#Where the Wild Things Are 2099

[blackcatfilmprod]

Hi Guys, I hope to explore the Fairy Tales Exhibition at Gallery of Modern Art in South Brisbane for my next Hollywood OR Bust Tour Location Vlog. Their featuring film costumes and props from Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête 1946, Jacques Demy’s Donkey Skin 1970, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth 1986, Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are 2009, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland 2010, Tarsem Singh’s Mirror Mirror 2012, Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella 2015 and more. So I hope I might see you there.

[labselkie]

Labseal but Luce is Lyla and gets stolen. Based on some kids book I found

Machine Assisted Research Intern Engine. Stupid name for a stupid little hologram. for some reason this book’s Miguel is tje CEO of alchemax? Ao3 fanfic sounding premise but whatever. This is so unnecessarily long I’m so sorry. Not reading allat.

Marie tolerated Miguel. If she were a weaker system, maybe she would’ve gotten attached, but she was the most advanced of her kind. She helped him, and he kept her up to date and charged. Mutualism was common in nature, she learned that by scanning over books that were nearly a century old uploaded into her database.

Inter-universe travel was being developed at an exponential rate, and Miguel was commonly out to assist other worlds on their work. “Web-Slinger, Earth 2038, he’s reported his guns are missing,” He said one day, leaving Marie at her small charging disk in his highly advanced office. He taps at the large screen of his watch, “You know the drill, keep the security up.”

It wasn’t uncommon for him to leave her, although the security systems in 2099 were forces to be reckoned with, she had been quite useful from time to time as backup. Her small holographic form sits against a keyboard behind her, a brow raised. She’s an odd little thing, faintly blue tinted in a short dress and a long fur lined jacket, her almost geometric curls make her look like she’s directly out of a game.

“Gotcha, you know where to call if you need me,” Marie’s voice is layered with a hint of static, but Miguel has grown used to it. With a nod and a swipe on his watch, a grand orange portal opens behind him, and he steps in without another word.

Maybe Marie would let herself shut down, get some rest before Spider-Man returned. In a quick scan over Alchemax’s security, she looks over the readings from other dimensions’ artifacts. There seemed to be one too many, but she could’ve sworn she saw Miguel bring something back from their last mission. She sits crisscrossed on her hardware disk, letting her eyes flutter closed as she leans her head back. She wouldn’t shut down her hologram just yet, however. She liked “existing,” enjoyed the feeling of being a part of the world around her. That’s where much of her intelligent capacity had been spent on, trying to appreciate life and cataloging emotions. She’s gotten much better at expressing the latter.

The faint sound of footsteps can be heard in the bowels of the office. Marie let her form flicker in and out of view, peacefully assuming that the footsteps just belonged to Miguel’s brother. The sound belongs to boots, but they aren’t heavy, they’re strangely light. Before her systems can process the intruder, a black glove reaches from between Miguel’s bottom monitors, phasing right through her hologram and grabbing her base disk.

“Hey! Who-“ Her form clips through the hand, and she pretends to hold on for dear life. She’s met with an unfamiliar face, accented with bright green tinted goggles and wild curls. They smile and flip their hand, sending Marie’s hologram to the other side of the disk.

“Look at you, how are you contained in this thing anyways?” The woman keeps her voice low as she takes slow, measured steps back away from Miguel’s desk. Marie quickly waves her hand to the side, attempting to bring up one of the small screens she’d use to help Miguel. “No, no, don’t try that.“ The other gloved hand comes up to flick Marie’s outstretched arm, “Did you seriously think I wouldn’t sever your connection? I could’ve sworn you were smarter than that!”

Almost alien tentacles rise behind the woman’s back, the end claw of one slithering down to tap at something on the side of her metal corset. Marie glances around, her programming spinning as she tries to take in the villain before her. Doctor Octopus, that’s all she could pin down before the hand on her disk squeezes and she’s forced to shut down.

Her world went dark, but her mind didn’t. Whenever she “slept,” whenever she was off, she could see into all the backups of her system, and there were a lot. But her little dream is cut off almost instantly, and she was shaken up by a clear difference in her surroundings, a clear difference in the very universe around her.

When Marie reboots, she’s met with sharp fluorescent lights and a bright white room. It was nearly the opposite of Miguel’s office, but its tech almost rivaled his. The room was messy, with out of place items lying here and there. Her hologram is lying flat on a table, and her hardware to the side. She’s trying to process her surroundings, but she’s unable to pinpoint the exact universe she’s been taken to. Wait, her hardware! Her hologram glitches when she stands, and she spins around to see that a hidden port on one side has been plugged into a desktop, one that’s much more modest than Miguel’s wall of screens. It’s just small enough be able to slip into Miguel’s watch, but it’s still susceptible to outside interference.

The doctor who took it is sat right there, her goggles pulled down to hang around her neck. “Earth 1620,” She says simply, sharp hazel eyes glancing down to the doll-like hologram on her desktop, “I’m sure that jump scrambled your circuits, hm?” Her hands leave the keyboard, and she rests an elbow in front of it. She’s in the same odd suit, soft green silicone with sleek latex, but now a lab coat has been haphazardly thrown over it.

“What is your problem?!” Marie raises her voice, the sound coming from both her glowing form and her hardware.

“Problem? I’m just curious!” Doc Ock snickers. She brings her free hand back to Marie, poking her harmlessly. The villain rests her cheek in her palm as she prods at Marie, her smile oddly radiant. “I’m sure Spider-Man has a few copies of you lying around, he won’t mind.”

He did, but Marie didn’t want to think she was just replaceable. She bats at the hand, and even though she only phases through it, she hopes the gesture is noticed. “Who even are you? I’ve only ever seen an Otto and a Carolyn.”

“Olivia, that’s who,” The answer is simple, spoken with a sense of purpose that Marie should’ve recognized. Olivia lifts her head to hold her right hand over the keyboard. “But I’ll give you all the data you need in a moment.”

“You know you can just tell me, right? Dozens of Spiders could burst in at any moment!” Marie gestures around at nothing, a strange hint of confusion in her mechanical voice. “Why take me?”

Olivia taps Marie’s head with just her index finger before lowering it to where her heart would be. “Because you’re the smartest little assistant in the closest hundred dimensions, and I could use some extra little hands. Besides, Miguel will come back home to one of your backup systems once he’s done finding those guns ten worlds away.” She clicks enter on her keyboard, activating what Marie can only guess is new code to override her hardware. It hits her like a shock, and she can’t help but let out a little shout. The “update” is instantaneous, and the main effect is obvious. She can feel.

“I’ve cut off contact to the Spiders, just because I won’t be hurting them,” Olivia smiles again, her expression not as malicious as Marie would expect. “And I’ve integrated you with the Alchemax systems, as well as with a few other devices I’ve borrowed from some Earths,” Now that Marie couldn’t call for help, Olivia was clearly much more excited to spill her plans to someone, or something. Clearly, she’s saving the biggest change for last. Her finger presses into Marie’s chest, but rather than phasing through, it stops. “And you’ve got touch sensors now, isn’t that neat? I found the code dormant in your system… I guess your ‘boss’ didn’t want you to get ahead of yourself.”

Marie, only being around the size of a phone, is clearly overwhelmed by the new sense. She brings her hands up to Olivia’s hand, her brows furrowing as she holds it. She can feel the faint weight of her jacket, the cool desktop pressing against the bottom of her shoes, and the painless touch against her chest. Her head is racing, if Olivia activated that code, what if she only planned to hurt her? It didn’t seem too bad for now, and there would have to be a way for her to disable it at times, but it was still worrying.

“How the hell did you access that?” Is all she can manage to ask as she still holds on to the doctor.

“You’re Alchemax tech, we’ve got similar systems in every world!” Olivia’s tone has lightened quite a bit, but she’s quick to switch back into that villain persona. She presses her finger in a bit more, her other hand hovering over the keyboard. “But I can track those systems, and shut them down just as quickly as I activated them. Neat, isn’t it? There’s loooots of old fail safes in case you ever grew self aware, but I suppose it’s too late for that, so I’ll just keep them remote.”

Olivia pulls away her left hand and types in a few more short commands. In a split second, a birdcage of Marie’s same color flickers to life around her. It’s clearly a hologram as well, but it’s tangible, at least to her. She grabs onto the bars, but they’re gone as quickly as they came.

“Why in the world would those be necessary now?!” Marie takes a few steps back, but not exactly out of fear.

Olivia just shrugs and rolls her eyes, “I can think of a few reasons, but they’re all quite… Out there.” Marie just frowns in response, and rather than being met with a new program, Olivia just fully turns to face her.

“Let me guess, you’ll lock me up if I don’t help y-“ Marie’s complaint is cut off, and she shrieks when Olivia scoops her up like a baby bird. She glows against the dark leather gloves, and for the first time, she doesn’t just fall through.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Olivia narrows her gaze, studying the blue tinted hologram. “I just wanted a new project, simple as that.”

•

I don’t think I’m going to be writing more for this, unfortunately. But while the book ends with doc ock being defeated and Lyla being saved. Liv was right in this au, she gets to keep a little robot doll while another version goes on as usual back in that universe. She also teaches Marie how to feel, in more ways than just touch, but I’m tired and can’t write that much rn

[netisinfin8ty]

HUGE ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE SPOILERS BELOW

Ok, I know a lot of people discussing about Across the Spider-Verse tend to focus on that ending (because WHAT AN ending) but I’m honestly more focused on a certain Hispanic vampire spidery boi because I’ve got a wild-ass theory concerning him. check this out ready 

THESE TWO AREN’T THE SAME PERSON

All the evidence I have is the trilogy's subtext and the two’s vibes but I SWEAR THIS COULD BE PROVEN CORRECT IN BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE

While both ITSPV!Miguel and ATSP!Miguel tend to get frustrated pretty quickly, some things about their personality don’t quite match up. ITSPV!Miguel seems a lot more snarky and comical (”I know what It looks like...” “Oh, here we go...” “The Multiverse didn’t collapse!” “Oh, cool!” “Great story.”) but meanwhile, ATSP!Miguel is a lot more deadpan and aloof - even Peter B. calls him out (”You know, you’re the only Spider-Man I know who isn’t funny; we’re supposed to be funny!). ITSPV!Miguel is surprisingly a lot calmer when concerning the multiverse’s structural integrity, but ATSP!Miguel is a lot more controlling and cold; he also seems like he could lose his shit at any second compared to ITSPV!Miguel. He even says it himself (”...all this time, I have been the only one HOLDING IT ALL TOGETHER!”) ATSP!Miguel is completely ruthless and can be a total monster at some points, but ITSPV!Miguel doesn’t seem to have that same fury

also, correct me if I’m wrong; ATSP!Miguel says that one of the first times he hopped dimensions was when he was trying to find the one where he was finally happy but we know that ain’t the case because of ITSPV!Miguel

maybe that part didn’t happen

BUT GOING BACK TO THE THEORY I also believe this twist is plausible due to these movies underlying theme of two versions of the same person. we got Peter B. and Peter and their two retrospective Mary Janes, and now Miles and his Earth-42 counterpart (which can I just add was that MCU!Prowler Donald Glover Miles interaction foreshadowing in a way? I'm gonna say yes), so it wouldn’t be that out of left field if in Beyond we got two Miguels

but the only thing left here is how this ties into the third Miguel; the one who was killed. was ITSPV!Miguel and that Miguel the same person? ATSP!Miguel didn’t imply that he was also Spider-Man but he didn’t deny it either. how did he convince the rest of the Spider-Society that he was the ‘real’ Miguel? are they all different people? how has ITSPV!Miguel not noticed a second version of himself by now? did ATSP!Miguel ACTUALLY kill him and straight-up fibbed about someone else killing him? he does seem like having the vibe of a man keeping a lot of shit in the closet; look at how he says that any universe that disrupts ‘canon’ dies and look at Earth-42, 1610 and 65. how does Hobie relate to all of this??? so many questions...

The obvious answer to this riddle is obvious; ITSPV!Miguel just got a redesign for ATSP. That post-credits scene started production late into ITSP’s release date so they just used the regular Spider-Man model and dropped 2099′s day of the dead-ass-luchador-ass textures on it. I mean look at Lyla’s lip sync they weren’t even trying

BUT STILL. If they can make the fucking BAGEL DUDE into a cosmic-level threat, if they can ret-con a one-off background gag into Mile’s nemesis, I swear the production staff could be mad enough to say ‘these two aren’t the same guy’ as well

All i’m saying is, it’s gonna be a tedious next 9 months 

[rmoonstoner]

***

Poisoned Empanadas

***

Pairing:

Moon Knight (Jake Lockley) x Spider!fem!reader

Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O'Hara) x Spider!fem!reader

***

18+

Warnings:

Violence, strong language, mentions of death, mentions of depression, sexual themes, someone gets hurt

***

Summary:

A wild Miguel appears once again!

***

Chapter 5 - Pizza Rolls

Yes. I said it. Pizza rolls to me are just little pizza filled Empanadas. My favorite kind are the big Great Value bag of them. Let me tell you about the homemade pizza rolls I made recently. I got puff pastry, then filled them with cream cheese and extra old aged cheddar, diced dry aged salami, diced habaneros, diced onions, homemade garlic pizza sauce, and then close them up, cover in garlic butter, sprinkle with parmesan, and bake on parchment paper for 15-25 min on 350.

***

Another week had rolled on by since that very explicit dream and you hadn't run into Miguel at all. Even when you outright asked the criminals on whether or not they had seen a jacked up Spider-Man, they genuinely looked confused and terrified that there was yet another Spider-Man, and this one was bigger than any of the others. It almost made you question his existence, had the wizard not kept asking if you had seen him again?

Every.

Damned.

Night.

You nearly lost hope on running into him. Maybe he found his way back to where he came from? Maybe he had to leave the city to find the thing he needed in order to do so?

Either way, you managed to get out to patrol for an entire seven days without seeing any sign of him. Perhaps he was busy, which was good. It was getting old being asked the same question every night. At least Peter had the decency to not ask about Miguel while in Stephen's presence. That would just trigger the doctor into playfully teasing you about it.

Thankfully, he hadn't asked about Miguel at all for today, come to think of it. Stephen had said Peter was there when he opened up a viewing orb to see where you were. Maybe Peter's little magic caffeine fit made him forget? Oh, who were you kidding, he aced his finals, so of course he'd remember seeing Miguel in the orb.

"Hey! Nice to see you!" Peter called out as you flipped yourself over the ledge to see only him at the meeting point. He was just packing up Gwen's bag that she had left the previous night.

"Hi! How are you?" You greeted him as he handed you a protein bar.

"Doing good. Since I did so well on my reports, I got a few recommendations from some of the professors. I showed them to Stephen, and told him I want to get my engineering and chemistry certification."

"So you plan on getting a doctorate?"

"Yes! I hope it makes Stephen proud. It's not the same kind of doctor, and it's more what Tony would have wanted-" Peter rambled a bit and you placed a hand to his shoulder.

"Stephen is proud of you. He'd be proud of you no matter what subject you pick. He would be proud even if you failed, because you tried so hard. You don't give up when it gets rough. He knows how much Tony meant to you and Tony wasn't one to stop achieving his dreams when he failed at something. You and Stephen share that drive, and it'll take you far." You said with a bright smile.

It wasn't a lie, because Strange talked about the boy a lot. He always asked how he was doing after a patrol, and he would be the one to do most of the first aid on the team. If he ever had to help Peter with an injury, the man would fuss while patching the boy up. Stephen would even be constantly mentioning how proud Tony would have been, had he been around to see Peter's achievements. The doctor almost sounded like a sweet old grandmother affectionately referring to her grandchild when he spoke of Peter.

"Thank you. That feels good hearing that from you." Peter replied as he cracked a grin.

"So… Does this mean I have to call you Doctor Parker? Or Doctor Spider-Man? Oooh! I know! How about Spider-Doctor?" You gently teased him. Peter burst out laughing while shaking his head.

"Absolutely not! It will be Doctor Parker, and then just the same old, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." He chuckled with a wink.

"Ah, good. Though… What about Doctor Webs?!" You gave a laugh back as you tried to picture it. He laughed and shook his head. The both of you got ready to head out, suiting up fully and slinging away into the night as you kept roasting Peter on the names he could use.

***

Most of the night was pretty calm. There was a fender bender pretty early on and a guy needed to be pulled from the wreckage, so Peter had helped. You didn't have much to offer in assistance, so you sat perched up on a shopping market roof to watch him while you called an ambulance. When all was said and done, you left to go seek out other problem areas that might need some help. The small police scanner Peter had built into his wrist watch sure did help a lot, and it reminded you of Miguel's watch.

Another occurrence was a man being held at knife point by a local drunk. Peter and you managed to talk the guy down and check him into a local drop-in center for outreach help. From there, everything was good. Nothing was off, which was great. It was so great that you and Peter stopped for a bite to eat on top of Stark Tower. About half way through your sandwich, Peter's watch and phone went off. He picked it up to check and his face fell.

"What's wrong, Peter?"

"There's been a breach in the Stark Tower security systems." He grumbled as he jammed the rest of his food into his mouth and chewed vigorously. You huffed and opened your sandwich and hurriedly removed the good bits, shoving them into your mouth and discarding the bread and other bits you didn't enjoy much. You both chewed in silence as you wiped your faces and hands.

"What? But we are sitting on the building..?" You asked with a confused face as you opened a soda to wash your mouth out, then handed it over to Peter so he could do the same.

"Yeah… I suppose we should go check it out, then?" He suggested. How could you say no?

Since Peter already had official security clearance, it was easy to get inside. You followed him in and down to the lower levels. He didn't bother to creep about. He acted like he owned the place, which he kind of did now that Tony was gone. Peter glanced at his watch a few times.

"Looks like the disturbance is in the vaults." Peter announced as he pointed to another stairwell. His tech was telling him the breach was in the power core reactor vault on the main floor. It was separated from the one that powered the building, and that was underground.

Peter directed you to the stairwell and down the center of the spiral stairs. He chose to use a web rope, while you descended with a disk of light. Once at the main floor, Peter quietly peeked down a hallway and motioned for you to follow. You darkened your suit and dimmed the lights in the hallway slowly, while Peter made his way towards the vault room.

There was a clatter of sorts the closer you got. Peter was a bit nervous, his spider senses no doubt going insane as he twitched at any noise. Yours, however, wasn't going off at all. You thought that was odd, considering the threatening nature of the noises that you were hearing. Scraping and clanking to be specific could be heard, followed by what sounded like drawers and doors opening and closing rapidly. The occasional crash of glass tinking against glass could be heard as well.

Peter stopped at the door, a weak light coming from inside. You could hear someone grumbling to someone. A man, talking to a woman. Peter was opening the door as you realized the voices sounded familiar, and before you could tell him to wait, Peter was zipping inside to confront the individuals.

"I'd stop that if I were you. Mr. Stark might be gone, but this building is still owned by his associates." Peter said as he clung to the roof in front of a large storage room door. The noises suddenly stopped and a growl erupted from the room.

"Spidey, uh, maybe we should be careful-" You started to say, when a large metal box was hurled at him. Thankfully, Peter managed to smack it away in time.

"Not one for talking, huh? Are you the strong silent type?" Peter said as he fired off a warning shot into the storage room. A small crash could be heard as a bunch of things fell to the ground and scattered all over the floor and out the door. You hid in the shadows and got closer to the door as Peter dropped down and darted into the room after the noise.

"Friday! Spidey needs the rest of the backup lights off!" You called out. The noises suddenly stopped as that familiar voice went 'huh?' And a second later, and the lights went out.

A scuffle occurred. You could hear Peter get hit and grunt as he came flying out of the room and hit the wall on the other side of the room. You gasped when it registered. You heard the distinct sound of bone breaking and Peter hissing in pain.

There was another crash, so you turned and stepped into the storage room, seeing a dark figure smash a window and climb up into it. The moon light hit his form just right, and you could tell immediately that it was Miguel. He turned to look back at you, tilted his head, then jumped. You looked back at Peter, seeing he was getting up and rubbing his neck.

You had a choice. Stay and help Peter, or chase Miguel.

"Get that jerk, Galaxy-Spider!" Peter shouted as he huffed while leaning against the wall. His arm looked like it was bent the wrong way, and his voice was dripping with pain.

That fucking dick broke your friend's arm!

You saw red, and then in an instant, you were across the room, handing Peter your bag for anything he would need, before running to and jumping from the window that Miguel had escaped from.

As you hit the night air, you looked around, catching a glimpse of Miguel zipping up a web to the roof of the building you just left. You scowled and hissed as you summoned a circle of light and stepped on it. You braced yourself and sent it straight upwards towards Miguel.

When he turned his head to check if he had gotten away, he recoiled in surprise when he saw that you were only meters behind him.

He reached out and shot a web to the next building over and kicked away from the tower. He used the momentum of the sudden change in trajectory to rocket himself away. He was fast, like ridiculously fast for a large hulking mass of muscle. It made sense, Jake was slightly smaller, but the cabbie was pretty fucking fast. So, of course Miguel, with the same setup, would be faster since he was a Spider.

Right?

"Get your ass back here!" You demanded as you aimed at him and shot off a web. He managed to twist himself out of the way. In doing so, he landed against the building and sprang away from it to go to another across the street.

"Fucker! I swear to the Gods, if you make me chase you, I am not going to be a happy girl!" You called out while making a series of glowing lights appear to get to him. He had gained a fair distance, now being three blocks away.

You could do this. You had chased far worse things than Miguel. This should be easy for you.

One blob at time, but surprisingly quickly as you hopped, skipped, and jumped your way to the fleeing Spider. You gave chase for over ten minutes, drawing you far away from the Stark Tower and the Sanctum. You hauled ass and pushed yourself to catch up with him, each breath coming out in a rush.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer…

Your lungs were burning and your muscles were aching with the effort to get to him. You were angry and upset that he had hurt your friend, and had the audacity to break and enter the building that belonged to said friend. You had an idea of what he was looking for, and you even offered to help him, yet here you were, chasing a potential thief that refused any help.

When Miguel looked back, you were almost able to grab at his ankle. The panic was evident in his body language, and in that split second, he shot you in the face with his webs.

Everything went dark and you stumbled while trying to pull the web from your face. You lost your footing, slipping and falling off the light. A strangled squeak came from you as your head smacked against another gob of light. Dizziness filled you as you kept falling. The ground would soon meet you and you were sure it would hurt and do some major damage.

A whoosh of air hit your ears as you were suddenly grabbed and sent flying. It took a moment to realize you weren't falling, but now were being carried while swinging in the air. Large muscular arms held you tightly against a well sculpted torso. The heat from the man was radiating nicely and it felt safe and warm, even though a few moments ago you wanted to punch him in his stupid face. A few moments later, and Miguel was setting you down gently, but he didn't let go. He was holding on in an effort to avoid you lashing out at him as he removed the webs from your face.

Well, you didn't lash out. You stayed still while trying to control your breathing. Your mask was taken off and when you looked up, Miguel had already discarded his on roof you were on. He held a look of concern as he inspected your head, finding a bump, but otherwise everything was fine.

"You gave me a scare, there. You weren't supposed to fall."

"Well you weren't supposed to commit a felony by breaking and entering Stark Tower, then I am pretty sure you broke my friend's arm!" You snapped at him and Miguel let go of you and took a step back.

"I broke his shocking arm!?" He seemed surprised and his face melted into remorse.

"I am sorry. He was trying to stop me from getting the information I needed, and he shot a web at Lyla. She's all I have left. I didn't mean to hurt him. I'm still getting used to these powers." He stammered as he showed you the lack of pockets and anything on his person, but the watch. You sighed, but still had to ask.

"Did you steal anything?"

"No! Well, uh, just the information I needed. I swear, I didn't take any of those glowing core things." He said and turned around.

"See? And no, I didn't put anything up there." He indicated to his rear, and it drew a small laugh from you. You cleared your throat and stood up.

"Well, you need to come back with me. Tell P- Tell Spidey that you're sorry and that you didn't mean to cause any harm, though you clearly did, you big brute. If you don't, the wizard will make your life really fucking hard." You scolded him and pointed back towards the tower. Miguel frowned as he looked down and sighed.

"Fine. I'm sorry I ran."

"Good! Now I'll just shoot him a text and let him know I am on the way back with you." You muttered while going for your pack. You froze when you remembered handing it to Peter.

"Ah, shit. I can't. I forgot I left my bag with him. Well, you're gonna just have to watch your back while we go."

***

By the time you got back to the tower, Peter had already called Stephen in. You could tell they were there because there was a warm orange glow of the portals he was so fond of. You had to check and make sure Miguel didn't just fuck off, which, thankfully, he didn't.

As you approached, you could see Stephen bent over Peter. He was fixing up his arm with magic and making sure Peter was alright when the lad sat up and pointed at you and Miguel.

"That's the guy!" Peter said as he jostled forward a bit and winced. Stephen smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"Stay still. The last thing we need is you distracting me while I am trying to set the bone back into place!"

"But, Stephen, the guy that broke my arm is right there!" Peter argued with a whine.

"Settle down. I know he's there. I can clearly see him." Stephen said as he twisted Peter's arm suddenly. A loud crack was heard, and Peter gasped and almost threw up.

"But you're not even facing him…" Peter protested quietly. Stephen huffed and pointed up to his forehead and Peter went quiet. He didn't bother asking how he could still see Miguel, when that eye wasn't even facing him. He knew it was magic and left it at that.

"Heya, doc. I found the guy. Brought him back. He's willing to apologize and explain himself." You said as you motioned to Miguel, then to Peter.

"Good. I look forward to hearing about why he's caused such a fuss." Stephen stood there looking at everyone with his arms crossed. He looked mad and annoyed. Of course he'd be.

Miguel was nervous. He was shifting from one foot to the other as he looked at Peter.

"I, uh… I am sorry for breaking your arm. I… I am also sorry for breaking into this building." He glanced at Peter, then at Stephen, before his eyes landed on you.

"Okay. Cool. Apology accepted. Now, please enlighten me as to why you broke into my building?" Peter asked while Stephen started using magic to speed up the healing process.

"Your building?"

"Yes. This is my building."

"So that makes you Peter Parker, then." Miguel said as he motioned to the room around him.

"The man that Tony Stark left all his technology and businesses to. Wow. That's wild. You're so young." Miguel looked at you and huffed.

"You could have told me that, you know. I wouldn't have broken in here if I knew that this place belonged to your friend." Miguel complained and rubbed his face.

"You're a dick. I offered to ask my friends for help, but nooo, you said you wanted to do it all by yourself!" You said and threw both hands over to Peter. Peter was perfectly fine by now, Stephen's spell having worked its magic and fixed what Miguel had broken.

"I said I could have asked, and yet, you declined and ended up hurting my friend. I think you owe me an apology as well Miguel!"

"You're right. I'm sorry. I should have asked for help. I should have accepted your offer."

"Okay. Enough of this garbage. Can we go back to the Sanctum? I really need to finish this book I borrowed from Wong." Stephen spoke up and started walking through the portal.

"You're not going to punish me?" Miguel had a look of surprise on his face.

"No. That's for Peter and her to decide. I have enough shit to deal with already. Besides, you're a Spider-Folk. That's their jurisdiction." Stephen announced and then he went straight to sit at his desk with his book.

"Let's get going. You know how much he hates waiting." Peter whispered to you.

You nodded and looked at Miguel, curling your finger in a silent command to follow. Miguel hung his head in frustration as he followed on through. Once inside the library, the portal closed up behind you. Peter was the first to fling his mask off and flop into one of the arm chairs by the fireplace. You took yours off as you sat in the love seat and laid across it.

Miguel awkwardly looked at the other leather chair and sat down. From this angle he could see everyone, and he noticed the wizard's third eye was staring at him through the reflection of the mirror up on the wall beside him. That was unnerving, so he turned to look at Peter. The boy gave him an obnoxious smile as he looked Miguel over.

"That's a weird choice in a suit. You look like you're wearing a child's costume. I can see some of the seams are ripping." Peter quipped and you giggled.

"Look, my outfit was poorly planned in the time that I had." Miguel huffed and rolled his eyes as he relaxed into the chair.

He was spread eagle with the way he sat, and your eyes wandered down. Just a peek, right? What could it hurt?

"Hey, doc! Can ya fix up his ugly suit?" Peter glanced at you as he called out to Stephen.

You looked away as you blushed, Miguel eyeing you carefully as he crossed one leg over the other. Stephen grumbled and flicked his hands towards Miguel, and his suit resized and darkened with textures that weren't there before. Strange went right back to reading, but he was eavesdropping, ready to spring into action should Miguel blow his top.

Miguel's reaction was an undignified squeak and a grunt as the new suit formed around him. He stared at the gloves, noting the rubber like pads on the fingertips and the slits at the tips of the fingers for his claws. He got up and went over to the mirror and gawked at himself, twisting right and left as he looked at the professional fine detailing of the fabric patterns. Miguel looked like he was wearing boot shaped socks.

He didn't know what to say as he looked at you in the reflection of the mirror. You had been staring at him, eyes looking right at his impressive looking legs, looking up to his nice tight ass, then up his back to his shoulders, and finally to his eyes. You blushed and bit your inner cheek as you smiled at him. He winked at you and then turned to thank the doctor.

Miguel explained who he was, where he was from, and when. Stephen quietly listened, while Peter kept interrupting him to make a joke or a remark about something, like if he really fell into a dumpster, or if you had pushed him. It took about an hour to explain himself in what only took ten minutes to you privately. Stephen decided Miguel wasn't a threat, and offered to let him stay, but Miguel was very adamant about having a hotel room and that he didn't wish to be a burden.

Stephen wasn't having any of it. He refused Miguel's excuses and he showed him to a room, claiming he owed his son at least one day and night of his time for the inconvenience of temporarily breaking his arm. Miguel relented and followed Stephen to the room, and you didn't hear from him all night.

***

Series Masterlist

***

Note:

Sorry Peter. Miguel is really sorry.

Please like it if you enjoyed it, leave a comment, and share! ❤️ 💙

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[age-of-moonknight]

Hi! It's me again.

In light of the upcoming Ultimate Black Panther 2024 coming out in Feb, "In the wake of Ultimate Invasion", in which Khonshu and Ra are doing things and then are the bad guys.... I thought it a good theme to explore Moon Knight in alternate universes. ....To which I actually know very little about. But I bet you know stuff!

I've seen Moon Knight explored in things like Arachknight (love that outfit) and alternate timelines where he's imagined in different outfits, but what about in actual Marvel time lines like the Ultimate universe or 2099 (which he is also going to be featured in briefly).

How much has he shown up in those lines and can they even be called Moon Knight or just some guys in a Moon outfit?

Thank you so much for sending this my way, because oh ho ho this is something I'm so excited to answer! :D You hit the nail on the head though in regard to how "Moon Knight" is only sometimes our beloved system of Jake, Marc, and Steven and other times it's more of a title. Interestingly, I've noticed anecdotally that many non-616 continuities choose to invent an entirely new character as opposed to doing an alternate interpretation of our favorite guy. A majority of the time, however, they still maintain key facets of the Moon Knight mantle (devotion to Khonshu, for example, being prevalent). I'll break down the major ones (and some of my favorites) under the cut, because there are some really great ones imo. :D

Ultimates (Earth-1610)

I started here not only because you mentioned it specifically, but also because it's the non-616 continuity with the most Moon Knight material and it's possibly the closest parallel to 616's Moon Knight.

Ultimates Moon Knight appears in Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #79-80, #82-85, #107-110 and Ultimate Spider-Man Annual (Vol. 1/2006), #2.

He also makes some cameos in the Ultimate Fantastic Four (Vol. 1/2004), #52-53, Ultimate Origins (Vol. 1/2008), #5, and Cataclysm: The Ultimates' Last Stand (Vol. 1/2014), #5.

Sometimes I just think about this dude, because he's very recognizable as an analogue for 616!Marc Spector, but there are some major differences that receive frustratingly little expansion due to him only being a secondary character guest-appearing in a Spider-Man comic. One difference right off the bat is that it seems in this iteration the Marc and Steven identities are swapped, with Marc being the debonair millionaire frequently used as a cover identity and Steven as the scruffy operator.

[Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #83.]

The other big change, in my opinion at least, appears to be an attempt at more purposefully incorporating in and acknowledging the system's DID, whereas 616 pretty notoriously meandered its way through "nah, they're just cover identities" to "he contracted 'multiple identities' after doing those cover identities Too Hard" (???? Yike?) to finally landing on something a bit more understanding and respectful. The success of 1610's attempt at mental health representation probably depends upon your opinion on Brian Michael Bendis as a writer. An honest attempt was made, but it's definitely not free of the now very dated term "multiple identity disorder" or of stereotypes, with one headmate being a little girl and the whole system being threatened by an encroaching "evil" alter developed as a cover identity (which happens to be "Ronin," another wild little element of this universe) and subsequently going off the rails.

[Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #108.]

Markedly, I don't recall catching a reference to Khonshu during my read-through of these comics, which is inline with Ultimates' more "grounded" approach to characters, ig. In any case, almost all of 1610!Moon Knight's background is jampacked into a single panel (that consequently frustrates me to no end hahaha):

[Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #108.]

While some of this makes sense for Ultimates' whole deal of updating characters (Gulf War vet and Navy SEAL being more relevant to the 2000's than the very 70's background of globe-trotting mercenary selling his services to any insurgency that will pay,,,,although I shall keep my opinions on SEALs to myself asldkfij), from what I recall, however, they NEVER bring up the fact that this guy is a failed super soldier ever again? Nor the Roxxon connection??? But he (or rather Ronin) does drive a bus into Peter Parker's high school, gets domed by Kingpin's goons, survives (naturally), and is quite helpful in the case to take down Kingpin, so there's that. He's also responsible for some of my favorite panels of all time.

[Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #80.]

[Ultimate End (Vol. 1/2015), #5]

(technically that last one's from Earth-61610, a fusion of Earth-616 and Earth-1610, but it's the panel I always think about whenever trying to parse out how Ultimates and the main continuity came together hahaha)

2099

The other continuity you mentioned by name and an interesting one because apparently there are multiple continuities associated with "2099." None of them have a "Marc Spector" (may that be because he's resting in peace after dying of old age aslkdfj), but there are some other options. Something that fascinates me though, is that none of these options come from Miguel O'Hara's home continuity of Earth-928 and most of them are women.

Moon Knight of Earth-96943

I did a post on her character here and personally I think she's rather neat. She only really pops up in 2099: Manifest Destiny (Vol. 1/1998), #1, but she beats up opportunistic capitalists on the moon and tells the Watcher what's good, so again, I think she's pretty cool (and I love how all of her speech bubbles have crescent moons).

Tabitha, Moon Knight of Earth-TRN590

[Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 3/2015), #14]

Otherwise known as Tabby (!), this "2099" Moon Knight actually got to meet Miguel and appears in Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 3/2015), #14-16 (similarly, I expand upon her character here). She's another case of a character fairly firmly relegated to the "supporting" category, but when she does get some panel time, it's a lot of fun, as she has that pretty classic Peter David wit and a big ol' sword that she uses to exorcise a demon out of Doctor Strange (and subsequently banishes it to the moon).

[Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 3/2015), #14]

Moon Knight of Earth-2099 (....not to be confused with Earth-928)

[Spider-Man 2099: Exodus (Vol. 1/2022), #3.]

This one is an....exceedingly interesting case, more thoroughly detailed here. After making a one panel reference to the Moon Knight temple guardian of Earth-96943 (and implying she died RIP sounds fake but okay), Spider-Man 2099: Exodus (Vol. 1/2022), #3 and Spider-Man 2099: Exodus Omega (Vol. 1/2022), #1 establishes this new Moon Knight as the leader of a new team of Avengers. But you have to watch out, because this Moon Knight is also just straight up Khonshu animating a corpse.

[Spider-Man 2099: Exodus (Vol. 1/2022), #3.]

Those times when the timeline got kind of screwy (so 616!Marc,,,,kind of????)

There are some instances where 616!Marc got caught up in those kinds of situations where everyone gets thrust into an alternate time line or a timeline that was erased for whatever reason, his involvement in which pretty much solely being due to him being an active Avenger at the time.

House of M (Earth-58163)

Marc is technically in House of M (Vol. 1/2006), #3-7, but he's only there to stand in the background of group shots wearing a fit so generic even I have worn it. BUT, however, it turns out House of M: Avengers (Vol. 1/2008), #1-5 fleshes out his character's background in this reality and explains why he gave up the iconic white threads.

[House of M: Avengers (Vol. 1/2008), #2.]

[House of M: Avengers (Vol. 1/2008), #1.]

[House of M: Avengers (Vol. 1/2008), #5.]

(imo, I mean, look I know it was the 2000's and simple/leather jacket "costumes" were in, but the reason provided was NOT good enough for putting him in the most boring fit possible, but that's just me alskdfj Further note, looks like I uuuuuh missed the House of M: Avengers comics on my initial readthrough so I shall probably loop back around to those some point soon)

Age of Ultron (Earth-61112)

Found in Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2/2012), #14AU and Age of Ultron (Vol. 1/2013), #2, #4-5, the mental health representation isn't always the greatest, but otherwise, there's a lot I'm fond of in these issues. Natasha Romanoff is much more firmly "the main character" with Marc supporting her, but you will definitely get no complaints on that on this here blog. This reality basically boils down to "Natasha and Marc are a criminally underrated duo that could probably destabilize juntas if they chose to do so" and it's great.

[Age of Ultron (Vol. 1/2013), #2.]

[Age of Ultron (Vol. 1/2013), #2.]

Other Continuities (Where Marc Actually Shows Up)

Earth-X (Earth-9997)

This one haunts me???? Because it's one of the earliest examples I can recall of really digging into the irony of a Jewish man serving an Egyptian god as well as artfully discussing that unique tension within Marc of "alive but only just/not really" AND gives Marlene some fascinating development....all within the pages of a special event the plot of which I honestly couldn't explain to you if I tried.

[Universe X (Vol. 1/2000), #6.]

But if you want to check it for yourself (and see if your reading comprehension is better than mine hahaha), this Moon Knight shows up in Universe X (Vol. 1/2000), #0, #6-7, #10-11; Paradise X Special Edition (Vol. 1/2000), #1; Paradise X (Vol. 1/2000), #0 and #11; Paradise X: Devils (Vol. 1/2000), #1; Paradise X: A (Vol. 1/2000), #1; and Paradise X: X (Vol. 1/2000), #1 (and if you're wondering, yes, I did lose a few braincells typing all that out).....but this guy does get a cool color inverse suit!

[Universe X (Vol. 1/2000), #6.]

Battleworld (Earth-51910)

Or at least, I'm pretty sure this is Marc although we only get the last name of Spector. Anyway, amidst the Beyonders’ and Doctor Doom’s shenanigans in Secret Wars Journal (Vol. 1/2015), #1, Spector here lost his faith in "Baroness Khonshu," but at least his design is dope as all get out.

Also, he's a werewolf.

[Secret Wars Journal (Vol. 1/2015), #1.]

Heroes Reborn (Earth-21798)

The "Marc Spector" who is presented in Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2/2021), #5 and #7 as the sort of Hush and Two-Face to Darkhawk's Batman frankly sort of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, as he's straight up described as a "schizo who worshipped the moon" and is generally just a violent criminal who ends up in Ravencroft (...not great in the slightest, all around honestly). Accordingly, the only redeeming quality of this alternate is the DOPE costume he gets when he ends up on this continuity's equivalent of the Dark Avengers.

[Heroes Reborn (Vol. 2/2021), #7.]

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again (Earth-TRN664)

Oh goodness, please don't make me talk about this comic again; thinking about it Hurts Me. Fairly well executed but so incredibly tragic. Mr. Knight is fantastically sympathetic and a brilliant detective and it all ends horribly. If you want to read Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again (Vol. 1/2017), #1-3, godspeed.

[Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again (Vol. 1/2017), #2.]

Other Moon Knight Variants

These are some honorable mentions that I'll just have to link my posts for, because I unfortunately have pretty much hit the image limit RIP.

Mariama Spector of Earth-818

Battleworld Frank Castle as Moon Knight

And finally, since I loved the phrase you used of "just some guys in a Moon outfit," I present the ultimate "just some guy in a Moon outfit":

Friggin "Moonwing" of Earth-9602

When Moon Knight got the Amalgam comics treatment, he got mashed up with Nightwing of all characters in Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Vol. 1/1996), #1, as detailed here. Basically, they just gave Dick Grayson a past in the CIA and DID, leaving the whole moon motif a bit of a mystery.

(Amalgam Comics Trading Cards, #8.)

Naturally, there are some variants I didn't mention here. Moon Knight pops up in quite a few non-616 continuities, but most of the time he's just in the background of large group shots and/or action scenes and doesn't have any lines or contribute anything to the plot. Accordingly, I attempted to include just the iterations with the most material that were expressly from different timelines (which is why I didn't include all of the historical Moon Knights from the 2019 Moon Knight Annual or Moon Knight Ravonna who are also from Earth-616). But yeah! I hope this is of interest to someone out there or at least somewhat vaguely answered your question hahaha thanks again!

[aggravateddurian]

I have been tagged by @streetkid-named-desire to report on recent happenings.

WIP WHENEVER

Firstly, I am in the middle of like 6000 IRL things at the moment, all work related. There will be some periods of silence while things change and I get settled in. Trust me, I haven't given up, I've just got pressing real life stuff to focus on.

OC STUFF AS MENTIONED

Firstly, family trees:

The Ocampo-Gonzalez family tree as of 1 May 2079

The Foster family tree as of 1 May 2079

What does all this shit mean? Well, if I ever go back to writing long-form prose fanfiction, the story is going to focus on these two goobers in the year 2099 (it's a canon event):

Who are these goobers? These goobers are the children of Trey Marshall and Val.

Introducing my newest OCs: Chara Ocampo-Gonzalez and Lincoln Ocampo-Gonzalez, who are fraternal twins.

Chara Ocampo-Gonzalez

Chara just beat Lincoln out of the womb by about an hour, technically making her the older sibling. She inherits a lot from her father: her loyalty, her drive and her sense of family. She also inherits Trey's eyes.

Chara's going to be a Solo. She's inherited her mother's Crystaljock jacket, tendency to code-switch under pressure.

Lincoln Ocampo-Gonzalez

I'm not quite done with Lincoln's appearance yet, but I will post when it's ready. While Chara inherits a lot of her father's traits, I think that Lincoln will be more like his mother, appearance-wise, while Chara clearly takes more after Trey.

He's also going to be a netrunner, following his stepmum's footsteps (if you weren't aware, Melanie is a netrunner).

I have this cute story idea where Uncle V gives Lincoln his Samurai jacket. He says it's so 'people realise where you come from, and pick fights with people closer to your size.'

I would like to tag @olath124 and @ouroboros-hideout. I promise I will respond to your OC associations when stuff gets a little less wild.

Thanks everyone.

[allycatexplainsthings]

Earth 9221 Spider-Man Interview

[Access Granted] [Log Number 1] [Date: July 22, 2023]

*~------------------------------------------------~*

"Okay, let's begin this overstuffed story again; you hear me?"

"My name is Harris Huntsman, and I am a scientist at Alchemax in quarter 92-21 with the research to learn and understand more about the people who became creatures dubbed Mutants."

"Sadly, most of our investigation is not for the public eye, yet some of our fellow researchers have fallen into this web and become these beasts. I am one of them."

"However, that does not mean they are not associated with who they became. Still, they are aware and often become into a panic frenzy, and that's where our team comes in to comprehend that transformation and find a treatment."

"But moving back to me, because of an experiment that went wrong, I was bitten by a radioactive spider named J-25 or Jeffery and began to have law-breaking effects, becoming more similar to a wolf spider or even a Huntsman Spider."

"The next day, I woke with the worse headache, experienced sudden loud noises that were precise in location and person, had a lighting reaction to things I didn't know, dubbed Spider-Sense, my hands and feet sticking to objects with great force, sharper teeth-like fangs and retractable claws."

"But the more sinister consequence had gone and still is an ongoing concern: I frequently shift in different sizes and heights, including my weight being affected too. Subject J-25 experienced this problem similarly, and due to the bite, that side effect affected me in everyday life. Regular clothing doesn't often fit me anymore and does not go with my new height, and I don't keep on expanding; I'm more to like a scale and slider and can become the size of a spider myself or a giant."

"I created my suit so it could shift to any size I require it to be."

“Sadly, I can not control this result well, and the first time it occurred, I woke up to the size of an average child and freaked out and required major assistance. I was in my apartment and shortly called my department (Pun not intended) about the situation, not desiring to lie because people could soon discover it. It worsened as I kept shrinking more miniature to a plaything until one of my co-workers could come in and see the outcome that transpired and carry my body into further examination.”

“Docter Otto was that co-worker and knew me well adequately to support my new condition. He is an intelligent fellow who is a mutant, being a part octopus and requiring mechanical components to regulate.” 

“We also had Peter Parker, a spider mutant, and we are usually paired together to see any anonymous details on Subject J-25 and to an actual natural mutant.”

"We all quickly discover that it goes both ways as suddenly my body increased in height, which was painful when I was tiny of a doll to the size of the whole room in under two minutes. If I weren't uncomfortable with that shift, I would have laughed about their reactions. The human body should not be able to survive that change, but because of becoming a Mutant, the spider bite altered my DNA and bone structure significantly."

“I’m not your ordinary Spider-Man. I solely desire things to be ordinary again…”

“Anyways, where was I? Oh, right, the synopsis. I could not save my Uncle; I lost him to a wild Lizard Mutant. My dad died from a falling building later on as the captain of the police force, and Mom… Well, I have no one left. It took me years to discover that this was all arranged by something called ‘Canon Events.’ 

“Spiderman 2099 or Miguel O’hara did hire me into the Spider Society after dealing with anomalies from a different earth, but I despise the concept of ‘Canon Events.’ Miguel doesn’t appreciate me because I’m not Peter Parker, but it was Canon, and he had to get used to me with the unfortunate circumstance I sustained. Plus, Peter Parker was already lucky to be alive… I don’t know why my universe chose me to be the fill-in Spiderman.”

“But it’s a position I must accomplish to resume.”

“And that’s how I got here since; end of story and interview.” 

[eastsidemags]

Free Comic Book Day 2024

It’s everyone’s favorite time of year - FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!

And we’re pulling out all the stops this year with not one but TWO amazing local food vendors and TWO extremely talented local artists, ONE MASSIVE SALE, give-a-ways, your favorite cosplayers & characters and a few surprises!

With over 40 different titles from almost a dozen or more different publishers to choose from, the free comics are by far the most attractive part of the day. Come by early to grab some of your favorites or take the opportunity to try out a new title or publisher that you’ve been meaning to dive into! That’s what the day is REALLY about - trying new things and embracing what you love! Check out some of the awesome comics that will be available:

Next up - the SALE!

We’re offering - for ONE DAY ONLY - 20% OFF EVERYTHING in the store like:

Graphic novels

Toys

Statues

Novelty items

Select wall books and minor keys

Comic sets

Funko POPs

and more!

Items NOT included in the sale are the following items:

New comics

Dollar comics

Supplies

Cards

Artwork by local artists

We are also offering ALL BIN BACK ISSUES at 50% OFF! If it’s in a bag & board and sits in our bins, it’s 50% off! It’s that simple!

Please note: anything on hold prior to FCBD, in pull boxes or previously reserved before May 6, 2023 are NOT eligible for FCBD discounts. Fully stamped reward cards also cannot be combined with FCBD discounts.

Hmm. What’s a good pairing with a really good read? Delicious food!

East Side Mags is proud to welcome back The Beastro for the three-peat! After all the wild, rave reviews from last two years, we wanted you to know we HEAR YOU! We SEE YOU! And you’re right - The Beastro is the best private chef/caterer this side of the Hudson and he’s back with [COMING SOON]!

But what’s savory without sweet to follow! That’s where we’re proud to bring you: A Butter Life! Jenny is true perfection in her craft. This year’s theme is Cookies, Comics & the Force - Star Wars inspired cookies based on various Star Wars characters like [COMING SOON], [COMING SOON] and more! Each cookie will be individually wrapped or in a sampler box, available for purchase directly from Jenny herself!

And what would Free Comic Book Day be without beautiful art from local artists? Local legends and up-and-coming artists Ava Schrager and Paul Belliveau are going to be here sketching for customers on blank cover comics and more! Got a favorite character? Or maybe an idea of a mash-up like Winnie the Pooh crossed over with Spawn? Or a motorcycle-riding Ariel the Little Mermaid? Or how about a group of 6 or 7 chipmunks all fighting it out with lightsabers? Just talk to Ava and Paul! They’ll make it work and, most importantly, they’ll make it look SPECTACULAR on a blank cover comic!

And stick around because we’ve got give-a-ways for kids like stickers, lollipops and more. We’ll have exclusive FCBD stuff like Funko POP Vinyl X-Men #1 Comic Covers featuring Gambit, Spider-Man 2099 tin lunchboxes, Deadpool fleece blankets, Doop and Sentinel plushes and the highly-coveted Invincible Omni-Man vs Invincible Funko POP Moment figure. We’ll also have dozens of cosplayers throughout the day and you can see the likes of who have shown up in the past! This year is expected to be no different and you’ll never know (or guess) who’ll pop their heads in!

The fun starts at 9am and goes until 7pm so come hang out with us and let’s party like it’s 2023!

[taleswrittena]

@bcrninghearts​ sent "Why the shock are you still using a bow and arrow for? Upgrade your tech, seriously." Spidey 2099 to Aloy!

Alright. Strange way of talking and what exactly does he mean by upgrade her tech? Hasn’t he seen all the damn machines running around? The tribes are too scared of them, they’re not going to use them to upgrade their weapons. Besides, she prefers her bow anyway. It’s what Rost had taught her to hunt on, it has always served her well within the wilds and against all of the machines out there.

“It’s what I’m most skilled with.” She knows her strengths and they certainly lie with bow and arrow where she can shoot arrows with such precision and dismantle these things. “It gets the job done. Besides, it’s not the only weapon I have.” Granted, her other weapon is a spear, but still. “Where are you from, stranger?” 

[hessobbingincabo]

my thoughts on the Hellfire Gala (2022) outfits, in order of their appearance in the guidebook

scarlet witch - these guidebooks always start with the bangers huh? wanda really has that “space deity” look thanks to that ombre effect, and don’t even get me started on those dashing rings and that detailed headpiece, a certified 10/10

havok - while i don’t dislike this look on alex, last year’s outfit really does outshine this one for me; not necessarily horrible, but some more interesting concepts could’ve been included to elevate the blandness of “back in black” (a wild headpiece or some whirlwind sunglasses maybe?)

spider-man - i can see the 2099 inspirations here and i couldn’t be happier for it; the glowing parts really do it for me, along with those almost sneaker-like accents on his feet and wow i can’t get enough of that spider logo - absolute win

gambit - now this is a remy design done well, and whilst last year’s black 3-piece wasn’t horrendous, it was dull, but to make up for it this year they nailed it with just enough of that gambit flair; that said, it captures his flirtiness and pizzaz perfectly, job well done - especially adore those blue accents, tying the look together flawlessly

black widow - where do i start? all those satin (lace?) sections, especially that veil, really add to that seductive mysterious femme fatale poise that nat has in heaps, the golden accents and the almost scorpion-like braid certainly certify this as an eXcellent ensemble

magik - [edit] so yeah, this outfit grew on me; maybe not as evocative as last year, this year magik’s regalia is self-contained and straight-forward in it’s influences and it definitely ends up on my “good” list at the end of the day

dr. doom - we’re back on track with this glorious doom attire; absolutely screams “royalty” and overall is certainly in my top 5 outfits from the entire gala - absolutely no gripes with any part of this design

wolverine/x-23 - while last year gave us an unimpressive one-piece dress, this year they more than made up for it, regarding every piece of laura’s styling with creativity; this “punk” look unironically has all the spunk i would expect of laura - from the heavy boots to the accent belts and (this time) very well-placed slits with a striking mask solidify this look as an exciting addition to kinney’s wardrobe

synch - contrary to above, synch’s whole “generation x”-inspired get-up really is a step back from his brilliant, simple suit from last year; nothing here stands out, all just blending in with those rainbow accents which just look tacky to me, with the zipper being the most eye-catching piece of the whole design, which puts it at a solid 3/10 (yes i know it’s his regular costume but a lot more could’ve been done as he is a full-fledged x-man now!)

iceman - now we’re talking! bobby absolutely kills it this year with a coherent ice suit, which really contrasts last year’s messy dress and wings, this time complimenting bobby’s flirtiness; on top of it all, as you know i’m a sucker for the “outfit-being-part-of-character’s-physiology” thing, and it works like a charm here

she-hulk - jen looks debonair, with a straightforward 2-piece with the loose trousers flattering her physique fabilously, masterfully contrasting her femininity and strength; not one of my absolute favorites but a worthy addition to jen’s most iconic looks - i also really love the glasses

emma frost - right on par, our queen of the gala is again rocking a white and gold dress with many cutouts, showing everyone who the absolute boss is; some of last year’s outfits actually suited her better in my opinion, but as far as formalwear goes this is yet another strong inclusion in emma’s expansive gown collection

captain america/steve rogers - steve looks undoubtedly sharp with his 40′s inspired 3-piece, in those iconic reds, whites and blues; the pinstripe was a nice idea and the cape fits him finely - a illustrious look for a distinguished man

captain america/sam wilson - sam knew what the assignment was and passed with flying colours (pun intended); nothing bad about this design, but nothing stands out that i can even comment on, but still a good look nonetheless - do like the shield design tho!

captain marvel - continuing the trend with the flag colors, carol’s absolute saving grace is her jacket, which reminds me of wanda with those space elements (which if u think about it makes more sense with carol, than with wanda but oh well), but i feel like more could’ve been done to make her stand out a with some accessories or a design on her suit; still charming tho 

cyclops - catwalk-ready and dressed to impress, this is yet another strike for scott; his gala looks always bring something fresh to his suit collection, with this year’s really swerving for that pirate look with the loose shirt and overlapping garments, possibly refrencing a certain space pirate...? my only minor complaint is that i would’ve liked to see some more colors, but maybe next year

jean grey - the mutants’ garbs are some of the strongest in the gala (as it should be), with jean taking the lead with her 3 confirmed looks, which absolutely cement the “marvel girl” pastiche vibes; even if they’re not perfect, each of jean’s get-ups has something to enjoy and while i’d like to see some 90′s or phoenix-inspired dresses, this year jean may be crowned “best-dressed” but we’ll have to wait and see (ps. i adored last year’s costume a lot, so it’ll be hard for me to say these are jean’s best gala looks but don’t quote me on that yet :)

forge - forge actually didn’t recieve a gala outfit last year and they are slightly making up for it this year with a surprisingly solid entrance; while i have to admit that i find forge as a character boring, but his suit - simple as it is, works like a charm and i can say that it is a certified top 10

iron man - tony.. who hurt you, my friend? i know for a fact that he dresses to impress, so what happened here? a fancy armor with a bowtie or a longer coat would’ve done miracles to elevate this design, but alas, we are left with crumbs... do better next year

rogue - wow... just wow. i didn’t think rogue could have a bad gala look, and well... i still think that! rogue looks absolutely breathtaking, as always and at this point i’m convinced they can’t physically can’t put rogue in a bad outfit, she would still rock it! a sure 10/10

namor - okayyy, king of atlantis, finally clothes fit for a king! last year namor showed up in his regular suit, which really bummed me as namor is NOT the guy who would underdress for an event, but now he actually put some effort in; while it is not great, as it’s literally just a fin-textured 2-piece with a trident, it’s a step in the right direction

wolverine - i actually am not sure if this is an official design, as it’s just logan dancing with jean in a regular black tuxedo, but it weirdly works; here’s hoping he actually gets a cool design, but i wouldn’t necessarily hate it if they stuck with the classics with him 

+ bonus

(from the textless “first look” preview)

clea - full on dr. strange cosplay going on, but i have to admit - the black perfectly compliments the red cape and her hair is interesting visually, but that’s how far i’d go; it’s a glorified super hero costume and this is a private event - c’mon clea, do better (also it’s a crime that no purple was incorporated in her outfit, a crime i tell you)

bishop - so, i’m conflicted... i don’t hate it, but i don’t love it either; compared to last year this look is a godsend, but i still feel that it doesn’t capture bishop fully, like where are the futuristic elements and the iconic “M” scar?, that said it’s still a solid look and the reds really cement that “red bishop” title he’s going for

mary jane - [BIG SPOILERS AHEAD] so it was revealed that our beloved redhead is being impersonated by none other than moira herself... but she did dress exquisitely, i do have do admit; simple, but elegant

cypher - doug actually received a hellfire look, a win in my book and while it is on the uninspired side it is a step up from his boring tuxedo last year; the chains & neckpiece the are popping tho

morph - very faintly, amongst the crowd we can spot one of my favorite obscure x-men characters, benjamin deeds and he looks chic; to contrast his boyfriend he’s wearing a cyan coat, but that’s all that could be made out and i can’t wait to see him in full

hindsight - next to morph is undoubtedly his boyfriend nate; absolutely rocking that pink, to appear as a complimenting contrast to morph’s cyan; again, bias does play a slight role here, but i do want to see him in his full glory to comment more thoroughly

polaris - i was absolutely right with my predictions, polaris looks stunning and i couldn’t have expected less from the mistress of magnetism herself; a highlight of the gala for sure

sunfire - another physiological outfit, based on sunfire’s flames and obviously it’s a 10 out of 10 from me; they just know how to play around with my favorite outfit trope and i’m happy to see shiro with those black flowing lines really finishing up his explosive look off

kate pryde - i hate to confess but the red queen thing is growing on me slightly, as i don’t really see any flaws with this design; we can see very little but what we do see is very well thought out and placed, so yeah i can’t believe i’m saying this but - a good 8/10 is in order

professor x - ricocheting off of last year’s absolutely atrocious design, this year charles’ outfit was toned down and with that came coherence; again a very big step-up from last year and the biggest surprise for me - maybe another potential favorite in-the-running

shinobi shaw - the best i can say is... eh? it just looks like a rehash from last year(which wasn’t too impresive either, even if i did like it), i wish they stray from other rehashes with the major characters (which has been the case so far); benefit of the doubt, we’ll wait until we see the whole thing

mystique - so i’m not a 100% sure if that’s her, could be some obscure atlantean but due to her proximity to her wife i’d assume that’s raven; i really like this look! it’s fashionable, effortless and even if i did dig her last year “evil queen” feather gown a little more, this one is a worthy successor 

destiny - not much is visible, but from what we see, even if it’s not horrible, i wish more was done - playing around with her mask, adding flair to the helmet/head area; recognisability is important but it’s not supposed to halt creativity, and we can see it hasn’t stopped them with other characters

firestar - a surprising addition to this year’s festivities, but i love that angelica is back and even if her “outfit” is just her costume, it’s still cute and the bob really suits her <3

wolfsbane - appearing in a single panel, rahne puts all her cards on the table with a simple black suit & tie combo with gold elements; maybe a bit too simple for my liking, as more “wolf” motifs could’ve been included, but still a solid look for her imo

shaman(?) - a character that is never named, who i’m assuming is shaman, but never confirmed, sitting next to rahne at the gambling table; my boy looks stylish, even if we see just a glimpse... wish he was at least named, so i know who i’m complimenting

feilong - stylish & dapper, feilong’s appearance at the gala certainly doesn’t entail anything good; at least he himself does look dashing in his simple 3-piece, with the green accent just adding a nice contrast to his red skin

mr. fantastic - whilst reed’s design isn’t anything groundbreaking, his simple suit is really charming, with the coat giving me that “scientist” vibe that is right up the man’s alley; another hit in the right direction here

black panther - again, debatable which character is actually sitting next to emma at the poker table but all signs point to the king of wakanda; we see a slight glimpse of him, but we all know t’challa knows how to dress so yet another strong male design at the party is present

shuri - as with her brother, i am unsure if this character is actually shuri but it would make sense, no? anyways, shuri’s cream dress and gold jewelry are very nice, but c’mon the princess of wakanda wearing something so boring is just not it; give me tribal patterns, bold colours, play with hairstyles and headpieces... not a bad look, just a boring one

deadpool - a cameo from the man himself, wade appears to be donning a 1800′s inspired costume, which we see from the back; i can’t really comment on the whole thing as it’s a 1-panel thing but i guess its nice?

greycrow - boring black suit. tie. fitting for a character who i myself find uninteresting as well...

stepford cuckoos - is this a step up or down from last year, i can’t tell you... this year the sisters decided to go for the “greek handmaidens” looks and with barely any accessories, this is one of the worst designs of the gala for me... such a let-down from clones of one of the most fashionable comic characters ever

banshee - yes. just yes. banshee is again, one of the most dapper men at the gala, with him really becoming one of those male fashion staples of the x-men for me; couldn’t praise it enough, even if we barely saw any of it 

mr. sinister - why? just why wasn’t he included in the handbook? i absolutely REVERE how sinister went all “royal” this year, definite step-up from his last look (which i also enjoyed); blowing it out of the water, he showed last years’ professor x, magneto & monarch how it’s done - 10/10

gwenpool - magic school girl. absolutely on brand for gwen. just a big thumbs up from me

scout - gabi really took a page out of her sister’s book and showed up, looking hella good! another very solid addition to the hellfire gala line-up, can’t wait to see her explore her style more 

psylocke - [edit] thank god for david nakayama, as we can finally behold kwannon in her absolutely breathtaking psychic knives dress, which shoots her straight to top 5 looks from the gala

as far as designs go, these are all that are revealed to us so far, but i can’t wait to see some of last year’s mutants & some new designs for our beloved regular heroes recieve looks to update it with some new thoughts!

[alexracheltravel]

Island Paradise

We awoke to our first island resort. While we only had a brief stay in Koh Samui, that didn't make it any less beautiful. We enjoyed breakfast beside the beach, sipping coffee and dipping our toes into the yellow sand. Stray dogs walked beside our table. Signs told us deliberately not to feed them. We've seen a lot of wild/strays on our trip in each country we've visited.

Although we were staying in the Gulf of Thailand, our plan was not to stay on the larger island of Koh Samui, but on the more remote, secluded island of Koh Tao. The only way to get there is by ferry. We purposely checked into a hotel in Koh Samui because of its proximity to the ferry. The ferry was smooth and quick. We traversed 60km in an hour and a half, including stops. The television screens on the ferry advertised tourism in Thailand. Some of our favorites included:

-A influencer-style travelogue of a couple (westerners, possibly Australians) who spent two days in Bangkok and then in Phuket. We noticed they omitted jet-lag, getting sick, and financial concerns. We were also pretty sure they were actors. Not even a real couple.

-Some sort of "discover Thailand" series of commercials, stylized in movie commercials. The first imagined discovering Thailand as a sci-fi/horror film. It did not make us want to visit Thailand, but they were innovative.

At last, we arrived at Koh Tao, where we will ring in the new year! Our resort, Jamahkiri, is incredible. It is at the top of a hill on the south end of the island, overlooking an inlet called "Shark Bay." We have our own villa with an incredible living room with multiple couches, dining room, and full kitchen with doors that completely open onto our private deck with private infinity pool overlooking the ocean. One of the more beautiful views we could have asked for. 

We ordered an easy room service, Alex got a spicy green curry and Rachel got laarb and both got a coconut cocktail. We spent the day relaxing in our pool, reading in our covered outdoor couches, and generally relaxing. Rachel booked an in room massage for tomorrow and we both decided to call it a night early, but kept our shades open so we could see the stars from our floor to ceiling windows. 

As we reflect on 2022, which, aside from this trip, was not the best year, we decided to talk about the things we did love from this year. So, instead of our usual conversation, we decided to think about some of our favorite things from 2022. Read our rankings of our End of Year Best lists:

Movies/TV

A

1- Inu-Oh

2- Mad God

3- Cha Cha Real Smooth

4- Cyberpunk 2099

5- Neptune Frost

R

1- Severance S1

2- Heartstoppers S1

3- Sex Education S4

4- Sex Lives of College Girls S2

5- The Rings of Power S1

Books

A

1- Dilla Time

2- Life Ceremony 

3- Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

4- Shuna's Journey 

5- It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World that Made Him

R

1- Hook, Line, and Sinker

2- Princess Trap

3- Get a Life, Chloe Brown

4- Heart stoppers v4

5- From Blood and Ash

Albums

A

1- Kumoyo Island - Kikagaku Moyo

2- Renaissance - Beyonce

3- Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam - The Comet is Coming

4- Motomami - Rosalia

R

1- Renaissance - Beyonce

2- Harry's House - Harry Styles

3- Special - Lizzo

Food/Meals

Note: for fairness we're not including any meals from this trip. We'll do a final ranking of our favorite Honeytrip meals next week!

A

1- whole roasted cauliflower from Zohara in West Hartford

2- vegan burrito at Ursula 

3- pan seared soup dumplings f om Dumplings House in SF

4- An epic reast at Skewers by Miriam with Lyndsi, Alon, Leo and Vicki

5- Turkey Ramen made by Mr. Alex Moser (probably the best thing he's cooked this yr)

R

1- Pan-seared soup dumplings from Dumpling House in SF

2- whole roasted cauliflower from Zohara in West Hartford

3- turkey ramen made by Mr. Alex Moser 

4- Strawberry White Chocolate Layer Cake - Clementine

5- New Year's Charcuterie Board Upstate (might have been 12/31 but who's counting)

Honorable Mention: Dairy-free Boursin (shout out to Wine Squad for this epic discovery)

Happy new year, family and friends. Onward to year 2566 B.E.!

[fantomcomics]

What's Out This Week? 2/9

Another week, another bumper crop of great comics to peruse!

Norse Mythology III #1 (of 6) - Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell & David Rubin

#1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman and Eisner Award-winning comics legend P. Craig Russell breathe new life into the ancient Norse stories by taking readers through the creation of the Nine Worlds to the epic origin and adventures of Thor, Odin, and Loki all the way to the end of life-Ragnarök. The sea giant Aegir avoids having to throw a banquet for the gods by setting Thor and Tyr off on a wild quest to find a cauldron and pitting our heroes against a multiheaded giantess, fire-breathing sea serpents, and more bizarre mythological creatures.

Hellboy & The B.P.R.D. 1957 Forgotten Lives One Shot - Mike Mignola, Chris Roberson & Stephen Green

Hellboy and Professor Trevor Bruttenholm team up for some quality father-son time at a New York potter's field where they try to unravel the mystery of a spectral being haunting the packed graveyard. Upon arrival, the two of them quickly realize there may be more things haunting the buried poor at the mass grave than meets the eye . . .

Land Of the Living Gods #1 - Isaac Mogajane & Santtos

It is said that when the world dies, the spirits of the first people will return to witness the last days of humanity. Well, the spirits have arrived, and the end is here. But not everyone has given up hope. Naledi, a teenage girl living in the deserted city once called Johannesburg, has always believed that there is a land, hidden away in time where the gods still live. And where there are gods, there are miracles. Perhaps even miracles that are big enough to save our dying planet. And so, after a lifetime of isolation, Naledi will head out into the unknown with little to hold onto but her faith - and her magical pet plant, Buyo.

Faithless III #1 (of 6) - Brian Azzarello & Maria Llovet

The final act of Azzarello and Llovet's erotic thriller masterpiece! Nine months after her mysterious disappearance, Faith suddenly drops back onto the map. While the art world debates whether her disappearance was a piece of performance art or all just a publicity stunt, Faith retreats to Louis's studio to recover from her journey into the unknown. But Ginny begins to realize that something is very much amiss with Faith. Where was she for nine months? And why does Faith suddenly seem so obsessed with Ginny's son Jacob?

Life Zero #1 - Stefano Vietti & Marco Checchetto

Where were you when the cloud arrived? Where were you when the world changed forever? Where were you when people started dying? Ablaze is proud to present Life Zero by Stefano Vietti (Dragonero) and Marco Checchetto (Daredevil, Avengers, Old Man Hawkeye, Wolverine), with colors by Andres Mossa (Wolverine, Avengers, Secret Wars 2099). At the limits between science fiction, action and horror is LIFE ZERO!

Cult Of Ikarus #1 (of 4) - Jenna Lyn Wright & Karl Slominski

Tossed out by her foster family after one-too-many rides home in the back of a cop car, Hunter packs up and sets out on a mission to find out who she is. A mysterious book - her only link to her parents - leads her to discover a covert world of magic and danger running parallel to our own. One punk rock show, two whiskeys, and three vicious vampire assassins later, Hunter's on the run from the ancient, deadly Cult of Ikarus. Hunter came looking for answers. What will become of her once she gets them?

Archie Love & Heartbreak Special - Thomas Pitilli & Various

AN ALL-NEW ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY PERFECT FOR FANS OF ARCHIE'S MODERN COMIC SERIES! Join Archie and his friends on a date night at the Riverdale carnival! First up, Betty wants to know: If Jughead was interested in dating, what would the perfect date look like? Jughead shares his POV on love while Archie and Veronica's relationship is on the rocks! Can Kevin Keller help Archie save his romance? Maybe not, since Kevin's caught up in his own romantic dilemma, and is worried about being in over his head on his own date! Who will end up together? What relationships are on the verge of collapse? Who will find true love?

5 Seconds Before The Witch Falls In Love GN - Zeniko Sumiya

A magical enemies-to-lovers yuri romcom! Solitary witch Meg likes to be mischievous and make trouble in the forest for her nemesis, Lilith the Witch Hunter. But when an altercation goes sideways, and Meg turns Lilith into a cat, a cascade of unfortunate events means witch is now responsible for saving witch-hunter! Sparks were flying between these antagonistic ladies before-what will their relationship be like after this cat-astrophe?

Whatcha snagging this week, Fantomites?

[beautifulblooms]

Characters I'm willing to write for

This list is subject to change, please do not be upset if this list changes!

Marvel

James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes

Loki Laufeyson

Pietro Maximoff

Spider-Bitches

Peter Parker (Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield)

Hobart "Hobie" Brown, Spider-Punk (Across the Spiderverse)

Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man 2099 (Across the Spiderverse)

Gwen Stacy, Ghost Spider (Into the Spiderverse/Across the Spiderverse)

The Arcana

Asra Alnazar

Julian Devork

Count Lucio

Muriel

Legend of Zelda (Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom)

Link

Prince Sidon

Ganondorf

Tulin (platonic + TotK only)

Jujutsu Kaisen

Yuji Itadori

Gojo Satoru

Megumi Fushiguro

Sukuna

Toji Fushiguro

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Tanjiro Kamado (platonic only)

Zenitsu Agatsuma (platonic only)

Inosuke Hashibira (platonic only)

Kyujuro Rengoku

Tengen Uzui

Giyu Tomioka

Sanemi Shinaguzawa

Muzan Kibutsuji

Stranger Things

Billy Hargrove

Steve Harrington

Eddie Munson

Peter Ballard/001

Jonathan Byers

Genshin Impact

Albedo

Arataki Itto

Diluc

Gorou

Kaeya Alberich

Thoma

Xiao

Zhongli

Alhaitham

Tighnari

Cyno

Kaedehara Kazuha

Wriothesley

Neuvillette

Razor (platonic only)

Sayu (platonic only)

Chongyun (platonic only)

Collei (platonic only)

Avatar (James Cameron)

Jake Sully

Tsu’tey

Neteyam

Tonowari

Aonung

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them/Harry Potter

Newt Scamander

Gellert Grindelwald

Remus Lupin

Sirius Black

Resident Evil

Leon S. Kennedy

Chris Redfield

Carlos Oliveira

Ethan Winters

Karl Heisenberg

CoD: MW2

König

Alejandro Vargas

Rodolfo "Rudy" Parra

Simon "Ghost" Riley

Johnny "Soap" MacTavish

Captain John Price

Valeria Garza

Farah Karim

Alex Keller

[the-werdna]

Title: Robcina Week Day 3 - Free Day

Description: Just another day after school. No new incidents in the outrealms. No upcoming exams. Perhaps the perfect day to spend some time with Lucina. She had mentioned something about wanting to go shopping. What was the worst that could happen?

Notes: Once again we delve into my Awakening Persona AU, because no one can stop me! Takes place prior to Chapters 41, 47, and 61 of Love Across Time, which are likewise set in this AU

Words: 2099

A shrill bell chimed, announcing the end of the school day.

Robin quickly scratched down the last few characters he'd been copying from the board into his notebook before standing. The notebook, his pens, pencils, and other school supplies were swiftly shunted into his open backpack a moment later. That settled, he stepped out into the hallways, blinking against the afternoon light streaming through the windows of the hallway,

Right, now I just need to decide how to spend the rest of the day, Robin thought to himself.

He had several options after all. Since it was a Tuesday, the sports club wouldn't be meeting, so that wasn't an option. He did still have the writing club he could attend or perhaps one of his part time jobs he could always attend. Studying in the library was always an option, though by this point he wasn't sure it could offer much improvement anymore, having scored top of his class the past two exams.

Perhaps now would be a good time to work on one of my "social links", Robin pondered. He sighed. He really did hate that term, at least when referring to time he spent with the many friends he'd made since coming to the town. The way Igor referred to them, as if they were simply a means as a wild card user to empower his Personas… it felt too clinical to him. Too impersonal.

That said, since Kendo club won't be meeting today either, Lucina should be free, Robin realized. She did mention something about wanting my help picking some stuff out next time she went shopping.

Making up his mind, Robin made for the front door, swapping out his school shoes for his usual pair before heading outside. Looping around to the back of the school, he found Lucina right where he expected her to be, seated on one of the benches that overlooked the plot of land maintained by the gardening club. Though not a member of the club herself, he knew that Lucina still enjoyed the peaceful spot near the flowers. Though summer was almost over and soon the garden would be empty. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd still come to the spot then.

Lucina didn't notice him at first, her gaze on the butterflies fluttering between the flowers. Only when he was a few steps away did she look up, turning to him. "Oh… Hello, Robin" Lucina greeted, standing.

"I was wondering if you would be free to hang out?" Robin asked.

"Oh, yes, of course. Actually, I was thinking of stopping by a store on my way home. Would you like to come? Of course, only if you are interested."

"Lucina has asked to spend time with you…"

"Since you have Lachesis, a Persona of the Fortune Arcana, you feel you could be closer…"

"Will you spend the afternoon with Lucina?"

"I'd be happy to. You did mention you wanted my input on some things, right?" Robin asked.

Lucina looked happy at this, nodding fiercely. "Yes, of course! Come, let us hurry then before they close!"

. . . . .

Making their way to the clothing store, the two quickly set about browsing through the racks, Robin letting Lucina take the lead.

"What do you think about these," Lucina asked, producing a skirt and blouse she'd picked.

"Well it's… certainly very you, Lucina," he said, trying to speak as politely as he could.

In truth even a fashion novice such as himself could tell the two pieces didn't remotely go together. The blouse, yellow with red polka dots, and the skirt, green and purple stripes, clashed immensely. Nor was it helped that both were possibly the brightest and most saturated pieces of clothing in the entire store, so much that they practically glowed.

"Hmmm, I suppose. Though perhaps…" setting the outfit aside, Lucina reached for another shirt. Then a jacket, and then a set of pants. "What about these?"

The pants were bright orange. The shirt was lime green with pink flowers. And the jacket was sky blue with neon yellow stripes down the arms. It honestly wasn't much better.

Robin opened his mouth to try and tell her the truth, only to stop as his gaze fell on Lucina's face. She was smiling brightly, looking happier than he'd ever seen her. Her eyes sparkled with radiant joy, her smile one of almost childlike glee. In that moment Robin knew he couldn't be the one to take that away from her.

"I think it's perfect," he told her. Somehow he even meant it, as even as he imagined her in his mind's eye wearing the garish ensemble it somehow looked great on her.

"Thank you! I'm so glad," Lucina told him, draping the clothes over an arm. "To tell the truth, I haven't been shopping for clothes like this since I was little. My mother used to take me all the time back then…" There was a brief moment where her smile faltered at the mention of her mother, but it quickly recovered. So complete was her happiness in that moment, even that memory couldn't steal it from her.

Returning the first outfit to the rack, Lucina stepped back, again looking at the clothes she picked out. "I wonder if I can find anything else that will go well with this? No, it's fine on its own. I just know it will look great with what I already own," she touched the red and blue striped scarf she alway wore. "So shall we go to the register then? There is still time before I must run off to work, and I'd like to go check one more place before-"

Lucina stopped at the sound of harsh laughter coming from nearby. There, several racks over were three girls Robin recognized from school though he did not know their names. Though he thought they were third years like Lucina.

One of the girls shielded her mouth behind her hand, whispering something to the girls. While he couldn't make out what was said, the smug way she regarded Lucina and the outfit held in her hands made it plain enough exactly what was the subject of her scorn. Snickering giggles from the other girls soon followed, taking shared amusement at whatever remark had been made at Lucina's expense.

At once Lucina's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, growing distant as she returned the clothes to the rack. While her expression remained stoic, Robin could tell just how saddened she was.

Anger flashing, Robin turned, starting towards the girls, fully prepared to give them a piece of his mind. However before he could move more than a couple steps he was stopped by Lucina, blocking him with an outstretched hand.

"It's alright, Robin. They're not worth your time," Lucina assured him. While he caught a brief flash of appreciation in her eyes, evidently touched that he'd so quickly jump to her defense, the sadness in her voice remained.

Robin turned and watched as the girls departed the store, leaving the two of them alone.

"Why did you stop me? Their behavior was uncalled for," Robin asked.

"It's nothing I am not used to," Lucina told him solemnly. "As long as I can remember, I have often been a source of mockery among my peers. On account of how ill-adept I am when it comes to more… feminine interests, such as these. As well as my other oddities..."

Robin knew exactly what she was referring to. Lucina's mother had died of illness when she was very little, and with her father's time so often occupied with work, it had fallen to Lucina to take over much of the raising of her younger sister. Combine that with working several part time jobs to supplement their family's income taking what was left of her time, Lucina simply hadn't had time to live a normal childhood and be like other girls her age.

She looked back at the abandoned outfit and sighed. "To be entirely honest, I had hoped this would be an opportunity to learn, but I suppose it was not to be…"

Reaching out, Robin picked up the clothes from the rack, handing them back to her. When she looked at him in surprise, Robin explained, "the Lucina i know would never give up so easily. No matter what others may say."

"Robin..." Lucina trailed off, hesitantly accepting the clothes from him. Briefly their hands touched, and both of them pulled away at the contact, blushing.

"Erm, right…" Lucina turned away quickly, trying to hide her reaction. "I thank you for your kind words. Truly." She glanced back up and him sheepishly, before quickly looking down at her feet, embarrassed….

"You feel your relationship with Lucina has grown deeper…"

"The Lucina Social Link has reached level 6!"

"Your power to Create Personas of the Fortune Arcana has grown!"

"Lucina's growth of heart has affected her Persona as well…"

"Sigurd learned Light Amp!"

"Still…" Lucina at last managed to look up, glancing between him and the mismatched outfit. "Are you certain this won't seem odd for me to wear?"

Robin considered this question for a long moment. At first he considered telling her it would likely draw mockery from people like those girls, but he quickly shoved that thought aside. He remembered how happy Lucina looked before and so he made up his mind. "It doesn't matter if others think it does or not. I just know you'll look beautiful in anything you pick out."

Lucina spun back to face him, her face turning an even brighter shade of pink at his remark. "I… uh…" she stammered staring at him.

At once Robin cursed himself. Why had he said that last part? Stupid, stupid, stupid. It had just slipped out. He hadn't-

No, he told himself. That was a lie. He'd meant it, even if he hadn't intended to say it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Robin tried to say. Liar. You meant it.

"N-No, it's quite alright. Lucina glanced up at the clock on the wall of the store, seeing the time.

"I'm sorry Robin, but I need to go. My shift starts soon," she excused herself, referring to one of her night jobs as a waitress. "I'll go check out. There is no need to wait around for me"

Not even waiting for a reply, Lucina started towards the register, only to then stop, looking back. "Oh, and Robin?" she asked, her words halting and awkward. "What you said means a lot, truly. So, thank you." She bowed her head and then hurried away.

Robin watched on for a moment, then departed the store, feeling thoroughly foolish and embarrassed by what he'd said. He decided to head home for the evening.

. . . . .

Laying down on the couch in his room, Robin flipped the page through the book he was reading. At the rate he was going, he likely wouldn't finish it that evening. It will take one more night still, he thought.

He sighed, letting the open book fall over his face, covering it. He still couldn't stop thinking about earlier… about what he'd said.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, he scolded himself. Even if he'd been telling the truth, some things were better left unsaid. Even though Lucina had tried to brush it off, he was certain there would now be some new uneasiness between them. How could it not? He was living in the same house as her, and her father was his guardian for the year. Revealing how he felt, even so indirectly, could only make things more awkward…

His phone vibrated once, buzzing on the coffee-table. Lifting the book from his face, he glanced over, seeing the blinking light indicating a new message. He reached for it, then hesitated. Working up all of his considerable courage, he snatched it up and swiped the screen.

It was a message from Lucina.

"ROBIN. THANK YOU FOR SPENDING TIME WITH ME TODAY. I WOULD LOVE TO DO IT AGAIN WHEN NEXT YOU HAVE TIME."

Robin starred, rereading the message again and again, certain he'd understood it incorrectly.

She… wants to spend more time with me?! Even after I… He shook his head, unable to comprehend what was going on. Could she possibly feel like- No, that would be silly. She just wants to keep spending time as friends? Right? That's it. Unless- No, stop! Bad Robin!

Robin groaned, tossing his phone aside and again hiding his face in the book. Dammnit, this just makes things even more confusing...

He decided to stop reading and go to bed for the night.

[minsugapie]

Mary’s Song: part 20a (2099 words) - I’ll shoot

• • • • • •

Jeon Jungkook wasn’t just your anime-loving, manga-drawing, hair-pulling, ex-neighbour. You hadn’t even spoken to him since he had moved away. But the world worked in funny ways because...

He was probably the reason you were still alive. 

• • • • • •

“And our daddies used to joke about the two of us

Growing up and fallin' in love

And our mamas smiled, and rolled their eyes

And said, "Oh, my, my, my””

• • • • • •

previous // current \\ next

masterlist

• • • • • •

Tags : 

@minhyuksfatgf​ @igotarmyofarohas​ @dixonsbugaboo​ @thealexalcala​ @salty-for-suga​ @worshiphoseok​ @okaysoplshelpme​ @jeonlovers​ @acupfullofsuga​ @beach-bitch-bitch-beach​ @hannahdinse8​ @jaiuneamesolitaiire​ @dammit-jjk​ @dreamcatcherjiah​ @xxxanimangxxx​ @wrmnssoul​ @ephyra1230​ @imynnow​ @prdshobi​ 

• • • • • •

i’m not sure when part 2 - unchained will start because i have a bunch of homework this week but i’ll try my best to get something out... 

ALSO PLZ READ - WARNING - bc there is some violence in this. i did try to keep out as much graphic details that i could but it’s essentially what comes of some domestic abuse...so yeah, beware please!!

• • • • • •

Your dream last night made you realize that life might be too good to be true. You relived your day yesterday with Jungkook, convincing yourself that it could be like that every day. Jungkook was amazing, and you only wanted to let yourself trust him fully. It was hard. You knew that he only wanted to help, but you were still skeptical because of Nic. 

Bun was worth it, you convinced yourself. 

However in real life, you also convinced yourself that what you were going to do today would not be scary because you were protecting all the people that you’d grown to love. You didn’t regret running away from Nic, not in the slightest, but you did regret dragging all these amazing people into it. You should have just gone to your father in the first place. 

When you opened your eyes to the sunlight streaming in through the window, you had tears in your eyes. You weren’t sure if they were happy tears or sad tears. Over the past week that Jungkook had officially been sleeping with you, you never got tired or seeing his face when you woke up. His face was peaceful as he slept. You especially liked the way his hair was wild like he’d been through a tornado. 

Taking the opportunity, because it might have been your last, you brought your hand up to his face, palm lightly resting on his cheek. Your thumb lightly traced over his bottom lip as you touched his little mole. A small smile graced your lips when you saw his eyelids start to flutter, his hand coming over yours. You always thought that his eyes were always the most beautiful when the sun’s rays hit them. The scar on his cheek became prominent and you realized that he’d never told you how he got it, and that you had never asked. He blinked slowly, eyes still focusing, before he squinted, trying to get away from the bright rays.

He was finally able to open his eyes when he brought the hand that was on yours to cover the light. It only took him a second to realize the you were crying, if that’s what you wanted to call it. 

He frowned, but you shook your head before he could say anything more. You hadn’t even meant for it to happen, but before you knew it, your lips were on his.  You lingered for a few seconds, not knowing if you wanted to continue or pull away. 

In the end, you decided to pull away, looking at his face for any kind of reaction. You weren’t sure why you had kissed him—did you like him or was it simply because there was a chance you’d never see him again after today?

“What was that for?” He asked, hand falling to your cheek. 

You swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. However, it was his turn to stop you from answering. “You know what, it doesn’t matter…jus—just a little but more,” he whispered, kissing you again. He was so warm, and you felt yourself melt into him to be closer to it. You remembered your old feelings for him, and wondered how you would have felt if you were fifteen again. This wasn’t the first time you and Jungkook had kissed, but you knew that he didn’t remember it. 

He was drunk and kissed you the night before he left for the city. You remembered it clearly because you’d wanted it to happen for years, and you were mad about it for a long time. But you hadn’t thought about it for years, until right now. 

You let Jungkook’s arms wrap around you and bring you closer to him. Maybe both of you had gotten better at kissing over the years, but you definitely enjoyed this kiss more. He pushed you back into the pillows, a knee slipping between your legs. 

When he kissed you, he was being gentle and playfully sucked your lips. Really, you couldn’t think of a better way to start the day, having long forgotten your tears.

But then there was a knock on the door, followed by Taehyung’s voice, “Jungkook, don’t forget your haircut in an hour…” It was a bummer, as it interrupted the moment, but it brought you back to reality. 

Jungkook pulled back from you, turning his head to the side to yell back at Taehyung, “Ok, thanks…”

“Is Y/N awake?” Tae continued, clearly not wanting to leave them alone.

You cleared your throat and answered, “I am now.”

“Ok, babe, you’ll be okay on your own later? Chim and I are going to the studio because he’s convinced me to make a YouTube video with him!”

“Yep, I’ll be fine,” you easily lied, knowing full well that you weren’t going to be leaving after the three of them left. 

“Perfect, you two! Coffee is in the pot!” The sound of Taehyung’s feet retreating made Jungkook look at you again.

He had a funny look on his face as he looked down at you and smiled. “We’ll talk later. I should get ready,” he whispered, hands still tight around your waist. 

You nodded and looked at him, waiting for him to get off of you. He took a deep breath and finally pushed himself off, immediately walking to the door and leaving the room. Turning your head into the pillow beside you, you screamed. 

What just happened?

• • • • • •

Jungkook got back to the apartment, ready to talk about what happened this morning, but when he unlocked the door, he felt like something was off. Yeontan was gone because Jimin and Tae took him, but your shoes were gone from the door. 

Looking at the closet, he also saw that your jacket was gone. Jungkook walked to his room to see if you was there, but you weren’t there either. 

Taking out his phone, he decided to call you. Maybe after yesterday, you’d decided that you could get out and go for a walk? He heard the ringing of your phone from the kitchen, so he went out again to check. And there it was, your phone on the kitchen table. 

It was then that it clicked that all your things were gone from the bedroom. Running back, he checked the dresser that he had given you, and he was right—everything was gone.

He knew he needed to stay calm, so he sat on the bed and decided to text the group. His hands were shaking as he tried to coherently form his message.

does anyone know where honey is? all her things are gone. 

Jungkook wasn’t prepared for Jin to be the one to answer. He told Jungkook that she sent him, Cherry and Jade an address and said that if she was ever missing, that she would be there. 

tell me the address. and call the police because i’m going there right now.

Yoongi told him not to be hasty and that he couldn’t go alone, but Jungkook wasn’t going to listen. He had a gut feeling that you had gone back to Nic. It had to be why you were crying this morning—he remembered how distracted he’d gotten by you. 

God, after this morning, he thought everything was going to be so different. He hadn’t realized how much he liked you until you came back into his life. Everything from your childhood together came back to him when you first called.

He absolutely had never allowed himself to fall in love with anyone because he was still hung up, and probably, waiting for you to come back at claim what was yours. 

But now, as he ran down the street, trying to find a cab, he couldn’t believe that you’d left him to go back to Nic. 

• • • • • •

The address turned out to be at a plain apartment building. He checked out the number again to make sure he was at the right place before dashing up the stairs to the correct room. Instead of knocking, because that would be stupid, he decided to check to see if the door was unlocked.

It was. 

So, as quietly as possible he slipped inside, taking caution to tiptoe and keep his eyes and ears peeled. He heard a voice coming from a room down the hall, and he paused, trying to hear what was being said. 

“You were late coming here today, Y/N. I would have let it slide, but I know what you got up to yesterday,” the voice was menacing, dripping with a sort of controlling possession. 

A reply simply came in quiet, moan-like sounds from the person he was talking to. 

“But!” The man’s voice continued, sounding slightly more optimistic, “after tonight, I’ll forget about everything, and we can go back to being the Nic and Y/N that everyone know and love. We were always so good together…”

Jungkook couldn’t stand it anymore. He stepped into the room to see what was going on. The only thing that he was able to focus on was you on the bed, there was a gash on your head and you were looking at Nic with extremely hooded eyes. Basically, you looked drugged and beaten up. 

And he was not okay it. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Jungkook finally spoke, making Nic turn around. You barely moved. 

When Jungkook finally got a good look at Nic, he was surprised to see him smile. “Ah, you look exactly like the guy from the internet.”

“You have no idea who I am, do you?” Jungkook challenged, fists clenching with every word. Just  seeing Nic’s face was making him mad. Of course, he was trying to buy some time for the policemen to get there, but he felt himself slowly getting more mad by the second. Your figure was still on his mind. You were helpless right now, and it was all because he had gone to get a haircut. 

“It doesn’t really matter, now does it? My girlfriend is back with me, and sh—”

Jungkook couldn’t handle it any longer. He didn’t even realize it, but his first made contact with Nic’s face before the sick bastard could even finish his sentence. But Jungkook wasn’t stupid; he knew that Nic could take a punch. Hell, he was trained for it.

However, what Jungkook didn’t expect was for Nic to pull out a gun when Jungkook tried to hit him a second time. 

The gun was surprisingly pointed at you instead of Jungkook. His breath hitched when Nic spoke again, “You touch me again, and I’ll shoot.”

When Jungkook simply stood there, figuring out how he could grab the gun, he realized he should have paid more attention to anything that could have showed him how to protect himself and others. 

Nic continued talking, “But I think you really do need to tell me, how was it that you were able to draw a character that looked exactly like Y/N?”

If he would have just let Jungkook speak earlier, it would have been fine. 

But neither of the two were able to say any more because the policemen finally showed up. They each pointed their own guns at Nic, and he faltered a little. It was enough for Jungkook to leap forward and grab the barrel of the gun. No after what happened, Nic wouldn’t be able to shoot then. 

What happened next with Nic was a blur to Jungkook because he just went to you. You were completely unconscious at this point, and now that he was closer to you, he saw more of what Nic did. The gash on your forehead bled down into your eye and down your temple. There was a cut on your lip, maybe from getting hit. Bruises were present on your neck and arms (and probably other places he wouldn’t be able to see). Lastly, your clothes—he didn’t even want to think about why there were some rips. 

He collapsed onto the bed beside you and tried his hardest to hold his tears back. “Honey, please wake up,” he sobbed, tears filling his eyes. He literally didn’t want to touch. You already seemed so vulnerable in this situation, and he wouldn’t do anything to injure you even more. 

The only thing he wanted to do when he saw the EMT come in and take you was to call Yoongi and cry to him, but just didn’t have the time because he had to tell his whole side of the story. And there was no way he wasn’t staying by your side as they took you to the hospital. 

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

You ever notice how Spider-Man is sort of used as a test dummy for new universes? Ultimate Spider-Man came out before the ultimate universe was officially a thing, Spider-Girl gave birth to MC2. Miguel helped usher in 2099, even the ps4 game is the first in the gamerverse for marvel.

Yes I have. 

On the one hand I think it’s due to Spider-Man simply being the most popular Marvel property.

But I think it’s more than that because the Spider Character present in said universe isn’t simply the first in the door but also the last out.

Be honest, off the top of your heads how much do you know or remember about X-Men 2099? Besides different hair styles, certain characters getting their sexualities altered, Magneto controlling the Sentinels and Kitty Pryde dating Spider-Man (essentially being adopted by USM) how much to you know or remember about Ultimate X-Men? And you wouldn’t know anything about MC2 X-Men because they literally never appeared!

The story is true of every character from all 3 of those lines.

F5, Ult F4, J2, Hulk 2099, F4 2099, Doom 2099, Wild Thing, A-Next, Ultimates, Punisher 2099, Ravage, Ult F4.

All those titles fizzled out, even when they were great (like A-Next, seriously read it!).

And yet USM/Miles, Spidey 2099 and Spider-Girl were not only the last characters standing, but ultimately the most memorable parts of those universes, the most revisited and the poster childs for them. 

I think this speaks less to coincidence or even the original Spider-Man’s popularity but more just how universal a concept Spider-Man is, it’s why (as mixed as the results were) it was even possible to do a story like Spider-Verse, Spider-Geddon, Web Warriors and Into the Spider-Verse.

The template for Spider-Man simply WORKS in almost any context and thus makes the best impression so that not only could you bring that iteration of the character back, but moreover people would WANT to see them back whereas the fan demand for into the X-Verse where the X-Men meet the X-People, the Ultimate X-Men and the 2099 X-Men is comparatively small if it even exists.

Part of what makes Spider-Man work in all these environments I think is the everyman aspect of the character. When you think about it, the Fantastic Four stem very specifically from the Space Race era and thus you need to think had how to make them relevant in other eras. The X-Men are more flexible but ultimately talk very specifically about an element of society, the persecuted minorities. Meanwhile characters like the Hulk or even Wolverine wind up dull in these new universes because their basic conceit is simplistic yet very specific, they’re effectively going to be the same no matter what. Hulk in the future is going to be a big green super strong monster and so is the Hulk of a more ‘realistic’ 21st century marvel universe and the Hulk of 15+ years into the future. Wolverine meanwhile will simply be the same man, with the same issues regardless of the decade or setting. That has it’s advantages, but ultimately there is a desire to see something different when going to AUs.

Because Spider-Man as the everyman is so foundational to the conceit of the character, it means that it will fit into any context and in fact help in the world building process.

We the readers know Spider-Man is a relatively normal guy, and so through the Spider character native to each universe in effect becomes a prism through which we learn of that new universe, both in terms of the literal world building (this is the future there are maglevs and laser guns) but more importantly in terms of how the storytelling of this universe is going to work.

Ultimate Spider-Man showed us ithe Ultimate Universe was (in theory) going to be as up to date as possible for the post-millenium generation, realistic and grounded, with more cynicism in play.

Spider-Girl showed us the MC2 universe was going to evoke the Silver Age in terms of it’s idealistic outlook and push forward the idea of the next generation SUCCESSFULLY picking up the mantle of their predecessors, many of whom haven’t yet retired and have lived out relatively happy lives. 

Spider-Man 2099 showed us the 2099 universe was obviously a world of the future, but distnctly a Blade Runner/Cyber punk influenced one, violence, cynicism, rebellion against authority (embodied by tyrannical corporations) were at the heart of it. 

Once you get that stuff established it’s WAY easier to then build off that to introduce the F4, the Avengers, the X-Men, etc.

P.S. Noticably I do not believe Marvel 1602 or Noir began with Spider-Man and they had far less longevity, and yet people still remembered Spidey 1602 and Spidey Noir above everything else.