoon, plenty of people who are just anime fans seem to find those parts... annoying? The parts where Revy goes ranting about how the world has no kindness and all one can do is keep on killing because otherwise you'll be killed in turn? Yeah. Those parts. I've always held that as much as they tell us a lot about the franchise's philosophy - which I don't necessarily track with all the time - they tell us more about Revy and how she's put herself in this nihilistic hole that's just as bad as Rock's own naivete, as if both characters' morality is more their own thing than it is a gospel truth. Well. Whatever. Moving on. We have to move on, because Bullets doesn't give a shit about any of that.

It is, after all, a story about a bunch of characters doing crazy shit where anything can happen.

Which... isn't that when Lagoon's at its best, anyway? Larger-than-life characters with big guns, pulpy people doing pulpy things? And that is the essence of Bullets. More than that - Bullets distills and amplifies that devil-may-care sense of things. It's action, yes, but it's also nonstop comedy of a sort.

Anyway! The plot. Rock doesn't want to stay with the Lagoon Company, so he decides to be a bartender for Bao at the Yellow Flag, despite the fact that said bar gets destroyed in almost every arc of, well, everything. This seeking peace doesn't last long, though. First we've got a redux of the Roberta arc, and then Hansel and Gretel show up... only this time around, they're working (sort of) for Balalaika, and promptly slip her grasp to fuck shit up with grenades. By chapter four, they take mercy on Rock and agree to call him 'Boss' (Gretel wants to do it more than Hansel, and in fact constantly calls Hansel the more psychotic one. A change from canon - these two bicker incessantly). Only, they've, uh, blown up most of Hotel Moscow and Chang's base already. Including Balalaika's toilet specifically. Hansel blowing up toilets because he's bored, specifically Balalaika's toilets, becomes a running gag.

From there, the fic can be split up into various arcs where Rock and the Twins work with the Lagoon Company, Hotel Moscow, and the Triads to varying degrees. In one, they break a Triad boss from a Taiwanese prison by sneaking in through the sewers and also hosing the entire place down with a minigun. In another, the Washimine-gumi comes to Roanapur and Ginji immediately decides to get in a fight with Revy at Rowan's nightclub. And so on and so forth. You might call the whole series a remix of canon, with familiar locations and characters, but unfamiliar ways everything plays out.

Okay, so it's not entirely unfamiliar. If anything, the familiar is amplified. More swearing. More stupid jokes. A few instances of leaning on the fourth wall (calling other people 'side characters', Rock calling Revy tsundere to Ginji, one Bakemonogatari reference). More weird ambiguous romantic-ish feelings between Rock and Revy. And, uh, Rock's great in this one.

I mean, holy shit, folks. He's still the boy who can plan and / or talk his way out of any situation, no matter how ridiculous. And this time, his manipulative gambits actually pay off, and all the while he becomes more and more... villainous, I guess you might say. More and more of a thrill-seeker, willing to do not-great things for fun. More and more willing to tease Revy so they can have a nice bicker. Also, he helps the Lagoon Company sink an entire cargo ship run by Koko Hekmatyar (from Jormungand, the great and terrible We Have Black Lagoon At Home) using plastic explosives. So you start to root for Rock being less wishy-washy about where he's at in life, and hoping that even when he does dumb shit he'll get away with it, the scamp. That's hard to do - get us to root for a character like that and not bemoan Rock's descent into the darkness - and yet Ragna Crimson does it!

In sum... Man. Fuck. I dunno. Read the fic. Some Black Lagoon fanfics make you think, some make you cry, some make you cringe, but few make you grin and laugh the way Bullets does. I guarantee it.

[sharpen-jadescythe]

Sharpen's Warband, 3

In the packed Dalaran portal room...

"This is impossible." Hotchkiss glowered, and it was especially dark for a demon hunter. "There are too many idiots in here. We should just save the world some trouble and CUT THEM DOWN."

It was so loud in the Dalaran portal room, nobody really heard Hotch's threat. Sharpen had, though. He shouldered his new crossbow, but kept getting squeezed as people pushed to get through. There were only three glowing silver portals, and worse, it wasn't clear whether this one was the one to enter, or if that one was where people were returning from. Or if that one over there led to a displacement site that was currently active or what.

"I... don't know--"

"Idiots!!" Hotch snarled again. He didn't like getting shoved, he decided to be the one shoving people back.

"Goddess only knows what's keeping that shifty Al. But where is Hainko?" Sharpen hoped that would be enough of a subject change for the irate demon hunter.

"She used her magic to avoid all this, obviously! A shaman can just go to wherever the elements need them, can't they?"

"Well, I doubt Thrall was standing on the other side, arms wide open to catch her like some giggling tauren-sized, woman-child. It's got to be hectic on her end, too. Maybe if we can communicate with her somehow, she could tell us which portal to enter?"

"She abandoned us!!" Hotch near-roared with his frustration.

"Hokaaay. This was a bad plan." Sharpen began to look around for any help at all. No one official seemed to be about. Unless they were already flattened beneath the throng.

A woman's familiar voice pealed nearby, "The Kirin Tor doesn't need help from adventurers, they need travel agents!"

"Trixany!"

"Oh gods, it's him! Why are you so obsessed with me, Sharpen? Stop following me!"

Trixany was joking of course. Well, he hoped. He was never sure, with that one.

Sharpen attempted to introduce the two Blood Elves, though there was a crowd pressing in on all sides.

"Trixany, this is my new demon hunter buddy, Hotchkiss. He's incubus-infused. Hotch, this is my friend Trixany. As in Horde B-celebrity Trixany Cuomo, rival to Haris Pilton? She's goblin-infused--"

"Don't tell him that! Hey, isn't that traitor tauren Hainko supposed to be with you? I've got the rest of the Kaja-Cola Flava Girls in my warband. This is Mojo Jojo, Black Cherry Dhalia, and Shuga Slam."

A Troll, a Forsaken woman, and an Orc, all of them in slightly flashy armor and makeup, tried to make a greeting in the press of other armored, agitated, heroes' bodies. Sharpen had met these ladies before. "Aren't there like twelve of y'all?"

"Girls, he thinks he's teasing us, but he's not being very funny, is he?"

Hotch grunted, "Somebody didn't make the cut."

Sharpen noticed the edge of Hotch's grin returning, despite hectic circumstances. Trixany's mood started to lighten, too. She playfully stuck out her tongue.

"Alright, I call a timeout. Let's pretend this is a game of carpball and we need a break after a rough play. Let's go find someplace to sit down, away from this crowd, huh? We can't get anything done for Khadgar while trapped in here anyway."

The Legerdermain Lounge was an old, reliable comfort by now. All the upstairs rooms were booked up, as expected on such a day. But there was patio seating beyond the carved marble screen along the wall. A nice result of the coffee shop expecting so many people.

They had tea. Sharpen felt anxious, knowing so much was wrong with the world and they couldn't get out there to address the problem. However, the Alliance, nor the Horde, had conscripted any soldiers yet. Things weren't exactly dire. Just... disorganized.

Shuga Slam, the orc lady, was always pretending to be from a different clan. Whatever seemed to be trending. She had finally done the unthinkable and claimed to be a Mag'har Orc from alternate Draenor. Trixany hated it.

"You don't even look like a Mag'har! You still have that fel-green skin."

"...Only on my father's side. Like Garrosh."

Several of them hissed in breath, decided not to touch that topic.

"Your dear leader." Hotch waggled his glass of tea. Iced tea. Everyone else had ordered a steaming cup of brewed tea from the pot. Again, he wasn't the edgiest demon hunter around, was he? By comparison to the Illidans of the world, he was sort of a... B-demon hunter.

They tried to speak about pleasantries again, or keep predictions about the portal situation light. However, Hotch in his blindfold was getting hotter glares from Shuga each time the conversation went around the table.

Finally, the worst thing happened.

"... I know you," Shuga bared a fang. "I used to know you well."

Trixany snorted laughter, "Not if you were a Mag'har on alternate Draenor! Uh-ooooh!!" And she high-fived her friends.

Sharpen remained concerned, though. He had to live with this guy. All their supplies and weapons, their maps and other documents, their lives, everything was mingled together back at their base camp in Thalzdraszus. They shouldn't fall out.

"Well, isn't that, whatever it is, in the past?" Sharpen shrugged, tried to be helpful.

Shuga nudged Trixany, hard. She had to do it twice. "Trixany, are you really going to tell me you don't recognize this guy?"

Trixany blinked, "Well. I admit that he does resemble my long-lost little brother some. Except that this guy's a platinum blonde. By the way? Go off, king!" She snapped her fingers with attitude, "You demon hunters have been through enough. Yes, you dye that hair! Go find yourself some joy, amirite?"

Sharpen kept looking from Hotch, to Trixany. And back to Hotch again. The others were doing the same.

Sharpen smacked his forehead and leaned over the table. "That's... that's Trixany's brother." He muttered to himself. "It's so obvious."

Hotchkiss high-fived Trixany, suddenly very upbeat, especially for a demon hunter. "Thank youuu! I followed someone I cared about to the Outland a while back. I even joined the Sunfury for her, when she did. Eventhough I knew it was wrong to follow our prince down an evil road. But still, I always feared she would reject the monster I had to become. However... you approve?"

Everyone sat there, extremely uncomfortable and quiet.

"I mean, yeah, whatever. Like I said. You do you." And then she ordered more macarons for the table. "These are good, but aren't as cool as the Tarts' macarons, you guys remember those? So much glitter!"

Welp. At least now Sharpen knew why this mysterious demon hunter had showed up in his life, his warband. But were they gonna survive the Cuomo blunder twins not dealing with the obvious??

Sharpen eyed Hotchkiss very hard, to please tread carefully. There was a lot of rough adventure ahead of them, yet. They needed to pay strict attention to--

Then Sharpen blurt out, "Wait, so Burmussia, Coco, Sandy Dunes, and that other Kaja-Cola Flava Girl whatsherface, are now in another warband? Haha! So this IS a second, B-warband isn't it? Didn't I say it?! Trixany, you guys didn't make the cut after all--OW!!"

Then again, Sharpen the himbo always was so easily distracted.

[mysticdreamcafe]

Finding my MoJo with some mystic help

I'm going to put this out there...I'm an intuitive empath that loves her crystals and tarot cards. Pendant's, and rune stones.

So after my rows with nature, stress, family, Dr's, and all around ill health (I don't have many Immunoglobulin G's which I call goblin G troup). Thanks to Goblin Gs going AWOL I have been on antibiotics since July of 2023. 2 weeks on these massive combo pills and a week or two off, repeat either till I am antibiotic resistant or I can get the shots to force goblin G troups to join me and fight. Lets not forget inhalers, nasal sprays, pills both herbal and pharma. medications.

I am going to fight with everything I have through 2024 and if there isn't a significant improvement in at least one area I will stop any traditional medical practices I can and try for a more holistic approach.

Especially, after a bout with COVID-19 that took over 6mo to recover from I have learned to deal with energy syphons. You know, the people who make interaction challenging and tedious. I've always been able to gage a room and the people in it but never trusted my instincts. That has changed, I know am trying to trust my first impressions and inner voice now.

I said I'd mention Johhny Depp in this post so here it goes. It's nothing exciting but more annoying from my point of view.

During my "I quit and will just wait to die" moments during the end of 2023 I saw what my giving up was doing to my mother and daughter. That's when I decided to get through the holidays and then make some changes. So my fingers started typing in preparation things like... nutrition, keto, raw diet, balanced, yoga, brain eating itself, replacing white matter, and so on. Each time I searched a topic Johnny Depp showed up in a clip. There'd be a dog, guitar, baby, rants on his divorce, with his son, etc. His clips had nothing to do with what I was researching.

Let me refresh you...I DON'T CARE ABOUT FAMOUS PEOPLE SO i DON'T RESEARCH THEM. Though stuff does pop up occasionally it's not about one celeb over and over. During this time I had looked up why people couldn't leave Keanu Reeves and his girlfriend alone. My daughter brought it to my attention so I searched.

According to computer science if you search a topic either via typing it on a keyboard or verbally asking an AI like Alexa about it. Once you've selected the topic: famous name, raised garden beds, new roofs, dog characteristics, etc. the search engine (bing, google, etc) will flood you with ads regarding these specific topics.

Mr. Reeves plays bass in a band so why was Depp the one showing up?

After a few weeks of Johnny Depp ads annoying the crap out of me I went to bed irritated and with a killer migraine. That is until I remembered...things usually happen for a reason. What is the reason? So I asked Alexa...what instrument he plays, his band name, other members, play some of their songs.

I'll be honest and say the first song didn't resonate with me. I continued for a few more songs and one was an Alice Cooper remix. This brought nostalgia and emotion that I've missed since I stopped listening to music regularly. Migraines and music or any noise don't get along so I opted for quiet.

I asked for Alexa to switch to 80s rock and something clicked.

I've started this blog and not sure how often I'll post since I quit Social medias for the most part...esp FB, to limit screen times. I'm looking into a free course on coding through Stratford U. I have a BA in computers but it's been ages since I've written code or done anything with computers themselves due to illness.

Remember I am writing most things, except this blog, long hand.

Oh I want to say in case one of Johnny's people see this post that I wrote to him to thank him for reminding me about my love of music. I stopped listening again during a rough patch and he started popping up again! I grabbed my headphones and started listening to some Mozart. A day later the pop ups were back to normal.

I received a mass produced photo of him, I don't think he signed it and it was simply printed with photo but the gesture is nice. If one of his people read this tell him that even though we've never met I thank him for helping me out of a dark time via reminding me of my love of music and to keep spreading his energy.

When I wrote Johnny I didn't ask for anything but I just wanted him to know he'd made a difference in some ordinary persons life without even realizing it.

The writing of letters long hand, in cursive, has helped and if anyone wants to pen pal please let me know and I'll set up a PO Box. Assholes need not apply!

Time for a reading and meditation.

May you be grounded and good energy surround you

MV

[ijuswannacry]

Sick Brain Cult

 Once me and Sickdog got to know one another he finally decided to bring me in as a member of his group. They called themselves the Sick Brain Cult- being clear they weren't actually a cult, it was just a moniker they used. It was closer to a hacktivist collective, with all the members having supernatural skills given by their patrons. 

I don't know if there's a correct word for it, but within the group me and everyone else is mentally joined with a....Ghost? Demon? Angel? Aliens? I've had mine as long as I can remember, but others obtained them at various points in their lives and once you have one you're stuck with it. 

Sickdog told me a lot of people go off the edge fighting theirs, but sometimes someone has a good head on them and manages to work with theirs instead of against it. A lot of them just want to exist, and in exchange for the continued mostly sane housing they give up some of their mojo for us. Some are stronger, some not so much.

Everyone on the crew contributed, all it took to be a member was having a patron and being able to work with it. Sickdog didn't care if someone was useful for operations, if you wanted to help he would find a way to let you.

Its hard to explain what our goal as a group was. We had some simple ideas, such extremes as "The government should be a public service" and "being alive is a basic right" I mean we also liked to get involved in things when we needed to, but Sickdog wanted us to use our skills to make the world better for people, even if it was exposing creeps and posing politicians financial records on liveleak.

Most of us had backgounds in tech or otherwise provided something for the overall operation. Hellokitty was into the occult and her patron let her use her magic stuff for us, she kept watch over star charts and everything because if you're about to put on a headset and hack secrets from somewhere you want to do it when mercury isn't on it's gatorade. Blackice liked to work specifically on creeps, they'd get jacked up on monster and spend hours luring these fucks in and then sending the screenshots to their family.

Sickdog did the programming side. I handled gear, like weapons, my VR project that worked to create functional cyberspace headsets with Sickdogs help. Gracie was once in medical engineering before they got a patron and she helped us create all of our bio gear and kept us from frying ourselves.

Sick Brain was the only thing in my life then, it's members were my family. 

[honda-hatch]

Reviewing A Subsequent Set of 14 Spider-Man Issues

Welcome back, non-existent audience. We begin our return with

The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (August 1964): Our first appearance of Kraven! Not to mention, our first mention of Mary Jane! This one is a thriller. If you haven't figured it out already, I am a fan of drawn-out fights in these older issues, and this one doesn't disappoint, with a drawn-out cat and mouse game in its latter half. I'm not entirely sure how I fell about Kraven's potion stuff, though. Perhaps its the word choice. "Poison" just makes it sound more fitting, but perhaps that was banned by the CCA. Though, I'm not particularly a fan of Kraven having gotten his abilities from a Witch Doctor in a lost tribe, I do prefer him just being a peak human. Chameleon is also definitely underused here, merely calling in Kraven and then helping with his scheme -- it seems as if they wanted to bring him back, but were worried that they would encroach on plot territory they had re-allocated to Mysterio. Ah well. Still a fun issue! Also, we learn that JJJ apparently has a secret stash of milk chocolate bars hidden in the Daily Bugle. Truly deep lore.

The Amazing Spider-Man #16 (September 1964): Overall, this is a pretty solid issue. Spidey decides to go to the circus for the contrived reason of... making sure the public likes him? Which he figures can be confirmed or helped by performing in a circus that falsely advertised having him for free? Whatever. The Ringmaster's hypnosis powers give us a quick tussle against Daredevil, which, while lackluster, at least give Matt Murdock an excuse to appear in the issue. What follows is another fun setting-fight, with the webhead battling a bunch of circus goons. I'm not sure this is "one of the greatest issues I've ever read," as the title proclaims, but I already have a bone to pick with Marvel editorial, so it matters not. At this point, Pete is still fumbling Betty Brant and rejecting the concept of meeting MJ, lmao.

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 1 (October 1964): I'll be honest, I was kinda disappointed with this annual. 72 pages my ass! only like 43 or something are the actual sinister six story, with the rest being random background info blah blah blah. Not to mention, constant friggin ads for other Marvel comics!! Even Pete's existential crisis that block his spider powers felt like an excuse to advertise other heroes while he was trying to get his mojo back. At least his resolution to fight and die was pretty badass. Is this the whole point of annuals? Ugh. What a letdown. The sinister six don't even fight Spidey at the same time, instead they all want to defeat him on their own. We get a whole single page image for each fight, which all look great, but the actual solutions to the fights are lame, because Spidey is more occupied with getting to Betty and Aunt May. They all get arrested again at the end, but meh. At least the art was good, and the idea of May having a crush on Ock is funny. Blegh. Here's hoping future annuals are better.

The Amazing Spider-Man #17 (October 1964): This is a bizarre issue to judge. This version of the Goblin definitely feels more complete, with his bat glider and pumpkin bombs, and the driving plot being Flash's Spidey fan club is amusing, but the fight seems to just spin its wheels. I do enjoy Johnny jumping in to help, but... gah. Aunt May's health failing again does create another fun "city hates Spidey" situation, though. I fear I might get tired of that, however. We shall see!

The Amazing Spider-Man #18 (November 1964): This is an solid little issue. Sure, it technically focuses around Pete being a whiner and not wanting to hurt himself for the sake of Aunt May, but seeing Flash and the Human Torch stand up for him while the public rails at him is nice. Not to mention, it's kinda hilarious that May is the one to tell Peter not to be a pussy.

The Amazing Spider-Man #19 (December 1964): Spidey's triumphant return to crime fighting is another fun issue. Honestly, I'm just really surprised that, somehow, the Enforcers always make for such great fights. Between them and Sandman, this issue has a lot of great action, and because Torch is there as well, we get Montana's newest weapon: "The Asbestos Lasso!" Gotta love the 60s. Anyhow, between the action, JJJ's "a second plane has hit the towers" moment, and the spooky cliffhanger, this is a great way to finish out 1964. Also, Ned Leeds debuts. Surely nothing will happen with him.

The Amazing Spider-Man #20 (January 1965): What a way to kick off 1965! Here we start to see a few things: first off, we get an immediate continuation of the cliffhanger from the previous issue, indicating more of the connected storytelling that will develop. Secondly, we get a lot of great facial reaction shots, especially from JJJ (which apparently Ditko was getting real fond of, between this issue and last). Thirdly, we have our first fight with Spidey having his suit torn up. It's a little touch, but knock-down, drag-out fight between him and Scorpion really does seem to indicate Pete's growth as a fighter -- most of the time he usually comes up with a clever solution to win, but between Scorpion and the Enforcers, it's fun to see him win fights based on skill and reflex alone. Really an excellent issue. Honestly, its going to become difficult to not repeat adjectives as I write these reviews, especially since the standards of comic writing will change with the times -- so just consider that I'm attempting to write in relativity to the period in which I'm currently reading from.

The Amazing Spider-Man #21 (February 1965): This issue is more amusing than anything. The conflict with the Beetle kinda takes a backseat to Peter's personal drama, which makes for an entertaining issue -- they've been playing up the idea of what will come to be called "Parker Luck," and it makes for a fine issue. One of the best parts about the bok is that every character introduced functions both as someone to be put in danger for Spider-Man, as well as someone to conflict with regular old Peter Parker -- even if Betty's shtick of "ah jeez he's pulling other bitches" is starting to get just a bit stale.

The Amazing Spider-Man #22 (March 1965): This... is a bizarre issue. The leading villains aren't particularly interesting, but we get some funny individual panels, such as

But aside from that, if I had a nickel for every time they said "female" in this issue, I could pick up a few more old comics. Also, there's a brief battle with a giant snake? Anyway.

The Amazing Spider-Man #23 (April 1965): This issue is alright. It's another mob story, which have become rather common already. The Goblin once again has a weirdly contrived plan that doesn't really work out, which leads to the highlights of the issue being Peter's new white casual outfit and the fact that he's being passive aggressive at Betty Brant for not mentioning a letter from Ned Leeds -- that, and Pete calls aunt may from a landline in the middle of a fight.

The Amazing Spider-Man #24 (May 1965): This is a fun issue. There isn't much in the way of action, but instead we get to see Peter go a bit insane. Or do we? It's a good thing nobody in his rogue's gallery deals in illusions. It is also definitely hilarious to see Lee commenting, again, on how easily people are influenced by the news. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

The Amazing Spider-Man #25 (June 1965): This one's cover is pretty crazy in retrospect, lmao. Surely its someone's amazing fantasy. The spider-slayer chase itself is rather mundane, but Peter's personal drama sorta makes up for it, even if the book itself doesn't call attention to the idea that Peter, a seemingly-nerdy 18-year-old guy is swimming in women this early on (not to mention, we're getting more teases of Mary Jane). I don't take issue with it, it's just funny in retrospect with all of the "status quo" arguments that get tossed around these days with the character. But that's something I'll get to later.

The Amazing Spider-Man #26 (July 1965): This is quite an entertaining issue. We've drama with Peter losing both of his costumes last time, we've got drama with Liz and Betty, and also... the mob. But they manage to be the most mundane part of it all.

The Amazing Spider-Man #27 (August 1965): This is another solid issue, with Peter having to worm his way out of the mob's grasp, and then the police shooting the villain of the week to death off-panel. What a riot. I would like to make note of Green Goblin's glider on the cover though. Get a load of that.

Anyway, that's another 14 issues read. Admittedly, like old comics do, it is getting a bit formulaic at this point, though I know Peter is graduating high school sometime soon. That's mostly what's keeping me going, along with the promise of the MJ reveal. Onwards and upwards

[king-crimson-works]

fan fic tag game

just noticed that @burntblueberrywaffles tagged me in this and decided "why not"

How many works do you have on Ao3?

I'm currently at 39, but I should be at 40 before year's end.

2. What's your Ao3 word count?

732,159 words, which would be an average of 18,773.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, I'm working on fics related to Star Wars, Harry Potter, Wednesday (2022), The Legend of Zelda, Persona, and something I cannot publicly mention.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In order, they are Headstart, Reborn, The Things Worth Living For, Second Mystery, and The Once and Future Sword.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I'm hit and miss about it. I've tried to be consistent in the past, but then I forget about it and let things build up.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'd go with The Worst Best Man, though I guess The Once and Future Sword Remastered has some angst at the end.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Definitely The Mortal Goddess. Any Three Houses fic that ends with something golden route-esque counts.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Dunno if I'd call it hate. It's more like "yOu ShOuLdA dOnE tHiS iNsTeAd" and it's annoying outside the times they actually have a point lol

9. Do you write smut? What kind?

I have a series that features it. That's all I'm saying here.

10. Do you write cross-overs?

Yes! Two of the fics I'm working on one's only in development right now are crossovers. They're fun to write.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I'd like to have that happen.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have. In fact, one of my more popular stories, Reborn, is co-written.

13. What WIP you would like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

It'll probably end up being An End to Hylian History, since I'm just not feeling the mojo on it. Also shut up Iva

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Dunno if I have one. I sorta come and go with ships. I'm definitely more likely to not read a story over a ship than to read it for one.

15. What are your writing strengths?

I'm pretty confident in the basics of writing. It definitely helps that I haven't had a day where I did not write something since late 2021.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

It'd be so easy to be like "everything" or some rot. If I'm honest, I feel that my stories drift on me. Like, yes I know where the story is meant to go, but characters have a way of becoming human on me and being like "how about we do this mister author man" and it's a bit aggrevating.

also I sometimes make odd choices that I can't find a way to revise or write around for some odd reason.

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I try to avoid it. If it's necessary for characters to speak in another language, it's easier to just reference said language in the dialogue tags.

18. First fandom you wrote for?

Back on ff.net, I wrote for The Legend of the Seeker, a television show based on The Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind (RIP). Writing those fics happened to be in a peculiar grey area.

19. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Probably The Mortal Goddess, though I'm also proud of Once and Future Sword Remastered. For older stuff, I think The Green Dreamer holds up well.

20. What fic would you want to rewrite one day?

I may or may not be rewriting old chapters for one of my ongoing fics. I've been dissatisfied with some of the elements and also see my answer to number 8

[justuseyourwings]

I agree with this, don't get me wrong. Just wanted to add my opinion on some points made.

Why did they decide to put Nyck in that Alpha Tauri?

Anyone remember how RB tried to get Colton Herta a superlicence? There were so many discussions on this topic and they didn't wanna let it go, until all of a sudden Nyck came along and they gave the seat to him. Only shortly after it became public knowledge that DR wouldn't drive for McLaren in 2023... To me it's always looked like they just wanted to fill the seat at Alpha Tauri for the time being. All the talks that Danny would only be there for promotional purposes, that he wouldn't actually sit in the car and all... look how that turned out. They definitely had their plans and I feel like they've been laid out from the start.

It is indeed rather brutal how they treat Nyck in all this. I feel sad for him. He should have at least gotten the opportunity to drive his home race and be given a proper goodbye. But I wouldn't say I'm surprised, after all the comments from RBR during the last couple weeks. It was to be expected.

I do understand however why they put Danny Ric in the car rather than a new rookie. There's been a lot of rumors around Alpha Tauri's future and they do need to get better to satisfy the RB bosses. They need someone in the team with more experience, someone who can help develop the car. They still know "the old" DR and he might have found his mojo again during those last months at RB, so they need to try. They need to give him a shot, if not - why bring him back to the RB family at all?

Is it the right thing for DR to do? Who knows. He might fail or he might not. But I bet he chose that path as soon as he signed the contract in the first place. If he can really manage to outpace Yuki and surprise everyone, it doesn't really matter how bad the car is. RB will know what to do with those stats.

Let's be honest. Is there really a chance for Danny to land a spot at a top team again if he keeps on doing what he's doing right now? RB is the only team willing to give him another chance and he has to take it with both hands. He just has to.

As for next year... I doubt DR will drive the Alpha Tauri next year. There's no guarantee that he'll drive for Red Bull either. But what I've learnt from this immediate changes at Alpha Tauri and the talks and comments from both Helmut and Christian following up to this day, it's that Perez' seat for next year seems all but safe. Helmut himself said that they just don't have anyone in line to replace Checo. But what if they did? I don't believe for second that they wouldn't take their chances.

So the way I see it, Danny is supposed to help develop the Alpha Tauri and show them that he's still got it in him. If he can't, nothing will change for RB. They'll probably put Liam Lawson in that Alpha Tauri (or whatever it's called then) seat and all's well. But if DR can actually impress, I really wouldn't rule it out that he's promoted to RB next season.

Checo has still some time left to prove himself again, but they won't let his off days slide forever. Especially when the field gets bunched up next year.

Listen I’ve never totally understood why they decided to put Nyck in that Alpha Tauri nor why they created such a hype around it and why he went along with it while it put so much pressure on him. But if he really is fired with immediate effect.. that’s just brutal man. Like you steal his opportunity to at least properly enjoy his last race and idk I find it brutal to fire him while his home race, his dream race, is in three races. Like if you do want to fire him over the summer, at least give him that.

And not gonna lie I don’t understand the swap to Daniel at all. It’ll put him right back into the situation he came out off: a bad bad car, not number 1 in the team and at least another year that he’ll have to wait for a better seat. Cuz honestly if Checo ends up 2nd in the wdc? No way rbr will fire him prematurely, not unless Daniel manages to pull that AT into the points every fucking race. And I know a lot of people on here loveee Daniel but I don’t get why you’d put an even older driver than the one you’ve just fired in that team. Not while you have a very promising rookie in Liam Lawson. And yes Daniel has loads of experience but does AT really need more experience? Does that team need a new fight over who is gonna be the number 1 driver while Yuki has been doing amazing this year? Daniel isn’t gonna play second violin to Yuki and Yuki has earned his place in that team. And I don’t care that Daniel was a Redbull kid, he left Redbull and went to their direct competition. He hasn’t properly raced a Redbull in four and a half years, let alone an AT that’s fighting for the title of worst car on the grid. Maybe he’ll have more support than at mclaren but the car won’t be better, it’ll probably be worse.. and that has to convince the top teams he can race for them? That he’ll be a good investment? And please take a reality check if you honestly think Marko is gonna give him a contract with a guarantee of a rbr seat. Ain’t no way in hell Daniel will get that.

Anyways I think it wouldn’t be a good career move for Daniel. I think it’s better to stay checo’s direct competition by driving that simulator and doing the test to show he can keep up with him, than driving an AT and fighting with Magnussen of all people. Maybe the rest of this year in AT to show off his race craft could be something but Daniel and Redbull are kidding themselves if he drives an AT next year. Daniel cuz he’ll never get out of the AT and Redbull cuz they can’t call AT a junior team anymore if they keep putting people in the AT that aren’t Redbull rookies anymore

[mistressarafax]

Small Adjustments

Kaiba didn’t adjust to change well. It didn’t happen often, and usually, any changes in his life were directly the result of Mokuba forcing change into his life.

The biggest change he’d lived through was Mokuba leaving for college. It was the first time they’d ever been separated for more than a week or two, and it forced Kaiba to accept that his little brother had grown up. Forced him to find a routine that didn’t involve Mokuba in the manor. It had been lonely and difficult, but it's what his brother wanted.

Mokuba came back after a year at school taller than Kaiba, which had honestly been a shock. Of course, he’d watched Mokuba grow up over the years, hitting growth spurts along the way and slowly but surely catching up to his older brother’s height. Now the soon-to-be nineteen-year-old stood an inch taller than him.

Not only was he taller, but he’d clearly spent a significant portion of time on campus working out. His muscles had filled out, and while his face still had some of its boyish features, he looked more like an adult than a child. It was difficult for him to adjust to the fact that his little brother wasn’t little anymore.

Over the summer, Mokuba worked short hours at KaibaCorp. He spent a week in all of the departments, doing all kinds of work and trying out every kind of job imaginable.

“You know there’s a vice president position for you,” Kaiba said. “You don’t have to do the small stuff.”

Mokuba had met his comment with a glare. “I want to have a full picture of the company, Seto. Most people don’t just get put into a top position. They work for it and move their way up.”

“I worked for it.” It felt like an accusation, words that had been directed at him at a far more impressionable time in his life coming back to bite him again only from someone who actually mattered.

Mokuba’s expression and tone softened. “I didn’t mean that to insult you. Yes, you worked for it. And you work to keep it every single day. You seized the company from Gozaburo, and the world is better for it. What I’m saying is that I don’t deserve to be the vice president just because I’m your brother. I don’t want valid accusations of nepotism to hang over my head. I want to earn it.”

It was another adjustment, something he’d never expected. He always imagined that Mokuba would just become his vice president, but a part of him was proud of Mokuba for wanting to stand on his own. To work for his own achievements. That change didn’t take him long to accept.

Two weeks later, Mokuba marched into his study and sat back on the leather couch. He’d pulled out his phone and typed out a message, distractedly announcing, “I’m not going to go back to school in the fall.”

“Why not?”

“I’d rather attend online classes from home. Plus, I can spend a few hours a week helping out at work.”

Which suited Kaiba just fine.

What didn’t suit Kaiba just fine was that now that Mokuba was home and all of his school friends had headed back to college for the fall, Mokuba started hanging out with the only loser who’d stuck around Domino City, Joey Wheeler. He’d discovered the fact quite by accident when he found the idiot in Mokuba’s entertainment room, holding a bag of potato chips and chewing with his mouth open.

“Who let you in here, Wheeler?”

“That would be your brother.” He’d grabbed another handful of chips, casually leaning back onto the couch as though it were perfectly normal for him to be here. As if there wasn’t a point in time when the two of them couldn’t be in the same room without fighting.

Kaiba opened his mouth to tell him off when Mokuba walked back in the room. “Hey, Seto!” he greeted. “Hopefully you two were playing nice.”

“Nice enough,” Wheeler answered with a shrug.

Kaiba didn’t deign him with a response before heading off to his study to get some more work done for the night.

The one night became several nights, and within a few months, it became almost surprising to not see Wheeler at the manor, sitting on the floor in front of Mokuba or next to him on the couch. After six months, Wheeler had become a permanent resident in the guest room closest to Mokuba’s. The two had become friends, the closest Kaiba had ever seen his brother have. Kaiba did not appreciate having to spend so much time around the irksome blonde, but he was willing to overlook it for Mokuba’s sake.

The friendship altered Kaiba’s life in unexpected ways. Mokuba and Wheeler frequently went out for dinner, leaving Kaiba on his own for meals. He also no longer felt guilty on nights he had to work late though. He knew Mokuba wasn’t alone, which offered him a great deal of relief.

After a year, Wheeler had become a constant presence in Kaiba’s life. Which was why he was so puzzled when he came home one night, expecting to see Mokuba and Wheeler playing video games like always, only to find Mokuba lying in bed, curled up with his back facing the door.

“Where’s Wheeler?” Kaiba asked, confused.

Even in the dim lighting, Kaiba could see how Mokuba’s back had tensed. “Home.” The response was short and uncomfortable, and Kaiba wondered what had happened. Clearly, Mokuba was upset. If the idiot had hurt his brother, Kaiba would rain fiery vengeance upon him. Mokuba hiccuped, fighting back tears.”God, I’m an idiot.”

That’s it, Kaiba decided. Wheeler’s dead.

Mokuba climbed out of bed and trudged over to Kaiba and embraced him. Something about him in that moment made him look small again. Defeated and tired and young. “Mokuba, what’s wrong?”

“I’m a fucking idiot.”

Kaiba frowned. “You are absolutely not an idiot.”

“It sure feels like it.”

“What happened?”

Mokuba stepped away from Seto, leveling a calculating gaze at his brother. “I… I kissed Joey.”

“You…? What?” Kaiba asked, trying to wrap his head around what Mokuba had just told him.

“I um… I like him. A lot. And I thought he liked me, too. So we were just playing games, like always, and curled up together on the couch, and I couldn't help myself and kissed him on the cheek. He left after that, and on God, Seto, I messed everything up.”

It was a lot to process at once. His brother liked a boy. Nothing wrong with that, he just found it unexpected. Maybe if they'd ever actually talked about the subject of romantic interests, Kaiba would have known this before now, but Kaiba really didn't care. What he found decidedly more wrong was that the boy he liked was Joseph Wheeler. He could make a whole list of issues he had with that.

But Mokuba liked Wheeler, and Kaiba doubted an extensive list of reasons why it was a terrible idea would persuade his brother to rethink. In fact, if Mokuba's teenage years had taught Kaiba anything, it was that trying to dissuade Mokuba from something only made him more likely to do it out of defiance. So Kaiba had to accept that Mokuba liked Wheeler, and that was that. There would be no changing that fact. Mokuba really liked him. Enough that being rejected had him clinging to Kaiba like he was still a kid again.

Kaiba hated seeing Mokuba so upset and defaulted to feeling angry at the source of that sadness. Wheeler was an absolute idiot for turning down Mokuba, and Kaiba was going to make him regret it. No one hurt his little brother without facing consequences.

“I shouldn't have told you that,” Mokuba finally said, shaking Kaiba from his thoughts.

“Why?” He was genuinely perplexed.

“Because you don't care. And you're probably mad.”

“Hell yes, I'm mad. Wheeler's going to pay for this.”

Mokuba looked at him seriously, pain still lingering in his expression. After a long moment, he sighed. “Don't do anything to him, Seto.”

“He needs to pay for hurting you. Like everyone else.”

“Seto...this isn't his fault. This is my fault. I can handle this without your interference.”

But as Mokuba bid him goodnight, and Seto headed to bed, he knew he would still involve himself. He couldn't not. It was far too common for people to hurt him through Mokuba. He doubted this was intentional on Wheeler's part, but he still couldn't let it slide.

Which is how he found himself at Wheeler's apartment first thing in the morning. Mokuba's happiness was far more important than the 9:30 AM upper management meeting he was missing to be here. It took Wheeler a few minutes to get to the door, and when he finally pulled it open, he looked rough. His hair fell into his face, still wet from a shower, dark circles under his eyes, and his face swollen, and Kaiba decided that maybe Wheeler was suffering over this too, just like Mokuba.

Wheeler sighed. “What do ya want, Kaiba?” he asked, sounding resigned.

“I'm here to see why you rejected my brother.”

Wheeler’s eyes flicked up to meet his, surprised. “I… I didn't.”

“Then why was he in his room, alone, crying over you last night?”

“I panicked last night, okay? He kissed me, and ain't like I didn't want it, but it felt wrong.”

“Why?”

Wheeler ran his hand through his hair, roughly raking through knots in frustration. “Because of people thinkin’ I'm too old for him. Because of what you'd think, too.”

Kaiba crossed his arms. “What, pray tell, do I think?”

Wheeler shrugged. “Dunno. That I ain't good enough for ‘im.”

“You're right. You aren't. Especially if you're going to worry about what others think of you over my brother's feelings for you.”

“Wait so... you ain't against it?”

Kaiba grumbled, searching for the right words. “I'll never be against something, someone, that makes Mokuba happy. Even if you aren't good enough for him.”

“Really?” Wheeler's eyes flickered with hope and excitement.

Kaiba rolled his eyes and turned around, ready to leave. Wheeler laughed from behind him. “Thanks, Kaiba!” he shouted from the doorway. Kaiba didn't respond, but he knew he'd have an easier time adjusting to them dating than adjusting to both a moping, heartbroken Mokuba and the sudden lack of Wheeler's presence in his life. A laughable thought but true nonetheless.

He headed into work after that, staying extra focused since he's arrived late. He even worked late to make up for the lost time. He arrived home wau after the sun had set and promptly went to the media room, hoping to find Mokuba and Wheeler both there.

The glow of the screen reassured him as he drew near. He stepped into the doorway and frowned at the sight before him. Mokuba rested his weight on top of Wheeler, their game abandoned in favor of locking lips.

Without calling any attention to himself, he crept away, leaving them to their activities. The idea of them dating still felt foreign and weird, but it was a change he could live with.

[somebirdortheother]

Tag Game - Fandom Edition

I was tagged by @myfavouritelunatic, @iamstartraveller776 and @youwearfinethingswellwriter ! Thank you, beauties!

Your Name: My nicknames are numerous - JD, Mojo/Evil Mojo Jojo (Haha... don't ask, but sufficient number of people call me that in real life), JJ, Birdy. For my actual name, DM me and introduce yourselves!

Your First Fandom: Star Trek, Star Trek, Star Trek! Though I'd never shipped before ST ENT (Everyone who's read my Breaking The Ice will know that it's partially an ode to *THE* ship.)

Your Current Fandom: I'm writing in The Rings of Power fandom, currently, which happens to be the first fandom that I'd decided to try my hand at writing in for strange, roundabout reasons.

How did you first get into fandom?: I've never identified myself as a fan, despite my deep love for everything Trek, and I hadn't realised that I'd got into fandom until one thing led to another and I was reading ungodly amounts of Trip/T'Pol fics. I'm still in denial...

How long have you been engaging in fandom spaces?: I'm *still* in denial :D I'll always be in denial.

How often do you read fanfic?: Currently, as I'm writing, I'm afraid it's very little. I love all of you, dear fellow ROP writers, and if I've not read your works it's not a slight, it's more that my brain is too small to read and write simultaneously, most of the time.

Top three characters from your current fandom?: Halbrand (Sauron), Bronwyn + Arondir (yes, @iamstartraveller776 I'm stealing your answer, you can't have one and not the other), Elrond

Have you ever written a fic for a fandom and if so, shout it out!: Since I've only ever written in The Rings of Power fandom, all my self-shout-outs are going to be there, but so far I sit at 23 fics. Some examples:

To Smith Or Not To Smith - My uber-nerdy Sauron redemption through being Eregion's good little Maia smith. He's lucky to have Brimby and Galadriel handle him.

Welcome To Mordor City - Haladriel Steampunk AU series

Breaking The Ice/ All Aboard USS Numenor series - Haladriel/Saurondriel Star Trek AU

Barbarus (Part of Time And Time Again series with @coraleethroughthelookingglass) - Haladriel Archaeology AU

The Souvenir - Haladriel Numenor adventures

Have you ever drawn fan art for a fandom?: If drawing a map of Mordor City counts, then I have.

Ta-da

Share a personal headcanon that you feel strongly about:

From ST: ENT - The events in the last episode were not real, and the "history record" had been intentionally tampered with. Trip obviously hadn't died.

From TROP - Galadriel is Sauron; she found a poor dumb idiot who had a crush on her to do her bidding. Oh sorry, did we say *feel strongly about*?

You’re trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them?:

TROP - I don't feel super strongly about my friends getting into it, as I'm not a perfect fan of it despite all the writing, but I have shared my fanfics on occasion. Result: people learn about AO3 and then tell me all about strange niche things they discover in other fandoms. It's a joy.

Star Trek ENT - "The Andorian Mining Consortium runs from no one!" (any scene with Shran), that episode where Trip gets pregnant, SIMILITUDE

And finally, what does fandom mean to you?: Having fun, writing, messing around, and occasionally meeting wonderful people that I end up being COMPLETELY ENAMOURED WITH. YEAH YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE. On a serious note, I am grateful to have met a few folks over the years that I'm honoured to call friends.

Taggy-tag time: @niennawept @helenvader @coraleethroughthelookingglass @ichabodjane @yletylyf @pursuitseternal @jhalya @jurassiclexie @trinuviel @hazelmaines @clumsycopy and everyone else who'd like to participate :)