Griselda Banks

Author - mostly fanfiction, but also fantasy Main blog: @novelmonger

[griseldabanks]

Welcome!

Most of the writing I do these days is fanfiction, which you can find here:

Griselda Banks is a fanfiction author that has written 166 stories for Final Fantasy X, Wolf's Rain, Harry Potter, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ico,

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

(Note: I'm still in the process of posting the best of my work on AO3, so you'll find more on my FFNet profile, but may also have to wade through more old, crappy writing as a result XD)

Please consider leaving reviews/comments on any fics you enjoy, and feel free to ask me anything here. Happy reading!

Main blog: @novelmonger

[griseldabanks]

Let Me Count the Ways ask game

I'm down to my last couple of requests, so I think it's time to send this out again. I've crossed out the prompts I've already written or am in the process of writing.

"I missed you."

"You're my idiot."

"You're not a burden."

"I trust you with my life."

"I love you. Yeah, for real."

"I'll never give up on you."

"I can't imagine how I lived without you. I mean, I can remember it, but I can't imagine how I considered that living."

"I've got you."

"Don't EVER scare me like that again!"

"I thought I lost you…"

"How could you do this to me?"

"I know this may be hard to believe, but I'm on your side."

"Of course we're best friends. No one else would put up with your shenanigans."

"Do you trust me?"

"What? I meant it as a compliment."

"I can't do this anymore."

"Are you just going to keep walking by my house or are you going to come in?"

"Dude. It's three in the morning."

"Where are your clothes?"

"I can't believe I'm telling you this."

"I should have told you this a long time ago."

"Why are you helping me?"

"I feel like we've met before…."

"No, I don't care what 'they' think."

"Can't believe this drive is going to take 10 hours…. You wanna play I Spy or License Plate Poker?"

"I'm still mad at you. A broken elevator won't change that. Get away from me. That's YOUR side."

"Leave you? You know how hard it was for me to TRAIN YOU to deal with me?"

"Why does my blanket smell like you?"

"It's not my fault."

"Trust me."

"I wish…"

"Forgive me."

"Thank you."

"I'll keep you safe."

"Why did you do it?"

"Where are we going?"

"Now what?"

"Stay with me for a while."

"Did you really do that?"

"I love you. You know that, right?"

"I have no idea what just happened."

"What are friends for?"

"Please don't be mad."

"You're not wrong."

"I never told you, but…"

"Stop! Can we think this through?"

"Whatever happens, don't forget."

"We should eat something."

"I haven't slept in days."

"I know that face."

Note: I'm only going to write for platonic relationships. There's plenty of great romances out there, but I want to focus on friendships and familial relationships. Even if you send in one of my OTPs, I'm going to write them platonically. Also, I'm perfectly happy to write about my usual blorbos, but I think it would be a fun challenge to try to write characters I wouldn't normally go for. Check out my main blog @novelmonger for my main fandoms, or go ahead and send in some characters to see if I know them. I'd love to fill all of these prompts, so feel free to send me LOTS :D

Non-exhaustive list of duos I'd like to write:

Ed and Al (FMA)

Ed and Mustang (FMA)

Steve and Bucky (MCU)

Steve and Sam (MCU)

Sam and Bucky (MCU)

Frodo and Sam (LotR)

Legolas and Gimli (LotR)

Sam and Dean (Supernatural)

John and Sherlock (BBC Sherlock)

Link and Navi (Zelda)

Shion and Nezumi (No.6)

Hyakkimaru and Dororo (Dororo)

Nate and Sully (Uncharted)

Nate and Sam (Uncharted)

Joel and Ellie (The Last of Us)

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan (Star Wars)

Kara and Alice (Detroit: Become Human)

Hank and Connor (Detroit: Become Human)

L and Watari (Death Note)

Din and Grogu (The Mandalorian)

Jak and Daxter (Jak and Daxter)

Kazuki and Rei and Miri (Buddy Daddies)

[asynca]

Write that one-shot. Those 3 chapters will be the best 10 chapters you ever wrote

[xiaq]

One of the best things about being a writer is thinking of something small you can add to your work that’s just. Devastating. Like you’re sitting there going. Oh. That would be diabolical. People would get really riled up about that. Exquisite. Let’s do it.

[derinwrites]

Plotting a story -- inductive and deductive plotting

When it comes to plotting habits in writing fiction, there’s a scale. Most people label the ends of this scale ‘gardener’ and ‘architect’, although the terms ‘plotter’ and ‘pantser’ are also in use. If you’re a writer, you probably know this scale, but I’ll briefly explain for those who haven’t and then get into my model.

An architect, or plotter, is a writer who thrives with a lot of planning. Like an architect planning a house, they assess what story they’re telling in advance and what needs to happen to tell it. They assess the materials, plan and measure the acts (if they’re using an act structure), decide on the climax and how the characters will develop and map those onto the plan. Then, with a plan, they write.

A gardener, or pantser, by contrast, writes ‘by the seat of their pants’. Pantsers may or may not know where their story is going in broad terms, but they certainly don’t know in any detail beyond ‘this’ll be a cool scene if I can get it there’. To these people, writing is less like architecture and more like gardening – you can build your beds and plant your seeds, but a whole lot of what’s going to happen next depends on how the plants grow, and all you can do is keep an eye on them and prune or train them as necessary. You can dream about what your garden will look like in the spring, but you won’t know until you get there.

Plotters and pantsers are not two distinct categories of writers, but ends on a scale. The writer who ad libs sentence by sentence with no goal at all is extremely rare, as is the writer who starts from an overall view of the plot and cuts it down and down until they’re planning on the sentence level. Most writers tend towards one end of the scale to a greater or lesser degree, but very few write completely using one method and none of the other.

The plotter/pantser scale is one that many writers find incredibly useful to help them understand their own process. By knowing where you are on this scale, you can better understand how you write and better understand how the habits and advice of other writers may or may not be useful to you. (A pantser trying to meticulously plot their story in advance following some formula they found in a writing advice book is wasting their time.) However, this model has little utility beyond that, which is why I find it more useful to address the phenomenon not as a scale, but as the manifestation of two separate skills, that I like to call deductive and inductive plotting.

In logic, deductive reasoning is when you take broad rules or generalities and apply them to specific circumstances to predict things – you start big and go little. “Things fall when you drop them, therefore if I drop this rock it will fall” is deduction. Inductive reasoning is the opposite – you start with small observations and build them into a pattern to predict something bigger. “I dropped seventeen objects and they all fell; therefore, perhaps when you drop things, they fall” is induction. (There’s also abductive reasoning, but that doesn’t fit into our plotting skill metaphor.)

In my experience, these skills match to the habits of plotters and pantsers. Plotters, or architects, assemble a big picture of the story they want and then deduce their individual scenes and fill in the lines to map to their overall general picture. They are deductive plotters. If you ask a deductive plotter to start writing without an outline, they become lost and their output seems directionless and erratic – how can they know what to write if they don’t have an outline to break things down from? Deductive plotters tend to think of stories in terms of overall structures and themes that can be broken down into characters and events and put on the page.

Pantsers, or gardeners, are the opposite. They’re if-then writers, and build the plot upwards from the individual actions of their characters and create the story from the sum total of those interactions. They are inductive plotters. Brandon Sanderson often describes a pantser’s first draft as just a really thorough outline, and he’s not wrong; a pantser needs the scene-by-scene minutae to know what happens next. How are they supposed to build an outline if they don’t know what happens next? If you ask an inductive plotter to build and follow a thorough outline, their writing often comes out as wooden and arbitrary as they have to force the actions of the characters between the restrictive rails of predetermined plot. Inductive potters tend to think of stories in terms of characters and discrete events that build up into something bigger with a consistent mood or theme. Inductive plotters sometimes complain of their characters having a life of their own and defying the plot – this is the effect of their moment-by-moment if-then reasoning of the character’s next action not matching their initial predictions, and surprising them.

Again, the vast majority of writers have some rudimentary skill in both inductive and deductive plotting. A strong deductive plotter (architect) can usually sit down and infer line-by-line a scene that their outline lists as “the three characters meet in the coffee shop and share evidence, Rosemary sees Harold’s notes and realises where the gun went.” Similarly, a strong inductive plotter (gardener) usually has some idea of where their story is headed next even if they don’t know how long it’ll take to get there or what complications will pop up in the meantime. But I’ve never met a writer who is equally strong in both inductive and deductive plotting; most writers specialise heavily in one, and tend towards one end of the scale. I think this is because there’s such a huge overlap in utility; when we start learning to write, we start plotting in whatever way is easiest for us, and train that specific method over decades. There’s little reason to invest even more decades into getting just as good with the other method when your favoured method already achieves everything you want.

I find that viewing this scale as the result of two skills, inductive and deductive plotting, can be very helpful in understanding specifically how we write. Thinking of myself as a heavily inductive plotter with rudimentary deductive plotting skills has really helped me understand why some methods of writing work for me and others don’t, as well as help nail down specific weaknesses in my writing. I also find it useful to think of writing styles and strategies not as some unchangeable characteristic we were born with (as the plotter/pantser scale is frequently envisioned), but as skills that can be built. You don’t write the way you write because you happen to be a plotter or pantser – you write the way you write because that’s what you learned to do! And it was hard! And you did it! Be proud of your skill!

[theseventhcrow55]

i get so emotional every time i think about fanfic culture. it's just so beautiful that people are writing and anonymously posting these thousand-word stories about characters we all love and not even getting any money or public fame from it. it's literally just for the love of the game.

shout out to everyone who participates in fanfic culture, be it reading or writing fanfics. you are contributing to such a lovely thing <3

[wormsdyke]

i know the standard practice in original fiction is sparing use of italics but i just can’t stand by that i really can’t it’s too good of a way to give emphasis. this word or phrase is so important i’m gonna squarsh it

[netherworldpost]

;)

[griseldabanks]

Okay, from Let Me Count the Ways, "Please don't be mad" and "You're not a burden" for Tony and Peter.

Um...Mr. Stark? T-Tony? Can you hear me?

They say I should talk to you. Like, maybe it'll help somehow. If I keep talking to you, then maybe you'll wake up soon. Uh, not just me, you know, but like....

I don't know what to say. Thank you, I guess? Yeah, thank you. You saved my life. You saved everybody's lives. Actually, thank you doesn't really cut it, huh?

They told me what happened. Explained it all. I remember when Thanos disappeared and then we realized he must have snapped his fingers after all. And I remember it felt...weird. But then it was like I blinked and Dr. Strange was there, telling me it had been five years and the fight wasn't over yet, and we went through this portal thing, and then...well, yeah, you remember that part too, I guess.

(I hope you do.)

You hugged me. Is it weird that that's what I remember most from the whole battle? That was the first time I really actually realized what it must have been like for you...for everybody. Five years with half the world just gone, and then poof, suddenly back again.

I didn't, um...I didn't realize you cared. I mean, duh, I know you cared, I mean, you made me all those suits and you were always keeping an eye on me even when I didn't think you were, and you always made time for me, but it was like...I mean, you're Tony Stark. You've got so many other things and people and stuff to keep track of, and yeah, you want me to do well, but....

You missed me. You thought I was gone forever, and...you were really torn up about it. That's what Pepper says. That it was realizing you could get me back that convinced you to go through with the whole...what did you call it? The time heist?

Man, I missed out on time travel. That would have been so cool! Ned would have hit the ceiling if he could have—but he got Snapped too, so...yeah.

Sorry, I'm rambling. I can see Pepper talking with the nurses in the hallway, so I should probably go.

Just, uh...get better soon, Mr. Stark. Okay? Okay.

-----

Hey, Mr. Stark. You doing okay? Or...same as ever, I guess?

Still feels really weird, talking to you like this. Especially at the beginning, it was kind of...hard to look at you. Easier to, like...look away and pretend I was talking to you on the phone or something. But even then, you'd probably say something back, right?

It's weird to see you so quiet. Uh, not that you talk too much! But just...you know, you've always got something to say. Or a joke or something. Or you're moving around and tinkering or running some simulation. I've never seen you so still before.

I thought you were dead at first. When you snapped your fingers and Thanos and all his soldiers and everything turned to dust...and then we all looked down and you were on the ground. Your eyes were closed, and...it was like your whole side was melted. The power of the Stones, I guess. That's what Dr. Banner said.

I think Pepper was the only one who was right there who didn't think you were dead right away. She checked your suit, and she found out your heart was still beating and yelled, “He's alive!” And then, like, ten people ran over and rushed you off to Wakanda so the doctors could take care of you.

I didn't get to see you again until they brought you back here to be close to home. You look a lot better now, but...yeah. It was kinda scary at first. All those bandages....

Oh. I spend the night at your house when I come visit. Kind of a long way from Queens, you know. I guess the room I sleep in is supposed to be the guest room, but Morgan made a sign for the door that says “Peter's Room.” Pepper said I should leave some clothes and stuff here, just to have for when I visit. She said you wouldn't mind.

I like Morgan. She's cool. Really smart too, but I guess that's no surprise. She's sort of like...I mean, I don't have siblings, but...it's kind of like having a little sister? And I...I kinda like it. She runs over and gives me a hug to say hi, and we build stuff with LEGOs and we did a puppet show one time. She wants to do the puppet show for you when you wake up.

You gotta wake up soon, okay? Or I'll forget all my lines and then Morgan'll be mad at me.

-----

Hi, Mr. Stark.

...

...

...

Sorry, I'm supposed to be talking to you. Guess I'm just...thinking about a lot.

Man, I really wish I could talk to you. Or you talk to me, I mean, I'm talking to you right now, obviously. Just...I wish I could ask you for advice.

I guess I could ask Pepper. But that would be, like...really embarrassing? Even more embarrassing than asking Aunt May? Somehow?

I don't know why. You'd probably laugh and tease me anyway. Aunt May doesn't do that, and I don't think Pepper would either. But it's like...I'd want you to? Does that make any sense?

No, I guess it doesn't. But it would mean you're here. Listening to me.

I think you'd make jokes and tease me about it first, but then you'd get serious and give me some real good advice. I keep thinking about how it would go if I could ask...Uncle Ben. For him, I think it'd actually be the opposite? He'd talk to me all serious and give me some good advice, and then he'd tease me a bit and mess up my hair.

I miss that too.

...

...

...

Oh, right. Sorry. See, the thing is...there's, um...a girl. At my school. MJ. And I, uh...I like her. I really like her. She's so pretty, she's got all this really curly hair, and her eyes...and she's really smart, too! We were on the Decathlon team together when...well, you know. And she's really funny, and sometimes I think she kind of likes me too, like not just as friends, but I don't know, and she also seems kind of interested in Spider-Man, but I haven't told her yet, but I want to, about Spider-Man, I mean, and-and about...yeah, that I like her too, but then every time I think about telling her, I look at her and everything gets all jumbled up and I feel....

I don't really know how I feel. A lot of things at once. I just wish you could say something. Tell me what to say. Should I tell her the truth about Spider-Man? But what if she's, like...disappointed when she finds out it's just...me?

I don't know. You told everybody about Iron Man in front of a whole bunch of people, so everybody who cared about you found out and you didn't have to keep any secrets anymore. Did that make things easier?

There's a lot of stuff I want to ask you. How'd you ask Pepper out the first time? Were you scared? What'd she say?

But I guess I have to figure it out for myself, huh? I'll tell you all about it when you wake up.

-----

Hey...Tony. Mr. Stark. Hi.

Uhhh...please don't be mad? But I kinda...got hurt. Kind of a lot. If you were awake, you'd see. Got a black eye, got my nose broken...and you can't see it, but I've got lots of bandages on my chest and my leg.

Yeah. I messed up.

Okay, sorry, gotta sit down...ow ow ow. Hooo...that really stings. Don't worry, though, I got all patched up. Gonna be fine. 'Sides...we're in a hospital, right? It's fine. We're fine.

You'd probably yell at me if you could see me now, huh? I probably deserve it.

It's just 'cause I went in without backup. Which, yeah, I know, should've learned my lesson, should've called up the Avengers or something, but I honestly thought I could handle it myself! I thought it was just, like, drug dealers or something, and I could just web them up and then call the cops and they could take care of it. But, well, it was drugs, but the drugs were turning people into, like, crazy monsters, like their teeth would grow really long and they'd get all hairy and their hands would turn into claws. It was like drugs that would turn you into a werewolf.

But don't worry! I don't think it works like actual werewolves, where if you get bitten you turn into one too. I mean...it better not, because I—uh, never mind. Point is, I got it taken care of, they're locked up now, and I'm just fine. I mean, I had to get like twelve stitches, but I'm fine, really!

You know...it's a lot easier now that Aunt May knows who I am. I don't know how I could have explained this as just bullies or whatever.

But...yeah. I know I should've just gotten out of there once I saw what I was up against and gotten some help. And I didn't. I know that was stupid.

It was just...there was this girl. Well, I say girl—she was like fifteen or something. They pulled all these—I don't know, homeless people, I guess—off the streets to experiment on. See what their drugs would do. And there was this girl who looked so scared, and she was crying for her dad.... Maybe it's just me, but she kinda reminded me of Morgan a little. And I couldn't just leave her.

She's home now. The police found her parents. Guess she ran away from home and then got caught by these guys. But she's back with her parents now, and I think she'll be okay.

But I should've been more careful, I know. You'd probably ask me what about Aunt May? What would she do if I don't come home?

I don't think I'd even mind getting a lecture right now. I wouldn't care if you yelled at me for an hour straight. You can call me whatever names you want. Just wake up. Please.

-----

Tony, Tony, Tony, GUESS WHAT?

Oh, sorry. I'm just excited. But guess what?

Yeah, I know you can't read it while you're asleep, so I'll just read it to you. Never mind, I'm too excited. It's my acceptance letter! To MIT! I'm going to MIT and so is MJ and so is Ned, and we're all going together and it's perfect!

Well, perfect would be if you could wake up and congratulate me, I guess. But I did it! I really did it!

It's because of you, you know. The Stark Internship looked really good on my application. But also...you know, things you've taught me. Like being confident in my own abilities. Working hard. Asking for help when I need it—yeah, I'm still working on that one. Too used to having to keep secrets. But it's a bit easier to ask for help with school stuff than Spider-Man stuff.

You know...I bet I'll be the first MIT student with a secret identity. That's pretty cool.

I know, I know, studies come first. The world won't end if Spider-Man has to take a backseat. But you know...it'd be a lot easier to focus on my studies if you were there to....

Tony?

“'M awake for five seconds 'n you're already tryin'a play hooky?”

TONY!

[griseldabanks]

(We're going to pretend this was in the original post and I didn't completely forget to write something for the second prompt ^^' Love you, Anna, and thank you for your patience!)

Hey, kid. You awake?

Good. You need your rest. Guess I do too. Big day tomorrow. Gotta ace all those tests they've got cooked up for me and convince them I can go home.

Speaking of, you're gonna do me proud at MIT, aren't you? 'Course you are. What am I thinking? You already know how to work hard. Focus on what matters. And apparently you've already got a girlfriend that you can't shut up about, so that's one up on me when I was a freshman.

For a genius, I was kind of an idiot, wasn't I? Everything that seemed so important.... Still, you know. Hindsight, 20/20. 'Specially now I can't use this arm...but we'll work on that, won't we?

Pep tells me you've taken over the guest room. That's good. Keep an eye on you for a bit before you have to go tearing off to MIT or save the world or something.

Peter...you're growing up so fast. I blink and you're gone. Blink again, you're back. Shut my eyes for five minutes and you're not that scrawny kid dumpster diving for DVD players anymore. You're going to college now? Next thing I know, you'll be getting married and having kids of your own.

Ugh, now I really sound old.

But...look. Peter...you sure you aren't awake? 'Cause if you wake up in the middle of this, I have to go back into a coma out of sheer embarrassment. You know that, right? Okay.

Peter...I know I'm not your dad. Or your uncle. But...you also don't have either of those anymore, so I guess I'm as good as you're going to get. And I want to do right by you. Better than my dad.

I want to say all the right things. Like “I'm listening.” Or “You're not a burden.” Or...”I'm proud of you.”

Yeah. I'm proud of you.

When you...left...I realized I hadn't said hardly any of the most important things I should've said from the beginning. And then there was no time...but now there is. So once I get home, you and me, we're going to sit on the porch and have a good long chat, man to man. Maybe I'll figure out how to say it to your face by then.

But for now...just sleep. My turn to watch over you now.

You just better not sleep as long as I did. That's not allowed.

[azaablue]

the best fanfiction you've ever read was written by a woman in her 40s before she made dinner for her kids. it was written by a teenager after school when they should've been studying for a history test. and a barista came up with the idea while they cleaned the espresso machine and busser fact-checked it on their break and the post-doc edited between writing grant proposals and the nurse apologized for typos in the notes after a long shift and behind every drabble and one-shot and multi-chapter fic there is a person with a wonderful and interesting and chaotic life and it is such a privilege that we get to be apart of it because they decided to do this thing we all share, for fun.

[griseldabanks]

Meme template ask: debate me

[griseldabanks]

distracted boyfriend meme

[griseldabanks]

Gru's plan meme

[griseldabanks]

learning to be Spiderman meme

[griseldabanks]

Take Me Beyond Chapter 11: Cool Wet Cloth

Bucky tends to Sharon when she's sick.

“Call me if you need anything.” “Yep.” “And Sam is downstairs.” “I know.” “Maybe I should stay....” “Stop talking like I never nursed your sick carcass back to health, and go!”

[griseldabanks]

Okay, from Let Me Count the Ways, "Please don't be mad" and "You're not a burden" for Tony and Peter.

Let Me Count the Ways ask game

Um...Mr. Stark? T-Tony? Can you hear me?

They say I should talk to you. Like, maybe it'll help somehow. If I keep talking to you, then maybe you'll wake up soon. Uh, not just me, you know, but like....

I don't know what to say. Thank you, I guess? Yeah, thank you. You saved my life. You saved everybody's lives. Actually, thank you doesn't really cut it, huh?

They told me what happened. Explained it all. I remember when Thanos disappeared and then we realized he must have snapped his fingers after all. And I remember it felt...weird. But then it was like I blinked and Dr. Strange was there, telling me it had been five years and the fight wasn't over yet, and we went through this portal thing, and then...well, yeah, you remember that part too, I guess.

(I hope you do.)

You hugged me. Is it weird that that's what I remember most from the whole battle? That was the first time I really actually realized what it must have been like for you...for everybody. Five years with half the world just gone, and then poof, suddenly back again.

I didn't, um...I didn't realize you cared. I mean, duh, I know you cared, I mean, you made me all those suits and you were always keeping an eye on me even when I didn't think you were, and you always made time for me, but it was like...I mean, you're Tony Stark. You've got so many other things and people and stuff to keep track of, and yeah, you want me to do well, but....

You missed me. You thought I was gone forever, and...you were really torn up about it. That's what Pepper says. That it was realizing you could get me back that convinced you to go through with the whole...what did you call it? The time heist?

Man, I missed out on time travel. That would have been so cool! Ned would have hit the ceiling if he could have—but he got Snapped too, so...yeah.

Sorry, I'm rambling. I can see Pepper talking with the nurses in the hallway, so I should probably go.

Just, uh...get better soon, Mr. Stark. Okay? Okay.

-----

Hey, Mr. Stark. You doing okay? Or...same as ever, I guess?

Still feels really weird, talking to you like this. Especially at the beginning, it was kind of...hard to look at you. Easier to, like...look away and pretend I was talking to you on the phone or something. But even then, you'd probably say something back, right?

It's weird to see you so quiet. Uh, not that you talk too much! But just...you know, you've always got something to say. Or a joke or something. Or you're moving around and tinkering or running some simulation. I've never seen you so still before.

I thought you were dead at first. When you snapped your fingers and Thanos and all his soldiers and everything turned to dust...and then we all looked down and you were on the ground. Your eyes were closed, and...it was like your whole side was melted. The power of the Stones, I guess. That's what Dr. Banner said.

I think Pepper was the only one who was right there who didn't think you were dead right away. She checked your suit, and she found out your heart was still beating and yelled, “He's alive!” And then, like, ten people ran over and rushed you off to Wakanda so the doctors could take care of you.

I didn't get to see you again until they brought you back here to be close to home. You look a lot better now, but...yeah. It was kinda scary at first. All those bandages....

Oh. I spend the night at your house when I come visit. Kind of a long way from Queens, you know. I guess the room I sleep in is supposed to be the guest room, but Morgan made a sign for the door that says “Peter's Room.” Pepper said I should leave some clothes and stuff here, just to have for when I visit. She said you wouldn't mind.

I like Morgan. She's cool. Really smart too, but I guess that's no surprise. She's sort of like...I mean, I don't have siblings, but...it's kind of like having a little sister? And I...I kinda like it. She runs over and gives me a hug to say hi, and we build stuff with LEGOs and we did a puppet show one time. She wants to do the puppet show for you when you wake up.

You gotta wake up soon, okay? Or I'll forget all my lines and then Morgan'll be mad at me.

-----

Hi, Mr. Stark.

...

...

...

Sorry, I'm supposed to be talking to you. Guess I'm just...thinking about a lot.

Man, I really wish I could talk to you. Or you talk to me, I mean, I'm talking to you right now, obviously. Just...I wish I could ask you for advice.

I guess I could ask Pepper. But that would be, like...really embarrassing? Even more embarrassing than asking Aunt May? Somehow?

I don't know why. You'd probably laugh and tease me anyway. Aunt May doesn't do that, and I don't think Pepper would either. But it's like...I'd want you to? Does that make any sense?

No, I guess it doesn't. But it would mean you're here. Listening to me.

I think you'd make jokes and tease me about it first, but then you'd get serious and give me some real good advice. I keep thinking about how it would go if I could ask...Uncle Ben. For him, I think it'd actually be the opposite? He'd talk to me all serious and give me some good advice, and then he'd tease me a bit and mess up my hair.

I miss that too.

...

...

...

Oh, right. Sorry. See, the thing is...there's, um...a girl. At my school. MJ. And I, uh...I like her. I really like her. She's so pretty, she's got all this really curly hair, and her eyes...and she's really smart, too! We were on the Decathlon team together when...well, you know. And she's really funny, and sometimes I think she kind of likes me too, like not just as friends, but I don't know, and she also seems kind of interested in Spider-Man, but I haven't told her yet, but I want to, about Spider-Man, I mean, and-and about...yeah, that I like her too, but then every time I think about telling her, I look at her and everything gets all jumbled up and I feel....

I don't really know how I feel. A lot of things at once. I just wish you could say something. Tell me what to say. Should I tell her the truth about Spider-Man? But what if she's, like...disappointed when she finds out it's just...me?

I don't know. You told everybody about Iron Man in front of a whole bunch of people, so everybody who cared about you found out and you didn't have to keep any secrets anymore. Did that make things easier?

There's a lot of stuff I want to ask you. How'd you ask Pepper out the first time? Were you scared? What'd she say?

But I guess I have to figure it out for myself, huh? I'll tell you all about it when you wake up.

-----

Hey...Tony. Mr. Stark. Hi.

Uhhh...please don't be mad? But I kinda...got hurt. Kind of a lot. If you were awake, you'd see. Got a black eye, got my nose broken...and you can't see it, but I've got lots of bandages on my chest and my leg.

Yeah. I messed up.

Okay, sorry, gotta sit down...ow ow ow. Hooo...that really stings. Don't worry, though, I got all patched up. Gonna be fine. 'Sides...we're in a hospital, right? It's fine. We're fine.

You'd probably yell at me if you could see me now, huh? I probably deserve it.

It's just 'cause I went in without backup. Which, yeah, I know, should've learned my lesson, should've called up the Avengers or something, but I honestly thought I could handle it myself! I thought it was just, like, drug dealers or something, and I could just web them up and then call the cops and they could take care of it. But, well, it was drugs, but the drugs were turning people into, like, crazy monsters, like their teeth would grow really long and they'd get all hairy and their hands would turn into claws. It was like drugs that would turn you into a werewolf.

But don't worry! I don't think it works like actual werewolves, where if you get bitten you turn into one too. I mean...it better not, because I—uh, never mind. Point is, I got it taken care of, they're locked up now, and I'm just fine. I mean, I had to get like twelve stitches, but I'm fine, really!

You know...it's a lot easier now that Aunt May knows who I am. I don't know how I could have explained this as just bullies or whatever.

But...yeah. I know I should've just gotten out of there once I saw what I was up against and gotten some help. And I didn't. I know that was stupid.

It was just...there was this girl. Well, I say girl—she was like fifteen or something. They pulled all these—I don't know, homeless people, I guess—off the streets to experiment on. See what their drugs would do. And there was this girl who looked so scared, and she was crying for her dad.... Maybe it's just me, but she kinda reminded me of Morgan a little. And I couldn't just leave her.

She's home now. The police found her parents. Guess she ran away from home and then got caught by these guys. But she's back with her parents now, and I think she'll be okay.

But I should've been more careful, I know. You'd probably ask me what about Aunt May? What would she do if I don't come home?

I don't think I'd even mind getting a lecture right now. I wouldn't care if you yelled at me for an hour straight. You can call me whatever names you want. Just wake up. Please.

-----

Tony, Tony, Tony, GUESS WHAT?

Oh, sorry. I'm just excited. But guess what?

Yeah, I know you can't read it while you're asleep, so I'll just read it to you. Never mind, I'm too excited. It's my acceptance letter! To MIT! I'm going to MIT and so is MJ and so is Ned, and we're all going together and it's perfect!

Well, perfect would be if you could wake up and congratulate me, I guess. But I did it! I really did it!

It's because of you, you know. The Stark Internship looked really good on my application. But also...you know, things you've taught me. Like being confident in my own abilities. Working hard. Asking for help when I need it—yeah, I'm still working on that one. Too used to having to keep secrets. But it's a bit easier to ask for help with school stuff than Spider-Man stuff.

You know...I bet I'll be the first MIT student with a secret identity. That's pretty cool.

I know, I know, studies come first. The world won't end if Spider-Man has to take a backseat. But you know...it'd be a lot easier to focus on my studies if you were there to....

Tony?

“'M awake for five seconds 'n you're already tryin'a play hooky?”

TONY!

[griseldabanks]

The "Whatcha got there?" "A smoothie" meme