#I feel like this is the arc that might change some people's minds about Spanner!!!

[gaykamenridermemes]

[argentnoelle]

Death Note fic recs

~as always, please see individual stories for ratings and warnings, which I don’t mention.~ most of these are lawlight, L & Light gen, or Light-centric, but there’s a number of other pairings/characters as well.

(longfics)

» Devil’s Trill by Le KING {lawlight}

summary: L was a genius murderer, and Light really wasn’t supposed to live past their first encounter. Unfortunately, L fell in love, and L's love hurt.

If you’ve ever wanted a role-reversal type fic, this is it. You’ve got evil, serial killer L (who is still incredibly in character & terrifying), and a Light who starts out the story with good intentions, which unfortunately don’t hold up against unimaginable trauma... Light is exquisitely written; and the chemistry between L & Light here is incredible. Not many people can convince me of L & Light’s eternal hatred as a concept more powerful than love—this one does it. The worst (best) part is that the writing style is not only clever, snappy, and fun, it’s funny. Even as terrible things keep happening. The plot always moves, and the writer does great action sequences and greater plot twists. If you like noir, you’ll probably love this.

•other notable things: Soichiro. He might be one of the best parts of this fic, hands down. Le King also did great things with the other Wammy’s House kids and L’s relationships with them.

•abandoned/almost finished. There was originally going to be one more chapter to wrap up some character stuff, but the plot is done. That doesn’t mean it’s not emotionally devastating...

{Le King has also written the awesome, & sadly unfinished, Alternative Gods, a lawlight cyberpunk AU}

» If It's Not Me, It's You (Welcome To The Cat's Game) by Self-Inflicted Insanity {L & Light, gen}

summary: "But this pride... I'll just have to... get rid of it!" In which Light's personality doesn't change when he loses his memories of the Death Note, and he deduces that the only possible solution to the Kira Case is that he's Kira and just doesn't remember it—or that Ryuzaki is Kira and framed him for it.

The best way to describe this story is that it feels like an episode. It takes its spin-off premise and continues with such deftness that you’re like, yeah, this could’ve been in the show (or the manga)... and if you’ve ever been frustrated that the mind games between L & Light stopped during the yotsuba arc, look no further! Not only is this a great portrayal of L & Light, it’s also got sections from the POVs of other people on the taskforce. Matsuda was especially fun to read. For something that technically moves slowly, it has a really quick-moving feel and even though the plot is simple, it’s done really well—and has the advantage of being perhaps *the* most original canon-divergent Death Note AU I’ve ever read. It shouldn’t be missed.

»  Poison Apple by RobinRocks & Narroch {lawlight}

summary: Death Note with a Disney spin. Maybe their poison drenched love, this twisted fairytale of most wicked beauty, is all that matters, even when L is dragged back from his grave and faced with his poisoned apple again.

This story is a classic for a reason. It takes place in two parts, one a canon-compliant fic set during the yotsuba arc, the second being a take on the post-L section of the manga/anime with a grimm-style fairytale twist. I have to admit, the first section is my favorite, for a number of reasons: the authors manage to create a relationship between L & Light that has nothing to do with Kira (an almost impossible task!) but still has everything that’s fun about their canon relationship: one-upmanship, games upon games and immature people blowing everything out of proportion. It also manages to make yotsuba Light be a terrible person and, yes, even a criminal, without resorting to murder. It’s hands-down my favorite yotsuba era fic. Part two is creepy and sad, and Light, who is head over heels in love with L still, doesn’t quite get that sometimes when you kill a person it just might put a spanner into your relationship.

•other notable things: L is a virgin by choice, and man does the plot make use of that in the most unsettling fairytale way. I have never, not once, seen another fic that does what this one does.

[note! 2 key chapters got deleted from the version on ff.n so you’ll have to read those chapters on lj: links to the missing chapters (read between "Mirror Mirror" & "Spellbound"): chapter 4 - Glass Coffin [part 1] [part 2] Chapter 5 - Maleficent [part 1] [part 2] ]

»  The Fall From Innocence by Sakurazukamori6 {L & Light, gen}

Summary: Raito Yagami is in his last year at Daikoku Private when his class receives a strange new student by the name of Ryuuzaki Ryuhei. Who exactly is this new student? Why is he so intelligent? Why is he suddenly so interested in getting closer to Raito? And where exactly is the deathnote?

This is a great school-era fic set in the early sections of Death Note with the twist that Light isn’t Kira (but L is still a detective on a case). It was originally meant to be lawlight, but is unfinished, and never got to that point. The plot seemed like it would’ve been really interesting if it continued, but it had barely gotten started and it doesn’t end on anything like a cliffhanger. So if you would enjoy a character-focused, in character but lighthearted fic about L & Light becoming friends at school, this is it.

»  weak (you’ve got me wide awake) by Inkonstantin {L & Light, gen or pre-slash}

summary: Yagami Light and L Lawliet did not realize they were bored and lonesome. Nor do they realize it when things change. Not until it's too late. The whole thing starts as a game. It ends up becoming more than either of them had ever bargained for.

What about the same kind of fic—L & Light meet in college, in a world without Kira, but make it serious? That makes this story sound like it isn’t fun though, and it’s incredibly fun. Probably the best thing about it is how the alternating povs between L & Light show how much they misunderstand literally every single thing the other one does, and yet they manage to still get along better with each other than with anyone else. Unfortunately unfinished, but no cliffhanger.

»  Bodach Killa by KaizenKitty {lawlight} (WIP)

summary: Having found Light's deadly notebook, L sees but one way to force a confession out of him: become his closest friend and confidant. To this purpose, L goes undercover to To-Oh, as Kira supporting college student Hideki Ryuga. Somewhere along the way of this ethically questionable quest, L finds the friend he'd been missing all along.

Absolutely my favorite Light characterization/pov of all time. Masterful, plotty, hilarious, and dark, and manages to make tennis utterly captivating, even if you don’t know anything about it. This reads like an alternate version of the anime/manga, with just as many mind games and plots, but where you actually get to know the characters in detail. KaizanKitty’s L is also great, being both utterly pathetic (like canon & unlike most fanfic portrayals) and very competent.

•other notable things: there are some people/fics whose writing style & voice is just so distinct that it makes an impression; this is one of them. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s absolutely compelling.

» Covetous by labasu {L & Light, gen or pre-slash}

summary: L is a criminal profiler. Light eats people. Sometimes, they have breakfast together. Hannibal AU.

Just what it says. Beautiful writing, epic and unsettlingly gorgeous, and somehow manages to stylistically merge both Death Note and Hannibal while still keeping the characters distinct, in character, and themselves. The banter is absolutely top-notch. Unfortunately unfinished, but no cliffhangers. Mello is a secondary character here and, like every other character in this piece, is written with extraordinary deftness; you find yourself believing that he and everyone else are actually real people.

»  The DD Murder Case by K (Thiswasmydesign) {lawlight}

summary: L and Light have solved their first case. Near has left the team, hurt when L would not declare N to be his successor at the conclusion of the arsonist case. Mello, hoping to bring the thirteen-year-old back, has also returned to Wammy’s house. L and Light travel to America, chasing a killer who targets people dressed as characters from children’s films – killing them in their costumes. However, the investigation does not move forwards as quickly as they had hoped, and soon problems begin to emerge out of the woodwork. With Light back in possession of the Death Note, the gentler Light that had been created out of need to get L to trust him is being overtaken by Kira again, and challenges emerge from unexpected directions.

This takes place in the series Another Path, where Misa dies early on, L confronts Light about being Kira, and then offers him a job—on probation. The first few fics were fun enough, but this one really hits its stride. Featuring a delightfully unhinged Light, an L who is making terrible decisions and knows it, and the sweetest and most unexpected crack pairing/friendship ever: Mello & Ryuk. Mello is probably my favorite character in this story, maybe this entire series. Murder in Disneyland, a detective war between Near and L for the title of L, and cameos from Beyond, with one of the most interesting characterizations of him I’ve seen (and THE creepiest and most unsettling implied backstory). Oh, and of all things, there’s a believable happy ending.

•other notable things: takes the idea of Light and Kira being two potentially distinct parts of his personality, with one being influenced by the notebook, and runs with it with a direction and a plot that I’ve never seen anyone else grapple with quite like this. And, is the only fic I’ve ever seen where Near gets to be in an antagonist role. He is *awesome.*

»  According to Plan by ante__meridian {L & Light, gen}

summary: Kira had the perfect plan to fool the task force, prove his innocence and get rid of L once and for all. There's only one person's interference he didn't account for, and that's his own. Light Yagami is no fool, and he isn't about to play into anyone's hands—not even his own.

Yotsuba-era fic, sadly unfinished. But, since it’s pretty much canon-compliant, there’s not exactly any cliffhanger to speak of. As intense as canon, probably the most in character Yotsuba-era fic I’ve read that pulls forward the mind games between L & Light from the first section of the anime/manga. Reads very much like missing scenes.

» The Greatest Detective in the World by anonymous {lawlight}

summary: When Kira is the Great Detective L, things go just a bit too smoothly...which isn't quite interesting enough for certain Shinigami. Where's the entertainment when you're already the God of the New World without the Death Note? So Ryuk takes his notebook to give to someone else, leaving L to deal with his Kiradom and a disgruntled, imprisoned lover, all without his memories. Solving crimes was never this hard.

A perfect, perfect role-reversal AU. Cameos by many unexpected characters including a mysterious enemy of Kira!L, and Light managing to be in character without ever having been Kira at all. A perfect antagonistic but fun relationship between L & Light. Unfortunately unfinished, and on a bit of a cliffhanger, but the style of this story is so quick-moving, wacky and fun that it’s easy to believe they manage to sort things out eventually.

»  Our Bodies, Possessed by Light by Devilinthebox (princegrisejoie) {lawlight}

summaries: L. Lawliet is a gifted photographer who believes he has understood the light and its secrets. Light Yagami is a young, unstable and slightly crooked model. Together, they kill time.

Total AU—Wammy’s House-centric. Not only is it in character, it has a happy ending. Pulls everything down from the dramatic heights of serial killer-dom into a more mundane setting, with Light as a young student in the middle of a crisis of self with a lot less bodies to show for it (that doesn’t mean no bodies, though). Wonderful and intriguing backstories for L, Light, and the kids at Wammy’s, an unexpected plot, unresolved family issues, and it will make you convinced that Light would’ve been much, much happier in his life (not necessarily a better person) if he’d just given up the detective business and become a model.

»  A Tithe to Hell by Aja {lawlight}

summary: Light has thirteen days to find out how it will feel—not just to kill, but to destroy.

A redemption[?] for Light... Love, and mercy and forgiveness and humanity and the capacity to feel, and falling for your own traps, and very very smart people, and a bittersweetly beautiful ending. Also, no one dies.

»  The Night King by KaedeRavensdale {Light & Ryuk, lawlight} (WIP)

summary: Once there was a human who wanted so badly to be a god that, in death, he became one. Or: time is only linear according to human perception and the achingly bored Shinigami King goes back in time for the sole sake of driving the World's Greatest Detective up the nearest vertical object and may or may not catch feelings in the process.

Basically, what if Light was The god of Death. A fun, feel-good story with a lot of baffled everyone else and Light who’s just having too much fun. Includes a lavish dose of mythology.

»  Coexistence is Boredom by Sakurazukamori6 {lawlight & lightxmisa}

summary: A new deathnote. A new plan for world sanctity. And an entirely misled Catholic clergy. Raito and L take their respective places on the sides of their own justice. A final battle waged in the Garden of Eden.

One of my top favorite Death Note fics ever. Manages to mood swing wildly from a part one full of dark intensity and torture to a part two full of fluff without feeling like you’d accidentally ended up in a different story. The only happily ever after fic for L & Light that actually 100% convinced me. The first bit of the story was a little hard to get through because at first it’s hard to tell what the plot is and it takes a while to hook you, but it’s absolutely worth keeping up with it until the plot twists arrive (nearing the halfway point). Sadly unfinished, but the entire arc had been completed and if it had ended a chapter earlier I would totally believe that was the end, no questions asked. The last chapter, as is, seems to be setting up the beginning of another arc, but there’s no cliffhangers. Not only does this story have one of the best characterizations of both Light AND L (hard to find in the same story!) but... it has an awesome Misa as well, and a friendship between the three of them that’s as unlikely as it is great.

» True Elision by Ezan {L & Light, gen}

summary: Raito dies and becomes nothing. But the Shinigami need his soul, so they give him a second chance. They recreate his spirit and send him to a hellish trial where he must face his living nightmares.

The best afterlife fic out there. Plotty, unusual, with mind games galore, and will make you root for Light just because he never gives up. The hell scenarios are nightmarishly perfect and interesting, and the worldbuilding (of hell & some other places) is absolutely fascinating. L doesn’t really appear until fairly late into the story, and this is best to read if you’re a fan of Light. (Yes this says it’s lawlight, but as the story is unfinished, it never got there, and what’s posted is firmly gen. No cliffhanger, but it definitely makes you wonder “what if...?”)

» flowers grown in forgotten lungs by sybilius {LxB, lawlight}

summary: Reeling from the aftershock of the LABB murder cases, detective L Lawliet hits the open road to visit his foster brothers. Matt and Mello's normally idyllic life running a diner has been turned on its side by a string of deaths in town related to drug overdoses. Lawliet finds himself caught up in another case, unable to shake the feeling that at the heart of it is a gorgeously bitter florist.

Lawlight noir with a beautifully perfect L pov. Absolutely gorgeous, emotionally nuanced, and with great cameos by a number of different characters. Awesome backstory with A, B, and L.

» Scarlet Letter by RobinRocks {lawlight, BxL}

summary: A gothic romance of L Lawliet, Beyond Birthday and Light Yagami as the tales of serial murderers tangle on the streets of London, shrouded by the shadow of the single letter that started it all.

Featuring a B who can be just like L if he wants to, an L who flirts with darkness, and a Light who has no clue what’s going on. Unsettling and twisty.

(shortfics)

»  PARADISE LOST by potashiamu {L & Light gen &/or lawlight}

summary: In the days between Higuchi's apprehension and L's death, Light baits L into playing one last game. When Kira uses a criminal to send a message, L comes to Light's room late at night, and the game begins just as planned. But how does the outcome change, depending on the message Kira sends?

This story got me into Death Note. I thought, if the anime is half as good as this fic and has even remotely similar themes, I’ll probably like it. It takes an interesting experimental approach of being almost entirely the same fic twice, with two different takes on the same encounter between Light and L. For that reason, whichever scenario you read last can be a little boring, since there’s a lot of overlap between the two sections, but both are unique in the feeling they bring across and the comparison is fascinating.

»  Light Yagami’s Secret Love Diary by Anonymous

summary: After killing off Higuchi, Light knew that victory was near. On the day he'd come home, Sayu barrelled at him to insist that he'd join her in an activity that she found. Only he didn't really expect to have his Death Note be mistaken for his secret love diary by the man convicting him. “L. L. L. L.” L read out his own name on the notebook. “You write rather fervently, Light-kun. It could make me blush.”

Absolute crack, but, like... in character? This story is totally hilarious. Through a terribly contrived sequence of events, Light finds himself with no choice but to pretend to be madly in love with L, while secretly hating his guts. It’s beautiful. (supposedly a WIP, but totally works as a oneshot)

»  Ten Dreams of the New World by Tallulah {Sayu & Light, minor Sayu/Matsuda}

summary: "You have to find out who Kira is if you want to go home." Sayu dreams.

Dream!fics are rarely done well. This one is. Creepy, deeply unsettling, and yet also strangely fluffy. One of the best Sayu fics I’ve read.

» an artist’s top hat by Inkonstantin {L & Light}

summary: L didn't like wearing hats. Up until Light started trying to knock them off his head.

Not enough fics feature L being a troll, and this story proves why that is a crime. Yotsuba-era.

» Tideland by dayari (derryday) {Sayu & Light, gen}

summary: Takes place before the manga/anime. The Yagami family go on a vacation to Northern Germany.

My favorite Sayu fic of all time. Utterly beautiful character piece, with gorgeous and awe-inspiring descriptions of the tideland. Probably the best sibling fic about Light & Sayu to be found.

» to hate: i, you, he by shirohyasha {lawlight}

summary: So he tolerates this. He tolerates being dragged about on the end of a piece of chain like some kind of deadweight pet and he tolerates L staring at him when he takes his shirt off.

Masterful and deeply unsettling look at yotsuba-era from Light’s pov, poking into some of the darker aspects of canon. Lots of sad and rotten feelings.

» value of life by still_lycoris {Matsuda & Light, gen}

summary: It's twelve days after Matsuda took the Eyes and he knows what he has to do...

Amazing and creepy and hideous and wonderful.

Gaslight Gothic by RobinRocks {lawlight}

summary: Victorian Elseworlds oneshot. A look at a very different first meeting between Light and L, the former untainted and the latter seeking his destruction elsewhere.

Gorgeously Victorian, with hints of Holmes and Wilde. L & Light meet at a party neither want to be at.

» Take Out by TrashKing (Vanya_Deyja) {lawlight}

summary: L misses the days he could shut Light up for a full fifteen minutes by tying a cherry stem with his tongue. They're older now, more dangerous. Kinkier?

Established relationship post-canon AU where everything magically worked out okay. Pretty much a PWP, but is just too spot-on with the characterizations and hilarious to boot. L is trying to keep just one secret from Light, but it might take some doing...

[youtiaoshutiao]

传闻中的陈芊芊 thoughts

i haven’t been very active lately but i just came on to say, i binged on the romance of tiger and rose / 传闻中的陈芊芊 and have 2 eps left and i love it SO SO MUCH. i was expecting some pure crack but beyond that, i really ended up catching much feels for it?

and i think beyond the outlandish hilarity of some of the scenes and the cheeky meta, it’s actually a pretty decent drama with its plot and character motivations largely dictated by logic. i have to commend the scriptwriter nan zhen 南镇 for the entire set up of the drama (and it’s her original script!!! which is so rare in the industry nowadays run over by book adaptations - i mean i love those too but i still think it’s an easy way out for production companies when they adapt books with established fan bases). it’s actually really clever of her because all plot holes/flaws in world building can easily be attributed to xiaoqian’s lousy scriptwriting abilities?

i really did become quite impressed with the plot as the episodes progressed haha. the conflict and plot thickens as xiaoqian, now as qianqian, with the mindset that she’s not part of this story at all and that she’s interacting with a bunch of characters on paper, continues to engineer plot machinations trying to steer the plot in the right direction to get to the end so she can return back to the real world. and you slowly see how that just devolves into complete chaos and plot twists when surprise! she IS part of the story, she IS interacting with these characters and they are influenced by what she says and does! so you have her original male lead hanshuo, destined for the female lead chuchu, falling in love instead with her and changing his entire plan because of that. you have chuchu, the original female lead, slowly growing more unhinged as she perceives qianqian’s actions and words as callous and uncaring and outrightly antagonistic towards herself and as her resentment builds when everyone seems to shower affection and attention on qianqian still.

adding on to that is, how xiaoqian as a scriptwriter views and perceives her characters? some characters like hanshuo, she clearly constructed with much care and love, as seen by how she knows exactly how to make hanshuo happy and doesn’t want to upset him in the initial episodes (which caused him to fall for her like a devoted puppy). yet it seems like she either didn’t grasp fully their character motivations/personality/how their character is moulded by their backgrounds? which is why she probably didn’t see how the inherent difference with which her mother treats qianqian vs chuchu would lead to jealousy and resentment seeping in and poisoning chuchu’s heart. and her visualising han shuo as a murderous calculating career-driven male lead aka the male lead of eastern palace clearly runs contrary to how he is total putty and has barely hurt a fly ever since he fell in love with qianqian.

and there are characters too like her mother that she originally clearly just wrote in as characters to steer the plot forward, and in-world, she is clearly stricken when she realises how they have emotions and hidden depths beyond what she fathomed - like when her and her mother had that semi HTHT after she stole the dragon bone and her mum stayed by her bedchamber to watch over her all night. and another example would be su ziying - she’s so happy to see him when he appears as in that moment she’s viewing him from the lens of the scriptwriter of this story and she knows he’s going to push the plot forward. but seeing him and his actions actually playing out - she gets irritated by what he does and also his actions actually do end up affecting her, because she is in the story too!!!

and moving on from that, as the plot further progresses, another spanner is thrown into the mix when she realises that male lead is really really in love with her! and would give up everything for her! and... she too is in love with him!! and this changes things too because while initially all her actions were to push the plot to move forward the way she originally wrote it so that she can head back, now she’s actively trying to push back against the flow of events, as she’s now emotionally invested in this and doesn’t want the male lead to die as per her original script.

the play out of all these was really really entertaining and gripping to watch?? i was legitimately bowled over by how affected i was when all the angst came in, because it really felt like it made sense amidst all the crack and was well set up? and throughout it all, the actions of all the main players in the plot made sense and were logical, even the secondary leads chuchu and peiheng. haha idek if i’m ascribing too much credit to this whole plot, maybe it’s really just meant to be a cracky fun time and i’m too into it HAHA.

there’s also the set up of huayuan city being a matriarchal society where basically the roles of women and men are reversed. it is really v trippy!!! and An Experience to see scenes like men being harrassed by women, people tittering at other men for not being covered up enough in public, wares that can increase your chances of birthing a female heir being peddled on the streets. initially i was kind of apprehensive as to how it was going to play out. now at ep 22 where they’ve gone to xuanhu city which is patriarchal the conversation regarding gender roles and gender equality is continuing!! but i shall reserve my thoughts and comments till the entire arc plays out.

but beyond all that, the drama is just so much fun fun funnnnn!!!! i loveddddd seeing how this drama about a scriptwriter getting stuck in her own script had scenes interspersed with storytellers on the street retelling qianqian’s exploits and qianqian’s regular meetups with the storytellers/opera writers to discuss how the plot of the drama was going or even the scene where hanshuo and peiheng went to the opera house for their male lead showdown and the opera characters were there saying all the rude things they wanted to say to each other. such fun meta?? breaking the fourth wall?? satire?? idek LOL i just know i enjoyed it thoroughly

and lastly, apart from all the thinky thinky stuff, i’m thoroughly charmed by the otp HAHA. i loveeeee qianqian so much and zhao lusi is soo effortlessly adorable and natural and charming in this role that i can totally see why everyone from han shuo to her mother is enamoured by her. i actually am really curious also to see how qianqian before xiaoqian transmigrated into her body was like - seeing how her servant didn’t seem to have any whiplash from an extreme change in personality suggest that maybe qianqian wasn’t all that different from xiaoqian?? and probably might not have been that spoilt/callous/havoc-wreaking as everyone perceives her to be?

and han shuo too is SO entertaining and funny and darling - when he first came to huayuan city he’s all “i’m cunning and smart and i’m going to MANIPULATE EVERYBODY for my/xuan hu city’s benefit” and “i want chen qianqian to die with ten thousand arrows through her heart!! i want her to be stabbed by knives three thousand times!! not a single time less!!!” and “do you think i don’t dare to kill you?!”. then he falls in love with her and instantly he’s all puppy eyes and utter devotion. IT’S DELICIOUS. ding yuxi really makes staring at your FL like she’s the only one in the world an art form. and as one comment on a bilibili mv said regarding han shuo’s supposed bloodlust, “han shuo, up to this point you’ve only killed one horse” HAHA

(keep in mind that it’s not even that han shuo ordered the killing of this horse, it was his subordinate that killed it on his behalf, and han shuo was Not Happy about it after that!)

together the otp are even more adorable!!! it’s teeth rotting fluff but yet it comes off very earnest and adorable without being cloying. i was literally clutching my heart and grinning at the screen dopily at some scenes. and even though the otp dynamic and character setups are not really the same, the way the two of them bicker and act like children around each other kind of remind me of yongqi and xiaoyanzi from hzgg for some reason lol.

and apart from the otp, there are a whole host of supporting characters that are really very funny and adorable and entertaining to watch haha. special shoutout to both han shuo and qianqian’s subordinates who are HILARIOUS and plain Done with their masters’ nonsense (especially bai ji who really just wants to get shit done okay!! but his master just keeps on wanting to fall in love and date!!) there’s also qianqian’s older sister yuanyuan who is disabled and on a wheelchair, and with a sad yet somehow hilarious penchant for writing multiple drafts of her will. and her otp, su mu, a courtesan (yes the courtesans in this city are all male).

honestly i’m not sure where i’m going with this, i just briefly scanned through what i’ve written so far and lol seems like paragraphs of illogical incoherent rambling. I’m sorry it’s 5am over here i’m not really thinking straight T_T i just have a lot of feels for this drama okay ;_____;

[pasiphile]

idk if this is something you've either a) ever felt the desire to talk about (if not, please excuse the curiosity!) or b) talked about before, but how do you go about writing your ep(f)ics? it's one of those things i've always been curious about because there's plenty of chat about how to start an original novel and plot it etc but usually a good chunk of those hypothetical word counts come down to character building, which is less relevant in fic. any thoughts?

I don’t mind at all! Especially because after writing four (five?) of these fuckers I finally feel like I got the hang of how I actually tackle them.

(that is, the general method. If you're asking about knowing what scenes to write/how to decide what actually happens, there I can't help you. Imo, that's just a case of having imagination)

First a caveat, though: I don’t write chronologically. I know people who do, and honestly it seriously impresses me, but it’s not something that I can do. If you can write chronologically, please do, because you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches. But if you’re like me and you just hop around...

So basically I start out with a vague idea. In Laws that was picking up after ACWNR and showing how they got from there to the point at the start of the series, for TVD it was I wanna show Moriarty’s pov for most of the series, and for the Untamed it was what if post-canon someone starts fucking around with the Yin Metal again. Basic, huge ideas, that give me a start, a middle and an ending.

This is also the point where some people outline. Again, if you can, great! do it! give yourself structure! I personally keep trying and it never works so I’ve given up, and try to keep track in my head instead.

Once I’ve got the basic idea, I basically just... start writing. By which I mean, more specifically, that whenever I have a bit of free time I retreat into daydream-land and start imagining things that might happen. Anything might be a jumping-off point there; a thing I read in another story, an interesting meta I read, a detail I saw in canon. Anything that fits the general storyshape. 

(A lot of those scenes start their life in the space before I fall asleep).

The trick after that is to get to a keyboard asap, before I forget what I actually had in mind, and write it down (this is also why fic fragments tend to show up in the notes app of my phone). Once I start writing those down, usually I go beyond what I initially thought of - they write themselves, in a way.

If you do that often enough, eventually you’ll end up with a critical mass of scenes. I do try to put those scenes roughly in the right place, chronologically, but that’s only an estimate. This phase two is basically one giant shuffle game: trying to see which scenes can follow on which, whether there’s a logical connection between them, and then cut-paste and adapt all over the place. 

I don’t actually edit in this phase, to be clear. I might put in a placeholder and a note if I have an idea what needs to show up to make two scenes link to each other, but I don’t go any deeper. At this point, you need a bird’s view on your story.

Once that’s in place, I start the hard work, which is taking those scenes and turning them into a coherent whole. Basically I just start reading at the start (of the story/chapter) and then run through the story as if I’m watching a series. The bulk of it has been written by now, so I now have room to write in the connective bits, the references to previous happenings, more internal thoughts and reflections...

And at the end of that phase, you’ve got something that resembles a (clunky, messy, occasionally weird) story. 

So then I reread. This is usually when the bigger things start showing up, the character arcs and relationship-building. Some of that is already present, but it isn’t until I’ve got the whole thing in front of me that I actually start seeing the patterns. I try not to edit straight in the text at this point (which is why I often put the file in epub on my ereader, so I don’t get tempted) and take notes about general trends. Detailed editing is later.

(sidenote: fanfic needs less character building than original fiction, but you still need character development. if you’re writing an actual long thing instead of series of vignettes or one-shots, the way the characters are at the start can’t be the way they are in the end. Something’s gotta change, both in terms of characterisation as in relationships, otherwise you’re just going to end up with a boring story.)

And once that’s done, the process starts over, basically. Based on the notes, I start writing missing scenes and shuffling around scenes again if needed, and while I’m at it, I also try to edit the more detailed things. Said editing process keeps going until right at the end: I line-edit in AO3 one last time, just before I post, with the chapter copy-pasted from words straight into the drafts there.

Is this an efficient, logical or neat system? Fuck no. But it’s the only one that works for me, and I’ve gotten some good results with it. 

It is, however, a rather intuitive system, because I know roughly how stories work, how tension and character building works etc. When I read, I tend to sense where it needs a cliffhanger, or a spanner in the works, or a big dramatic reveal. If you don’t have that sense (which honestly, I think you can only get if you read/watch/consume shitloads of fiction) you’ll need a way more structured approach - but those have never worked for me, tbh.

TL;DR

Phase 0: have an idea. can be as vague as you want, but try to know the beginning, middle and end of the story. 

Phase 1: just fucking write. give no fucks about writing ‘complete’ scenes, just put it down on the page, even if it’s just a dialogue fragment. try to put things roughly in the right place but don’t spend too much thought on that. Put all your energy into imagining things, and then scribbling them down as soon as possible before you forget them again.

Phase 2: shuffle. Move the scenes around until you’ve got an idea what happens and in what order. Don’t bother edting. Just try to get one coherent plotline going.

Phase 3: read-and-write. Start from the beginning and walk yourself through the story, writing as much connective bits and embellishing everything you can.

Phase 4: read-and-check. Read your story as if you were a reader, not the author, and try to see if it makes sense, what the characters’ arcs are, what the story tension is like, and what’s happening plotwise. 

Phase 5: Adjust accordingly, ie Rinse and repeat.

[elyvorg]

Consider the following scenario: Around chapter 3, Tenko comes to Kaito to ask him to help Himiko. How do you think things would turn out? -As in, do you think the two could become the motivational buddies of Shuichi, Maki and Himiko?- (Also you're literally the only person I can ask this to, and thank you for providing such detailed Kaito content)

Aww, you're welcome! I'm thrilled to be considered the go-to source for Good Kaito Thoughts. (Though this is going to be at least half Tenko and Himiko thoughts, of course, and I don't profess to be as much of an expert at that, but I'll do my best.)

(also whoops, this got long, probably should go under a cut)

First, this'd need a couple of prerequisites: that Kaito's phobia doesn't exist so he isn't non-functionally mentally ill for most of chapter 3, and that Tenko's degenerate males thing is toned down a touch such that she's willing to acknowledge that Kaito is a good person and ask for his help with relatively little hesitation.

(This is sort of like what happens canonically when Tenko gets desperate enough to stop Angie's ritual that she asks Maki and Shuichi for help, and would have included Kaito if he'd been feeling well. But in that case, it was definitely more about "Angie is dangerous and might cause a murder if we don't stop this", rather than being specifically about helping Himiko. And I also get the sense that if there hadn't been at least one girl involved then Tenko maybe still wouldn't have asked them.)

Would This Work?

So, if we assume that, A, Tenko was even more focused specifically on helping Himiko than she already was in canon, and, B, was willing to ignore her prejudices and swallow her pride enough to ask Kaito for help, (and C, Kaito wasn't mentally ill and was able to help), would Kaito's input have been enough?

The thing is, Tenko was pretty much already doing all the right things to try and help Himiko in the first place. She'd recognised that the problem was Himiko struggling to express her emotions and had been trying to encourage her to do so, including suggesting physical training. This is a lot like Kaito's type of approach! There isn't that much that Kaito would have done differently to how Tenko did it. Him lending his input to this would mostly just have resulted in doubling the amount of enthusiastic persistence directed at Himiko, which... since Tenko being such an overwhelming personality was probably part of why Himiko didn't respond to her for so long, that might actually make things slightly worse on its own.

That said, Tenko was also not helping things by having a lot of her interactions with Himiko be unnecessarily overzealous romantic come-ons, which just made Himiko less inclined to want to listen to her in general and meant Tenko had given herself more of an uphill battle when it came to her genuine selfless attempts to help. I'd think the best thing to do about this would be for Tenko to apologise for having sometimes made things about her and make it clear that the most important thing to her right now is helping Himiko and this isn't about Tenko at all. However, I'm not sure if this is an issue that Kaito would actually properly pick up on in order to suggest that Tenko do this.

See, when it comes to understanding what a potential sidekick's struggles are and the best ways to help them overcome them, Kaito is great at it and seems to put a lot of conscious thought into it - but that's the part Tenko was already perfectly good at, too. When it comes to the process of reaching out and offering that help in the first place to encourage someone to begin to change, however, Kaito appears to pretty much just instinctively wing it, with no particular game plan other than "be persistent" and, maybe a little more specifically, "invite them to training". So I don't know if he'd necessarily have any better ideas than Tenko herself had of how to go about this - except, of course, for inviting Himiko to training.

Kaito's whole training thing really is a very effective way of getting through to someone in the first place. While the exercise itself is only tangentially connected to the actual point of self-reflection and emotional growth (especially in Maki's case), it's the directness of Kaito's approach that makes all the difference, because it prevents the potential sidekick from failing to notice or pretending not to notice that he's trying to help them. Just the fact that Kaito makes it a whole Big Thing where he very directly says, "I want to help you, this is how I'm doing it, if you want to get stronger then all you gotta do to take the first step is do some push-ups with me" presents the potential sidekick with a very obvious choice to make over whether they want to face their issues and try to change. In that position, anyone who really does want to change deep down is almost certainly going to take him up on that, whether or not they've been brushing off his other, less "official" attempts to reach out and help.

So maybe Kaito inviting Himiko to training, with Tenko alongside him backing up what he's saying - or leading the speech, even - about how this is all to help her, would indeed have got through to her. There are hints that, towards the end of chapter 3's daily life, Tenko has begun to make Himiko quietly wish she was more willing and able to listen to Tenko's advice. So it appears that the initial desire to change was already there in Himiko - it just sadly took Tenko's death in canon for her to actually acknowledge it.

However, there's also the massive spanner of Angie in the works here. With Himiko being brainwashed into clinging to Angie's escapism as an unhealthy coping mechanism, she was getting a free ticket to take the easy way out of her problems and run away from feeling like she needed to really change. If there had been no Angie in canon, Tenko would probably have been able to get through to Himiko while she was alive without even needing to ask anyone for help. But with Angie being a factor, even if Tenko and Kaito combined forces and invited Himiko to training to very directly present her with the option to change, I really kind of think Himiko would have just refused. She'd have been able to tell herself she doesn't need to change when she's already got Angie and Atua.

Tenko would be dismayed, but I think Kaito would get it. His sidekick thing can only work on people who want to change. Kaito can nudge and persuade, but he can't force people to make that choice; they have to ultimately do it of their own volition. If Himiko really isn't ready for this, there's nothing else Kaito can do. So he'd probably end up advising Tenko to just be patient and keep an eye on Himiko, letting her know that she's still there for her and the offer's still open if she ever changes her mind.

...And then case 3 would happen and Angie and Tenko would die and Himiko's arc would proceed roughly as it did in canon anyway, bleagh. Except for the fact that Kaito would have a lot more personal investment in this, because even if she never quite became his sidekick before, the fact that he extended that offer would still be important to him. I doubt he'd want to just leave her now that she has made the choice to change, even if she doesn't specifically need his help for it any more, and so he'd probably invite her to training in chapter 4 after all, despite the painful lack of Tenko.

(While we're here, let's talk a little about why Kaito never actively tried to make Himiko his sidekick in canon. Presumably, during the first three chapters, it was mostly out of seeing that Tenko was already kind of trying to work on that herself, and then that plus the whole Angie thing meant that Kaito didn't think it would be a good idea to butt in when he'd only get in the way. Then the reason he never invited Himiko to training in chapter 4 when she'd lost Tenko was perhaps because Himiko didn't actually need any extra nudges like Shuichi and Maki did at the beginnings of chapters 2 and 3; she was already going full-throttle and had firmly begun to make her efforts to change. ...That and, by that point, Kaito must have been mentally exhausted just looking out for two sidekicks while also suffering from and hiding his own problems, so he probably didn't really want to increase his burdens even more. Not that he'd have ever admitted that.)

If This Worked

But hey, never mind the fact that my conclusion to the question of whether this'd work is "probably not, thanks a bunch Angie", let's also think about what would happen if this had somehow worked anyway. A five-person team of training buddies sounds pretty adorable, after all!

(...Well, for this to last for any appreciable amount of time, we'd need Kiyo to not up and murder Tenko like an asshole, please. I guess it's possible that if they'd already got through to Himiko before Angie's death, she wouldn't have felt the need to talk to Angie with the seance and Tenko wouldn't have died? I dunno; that might be something Himiko would still want to do for closure even if she was already expressing her emotions more healthily. Ugggh Kiyo sucks. The only meaningful purpose he serves in the story is because someone had to kill Angie and Tenko for the sake of Himiko's character development, so if Himiko's development was going to happen anyway without those deaths, can Kiyo just not be here at all, please? Please? Or be someone slightly less shitty who murders just to escape and therefore stops at Angie.)

But anyway, yes, this five-person training team is fun to think about, because Kaito and Tenko really have a lot in common and it's a shame Tenko's prejudices mean they never get to interact much in canon to show this off. They're both so very Good in terms of their general overzealous enthusiasm and determination and desire to protect people. Tenko is also surprisingly like Kaito in that, though she seemingly needs to literally Aikido throw someone to do it, she can be pretty good at reading people and picking up on their struggles (even - gasp! - if they're male).

That said, Tenko doesn't make a point of going out of her way to help anyone who needs it like Kaito does, not even just among the girls (she sees Maki as a threat at first), and it's only because of her massive crush on Himiko that she also gained a selfless desire to help her. Still, maybe her collaborating with Kaito on this could help her learn that she's actually really good at motivating people in this way and it feels rewarding even when the target isn't her crush, making her want to use her skills for this more in future!

(Imagine if, in an effort to understand her better and see why Kaito believes in her so much, Tenko politely asks if she can Aikido throw Maki to get a read on her. She'd be kind of wary about what Maki would do if she did it without warning, after all.)

Plus, Tenko is also a big advocate of the idea that physical training can help someone with mental problems, just like Kaito! She might even have a slightly better idea of an actual systematic approach to training than Kaito... but then again, maybe not, because her Neo-Aikido does seem pretty haphazard. So we'd probably end up with these two ridiculous dorks who have no idea how to run a targeted exercise regime just throwing their enthusiasm all over the place and probably bickering and being competitive while they were at it, and poor Shuichi, Maki and Himiko would just have to try and keep up with them somehow. That'd be... quite the spectacle. (Maki would wryly comment that it's like having two Kaitos when one was more than enough... but she wouldn't actually mind.)

Naturally, I also find it interesting to think about how Kaito would be affected by this, especially since, while Shuichi, Maki and Himiko would all be considered his sidekicks, Tenko would be something more like a "co-hero" alongside Kaito in this arrangement. There's a lot of potential inherent in the idea of Kaito forging an important relationship with someone who's not a sidekick to him. If a friend of Kaito’s who was in the position to properly view him as an equal was also emotionally mature enough to see what he's doing wrong and point out that he really needs to talk about his own problems too, that would Change Some Things. However, as much as she'd be doing her best to help, and even if we assume her gender prejudices just didn't get in the way here at all, I... don't think Tenko's that person.

(Can you tell this is something I've thought about quite a bit, albeit never with Tenko. Imagine if Kaede had lived and she and Kaito had teamed up in their mutual desire to support everyone - they'd also have been great influences on each other, stopping the other from getting too self-destructively selfless.)

(Though, hey, what if Tenko Aikido threw Kaito at some point, probably more out of boisterous competitiveness than trying to get a read on him, except then she suddenly realises, "wait a minute, you're sick, what are you doing training them when you should be looking after yourself?" And his sidekicks kind of can't help but agree with her despite his attempts to deny it, because Kaito definitely looks to be in more pain than he should be from that. And then they escape and save his life, like they always would have if they'd known. Man, if only.)

Also, even though Tenko is nominally someone else in the "hero" role here, I can't quite see Kaito's unreasonable standards for heroes kicking in towards her. This is just an instinctive sense I get that I'm not completely sure of the reason for - perhaps because of the way Tenko initiated this by asking him for help? So she kind of is like a sidekick to him, too - just a sidekick in the specific art of being an inspiring and encouraging hero. Man that'd be so confusingly not-black-and-white to Kaito, a lot like Shuichi is to him in this regard as well. What do you mean she's both at the same time??? That’s not how this works!!!

There's also the fact that Himiko would be a sidekick alongside Maki and Shuichi (whether or not Tenko died), which might change things a little for people other than Himiko herself. Maki would be watching Himiko work on trying to express her emotions in a context that's being paralleled with the struggles Maki's trying to overcome. So maybe this could have got Maki to more consciously think about expressing her own emotions, which is something she has difficulty with too after having repressed them for so long, but that she doesn't precisely ever make quite such a conscious effort about in canon like Himiko does.

Also, if we assume that Kaito's issues are relatively unchanged and trial 4 still goes basically the same as it does in canon, Himiko being his sidekick could make a difference for early chapter 5. In canon, when she's not even his sidekick, Himiko still indicates that she's thought a little about Kaito's feelings and what he might be going through, as well as just how his behaviour is making Shuichi feel. But if she'd been actively a part of that sidekick group and had seen first-hand how Kaito's sidekicks - namely Shuichi - look up to him and learn from him, Himiko in particular would have had the capacity to potentially piece things together and figure out the real reason Kaito was avoiding Shuichi. After all, she's been in exactly the same position as Shuichi is here. (This is about my hot take on Himiko's FTEs that I discussed in one of my commentary posts, which I still enjoy thinking about. Kaito has parallels and connections to so many characters in this story and it’s great.)

[crazymarvelsuperfamily]

Stole his Heart

another super fluffy iron dad fanfic! POV Rhodey, so a little different. Please leave any comments/feedback/suggestions - just really wanna get my writing a lil better :)

Tony and his adopted son had promised to turn up to a charity evening event, but as usual, Rhodey has to come and drag them out of the lab.

word count: 2057

general audiences

The AC/DC music was blasting from below. Rhodey could feel the floor shaking from the instant he arrived at the compound. He rolled his eyes; the boys were down in the lab again messing around. He guessed they completely forgot about the charity evening Tony promised they’d attend. Although this would never surprise him, he always hoped for the day when Tony would turn up to an event on time and leave that damn workshop for just a couple of hours. A few years back, he would have been worried about Tony, knowing that he was spending too long down in his lab; but now, it brought a smile to his face. He knew his friend wasn’t alone down there anymore, drinking himself to death in a hole of reckless self-pity.

 Now he had Peter with him, Tony was a changed man. He still spent days at a time down in the workshop, but instead, he spent it with Peter. Hours would pass by with the pair tinkering away at some science project, or working on equations, or even just doing math homework. Peter was the best thing that could have happened to Tony, and he came into his life at just the right time. The boy crept into the frozen heart the man had forgotten was there and thawed it completely. Rhodey might even go as far as to say Tony was getting soft. He was there for the kid whenever he needed, he picked the boy up from school, helped him with his homework, even cooked the occasional meal. The man had finally remembered how to love someone properly and had devoted his life to caring for his adopted son. More importantly, he realised how much Peter needed him in his life and started to live up to his responsibilities: he actually slept at least a couple of hours each night, he started to eat in a fairly healthy manner, and he had finally quit the destructive binge drinking. Rhodey was proud of his Tony. And he hadn’t been proud of his best friend in a long time.

  The music grew louder as he walked down the spiral staircase to the lab. How on earth can anyone sane work with this racket? He thought as noise from the speakers was literally close to defening before he remembered: Tony most definitely was not sane… and neither was the kid that runs around Queens in spandex for that matter. He punched in the code for the lab and the glass doors slid open. He almost double took when he first saw the duo in the lab with their backs to him. Both of them were wearing oily stained jeans and t-shirts. Tony was bare-foot while the kid wore ironman bed socks, each with a pencil behind their ear and Peter had a spanner in hand as a microphone. They were jamming out as they worked; Tony working his hips as he fiddled with the engine of a car, and Peter theatrically handing parts and equipment when prompted. At the back, one of the ironman suits was playing the air guitar. Oh man would the others pay to see this! Rhodey stifled a laugh as he got out his phone and videoed the pair for a few seconds.

“Hey FRIDAY, turn down the music please”

“apologies Colonel Rhodes, but I cannot hear you above the noise.”

“THEN TURN IT DOWN!!” screamed Rhodey. Suddenly the music dropped to a much more reasonable level. “thanks.” He replied to the AI, instantly more composed.

“Aww Underoos, Uncle Rhodey has come to spoil the fun.” Tony joked as he and peter turned simultaneously and pouted.

“You two have grown so similar it’s frightening.” Rhodey grinned at Peter. “I really wouldn’t plan on taking after Tony much more – if you’re not careful you might develop his ego, then your head would be too big to fit into your funky spandex outfit.”

“Dude, I’ve already said – they’re nanoparticles not spandex!” Peter pouted harder, slightly embarrassed by the comment. Rhodey shoved the kid playfully before fluffing up his soft brown curls.

“I know kid, I’m only messing. Tony, d’ya mind telling me what time it is?”

“Ugh, like 8?” Tony scratched his head. He knew he was probably meant to be ready for some party he promised to show his face at.

“Yeah, and what time did you say you’d be ready for Happy to take us all to the charity gala ball?”

“balls” Peter mumbled under his breath. He knew Tony never bothered about being punctual for events, but Peter was always a bit nervous and preferred to arrive on time. Normally, he would be the one to tell Tony to get ready, but he had been so completely absorbed into the lab work this evening, he had completely forgotten.

“Yeah kid. The ball. Well, the correct answer was 7:30. Now, you guys, shower quickly, meaning no more singing. And into your suits please. I’ve taken the liberty to lay out a tux for each of you in your rooms.

“well, aren’t you a saint.” Tony sighed, putting down the blowtorch he was holding and sauntering off to the elevator.

“FRIDAY, get Dunce over there to clean up this mess please. And Underoos, get a move on, Uncle Rhodey is worried that if we don’t get to wherever we’re meant to be by midnight we will all turn into pumpkins again.”

“Coming Tony, but when have we turned into pumpkins before?” The kid jogged to catch up with Tony, approaching the elevator. Rhodey smiled to himself, seeing how the kid looked up to Tony. He really was the boy’s hero.

  “Awwwwww! Look at you Underoos, don’t you brush up well.” About 15 minutes later Rhodey was dragging everyone to the car where Happy had been waiting impatiently for almost an hour. Tony pinched Peter’s cheeks, which were glowing bright red in embarrassment.

“Tony! Stop!” Peter laughed as his almost tamed hair was getting fluffed up again. “I just brushed that. It’s always so curly, and you messing it up all the time is not helping its cause!”

“I know kid, but I like the curls – they’re cute!”

The car journey lasted about half an hour. Rhodey passed Tony a few note cards with a hastily written speech scrawled on them. “Hey, please try and follow them for once – you really don’t need to do anything but thank the charity heads for their work and give a brief life update for the media.”

Tony nodded tucking the cards into his jacket, making a mental note to chuck them at the first bin he came across. “Yeah, yeah Rhodey, I know the deal – have been dealing with this all my life and stuff…”

“you still never follow the cards…” Rhodey shook his head, knowing he was trying to fight a battle that had been lost long ago.

“Oh, and kid, you know the deal – don’t leave the venue, no drinking, no smoking or drugs, and please leave this party as a virgin.” Tony laughed as Peter’s eyes widened and he flushed crimson.

“um… Tony, I wouldn’t… do…” Peter shifted uncomfortably.

“I know Underoos, its just funny watching you being embarrassed. I’m just messin’. Though saying that, I am dead serious – you will be in trouble if you do any of the above.”

 They eventually pulled up at a large building, where the party was obviously taking place. People in their evening attire were scattered around the outside, taking in the beauty of the gardens at dusk. Through the huge windows and open doors, Rhodey could see there were probably thousands of people gathered for the gala evening. He glanced over at the kid and felt bad for him: he wasn’t a fan of these kinds of events – he always found himself much too socially awkward and going everywhere with Tony Stark always drew a lot of unwanted attention. The evening air was muggy, and Peter looked awkward and panicked as he stepped out of the car. Tony put his hands on the boy’s shoulders from behind and steered him towards the door.

 It was only a matter of seconds before the press swarmed them, pointing microphones into their faces, bombarding them with questions. This had happened to Peter on several occasions before – some as Spiderman and some just as Peter when he was with Tony, but he still wasn’t used to it. Even Rhodey’s head was spinning wildly as he tried to compute all the voices interrogating him, he had no idea what hell the kid had to be going through. He heard the endless clicking of cameras, as all the papers and magazines tried desperately to snap a photo of the world’s most famous engineer and the boy he mysteriously adopted. Tony stepped in front of the boy, shielding him from the journalists and speeding up, trying to lead Peter inside as fast as possible. Rhodey followed behind, repeating over and over that none of the group wanted to answer questions regarding either personal or professional life and would they please be courteous and respect privacy. They reached the entrance, where the professional TV crews were covering the evening. They all forced smiles and waved briefly as they quickly disappeared into the building.

 Within five minutes of arriving at the party, Tony disappeared off into the amass of people and Rhodey guessed they wouldn’t really see him for the rest of the evening. Rhodey knew that although he had matured a lot in recent years, Tony still partied hard, and it was best to keep Peter away from a partying Tony. So, Peter spent most of the evening with Rhodey. Despite his usual rocky start, for once the kid seemed to be enjoying himself a lot more. Rhodey guess the kid felt a little more at home at an event celebrating a generous donation to a physics society – friendlier people, and lots of scientists and mathematicians. He introduced himself to the important faces of the charity and spoke briefly with Rhodey’s friends regarding some of his recent works with Tony in the lab. Without giving any key details away, he outlined how they were working to further increase the power of the arc reactor and how its purposes can be used in a wider range of things as the building cost is ever decreasing. Actually, the kid isn’t half bad at the party scene – Tony was never this good at small talk. A few journalists were dotted around the hall, but Peter generally managed to avoid them. He eventually snuck off to hang around the buffet table, planning to just eat his way through the evening. At one point, someone gave Peter a pint of cider, he had barely started to sip it before Tony swept in and removed it from his hands. Rhodey couldn’t help but laugh, seeing Tony for the first time that evening, the second Peter gets his hands on some alcohol.

“what did I say about drinking?”

“I haven’t seen you in more than two hours! How on earth do you swoop in like that the second I start to break a rule?”

“I have my secrets…” Tony slurred, evidently drunk.

“If you put FRIDAY into my watch I swear to God”

“language… you’re getting pretty fucking close… wait shit!” yup, Tony was pissed.

“Hey Tony, I really think you’re the one that should lay off the booze a little?” Peter reasoned, ever looking like a lost puppy.

“Not a chance kiddo…” Tony shook his head, then suddenly in a much soberer fashion, “You ready to go home kid? I think it’s probably about time – you’re looking a little peaky.” He cupped the boy’s cheek as Peter nodded. “M’kay, Imma get Happy to take you back to the Tower. I’ll be home before 3… or maybe 5… I dunno, at some point before your breakfast… I love you kid”

“Love you too Tony, see you in the morning.” Peter whispered as Tony pulled him into a close hug.

 Tony had never said “I love you” before to Peter, or to anyone before really, for that matter. And maybe Peter had brushed it off, recognising Tony was drunk, but Rhodey watched the two, and he knew that Tony really meant what he said. Peter had crept right in and stolen his heart.

[totesmccoats]

Batman #36

Batman and Superman avoid calling each-other to talk about the recent engagement, each making their own excuses to their better halves, and placing the responsibility on the other to avoid making the first move.

It shouldn’t be surprising in retrospect, but who knew Tom King could be this adorable? King makes it obvious how much each man respects and adores the other by how intimidated each is to start this conversation despite knowing that they should. Besides, they’re busy with superheroing – the other’ll call if it’s that important. Meanwhile, Catwoman starts to feel like Bruce might be ashamed of her; and Lois just really wants to meet her!

Clay Mann draws the two heroes in a way that fits each’s opinion of the other. Both are imposing figures, larger than life, mythic. Superman swoops into action, catching trains before they fall off cliffs, as Batman poses dramatically on Gotham’s gargoyles, leaping through skylights to kick criminals. Even in the same room, Superman glows and Batman seems to carry shadows with him.

  Batman: White Knight #3

New Harley can’t accept that Jack no longer wants to be Joker, and decides to take up the mantle for herself. Meanwhile, Jack moves forward with his plan to discredit Batman and the Gotham establishment, using the mind-controlled supervillains as both a distraction and a cudgel. While Batman chases them through Blackport, causing untold damages to people and property; Jack raids the city records office to look for exactly how much those damages cost Gotham, and finds his answer.

The next day, Jack reveals that Batman costs the city three billion dollars a year in taxpayer money, and is still completely unaccountable for it, or the priceless emotional damage he costs the city, further widening the divide between Batman and Gotham, including close allies like Gordon, Dick, and Barbara. Continuing with his plan, Jack and Harley head to Blackport where they find an ally in Duke Thomas – in this universe, ex-military, ex-police, and Blackport native who organized a grassroots police-force for the part of the city Gotham forgot.

This issue further reveals that Jack may not be as squeaky clean as he presents himself to Gotham, but he still makes a heckuva strong argument against Batman’s continued existence; especially as Batman’s methods become more and more reckless. SGM also adds another stir to the pot with new Harley, who becomes an element that neither Jack nor Batman have figured into their equations, and could become a spanner in either or both of their designs.

As of now, turning Duke into Luke Cage-lite could go either way, but the big-black guy stereotype is a fine-line to walk. SGM’s other big diversion from canon in this issue, however, really changes who this Batman is and what his relationship to the rest of the Bat-family and the Joker is compared to the norm.

  Superman #36

A not-great conclusion to a not-great arc. The war on Apokolips is ended by deus ex machina, and Superman sits on Darkseid’s throne just long enough to abdicate it to the people. Gleason gives a bland version of a “truth, justice, and the american way” speech for Superman to say, then booms things to Metropolis. The last couple of pages are a cliffhanger for a much more interesting story development than the past four issues.

Also, I’ll be skipping the next two issues that will be part of a crossover – so hopefully #39 gets things back on track!

  Green Arrow #35

Aww yeah, Ferrerya’s back! And he’s illustrating Oliver’s adventure to the bottom of a trench in the Pacific Ocean to raid the vaults of the sunken Ninth Circle base, the Inferno, with his used-to-be-evil-and-also-dead mother, Moira. Meanwhile, detective Shuffleton follows the dirty detective Ros when he tails Oliver’s lawyer, and the two discover that Wendy Poole – whom Oliver is charged with murdering – is still alive. One of them can’t say the same for themselves much longer. And when Moira inevitably betrays her son, Black Canary and Henry team up and follow him into the trench to save him.

This issue is a little all over the place, including one flashback that I think turned into two different flashbacks without much to signal the transition, and an abrupt – even for comics – ending. Also, for the amount of space it’s given, there just isn’t much going on below the surface. The opening helpfully provides enough exposition to catch-up any new readers, but the amount of plot actually going on leaves a lot of room to be filled by Oliver’s self-flaggilating over his wealth; which, while appreciated in a way, disappoints compared to what’s going on above the waves, where people are uncovering secrets and blowing each-other up.

Still, a book of new Ferrerya art is never a completely bad thing, even when he isn’t allowed to really play to his strong suits and deliver high-octane action sequences. Also, I guess Moira Queen just looks like a woman in her late 30’s forever now?

  Justice League #34

Bruce hasn’t had a full rest in three days, and still insists on being the brains of the Justice League. He sends Superman, Flash, and Jessica Cruz to help people trapped in an earthquake, while he, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman rescue some kidnapped nuns. Meanwhile. Simon Baz monitors what appears to be a massive alien invasion. But in delegating these tasks, an underslept and overworked Batman may have made a tactical error – one that could cost lives.

This is Priest’s first issue on Justice League, and he immediately makes it a distinctly “Priest” book, with parallel storytelling, stakes that matter, and sharp dialogue. Appropriately, his Justice League run starts off lighter than his time with Deathstroke, with a lot of that credit going towards artist Pete Woods, who draws with bold lines and saturates his colors to heroic proportions. We even get some daytime Batman action!

  Black Bolt #8

Black Bolt finally returns to Earth, but isn’t given exactly the warm welcome he expected. A lot has happened during his absence, including an attempted holocaust under Hydra, and the disappearance of much of the royal family; and his people that once looked to him as a father now regard him as a deadbeat. And, before he can tend to the needs of his people, he has a promise to keep.

To use a cliché, you can take the Black Bolt out of prison, but you can’t take the prison out of Black Bolt. He is still trapped by the effects of his brother, by the loss of his voice, the trauma of his imprisonment, and the suffering of his people in his absence. Though Black Bolt has changed, he still isn’t whole.

Blinky adjusts better, wide eyed and slightly overwhelmed by her new home. Though she’s experienced the same trauma as Black Bolt, her advantage is in being better able to communicate her emotions – being a telepath helps with that.

And Ward’s art doesn’t suffer at all for being contained to Earth. He trades the neon blues and pinks for golden yellows and browns, bathing the issue in sunshine for the first time in the series. And Lockjaw is as floppy and adorable as ever.

  Hawkeye #13

Like all great Hawkeye stories involving Clint Barton, this one starts off with Hawkeye(s) falling from a great height. But before they were falling, Clint and Kate had just reunited, and were discussing whose problem to solve first when Clint’s problem popped up to try to kill the two with arrows. So, Clint’s problem takes priority. After Clint fills Kate in on who might be trying to kill him this time, Kate deduces that it’s Eden, the Swordsman’s apprentice from the Generations: The Archers issue. Unfortunately, she’s able to find them again before they can find her, and her teleportation powers make her an extra tricky baddie to nab.

If you’ve liked how Thompson wrote one Hawkeye, then you’re really going to enjoy how she writes two. She writes Kate and Clint with a familiar rapport, but still manages to give each their own character, Clint being looser and chiller despite being hunted, while Kate continues to be the more sarcastic one.

This even translates to their body language, and is immediately clear on the first page we see them falling together. Even while falling, Kate is poised and ready to shoot, while Clint is still grabbing at his quiver and is falling freely. And her style, with Bellaires’ colors, continue to give Hawkeye a distinct sunkissed tone regardless of how dark the book may go, but never to its detriment.

  Paper Girls #18

The Girls are able to escape Charlotte while the giant mech fight still roars invisibly around them, and Tiff admits to Chris – her future husband – that she’s his wife, or will be in 12 years. On their way to Tiff’s house, Mac tells Erin that she suspects KJ might be a clone or something of the real KJ, mostly because of the shock of her coming out of the closet last issue. And, in the mechs above the town, the Old Timers suffer a blow that may prompt them to forfeit what already passed for proper rules of engagement.

Despite the very fast-feeling issue (it’s amazing how the pace of a comic can vary so much considering they’re all about the same length!), each of the Girls get a moment, from KJ trying to talk down Charlotte, Erin ninja-throwing a newspaper, Mac’s newfound skepticism, and Tiff negotiating the politics of time travel with her Goth husband. Tiff actually seems to be the focus of this issue, which is a welcome shifting of the spotlight. BKV’s dialogue continues to be some of the best in comics, with everyone but the Old Timers reading as completely natural, and Chiang can draw the heck out of girls wandering through the woods and giant robot fights equally.

  Uber: Invasion #10

For better or worse, things are gearing up in Uber: Invasion. The Nazis recover Siegfried’s body, and the burning corpse of the Zephyr that killed him, and plan their counter-attack for before the United States can create enough Zephyrs to win the war. In Boston, while the US army celebrates Siegfried’s death, Stephanie wonders if they have the time to make enough Zephyrs and complete the Colossus II before the inevitable Nazi response. As a stalling tactic, she suggests that the army set up ghost-armies to make the Nazis think that the US already has the numbers. In San Francisco, a small team hunts the Japanese Battleship Yamato, and discuss whether they should search a Japanese Internment Camp for him.

Like many great war stories, some of the most dramatic moments of this issue involve people looking at maps and trying to outbluff the other. And, for the first time in Invasion, instead of sticking with one army for the entire issue, we get multiple concurrent threads, ratcheting up the tension even further.

Comic Reviews 12/5/17 Batman #36 Batman and Superman avoid calling each-other to talk about the recent engagement, each making their own excuses to their better halves, and placing the responsibility on the other to avoid making the first move.