#2024 academic decathlon | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

multiverseofmiracleshq · 3 years ago

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← ONCE THERE WAS AN IDEA TO BRING TOGETHER →

Trust isn’t easy. It’s even harder when you trust somebody and they let you down; the younger that you are the bigger the impact that it has on your life. Michelle Jones-Watson -- although she prefers to drop the latter -- learned how hard it was to trust people at a young age. Born June 10th, 2001 as a resident of New York City, Michelle had a difficult home life after her father dipped out on her and her mother. That being said, the Jones women did well for themselves and Michelle, who chose to go by MJ, become withdrawn, guarded and sarcastic. She hid in her books to avoid social interactions and soon became known for her biting wit.

After applying and receiving admission to the Midtown School of Science and Technology, Michelle joined the Academic Decathlon. It was there that she first met Peter Parker and observed him from afar during their sophomore year as a result of his odd behavior. Although she was far from popular in school, MJ didn’t care. She sketched people in distress and read when she was supposed to be doing physical activity. Her starring moment came during the Academic Decathlon National Championships. Parker had no-showed the event, but MJ swept in with the winning answer at the last minute and Midtown Tech took the trophy. They later went to the Washington Monument to celebrate; as an activist, however, MJ refused to go inside and later watched as Spider-man saved her classmates when danger.

It was at this point that Michelle was beginning to vaguely wonder if Peter was the mysterious Spider-man. Spider-man, a New York based hero, had just happened to be D.C. at the same time as of the school. Furthermore, Peter was absent from events and Spider-man showed up. Michelle continued to observe Parker but sitting through detention with him and noticing his absence at the school dance after Spider-man went to fight the Vulture.

Then, a scandal rocked Midtown Tech. Liz Toomes, the beautiful and popular senior who was captain of the Decathlon team, was the daughter of the infamous Vulture who had been committing crimes around New York. Liz and her mother had no idea about Adrian’s secret life, and after he got arrested the two moved to Portland. The Decathlon team needed a new captain, and much to her great surprise, Michelle was selected.

Cue the Blip.

One moment she was reading. The next, she was back. Five years had passed in what felt like the blink of an eye; 2018 had turned to 2023. Half of the world had been reduced to ash by the Mad Titan Thanos, and it had taken the Avengers half a decade to reverse it. By some weird coincidence, most of MJ’s friends had been Blipped as well; Ned Leeds, Peter, Betty Brant and Flash Thompson had all been turned to dust. Although they had partially finished the semester, Midtown Tech decided the Blipped students would need to redo their Junior Year during the 2023-2024 school year.

It was during that year that Michelle’s father reentered her life. She had no desire to start going by ‘Watson’ again, but he was changed post Blip and did desire to be in his kid’s life. Afraid to be hurt again, Michelle agreed to let him in on her terms and at arms length. The two were on fine terms when she left during the summer of 2024 on Midtown Tech’s sponsored science trip to Europe. After getting to know each other a little better, Michelle found herself beginning to develop feelings for Peter. She was hoping to spend more time with him, but fellow classmate Brad seemed to feel the same way for MJ.

While in Italy, the group was attacked by a man composed of water. They were conveniently saved by Spider-man, and Michelle kept an eye on both him and Peter. Although skeptical, the two did share a few quiet moments with one another as they prepared to go to France. Their trip was rerouted, however, and the school group ended up in Austria. Forced to go to an opera instead of a festival, MJ was supposed to sit by Peter but he got cagey and left. She ditched the performance and followed him; while having to flee from another Elemental monster, MJ found what appeared to be a small camera covered in webbing.

With all the chaos, the trip was canceled due to parental concern. MJ and Peter decided to take one last private walk together, and when it looked like Peter was going to reveal his identity Michelle jumped in and beat him to it by announcing she already knew. Peter, who was going to tell her that he liked her, was confused and Michelle admitted she hadn’t been one hundred percent certain, so it was a surprise. Lying to hide the fact that she was uncomfortable, MJ claimed that she had only watched Peter because she wanted to see if he was Spider-man and not because she was interested in him.

While on the bridge, the two accidentally activated one of Mysterio’s drones and saw a projection of an Elemental. Realizing Mysterio was behind it all, MJ and Peter returned to the hotel so Peter could change. It was there that they bumped into Ned and MJ revealed that she was now in on the secret. While Peter rushed to Germany to find Nick Fury, Michelle and the students were taken to London before they could go home. Little did they know, Mysterio had men in place to kill them and Flash, MJ, Ned and Happy Hogan fled the drones and locked themselves in a medieval weapons room. Armed with a mace, Michelle admitted she was addicted to being brutally honest and had a hard time letting people in. Spider-man managed to save the day before the group was killed, and MJ reunited on the bridge with Peter where the two finally shared a kiss.

With Mysterio dead, the Midtown Tech kids finally returned home. Peter had given Michelle a Black Dahlia necklace that he had bought in Italy; even though it broke, she put it on and decided to wear it as a remembrance of the trip. The two flew home together and spent the next few weeks as a happy couple with Peter meeting MJ’s parents. One day, Peter asked Michelle if she would like to try web swinging with him. Despite her fear of heights she agreed and spent a few terrifying moments in the air. They had barely made it back to the ground before J. Jonah Jameson took over the MSG screen to share a doctored video clip of Mysterio before he died. In the video, it looked as if Peter had called for the drone strike in London. It was then that Mysterio did the worst he could from beyond the grave: he unmasked Peter.

The two were instantly swarmed. Peter grabbed MJ and they had to flee from skyscrapers to the subway in order to get away. In the days after it was sheer chaos. MJ, Ned, May and others close to Peter were all brought in for questioning, but MJ remained tight lipped. She and Peter did their best to communicate via video, and when it was time to start their senior year they entered the crowd of paparazzi and hecklers hand in hand. It was hard for a shy person like Michelle to deal with the fame, but she told Peter she wouldn’t change a thing.

Unfortunately, life became difficult in ways she hadn’t expected. When she, Peter and Ned applied for colleges they were all rejected from every one due to the “controversial nature” of things that had happened. MJ, who had tried to be optimistic about their first choice of MIT, realized her mantra of expect disappointment so that you’ll never be disappointed should have been listened to. As upset as she was, she never expected Peter to break the Multiverse to fix the problem.

It was explained on the way to Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum. Peter had botched a spell the Sorcerer had been doing to make the world forget he was Spider-man. As a result, people who knew Peter Parker was Spider-man were coming into their universe from various ones. In all the cases, they were villains who had died fighting Spider-man. Peter was determined to help them instead of sending them home to die, and Mj and Ned did their best to help. They eventually lost contact with Peter but kept the spell that would send everyone home and Strange’s Sling Ring.

Unsure of where to go, MJ and Ned ended up at his Lola’s house while they waited to hear from Peter. After realizing that Ned could use the Sling Ring to make portals the two attempted to find Peter Parker... only to find two Peter’s, both from other realities. When they saw on the news that the apartment where Peter and May had been hiding had been destroyed and that Peter’s Aunt May had died, the Peter’s helped MJ and Ned realize that their Peter would be hiding on the roof of the school. Reuniting with her boyfriend, Michelle comforted him before the three Peter’s took the lab to come up with ways to cure the criminals.

The plan was simple. Once the Spider-man lured the five villains to the currently being renovated Statue of Liberty, they would toss the magical device through the portal to MJ and Ned while they administered the cures. The only problem? Ned couldn’t close said portal. He and MJ were still working to get it closed when a rampaging Lizard came in and chased them onto the scaffolding. When MJ lost her footing and began to plummet to the ground below Peter dove after her without hesitation. He had almost reached her when Norman Osborn’s goblin glider knocked him out of the way. She would have hit the ground had another Peter not swept in and saved her at the last second.

What happened next was outside of MJ’s control. The broken spell was causing everyone who knew Peter was Spider-man to be drawn into the reality, and the number was infinite. Peter made the ultimate sacrifice by having Strange cast another spell that would make everyone forget who Peter Parker was, almost as if he didn’t exist. As soon as Peter broke the news to her MJ was panicked. She didn’t want to forget him or what they had been through. He promised to find her, and MJ told him she loved him before refusing to let him say it back. He could say it when he found her, she instructed. They shared a kiss and then ....

High school students Michelle Jones-Watson and Ned Leeds were picked up from the Statue of Liberty after being bystanders in a Spider-man battle. With only a cut on her forehead, MJ was told she was lucky. Life returned to normal after that. She and Ned were both accepted into MIT. MJ went back to work at the bakery; it was there that she met Peter Parker, a sort of cute but very awkward boy who wanted a coffee. With the encounter being nothing special, MJ set her sights to the future. Trust will always be hard for her. Waking up from the spell will be a test of that. For now, however, Peter Parker’s just another face on the other side of the register and she’s just a normal girl untouched by the world of heroes.

← A GROUP OF REMARKABLE PEOPLE TO SEE IF THEY →

As it stands, Michelle has no idea that she loved Peter Parker. She’s working on finishing her senior year of high school so that she can graduate and go to M.I.T. with Ned and Flash Thompson. It goes without saying that when she learns the true Michelle will be furious at Peter. He promised to find her and instead let her walk around enchanted. Maybe he thinks her life is better without him, but that’s not for him to decide. She’s only living part of her life and needs to be woken up.

← COULD BECOME SOMETHING MORE →

PETER PARKER brought MJ out of her shell. She figured out he was Spider-man and the two eventually started a romantic relationship. Peter was the first person that MJ ever felt that way for, and wouldn’t have changed a thing about their relationship despite the troubles that came with him being Spider-Man. He promised that he’d find her and he did. He just didn’t follow through and tell her the truth. MJ may not be able to remember now, but he’s got another thing coming when the spell is broken. She loves him. That and trust don’t come easily to her. He shouldn’t betray the faith she has in him.

NED LEEDS and MJ were friends of Spider-man. Now, they’re just friends. They remember meeting through Decathlon and happened to be in the same place when Spider-man fought at the Stature of Liberty. There’s a few holes that the spells have glossed over. All MJ and Ned know is that they’re excited to graduate and attend M.I.T. together.

STEPHEN STRANGE casted the spell that erased MJ’s memories of Peter. Unfortunately, they also erased Strange’s memories of Peter. Had she remembered, Michelle would have gone back to the wizard to get him to reverse it. Instead, neither know what they’re missing.

← & IF WE CAN’T SAVE THE WORLD →

MIDTOWN TECH is the present but M.I.T. is the future. It’ll be weird to leave New York, but there’s not much holding her back. Sure, things are better with her family, but her friend (and Flash) will be going with her. It’s not like she has a boyfriend to leave behind. That’s the nice thing about being a civilian. You have less responsibility, even you have less power. The last thing Michelle would want is to be cast as a damsel. M.I.T.’s probably safer.

← WE’LL SURE AS HELL AVENGE IT →

✗ AGE → 17 ✗ MULTIVERSE ORIGIN → earth-199999 ✗ SNAP STATUS → blipped ✗ FACECLAIM → zendaya ✗ AVAILABILITY → taken

← WHATEVER IT TAKES →

FUN FACTS: still wears the broken spider necklace from peter but doesn’t know where it came from. occasional mace wielder.

#outdated bio

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themculibrary · 4 years ago

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Field Trip To Stark Industries Masterlist 2

Links Last Checked: March 4th, 2024

part one, part three

Add Some Gold (ao3) - snakeofalltrades pepper/tony T, 14k

Summary: Peter's impending doom had come in the form of a yellow slip today during school. And of course his fucking Parker Luck got in the way. Because where was Midtown’s field trip to?

Ah yes. Stark fucking Industries.

(Or, the Stark Industries Field Trip trope with some twitter)

A Different Take (ao3) - CyberWolfWrites T, 36k

Summary: Peter Parker never met Tony Stark. He never went to Germany and fought the Avengers, and he sure as hell didn't get that cool suit. What he did get, however, was a dead Aunt and Uncle and a traumatic event that he's calling the Homecoming Incident. Now nearing sixteen years old, Peter's been in foster care for about two years with a man that reminds him too much of an old babysitter.

When Peter and the rest of his Academic Decathlon go to the now renamed Stark Tower for a field trip, Peter gets his chance to show off what he knows. After gaining the attention of his hero and icon, Peter struggles to keep up with his now very very part-time job as Spider-Man, his horrible home-life with his foster father, and keeping it all from his idol who knows a little about the abuse he's receiving at home.

A Tour of One's Own (ao3) - bobafiend G, 4k

Summary: Captain America knows Peter! And Peter knows Thor! And Thor knows...a lot of lesbians.

Otherwise known as the time that Flash Thompson was proved royally incorrect. (Again.) This time on a field trip tour of Stark Industries.

Bring Your School to Work Day (ao3) - notoneforreality pepper/tony G, 6k

Summary: Peter Parker has never had much luck, and that's without Tony Stark interfering to make things worse. He's grateful for everything Mr Stark has done...or rather, was grateful for almost every Mr Stark had done. It was just some burnt toast! Mr Stark didn't need to go that hard on the revenge.

Peter ends up on a field trip to the Avengers Compound with his class and hopes that no-one gets involved.

Ft. memes, savagery, and wholesome family relationships

"Code Mauve" (ao3) - dragonsarmors bucky/tony T, 8k

Summary: After the events of Endgame, Tony finally got his husband and son back, it was something worth losing an arm over. While he has healed physically, mentally he can't stop seeing himself dying. So FRIDAY, Bucky, and Peter have a system in place to help Tony through the darkness in his mind, the system is named "Code Mauve". It can be activated at any time, even during, say a field trip to Stark Tower by the Midtown Decathlon team.

Dysfunctional (ao3) - ApolloLoki97 pepper/tony, bucky/natasha, wanda/vision T, 19k

Summary: “Dude, you’re complaining about your family. Which would be normal if they weren’t the freaking Avengers.”

Peter's second family is a bit dysfunctional.

Almost two years after the sudden death of Aunt May, Peter is living with the Avengers at Stark Tower under the guardianship of Tony Stark. Between juggling his avenging and senior year, Peter is exhausted, but he has his family behind him. When his class gets invited to tour Stark Tower, Peter isn't thrilled and spends all week dreading it. Throw in a mission here and a couple of gods there and Peter Parker is having one hell of a week. Will he manage to stay sane until its over?

field trip (to nowhere) (ao3) - ThisUsernameTaken T, 7k (WIP)

Summary: “I’ve decided,” Tony claps his hands, “that you, as our highest level intern, and so mature, evidently," - with a head tilt to the cereal box and milk askew on the counter - “will be giving the tour.”

Peter spews his orange juice back into the glass, hacking a cough for a good half a minute. When he speaks, it’s haggard and indignant. “I what?”

He's known as jr. (ao3) - InterPlanetary_Redacted G, 4k

Summary: He turned back when the door opened, the researchers still talking, to see Tony walking in and directly towards him.

“Hey da- Mr Star- Tony. Hi Tony,” Peter tried again, brain coming to a fault as he grinned.

*** Peter's class goes on a field trip to Stark Industries, where Peter is an actual intern now, and this is, apparently, how that session goes

How do I keep going? (ao3) - hatchsing420 harley/peter T, 24k

Summary: When the Blip happens May Parker was crossing the street. While Peter didn’t lose his mentor he lost his aunt and doesn’t want to bother Tony with his problems so he lives on the streets and doesn’t talk to his mentor for a few months. Peter is struggling with school and food and doesn’t know what to do anymore, and he still refuses to bother Tony.

It Could Have Been Worse (ao3) - Eqquator G, 5k

Summary: Peter's class takes a trip to Stark Industries.

it's not just a cover (ao3) - InTheShadows3 pepper/tony G, 4k

Summary: Peter's field trip to SI (Stark Industries).

i've got you, always (ao3) - cautionaryjanis harley/peter, pepper/tony, steve/bucky M, 9k

Summary: When Peter's class is granted a field trip to Stark Industries, he thinks he might just die of embarrassment. However, the Avengers and Peter's boyfriend, Harley, know there's a different Peter in there somewhere, and so they prepare in accordance. Shenanigans ensue.

Like Ducklings (ao3) - canonismybitch N/R, 6k

Summary: Peter is sick, but that's not stopping him from going on this Field Trip. It is reason enough for his dad to take over the tour.

Of ID Badges and Artificial Intelligence (ao3) - hblankm G, 6k

Summary: On paper, Peter is, technically, a legitimate Stark Industries intern now. This whole visiting the tower every second weekend or so and actually getting to work with Tony Stark in his personal lab is a great improvement from being mostly-sort-of-ignored by Happy. And it’s not even all Spider-Man stuff! Which, okay, the Spider-Man stuff is definitely the coolest thing to tell Ned about and definitely the most important because it leads to him saving real, human lives - but this thing where Mr Stark seems willing (happy, even?) to just teach him about completely unrelated tech stuff? It makes it feel like Mr Stark isn’t just interested in spending time with Peter because he’s Spider-Man. Like he’s interested in spending time with Peter because he’s Peter. Which is honestly way more unbelievable and way more amazing than any of this superhero stuff.

But anyway, none of that is the point. The point is that Peter’s internship is 100% real.

AKA the standard Midtown goes on a field trip to Stark Industries fic.

Peter Parker Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers (ao3) - BlueRosie steve/bucky, pepper/tony G, 10k

Summary: This Field Trip AU follows Peter and his decathlon team going on a Field Trip to Stark Industries. Flash is a dick, Mj and Peter flirt in the most awkward way, and Ned is excited.

That Awkward Moment When Your Whole Class Shows Up At Your House (ao3) - MurdockSchmurdock T, 25k

Summary: After May tells Midtown High about an injury Peter sustained in a Spider-man incident, he is more than content to spend the next few weeks "recuperating" at Stark/Avengers Tower.

It seems the universe has other plans, however, and Peter ends up being swept into his class's field trip. At Stark Tower. Wonderful.

The Field Trip (ao3) - stellaisnotamermaid T, 5k

Summary: Peter was excited to hear Mr. Harrington's announcement. Until, that is, he heard what it was: a field trip to Stark Industries.

Peter was doomed, and Ned was just laughing at him.

The Field Trip (ao3) - Emma_with_her_head_in_the_clouds T, 7k

Summary: Another "field-trip to Stark Tower" story.

When armed men attack Stark Tower whilst Peter's class is on a field trip, it is down to Peter (not Spider-Man, Peter), to try and save the day.

#themculibrary #peter parker #tony stark #irondad #superfamily #stark industries #stark industries masterlist #field trip #field trip masterlist #masterlists

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petersmparker · 5 years ago

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Sorry!!! Prompt list dialogue with 8 and 13?? Honestly it’s the latest one reblogged if that helps at all

No problem at all!! I’m glad you saw my first reply !! 💞I hope I got the right ones , eek

This one is a lil long because I had to fulfill my urge to write Some Nonsense Happening. I’m having too much gd fun with these but I have to admit that this one is slightly less romance and a bit more eccentric slice-of-life

prompts #8/13 - “Ugh, you’re sweaty. Get off.” “I might have had a few shots.”

Winter break is your favorite time of year. Not just because of the break from your overly-demanding college schedule, either. When finals end for the fall semester, Midtown Tech’s 2024 graduating class flocks back to their New York City home. It’s not long before phones start buzzing with the invitations to meet up again, and while many people had drifted out of it all together, the academic decathlon team had remained blissfully committed to these yearly rekindlings.

You and Peter had been one of the few to stay close to home for higher education. With his commitment to superheroing and your adoration for Empire State University’s interning programs, it seemed like the most obvious choice. This, and the fact that you both had been nursing gigantic crushes on each other. Nearly three years into your relationship, you eagerly await the return of your friends each winter together. It’s kind of like high school still, but with bills and no curfew.

Making ends meet is a bit difficult, but despite that, it’s kind of great. Kind of awesome, just going about life with Peter Parker.

Last year, Ned had been the first to jump on gathering the troops. This year, Flash sends out a mass text containing a video of a santa hat spinning circles on his turntable, Dec 20th, bitches. 7pm. Time to get your fuckin’ christmas on, emblazoned across it in red. It’s only a few hours before everyone excitedly confirms their plans to attend.

Everyone is exactly the same as they always were, but maybe that’s just because you all become stupid high schoolers again when you get together. It’s Flash’s house, but Ned answers the door when you ring the bell. Peter is instantly wrapped up in a bear hug by his best friend. It’s been a few months, and they’ve been whining about missing each other for at least half of it.

“Never leave me again,” Ned orders as he releases Peter.

“Funnily enough, I’m just putting a downpayment on a place in Boston,” Peter jokes back.

MJ is quickly found on the floor of the sitting room, gently shaking the presents that had been placed beneath the tree. She isn’t that big on gifts, but likes to challenge herself to guess what they are. You and Peter place your secret santa contributions in the pile and ask to hear her theories.

“I’m almost positive that your secret santa bought you an action figure,” MJ tells you, shaking a longer box that has your name on the tag.

“That can’t be right,” you laugh.

“You’ll see.”

Flash appears from the kitchen, eventually, Betty close behind, on their way to the main living room. They’re both toting huge trays of sugar cookies. The ones on Betty’s tray look significantly nicer than the ones on Flash’s, which is pretty typical.

“Mine taste better than hers,” Flash insists as he bumps fists with Peter and gives you a one-armed hug. The rest of the crowd in the living room erupt into the teasing of his “ugly ass reindeer” when he presents them, but scarf them down anyway.

It’s the same every year, and nothing could make you any happier.

Gifts are exchanged around the devouring of sweets and an over-the-top catered dinner for a relatively small group. Friends don hideous new sweaters and open up weird new board games. To your surprise, you do receive an action figure. It’s one you’ve seen before in shop windows: a display-quality Spider-Man figure in the Iron Spider suit, complete with four metal arms protruding from the back and a stand to hold it up.

“Oh my god,” Peter says, spotting it in your hands.

Flash is snickering from his spot near the fire. You wave the box in his direction. “You know that Spider-Man’s identity is secret and therefore he can’t receive any profit from the merch that companies are making these days, right?”

“Yep,” he confirms, “I’ll make it up to him eventually, probably.”

All things considered, it’s a pretty funny gift. And you have to admit that it is a nice figure.

There’s already a couple bottles of champagne being passed around, but Peter receives several rolls of expensive camera film and a fancy bottle of liquor, and, feeling happy and generous, cracks the bottle open and shares.

It’s not long before most of the group is tipsy, having arranged rides home or decided to stay the night in Flash’s home. The rowdiness picks up. Games are taken less seriously and somehow become more fun, Flash’s stupid techo-christmas playlist suddenly becomes excellent dancing music, and some of the guys end up hollering as they chase each other around the house. You’re content to watch the festivities pick up, having decided to be the designated driver. It’s hard not to enjoy it all.

Peter sprints across the living room, in hot pursuit of Flash. He attempts to hop over Betty’s head while she’s sitting on the floor in front of the couch and ends up clearing the couch, too. Flash screeches and nearly collides solar-plexus first with the countertop island as he dives into the kitchen, gasping out accusations of Peter being a filthy cheater.

“What the fuck!” Shouts Abraham, who had been running behind him.

Your boyfriend has been chasing the host through the house and yard for the better half of thirty minutes by now. He’s such a stupid drunk. You’re completely in love with him.

When they calm down, he immediately drifts back to you. He drapes his arms over you from behind the back of the armchair, pressing smooches onto your temple.

“Ugh, you’re sweaty. Get off,” you chuckle, swatting lightly at his head.

He doesn’t get off, deciding instead to melt further into you. “You’re sweaty,” he says, quite cleverly, and turns his head to try to kiss you for real.

“No I’m not. You’re drunk, too,” you add, accepting his attempt to kiss you on the lips.

Peter is 160 pounds of pure muscle, but he comes around the side of the chair to climb into your lap. His arms wrap themselves around you again. He’s a little too heavy to be in your lap, but at the moment you’re too filled with adoration to care.

“I might have had a few shots,” he concedes, “That expensive stuff tastes like cherries. I love cherries. I love you.”

“I love you too,” you assure, patting his leg.

“Marry me.”

Your heart thrills. Peter is gazing at you like you’ve hung the stars in his sky. There’s a sincerity in his tone that you’ve only heard a few times before. When he first confessed that he loved you, for one. There’s only one real answer to this question, but considering the circumstances, that isn’t the answer you give just yet.

You lift your head to kiss him once more.

“I’ll say yes next time you ask.”

permanent tag list

@undiadeestos @moonstruckholland

#blurb request #peter parker #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker fic #peter parker fanfic #peter parker fluff #peter parker blurb #peter parker x reader #peter parker reader insert #peter parker self insert

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wowjfkewkndcm · 9 months ago

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Just thinking of the guy who got to say his speech at nationals and plagiarized most of it 😔

#academic decathlon #acadec #2024 academic decathlon #academic decathlon nationals #nationals #speech #speech and interview

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lil-miss · 1 year ago

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Me when my team ditches me

I’m not kidding guys my team just isn’t fucking here.

Azi is the sole scrimmage competitor for [high school redacted]’s academic decathlon team.

#alll byyyy myseeeeeellfffff #homestead homestuck housewife #acadec #academic decathlon #acadec 2023-2024

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ljones41 · 5 years ago

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"SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME" (2019) Review

"SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME" (2019) Review The Marvel Cinematic Universe finally ended its third phase with the release of its second Spider-man movie called "SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME". Released after the franchise's mega hit, "THE AVENGERS: ENDGAME", this second Spider-man movie is regarded as a follow-up to the previous film.

Set in June 2024, eight months after "ENDGAME", former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nicholas Fury and his top aide, Maria Hill, investigate an unnatural sandstorm and discover it was created by a creature known as an Earth Elemental. A super-powered man from an alternate universe named Quentin Beck arrives to help them fight the creature. In New York City, those students who had been killed by Thanos' Snap and revived by the Hulk's "Blip" prepare to finish out the school year they had been forced to repeat. Among them are Peter Parker aka Spider-man and his fellow members of the school's academic decathlon team, who the school rewards with a two-week European vacation. Still grieving over the death of Tony Stark aka Iron Man, Peter anticipates enjoying the trip and using it as an opportunity to confess his growing feelings for fellow classmate, Michelle "MJ" Jones. However, while the Midtown students are in Venice, Italy; Peter is contacted by Fury, who delivers a pair of glasses equipped with an Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) called E.D.I.T.H. that had been given to him via Stark's will. E.D.I.T.H. was an augmented reality security, defense and artificial tactical intelligence system. Fury also asks Peter to help him, Hill and Beck to deal with a new threat to Earth, the Elementals. Longing to spend time with MJ, Peter rejects Fury's request. But when a Water Elemental threatens to overwhelm Venice, Peter dons a new Spider-man suit given to him by Fury and Hill and helps Beck deal with this new threat. I might as well be frank. I was not a fan of 2017's "SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING". I simply thought it was a badly written film with very little imagination. I also consider it to be one of the worst films within the MCU franchise. I never had a problem with Tom Holland as Peter Parker aka Spider-man. But with Jon Watts back as director, I had doubts that my feelings for "SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME" would be the same . . . or similar. I did not think that this sequel to "HOMECOMING" would be a vast improvement over the 2017 movie. And this is why a family member literally had to drag my ass . . . wait a minute. I should be more honest. I had every intention to see "FAR FROM HOME". It was the only major film that was being released around the Fourth of July holiday and I needed something to do. So, was the movie worth a trip to the theaters? One of the joys I had managed to derive from "SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME" were its European locations. I have not been that impressed by the photography featured in many of the MCU films. But I could not help but be impressed by cinematographer Matthew J. Lloyd's work in this film. I found it unusually sharp and colorful for this franchise. And it did help that he had utilized his talent for scenes shot in Venice, Prague and London. I also felt that Leigh Folsom Boyd and Dan Lebental's special effects had enhanced Lloyd's work. Another aspect of "FAR FROM HOME" that impressed me were the special effects created for the Elementals. Another aspect of the film that I enjoyed were the performances. Tom Holland gave his usual excellent performance as Peter Parker aka Spider-man. Samuel L. Jackson's portrayal of Nick Fury proved to be a bit more skillful than usual, deliberately conveying the idea that Fury seemed to be a bit off in this story. This was due to the fact that his old Skrull friend from "CAPTAIN MARVEL", Talos, was impersonating him. I thought Jake Gyllenhaal gave the best performance as the costumed vigilante Quentin Beck aka Mysterio, whose sincere and warm manner hid a possibly sinister agenda. I was pleasantly surprised by Zendaya, who gave a more nuanced performance as Peter's new love interest Michelle "M.J." Jones than she did in "HOMECOMING". However, I remained unimpressed by her screen chemistry with Holland. There was another screen pair that proved to be surprisingly impressive was Jacob Batalon and Angourie Rice, who portrayed Ned Leeds and Betty Brandt, Peter's roommates. Thanks to their performances, I really enjoyed Ned and Betty's summer romance that took everyone by surprise. The movie also featured funny performances from Tony Revolori, J.B. Smoove, Martin Starr, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau and a surprising cameo from J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. The only real disappointing performance came from Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill. She seemed to be used as background, instead of a supporting character. I blame the writers. Thanks to the European locations, Matthew J. Lloyd's cinematography and the cast's performances, I can honestly say that I enjoyed "SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME" . . . more than I did 2017's "HOMECOMING". But despite the above, I was still disappointed with the film. There was simply too much about this movie that rubbed me the wrong way. And I find this sad, considering that Spider-man has always been my favorite Marvel Comics character for years. The main aspect about this movie that irritated me was the main villain's goal. The Disney/Marvel publicity machine had hinted for months that "FAR FROM HOME" would explore the aspects of an alternate universe. In fact, the Mysterio character was supposed to be from an alternate universe who had arrived in this one to defend Earth against the Elementals. Instead, this all proved to be cheap plot twist that originated from revenge. The main villain, Quentin Beck, was a former Stark Interprises employee, who had been fired by the late Tony Stark for his unstable personality. Stark had also stolen Beck's holographic technology for his own private use, embittering the latter even further. With Tony dead, Beck settled with deceiving Peter Parker into handing over E.D.I.T.H. to him. I could not believe what this story had been reduced to . . . another Spider-man movie in which the main villain had a grudge against Tony Stark. Then again, I should have known better. For some reason, the movie's narrative seemed unwilling to touch upon or explore any grief that Peter may have experience over Tony's death. I take that back. The movie featured one scene in which Peter and Tony's former security chief, Happy Hogan, did discuss the dead Avenger. But there were no other scenes in which Peter dealt with the emotional consequences of Tony's death. Instead, he spent most of the movie being torn between plotting to win M.J.'s love and "helping" Beck and Fury deal with the Elementals. Which would have been fine with me, considering my dislike of Tony Stark. But instead of allowing Peter to face the emotional consequences of Tony's death, the movie included scenes of Robert Downey Jr.'s mug being plastered on a wall or a billboard or in a dream. After I saw Downey Jr.'s face for the fourth time, I had to fight the urge to throw something at the movie screen. It was sooooo fucking annoying. What I found even more annoying is that for the second time, the main antagonist's villainy sprung from some past action of Tony Stark's. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has managed to make two of Spider-man's well-known villains more about Iron Man, instead of him. I still find it ridiculous that the MCU seems hellbent upon making Spider-man's villains more about Iron Man, instead of Spider-man. And then there was the matter of E.D.I.T.H. Why on earth would any responsible adult will a dangerous piece of technology like E.D.I.T.H. to an adolescent? Why? Why did the screenwriters treat this dangerous and irresponsible action on Tony's part as a source of comedy? Come to think of it . . . when did Tony make this decision to bequeath the glasses to Peter? During the last five years of his life, Peter had been dead, thanks to Thanos' snap in "THE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR". He had been resurrected at less than two hours before Tony's death. So, when did Tony decide to bequeath E.D.I.T.H. to Peter? Had he included this legacy in his will before the events of "INFINITY WAR"? If so, why did he fail to change his will following Peter's death? Especially, since he and Pepper Potts managed to get marry and conceive a daughter? Or did he create a new will, while building a time machine (MASSIVE EYE ROLL) for the Avengers? I have never heard of anything so stupid in my life . . . even for a comic book movie. One more thing - how did Quentin Beck and his co-conspirators discover that Tony had bequeathed E.D.I.T.H. to Peter? Was Tony stupid enough to post his will electronically? And why in God's name would the MCU allow Tony to create something so dangerous and not treat it so seriously? What was the franchise thinking? I had assumed that "SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME" would explore the aftereffects of both Thanos' snap and the Blip that had resurrected Peter and others who had been killed by the former. It barely did. The movie revealed that Peter and his aunt, May Parker, were helping other resurrected victims of the Snap in Queens, New York; who had had returned to life to find themselves homeless by staging some kind of fundraiser with Spider-man. I had learned via the MCU Wiki page that May Parker had also been killed by the Snap. I find this odd, considering that the same website had made it clear that she had survived the Snap back in 2018. And if both Peter and May had been killed by the Snap, why did they NOT end up homeless after being resurrected? How did May resume her profession (whatever it is) after five years? How did she get her money back? Did her bank refund her money following her resurrection? The more I think about Peter and May's situation regarding the Snap and the Blip, the more I find myself disgusted with the MCU's handling of its overall narrative. Audiences never saw May deal with the discovery that her nephew was Spider-man. Audiences never saw Peter and May struggle after their resurrection. It seemed as if the screenwriters of this movie had become emotional cowards. Or perhaps I should simply label Kevin Feige as an emotional coward? I have noticed that in past movies, he has never allowed the franchise to deal with the aftermath of serious events. At least not in the movies. "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D." had to deal with the aftermath of the agency's fall back in 2014. The series had to deal with the rise of Inhumans - something that the movies never touched upon since the topic first came up back in 2014/2015. And now, it seemed apparent that the MCU seems unwilling to deal the aftermath of both the Snap and the Blip. Looking back, "SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME" was the wrong movie to follow "THE AVENGERS: ENDGAME". It was willing to be some ham-fisted ode to Tony Stark, but it was obviously unwilling to explore how people like Peter and May Parker dealt with their deaths and their resurrections. Speaking of the Snap . . . guess who else got killed? All of Peter's friends from his school's Academic Decathalon Team. ALL OF THEM - Michelle M.J. Jones, Ned Leeds, "Flash" Thompson and Betty Brandt. All of them. All of them had been killed by Thanos' Snap and resurrected by the Blip. All of them. You cannot imagine how much I found this incredibly contrived. According to the movie's narrative, those students who had been killed and resurrected were given a two-week trip to Europe during the summer. So . . . Peter, his four remaining companions from the last film, and a handful of other students were the only ones from Midtown School of Science and Technology who had undergone the Snap and the Blip? Just them? How convieeeennent. By the way, this was a shoddily planned trip. The movie never featured them visiting any place of academic interest. No one discussed or brought up the possible trauma of being killed and resurrected. No one. And when did Peter become interested in Michelle "M.J." Jones? Audiences last saw her casually conversing with Peter at the end of "HOMECOMING", while he was mourning the end of his relationship with Liz, Adrian Toomes aka the Vulture's daughter. Sometime between the 2017 movie and this one, he became attracted to M.J. My God, how frustrating! It almost reminds me of the rushed development of Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo's relationship in the STAR WARS Original Trilogy. At least in that franchise, "STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE" revealed hints of Han finding Leia attractive. I saw no such hints in Peter's feelings for M.J. by the end of "HOMECOMING". So . . . when did he fall for her? I was also surprised about how Nick Fury aka Talos managed to change the group's itinerary at short notice in order to get Peter to continue with the so-called "Elemental threat". How did he achieve this without alerting the school board or the travel agency? This made no sense to me. Speaking of the fake Nick Fury and Maria Hill . . . why? Why on earth would Fury allow two aliens (even if they were friendly) to impersonate him and Hill? Why? If he was on vacation, he should have immediately cancelled it when the so-called "Elemental threat" first appeared. But he did not. Why? This is not how someone as paranoid as Fury would behave. Was he really on vacation? This whole scenario regarding his identity was simply a joke to me. After the joke about his eye in "CAPTAIN MARVEL", it seems as if the MCU is hell bent upon making him the franchise's punch line. Has Kevin Feige recently developed a grudge against Samuel L. Jackson or something? It was worse for Hill/Soren since she/he barely said a fucking word. By the way, what has Fury been doing since the breakup of the Avengers? Which government agency was he working for when the Snap happened? Or was he operating his own security firm? How did the Snap and Blip affect his livelihood? I get the feeling that the MCU will never explain anything. I would discuss the movie's ending, which featured Peter's identity as Spider-man being exposed by Beck or one of his colleagues. But I was too disgusted with the film to overall care. I am certain - or I hope - that this issue will be addressed in what I HOPE will be the final MCU Spider-man movie. Granted, I enjoyed the film's photography and the European locations. I enjoyed the performances of the cast led by Tom Holland. I especially enjoyed Jake Gyllenhaal's performance. And I enjoyed the romance between the Ned Leeds and Betty Brant characters (they eventually got married in Marvel Comics). Unfortunately, the sloppiness and laziness of the film's writing, the narrative's unwillingness to address issues from the last two Avengers films, the heavy-handed ode to Tony Stark and Jon Watts' mediocre direction has led me to regard "SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME" as a complete bust. This is the second time that a MCU Spider-man movie has completely disappointed me. I really wish that Sony Pictures would resume producing Spider-man movies without any output from the MCU. I really do.

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