#otherwise why remove the variant

[jessamine-rose]

꒰ The Spider and the Fly ꒱

This is for my hormones every artist/ writer who dragged me into the Miguel O’Hara fandom. Your content is absolutely amazing, and I hope this piece can measure up to the brainrot you’ve given me  ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝

Tw:: YANDERE, kidnapping, manipulation, blood, violence, self-deprecation, mention of suicide, bondage, noncon, nsfw, MDNI

Note:: Female reader, double POV, ATSV spoilers, Best Wingman Award goes to LYLA

♡ 7.6k words under the cut ♡

i. spiral orb web

You’ve always been attracted to pretty things, and that includes spiderwebs.

In your eyes, the spider’s craft is the closest thing to art in your everyday life. It is a natural phenomenon marked by intricacy and utility, yet one so easily overlooked due to its associations with pest behavior.

Fortunately, public reception has shifted since the emergence of Spider-Man. It is thanks to your “Friendly Neighborhood Hero” that the spiderweb has been rebranded as a symbol of safety. Be it a weapon or a life-sized shelter, there is a certain beauty to those human creations.

Though the same cannot be said for Miguel O’Hara’s.

Spider-Man 2099’s webs belong to their own category. His are scarlet, bright as lasers, conspicuous and dangerous in equal amounts. When Miguel traps a villain in his webs, one is reminded that a spiderweb is the tool of a predator.

Miguel’s webs are not the only thing which set him apart from the other Spider-Men. He has more inhuman powers—claws, fangs, paralytic venom. His jaded personality and intimidating stature are also far removed from the public image which inspires hope in civilians.

Perhaps that is why you find him all the more alluring. Or it could be simply because he is the one who saved your life.

He’s done more than rescue you. After catching you midfall, Miguel regards you with shock and…pity, you think. It is the only logical explanation as to why he is being so gentle with you when your dimension’s stability is a greater concern.

It also explains why he allows you to follow him into the departing portal. No, follow is a self-preserving term. More like burst into tears, ran after him, then told him your pathetic life story and how anywhere is better than here.

Much to the surprise of his coworkers, he relents.

꒰♡꒱

At first, Miguel thinks you are an Anomaly.

It is one thing to find you in another dimension. It has happened before, and he always avoided your Variants for their sake. But you are inescapable.

Among every version of you, the happiest one was his Variant’s wife. Then there’s you, the one whose life would’ve ended if not for his interference.

He tries to justify his decision. Your departure doesn’t affect the Canon, so no harm will come to your universe. And judging by your personal data, you would be much safer in a different dimension.

His dimension, to be specific. Where he can keep a close eye on you.

He is also logical enough to recognize you as your own person. You aren’t his wife, and his observations support that theory. Your hairstyle is different. You code-switch more often. You sleep and wake up at earlier hours. You’re not as confident in your abilities.

You are alike and unlike her in so many ways, yet he still sees a spark of his sun in you.

ii. funnel web

Since then, you’ve resided in Nueva York.

In return for permanent residency, you are hired as a secretary for the Spider Society. It’s civilian work, nothing dangerous, but more purposeful than what you’d ever achieved in your old job.

Strangely enough, you encounter Miguel quite often.

At first, it feels totally warranted. He is the only person you know in Earth-928, so he guides you through every step of your adjustment. He gives you a Dimensional Travel Watch, shows you around the facility, and instructs you on how not to mess up the multiverse.

After your first week, he invites you to move in with him. Miguel claims that his home already has an extra bedroom, though LYLA’s remarks suggest otherwise. Regardless, you accept since it means a familiar roommate and better living quarters.

How thoughtful of him.

꒰♡꒱

“It’s easier to look after her if we’re under the same roof,” he rationalizes.

“Sure,” says LYLA. She flickers above his shoulder and watches the holographic screens with him. “And it’s not because she reminds you of a certain someone?”

Ignoring her, Miguel switches to a different camera angle. Peter B. Parker walks past your desk and does a double take, and he is promptly summoned for a meeting.

No doubt, there will be questions about you.

“What about the redesigns?” LYLA pulls up a screen showing two bedroom layouts, one collapsed and the other abandoned. “Should we pick one? Merge them? Think of a new design? Or we can ask for her input, seeing how she clearly has better taste than you.”

One of the monitors catches their attention, announcing an Anomaly in Earth-131222.

“We can talk about this later.” With that, Miguel opens a new screen and analyzes the data. On second thought, he adds, “She prefers thin bed sheets.”

-

Later that day, he escorts you home. Your mood has greatly improved since your change in environment, though you’re still quiet around him. LYLA compliments your coat, a purple remnant of her closet which Miguel lent to you, but he ignores her knowing glances.

You wear it differently, he notices. It’s the same article of clothing, but fully buttoned with a silver brooch on one lapel. The effect is significantly less casual.

“So, this is it.” Your expression turns hesitant as Miguel unlocks the front door. “Are you really sure that I can stay here?”

“I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t a hundred percent sure,” he points out.

And it means less time monitoring the CCTVs.

“And you haven’t seen your room yet!” adds LYLA. “We know you’ll love it.”

“I guess it would be impolite to back out now.” You follow him inside and remove your coat. “I’ll try not to be a nuisance.”

He pauses.

That green dress…he could swear that he’s seen it on you before. Many shades lighter, paired with a bright smile, to match the T-shirt of the little girl by your—

“Miguel?” You frown at him, then your gaze flits to your dress. “Is there something wrong with my outfit? I didn’t commit a serious fashion crime in your dimension, did I?”

“It’s nothing,” he says quickly. But upon noticing your lingering anxiety, he admits, “You look good in it. That’s all.”

You nearly drop your coat. “W-What? Are you serious?”

Miguel could swear that you look more shocked than during your first meeting. If he were to come close enough to touch your face, it would surely feel warmer than average.

That’s enough.

“I meant what I said,” he replies, walking ahead. “Do you want to look around or are you just going to stand there?”

That snaps you out of your fluster. You follow him into the living room, a small smile making its way to your face. “The living room is pretty. Was it you or LYLA who designed it?”

The change of topic is a godsend. As Miguel shows you around, you recover from his comment and focus on your surroundings. LYLA is the next to admire your dress, winking at Miguel as she asks about the color, and he takes note of your reaction.

More vulnerable to flattery, regardless of speaker. Extremely happy afterwards.

His wife wasn’t like that. Usually, she’d be the one teasing Miguel with praises, pick-up lines, and inside jokes which he pretended to understand.

Still, it’s nostalgic to sit next to you on the sofa. He could get used to this again.

iii. lace web

In the following months, you fully adjust to your new life.

Your job in the Spider Society is manageable, fun even. Aside from the Spider-Man of your dimension, your close coworkers are kind enough to welcome you into their group. They look out for you, include you in their conversations, and appreciate your hard work.

They even indulge your aesthetic interests! One word from you, and they are already comparing webs. Among the various designs and techniques, however, none have fascinated you as much as Miguel’s.

…You do wish he’d let you roam Nueva York more often.

In case of Canon events, you need to get his permission first. Then you have to wait for him or an assigned Spider-Man to accompany you, and the latter is always a stranger whom you find difficult to bond with. Conversations with LYLA can only do so much.

You’ve recommended your coworkers before, but Miguel doubts their reliability. And every time you invite them to go with you, a new mission cancels your plans. If not for the official records, you’d suspect them of making excuses.

It’s a bit frustrating, honestly, but you know better than to complain.

You should already be satisfied with Miguel. He is an agreeable roommate, he trusts your capabilities, and he acknowledges your efforts. And no matter how closed-off or overworked he is, he's still deemed you worthy of his company.

…He is also very nice to look at. Muscular physique, handsome face, a serious gaze occasionally tinted in red. It’s a shame that he rarely smiles.

In another dimension, a better version of you would have definitely pursued him.

꒰♡꒱

“...and get this, he can shoot webs with stabilimenta. The designs are so detailed!”

“Oh, wow.” Miguel barely looks up from the monitors, grimacing at yet another Anomaly. He quickly sends an alert to the dimension’s Spider-Man. “What else?”

Behind him, you suddenly grow quiet.

“Now that I think about it, you must already know that since you recruited him. Sorry if that wasn’t anything worth listening to…are you sure I’m not bothering you?”

“You’re not.” It comes out faster than intended.

He turns around. Once again, you look surprised by his words, but you don’t ask for confirmation this time. You just nod and return to your digital reports.

Why did you visit his laboratory again? You said it was a false alarm from LYLA, who’d likely sent it on purpose. Lately, she’s been on his case about how rude it is to “avoid” you through extra work. He thinks he could easily do without distractions or triggered memories, however.

Miguel opens a private file and thinks of what you’d just told him. Apart from concerned looks from Jess and Peter B, most of the Spider-Men haven’t given you any trouble. Your coworkers, however, are a different matter.

-

23) ______ laughed because of some stupid pickup line from Web-Slinger. Smiled when he complimented her outfit (purple blouse, black high-waist skirt, favorite heels, pearl hairpin).

24) ______ talked about the other agents’ webs again.* She admires stabilimenta.

-

“You should be careful with your friends,” he tells you. He types a few more observations and closes the screen. “The last thing I need is for you to get involved in their mess. Don’t think that I can’t see them slacking on the job.”

To your credit, you don’t apologize. “Noted.”

“Miguel!” LYLA appears and moves the screens around him. “We have an Anomaly in Earth-332. Spider-Woman called for backup.”

Great, another one. It must be a persistent villain if Jess needs his help.

“I’m on it.” He types the coordinates on his watch and activates the portal.

“How dangerous is it?”

He stops, just a few meters short of leaving.

You leave your desk, an anxious look on your face. “I know you told me not to worry before, but I really have no idea of what your battles are like. So…will you be all right?”

“I’ll be fine,” he assures you. A hug comes to mind—it always calmed her anxieties—but he instead gives you a shoulder pat. “Don’t wait for me. If it takes a while, LYLA will call someone to escort you home.”

“Okay.” You’re still standing in front of him, but he can feel the tension leaving your body. “It’s my turn to cook dinner tonight, right? I’ll prepare a nice victory feast so look forward to that.”

A few more seconds wouldn’t hurt. “You don’t have to.”

You pout at him. “But I want to. Besides, it’s not fair that you are so good at making my favorite meals. I still haven’t perfected yours.”

Secretly, Miguel thinks your cooking tastes better than his wife’s. But whatever keeps you distracted while he is saving the multiverse.

It’s also…nice to talk about work with you. With her, he had to act normal and make up excuses for his sudden disappearances. It’s refreshing to see your concern and know that you are praying for his safety. To imagine your relieved smile when he comes home.

“Miguel!” LYLA reappears between the two of you. “I hate to ruin the moment, but Spider-Woman could really use some help right now. I know you’re counting the seconds!”

No more time to waste.

“I’ll see you later.” He lets go of you and walks into the portal.

“Take care!” you call after him.

iv. triangle web

“Welcome home, love!”

As the door opened, Miguel resisted the urge to flinch. The lights were always too bright.

His Variant’s wife wasted no time hugging him. “What took you so long?”

“Something at work came up,” he explained, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Again?” You closed the door behind him, a frown replacing your smile. “That’s the third time this month. Is there a problem in your office?”

“It’s…classified information. But nothing to worry about, mi sol.”

The house felt lively, even with Gabriella temporarily away. Warm lights. Family photos. Personal belongings scattered about. Your cheerful presence leading him.

The TV in the living room was on, paused at the beginning of a new film. Movie nights were an old family routine, he’d learned. The first time Miguel arrived in your husband’s place, you and Gabriella had agreed on an animated classic.

“Okay then. I’m just glad your office isn’t in the same area as that crime from earlier. Was there any debris blocking the road?”

“Not much.” And definitely none on the route to your workplace.

Upstairs, Miguel took a shower and contacted LYLA. The Anomaly had been returned to its original dimension. If he were lucky, none would appear tomorrow.

You were on the sofa when he came back. Wordlessly, he sat next to you and you rested your head on his shoulder. The film began playing.

“I called Gabriella,” you murmured. “She and her friends are already planning their next sleepover. I’ll pick her up tomorrow morning.”

“That’s good to hear. Have you gift-wrapped her present?”

A pearl ring glinted above your intertwined hands. “It’s in my closet.”

Note to self: Ask LYLA to record the party. It will be a nice memory to revisit.

He smiled at you. “I can’t wait to see her reaction.”

The movie had a happy ending. It was, in your words, a cinematic masterpiece.

-

“That’s how it ends?”

Your outburst prompts Miguel to face the opposite end of the sofa. In the dim light, he can easily make out the unimpressed look on your face.

“The ending looks decent to me,” he muses. “If you ignore the logistics of their reunion, the film is entertaining enough to rewatch.”

“I think it could be more realistic. And you’re saying that across the multiverse, this is the most common version of the movie?”

“In five dimensions, to be exact. Others have the same ending but different actors.”

You pause. “I’ll admit that Earth-928’s version has superior costume design. But I still prefer my dimension’s neutral ending. Maybe it’s because our societal values are different.”

The closing credits continue, but neither of you leave the sofa. You’re still criticizing the film under your breath, unaware that Miguel can understand every word. He does agree that the happy ending causes a few plot holes.

At least with you, he can adjust the brightness levels.

“We can watch your version next time,” he offers, reaching for the remote with his webs.

“Really? You don’t mind?”

He turns off the TV. “We can do it on my next day off.”

Knowing LYLA, this won’t be the last time she plans a movie night without telling him.

“Well, what else could I do?” she asked after he privately demanded an explanation. “You’ve been working yourself too hard, Miguel. You could really use a break, and so does ______.”

You take the remote from him and untangle the web fluid. “Do you mind if I keep this?”

Miguel gives you an odd look. “For what reason?”

You twist the web in your hands, forming string figures.

“As a decoration, maybe. Oh, and for the record, I don’t go around collecting webs from your coworkers. I just find yours particularly interesting.”

Weirdo. “My webs are functional like the others’. That’s all there is to it.”

You look him in the eye this time. “Hey, you should give yourself more credit. It’s my belief that every spiderweb is a work of art. And before you call me overly romantic, there have always been artists who thought they were worth noticing."

The web loops around your ring finger, in the place where her wedding ring used to be.

He averts his gaze. “I don’t see it that way. But whatever works for you.”

Another moment of silence.

“There is another reason,” you add softly.

He side-eyes you. “Is it about that day? You don’t need to keep thanking me for saving your life. As I said, I was doing my job and anyone would’ve done the same.”

“I wasn’t talking about you catching me.”

Oh, you meant that.

The web tangles in your hands.

“Listen.” You take a deep breath, eyes on your lap. “I know you’ve been avoiding this subject. Maybe it's so I don’t feel indebted to you or pressured into reliving bad memories. But…I just want you to know that I’m glad you foiled my plans.”

…It would be best to let you finish first.

Your voice shakes. “I mean, you’re smart, aren’t you? Even without my meltdown, you would’ve figured out that my fall had nothing to do with the Anomaly in my dimension.”

He did. And that was precisely why Miguel mistook you for one at first. It wasn’t just your identity but the fact that you were found in danger after the Anomaly had been captured.

Ten minutes post-battle. The undamaged state of the nearby buildings. The passive acceptance in your demeanor.

He can vividly recall the rest of that day. Those hours spent studying your personal data, identifying every action and condition which diverged from his wife's path.

A loud sigh. “I just—I couldn’t take it anymore, okay? I thought it would be easier to put an end to my mistakes, then you had to show up. And thanks to you, life has been great! I like this world, I’m not alone, I still have my personal issues to work through but I’m trying to do better. But yeah…I’m just sorry for forcing you to get involved.”

“It’s not your fault,” he insists. He scoots closer to you and puts his hand on top of yours. “I made the choice to bring you here. And I couldn’t exactly leave you, knowing your situation.”

That is a lie. Rather, half of his thoughts were about his wife and how he’d been able to sustain her happiness. How that farce proved he could do the same for you.

“Either way, I’m grateful.” You look up, your lips curving into a shy smile. “I’m really happy now, Miguel. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I’ll never regret my decision to follow a cryptic stranger into a portal. Even if it meant learning that the multiverse is in constant danger. Or that my favorite film has an alternate ending which makes no sense to me whatsoever.”

Has his wife ever looked at him like that? There is a soft brilliance to your gaze, wholly reserved for him. It triggers a warm feeling in his chest.

The moment is quickly ended when you cover your face with a cushion.

“Anyway! If you don’t mind, I’d really love to move on and talk about something else. How was your mission earlier? Is Earth-199999 still giving you a hard time?”

You’re still seated next to him, legs touching. Your tone leaves no room for objection.

He lets go of your hand. “You would not believe what kind of shocking messes we’ve had to deal with. We are never recruiting Dr. Strange or his little nerd.”

“You can tell me all about it.” You untangle his web from your hands; it loops around your pinky finger this time. “I’m here for you, okay? For as long as you’ll have me.”

v. mesh web

There have been more Anomalies lately.

You walk past the detained villains, silently counting them. Their increase in numbers has kept the Spider Society on high alert for the past weeks. While it means more documents for you, the effect on Miguel’s stress levels is concerning.

Come to think of it, has he returned from his mission yet? If not, you hope the cafeteria’s takeout boxes have a self-heating function. As you get closer to Miguel's laboratory, you hear the door open. The sound is followed by two sets of footsteps.

“Do you think it’s healthy for him?”

“I’m more worried about ______.”

You stop walking.

Is that Peter B and Jess? Why are they talking about you?

Jess’s tone is reproachful. “The poor girl has been through so much already. It’s not safe for her to be here, at least in HQ. He knows that she is a different case from Gwen.”

“You know how Miguel is. I’ve already asked about her, and he won’t tell me anything new. Not even my Super Adorable Mayday album could convince him.”

“I don’t like this, Peter.”

Their footsteps become louder. You go back to the entrance of the hallway, just within earshot but hopefully far enough to evade their Spider-Senses.

“Neither do I. But you should’ve seen him when he lost their daughter, Jess. Now think of his wife: He never got to see ______ before she disintegrated. Then one day, out of nowhere, after staying away from countless Variants, he finds a version of her who needs him.”

…What the hell are they talking about?

The walls close in on you. You take a step back, followed by another.

Then, at the sound of a sharp “Is someone there?”, you drop the takeout box and run.

Their daughter. His wife. A version of her.

You already know that Miguel lost a family in another dimension. It was briefly mentioned when he warned you about Canon disruptions, but he refused to share the details. Is this why?

This whole time…you are a Variant of his wife?

You aren’t followed. Your coworkers cheerfully greet you, but you ignore them and return to your desk. It’s arranged the way you like it, complete with personal decorations. The drawer holds a stress ball in your favorite color, a gift from Miguel of all people.

You never did tell him that it is your go-to stress reliever. Was it the same for her?

You squeeze the ball and take deep breaths, but the action does little to calm you.

It all makes sense. Why else would Miguel take an interest in you?

Your gaze lands on your Dimensional Travel Watch before you remember that the idea is futile. Yours is only a modified version which prevents glitches but can’t be used for travel. And the Go-Home Machine would require Spider-Byte’s help.

…Why are you even wasting your time on an escape plan? How are you sure that you won’t mess up and make another mistake?

“______?” LYLA appears in front of your face. Her greeting sounds different.

He knows.

You force yourself to answer. “Y-Yes?”

“Miguel is back.” She flickers as usual, but it doesn’t change the nervous look on her face. “He wants to see you.”

꒰♡꒱

Peter B will be dead when he gets to him.

Several screens surround Miguel, each playing CCTV footage. He focuses on a live recording of you on your way to his laboratory.

At least you are complying with his orders.

The platform is fully lowered by the time you get there.

“Hey…welcome back,” you stammer. “How was the mission?”

“It was fine,” he replies brusquely. “Jess and Peter B spoke with me as soon as I came back. I was just confirming the status of Earth-67 when I checked the CCTVs. Care to explain?”

A heavy silence falls between the two of you. LYLA is nowhere to be seen.

Your panic is evident. Your gaze wanders, at everything but Miguel, until it stops at the dented takeout box on his desk. “Is that…is the food still warm? Or have you already eaten in Earth-67? I forgot to ask in advance.”

He glares at you. “Are you seriously worrying about my lunch right now?”

“Well, what else am I supposed to say?” you shoot back. The anger in your tone is unmistakable. “‘Hey, Miguel, when was I supposed to know that we were a family in the dimension you accidentally collapsed?’ Does that sound any better?!”

“Believe me, I was going to leave you alone at first.” He grips the edge of his desk, resisting the urge to raise his voice. “But how could I do it after the way you reacted?”

“Oh, so it’s my fault? You could’ve easily said no! This whole time, I wondered why you were so willing to help me. I thought you were being nice, that you believed giving me a better life was worth all these risky accommodations. Was…was I wrong?”

Your voice cracks at the last part, and you hastily wipe your eyes. It’s reminiscent of your first meeting, the distressed shock which Miguel had never seen in his wife. Only that time, you had sought out his comfort.

“Tell me, was it because of her?” you whisper. Tears well up in your eyes, threatening to spill. “Is that all you’ve ever seen in me?”

“You have the wrong idea.” Miguel approaches you, but you instinctively back away. He raises his hands in a placating gesture. “If you would just listen to me—”

“How can I?!”

Your hand settles on your wrist, unconsciously fiddling with your Dimensional Travel Watch. The clasp loosens, and his reaction is immediate.

He grips your arm. “Don’t do that! You’ll get yourself—”

“Let go of me!”

You pull back, clawing at his wrist, but Miguel's grasp only tightens. His other hand taps the watch’s controls to activate the Lock feature.

“This is for your own good, ______." In the split second that he releases you, his webs shoot out and bind your limbs together.

“No!” You collapse onto the floor. The scarlet threads dig into your skin, emitting a harsh glow in the dark. “Please, just let me go!”

After everything he’s been through, he is not losing you again.

Ignoring the stab of guilt, he picks you up and salvages what is left of his composure.

“You see, this is why I didn’t tell you.” He sighs, already feeling the beginnings of a headache.

You’re still shaking in his grasp, tears rolling down your cheeks. “I…I’m not—”

His kiss easily silences you. It’s far from intimate but the sensations are familiar. Warm lips. The scent of your perfume. The addictive rush of euphoria. Physical and chemical reactions which couldn’t be adequately explained in words.

And the whimper that escapes your lips when Miguel pulls back to press a light kiss to your forehead.

“We can continue this conversation when we get home.”

vi. cobweb

Your days in the Spider Society are over.

Not permanently. Miguel says that you can resume work once you’ve calmed down, but you doubt it will happen under any pretense of freedom.

Since your confrontation, you’ve been confined in his home. As it turns out, Miguel had already prepared for this—locks, alarms, hidden cameras, a comprehensive speech which only elevates your horror.

“She wouldn’t want this,” you keep insisting. You writhe against your restraints, but the webs remain taut against your skin. “How would your ______ feel if she knew?!”

“She’s not here anymore.” Miguel looks away from your face, as though the reminder physically pains him. “What matters now is that I have you. The both of us can start over.”

“How can you say that?!” At this point, you’re on the verge of hysteria. “You…you don’t actually love me. You’re only doing this because I’m the closest you have to getting her back!”

The hand on your cheek makes you flinch. The gentle caress does little to soothe you, not with the underlying threat of his claws. His eyes flash red in the dim light, brimming with—what do you call it? Grief? Desperation? Obsession?

You can’t tell, not when those sentiments are for someone else.

“You only say that because you don’t know any better,” he says softly. His lips meet yours, trapping you in a deep kiss. “Now get some rest, mi sol. It’s been a long day, and we know how you get when you’re stressed.”

My sun. What a lie. Since when have you done anything to deserve such a title?

You can’t bother to fight back. You’re too tired to think, to resist the kiss, to move an inch as Miguel undos your restraints and tucks you into bed.

Instead, you close your eyes and retreat into slumber. But even in your last seconds of consciousness, his gaze is strongly felt.

-

As it turns out, Miguel really did consider all possibilities. Your Dimensional Travel Watch has an exclusive Lock feature, should you ever be tempted to escape him through death. It can only be removed during your scheduled baths, with LYLA acting as your timer.

You rarely talk to her, either. She clearly feels sorry for you, but not enough to help. She monitors your daily activity, keeps you company when Miguel is away, and tries to cheer you up. She has yet to accomplish the last task.

Against your better judgment, you ask her about your Variant. She is resistant at first, knowing the negative outcome, but you are persistent. In the end, LYLA decides that it’s better to show you a few videos than for you to ask Miguel directly.

…Your Variant is perfect. Pretty. Carefree. Successful. A calming presence. You can see why Miguel would fall for her, with how she effortlessly puts a smile on his face.

Among your Variants, isn’t there one who bears a closer resemblance to her? Or were they too important to leave without disrupting the Canon? Is that why he settled for you?

“You have a better sense of style,” LYLA offhandedly mentions. “It was Miguel who said that. And do you know that he calls you one of our best workers?”

It doesn’t make you feel any better. “I see. Thanks for letting me know.”

As LYLA predicted, the information only makes you feel worse. You can’t stop thinking about your other self. How did she turn out like that? How did she succeed in your failures? How has Miguel perceived his moments with you, as new memories or a replica of lost time?

You don’t want to ask him. You’ve had enough disappointments for one lifetime.

Neither do you make an escape plan. On the low chance that you succeed, you don’t have anywhere to go. The Spider Society, or most of them, is loyal to Miguel. And it’s not like you’d be better off in your dimension, back to your empty home and dead-end job and daily reminders of your insignificance.

At least here, you can feel valued. Even if you owe that to someone else.

꒰♡꒱

“I hate to say ‘I told you so,’ but I told you so.”

Miguel doesn’t look up from the screens. “Now is not the time for this.”

LYLA is anything but smug. ”Are you sure? Because you said that when I asked if you’d ever tell her the truth, and look where that went. A civil explanation might’ve been nice.”

“How is she?”

“No better than with you.”

The CCTV switches to the kitchen. By now, you've established a new routine—lie awake in bed, rearrange your room, watch TV, cook your own meals. It's repetitive but easy to follow.

He zooms in on the ingredients. “Do you see anything suspicious?”

“No potential poisons,” LYLA responds, equally focused. “Oh, is she cooking dinner again? Last night’s meal looked really good.”

“It probably helps. Gives her something to preoccupy herself with.”

In the end, you’ve chosen the docile route. You’re still tense around Miguel, but your behavior can’t even be counted as malicious compliance. You just go through your new routine, trying to create some semblance of normalcy in confinement.

Though internally speaking, he has no access to your thoughts.

“She’s quite different from his wife, isn��t she?” asks LYLA. “I like this version of ______.”

Miguel zooms in on you this time. In your current state, you’ve revealed more contrasts to his Variant’s wife. It actually doesn’t bother him in the slightest.

When did his feelings for you begin? Was it when he saved you? When he saw a spark of his beloved in you? When that spark turned out to be your own brilliance?

All he knows is that you’re the one who consumes his thoughts nowadays. Your distinct preferences, your little quirks, your quiet words, your uncertain expressions, your attitude towards him and no other Miguel.

...There must be a way to persuade you. If Miguel was able to play along with his Variant’s family, to the point that his love for them became genuine, the same can be said for you. He just needs to prove that you can and will be happy together.

The only thing missing would be Gabriella.

vii. sheet web

You’ve been promoted to Miguel’s bedmate.

His room isn’t much. It is dark, minimalist, often empty due to the nature of his work. There are zero mementos of his lost family, not even a framed photo or something of her influence.

They’re probably hidden somewhere. How considerate.

On most nights, you act oblivious to your new sleeping arrangement. You just say good night to Miguel, lie down on your side of the bed, and try to fall asleep as quickly as possible.

…That turns out to be more difficult than expected. Try as you might to feign sleep, you can’t relax in Miguel’s grasp. He holds you tightly in his sleep, your back pressed against his chest. You wonder if it is a familiar position or a means of keeping you close.

Lately, he has switched tactics. Movie nights have become a regular pastime. You’ve received permission to work from home, sans contact with the Spider Society. The two of you have even gone outside for a few dates, though his grip on your hand discourages any escape attempts. Awkwardness aside, he’s been more physically affectionate.

It’s absolutely jarring, but you’re somewhat grateful for the added comforts. If your choices are different from his wife’s, Miguel doesn’t seem to mind.

This should be fine. It’s better than when he was acting like an overprotective control freak…even if those methods had left no speculation as to who the intended receiver was. With this approach, you can never be sure if Miguel sees you or his wife in front of him.

You try not to dwell on it more than you already have. You’re still here. Your living conditions have marginally improved. Miguel doesn’t expect you to be more like her.

You just need to keep it together, like you always have.

That is what you keep telling yourself, up until the night Miguel asks for your thoughts on starting a family.

-

“No. Please, stop!”

Red. In the dark, all you can see is red.

The lurid color wraps around you, binding your wrists to the headboard. The webs are taut, no-frills, effective in their sole purpose of keeping you trapped.

No, what’s worse is Miguel. His gaze is trained on you, scarlet orbs alight with crazed desire and your own terrified reflection.

“Stop struggling,” he sighs as he pins you down. Blood decorates his bare arms, from where your scratches failed to stop him. “You’re only going to get yourself hurt.”

You continue, anyway, only to scream as he leans down and sinks his fangs into your neck. It hurts, the flesh burns, everything feels heavy—

You can’t move.

It doesn’t take long for the venom to kick in. The numbness spreads throughout your body, leaving you dizzy and helpless. Your limbs won’t cooperate at all.

Yet despite the paralysis, the pain stays with you. It’s the only sensation you can feel—the sharp ache in your neck, the chafing around your wrists, the sting from where Miguel accidentally scratched your thigh while tearing off your clothes.

“Mi sol, you are still tense,” he mutters. His lips remain on your neck, administering light kisses to the fresh wound. A clawed hand presses down on the bed, puncturing the fabric, to support his weight. “You need to calm down.”

You can only bite your lip as he moves on to your chest, tainting the skin with love bites. His other hand retracts its claws and strokes your stomach, tracing—are those patterns supposed to be her stretch marks?

Of course he memorized them. She must be on his mind right now.

You squeeze your eyes shut, but the ministrations continue. His thumb strokes your hip, eliciting a stifled moan, and the self-inflicted darkness gives way to the sight of Miguel’s irritated expression.

“You’re not listening to me, ______.” His eyes flash, daring you to try again. The sight of his exposed fangs, speckled with your own blood, triggers another wave of dread.

Should you even be surprised that he knows your sensitive spots? He already made it clear that any form of escape is in vain.

It's pure torture. It would be easier if Miguel would just have his way with you, use your body to his heart’s content, leave you to your thoughts. But no, he is taking his time and making sure that you physically enjoy this. Ensuring that you will be ready for what comes next.

“S-Stop.” Your lips are still numb, but you manage to form words. “I said…I don’t want this! I’m not ready!”

“Shh.” He silences you with another kiss, his palm pressing down on your stomach. “You’re only saying this because it’s our first time. You have to trust me.”

It’s hard to believe him when you know that his composure is slipping. What is he trying to hide? His ragged breaths? The hardness pressed against your inner thigh? The urgency with which he lifts your legs up onto his shoulders?

“You’ll understand once our child is here,” he says. He breaks off the kiss, his voice hushed to a reverent whisper. “We will be so happy, happier than you can ever imagine.”

“You’re lying…I can’t—!”

You can’t stand to look at him. His gaze is so cruel, clouded with love, adoration, hope. Skies, he looks so hopeful. You don’t want to wait for the day he looks at you differently.

Was this how he looked at her? How did she return his gaze? It must’ve been passionate. It must’ve been romantic. It must’ve been so promising.

“I can’t give you Gabriella!”

The world stops as soon as those words leave your mouth.

“...What did you just say?” Miguel stares at you, eyes wide.

Of all Variants, why did it have to be you?

That is when you burst into tears.

How humiliating. It’s hard to breathe, it must be an ugly sight, and you can’t do anything to cover your face. But it’s enough to make Miguel stop and listen to you.

“I can’t give you Gabriella,” you repeat in choked sobs. “It requires an exact time, specific cells and DNA. And even if we succeed, I can’t raise her into the child you knew. I...I can’t restore your family. I can’t be her.”

In the end, you will only disappoint him.

“______…” He raises his hand to wipe your tears, but you interrupt him with a glare.

“Honestly, why did it have to be me?!” you shout. “Why couldn’t you have found a better duplicate of your wife? This wouldn’t be happening if you’d chosen the right ______!”

He doesn't respond.

For a few seconds, all you can hear is your own pitiful weeping. You vaguely register the feeling of your legs hitting the mattress, of the absence of Miguel’s touch, but you keep your eyes closed. It’s easier that way.

Suddenly, there is the sound of threads snapping. Then the sensation of strong hands coming under your back, lifting you upwards, pulling you into an embrace.

Your eyes fly open. “What—”

“Ya, calladita.”

Miguel…is he hugging you? He holds you tightly, repeating the words in a hushed tone. The message is followed by a string of curses which, judging by the way he turns away from you, must be solely directed at himself.

Paralyzed, you can only stare down at your lap. At his webs, still wrapped around your wrists but no longer connected to the bed. “What are you—”

“Could you let me talk for a second?" he snaps. He tilts your face upwards, allowing you to take in his glare. “You are my first choice. Not the version of you from Earth-94, Earth-835, or any other dimension in the multiverse. It doesn’t matter that you are different from her.”

This can’t be true. “Still, I—”

“As for Gabriella, you’re right." There is a flash of resignation in his gaze, so sorrowful that it clashes with his words. “I knew that from the start.”

“...Then why?”

Your head spins. His hands are still on you, caressing your cheek and keeping you in his grasp. The numbness gives way to warmth.

“Well, it doesn’t change the fact that any child from you will be ours,” he answers. His voice softens, as does his gaze. “Just as you are mine and I am yours.”

The words get stuck in your throat. “Are…are you sure?”

How can he say such a thing? Your sense of hearing must be damaged. It is the only logical explanation as to why—

The look in his eyes leaves no room for doubt. “I promise.”

...What else can you possibly say?

Your vision blurs. Miguel is still speaking, another quiet reassurance from the sound of it, but it’s all static in your head.

What the hell are you supposed to do with this information? It’s beyond your comprehension, too subjective and unproven for the likes of you. And yet you feel…good. Happy. So, so happy despite everything you have been through.

Skies, you are truly pathetic.

No, what’s more pathetic is the way you cry harder and melt into Miguel’s embrace. It’s the way you listen to his remaining praises and beg him to keep talking. To list everything about you that is good and faultless and desirable to him, everything he thought was worth noticing.

And when he kisses you, you willingly reciprocate.

-

The darkness is soothing.

The dim lights cast the bedroom in shadows. It’s a blessing to your dizziness, your eyes tired from crying. With this obstacle to your vision, you can pretend that the previous hours never happened.

Almost. The soreness, the deft hands tending to your injuries, and the immense euphoria are impossible to ignore.

It’s also painful, unbearably painful now that the venom’s effect has fully worn off. You can only sit up and wince as Miguel disinfects another wound.

He looks up in concern. “Are you okay?”

“I am.” You give him a weak smile as he bandages your thigh and mumbles a second apology. “I feel better already.”

His own injuries are equally evident, from your hesitant love bites to the scratch marks on his back. As guilty as you felt, you could only say so much before Miguel silenced you with a withering look.

…You will make it up to him tomorrow. If you are still capable of walking.

The thought leads you to cry into the pillow, muffling your curses. If Miguel can understand you, he doesn’t say anything. Rather, he closes the first aid kit and holds your hand.

“I’ll draw a bath,” he tells you. “Can you wait for a few minutes?”

Your thumb brushes against his pulse point. His heart rate is frustratingly calm, perhaps slightly above average if you are to flatter yourself. Maybe you can count the number of beats and ask LYLA tomorrow. She will be happy to confirm it.

You meet his gaze, intertwining your fingers with his. “Sure.”

You’d like to think that his last kiss is another promise.

With that, Miguel stands up and leaves the room. As for you, you lie down and go back to screaming into the pillow. Tired as you feel, you haven’t felt this thrilled in years.

Then the spiderwebs catch your attention. They’re still stuck to your wrists, albeit frayed. There are loose threads from where Miguel broke them.

Red. Illuminating the dark, holding you close, keeping you safe.

Carefully, you pick apart the threads and twist them around your hand.

No string figures this time. Your technique is clumsy, irregular, lacking beauty and order. Nonetheless, you continue until your left hand is covered in a glovelike pattern.

The final knot is above your ring finger. It’s a perfect fit.

It is the prettiest thing you have ever seen.

♡

Author's Note ๑ Side Story 1 ๑ Prologue ๑ Epilogue ๑ Side Story 2

“I’m just going to write a short post to purge my brainrot,” I say, shortly before Miguel O’Hara unlocks a core memory of me reading The Spider and the Fly and inspires me to write 7.6k words with literary references.

Thank you so much to @diodellet for beta-reading this and @yanmaresu for helping me with the Spanish phrases!! As for my readers, I hope you enjoyed my take on Yandere! Miguel and his darling. Do entertain me with your comments and brainrot ⸜(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)⸝

Tag a Miguel O’Hara enjoyer!! @kocherry @yandere-romanticaa @yandere-daydreams @bweoo @h2o2-and-baking-soda @ansy-tea @yandere-wishes @weebsinstash @curesi @robindere @crystalcrynight @mrlidocaine @handsomeunderwear-art @blughxreader @chiikasevennn @fortheloveofleon

#miguel o’hara #yandere miguel o’hara x reader #yandere miguel x reader #miguel o’hara x reader #yandere spiderverse #spiderverse x reader #tw: yandere #tw: dark #tw: manipulation #tw: kidnapping #tw: blood #tw: violence #tw: suicide #tw: noncon #spicy warning #mdni #fem reader #yandere miguel o'hara #across the spiderverse #yandere miguel o’hara #yandere atsv #lyla #atsv x reader #atsv #atsv spoilers #atsv miguel #atsv lyla #spiderman 2099 #jessamine-writing

[madseance]

"God will put you in the right place": a mini-essay about Broadchurch and fate

[This obviously contains major spoilers for series one of Broadchurch, which you should really watch if you haven't, and should still watch even if you read this post anyway.]

Fate is tricky to work with in writing. We want to believe our lives have meaning; in fiction, we can set it up so that the characters’ lives do. This was always meant to happen, or all these things happened for this reason. But the possibility of fate can also undermine the characters’ agency. If all this is part of some unknowable higher plan, then the characters’ actions no longer come from who they are and what they want and think and believe. They’re just executing a script. It doesn’t mean anything to us anymore.

I think the mistake often made is that the fate question—of whether or not there is such a thing happening—is given too much power in the story itself. That the way it’s set up, either fate can be subverted and the characters really are in control after all, or the story is arbitrary and meaningless. Which really only leaves you one kind of story to tell: the one where the heroes defy fate. There’s nothing wrong with that kind of story, but it wears the concept out quicker when there’s only one major variant of it to play with.

What’s more interesting narratively is when the fate question, regardless of what you think the answer is, is decidedly secondary to the characters’ actions. When they engage with the idea, but the story still clearly hinges on what they do, and those things matter whether or not fate actually exists.

A really good execution of this appears in a kind of story you wouldn’t really expect to deal with fate: the first series of the ITV procedural Broadchurch. And it’s very much a minor point in the overall story, which involves the murder of a child in a small English coastal town and what that does to the community. But it’s used very effectively to draw together the threads of a character’s story and make sense of who they’ve been this entire time.

Alec Hardy (David Tennant) is a police detective who comes to Broadchurch just before the murder, a year or so after a high-profile case of his collapsed and took his marriage and his health down with it. From the outset, it’s clear that he does not want to be there: he hates everything about the place, and he doesn’t think the police department—including DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), who resents his disdain for her community and his taking the DI position she was promised—is competent to handle a murder investigation. The most pressing question about Hardy is why the hell he is there. Now and again an answer is offered: “You came here to lie low,” his Chief Super says, which he disputes; “It’s penance,” he tells the doctor who warns him that he’s driving himself to a very imminent early grave. Dragging himself back to work after a near-fatal heart attack, he insists to Miller, “I can still solve this. Otherwise, why am I still here?”

The status of DI Hardy’s religious faith is uncertain. When Miller asks him about it, he replies, “I pray nightly that you’ll stop asking me questions.” He attends church only to observe the behaviour of the townspeople, all of whom are potential suspects; he spars with the vicar over the church’s place in the murder investigation. He explodes at a self-professed psychic who claims to have received messages from the murdered boy, yet is visibly affected by the message the man has for him: “She says she forgives you about the pendant.” Despite declaring the man a charlatan and denying that the statement means anything to him, Hardy, desperate to solve the case before he’s removed for being medically unfit, contacts him again and asks for whatever he’s got. “You’ve been here before,” the psychic tells him.

The beginning of the end of the story takes place on the beach near where the murdered boy was found. Hardy—who, minutes before, was told by the Chief Super to clean out his desk, and responded with “I think I know who the killer is”—has called Miller to meet him there. He tells her a story that does not seem to have anything to do with anything.

“I was here before. On this beach. I came here as a kid. With a tent, some campsite near the cliff. I tried looking for it when I first came… Didn’t remember I was here till the day I arrived. It freaked me out. Those bloody cliffs still there, still the same. I used to sit under them and get away from my parents arguing. They kept bickering till the day Mum died. Last thing she ever said to me: ‘God will put you in the right place, even if you don’t know it at the time.’”

He sends Miller off to do something he knows is inconsequential, telling her before she goes, “You've done good work on this.” And then he traces the murdered boy’s mobile phone to the murderer, DS Miller’s husband.

The reason Hardy tells that story when he does is that he’s finally reached the end of it. When he figures out who the killer is, he also understands exactly how devastating that revelation will be. And he has his answer for why he’s there—why he’s in Broadchurch, on this case, still alive at all. Because Ellie Miller was supposed to be the DI, and it would’ve been her case to solve. She would be the one making these connections, tracking the mobile phone, confronting her own husband. Nobody in Broadchurch has ever dealt with a case like this; none of them are prepared for what it will do to them. He knows, which is why when he arrests her husband, DS Miller is in a closed interrogation room with a different suspect, and doesn’t know what’s happened until he takes her out of the interrogation and tells her himself.

Whether or not it’s true that Hardy was somehow meant to be there is not actually critical to the story. The only thing that matters is the meaning that he ascribes to it all, and how that carries him through to the end of his story. He knows that he’s dying. He’s wrapping up his affairs, which includes telling the local paper what really happened on that other case. (“Just do me a favour and tell the family first, will you? Just tell them I haven’t given up on Sandbrook, and that the case is still open.”) It’s significant that, in the story he tells Miller, his mother’s words were the last thing she said to him before dying. He needs them to be true, needs it all to have meant something.

What Hardy actually does at the end of the story has the same impact whether there’s any such thing as fate or not. He solves the case, but more than that, in some small way he’s able to mitigate some of the damage it does to Ellie Miller, because he’s been there before and can see it coming. That is meaningful to him. And it may be that he was able to do that because he was looking at the situation in a certain way, trying to figure out what needed to be done that he, personally, needed to be there to do. It doesn’t matter if the events that brought him back to Broadchurch, and reminded him of his mother’s last words, were fated to happen or a series of coincidences; they have meaning because he found meaning in them.

#broadchurch #fynn posts #update on the alec hardy situation: apparently still having an alec hardy situation #writing

[swimming-karyss]

Ace and Sabo in the sci-fi au!

I tried to keep Ace's description simple otherwise it'll be a wall of text. And Sabo is meant to be mysterious (I didn't really think things through with the composition...). Also Sabo's picture was finished like a month ago and meant to go with the Romance Dawn Trio, so it's just flat colors.... While with Ace I was testing a new way of coloring (and he was born after 9 moths normally so he's older!)

A close-up of the pretty pretty boy

More about Ace, Sabo, Whitebeards and RA under cut!

Ace was born in other star system and was brought on Earth by Garp, for the sake of safety. He spent his childhood mostly in the Wind turbines area/district, but as time went on he sometimes spent time at Makino's place (it's in the other part of the city. I'll talk about the Goa kingdom in the next sci-fi au post bc I want to draw a simple map for illustration purposes). He set out at 17, and after some time he joined the Whitebeards!

Also his arms were personally made for him, and have a rather unique feature. These dark bars on their sides are heat meters! So not only his punches hurt more because of the metal, they can also leave burns! And his hands are warm all the time, he gives great hugs :> the temperature is controlled consciously by Ace. I've been thinking that it'll be rather dangerous if he could accidentally activate it in his sleep, and considering his narcolepsy....

also a bit of, idk, worldbuilding?

I've been thinking about cybernetic modification, bc they are removable (Sabo has three, one human-looking, one to tinker with and one to do the tinkering. Why does Sabo suddenly have engineering skills? bc I think it suits him + backstory reasons (it's his parents and I'll tell about it later) + Dragon left him with Ivankov and Lindbergh for a year(there is no way Sabo would've had his cheerful and unbearable attitude if Dragon was the only one raising him) while he deals with some stuff) and if the ports are the same(realistic? no. but who cares) so prostheses are interchangeable, then what about their length? I think that simple models with no additional functions let you just adjust the length. And more complex variants are obviously made specifically for one person with their proportions in mind.

So about the Whitebeards... I didn't really know how to call them, like 'group'? 'Company' doesn't really sit with me... Let's go with 'organization' for now. Whatever, the point is the Whitebeards provide various services like protection (bodyguards and convoying merchant ships), delivering goods, technical maintenance, etc. They have so mush influence, to the point that some parts of habitable galaxy are considered their territory. (a bit like The Interastral Peace Corporation from hsr, but not so big and the WBs usually take more mediatory/intermediary role) It's no secret that the Whitebeards don't mind dealing with the criminal sphere or breaking some laws. They may very well be considered a criminal organisation, but the World Government can't do anything because WB is just that powerful. (plus they do have their rules and a certain code of honor, so they have a lot of respect from civilians and businesses alike) It's also the reason why some revolutionaries often turn to them when it comes to transportation (while some avoid it like fire because big organization=lots of attention)

I've mentioned that the WBs have their own values and code of honor, and I think one of the services they might provide is like mercenaries/headhunters in a sense they will either assist finding ppl who has wronged their business partners(and like if someone is willing to pay additionally for hunting specific criminals maybe?) or just doing it themselves. And Ace is a part of this division(so he's the one chasing Blackbeard), and he holds a rather high position? ( he would enjoy field work way more than paperwork)

In this au the Revolutionary army is much more decentralized, because the space is big, duh. The founder trio(duo now unfortunately) as well as the four commanders each is responsible for their sector of inhabited galaxy, but they still give the general reports to Dragon like monthly(and some teams are empowered to make their own decisions and come to the best conclusion without necessarily getting "approval" from up top). Sabo is mostly in charge of communication and distribution of information between the sectors, plus sometimes he deals with problems that are important enough to get them to higher-ups but not that important to go to Dragon with them. He's got quite a lot of work to do, but he still really really wants to go to field missions, so he does sometimes, I mean who would stop him? Above him only Dragon and God. And both have enough problems to deal with already.

So, as I mentioned, the RA is decentralized and doesn't have physical headquarters or a base (they have private protected servers tho and Dragon's cool spaceship lol but now that I think, the Wind Grandma is their base... it mostly moves around the galaxy away from most common travel routes. it's very protected and is difficult to detect) so the revs are scattered all around the world, in small groups that sometimes come together for missions but mostly work by themselves. And one of such groups is Sabo, Koala and Hack, although after Sabo's promotion it's mostly Koala&Hack with Sabo accompanying (hanging out with) them, for the sake of the legend they're keeping. He has to be online most of the time and doesn't really have time to go on missions :( And their legend ties to my hc of Sabo being keen on photography, so they pose as bounty hunters who also lead a travel blog for alibi. They either lay low actually traveling and camping or speedrun the designated area in a couple of hours taking photos, editing them slightly (there is when the acquaintance with Strawhats comes in handy, and they can commission Usopp to edit the sky, lightning, etc. and everyone is happy: Usopp gets pocket money, Nami gets additional income, Koala, Hack and Sabo get more time to prepare for the missions) and putting them on queue.

Their group is small and mostly relies on Koala's hacking skills, swift strikes on WG bases and ships and infiltrating official events and facilities.

#Ace #portgas d ace #Sabo #one piece sabo #oh god thats a lot of text huh #op fanart #op sci-fi au #one piece #fanart #art #karyss' art #I'm closer and closer to that asl picture

[loki-who-remains]

Well, Victor Timely sure knows how to draw attention and eventually make some money. And make me write another post on a partially scientific topic. I’m not an expert tho!

On the right side of the stage there's a sign, 'Electrifying achievement to harness the power of time'

And then he explains what the Loom does. 'My temporal loom inverts the temporal decay of the electricity flowing through it, lowering its entropy and gathering it into fine threads of power. Which it then weaves into elegant ropes of voltage. A chaos of particles is transformed into order.'

(I'm gonna assume he quotes OB's guidebook and not just wings it all randomly, because at least a part of what he says made sense to me)

In short, he says that the Loom can arrange matter into an ordered state. And that it not only uses electricity but also reproduces it in a form of threads and ropes. That would explain how the TVA operates outside of uh time and why it has power surges in s2e1. But it still leaves the question from where comes the initial energy to kick start the loom.

I believe that the temporal decay is synonimous to the increasing entropy. Entropy is a measure of how many ways there are possible to rearrange the same amount of matter without changing its 'shape'. Simply put, objects with low entropy can't be rearranged without being broken/reassembled. And those with high entropy can be rearranged without changing its form or shape, so to speak. Prof. Brian Cox compares the former with a sand castle and the latter with a pile of sand 👌 Another important point is that entropy inevitably increases over time: order becomes disorder. BUT. If we go back in time — and not like in Doctor who but like in Tenet — then we would observe entropy again, increasing relative to us (and not decreasing if we observe it from the present into the past).

Now, I think that raw time, as OB named it, is energy with high entropy and a physical timeline is rearranged energy with low entropy. When a timeline branches, entropy increases again. Also, temporal radiation means a form of energy that travels from a source through space.

(Side note. My initial guess was: to isolate a timeline HWR would need to have something threaded. Which would mean that the Loom came first. But when the timeline branches it creates more input INTO the Loom. And what’s more, in the end of s1 the Sacred timeline branches into a web which resembles the raw time. Just like Timely said, ‘the energy of the past, present and future flows all around us.’ And HWR managed to harness it to sustain his big project. So, raw time/sacred/other timelines exist as they are, and the Loom is just a tool to operate the former)

(Side note 2. The Sacred timeline doesn’t consist of just one universe. It’s weaved from multiple but strictly selected multiversal timelines. Otherwise we’d see minutemen in previous movies)

I can accept temporal auras which can help track and pull someone across space-time. Or temporal radiation, which is itself a fun concept. But what puzzles me the most is time being a form of matter. In our reality, at least according to the current physics, it’s a dimension. I can’t wrap my head around it. Even in a fictional way, i can’t explain it to myself. Because I experience time the same way people do in the show. I think here Timely either simplifies so to make people understand and buy his Loom or he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

And that’s why, until proven otherwise or explained by OB, I think that the Loom is first of all just a big power generator. The timelines are being pruned manually by time cops setting time bombs and arresting variants. Resetting a timeline means removing entropy that was created by a variant’s actions. The Loom generates energy for the TVA, people working there and their equipment. And maybe it charges Kang’s time chair.

The multiverse doesn’t need the Loom to function. Time flows on its own, entropy increases all the time, it’s far more inevitable than Thanos. Loom is a tool, it can be removed, repaired or upscaled. The TVA as organisation and people and city (?) all need it but, most of all, the person behind it.

#loki series #loki season 2 #loki spoilers #kang the conqueror #victor timely #he who remains #loki meta #LWR's theories

[astrxlfinale]

I think you'd pull off a great Amber, Jace. /nods intensely.

Okay, okay, okay, on a very serious note: and this may be an odd one, but for some reason he came to mind, Albedo. I mean honestly, it's likely because of the intense lore tied to his character, and you lose your mind over lore. Otherwise, in terms of 'dramatic'/theatrics, this may seem odd, but Lyney, I think you have a way of writing that could be perfect for him. And while not for the exact same reasons, I also want to note Venti for... well, semi-similar reasons, actually, even if they're wildly different kinds of 'dramatics'. And in terms of very, VERY odd ones out, but one I am wondering about very curiously now: Wanderer.

Hmm... 🤔

To think @araneitela threw down the gauntlet. Welp. My Wanderer it is. |

To be upon a mass grave of the divine, to try and cultivate life in the means of living in perpetual weakness. The same weakness that triumphed is false ascent.

Laughable. That fact has never changed to the Nameless roaming the vast deserts of Sumeru, another veritable grave where the living make their home.

An intentionally drawn mission has led him away from the eden made by Kusanali's hand and wisdom. To escape the lands of crisp emerald, to indulge in the barren lands that demand fortitude. Each step upon the crisp sand lead him closer to his goal, one that's burgeoned by a past displaced. To think it'd be the wave of crushing guilt that would've led to an even 'worse' circumstance. For him to be the bearer of many sins, all before countless eyes who have now forgotten.

Who was he to complain? As the loser, and now the prisoner, a natural law dictates that he comes to face the brunt of his punishments with diligence and whatever tattered grace that remains. Maybe that's why in a way, this land that simply grates its natural weight upon any and all, that demands for them to rise held a comfort in the depths of difficulty. It scratched an innate itch left in a pit of vast delusions once carried by his hand.

"..Hm?" A subtle shift in the wind, as if the sacred stance of Anemo offered a warning seconds before the situation itself arrives. The crackling roar of thunder barely eclipsed the scream of the weak he heard in the distance. A familiar sound, as he still remains a conductor of countless variants of that very noise, all from the throats of beast and man alike. As a bubbling frustration sears within his gut, he'd allow gravity's law to be removed like a shedded coat.

"Always the weak that intend to trespass their limitations."

He'd immediately zip from his current place and blast towards the west. Sophisticated builds of Anemo would serve as his makeshift and malleable wings, allowing him to cross the vast reaches of cliff sides, ravines and tomb like outcrops of rock within an instant, all for his predicted sight to internalized within his gaze.

A predator robbing the graves of the divine, all before the fragility of humanity.

Now just how many times has he seen such a scene play out?

"Is dying really such a temptation to you? Off the ground!" His order is drawn, causing the lost traveler to snap from their panic, prompting them to narrowly avoid the bone encrusted claw of a consecrated beast. The Wanderer's part begins amidst the scorpion's follow up attack.

Once heated grazes of Anemo immediately escalate, losing that desert bred warmth and acclimating to a will of wrathful zephyr. The Wanderer's turned the amiable winds into a set of carnivorous fangs, eroding at the beast's assault as within a snap moment of exertion, that entire arm of the beast found itself bisected, it's claw shattered as a fountain of ichor spilled from it's veins.

"Already lost your own sentience. Pathetic." Draws his scathing remark. Just as the abomination recoils from the shock and force, it'd immediately be stalled, as if an invisible hand amidst the mind numbing pressure had frozen it in place. What was once a sight of awe for the traveler immediately turns into horror, as the sight before him was elevated into a scene of carnage. The dome of wind sealed this beast's fate. Enduring cuts and crushes until its entire frame was reduced to a bloodied paste.

Anemo within his Authority would give it's victory cry through piercing gale, contently accepting another sacrifice as the turquiose light of his Vision rings a somber melody.

Only then would the Nameless make his landing, the mere reaction of the rescued being to immediately scurry away causing a subtle chuckle to bubble forth. Predictable. Before greater power, what was the lesser's response than to fear?

"Be frightened as a potential meal, terrified at someone who saves you fate from such. Aren't you boundless in that greed of such an avid reaction?"

"...Who!"

All it took was the unnatural sharpness of his eyes to halt any such commentary.

The one once known as Scaramouche remains well versed in eliciting such emotion.

"Enough. If your life is valuable enough to avoid calamity, but worthless to the point you refuse to refine your method of survival, crawl back to the home you scurried from. You won't get a second chance." In many ways, a brief reflection of his own vulnerabilities, once held, and countless still enduring are reflected within those eyes. Is this what introduces the Archons insistence in allowing his fangs to defy this world to wane? Valuing this.. helplessness?

Even if Kusanali insists is where the a golden thread of purpose can lie for him. As always, he believes she's too soft upon the flock of humanity underneath her banner in Sumeru.

And thus, he departs.

_________

Okay so with me getting that out of my veins. Let's break down a few thoughts! Amber I can actually see myself slipping into the shoes off well enough. In terms of Albedo and Venti, I'd motion them more towards interesting case studies for me look into. Honestly speaking, the Lore aspect of a character, despite how invested I can be in them, holds a disconnect of whether I can get into the driver's seat.

Where we'd take dramatics, I'd actually refer to this as 'Reaction.' I do genuinely enjoy characters who can live in their intensity or their warmth. This is what makes it difficult for me to play characters who are required to hold their cards close to their chest professionally. So for Lyney! I'd see me enjoying doing the bombastic note of his magic shows, but not really much beyond that. -.o

As for the Wanderer? Well, I hope the above speaks for itself. LOL. I can do something with that.

#araneitela #| Shuttle Mail #| Meme #My hands must be stopped

[stevenbasic]

Growing into the Job, Post 386: Shipping Notice

Agent FHMA003 aka Subject F0000013a-KK aka Program 0920/2.33xx aka Kathe Klix aka “Kathy” was at her desk. She had a precious few moments alone in the accounting office and without the nattering of the Wade girl or even the chatter of Agents 012 and 013. Kathe liked it quiet. She had spent the last nine weeks as Accounting Office Lead at Far Horizons Medical Associates and - though a far cry from the more daunting responsibilities of her previous assignments in Berlin, Bonn and Frankfurt - she understood that this mission was a key one. That’s why they’d left it to her, a type of Leutnant here. 

The assignment location here was once a small but generally thriving Geriatrics Practice in the Midwestern states of the USA. She’d been given its history before being embedded and told that her training and experience in weaponized finance would make her a useful player. It had been her responsibility to help transform it, with the blessing of its majority owner, the blonde American attorney, into a shell for another of her company’s new clinical arms. 

In her short time in the position she had - quietly and systematically - dismantled any and all economic independence the practice once enjoyed, drained its accounts and reorganized its finances, all under the nose of its head physician. It was now absolutely dependent on Evolution Pharmaceuticals (and thus the mother company) and a steady supply of grants to maintain its week-to-week solvency.

Like so many other businesses, Far Horizon Medical Associates had become like a zeck, a tick on the fleshy flank of KOLECTV, sucking on the Movement for nourishment. Kathe had done this all without raising as much as a word of concern from the male, who could have been a nuisance but was too caught up in his new affair with Subject MM1-A, too geprägt by her charms to even notice - or at least complain. Not her concern, either way. The practice was soon to be reborn in a new vision, the wheels had already been set irrevocably into motion: “Far Horizons” was to become much more than a small, specialty medical practice, or even just the expanded facility that would open its doors next week. Soon it would be a brand known across the USA, and then worldwide, transformed into an instrument bringing the mother company’s programs to the new world order. It was now partly her job to help prepare for it.  Speaking of, the email alert on her secret phone had just sang out in a <ping>….

Agent FHMA003 and her HR team would be responsible for the new payrolls, tax forms, and otherwise helping to get these New Women set up in their lives here. She also needed to finalize and secure funds for new construction in the recently purchased local annex buildings and interstate satellite kliniken, as well as the upcoming media events. Plus I need ein dress for this party on freitagabend. She’d be expected to go.  She put away the phone and allowed herself a rare, little smile. It was strange. As a previous recipient of a Program variant, years ago, Kathe was mostly immune to the psychological influence of Subject MM1-A. Like the other Program agents embedded here, she hadn’t been drawn as strongly into the social group that had formed, partly by design. She didn’t go to their house parties, she didn’t go out to the bars. She was not only nearly twenty years older than most of them, but she had known she should try not to get too attached. But she couldn’t help but admit that she had developed an affinity for the girl, for the hive, and - admittedly - for the male. Well, haha, maybe more than mere affinity. The visions had started as dreams, as  fantasien, and the urges began soon after she started here, but always involved him…

<<image removed, tumblr guidelines. Kathe tending to him. See Patreon :) >>

...But she knew she could not allow her urges to keep her from her tasks, at least for now. She was beginning to get an idea what this bienenstock could become, and the heights to which they were all about to arise. This weekend's festivities would be a celebration of that, but just the beginning. 

And, plus, the new busengröße will look nice in a little black dress.

=============================================

#growingintothejob

[nullvoidface]

Thinking about how in Denmark. In 2014. Wolves reintroduced themselves to the country after 200 years of being extinct (they walked across the border from Germany, apparently the Wild Boar Fence was not enough to stop them<3)

And it sent the country into a heated discussion where you were either PRO or ANTI wolf.

Anyway I don’t remember when, but eventually some farmer SHOT a wolf, despite this being HIGHLY illegal (i forget the details but he was basically in literally no danger).

And this one guy gets super mad about it, so what do we call him? The Wolf Champion. (Kinda, sorta, “the man who fights for the wolves” doesn’t flow off the tongue nearly as well as Ulveforkæmperen). His name is just as metal though, it’s “Storm Balderson” (am I biased because my name is equally as Norse?? Probably)

So he’s like threatening these people and obviously that’s illegal, so like maybe don’t do that. But also as an autistic person with low empathy I sort of don’t care like these people killed an adult wolf despite wolves having extremely tight-knit family structures where the parents teach their pups everything for at least two years.

Also this all happened in Ulfbeck. Aka Wolf Creek.

And THEN- it becomes spring and this man, this Champion of Wolves, he decides he has to do something as news pop up about the puppies being born.

So he decides to grafitti a church?? (Denmark is not very religious, don’t let the stat of “oh 70% of danes are members of the church” fool you, this is just to make burial easy cause otherwise you can’t go to a graveyard with your family when ya die)

What did he write on the façade of the church?? I’m so glad you asked.

“Blood is not forgotten.” And “Nature before humans.” Absolute banger poetry if you ask me.

So then eventually he’s arrested, and the police is like “??why????”

And ofc the Wolf Champion explains that he did this to get the attention AWAY from rhe pups.

So he gets 40 days in jail, which like…whatever….who cares, removing the graffiti was probably like- a bucket of water and at most two hours of pay for some dude, the tax money certainly isn’t being used to properly take care of the churches so at least they managed to find a use for ‘em.

ANYWAY- skip to the pandemic and I become rather big on Danish Queer Tiktok (yes every genre of tiktok FYP has country specific variants) and somehow I wake up to him FOLLOWING my account. At first I’m like “??” Cause I’m faceblind and I see someone looking scandinavian (idk if american’s get what I’m saying, but Europeans probably get it??) with a lot of tattoos and I think “oh god it’s a nazi” but no. It was him. The Champion of Wolves.

(For guidance: Norse tattoos + Speaks english really well = Nazi. BUT Norse tattoos + Sounds like the swedish chef a bit when speaking english OR like they have a throat conditiom?? = probably just a scandinavian nerd who thinks Valhalla is really cool as a concept)

And he was watching my videos singing about how my internal dialogue has been replaced with Hank Green for two weeks.

The world is small, but Denmark is like a leaf in the garden of life.

#me #denmark

[thekaijudude]

Ok this actually made me sat up straight here

Recall the latest leaks that stated the main antagonist Zungil was the one that summoned Bazanga and Gevalka to Earth

And rmb that Bazanga's ep 1 title was "First Wave". And Gevalka here is outright stated to be the 2nd wave

And its also stated that Zungil is a human, which the Chief of Staff is likely in contact with

But what's Zungil's motive bringing said kaiju to earth? And why is the Chief of Staff working with him?

And if we wanna tie in to the 2nd last leak, is there any connection between Zungil and Valaron? And how does Earth fit into all of this?

Imo if both leaks are true, perhaps Valaron is some "Ultraman-like" being that has been lurking around Earth for whatever reason (might be tied to rivalry with Blazar's species?) that also has the ability to merge with humans, and after the fight with Blazar 3 years ago, decided to also merge with the human Zungil and aims to take out Blazar remotely by summoning kaijus instead?

Essentially some form of Dark Lugiel like plan to remove Blazar so he can do whatever he planned to do.

Tho if Valaron was able to be damaged by Blazar 3 years ago, enough to remain in hiding, how would he be strong enough to fight Fadoran Armour Blazar?

Or maybe Zungil is the antagonist all along, calling in Bazanga, Gevalka and even Valaron in the end for whatever reason

Recall that we are also gonna see Gevalka's evolution, Brood Gevalka soon so considering its an evolution, it either has to be externally powered up, or its a natural evolved variant of Gevalka. Either way, it has to be summoned somehow, so what we're seeing here is probably 3rd wave

But notice even if one scans through all the leaks, you'll still find 2 trademarked names missing, Zuzugan and Irugo

Zuzugan is probably the kaiju with scythes which looks alien enough to be say a 4th wave

Otherwise I have no idea how Irugo falls into all of this since his name is nowhere to be found in all of the subsequent leaks

Tho I've heard that Irugo is gonna be the Blazar movie boss but then again another leak stated that there's no news on a Blazar movie, only a New Gen 10th Anniversary movie. So maybe still a movie boss?

But there's no reason we should be hearing about movie boss this early either which is very weird

#ultraman #ultraman blazar

[stormvanari]

i bring thee a bunch of random TC facts i made:

-Beetle Milk is a variant of Spider Milk. It tastes like almond milk.

-Sonore can only sleep when there’s too much noise, such as a thunderstorm

-The reason why Darian and Loopy have similar bow ties is because the former councilor’s is a gift from Loopy. Darian’s was given after rescuing the to-be Abomination Councilor on the run from the Emperor’s Coven, who were trying to brand her.

-Adding to above, Loopy was one of the many missing (wild) witches until reappearing in post-WAD (before the Epilogue)

-With the exception of Cherry and Ilya, none of the Titan’s Councilor joined a coven

-Ilya was one of the researchers during the early stages of the sigil-removing process.

-Jerbo is still working under the Titan’s Council, even after RED stepped down from their seats

-Dracord is a BI version of Discord. The Titan’s Councilors have a private and personal server where things get a bit too silly (all 9 are there only)

-Darian’s ability is fueled by memory. He can only summon weapons he knows, including how they work. Otherwise, his tail and basilisk form are his only weapons. Darian has an assload of images of rifles in his mind

-Salty is a member, specifically a first mate, of Sonore’s “Demon Realm Expedition.” You can say they’re on the same boat (literally), and it’s evident that the two demons became friends after their first few missions beyond the Boiling Sea together

-Loopy can literally make finger puppets. As a master Abomination witch, crude appearances of witches she knows are shaped on each of her fingers, and the hair that has this can combine into two “hand (or hair, in Loopy’s case) puppets” for each pigtail

-Ilya and Cherry go way back in Talarus Institute, the former as an ex-principal and latter as one of the Healing Councilor’s students. Becoming members of the BI’s new government felt like a school reunion, but a bit awkward because Cherry’s temper...well, worsened the last time Ilya saw them before the tryouts and the school fire.

-While Ilya demonstrates apathy in the present, deep inside is a small group of emotions he tucked away after the burning of TI’s original incarnation. Those emotions began to leak out once he works with Cherry in the council, sometimes showing bits of his therapist-like side

-Yurei used to work in a similar job like that one ghost(?) demon that Eda hired to spy on Raine

-There was skepticism regarding Darian becoming an Illusion Councilor, but the basilisks’ votes helped him: *upon recognizing that pretentious voice on the crystal ball* “HE’S ALIVE????”

-Jasmine is quick at catching things flying at a speed of a bullet

-Cherry calls the fruits they’re allergic to as “shitrus”

-Ripley used to write fanfiction a lot as a track student, and she still does as an adult!

-Ripley’s a lesbian

-Yurei’s agender (applies to its corporeal form in the Ghastly Ages)

-Loopy’s aunt, who currently works as the manager of the Bonesborough Carnival, was the previous Abomination Coven Head before Darius. Thus, Loopy worked as a ringmaster and this former role made her a primary candidate for the Titan’s Council

-Yurei is described as the leader of the council, due to its no-nonsense nature

-Combining the fury of Darian and Sonore is the most terrifying combo the BI will ever see: it’s gonna be the storm of a lifetime

-A single swing of whatever Berylis wields (ex: brewball stick) can explode a griffin

-Jasmine has yet to snap

-Of all the councilors, Gus barely interacts with Loopy (hint: coulrophobia)

-Aside jazz, Sonore’s also a metal (music) fan

-Ripley originally worked as a part-time librarian

-Darian currently lives in a town near the University of Wild Magic (in order to reconnect with his old basilisk buddies)

-Jasmine has amazing survival skills. However, she slowly “withers” when exposed to snow for a long time

-Darian doesn’t know who this “Meep-0” humans have been referring him as, since they claim the stranger has a striking voice as the “floating British roomba”

-Since the rebuilding of the BI, Cherry has been going to therapy for a while. Being part of the council made them mellow out slowly.

-Ilya hates going up on slopes by foot

-Berylis technically acts like the Announcer from the SSB series (4 and U)

-If the Coven Heads represent the BLU team, then the Titan’s Council are the RED team:

Offense: Berylis (Scout), Sonore (Soldier), Loopy (Pyro)

Defense: Cherry (Demoman), Ripley (Heavy), Darian (Engineer)

Support: Ilya (Medic), Jasmine (Sniper), Yurei (Spy)

#titan’s council #toh oc #oc #loopy crulle #sonore skual #ripley wolsteen #berylis gelumbera #ilya jelyses #darian vernworth #yurei omiku #jasmine kulatai omiku #cherry zitrino #i typed these as i did my college work #loopy ‘lUCKilY I can disappear into aNY rOLE’ crulle

[invictarre-archive]

since I’ve seen a lot of takes about the journeys leon vs. alain battle, I figured I’d give my blog-canon perspective. this can, of course, be changed* depending on my writing partner’s preferences and headcanons, but in general this will be how I view that fight

*bolded parts are non-negotiable. they are fundamental parts of leon’s character/story and are too important to remove.

--

So, why did Leon have such an easy time with Alain? It’s honestly pretty simple.

Alain is nowhere near Leon’s level and was never going to pose a challenge regardless of what he did. The Gigantamaxing of Rillaboom even proved that: Leon didn’t need Char at his full power and had no intention of pretending otherwise. While he’s an entertainer at heart and loves to play with his opponents, he doesn't have endless patience. In an easy (and, dare I say it, boring) match, he’s going to want to get it over and done with as soon as possible. Get the GMax in there for the audience excitement, and when that’s out of the way, bring Char out and let him steamroll the rest.

And on top of the obvious strength difference, Alain was so predictable. Leon see his entire strategy laid out in front of him, and it was easy to take that knowledge and use it against him. As I have said before, Leon and Char are so in sync that they become one entity in battle. Having to outsmart them both is no small feat, and he can count on one hand the number of people who’ve managed to do so.

I mean, Leon’s the Monarch for a reason. He’s the current strongest Trainer in the world, of course he’s going to be overpowered as shit.

For the final point: Alain’s Mega Charizard isn’t even the first one Leon’s ever faced. While his exhibition match against Dani didn’t go as planned, he naturally would have done hours of research on the variant's typing, stat tendencies, typical movesets, etc. etc. before the big day.

#no hate to alain bc I think he's alright; but leon really kicked the shit out of him #pull the sword from the stone and start forging your own legendary stories | headcanons #pokemon spoilers #not really since this is over a month old but !!! just in case

[yournightowl]

Your Nightowl#012

For some reason I had it in my head that credit scores have always been a thing.

Okay well we probably know why i’d think that (like because there's an entire century worth of Mark-Ops telling me and everyone that else that Corporations are, have been, and always will be in power because that’s where they belong) (-∧-；) but let’s take it slow.

For as long as there’s been money, there’s been people who are good to lend to and people who aren’t. But the fact is, you don’t really know which is which just by looking at someone. You can try and base it on reputation, but that's just a house of dominoes- the first person to miss a payment makes everyone else look like an asshole. 

Of course, if its your job to lend people money, you can’t go to your boss and say “it’s a crapshoot”. You have to say “we’re working on reducing risk” and “we’ve got a new assessment system,” and other bs that tries to put chaos in a box by saying “chaos is a number” and claiming that you can solve for it.

So, The Credit Score comes in (which wasn’t really such a big deal until Pre-Screening became so important, but it’s all been rolled into the same thing for a hundred years now).  And this all becomes needlessly complicated so that you can have people whose job it is to explain it to you, or do it for you, and in that way we get unemployment down another .0001%. 

Popular theory says that the Social Point part came in much much later, like a subtle corruption, but from what i’ve been reading back here on the oldnet (which again, also has misinformation, but misinfo’s easier to spot when no one’s bothered to update it in a couple decades), the social aspect was there from the beginning. 

Because the core idea behind the credit score is risk minimization, and risk minimization is just a slightly longer name for Control. Uncover the unknown, account for the variables, remove the uncertainty, and you have perfect Control.

(Starting to sound a little Anarch-y. But bear with me.) (＋_＋)

i think that’s why it snuck up on people. It’s easy to look across the border and point at other countries, and say that their Credit Scores are evil and dystopian. It’s a lot harder to go digging for the seeds of technofascism embedded around you. 

Maybe its impossible. We can criticize it in broad terms, and complain about it in hindsight, but if something could be done about it

Would we have gotten to this point?

i bring all this up because of this week’s news. It got buried over pretty fast with dummy results, but here’s the long and short of it as best i can summarize:

There’s no Single Credit Score, here or in any other country. Because it’s really about Control and not accuracy, the more individual credit scores out there the better; the more Numbers attached to you the easier you are to keep track of.

Credit Scores are never assigned by the state, and always by private organizations. They’re given tacit approval by the state whenever one or more state programs makes use of Credit Scores.

 If you’re in the business of generating Scores, getting a nod from the State is really all you care about. You’d sell your own grandma to get onto those forms.

LUCR was a Credit Score variant assessed by the Lucrex Accreditation Association, which was very visibly a Cell corp, so the trail ends there. But it was legit enough to be used by the State when assessing an individual’s immigration application.

It has to be legit, because otherwise the State wouldn’t use it, right?

Wrong. LUCR was bogus. The algorithm they used was less accurate in predicting how likely an individual was to make their monthly payments than flipping a coin (Which is almost impressive).

Judging by how fast LUCR got wiped from the first 10% of all search results, i’d say the state was not happy about this. So maybe heads will roll? Yay! (ノ><)ノ

Probably not, for reasons we’ve already discussed, which have to do with the general unfairness of the world we live in.

i’d put odds way above 50% that none of those affected immigrants are getting their applications re-submitted, though.

Maybe they’re better off. Believe it or not, I’m starting to think this country sucks.

And maybe all countries suck??? (￢_￢)

The blogger without a nation,

Your nightowl

#unfiction

[jimclassicstoycollection]

Transformers

Buzzworthy Bumblebee

Worlds Collide

by Hasbro (2021)

I got real lucky with this set.

Hours after being announced on TFW2005.com’s forums on 07-26-21 about being spotted in a Target in New Jersey I decided to stop by that very same store, and found two remaining, so I picked it up.

The Worlds Collide set was an unexpected treat!

It was a four pack of Transformers consisting of three deluxe class figures and one voyager class.

Part of the Buzzworthy Bumblebee toyline it features a variant of Bumblebee, Predacon Blackarachnia, the headmaster Decepticon Fangry, and a new comer to Transformers mythos Nemesis Primal. Not Nemesis Prime, mind you, PRIMAL, and evil version of the Maximal Optimus Primal.

Let’s get started.

I’m not about to bury the lead here, I’ll start with my favorite...

Nemesis Primal:

Nemesis Primal is a repaint of the Kingdom toy of Optimus Primal figure, and I really like it!

The beast mode is gorilla with black fur, and purple skin. Otherwise it’s the same toy, and it’s really good. The joints are tight, he poses and stands well too.

-Beast Mode

-Bot mode

Nemesis Primal in bot mode is even better! He’s got a new head sculpt, which is the Optimus primal head, but with a closed mask instead of the open one from the Kingdom figure. It looks really good!

He’s got the usual articulation, and has blast effects ports, you can even see a tiny Predacon badge on his chest plate. Nemesis Primal is an awesome figure!

Fangry:

Next up is a deluxe class of the headmaster (or Titan Master now) of the Decepticon Fangry.

-Beast Mode

Fangry is a heavy retool of Titans Return Twinferno, and other two Monsterbot retools; the all share the body core section.

Fangry is a werewolf with bat wings. He was my original and first headmaster toy as a kid, so he was probably also my favorite.

Though the beast mode is blocky it is also okay. He’s got many shared parts as Twinferno such as the body core, the legs, and wings. He’s got a cool wolf head which looks organic, just like his G1 toy.

The headmaster Brisko sits in a compartment in the wolf belly, and can be removed by opening the hatch.

-Transformation

Is pretty basic, however once you start doing so you might notice some of the thin, and weird feeling plastic. This toy is a heavy retool, and I’m not sure if Hasbro used the best materials for it. It’s a little concerning.

-Bot Mode

Once you get Fangry into robot he looks really, really cool. He’s just this hot pink and black robot with a green face, and I totally dig the look.

However referring back to shoddy materials mentioned in the transformation they’re still present for the robot mode. He’s got loose joints such as elbows and knees. Fangy cannot stand well without having to point he knees away from each other. It’s very frustrating, and prevents me from making poses and such. It’s such a shame because I love his look.

Since Fangry didn’t come packaged with a weapon, I decided to give him his mini Titans Return figure configured into weapon mode for him to wield. Why not?

Unfortunately the gun mode is not blast effect compatable.

Brisko:

Brisko is a the head mast partner. He looks good, and has a painted face. That’s just about it for him.

Here’s comparison of Worlds Collide Brisko next to his Titans Return version. Pretty much the colors are inverted and the new one has a silver face. Otherwise it’s the same mold.

Bumblebee:

Bumblebee here is the odd man out for this set. Being the only Autobot among Decepticons and Predacons, in my opinion he’s also the weakest of this set too.

This Bumblebee is in the Cliffjumper body of the Earthrise one.

The car mode is basically the Cliffjumper body but in bright yellow. It rolls well, and the accessories attach to the car mode just fine.

-Vehicle Mode

You can have the bazooka peg onto the roof just fine. 

The car mode has water ski mode, just like all the other figures of this mold can do.

Comparing Worlds Collide Bumblebee to Earthrise Cliffjumper

Comparing Worlds Collide Bumblebee to Earthrise Bumblebee.

-Bot Mode

Bot mode is basically Bumblebee’s head on a yellow Cliffjumper body. OKay. that’s it.

I’m sorry, but that’s a little dull to me. 

What I think was a missed opportunity was Hasbro could have made a new head sculpt for BB based on his original G1 toy, the one with the battle mask.

OR what would have been a good idea was attach the Cliffjumper head to the yellow body and make a yellow Cliffjumper. OR used Earthrise (Volkswagon) BB (head and all) just deco him all read, making red Bumblebee.

You G1ers out there, I’m sure some of us remember the rare red BB and/or yellow Cliffjumpers. I have a couple of them.

All I’m saying is that there were other options Hasbro could have taken, instead of such an un-imaginary one.

A hive of Bumblebees

Blackarachnia

Blackarachnia is a spider which colors are based, roughly on the the original toys. The colors are two shades of purple and gold (and I think I mis-transformed her beast mode,  but I don’t really car). I really like this deco.

-Beast Mode

-Bot Mode

Final Thoughts:

Thoughts? I live this set. The Worlds Collide set was briefly hinted at one day online, and then like a week later was just rushed onto the store shelves. I was one of the lucky few to get my hands on it first, and I think it’s great!

#toys #action figures #transformers #buzzworthy bumblebee #hasbro #Bumblebee #fangry #nemesi primal #blackarachnia #predacon #nemesis primal

[umbrahighpriestofgiratina]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

I'm going to talk a bit about my plans for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet now but first, a foreword. 

-----

I'll be honest. I was never all that big a fan of Nuzlockes. 

I never got the appeal. I had no need for the added challenge and all the restrictions and caveats of a Nuzlocke run just seemed more frustrating to me than fun. 

And it honestly very much seems like Pokemon playthroughs of any kind are dominated by Nuzlockes, to the point part of why I do my big livelog events is to put more non-Nuzlocke Pokemon playthrough content out there. And yet. And yet. 

I know I just complained about Pokemon playthroughs being dominated by Nuzlockes, and it's true and I should say it, but at the same time I do. In fact. Enjoy watching and reading Nuzlockes even if they never seemed like my thing to actually play? Shout out to @/kynimdraws , @/helloyellow17, @/alephnull47 , and Failboat here. And a while back @/enigma-boi told me of a Nuzlocke variant that actually sounds... fun?

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet approach. 

And for this liveblog. I'm selling out. 

Umbra Plays Pokemon Violet: Wonderelocke Edition

(Not Really) Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is this exactly?

A. It's me posting my reactions to Pokemon Violet in real time on Tumblr and Twitter! This also includes ficlets, fanart, and on Twitter specifically screenshots! And this time IT'S A SURPRISE TRADE NUZLOCKE!!! -children cheering- Q. What Nuzlocke rules are you using?

A. See here! (remove spaces): h t t p s : // bit . ly / 3zqDzvy 

Q. How much do you know about the game going in?

A. I'm trying to go into this one completely blind this time! Including none of the new Pokemon that aren't pre-release.  If anyone spoils literally anything non-pre-release for this game without me asking about it, including new Pokemon or mechanics, and ESPECIALLY STORY SPOILERS, I will come to their house and decompile their lemons. THIS INCLUDES STUFF THAT WAS LEAKED LONG BEFORE RELEASE

Q. Do you accept gameplay advice?

A. Usually only when I'm stuck, or asking for advice, or something is coming up I should probably be warned about. Please do not try to crit my gameplay choices otherwise. 

Q. What about spoilers?

A. Spoilers will be hidden and/or tagged, depending on the platform. Please do not tell me spoilers. Anyone giving me spoilers for this game will be met with the punishment of getting their kneecaps grated.

Q. Is there a nickname theme for the Pokemon? Can I suggest nicknames?

A. No nickname theme this time! Didn't feel right for a new generation. So while I won't necessarily use them you can suggest whatever nicknames you want, as long as they aren't like,slurs or some shit like that

Q. I don't want to see this on my timeline/dash. What should I do?

A. If you're on Tumblr, mute "#Umbra Plays Pokemon Violet" with your tagblocker of choice. Twitter uhhhhhhh I guess just mute me until it's over

Q. Who's the protagonist this time?

A. You'll seeeeeeeeeee.

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #umbra plays pokemon violet #miraidon #smoliv #klawf #greavard #original character

[sxturdaysun]

since I'm on an ace attorney kick lately: ✍️📝🏷️❤️💞🛌💘🙈💌 for you and phoenix!!

aaaaa thank you!!! i'm always happy to talk about my lawyer husband <3

✍️: overall, how does the fandom trait you? are you a beloved character, or hated? are you popular, or a minor side character? anything in between?

my insert is a secondary main character in the trilogy and a major side character in AA4 through AA6, which makes her fairly popular amongst the fanbase! that said, though i think she would be generally liked and thought of positively, i also think she'd experience something of the Phoenix Treatment — where, despite having overwhelming amounts of screentime, she gets overshadowed by other characters and tends to fall by the wayside more often than not. her stans definitely lament this in their own circles — "koda is just as much of a main character as the others! she's more than just shipping fodder for phoenix!"

📝: how would your story in canon go? how would you influence the events of the original story?

my insert has a role (major or otherwise) in every mainline game and even the layton spin-off, so i'll try to condense her story as much as possible:

prior to the events of the games, koda chromata is a college student studying to become a lawyer. during her third year of schooling, she starts interning at grossberg law offices, eventually being taken under the wings of both mia fey and diego armando with the two — especially the former — becoming mentors to her. while shadowing mia, she meets phoenix wright for the first time while he's on trial for murder; and later, once they're both fully fledged lawyers, they start working together as partners.

this partnership lasts throughout the events of the trilogy until phoenix is disbarred and he subsequently — seemingly — disappears off the face of the planet. with nowhere else to go, koda is hired on by kristoph gavin, where she spends seven years reluctantly working for him. he allows her to act as apollo justice's co-counsel during his first trial, in which she re-meets phoenix after trying to find him for so many years. her role in AA4 is mostly kept to the background, but she does take her place by phoenix's side once more, with the two finally officially dating. this stays the same in both AA5 and AA6, though in the former they're engaged, and by the beginning of AA6, they're married.

save for a very small handful of changes (her being kidnapped instead of maya; her replacing kristoph as apollo's co-counsel for 4-1), she doesn't affect the greater plot or events of any of the games.

🏷️: what is you and your f/o’s ship name?

just a mash-up of our names — kodanix is probably the most popular one because it sounds cool lol, with wrightmata being another variant of it for those that prefer using last names instead.

i also like to think there's some small number of people that do that old school "otp:" stuff with us. probably something like otp: it was always you or something else that makes me cry my eyes out.

❤️: how popular is you x your f/o? are you a rarepair?

we're super popular, actually <3

it kind of comes with the territory — my insert has been by phoenix since the beginning. since before the beginning, actually, if you think about it. even removing the romance from it, our characters are ones that are so intrinsically connected that it's difficult to separate us from each other fully. shipping us in some way — whether it be romantic or platonic — just comes naturally.

it also helps that we're canonically married by AA6 <3

💞: aside from with your f/o, who else would you commonly be shipped with? why?

MATTKODA STANS RISE UP 😤

there's absolutely a subset of the fandom that took my insert's crush on matt engarde and ran with it as far as they could. it's about the angst of it all. the fighting for his freedom knowing he's a murderer. the way my insert would feel so conflicted throughout the entire trial. disregard the kidnapping bit — that just adds to the flavor.

other than him, though, i don't know if she'd really be shipped with many people outside of phoenix. maybe the rare edgeworth or mia just because of the potential or my insert's preestablished connection with them, or the even rarer kristoph for the people who love angst more than i do, but those ships are few and far between.

🛌: what tropes show up in fics involving your ship?

literally anything that can capitalize on our mutual pining the love is requited they're both just idiots brand of slow burn. fans would love putting us in Situations that play on that — lots of almost-kiss fics and fics where there was only one bed. there's also at least 12 different versions of phoenix and i both having our Oh. moment.

post-trilogy, i imagine more angsty tropes would start popping up — stuff like it's always been you or you're so different but i still love you and stuff similar — but also ones that play on how painfully domestic we are. there's something for everyone with us.

💘: why would people love your ship? why would people dislike your ship? how might it start debates?

OH BOY.

i like to think that both the fans of my ship and the phoenix/edgeworth fans would be able to coexist peacefully on the grounds that both myself and edgeworth are important people in phoenix's life and, regardless of if it's romantic or platonic, he loves us both. however. i can fully imagine that there would be debates about which one is more "canon" or which one "should have been canon."

a lot of the dislike would simply be because people prefer the alternative, though some of it would be because my ship is "boring" or because they just find edgeworth to be more compelling than my insert. alternatively, the love for my ship comes from watching mine and phoenix's relationship grow and evolve over time, with us starting as tentative coworkers, to friends, to eventual spouses. it's about the bond that's been tested and strengthened through countless hardships; the unwavering faith; the fact that it's never once broken over the course of a decade.

🙈: why would your ship be thought of as cute/fluffy? why would your ship be considered problematic?

we're considered cute and fluffy because have you seen us. even before we actually started dating, we acted like a married couple to the point that it's baffling neither of us acted on or realized what was going on sooner. beyond us functioning as a well-oiled machine in court, we're also painfully domestic — which only gets worse once we're, y'know, actually married. there's definitely tons of posts of screenshots where one or both of us reference bringing the other food, calling each other to make sure we're awake for trial, my insert picking him up and driving him to the courthouse — stuff like that.

as for being problematic... i guess the main point towards our relationship being "problematic" would be that stretch of time between AA3 and AA4 where phoenix didn't contact my insert for seven years, thus leaving her completely in the dark about what happened. other moments that i can see being brought up are how my insert handles her jealousy in bridge to turnabout (isolating herself and ignoring phoenix, albeit only for a very short while) and the moment in turnabout revolution where, because phoenix decided to not tell my insert what was going on with maya, they got into a back-and-forth that resulted in her deciding to stand with apollo in court as opposed to him.

💌: how would your dynamic be portrayed? what might people focus on most? any misconceptions?

power couple for sure — that's the main way we'd be portrayed, both in fics where we're still pining and fics where we're actively in a relationship. we'd also definitely be portrayed as oblivious idiots who can't tell they're in love with each other because that's... sort of what we were.

the latter, i feel, is one that would get misconstrued, mostly by way of overstating how oblivious phoenix is. conversely, i think my insert's denial of her feelings (whether externally or otherwise) would also get played up to a degree that borders on out of character.

#♡ — asks #this took a while and is very long i'm so sorry orz #i hope you like my phoenix essay 😔💔 #also!! i finally decided on a last name for my insert!! #it has Meaning so feel free to ask if u want <3 #🖤 comeback king #☆ — 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞. [ aa ] #♡ hannah tag!

[cursedcomics]

Dream Job: Writing Legion of Super Heroes.  Pt. 4

Am I a better writer than Paul Levitz?  Hell no. Like 99.9% of comic writers, I can confirm that I am not.

But I think his last run kind of proves that you just can’t just have a talented writer write DC out of this problem.  The Legion is undermined by a structural problem that you have to fix.

I am not better than Paul Levitz, but I am the right writer for this moment.

I am a great plotter who can see the end goal and is solid with dialogue.

One of the glaring problems with the Legion is that a superhero book succeeds long term based on the strength of their rogues gallery.

That is why Batman and the Flash are so long lived.

The Legion hasn’t had a great rogues gallery since Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen torched the value of Mordru and the Time Trapper in the Great Darkness Saga.  (Now to be fair to Mr. Levitz, his second Time Trapper was fantastic and “Legion scaled” and a vast improvement over what came before, but I still question the decision to burn both of your feature villains to prop up a mort like Darkseid.  It was the equivalent to having Wonder Woman villain Triangle Man do a drive by in Gotham and kill the Joker and the Penguin in order to make him seem like a serious Batman villain.  You would never make that call.  But they decided to make that call to “make the stakes big”. That worked, but it only worked in service to that story. It really hobbled the Legion concept long term at a time when the Crises’s aftermath was eating away at the brand.)

Now you may or may not agree with that assessment of the fallout of the Great Darkness saga.  That’s fine.  There is a lot more to this.  That’s only the start of what went wrong with the Legion’s Rogues.

The Legion has all the elements of a dominant rogues gallery, but collectively the writers under the mandates of editorial leadership haven’t been able to put that together. 

In every timeline management has pushed, there have been variations on Legion villains.  Sometimes they were decent.  Often times they just sucked. 

Glorith sucked in the original timeline.  She rocks in 5 years later.

The Fatal Five rocked in the original timeline but the Emerald Empress was killed and Validus was revamped to be the son of Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad and removed.  In the Reboot timeline, they have a mort replacement for Validus. 

That is yet another problem with just returning to a more productive legion variant timeline be it the retroboot or the reboot or whatever.

Conceptually what you want to do is cherry pick the best variations of each villain and organically plant them natively into the new timeline, whole and unmolested.  Same voice. Same History (if known, A logical history that explains their historic thought process, otherwise).  Same motivations. That is what my stories are written to do.

In the original timeline there was generally a perception that the big three were Darkseid, Mordru, and the new better Time Trapper.  By time 5 years later rolled around, Darkseid was, I don’t know.... living in Florida in a retirement home in his second career as an evil step mother.....Mordru was never the same after having his ass handed to him.  And super awesome new Time Trapper was taken out in a fantastic story (Legion #50).

In 5 years later they recast Glorith as the Time Trapper and pitted her against Mordru.  It made Glorith Legion villian 1 and Mordru legion villian 2.  it worked a little, but still, Mordru was never as great as he had been because so much effort was put into elevating Glorith.  And still, at the end of the day, Glorith just took the place of the time trapper.

While I want Mordru at the top of the Legion Rogues Gallery, I want a list of heavy hitters all fighting Mordru for control. 

I don’t want just the Time Trapper vs Mordru.  

I don’t want Mordru vs. Glorith.  

I want the Time Trapper vs. Mordru vs. Glorith vs. Darksied vs. Lady Styx vs. Pulsar Stargrave vs. Computo vs. Starfinger vs. The LSV vs. the Ruling Court of the LSV vs. The League of Super Assasains vs. the Fatal Five vs. future Mr. Mxyzptlk vs. Satan Girl vs. Moebius vs. Universo vs. The Composite Superman vs. Bion vs. The Progenitor vs. Grimbor and Charma......

(Now I know many people read that and think “Geez, doesn’t he have any ideas of his own?”  Of course I do.  But I have to slave my desire to create something new to do this job right.  Flooding a comic with my ideas and characters would only create yet another “flavor” of Legion that fans would find inferior to the Legion they personally love. 

I want to bring back everyone’s favorite individual Legion ...to at least some degree.   I love all of those characters and I feel a mission in my heart to do them justice and put them out there ---their true selves --- for the next generation of fan and DC comic writer.

It will feature a fair amount of retold tales and origins...It is tough to write these kind of “retold tales” and give them vibrant energy. It grates against the creative instincts of most comic writers who spend their time working very hard to come up with something fresh.  I am very much a technician and a researcher.  I am well suited and focused to do this job.)

The Legion has all of the elements of a truly elite rogues Gallery,

I am dedicated to polishing them up and showcasing them to a new generation.  My new shared timeline will allow the best versions of all of these villains to return at their historic best to the current DCU.

I am not the greatest comic book writer DC could hire, but they just tried hiring the most accomplished and decorated comic writer they could hire....An award winning comic writer....And it didn’t work. 

Finding just another skilled writer to make another random fresh take hasn’t worked the last several times and it isn’t going to cut it now. They need someone who can write to fix the systematic problems with this slumbering media asset.

I am the writer they need at this moment.

[sonomalavender456]

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