#The Teenage Superhero Society

[fungicidecarhorn64ad]

Here's something I written please read if you want! Thanks to @lordstormageddidnt for help with the punctuation.This is like a passion project of mine so please be nice

TSS One flew over the Parrot's nest

Parrot Man bursts through the museum window. A crowd of rich patrons scream in terror as the figure covered in a costume of brightly coloured feathers crashed through the window.

" hello gentlefolk of Dublin make way for the king of phantom thieves THE PARROT man"

A distant caw can be heard as he says his name

"now hand me the........."

"Are you okay?"

a finely curled mustached gentleman says in worry as the feathered fiend draws a blank

"I never really get this far what am I supposed to steal?"

A giddy museum worker raises their voice and says

"I know where all the cool stuff you can steal is"

they said excitedly this was going to get their favourite artifact in the news they thought,

"yeah sure please show it to me I guess--"

he's cut short by the sound of a person jumping in from the broken glass.

"never fear for I the Gunslinger am here to protect all of you from this fiend"

The wind flows through Triggers makeshift jacket cape, she flips her black ponytail to the back of her head.

"Damn I look badass"

She whispers to herself as she draws Bullet from her pocket who's in her pistol form.

"Woah, easy there we don't want to ruffle any feathers" says Parrot man nervously

"relax they're non lethal bullets" Trigger replies as she steps closer.

"damn you really threw away your chance to bluff like that?" Bullet says.

"oh, yeah I just did" Trigger says

"you just did nut case!"

Parrot man's wings retract and spread as he thrusts into the air colourful feathers launch from the wings straight towards Trigger, she jumps out of the way and keeps dodging as the feathers fly past her. She returns fire and dashes around the upstairs of the museum, she dodges the feathers as the sound of glass exhibits shatter behind her. A grappling hook flies out from the talons attached to Parrot man's feet to hit Trigger but she backflips out of the way, the claw grabs a bronze statue of a walrus, the talons retract and smack Parrot man in the face dissoriating him, Bullet shifts into a long rifle that Trigger blasts launching him back into a wall.

"talk about shooting a bird while he's down"

"well like" Trigger paused thinking of a comeback

"JUST CONTINUE BEATING WHILE HE'S DOWN!" Bullet shouts

"right right"

Trigger fires more, as Parrot man covers himself using his wings as shields.

Parrot man gets back up, his mighty thrusters roaring as he rises back into the air as a ,red and green, megaphone like apparatus rises from his chest to his mouth. He shouts releasing a large sonar blast knocking down everyone in the museum, the sound pins down Trigger as she struggles to aim at the feathered fiend, she fire's three shots missing each, until the fourth one hits Parrot man's Thruster™ causing him to crash into the ground.

"See citizens you shouldn't have feared, hope you didn't cause that would be dumb"

Trigger stops as she hears the sound of a car pull up outside and a familiar voice shouts,

"Chief Justice is here to save the day"

*fuck*, Trigger thought.

"corpos"

Bullet whispers as the two make their escape through the shattered window into the night.

[kimberlyannharts]

“I’ve treated you as a soldier Billy”

I’m biting through steel why are we still doing this

Can I take this opportunity to say that The Return commented on the whole "child soldier" thing in a way that was subtle and nuanced without completely demonizing the entire concept of the show

[kidrat]

having feelings about trans Gwen,,, like there's the 'superhero leading a double life' allegory for being closeted, which ppl have noted, but there's plenty I haven't seen anyone mention yet! like, the fact her dad has a trans patch in support of her means she's out.

She's a young trans *girl* (as opposed to a trans woman) living as her authentic gender in a loving home. she went to her school dance in a dress. she did ballet! which of course boys can do too, but often times when people are assigned male they don't get the chance to explore feminine hobbies. It's really lovely that someone, likely Gwen's dad, supported her enough to let her have those girly experiences and memories, whether she was living as a girl when she took dance up or as a gnc boy.

While it's subtle rep, I still think it's awesome to imply a character like Gwen is trans. Trans girls don't always get to have a childhood. Transmisogyny fetishizes transfems and presents them as always victimisers, never victims. They're barred from girlhood and it's connotations of innocence, vulnerability, lovableness.

Not that Gwen isn't a hashtag strong female character! And not that she hasn't had to grow up fast in other ways. She Is Literally Spiderwoman and she plays the drums and has agency and expresses negative emotions. But she's also a teenager, and she gets to be hugged and comforted, and to be set up for a soft friends to lovers relationship with another teenager, a cis boy who respects her and only knows her as a girl and thinks she's amazing and draws her in his sketchbook. That is not a role the media often lets trans girls have!!! It's lovely to think young transfems might be able to see themselves in a character consistently shown as worthy of affection.

Of course, the fact that Gwen is in the closet about being spider-woman is even sadder knowing this is her second rodeo. Lots of us have hesitated to come out a second time because our parents were supportive about the first thing and well, putting something else on them feels like taking the piss or hoping for too much.

Something else I wanted to talk about is how Gwen being trans effects a reading of her Peter's death, especially taking into account the new information this film gave us about this. There's this gendered switch happening, where Peter passes on his usual role to a woman. What's more, he has to die for her story to happen. She loves him, and never wanted him to die, but she's blamed for it anyway. Her father talks affectionately about the dead Peter, calling him his daughter's best friend. He talks about him like a son. He vows revenge on Gwen for killing him. It's a fantastic allegory for how some transphobic parents hate their out trans children for 'killing' the kid they had before.

I think with the above in mind, maybe we can see the subtext of Gwen's arc with her dad in this film as that of a supportive parent who's nevertheless got some biases left that hurt his trans daughter, who doesn't speak up for fear his acceptance is conditional.

I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that protecting a trans daughter is this Captain Stacy's motivation while he's working as a cop. Obviously there's the text that he wants to be a 'good cop' to work against the institution's bigotry, and he displays the trans flag on his work jacket. His quitting the police is a fantastic story beat because it makes a point about the real world while also serving a lot of the analogies going on.

Good cops quit. They realise you can't be a well intentioned cog in a bigoted machine. It doesn't matter if you're a bigot or just taking actions a bigot might because you're working within parameters set by bigots. It's an important message. Within a trans reading of the film, I'd also see this plot moment as Stacy realising he can't protect his trans daughter if he's still playing by the rules of a society that see her as threatening and duplicitous. He's then able to stop seeing her on some level as having killed his son.

They're able to be close again because he has completely rejected the cis culture he was a part of, rather than just decrying the worst parts and slotting Gwen in. She no longer has to worry that he'll rescind his acceptance if she's too trans, and so he gets to know all of her because she can let him into her world without self-editing.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on Gwen after watching Across The Spiderverse two hours ago lmao.

[fandomnerd9602]

The One I Want

Laura Kinney x Spiderpool!Reader

For @deafeningsharkslimeempath

Do you know that one moment where you just feel like you screwed everything up spectacularly? well that happened to me rather recently. Oh sorry where are my manners? my name is (Y/N) (L/N) and on my world I’m known as the spectacularly annoying Spider-Pool. The spectacularly annoying part is debatable.

You see it all started when the TVA zapped me into the void, something about being an anomaly, a profane and unholy combination of both Spider-Man and Deadpool. Honestly, it’s just the best of both worlds in my book or it would be a book if I wasn’t more than just one panel in comic book of the spider verse. True story look it up.

Or it could’ve been the fact that I killed Jared Leto, oh not Morbius. I’m saying I literally killed Jared Leto. It was an accident. I thought I was going after Morbius but oh well.

To make a long story short, I was forced to team up with X-23 or Laura as she likes to be called. One of my all time favorite X-Men characters by the way!

Anyway we found ourselves at an agreement, if I got her back to her timeline and out of the Void she would help me do the same. A good deal all things considered. The only downside is the TVA is so flip floppy. I mean one show it’s the villain the next show it’s good? Fiege, please make up your mind about what the TVA is?!

“You’re sure this plan of ours will work?” Laura told me as we drove thru the woods towards the reported base of the resistance found in the Void.

“If it works, I’ll be happily back in my world by this time tomorrow, Fun Size” Laura’s eyes went wide and she slammed on the brakes, nearly sending me flying into the windshield.

“If?! What do you mean if?!” She was screaming at me. My mind could only formulate the truth. I thought truth telling was Captain America's problem?!

"The TVA are hunting me and I need to get back home to save my world." Oh yeah it all came out like a big old truth salad. A truth salad that you order from Pizza Hut and immediately regret.

Laura began screaming and banging her fists against the steering wheel, "Are you fucking kidding me?! Out of all the spider totems to get stuck in the Void with and I end up with you!"

Oh I knew exactly where this was heading. A teenage superhero such as myself could only baton down the hatches and listen as this beautiful teenage fighting machine chewed me out. How is this both the most embarrassing and fulfilling moment of my life?

"I end up with the biggest fuck up in the multiverse! A spider-deadpool equivalent that couldn't save his Aunt May or Uncle Ben. Twice!"

It's true. I even somehow got my universe's Sean Bean killed. Yes. That Sean Bean. He wasn't even playing my Uncle Ben or anything!

Laura continued her little tirade, "No wonder the Spider Society turned you down! And the Avengers too! You can't save anyone or anything. Your world hates you! The girls you were supposed to love hate you! Mary Jane couldn't stand you. Gwen probably enjoyed death more than you!"

I could feel the anger rising up in the pit of my heart.

"The greatest joke is that no matter how much you wish for death to be with Gwen, you can't die! And it's one of God's greatest jokes on us instead of you!!!"

I was left in stone cold utter silence. I could feel my vision beginning to turn as red as my outfit.

"What?! No witty comeback?!"

"I'm going to fight you now" was all that left my mouth. And you know what? I meant it. Every. Last. Fucking. Word.

"Oh are you-?" THWIP! I shot one of my web guns, a web flew right over her mouth. The anger immediately flared in her eyes. Next thing I knew she lunged at me, claws out.

She grabbed my head and slammed it several times against the car radio. I grabbed her and gently pushed her against the driver seat. Hey I may be in a fight for my life but I’d still never hurt a woman.

Laura took one of her claws and ran it over the web, cutting it. I really should have taken Fictional Chemistry to understand that admantium is stronger than webs.

“This is ridiculous! I can’t hurt a girl!”

“A girl can hurt you!” She retorted before driving her claws in my lungs.

I kicked her straight thru the windshield of the Odyssey and into the forest in front of us. She simply smirked and dove right back thru. I had to admire her tenacity and endurance.

That admiration was interrupted with the familiar feeling of Adamantium being driven straight thru me, over and over.

She began muttering something in Spanish. Sadly I didn’t have the subtitles on so I couldn’t exactly know what she was saying. My Spanish only goes as far as my name: la piscina de aranas.

I pinned her to the second row seats, which were flattened like my heart was after the dog’s death in John Wick.

Laura simply laughed and kicked me straight thru the roof of the Honda. I landed on the roof with a sickening thud and rolled off, hitting the forest floor.

Laura, ever the tease, looked at me thru the window and gave me a come at me signal. “I am a teenage superhero,” I found myself wondering, “how am I terrified and yet so turned on?”

I pulled out my punch daggers and dived right thru the side window.

We traded blows and slashes. She let out a few huffs and groans. She straddled me and begins driving her claws repeatedly, coating the interior with a lovely shade of my blood.

She paused and looked at me in concern, “is that a Glock in your pocket?!”

“I never keep a Glock in there” I laughed before pulling out another gun, “I keep a Desert Eagle!”

Blam! Blam! I fired off several shots at her, one of which hit her rib and the other hit one of her claws.

“That all you got?” She asked me thru gritted teeth.

I grabbed my web gun and shot off several shots, encasing one of her arms in a giant web. She cut right thru it and lunges at me again. She forced us into the remaining back third row. Yeah the Odyssey has three rows. Three rows of get your freak on.

Next thing I knew Laura was looking at me with those brown eyes of hers. It had a mixture of anger and... Wait what was that? Is that lust?!

Well I guess it was. Because the next thing I knew she was driving her claws into the sides of the seats to my left and my right and then she kissed me full on lip lock with teeth hitting mine lip lock. Holy Stan Lee!

Each little growl that escaped her mouth was like a bit of heaven, a symphony to my ears, and quite possibly a fear of hell.

“I…uhh…” my brain tried to comprehend the exact situation that I was going through. It was something so great and yet so terrifying and couldn’t help it intrigue me even more.

“You talk too much” was her only response before she continued her onslaught of kisses. And boy was she right.

She shoved me down onto the remaining back seat, her lips never leaving mine. I began rubbing little circles into her back as the Honda continued rocking back and forth.

It was night by the time we had worked thru all of our differences…and no we did not go any farther than a PG-13 would allow.

Laura nuzzled me, laying against my chest. We shared a bottle of Coke that we found earlier. I gotta admit, besides the whole trying to kill me thing, I could really see a long partnership with her. Both crime fighting and in private.

“I’m sorry” she whispered. “It’s not your fault. The TVA is just the worst.”

“Yeah” I agreed, “sorry I shot you with a Desert Eagle”

Laura simply smirked and held up the bullet before dropping it on the Honda’s floor. “I’ll help you get back home”

“I’ll make sure you have a home to get back to.” I smiled at her and gave her forehead a little kiss.

“Aww” a new voice broke the silence. Laura and I turned to see Deadpool and Wolverine staring at us from outside the Honda.

“Young love” Deadpool chimed in.

OK, so not exactly how I was expecting this whole date to go, but I gotta say turn out better than I thought it would. And what can I say the Honda Odyssey really fucks.

[luffyrose]

We're back with another dc x dp, coming to you this time on my phone while hang in off the back of my couch. Is blood rushing to my head? Yes.

Either way, I had a random thought about how personally as a child, I was a little monkey, like if my parents had actually had the thought to put me in gymnastics I would probably be a menace to society. And so my thought was, what if Danny was like that too?

Danny had always been very hyper, like, bounce of the walls, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE FRIDGE-" kind of hyper. When he started to climb, hang, flip, and just about break something just to have some fun, Jazz finally tried to get their parents to sign him up for gymnastics.

They didn't.

Both had been very happy at the idea, but when it came down to it, they just forgot. And one time without actually paying attention to the two, said gymnastics was for girls, ultimately shattering Danny's budding hobby. Jazz of course didn't just let that dream go, instead finding anything she could to let him learn on his own, at the very least, she made sure he was capable enough to pick it up in his teenage years should he finally get a chance to take classes.

That didn't end up happened either.

He'd died, become Phantom, accidentally become Crown Prince of the Infinite realms, and now had to deal with superheroes realizing that something was up in Amity. More specifically, a credible news reporter finally came to the town and settled the real or not debate in one swift "WTF IS THAT-" upon seeing a giant robot hunter thing(it was Skulker).

Along with all that, his parents, or more specifically his mother, was finally noticing something was wrong. Almost two years after he died, she finally took a second to look at him, and was disturbed. So Danny, being optimistic as he can be, tries to tell them, which goes horribly wrong and ends in a lab explosion and Danny 'stuck' in the Ghost Zone. Really Jazz blew the portal up after reaching her own breaking point and immediately called CPS on her parents since Danny was never gonna come back to them.

Danny all ouchy, there goes my parents because the two destroyed their blood bond by intentionally aiming to harm him instead of the weird loophole they'd been in before. Clockwork being Clockwork yeets him over to Gotham, giving Jazz a note about it.

Over in Gotham, he's actually thrown right from a portal in the aky hurdling down toward one of the city's rogues. Whoever it is, the Batfam are like "wtf-" at the clearly confused child that suspiciously looks like they're one of the Waynes, and so they just take him back. Doesn't help that they're worried since he just got thrown from who knows where and definitely did not take that fall well- also doesn't help that he's clearly bleeding and severely injured.

Danny, after Alfred forces him to rest from injuries, is so hyper. His hyperness had gone into his vigilantism, so now with nothing to deter it, he was going crazy and he felt so stiff.

Cue one of the sibkings walking in to find the kid hanging dangerously off something and just going "hi". Dick has a new favorite(not really he still loves all his siblings the same...maybe Damian and new kid are a smidge higher, but they're younger so it doesn't count).

When he takes the kid to the gym in their house, he is literally running around and getting onto everything. Now Dick has accidentally acquired little acrobatic brother that he's determined to help out with getting better.

Best part, Danny doesn't even realize the others are like "welp he's family now" and is just thinking they're very nice for being rich. He doesn't trust Bruce too much though, sure rich people's mids could be chill(take Sam for example) but parents themselves were iffy.

No one knows how to react to the truth bombs he randomly drops without even realizing it either.

Dick, watching Danny haning upside down from a bar for the last like 10 minutes: whatcha doin buddy?

Danny: thinking about my parents.

Damian, who's also been watching the whole tome but would never admit it: Your parents?

Danny, yeeting himself off the bar with no sense of self preservation: yeah, they told me they'd sign me up for gymnastics. Never did. Claimed it was only for girls. Although I think that was the same day our oven came alive on accident and almost set me on fire so...they were pretty distracted.

Dick, staring in actual horror for many reasons: What?!

Damian, also horrified but not showing it as much: Your oven came alive...?

Danny, who still isn't paying attention and already having forgotten what he said: how do you do that thing you showed me earlier?

[byers-bowlcut]

Mike’s love for El being platonic, and not romantic, and realizing it over the course of season 3 reconciles nearly every contradiction with his behaviour.

He stands like a gay scarecrow as she kisses him in front of Will’s closet. That's him realizing that when he blurted out "I love her and I can't lose her again!" he meant it platonically. But her saying "ily too” WAS CLEARLY NOT PLATONIC, so now he’s left very confused (If he was simply shocked by the fact that she overheard him, he would’ve been surprised initially, and then kissed her back, and been all emotional and happy. But he wasnt.) 

In fact he probably realized his heart fluttered when Will said “not possible” to him in the scene literally 1 minute prior, but NOT when his gf was attempting to make out with him? That’s clearly a problem! lol

This leads flawlessly into season 4.

Mike has apparently been refusing to even write the word 'love’ in his letters for 6 whole months. Why? Cause he didn't want them to look like love letters.

Meanwhile, he’s jealous of Will painting something for a girl. So he argues with Will about growing apart.

El argues with him about not saying ily. In the fight, he deflects romantic connotations with words like “care” and superhero idolization that he seems suuuper into this season.

He NODS when Will says “What if they don’t like the truth?”. That’s him thinking “Yeah, El won’t like the truth that I don't return her romantic feelings.”

In the van, he says their meeting was dumb luck and anyone could've been there for her that night. That’s hinting that he was just being a decent human. Not that it was a fated love at first sight meeting.

Then Will says, “You’re afraid of losing her”. And THAT is the true issue here.

This whole concept of ‘losing El’ (be it in relationship/daily life, or in death), is scary to Mike, because of what he went through seasons 1-2. At 12 years old, he saw another kid that he developed a bond with, die right in front of his freaking eyes. But they didn’t have a body or anything. So Mike kept getting signs and intuitive feelings that she was still alive. So he questioned his own sanity. For a WHOLE YEAR. Can you imagine how traumatic that is? And then for a kid that age?? That’s exactly why he develops an unhealthy codependency with her in Season 3. And we see it have a negative impact on the unity of the party, and on Will.

But a traumatic response doesn’t change the fact that Season 3 transitions us through the party’s puberty and growth into teenage hood.��

And because of said puberty, Mike starts to realize what actual attraction towards someone is, or in this case… isnt.

Like if we think about the first two seasons, for a 12-13 year old living in that type of society, era, and a picture perfect white suburban American family, it would’ve been really really hard to figure it out back then! Like simply becoming very close friends with the opposite gender caused everyone (cough Nancy cough Lucas) to tell him that “ooooh you must like her”. So yeah, he thinks “I really must like her”. Because he does! He just can’t separate it from actual romantic attraction at that point due to age, and strong heteronormative standards, and no role models like Jonathan telling him “it’s okay to stray from the norm bro”. So of course he acts on it? That’s the NORM. He’s like, “You’re supposed to take a girl you like to the ball”, “We're supposed like girls now”, “This is what growing up means”, “This what old people do”. Like HELLO? Mike says stuff similar to that constantly. Dustin and Lucas do not. So yeah, it can be easily be read as heteronormativity. Not romantic attraction!

And so despite wanting to spend every day in the summer with El because of copious amounts of trauma from S1-2, he can’t continue believing its romantic attraction when his hormones say otherwise. 

Like just look at their kissing scenes S3-4:

Seasons 3 starts with him pulling her hands OFF of him when kissing. He’s voluntarily kissing her instead of spending time with his friends, cause he thinks that’s what he’s supposed to do as he’s “not a kid anymore!”, yet he’s evidently not even enjoying it if he’s taking her hands off lol. Then by the end of the season he doesn’t even kiss back, and has his eyes wide open. Then six months later, when he’s way more self aware of his own feelings, this dude wears SUNGLASSES to the airport. We (and all the characters there) can’t even see his true expression when kissing her. And what’s more, he puts the bouquet of flowers between their bodies, to SEPARATE FASTER. When he could’ve very easily put that hand/arm around her, not between them (that's what he does with his other hand holding the bags).  

And all of this: all this repression, the contradictions, the unsaid things... it all culminates to the monologue. Will told Mike in the van that El really needed him. And then Will reminds him of this again when El is in the piggyback, cause Will is annoying! (jokes lol). So of course, all rationality, all of Mike's realizations or progression, goes out the window. After all, he is THE HEART. He is needed by her. He can’t go through what he went through in season 1-2 again! It doesn’t matter if it’s not totally true. He needs to tell her what she wants to hear so she won’t DIE. The stakes are extremely high. So he delivers. He even takes all his knowledge of mediocre romance stories, and blurts out that it was love at first sight. It's silly to us the audience, cause if you actually go back and watch season 1 you can see that it's not even fucking true. 

So why would he lie? Well because he doesn’t KNOW when he fell in love with El. Because he never fell in love with her. So yeah. It’s PLATONIC with a capital P.

(And to add a cherry on top, he gives his sister’s ring to her jfc) 

[pikahlua]

I don’t agree with everything said here but: [link removed]

For context, someone sent me a link to a post about elements of fascism and copaganda they feel are present in MHA. I've removed the link for anonymity purposes.

I have no interest in responding to this essay point-by-point. As a brief, BRIEF, BRIEF summary, the linked post makes claims such as:

MHA is pro-authoritarian

MHA is pro-cop

MHA doesn't have these elements promoting fascism on purpose but the elements are there regardless

MHA's ending endorses philosophies it previously criticized

MHA readers who don't pick up on these things lack critical thinking

MHA's hero system is comparable to the fascistic element described in Umberto Eco's "Ur-Fascism" that "everybody is educated to become a hero"

Nothing in MHA's hero society changes

They say a lot of stuff I really don't see as relevant at all, a lot of nonspecific platitudes and philosophical nothings. They frame the story in MHA as if it says a lot of stuff or does a lot of things that I personally don't see or agree that it does. It also goes on to talk about elements in the story it fails to explore like themes of child soldiers and punishment before crime.

I appreciate that the post acknowledges they see these elements in MHA as unintentional. That makes it easier for me to consider their POV and understand where they're coming from.

That said, my response can only be: it's not that deep.

If I want to, I can read elements of ANYTHING into any story. It's very easy to do. There are whole arms of literature study basically dedicated to reading certain philosophical angles into stories that they know are not intended elements in said stories. But there needs to be some self-awareness here before we take anything that far. Equating heroism in MHA to Humberto Eco's concept of a cult of heroism that equals a cult of death is just another version of the same take I've debunked before. I don't agree with the essay's interpretation of this theme at all. My impression is THEY had a certain reading on MHA in its earlier arcs that conflicts with later arcs, but I have a reading that reads the arcs as harmonious. We are at too many odds here.

But because I acknowledge that the major difference between me and this essayist is that we have VERY different readings of MHA in the first place, I don't really wanna take the time to answer all of their points. They all clearly come from a logical place based on their own interpretation, and I don't see anything wrong with that. If that's their reading, they are welcome to it. It's a little obnoxious to claim the rest of us lack critical thinking just because we don't point out these elements they see as fascistic. To me, the stuff they identify that fuels their branching criticisms is stuff hopefully everyone has to acknowledge before they even start reading the shounen genre. I have to suspend my disbelief in the first place when I'm reading about superheroes as a social system. I have to suspend my disbelief in a shounen action manga where the fate of the world is at stake. These are things we all have to understand going in. Not every story aimed at young teenage boys is going to have the space to explore the nuance in all these social systems. It's just not that deep.

So is MHA copaganda? Setting aside the dissonance of comparing western forms of copaganda to Japanese shounen manga forms, sure, fine--so far as the story depicts an organization, particularly one with law enforcement powers, as not wholly incompetent or corrupt goes. But like, the story itself does pose the question of whether the existence of this organization (the heroes) is necessary, which is posing the fundamental question of anti-copaganda at the narrative too. The question is, what answer to this question do we get from the ending? You can read the ending as, "Everyone needs to be heroes (cops)," or you can read it as, "Everyone needs to be good to each other and then the hero system becomes unnecessary," but no matter what, the ending still says, "The hero institution as it is is not the answer." This is what I mean about gradualism and collectivism easily being co-opted by fascism or by socialism. MHA does basically say, "The current system sucks, so we have to change it," and then changes it. It's just not a satisfying change for anyone who wanted a radical revolution. Gradualism is a position that has MANY critics for this exact reason.

But even on the topic of gradualism, I think it would be a mistake to say that MHA teaches us, "Only incremental change is possible." The way I read its themes are that it's saying "Trying is important; even when all you can achieve turns out to be incremental, it's still worth trying."

As for the themes of collectivism in MHA, collectivism can easily read like paternalism to a western (white) audience, which is a whole other issue. This is why there's so much debate about whether or not people are coming from a place of good faith when their criticisms don't seem to acknowledge the eastern philosophies at play in MHA. In truth, I would be hard-pressed to name an anime that doesn't have an ending that feels weird to me. Every single anime ending I know has an element I find confusing or disquieting or off, and my conclusion has been to acknowledge that anime isn't made with me in mind as its audience. Oftentimes, stuff happens in anime that just doesn't jive with my upbringing, but I recognize it is coming from a different worldview that my upbringing has often caricatured as evil and oppressive and wrong without any nuance. It highlights for me how the media from my general worldview must also look ridiculous at times to others not in the know. So while I think it's perfectly acceptable to point out elements that do seem fascistic in any media and to stay vigilant about them, I do also take care to be open-minded about learning what other things may be going into these stories that could provide a completely different perspective.

As @siflshonen would say, sometimes all I can do is say, "I'm too western for this," and move on.

[mirrored-movements]

Home Pt.1

(Yandere!Miguel O'Hara x F!Reader)

Synopsis: You've always had the ability to travel through universes, there was never a reason as to why and you never paused to question it. However, there was someone else who began to question it.

Warnings: Idk None?

Part 2 Here

“Stop running! It’ll make things a lot easier!”

“Well stop chasing me!”

Brightly coloured portals opened one after another, only allowing you a second to peer around the surrounding dimension before another took its place quickly after entering another portal.

Your heart thundered from within your chest; shoes skidding across the cement sidewalk of the Renaissance-type dimension you’d ended up in. The painted civilians quickly moved out of the way- now whether it was because of you or your pursuer you didn’t know.

How in the hell did you even end up in this situation you may ask?

Easily actually. (Not really though- buckle up because its a long story)

Since the day you were born and since every day after that you were blessed with an ability that nobody else seemed to have. The ability to traverse the multiverse. It was an accident at first, back when you were a teenager you’d accidentally opened up a portal; the brightly colored tunnel nearly calling to you.

And, like an idiot- you dove in. The need for an adventure nagging at the back of your mind despite not knowing what would become of it.

The multiverse was vast, full of things you’d never seen and people you’d never met.

Talking animals, flying cars, dinosaurs, and the ones that seem to enamor you the most? Superheroes. You never thought they’d actually exist however in the amount of time you’d spend traveling around you’d come across your fair share of them.

Few spared you merely a wave as though you were one of their many adoring fans while others- others weren’t as friendly as you’d hoped. It seemed like a few people were aware of the multiverse, the categories of aliens, sorcerers, and a collection of arachnid-themed heroes namely- your experiences with them remain mixed as it seemed some particularly didn’t like the thought of someone from another universe stepping into theirs.

You did, however, end up meeting a particularly friendly individual. He was hesitant at first which was a given when you appeared out of nowhere, however, he seemed to understand the multiverse more than those you’ve met previously- the reason being he himself had traveled through it.

Albeit accidentally but the man couldn’t help but mention how there was a society of others who did the same.

Spider-people is what you learned the “club” was formed up of; a general ‘I was bitten by a spider and have powers now’ group of people who each protected their fair shares of dimensions.

“What I do wonder though is how you travel around?” He couldn’t help but inquire on that, the spider-sense he possessed hadn’t quite tingled in the way it normally did around other spider-like individuals, leading him to question you. It wasn’t like you had a watch like he did either.

“Oh, I can just-” Raising a hand you waved it through the air, a brightly coloured tunnel popping up quickly before closing just as fast as it opened. “Make them appear.”

This spurred on a list of questions, all of which the man openly asked before groaning as his phone had seemingly gone off. “Sorry about that. I have to pick up Mayday from daycare.” 

Recalling how he excitedly told you about his daughter you nodded your head in understanding, hand waving. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll see you around Peter.” Upon raising your hand another portal had opened, and you jogged towards it with a smile disappearing with a flash.

You thought Peter was a good person, and thought his daughter was cute- however he on the other hand wasn’t sure what to think about you. You seemed nice, no malice could be detected however he wasn’t sure about the ability you possessed.

During his time working in the multiverse, he thought something like that was impossible for an individual to have- even more so that you could just freely move back and forth without glitching.

Did that mean anything? He wasn’t sure.

He wasn’t sure at all.

--

“She can- What?”

Absentmindedly following after his escapee of a daughter Peter spoke once again, his tone nonchalant. “Yeah, so she can just wave her hand around and open up portals to wherever- Mayday! Come back here.” The aforementioned baby had quickly begun crawling up a pillar as he tried to explain.

Rolling back his shoulders from where he stood among an elevated platform the tall man let out an exasperated breath, red and blue clad hand raising to pinch the bridge of his nose. “This doesn’t make sense, surely there was som-”

“There was no device Miguel, nothing at all. Nope, nada, zip, just a wave and boom portal. Wasn’t even like how those wizards open them either- I don’t think they can access the multiverse with those rings.”

“Sorcerers, and if there's no device then there has to be something else, a normal person can’t do that.” Miguel emphasized his words trying to show that this should be something they should worry about. Someone with the capability to jump from world to world could inevitably lead to the whole thing potentially collapsing.

And he couldn’t have that.

“Lyla,” At the mention of her name the AI quickly popped in, her hands laced behind her back awaiting what he was going to ask. “Scan for any anomalies, narrow it to ten-second intervals nothing larger than that.”

“I don’t really see a probl-” “You know what the problem is.” Cutting Peter off Miguel stared down at the man, lips pursed into a fine like before his shoulders relaxed a little and he sucked in a breath. “Better safe than sorry.”

Turning his attention back to the holographic screens before him, Miguel clenched his jaw a little at the lack of data, a short glare being sent to the floating AI who merely shrugged. “Doesn’t seem like anything showing up.”

Leaning onto the keyboard he thought for a second, eyes glancing back to Peter who had finally rangled Mayday back into her carrier. “She was in your dimension, right?” Calling out he watched the man give a nod, attention quickly moving back to Lyla. “Check anything on Earth-616B.”

“There is one signature. Looks like,” Moving her hands across the air Lyla enlarged the small red dot. “She’s on Earth-199999.” At the mention of that specific place, both men seemed to let out a groan, Miguel right away pointing a hand toward Peter. “Since you found this out you go.”

“What? But I hate that place, they’re so- Patriotic.” Receiving a quick glare his complaining stopped, hands raising in surrender. “Fine. Fine. But you’re watching Mayday.”

“I didn’t agree to tha-” “I’ll be back!”

--

Having been wandering around for a while you couldn’t help but yawn, this universe seemed to have its fair share of action however it didn’t quite strike you as interesting- maybe a little overcrowded by heroes but you digress.

With your hands laced behind your back, you followed the park's pathway only stopping as someone had run over to you, the appearance of Peter caused you to smile and it seemed as though things were getting interesting as the man quickly explained that the leader of the aforementioned spider society would like to meet with you.

Scary yet exciting, you were inclined to accept the invite wanting to know what this whole thing was about as well as craving a little more excitement.

More than just traversing dimensions.

This time around you let Peter open up a portal, the spider suit-clad man using what seemed to have been a futuristic watch in order to do so quickly motioning for you to follow.

Upon stepping foot into the HQ building, you couldn’t help but stare in awe. As briefly mentioned all types of spider-people littered the building, and by littered you meant they were everywhere; on the ceiling, walls, swinging around on webs- everything.

“Oh, before we go see Miguel I’ll just pass you this.” Digging into the pocket of his robe Peter passed you a small blue wristband, a look of ‘I know I know’ passing over his face at the questioning look you’d given him. “It’s a day pass. Usually, we use it for other reasons but in this case, it’s so everyone knows you’re a guest here.”

At the explanation, you gave him a nod slipping on the flimsy wristband, trailing alongside the brunette as he pointed here and there practically giving you a tour all the while heading towards where you’d assumed this boss was.

“Is Miguel this guys name or..” 

Noting how you trailed off he nodded right away. “Oh yeah Miguels his name, pretty scary at first but I assure you he’s just secretly a big teddy bear- kinda.”

Reassuring.

“Comforting.” Musing that out with an eye roll the two of you entered into a large room, the vast majority of it was dark in colour save for some royal blue highlights a dimly lit orange screens. Your eyes followed where Peter looked seeing a platform sitting within the center of the room, the large piece beginning to drift down. “So why am I here again.” Keeping your tone low and hoping for some light to be shed on the situation another voice other than Peters had answered.

The tone of it was gruff but clear enough to call out from the descending platform. “You’re here so we can find out if you are a threat or not.”

“A threat?” Taken aback at the implication you gestured to yourself for a moment despite the platform still lowering and despite this Miguel still making what you’d call a ‘grand appearance.’ Throughout your years of dimension jumping you had yet to actually do something illegal. “I’d like to think I’m the least threatening person you’ll meet.”

Finally, the platform had lowered enough for you to see the man standing among it. His tall stature right away shouted ‘authority’ as muscle clearly rippled beneath his neon red and dark blue suit. His face was stoic, chiseled features were framed by moderately messy brown locks all the while dark brown hues nearly stared through you, an off-red tint to the colour.

Despite how intimidating he seemed your gaze couldn’t help but drift down towards his hands seeing them holding a familiar small red-haired child like how someone would pick up a cat. The little girl's gaze lit up almost instantly upon seeing Peter, who in turn right away moved to step onto the platform once it had almost merged with the floor. Coos left the man as he right away scooped up his daughter from the other man.

“Look who it is! Look it’s your friend! Yay!” Pointing towards where you stood Peter began to rile Mayday up, the small baby giggling while they neared, her small hand inevitably reaching out to you.

Forgetting the whole purpose of the visit for a second you and Peter were only brought back when Miguel loudly cleared his throat, a disapproving look quickly crossing his face as he’d crossed his arms unamused.

Waiting for the two of you to quiet down he stepped off his platform, the souls of his suit padding against the ground as he moved to loom before you. “Back to what I was saying.” Pausing to make sure you were listening he continued. “We need to make sure you’re not an anomaly. Something that could cause a disruption in the multiverse.”

“One wrong step and you could cause it to collapse.”

Taking in what he’d said you swallowed thickly, you hadn’t really thought much of your dimension jumping, however with what he was saying you supposed they had a right to be worried.

“And how do you make sure that doesn’t happen?”

Uncrossing his arms he rested them on his hips, eyes regarding you with a mix of interest and caution. “We do some tests. Either way you’ll be here for awhile.”

This had you raising a brow in question. “What? Why?”

“Because if you decline to do some tests we’ll have to assume you are an anomaly and would have to be locked up whereas if you comply to do them we can figure out the actual answer to your…ability.” Explaining that he quirked his head to the side, gaze intently focused on you as if expecting you to decline to take the harsher route.

Glancing towards Peter as if for reassurance the man have a quick shrug followed by a short nod, his mouth forming the words ‘you’ll be fine’ as though that would persuade you.

Weighing your options your gaze moved back towards the looming man before you, lips pursed together in thought.

It wouldn’t hurt to know more about your ability…however, if it did come up that you were an ‘anomaly’ who’s to say you wouldn’t be imprisoned anyways.

“Alright,” Noting how Miguel opened his mouth to speak you cut in right away. “But I have a question.”

As if amused by your current state Miguel hummed, hand gesturing loosely in the air. “Ask away.”

“What if you do these tests and I don’t come out as an anomaly? What happens then?”

Pursing his lips at this his hands fell to his sides, mind pondering over the seemingly simple question before producing an almost equally simple answer.

“We send you home.”

---------------

<Unedited>

If you can't tell reader's ability is heavily inspired by America from MOM (Multiverse of Madness). Low key wondered what Miguel would think of it but also- I literally need more yandere Miguel fics like PLEASE HE HAS FANGS AND CLAWS DAMN IT

[tessa-liam]

Marabelle

Marabelle Series

Unspoken Words...

Chapter –16-

Choices – The Royal Romance, AU – (cross-over with Rules of Engagement)

Series Premise – An American teenager from New York City is introduced to the world of a small European country and its society of royalty, nobility, and commoners. How will her life story be transformed? Will this new adventure bring her happiness...or regret?

Marabelle Series Masterlist My Complete Masterlist

Main Pairing – Crown Prince Liam Rys x F!OC Lady Sophia (Sophie) Taylor

Other Pairings – Maxwell Beaumont x M!OC Daniel (from NYC), Drake Walker x F!OC Melanie Smithson

Most characters belong to Choices/Pixelberry Studios

Series Rating - M*🔞Warnings: this series will have NSFW material, drinking, crude language & innuendo, gun violence, terrorism.

Many thanks to @selina012 for pre-reading.

Category – Alternate universe/on-going series/angst/fluff/cross-over with Choices Rules of Engagement with sprinkles of Canon

Chapter Summary – After Liam addresses the citizens of Cordonia, a message from Sophie sets his world back on its axis. Liam discovers Sophie’s secret. Hana Lee arrives to attend the ill-fated graduation.

A/N1: Bethany Beaumont, Maxwell’s mother, is originally from the U.S. and is Barthelemy Beaumont’s second wife. Annabelle Beaumont (deceased) is Bertrand’s mother.

Music & Title Inspiration:

Unspoken Words - James Malikey

Words - Bee Gees

Tell Him – Celine Dion; Barbra Streisand

A/N2: ‘Social Season’ in this AU series refers to a traditional period in the spring/summer for royalty and members of the court to take part in Balls, dinner parties and charity events.

A/N3: Heartfelt thanks to @Selina012 for joining me in writing ideas and with dialogue/content for this chapter and series.

A/N4: Thank you @/artbyainna for your talents! Commission of Liam & Sophie⤵️

University of Cordonia, Capital

Liam’s POV:

“Sir, Lady Sophia has left you a message.” Bastien looked delighted as he held my phone up for me to grasp.

My head spun with a surge of conflicting emotions and energy. Fear and anticipation gripped my heart in an iron fist. Hope was winning out, but only barely. It was a good thing too; otherwise, I could've leapt for joy at those five seemingly innocent words. ‘...has left you a message.’ Bastien knew how desperately I needed to hear those words from him.

I tried to steady my racing heart.

I had to remember how to breathe.

It was impossible for me to think straight knowing Sophie was out there somewhere. It was agony trying to focus on anything else. She has always been brave and resourceful, but she is also no superhero. Anything could have happened to her. I do not want to imagine a world without her, especially if something had happened while I was unable to be by her side. I tried to keep positive and hope for the best, but I wasn't convinced I'd ever get her message. Still, I would have to have patience. I would have to have hope.

Everything in my heart and mind was screaming for Sophie. My soul was empty without her. It is amazing how a little text message, something that took seconds, could instantly bring the world back into focus. Suddenly, everything mattered again.

Her message was beautiful. Even without saying my name, I could see how much she loved me, and how she understood how worried I was. It was clear from her message that she was not upset with me for being gone. She understood my duties to Cordonia. With her simple but thoughtful message, she managed to soothe my aching soul and fill it with love and hope.

"...Don't worry about me. Just focus on what's needed right in front of you. I love you and look forward to seeing you soon."

A shaky laugh escaped my throat. A tear leaked from my eye as I continued staring at Sophie's beautiful message on my phone. My guards glanced at me and kept their distance, knowing me well enough to give me my privacy. Her words had the desired effect that settled me like nothing else would have. It gave me the focus I needed to deal with the mess left behind on the steps of the auditorium.

But I needed to feel her; to reassure myself of her safety.

Malic Motor Hotel/Emergency Safehouse

Liam, followed closely by Bastien and Drake, pushed the hotel doors open, the crisp ding of the door's bell brought all conversation to a halt. The employees and guests of the hotel suddenly stared, but quickly dropped to curtsy and/or bow in respect.

A brief time later, outside the Malic hotel, the sleek royal motorcade stopped at the entrance, under the vigilant gaze of Cordonian Police officers and local onlookers. When the SUV door was pushed open and Liam stepped out, everyone on the street was completely stunned. The paparazzi quickly moved forward in an attempt to capture the rare scene, but the Royal guard moved quickly to keep them at a distance, ensuring Liam's safety and privacy.

For the residents of the area, they know Liam is here for the tragedy, but most of them would never expect that a real royalty would come over at this hour to inquire about the injured. This shows just how concerned and generous the crown prince of Cordonia was for their welfare. It warmed their hearts to see him walking in the direction of the hotel, leaving behind a strong, imposing, and admiring aura.

After being escorted by the hotel concierge, Liam stood in front of the door for room 302. Bastien lifted his hand and rapped on the wooden frame. The hollow sound at once reverberated in the corridor, sounding just like his heart, beating like a drum now, Liam thought to himself.

The lock clicked open, and the handle was turned. Liam could not wait another moment. The moment the door opened, and he saw her, a moment of freezing, timelessness and perfect clarity overtook him. Sophie stood before him in the hotel room. Sophie, with her natural, soft beauty. She looked a bit tired and out of sorts, but she was whole, and in that instant, all was right in the world. His Sophie, alive and safe, stood before him.

In an instant, he knew what needed to be said. What she needed. All other things faded away, the guests in the hall, his security, Drake, Bastien; it was only the two of them.

He looked at her intensely; so profoundly, he could not breathe. With a soft smile, he simply said, "My Love..." and wrapped her tightly in his strong embrace. She could feel every inch of his toned body and feel the tremble of relief and suppressed tears of joy from his soul. His emotions were exposed for her alone, but still, he does not want her to see him cry. Her mind emptied itself of the chaos of the night before and was overwhelmed by the happiness and relief of reunion with Liam. She pressed her face into his firm chest and took a deep breath, letting the intoxicating masculine and his familiar cologne calm her even more. Nothing was said, nothing was needed. The unspoken words between them were loud and clear.

“Never again, Sophie. Never again, do I ever want to be away from you!” Liam’s breath rustled her hair, as he pulled back to gently cradle Sophie’s head in his hands. He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks to wipe the tears away that were now falling rapidly as she cried in relief.

He gently pulled away from her just a bit. Lifting her chin up slightly with his finger, he looked into her deep blue eyes and uttered the words his soul had longed to say, "I love you." The intensity in his eyes was palpable; the raw passion and the deep feeling of utter truthfulness clear.

"I love you too." Sophie’s eyes sparkled as the words softly rolled off her tongue, watching his lips. Liam ran his thumb gently over her bottom lip as his crystal blue eyes swept over hers; the corners of her eyes had a moment of wetness and sadness. The grief and terror of the previous night struck Sophie once again, and more tears slipped down from her eyes. Without hesitation, Liam reached out, and wiped her tears and held her in his strong arms until the quivering and shivers came to stop. His tender look, his warmth and breath comforted Sophie, immediately easing her burden and allowed her to have another moment of calm.

Gently, she finally extricated herself from his arms and the warmth of his body, to allow him into her room. Liam crossed the threshold, stepping forward in a fluid stride, followed closely by Bastien and Drake, never breaking contact with Sophie by lacing her fingers with his.

"Oh!" Sophie started a bit when she realized Hana was sitting on the sofa. "Liam, this is my roommate, Hana. Hana, you have not officially met Liam, this is-"

"...Just Liam. Hello Hana. It is a pleasure to meet you." Liam nodded and smiled.

"It is an honor to meet you, Liam." The words tumbled out of Hana’s mouth as the reality of the situation hit her. The atmosphere and awkward silence were broken swiftly by Drake.

"Hello, Hana." His voice sounded brusque, his brow a bit wrinkled as he sat in the chair furthest from everyone. His eyes traveled over her as he said, "you seem familiar ... but not."

"No! I'm definitely a newcomer." She smiled, a bit embarrassed, but friendly. She noticed that he had looked at her with more than casual interest. Sophie watched them with an air of bewilderment, unaware that Liam noticed the twinkle in his old friend's eye and made a mental note to ask Drake about it later.

"Taylor, it's fantastic that you found a friend. I'm glad you didn't have to spend last night by yourself."

"I just got lucky, Drake; I suppose. Hana was kind and generous enough to help me."

Sophie started telling the story of how Hana helped her and how she was instrumental in getting outside information about the attack with her cell phone. The next several minutes were dedicated to relaying all that had happened at the graduation. When she had finally finished, there was silence in the room. Sophie looked from one person to another.

"What? What is it? Tell me." Sophie asked apprehensively.

"I'm relieved," said Liam, finally, not knowing if she realized the extent of the attack. "It is all we can do at the moment. In the coming days and weeks, the details are going to start trickling in, and we will figure out who, the why and the what happened."

He crossed the floor to the hotel room window and drew the curtains aside. Sophie went over, leaning slightly toward him to catch a view of the sun peeking its way out of the clouds above. The sunlight shone down like a gentle kiss on their faces, reminding them there was hope, even on days such as these. Liam took her hand in his and interlaced their fingers, and for the second time, the only sound they could hear was the reassuring sound of their breathing and the soothing comfort of their touch.

Hana, Drake and Bastien quietly watched their interactions, keeping themselves on quiet standby. Hana was touched and astounded that the crown prince was not shy to openly express his affection for her. Bastien, as King Constantine’s personal guard, had seen Liam as a child and his entire adolescence. He was proud of the man he had become; a thoughtful leader with a profound compassion and loving nature. In the time he had been assigned his bodyguard, he had never seen him care so deeply about a lady as he did about Sophie.

After an extended moment, Liam gently caressed his thumb across her knuckles.

"I'm glad you are safe, my love. However, it is time we got back to work. We need to gather information, plan the next course of action and do our best to make sure something like this never happens again."

"Okay," Sophie replied calmly, feeling a small jolt of reality hitting her.

"But first,” Liam squeezed her hand, looking deep into her eyes. The reddened skin of her injury on her forehead as a reminder. "You need to have the royal doctor examine you. Let's get you some medical attention."

Street level, outside the Malic Hotel

As Sophie walked alongside Liam, her nerves began to settle slightly. She was not looking forward to being poked and prodded by strangers, but she knew, however, that Liam wanted to make sure she had not sustained any serious injuries. Having convinced her new friend to join her, Hana accepted the offer to get checked out as well.

Liam and his security team escorted Sophie and Hana to the waiting royal cars. Sophie had never been driven around like a real member of the royal family, but at the moment, she didn't really care. She was far too preoccupied. Liam was with her now, and that was all she cared about.

As the Royal motorcade drove off, Bastien tapped Drake on the shoulder and pointed him to a few police officers in the area. "There, --some of the Cordonian National Guard are among the officers investigating this attack. See if you can gather any intelligence from them and determine if Maxwell or anyone else needs urgent medical attention."

Drake gave a small smile and nodded, "on it." He went over and approached a tall police officer with his Cordonia-issued badge on display. He flashed a smile and clapped the officer's back. "Excuse me, buddy, I heard you were leading the investigation here. I'd like to get your help to search for my missing friend. His name is Maxwell Beaumont. I want to make sure he's alright."

"Yes," the police officer answered succinctly, a bit intimidated to be standing beside someone who seemed so close with the royal guards. Quickly tapping the name into the database, he answered, "room 419.”

The walk along the endless corridor that took Drake, and the officer seemed long. When the police officer wracked his knuckles a on the door. After a few moments, the police officer glanced at Drake. "This is it. Shall I call a paramedic to check on his condition?"

Drake did not hesitate and called out, "Maxwell? Open the door." No answer. Drake raised his voice, "Maxwell? Max, it's me." Still, no sound. Drake turned back to the officer, "Open it now." The officer produced a key card and slid it through the scanner. A series of sounds came from the scanner, then a beep, and the green light lit up and the door clicked, "it's unlocked now." Drake thanked him briefly, then took hold of the metal handle and pushed it open.

"Max?" He called out as soon as he walked in. There was no response. He did a thorough search of the suite but could not find Maxwell or Daniel anywhere.

The officer, waiting patiently in the hallway, "is your friend not in there, sir?" Drake did not have any more time or patience to exchange small talk. He stormed out the door in an intimidating manner as the officer said, "I'll check the CCTV right away. Let's go and I'll show you."

“No need!” Drake answered brusquely. Before that, Drake had snapped up a small sheet of paper that was left in the corner of the coffee table. Written clearly in his friend's familiar handwriting:

'"Danny, going for food. BRB" love, Max.'

***

When the cars arrived at the hospital, the security team ushered Liam and his entourage to a V.I.P. entrance at the back of the hospital. Hana was at once handed off to a couple of doctors, as Sophie watched her hand slip out of Liam's grasp as a man and woman pulled her away. As much as Sophie trusted them to do what was best for her, it was still upsetting to be taken away from Liam. After a few minutes, however, she became very focused on the details of the examination before her.

The doctor led her through some basic questions about how she was feeling. Once Sophie assured them that she had not suffered any lasting damage, the doctors set to checking her for any other concerns. While they ran an ultrasound, an EKG and an entire range of other tests that seemed far too extensive, the nurse called the doctor's attention to Sophie's back. The bruising from her altercation with Neville a few days ago was slowly fading but perked the attention of the nurse and doctor.

She turned to Sophie, who was sitting on top of the examination table. "Dear, this looks like..." she muttered, inspecting it closer.

"It's from a couple days ago. I got a little clobbered during a polo match."

The doctor made a noncommittal sound before glancing over at her colleague. They exchanged a knowing nod, and Sophie could tell that they did not believe her, but thankfully, they decided not to pursue it further.... until they did.

"How did this happen," the doctor finally asked.

Sophie did not give an immediate response; but knew she was not going to tell them that she was attacked. Especially not since she was certain it would probably get back to Liam.

"Just the result of a hard collision. Nothing out of the ordinary in polo," Sophie lied, knowing they must have noticed the bruising on her back and side.

"Does this hurt when I press on it?" the doctor asked, pressing a cold stethoscope on her back. Sophie cringed and had to bite down a yelp of pain as the stethoscope was pressed right onto a deep bruise. "Hm." The doctor made another noncommittal sound and gently prodded a little lower on her back, much to Sophie's distress.

"Oh, oh no ... that hurts," she whimpered. The doctors noted that one of her vertebrae was a bit tender and her muscles seemed pretty knotted up. Sophie could almost cry from the agony of the touch.

The doctors left the room and a moment later the nurse returned to escort Sophie into a private recovery room. After closing the door the nurse left her alone in the room. Sophie closed her eyes and breathed a deep sigh. Although she had not sustained any real physical damage from her experience at the university attack, the memory of the encounter with Neville and being apart from Liam drained her energy entirely. For the time being, she should rest and heal her wounded psyche. The wait ended suddenly, and the doctor poked her head in to explain she would talk to Liam, after all, and then a quick wink before disappearing again.

After the doctor left, Sophie closed her eyes for what seemed like only a minute but was likely much longer. She awoke to find Liam in the recovery room with her, holding her hand. He sat beside her and listened intently while she relayed every excruciating detail of what had happened after the polo match. As her story reached its dark crescendo, her emotions got the better of her, and tears threatened to fall. That is when he took her in his arms, and she rested her head on his chest.

It was just the two of them, and the outside world had faded away. Every inch of the worry and fear was exposed, and the next flood of relief swept over each of them with a deep sense of cathartic comfort. Liam caressed her arm, "thank you for sharing this with me, Sophie."

In his mind, Liam wondered why she did not tell him about Neville's attack earlier at the Beaumont estate. But instead of asking directly, he chose to guide her in a more gentle way.

Her statement is calm, reasonable and meant as an explanation, not an apology. Liam stared at her a moment, remembering the conversation.

"I was planning to ... but couldn’t find the right moment. That night, you were asking me to marry you and ... and then ... then that was the farthest thing from my mind.” She said bluntly, watching his reaction carefully.

Remembering the pure joy on her face in their special spot by the river, remembering how elated she had looked while her words saying "yes" rang through his heart.

He hung his head and let his hands rub along her arms and finally joined around her shoulders to pull her in.

"Yeah, you should have," she quipped. There was a hint of playfulness and teasing in her tone, trying to ease the heaviness in the room.

"I should have taken you to Italy with me," he whispered. His voice full of remorse and regret.

A smile curled around Sophie's lips.

Liam laughed heartily, shaking his head. “My cheeky little monkey.”

He wrapped his arms tighter around her as Sophie breathed him in, overwhelmed by the rich smell of his cologne. How it clung to his skin and radiated from his very essence.

"But seriously, Liam. I was able to fight him off and he fled.” Liam contemplated, stoically, how to react. He had the overwhelming urge to protect her. How could he not punish someone who had hurt her? Neville had it out for her ... to attack her in broad daylight and risk harming her in such an egregious manner? But then he paused, thinking about Sophie's perspective. She was a stranger in a foreign land, thinking that she had no recourse or rights. As far as she was concerned, no justice would come.

Sophie extended a hand toward Liam. Their eyes locked and he swallowed hard. His blood began to boil. His intense expression caused a look of concern on her face. The image of Neville attacking her was burned into his brain. A dozen things that he could have done to make sure this would not have happened flashed through his mind.

Liam placed a calming hand atop hers, saying, "That can't happen. You should know that you can come to me for anything. I am always available for you and there will always be a means of communication. Just for you. If you are in distress, please come to me right away. I can't promise what we would do at once, but I would ensure we investigate and take every necessary precaution to avoid it happening ever again. Especially not to the future queen of Cordonia. It is an insult to me and to the Crown."

His words lingered a moment in silence as he locked eyes with Sophie and held her chin up in his gentle touch. He was proud and thankful she told him everything and grateful for her strength to fight. At the same time, it deeply troubled and rattled him knowing how bad and in danger she had been. From someone in his court, nonetheless.

"In my mind, it makes sense, as the future queen of Cordonia ... You need to be protected from any sort of harm. So, I have decided to assign a personal bodyguard as well as putting you under the protection of the crown," he stated, sounding protective and determined.

Sophie didn't respond right away. Her first instinct was to reject the offer, but she paused and let his words sink in. "I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to have someone watching out for me. Someone who could be on my side who I could trust.r"

"Trust me, Sophie. Your new guard will be the best choice for you," smiling at her fondly. "With their expertise, they can ensure your safety at all times. And ... it wouldn't hurt for you to get to know them and learn from them too."

Liam wrapped her in his arms, hugging her tightly. "Especially if I can't be there to personally be your bodyguard." He winked and grinned suggestively.

She smiled at his teasing and hugged him back, "thank you for everything, Liam. Thank you for rescuing me, for your unwavering support and for believing in me."

He gave her a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead. "There is nothing to thank me for, it is the least I can do. Being able to have a true, loving partner by my side, in sickness and health, to love, honor and cherish above myself. It is my pleasure. I'm only trying to hold up my end of the bargain and you're the woman I want to have a future with ... only you."

Gazing lovingly at each other, Liam drew her toward him, as she nestled against his chest. His hand on her hair, twirling his fingers through a tendril, sending shivers through her. Their faces tilted to face each other again and he cupped her chin in his hand, his eyes flickering between her lips and her eyes, Sophie leaned in toward him and their lips met in the perfect balance between longing, passion and desire. It was just enough and yet not ... in perfect unison.

They did not pull away until the nurse had entered to announce that the Royal doctor was coming to discuss the test results, after which Sophie was all set to go home. Then they exchanged another glance of admiration. Liam tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and caressed the side of her face, letting his fingers wander to her chin where he raised her gaze to meet his.

"I need you to always feel safe and remember, you will always come first to me, and there will never be anything, or anyone, more important," Liam placed a kiss on the inside of her wrist and rested a palm on her cheek, stroking her smooth skin with his thumb.

"I love you so much," she whispered, drawing his lips to hers for another brief kiss. She kept her eyes closed for a moment afterwards, resting in the blissfulness of their private moment together. Then her eyelashes fluttered open, and she was greeted by a pair of blue eyes as bright and brilliant as a winter sky. Liam's hand stroked her cheek softly, brushing away a tendril of hair that had gotten loose in the tumult of the day.

Sophie giggled as the nurse wheeled the EMG (electromyography) machine into her room, breaking their embrace. She frowned, unsure why Liam didn't seem like he'd heard the sound. As she turned, Liam mouthed the words again.

"I love you."

She smiled at him fondly, shaking her head. Everything felt like it was finally returning to normal and now it was just them, taking everything at their own pace.

She couldn't hear the nurse or the doctor's soft comments. It all seemed like white noise to her. It didn't even faze her when the doctor jokingly swatted Liam's hand from her own before they began hooking Sophie up to some more equipment for the nerve conduction study.

All Sophie could focus on was Liam. The fact that he was smiling down at her, the way his hand fell on hers as he absently squeezed and let go in a calming rhythm. Everything was all about him, his presence. Sophie could no longer imagine her life without him. Liam seemed to agree. Everything in his expression was pure bliss. The sight warmed her from within, a warmth that radiated in her core, even stronger than that of the adoration, or perhaps, something more.

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[lalasworld2x]

Call me sensitive and butt-hurt but I dislike the fact that Hagakure has to fight naked with just a pair of gloves. Especially for a teenager who probably didn’t have much real fighting experience to begin with. We already saw in the first season it’s incredibly dangerous when she takes her gloves off as no one knows where she actually is, including her teammates. Todoroki admitted he didn’t even know she was there when he froze over the entire training simulation building. What if she was in a massive fight as a pro hero and nobody knew where she was injured? Yes she has a voice, but in a big and busy place like Japan (or anywhere she decides to travel to) it can be hard to locate people, especially invisible people. We already know she can’t voluntarily turn off her quirk which makes it harder.

Soooooo… I headcanon a chameleon body suit for her. One that can transition between visible and invisible to her liking, whether it’s digitally controlled, nerve controlled, whatever. You’re telling me they’ve lived in a society full of insane superpowers AND in Japan which is already known as one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, and they wouldn’t be able to design a suit that can change between visibilities? This is purely for her safety so that when she needs to be stealthy, she can be stealthy. When she needs to be visible, she can be visible. If she wants the suit to be transparent or whatever, she can do that. Just anything to make it less likely she’ll be killed without anybody noticing. Also a weather and temperature issue. Also it’s surely uncomfortable for the poor girl to walk around completely naked. Yes I know that’s how she’s lived her whole life, but I’m so sure a young girl like her would probably have the fears of “what if someone can see me and they haven’t told me? What if my quirk accidentally faltered and I couldn’t stop it and everyone saw me?”

Sighhhhh please don’t be mad that I’m looking so far deep into an anime about superheroes… just brain dumping 😔

[nicklloydnow]

“About a decade ago, I ventured my opinion that the adult multitudes queueing for superhero movies were potentially an indicator of emotional arrest, which could have worrying political and social implications. Since at that time Brexit, Donald Trump and fascist populism hadn’t happened yet, my evidently crazy diatribe was largely met with outrage from the fan community, some of whom angrily demanded I be extradited to the US and made to stand trial for my crimes against superhumanity – which I felt didn’t necessarily disprove my allegations.

Ten years on, let me make my position clear: I believe that fandom is a wonderful and vital organ of contemporary culture, without which that culture ultimately stagnates, atrophies and dies. At the same time, I’m sure that fandom is sometimes a grotesque blight that poisons the society surrounding it with its mean-spirited obsessions and ridiculous, unearned sense of entitlement. Perhaps this statement still requires some breaking down.

(…)

Quite liking comics, aged 14 I thus became a comics fan with my discovery of British fandom, which was then still gummy-eyed and fresh out of the egg. The first convention I attended in London, in the basement rooms of a Southampton Row hotel in 1969, was tiny and inspiring. The attenders barely totalled a three-digit number, almost all of them some few years short of legal drinking age. The comics companies, having no monetary interest in a handful of penniless teenagers, went blissfully unrepresented, and the only industry celebrity that I recall was the sublime and sweetly unassuming genius Frank Bellamy, passing Dan Dare or Garth originals around, appearing wonderstruck that anyone had heard of him. The only thing uniting the assembly was its passion for an undervalued storytelling medium and, for the record, the consensus verdict of the gathered 15-year-old cognoscenti was that costumed musclemen were the main obstacle preventing adult audiences from taking comics seriously.

Of that hardly-a-hundred schoolkids, office boys and junior librarians, the great majority were actively involved in their pursuit, publishing or contributing to a variety of – for the most part – poorly duplicated fanzines, or else going on to work professionally in the field, such as Kevin O’Neill, Steve Moore, Steve Parkhouse or Jim Baikie, all of whom were downstairs at the Waverley hotel that weekend, keen to elevate the medium that they loved, rather than passively complain about whichever title or creator had particularly let them down that month. Of course, this was the 1960s and the same amateur energy seemed to be everywhere, spawning an underground press, Arts Lab publications and a messy, marvellous array of poetry or music fanzines that were the material fabric of that era’s counterculture; flimsy pamphlets as important and innovative today as they were then, although considerably more expensive, trust me.

Soon thereafter, caught up in the rush of adolescent life, I drifted out of touch with comic books and their attendant fandom, only returning eight years later when I was commencing work as a professional in that fondly remembered field, to find it greatly altered. Bigger, more commercial, and although there were still interesting fanzines and some fine, committed people, I detected the beginnings of a tendency to fetishise a work’s creator rather than simply appreciate the work itself, as if artists and writers were themselves part of the costumed entertainment. Never having sought a pop celebrity relationship with readers, I withdrew by stages from the social side of comics, acquiring my standing as a furious, unfathomable hermit in the process. And when I looked back, after an internet and some few decades, fandom was a very different animal.

An older animal for one thing, with a median age in its late 40s, fed, presumably, by a nostalgia that its energetic predecessor was too young to suffer from. And while the vulgar comic story was originally proffered solely to the working classes, soaring retail prices had precluded any audience save the more affluent; had gentrified a previously bustling and lively cultural slum neighbourhood. This boost in fandom’s age and status possibly explains its current sense of privilege, its tendency to carp and cavil rather than contribute or create. I speak only of comics fandom here, but have gained the impression that this reflexive belligerence – most usually from middle-aged white male conservatives – is now a part of many fan communities. My 14-year-old grandson tells me older Pokémon aficionados can display the same febrile disgruntlement. Is this a case of those unwilling to outgrow childhood enthusiasms, possibly because these anchor them to happier and less complex times, who now feel they should be sole arbiters of their pursuit?

There are, of course, entirely benign fandoms, networks of cooperative individuals who quite like the same thing, can chat with others sharing the same pastime and, importantly, provide support for one another in difficult times. These healthy subcultures, however, are less likely to impact on society in the same way that the more strident and presumptuous fandoms have managed. Unnervingly rapidly, our culture has become a fan-based landscape that the rest of us are merely living in. Our entertainments may be cancelled prematurely through an adverse fan reaction, and we may endure largely misogynist crusades such as Gamergate or Comicsgate from those who think “gate” means “conspiracy”, and that Nixon’s disgrace was predicated on a plot involving water, but this is hardly the full extent to which fan attitudes have toxified the world surrounding us, most obviously in our politics.

Elections that decide the fate of millions are conducted in an atmosphere more suited to evictions on I’m a Celebrity …, in which contestants who are insufficiently amusing are removed from office. Saleability, not substance, is the issue. Those who vote for Donald Trump or Boris Johnson seem less moved by policy or prior accomplishment than by how much they’ve enjoyed the performances on The Apprentice or Have I Got News for You. And throughout the UK, we’re now familiar with what a Stephen Yaxley-Lennon fan convention looks like.

An enthusiasm that is fertile and productive can enrich life and society, just as displacing personal frustrations into venomous tirades about your boyhood hobby can devalue them. Quite liking something is OK. You don’t need the machete or the megaphone.

Candidly, for my part, readers would have always been more than sufficient.”

[fungicidecarhorn64ad]

The Gallow's Diary

Greetings intrepid readers, if you are reading this I am either dead, proof reading this or have misplaced my diary. If it's the third scenario please return it to where you found it, if you're in the same location you found this as you read this I'm probably in close proximity so please scream as loud as possible to get my attention.

Now onto the meat of this meat pie of a diary, btw meat pie very underrated currently eating one as I write. Now to the topic at hand!

My name is Martyn, code name: The Gallows, for it represents my goal to be a martyr like the freedom fighters of our great country (which is Ireland). It also connects to something I recently discovered about myself, I learned that I have the power to manipulate ropes with my mind, I'm thankful that my name matches up to the powerset I possess.

I know my goal for (motive pending will add later) I can't do it alone, so I gathered a group, nah a society of fellow teens who want to help my crusade for (put motive here).

First we have Clayton, code name: Mud Man, he is my second in command the Sheriff Nottingham to my Prince John he was one of the biggest players in forming my team. His ability to summon mud and substances of the like (ex: rocks, dirt) prove surprisingly useful! He seems to be even able to conjure the materials out of nothing, which granted not much use but is still highly useful in certain circumstances.

Next is Oran, code name: Ouroboros, he seems to be the more technical brains of the group (sometimes he does get a bit annoying) and was able to befriend some extra dimensional snake who can contort itself and the space inside it, the two seem to be in tandem with each other I don't know much of what is going on with it but as they say, never look a gift horse in the mouth or gift snake.

Who's next, oh.... Lance. gonna be brutally honest, he's here to bulk up our numbers. He's not a bad fighter in fact his kicks are extremely deadly, but I feel his love for women might drag us down, but only time will tell. Oh I forgot to say his code name is Chivalry.

Now let's move onto Love, code name: Shoggoth. Love is a recent addition to our school originally from, okay I'm not going to try to write that, anyway she's a being not exactly of our reality (heck I can't even look into her eyes without my sanity shattering) she's quite the punk barely respecting those around her so we obviously added her to the team.

Vespi, code name: The Fig. A shy nerd who I didn't even realise was in this school before she joined this team (turns out we were on the school bowling team together). She possesses the ability to explode (?) Into a wasp and turn back also by exploding, I don't exactly know how that works and hopefully I never do, Love seems to like her and they seem to be getting along.

The final member Annie, code name: Brown Bear. Annie is well to say it nicely off her fing rocker, she's a master engineer designing a bear animatronic mech suit that can destroy most things that stand in it's way and yet I think it's safer for her to be inside it then outside it, she maybe a ball of anger hellbent on getting the world to care about something idk I wasn't paying attention but it's better for her to be on our side then anyone else's.

Anyway so now we need a name and I purpose we call ourselves the Teenage Supervillain Society or the TSS for short hopefully no one is already using this acronym.

Anyway goodnight.

[beyondthisdarkhouse]

Feeling really nostalgic about July 17-18, 2008, the last time I believed in Joss Whedon

It was just cool, you know? Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog dropped in three separate pieces over the course of the week. We'd get 15 minutes of story, and then two days to froth over the whys and wherefores in Livejournal comments before the next piece came out. And those days were so good.

Buffy fans are so fucking smart, y'all. They could combine academic rigor with unselfconscious fangirl squee. Squee was a hermeneutical method, a mode of interrogating the text--one we often dismiss and diminish, because if there's anything grosser than teenage girls getting goopy over a vampire they like, it's 30 or 50 or 70-year-old women getting goopy over a vampire they like. But it's similar to what I've seen called a "redemptive reading". You approach a piece of media specifically looking for its best parts, the pieces you love the best, and you allow yourself to fully embody the joy of liking something and caroling your joy to other people who like it too. In a perpetually burned-out time, squee can be like a desert oasis.

So the people who liked Buffy and Angel and Firefly watched Doctor Horrible in a manner both squeeful and intersectionally feminist, and saw all the amazing interesting things it was doing, showing how insecure geek masculinity fundamentally self-sabotages the main character, Billy, because the relationship he wants has been there in reach for months, and it's his own perception that he needs to be an alpha male warrior that has kept him from it. It interrogated the entire genre of costumed heroes, with two men thumping their chests and comparing their dick sizes, and none of them doing anything as direct and helpful for their society as Penny, the woman who stands on sidewalks collecting signatures to help a homeless shelter.

Part II came out on July 17, and the series would end with Part III on July 19. So on July 18, I spent most of the day reading Livejournal comments about it. There were all these theories: Maybe Penny was secretly Bad Horse, the archvillain whose approval Billy has craved since the beginning. Maybe she will collapse the love triangle with Billy's rival, Captain Hammer, by acting on her clearly-demonstrated discomfort and dumping him. Maybe Billy will learn that relationships are based on intimacy, not being The Best. Maybe Penny will become a superhero and replace Captain Hammer as Billy's nemesis. Maybe Billy will succeed and rule the world and give Penny Australia.

And then... none of those things happened. Joss Whedon ended the series in a way less progressive, less imaginative, less cool, than even the most half-baked fan theory out there. The story opened up possibilities to break out of an old, tired, toxic set of stories around men and women and sex and heroics, and then hid under a rock rather than change a single one of them.

July 19 was the day I concluded that while Joss Whedon might have his own baggage to work through about toxic masculinity, and artists have the right to make work meaningful to them, he wasn't making art that was meaningful to me. And I basically stopped expecting anything of him.

And then, for years, Buffy fans, educated and squeeful feminists and sharp pop culture critics, got told they were crazy histrionic SJWs for thinking Whedon didn't shit solid gold. For years. (I recently saw a video essay that included the line, "If you have the phrase 'mewling quim' branded onto your memory, you probably need some Metamucil" and, ouch, rude.)

There was so much excitement! A lot of us actually believed in the guy (although even then, there was enough evidence for many people to suspect what we now know to be 100% true about him.)

We wanted it to be good. We wanted to enjoy it.

I miss that feeling.

[yellowocaballero]

One of the many things that I've been doing instead of writing are these damn manwha binges and Villain To Kill is literally so funny. The comic premise is straightforward action, think Tokyo Ghoul meets Solo Leveling - local Genetically Superpowered Superhero Cop working for corrupt Hero Organization gets #betrayed and #murdered and is reincarnated into the body of a Genetically Superpowered Villain Teenager so now he has to join up with all the other villain superpower people to get justice.

It's so 5/10. Cassian is extremely OP and the story isn't well-written enough to pull that off well. The worldbuilding is so incredibly nonsensical and weak that it falls apart if you think about it for more than five minutes (tried to write fic for it and failed because I would have had to rework the entire world - which, I could have, but that's a lot of effort for Villain to Kill). The plot is mostly any OP action hero plot where guy gets increasingly powerful by fighting increasingly powerful guys. Cassian himself has almost nothing going on internally, to the point of elegance. And it is somehow the gayest manwha I've ever read.

It's the fucking character designs. And like its narrative but it's the fucking 100/10 character designs. The entire cast's design and characters slam. There's not that much depth but we don't care. You know if we don't like somebody if they look vaguely straight, and you know that we like somebody if they look like they were set to tumble dry in the queerness washing machine. The (great!) women are high femme or hard butch. The corrupt institution assassinated a man Cassian loved and framed & murdered him, at which point he was adopted by a rag-tag bunch of flamboyant homosexuals deemed unacceptable and undesired by society who all teamed up and decided to villainize society in exclusively funny ways and spend most of their time gossiping or hacking the Pentagon. An AFAB character dresses as a man and goes by he/him pronouns half the time for no good reason. Cassian is physiologically incapable of thinking about anything but violence so the heartwarming found family scenario's going over his head, but his Painfully Het Hero Foil Indoctrinated Into Homophobia caught the found family ball and now he's dancing in their gay bars and dressing in drag. There's only a few characters who are explicitly gay but this is gayer than that.

I talked a while back about how important a decent supporting cast is to a good story, and this is yet again good proof. Looking at this, I think I'd go further and say - it's an action manwha, we're reading it for a reason, we don't need character-driven story arcs or really complex characters. I think it's just charisma. A story can go really far on characters with charisma.

TV Shows that are carried on the lead actor (Columbo I love you) - it's because the actor has charisma. You watch it to see the actor hang out being himself. That's way way harder to do in fiction, but I think that "a complex character" isn't necessarily a "charismatic character". I'd rather have a cast of only charismatic characters rather than only complex ones. A story of any genre needs a strong cast of charismatic characters. They can be deep or they can just be chaotic lesbians. Charisma invests the reader in the story and the characters. It's simple but it's really powerful. And it is fucking hilarious how sometimes all you need to do on that front is "Rupaul this shit".

I can't genuinely recommend Villain to Kill and this is not a recommendation. But random stuff always interests me like this, and I really had no idea that I would read 120ch of a manwha bc the designs fuck so hard. Also, like, this is queerest manwha I've ever read. Somehow. Fucking somehow.

[hobiebrownismygod]

The Ghost of You Hobie Brown x Fem!Reader

That if I can't be close to you, I'll settle for the ghost of you. I miss you more than life, I miss you more than life.

Synopsis: If he was the reason for your death, not just in his universe, but every other one, weren't you better off without him? A world where you were the Gwen Stacy to Hobie Brown's Spider-man, dead in every universe except for one.

WC: 1.8k

TW: Angst, mentions of loss/death

A/N: Since Hobie doesn't have a specified love interest in the movies, I think it's interesting to think that his Gwen or Mary-Jane might have died. That's why I decided to kind of delve into how he'd react to that, while also stringing along the whole Gwen Stacy is dead in every universe except one concept. Also happy new years!

Taglist: @therealloopylupin2099 @spiderrinn @l0starl @daydreaming-en-pointe @itsparis-07 @vileviale @puff-hugs @lauryn2558 @sunasslut69

Taglist link & Masterlist

It had been exactly two years, seven months, one week and six days since Hobie Brown lost you. Only a couple months ago, had he been accepted into the Spider Society, with hope that he'd be able to see you, or at least a variant of you. Except he never did.

In every other universe, you were dead. It was like he'd lost you in every single way possible, by falling, disease, murder, old age, every single goddamn way.

He must've spent hours and hours poring over the dimensional maps in Miguel's office, searching through his computer for any sign of you, any version of you from any universe. He couldn't find any.

Except for one.

One universe where it said you were alive.

One chance to see you again. And maybe...even go a little further than that.

One reason to gain Miguel's trust and get his own dimensional watch.

You.

And that was the reason that fueled his motivation for months, forcing himself to comply to the Society's standards, forcing himself to conform and smile and be the perfect little superhero the rest wanted. And eventually, he did it.

He got his own watch.

"This is for missions and anomalies only." Miguel had repeatedly told him, obviously still a little suspicious of Hobie's true intentions behind his sudden change of personality.

He'd only nodded in response, a fake smile plastered across his face. He'd snatched the watch without a word, inspecting it and turning it over in his hands as the possibilities flooded his mind.

That night, when Miguel had retreated to his office and the rest of the Spider-people had either gone home or gone to sleep, he'd stayed awake. He'd inputted the location into his watch, coded it to take him to you, and he'd opened up that orange portal that he could only hope would give him back what he'd lost.

He'd quickly been thrown into a dimension that looked like most others, the same old New York most Peter Parkers lived in, with the abundance of traffic and the thousands of people walking and biking through the streets.

The watch had taken him to Central Park, specifically a place where there were tens of little kids playing around, throwing sand at each other and laughing at childish jokes.

Hobie swung his head around furiously, eyes scanning over the entirety of his surroundings to see if he could catch a trace of you, anything that let him know that you were here.

But he didn't see anything. Not a single glimpse.

What?

He'd programmed the watch to take him to you, Y/N L/N, you had to be here. But then of course...just because you were alive, didn't mean you were you. It didn't mean you were the same teenager he'd loved and lost those months ago. You could've been five years old, or fifty, you could've been a superhero or a supervillain, he had no idea who you were.

All he had was hope.

But even that was slowly slipping out of his grasp as he continued to look around wildly, feeling his stomach drop and his throat start to hurt as he swallowed lumps of loss and pain. Maybe...he was wrong.

You weren't there.

And then, someone caught his eye. Hobie watched as a little boy, no more than two or three years old, ran past him, looking strikingly familiar for some reason. When he took a closer look, he noticed the boy's eyes. They looked just like yours. He noticed the boy's smile as he nearly tripped on a rock and continued to toddle along. The smile that belonged to the girl he'd fallen in love with.

Hobie's gaze followed the child as he ran towards the figure of a young woman, sitting on a bench, her face buried in a thick book. When the boy pulled on the hem of her jeans, trying to grab her attention, she looked up. Hobie's breath was knocked away.

Those gentle eyes. That lovely smile. The sparkling laugh that left your lips as you picked the boy up, kissing him on the forehead. Hobie never again saw someone quite like you. To him, you were an angel on earth. An angel's who's wings had been clipped, an angel who'd been sent back to heaven far too early for him to handle.

He couldn't help but stare, mouth slightly agape as the boy squirmed out of your grasp before running back to the playground. Hobie watched as you smiled to yourself, shaking your head slightly before picking the book back up. And then, he looked away when your gaze met his.

He could feel your eyes scanning over the back of his head for a moment, his spider sense tingling his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as he waited for you to turn back to your book. When you did, he slowly looked back at you, trying to catch his breath.

You weren't the same. You looked older, no longer a teenager, but maybe in your mid-20s. Your hair was longer, your gaze was sharper and your smile had left light lines tracing your mouth. But even then, you looked so similar, Hobie just had to get a closer look.

It'd been so long since he'd seen that face he loved so much.

He quietly walked towards the bench you were sitting at, avoiding your eyes as he sat down a little away from you, keeping his distance. He felt you look at him for a moment before you set your book down. "Are one of them yours?"

He froze as your voice broke the silence, his chest rising up and down rapidly as he slowly turned to look at you, glancing at your hands that were gesturing towards the playground, his eyes wide open. "N-no." He cleared his throat, his voice turning slightly deeper. "No. I just came to...enjoy the weather." He kept his voice quiet, knowing he'd risk ruining the moment if he let the thoughts in his mind leave.

"It's a nice day, isn't it?" You said with a sigh, smiling at him before looking back towards the playground. Hobie continued to watch you, his hands clasped in his lap as he leaned forward slightly, his back no longer touching the bench. He took in your skin, your hair, your hands, every single feature, feeling the knot in his stomach grow and grow with every stolen glance.

"Are one of them yours?" He asked softly, trying to keep a slight smile on his face for your benefit. "Yeah, actually. The little boy in the blue." You pointed towards the swingset, pride flickering through your expression as the child, the one that'd ran past Hobie before, noticed you, waving before continuing to play with his other friends.

"He looks just like you." Hobie murmured, glancing back towards the little boy, who had started running back towards the bench, arms open. "Mommy!" He exclaimed.

You laughed as you picked up the child and pulled him into your lap, the sight sending a warm feeling through Hobie's body. You'd always been so good with kids. The two of you had been young, but he'd always imagined what a life with you would've been like. Having a child together, having a home together, a world Hobie never experienced growing up.

You were his world. He never quite forgave himself for losing you, and that was probably why he was getting so worked up over seeing you with a child right now.

If he'd been just a little faster that day, just a little stronger, would you still be alive? Could there have been a little boy running around with his hair and your smile instead of this one right here? Could he have spent his days kissing, hugging and talking about a life with you instead of simply being left holding his pillow at night, dreaming about it?

Hobie felt you look back towards him and he was snapped out of his trance as he looked back up at you, a half-smile on his face. "You know, you look so familiar but I just can't put my finger on it. Have I met you before?" You asked curiously, pulling the squirming child on your lap a little closer.

"I don't think so." He said, shaking his head. "Maybe in some other universe." He smiled, gaze softening slightly as he swallowed back the lump in his throat again, trying his best to stop himself from letting the tears fall just yet.

"Maybe." You chuckled back, looking down at your son and stroking his hair gently. Hobie squeezed his eyes shut and looked away, unable to take the sight of you anymore. If he stayed any longer, he just might break down.

It was hard seeing you again.

And...you hadn't met him in this universe before. At least if you did, you didn't seem to remember it.

It was ironic, wasn't it? The only world where you were alive, where you were truly happy, was a world where you weren't with him. A universe where he'd never been there to get you hurt, to get you killed, to lose you.

You were happy here.

And he had to accept that. He had to accept that you were better off without him.

He heard someone call your name and he turned his head to look in the direction of where it'd come from, while you did the same. "Oh, my husband's here. I guess it's time for us to go." You said with a smile, waving at the tall man who'd gotten out of his car to wave back at you.

"Yeah, of course." he said quickly, standing up when you did, smiling slightly at your son who was babbling at him, incoherent sentences leaving his mouth in the way most toddlers spoke.

"It was nice meeting you, uh...?" You extended your hand towards him, balancing your son on your hip with the other. He looked down at your hand for a moment, hesitating before he accepted the handshake. "Hobie. Hobie Brown."

You gave him a smile, and his heart broke a little. "It was nice to meet you, Hobie Brown. I'll see you around, maybe?" You suggested. Although you were just being polite, Hobie's heart wrenched and he cleared his throat again, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "I hope so."

"Bye."

Hobie watched you walk away, heading towards the car your husband was standing outside of. He felt his eyes well up slightly and he forced himself to tear his gaze from your retreating back, breathing heavily as he looked back towards the playground.

"Bye, dove." He whispered under his breath before shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his vest, and heading in the opposite direction, searching for a safe space to portal back to HQ and finally leave you behind. For real this time.

"I'll miss you."

[random-conspiracy]

Ok, I'm entering my villain (& heroes!) arch aajshashasa. This stupid fixation of superpowers and fiction comic stories.

WELL, HOT TAKE OF THE DAY:

The majority of superpowers in fiction and oc's are boring because they're straightforward. Picture it, there's aaaaaaaaaaaaaaalways someone with the power of:

Mimic someone's power

Invisivility

Steel skin

Puppeteer or any variation of body and mind manipulation (because *wink wink* we're all edgys and saw creepypastas a lot hashas)

Perhaps fly

Ultra speed

And shit like that ajshashasa. Don't get me wrong, those are amazing superpowers. Even just one person in a normal-esque world is a fucking anomaly and represents a game changer.

HOWEVER it's quite boring and honestly quite lazy. Because oh yes! The evil twisted villain of the wee has the power of... mind control. OH BOY! I fucking wonder what is gonna happen! (sacarsm). Or shadow control powers or super force and you know the rest. WHAT a twist! (/s).

And the same goes for the heroes that GOD forbid they're not teenagers or young adults in well shaped bodies BECAUSE UUUUUUFFFFFFFFFF. Call me crazy but if you can fly I doubt you're using at all your muscles the same way a common person does ahshasa. But why fucking not, we can never have enough twinks and women in spandex, can we? ahshahsa.

There's no twist and creative work in a superheroe or a villain or whatever that has JUST that exact power that conveniently works.

I'm a slut for the characters with random and incoherent powers!

That's where this shit goes hard. Beacuse it's so easy to be a superhero whn you can walk through walls or move at high speed. But what happens when you have the power to deconstruct objetcs? Fly just 50 cm off the groud? Exact knowledge of the pupulation in Taiwan (while you live in Argentina)?

What happens to them??? I wanna see the shenanigans, the creative solutions to abnormal problems! And what happens to the powers that become a burden or that straight up are incompatible with the common society. What happens if you're born without bones? If TV signals sometimes cross without way to evade it into your mind?

I wanna see creative villains. With powers like super healing and bubblegum madness. Concidental induction and urbomancy. Hhahshahsas

The thing is not actually that the pwoers are common or simple, the thing is for me that the weaponization in battle is the number one thought. Like, yeah, I bet turning sound waves into lethal blades is powerful but out of battle, does it matter? It means somethig? Can you cut a frozen pizza for dinner or you destroy your whole kitchen?

(Tbf, a story a bout a character struggling to see beyond his powers shapped to battle could be interesting BUT that's another story ahsahsas).

And I'm also bored of the god-like powers. You can fly and you can control minds! For free I guess and with no real consequences. Bceause let's be serious, Spidermand and Superman as archetypes of the hero had their own limitation (not precisely linked to their powers by themselves BUT WHATEVER). They're more or less the exception to this.

I Wanna See Limits

LIMITS. I care 0 if the character can eat the fucking Sun. What I want to see is that power in personal impact and relativity. Sometimes the right (or wrong!) word has more power that destroying the Earth. And a lot of it comes from the limitations. How easy is everything when you have all the power, but the limitations are what shape the plausibility, the humanity and the imagination around it. For example Magneto. It's because of his clear limitations that he scaping from the plastic underground prison in the movies is so fantastic. He uses a creative solution to work around his limits. Amazing!

Idk man, Brandon Sanderson said this shit already. Go see him go see him.