I finished inking it and am now officially on the OliviaXMay bandwagon. I adore them. Sorry for the poor quality I took this with my phone. I think I might colour it... let me know if I should.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
It doesn’t take much – a shifting of pressure, the creak of bedsprings – and May is awake, so tired her eyelids sting. For a second, as she moves across the bedsheets, the parts warmed by their bodies and the ones still cool, she thinks it might be Ben.
“I had a bad dream,” May mumbles , “a dream you were dead –” but then the smeary shadows resolve into a slim figure, one who stiffens even as she’s dipping down to pick up her clothes from the floor. A heavy pause before Liv huffs a tiny laugh, back in her throat.
“No one’s got that kind of luck so far.”
(A character study for Olivia Octavius and May Parker, their relationship and the interior of their lives, and the complexities of that as they enter later life. Also, an exploration of who they might be before, during, and after the events of the film).
whispers: It’s here
Thank you so much to @the-wormwoods, @starfoozle, and @i-guess-that-happened for your beta-reading, to @dreamlogic and @earnedmagic for your warm comments, and to anyone else who was like “you’re writing LivMay fanfiction? NICE.” Grateful beyond words for your grammar checks, reactions to key scenes, and suggestions for how to shift things around and make it coherent. Also thank you to any other friends who watched me write this from a 9-page drabble that kinda sucked to a 15-page piece gaining coherency, to this beast (29 pages and 13k+ words) that I’m.. actually really happy with.
Authors notes:
It’s been about 4 years since I last wrote a fanfiction but guess who’s back to write about older queer women.
Poems that are mentioned or quoted are as follows:
XVI – No one’s fated or doomed to love anyone, written by Adrienne Rich between 1974-76 also by Adrienne Rich and excerpted from of “the Dream of a Common Language” part II – Twenty-one Love Poems (W. W. Norton and Company, 1978). This poem should probably be read in its entirety for this pairing, if I’m being honest.
Nights and Days, written by Adrienne Rich in 1976 and excerpted from the same book, part III – Not Somewhere Else, But Here.
The Buddha’s Last Instruction, The Lilies Break Open Over the Dark Water, Dogfish, The Journey, Acid, Strawberry Moon, and The Swimming Lesson, all from New and Selected Poems: Volume one by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press, 1992). The Lilies Break is the one that May quotes to Liv in bed; Dogfish is what May thinks to herself while walking through the park after they fight. The other poems are what she reads to herself on days when she’s avoiding the news, and I pulled a single line from each of the poems in the order they’re listed, ending with Acid. I think May reads a lot of Mary Oliver to keep herself grounded, almost like a part of a spiritual practice. Is this projection? MAYBE SO.
When they’re being really domestic, May reads out a line from the poem Variation on the Word Sleep, From Selected Poems II: 1976-1986 by Margaret Atwood. (Houghton Mifflin, 1987).
I mention 826NYC which is part of the 826 National group – they’ve got a mission “to encourage the exploration of endless possibility through the power of writing. To empower students with the skills to write their own paths forward, undefined by circumstance. To support new and exciting approaches to writing and inspire student engagement. And to foster generations of creative writers and thinkers, who together will define a better future”, according to their website which you can visit at 826NYC.org (they’re some deeply cool programs across America, and all support helps).
I would also be real remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to the work of Hattersarts on Tumblr (in particular, to her comic “Something You Have to Explain” after which I immediately was overcome with the urge to write… something). This was a huge inspirational piece for some of the points of characterization. Check it out here. Actually, just go take a look at everything Hattersarts posted for this pairing.
Other LivMay (or just generally Olivia) artists I appreciated while working on this were tiffbaxter, lieutenantkasatka, stemfetish (some artistic nudity; blog only available through the dashboard so I can’t link to a specific piece), nubeinvernal, evast, and muffinpines (all names on Tumblr accurate as of July 2019). So thank you all for your service.
Also thank you to Shipwash, who texted the group chat “Doc Ock hot” to which we all responded “wait, what?” and after which I’ve never been the same.
Cheers.
