I've thrown Fern into all kinds of stories. Movies, books, anime, games. But I never really had a proper timeline. It was just a vague order of the places she visited. And it was mostly the order in which I thought saw the movie (or anime, etc).
I haven't written out most of her stories - I just kept notes on them. But occasionally I do write them if I have a clear video in my head. Otherwise I'll lose some of the details over time.
Sometimes Fern goes back to a place over and over, sometimes to help across a span of time, and sometimes just to visit old friends. It was during some of these longer-term missions that I realized I needed a proper timeline. Otherwise I had no sense of what might be happening in her life that would affect her decisions and relationships.
At long last, I started putting Fern's timeline into place. Even different plot points, if they're broken up into different parts. I had to be careful, because some of the missions do influence each other. And I also had to keep in mind how old she was - her timeline spans several years. Though the first couple years are with the X-Men, which is where she got her start (literally - it's the first time I created a character named Fern, though at first she was just a side character).
It's kinda cool. Now that the timeline is done, I can see how Fern and her friends grow over time. And how her team builds.
I often get super attached to actors who play characters that become Fern's friends. There are a lot of them.
What seems like a random Spiderman digression will eventually work its way back in to the topic! Mostly.
Sometimes when I revisit a movie/etc that I've stuck Fern into, I get a surge of motivation about it. I just watched a movie from very early in Fern's timeline: Spiderman 2 (from the Spiderman movies I grew up with, starring Tobey Maguire). I always loved the first two movies. My mom always thought that the villain in Spiderman 2 was a dumb design for a super-villain. But I always liked him (he seems to be pretty popular in this role). When I watched the movie this time, I figured out why I like him so much.
Dr. Octavius only has a few minutes of screen time before the disaster. But he makes amazing use of those minutes. On his first appearance, he's a little aloof and annoyed at being bossed around by this rich kid. And who can blame him? (I mean, Harry is more concerned about revenge and money than Rosie's death and Doc ending up in the hospital). But he and Peter bond right away, and soon are at his house. You can see how much he and his wife love each other, and the way they talk and tease really draws you in. Just in that short scene, you can't help but grow to like them. I'd never noticed before how impressive it is that they accomplish it so quickly. (When Peter and Doc are bantering in that scene, I want to laugh and shout, "nerds!" I am a nerd, so I use that word with love). I can't think of other characters make a stupid joke, and then apologize for it.
Then comes the accident, leaving Dr. Octavius completely devastated. Not only was his life's work destroyed, but his wife was killed during the malfunction. He's completely vulnerable in that moment, and that's when he loses control to his own machines. Only when Peter reconnects with him does he manage to regain control of his mind and his machines. Dr. Octavius manages to save the city, but at the cost of his own life.
It always pissed me off that he only had a couple minutes between breaking free and dying. So, enter Fern. I love using Fern to save people. She and Spiderman would be buds. They're both animal-themed nerds, after all.
As a matter of fact, the reason I pulled out these older Spiderman movies was because I just watched one of the newest Spiderman movies (I've been in the very slow process or catching up with the MCU films). I'd heard that Doctor Octavius would be in Spiderman No Way Home, but I didn't know how it would play out. To my astonishment, the MCU version of Peter Parker crosses the boundaries of space-time and saves Doctor Octavius and a number of others (Watch me going, "hey, that was my idea!" I love using Fern to interfere with other stories, but I get annoyed when other people do it XD Can you say "hypocrite?"). But I was also happy to see some "old friends." There's the scene Dr. Octavius wakes up, finally in control of himself. He says in wonder that his mind is his own again. No more sinister voices directing his actions. It gave a whole new perspective to what he must have been going through.
And it was hilarious seeing Peter take over Dr. Octavius's arms and drag him around. I just found that scene on Youtube, and I was laughing my head off. Man, Doc is so pissed.
So, again, Spiderman No Way Home lead me to re-watch the first two Spiderman movies. I hadn't seen them in quite a while even though I own them. I had a new perspective on the mechanical arms this time. Octopuses are so freaking cool (spiders also, to be fair). Each octopus arm kinda has its own brain, which is exactly like the mechanical arms. (Also I just realized that Peter never really seems to acknowledge or mourn the fact that his friend died while shutting down the machine? At least not in Spiderman 2)
I also got a bunch of new ideas about Fern's role around this movie. For example, Ben and Doctor Octavius would definitely be lab partners, geeking out about all kinds of tech (saying that phrase makes me think of Entrapta and Hordak). And it's cool to think that the mechanical arms - once so dangerous - could become a powerful asset wielded by an ally.
I always thought that Spiderman 2 was the first movie I'd seen his actor in: Alfred Molina. But every now and then I look up the actors that appear in a specific film. And sometimes I discover, to my astonishment, that they appear in other movies that I know very well. Which was the case with him. Alfred Molina's first film role was in Indiana Jones. He was covered with live tarantulas. There's a documentary about making Indiana Jones, where he talks about the experience. He's standing there during filming, with giant spiders all over his back, and they're telling him to look scared. And he's going, "I'm scared! I'm sacred!" (Does anyone else find it fitting that he went on to fight a certain spider in a later film?) He also had a role in Ladyhawk. A slightly hokey older movie, which I nevertheless love.
Okay, final digression. My high school principal looked exactly like the villain from Spiderman (the first film). I wasn't the only one who thought so. They mentioned it in the yearbook. To my nerdy delight, Alfred Molina also bears a slight resemblance to the band director I had in high school. I loved to make fun of the fact that Spiderman villains were taking over my school.
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