by The Pighead
Hi, everyone! So, today, it's the time for a little Intermission, like I said in the last chapter. Just something nice and short in order to release something before Chapter 4 (or even other things, but I'll talk about it at the end) and I hope you will like it.
Enjoy!
Question yourself.
Do the Chaos Emeralds come from space ?
Yes.
Pighead was busy, as usual.
Did a double wedding happened, the day Barry Allen & Iris West got married ?
Yes. But it wasn't Felicity. Never hurts to say it again.
When you were a fanfiction writer and especially when you were doing a giant crossover involving dozens and dozens of franchises with their own lore (and at least two or three whose canon was so big it could contradict itself easily), it wasn't always easy to remember what happened or not. Also, the fact that Infinity Crisis decided from Day One to take on a completely different direction meant that everyone could go a bit crazy with the canon, Vast Oink or not.
So, one of the Nine Monks (she coudn't remember if it was L17' or Ben) created a Google Sheet. Basically, it worked like this : any of the writers who wanted to change something or make sure something would stay as it was had to go to a blank row, put a question in the first part, put an answer in the second and, then, click on « Refresh ».
It looked, from an outsider' perspective, pretty silly. And yes, it was. But the authors all knew that there was a day when the characters would catch up to what they were doing and, when this day would come, it would be more efficient to hide everything behind silly, innocuous things. They would surely expect them to use an enormous machine ala ENIGMA in order to apply their retcons or changes, not some Google Sheet !
Was Clint Barton a former circus child ?
Yes. He also had a criminal record. However, he never met Natasha Romanov during that time.
So, she was doing it. It made her relax. It was good to just doing some worldbuilding without having to think about something else, even if it was for things that may not be followed up on again after that. This was the sort of peaceful moments she could use a bit more.
Are the Koopalings Bowsette' children ?
Yes, but from a former marriage.
« You never told us you liked the comics more. »
Pighead immediately turned her face towards the voice who just spoke… and was surprised to see in front of her a blond-haired man in his late-thirties (in appearance) with yellow, red and black face paint and a very elaborate costume : a red, military-style, leather jacket with gold epaulets, a flap done up with a golden lightning bolt emblem on it, a yellow bandana around his neck, red jeans, brown work boots and a red fedora with a yellow hatband (the bolt symbol was also visible here).
The first thing she did was looking at said costume with her eyes wide open, like she just saw an alternate version of Mario dressed as an Austrian yodler.
« …man, the fuck is this outfit ? »
In response, the newcomer let out a smirk.
« Pretty hypocritical of you to say so. Have you saw yours ? I know that you took a liking to the Doctor after you dived into their life, but you didn't needto steal their belongings. »
The author couldn't help but snort a bit because it was kind of true. She was currently wearing one of two special outfits she dubbed as the « Time Lord Patchwork » outfits and this one was made of several pieces of clothing that various incarnations of the Doctor wore : the shirt and tie of the Tenth Doctor, the question mark pullover and tie of the Seventh Doctor, the scarf of the Fourth Doctor, the celery stick of the Fifth Doctor, the Timberlands of the Ninth Doctor and the coat of the Thirteenth Doctor. To add to this, she also had the recorder of the Second Doctor, the spoons of the Seventh Doctor and the guitar of the Twelfth Doctor near her, on a desk.
All of this created a real, tacky, so-out-of-style-it-could-create-a-new-style, mumbo-jumbo of clothes that would have caused a lot of fashion amateurs and Instagram influencers to drop dead on the floor if they ever saw it. She didn't care because it was also very comfy and she looked like a tall plushie when she was wearing it (she should thank the Doctor one day, this outfit already saved her from dying of freezing and might do so again).
« Oh, fuck you, she responded with a visible smile. My charisma is so great I can wear anything and it's never ridiculous. Never. »
« If you say so. »
Pighead turned her face back to the Google Sheet and started typing again.
What is the fate of George Clooney!Batman ?
He still exists. But he's on his own Earth and never replaced the Ben Affleck one.
« Anyway, L', I wasn't aware about your decision to involve yourself directly in the affairs of Earth-1992B. »
L1701E, more commonly known as « L17' » by those who were asking for his name, looked nonchalantly at the headquarters of his colleague.
« It was nothing. They needed all the help they could have, I just happened to be here. Last Wednesday, I was busy doing the postman. A lot of people wrote letters for their loved ones to confirm everything was OK for them. It was a lovely sight, seeing them so relieved or happy when I gave them the good news… »
Has Sam Wilson been a pimp ?
No. Never.
Pighead nodded in approbation.
« Must have been nice, indeed. »
Does Dante have brown hair ?
It was an alternate continuity. Not gonna happen here.
« Yes. Also, I think I forgot to say it at the last meeting but the Justice Guild I wanted to create ? I'm almost done. I found exactly the right people for the job. Just need to introduce them to Ray and, after, we'll think about the main plan. »
The other author made a thumbs-up as an answer, then turned her face again as she remembered something.
« Oh, uh, yeah, speaking of the last meeting, did you sent my apologies to Ben ? Because he had to leave early to do some business in Earth-467, so… »
Does Archie Andrews dies after taking a bullet for his friend Kevin ?
No. He got saved in extremis by the doctors. Never let real allies die.
« Yeah, I did. He wasn't mad at all, you know we were more concerned by, uh… let's say that no one wanted you to blow up our cover or hurt yourself because you went for the most destructive option. Plus, I think Ben has his own ideas when it comes to Pensky' demise, maybe in an upcoming story, so, frankly, we don't even have to go and do that. »
Pighead nodded her head slowly.
Is « God's Plan » a Trippie Redd song ?
There's at least six Earths where it is. Good on him. Better than hanging out with idiots.
« But yeah, all is good. Tho, you still haven't responded to my question. »
Oh, yeah, it was true. She was close to forget about it.
« I mean, my guy, what can I say ? Yeah, I like the comics more. And it's not even because I hate the MCU, ya know ? There was a long period of time when, at each new movie, I would be here. I was 11 ½ when the first Avengers movie came out and when I went to the theaters with my family to see it. At the time, theaters scared the shit out of me because it was so loud and big and large… I overcame that fear, fortunately. »
L17' nodded, a slight smile on his face.
« And seeing that movie, at a young age, seeing them be on the big screen… man, that was an experience. Also, for some weird reason, the first time I saw Thanos in the post-credits scene, I thought it was the Red Skull for some seconds before my father told me who it actually was. But yeah, a fucking experience to live. »
How many levels the Backrooms have ?
Probably way too much for us to count.
« Last movie of Phase One. And, from here to the last days of the Infinity Saga, I was here. The videos from the Ten Rings in Iron Man 3 were so terrifying to me, too, so starting Phase Two with a scare… yeah. But yeah, end of Phase One, Phase Two, most of Phase Three. From 2012 to 2019, I was here… »
Pighead' smile disappeared slightly at this last sentence.
« …and things changed, me included. After Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp, I just… got tired. Y'know, I bet that if you asked a lot of people who quit the MCU what was the time they did it, you would have at least 5 different answers. And yeah, the near-end of the Infinity Saga, it was when I decided to stop because I wasn't really… hyped for it anymore ? Yeah. »
Did Garfield, Odie & Jon had to face a tornado wrecking their hometown ?
Yes.
« So, I went back to the comics. The events was what interested me the most, weirdly. Maybe it's just because it's their nature. Big fucking things involving a bunch of heroes and villains and big stakes… yeah, that's the coolest, I'm telling ya ! »
« Easy to guess why, simply responded L17'. You ever used the Marvel Appendix ? I'm going on this site all the time when I want to look for new characters that I can add. A real goldmine. »
Did Snoop Dogg ever smoked weed with Nepeta Leijon ?
No. But the Nicolas Cage from the Pre-Scratch Earth (the one before the creation of the current Earth-413) did ascended to the God Tiers.
« Yeaaaaah. Fan wikis, am I right ? Like, honestly, even if Fandom pisses me off with all the windows and other things I have to close, those wikis are full of interesting things ! This is why I'm saying that crossover stories are an endless thing. »
« Also, the canon in comic-books, especially the ones of big universes, there's way more things you can take out of it. »
« Abso-fucking-lutely ! Like, the details, the backstories, the continuities, there's just more of it in the comics. More choices is gud and that's the way it is. »
Will Kamala Khan die during a fuss related to Spider-Man ?
No. Never ever. Fuck those lame publicity stunts.
« And so, asked the older man, what did you plan to do next ? »
« Lots of shit. I realized that it was difficult to combine several things into one arc, so I'll split and do more separate things at once. Subseries, adaptations… I think that if I want to really showcase everything that changed after the Vast Oink, I just can't use DEATHFAME alone to do it. Plus, I'm pretty sure that maybe I can find things that happened during Arc 1 that haven't been revealed yet. Maybe. »
L17' nodded his head. That was the usual Pighead : since she first made waves and the other Monks got up to what she was doing, she couldn't just stop talking about her dozen of ideas and projects she had for the series, whether it was her projects in-universe or her writings. Even if it was often difficult to follow her, it was clear she had passion for the entire thing.
He was pretty sure she wasn't telling everything about what led her to be here, but he wasn't really the type to press for questions.
« Oh, uh, anyway, man, asked Pighead, there's the Toys and the Funtimes who are struggling a bit with their script. I don't know if you have experience in that, but maybe you can check it and help them a bit ? »
Look elsewhere.
« You know, generally, when I'm writing my solo stuff, I don't really have to pay attention to such things… but when you're working on such a big project and you have someone among you who talks a lot about all those big ideas, I can't not sit down a bit and think about it. »
The hooded figure who spoke those words was sitting on a building of Earth-030122, looking at the life down under and the people doing their usual business.
« You should see us at our meetings. Everyone has their ideas, we meet and greet a new one at occasion… and sometimes, you have Pighead who goes on a rant about how, due to the fact that we're the authors, it automatically puts us in a place when we're essentially above all notions of good and evil because we create conflicts and resolve them at the same time. And so, we should own and embrace this moral ambiguity and all… »
The man was grateful that the weather was sunny. He couldn't explain why at 100%, but he didn't want clouds or rain today. He didn't feel like today.
« Sometimes, I ignore it. Because I don't feel I'm that ambiguous, personally. I mean, me and the Illuminati, our collaboration led to dozens of lives getting saved. I wish I could have done more, but I know there will be a time when we will be able to take down our main enemies. So, right now, I'm happy with the fact that we and our agents did – and are still doing – a very good job. »
He got up.
« But, at other times, I'm thinking about some of my actions. Some of the ways with which I favored some of the villains. I mean, I haven't done it myself but I had to let some… very unsavory people kidnap and kill others, just so the main plot of a story could be launched. And it makes me wonder if Pig' isn't more right than she thinks. »
And finally, he turned his head towards the person he was talking to all this time.
« So, it's why I want to ask you, Doctor… from your perspective, am I a good man ? »
The silver-haired gentleman dressed as a street magician that Movie-Brat was facing looked at him for some seconds, then down under before formulating an answer, a slight smile in his face despite his visible seriousness.
« Well, I'm pretty sure that this whole situation you're describing to me is simpler than you think, but I would say you're not doing too bad. But why don't we take a walk a bit ? There was some « unfinished business », if it's how your species call it, from the time I was a younger Scotsman that needed to be wrapped up and I was interested in meeting you. »
And that's all! For some of the explanations:
- L1701E' appearance happens before his one in Family Time and the entire discussion between him and Pighead has been inspired by a discussion the real me and him had after the release of History Lesson-199999, about how him making my AA responsible for turning Earth-51 & Earth-199999' timelines into something closer to the comic-books was funny because I actually preferred the comics to the movies and he was like "Oh, that's a funny coincidence, maybe I should create my own AA and talk about it with your AA". And so... here it is!
- The Twelfth Doctor' appearance here happens some time after The Cybermen Conspiracy. You probably still have in mind the several appearances of the Tenth Doctor investigating Pighead' whole deal and trying to stop her (which happens near the end of his life) and, because of the same desire to use DW characters that made me use Missy, I thought that maybe one of the Doctors after Ten could actually try to pick up what he didn't finish and meet the authors, know their whole deal. Eleven and Thirteen were more busy with the Skrulls, so Twelve was for me the most logical choice.
- Also, yes, it's Movie-Brat' turn to be here. Since the first epilogue of Rampage of the Rani, I had the idea of him being a sort of mysterious backer to the Earth-030122 Illuminati, directly helping them in saving the people they could save and making this Earth the hub of multiversal activity it is. Now, I can realize it here! And yes, he actually references in a roundabout way the events of the whole Rani arc without trying to spoil it to Twelve, since Thirteen is not here yet in his timeline. It's a whole timey-wimey thing. And Brat, if you read this, congrats, you can now say that once, you discussed life, good and evil with Peter Capaldi! That is a flex!
- This is not related to the story, but recently, I completed the re-releases of Chronicles of the Hex and Another Side of the Glimpses on AO3 and, in the commentary, I updated it with some new projects I had in mind so go check that out! That will be other things I will do in parallel to DEATHFAME and, to summary it shortly, they will be:
- More chapters of Ample Abnormal Affairs.
- An Arrow/Doctor Who crossover that I think a lot of people will be happy with, especially with the reintroduction of a particular character.
- The one-shot about how She-Hulk gained her fourth-wall breaking abilities, I still want to do this one!
- A subseries of one-shots named The Black Casebook, exploring more in-depth all sorts of cut content, fan theories, pieces of lost media and all the things that came back into existence after the Vast Oink.
- A mockumentary-style one-shot about the Citadel of the Oink and some of the Pigheads who live here.
- The continuation of the "Tenth Doctor v. Pighead-Prime" arc (but this one will be probably after Batguy completes Spirits and Timey-Wimey Mischief)
But frankly, if you want to know a little bit more, go look at the AO3 version of ASotG. Plus, there's custom work fonts on this one, it's cool.
Anyway, it was all I had to say so I won't waste anymore of your time. Have a good day/night, everyone!
