#THE PLOT THE DETAIL THE HISTORY THE AUTISM!!!

[natestarsher55]

TRICE FORGOTTEN IS THE BEST PODCAST EVER PROBABLY

so the hyperfixation hit hard (and for good reason) because trice forgotten is engaging and fascinating and absolutely wonderful. i figured i’d copy my official review on itunes, because it says everything better than i could, were i to rewrite it:

If you like queer found family narratives, scientific and nautical tales, and period pieces, this podcast is for you. (And even if you don’t, give it a listen anyways—it might surprise you!)

Trice Forgotten is one of my favorite podcasts of all time (if not my absolute favorite). As a science nerd who also likes history and wants to be a writer someday, the Below Decks episodes were absolutely fascinating. They add so much depth (haha) to the plot of the story, as well providing fascinating context for the historical settings.

Nemo Martin is such a skilled and hard-working writer, and it’s clear that the rest of the crew working on the podcast gave their very best. The sound design and music are excellent, as they set the scene(s) really well. Every part of the podcast was crafted with love and care, and you can see the level of skill and passion shine through in every detail.

From a story standpoint, I adore this podcast. I’m deeply attached to each and every one of the main crew (Siva and Noor being my absolute favorites). I was continually impressed by how Nemo and the other writers developed characters in a consistent and entertaining way while not sacrificing the plot—and in only 10 episodes! As a character-driven writer, that’s something I aspire to in my own works.

I could ramble on forever about this podcast, but all I have left to say is that it will forever have a special place in my heart. Trice Forgotten, I will never forget you! :)

[birmit]

Ilandis Scarletveil

✧ Name: Ilandis Scarletveil ✧ Race: Night Elf | Kaldorei ✧ Occupation: Druid, one of the senior alchemists of the Cenarion Circle ✧ Age: about ~10,000 years ✧ Gender: Female

Note: I am not very knowledgeable about the lore of the night elves, especially their history. Therefore, there are not many details regarding traditions here, but I plan to add them in the future. Also, Ilandis is my character in the ttrpg "A Time of Changes", so some fragments of her biography may change. The article also intentionally omits some details from future events, so as not to spoil the plot of the personal quest for fellow players (and also because at the moment I want to focus on the image and life of Ilandis "before" certain events).

Appearance

Ilandis is a tall, thin night elf with long green hair. She has sharp features, and her skin is already showing the first signs of aging in the form of dark circles and wrinkles around her eyes.

One of the most obvious features of her appearance is her long, knife-like ears. Ilandis has longer ears than many other night elves, which often becomes a problem, especially in cold climates.

Her body is covered with traditional tattoos of her race, which she has applied throughout her long life. The first were patterns on her face and ear, which marked her coming of age. Otherwise, Ilandis's figure can attract attention only by its excessive thinness and even bonyness. The druidess rarely eats anything other than decoctions and infusions, which has greatly affected her appearance over the years. The fact that Ilandis does not disdain to test the results of her own researchs on herself also adds to the sickliness of her appearance.

Headcanon: Night elves (especially those who have mastered the art of druidism) require much less food and sleep to survive. This is why Ilandis can go longer than others without rest.

Сharacter traits

— An old and grumpy elven woman, that says it all. — She distrusts and disdains all races except the Kaldorei. She considers them inferior and unworthy of much attention. She is tolerant only of representatives of other elven communities (except the Sin'dorei). She despises the Horde and can agree to cooperate with them only in cases of extreme necessity. — She can rarely be seen smiling or simply content with life. Most of the time she is gloomy, and her eyes look as if in her thoughts she is somewhere very far away. Ilandis has difficulty expressing emotions, but she herself does not suffer much from this. — She prefers the company of books and her own research to society.

Background

Most likely, Ilandis had some kind of psychological (or congenital) deviation from birth, which in the realities of Azeroth simply went undiagnosed, since no one really cared about it. Since childhood, she was withdrawn and silent. She was not interested in playing with others and was always busy with her own things. With endless persistence, she could repeatedly move things from one place to another or arrange tree leaves by shade and degree of sickness. No matter how much her parents and teachers studied with her, she remained terribly straightforward, although she could perfectly well repeat every line from etiquette books by heart. As a teenager, she was not interested in relationships with others or events and could spend days in her own room, which was more like a library.

Note: I don't know enough about medicine or psychology to make a specific diagnosis (and I don't want to put a label), but Ilandis most likely had some form of autism from birth.

Elven age smoothed out all these nuances and taught her to better adapt to society. Or, at least, to pretend that she was at least a little interested.

Even before women were officially allowed to become Circle druids in Kaldorei society, Ilandis became interested in this art. Since childhood, she was attracted to everything related to nature: from studying plants to collecting butterflies and insects. And — their dissection. She was interested in how it all worked, how she can "reassemble" any manifestation of life and what it can be used for. Secretly, she eavesdropped on the lessons of other druids, and so gradually, step by step over many years, she was able to master this magic herself.

Ilandis' views on nature and the druid way have always been quite different from the mainstream. Instead of blindly protecting any living thing, she followed the principle of "survival of the fittest." Therefore, she studied all manifestations of life and death.

Another favorite hobby and the meaning of Ilandis's life was alchemy. Even before she came of age as a Kaldorei, she began making potions, decoctions, and poisons. This direction opened up a whole new path for her experiments, which she did not fail to take advantage of. Very quickly, her house turned into a storage room for all sorts of ingredients, notes, and experimental samples. The elf often tested the effects of various mixtures on herself, which is why her body, especially on the inside of her arms, has faded remnants of specific scars.

Artwork by aunhana

After her talents as a druid and scholar became known to the community, she was forced to become a member of the Cenarion Circle. Ilandis always felt love and a certain patriotism for her people, so despite her reluctance to interrupt her studies, she still agreed to move to a new position. Thus, Ilandis became one of the first female druids invited to the Circle.

Despite the fact that experiments on living beings were not very approved by the druid community, the results of the work of the Scarletveil always justified any risks. For example, she made some of the best healing potions, whose recipes could not be repeated by other alchemists. In matters of antidotes, she often had no equal, since she could determine by the smallest signs what exactly the wounded were poisoned with - and how to provide them with first aid. On the battlefield, she remained cold-blooded even in the most frightening situation, which saved the lives of many kaldorei and representatives of the Alliance. Therefore, for a long time, everyone turned a blind eye to what other dubious concoctions Ilandis made and what ingredients she used for them.

Ilandis always refused any titles in the community and preferred to remain in the shadows. But despite this, she was still appointed senior alchemist - and later mentor. After all, even the Circle is not averse to politics, and they were well aware that sooner or later Ilandis could cross the line. And losing her work would be too inconvenient in view of the constant aggravation of conflicts between the Alliance and the Horde. Therefore, they tried to assign students who showed talent in alchemy to her many times. But, except for one, no one could withstand her difficult character and teaching methods.

Artwork by CHELOBEK

A Time of Changes

Note: Northrend - about 25 years from the opening of the Dark Portal, until the start of the full-scale war with the Scourge.

Ilandis Scarletveil rarely left Kalimdor for official reasons, and even more rarely as a member of an expedition. But this time, when the Circle approached her with a request to join a group of other druids traveling to Northrend, for some reason she agreed. It is currently unknown whether this was due to an unexpected surge of altruism, or if the night elf was pursuing her own goals.

Having safely reached the northern continent, the expedition set up camp in the Borean Tundra. But during the night, their camp was attacked by undead, who killed most of the druids. Ylandis miraculously managed to survive, but she woke up on the cold stone floor of a frozen prison, completely without equipment and even without clothes. And more importantly - surrounded by unknown and motley representatives of the peoples of Azeroth.

Among them, a huge furry mass stood out, taking up most of the cell. This "mass" eventually turned out to be a tall tauren - and moreover, a druid, who, however, could not possibly be part of their expedition. In other darknesses of the small room were, as Ilandis then decided: two obvious elven women with ears similar to sin'dorei; a man in a cloth mask, which for some reason was left to him; and a blood elf with eyes burning with the fel fire.

At that time, Ilandis could not yet imagine that she would have to forget about her principles regarding other races and enter into a temporary alliance with this inveterate group of adventurers.

Artwork by SYR

Facts

— Ilandis is ambidextrous and can use both hands equally well. She also speaks Darnassian, Druidic, and Common. Ilandis is 230 cm tall.

— She believes that life in animal forms is a humiliation for true kaldorei. She herself also rarely uses them, preferring to rely on the magic of the stars, as well as healing spells. The only forms she uses are the half-elven moon and tree forms.

— Ilandis is asexual, she does not feel attraction to others and is not interested in romantic relationships.

— She runs a store with potions. She herself never appears there, having shifted all the work on interacting with clients to hired employees. Over her long life, she has accumulated quite an impressive capital, but does not monitor it in any way.

— She has a huge collection of various dried insects and animal skeletons. She was into taxidermy for a while.

— She loves herbal teas and can survive for a long time eating only them. She does not tolerate alcohol well.

— Her only "successful" student eventually ran away from her to another continent and even refused to join the Cenarion Circle.

[bloodmoon24]

Meet the User

(Warning: Long ass list)

OC Name: Luz V. Storm

What I am:

• An digital artist

• Autistic

• Animal lover

• Dog person (with some love for cats as well)

• Taurus

• 19 years old

• Bisexual

• AroAce

• Genderfluid (Pronouns she/her/they)

My Fandoms:

• Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss

• Ben 10

• Murder Drones

• Sonic the Hedgehog

• TinkerBell

• Lackadaisy

• Ever After High

• Trolls

• The Amazing Digital Circus

• Avatar

• Spider Man

• Wild Kratts

• MLP/EG

• TMNT 2012/ROT

• The Owl House

What I Draw:

• Ships

• Crossovers

• References

• Fashion ideas

What I Don’t/Can’t Draw:

• Proper backgrounds

• Requests that are too much, or have too many details

• NSFW (I’m somewhat complex with this one. No clue why)

What I Love:

• Drawing

• Music: Pop, techno, k-pop, Latino, movie songs, rock/rock-pop type of genres

• Strawberry/grape flavor sodas

• Astronomy, biology, zoology

• Animals

• Indie animations

• Chicken sandwiches/quesadillas/nuggets

• Reese’s cups/chocolate ice cream

• Kawaii

• Learning about history and culture

• Darker shades of red and grey

• Techno, robotic, fairy, nature aesthetics

• Spiritual/Fairy stuff

• Rainy days (bonus: with hot cocoa)

• Peppermint Frappuccino

• Fanfiction

• Fantasy/Cartoons

• Sitcoms

• Making friends

• Looking back at old and fun memories

• Magical things

What I Hate:

• Not being understood

• Nobody listening to me

• Death to me or the people I love

• Big changes

• People taking or touching my stuff

• People being rude to me/making fun of me

• People making jokes that sounds very hurtful

• Being annoyed/ignored

• Scary movies/shows/anime

• Creepy crawlers/Spiders (Even though I love Spider Man)

• Nobody understanding autism/autistic people

• TERFS, racism, sexism, homo/transphobic people

• Vomiting

• Loud sounds

• People who abuses literally everything and everyone at any age

• Nature being harmed and nobody not doing anything to help it

• People giving me too many things to do

• Other users rushing me on making an edit/asking me a complicated request for an edit

• Catfishing/Predators/Pedos (STAY OUT)

• Jokes that aren’t funny

• Talking to others (sometimes)

• Extremely gory things

• People not paying attention/ignoring my special interests and misread the plot of the franchise

• People dissing on my favorite fandoms

My OCs:

• Moonlight Storm (Very first one ever for MLP/EG)

• BloodMoon Storm (Hellaverse)

• Unnamed NightLight Fury (HTTYD)

• BeatDrop (Techno Troll)

• Rapidity (First alien, Kineceleran, for Ben 10)

• Thorax the Spider Woman (Spider Man)

• Storm Prime (Original robot OC (gonna redesign her)

• Moon the Bat, the Chaos Witch (Sonic the Hedgehog)

• Prototype L (Murder Drones)

• Unnamed Na’vi OCs (Avatar/Way of Water)

• Tick-Tick the Robot (The Amazing Digital Circus)

• Moon the Art Fairy (TinkerBell)

• Evelyn V. Carmen (Lackadaisy)

Ever After High OC coming soon

What I Allowed:

• Art requests

• Questions

Who I Ship:

• Alastor x Vox

• Charlie x Vaggie

• Zestial x Sir Pentious

• Adam x Lute

• Husk x Angel Dust

• Asmodeus x Fizzarolli

• Feedback x Big Chill

• XLR8 x HeatBlast

• Ben x Rook

• Looma x Attea

• N x Uzi

• V x Lizzy

• Sonic x Shadow

• Amy x Blaze

• Silver x Mephiles/Espio (I’m having trouble picking which one)

• Knuckles x Rouge

• Luz x Amity

• Twilight Sparkle x Sunset Shimmer

• Mordecai x Rocky

• Ivy x Freckle

• Wick x Zib

• Bezel x Trazuil (my partner’s OC)

• Apple White x Darling Charming

• Cerise Hood x either Kitty/Daring/Raven

[poindexters-labratory]

Explaining FNAF: Hurricane Pt. 1: Before the Storm

Having special interests in FNAF and human nature (especially its oddities) can apparently have adverse effects on a subject. The subject being me.

(Warning, there's a lot)

I have autism, the kind where I get super invested in a niche and can never let it go for just about years on end. My niche is William Afton and his family which has been combined with my trivial knowledge of mental health, mental conditions, neurodivergence, history, storytelling, psychology, etc. to create this conglomerate clusterfuck that is the Hurricane AU.

The alternate universe at its core focuses on the father-son dynamic between Michael and his father William. There are six parts to the Afton Family arc:

Wild Cat

Before the Storm

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria

Freddy's Emporium

and Reunion

I'll infodump about Before the Storm because that's the first one I mentally created and what I have the most art of.

The lore aspect of FNAF isn't apparent at the moment, that will come later on after the characters are properly introduced with all of their flaws, quirks, positives, negatives, and before the catalyst of the whole plot kicks off, starting from 1980 and ending in 1983. This introduction/rising action section has been dubbed what it is called because Hurricane, Utah and I'm a smartass.

Everything in the Hurricane AU happens very slowly at first and when it kicks off, it shoots like a fucking rocket. It's the small details that have the biggest impact for this first section in order for the rest of the story to make sense, especially why things happen the way they do.

Let me introduce you to the family,

Michael Afton:

Oh, yeah, he's a teenager. Cocky, argumentative, confrontational, and the main character of the entire AU. Before the Storm follows him through his upper teenage years: 15 - 18 (fifteen to eighteen). This guy can fit so much resentment in him. He's also inherently kind, artistic, and stubborn in both a good way and a bad one. His mom left with his baby sister when he was thirteen (13) years old and noticeably hasn't been the same since then. Highly embarrassed of what's left of his family (especially his effeminate, odd, and immature father) plus lack of at-home attention has led to a lot of stunts. He's by no means a hateful person, but he doesn't have the ability to express his unhappiness in a proactive way.

Evan Afton:

A rambunctious elementary school kid. As Michael's kid brother, it's his duty to annoy the shit out of him, and as William's middle child, make him fear for his son's life at times. He isn't careful, so accidents happen a lot with him, see the road rash scars on face, arm, and leg. Through his section he's 7 - 10 (seven to ten) years old, and deals a lot with school, peer, and at-home stress, but he's a generally happy child. He isn't without his quirks, Evan is loud, mean, destructive, and likes to deal with his problems very physically (he's a fighter). Evan deals with night terrors every so often, has some twitches and tics, and by god does he have a temper.

Elizabeth Afton:

Lizzie is far more used to privilege and a quiet home, coming from an estate in London, living with her mother for the six (6) years of her life, but the first summer over to Utah in 1980 led to the interesting discovery that she could be loud, messy, and by her mother's terms, 'un-ladylike'. She provides an outside perspective into a household that has music constantly playing, an argument or fight always happening, and a mess somewhere. She's highly energetic, imaginative, and friendly. Michael had no problem sharing his loud and argumentative nature with her, making her a handful when she comes around.

And William Afton:

Co-owner of Fredbear's Family Diner and Fazbear Entertainment immigrated from London, William has a lot of loves: his children, Henry and his mind, creating whatever he can figure out, and rabbits to name a few. He feels everything with a fierce intensity, and he'll express the intensity. That's typically where problems arise. Especially between him and Michael. Their arguments are usually about not understanding the other. William is a troubled individual, but he does his best to make good choices, but he slips in his decision-making very often. He's chaotic, spiteful, intelligent, energetic, and kinda funny to watch per Michael and Henry's fair opinion. He's fairly young, 32 (thirty-two) years old circa 1980, and at times, acts like a child himself.

Before the Storm has a soap opera feel because the main plot hasn't started, but there's still a lot of backstories to explore and character dynamics to introduce before they're whiplashed by tragedy. The section is treated as a control for what is going to change in on-coming parts. I also just wanted something that felt good with all of the rest being angst.

A tragedy as big as losing a child can take over lives, (especially in a sudden accident) and the family in Before the Storm are the lives that it took. So, this part is an inside view into what exactly was lost.

Feel free to ask me questions; encouraged, really, I love to talk about it. A lot.

[thegeminisage]

it's time for!!! a ds9 update <3 wow <333 last night we watched "past prologue" and "a man alone."

past prologue:

FIRST OF ALL, THAT LITTLE GAY DOCTOR

idk what i expected but the scene i've seen gifs of was the VERY FIRST ONE right out of the gate. i was so thrilled. for some reason garak is WAY different than i expected. like, he's just as gay, of COURSE, but for some reason i expected him to be like...meaner. and instead he's sooooo friendly and he's also a fucking tailor. julian bashir needs a new fucking suit.

that said, bashir is so slow on the uptake literally all of the time. the suit thing and something in the other episode that i forgot. king how can you be a doctor when you are so stupid...not that i'm complaining. i wouldn't change it for anything. he's so funny.

HILARIOUS that immediately after he has any clandestine conversations w garak he has to IMMEDIATELY run to the "bridge" and tell everybody about it. he gets so excited. he really is hilarious i don't think he's done a single thing so far that wasn't funny. the fact that he was late to this little party also sir get it together

i think this ep had excellent character stuff for kira, who we've only known 5 minutes. it sets up her history and her current position so well, and her conflict of interests is such a real and tangible thing that i felt awful for her. like you knew from the beginning that guy was gonna betray her but OUCH. ending the ep on her getting called a traitor was Such a choice.

i also loved her little scene with odo..."i don't do pretense" alright autism king. and yet he talked her through it and then sort of took the decision out of her hands at the end (which was a very compassionate thing to do) when it became clear what most of her wanted to do...he's like. a really good person actually 🥺

HE TURNED HIMSELF INTO A RAT.......i love getting shocked when random objects turn out to be odo. i love playing this game. also, there was totally a leaky pipe in that scene too. ds9 feels so fucking lived in...you'd never have those on tng.

i also think sisko did a good job threading the needle here, even if kira had to go over his head to get him to see reason. you gotta do what you gotta do but he was mostly compassionate to kira's dilemma and even let her take point when she requested it...AND THEN LOL smiled while threatening her if she ever went over his head again. WHICH IS WHAT KIRA DOES. SMILES WHEN ANGRY. it was really good. i like him so much

it was such a nice touch to add o'brien telling him not to hand that guy over to the cardassians. the implication being that he was in the room when picard was transported back to the enterprise post-torture which like of COURSE he was. i don't think him outlining in detail picard's torture by those guys would have swayed sisko's opinion much because it's picard so it was also smart that he didn't go into particulars. but it does hammer home that what the cardassians do to people is real to the bajorans and to o'brien in a way that it is not (yet?) real to sisko.

KLINGON SISTERS. when they first appeared i was like "holy shit those boob windows" even though i didn't recognize their faces at all. i recognized only the boob windows. then when they said their names i was like I KNEW IT. what a funny little throwback

side bar i also love that they call the station itself ds9. they don't say deep space nine they say ds9 just like we do

a man alone:

holy racially motivated hate crimes, batman

wait sorry actually let me start at the beginning. the first scene with julian getting shot down 1000 times by jadzia (or are we supposed to call her dax...) was really funny. i'm trying to figure out in my mind palace if he's a bi king or a gay-but-closeted king.

also, so much happened in this episode. there was an a plot a b plot AND a c plot but instead of feeling rushed it just felt comfortably chaotic. i was never waiting for one plot to be over so we could get to the one that really mattered, you know? i liked everything that was going on except for the lack of garak i want him to be in every episode so bad

i like everything jadzia had going on this ep...like, people react to her different as a super hot lady than they did as an old man. sisko's talk about fucking the twins was especially hilarious. dude you can still fuck twins with her if you wanted. but the way that like 3 different people had romantic tension with her and she's just out here to do her job AND ALSO is like "i try to rise above all that" so true aroace queen. although i do actually know she has a romantic plotline with worf (who should be fucking riker and deanna) and also that *** ****, which sucks a lot.

i liked keiko getting an actual plotline in this episode. like this place didn't even have a bed for jake when sisko got here, of course she doesn't wanna raise her daughter there, and of course she's bummed out that her field of expertise is fucking useless there, although i agree w her husband that somebody needs to plant some fucking trees. i do disagree with her that it's less safe than the enterprise, though...that ship almost blows up every fucking week. anyway the fact that sisko was ready to give her whatever she needed was very nice. please treat her really niceys. side bar her baby is AODRABLE that child wanted her hands on that little bell soooo bad

speaking of jake!! it was nice to see him again. i like that when he gets in trouble his dad is obviously pissed without it being like a Problem. like he's pissed and jake is in trouble and sisko is gonna lay down the law but it's not a relationship-threatening issue. it was harmless teenage fun.

unfortunately sisko did kinda carry the idiot ball for the rest of this ep...i feel like there were so many choices he could have made to maybe NOT put a giant target on odo's back and it also took him a lot longer than i would have liked to step in once the mob started going, but he did step in, so that's what matters.

i loved odo in this episode!! he's just as angry as kira is in his own way, and his relationship with both her and quark (WOWWW more on that in a sec) feel so lived in, you can feel the years between them...it's also just now apparent to me that he's actually really protective, which, aw. i love also the lore that every 18 hours he has to just exist as goop in a pail. so true king me too

odo also aroace king he simply chooses not to couple. so true. that said whatever he and quark had going on was FUNNN i love a little sexual tension in my star trek. is he aroace or is he gay for that little ferengi. only time will tell.

on a more serious note odo's quarters getting hate crimed really drives home how set apart he is from others...and the mob section was GENUINELY scary. and he's so protective it was a little sad that kira was the only one really standing up for him :(

I NEARLY FORGOT TO ADD: julian bashir straight up growing a guy in a bubbly goopy little vat just to catch a killer? insane. thats a whole ass person who is about to be part of society who exists "just because." imagine the existential issues lmao

TONIGHT: "babel" and "captive pursuit." technically after babel we're supposed to watch "ship in a bottle" from tng, but i've been informed it's a barclay episode which means i will be watching it myself later tonight on 2x speed. it's not the first time we've fucked with the order a little bit lol (i was famously late finishing tas) so i still count it as mostly watching in release order

[ocrpfinder]

Hello everyone! My name is Paimon, I’m 23, I’m a POC trans writer, and I’m searching for someone (21+ only!) to play against my trans (FTM) werebunny OC!

I’ve been posting here krettt frequently, but this time I have a bit of a different idea!

I’m looking for someone to play as a male character, someone high in power (whether that be a mafia leader, a CEO/businessman (kinda leaning towards CEO), doesn’t matter! Just someone high in power and/or wealth!). Specifically, a wereaninal (fox, tiger, wolf, etc) to be paired with my bunny :))

Please expect smut/NSFW! I want this to be balanced either 50/50 or 60/40 in terms of smut to plot ratio, but obviously that doesn’t mean I don’t wanna focus on the story as well! Kinks and limits will be discussed privately^^

I can mirror in terms of length, but details are what I worry about most! I don’t mind shorter replies if the scene calls for it or if you just can muster a long reply (I totally feel that), so as long as you’re detailed and I see you’re putting in effort, we’re all good!

I’m pretty active as I have a lot of free time until this Thursday when I go back to work! I’m in the EST timezone so I’m pretty flexible. Please don’t bother messaging me if you know you have a history of ghosting or if you’re gonna take weeks and weeks to reply. This may sound harsh or selfish, but I’ll be blunt. I have autism and ADHD, and waiting for weeks is gonna make me lose interest.

I love love LOVE to chat and be friends with my partner OOC! I also love gushing over our characters (playlists, Spotify playlists, memes, headcanons, all that!), so I’m looking for someone to match that energy!

If you’re interested, feel free to DM me anytime here at lamb-with-a-machete or on discord at the_wolf_like_lamb !!

.

[acrossthewavesoftime]

hiiiiiiii Radegonde 😤😤 can we get a prince and heretic post 🤑🤑 i need everyone here to know about Renée my angel (also more propaganda for mrs bowen🤌🤌🤌)

That, my friend, I can do! You wanted a post on Marjorie Bowen's work with a focus on Renée le Meung, the protagonist of two of Bowen's novels, which you shall have!

The author

Margaret Gabrielle Vere Long, also known as Marjorie Bowen. Photograph, cropped, undated, presumably 1910s, around the time she wrote her Dutch history novels.

Marjorie Bowen was the pen name of British writer Margaret Gabrielle Vere Long (1885-1952), whose novels were, in her time, quite well-read and critically acclaimed (she, for instance, received fan mail from one Arthur Conan Doyle), but are largely forgotten today. Under several pen names, the most prolific being that of Marjorie Bowen, Vere Long published novels and short stories ranging in genre from crime to ghost stories, to contemporary and historical fiction, with the latter making up the most extensive category of her work.

She published her first novel, The Viper of Milan, in 1906. Her first as much as her later later novels showcase her unique style of writing, which relies on rich, opulent, yet purple-prose-free descriptions that allow the setting to come to life, and a great deal of historical reasearch, into which she manages to weave a gripping fictional plot.

Marjorie Bowen and Dutch history: The William of Orange series

Following the successful launch of The Viper of Milan, Bowen published The Master of Stair (American title: The Glen O'Weeping) in 1907. This is the first novel featuring, if you will, a cameo appearance of the subject of her later, and perhaps best-known triology of novels on William of Orange (1650-1702). Revolving around the Glencoe Massacre, William, then King William III, features as some sort of antagonist to the hero of the story. While not coming across as well-written and multi-dimensional as in later novels, it is evident that Bowen had an interest in William III, which she, three years and much research later, would put to paper in another project, the William of Orange triology.

From 1910 to 1911, Bowen, published her arguably most famous work, the William of Orange triology (I Will Maintain (1910); Defender of the Faith and God and the King (both 1911)), which went through a double-digit number of editions in the 1910s alone.

While Bowen is strongly sympathetic to her protagonist, William of Orange (1650-1702), to the point that she may have somewhat identified with him on account of her 'outsider' nature within her own family, something she saw reflected in the historical William of Orange (see e. g. Tibbets, John C.: The Furies of Marjorie Bowen (2019), p. 70, which includes an analysis of the series including potential autobiographic links), whom she researched with astonishing detail, she does not necessarily write William as a sympathetic character, which given the time of Bowen's writing her series would presumably have been an expected characterisation within the idiological frame of British imperialism (which does show in other ways, Bowen and her books being a product of their time), but rather depicts him as a flawed, driven and profoundly lonely man who in the end leaves the reader to question if perhaps he overreached his initial achievements, and personal happiness, in a quest for ever more and ultimately inobtainable glory.

Another interesting feature of the series is Bowen's realistic depiction of William of Orange's chronic illnesses, particularly his asthma.

The novels' most striking quality is however that William of Orange was written as what we might call distinctly neurodivergent and very likely asexual, which is intriguing, taking into account that even the term autism was not yet introduced into scientific language until 1911, when the second and third novels were published.

Three years after the release of volume 2 and 3 of the William of Orange triology, Bowen, presumably as a sort of prequel to the William of Orange novels, turned her head to write two novels about the first William of Orange (1533-1584), great-grandfather to the man she portrayed in the 1910-1911 triology through his youngest son Frederick William, and the latter's son, another William.

Prince and Heretic (1914) and William, by Grace of God (1916) (...and Renée)

The face Renée le Meung cannot resist

This time, the focus lies not so much on a historical figure cast as main character as on a fictional protagonist who skirts the edges of (this) William's orbit: her name is Renée le Meung, a young, exiled Dutchwoman orphaned by the religious persecution of the counter-reformation in the Spanish Netherlands who earns her upkeep by working in the household of princess Anna of Saxony, a wilful, vain and youthfully immature German princess set to marry William of Orange.

It is in Anna's retinue that Renée comes into some measure of contact with William whom she is at first infatuated, then downright obsessed with, both romantically, and increasingly politically as the tensions between William of Orange and the Spanish Habsburgs are about to culminate in the Eighty Years' War.

With her prequel duology to the William (III) of Orange series, Bowen followed a very similar recipe as with the novels in the triology; again, her main character is a socially isolated, lonely orphan mainly carried through life by their personal faith who sees themself as being not like their peers.

Renée's character can, somewhat tongue-in-the-cheek, be summed up as what would happen if Victor Hugo's Éponine Thénardier had been a 16th century monarchist with access to that one Radiohead song (you know the one).

Over the course of two novels, Renée's life from young adulthood to middle age is laid out, her fortunes, by her own choice, ever-intertwined with those of William of Orange.

She endures physical abuse at the hands of his first wife, endears herself to William's mother, jealously eyes his subsequent wives, some of whom she ends up working for, travels around to be close to him, and gives up on a number of opportunties that would have allowed her the possibilities of a less strenuous life, perhaps even love, and a family of her own.

Oh, the awkwardness of almost confessing your crush to... his mother!

Her most outlandish show of devotion to the man she idolises comes into being when she adopts an orphaned baby whose father died in a battle William also lost two brothers in, and whom the local and rather patriotic parson had christened Wilhelmina in honour of William.

Ironically, Renée's life seems to take a turn for the healthier once she takes on the responsibility of caring for little Wilhelmina; she starts socialising, no longer considers herself lonely as she has developed a newfound interest in life, and dotes on her foster daughter- only to, at the next possible moment, slink off to stand under William's window in the small hours of the morning again once the opportunity materialises (but not without arranging for a child minder for her daughter in the mean time).

Renée is very normal. Very normal. Nothing to see here.

Sadly however, things cannot go on like this forever...

Final thoughts

Bowen's novels are enjoyably written historical fiction and easily accessible being in the public domain. They're products of their time, of course, but Bowen surprises the reader by her choice of main characters who often astonish, rather than confirm the reader's expectations of the genre: her main characters are autistic war criminals and celebrity-stalking single mothers in thorougly-researched and sumptuously described historical settings, offering a refreshing take on the genre.

When they were first published, Bowen's novels were marketed as "historical romances", which could not be further from the truth; while love, and the humanity and self-discovery inherent in loving another person are themes explored with both Renée and William III in the 5 Dutch history novels, Renée's unrequited devotion to the man she loves remains unspoken, unacted upon, and only in the third volume of the triology does romantic love feature for William III through the experience of losing his wife, and having to live with the knowledge that he made many mistakes in an initially difficult relationship.

While I am personally not averse to the odd historical romance novel, I enjoy the fact that Bowen's historical fiction veers off the beaten path here: her novels are not so much about finding a perfect happily-ever-after, but living in a world of difficulty, and the different shapes relationships, and consequentially, love, can take over time, and how they alter the people involved; William III discovers that life is about more than conquering and sticking it to France as he, looking back on their marriage, at last seeks Mary II's forgiveness for his past behaviour around her when they were newlyweds and Renée, through all odds, gains the attention, and, within the possibilities of their vastly different social status, even confidence and friendship of the man she secretly loves.

If William III's quest for glory, and Renée le Meung's quest for love (or at least being close to the man she loves) have one thing in common, it is that in the end, a goal, the fantasy of a happy end, inobtainable even perhaps, does not matter so much as the path life sends one on, and what we choose to make of it.

I can only warmly recommend Bowen from the comparatively few novels of hers I have read so far!

[phantom-le6]

Ramble of the month February 2024: 90’s MCU phase 5 – transitioning from Secret Wars to Infinity Wars

Having spent much of last month and a fair bit of this one working on submissions to literary agencies for my autism book, this month’s ramble and the one for next month took a bit of a back seat, and as such I’ve still not been able to vary myself away from delving further into my hypothetical Marvel and DC film universes.  Apologies to anyone who, like me, were hoping to vary things more.  However, hopefully what we cover in this ramble and the next will make up for it, and as April will be Autism Awareness time, I can guarantee something different for then.

By this point, I’m sure readers don’t need as much of a recap on what these posts to do with my 90’s-based MCU are about.  Long story short, I’ve done what the meme makers don’t; looked at the comic book and real-world history of Marvel from that era to create an actual 90’s based MCU instead of putting 90’s actors into a present-day MCU.  However, as we’re into a fifth phase and well past the 1990’s, we should at least quickly review phases 1-4 first.

Phase 1:

1992: Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man

1993: Thor, Spider-Man, Ant-Man & The Wasp

1994: Captain America: Fantastic Four 2, Iron Man 2

1995: X-Men, Avengers, Daredevil

Phase 2:

1996: Spider-Man 2, Thor: Land of Enchantment, Silver Surfer

1997: Hulk vs Wolverine, Fantastic Four: Doomsday, Iron Man 3

1998: Captain America: Society of Serpents, Daredevil 2, X-Men 2

1999: Avenger 2, Spider-Man 3, Doctor Strange

Phase 3:

2000: Fantastic Four: World War III, Thor: Ragnarök, Daredevil 3

2001: Hulk: Rise of the Leader, X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, Avengers: Under Siege

2002: Doctor Strange 2, The Captain, Spider-Man 4

2003: Captain Britain, Fantastic Four: Enter the Negative Zone, Ghost Rider

Phase 4:

2004: Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Secret Wars: Part I

2005: Excalibur, Defenders, Ghost Rider 2

2006: X-Factor, Secret Wars: Part II, Heroes For Hire

2007: Namor the Submariner, Doctor Strange 3, Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin

As discussed in previous rambles, phase 1 was all about establishing the MCU and its characters, phase 2 was about the expansion and development of the continuity, while phase 3 was mostly about many characters and teams losing, being put on the back foot and so on.  Phase 4 then covered Secret Wars, which temporarily deprived Earth of some major MCU heroes to put them through a real alien war, and in the process also allowed some other heroes to come to the fore.  Phase 5 then becomes about following on from some of those plot threads while beginning the set-up for this MCU’s version of the Infinity War.  So, let’s quickly show you the phase 5 slate and then get right into the details of these would-be films.

Phase 5:

2008: Spider-Man 5, Fantastic Four: Unthinkable, Ms Marvel

2009: Elektra, Black Panther 2, Defenders 2

2010: X-Men: Proteus, Spider-Man 6, Ant-Man 2

2011: Silver Surfer 2, Avengers vs X-Men, Ghost Rider 3

Spider-Man 5 (2008) Directed by Matthew Vaughan

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

May Parker = Marg Helgenberger

Flash Thompson = Ben Affleck

J. Jonah Jameson = J.K. Simmons

Joseph "Robbie" Robertson = Denzel Washington

Betty Brant = Parker Posey

Ned Leeds = John Barrowman

Eddie Brock = Wentworth Miller

Randy Robertson = Taye Diggs

Harry Osborn = Ryan Phillipe

Mary-Jane Watson = Alison Hannigan

Herman Schultz/Shocker = Patrick Muldoon

Felicia Hardy/The Black Cat = Elisha Cuthbert

Roderick Kingsley/Hobgoblin = Michael Keaton

Quentin Beck/Mysterio = Nathan Fillion

Captain Jean DeWolff = Jessica Biel

Detective Stanley Carter/”Sin Eater” = James Marsden

In the first three Spider-Man films, we built up to Peter befriending the Osborns and dating Gwen, only for the Green Goblin/Death of Gwen story arcs to play out in Spider-Man 3.  The fourth film then gave Peter a clash with the Sinister Six as he struggles to come to terms with Gwen’s death.  Following Secret Wars, Peter now has the alien costume, and so film 5 is basically the alien costume story arc.  Sounding a little too much like the Raimi/Maguire Spider-Man 3?  Trust me, it’s not like that and for two key reasons.  Firstly, I’m not trying to shoe-horn Venom in for the third act, just set him up for another film.  Second, I’ve chosen Wentworth Miller of Prison Break and The Flash fame to play Eddie Brock, and that’s far from being our only change.

In this film, Peter’s occupied trying to stop a series of illusion thefts being committed on behalf of a new “kingpin”, who turns out to be the Hobgoblin, while also having to track down a notorious serial killer called the “Sin Eater”.  As the alien costume influences Peter ever more, the question becomes less will he stop all the criminals, but rather will he become one.  Matters are further complicated when costume thief Black Cat begins seducing Spider-Man and the alien costume pushes Peter to accept this despite his relationship with Mary-Jane.  The film culminates with a chance clash with the Shocker revealing the alien nature of Peter’s costume, forcing him to finally fight it off.  Eddie Brock gaining the symbiote is then handled in a credit’s scene.

Direction-wise, I picked Matthew Vaughan as he’s a proven superhero film director due to his work on X-Men: First Class.  He’s the fourth director to take a hand on Spider-Man solo film in this hypothetical MCU, with John Hughes having directed the first two, and 3 and 4 being handled by Frank Darabont and Martin Campbell, respectively.

Fantastic Four: Unthinkable (2008) Directed by Roland Emmerich

Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic = Tom Hanks

Susan Storm (Richards)/Invisible Woman = Meg Ryan

Johnny Storm/Human Torch = David Spade

Ben Grimm/Thing = Bryan Cranston

Alicia Masters = Heather Graham

Agatha Harkness = Angela Lansbury

Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom = Goran Višnjić

Hauptmann = Ronald Guttman

Nick Fury = Tommy Lee Jones

Black Bolt = Pierce Brosnan

Medusa = Elizabeth Hurley

Crystal = Dina Meyer

Gorgon = J.G. Hertzler

Karnak = Alexander Siddig

Triton = Orlando Bloom

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Namor McKenzie/The Submariner = Christian Bale

Barbara "Bobbi" Morse/Mockingbird = Rebecca Romijn-Stamos

Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo = Doug E. Doug

Having had the Fantastic Four directed by Leonard Nemoy (films 1-2), Steven Spielberg (films 3-4) and Ridley Scott (film 5), this MCU closes out their share of films under the stewardship of Roland Emmerich, notable for such films as Independence Day, White House Down and Midway.  This film adapts the events of the storylines ‘Unthinkable’ and ‘Authoritative Action’, but leaves the events of ‘Hereafter’ to the comics and begins introducing the Infinity Stones.  Since non-comics fans and fans who haven’t read those stories won’t get those references, let’s do a quick summary.

In the comics, Doctor Doom turned to magic for an attack on the Fantastic Four, which resulted in Reed and Sue’s son Franklin being taken to hell, and the team having to storm Latveria to get him back.  During the incident, Doom scarred Reed before being dragged into hell.  Afterwards, Reed seized control of Latveria to dismantle Doom’s arsenal and craft a permanent prison for Doom, one in which Reed would serve as warden.  However, when the rest of the team tried to stop Reed, Doom somehow began to possess each in turn, ultimately forcing Reed to kill Ben Grimm just to stop Doom.  The events of the Hereafter arc involved a trip into the afterlife to bring Ben back, in the process healing Reed’s scars.

In this film, Franklin is kidnapped and taken to a demon dimension, and Sue leads a rescue team comprised of her, Ben Grimm, Brother Voodoo and the Black Panther to save Franklin while Reed and Johnny attack Doom, aided by the Inhumans and Namor the Submariner.  The attack seemingly defeats Doom, after which Reed leads the F4 to Latveria, seizing control of the nation.  Fearing Doom is somehow influencing Reed, Nick Fury of SHIELD intervenes along with Mockingbird, Voodoo, Namor and T’Challa, only for the seemingly captured Doom to begin telepathically controlling the other F4 members.  Ultimately, Reed manages to force a feedback that wipes Doom’s mind, but in the process, Ben Grimm dies as he does in the comics.  With Ben’s death, the Fantastic Four decide to step back from hero work, becoming a think tank called the Future Foundation.

The bulk of the film’s cast is from past films, with the only new addition being mystical nanny Agatha Harkness, played by Angela Lansbury in better keeping with the comics version of the character.  As for the Infinity Stone I mentioned, that would be the mind stone, which Doom uses to control the various F4 members until Reed works out Doom is channelling the stone’s power and creates the feedback.

Ms Marvel (2008) Directed by Gates McFadden

Carol Danvers/Ms Marvel = Melissa Joan Hart

Michael Barnett = Brian Krause

J. Jonah Jameson = J.K. Simmons

Frank Gianelli = Rory Cochrane

Tracey Burke = Kate Mulgrew

Tabitha Townsend = Kyla Pratt

Lynn Andersen = Amanda Seyfried

Mystique/Raven Darkholme = Connie Nielsen

Rogue = Anna Paquin

Avalanche = Alessandro Gassmann

Fred J Dukes/Blob = Vince Vaughan

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Irene Adler/Destiny = Sally Field

When it comes to trying to tackle Carol Danvers in films, one story that’s yet to hit the big screen is the story of her downfall against the X-Man Rogue back when Rogue was part of Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  Indeed, the 90’s animated series of the X-Men is the only adaptation to handle this, and they did it by neatly sidestepping some disturbing backstory.  Long story short, there was a story arc in the Avengers comics around the late 70’s/early 80’s where Carol (then codenamed Ms Marvel) was mind-controlled and raped by an extra-dimensional being so he could be reborn in a body compatible with Earth, then after fast-growing to adulthood, his presence caused a bunch of time disruptions.  When Carol then agreed to go with this being, the Avengers made no effort to prevent this.

When Chris Claremont wrote Rogue into Avengers Annual 10 and showed Rogue rocking Carol’s powers, the question that came to be asked was why Carol hadn’t sought out the Avengers upon returning to Earth, and the answer was made clear.  The team hadn’t shown any real concern for Carol during her strange accelerated pregnancy, and then let her go off with a blatantly mind-controlling rapist from another dimension.  As such, telling the story of Carol clashing with Rogue and the Brotherhood should never be an exact re-telling.  Claremont’s story in Avengers Annual 10 was as much about correcting what the writer of the main comics at that time had written, and with film adaptations, you’re better off just taking a different path entirely.

In this case, we’re showing Carol working as an investigative journalist for a Daily Bugle-owned women’s magazine, who uses the Ms Marvel identity to tackle crime where needed.  This is based on her original run in the comics, so we have Jameson borrowed from the Spider-Man films while using the magazine staff from the comics for supporting roles.  As for the villains, roles from past films like Mystique and Pyro are combined with newly cast actors to give us our second MCU Brotherhood.  The film draws in a mix of acting talent, with Melissa Joan Hart reprising the role of Carol Danvers, and Trek alumni Gates McFadden directing the film.  McFadden has played the mutant Plague/Pestilence for three X-films before this and has some directing experience, making her a good choice for this project.

Elektra (2009) Directed by Roxann Dawson

Elektra Natchios = Leonor Varela

Stick = Scott Glenn

Stone = Sigourney Weaver

Kirigi = Daniel Henney

Frank Simpson/Nuke = John Cena

Matsu'o Tsurayaba = Hiroyuki Sanada

Kwannon = Kelly Hu

Turk Barrett = Gary Dourdan

The story of Elektra following her death in Daredevil is one Fox didn’t quite get right, in large part because they tried to incorporate plot elements and tropes that didn’t tonally fit with the character.  Having used two Daredevil films to set her up before giving the character a one-shot solo film, I think the best thing is taking those bits out.  Instead, we get the Hand going after the Chaste with Elektra in the middle, and when Elektra proves more than they can handle, they bring in the pill-popping assassin known as Nuke.  It’s a straight-up martial arts action film initially, but then becomes a more Punisher-like action film when Nuke comes on the scene.

Trek alumni Roxann Dawson takes the helm because she’s one of the few women I know of that would be directing anything back around this time.  Considering that films with female leads are often better handled by female directors, it makes sense to try and make this the case wherever possible.  The cast is either retained from past films of picked to be more comic-accurate.  Case-in-point, picking American actor Scott Glenn to play Stick rather than English actor Terrence Stamp.

Black Panther 2 (2009) Directed by Tim Burton

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Shuri = Tatyana Ali

Ramonda = Alfre Woodard

T'Chaka = Courtney B. Vance

W'Kabi = Chiwetel Ejiofor

Okoye = Nia Long

Zuri = Joseph Marcell

M'Baku = Idris Elba

Nakia = Lupita Nyong'o

Monica Lynne = Kerry Washington

Baron Macabre = Sterling K Brown

Jerome Beechman/Mandrill = Joaquin Phoenix

Nekra Sinclair = Toks Olagundoye

Kevin Plundarr/Ka-Zar = Chris Hemsworth

Shanna O'Hara = Scarlett Johansson

Zaladane = Jolene Blalock

Everett Ross = Martin Freeman

In Black Panther 2, T’Challa becomes allied with Ka-Zar of the Savage Land when it turns out his hidden jungle in Antarctica houses a cache of Vibranium to rival Wakanda’s.  Most would-be Vibranium hunters baulk at trying to gain the Antarctic variety due to the dinosaurs, but soon both nations are threatened when the woman-controlling mutant Mandrill, his adoptive sister Nekra, the Savage Land priestess Zaladane and Wakandan criminal Baron Macabre team up.  Due to the inclusion of some of these villains, I opted to switch from Tim Story to Tim Burton from a directing stand-point.  This film also features a change of role for a couple of real-world MCU alumni.

Defenders 2 (2009) Directed by Stephen Sommers

Dr Stephen Strange = Johnny Depp

Namor McKenzie/The Submariner = Christian Bale

Bruce Banner/Hulk = John Cusack

Silver Surfer = David Wenham

Valkyrie = Diane Kruger

Kyle Richmond/Nighthawk = Josh Duhamel

Patsy Walker/Hellcat = Mena Suvari

Wong = Will Yun Lee

Clea = Keira Knightley

Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo = Doug E. Doug

Dr Anthony Druid = Mark Strong

Daimon Hellstrom = James Van Der Beek

Dr Tania Belinsky (Belinskaya)/Red Guardian = Beatrice Rosen

Dr Arthur Nagan = Julian McMahon

Dr Jerold "Jerry" Morgan = Stellan Skarsgård

Ruby Thursday = Alyssa Milano

Harvey Schlemerman/Chondu the Mystic = Stanley Tucci

Shuma-Gorath = Geoffrey Rush

The Defenders, Marvel’s superhero non-team, return for a second instalment at this point, and I’ve picked Stephen Sommers as director based on him directing a live-action GI Joe film around the same time.  In this film, the few routinely active Defenders learn via immigrant Russian doctor and superhero Red Guardian that a team of scientists called the Headmen have stolen the Reality Stone from AIM in an effort to seize world power for themselves.  Allying with Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Defenders seek to stop the Headmen while Clea joins with Brother Voodoo, Dr Druid and Daimon Hellstrom to try and bring back Doctor Strange from the extra-dimensional limbo he sacrificed himself to in Doctor Strange 3.  At the same time, the Silver Surfer seeks the Hulk.  The whole team then comes together when the Headmen open a portal for Shuma-Gorath, in the process transforming into their strange comic-style appearances.

Everyone from Dr Druid on down in the cast list is new.  As for why we’re skipping over the original male Red Guardian and focusing on the second female iteration for this MCU, there’s two reasons.  First, the second female iteration served as a Defender in the original comics, and second, these MCU rambles are focused on the main film continuity, which in this version of the MCU is strictly cinematic.  TV shows, while allowed as tie-ins, are optional content, and while I’d happily allow a TV show to dive in on Black Widow and some other characters, I think a film was and is a bit much for a character with so little solo comics content.

X-Men: Proteus (2010) Directed by LeVar Burton

Storm/Ororo Monroe = Halle Berry

Polaris/Lorna Dane = Jeri Ryan

Wolverine/Logan = Tom Cruise

Peter Rasputin/Colossus = Henry Cavill

Remi LeBeau/Gambit = Zachary Levi

Cyclops/Scott Summers = Patrick Swayze

Jean Grey = Milla Jovovich

Warren Worthington III/Archangel = Neil Patrick Harris

Beast/Hank McCoy = Alec Baldwin

Robert Drake/Iceman = Michael Weatherley

Banshee/Sean Cassidy = Liam Neeson

Dr Moira Mactaggert = Olivia Williams

Mystique/Raven Darkholme = Connie Nielsen

Rogue = Anna Paquin

Avalanche = Alessandro Gassmann

Fred J Dukes/Blob = Vince Vaughan

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Irene Adler/Destiny = Sally Field

Professor Charles Xavier = Patrick Stewart

Kevin Mactaggert/Proteus = Iain De Caestecker

Joseph Mactaggert = John Hannah

Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane = Bonnie Wright

Danielle Moonstar = Selena Gomez

Jubilee = Chloe Bennett

Everett Thomas/Synch = Christopher Massey

Douglas Ramsey/Cypher = Devon Bostick

With the third X-Men film Fall of the Mutants having split the X-Men up, and a combination of the Secret Wars duology, Excalibur and X-Factor films following events for the divided team, this fourth X-Men film is intended to reunite some of the scattered team into a new whole.  It also gives Rogue her defection from the Brotherhood following the events of Ms Marvel.  In this film, Moira Mactaggert’s son Proteus emerges as a dangerous mutant and begins a rampage across to Scotland.  With Excalibur unavailable, X-Factor is summoned while the X-Men pursue Mystique’s Brotherhood to Scotland.  The two teams meet up and reunite when they find Professor X is also with Moira, having been recuperating on Muir Island since being released from a SHIELD hospital (this is set-up over end-credit scenes for Fall of the Mutants and X-Factor).

Direction-wise, the X-Men have been handled initially by Jonathan Demme and then Jonathan Frakes in films bearing their team’s name, while Excalibur was helmed by Christopher Nolan and X-Factor by LeVar Burton.  For this film, I’ve put Burton back in the director’s chair.  Casting-wise, I imagine same fans will be perplexed by my choice of Chloe Bennett for Jubilee.  This is because Bennett is of a mixed ancestry that includes having a Chinese mother, and while the ideal is always to try for exact representation from the comics, there aren’t many actresses active in Hollywood around the time of this film with even one parent of Chinese descent, let alone two.

As such, the question becomes which do you compromise; Jubilee’s racial background or her nationality?  My choice, compromise slightly on racial background and bring in some plot threads relating to prejudice against people of mixed race.  Quite honestly, characters of mixed race are among those groups under-represented in film and TV, so if I have to compromise, let me at least try and do so in a positive way.

Spider-Man 6 (2010) Directed by Matthew Vaughan

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

May Parker = Marg Helgenberger

J. Jonah Jameson = J.K. Simmons

Joseph "Robbie" Robertson = Denzel Washington

Betty Brant = Parker Posey

Ned Leeds = John Barrowman

Eddie Brock/Venom = Wentworth Miller

Randy Robertson = Taye Diggs

Mary-Jane Watson-Parker = Alison Hannigan

Flash Thompson = Ben Affleck

Felicia Hardy/The Black Cat = Elisha Cuthbert

Sha Shan Nguyen = Grace Park

Captain Jean DeWolff = Jessica Biel

Anne Weying = Michelle Williams

Principal Harrington = Viggo Mortensen

Lance Bannon = Hayden Christensen

Gloria "Glory" Grant = Candice Patton

In the sixth of our Spider-Man films, and the last to both start and end with Peter Parker wearing the webs, we showcase Peter and MJ preparing for their upcoming wedding, but the pair are stalked by Eddie Brock, who has now joined with the Venom symbiote and seeks to make Peter’s life hell.  He attempts to manipulate the Black Cat into being his co-conspirator as well, preying on her jealousy after the symbiote-free Spider-Man resists her seduction.  The story ultimately culminates in Venom trying to force Peter into a no-win situation where he has to choose who to save; Mary-Jane or Felicia.  Matthew Vaughan returns to direct, and we get a few extra supporting cast members in lieu of the various villains of Spider-Man 5.

Ant-Man 2 (2010) Directed by Peyton Reed

Hank Pym/Ant-Man = Michael Douglas

Scott Lang/Ant-Man II = Paul Rudd

Maggie Lang = Judy Greer

Cassie Lang = Joey King

William Cross/Crossfire = Ethan Hawke

Taskmaster = Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Alex Gentry/Porcupine = Nick Offerman

Janice Lincoln/Beetle = Naya Rivera

Having left Ant-Man alone in terms of solo films since phase 1, phase 2 marks a return for Hank Pym, who by this point has been out of action since a mental break-down forced him to retire.  Now of sound mind again, he tries to deal with tech thief Crossfire, who steals the prototype for a new, more aggressive variant of the Ant-Man suit, the Yellowjacket.  However, Hank’s old suit is not safe to use as it clashes with his neuro-chemistry, risking more mental break-down.  Even worse, it’s been stolen.  In tracking down the Ant-Man suit, Hank encounters desperate divorced father Scott Lang, who stole the suit to get money to cover his daughter’s medical treatment.

With this film, the aim is to pass the mantle of Ant-Man to Scott Lang in a more comics-accurate manner, while at the same time preserving certain casting that the MCU got right, hence why Pym, Scott and Maggie are all retained from the real MCU.  In terms of Cassie, I switched to Joey King as she’s had a remarkably steady record of employment for a non-Disney child actress, and I think she’s a great choice to take up this role for the remainder of this hypothetical MCU.  Direction-wise, I figured it best to stick with the choices of the real MCU and go for Peyton Reed, having had to go with Sam Raimi on the 90’s-made first Ant-Man of this MCU.

Silver Surfer 2 (2011) Directed by JJ Abrams

Silver Surfer = David Wenham

Thanos = Josh Brolin

Mentor = Michael McKean

Eros/Starfox = Joel McHale

Gamora = Zoe Saldana

Drax the Destroyer = Dean Cain

Adam Warlock = Chris Pine

Pip the Troll = Peter Dinklage

Nebula = Emma Stone

Mar-Vell/Captain Marvel = Jude Law

Following the events of Defenders 2, the Silver Surfer finds himself drawn into yet more Infinity Stone adventures when Kree hero Captain Marvel and the android Drax the Destroyer come to Earth with Adam Warlock, keeper of the Soul Gem.  Hot on their heels are Thanos and Nebula, each of whom has begun to seek the Infinity Stones.  Worse still, Mar-Vell is dying of cancer.  The film is meant to advance the Infinity Stones plot while also adapting the death of Mar-Vell from the comics, not to mention setting up for the Guardians of the Galaxy to appear in the next phase.

For direction, I’ve picked JJ Abrams based on his Star Trek and Star Wars work making him a decent choice for a space-based hero like the Silver Surfer.  In terms of casting, we have a few reprises from past films in this 90’s MCU and from the real MCU.  However, some shifts have also occurred, most notably with Drax due to wanting to use his original comics origins over the revised MCU/later comics version.  The would-be autistic representation of Bautista and Gunn’s Drax quickly become so much farce, so as an autistic person, I’d just as soon avoid that and go down the android route, thanks very much.

Avengers vs X-Men (2011) Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Cyclops/Scott Summers = Patrick Swayze

Jean Grey = Milla Jovovich

Storm/Ororo Monroe = Halle Berry

Wolverine/Logan = Tom Cruise

Peter Rasputin/Colossus = Henry Cavill

Remi LeBeau/Gambit = Zachary Levi

Warren Worthington III/Archangel = Neil Patrick Harris

Rogue = Anna Paquin

Steve Rogers/Captain America = Brad Pitt

Thor = Dolph Lundgren

Janet Van Dyne/Wasp = Catherine Zeta Jones

Iron Man/Tony Stark = Tom Selleck

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk = Lucy Lawless

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Sam Wilson/Falcon = Will Smith

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

Professor Charles Xavier = Patrick Stewart

Carol Danvers = Melissa Joan Hart

Mystique/Raven Darkholme = Connie Nielsen

Avalanche = Alessandro Gassmann

Fred J Dukes/Blob = Vince Vaughan

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Irene Adler/Destiny = Sally Field

Frank Bohannan/Crimson Commando = Harrison Ford

Louis Hamilton/Stonewall = James Brolin

Martin Fletcher/Super-Sabre = Peter Fonda

Dr Valerie Cooper = Malin Åkerman

Sebastian Gilbreti/Bastion = Bruce Greenwood

Congressman Rev. William Stryker = Eric Roberts

Forge = Jimmy Smits

There have been two occasions in Marvel comics where the X-Men and Avengers have been drawn into direct conflict, at least using multiple issues of a comic and to my knowledge.  The first is the 1980’s mini-series X-Men versus Avengers, where the Avengers attempted to arrest Magneto to resume his trial before the world court, while the Soviet Super-Soldiers sought to arrest Magneto for his actions in X-Men #150.  As Magneto was part of the X-Men at the time, this naturally put all three teams at odds with each other.  The second occasion was the AvX storyline in which Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus and Magik became possessed by the Phoenix Force, something the Avengers tried to prevent and later combat.

While this film draws on the basic concept of both series, that something sets the Avengers and the X-Men at odds with each other, it’s not about arresting Magneto or issues with the Phoenix force.  Instead, the issue is Rogue; her status as a mutant terrorist is used to convince the Avengers to apprehend the X-Men.  This is bad timing, as the X-Men are working with Rogue to help restore the mind of Carol Danvers.  The masterminds of the plot are rabid anti-mutant politician William Stryker and government advisor Sebastian, who in reality is a new form of sentinel in disguise.  Luckily, government advisor and secret mutant Forge is suspicious of Bastion and convinces NSA director Dr Valerie Cooper to set up a contingency plan.

As a result, the film builds to a climax where, after the intervention of Spider-Man ends a major fight between the two teams, Bastion unleashes his prime sentinels.  Enter Mystique’s expanded Brotherhood in their guise as community service government heroes Freedom Force, and the stage is set for a truly epic battle.  Direction-wise, I opted for Jonathan Frakes to helm this entry, and while many actors are reprising roles from past films, everyone from Crimson Commando on down is new to the MCU as of this film.

Ghost Rider 3 (2011) Directed by Mark Steven Johnson

Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider = Connor Trinneer

Roxanne Simpson = Jessica Alba

Eric Brooks/Blade = Jamie Foxx

Rachel Van Helsing = Cote De Pablo

Daimon Hellstrom = James Van Der Beek

Vlad Tepish/Dracula = Mads Mikkelsen

Lilith = Felicity Jones

Mephistopheles = Jeffery Combs

Phase 5 of our 90’s MCU closes out by bringing Johnny Blaze’s time as Ghost Rider to its conclusion, in a story where Johnny teams up with Blade, Rachel Van Helsing and Daimon Hellstrom against Dracula and his daughter Lilith, who are secretly in league with Mephistopheles.  The film is partly an original plot and partly an adaptation of the end of the original Ghost Rider run of comics, though it’s far from being the last Ghost Rider film of this MCU.  Just as the comics would have others take up the Ghost Rider curse after Blaze, so too will this MCU move onto those later riders in turn.  Having used Tim Burton on the first two Ghost Rider films in this MCU, I’ve picked Mark Steven Johnson who handled the 2007 Nicholas Cage Ghost Rider film to take on this third instalment of 90’s MCU Ghost Rider.

This wraps up our look into phase 5 of this 90’s-based MCU; next month, we’ll cover phase 5 of our alternate DC movie universe.  Until then, ta-ta for now.

[4thewynne]

Superman vs Lex Luthor: Autism vs ADHD

So I had this random thought that probably can be refuted many times over when looked at by others, thought I'd share it anyway to see if anyone wants to correct, add on, or share their own thoughts.

Clark Kent

Clark is healthly living with functional Autism. He likes being himself, he is shy and humble, has trouble making eye contact, struggles with imagination, loves dealing with facts and investigating truths (reporter), has constant low to mid level anxiety that he might hurt someone, his parents raised him to be aware and responsible for his actions. This lead to his job in reporting. He doesn't have to be physically out there where accidents can happen and he can do good in the world. Meanwhile his, "Masking" is Superman. He feigns what he thinks is a confident hero. Yes, I am intentally believing the opposite of what Bill thinks in Kill Bill. Bill forgets Clark's origins other than being an alien so Bill is wrong about Superman.Being Superman also lets Clark fly off when his "public exposure" meter is too full (forgive me citizen, I hear a cat in a tree 3 blocks away I must rescue. -flys away-). Along with that though is his strong Kansas upbringing.

His parents taught him humility. To try not to hurt others, that he has abilities and capabilities others don't. People will resent him for it so to stay humble and careful so they don't resent him. But help whenever and where ever he can. But its best not to take credit if you can help it. He was fed the American propaganda of American ideals and believes in those ideals strongly. As he became an adult and learned the truths behind history also lead to passion for reporting. He hates lies and people doing things for the "greater good". Expect people to live to the ideals and not have them forced. So tries to be a great example as Sups while exposing falsehoods as Clark. This often leads to more actual good being done by Clark and feeling more rewarding while Sups is more flashy heroy good acts when reporting doesn't get things done fast enough. But Clark still thinks of Sups only as a Mask.

Now, Lex Luthor. Lex is unhealthy/untreated ADHD. A billionaire born to wealth with tons of imagination and ideas with little dedication to seeing things through. Only child raised from old money, servants to meet his needs, and best schooling available. He often would mask by pure brute force of his brilliance. It can be exhausting to him because he just wants things done and DONE NOW. Often frustrated by everyone not thinking as fast as him. He would often make others feel like crap because he would think circles around them. This also led to a great level of narcissism. It's not ADHD alone but his aloof parents, privileged birth, and social conditioning that make him the way he is. Being fed American culture growing up, he sees the ideal of America as only a dream and sees how things "really" are. He can make everything better if people would just do as he says. After all, he is smarter than everyone. Not just in the room but everywhere. Often forcing his will on others through any means possible. He has hundreds, no billions of ideas of how to improve things and the wealth and means to make his thoughts a reality. He hires people who hate dealing with him but he pays them to make his reality. Because what is reality? Just what you can make of it. He thinks it is his own hard work that got him to where he is, when the truth was just people paid to fill the gaps in his brilliantly distracted mind that comes up with windfall ideas and partial solutions. This often also leads to his downfall. He never got treated for his condition ("psh, ADHD isn't real anyways. Just something lazy people make up as an excuse to leave things unfinished. Now you got the reports on those 5 projects I gave you? I have a Tee time with the President in an hour to make."). So his plots often have holes as he gets lost in the wrong details, is juggling too much at once, or his plans and thoughts are just too grand for the reality of what people can do and there is only so much that money can do. He also spends a lot of time a lone and distancing himself from others due to his untreated state causes him nothing but frustration when people can't keep up with his thoughts or understand him when he jumps from idea to idea. He doesn't mask, he hides and pays someone to be between him and the "stupid" people. Those someones often getting fired and replaced for not being loyal enough, able to keep up, or what ever his imagination drums up as the cause.

Lex hates Superman because of all the gifts Superman has and refuses to do anything other than piddly acts of heroism. With all that strength and ability, he can actually force the world to be better with him at the head. Honestly, he is often emblematic of the realities of the United States. Not the ideals. If he can just BE The True Superman, laws will no longer apply to him, because no prison can hold him and no weapon can hurt him. Clark on the other hand cares about the Truth and meeting the ideals. He sees the failures of the systems but also, through his upbringing, knows he alone cannot solve everything. So he goes out to do what little good he can. Prevents what tragedies he can. But tries not to do too much because he knows he can't do everything. It would drive him mad or break him.

[fvckingmourn]

RULES ; FVCKINGMOURN.

hello! i'm ganon. i am 25+, i have adhd & autism, i am married, have a cat and a dog, & i'm mixed (black/white). i currently live in pennsylvania usa, & i'm originally from tennessee usa. i work 40 hours a week mon-fri 7am-4pm eastern standard time zone. i am a preschool teacher for autistic children.

this blog is extremely low activity, and pretty much a private blog to write collaboratively with my current rp partners. if i follow you first, you're welcome to follow back. if you follow me and i do not follow back (from sanguinelupus) within a month, feel free to soft/hard block! i do not take blocking personally. i am always on discord, so feel free to ask for it if you'd like to plot or write with me outside tumblr.

typical rp etiquitte. must be 21+ to interact, no godmodding, no forceshipping, respect my character. this especially means respecting her sexuality. bee is a lesbian. while i am always multiship on all my blogs, do not expect to ship a male character with her, unless we are discussing a past history plot or comphet situation.

bee is a fully activated tribrid, & has been for centuries. she is very powerful & she knows it, she uses it to her advantage a lot. if your character pisses her off, she will act accordingly. please do not assume that she won't act erratically or angrily if provoked; she is klaus mikaelson's daughter.

i'm a primarily plot based writer, but i also like sending/answering memes to start a thread and seeing where it goes. if we're mutuals, you are always welcome to send me memes, request memes from me, or turn a meme response into a thread. while bee is mostly associated with my own klaus blog and other people's ocs, i am not opposed to creating alternate universes for her. other klaus blogs are also always welcome to interact with her in her own canon as well.

DISCLAIMER ABOUT MY FACECLAIM: mila kunis is a supporter of israel (she is part jewish & believes anything against israel is antisemitic; & while we're on the subject: FREE PALESTINE.) and wrote a letter alongside her husband supporting a convicted rapist. i do not agree with her actions nor do i support them. i use her for bee because she fits, and i use her only from 2007-2013, as that is when she was the age range i needed. if it makes you uncomfortable to write with me because of my fc, i completely understand! you are welcome to unfollow or hard block. i will not take it personally.

please see my klaus google doc for more detailed rules, if you'd like.

[jewish-fanboy]

aha i am so glad !!

basically the whole shtick of the thea sisters is that each one of them has an incredibly specific niche that they specialize in. and not only is that the subject they know the most about it’s the *only* thing they really care about (besides each other), which are definitely special interests. they also all have things that are very easy to classify as sensory issues or other typical symptoms of autism

now for examples!!:

Nicky *loves* the outdoors and knows a ton about animals and different environments. she’s constantly moving and doing things, even more so when she gets stressed (which could be seen as stimming). she also hates being indoors for long periods of time and has extreme claustrophobia (which could be attributed to sensory issues with small spaces). she also rarely interacts “appropriately” in social situations, interrupting people, speaking too loudly, and commuting other social mishaps by accident.

Colette is solely interested in fashion, and as seen in one of the books (i think the one set in in paris) she knows *everything* about it, including all sorts of different designers and styles going back incredibly far in history. she’s very enthusiastic about that topic, but is disinterested in almost everything else, usually finding a way to tie whatever the current mystery they’re solving back to clothing or hair.

Violet is probably the most ‘classic’ example, being that she tends to be very shy and anxious is social situations, afraid that she won’t know how to act or what to do. she has problems making friends and really only talks to the other sisters (and thea, of course). she is really passionate about music, and also reading. she’s very good at analyzing people, which comes from her spending most of her time reading about and observing people (which could be attributed to trying to mask).

Pamela’s special interest is mechanics, and she’s a very good at building and fixing things. i don’t remember her personality as well as most of the other ones but i’m pretty sure she’s also very awkward socially, tending to assume everyone is her friend, and doesn’t really have much of, if any, of a filter (which can definitely be an autistic trait).

Paulina loves research and technology, and she is very organized and likes to keep her schedules very planned out, and is essentially the organizer of the group. she tends to get upset when her schedules aren’t kept and when things she couldn’t plan for happen. she also prefers to communicate with people online, since she gets overwhelmed in in person social situations.

there’s also the way the narrative itself has very “autistic vibes”, both in the sense that the plot is entirely made up of a very hodgepodge group (who have many autistic traits) who look for tiny details and patterns that most people miss, and in how it’s written, with a mix of colorful flair (with the actual colorful text) and predictability of language and similar plot points from book to book.

so yeah ! that ramble got very long but those at my thoughts on the (autistic) thea sisters! thank you for asking!!

in my many years of reading books i have never found a series with a more autistic cast of characters than the thea stilton books

like

every single one of the thea sisters is so incredibly autistic

[mirrorofliterature]

Which hobbies do you think Percy would have? Like, drawing or painting. Or a very specific 'would totally read about art and fashion in the 18th century' kinda hobby.

I have not thought much about percy's hobbies before, rather than the vague, overarching things like 'he definitely likes reading'.

so some food for thought!

I like the specific example you have given - I think percy would do well with some sort of craft, such as sewing and knitting. he has great attention to detail and I think that his interests definitely fall outside the conventional - indeed, that's where a lot of the tension comes between him and his siblings - so I do like the headcanon that percy enjoys a craft of some sort, and (extrapolating from my own knowledge/interests) I think percy would enjoy historical reconstruction because he enjoys learning for the sake of learning and he's quite a patient bloke, really. [I don't do this myself, but I like fashion history, it's quite fascinating. check out bernadette banner or karolina zebrowska, for example].

other than that, I do think that percy likes watching quidditch (if not necessarily playing quidditch), particularly when oliver is playing. he also enjoys spending time with his loved ones, often quietly in a 'parallel play' sort of way, like spending mornings with oliver whilst oliver is watching a murder mystery or doing quidditch planning, that kind of thing.

I see percy as somewhat opposed to his siblings, in that he is an introvert, in that he shows his love differently, in that he is just different, plain and simple, both because I see him as autistic and simply as a result of his personality, which cannot be de-entangled from each other. autistic people cannot be de-entangled from their autism - it's just not how it works. anyway.

to summarise my thoughts shortly, after I went on a bit of a ramble:

what hobbies does percy weasley have? Personally, I think he enjoys:

Reading, mainly fiction, and different genres depending on his mood (mysteries and romances, particularly. percy is quite a romantic soul, really). I think percy would enjoy those kind of genres with predictable plot beats, where he knows what to expect, because it offers him stability. Percy is someone who likes order, and I think that translates loosely, if not always perfectly, into what he enjoys doing in his leisure time.

Crafting, particularly sewing. It gives Percy something practical to do with his hands, it gives him a goal to work towards, it's challenging and intellectually stimulating, it's something he can do whilst having a chat with a friend or watching a film.

Spending time with his loved ones (including watching Quidditch)

Visiting museums, art galleries, taking walks, being quiet, reflective.

In essence, I think Percy enjoys learning, and he enjoys exploring. He enjoys doing tasks he can do on his own schedule, things where he can just unwind and stop if he no longer wants to (and his friends are much more respective of percy's need to take time to himself than his family ever was).

well, that became long (and a slight perciver-y and weasley family critical, but that's a hazard of asking me for my opinion on percy weasley related things, I'm afraid). hope that answered your question!

[theashemarie]

First of all, I’m in LOVE with Aftershocks! It’s everything I’ve been looking for in a post-movie fic. Buf I’m super curious about how Aftershocks came to be and how you guys manage to create a cohesive story with such a large group of writers!! How did you even find each other? How does this all work?

omg I'm so glad you're enjoying so much!! :DDD!! Thank you for reaching out to let me/us know! (This got long, so I'm putting part of it behind a read more.)

Okay so for a bit of history the five of us have been friends for years and @katiemonz basically dragged me kicking and screaming into watching Rise a few weeks before the movie came out because she wanted to rewatch it and she knew I would like it. And, basically, I latched onto it super hard super quickly. When this happens, I do the typical special interest thing where I talk about it nonstop and make my other friends watch the stuff I'm obsessed with. First my brother in autism (Ben) @dunkalfredo fell into my trap and soon enough we were off to the races. @octolingkiera and @mcbethins followed shortly thereafter.

The five of us have always been writers in some form or another, so, after we all watched the movie together on premier night, it felt natural to float the idea of a giant collab fic where we each take a POV and run through the aftermath of the movie. I volunteered to post first because I'm the fastest writer out of all of us, with a promised post-date of the next Saturday (a week after the movie dropped) and I got to work. Originally, the fic was supposed to just be five chapters--one from each of us--but the plot line we agreed on turned out to be a lot bigger than we intended, so I got to the end of the first day in my first chapter, looked at the projected two weeks we were supposed to cover, and consulted the council with my worries. I was already 5k words in and there was no way I was going to finish in a timely or concise manner, so we agreed to bump it out to 10 chapters (2 each).

While writing my second chapters, I cracked 10k words and realized that we would need 15 chapters. Everyone agreed.

As to how we wrangle this thing: what I wanted to happen was for everyone to write simultaneously, but that didn't exactly happen. What ended up going down was I did the initial exploratory writing with Mikey's chapters, established a timeline, and wrote the whole thing, and then everyone else kinda used my chapters as a skeleton to hang theirs off of. There's nothing wrong with this and it ended up working out, but it did/does require a lot of cross-referencing from my collaborators, while I was allowed to kinda just write what I wanted. It's a fair tradeoff, I suppose; I had to do a lot of the legwork, so I got to set up the timeline and write to my heart's content.

We brainstormed a lot on Discord, but a lot of it actually happened between Katie and me because we live together. Emotional Trauma Uno actually started as a sort of joke, but then I took it and spun it into a serious recovery ritual. I'm glad that it came into the fic, but it wasn't something we discussed ahead of time and I'm grateful to my collaborators for running with it. I remember the moment when I introduced the poker chips, because originally the Uno games were supposed to be a lot like the one that happens at the beginning of Mikey's third chapter: no chips, just raw vulnerability.

For cohesion: everyone was really good at latching onto small details that were mentioned in other chapters, and we tried to run major character beats past each other. (For example, when Ben wanted to have Mikey use a poker chip on Donnie in his chapter, he made sure to okay it with me so that I could slip a reference to it into my chapter). I also edit every chapter (except Ben's because he's a good noodle) and read everything as a sort of final continuity check.

Even now, as we pump out the final chapters, we're cross-referencing and running things past each other. Kiera's working on a Splinter POV scene and McBethins has made sure to remind her that Raph already had a talk with Splinter; Ben made sure to ask me how many days occurred between events because Donnie is very attuned to the passage of time while the days blended together for Mikey; Katie is closely counting the blue chips the rest of the family has to use on Leo and running checks to make sure she hasn't missed any; when I was writing my chapters, I made sure to explain my thought process for non-Mikey character actions so everyone knew both how Mikey was perceiving their actions and how I was actually picturing them reacting to things.

Quite honestly, I've always wanted to do a giant collab like this, so it's been a LOT of fun! I didn't expect this story to balloon this much, and I certainly didn't expect it to be this fun and easy! Even with the few hiccups we experienced, it was a blast, and I can't wait to collaborate with my friends again!

[buckmepapi]

Bucky-central || About me & this blog

MASTERLIST

Welcome! I’m Arin/Asralyn

To put it simply; I’m 25, queer, non-binary, and from the UK.

Want to be nosey and know more about me? Here’s the detailed juicy bits:

Who am I attracted to?

I’m attracted to anyone regardless of sex, gender identity, whatever. I use to struggle with either identifying as bisexual or pansexual when I was younger, but in the end I decided on the term Queer. I know some people still do not feel comfortable using the word but it’s the only word I felt fit me, I can’t explain why I don’t feel I fit into bi/pan, I also don’t like labelling myself so queer just seemed more generic and fitting.

What is my gender?

Non-binary is the closest term at the moment I have to describe how I feel about my gender identity.

What are my pronouns?

She/they

My conditions/disabilities:

(All conditions below are diagnosed by medical professionals at some point in my life, this is not to negate from the issue of self diagnosing and bring shame on anyone who does, but I feel it is also imperative to show that I was diagnosed, because I didn’t go through years of waiting lists and assessments for nothing)

Autism

ADHD

Dyspraxia

Hard of Hearing - I wear hearing aids and use BSL

DPDR

Depressive disorder

Generalised Anxiety disorder

Epilepsy

Chronic fatigue/M.E

Fibro

Chronic migraines

Temporomandibular joint disorder

I have trauma related issues from prolonged childhood ab*se, and ass*ult in adulthood. Please be gentle and patient with me where you can.

You may be thinking, why the fuck are you listing off your conditions like a goddamn checklist? And that’s a good point, the reason I am honest about my disabilities is because I talk/vent about them here a lot due to this being my safe space, I also want to bring awareness about issues that many of us live with. If you don’t like telling other people your conditions that’s totally okay and your right to do so! But for myself, I’m very content with being open about issues I have struggled with my whole life.

Who I write for:

Marvel including non mcu characters, Star Wars, The Mandolorian, Criminal Minds, The Office, TWD, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Umbrella Academy, RPF. - more to be added when I can remember what else I enjoy watching and writing for. 

What I will not write:

inc*st, graphic r*pe and non-con stuff, DD/LG (reader calling character ‘daddy’ is fine, I enjoy that, but not the dd/lg role play), underage stuff, anything to do with toilet kinks, group stuff, if I think of anything else, I will add it here. 

What I will write:

SMUT, I love writing smut, the kinkier the better, angst, fluff all the usual stuff although I try to avoid things with sad endings because of my mental health. I will incorporate mental health, s*lf h*rm, s*icide mentions, ab*se, ass*ult into stories IF it is called for and adds to the depth of the storyline but it WILL NOT be written about in detail, just mentioned for the basis of the plot direction, warnings will be given. I do not believe in glamorising and romanticising these issues, but given that I have experienced them myself it is a way for me to healthily cope and express my feelings. It won’t happen often if ever, but I feel the need to mention it just in case it does. 

My special interests:

I love Marvel comics /mcu specifically Deadpool and the winter soldier. I love Spawn, mortal kombat, Battle for Neighborville, Animal Crossing, Etymology and studying words, history, philosophy and mythology. I love learning new things. I also enjoy painting and creating things as well as makeup and SFX.

Social links:

Snapchat - crowlxy

Instagram -sunlightpink

Ask.fm - ufkingwotm8

Spotify - sunlightpxnk

PSN - kimmywinchester

Nintendo switch - 2391 5818 1022

Xbox - AtomBaby111

Beatstar - crowley#21

Discord - inbox me

Tiktok - sunlightpink

[wedreamedlove]

Life History of the 4 Men

The Chinese character books provide timelines of everyone's lives, so I decided to translate them all (as part of my epic procrastination ritual).

There are spoilers in these up to Chapter 24. Okay, I'm afraid tables look hideous in Tumblr, so you're all going to have to deal with my terrible text version.

LI ZEYAN

Regarding the Evol he was born with || Li Zeyan was born with a time manipulation Evol but he never told anyone around him.

10 years old || Park meeting || He met a 4 years old you at the park. He made a pudding as an apology to make up for wrecking your sand castle, but he never thought that he'd get a tag along from that moment.

11 years old || Suspending time during a car accident || He used his Evol in public for the first time in order to save you when you disregarded danger to grab a small cat in the middle of the road.

Orphanage kidnapping incident || He was kidnapped with you to an orphanage. He used his Evol to bring the other kids out but wasn't careful enough and was discovered. He was saved by you at a critical moment but, in the end, was unable to bring you out with him.

Start of the endless search || Unwilling to believe that you were no longer in this world, he started his 17 year long search.

14 years old || Mother's death by illness || His mother died to an illness and the details of the cause are unknown.

18 years old || Starts university || He was accepted into the country's famous university with his outstanding grades.

20 years old || Creates Huarui || He created Huarui when he was finishing his third year and, in the second year of its creation, Wei Qian came around to interview.

26 years old || Starts his restaurant || He opened a restaurant called Souvenir and considered this place a "utopia". He met Mr. Cai here.

28 years old || Huarui becomes a business empire || Huarui gradually developed and became a business empire.

Meeting again || Using his Evol, he saved you when you were about to meet with a car accident.

HBS' plot || He was locked in one of HBS' secret rooms with you. That one scene from his childhood happened again and he realized that it turned out the person he strenuously searched for was at his side. His Evol fluctuated and he could use it to twist space and time.

Deep space travel || Obtained a pocket watch from Grandpa Chen and went to the future Lianyu City. He was in contact with you through the pocket watch and, in order to change the ending of fate, he continuously crossed through space and time.

Black Cabin reunion || He reunited with you at the Black Cabin and obtained memories of several worlds— no matter the world, you two would end up meeting and he would end up being attracted to you.

XU MO

Known to all as a little genius || Being a little genius in the eyes of others, he obtained the love of adults but was alienated by those of the same age and his only friend was the neighboring older brother, Fan Zihang.

7 years old || Car accident || Encountering a car accident on his birthday, both his parents died, and he survived with great difficulty only to be taken by a member of the Black Swan organization.

Acquired Evol || Underwent Black Swan's reformation experiment and obtained Evol.

8 years old || First meeting || He met with the very first color in his life underneath a camphor tree and even obtained a single colorful origami crane.

9 years old || Orphanage kidnapping incident || He was one of the victims of the orphanage kidnapping incident and was rescued by the police.

Went overseas || Going along with Black Swan, he went overseas to study.

15 years old || England schooling || He entered an England all-boys high school to study and, using one year, he completed high school and a university undergraduate degree.

16 years old || Studying hard for a master's degree || He entered one of America's leading universities to pursue advanced studies, a master's degree and Ph.D.

20 years old || Obtained a Ph.D. || He obtained a Ph.D. in neuroscience in America and started to work in a laboratory in America. He published many academic papers and laid the groundwork for neuroscience experts.

24 years old || Became a professor || Returning to the country, he founded the Xu Mo Life Laboratory and also held the post of being a guest professor at Lianyu University.

26 years old || Meeting again || He met with you again through the introduction of Professor Zhang Chengxi. He became your neighbor after moving in and also helped with the last episode of Miracle Finder.

The dream's passing || He brought you into a dream but, because he received the influence of your Evol, saw both of your pasts together and the car accident in his childhood. Afterward, he obtained a peace knot from your hands.

Breaking it off || His identity as Ares was revealed and he broke off relations with you. At a press conference about the development of an influenza vaccine, he had a debate about "evolution" with you.

Danger in the dream || In order to save you when you were being chased by radicals of the Black Swan organization, the two of you entered a dream. He used his Copy Evol to get out of danger and your memory of this time was also erased.

Black Cabin reunion || He reunited with you in the Black Cabin and, obtaining the memories of several worlds, he takes you by the hand and hurries towards the next spring day.

BAI QI

Childhood || Although his father was always cold, under the care of his mother's warmth, Bai Qi had a relatively carefree childhood.

10 years old || Father took away his little brother || Bai Qi's Evol hadn't awakened yet. Bai Qi's father believed that Bai Qi didn't have the Evol genes and so he took away his little brother, whose Evol had already awakened.

15 years old || His mother passed away || His mother passed away in a fire and, after this time, "fire" became his weakness.

17 years old || Met you in the rain || He met you when you were foolishly blocking the rain for a cat and feeding it by the side of the road. He gave you his coat and then ran off into the rain.

Obtained Evol || He heard your piano when he fought a gang of people and was kicked off the rooftop. At the same time as he obtained his Evol he vowed to protect you forever.

18 years old || Goodbye || His Evol awakening was discovered by his father and he was threatened until he had no choice but to leave Lianyu High School. Before he left, he wrote a letter to give to you but, because of Han Ye's slip up, you thought it was a threatening letter.

19 years old || Hellish mission || His teammate Li Ye died during the "Hell Mission" and only Bai Qi and Gu Zheng survived. After this mission concluded, Bai Qi was made into the team captain.

20 years old || Training and missions || He actively participated in every country's training and missions and gradually became strong.

22 years old || Obtained an appointment || He obtained a formal appointment and joined the special forces.

24 years old || Meeting you again || In order to protect you, he voluntarily requested to be transferred back to Lianyu City to carry out missions and, at last, he met you again.

Broke off with the special forces || He discovered Commander Lian Ji's plot, questioned the special force's "justice", and broke off with them.

Participated in the NW Plan || Receiving his father's conditions, he participated in the NW Plan, and after the reformation obtained a stronger Evol.

Black Cabin reunion || He reunited with you at the Black Cabin, obtained the memories of several worlds, and promised to be side by side with you in every different world.

ZHOU QILUO

Orphanage for those with autism || He suffered from autism when he was small, was a mixed blood orphan, had no friends, and spent every day curled up in the corner.

5 years old || First meeting || He was labeled as experimental subject 1562 and he met you during his escape. You two promised to eat doughnuts together after you both escaped.

Failure to escape || The escape failed and he became the valuable experimental subject 3684.

Obtained Evol || He underwent Black Swan's reformation experiment and obtained Evol. He is the only success of the orphanage's reformation experiments.

6 years old || Went overseas || Following Black Swan, he went overseas and was adopted by KEY. Afterward, he followed KEY and learned hacker techniques.

Launched his career || He launched his career as a child star in France.

14 years old || Attended high school in America || He finished junior high school in France and, listening to the suggestion of the middle-aged singer Eva Seidel, he went to America for high school.

18 years old || Admitted into a famous music school || He signed with a famous international music company and, after being successful, was admitted into a famous music school.

Set up a band || Created a band, had the position of lead singer, and started touring around the world, setting the groundwork of being an international star.

His master KEY disappeared || His master, KEY, disappeared and, in order to search for his master, he hacked into America's Federal Bureau of Investigation and found a mysterious symbol, but he was unable to crack it.

20 years old || Returned to the country to develop || He returned to the country to expand and Shen Yuan became his manager.

21 years old || Entered the hacker world || He returned to the hacking world with KEY's identity and persistently searched for any clues connected to his master.

Took the entertainment world by the storm || He acted as the young Sun Ce in "Three Kingdoms" and, not only did this take Japan by the storm, this also let more people in his own country recognize him.

22 years old || Meeting you again || He met you again at a convenience store when you both saw the same bag of potato chips and from this moment you were his exclusive "Miss Chips".

Hacker conference || He met you at the hacker conference when you blundered in by mistake and the two of you fell into Black Swan's secret room. His mysterious identity as KEY was found out by you.

Returning home || After saying goodbye on the rooftop, he returned under the identity of Helios and reunited with you at the hospital. He gave you a knife for self-protection and used his Evol to erase your memories of this moment.

Black Cabin reunion || He reunited with you again at the Black Cabin and obtained memories of several worlds. You both gripped tightly onto each other's hands and became each other's light.

[spectrumed]

8. book

I decided to start writing a book. A novel, it’s going to be fiction. It’s a big project. I dread big projects. I don’t feel as if I am ever able to complete them. It’s going to be left unfinished, why do I even bother? So many projects that I’ve started and never finished. I get an idea, then I can’t make myself do the actual work to make it a reality. Why do I think I can write a book when I can barely read books without becoming distracted and doing something else instead? I give up too easily. But, then again, do I really have it in me to produce something that is good? That people would want to read? Insecurity creeps in, telling me that I will fail. I fear failure. Of course I do, who doesn’t? Whenever people say that their greatest fear is failure, all I wonder is who out there is not afraid of failure? Is there someone out there with so much confidence that they absolutely do not in any way fear failure? Even narcissists technically fear failure, it is what leads them to such ridiculous overcompensation, putting on the facade of bravado to mask their actual dire sense of insecurity. Do not fall for the scams, no person is truly without self-doubt. (Well, I guess maybe psychopaths, but there’s a whole lot of things amiss with them.)

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve entertained myself by coming up with stories, fictional universes that I would populate with characters of my own invention. When I was a kid, what I really wanted was to become a comic book writer and artist. Well, in between other gigs I imagined would suit me, including at one point wanting to be a “singing farmer,” as I put it. Still, I’ve always returned to fiction and storytelling. There’s something about creating a world that lets you so fully distract yourself from all the stressful daily hullabaloo that goes on around you. Escapism, it’s fun, it’s therapeutic, I think. There’s a reason why humans have been telling each other stories for millennia, since even before we lived in houses. Back when we were all huddled around the fire, wearing our best comfortable animal furs, sharing tales of the hunt. Your uncle who once took part in killing a mammoth, the impressive beast nearly gorging him with its big tusks. How clever he was when he noticed that the mammoth had one leg weaker than the others, and used that to his advantage. How the entire hunting party banded together to bring the behemoth down, getting all that meat to feed their families with for months! Stories make you feel good. Like as if you have something to celebrate, even when you might be starving due to the more recent hunts not having gone as well. Damn that saber-tooth tiger that killed your uncle…

Storytelling is linked to acting. Both with acting and with storytelling you have to commit. Whatever you are doing, whatever role you are performing, you have to sell it. You may be on stage talking about that time you went scuba diving with your future wife, and how you encountered an oyster with the most magnificent pearl inside, and how you made a ring for the pearl and used it when you proposed to her. You have to sell it. You have to get the audience laughing, gasping, crying, going “aww,” feeling as if they were there with you that day. Of course, they don’t know it is all just lies. You made it up. It’s all fiction. But you committed, so they won’t ever know. Storytelling is a gift to others, people will appreciate you if you tell good stories, but you’re also kinda deviant. Even if it’s technically based on a true story, you’ve certainly added your embellishments. You’re a trickster, a devious individual. No wonder actors have historically been seen as dubious folks. They come into town, romances all the young women and men, telling them big tales of their lives on the road, and they can’t possibly know if you are telling the truth or not. You may just be lying. You probably are lying. Let’s be honest, you’ve probably not told a single true thing in your life.

I am bad at the hustle. No, I can talk quite well, and I can keep people’s attention for a long while. But I can’t be a huckster. Going out there, putting myself on the line hoping people will swallow my bullshit. I can’t really avoid speaking from my heart when I do speak. Or when I write, as I happen to be doing now. This blog has so far been thoroughly candid in places, in such a way I may come across like I’m at a confessional. Not that I have much evil to confess, but I can’t help but be transparent. I can’t flip into different kinds of personalities, each with its own schemes and plots, being some master manipulator, someone who you can never figure out what they're truly up to, or what they truly want. No, what I am is clearly written on my face. I’ve got one self, and it is the one before you. He’s hairy, and tall, and a bit of a dork. I am happy to talk to you, to engage with you, but I won’t be anyone but myself. I am me. I hope that’ll do.

Of course you are familiar with all those pick-up artists that plagues the internet. Or well, not just the internet. Go into any old-fashioned bookstore (where they store books on paper, not in digital code,) and you are bound to find some sleazy book written by a sleazy guy about how to sleazily seduce women. Those books don’t want you acting like me. According to them, seduction is all about manipulation. To figure out the very right thing to say to get women to fawn all over you. They don’t want you to be sincere, telling the truth as you see it. Nah, you gotta keep that stuff bottled up, deep down inside your soul, because most likely, your true self is ugly. It’s interesting how you can get little details from these pick-up artists depending on the sort of things they say, the tips they provide. The fact that all of them seem to harbour this festering misogyny is no big surprise, but every so often, you get these little glimpses of these people’s true worldview, one where power is everything, true love is a fallacy, and happiness is a lie manufactured by Hollywood to make us all into docile consumers. No wonder the “red-pill” so often leads to people taking the “black-pill.” First hucksters will lure you in, telling you that they’ve got the secret as to how to be a success, then when they’ve got you isolated, they reveal to you how truly misanthropic and bleak their actual beliefs are.

I am fascinated with cults, for much of the same reason why I am fascinated with storytelling. What is a cult leader if not just a great storyteller? They’re something like the modern day shaman, capable of spellbinding people with their weird idiosyncratic way of speaking. High-functioning people with autism are often said to have an idiosyncratic way of speaking. No, I am not suggesting that cult leaders are all somewhere on the spectrum, though it wouldn’t surprise me if some famous cult leaders did turn out to have been on the spectrum. However, for an autistic person to become a cult leader, I think they would have to be a true believer, and not some fraud just looking to scam others. Ultimately, no autistic person would want to surround themselves with people unless they truly do believe it is essential, to like, save mankind from damnation or something. It’s the difference between sincerity and insincerity. It is difficult for autistic people to be insincere, as insincerity requires a lot of social skills that autistic people struggle with. Having to juggle all these balls in the air, making sure you keep the big lie going, that you remember to change your behaviour depending on who you are speaking to in order to keep them from figuring out that you’re a bullshitter. Hollow people are great at being insincere. People like L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the highly profitable cult that is Scientology, was at his core a hollow individual. He had no problems twisting the minds of the people around him, because he never felt a need to be sincere. If an autistic person were to become a cult leader, I can guarantee you that it wouldn’t be a profitable cult. Nah, autistic people aren’t in it for the money, we’re all about keeping it real.

Being a sincere person, surely I should be able to write a novel and make it feel earnest. Like it was delivered with passion, because I wouldn’t be able to write anything that wasn’t true to myself. Well, I do hope so. Having something I’ve made be referred to as genuine is something I see as a great compliment. I’m a student of art history, I’ve made some “serious” art before, I know how terrible art can be when it is not delivered with good faith. Sure, some art is cynical, or ironic, but even then, it tends to come from a real place. Good artists, even when they’re fully armed with the dada mindset, must believe in what they are doing. Whether they are doing it for a laugh or not, that’s irrelevant. Even if all you wish is to be silly and make something that is comical, you have to believe in what you are creating. Or else people won’t bother engaging with it. Why look at a painting by someone who is just interested in making money? Insincere artists do exist, and they can end up becoming quite successful, but ultimately, history won’t be kind to them. Damien Hirst comes to mind, heard he's into NFTs now.

Sure, I don’t like insincere people. Does that make me a bigot? Like, it’s not as if they can help themselves. It’s just who they are, spineless maggots with no soul. It doesn’t mean we have to hate them. No, no, no... I am just generalising. Don’t go thinking there’s just two kinds of people in the world, the sincere and the insincere. It’s not a binary. Most people are both, just like with introverts and extroverts, humans are complex. But there are definitely those that decide to feed into their insincere side, realising that it is often the key to success. Through insincerity, you learn to let go of self-doubt, you stop worrying so much about what others think of you, because you are never truly yourself. If they hate you, then so what? They don’t actually hate you, they just hate a role that you are playing. So what if you seduced that woman, made her feel as if you were the perfect match, then you ghosted her and completely forgot about her? It’s her fault for falling for your tricks. You were clearly just playing the game, being a super-seducer, she should have known better. By embracing insincerity, it’s like gaining a superpower. No longer do you have to care about the impact you have on others, no longer do you have to worry about what it means to be a social human being making choices that affect the others around you. Because you’re not the person they think you are. Actually, you’re not quite sure you’re the person you think you are… Who are you?

I’ve got the plot all laid out in my head for the novel. It’s going to be based in the fantasy world that I’ve been working on for the last few years. I’ve been working on this world for almost half a decade now, come to think of it. Why do I keep feeling as if I am never able to keep to a project, when I’ve clearly been working on a massive project all this time? Sure, it’s all just in my head, but it’s not as if most people have the kind of patience to keep going back to a single big project, even if it is just in their head. Not once, while thinking about my fantasy world have I been distracted and started thinking about cute puppies, instead. And you know how difficult that is. Maybe I am too hard on myself. Maybe I will finish this book, and maybe people will want to read it. Maybe it will even get a minimal number of angry reviews, like, I may get a book published without some folks trying to harass me into committing suicide for daring to think I can write. Some people may even be enthusiastic, blowing up my ego with great praise. Maybe someone will come along and tell me that they want to buy the rights to make my book into a movie or a television series. Maybe I will get rich? Maybe I will get famous! Woo! Success here I come!

Well, no, here I go being insincere. That’s not what it’s about. I should be writing this book because I want to write it. Because I want to prove to myself that I am able to write it. Sure, it’s not as if there’s not a little brain goblin inside my mind whispering sweet nothings about how one day I might turn out a real respected author. One with real fans that gets to do big book tours talking about how brilliant I am, how brilliant my work is, and how brilliant things are going for me. I am not going to pretend I don’t have the same aspirations for success that others have. Inside of me you will find the same greedy piglet of an ego hungry for more adoration and more validation that you will find in any person. Humans don’t know when to quit, we always want more. But I am at least safe knowing that I will never debase myself, descending to the same depths as those inhabited by soulless grifters who go through life abusing the trust of others in order to get by. I’m sincere, in the end. I always turn out sincere, in the end. I am a good boy.

And I am also really sexy. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before on this blog, but I am really, REALLY, sexy. Like, you wouldn’t believe it. Oh, I am so hot. And if you follow and subscribe and hit that bell, I will teach you how you can be just as sexy as I am! And buy my book! And my merch! And my new single! And of course, my new cryptocurrency, by the name of “autism-coin.” It’s going to be a real success on 4chan, let me tell ya!