#I���m working on their reunion comic I promise

[l0velylecter]

say yes to me — simon ‘ghost’ riley / f!reader

— “like a barge at sea, in the storm, i stay clear.”

— 'FAITH WILL GET YOU KILLED.’ HE sounded tired, sad even. The mist was starting to crowd you from all sides. Above, snowflakes danced in the light: a choreographed ballet conducted by the gentle wind. You tentatively reached out to brush the masked cheek with your thumb, putting on your best smile even if tears pricked the corners of your eyes.

‘ Well, you've kept me safe. Haven’t you, Simon?’

summary : when his enemies used your history with simon against him, the soldier begins to reflect on your relationship, well, whatever was left of it: even after the divorce, life still finds a way to drag you back into the crossfire, back to him.  pairing : simon ‘ghost’ riley / f! reader fandom : call of duty modern warfare ii rating : m for mature and suggestive themes, minors don’t interact (mdni!), not safe for work (nsfw!) warnings : descriptions of violence, cursing, references to past substance abuse, arguments that may be anxiety inducing to some, anger management issues from simon  tags : angst, hurt and comfort, simon struggling to face his emotions, divorce, reunion after years, scenes with brief descriptions of sex in it, female parts, fab!reader,  told in parts, refrences to his past from the comics, a small headcanon about his (dead) mom  word count : 1.7k song used for inspiration : yes to heaven by lana del rey & my blood by ellie goulding 

01 | Simon rescued you in winter. Sedated by the wind, the city's heartbeat begins to fade; the air — cold with the promise of snow. It distracted you from the fact that you were bleeding, your blouse clinging to the warm and wet wound. It also made hearing harder: past the ringing in your ears, you could hear him shouting, movements rushed as he knelt to haul your body atop his lap. The familiar string of curses erasing any suspicions of his identity.

" Simon." You rasped, smiling even if everything was hurting," My Simon."

" Keep your eyes open." He ordered, " Don't you fucking close them."

He told you to focus on something, anything to keep you awake. So you anchored yourself to how he curled his finger around your shoulders because even if his eyes were stern to save his composure, his grip says otherwise. He has always held onto you as if you were going to slip away, tightly, surely. As if Simon wanted to convince himself that you weren't a dream ready to be ripped away from him by the morning ( but maybe this was the first time he wished otherwise). He'd tap your cheek from time to time. The brief and sharp sting prying your eyes open.

Simon adjusted you across his lap, your body rocking as the helicopter landed roughly. Somewhere along the way, a confession had slipped past your mouth, "I thought...you wouldn't come."

There was a quick flash of anger across his face: fingers twitching and knees tensing beneath you.

" I won't next time."

When you woke up in a hospital bed, a nurse went to alert the doctor, the empty chair by the foot of the bed staring back at you.  02 |  Simon left you in spring. He didn't visit, didn't call, didn't write. You didn't expect him to anyway, carrying on with your life as if you'd never seen him in the first place. The whole thing felt like a hallucination. Seeing Simon again felt like witnessing a premonition of a ghost who should be good as dead to you. Yet your stitches said otherwise, and so did Captain Jonathan Price, his visit an overdue prediction that came true late in May. The bouquet resting against your vase was supposedly an apology for the intrusion — " I was raised proper."

" Let me guess. Simon's angry with me."

Price lowered his cigar, mouth curling downwards, " No. Not at you."

You relaxed against the couch. You wouldn't be so careless to claim that Simon trusted him, but at the very least, you knew he respected the man. You reminisced about the first time you met Price ( even then, he had a cigar hanging from his mouth). He had hauled Ghost past your doorway: bloody, battered, and bruised. That must've been at least seven or eight years ago when you'd just started living with your husband.

Right, you swallowed, catching yourself — when he was your husband.

As if hearing your thoughts, Price sighed, " You weren't on any official records. There was no documentation, no pictures. Nothing. No one knew about you."

" And now?"

" His team suspects, but I doubt there'll be any external witnesses left to ever pull a bloody stupid stunt like that again."

You raised your brow.

" He went after everyone in that warehouse. No survivors. No witnesses."

The image of Simon covered head to toe with blood, eyes furious and lethal, flashed before your eyes. It would make sense why he wouldn't want to rescue you next time because, after his purge, you doubt there would be anyone — anything left to hurt you. He's on leave now. Simon says he wants to be thorough.

You could barely keep it together when gesturing at the flowers, " Tell him I said thank you."

Price asked how you knew it was from Simon — " The staff in the center used to teach classes on flowers. That included gardening, making bouquets, and learning meaning behind them. After...after what they did to him, he wouldn't talk for months. I guess that class was his way of trying to fill in the silence. Daffodils bloom first during spring: new beginnings, sorries. I taught him that. He used to get me them all the time.”

You shook your head, feeling helpless, “He hasn't changed." 03 | Simon’s kisses felt like summer: hot, intense, and angry — his lips burned against your skin. He crowded you against the wall of your apartment, a behemoth of a man even out of his tactical gear, leaving you with barely any space to touch him. 

You whined, begging him to slow down, yet he kissed you with teeth and tongue and urgency. When he cupped your chin roughly with both hands, angling your face under the dim light from the kitchen: peeling back the silhouette to take a good look at you, flushed, panting, and crying.

He growled into your mouth, hoisting you up his waist, " You should've paid more attention. He could have fucking hurt you."

You winced, recalling the events that took place: how the midsummer heat stung your skin as you quickened your pace to get away from the man who had followed you down the block. The moment you pulled your keys out to unlock the door, he had picked up his pace, only to scram the moment Simon appeared behind you. He would have gone after the attacker if you had not gripped his arm for support, overwhelmed: your knees nearly gave out. As if possessed by an irresistible force, the sight of you weakly clinging onto him and on the brink of tears had compelled Simon to undo years of restraint — which would explain why you can taste the frustration in his mouth.

" You'll always protect me. I know it," You managed in between kisses. Briefly, you wondered how long Simon's been looking out for you. Was this what he chose to do on the rare occasions he was off the field? All those times he probably saw you on dates: trying and failing to get over him. All those times you cried about him. All those times you bought yourself daffodils. 

There was something bittersweet at how he seemed to remember the way to the bedroom you used to share, legs finding their way when he was too occupied with you. And you couldn't swallow the tinge of sadness swelling in your chest when you remember every touch, from how he loves to kiss down your back to how he feels inside you; angling you in a way that hits all the right spots. He pistoned in and out of you almost brutally, your body pliant and welcoming under him, blooming at the memory. And when he inserts himself to the hilt, you moaned because you never forgot: how could you forget? It was as if time never passed between the two of you, it was natural, it was instinct, it was like coming home.

When he finally pulled out, leaving you throbbing and empty, you whispered for him to stay — fingers latching onto his when he stood up. And you scrambled to seize the moment he sat back down, breaking down against his chest, words pouring out of your mouth. I missed you. I never wanted you to leave. I still love you. I'll always love you. 

He didn't need to take off the rest of his balaclava for you to know what he was thinking: I don't want to hurt you. Because I will hurt you.

You lay in the dark for a few seconds, five seconds turn to fifteen, turn to thirty, sixty. And when the first rays of sunlight came to wake you gently, Simon was gone. With the bedroom door slightly ajar, the left side of the bed was neat and spotless. Your legs — still warm and wet. 04 | Simon married you in autumn. You remembered how cold it was that day. Even inside the church, the air was frigid, yet still — the silence was only interrupted when the vicar entered. ( The church was not only for privacy, he said, but also for his late mother. Finally, it was a first and rare glimpse into his past. She was baptised here.)

You had nervously glanced at him, smiling lopsidedly with eyes bright and hopeful. Yet Simon remained passive, eyes only wavering when you started reciting their vows. It was the only time Simon had shown any real fear in front of you, and you remembered what you did that day. You had gripped his hand tightly in yours the entire time, kissing each finger before he gave you your ring. 

You explained how the joy of having him carry you up the steps of your home was short-lived, washed under the reality of his pain. There was the temper, the drinking, the insults. The moment arguments got out of control and silent treatments turned too cruel — he started pushing you away, hoping to cut you off to prevent watching you fall apart himself. 

"You underestimated me, Simon. That was the worst part," you finished, ending your story with a weak shrug, " I would've stayed if you had just asked me to. You know I would. I have faith in you, Simon. In us. I still do."

Outside, the shades of yellow and orange swept over the barren ground, except for a few sprouts of daffodils, stubbornly persevering through small miracles. The wind down the mountain slithered past the holes of the old wooden roof as whistles. They ring softly against the silence, echoing down the Rhenish helm. Today would have marked a decade's worth of anniversary, but now it's just become a resting ground for him to haunt — the sight of Simon without a mask, sitting by the pew and staring up at you, a memory you want to burn on the back of your head.

" Faith will get you killed," he sounded tired, sad even. The mist was starting to crowd you from all sides. Above, snowflakes danced in the light: a choreographed ballet conducted by the gentle wind. You tentatively reached out to brush the masked cheek with your thumb, putting on your best smile even if tears pricked the corners of your eyes.

" Well, you've kept me safe. Haven’t you, Simon?"

There was a pause, and you swore the wind held its breath in anticipation with you, waiting, pleading for him to agree at the chance to start again with you. Say yes to me, your fingers whispered, tentatively brushing his hand. Heavy snow is due to arrive early, marking new beginnings: the birth of a new season, the start of his deployment, but to you, a long and terrible winter just ended the moment he kissed each finger to hold your hand.

a/n : zoo wee mama, that took a toll on me. all in one sitting because i am yearning for a domestic life with this man even if i know it will not be easy. fear not simon, i might be senstive and cry the moment someone slightly raise their voice at me, but i am loyal to the bone ( and just delusional enough ). i know this leans more on the reader’s perspective and very ‘read in between the lines’ aka vague, so i hope this style is enjoyable still to read. i personally have to mark this as one of my favorite ficlets / works , cause i love seeing simon suffer. speaking about seeing simon suffer, this is dedicated to : → @flaneurpastel : your support of my angsty simon fics and my work overall in general is something i really cherish, i’ve only briefly had this account but i am so thankful for your support !! and your works are amazing... here’s to more angsty simon fics !  → @gh0stswh0re​ : you are the first page i follow on here and the first account to actually get my ass moving to write about cod : mw ii because your works are jiust *chef’s kiss*, and i’m so excited for your december writing plan... i’m booking front seat ! → everyone who reblogged and liked my angsty simon fics... you guys keep me going mwah x + note on timeline : → the comics talk about simon’s past, he was tortured and needed to go to rehab around 2003-2004 ish, so i assumed he spent a couple years then in therapy / rehab for substance abuse because he needed to cope, and that’s where you met him. marriage happened right after he got revenge on roba and right when he was first employed by 141 ( which probably was why it didn’t work out ) and ever since then it’s just been longing and heartache. and 2022 rolls up, which is cod : mw ii, and i assume this is probably before or after las almas and shadow company !  → feel free to adjust it if it’s better for you or correct me if i’m off or wrong ! 

[luna-rainbow]

(Source)

So I just read an anti-Peggy meta on a Chinese blog which I can't verify (and I'm not sure whether any English comics readers have summarised these), but basically Peggy is a Frankenstein of all three of Steve, Bucky and Sharon's characteristics and storylines but without truly reflecting their values, which is why her characterisation is a mess.

Her character background is taken mostly from Sharon: "secret agent, kickass, independent, self-assured". Sharon was the original female Cap America.

Stuff her character took from Bucky (I have no way of verifying this but this seems like a lot more than I expected, also this is translated back from Chinese so there's going to be differences to the original words): (Source)

Peggy walking in on Steve/Lorraine -> Bucky walks in after a French spy forced a kiss on Steve, Bucky apologises while Steve goes all flustered and runs off, "You don't believe in me!"

Steve and Peggy's talk before diving into the ocean -> all of Steve's thoughts pre-dive was about Bucky, "Bucky's figure is like a windswept rock, carved into my mind."

Steve thinking about the date with Peggy after waking up -> the first thing Steve says upon waking is Bucky, and he then searches the world for Bucky

Steve staying in SHIELD because Peggy found it -> Steve stayed in SHIELD because one of the founding members looked like Bucky

Steve carrying Peggy's photo around -> after waking, Steve got some of his belongings back, but along with it Bucky's uniform and photo, which he kept with him everywhere. He'd often take out Bucky's photo and caress it and weep.

Steve seeing Peggy in Wanda's illusion -> Steve always sees Bucky in his dreams

Steve's "dance" promise with Peggy -> Steve and Bucky's Grand Canyon promise, and Steve went there by himself to draw Bucky's picture, pretending they came together.

Steve going back to the past to be with Peggy -> Steve went back to the past to find Bucky, but when he did Bucky died, and the Bucky in his own world disappeared too. When the SHIELD director who looked like Bucky contacted Steve, in a moment of confusion, he agreed and returned to the present.

The "no, you move" words was a climatic scene for Steve in the comics, but was taken from Steve and given to Peggy (via Sharon). As we've discussed elsewhere, this never worked because we have not, demonstrably, ever seen Peggy plant herself in the face of overwhelming pressure and refuse to compromise on something.

I really like this next bit, so I'm going to translate it word for word:

You think it's a tragic love, but it was stolen from Cap and Bucky's relationship. That is Captain's "right partner", that's his insurmountable love from WW2, his 65 years of pining, the existence that he can neither let go nor speak about, he's the quiet grief in his dark nights, he's the exhilaration of their reunion, he's the heartbreak in his every almost-found but repeated disappointments, he's his exhausting search. And someone stole everything from the original, except the suffering.

And I think that's my biggest issue with this character, because she's been written as a Mary-Sue of sorts, with a whole bunch of retroactively added privilege -- which, I dunno, maybe made her feel more appealing to some of the audience, but widened the gap between her and Steve. Steve, who has not lived amongst privilege, and whose whole being is around not letting privileged folks take advantage of others -- against her, a highly privileged woman, who used that privilege to gain more privileges, who then used it to take advantage of others. They are so diametrically opposed in their motivations that I just can't see them working out without either of them breaking character.

Apparently in House of M, she and Steve married, but she could not fathom why Steve continued to oppose unfair policies from the government. Steve lamented only Bucky understood him, but Bucky died during a mission, and Steve stepped down from Cap and divorced Peggy. At the end, an aged Steve walks beneath the streetlights, mourning the words Bucky once said to him. This is a much more likely outcome for their relationship if both remained in character, than whatever EG was.

[thebadtimewolf]

jfc why are your takes on docrose so negative all the time???? stop pretending you like rose and/or docrose when your takes on them are so similar to anti takes. esp with this “tenrose bland” “romantic ten/donna” “hahaha ten became the tlv for donna and not for rose” “why do you guys ship rose with the doctor when she was so young” typa bs that i have seen you occasionally coming up with under ten/docrose content for quite sometime now. and stop pretending you love nine/rose as well cos’ no one is having it. just keep your stupid, brain-dead takes the fuck away from rose / docrose content. keep them to yourself. you’re not fooling anyone with your billie pfp. istg you’re so annoying

hey i thought you blocked me so why are you complaining? anyway.

brain dead ahaha! because what how many dw stories involving near death experiences or full death of one or someone else's brain. i know you may unintentionally stumble into that. But. Like. I find that story theme neat.

hey why is the one time rose got to kiss the alien dr as herself with full autonomy of her mind and body was CUT FROM THE AUDIOBOOK BUT WE GOT

SEVERAL SEVERAL STORIES WHERE A WHOLE ASS ENTITY GOT TO SMOOCH HIM WHILE USING HER BODY LIKE A HUMAN MEAT SUIT. WHY. WHY IS THAT.

like i dunno about you but i would like rose marion tyler the vampire-human to actually be the monsterfucker we were promised twice (NINE AND TEN) and we only got with river. who is doing all the heavy lifting by herself.

antis just dont like rose tyler. even when she breathes. even when she don't.

i want MONSTERFUCKER ROSE TYLER. FUCKER OF FATHER TIME HERSELF ROSE MARION TYLER. THE ONE THAT PEGS TIME'S CHAMPION (the alien, the titular question of the show) ROSE TYLER THAT WE WERE PROMISED. AND ROBBED.

i dont want him fucking a memory of a shop girl. i dont want fucking the tardis possessing said shop girl or lady cassandra possessing the shop girl or THE LITERAL BOMB THAT SLAUGHTERED HIS OWN KIND. i dont want fanfic. i dont want tentoo (i love you but no. um most of his screentime was in torchwood and with jack and martha. as a hand. no. congrats on the kid tho).

you settled for crumbs. dust. and the rot that you had to portion out to your starved near-carcass form as if it were just as a warm, filling feast fit for the cold like the ones in the paper images you salivate over. like river. like weirdly the tenth doctor adventures with donna (big finish seriously this anon has a good point why are you shipping donna and ten. i mean manifesting clearly works because ✨️60th✨️) forever out of reach. forever in the cycle of heteronormative monoamorous disappointment. lackluster strictly-audio sexual tension. yet that taunt of promise like ten dangling the key to martha, you too with eager hands of rotted crumb after 9 day-past-expiry-date crumb to the point where crumb has only become the delusion of a 8 course meal in your rose-colored eyes.

free yourself. break free. let dame rose marion tyler be the polyamorous monsterfucker she desired to be but moffat et al refused through mockery and misogyny and also abuse (? seriously why is every other ninerose comic is her killing nine and traumatizing jack like wtf bbc wtf im supposed to believe SHE loved HIM?? bbc u ok????)

just because you settled for dust happily so doesnt mean I HAVE TO.

tenrose audios are romantically bland tho. great story. I LOVE THE FRENCH ONE AND THE JUDOON ONE IM I LOVE WHEN THEY HAVE WITTY BANTER LIKE IN LOVE AND MONSTERS AND NEW EARTH AND SCHOOL REUNION. tho in the audios by big finish: they are romantically bland. i mean unless ur into emotionally deprived edging in such a severe degree that you too would nearly batman-jump jack harkness', adam mitchell's, and tentoo's bones or shoot the doctor on first sight with no heaitation until the next issue drops. then good for you! they are great platonically in the big finish audios but im waiting for a ninerose audio from big finish. im clinging.

but yeah, the other references you mentioned i've made - thats all big finish.

i stand by "why do you guys ship the doctor with someone so young" bit. because literally martha, donna, clara, river, amy, rory, jack, yaz (all the ones that are shipped with the dr that are written really scarily well) ARE ALL OLDER THAN ROSE WHEN SHE FIRST MET THE DOCTOR. SHES THE BABY AND THATS EVEN WORSE BECAUSE RIVER WAS SHOWN AS A LITERAL BABY ONSCREEN. YEARS AFTER THEM ALL AND SHES THE OLDER ONE?? BESIDES JACK???

HELL, MISSY; THE MASTER - PICK. A. FACE.

hell the entire whoniverse is canonically being told through the curator's recountence of the events WHICH MEANS THAT CHARACTER - THE DOCTOR CHARACTER FROM THE FAR FUTURE - SUMMED UP HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ROSE TYLER LIKE WHAT WE AS THE AUDIENCE GET IN TERMS OF AUDIOS, BOOKS, AUDIOBOOKS, SHORT STORIES, LITTLE COMIC FUNNIES, LIL CHARACTER SUMMARY DESCRIPTIONS IN COMIC AND ON BACK OF MERCHANDISE LIKE THIS????

um. i dont know about you. but once you see it like that? in that grand scheme? yeah im going point it out. even the curator dont ship it. like do you not grasp that? i do! thats what devastated me! even the titular character dont ship it anymore because the alien moved on. the dr is known to us to break the 4th wall because "what would they be without their audience" - give us a little rose memory bit by bit. crumb by crumb. dust by dust.

but see im in too deep, im melting into the walls. just like docrose is but another indistinguishable pore along their skin, so is every take. or theory. i may have. And the dr's black now. So like every dr x poc companion ship, theyll be ignored or villified.

and you seem like the person that would ignore or villify 15 (or really any of them, anonymous that sounds like 2013ish era tumblr - remember when we didnt have ads here?)

but yeah. yall settled for dust, ya get dust. sorry ur still bitter on the doctorrose truth pill but yeah. she left a human to settle for a human even though being heavily promoted to romance essentially an eldritch bring that has snapped people's necks before the war just for fun or in spontaneous burst of emotion. again for fun.

sorry that im the only one complaining about a writing issue of a tv character.

ON MY ROLEPLAY BLOG OF MY ORIGINAL TIME LORD CHARACTER WITH A BILLIE PIPER FACECLAIM.

my takes will stop being negative when billie piper comes back as a doctor who villain (i want her as the new master. thats the exact villain i am referring to. dig that knife in. we all seen collateral and penny dreadful and her clown self in i hate suzie SHES GOT THE RANGE. LET HER BE THE MASTER PLEASE. THE CLOSEST WE GOT WAS THE MOMENT. AND SHE WAS JUST SHALKA!MASTER REDUX)

[admiral-alby]

bob fic recs galore

here’s the fruits of my labour. a working fic rec master-post containing multiple bob ships and many, many amazing fics. the writers in this fandom are absolutely incredible and their talent astounds me every time I read a new fic. all the kudos to y’all. keep on keeping on!

this is a long post. recs and some general notes are under the cut :)

(04/13/21) I’ll do my best to keep this list updated... or I’ll make a part 2 depending on length. if anyone has any recs that are not already listed in this post, please please message me! this is no way an exhaustive list and I’m sure I missed some fantastic fics out there - to get started I mostly just plucked from my bookmarks. I’d be happy to add on new fics for ANY pairing, rare-pairs included. I don’t really have much for rare-pairs in this rec because I haven’t read much yet but that will change soon when I have some more time on my hands to get into them  :)

if you are an author on this list and you would like your work removed from it, please just message me. no explanation necessary I will take it off asap.

I’ll make the disclaimer that while I tried to include some general information about each fic, I did not include tags/warnings. so if you choose a fic, read the tags and proceed at your own discretion.

 @capsparkyspeirs   you’re a lovely human being and this is probably not what you were imagining when I said I’d be happy to rec some fics for you. I admit it got a little out of hand but there’s so many great fics out there I couldn’t stand to choose just a couple to send your way... so you get them all! you inspired me to do this, so this is for you and anyone else who wants to read some great fics but doesn’t know where to start <3

WINNIX (RICHARD WINTERS/LEWIS NIXON)

Long Ago and Far Away (Canon Winnix) by churchkey (Series) Rated T-E / Canon Era / 18013 Words (Total) / 4 Parts / Not Complete

Summary: “A few scenes exploring how Dick and Lew became the timeless cosmic lovers they were born to be.“

*Each part can be read as a stand-alone!

It Happened One Night by raquelelpillo Rated M / Groundhog Day AU / 7704 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Nixon gets the chance to do the day before the big jump over and over and over (or, Every Fandom Needs Groundhog's Day Fic).”

Finding Our Way in the Dark by rilla Rated E / Canon Era / Soulmate AU / 8477 Words / Complete

Summary: “After Dick and Lew share their first kiss in Austria, they open their eyes to find a golden thread binding their wrists together.“

Mutual by miss_grey Rated G / Canon Era / 2105 Words / Complete

Summary: “Dick couldn’t help wondering to himself when exactly Nix had decided that Dick’s personal space had become their mutual space.“

Let Me Be Close by armyofbees  Rated G / Canon Era (Post-War) / 8679 Words / Complete

Summary: “Five things Nix loves about Dick, and one thing Dick loves about Nix.Or,The thing about Nix, Dick is beginning to learn, is that he doesn’t love in halves. Nix loves with everything in him, and sometimes that means moving to the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania for Dick. Sometimes it means making spaghetti with him because Dick came to New Jersey and planted tomatoes, of all things. Sometimes it means telling without saying.”

Let’s Start the New Year Right by slightlytookish Rated G / Canon Era (Post-War) / 10523 Words / Complete

Summary: “Nix had always been able to pick Dick out of a crowd, even when he was lying on his belly in the dirt two hundred yards away, squinting through binoculars at an entire company of men wearing identical uniforms. It was easier to spot him in the crush of people inside Penn Station, even out of the familiar uniform: the same tall figure, the same bright hair, the same way he always seemed to find Nix just as easily and turn towards him, like an arrow on a compass.”

Lancaster County by raquelelpillo Rated T / AU / 31500 Words / 17 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “Nix is born later. Dick is there. (AU). Set in the summer of 1942 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.”

**It is part of a series with the other works being small ‘extras’ set through the story. This is the main work. It ends a bit ambiguously.

SPEIRTON (RONALD SPEIRS/CARWOOD LIPTON)

The Desolate House by Howling_Harpy Rated E / Canon Era (Post-War) / 26672 Words / Complete

Summary: “It's been fifteen years since Carwood has last seen or spoken to Speirs when they reunite suddenly at an Easy Company reunion and have both recently relocated back to the US. Carwood has promised to his mother to finish packing and cleaning the family's boarding house that's about to be put up for sale, and on a whim invites Speirs to help him. He didn't expect him to actually show up.”

and you on my mind by seabright Rated E / Canon Era (Post-War) / 11081 Words / Complete

Summary: “’You say that you don’t want any of Easy to know that you’re in Boston but you give me your address.’  Following a relationship through the end of the war and beyond.”

Of Soldiers and Secrets by nanuk_dain Rated E / Canon Era / 62988 Words / 26 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “A series of moments in the life of the Easy men, from Foy until after the war, focussing on the development of the relationship of Carwood Lipton and Ronald Speirs.”

Erasure by Howling_Harpy Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 15255 Words / Complete

Summary: “Carwood takes time off from work to visit his mother to get away from his lonely life in Boston. Ron is deployed to Korea and has been for a long while, and after spending a year alone and even longer lying to everyone, Carwood is not sure he wants to live like this anymore.”

Fluences by masongirl (Series) Rated T-M / Canon Era / Soulmates AU / 12818 Words (Total) / 5 Works / Complete

Summary: “ Soulmate AU in which soulmates can sense each other's emotions if they are close enough.”

**Mainly Speirton centric. Part 2 is Winnix & Part 3 is Shifty/Tab.

A Thousand Kisses by Arwen88 Rated T / Canon Era / 1993 Words / Complete

Summary: “ A late night in Hardigny brings Carwood to the room where Ron is dealing with paperwork, but even with a comfortable bed, he can’t find his peace. Late night chats have Ron showing a side of himself that Carwood had not expected.”

stop the world by languageofthebirds Rated T / Canon Era / 3001 Words / Complete

Summary: “The way his hair fell in mussed waves over his forehead made Carwood want to reach out and run his fingers through it. He was sin personified, in that moment.”

**Did I throw in a shameless self promo? Sure did.

WEBGOTT (JOSEPH LIEBGOTT/DAVID WEBSTER)

rivers always reach the sea by bitchbutter (Series) Rated E / Canon Era / 40790 Words (Total) / 2 Works / Not Complete / Last Updated March 17, 2021

Part 1 Summary: “Joe breaks things off with Web in Austria. Of course, nothing with them is ever that simple.“

Part 2 Summary: “The end of the war could be the end of a lot of things. If Joe could let it be.“

if i know you at all, i know you’ve gone too far by starblessed Rated T / Canon Era / 2654 Words / Complete

Summary: “How many stars d’you think there are, Web?” Joe asks after a moment.David has no damned clue. “A lot,” he answers confidently. “Millions.”“Millions,” echoes Joe. The glittering stars are reflected in his eyes, like black pits sending each beam of light back outward. It’s almost hypnotizing, the way they flicker. If he stares too long, David knows he will get lost in them...  and that doesn't seem like the worst way to go.”

Teller of Tales; Song of Songs by thedastardly Rated E / Canon Era (Post War) / 8352 Words / Complete

Summary: “He hopes that he dreams about the mountaintop tonight. He isn’t in the mood to dream of the water, the shore, the everything after, again.”

the only noise beating out is ours by lakehymn Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 3470 Words / Complete

Summary: “Over the next couple weeks, Webster realizes that Liebgott has effortlessly invaded every corner of his life. Even on the days when he barely sees Liebgott at all, he can always find comic books or packs of cigarettes lying around somewhere. It’s almost disconcerting how ordinary it’s beginning to feel to stumble upon someone else’s belongings in his own house.”

push and pull by LT_Aldo_Raine

Rated T / Modern AU / 4115 Words / Complete

Summary: ““got hands like an ocean, push you out, pull you back in” And David Webster never could resist the ocean. OR: Webster snorted, a sardonic sound that echoed across the hotel room. “You don’t know the first thing about what I need.””

hang in there, baby by rilla Rated M / Modern AU / 3116 Words / Complete

Summary: “Written for the Kisstober prompt 'upside down Spiderman kisses'. '“I don’t know what I was expecting when I asked you what your top fantasy is,” Web says, “but it wasn’t this."'”

In His Wildest Dreams by Impala_Chick Rated E / Canon Era / Dream Sharing AU / 3891 Words / Complete

Summary: “While David is in the hospital, he starts sharing dreams with Liebgott.“

Black Ink on Some Blue Lines by thelastfig Rated E / Canon Era & Post War / 10185 Words / Complete

Summary: “It’s been sixteen years since the letter was written, but it never found its way to the one it was intended for. The thing about secrets is they eat away at you, not all at once but slowly over the years, and you begin to wonder, to play out the what if scenarios in your mind. Instead, David buried it away and pretended like it never existed. He should have killed it, he thinks to himself, not buried it while it still had breath in its lungs. In which David remembers his evolving relationship with Joe over the course of the war and decides to deliver a letter.”

LUZTOYE (GEORGE LUZ/JOSEPH TOYE)

The best laid plans by masongirl (Series) Rated G-E / Modern AU / 52652 Words (Total) / 15 Parts / Complete

Summary: “Modern AU in which Joe and George find each other as college students and build a life together.“

each and every day (of the year) by bruce_the_shark Rated M / Modern AU / 21630 Words / 2 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “Joe grins, lifts his hand from George’s hip to grip him by the chin, twists his face around to catch his lips in a bruising kiss. George relishes in it, likes how the taste of Joe’s preferred brand of liquor mixes with the taste of his own on his tongue. He grins against Joe’s lips, knows it’s going to be a good year.”

Babysitting and Other Rationales by aces_low Rated T / Modern AU / 3267 Words / Complete

Summary: “George Luz is a god damn saint, or at least some kind of kid whisperer. And Joe's just trying to keep his head on straight.”

who let the dogs in? by starblessed Rated T / Modern AU / 1869 Words / Complete

Summary: ““And he heard me shouting and I guess it inspired him or something, cause he full-on charged at me, Joe, and before I could even slam the door, he was just —“ George cuts off with an incoherent noise, gesturing grandly to their front door. “In! And then he was running, and sniffing everything, and exploring our shit, and he peed —““Not on my damn couch,” Joe growls.“No, on the nice carpet. Marking his territory, y’know? Except it’s our territory, but I guess it’s his now, because he won’t freakin’ leave.”

BABEROE (EDWARD HEFFRON/EUGENE ROE)

Call me sweetheart, please? by mariamegale (Series) Rated G-E / Modern AU / 95865 Words (Total) / 12 Works / Complete

Summary: “A not-relationship in the making.”

**Each part could be read as a standalone I suppose... But it’s so worth it to read the whole series!

between the walls by CountlessStars Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 2275 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Eugene decides to paint his living room. It should be easy, it really should, but it doesn't go as planned (in more ways than one).”

Walking Wounded by papersky_pencilstars Rated G / Canon Era / Magic AU / 3501 Words / Complete

Summary: “Prompt: Canon-era; Either Gene or Babe have magic, or both. Maybe magic is known or maybe they need to hide it.”

JOHNNY MARTIN/BULL RANDLEMAN

they don’t know about the up all nights (they don’t know I’ve waited all my life) by PotofCoffee Rated T / Canon Era / 22010 Words / 3 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “ Johnny and Bull throughout the war, in a slow meandering dance you might just call love.”

All My Love to Give by Muccamukk Rated E / Canon Era / 8852 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Johnny wants to screw around to pass the time. Bull wants to show Johnny how he feels without having to risk saying it”

The Red String by Arwen88 Rated M / Canon Era / Soulmates AU / 1834 Words / Complete

Summary: “He had to wrench his gaze away from the sickening sight, from the machine that was probably moments away from killing his soulmate. He would’ve thrown himself under that tank if that meant saving his lover, but he couldn’t do it. He had to take care of his men, and so he forced himself to stop looking, to order his men to retreat, to see that they did what he was screaming at them.“

Over Where You Began Muccamukk Rated E / Canon Era / 2949 Words / Complete

Summary: “ The way Bull saw it, Johnny was mad at him now, and Bull had no idea what he'd done wrong. Maybe it was better to just let it lie, let Johnny come out of whatever angry mood he was in on his own, instead of kicking an ant's nest.”

Simple as a Glass of Chocolate by ThrillingDetectiveTales Rated E / Canon Era / 2600 Words / Complete

Summary: ““It was supposed to be syrup,” Johnny muttered darkly. “Says right there on the can!”“Reckon it started out that way,” Bull shrugged, biting his lip against a smile when Johnny narrowed a glare over his shoulder.(In which Johnny and Bull try to sweeten up their sex life and it doesn't go exactly as planned.)”

CHUCK GRANT/RONALD SPEIRS

to Babel, in ruins by captainkilly Rated T / Canon Era (Post-War) / 5114 Words / Complete

Summary: “Chuck knows recovery isn't a linear event. Knows there are times when words will leave him and the night will place him back beneath the dirt. Knows there are things he just can't speak about.Captain Speirs hears him anyway.”

pulse by captainkilly Rated T / Canon Era  / 4706 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Ron Speirs knows how to kill. Knows how to hurt, how to twist, how to maim. He doesn't think he's figured out how to love, not really, not where it counts the most, but the touches he reserves for Chuck Grant beg to differ.. “

AUTHORS

there are so many authors on this list that have written tons of amazing works for one or multiple pairings. as much as I would have loved to, I couldn’t rec all of their works... I had a hard enough time keeping it down to 3 or less works from the same author! similar to fics, I’ve only linked authors that I am familiar with/know have written multiple fics, so feel free to send me more people to add to the list :)

churchkey - is a sweetheart. has multiple amazing winnix works. she has recently gotten into super rarepair toye/malarkey. godspeed I’ll see you there when I read those fics.

ThrillingDetectiveTales - writes for multiple pairings. all of their works are fantastic! every time I see their name as the author I go !! and know it’s going to be good.

Howling_Harpy - has written so many fics. many different pairings. lots of speirton. they’ve ripped my heart out and made me cry but then gently kissed my forehead and put my heart back. I think that’s praise of the highest order.

masongirl - another fantastic author who has written so many amazing fics. tons of speirton and other ships too. also has made me cry and then quietly wiped my tears away.

mariamegale - baberoe queen. that’s all I have to say. I was tempted to just rec all her baberoe fics. check them out!

Muccamukk - another multi ship, multi works writer. i had a hard time only choosing a few of their fics to rec. they’ve got so much to offer!

Impala_Chick - writes lots of great webgott and other pairings too!

captainkilly - if i could rec all her fics I would. there’s some rarepair pieces that are fantastic. I didn’t list it here because it’s more of a character centric piece with an OFC and a little bit of ron/chuck dashed in mostly at the end, but read her form & void series. seriously. read it. I have nothing else to say because her work speaks for itself.

Arwen88 - another writer for multiple pairings with multiple works! love to see it. some great rarepair stuff and also fantastic popular pairings.

LT_Aldo_Raine - love their work! they write for multiple pairings.

[soft-hanlon]

Here I Am, With Arms Unfolding

 note: this is my side account, i wanted to post this to my main ( @s-onora ), but i’m having problems with that account right now but i’ll hopefully have posted this to my main within the next few days! so this fic is a gift to @the-antman for the @it-fandom-exchange event! i hope i was able to create something domestic and enjoyable to read! 

3k words / fix-it fic / reddie / mentions of stanpat

read on ao3

"What's goin' on in that funny head of yours?" Eddie moves his thumb across Richie's forehead, just like he's touchin' the silk at the market back in New York, all delicate n' gentle, revelling in the sensation.

Richie looks up at him from where he lays in the grass with a grin, toothier than any Eddie's seen on Richie's mouth since they arrived back in this town n' it's reminiscent of a specific expression he remembers from his childhood that is just so Richie—he's reminded of ice cream dripping over dainty fingers n' lips chapped from the dry heat, sticky with candy.

"Just a bit sore between the ears, Eds." He knocks the side of his head comically n' Eddie slides his palm beneath Richie's head, as he lifts it into his lap. It's better that Richie rests his head in Eddie's lap rather than on the grass, Eddie thinks, it's more comfortable—even if Eddie knows that the ache in Richie's head isn't physical.

Eddie pets Richie's hair back from his forehead, n' watches his milky skin catch the warmth of the July sun, "I know, 'Chie, wanna talk about it?" Richie cacchinates, n' thinks on the pet name, he thinks warmly of it—maybe it's one Eddie might've used in their teens, but it's still fuzzy.

"Do you think we'll forget this time?" The question lingers in the air, in Eddie's ears, for several moments as he moves his finger to stroke over the bridge of Richie's nose. Richie goes cross-eyed trying to watch his finger n' Eddie laughs, a real laugh, n' realises that he doesn't remember the last time he felt honestly happy enough to do so—not with Ma, not with Marty, not with his work friends. "I don't want to forget." Richie murmurs afterwards, azure irises masked over by his eyelids.

"I don't want to forget either, an' I have a feeling we won't." Eddie rests his head back against the trunk of the tree, doesn't stop stroking Richie's face n' petting his hair in a way that feels so specifically intimate, in a way he's never done before. "Hopefully, we'll remember the good things an' eventually the pain will fade. We were forced apart an' into unhappy lives for nearly three decades, an' I don't know about the others but I could always feel it—I always felt this weight on my chest, of knowing that something wasn't right."

"I felt it, too."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. Since leaving this shithole the first time, I've been living in LA, I've got a radio show n' a comedy gig on the side n' even though I love doing those things it's never felt like enough, even though it's the life I've always wanted. I thought there was something wrong with me." Richie shrugs, "It never even occurred to me that I couldn't remember where I'd grown up."

"I was always happiest with you guys. I think all of my memories are back now since we've been here for a month, an' I hope I can keep them when we leave." Richie blows a lock of hair out of his own eyes n' sits up, crossing his legs 'in a basket', directly facing Eddie. It seems his hyper energy has returned after a few hours of sitting out here in perfect serenity.

"All you needed was to see your old pal Richie!" Richie dives into an impression of an old radio announcer, "Lean, one-armed-machine Eddie Kaspbrak absolutely brand new after saucy reunion with hot-shot Richie Tozier!" He boops Eddie's nose, watching the blood rush into his cheeks as he giggles coyly.

"Maybe." Eddie shrugs slightly, smiling in Richie's direction. Richie composes himself a little, n' places a tentative hand on Eddie's knee, keeping it strictly in one place so that Eddie doesn't end up uncomfortable.

"Listen, Eds, I..." Richie sighs, looking to Eddie's eyes through the blond's round spectacles. "I've spent my whole adult life wanting something that I wasn't sure I could really have. I've been looking for fellas since I moved to California on the down-low n' I don't know... I could never really find someone I wanted n' I think I realised why when we came back here."

"Oh, yeah?" Eddie asks, pushing his glasses up a little. He just smiles warmly, doesn't comment on the fact that Richie's maybe just come out to him. "You can tell me, if you want."

Richie sighs, trailing his finger across Eddie's knee n' back to where he started, glancing up at him. He gives an encouraging nod, n' Richie wonders briefly how he ever could have forgotten him. "Don't wanna make you all jittery, Eds, ya probably won't like what I have to say."

"It's okay, say it anyway." Eddie shakes his head, still beaming, "I don't think you can say anything that'll scare me, not after everything we've seen."

Richie opens his mouth, but decides to shut it again. He begins tapping his finger against Eddie's knee subconsciously, n' Eddie brings his only hand to rest on top of Richie's, gently bringing his tapping to a halt. Richie considers for a moment, n' then turns his hand over so his palm slides against Eddie's. The blond's eyebrows shoot up past his dandelion curls, but he doesn't move his hand, waiting for Richie to do something else.

"Eds..."

"Yeah, Rich?" His voice is soft like Richie's cotton bed sheets at home, Richie wants to wrap himself up in the comfort of it to avoid the cumbersome weight of the conversation most likely following. But Eddie's still looking at him, a rhapsodic smile slowly forming over his lips, Richie's not sure it's even there at first. N' suddenly, there's a hand on his forearm, his bicep, his shoulder, his neck, n' then he's being kissed on the mouth. It's sweet-tempered n' careful n' once the initial shock wears off, Richie thinks it makes sense. Eddie's always been so brave, willing to take risks even if the outcome may not be in his favour. He's always been gentle, too—Richie often wondered, as a teen, if Eddie kissed with as much solicitude as he treated his friends with.

Richie doesn't have a lot of time to return Eddie's affections before the man in question lets their lips depart from each other with a soft click, n' his hand slips from Richie's jaw. "M' sorry if that was too forward, it just seemed like that's where you were going an' needed a bit of help." Eddie pushes his glasses up from where they'd slid down his nose, looking a little blissed out.

"Leave with me. Come to California."

"California? You want me to go with you?"

Richie clasps Eddie's hand in both of his own, squeezing it gently, "Please, Eds, come live with me, I don't want to be apart from you again. I have so much space, a spare bedroom if you want it. You'd live like a king, I promise."

Eddie huffs out a soft, astonished laugh, "Really? Rich, I couldn't invade your life like that, it sounds like a huge change for you. Even then, I'm the owner of a company in New York."

"You could move your company to Los Angeles, I can get in touch with someone who can help with the details. Besides, there's plenty of celebrities looking for limos in LA. I want you there, Eds." Richie sighs softly, "Down in the cistern, I thought you were going to die. In the hospital, when you wouldn't wake up for hours, it was the worst I've ever felt. I don't want to feel like that again. So if you'd like to, I want you to live with me."

"Okay... okay, I'll go with you." This time, it's Richie who goes in for a kiss. He cups Eddie's face in his hands n' brings their lips together, making sure to be gentle. He feels Eddie beaming against his mouth, n' he thinks this is maybe the greatest he's ever felt in his life. The way he feels, it's warm n' glowing n' fuzzy n' he knows that this is what he's wanted his entire life. Ever since the summers of his youth, when he was running free, full of July sunshine and orange pulp, n' his hand was in that of another's, the same hand holding onto his at this very moment.

"You sure? You really want to come with me?" Richie asks when they part, cupping his hand under Eddie's elbow n' leaving the other on Eddie's face.

"Being back here, it's made me realise I don't wanna be in New York, I don't belong with Myra. I don't think I was really sure who I did belong with until, well, right now," Eddie smiles coyly, "but now that I know, it makes sense—you were always different to me." Richie grins, sliding his hand up to drape over the back of Eddie's so that he can lean in n' kiss the skin on the inside of his wrist. "Jeez, Rich, you're gonna make me go bananas."

That comment receives him a gently pinch of the cheek n' an exclamation of, "Cute, cute, cute!" Eddie doesn't pull away like he used to, embarrassed, n' instead just laughs, his cheeks warming fast. Richie's face softens, he looks so pleased that he was able to make Eddie laugh. He cups Eddie's face in his hands, turning his head a little so he can press a kiss to the blond's cheekbone.

"Your moustache tickles!" Eddie giggles light and airy, snorting quietly n' gasping out of surprise when he does. He whines, covering his flushing face with two hands, obviously embarrassed. Richie's eyes light up, and he gently pries Eddie's hands away from his face, grinning.

"Oh, that's so cute, Eds, I forgot you do that." Richie realises with a pang that he's missed that noise all this time. He remembers teasing Eddie gently for it in their childhood, n' kissing his cheek when his face turned red n' he pouted at Richie's words.

"Okay, Rich, let's go back to the townhouse before I explode." Eddie pats his own cheeks in what Richie assumes is some sort of attempt to rid himself of the redness in his face. The taller of the two stands, helping Eddie up n' letting his large hands come to rest on Eddie's waist, making his body look much more dainty. The blond squeaks as Richie presses him back against the tree, leaning in for another kiss. Eddie accepts it without a problem anyway, laughing into Richie's mouth when Richie tugs gently on his suspenders to pull him just that bit closer.

"Sorry, Eds, jus' wanted one more before we had to go back to the losers." Richie murmurs, n' Eddie softens a little more if that's even possible, kisses the corner of his mouth, then clicks their lips back into place together for a brief moment. "You're swell." Richie sighs, smiling all dopey n' euphoric-like.

"You know I think you are, too." Eddie squeezes Richie's shoulder, hand sliding upwards to cup the side of his neck. Richie loves Eddie's voice, thinks that if it were a shape, it'd be something with gentle curves. "Now, the losers are probably expecting us to be back soon, we've been away for hours. C'mon." Richie finally lets go of Eddie's suspenders and clasps his hand around the other's, nearly engulfing it.

They walk back to the townhouse, not in any sort of rush, just enjoying one another's company until they have to face their friends again n' finally separate their hands. "You wanna maybe... spend the night with me?" Eddie asks as they approach the townhouse, "I'm not expecting anything—I jus'... I really liked spending time with you this way." He adds quickly, realising how it might sound.

Richie chuckles, pinching Eddie's cheek, "Of course, my love, I would enjoy nothing more." He brings Eddie's hand to his mouth, kissing his knuckles n' slowly, reluctantly, letting go of it. Eddie gives him a bitter-sweet, understanding smile, n' they make their way inside the town house, ready to face their friends again.

They're welcomed back with smiles n' alcohol from behind the bar that no one ever tended to. They talk into the small hours of the night, reminiscing on their childhoods together, times when they weren't being tormented by a murderous clown���Richie and Eddie sparing soft glances towards each other when no one's looking. Slowly, they all start to retreat back to their rooms one by one, until only Stan, Eddie and Richie are left.

"Alright, I think it's time for me to go to bed. I have to make some calls which'll probably take some time." Eddie tells them softly, standing up from the sofa, n' setting his almost empty glass of white wine down on the bar. "I'll see you tomorrow, g'night."

Richie watches him walk up the stairs, disappearing around the corner before turning back to Stan, who's been watching him from behind his glass, eyebrow raised. "What's up, Staniel?"

"Nothing." Stan blows one of his curls out of his eyes, sipping at his wine n' waving him off. "Can I ask you something?"

Richie grins, n' it spreads far enough to reach his eyes, "Well, sure you can, what's up?"

"When we all leave Derry, are you planning on going back to California alone?"

Richie's brow furrows, "I'm not sure I follow, Stanny."

"Come on, Richie. I'm not as oblivious as the others, give me some credit here." Richie chews at the inside of his lip, averting his eyes. "Listen, we don't have to talk about it now, or ever, if that's what you want. But I think whatever it is you have with Eddie, you should pursue it. I don't know how long you've felt this way, but I'm guessing it's been a really long time." His friend doesn't say anything, just sighs n' nods slowly. "You deserve a win right now, it's been rough being back here."

"Really?"

"Of course. I love Patty more than I've ever loved someone before, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have her. You should be able to openly say that about whoever you love, too." Stan simpers, standing from his chair, "I'm going to get some sleep, and you're going to go an’ see Eddie because, my God, it's been physically painfully watching you too make sappy eyes at each other all night."

"Alright, Staniel, I will." Richie chuckles, shaking his head at his words, "Could you maybe do me a favour? I wouldn't usually ask you to keep things from the other losers, but would it be okay if you didn't tell them about this? Me n' Eds, we're not ready for that."

"Yeah, don't worry, Richie. I wouldn't say anything regardless." Stan pats Richie's shoulder, "I'll see you in the morning."

"G'night, Stan." Richie waits until Stan makes his way upstairs n' disappears around the corner to retreat to his room for night before quietly jogging up the stairs so that none of the losers peek out of their rooms to catch him sneaking into Eddie's room. He knocks softly against the wood n' he only has to wait for a moment before Eddie opens the door, phone pressed between his ear n' his shoulder, a smile growing on his mouth when he sees that it's Richie. He opens the door and motions for him to come in n’ sit down. He's already changed into his pyjamas, n’ he crosses the room to his suitcase, lifting out a pair of sweatpants n' turning them around to offer to Richie. He's muttering quietly into the phone as he does so, clearly stressed by whatever the person on the other end of the line is saying.

He turns away while Richie changes out of his clothes n' into the sweatpants; they're a little snug, but he'll take them over having to go back to his room to change. Once he's changed, Eddie comes back to him, n' climbs under the bed comforter, motioning for Richie to join him. "I know, Myra, I'm sorry. But you know that staying together would be unfair to both of us." He sighs, voice quiet, almost guilty.

It finally dawns on Richie, n' so he slowly lays down next to Eddie, wraps his arms around him. He presses his mouth against Eddie's temple, rubbing soothing fingers over Eddie's bicep. "Please, listen to me, Marty. I don't love you the way I'm supposed to, I can't lie to you or myself anymore, we can't be together. I'll explain myself tomorrow, you can have whatever you want when we separate, but I won't be coming back home to stay. It's really late, I'm going to get some sleep and you should, too. I'll call you again tomorrow." There's a few moments where he doesn't speak, just listens to whatever his soon-to-be ex-wife says, n' then hangs up the phone, dropping it onto the bedside table n' dropping his head back against Richie's arm, sighing.

"Y'alright, Eds?" Richie whispers, tightening his arms around Eddie's torso. Eddie lets him, the frown lines on his face finally smoothing out as Richie pulls the comforter up and over their shoulders, keeping them warm.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Rich. Myra's just a little hard to shake, that's all." He tells him under his breath, moving to wrap his arm around Richie, too, finally feeling the aching flood out of himself. "I'll deal with it, tomorrow, I jus' wanna sleep right now, is that okay?"

"Of course, it's okay, my love. I'll be here with you tomorrow, an' I'll give you as many cuddles as you need and want." Richie chuckles, pressing his fingers gently into Eddie's side, eliciting a giggle from him, light n' airy n' euphoric. Eddie grabs his hand to stop him, but ultimately keeps his hand there, tilting his head up to kiss him.

"Thank you, Rich, being back here's been... a little crazy, but I'm glad we all came back. I'm glad we're together again." The blond yawns, tucking his head into Richie's pale neck, his slow breaths tickling Richie's neck, but he doesn't mind; it's a reminder that Eddie's here, breathing, alive."

"Me too, Eds, me too."

[sxtansqueen]

AM I GOING CRAZY? Bucky Barnes x Stark! Reader (social au!)

AM I GOING CRAZY? Bucky Barnes x Stark! Reader (social au!)

Masterlist

1. Are you on crack, yn?

You were bouncing your head to American Pie as you made your way towards the stairs of the building that lead to your, Nat and Wanda´s dorm. You sighed, promising yourself that you´d bring up the problem of not having an elevator on the building on the next community reunion. If that wasn´t possible, maybe even your dad could buy the buidling, and you could help install the elevator with JARVIS in it.

You shook your head, chuckling slightly at the thought. You climbed up three floors of stairs, and finally reached the aparment.

With an exhausted huff, you took out of your bag the keys, smiling when you heaard your friends arguing at the other side of the door.

“For fucks sake Parker!” you heard Natasha exclaim at the younger boy “ how could she have a power? That happens in those comics you and yn read, not in real life”.

“But what if she actually did?” his eyes lit up at just the thought of one of his best friends having a superpower “ wouldn´t it be so cool?”

“Of course it´d be cool!” you chimed in, getting yourself away from the big, black coat and your backpack “but I find it highly improbable”

“yn” MJ called you out, a tired smile tugging its way onto her lips “ your dad is Tony Stark, I wouldn´t be surprised if you told us he gave you powers when you were a child”.

“First, this is the only time it has ever happened to me” you paused, moving towards the living room where they were all seated “second, as far as I know my dad did experiments with rats and it always ended in failure”.

“So” Shuri intervined, nodding her head slowly “ why don´t you tell us exactly what happened this morning?”

“I was jogging with Nat, you know, she´s now making me do exercise once in a week at least, and we decided to do it today in the morning. We passed by the uni, and these freshmen that were playing volley ball threw unintentionally the ball at me”

“Yeah, she fell straight into the concrete” Nat snickered.

“Anyway” I sighed” I was listening to music when fell, I don´t know what started happening with my phone but my playlist was working wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Wanda asked, leaning on the couch.

“Yeah, it started skipping songs when I wasn´t even touching the phone. It actually was lying on the floor? I even started hearing songs that I didn´t recognize”.

“That is really weird?”Mj frowned, tilting her head to the side.

I nodded “I know, right? Well, then Nat and I came back to the apartment, got dressed and walked to college. Nothing happened until I started walking towards the library to study”.

“I remember it was raining” Natasha pointed out.

“Yep. When I was about to step into the library I started hearing people singing. Obviously, I was pretty confused, so I followed the music. There were seriously, a lot of people walking towards where I was,all of them singing Umbrella”.

“Umbrella?”

“Umbrella. They even had a fucking choreography and all, it was amazing and disturbing at the same time, honestly. After they finished, I walked to one of the women that had been singing, asked if it was all a flashmob”

“What did she say to you?” Wanda asked, eyebrows frowned.

“That she had never sang anything and that I was fucking crazy” I shrugged “so I realized that´s something that happens only in my head”

“Maybe it´s the lack of sleep” Natasha suggested.

I shook my head “Yesterday I slept around ten hours, don´t you remember? I´m not really an early bird”.

“Yeah, I don´t think it´s just that” Shuri agreed with you.

“Why don´t we wait until it happens again?” Wanda shrugged “maybe this is just a one-time thing, who knows?”

“By the way, this has to be kept a secret, okay?” you turned to all of your friends, getting up from the sofa “ I don´t think we should tell anyone”.

“Are you not gonna tell Bucky?” Peter chimed in “you kind of tell each other everything”.

You shook you head “ I think he should be the least one to know about it. Knowing him, he´s gonna freak out and that´s never good”.

[monsterkingdom]

Heya! welcome to the masterpost I’m making to keep track of how I view my Wandersong AU that I’ve dubbed

Eya-Born

Read below!

Concept

The concept of this AU is very simple! Kiwi -- our Bard-- is a being made directly from Eya. That is to say, they are basically a demi-god.

When setting up to finally have the passing of the Universe -- Singing her song again-- Many know of the Hero who is sent to usher out this task within its final moments.

What if, before even that prophetic dream and entities start truly deteriorating-- She made a being to also challenge the idea with the knowledge of the ever so elusive Earthsong. That’s where this AU comes in!

Beginning

Eya created a being to see how much the world truly is in disarray and attempt to remedy it in their own way. A being free from fate. Free-will was her emphasis... as well as her attunement to magic-- which by default meant music.

They were sent to the Earth the Wandersong Universe knows... Specifically to a woman living in a city in the midst of industrial change. Riddled with loneliness due to a husband who got too into his work and guilt.

Seeing such an ailed child on her doorstep, a scenario one only hears in fairytales... She took the child in wholeheartedly, worrying who would leave them in such a state. After searching for the origins to no avail, she decided to raise them as her own.

Under the name Jack. Named after the fabled protagonist of many fairytales and rhymes... it seemed fitting based on their circumstances.

And thus, begins the bard’s life.. full of normality in every sense of the word.

....almost every sense of the word.

The magical properties of their music were always something they grew up with. Though, it didn’t do too much... Their mother assumed that the child was most likely part witch. As simple as that.

As least... as simple as trying to mask their child’s slightly pink tinged hair with several different hats upon growing up. Thankfully, Chismest was starting its headstrong course on being perpetually cold and gloomy by the bard’s early years and being bundled up was definitely inevitable indoors and out.

Cutting forward to the events of Wandersong, many of everything ended up panning out the same. The prophetic dreams, ghastly encounters, universal fates amounting to nothing, so on and so forth...

The not-so-Earthsong was sung. The world was saved... the zip and zap from the dreamtower was done and the dialogue with Eya congratulating them begins. However... as she starts prepping to send them off. A rumble occurs... the clouds separate and palms grasp the platform the three of them stand on.

Reunion

(now please enjoy this minor comic I did half a year ago)

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(ok end back to writing)

Kiwi then began-- as Eyala once put it-- “vicariously feeling Eya’s love through everything in the world” (paraphrasing this btw)

However, there’s... quite a lot of love to feel. Especially when you’re not used to it. That happiness... that joy... starts feeling a bit weird when you can’t turn it off.

Needless to day Kiwi didn’t adapt well.

Though... Eya, in all her overseeing capabilities... seemed to have a detached reaction to the whole situation.

“Oh fine fine...” she waved her hand slightly... the hue in Kiwi’s face settling a bit, though their face still bore an expression that showed they were still under some of the emotional weight of the whole thing.

“I suppose it is a bit much all at once... You’d probably be better off having it opened but unleashed through your own discoveries.”

Before Miriam could question further, the goddess’ gaze shifted to that of her Angelic assistance, who was watching the whole thing rather speechlessly.

“Eyala, dearest...” the melodic voice of Eya’s godly tones spooled out toward her, “I’m putting you in charge of guiding them through the basics.”

“M-Me, Eya?” She hesitantly replied, “I mean... of course!” she sputtered out.

“Eeeeeeexcellent” she chimed, “We can see they’re already experiencing increased empathy... maybe in due time they’ll be able to discover their other properties. The bard may excel beyond your basic prowess later on, Eyala, but your knowledge is a wonderful base for the poor dear...”

Eyala wordlessly nodded, clearly not about to speak up about the whole ordeal Kiwi had gone through in front of the goddess herself,

“In any case... I am greatly pleased with your performance, child. As a reminder, this is my gift to you. The locks are now undone... all that is needed is for you to learn. Maybe then you’ll be ready to take it in this way.” she smiled, eye crinkling with pleasure as Miriam helped Kiwi to their feet,

“Eyala will assist you in any way she can... She’ll probably teach you how to contact her with ease after this. However, I must leave you now... re-establishing the universe that was saved and all” she chuckled about it, hair slowly enveloping her face before she began receding into the clouds once more.

The godly presence left in an instant, leaving the trio to stand bewildered on the platform once more.

“So...” Eyala began.

“...Is she... normally like that?” Kiwi wheezed out, finally gathering their bearings.

“Yeah... she didn’t sound empathetic like the tales blab about her being.”

Eyala frowned at the two of them and clapsed her hands together, “She tries her best... but, she doesn’t get to experience things as much as she used to. Though, her love for everything is still here...”

The angel sighed and floats closer to Kiwi, holding their face slightly. A bit more tenderly than the goddess did to them previously,

“We’re gonna make this easier for you, lil’ B. I promise.”

Learning

Kiwi-- being a direct piece of Eya as opposed to a simple messenger like Eyala-- had a lot more going for them in terms of connections to things. As someone who normally was pretty darn good at burying their feelings into the dirt, suddenly feeling a good amount of what everything else did along with their own weird doubts was quite a bunch to take in.

They went through with their hellos and good-byes, keeping their misty tears in as best they could. They met up with their mother during... trying desperately to hold their tongue as she rambled on about their ‘long lost’ father finally come home... hoping all of them could live normal again. That they could be normal.

They were whisked home in the  late evening after staying with Miriam for dinner... holding her closer than ever in their ever-so-tired arms... before letting her drift into the night sky and drift to their bed.

Only to be unable to sleep due to all the sudden emotions they felt. Realizing... ever suddenly.. a lot of them were from the people they interacted with. It was like having thousands of voices and waves of feelings hit you in a chaotic, nonsensical cacophony. It all felt like static, their brain muddled with thoughts not quite their own. They shook their head and for the first time in a while... they cried.

They felt the immense weight of these feelings drag down their face, the tears building and washing over their cheeks relentlessly. They couldn’t tell if they were happy, scared, or sad. Or if it was even them that felt this way.

A hand touched their shoulder, a familiar glow next to them. Kiwi needn’t even look to know it was Eyala again. checking in on them, most likely.

“Hey... Lil’ B.” her voice whispered, “I know it’s... a lot. You’re being left on a pretty bad note.” Kiwi turned,, face still full of tears and their voice caught in their throat from.. well... everything. They simply nodded in agreement.

Even Eyala could see the visible strain on Kiwi’s face.. and very well knew the reason why, “ Here. Let’s start with this instead... and I can help with the contact stuff tomorrow. We gotta help you filter this all out.” She held their hands in hers, rubbing their palms with her thumbs, “Just... focus on me. Okay? It helps to have something to think about other than people... “

Kiwi nodded... and looked Eyala over. Her hair effortlessly floating behind her in its usual ever-shifting hue... her smile, small, but visible. They could read the concern on her despite having most visible features omitted... Eyala was good at that. Expressing herself through motion and all. It reminded Kiwi of themself.

Without realizing it-- they found their head suddenly empty... well. mostly. There was still that static tingle in the back of their head. Near their neck, it felt. Almost like forgetting something important... but they pushed it down. Much like anything else they felt in the past... and let out a shaky sigh.

“That better...?”

Kiwi nodded again, looking at their hand for a sense of stability now.

It glowed... not much but. It was just a tinge... ever slightly lighter than the darkness surrounding them and Eyala, “So...” they scratchily started, “I’m really...”

“A real child of Eya. Not just in... like... a collective universe sense. Yeah.”

“Wow...”

--WIP ATM BC BED--

[ourmidnightmusings]

OkiKagu Fanfiction

Title: Babies Bring the Worst out of People

Summary:  Okita Sougo is forced to attend a baby shower held in honor of his and Kagura's first child. The best part? His in-laws can't wait to murder him. 

Pairing(s): OkiKagu, hints of KamuSoyo and GinTsu

Rating: M

Chapters: 1/?

A/N: I’ve been wanting to write for my second favorite couple ever! Also, there needs to be more OkiKagu fics in the world! Please let me know what you think. Hope everyone likes it! :)

"I changed my mind; I'm not going."

Kagura looked up from her third bowl full of rice and egg and spared an annoyed glare at her husband. "Yes, you are."

Folding his arms together, Okita replied in a stern voice, "No, I'm not." Naturally, any wife in his time would be a bit tense to hear the man of the house sound so serious. A proper, Japanese woman would obey her husband's words, not defy them.

His wife was neither of those things.

"HAH! It's funny that you think you have a say in anything." The Yato bellowed out in fits of laughter. After another round of knee-slapping and snorting, she went back to shovelling piles of food into her mouth. Disregarding Sougo's unamused look, she went on to prove her firmness on the matter. "Anego worked hard on this baby bath party for us, we have to go."

Okita rolled his eyes. She didn't even know what the damn thing was called. "You mean baby shower."

"Whatever, you're still not getting out of this."

He released a deep sigh and sat next to the frustrating Amanto. Glancing down at her well-rounded stomach, he began to think of ways to convince her to ditch the damn party. The last thing he wanted to do was argue with an irritable, hormonal alien that was capable of sending his ass flying should he piss her off. But he was really not looking forward to seeing a bunch of troublemakers and dealing with the shit-show that was likely to occur. And as bad as the Yorozura and their friends usually were, they were not the reason he wanted to avoid the baby shower.

To his luck, the Boss Lady had thought it would be a great idea to invite Kagura's brother and father to the event. How she even found out how to contact them was beyond him.

It wasn't that he was afraid of his in-laws. It was that he hated them and wished that they would both get lost in space somewhere. For one, Umibouzo was always giving him menacing looks and pandering Kagura to come alien-hunting with him. Then there was that prick Kamui who had attempted to kill him at every given turn. The day before their wedding was a lovely example of how close they had become.

"You're not worthy of mating with my sister if you can't even beat me in a fight." The vermillion-haired man pressed the tip of his umbrella further into his neck, grinning. "As ugly as she is, I still have to protect her dignity as a Yato."

The fight ended right away once China shot a hundred bullets at them. Never mind the prospects of injuring her own groom.

He leaned over to rub her pregnant belly affectionately. Despite the hectic process of dating and marrying the crazy woman, he loved her more each day. His happiness only increased the day she told him that they were expecting their first child. They still had a few more months until she was ready to pop, but he was excited to meet their new son or daughter. Having a new family was always something he secretly wanted. His only regret was that his older sister would not get to shower them with the same love she raised him with.

"Can't you give me a break? I'm the one who gave you this kid." Sougo pulled her away from the table, settling her in between his legs. "Unless you're not telling me something." He joked.

"Relax, Sadist. I've never slept with anyone else and you know it." Kagura rested her head on his chest. "I can give you an exact date that you blew your load into me to prove it."

"So vulgar," Okita smirked. An idea formed in his head, it was likely to fail but worth a shot. He pulled her down with him onto the floor and climbed on top of her. With ease, he unhooked the first few ties on her qipao to reveal her swelling breasts. "I wouldn't mind blowing my load into you right now though. What do you say, China?" He whispered as he peppered kisses all over her neck. She had been consistently horny during her second trimester- not that he was complaining. Maybe he might be able to sway her with the promise of some afternoon nookie?

The Amanto girl pushed him away and straightened out her dress. "I say we get going before Shinpachi and Gin-chan wreck the place." She held her hand out to him, smiling like no tomorrow.

He only groaned and helped her up.

~

By the time that they arrived, Saddaharu in toll, the Shimura house was already filled with familiar faces. Kagura's eyes had lit up tremendously, taking in the hoard of people that were socializing around the estate. It seemed that Anego invited everyone who lived in Kabukicho. Not excluding an abundant amount of friends the Yoruzura had made on their adventures. "Kagura-chan! Okita-san! Welcome!" Otae greeted the couple made their way to the yard where most of the decorations and food were. Blue and pink balloons, streamers, and banners spread out as far as they could see. Why there were even tables filled with all kinds of delicious-looking food!

Sougo snickered, patting the pregnant Yato's shoulder tenderly. "Looks like they've prepared enough for your appetite. Unfortunately, it looks like the rest of the country will have to suffer a shortage for at least a month." His joke earned him a crushed foot, courtesy of his wife's favorite pair of boots.

Ignoring his groans of pain, Kagura eagerly waddled up to the older lady. As excitement burst from her body, she gave her friend a tight hug. "Whoa, Anego! This place looks amazing!" The vermillion haired woman beamed.

The daughter of a samurai smiled and returned her embrace, mindful of her protruding belly. "I'm glad that you like it. We're waiting for a few more guests to arrive and then we'll really start the fun!"

"Who's missing?" Okita grunted, looking around the crowd suspiciously.

Suddenly, several panicked screams and screeches filled the area. The sea of people quickly dispersed as a large, flying ship clouded over them.

"KAGURAAA!"

Fuck.

"Papi!" His wife yelled back, watching in awe as her father and brother jumped off the space vessel. Abuto and a few other of their lackeys joined them as well. Umibouzu landed first, although his balance was thrown off by a loose roof tile. He tumbled comically until he fell face-first at their feet.

The married couple and Otae watched awkwardly as he quickly stood up. "Thank goodness, I made it in time." He coughed into his hand, faking composure. But as soon as he remembered the reason for this reunion, his face brightened up a second later. "How's my precious daughter and grandson?" He cooed while leaning toward her belly.

Okita rolled his eyes. He had purposely ignored him like a damn middle-schooler.

Swatting her father away from her, Kagura snorted. "What makes you so sure that it's a boy?"

"It was foreseen, of course!" The hunter proclaimed smugly.

"They say old men become superstitious when they're approaching their final days." Kamui hummed while striding towards them. "Wouldn't it be better to end you now, though? I'll let you die while with what little wit you have left." He asked with his usual menacing smile.

Abuto chuckled as he and a few other of their men joined them. "Now, now. We promised not to make trouble, right Captain?" Not that he would expect his commander to keep his word, especially when he was surrounded by a few people he had yet to settle a score with.

"Don't worry, I'll be on my best behaviour." Kamui beamed. "You're looking quite healthy, little sister. You too, Policeman." He said with a smirk.

"Likewise, Criminal." Sougo eyed him back.

Ignoring his son's rude interruption, Umibouzu huffed and folded his arms. "Anyways, I did not predict Kagura's first child. It was Kouka."

"Mami did?" Kagura's eyes widened.

"Yes. We once had a long chat about your future, just before…" Her father trailed off with a sad smile. Putting his hand on her shoulder and gave her a tender squeeze. "She said that in her dreams she envisioned you cradling a little boy. And I have never known your mother to be wrong about anything."

Kagura, somewhat stunned but also touched, was left speechless. It was only when Sougo gripped her hand that she awoke from the flashing memories of her dear mother. She hadn't realized that she was already tearing up either. Damn hormones.

Sighing, Kamui turned his heel. "Well, if you're done being sentimental about the past, I'll go and mingle."

"Try anything funny and you're dead." The first division captain called after his departing brother-in-law. He was answered with a wave of dismissal.

Clearing her throat, Otae turned back to her guest of honor. "Kagura-chan, let's get you comfortable. Everyone still needs to greet you." Also, she would very much like to make sure her home was intact.

She nodded excitedly. "Okay! Papi, are you coming?" The pregnant woman asked.

"Later. For now, I think I'll go find that sliver headed idiot. Have fun!" Umibouzu grinned before trotting off as well.

Husband and wife shared a knowing look. They would be lucky if no one died by the end of the night. Personally, Sougo blamed the baby.

[mrsspidermanmaryjanewatsonparker]

...let’s do this...

“Dan Slott’s decade-long tenure on writing Spider-Man recently came to an end, swapping the prolific writer out with former Captain America/Secret Empire scribe Nick Spencer. The first issue of his and artist Ryan Ottley’s much hyped run, Amazing Spider-Man #1, took Peter Parker back to the basics. The hero has lost Parker Industries, is under investigation for academic fraud, was fired from the Daily Bugle, and other New York heroes hate him because they think he’s buddy-buddy with Kingpin of Crime turned New York mayor, Wilson Fisk.”

First of all Peter lost Parker Industries during Slott’s run so i dunno why this ‘article’ is framing things as though that is a development from Spencer’s run.

Second of all heroes hate Spidey because Kingpin made it look as though they were friends, its not as though Spider-Man really was friend with Fisk as this article frames it.

 “The issue ends with the two kissing and Peter declaring that this is “their story,” emphatically saying what the suspicions have been for some time: the new run of Amazing Spider-Man will begin to undue the events of the controversial “One More” and “Brand New Day” storylines that Slott became infamous for, which saw Mephisto destroy Peter and MJ’s marriage in exchange for bringing Aunt May back to life.”

 *pinches bridge of nose* ohmygodohmygodohmygod.

 Okay so...Dan Slott WASN’T RESPONSIBLE FOR OMD OR BND!

M**********r Wikipedia could have told you that! HOW?! HOW do you not know that Joe Quesada wrote OMD!

HOW do you not know this piece of comic book osmosis that everyone knows! My God!

Furthermore aunt May didn’t effing die in OMD. That was literally the point. They mad ethe deal to SAVE her from death. Not undo it!

I know people who’ve not even read the story and THEY know that!

Also Dan Slott became infamous but it had nada to do with OMD but other stuff.

Also also the story hasn’t shown or promised to undo anything yet but clickbait gotta clickbait.

Also, also, also UNDO ISN’T SPELT THAT WAY!

Holy fuck how do you write for the front page of the biggest comic book news site, get paid for it and not spell check shit?!

“And like those now infamous wedding issues for Batman and X-Men, the move to bring Peter and MJ back together doesn’t really work. There are couples who’ve gotten back together after a time apart, but the issue itself piles so much misfortune on Peter’s doorstep it feels like Peter should be looking into a therapist or anxiety medicine instead of making out with his ex.”

-Is what someone who’s never read Spider-Man would say.

Like Peter went though a lot of bad stuff in ASM volume 5 #1 but:

a)    Asshole please, this is nowhere near the worst most stressful or therepy worthy shit Peter has lived through. Supporting his sickly recently widowed mother figure financially whilst going to school, getting bullied, having a crappy boss, dealing with an unreasonable girlfriend and ALSO fighting crime in a city that feared and hated him for no reason. THAT is anxiety and that is also known as the start of Spider-Man’s entire story you fucking hacks!

b)    So when you’ve had an awful day and everything has fallen apart getting TLC from someone you deeply love and who deeply loves you...doesn’t  make sense. Okay sure.

c)    Justin Carter where the fuck did you learn how to read subtext? Shit, nevermind the subtext, where did you learn to read the text bro! The story spells it out for you. Peter’s life is bad, he keeps making the same mistakes again, he wants things to change to be better. So he steps up to the plate and puts the effort in to MAKE it better, specifically by chasing the thing he wants most, the thing he’s yearned for and literally dreamed about (as CLEARLY SHOWN on the first effing pages!). He reunited with the love of his life. For the fuck is that something that DOESN’T work!

d)    Exempting the X-Men wedding the Batman wedding issue in my observation totally worked from a characterization pov even if it wasn’t the result fans wanted to deserved.

“Peter and MJ Are A coulee Again! And It's The Wrong Move...”

 It isn’t the wrong move and I see no reason why anyone should take this article’s claims that is is seriously when it can’t even spell the word couple!

 “Like all relationships, the ones between superheroes and their non-powered partners are full of drama. In the decade since their split, Peter and MJ had many relationships that provided what neither could offer the other at the time. MJ got to date men who were reliable and had the stability that Peter couldn’t entirely provide, and Peter was with those who were more accustomed to or in the line of superheroic work as he.”

 Go fuck yourself CBR seriously.

 Let’s start with Peter. What in the flying fuck is this shallow, Celebrity gossip rag, juvenile, simplistic, unlearned horseshit of a mentality towards superhero relationships over the last several years that has the absolute biggest hard on ever for the idea that heroes have to date heroes.

 Especially Spider-Man.

 Whenever the mere idea of Spider-Man dating another hero crops up that is literally the ONLY thing people talk about.

 They have so much in common because they are both heroes.

 Well shit...why doesn’t he date literally any of the women in the multiple Avengers teams he was a member of. No Carol Danvers doesn’t count, it was one date.

 I’ll tell you why.

 Because if any of these jackasses knew what the fuck they were talking about with Spider-Man’s character, both in terms of who he is as a person and the entire concept behind him, they’d know that civilian women are both his preference and more in line with the idea of him as a hero who could be you.

 YOU in the real world do not date goddam superheroes. You date normal people. Therefore Spider-Man also dates normal people.

 ‘But what about Black Cat’, I hear you cry out.

 Yeah Felicia let’s talk about her for a second shall we.

 Felicia, the cat burglar costumed criminal. The one who tried to trick her boyfriend into a life of crime literally the issue after they hooked up.

 Felicia, the woman who recoiled upon seeing Spider-Man’s real face.

 Felicia the woman who lied and went behind Spider-Man’s back to get super powers that literally caused him cosmic bad luck even after they broke up.

 Felicia, the woman who jeapodized Peter’s secret identity multiple times.

 Felicia, the woman who literally got in bed with a mercenary (in every sense of the word) in order to frame Spider-Man for murder by seducing him.

 Felicia the one and only girlfriend Peter had before he got married who was a fellow costumed person...and she was literally named after something that brings you bad luck.

 It’s ALMOST like it was doomed to fail from the start.

 It’s ALMOST like it was intended that way.

 It’s ALMOST like it was a great big subtextual commentary about how Spider-Man is better off with normal non-costumed women.

 Oh...but if only there was some kind of page or panel clearly spelling out the idea that Felicia the costumed person was wrong for Spider-Man but someone else, someone normal, someone rooted in the real world with all it’s relatable problems and activities, was right for him...

...if only...

And if only the comic book run most guilty of shipping Spider-Man with a costumed person post-OMD which was initiated by a hack writer had itself a page or panel spelling out that Spider-Man dating costumed people because they ‘get’ his lifestyle more doesn’t mean jack shit, showcasing even they recognize it to be a stupid shortsighted attitude to Spider shipping.

IF.ONLY! 

Let’s move onto Mary Jane.

 MJ dated exactly 2 men during the decade after OMD. Bobbi Carr and Pedro the fireman who was literally a poc fireman version of Peter.

 Reliable and stable huh?

 Tell me how exactly is the life of a rising A-list movie star ‘reliable’ or ‘stable’...even aside from the fact that he was a drug addict?

 Tell me how exactly is the life of a firefighter whom would be rushing off whilst on duty and risking his life A LOT be stable for poor Mary Jane’s anxieties over his safety?

 What? Reliable is steady job+regular hours?

 That’s what Peter couldn’t provide so this reconciliation is bad?

 ...Didn’t Mary jane literally WORK for goddam Tony Stark, the globe/galaxy trotting superhero Avenger leader who went into a coma then disappeared?????????

 And she took that job by effing choice? AFTER breaking up with Pedro the fireman?

 How much ‘reliable stability’ does she really want or need?

 Because assholes MJ dated and was married to Spider-Man for fucking years. And she liked it. Are we just IGNORING that?

 Like assholes that wasn’t even the thing that they broke up over. MJ didn’t break up with Spider-Man in OMIT because he was unreliable and didn’t provide stability. She accepted that. She accepted that shit even in the nuclear levels OOC flashback sequences to their aborted wedding.

 She broke up with him because it endangered her family. THAT was the rationale. THEN she got back with him in Superior. THEN she broke up with him at the end because she wanted normalcy but then she literally said pages later that she’ll never get it because she lived in NYC and because guys like the Goblin wouldn’t care if she was dating Peter or not. THEN she threw away normalcy by working for Iron Man FFS. THEN in Red Goblin she claimed she couldn’t be with him because I don’t even know, some bullshit about feeling guilty that she was keeping him away from being a hero.

 So the stable reliability argument holds no goddam water to her pre or post OMD characterizations.

 Basically the above paragraph boils down to:

 “Peter and MJ getting back together is bad because they dated people who could offer them the stuff that neither could offer the other, even though there is nothing indicating either wanted that stuff in the first place.”

 “Not all of these relationships were perfect, but they were signs of real change, something that isn’t typically allowed in big two superhero comics, or at least, not in any lasting, meaningful way.”

 No they weren’t. They were signs of Marvel putting the characters on rotation because they axed the ACTUAL meaningful change that was the pair getting married and committing to a longterm permanent relationship that lasted 20 years.

 Hence why literally none of these relationships had ANY lasting impact upon either character.

 MJ was unchanged by Bobbi Carr dating her beyond it prompting her to return to NYC, i.e. return to her old status quo.

 Peter was unchanged by Carlie Cooper, Liaeean Teaaen, Mockingbird and Silk. I mean my God this article bangs on about how Mockingbird was so important because she provided something Peter otherwise couldn’t get from MJ but the seires literally handwaves away their relationship. They don’t even get a major break up scene or issue. It’s just. “We broke up, brief flashback. That was it.”

 “The last couple of times that Peter and MJ broke off their romantic relationship — after that one time Doc Ock jacked Peter’s body for over a year — it was because she didn’t want his, frankly, ridiculous life as a superhero to define hers.”

 The article says the last couple of times they broke it off then lists one example because what is counting.

 And as I said that was NOT the reason they broke up after superior. Hell they didn’t even really break up that time. Otto broke up with MJ in Superior ‘2, then she called him up to break up with him many issues later then she went to Peter when he got his body back to give a break up speech to someone she wasn’t even dating!

 “More, she didn’t want to keep risking the danger the comes from being close to a superhero.”

 And then she went to work for an even more famous superhero who didn’t even have a secret identity and who have much more powerful enemies many of whom would’ve targeted him even if they didn’t know he was Iron Man..before re-entering his friendship group in from Power Play onwards thus rendering her entire rationale for breaking away moot....not that it made any sense to begin with.

 “If anything, his life has become even more crazy since their split, since his teacher is the Lizard and he’s a roommate with Boomerang.”

 The Lizard was his teacher in the silver and bronze age too you goddam hacks and having a villain for a roommate is NOT crazier than your body being stolen by a villain for God’s sake.

 “Both of those situations are going to end pretty badly, and that’s coming just before the “Spidergeddon” event that’ll bring together the Spider-heroes of the multiverse yet again in a fight for survival against evil vampires.”

 I didn’t know CBR could see the future and also apparently knows that despite all current evidence to the contrary that Spencer would be doing a tie-into Spider-Geddon.

 “Fans of Peter and Mary Jane as a couple aren’t exactly hard up for a comic about their exploits. The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows series may be set in a new universe, but it’s been quietly operating as a book for the two to be happy together. Not only do they have a daughter in that universe by way of Annie Parker, the three of them are a crimefighting family where Annie is Spiderling, and MJ gained powers of her own and became Spinneret. ”

STFU CBR.

a)    EVERYONE knew RYV had a limited shelf life

b)    RYV is about Peter and MJ are a superhero family, which is a cool concept but also not what a lot, probably even most Spider-Marriage fans want to see. They want to see Spider-Man with a non-powered MJ in the main 616 universe because that is the original real versions of the characters and that dynamic is innate to the inherent concept of Spider-Man as a relatively realistic guy

c)    RYV places a lot of focus upon Annie, probably more than on Peter or MJ, especially after the time skip

d)    NOBODY who loved RYV was going to simply accept it as a suitable substitute for 616 Spider-Man and MJ not being together. Because as much as we love RYV Peter and MJ those are not THE characters. The specifics of each version of each character carry different emotional investments for the readers. And Marvel knows this hence why they didn’t permanently replace the 616 Spider-Man with Miles Morales, just the other Peter Parker Spider-Man who sold less and had been around for a mere 10 years. It is also the reason why Spider Marriage fans didn’t just say “Oh well at least I still have Peter and MJ in USM and Spider-Girl’ after OMD

 “Even if Renew ends and is considered no longer needed, it’s provided the most logical endgame with the best outcome one could think of. Doing that all over again in the 616 universe comes across as redundant and the only thing it really does is reduce the amount of Spider books on the market.”

 This one is a real headscratcher.

 RYV is not the logical endgame because MJ with powers is not the logical conclusion. Merely ONE conclusion.

 FFS RYV isn’t even the same as Spider-Girl despite the premises being similar.

 You can take the same broad ideas and do them suitably differently.

 Like I dunno exploring the inner dynamics and ups and downs of a couple who do not have a kid?

 Focussing mostly upon that as opposed to the kid and all three of them working out how to fight crime together.

 Not to mention from this point to even get to RYV (even pre-time skip RYV) would take effing years. Peter and MJ just got back together but it’s a write off because we’ve already seen Peter and MJ with an 8 year old kid so fuck following the trajectory that might get us there?

 What kind of nonsense is that?

 CBR nonsense, that’s what.

 Just like the ‘it will reduce the amount of books on the market’.

 Well fuck dude we used to have FOUR Spider-Man books every goddam month about literally the same version of Spider-Man. then 10 years later we had 1 book about Marvel Adventures Spidey, 1 about a high school Spidey, 1 about Mary Jane, then 3 about an adult married Spider-Man.

 I THINK we can be okay with a Spider-Man who’s dating or married to a normal woman and another one where he is married to a super powered version of that woman and they are raising their teenage super powered daughter FFS.

 And even if we do unfortunately lose Renew Your Vows the argument of ‘we’d be losing a Spider book’ doesn’t even hold up THAT much because...WE ALREADY HAVE TOO MANY SPIDER BOOKS!

 Amazing Spider-Man TWICE a month.

Spectacular Spider-Man

Miles Morales

Spider-Gwen

Venom

Scarlet Spider

And soon to come

Spider-Geddon

Spider Force

Spider-Girls

Yet more bullshit I’m sure.

Like I don’t want to lose RYV but dear God we’ve already got TOO MANY Spider books as is.

 “And it may have been better for them both to just stay friends, or at least not jump into getting together again so amazingly fast.”

10 years isn’t amazingly fast bro.

 So to sum up this article is hot trash that utterly failed to justify it’s own stupid title.

 Or maybe it just chronically misspelled it’s own title. Who effing knows. But burn it with fire either way.

[olicitysecretsanta]

The Key to Success

Disclaimer: Arrow does not belong me. All rights belong to DC Comics, The CW, and those persons associated in the creation of the show and comics.

The Key to Success by RedPens&GreenArrows Fandom: Arrow Rating: M Characters: Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, William Queen Pairing: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak (Olicity) Tags: Romance, Smut, Family, Fluff, 6x03 missing scenes, Olicity Secret Santa 2017

Summary: When did Oliver decide to give Felicity the kiss to his apartment? And what transpired after? Missing scenes from Arrow 6x03.

A/N: Happy Holidays lovely Arrow fans!! An extra-special shout out to @green-arrows-of-karamel, this fic is your gift, and I’m excited to finally share it with you and everyone else. Thank you for being an awesome member of this fandom, you’re blog is wonderful, and also thank you for being an admin. for this year’s OSS! I hope you enjoy this little fic, it was fun to write! May you holidays be merry and bright! (Also there might be a small easter egg/call out to an Outlander episode from this scene. Have fun finding it!) xo

                                            <——-<<

Oliver heard the front door slam announcing William’s arrival home from school. He was reviewing some notes for the city council meeting tomorrow, but the loud shout of ‘Oliver!’ snatched his attention and he sprinted from his desk. Fearing the worst, Oliver nearly bowled over his son in the living room. However, the gigantic grin that greeted him immediately calmed his worries. Oliver placed a hand on his chest and blew out a deep breath. His heart raced beneath his fingertips.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“Look! I did it! I got the ‘A’!”

Stapled sheets of paper were shoved in Oliver’s face, and it took him a few seconds to focus the rows and rows of numbers and symbols and make sense of what they meant. William passed his math test. A grin rivaling his son’s spread across Oliver’s face.

“William, that’s great! And you know what, this deserves a place of honor.”

Turning, Oliver walked across the room towards the kitchen.

“Oliver, really…” William weakly protested.

But nothing stopped Oliver from holding that test up to the fridge and placing a magnet right in the middle. The bright, red ‘A’ stood out in the corner. He smiled back at his son, his expression shining with a deep pride. William replied with a roll of his eyes.

“I don’t care if you think that it’s lame, or you’re ‘too old’ for your work to be on the fridge. You worked your butt off for that ‘A’ and I’m proud of you.”

William looked down and shuffled his feet. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

“And hey,” Oliver said while clasping William’s shoulder, “Never hesitate to ask me for help. Even if I can’t help you, I’ll do whatever I can to find something or someone to help.”

Remaining silent, William nodded and the lingering awkwardness between the pair began to rear its head.

“Alright,” Oliver clapped his hands hoping to break the tension. “This calls for a celebration. The pot roast has about an hour left, so what’s your favorite dessert? I’ll whip it up and pop it in the oven while we eat dinner. Cookies? Brownies?”

William perked up at the suggestion. “Chocolate cheesecake brownies?”

Oliver paused. “I’ve never made them, but I’m always up for a challenge. Chocolate cheesecake brownies coming right up.”

William smiled. “Cool. I’ll just start on my homework.”

Swinging his backpack onto his shoulder, he headed for his room, but stopped at the threshold.

“Hey, Oliver?”

“Yea, bud?”

“Could you thank Felicity for me the next time you talk to her. She was a really big help.”

Oliver’s mouth ticked up in a small smile. “You got it.”

With a quick nod in thanks, William disappeared into his room and the door slid closed.

His smile grew once William was out of site and Oliver glanced at the test again. It was as if all the puzzle pieces clicked into place. He mentally debated for weeks when would be the appropriate time to give Felicity the extra apartment key. But seeing Felicity and William get along  so well, there was nothing left holding him back. Watching her quirky genius and his inquisitive mind work together, Oliver swore nothing felt so right. Not since he saw Felicity cooing over a newly born J.J. Diggle had Oliver felt such longing. He once more saw the future he wanted, and now it was just within reach.

Setting the brownie mixture in the fridge to chill, Oliver walked back to his home office and opened the top right drawer in his desk. He picked up the key and smiled at the silly, geek emoji keychain he found when grocery shopping the other week. Tomorrow he would pick up a gift box and stop by the loft. It was time to grab onto his future, and hold on tight.

>> ——- >

“… His life will be better with you in it. Just like mine.”

“Are you sure… that’s what you want?”

“I’m sure.”

If Felicity was one to swoon she would most likely be headed to the floor right now, hoping that Oliver would catch her sudden descent. However, the man in front of her didn’t make her swoon – at least not physically – he just turned her on something fierce! Her dormant libido awoke from its year and a half sleep with a vengeance, and demanded immediate attention. So, as Oliver stepped forward for nothing more than a hug, Felicity launched forward and crashed their lips together. Everything spiraled deliciously from there.

Their kiss sparked the smoldering embers of their feelings, turning them into a fiery blaze. Stepping closer to Oliver, Felicity pushed at his leather jacket, needing it off. She wanted more of him; craved the feeling of him beneath her fingertips. Their movements became frantic and needy. With all the grasping, and pulling, and gulps of air it was only a matter of time before they became the victims of gravity. Oliver bumped into a cluttered end table and sent them both tumbling onto the new red loveseat.

Felicity squeaked in surprise as they fell, but once landing safely both she and Oliver burst into laughter, realizing just how caught up in the moment they were. Sharing a smile, Oliver cupped Felicity’s neck and lightly caressed her cheek.

“I’ve missed you,” he spoke softly. He eyes sparkled with adoration.

Felicity’s tongue peaked out and wet her bottom lip. She fought against the gigantic grin threatening to take over her face. “Yeah,” she agreed, closing the distance between them. “I’ve missed you too.”

This kiss started more slowly. However, the fevered itch clawing in both of their bellies fanned the flames, and they were back at it within seconds. Clothes became a hindrance to what they really wanted, so Oliver sat up with Felicity straddling his lap and made quick work of her bra and pajama top. Following his lead, Felicity ripped Oliver’s shirt up over his head, breaking their lip-lock, then scooted off of his lap to divest herself of her pants and underwear.

Oliver, dazed by lust, took a moment to gaze upon the gorgeous woman standing before him. Once he was able to focus, his breath caught in his throat and he unconsciously wet his lips. His eyes traveled from head to toe, taking in everything like it was the first time he was seeing her. Felicity shifted on her feet, but she wasn’t nervous. Having done this all before, there was no reason to be shy. This wasn’t a beginning, but a reunion, a reconnecting. That butterfly feeling might remain, but she wasn’t scared of it this time.

In a blink, Felicity found Oliver had gracefully moved to stand right in front of her. His chiseled chest drew her attention as it rose and fell with every deep, shuddering breath. Itching to touch him, her fingers ghosted over the hills and valleys of his torso. Oliver gasped and his body trembled. Felicity’s exploration didn’t get much farther as he lifted her into the air and began to move. Her arms and legs automatically locked around his body, and her gaze was now captivated by the intense, heated stare Oliver gave her. This would have been her swoon-worthy moment if her feet were touching the ground.

Feeling herself being lowered to the ground, Felicity wondered where exactly Oliver moved them. However, once the smooth, stretchy spandex started conforming to her body, she smiled and mentally congratulated herself on the brilliant idea of purchasing this oversized bean bag chair.

“Curtis is going to be upset when I tell him he isn’t going to want to sit on this thing anymore.”

Oliver cocked an eyebrow. “I’ll buy 15 of them for his own house if you promise to never say another man’s name right before we have sex.”

Felicity giggled and bit her lip. She missed their banter. A lot.

Hovering over her, Oliver smirked, ending the moment by continuing where they left off. He released her bottom lip from her teeth by pulling it free with his own, and then plundered her mouth like a man starved. Moaning, Felicity’s hands carded through his hair and her hips rose to seek that delicious friction when she discovered he was still wearing his jeans. Ripping her mouth from his, Felicity tried to gather her words when Oliver turned to his second favorite past time of making out with her neck. What did she want to say again?

“Pants,” Felicity panted. “Pants off, now!”

Oliver grunted as he attempted to balance while removing the rest of his clothing. It was uncoordinated and bumpy, causing Felicity to giggle before she knocked his hands out of the way and took care of the button and zipper herself. They smiled into their kiss as Oliver finally rid himself of his jeans and boxers.

Wrapping her legs back around him, Felicity skimmed her hand down Oliver’s stubbled jaw. “Don’t go slow, and don’t you dare be gentle.”

A second later, Felicity’s head flew back as she cried out. Oliver obeyed her demand with vigor. It may have been over a year since ‘chinese and wine’ in the bunker, but it was as if they never parted. With Oliver’s fast, steady pace and him once again attacking her neck with kisses, Felicity felt centered. She was flying, yet completely grounded. This was right. This was home.

Oliver lost himself in the feeling. He never expected the evening to take this turn, but he wasn’t about to bite the hand feeding him. The woman he loved was in his arms again and no way in hell was he letting go. Since the craziness on Lian Yu and suddenly becoming a single parent, he felt the weight of stress and panic slowly closing in. But as long as he had Felicity beside him, he knew he would be able to make it through the other side. She was his light, his beacon. Problems seemed easier when they were together.

Grunting, Oliver tried to stave off his orgasm, which was approaching much faster than he would have liked. Reaching between their bodies, he found her slick, little bundle of nerves, and circled rapidly with his thumb.

“Oliver!” Felicity cried, then kissed him with every emotion coursing through her body.

Her nails dug into his skin as she scraped her fingers across his back. Like a master musician, this man always knew how to play her body like a fine instrument, and good Google had she missed it!

Oliver wasn’t going to let this end until Felicity joined him, so he ramped up his pace. When he felt her begin to flutter around him, he stopped holding back. Grunts and screams meddled with the hum of electronics throughout the room, and the pair flew over the edge together. Completely boneless, they collapsed and sank further into the plush cushion of the beanbag chair. Oliver’s hot, heavy breath panted against the side Felicity’s neck and did absolutely nothing to cool her wet, sticky body. The temperature between their bodies seemed to reach sweltering levels, but Felicity didn’t want him to move. Didn’t want this moment to end just yet.

With much effort, Felicity managed to move her arms around Oliver’s back and head, hoping to keep him there a few seconds longer. However, her movements appeared to shake Oliver from his post-orgasmic stupor. His head shifted, and he began a trail of kisses starting at her shoulder, up her neck until he reached her lips. The kiss was slow, and lazy. It brought flashes of beach beds, and Bali sunsets from Felicity’s memory. Tightening her arms and bringing her legs into the mix, she really didn’t want this to end.

Oliver found himself lost in the moment as well, forgetting where he was. Felicity was in his embrace and that’s all that mattered. Shifting slightly so he wasn’t lying completely on to of her, their post-coital peace was interrupted by a sudden beeping near Oliver’s feet. Felicity’s face scrunched as she tried to place the source of the sound.

“Is that one of mine?”

“No,” Oliver strained as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “It’s mine. It’s William.”

Reaching for the crumpled pile of his clothes, he pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and checked the new text message. Felicity sat up and curled around him, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah… he’s just wondering if I’ll be home soon. We’ve sort of have this evening tradition now before he goes to bed. We turn a game on TV, and if he feels like talking, we talk. It’s been… good.“

“I’m glad to hear it. You two deserve to know each other and be a family.”

Oliver looked at her and smiled. Felicity melted inside seeing him so happy.

“However, it seems that I’ve lost track of the time.”

His smile turned into a smirk, and Felicity hid her responding smile against his skin. They shared a look before Felicity finally tilted her face up and touched her lips to Oliver’s. When they separated, they were nothing but smiles.

“I hate to hit and run.” Oliver winced at how horrible that sounded.

But Felicity just laughed. “It’s okay. It’s not like we planned this or anything. And it sounds like William needs you.”

Slowly they stood and began to dress. Stealing looks and small smiles, their movements were comfortable and unhurried. Finally, Oliver slipped on his leather jacket and turned to a now clothed Felicity.

“So…”

“So…” Felicity parroted.

“I guess I’ll just…” Oliver gestured toward the door.

Felicity grinned and took a step toward him. “Thank you for the key.”

Oliver took a step towards her. “Thank you for accepting it.”

Their arms wrapped around each other and they shared another soft kiss.

“Looks like I’m going to need to find an excuse to stop by soon,” Felicity teased as they continued to hold one another.

“Well, I heard the Mayor might be having some personal computer issues…”

Felicity groaned dramatically. “Did you go to the coffee shop in the bad neighborhood again?”

Oliver chuckled and shook his head, grinning ear to ear. “Hey,” he nudged her slightly, “you know you don’t need an excuse to come over.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Good night, Felicity,” Oliver said softly.

“Good night.”

With one final peck of the lips and a flirty wink, Oliver was out the door and heading back to his son.

<——-<<

Felicity danced and hummed along to the song on the radio as she drove through downtown Star City heading towards her apartment. The sun had set long ago, but instead of manning Team Arrow from behind her computers, the team was given an unexpected early night. With no chatter from the police department or any immediate threats to the team, Digg made the call for everyone to go home. If something came up the police couldn’t handle, Felicity’s system would alert them.

Slowing to stop at a red light, Felicity froze mid-head bob when she realized what intersection she was stopped at. A left hand turn would put her right at Oliver’s door. A smile spread across her face. Maybe the mayor had some time for her to look at his computer problems tonight. Felicity giggled to herself. Plus, she should probably check that her key worked. Leaving no time for second-guessing, Felicity quickly turned left as soon as the light changed green.

Thankfully, Oliver’s new apartment had its own parking garage, so she didn’t have to find parking on the street, and 10 minutes later she was standing outside his door. Key poised just outside of the lock, Felicity took a deep breath. It wasn’t that she was nervous, but her stomach swooped with excitement and uncertainty. Would Oliver and William be in the middle of something? Would she feel unwelcome? Maybe today wasn’t the day to do this. Shaking her head she steeled her nerve; she needed to stop overthinking. Slipping the key in, Felicity unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open.

Greeted with the fading smell of a delicious dinner, Felicity’s eyes immediately locked on to Oliver. With his back to her, Felicity stood a moment in the doorway to admire the way his body moved as he washed dishes. That man definitely knew how to fill out a well-tailored button-up shirt, and boy, had she missed seeing that everyday. Especially when he was relaxed and had his sleeves rolled up to the elbow.

Shaking her head, Felicity pushed the door open further and the low squeak of the hinges caught Oliver’s attention. His head swung around to see who the unexpected guest was.

“Felicity,” he breathed. The bright grin that spread across his face threatened to blind anyone is close proximity.

His smile was so full of happiness and excitement that Felicity couldn’t help, but mimic with one of her own. “I hope this isn’t too late.”

“No!” Oliver quickly dried off his hands and moved out of the kitchen towards her

“I just… I heard the mayor was having some computer problems, so I thought now was as good a time to stop by as any.”

Oliver’s smiled never faltered as he cocked a teasing eyebrow. “Well, the mayor is very appreciative that you are willing to make house calls.”

Giggling, Felicity dropped her gaze. Now her stomach fluttered with nerves. Where the hell did this come from? But she couldn’t ponder the thought for long when Oliver’s hand cupped her chin and tilted her face back to his.

“I just wanted to see if my key worked,” she whispered, lost in his crystal blue eyes.

“I’m really happy you’re here,” Oliver whispered back.

Like two magnets, the pair drifted together until their lips locked and their arms wrapped around the other. They lost themselves quickly. Not because the kiss was heated or leading to… other things, but because it felt like coming home. The first steps to their new beginning together.

“Felicity?”

The new voice startled the pair, and Felicity ripped her mouth away from Oliver’s, staring at him wide-eyed with fear. Slowly they turned to face William as he looked back at them with confusion painted across his face.

“H – hey, William.” Felicity gave a small wave, still trapped in Oliver’s embrace.

“Were you stopping by for dinner?” William spared a glance at the now clean kitchen, “Because we already ate.”

“I – uh, I… um.”

“Have you eaten dinner yet?” Oliver jumped in and saved Felicity’s fumbling. “We have a ton of leftovers and I’m more than happy to heat some up.”

Felicity opened her mouth, an excuse right at the tip of her tongue, but the words refused to come out. Because, the thought of leaving just yet made her heart feel heavy. She wanted to spend time with her boys. Wait, her boys?

“I would love some.” No more overthinking. The tension drained from Felicity’s shoulders as she smiled up at Oliver. “You know I’d never say no to your cooking.”

William brightened at her words as well. “If I brought my homework out to the table, would you mind taking a look at it? I have a couple of questions.”

“Sure, I can totally multitask.”

Sitting around the dining room table, Felicity slowly devoured Oliver’s delicious meal, while guiding William through his latest algebra assignment. The kid was bright; he just needed to trust himself a little bit more. Oliver sat to Felicity’s right, sipping his own glass of the wine they were sharing. He didn’t talk as they worked, because watching his son and his – girlfriend? – bond would never get old. Oliver thought he knew true contentment in Ivy town, but he was wrong. This, right here, was what he wanted for the rest of his life.

“I’m lucky you stopped by tonight, Felicity. I think I’m getting the hang of this.”

Felicity smiled. William definitely inherited his father’s charm.

“Actually, bud, Felicity might be coming around more often now. Is that okay with you?”

Sliding his hand across the table to grab Felicity’s, Oliver gave her a loving smile before turning to William.

Shrugging, William played with the pencil in his hand. “Sure, Felicity’s cool.”

“Aww.” Felicity gave him an adorable pout. “Where were you when I was in middle school?”

William blushed and ducked his head.

“So, have you finished all your homework?” Oliver asked as he began to clean up Felicity’s dishes .

“Yep.”

“Alright, well I did promise you could stay up and watch the Seahawks game if you finished early. Put your homework away and I’ll grab the snacks.”

“Cool. Are you going to stay for the game, Felicity?”

The lilt of excitement in his question made her laugh. “No. Sorry. Sports and I don’t understand each other.”

“I could always try explaining the game to you again,” Oliver teased.

Felicity rolled her eyes at him. “You just enjoy watching my eyes glaze over.”

“It doesn’t happen often, it’s fun it when it does.” He winked.

Turning back to William, Felicity ignored Oliver’s teasing. “I also have a long day tomorrow, so I should probably head out.”

William nodded. “Okay. Well, have a good night.”

“You too,” she called after him as he headed for his room.

Now alone with Oliver, she directed her attention back to him and found he still wore a laughing smile. “It’s not funny. Sports are boring.”

“Sports are only boring if you don’t understand them.” He bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud.

“Exactly, sports are boring!”

Shaking his head, Oliver set Felicity’s dishes in the sink. “I’ll walk you out when you’re ready.”

After grabbing what little belongings she had, the pair made their way to the door.

“Thanks for dinner.”

“Thanks for coming over.”

Leaning forward, they shared a quick kiss.

“You know,” Felicity feigned a deep thought. “I think I might pop by more often.”

“I think you should.”

They chuckled and shared one last kiss.

“Goodnight, Oliver.”

“Goodnight, Felicity.”

She slipped out the door, and made her way down the hallway to the elevator.

“Felicity!”

Pivoting at Oliver’s call, Felicity found him leaning against the door jam watching her walk away.

“Would you go to dinner with me?”

Her forehead crinkled. He wanted to go on date? “Wait, like a date?”

Oliver grinned as he pushed off the door jam and walked towards her. “Yeah, like a date date.”

He was teasing her again.

“But, Oliver we kind’ve did that bit already. And – in case you forgot – things didn’t end so well.”

Now standing in front of her, her grabbed her hands. “Eh, I’m liking my odds this time around.”

Felicity was a little stunned, but Oliver’s smile was contagious, so she couldn’t help but join him. “Any idea where you want to go?”

“Hmm… I’m not quite sure yet; however, I do have one request.” Leaning in close, Oliver’s lips brushed her ear as he whispered, “Wear something red.”

THE END

[buffyversefanfiction]

Tristan Tormented

Volume 4 - Trusting Tristan

Warning: I do not own the rights to the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its spin-off series Angel, its dark horse comics continuation series, or any of the characters created by Joss Whedon and others in the Buffyverse. 15 years +, Mild to Strong Violence, Sexual References F/F, F/M, M/M, Other +

“Dante?” Tristan asked a man like shadow figure within the corner of a basement with hope in his undead heart as he woke up to find himself on a single prison like bed locked up in a cage within a basement, knowing it could not be his dead lover but somehow feeling it was not out of the realm of possibility for some reason. “Actually, I am Joyce Summers your mother’s mother which makes me your grandmother.” Joyce replied as she stepped out of the shadows and began walking towards her grandson’s cage door. “I can tell you really loved him; I am sorry you had to go through the pain of losing him.” “Are you not supposed to be dead?” Tristan wondered, as he began to think he was either losing his mind or seeing a ghost, either of which was perfectly plausible. “Yes, I am,” Joyce laughed off innocently, “but then again so are you!” “You got me there,” Tristan responded with a reluctant smirk on his face. “You have a beautiful smile when you allow yourself too but then again, I guess you have not had many opportunities to smile.” Joyce informed her grandchild making him uncomfortable with her compliment. “Is this hell?” Tristan asked his grandmother but before she had a chance to answer she had disappeared within the blink of an eye and it was now Rupert Giles who stood in front of him, cleaning his glasses with a handkerchief. “No this is not hell Mr. Summers although I have been told on numerous occasions that Los Angeles is as close to hell as it gets.” Giles answered as he put his glasses back on and slipped his handkerchief back into his pocket, meanwhile Tristan tried to understand what exactly was happening around him. “Have we not been here before Giles?” Tristan questioned the former watcher as he began to think seeing Joyce was nothing more than a trick of the mind. “Yes, well I made a rather mess of things then and this is my chance to make right.” Giles replied after finishing cleaning his glasses and putting them back on. “Your recent transition into vampirism has not been what you expected has it?” Tristan’s interest was immediately peaked not only was this his first visit since waking up in a cage following days of being drugged asleep after losing a fight against Spike but Giles had touched upon the topic of his vampirism and how it had not been as expected which he knew all too well. Although he was not going to admit this to the former watcher but instead stay silent and see how the conversation turned out, hoping for some information about his current state or at the least a chance to tease Giles once again before working out how to escape his latest prison. “Yes, I did conclude that you admitting to having a soul would be tiresome even before you became a vampire.” Giles responded to Tristan’s silence. “I have something of an answer to your recent complications although I am awaiting more information…” “Unless this is going to end with your joining me in this cage for a good old rattle I am not interested, soul or no soul that shit does not phase me. I am not Angel!” Tristan interrupted him, wanting to know what Giles knew but refusing to let him know he was remotely interested. “You are his son though and Buffy’s which means you cannot be entirely evil it is not possible for none of their goodness to be inside of you, your parents have saved the world time and time again and continue to do so and yet so far all I can see you care about is sex, murder and blood.” Giles told him, making it clear he was not convinced by Tristan’s words whatsoever. “Although that is not entirely true there are people you do care for, they are just not with us, anymore are they?” Tristan once again answered with his silence as he tried to look as emotionless as possible refusing to show Giles any sign of the grief he still felt for the loss of his adoptive parents and his recently departed vampire boyfriend. “Give it up G, this one is a hard nut to crack but lucky for us all so am I.” Faith declared as she walked down the stairs to the basement. “Well if it is not the rogue slayer who turned out to be a loss less bride of chucky and a lot more bride of Buffy.” Tristan retorted with a sinister smirk, almost looking pleased to see the slayer. “I am going to take that as you missed me!” Faith replied with great sarcasm as she walked over to stand by Giles before turning her attention to the former watcher. “Actually, there was a lot more I had to discuss with Tristan.” Giles answered Faith, only for Tristan to mock him with a loud fake yawning sound as he rolled his eyes. “I say we just let him out the cage and force him to see things for himself.” Faith suggested to Giles, instantly shocking Tristan who could not believe she would set him free and it was in that moment Tristan realized none of what he had just experienced existed. This was not the real world to that Tristan knew with certainty but what he did not know was whether this was a dream, nightmare, vision quest or hell dimension all he did know was he would have to play it out to find his answers. “Yeah let me out already, I promise to behave.” Tristan lied to Giles and Faith, before Faith all too eagerly opened the now suddenly unlocked cage door. “I am ready to see whatever wants to be seen.” He did not know why he had been plucked from the real world nor how long he would be here wherever he was but he knew he wanted to get some answers and so he decided to play along, not realizing the answers he would get by doing so would be the kind that he may not necessarily want to know.

Tristan walked out of the basement and straight into the 1950s or at least that was the theme of the atmosphere around him as he walked into the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel knowing that this hotel was the base of his father’s operations but also knowing this had to be years in the past due to the hotel looking five star worthy instead of rundown ruins. He took in the elegant style of the residents within the hotel, the whispers of conversations they were having and the general happy vibe that only convinced him more he was in hell as he walked over to the reception area where he was met by a beautiful brown haired receptionist with a transcending smile spread across her face. “You must be the boss’ son, you’re a lot more psychotic than the last one and considering he was raised in hell by a wacko hunter intent on raising him to kill his father that is sure saying something.” Cordelia Chase greeted him as she stood up to face Angel’s second son. “Still you’re not as bad Angelus so I guess that is something.” “I’m guessing if I made a run for the front doors it will not lead me to anywhere or it will lead me to somewhere worse than the 50s.” Tristan responded to her. “I do not mind the 50s there are far worse eras believe me!” Cordelia replied before picking up a set of keys from her desk. “I reckon if I was born in this era, I’d totally killed the acting game but hey ho I guess settling for being a higher being will just have to do.” “You are Cordelia Chase; I have heard about you and despite the whole wacko demon possession pregnancy saga I like your rise from rich princess to broke but brave queen.” Tristan admitted, “I was told stories about Angel, Buffy and the lot of you for years…you were my favorite character but I am guessing that is largely due to the fact Drusilla worked so hard on making me hate my parents that if anyone was going to be my favorite it was either going to be you and Faith and considering that bitch helped kill my boyfriend I am sure not a fan in real life!” “Do you know I was never much of a fan of her either but hey she helped my guy when I couldn’t, and I’ll always owe her for that.” Cordelia revealed as she handed over the keys to Tristan who reluctantly took them from her. “I guess I am checking into this room?” Tristan questioned the higher being, already knowing the answer. “Yes he is waiting for you oh and just a little word of advice from a former demon to a current demon you just got to trust Tristan through all this the complicated part being which Tristan to trust but I guess that is up to you.” Cordelia cryptically informed him, making Tristan more confused than ever as he began walking towards the stairs, wondering who was in the room he was currently heading towards. He had already met two ghosts; one from his mother’s past and one from his father’s, so he began to wonder if the third ghost would be from his past, that’s if the person in the room was even a ghost, a ghost being a better option than someone of the living considering all the people Tristan truly cared for were all dead, well almost all of them.

“I’ve been expecting you,” The Master said upon opening his hotel room door to Tristan who reluctantly walked in, knowing who The Master was by his appearance alone, The Master only having his vampire form and wearing clothes far older than the current 1950’s which Tristan had found himself trapped in. “You look more like Angelus than the slayer, which is kind of disappointing, Angelus was a true beast do not get me wrong, but your mother was the only one to ever best me. I long for a reunion with her, merely so I can kill her once again only this time I would make sure that death took.” “Her second death held a lot longer than the one at your hands so I guess master of vampires does not hold up to a goddess from a hell dimension but then again are you really a master when Dru did more of a number on Buffy than you ever did.” Tristan replied, mocking the master. “Now why the hell are you here considering I have never met you?” “Your attitude is beyond ratchet and you somehow believe your invincible despite being beaten time and time again…I like you.” The Master told the newbie vampire. “I may not have been alive while you were but the demon inside of you is the same demon inside of me…I am the sire of Darla, the grand-sire of Angelus and the great-grandsire of Drusilla which means you come from me.” “Yeah Drusilla told me all about the undead bloodline a long time ago but what the hell has that got to do with me being stuck in the 50s with a bunch of ghosts from my parent’s past?” Tristan complained, clearly growing sick of whatever was going on around him. “Well duh it’s a quest you see, their trying to make you choose a path, desperately hoping you’ll choose the righteous one instead of well the one you’re on now.” Anya chimed in as Tristan turned around to see her now standing at the opened doorway of The Master’s hotel room, only for Tristan to turn back around to see The Master had vanished out of sight, as if he was never there. “What kind of path? And who the hell are you?” Tristan shouted at the former vengeance demon. “This is starting to piss me off really quick!” “I am Anya formerly Anyanka known to some as a ruthless vengeance demon and others as the bride Xander Harris left at the altar.” Anya replied, clearly still not over becoming a jilted bride. “I knew your mother not so much your father but that is not why I am here…I’m here to give you a choice of living.” “A choice of living?” Tristan scoffed, “I seriously doubt you could take me Anna.” “It’s Anya and I am not here to fight I am here to grant a wish…I know seriously on the nose for a former vengeance demon but hey I do not control this quest thingy I am just showing up and doing my job.” Anya informed the son of the slayer. “I can grant you a undead life with your beloved which will not doubt end in the both of you proper dead at some point when the apocalypse comes because let’s face it whether your meant to be important or not Buffy always wins…or I can grant you a life as a slayer with your sordid past erased and the chance to do good for once in your life and possibly still dying when the apocalypse comes around because we do not all get out of those alive.” “So, you are some kind of demonic genie?” Tristan asked her, more confused than ever before as he struggled to deal with all that was going on around him, not knowing if any or all of it was real.

After coming across three ghosts from both his mother and father’s past there was only one thing Tristan was certain of; his parents had a lot of ghosts. He had no idea if these ghosts were real or if any of what he was experiencing was real but after being giving an ultimatum from former vengeance demon Anya he started to care less and less as he pondered taking her up on her offer. There was no question on his mind which choice he would take but despite that he wanted time to think it over, he did not want to give up hopes on being reunited with Dante only for this to be some kind of trick after all Anya did claim to him that this was some kind of vision quest. As he walked into the busy hotel bar he took in the beautiful music being played by a live band of musicians as he walked across the dancefloor and towards the bar where a beautiful and bewitching barmaid awaited to take his order. “I have a feeling you think you know what you want but that deep down you have no idea although you would never want to admit that!” Tara said to him as she poured Tristan a drink, confusing him further as he guessed he was now speaking to another ghost. “Well at least you are a ghost with a bar which instantly makes you my favorite so far.” Tristan replied as Tara passed him a whisky on the rocks, to which he quickly downed in one gulp. “So, what is your name and what makes me think you’re an expert on me?” “My name is Tristan Summers but the manifestation I am taking on right now is that of Tara Maclay, you see everyone you have saw so far has been you taking on a different manifestation guiding you along whichever path you wind up choosing.” Tara revealed, blowing Tristan’s mind once more. “Well not all of the ghosts were not real, but we should save that for another time.” “Let me guess the person who is real is the one who put me on this quest?” Tristan asked the witch, as he wondered who and what was real in all of this. “More like they decided to intervene with a quest already taking place to ensure they did the best their could do for their guy.” Tara admitted to Tristan. “So, tell me do you really think you can go back to being with Dante? He has been dead a long time and things are no longer as black and white for you as they were when you were with him.” “I must admit that did make me paused with the whole deciding thing,” Tristan said with a sigh as he made a gesture towards his glass, making Tara know he wanted a refill. “I was so scared for so long and he made me strong…Dru too! The truth is I’ve not felt strong since he was gone and then finding out Drusilla was to blame for my parents’ deaths…I used to revel in the darkness but now I feel it’s full weight by being alone in it.” “You do not want to back to being Dante’s naïve other half and that does not mean you do not still love him it just means you have grown to much to go back to being someone who is not you anymore.” Tara advised him as she refilled his glass with more whisky and handed it back to him. “But your clearly not the hero type either so both choices are kind of a fail for you.” “But if I do not pick one or the other, I may be stuck here.” Tristan moaned before downing his second drink. “I’m sick of prisons both in the literal and mystical sense.” “This is not a prison, this is a chance for you for the first time in your life to decide what path you want to be on without manipulation by vampires or hopes of parents who never raised you, this is your chance to be you whoever that may be.” Tara told him honestly. “There’s a big problem there…I have absolutely no idea who that is.” Tristan admitted, being more truthful than he had been in years, forcing himself to admit to the startling truth that he had no sense of identity or personality beyond the monster he had created to soothe a broken man.

Tristan found himself walking through the endless corridors within the Hyperion Hotel baffled with the choices Anya had handed him with, now knowing that neither vampirism or life as a slayer fitted who he was as he struggled to work out what did but the seemingly endless contemplation found itself interrupted when the first slayer walked out of a nearby room door and began walking towards him. Tristan quickly found himself frozen in fascination as he stared at the primeval being heading towards him, somehow recognizing her as a fellow slayer but not realizing her legacy of being the first of their kind. “I guess you are the kind of ghost who would be considered partly of my own past or at least the legacy I manipulated my way into.” Tristan told her only to be answered only to be met by a punch across the face by the first slayer. “Guess your not much of a talker?” The primeval slayer Sineya punched Tristan again before kicking him in the stomach with such force it caused him to fall to the ground. “You should not be!” She told him, as he tried to rise to his feet. “Slayer…you are not!” “Yeah I am a vampire no slayer now guess gossip travels slow in whatever decade you are from.” Tristan replied, looking the first slayer up and down. “Are you going to tell me something useful or are we just going to throw down?” “You were chosen long before you were born and will be chosen long after your death.” Sineya revealed to the vampire. “It is up to you how you chose your gift and you, alone.” “Okay enough with the cryptic crap, just tell me straight already!” Tristan moaned at her only to be met by another punch from the first slayer before being kicked back to the ground by her. “You are the darkness; you fight the darkness and only you can defeat the darkness.” The Primeval slayer informed him in a way that sounded more like a riddle than a reveal of any kind. Before Tristan could muster a reply or even get back onto his feet to face the slayer, she had disappeared out of sight leaving him confused and slightly wounded from the altercation as he slowly got back onto his feet. “So, what have you decided then?” Anya asked him, suddenly appearing from out of thin air, standing where the first slayer once stood. “Are you going to Spike and Dru it with your revived lover Dante or are you going for a fresh slate where nobody knows of the monster you were once with the added being alive bonus? God, I sound like a saleswoman…I suppose I kind of am…so which one will it be?” “Neither!” Tristan told her with confidence, knowing he had made his mind up and it was the right choice. “I am not who I was but nor am I going to pretend to be somebody I will never be…I choose to be me as I am right now able to choose my path however long or short that might be.” “Well that seems like a waste of a wish but it is not like I care anymore!” Anya admitted to the vampire. “If it helps you are not all evil and you do not have to pretend to be anymore, coming from a vengeance demon there’s more to the monster than people will ever understand.” “Thanks, I think.” Tristan replied with a forced laugh. “Although I am pretty sure you are me?” “Yeah just a whole lot prettier.” Anya answered without hesitation. “I guess you can wake up now but before you do there is something, I have just got to ask…” “What?” Tristan wondered, hoping her question would not throw him into a confusion he had just found his way out of. “Does money still smell as good as it used to?” Anya asked with a sense of sadness. “I really miss having money!”

Tristan found himself once again waking up in the single prison like bed, trapped within a cage located in the basement of which he now knew to be the Hyperion Hotel, and as he began to sit up on his bed he once again noticed a dark figure lurking within the shadows making him believe for just a moment it was Joyce before his father Angel walked out of the shadows.

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/04/28/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-42817/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 4/28/17

So the big media news this week was the announcement of the DC Comics streaming service, which will be the home of the long-delayed live action Titans series, as well as the third season of the Young Justice cartoon. Other than that, very little else is known about the service. Most fans suspect that it’ll have the entire DC library, including animated films, older cartoons like Justice League, and live action series not currently on The CW/Fox. That’s a bit ambitious, though.

I’m reminded of how the concept of UPN was introduced to the public, with ads that touted all of the classic television that Paramount had given us over the years: Family Ties, Cheers, Star Trek – did this mean that this new network would become the exclusive home for those shows? No, it instead meant we were to brace ourselves for Love Boat: The Next Wave and Shasta McNasty. I get that same feeling here. DC has a great slate of animated films, and some classic animated series, but I think this might end up the hub for newer, untested properties. Take the Titans show for instance. TNT passed on that thing. TNT! They know drama! Sure, it’s produced by Greg Berlanti, but I feel like if it had any real promise, it wouldn’t be relegated to a digital platform that’s not Hulu or Netflix. Same with Young Justice. Sure, it had a following, and the reasons for its cancellation vary depending on who you ask, but expecting the fans to shell out for yet another streaming service isn’t exactly a gesture of goodwill. I’m not paying CBS to watch Star Trek, and I ain’t paying DC for this until I get some more details. Right now, though, it’s a typical DC announcement, where they rushed to announce before a lot of key aspects were in place.

Speaking of DC, NBC basically cancelled Powerless this week by removing all upcoming episodes from their schedule. It’s not a big surprise, as the entire cast deserved better than that show had to offer. In all honesty, I feel like the ties to the DC Universe actually hurt it. If they wanted to do the whole Workplace Comedy Set In A Comic Universe thing, then it probably would’ve worked better with generic superheroes and villains created just for the show. Sure, they mentioned Batman, and the Wayne family plays a pivotal role (which I also had problems with), but they showed Crimson Fox TWICE. CRIMSON FOX! Just mentioning Superman or Wonder Woman isn’t enough. Hell, they can mention those characters on The Middle and it wouldn’t violate any rights or copyright laws. No, this was a big case of Show, Don’t Tell and the show never really had a strong hand when all the cards were on the table. At least this frees up Ron Funches and Danny Pudi for bigger and better things.

I loved Kingsman: The Secret Service, so I am ALL IN for Kingsman: The Golden Circle. To be honest, I’m probably looking more forward to this than Star Wars Episode 8. Apparently, Kingsman is forced to team up with their American counterpart, Statesman, so it should be interesting to see how the teams play off each other. And I’m really hoping for some extreme American stereotypes. Based on Channing Tatum’s cowboy agent, I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.

In other movie news, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner are rumored to be up for the roles of Pumbaa and Timon in Disney’s live action adaptation of The Lion King. I like both of these guys, but I really don’t even know why this movie is being made. I mean, sure, putting The Lion King on something is basically the same as printing money, but the recent debut of  the lackluster The Lion Guard showed that there’s a limit to how much you can mine from the property. I haven’t seen the live action adaptation of The Jungle Book, but I guess this will be like that? I mean, the whole thing is animals. How are they gonna do this? Maybe I’m overthinking it, but it just feels like Disney is out of ideas for the moment.

We got a trilogy, y’all! In a surprise move, M. Night Shyamalan tweeted that Glass would be released on January 18th, 2019, serving as the sequel to both Unbreakable and Split. I really enjoyed both of these movies, and it feels like M’s finally got his groove back, so this should be good.

In news that will only matter to you if you’re a Cornell alum, all-male a cappella group The Cayuga’s Waiters have been kicked off campus for hazing. And let me tell you, this couldn’t have happened to a shittier group of douchebags. When people think of a cappella, they always think of lame kids who probably did show choir in high school. And, in most cases, they’d be correct. The Waiters, however, were cut from different cloth. Originally a subset of the Cornell University Glee Club, they were basically a lewd fraternity that occasionally sang songs. Around 25 years ago, one of them wrote “We Didn’t Go To Harvard”, a parody of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire”, and they’ve pretty much been coasting on that ever since. Their offstage behavior rivaled that of actual rock stars. For example, they got kicked out of a charity concert when one of their members reportedly peed in the corner of the stage. And while there were a few good guys in that group, the core members were THE WORST. They were basically a singing Duke rape scandal waiting to happen. According to news reports, the hazing included making new members take naked ice baths and having them rub IcyHot on each others’ balls. Considering they got shut down, I’m thinking there was more serious stuff that the paper couldn’t print, like elephant walks or something. Anyway, good riddance to bad rubbish. Bet they wish they’d gone to Harvard now!

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Captain America: The First Avenger director Joe Johnston will direct The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair

Sony has given the Masters of the Universe film a December 18th, 2019 release date, but McG is no longer attached to direct. None of this matters, though, ‘cause this movie is never getting made.

Speaking of Sony, they’ve reportedly fired Dr Luke, and I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS! But there’s no way I’m putting them in a blog post, for them to be dissected and taken out of context.

One of the former Bachelors killed a dude. Nah, I don’t know his name or care enough to look it up. Bachelors are just as replaceable as Duggar kids. He will be forgotten again soon enough

Jeff Goldblum will reportedly return to the land of dinosaurs in the Jurassic World sequel.

Riverdale’s Reggie Mantle will be recast prior to season 2, as actor Ross Butler is committed to Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, which is close to being renewed for a second season

Star Wars Episode IX’s release date has been revealed as May 23rd, 2019, which shifts the franchise’s releases out of the month of December

Darius “Eddie Winslow” McCrary posted the above pic, asking folks if they’d want a Family Matters reunion. Considering they both look like shit here, I’m leaning towards “no”

Speaking of TGIF reunions, Perfect Strangers stars Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker reunited for Chiller Theatre Expo last weekend in New Jersey. Cousin Larry has aged appropriately, but Balki clearly discovered Crossfit/discount mail-order steroids.

Jeb Bush and Derek Jeter are in a group trying to buy the Miami Marlins. Hey, it’s better than ending up on Dancing with the Stars!

Next fall, Steve Harvey’s TV talk show, Steve Harvey, will move to Los Angeles, and will take on a new format as Steve.

With this week’s series finale of Bates Motel, A&E announced they’re abandoning scripted television and moving to a reality show model.

Maybe it’s just the mood I’m in this week, but nothing really had the West Week Ever. Try harder next week, America!

[anhed-nia]

3/9/17: LADY IN THE WATER...

I’ve been sitting on this review for a long time now, and it’s a little difficult for me to explain why. LADY IN THE WATER is one of the all time worst professionally produced films I’ve ever even heard of, from a director about whom ridicule has become a beloved international pastime. This should see me running-not-walking to fire off my latest round of self-important vitriol at this broad-side-of-a-barn target, and yet, here I am three months later with seemingly nothing to say. The truth is, as far as I’m able to articulate it, that this movie just makes me feel terrible.

To be a little fairer to myself, one of the major problems is that I have a very hard time retaining what even happens in M. Night Shyamalan’s lifeless, unmagical “bedtime story” (as per an especially self-satisfied tagline). In fact, I think I watched it three times and change just to see if there was something stimulating that I had just blinked and missed. I failed to find any such inspiration, but I’ll do my best to map it all out. Paul Giamatti plays the stammering super of a rural Pennsylvanian apartment complex that houses a “colorful cast of characters”, including:

- Out of work film critic Bob Balaban (WHY); - Just some lady Marybeth Hurt (it’s the PARENTS reunion you never wanted!); - A gang of irritating stoners who are so unlikely (Jared Harris?) that I couldn’t help assuming Shyamalan is so uncool that no one would ever consider offering him drugs; - A multigenerational household full of loud tacky Korean women, the direction of whom has a bit of a “one of my best friends is Korean, they’re just like this!” vibe to it; - Freddy Rodriguez with just one gigantically muscular arm for no discernible reason other than pissing me off; - …worst of all, worse than in my wildest dreams, M. Night himself as a frustrated but promising young writer about whom the less said the better, but I’m going to have to get to it eventually whether I like it or not.

There are also a bunch of other people too, but as you’ll see, NONE of these people matter all that much as individuals, contributing substantially to my LADY aphasia. Anyway, what happens is that one strange night, Paul Giamatti extracts from his pool sylphy Bryce Dallas Howard, who magically cures his stammer (that he only had for like 5 minutes before this happens)(and it was mainly in a scene where a big spider is scaring everyone so it didn’t really read as a speech impediment)(but WHATEVER). You find out quickly that Bryce is a water sprite, and she can’t return home because there’s an evil wolf made out of lawn waiting to kill her, but there’s like an ancient prophecy or something that that can save her if Paul can figure out how it applies to his life—specifically, he has to identify among his tenants “a Symbolist, Guardian, Guild, and Healer”. Let me be very clear about how this happens: There is no cursed treasure or forbidden scroll or heavenly vision or anything that imparts this information in a fantastical OR CINEMATIC way. All there is, is Bryce is magically prevented from speaking explicitly about this stuff, so the group devises an annoying yes/no guessing game to get information out of her, even though it turns out she doesn’t know very much about this shit to begin with. Therefore, the various mythical mantles are applied totally arbitrarily and unceremoniously to various randos in the building, and then when the secret ritual doesn’t work THAT way, they reshuffle the deck pretty arbitrarily again, and THEN the mystical giant eagle comes and makes a lot of embarrassing cat noises and helps Bryce go home. Also there’s something I never managed to focus on about how the mythical world of magical creatures is normally held in check by monkeys who were born so evil that they killed their own parents right out the womb. It’s not clear to me why such anarchically evil monsters would be interested in enforcing laws or preserving taboos, we’re just supposed to accept that they do, and like, for now something is wrong about them so the grass wolf is on the loose and everything. It’s so fucking stupid.

I hope that at this point, it’s pretty clear why this dreary vaguery of a film failed to capture my imagination. It still should have invited my sadism a little more readily. A bunch of pretty disgusting shit happens in between the meaningless plot points described above. The film insists on trying to kindle an icky paternalistic romance between Paul Giamatti and the often-nude nymphette that he frequently finds in his arms, awake or asleep. Of course, he needs a little depth to make this “work”, so Bryce Dallas Howard rudely reads his secret diary to him out loud, as if he doesn’t know what’s in it, to reveal to us that he used to be a brilliant doctor until his family was killed and then he got sad. The Korean caricatures are the ones who impart to us the nature of Bryce Dallas Howard’s character, through the pointlessly drawn out recitation of a completely nonsensical folk tale with all kinds of reeeeally toooootally Korean-sounding words in it like “narf” and “scrunt”. Meanwhile, Bob Balaban only exists for the director to take out his pent up rage against the army of film critics who have been nobly shitting all over his movies for the duration of his career, in an assortment of spirit-crushing comic relief scenes leading up to a dull and predictable death. As if this weren’t enough moral signaling, Shyamalan inserts himself into this tale in a fashion that will astonish even the most hardbitten cynic. I guess it’s time to talk about it.

I wish I had a way of recording here how long I sat at the keyboard trying to formulate this. The director has cast himself as a brilliant young man who, in the face of criticism and rejection and ignorance, is collecting in a tome called “The Cookbook” (?) his revolutionary ideas about changing the world. And, as Bryce Dallas Howard informs him, he WILL change the world. He is the central character in his own prophecy, in which he delivers unto humanity his life-altering wisdom, which are so profoundly rattling that he will be martyred for them. When I first saw this movie, and it first became clear what is happening with this character, my heart sank. Instead of the usual convulsion of derisive laughter, or the salient whetting of my predatory appetite, I just felt awful. Where before, I had joined the rest of the world in regarding Shyamalan as a modern, much less likable but no less hilarious Ed Wood, I suddenly felt that I was witnessing some real deal Emperor’s New Clothes shit. Narcissism and persecution complexes aren’t exactly a new invention, but usually, people live enough life to know that they shouldn’t go around saying EXACTLY what they think of themselves; on the rare occasion that someone does, their very behavior usually ensures that they don’t gain an audience wide enough for it to cause a real personal catastrophe. This was really grim. I couldn’t believe that this man was calling himself Jesus Christ with a typewriter, out loud, in front of me. Isn’t there anyone who cares about what happens to him, who would protect him from himself? Isn’t there anybody in his life who loves him enough to have been guiding him, all along really, not to build himself such a ferocious trap and walk right into it deliberately? What the fuck happened here? How is this real?

Basically, the whole movie is a real “who hurt you” moment, with chest-pounding declarations of relevance existing alongside a bizarre and persistent disconnect with reality. The story is bad, the effects are bad, the characters are ugly and insulting, and the world in which it takes place—the “real” human world, not even the “Blue World” of the narf and the scrunt—just doesn’t seem to make any sense. The setting itself, which looks much more like a Southern Californian or even Southeast Asian environment than the gritty Northeastern American location that it really actually is, doesn’t seem to gel. It’s hard to understand how any of these disparate people, who you see in a single eyeful during a huge party that’s the centerpiece of the film, have come to roost here. We not only mix feckless burnouts with (THREE) professional authors, but somehow there is also an entire spandex-clad glam band with amp stacks and everything that they keep god knows where. The aforementioned party brings a curious thing to light, too, that’s just a drop in the bucket of this awfulness, and yet it is emblematic of the film’s basic nature. The band is featured playing exactly one bar of a rockin’ version of “Maggie’s Farm”. At first I thought, “Well, that’s probably affordable”, but then I began to realize that Bob Dylan covers seem to flow insistently throughout the whole movie. The ending credits threaten to never end, as an infuriatingly slow version of “Times They Are A-Changin’” smolders but refuses to be extinguished, with such languor that it’s hard not to shout through the screen at the singer to SPIT IT THE FUCK OUT ALREADY, THEY ARE “A-CHANGING”, WE KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO SAY. There may be some connection to make between the film’s obsession with prophecies, and Dylan’s identity as something of a modern prophet himself, but the whole thing just gives one the sense of a mid-mid-life crisis dad who has suddenly rediscovered the Beatles, whose regular guests start to dread every visit’s inevitable, multiple, embarrassingly serious playthroughs of Sergeant Pepper’s . If you know what I’m saying. I’m not sure what I’m saying. All I can say really conclusively is that none of this makes any sense to me, and I’m a little surprised that this shockingly narcissistic movie isn’t more notorious, and I’m a lot surprised that this shockingly narcissistic director was allowed to make another movie after this. Which I suppose I’ll have to deal with as soon as it comes out in a more hatewatchable format than the theaters to which it was confoundingly distributed. See you then, if I ever manage to live through this.

Hey here’s a picture of an Olympic figure skater at the premier, that’s weird.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1227

Monday. August 27, 2018

 I noticed that the leaves are starting to change already. It seems early this year. Change is on the horizon and it's the only constant if life as they say. I seem to be more anxious as I get older when my comfortable routines are disrupted. I'm okay if I get fair warning to prepare myself but find that I freak out a little when something gets sprung on me. I used to be able to just go with the flow but avoiding even minor annoyances is what I most desire now. Maybe I'm turning into a clam. Thank god for family and friends who get me out of my shell.

 Silencer #8 - Dan Abnett (writer) Patrick Zircher (art) Mike Spicer (colours) Tom Napolitano (letters). Hell-iday Road part 1. Honor's mission to kill Talia runs into some unexpected resistance. I love the surprise department of Leviathan that pops up to complicate things and the Freaky Friday twist. It's rare that a brand new character strikes my fancy and this one does.

 Old Man Hawkeye #8 - Ethan Sacks (writer) Marco Checchetto (art) Andres Mossa (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Eye For An Eye part 8. This issue features a stupendous battle between Bullseye and the Winter Soldier. It sets up the face to face next issue for Clint and Bullseye that I've been waiting for.

 The Life of Captain Marvel #2 - Margaret Stohl (writer) Marguerite Sauvage (art flashbacks) Carlos Pacheco (pencils present day) Rafael Fonteriz (inks present day) Marcio Menyz (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). There's a lot of family drama to slog through before any action happens. Next issue should be more exciting with the super powered alien landing on Earth and going on the hunt. I'm guessing that Carol is the prey.

 West Coast Avengers #1 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Stefano Caselli (art) Triona Farrell (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Please welcome the latest team of West Coast Avengers to the racks with a big hand of applause. I liked this a lot but it's not quite standing ovation material. Kate Bishop assembles a team of super heroes to keep Los Angeles safe and they sure are a fun bunch. The core is made up of Kate/Hawkeye, her boyfriend Fuse, America and part-timer Clint/Hawkeye. The new members are Gwenpool and Quentin Quire ex-X-Man. I'm glad that Stefano Caselli is back on the racks. I was a big fan of his art on Ultimate Spider-Man. This book centered around Hollywood means that there are major media and pop culture references which makes things fun. It's the attack of the fifty foot woman as a giant sized Tigra menaces Santa Monica. I can't wait to find out more about B.R.O.D.O.K. next issue. I'm adding this to my "must read" list.

 Sandman Universe #1 - Neil Gaiman (story) Simon Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nola Hopkinson and Dan Watters (writers) Bilquis Evely, Tom Fowler, Dominike "Domo" Stanton, Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara (art) Mat Lopes (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). Man, how I've missed these characters. Lucien the librarian, Mervyn the pumpkin-headed janitor, Matthew the raven, Tim Hunter the boy magician and all the other fascinating inhabitants of the Dreaming. I don't remember Dora so she might be new. This $4.99 US anthology will introduce you to four new comic books based on Neil Gaiman's wonderful creations. The Dreaming #1 hits the racks on September 5. House of Whispers #1 on September 12. Lucifer #1 October 17 and Books of Magic on October 24 which Ottawa's own Tom Fowler will be illustrating. Sandman fans should be very pleased.

 Die Die Die #2 - Robert Kirkman (writer) Scott M. Gimple (co-plot) Chris Burnham (art) Nathan Fairbairn (colours) Rus Wooton (letters). I haven't read a comic book with this much explicit violence since The Boys. It's a sign of a good comic when you can tell the origin story of three maybe four identical brother assassins in two pages. There's a lot of sibling rivalry which makes this story very interesting.

 Punisher #1/LGY #229 - Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Szymon Kudranski (art) Antonio Fabela (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). World War Frank part 1. Frank has gone through many changes recently. He's the Cosmic Ghost Rider now for instance. My favourite incarnation has always been the gun toting vigilante going after the bad guys and surviving every single attempt to stop him from killing. Matt brings back that bad ass to the racks and I'm happy. Frank fights Baron Zemo, Hydra and the Roxxon Corporation in this relaunch and it's just as bloody good as Die Die Die. The death of a major super villain here was a big surprise.

 Action Comics #1002 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Patrick Gleason (art) Alejandro Sanchez (colours) Josh Reed (letters). Invisible Mafia part 2. I like a good mystery thrown into a comic book to keep me interested and this issue has two. The cloudy demon is one because Superman is vulnerable to supernatural things. The surprise reunion on the last page is the other. This is the first time that Brian Bendis has given me that gotcha feeling in his DC work.

 Avengers #6/LGY #696 - Jason Aaron (writer) Ed McGuinness & Paco Medina (pencils) Mark Morales & Juan Vlasco (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). "Planet of Pathogens" will give you a hint as to how the Avengers cure the Earth of the Horde infestation and defeat the Celestials. Boy, that was a close call. Next issue promises the origin of the Spirit of Vengeance, the very first Ghost Rider. I'm not a fan of Ghost Rider being on the team. I also don't like the new version of She-Hulk either. If it wasn't for the awesome art I would bench this book.

 Mr. & Mrs X #2 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Oscar Bazaldua (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Love and Marriage part 2. The newlyweds team up, albeit reluctantly, with Deadpool to protect the egg. First of all, how did Deadpool wind up in space? Never mind, it's a comic book. They have to keep the egg out of the hands of Technet, a team of bad guys. How do they just happen to be out in space too? I love Oscar's art so I'm going to ignore all these silly coincidences and find out how this story ends.

 Amazing Spider-Man #4/LGY #805 - Nick Spencer (writer) Ryan Ottley (pencils) Cliff Rathburn (inks) Laura Martin (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Back to Basics part 4. One look at the cover and I was thinking "didn't Marvel learn from the Clone Saga?". That was one of the most panned Spider-Man storylines and here they are doing it again. I am happy to report that this split isn't going to last as long and hopefully the Isotope Genome Accelerator will be mothballed for good after this. If they merge Spider-Man and Peter Parker back together in a dumb way I will not be very forgiving.

[comic-movieheroesranked]

Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2003) Part II

Seven comic book movies made their mark during the 2003 year. A big year for sequels as we got X2: X-Men United, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life. Making their debut to the big screen is Daredevil and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. And a first on our list, we got TWO sequels from one series: The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. With two previous champions (Wolverine in 2000 and Lara Croft in 2001) going up against a whole new group of contenders, this list was one of the more exciting ones to make! Here’s #57 through #40!

*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ALL THE MOVIES HIGHLIGHTED ABOVE*

57. Scott Summers/Cyclops (X2: X-Men United)

"Jean! Don't do this!"

For the second time in a row it seems that Scott got the short end of the stick out of all the adults teaching at Xavier's mutant school. His girlfriend is barely opening up to him as it is without having the guy who's been trying to get with her return out of nowhere with the bike he stole from Scott in the first place! Then when he does go on a mission as Professor X's bodyguard he gets his ass handed to him by the bad guy's assistant (to be fair she's a lethal assassin, but still). Then he gets mind controlled to attack said girlfriend from earlier and gets his ass kicked again. He snaps out of it, but then is forced to watch as Jean sacrifices herself to save him and everyone else she loves. But hey, at least if she were alive she would've chose him over Logan even though I'm almost positive he didn't even know he was competing for her.

56. Bane (The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions)

"Do you remember? I do. I think of nothing else."

Bane was a soldier who gets taken over by Agent Smith, who uses him to infiltrate the real world. Once he returns to Zion he tries to kill Neo but when that fails he settles for blowing up Bane's crew as well as several others. Of course he ends up on the same ship as Neo and kills whoever he has to kill to face him again. It's this version of Agent Smith that manages to permanently blind Neo but is unsuccessful in fully taking away his sight. Neo manages to destroy this version of Agent Smith shortly after.

55. John Allerdyce/Pyro (X2: X-Men United)

"You know all those dangerous mutants you hear about in the news? I'm the worst one."

Yo this dude is way too cocky for someone who's hair is styled like that. Like why is he such a dick? He literally makes a scene in the museum just because he wouldn't let a guy borrow his lighter. When the group is at Bobby's house he shows just how 'badass' he is when by torching a bunch of cops along with their cars and here I am thinking 'why the hell didn't he do that when his school was being attacked?' And then he meets Magneto, who strokes his ego by calling him a god so it's no surprise that by the end he ditches his friends to leave with him and Mystique. Were Rogue and Bobby even his friends though?

54. Ishmael (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)

"Call me Ishmael, please."

Ishamel is Captain Nemo's first mate in his pirate fleet. He's a loyal soldier to the captain throughout the entire film and puts his trust into anybody his captain trusts, which turns out to be his downfall. It's revealed Dorian is the double crosser went he shoots Ishmael a grand total of four times in the chest. He's loyal enough to champion through the pain and make his way to Nemo to reveal Dorian's betrayal before dying from his wounds.

53. Jason Stryker (X2: X-Men United)

"I got my eyes on you."

The first sad case that's part of William Stryker's team: his own son. Jason was a mutant, a fact that probably didn't go to well with his dad seeing as he's very anti-mutant. It's obvious the two didn't have a very loving relationship because it's revealed Jason would torment his parents with his illusions. After his mother kills herself Jason is turned into a weapon by his own father and is used for liquid in his brain that allows Stryker to control other mutants. He then creates a little girl that tries to get Professor X to do his father's bidding but that fails when Storm and Nightcrawler come to the rescue. I couldn't tell if he was even alive in the state he was in, but if he was he definitely didn't survive the destruction of the dam.

52. Rama-Kandra (The Matrix Revolutions)

"They are gifts. And so I do what I must do to honor them."

I didn't initially think I was going to add Rama-Kandra to the list. I thought the scene he and his wife were in was going to be all about Sika, but that all changed as soon as he started to talk. Rama-Kandra is a program, a program that surprises Neo when he reveals his undying love for his wife and daughter. He's able to shed some knowledge on Neo's ignorance towards programs as well as express both of their desires to do whatever they have to do for the ones they love.

51. Bobby Drake/Iceman (X2: X-Men United)

"Call me Iceman."

The funny thing about this is that no one actually calls him that for the whole movie. I got the vibe he didn't like Logan in the beginning, maybe he was a bit jealous but after his midnight bonding with the older mutant over girls they can't have (Logan was crushing on Jean and Bobby can't physically touch his girlfriend, Rogue) I think he got over it. Without ever seeing what Rogue can do, it's no surprise to see just how eager this teenage boy is to risk getting a kiss. He goes for it and to no ones surprise, he almost dies once things get intense. Can't feel bad for him for that but I do feel bad about his family and their ignorance towards his mutant abilities. When he leaves their home it almost feels like it's the last time he'll see them, seeing as how shitty their reunion turned out to be.

50. Keymaker (The Matrix Reloaded)

"Another way. Always another way."

Keymaker is just this sweet old man that patiently makes keys as he waits for Neo to show up and save him. Even when everyone tries to kill him he keeps a calm composure as the keys he owns has access to all the solutions in the matrix. As he takes Neo and Morpheus to the Source, they run into Agent Smith and all his clones. Keymaker manages to save the others from harm but isn't fast enough to dodge Agent Smith's bullets. He dies, but not before giving Neo the key to meet the Source.

49. Sean (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life)

"Show me what you got!"

Sean is head of security for Reiss. He ends up having a vendetta against Lara after she whoops his ass in a gun fight and takes pleasure doing Reiss's dirty work. He meets his end in Africa when he's attacked by these monsters of nature that rip and tear him apart.

48. M/Fantom (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)

"How many times do I have to kill these cretins?"

M, the mystery man who initially brings together the League in the first place, turns out to be the terrorist, Fantom, who is the League's public enemy #1. Turns out he brought them all together to steal the talents of the League's members to build an unstoppable empire. Of course the League manages to stop him and he almost gets away until Sawyer is able to shoot him dead with the help of Quatermain's teaching.

47. The Architect (The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions)

"Hope, it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness."

I though The Architect was going to be a bigger threat than he actually was, but he's just another program. He's the complete opposite of The Oracle, who's big philosophy is all about making a choice. The Architect doesn't believe in choices, he believes in equations. He sits in the background for most of the movies not believing that any change will happen. It does, and it's a prediction he couldn't make only because he couldn't grasp the concept and strength of choice.

46. Roland, Maggie, and Ghost (The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions)

"This ship will go to hell long before I let you take it anywhere!"

There were many people who assisted Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus back to Zion but these three were the ones that stuck out to me. Roland is the captain of the ship that finds them all. He's much like Captain Lock in that he doesn't believe in Neo and that they must do whatever they can to ensure Zion's safety. It's hinted he's a bit of a brute but if he's captain I wouldn't put it passed him to have some brain power as well. Maggie is the resident doctor on Roland's ship. She helps Trinity figure out what's going on with Neo and also takes care of Bane, unaware that he's actually Agent Smith. When she's tasked with getting Bane to tell the truth about the death of his crew, he kils her with blade he hid in his hand. Finally there's Ghost, who's Niobe's right hand man on her crew. He also happens to be the best shot at the ship's guns and comes in handy when a bunch of sentinels come around.

45. Dr. Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)

"Trouble? I call it sport."

Dr. Henry Jekyll becomes the muscle of the League when he drinks his self-made potion to become Edward Hyde, who I swear was on an episode of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy. The pair join the League when they're offered a chance to return to their home in London. At first Jekyll isn't willing to let Hyde out but when he finds out he has no choice he drinks the potion to save the day. He goes face to face with his own creation when a soldier of M drinks too much of his potion, proving to be too much for him and Nemo before they escape with their lives.

44. Jack Murdock (Daredevil)

"You be a doctor or a lawyer. Not like me."

Jack might have done some terrible things working for Fallon, but he was a good father to Matt. After Matt loses his eyes, Jack promises to cut all ties with Fallon and lead by example, going back to boxing and making an earnest living. However, it's not as easy as it seems when Fallon approaches him to through a match. He almost does it but when Matt starts cheering him on he decides to defy Fallon and win the match, sealing his fate. He's later killed by Fisk, who was working for Fallon at the time.

43. Foggy Nelson (Daredevil)

"Seeing eye dogs bond for life--yours ran away."

Another character that didn't live up to his future TV counterpart. Foggy is the friend everyone should have at some point in their lives. He's supportive but will also challenge your view on things if he sees another way to handle the situation. He shares a law firm with Matt and constantly argues with him on the kind of clients they should be representing. He's also there to chastise Matt and his history with females as well as use his blindness to their advantage.

42. Rogue (X2: X-Men United)

"He's back!"

It's nice to see Rogue having a somewhat normal life after nearly dying in the last movie. She's going to school, has a boyfriend, and still looks up to Logan as the father she never had despite not being able to touch anyone. She's even starting to get a handle on her powers, taking just enough life force from John after he attacks the cops to return the atmosphere from critical to normal. She still hasn't forgave Magneto and if I were in the moving I'd be her petty friend encouraging her to touch him instead of pulling her away like Bobby did, but this is why I'm not a superhero. She's able to fly the jet to the rescue but since she crash lands it so badly Jean has to sacrifice herself to get it started again. Can't really blame her though, it seemed like everyone else forgot the jet existed so if they had escaped on the helicopter like originally planned, she and Bobby might've been in some real trouble.

41. Lock (The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions)

"That's the problem with you people. You can't think more than five minutes in front of your faces.”

It's funny because I think Lock suffers with the same problem. Captain Lock is the head commander of all fleets in Zion. He doesn't believe in the Chosen One and fails to see anyone else's way except his when it comes to fighting the machines. This ends up ruining his relationship with Niobe and a constant disagreement with the council. I will give him credit for showing good leadership during the sentinel attack on Zion, I was half expecting him to die due to his stubbornness. He lives, however, but only because The Chosen One saved him.

40. Hilary and Bryce (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life)

"You know us, always making friends."

Hilary and Bryce are back! This time the two play a smaller role in the film but still serve as Lara's trusty sidekicks that help her out with her adventures. Hilary is her sassy butler that makes sure she's properly trained and Bryce is all about the tech and making sure Lara gets whatever gadget she needs for the mission. They're both temporarily kidnapped but manage to escape with the help of Terry. At the end of the film, my suspicions of the two's relationship is confirmed when they're "accidentally" prepared for a wedding. They chicken out but I think it's only because they want a more traditional one back in England.