Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Grimm and NBC's Epic Fail
Dear NBC,
I am a fan of scifi and horror as are many of my friends. Would you care to enlighten me as to why NBC has scheduled Grimm at the same time as Fringe and Supernatural? That is a huge error in programming.
NBC you are pretty much telling your audience before you've aired a single episode that you're going to cancel Grimm. You're not going to steal an audience from Supernatural or Fringe with a new show on a network known for canceling shows more often than Lindsey Lohan gets hammered.
Yes, Fringe is probably headed for its final season, and Supernatural might be heading that way too. But you're not giving Grimm a chance at all. I want to watch Grimm. I do. I think David Greenwalt's work is incredible, and I've been a fan of his since Profit.
I've got YEARS invested in Fringe and Supernatural. Do you know how hard it would be for me to share my attention and my DVR to record Grimm when I know you're going to kill it?
Guess I'll just buy the few episodes that end up being produced from Amazon Video or iTunes, since I doubt you'll go beyond the initial 13 eps on Grimm. It'll be added to my collection of shows that could have and should have been given a chance.
Thanks for nothing yet again.
I am a fan of scifi and horror as are many of my friends. Would you care to enlighten me as to why NBC has scheduled Grimm at the same time as Fringe and Supernatural? That is a huge error in programming.
NBC you are pretty much telling your audience before you've aired a single episode that you're going to cancel Grimm. You're not going to steal an audience from Supernatural or Fringe with a new show on a network known for canceling shows more often than Lindsey Lohan gets hammered.
Yes, Fringe is probably headed for its final season, and Supernatural might be heading that way too. But you're not giving Grimm a chance at all. I want to watch Grimm. I do. I think David Greenwalt's work is incredible, and I've been a fan of his since Profit.
I've got YEARS invested in Fringe and Supernatural. Do you know how hard it would be for me to share my attention and my DVR to record Grimm when I know you're going to kill it?
Guess I'll just buy the few episodes that end up being produced from Amazon Video or iTunes, since I doubt you'll go beyond the initial 13 eps on Grimm. It'll be added to my collection of shows that could have and should have been given a chance.
Thanks for nothing yet again.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Another Complaint to Get Glue
Hey Guys,
Site Performance:
As per your requests in the past, I’m emailing you about my concerns about the site. For the past week I am being forced to constantly refresh pages to get the entire page to load. This happens in Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera. (Yes, I’m geeky enough to run four browsers at a time while building/testing websites and graphics for my clients.) I’m treated to partially loaded pages where the side bar is missing. Other times the CSS on the page seems to have fallen off entirely, and I have a long unparsed list of the items that appear on the page. It’s taking me several refreshes to be able to reply to people in conversations as well.
Now as you might have guessed from my earlier comments, I have already cleared my cache, cookies and browsing history. These issues are happening on my desktop that is running Windows 7 Professional as well as my laptop that runs standard Windows 7. It is also happening on my roommate’s computers here at home and at work. We are on the best internet available in San Diego too, so speed/lag should never be an issue like this.
Get Glue is the only site I’m having problems with.
Stickers:
Missing stickers for April and May, I have yet to receive a single set of stickers. I’ve just ordered my third set, so I’m in a wait and see situation there. But I also know that a lot of people didn’t get their stickers in April or May, so can you really blame that on the Post Office? My roommate ordered stickers within days of me, and has received every set ordered while I have none.
Wilfred:
I am the Wilfred Guru. I have not gotten the Wilfred fan sticker, and I have 22 check-ins for the show. I had 5 before it even aired.
Guru Dropping:
I have had the following Gurus slip away: Being Human, Wilfred, and the book Soulless. I’m sure there are others that I don’t even know about yet. They weren’t lost to someone with more votes. They simple fell off my list, and I had to find out by accident when I went to check-in.
Plagiarism:
TV Show: White Collar
User: Wilman ID
The review
http://oi53.tinypic.com/14junx3.jpg
I then copied his review and pasted it into Google. I got a ton of hits. Here are three of them.
Bing TV
http://tinypic.com/r/2ywtgrc/7
AOL TV
http://tinypic.com/r/1yfzk/7
DIJIT
http://tinypic.com/r/2psftvo/7
I think this is a prime example of plagiarism. Hope these caps help you out.
Sorry for all the bitching in one big email like this, but I had a few things saved up.
Good Luck,
Gabe
Site Performance:
As per your requests in the past, I’m emailing you about my concerns about the site. For the past week I am being forced to constantly refresh pages to get the entire page to load. This happens in Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera. (Yes, I’m geeky enough to run four browsers at a time while building/testing websites and graphics for my clients.) I’m treated to partially loaded pages where the side bar is missing. Other times the CSS on the page seems to have fallen off entirely, and I have a long unparsed list of the items that appear on the page. It’s taking me several refreshes to be able to reply to people in conversations as well.
Now as you might have guessed from my earlier comments, I have already cleared my cache, cookies and browsing history. These issues are happening on my desktop that is running Windows 7 Professional as well as my laptop that runs standard Windows 7. It is also happening on my roommate’s computers here at home and at work. We are on the best internet available in San Diego too, so speed/lag should never be an issue like this.
Get Glue is the only site I’m having problems with.
Stickers:
Missing stickers for April and May, I have yet to receive a single set of stickers. I’ve just ordered my third set, so I’m in a wait and see situation there. But I also know that a lot of people didn’t get their stickers in April or May, so can you really blame that on the Post Office? My roommate ordered stickers within days of me, and has received every set ordered while I have none.
Wilfred:
I am the Wilfred Guru. I have not gotten the Wilfred fan sticker, and I have 22 check-ins for the show. I had 5 before it even aired.
Guru Dropping:
I have had the following Gurus slip away: Being Human, Wilfred, and the book Soulless. I’m sure there are others that I don’t even know about yet. They weren’t lost to someone with more votes. They simple fell off my list, and I had to find out by accident when I went to check-in.
Plagiarism:
TV Show: White Collar
User: Wilman ID
The review
http://oi53.tinypic.com/14junx3.jpg
I then copied his review and pasted it into Google. I got a ton of hits. Here are three of them.
Bing TV
http://tinypic.com/r/2ywtgrc/7
AOL TV
http://tinypic.com/r/1yfzk/7
DIJIT
http://tinypic.com/r/2psftvo/7
I think this is a prime example of plagiarism. Hope these caps help you out.
Sorry for all the bitching in one big email like this, but I had a few things saved up.
Good Luck,
Gabe
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sent a follow up to GG
It's been a few days, and I have to say that I'm not getting used to the changes. It is really hard to read through the stream and follow what any of my friends have done. With the pictures to the side, it's all turned into a big page of boring text. The old 3 column break with check-ins/likes broke up the blandness that we have now.
Now I'm clicking on individual users and going to their page to see what they've actually been doing, and that is a huge annoyance. I much preferred being able to see what Andy was doing on the Home Feed rather than being forced to go to his page to read what he's been doing.
And I miss being able to vote "Useful". I think Cool could have replaced Agree instead, since they mean pretty much the same thing. But Cool and Useful don't at all go together.
The message system still works better than the last update though.
Now I'm clicking on individual users and going to their page to see what they've actually been doing, and that is a huge annoyance. I much preferred being able to see what Andy was doing on the Home Feed rather than being forced to go to his page to read what he's been doing.
And I miss being able to vote "Useful". I think Cool could have replaced Agree instead, since they mean pretty much the same thing. But Cool and Useful don't at all go together.
The message system still works better than the last update though.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Get Glue Changes June 20, 2011
This is a copy of the email I sent to Get Glue Support -
We were told to state what we like and what we don’t like. The Changes for June 20, 2011.
The Message System: It’s nice to see the first line of what the person is commenting on, on the message. I still do not like that I have to open multiple tabs to see the entries, but at least I can tell if a bunch of people are replying to the same thing now. I still wish I could do a drop down there to reply like I can on the revised Homepage. But I’m going to say the changes are an improvement.
The Homepage: What is with the tiny gray font? The presentation has turned a bright and exciting page that I enjoyed going to into a dull list of tiny subjects that I can barely see. As a Guru of almost 800 subjects, I’ve tried to find pictures that fit the topic and make them interesting enough that someone will click through. The new tiny pics all look alike.
You guys need to remember that we’re not all kids with 20/20 vision. The stickers are too small in the right hand side too. You’re not going to impress your advertisers if people can’t tell what that sticker is that they’re looking at.
Also if you have to click on what someone liked to ferret out a sticker, and scroll through their personal page, because that check-in is no longer visible on the Homepage, I won’t bother to go for the sticker. I design websites, and one of the things I tell my clients is that if you have to click twice to get anywhere, you will lose your customer. Well, you guys are losing customers.
I do like the functionality of being able to vote and see reply threads on the Homepage, but I think that function would be better served if it was part of the Message page.
The Stickers: I have ordered two sets of stickers – one in April and one in May – I have received neither set. My roommate also ordered stickers in April and May and they got theirs. I haven’t even bothered to order my third set because I figure they won’t come either. I am not a sticker hunter, so it’s not that important to me. I consider them virtual stickers, and they’re fine on the site.
Guru and Editing: Thank you for fixing the bug that took away the Edit button on Reviews. But why doesn’t my new/revised review show up in the right hand column for the subject? I’ve got some bad typos and placeholder type notes there that used to clear away when I revised a review. That doesn’t happen anymore, and it needs to. It makes the site look crappy that people have to hit “Top Rated” to see the real review.
And don’t get me wrong, I love writing reviews. I have been the Top Guru a few times since I started, and I love writing reviews that excite people about my subjects. So it’s important to me that they see the right one.
Following: This function seriously needs to be fixed. I would like to be able to vote on a friend’s check-ins on a popular topic, but I can’t because they are buried in the time stream. And on some pages – Metallica artist – for example, none of my check-ins show up on the “Top Rated” at all, and my followers cannot use the Follow tab to see my entries. Please, please fix this.
Private Profiles and Gurus: THANK YOU FOR FIXING THAT LOOPHOLE.
Communications: I understand that you guys are not marketing masters. You’re tech geeks who are building a website and trying to make phone apps work. But your marketing department needs to remember your members as well as your clients pay your bills. We need to know what’s going on.
You send out a weekly update that is basically a waste of time. It would be much better served if you sent out an update explaining the new changes and how they are better for us and the site. You don’t even post that information to your Blog, and you really should. But that’s probably my years in Public Relations and advertising talking. You have to tell your members what’s going on if you want to keep them happy. If they’re happy, they are checking in. If they check-in, your paying advertisers will be happy.
All in all I really like this site, but the current changes will keep me from contributing. I’ve made some awesome friends here on Get Glue, but the social aspects of GG are challenging with the current state of the site. Many of us go off site to communicate, and that’s kind of sad.
Thanks for reading this,
The Watchmaker
We were told to state what we like and what we don’t like. The Changes for June 20, 2011.
The Message System: It’s nice to see the first line of what the person is commenting on, on the message. I still do not like that I have to open multiple tabs to see the entries, but at least I can tell if a bunch of people are replying to the same thing now. I still wish I could do a drop down there to reply like I can on the revised Homepage. But I’m going to say the changes are an improvement.
The Homepage: What is with the tiny gray font? The presentation has turned a bright and exciting page that I enjoyed going to into a dull list of tiny subjects that I can barely see. As a Guru of almost 800 subjects, I’ve tried to find pictures that fit the topic and make them interesting enough that someone will click through. The new tiny pics all look alike.
You guys need to remember that we’re not all kids with 20/20 vision. The stickers are too small in the right hand side too. You’re not going to impress your advertisers if people can’t tell what that sticker is that they’re looking at.
Also if you have to click on what someone liked to ferret out a sticker, and scroll through their personal page, because that check-in is no longer visible on the Homepage, I won’t bother to go for the sticker. I design websites, and one of the things I tell my clients is that if you have to click twice to get anywhere, you will lose your customer. Well, you guys are losing customers.
I do like the functionality of being able to vote and see reply threads on the Homepage, but I think that function would be better served if it was part of the Message page.
The Stickers: I have ordered two sets of stickers – one in April and one in May – I have received neither set. My roommate also ordered stickers in April and May and they got theirs. I haven’t even bothered to order my third set because I figure they won’t come either. I am not a sticker hunter, so it’s not that important to me. I consider them virtual stickers, and they’re fine on the site.
Guru and Editing: Thank you for fixing the bug that took away the Edit button on Reviews. But why doesn’t my new/revised review show up in the right hand column for the subject? I’ve got some bad typos and placeholder type notes there that used to clear away when I revised a review. That doesn’t happen anymore, and it needs to. It makes the site look crappy that people have to hit “Top Rated” to see the real review.
And don’t get me wrong, I love writing reviews. I have been the Top Guru a few times since I started, and I love writing reviews that excite people about my subjects. So it’s important to me that they see the right one.
Following: This function seriously needs to be fixed. I would like to be able to vote on a friend’s check-ins on a popular topic, but I can’t because they are buried in the time stream. And on some pages – Metallica artist – for example, none of my check-ins show up on the “Top Rated” at all, and my followers cannot use the Follow tab to see my entries. Please, please fix this.
Private Profiles and Gurus: THANK YOU FOR FIXING THAT LOOPHOLE.
Communications: I understand that you guys are not marketing masters. You’re tech geeks who are building a website and trying to make phone apps work. But your marketing department needs to remember your members as well as your clients pay your bills. We need to know what’s going on.
You send out a weekly update that is basically a waste of time. It would be much better served if you sent out an update explaining the new changes and how they are better for us and the site. You don’t even post that information to your Blog, and you really should. But that’s probably my years in Public Relations and advertising talking. You have to tell your members what’s going on if you want to keep them happy. If they’re happy, they are checking in. If they check-in, your paying advertisers will be happy.
All in all I really like this site, but the current changes will keep me from contributing. I’ve made some awesome friends here on Get Glue, but the social aspects of GG are challenging with the current state of the site. Many of us go off site to communicate, and that’s kind of sad.
Thanks for reading this,
The Watchmaker
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
A Petrelli in Brooklyn
The plastic covering was sticking to my sweat covered palms as I clutched the flowers to my chest. I could see the petals of the daisies vibrating while we waited for the light to turn green. I pretended it was from the cab’s engine. I didn’t want to admit that it was because my hands were shaking. I wasn’t sure if it was the smell of the flowers, the cab or my nerves that was making my stomach knot up.
“Gabriel, you need to breathe,” Peter smiled over at me, and then put his hand on my knee. “This will be OK. It’ll be nice. It’s about time I met your mother.”
“No, it won’t be nice. It’ll be insane. She’s not well, Peter.” I should rephrase that to I’ll be unwell, it won’t be nice, and she’s insane, but I don’t. I closed my eyes as the cab moved all of ten feet past the intersection and jerked to a stop again. At this rate I really was going to be sick. I needed fresh air. I needed to run as far away from Queens as I could get, and here I was on my way there.
What was I thinking, letting my mother convince me that I should bring that nice boy, Peter Petrelli, home to meet her? If there was more room, I’d be able to press my head between my legs to keep my head from spinning.
“You’ve met my mother. We can do this.” Peter reached past me only to discover the same thing I had that the window didn’t roll down on my side of the car. He sat back and then rubbed the back of my neck, trying to sooth me.
“Peter your mother is the Dragon Lady of Central Park West. My Mother is the Mary Todd Lincoln of Queens. Your mother is a well educated lady. My mother will scream that I’m going to Hell if she finds out you’re not just my roommate.”
“So, I shouldn’t kiss you or hold your hand?”
“Not unless you want a bloody nose, or for my mother to throw Holy Water on us.” I knew he was teasing, but it didn’t make a difference. “Why couldn’t you let me lie about you? I could have said you were busy at work. I could have said I was busy at work, except she’d know I was lying.”
“Moms always know when you’re lying. Of course you’re lucky; your mom doesn’t dream the future. I mean she’s normal, right?” He asked as he took the flowers out of my hands before they wilted from the heat I was generating. “No mind reading or anything like that.”
“Nope, she’s just crazy. If she could do something, she’d hide it, because she’d think it was evil.”
“She can’t be that bad. She loves you, right?” His fingers curled into the short hairs on the back of my head and gave me a little shake like I was a puppy. “She can’t be all bad if she loves you.”
“Didn’t we have this argument about your mother too, and we didn’t tell her about us either.” Not that we had to. I could tell that Angela Petrelli knew. She looked at me like I was a piece of dog crap stuck to the bottom of her shoe, and I heard the fight she and Peter had about me while I pretended that I didn’t later.
“It’ll be OK. Look we’re here.”
“We’re here? Shit, how did that happen?” He’d distracted me too much to realize we were almost to my mother’s block, and I hadn’t noticed that we were pulling over to double park while Peter paid the driver. “Be good, Peter. No touching. No bumping into me. Hell, pretend you don’t like me. That’d be better.”
“I think you’re adorable when you’re terrified, Gabe.” Peter opened the door for me still holding the flowers as we made our way up the stairs.
“Then I must be ready for the cover of GQ.” I jerked away from him as he let his hand brush against mile while I reached for the door to knock on it. But my knuckles never got to connect before mom pulled it open.
“Gabriel!” She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. She smelled like lavender and dish soap. The apartment smelled like roasting chicken and other things I loved. The edges of her sleeves were a little damp, and I knew she’d been cleaning up for us all day. “Come in! You must be, Peter. I’ve heard so much about you.”
I stepped in past my mom, so her back was to me while I took off my coat and mouthed to Peter. ‘No, she hasn’t. I told her nothing!’
“I’ve heard about you too, Mrs. Gray. It’s nice to meet you. These are for you. Thanks for inviting me to dinner.” He gave her the puppy dog eyes and the crooked smile. Then he winked at me when she buried her face in the daisies to smell them.
“He is such a nice boy, Gabe. Peter, have a seat; dinner will be ready soon. Then I want you to tell me all about yourself. Gabriel says you’re a medical student.”
“Mom, let me help you get a vase.” I followed her into the little kitchenette and grabbed the vase down from the high shelf where she kept it. I lowered my voice to tell her. “Don’t ask him questions about his family. Peter doesn’t spend much time with the Petrellis.”
“I know how to be polite to company, Gabe. Who do you think taught you your manners?” She patted me on the face and left me with the flowers, heading right back into the living room where Peter was looking at the snow globes. “So, Peter, your brother, the Senator, what was he like when you were growing up? Is it true about him all those loose women?”
I should have brought a bottle of wine or three instead of the flowers. Then again I could beat my head into the refrigerator until I lost consciousness. God help me.
“Gabriel, you need to breathe,” Peter smiled over at me, and then put his hand on my knee. “This will be OK. It’ll be nice. It’s about time I met your mother.”
“No, it won’t be nice. It’ll be insane. She’s not well, Peter.” I should rephrase that to I’ll be unwell, it won’t be nice, and she’s insane, but I don’t. I closed my eyes as the cab moved all of ten feet past the intersection and jerked to a stop again. At this rate I really was going to be sick. I needed fresh air. I needed to run as far away from Queens as I could get, and here I was on my way there.
What was I thinking, letting my mother convince me that I should bring that nice boy, Peter Petrelli, home to meet her? If there was more room, I’d be able to press my head between my legs to keep my head from spinning.
“You’ve met my mother. We can do this.” Peter reached past me only to discover the same thing I had that the window didn’t roll down on my side of the car. He sat back and then rubbed the back of my neck, trying to sooth me.
“Peter your mother is the Dragon Lady of Central Park West. My Mother is the Mary Todd Lincoln of Queens. Your mother is a well educated lady. My mother will scream that I’m going to Hell if she finds out you’re not just my roommate.”
“So, I shouldn’t kiss you or hold your hand?”
“Not unless you want a bloody nose, or for my mother to throw Holy Water on us.” I knew he was teasing, but it didn’t make a difference. “Why couldn’t you let me lie about you? I could have said you were busy at work. I could have said I was busy at work, except she’d know I was lying.”
“Moms always know when you’re lying. Of course you’re lucky; your mom doesn’t dream the future. I mean she’s normal, right?” He asked as he took the flowers out of my hands before they wilted from the heat I was generating. “No mind reading or anything like that.”
“Nope, she’s just crazy. If she could do something, she’d hide it, because she’d think it was evil.”
“She can’t be that bad. She loves you, right?” His fingers curled into the short hairs on the back of my head and gave me a little shake like I was a puppy. “She can’t be all bad if she loves you.”
“Didn’t we have this argument about your mother too, and we didn’t tell her about us either.” Not that we had to. I could tell that Angela Petrelli knew. She looked at me like I was a piece of dog crap stuck to the bottom of her shoe, and I heard the fight she and Peter had about me while I pretended that I didn’t later.
“It’ll be OK. Look we’re here.”
“We’re here? Shit, how did that happen?” He’d distracted me too much to realize we were almost to my mother’s block, and I hadn’t noticed that we were pulling over to double park while Peter paid the driver. “Be good, Peter. No touching. No bumping into me. Hell, pretend you don’t like me. That’d be better.”
“I think you’re adorable when you’re terrified, Gabe.” Peter opened the door for me still holding the flowers as we made our way up the stairs.
“Then I must be ready for the cover of GQ.” I jerked away from him as he let his hand brush against mile while I reached for the door to knock on it. But my knuckles never got to connect before mom pulled it open.
“Gabriel!” She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. She smelled like lavender and dish soap. The apartment smelled like roasting chicken and other things I loved. The edges of her sleeves were a little damp, and I knew she’d been cleaning up for us all day. “Come in! You must be, Peter. I’ve heard so much about you.”
I stepped in past my mom, so her back was to me while I took off my coat and mouthed to Peter. ‘No, she hasn’t. I told her nothing!’
“I’ve heard about you too, Mrs. Gray. It’s nice to meet you. These are for you. Thanks for inviting me to dinner.” He gave her the puppy dog eyes and the crooked smile. Then he winked at me when she buried her face in the daisies to smell them.
“He is such a nice boy, Gabe. Peter, have a seat; dinner will be ready soon. Then I want you to tell me all about yourself. Gabriel says you’re a medical student.”
“Mom, let me help you get a vase.” I followed her into the little kitchenette and grabbed the vase down from the high shelf where she kept it. I lowered my voice to tell her. “Don’t ask him questions about his family. Peter doesn’t spend much time with the Petrellis.”
“I know how to be polite to company, Gabe. Who do you think taught you your manners?” She patted me on the face and left me with the flowers, heading right back into the living room where Peter was looking at the snow globes. “So, Peter, your brother, the Senator, what was he like when you were growing up? Is it true about him all those loose women?”
I should have brought a bottle of wine or three instead of the flowers. Then again I could beat my head into the refrigerator until I lost consciousness. God help me.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Man in the Mirror
Title: The Man in the Mirror
Rating: PG
Genre: Het
Wordcount: 1400+
Pairings or Characters: Nathan!Sylar/Heidi
Warnings: Off camera so work safe.
Summary: Nathan!Sylar doesn't like Angela's advise on how to cure his midlife crisis, and he goes to Heidi instead.
He was confused. He was lost, and he was frustrated. He knew what he’d done, and he understood why they couldn’t forgive him. But it hurt. It had been weeks since he’d been left to himself. Not even his mother could stand to be around him. Nathan knew there was something wrong, and he knew it was his fault. He’d been a shitty father, a crappy son, and the worst kind of husband.
“No wonder I’m alone,” he said to his reflection as he leaned over the sink. He was in his office, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone to his townhouse. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, Nathan.” A churning wave of nausea sent him over the toilet where he threw up until the chills stopped running down his spine and his stomach was emptied. “I don’t think I like sushi.”
Peter hadn’t returned a single call. Something was happening that he couldn’t understand, and Angela’s answer to go screw some intern wasn’t the person he wanted to be. He’d done so many shitty things in his life, cheating on tests, cheating on his wife, the last thing he wanted to do was find some bimbo to sleep with. It wasn’t about sex or feeling old. It was because he didn’t feel like himself, and the person he was closest to in the world wanted nothing to do with him.
“Fuck it.” He slammed the phone down before he dialed Peter again. “I’ll find someone else to talk to.”
***
“Nathan?” Heidi stared at him standing on her front porch. Her blue eyes filled with a mixture of surprise, sadness and suspicion. “What are you doing here? The boys are asleep, not that you’ve been to see them in months.”
“I know.” His face was crestfallen. “I’ve been…” Useless. “Busy.” Lonely. “But I didn’t come to see the boys, Heidi. I came to see you.”
“Why would you come see me?” He could see her trying to decide whether to invite him in or leave him outside where the neighbors could see. Either would keep the gossip mongers up and down the street going for days.
“Because I miss you.” But he didn’t miss her. He knew he should. This beautiful woman had been his wife, she was the mother of his children, but he felt no lingering love or hate. All Nathan could feel was confusion and the pressing weight of isolation. “Can I come in, please?”
“Sure, Nathan, but try not to wake up the boys. Can I get you a drink?” He was surprised that she’d ask that, since he’d been kept away from the kids for being a bad drunk after Peter vanished. The memory replayed like he was watching television of the meeting between their lawyers giving her total custody.
“Ice tea would be nice.” He walked around the living room, his fingers trailing over the furniture. He wasn’t consciously aware of all the information his questing hand was feeding his brain.
“Nathan?” He jerked his awareness from a moment in time on the sofa where Heidi had been kissing another man. “Are you there?”
“I’m here. Sorry.” He took a very deep breath and let it out slowly before taking a sip of the tea. It was unsweetened, and he frowned. “Sugar?”
“You drink your tea black, Nathan, or did you pick up Peter’s sweet tooth?” She smiled, and he couldn’t help but smile back. What kind of idiot was he to divorce her? “I’ll get you some sugar, two spoons?”
“Make it three, please.” He sat down, picking up a throw pillow, playing with the fringe until she came back. He grinned when she sat down next to him, and took a long drink from the tea. “That’s better, thanks.”
“Why are you here, Nathan?” Heidi turned to look at him.
Nathan shifted to meet her gaze, one arm draped over the back of the sofa. He couldn’t pry his eyes away from hers. “Because I’ve destroyed everything that was good in my life, Heidi, starting with you and the boys.”
“You’ve done some bad things, Nathan. I doubt the boys and I were the start.” She winced after she said it and reached over to run her fingers over his, playing with his Annapolis ring for moment.
“Ouch.” He chuckled and turned his hand over to play with her fingers. He could feel that she still cared about him, and it felt so much better than anything had in weeks. “I deserved that. I fell into a trap, Heidi. The more I tried not to become my father, the more I did. I’m turning over a new leaf now. I want to be a better person, a better father.”
“Are you sure Angela will allow it.” He couldn’t miss the wave of hate that was hidden behind the words. “She has a path in mind for you. She’s started to try to get to the boys.”
“I won’t let her hurt them.” The words came out with a nasty edge to him that he couldn’t hide. “She won’t make them like me too. I promise.”
“Oh Nathan. I wish I could believe you.”
“Give me a chance to prove it to you and the boys? Please Heidi. I can’t stand being cut off like this. I want a family. I want my family.”
“If you’re lying, Nathan, or you hurt the boys, I’ll shoot you myself.” She twined her fingers with his, and then after taking the glass of tea from him pulled him into a hug. “But you know I’m a lousy shot.”
“I do?” He blinked, his eyes shifting to a brown so dark they were almost black as he hugged her back. “That’s a good thing then.”
Heidi woke in the middle of the night. She was sore but it wasn’t from anything she didn’t want. Nathan was sleeping besides her, his head on the pillow and a quiet snore slipping out. She wanted him again so kissed the back of his neck to wake him, while her hand slipped under the sheet to tickle other parts of him awake.
She screamed when he rolled over into her touch, wearing the face of a stranger, and grabbed the glass of water she kept on the nightstand. He woke up, his eyes filled with confusion and pain as she smashed the glass into his face and scrambled off the bed.
“Heidi?” He blinked at her, wiping water and blood from his face as it shifted and changed back into Nathan’s. He picked up the shards of broken glass in the bed, and looked at her with the same lost expression Simon wore when he was afraid. “What the hell?”
“Nathan?” She clutched the sheet around her naked body, still afraid and so confused that she thought she was losing her mind. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Don’t be silly,” he said with the patented Petrelli’s smile, the one that was on campaign posters and the cover of gossip rags. “Who else could I be?”
*** Two Weeks Later ***
The first morning sunlight was filtering through the curtains sending a golden sunbeam onto the bed. Heidi leaned against the pillows, her fingers stroking through his hair. He was sound asleep, the stubble on his cheek prickling her thigh. She wanted to ask him so much. First and foremost who was he and why was he Nathan when he was awake? The person she saw in the darkness was so much more than Nathan had ever been.
She’d watched him for weeks. How he’d be the stranger until he came near a mirror. She’d taken to throwing a spare sheet over the one in her bedroom, claiming it was to keep the sun from reflecting off it into their eyes in the morning.
“I love you,” he said, stirring against her, with the voice that wasn’t Nathan’s as he started to wake up.
“I love you too. Go back to sleep. It’s Saturday, we can stay in bed all day.”
“No we can’t.” He rolled over still wearing the other’s face. “We are taking the boys to the Zoo, remember?”
“I know, but we’ve got hours. It’s only six in the morning, and I don’t want you to go.”
He squinted and curled back against her. “I don’t want to go either.
Rating: PG
Genre: Het
Wordcount: 1400+
Pairings or Characters: Nathan!Sylar/Heidi
Warnings: Off camera so work safe.
Summary: Nathan!Sylar doesn't like Angela's advise on how to cure his midlife crisis, and he goes to Heidi instead.
He was confused. He was lost, and he was frustrated. He knew what he’d done, and he understood why they couldn’t forgive him. But it hurt. It had been weeks since he’d been left to himself. Not even his mother could stand to be around him. Nathan knew there was something wrong, and he knew it was his fault. He’d been a shitty father, a crappy son, and the worst kind of husband.
“No wonder I’m alone,” he said to his reflection as he leaned over the sink. He was in his office, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone to his townhouse. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, Nathan.” A churning wave of nausea sent him over the toilet where he threw up until the chills stopped running down his spine and his stomach was emptied. “I don’t think I like sushi.”
Peter hadn’t returned a single call. Something was happening that he couldn’t understand, and Angela’s answer to go screw some intern wasn’t the person he wanted to be. He’d done so many shitty things in his life, cheating on tests, cheating on his wife, the last thing he wanted to do was find some bimbo to sleep with. It wasn’t about sex or feeling old. It was because he didn’t feel like himself, and the person he was closest to in the world wanted nothing to do with him.
“Fuck it.” He slammed the phone down before he dialed Peter again. “I’ll find someone else to talk to.”
***
“Nathan?” Heidi stared at him standing on her front porch. Her blue eyes filled with a mixture of surprise, sadness and suspicion. “What are you doing here? The boys are asleep, not that you’ve been to see them in months.”
“I know.” His face was crestfallen. “I’ve been…” Useless. “Busy.” Lonely. “But I didn’t come to see the boys, Heidi. I came to see you.”
“Why would you come see me?” He could see her trying to decide whether to invite him in or leave him outside where the neighbors could see. Either would keep the gossip mongers up and down the street going for days.
“Because I miss you.” But he didn’t miss her. He knew he should. This beautiful woman had been his wife, she was the mother of his children, but he felt no lingering love or hate. All Nathan could feel was confusion and the pressing weight of isolation. “Can I come in, please?”
“Sure, Nathan, but try not to wake up the boys. Can I get you a drink?” He was surprised that she’d ask that, since he’d been kept away from the kids for being a bad drunk after Peter vanished. The memory replayed like he was watching television of the meeting between their lawyers giving her total custody.
“Ice tea would be nice.” He walked around the living room, his fingers trailing over the furniture. He wasn’t consciously aware of all the information his questing hand was feeding his brain.
“Nathan?” He jerked his awareness from a moment in time on the sofa where Heidi had been kissing another man. “Are you there?”
“I’m here. Sorry.” He took a very deep breath and let it out slowly before taking a sip of the tea. It was unsweetened, and he frowned. “Sugar?”
“You drink your tea black, Nathan, or did you pick up Peter’s sweet tooth?” She smiled, and he couldn’t help but smile back. What kind of idiot was he to divorce her? “I’ll get you some sugar, two spoons?”
“Make it three, please.” He sat down, picking up a throw pillow, playing with the fringe until she came back. He grinned when she sat down next to him, and took a long drink from the tea. “That’s better, thanks.”
“Why are you here, Nathan?” Heidi turned to look at him.
Nathan shifted to meet her gaze, one arm draped over the back of the sofa. He couldn’t pry his eyes away from hers. “Because I’ve destroyed everything that was good in my life, Heidi, starting with you and the boys.”
“You’ve done some bad things, Nathan. I doubt the boys and I were the start.” She winced after she said it and reached over to run her fingers over his, playing with his Annapolis ring for moment.
“Ouch.” He chuckled and turned his hand over to play with her fingers. He could feel that she still cared about him, and it felt so much better than anything had in weeks. “I deserved that. I fell into a trap, Heidi. The more I tried not to become my father, the more I did. I’m turning over a new leaf now. I want to be a better person, a better father.”
“Are you sure Angela will allow it.” He couldn’t miss the wave of hate that was hidden behind the words. “She has a path in mind for you. She’s started to try to get to the boys.”
“I won’t let her hurt them.” The words came out with a nasty edge to him that he couldn’t hide. “She won’t make them like me too. I promise.”
“Oh Nathan. I wish I could believe you.”
“Give me a chance to prove it to you and the boys? Please Heidi. I can’t stand being cut off like this. I want a family. I want my family.”
“If you’re lying, Nathan, or you hurt the boys, I’ll shoot you myself.” She twined her fingers with his, and then after taking the glass of tea from him pulled him into a hug. “But you know I’m a lousy shot.”
“I do?” He blinked, his eyes shifting to a brown so dark they were almost black as he hugged her back. “That’s a good thing then.”
Heidi woke in the middle of the night. She was sore but it wasn’t from anything she didn’t want. Nathan was sleeping besides her, his head on the pillow and a quiet snore slipping out. She wanted him again so kissed the back of his neck to wake him, while her hand slipped under the sheet to tickle other parts of him awake.
She screamed when he rolled over into her touch, wearing the face of a stranger, and grabbed the glass of water she kept on the nightstand. He woke up, his eyes filled with confusion and pain as she smashed the glass into his face and scrambled off the bed.
“Heidi?” He blinked at her, wiping water and blood from his face as it shifted and changed back into Nathan’s. He picked up the shards of broken glass in the bed, and looked at her with the same lost expression Simon wore when he was afraid. “What the hell?”
“Nathan?” She clutched the sheet around her naked body, still afraid and so confused that she thought she was losing her mind. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Don’t be silly,” he said with the patented Petrelli’s smile, the one that was on campaign posters and the cover of gossip rags. “Who else could I be?”
*** Two Weeks Later ***
The first morning sunlight was filtering through the curtains sending a golden sunbeam onto the bed. Heidi leaned against the pillows, her fingers stroking through his hair. He was sound asleep, the stubble on his cheek prickling her thigh. She wanted to ask him so much. First and foremost who was he and why was he Nathan when he was awake? The person she saw in the darkness was so much more than Nathan had ever been.
She’d watched him for weeks. How he’d be the stranger until he came near a mirror. She’d taken to throwing a spare sheet over the one in her bedroom, claiming it was to keep the sun from reflecting off it into their eyes in the morning.
“I love you,” he said, stirring against her, with the voice that wasn’t Nathan’s as he started to wake up.
“I love you too. Go back to sleep. It’s Saturday, we can stay in bed all day.”
“No we can’t.” He rolled over still wearing the other’s face. “We are taking the boys to the Zoo, remember?”
“I know, but we’ve got hours. It’s only six in the morning, and I don’t want you to go.”
He squinted and curled back against her. “I don’t want to go either.
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