#along with reed richards

[duckydusky]

Ya ever love a character so much. Like I just love handsome jack. Both borderlands 2 and presequel jack. He's so well written. I love him in an unhealthy way. I love him in a way that's concerning to feminism. I love him so much it's painful.

[illyanarasputinfan]

Fantastic 4 #94 (1961) Marvel Comics

The first appearance of Agatha Harkness and her familiar, Ebony. 🐈‍⬛

Agatha Harkness “Kathryn Hahn” WandaVision (2022) Marvel Television

When Kathryn Hahn was revealed to be Agatha Harkness, my first thought was “She’s young to be playing this character.” I’d grown accustomed to the elderly witch from comics. I thought it was a tad ageist, but didn’t dwell on it. Hahn killed it on WandaVision, and I enjoyed her performance.

Midnight Suns #5 (2023) Marvel Comics

But then Marvel Comics would mystically de-age Agatha during the climax of their Midnight Suns mini-series from 2022, and admittedly, I didn’t understand why the character couldn’t just be an older woman.

Agatha Harkness “Kathryn Hahn” Agatha All Along (2024) Marvel Television

So kudos to Agatha All Along’s creative team for pleasantly surprising me during the show’s finale by revealing a mature, comics-accurate Harkness dressed in a beautiful new costume design. I was not expecting that, and I thought it was very cool. Good luck on finding Tommy, Agatha and Billy! I’m rooting for you two. 🤞

[cissa-calls]

Countdown to Coven of Chaos: Day 585

Wanda: “I’m a terrible person”

Y/N: “Why would you think that?”

Wanda: “No one’s told me otherwise!”

Y/N: “So? You don’t need validation from others to be happy and a genuinely wonderful person, that’s secondary”

Wanda: “But I want it!”

Agatha: “The same thing happened to me, but with my mother. I craved her and my covens validation. But do you know how that ended? Murder”

Wanda: *tears forming*

Y/N: “OKAY NOT HELPING”

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Agatha Harkness' introduction in the comics is just hilarious because the Fantastic Four are looking for a babysitter for Reed and Sue's son, and decide this creepy old witch living in a obviously haunted mansion with her familiar is perfect for the job and leave the kid with her full time while they go off on adventures.

[wanderingmind867]

The Lost Trio = Fantastic Four. I really see parallels. It's hard to explain, but let me show you some of the parallels:

Jason Grace: Mr. Fantastic

Piper McLean: Invisible Girl

Leo Valdez: Human Torch

Coach Hedge: The Thing

[frogoat]

A blog about comic books and geek culture in general and Spider-Girl and the MC2 universe in particular.

[evermore-fashion]

Evermore-Fashion: Women of Marvel

Dr. Susan "Sue" Richards (née Storm), a.k.a the Invisible Woman, is an American super-powered adventurer. She was a college student before she was exposed to high levels of cosmic radiation when boyfriend and scientist, Dr. Reed Richards, took her with her younger brother, Johnny Storm and pilot Ben Grimm, into space in the stolen rocket Marvel-1. The radiation mutated her and her friends, turning her invisible and allowing her to create forcefields. Together they became the Fantastic Four, a team of adventurers who explored space, time, and alternate dimensions and saved the world along the way from science-based threats. (Zuhair Murad Fall 2022 Haute Couture Collection)

[sanarsi]

Cheri Cheri Lady

stepfather!Reed Richards x f!Reader

Summary: Your stepdad fucks you on a sun lounger. Warnings: +18, MDNI, porn with a little bit of plot, professor!Reed (only mentioned so it’s not that important), age gap, daddy kink, fingering, nipple play, praise kink, unprotected PIV, creampie Wordcount: 2,5k An: This is especially for @joelssluttyknee (I’m sorry it took me so long). Not exactly professor vibe but still hope you like it :) Also, I want to thank you for 1k followers. Like— it’s kinda crazy how this blog grew so fast in such a short time. Love y’all and thank you so so so much!!! Music I worked with: Cheri Cheri Lady - Modern Talking

Masterlist

Warm days have finally arrived. Your weekend lounging on a deck chair has become a routine, and after a while, not just yours.

It wasn't even noon yet when you were adjusting your sunglasses, sipping iced tea, and listening to the radio in the background. A gentle smile appeared on your face as you noticed out of the corner of your eye your stepfather turning from his stomach to his back.

He only lasted one weekend of watching you through the kitchen window before he decided to join you every time under the pretext of ‘I turned pale and looked unhealthy’. Your mother obviously believed it, why wouldn't she? Reed was the epitome of a perfect husband and stepfather, and your mother was happy that you two were finally getting along again.

If only she knew how exactly the two of you got along…

“I’m going to the store, do you want anything?” Her voice echoed from somewhere in the direction of the house.

You didn’t even glance in her direction before you shouted back, “Nah, we’re good.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “Reed, take the chicken out of the freezer.”

“Sure, honey,” he replied, raising a hand to let her know he understood, in case she hadn’t heard him.

Just when you thought she had left because the silence was getting longer, she spoke again, "Remind your father to use sunscreen."

You rolled your eyes under your closed eyelids and sighed quietly.

"I've already done it twice."

"So do it a third time."

Like a martyr, you bent down to the grass for the cream, knowing your mother was watching everything. You didn't want to risk her wrath because ever since she started menopause, she had been unbearable.

“Apply it or you’ll burn yourself,” you said and placed the tube on his warm chest. He hissed at the sudden thermal shock, at which you started laughing and you could have sworn that you heard your mother snort quietly.

"Hag," he muttered under his breath.

"I'll be back by one." After a moment, her retreating footsteps could be heard, but before she left the house, her muffled scream rang out, "Chicken!"

Then there was only the slam of a door, the sound of an engine starting, and a large, warm hand on your thigh.

“You hear that?”

“Hm?” you murmured questioningly, even though you knew very well what he meant.

"We have an hour," he announced, allowing his hand to start moving towards your crotch. You flinched, pretending that you were actually shifting in the lounger, and sighed.

"Yeah, I don't know if—"

"Come to daddy."

You fell silent, feeling a hot flame bloom in your lower abdomen and looked to the side, immediately locking eyes with him. You loved teasing him but when he spoke to you in that tone and looked at you that way, you couldn't keep your guard up for long. His fingers tightened almost against your temple and you barely managed to keep from moaning.

“Come on, sweet girl.” He smiled encouragingly, nodding towards his thighs. You bit your lower lip, gaze sliding down his golden skin that was gleaming slightly from the sunlight.

You were shocked at how quickly he became the most handsome and attractive man in the world for you. Even though at first you resisted everything that was happening between you two, you quickly realized that it was pointless because Reed simply didn't give a shit.

You could be mad at him, tell him he's disgusting, that you should end it, and he never once took your words seriously, ended up fucking you on the desk in his office after class.

His hand tightened on yours, snapping you back to reality and pulled you gently towards him. You didn't even try to resist and just sat on top of him. You settled comfortably and he gladly helped you, using his fingers to massage your hips.

“Hi, daddy,” you started, immediately stepping into your favorite role.

“Hi, baby.” His smile was priceless.

At first, you were skeptical about this role-playing. It felt weird calling him that, considering your situation – he really was your father.

Well… stepfather.

Still, that's what your mother called him.

Help your father make dinner.

Father needs help in the garden

Go to the store with your father.

But surprisingly, it came easily and you started to enjoy it pretty quickly, and when you did, Reed was in seventh heaven. Sometimes you even called him dad in front of your mother, who was touched by it and he, who was turned on by this.

Then he liked to punish you for arousing him in the presence of that woman.

“You look so pretty in that pink swimsuit.” He hooked his fingers around the tie at your hip and slowly tugged on the string, letting the piece of material reveal your pussy.

“Thanks, I got it as a gift from my dad.”

“Hm,” he hummed, stroking your soft skin and watching, hypnotized, as his fingertips traveled down, getting closer to your core. “Your daddy knows what color perfectly highlights those sweet tits.”

Arousal hit your lower abdomen like a bucket of cold water. You sighed, shifting on his thighs, giving him the perfect opportunity to let his hand disappear beneath you. You shivered as you felt his thick fingers running along the length of your slit.

“Look at you, already so wet for daddy,” he purred in satisfaction and moved closer, pressing his lips to your neck. You moaned, closing your eyes and throwing your head back as he began to tease your hole so that more of your juices would wet his fingers. Wet kisses began to decorate your skin as he slowly made his way to your breasts. “Give me that sweet cherry. Need to taste her.”

You looked down with your mouth parted and slowly pushed the material covering your tits aside. Not even a second had passed before it was in his mouth. You watched as his tongue circled the hard nipple and he sucked it in with a purr. His fingers slowly entered you deeper, sending a wave of shivers every time he curled them. Soft moans began to leave your lips and you allowed yourself to play with his hair to somehow ground yourself and not drown in the pleasure.

“Daddy…” you sighed, slowly rubbing your hips.

“What is it, baby?” he asked, without breaking away from your tit. You shuddered as his teeth grazed the sensitive flesh.

“Need you, daddy. Please.”

“My big girl needs me?” You nodded eagerly, biting your lip to keep yourself from moaning louder. “Want daddy’s cock?” He finally looked at you and you couldn't help but smile widely.

He loved seeing you like this, loved making you carefree and happy. He would sin if he left you to your fate.

"Mhm," you hummed, hugging him tighter and moving closer, impaling yourself more on his fingers. An uncontrollable moan escaped your throat because his two fingers were definitely enough to make you lose your breath.

Reed smacked his lips disapprovingly as he saw the small frown forming between your brows. “So thirsty.”

He reached his other hand down to his shorts and squeezed his hard cock. A soft growl escaped him as he slowly began to pump himself through his pants.

"Daddy's already so damn hard for you, baby. Need to feel that sweet little cunt throbbing all over my cock."

You howled, feeling more aroused by the fact that he was touching you and himself at the same time. You fell silent, staring at each other with eyes filled with desire. His cock hardened every time you rode his fingers, moaning softly. He loved hearing the sounds that left your lips when he pleasured you. Your clit began to throb as you chased your fulfillment but Reed had other plans for you.

He pulled his fingers out of you, which was met with a whine from you. “Daddy, please…” you begged desperately to feel him inside you.

He looked at you with pity. “My poor little thing,” he smacked, gently stroking your cheek. He wanted to tease you some more but then he felt your juices dripping down his thigh and he barely held back an animalistic growl. “Fuck. Come ‘ere baby.”

He quickly slid his shorts down enough to pull his cock out. Your mouth watered at the sight of his glistening precum as it slowly dripped down his length. You immediately lifted your hips and moved closer to him. He held one hand around the base and the other caressed your thigh.

“Sit down,” he ordered without taking eyes off your pussy. He didn't have to tell you twice.

You slowly lowered your hips, allowing his head to slide inside and gasped before letting all your weight fall against him. You both moaned as your bodies were able to connect again after a few days of being apart. He wanted to enjoy this feeling but you didn't give him a chance, starting to rub yourself against him. His cock smoothly teased your cervix and happy trail your clit.

"I missed you," you sighed with a lazy smile and moved closer, resting your forehead against his. He hissed as you tightened around him.

“I missed you too, baby girl.”

He gripped your hips, helping you speed up your movements. You dug your nails into nape of his neck and your moans dying in his mouth as he kissed you deeply. His lips tasted even better than last time, and even though you were riding him, your desire only seemed to grow.

You responded to his wet kisses with commitment and started to lift your hips a little so that you could fall on him and let him painfully but pleasantly penetrate you. Reed was breathing heavily, a throaty groan leaving him each time he buried himself inside you to the very base.

If you could, you would try to take him deeper so his balls could also experience the feeling of being inside your warm core. You were horny for him and didn't even try to hide it, which only gave him more pleasure.

"Easy, baby, we have an hour, not ten minutes, and that's how long I will last if you don't slow down,” he warned, amused by how eagerly you were jumping on his dick. Not that it bothered him, he just wanted to enjoy you a little but you obviously had other plans.

“Can’t. Need you so bad, daddy,” you squealed in desperation. Reed rarely saw you like this, so he figured that this once, he could give you exactly what you needed. He hugged you and started to rub your back soothingly.

“Then maybe daddy can help you a little, hm?” he suggested and you honestly had no idea what to expect because despite his warm tone, there was a dangerous sparkle in his eyes. But you were too desperate to think about it, let alone care, so you nodded eagerly.

“Yes, please.”

That was enough for him to reconnect your lips in a kiss and his arms wrapped around you way too tightly. You sucked in a breath as you realized he was trying to immobilize you. You whimpered impatiently and let him shift slightly beneath you. Just a few inches was enough for the angle at which he entered you to make your hips tremble. You had time to get used to the new feeling and get everything you could from it, but that wasn't the point and you found out about it quite aggressively.

“Hold still,” he threw before he started to thrust his hips up.

Hard.

You opened your eyes wide, gasping for air as he entered you with aggressive movements and slowly pulled out. The moans started to become more like cries each time he entered you harder, deeper.

“Fuck— Daddy!” you screamed, clinging to his neck and bit your lip hard, trying to hold back your animal sounds.

Reed was too focused on fucking you to care if you were getting oversensitive.

Until safeword didn’t leave your lips, his mind would drift and his primal instincts would take over. He was just a man who had the exclusive possession of a wet, tight pussy whose owner he loved like crazy.

“Shh, just need to remind this sweet little hole ‘bout good manners,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “She clearly forgot that sucking daddy's cock like that is very selfish of her.”

You squealed louder and clung to him tighter as the burning sensation began to turn into the ever-increasing waves of an approaching orgasm. The sound of flesh slapping flesh and wetness of your cunt when his cock entered you was mind-blowing.

"Daddy just wanted to enjoy you a little and here you are, so greedy and needy. Not nice, baby. Not. Nice,” he smacked his lips with disapproval. You could barely catch your breath, let alone understand his words, but you knew he wasn't pleased because with each word he thrust into you harder and harder.

“Gonna come,” you managed to say.

"Oh and now you're gonna cum without my permission? What a naughty girl."

After these words you felt him playfully hit your cheek. You whined like a wounded animal as his cock sent the last waves of pleasure into your core before you disintegrated in his arms. You started to tremble as you milked his cock and he just laughed with satisfaction.

“That’s right, baby. So beautiful when you cum all over daddy’s cock,” he praised you and pressed you harder against his chest, letting himself ride out his orgasm. “Want me inside?”

His whisper against your ear sent another wave of shivers down to your core. You clenched around his cock, earning a heavy pant from him in response.

“Yes, daddy.”

“Attagirl.”

Then it was just your hypersensitive throbbing pussy and his seed flowing out of you as he continued to thrust until he came down from his peak, panting heavily.

You lay helplessly on his chest, bathed in sweat and sun. His heart was beating hard, you could feel his strength on your cheek. You spent a few minutes in silence, calming your breaths and every now and then, his lips found their way to your forehead, placing gentle kisses there while he stroked your hair.

The exhaustion was taking its toll, you were fulfilled lying comfortably in his arms bathed in warm rays. You didn't need anything more for your eyelids to start getting heavy.

"I would let you sleep like this but we have to make dinner before your mother gets back," he said with a soft smile which earned you a tortured groan in response. You sat up and looked down at him before you placed a few more soft kisses on his lips.

"Yeah, okay," you nodded, getting up from the lounger and started to fix your swimsuit. Reed stood up right after you and slapped your ass before heading home. You looked at his bare back and felt like a hungry animal watching his muscles work.

This man was going to be the death of you and that was for sure.

[on-the-clear-blue]

The idea warms are hitting extremely hard today, so outside of my usual DPxDC I give you, Spider-Man in Gotham...Not MCU Peter edition!

Give me a Peter Parker that is 18 going on onto 19, he has been Spider-Man for like, 5 almost 6 years, getting his bite very early, and dealing with all the things that happen to him younger.

And give me a Year One Batman. Who is still trying to figure out what the hell he is doing, and toting along a 9 year old Robin

Peter, falling out of a portal, and doing his standard check of surroundings, spotting Batman staring at him in clunky armor and a brightly colored child: Waves slowly

Bruce, who heard some freaky shit was happening with a cult near by and went to investigate: blinking at the blue and red being that got summoned

Dickie, who is trying (and failing) to do the Bat glare: still waves back.

And like, just the idea of this 19 year old Spider-Man taking a much older vigilante under his wing, teaching him the ins and outs of it all.

Like..

Bruce, Storming through a bag guys base gets suddenly pulled back by a web to his cape.

Peter, giving him a "bitch you dumb" look under his mask: Traps! LOOK FOR TRAPS?? AND LOOK UP? PEOPLE HID THINGS UP?

Bonus, Spider-Man bending himself into a human pretzels and Dick "I have no bones" Grayson is gleefully testing to see if he could do it too.

Jump cut, years later, Peter beats emotional intelligence into Bruce with Dick.

All the Bat kids grow up with Uncle Peter, (either Peter can't get back or has been told specifically that he can't by a higher being or something) and like...

Peter is the only one that catches Tiny Tim following them during patrol, he shows him all the places to get the best angles, even poses a few times for him.

Either is there when Jason dies and saves him, or is there mourning with Bruce

(Gotham lives in fear of the memory, Batman at his most brutal and Black Suit Spider-Man)

Teaches Jason how to control his pit rage after he comes back, what is Spider-Man if not control?

Stephanie is his bestie in puns and white girl music tastes.

Tim finds a partner in constantly staying up far to late as well as someone who likes to invent,( because I hc that Peter has pretty much worked with every scientist in New York, cus like since this is a blend of canons, he has worked with the Lizard, Doc Oct, Reed Richards, the only one he said no to an internship was Stark)

Duke gets a meta mentor that can help him with his powers, Spidey has been on more than one team with someone that had some form of light powers.

Plus I think Spider-man is Gothams daytime hero before Signal joins him, they are the daytime duo

Cass is his favorite (don't tell anyone because they already know) she can see him and he can see her in a spider sense, they do the point meme whenever they sense each other.

Little stabby Damian finds out that this person with his father has been trained by many an assassin (Wade, Daredevil, Natasha, Shield in general)

And Wade...Deadpool pops up occasionally, even he doesn't understand why or how lBruce gets a strange feeling he should punch the Flash in the face the next time he sees him)

Bruce having to deal with Deadpool is terrible for him and I sadly love it.

(Also on the point of Black suit spidey in Gotham...ESPECIALLY after Jason is murdered? Oh Peter is killing the Joker, or his arm privileges forfeit. I feel like Peter would try not to kill him but wouldn't try too hard.)

Spider-man being a founding members of the Justice League, them having to deal with Peter crawling on the ceiling, and scuttering through air vents!

Peter making Parker Industries, pointing inventions from other heros/villains from his world, he isn't above pettiness, and that's how the DC world gets some of Reed Richard's old designs he gave to Peter "Because they are practically useless" they arnt they save millions of lives. Not to mention Arc Reactors, Peter grinned the whole time claiming it was his idea.

Hope you enjoy my ADHD rambling brought to you be sleep deprivation

[theshadowrealmitself]

It’s sad but the best version of Peter Parker to me (probably because it’s the most relatable one) is when he’s broke as hell, but at a certain point it doesn’t make sense for him to be such a genius without running a tech company, so here’s the bs reasons he’s still broke in the au’s I imagine:

He can’t partner up with anyone because everyone knows what happened with Dr. Connors, Dr. Octavius, and, depending on the au, Norman Osborn, which no one thinks Norman was working with Peter, but he is another person who knew Peter and became a supervillain

Essentially, everyone thinks he’s cursed™️

And he can’t sell any of his inventions on his own to start funding his own company because S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps getting involved and stopping it, both because whatever he creates works way too well and they don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands, and also because they’re all pretty sure that Peter’s gonna turn into a supervillain and they’re trying to stop him from gaining any power to do so

Also, because of all the above reasons, and because the best Peter Parker in my opinion is one that’s tired, snarky, and has a bit of an anger problem, that along with his genius, accidentally has everyone convinced he’s a supervillain in the making, the very specific dynamic that I picture Reed Richards having with him before he finds out he’s Spiderman is:



Peter Parker reminds him of Dr. Doom, he’s got the smarts, the anger, he’s a loner, and the way he commiserates on everything stopping him from achieving his goals (that famous way he blames his Parker luck on everything), just all reminds him of Victor, back when they attended college together

So he doesn’t get Peter to work with him, although he’d make such a promising mentee, cause he doesn’t need to accidentally get another supervillain to declare war on him, but also because he reminds him of Victor he can’t stay away, wanting some version of him to “see the light”

So occasionally he’ll begrudgingly team up with Peter Parker and the entire time he’ll awkwardly preach the merits of using science for Good™️ and how following villainy will only leave a person feeling empty inside, as his way of having a second chance at reaching Victor before he becomes Dr. Doom

Peter, meanwhile, has no idea this is how Reed sees their interactions, he’s just so happy whenever he gets a chance to work with one of his science heroes (then his identity eventually gets revealed and Reed has no idea how to view Peter)

[yes-i-write-fanfiction]

How dangerous cybertronian Dr Doom would be do you think?

This is hard to answer because Dr Doom is already a fucking menace as a human. The only real advantage I can see to him being a cybertronian is the naturally long lifespan. He would have so much time to come up with stuff. That and the fact that he can just add his technology to his body.

"Aha! You thought you could defeat Doom? Fool! Using this life-sucking device I created 2 million years ago but never got to use to I just stored it in my pocket, I will survive any lethal wound you give me! You're foiled once more by my superior intellect!"

Then there's the fact that a lot of bots got kinda loose morals because of the war so Doom could probably get away with a lot of shit. Not to mention that he could collaborate with other scientists. He would either get along great with Shockwave or absolutely detest him. I'm leaning towards the 'detest' part because Shockwave is fucking arrogant and Doom's dramatic ass would get on his nerves. Meanwhile, Doom thinks Shockwave lacks honor. Like, sir, don't start with that. You tried to send your nemesis' son to hell. You destroyed a parallel universe where the world was at peace because the alternate you was friends with Reed Richards. YOU KILLED THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE TO TURN HER SKIN INTO ARMOR.

Sorry, I went on a bit of a rant there.

He would either kiss or strangle Brainstorm though.

[bebx]

Beb if Creelson and Doomreed met eachother, would anyone get along or would it be like fighting cats?

I don’t think Victor would get along with anyone, honestly, unless the partnership benefited him in some way and he could later betray them. Reed is an exception, of course, but even then I think Victor’s still struggling trying to come to terms with the fact that his love for Reed may be genuine, in the sense that a part of him actually wants to have Reed just for himself and he doesn’t really want to betray or hurt Reed; the concept as a whole is confusing and terrifying to him, and Doom doesn’t like being confused or terrified — point is, he’s already struggling enough trying to accept the fact that he loves Reed Richards, I don’t think he can afford trying to genuinely get along with anybody else unless it benefits him.

(that being said, though, I could see him empathizing with Henry and relating to him in more than one way. I think there’d be some unsaid mutual respect between them, but I can’t really see that developing into a friendship.)

but Victor, obviously, cannot stand Eddie.

Henry, I think, would hate Victor at first. maybe Victor even reminded him of Brenner at first, before he got to know him, if he got to know him. and when — if — he knows Victor’s not like Brenner, I can kind of see him stopping trying to actively kill him? but I don’t see a genuine friendship between these two. mutual respect and secret admiration? yes. but not friendship.

on the other hand, I do think Reed and Eddie would get along. Eddie would happily listen to Reed talk about science all day and he’d ask him questions, and Reed would be more than happy to answer him. it’s been a while since someone’s this interested in Reed’s interests without calling him a nerd and bullying him for it, so Reed’s very happy to have Eddie around. and also, Eddie can relate to Reed since they were both bullied, another reason why I think they’d be best friends.

Eddie would tease him about Victor, and when Reed was all blushing, Eddie would just say, “nah it’s cool, my boyfriend’s a psychopath too. see? another thing we both have in common!”

Reed can’t really understand why Eddie’s even with someone like Henry, but he supposes he’s not in the position to make any comments about Eddie’s taste in men when he’s with Victor.

[railwayhistorical]

Echo Canyon near Death’s Rock This is one of the most scenic of spots along the entire route of the Pacific Railroad. The Union Pacific, racing to meet the Central Pacific, built through here in the first months of 1869. David Haward Bain, in his book The Old Iron Road, does a wonderful job providing some of the history of this unique and stunningly beautiful area. He covers the origin of the Hastings Cutoff, the trials and tribulations of the Donner-Reed party, as well as anecdotal evidence of others who passed through the canyon.

This would include Mormon saints, daring young riders of the Pony Express, the drivers and coachmen of the Overland Stage, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), and of course the railroad surveyors, graders, and track layers. One image by Richard Koenig; taken October 29th 2011.

[coimbrabertone]

NASCAR Numerology: How NASCAR's Current Teams Got Their Numbers: Part One.

So this blog has been a bit NASCAR heavy these past few weeks, but my request, I'm going to do one more: NASCAR Numerology: How the Current Teams Got Their Numbers.

To start with, a brief introduction: in European motorsports like Formula One and MotoGP, the norm has become that drivers chose their numbers. Lewis Hamilton, for instance, has chosen the #44 and will take that number from Mercedes to Ferrari when he moves after this season. The exception to this is the #1, which is typically reserved for champions. Max Verstappen (normally #33) and Pecco Bagnaia (normally #63) currently run the #1 plate in F1 and MotoGP, respectively.

Neither of these rules exist in NASCAR. In American racing (NASCAR and Indycar in particular) numbers are associated with the teams, with some teams having run the same number for decades. How these numbers came about various - some were chosen as they were the lowest available number, some to go along with sponsor, others to go along with a numbering convention at a given team. We'll get into these stories here.

We're going to start at the beginning...and the end, with Trackhouse Racing, who run the #1 and #99. Ironically enough, their story begins with the #99, as Trackhouse first entered the sport in 2021 with Daniel Suárez. Trackhouse was, at this point, a one car operation leasing a charter from Spire Motorsports, getting engines from Richard Childress Racing, and running out of a space in the RCR shop. They chose the #99 as a tribute to Carl Edwards, who ran the number from mid-2004 to 2014 as part of Roush Racing.

In a happy coincidence, Daniel Suárez had run the #99 in his very first race in Monterrey, Mexico at the age of seven.

As for the #1, well...for 2022, Trackhouse wanted a more permanent arrangement, so they bought out Chip Ganassi Racing and took control of their two charters. Ganassi had been running the #42 team for Ross Chastain, and the #1 team for Kurt Busch. Busch was off to 23XI anyway, thus the #1 charter was given to the #99 team.

The #42 team meanwhile, with Ross Chastain as driver and the CGR crew behind him, was switched to the #1. Why? Well, for starts #1 and #99 is a good number combo - the first and last numbers available and they add up to 100 - and furthermore, it has history.

Justin Marks and Pitbull are the owners of Trackhouse, but the team is run by Ty Norris. Now, in 1996, Norris was handpicked by Dale Earnhardt to help create the Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) team, with support from Dale's current team, Richard Childress Racing. DEI would go full time in NASCAR in 1998, with driver Steve Park driving the Pennzoil #1 Chevy. Yeah.

Furthermore, the #1, the #8, and the #15 would be DEI's numbers throughout the 2000s. In 2008, DEI would merge with Ginn Racing (formerly MB2 Motorsports) who ran the #01 Army Chevy with Regan Smith and Mark Martin as drivers. As the recession continued, this team would merge again, this time with Chip Ganassi Racing, in time for 2009.

Chip Ganassi at this point ran the #41 Target Dodge for Reed Sorenson and the #42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge for Juan Pablo Montoya.

DEI, meanwhile, had the #01 Principal Finance Chevrolet for Regan Smith, the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for Martin Truex Jr., the #8 US Army Chevrolet for Mark Martin and Aric Almirola (the #01 had the Army sponsorship originally but the #8 was DEI's flagship car so the sponsorship moved over), and the #15 Menards Chevrolet for Paul Menard.

The 2009 season would essentially be a bloodletting for the team, and come 2010, the merged Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing would run the #1 Bass Pro Shops/McDonalds Chevrolet for Jamie McMurray, and the #42 Target Chevrolet for Juan Pablo Montoya. These are the same numbers that CGR would run when Trackhouse bought them, and the #1, with its lineage going back to 1998, would be reunited with Ty Norris at the Trackhouse team.

And in another move in relation to the Earnhardts, Trackhouse will add the #88 Chevy for Shane van Gisbergen for 2025. The #88 was last run by Hendrick Motorsports, first for Dale Earnhardt Jr. from 2008 to 2017, and then by Alex Bowman from 2018 to 2020. More on that in a bit.

All of that for the #1...now onto #2!

Team Penske has run the #2 since 1991, when they acquired the services of Rusty Wallace and his long-term sponsorship deal with Miller Brewing Company. Rusty had driven for the Blue Max Racing team (and won a championship for them in 1989) but that relationship collapsed in 1990. With a new program and a driver as decorated as Rusty, Roger let him choose the number - Rusty chose the #2, which he had last used in 1985.

That car, with Rusty Wallace from 1990-2005, Kurt Busch from 2006-2010, Brad Keselowski from 2011-2021, and Austin Cindric since 2022, has been the Penske flagship car.

In 2012 with Brad Keselowski behind the wheel, it won its first championship.

Penske's other cars have, typically, mimicked the #2. When Penske took over the Kranefuss car of Jeremy Mayfield for 1998, they renumbered it from #37 to #12, with Mobil 1 sponsorship. Mayfield was fired late in 2001, and Rusty's brother Mike filled out the season, before Ryan Newman and Alltel took over the #12 car for 2002. Newman would leave for Stewart-Haas Racing for 2009, and David Stremme would take over that car.

As mentioned a few weeks ago in my Viceroy rule blogpost, Alltel was bought out by Verizon in 2008, and that caused a problem as NASCAR's title sponsor was Sprint. Alltel was grandfathered in, Verizon was not. Thus, for 2009 and 2010, the #12 would run as a black and red Penske Truck Rentals car that totally wasn't mimicking the Verizon logo.

Anyway, David Stremme would be replaced by Brad Keselowski at the end of the 2009 season, and he'd remain in the #12 for 2010.

In 2011 however, Penske secured a new major sponsor in the form of Shell/Pennzoil, and Shell wanted a flagship entry with a flagship driver. Thus, Kurt Busch was moved from the #2 to the new #22, while Brad's #12 team became the new #2 Miller Lite team. Kurt Busch would essentially have a meltdown in the 2011 season - screaming at his team in multiple races - and would be fired at the end of the season. AJ Allmendinger and Sam Hornish would fill in for 2012, and for 2013, current driver Joey Logano was hired for the #22.

Meanwhile, the #12 would return to full time competition in 2018 with Ryan Blaney as driver and Menards as the main sponsor.

Logano's #22 would win the championship in 2018 and 2022, while Ryan Blaney would win in 2023. The #2 is Penske's original number, but now, all three have won championships. Furthermore, all three - plus now the Wood Brothers car they prop up - are now locked into the 2024 NASCAR playoffs.

Speaking of, this blog is running long and I'm gonna have to make this into a bit of a series over the next week or so, but while we're on the topic of the Wood Brothers, lets finish off that car real quick.

The Wood Brothers is NASCAR's oldest team and has run the #21 from the beginning. On rare occasions when the Wood Brothers ran multiple cars, back in like the 60s and 70s, it would usually be something that pays homage to the #21 - examples include the #12, the #121, and the #41.

NASCAR's modern era is considered to have started in 1972, and since then, the Wood Brothers has always run the #21 except for a controversial two-year exception in 1985 and 1986 when the team, then fielding Kyle Petty, had a 7Eleven sponsorship and thus ran the #7. They would return to the #21 in 1987, and at the 2024 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, they won their 100th race with driver Harrison Burton.

So yeah, the story of some of NASCAR's current teams' numbers. I'll pick up with RCR tomorrow (spoiler alert: all they have going for them is Earnhardt nostalgia) as this numerology project turns out to be bigger than I expected.

[wafflinglumos]

My Golden Trio Headcanons (some modern some not)

Harry:

Oddly good at beer pong.

One time caught the snitch in his mouth and almost died.

Is REALLY good at cooking(less headcanon and more actually canon)

Loves the rain, absolutely hates thunder.

Had American southern tea ONCE and never looked at Earl Grey the same way again (Hermione gets upset about it every time they get tea together)

Soap opera lover(he watches them with Ron)

Is really good at drawing birds specifically.

He’s good at pottery but can only make bowls and plates.

SPIDER-MAN FAN

Ron:

Chess lover, both magic AND muggle(that’s canon but I’m including it anyways)

When Harry tried American sweet tea for the first time, Ron got to try fried butter for the first time too, he promptly inhaled it.

He hates crabs.

He often has stare offs with Crookshanks which either end with Ron getting mauled, or Crookshanks getting locked out of the room.

Is a DIEHARD Beastie Boys fan, Hermione introduced him to them and he hasn’t looked back since.

His favorite color is the exact shade of brown that Hermione’s eyes are :)

Soap opera lover(he watches them with Harry)

Wears bright neon crocs, has worn them on dates with Hermione before, will wear them on dates with Hermione again.

Got a buzz cut one time and Hermione screamed in pure unbridled terror when she saw it(she did not speak for him for a week, he had to magically grow it back)

Bad at pottery but loves playing with the clay.

DEADPOOL FAN

Hermione:

Aroace spectrum(because I love projecting onto characters and it’s canon in my eyes)

One time tried to straighten her hair and both Ron and Harry got scared when they saw it(it did not work)

Knows ALL of the Elder Scrolls lore

Has played Skyrim to completion over 19 times.(that is not an exaggeration, she’s pulled various all nighters)

HORRIFIC sleep schedule

Will not read romance, UNLESS it’s completely historically accurate.

Bad at drawing, really good at pottery oddly enough.

While she’s good at pottery, she absolutely despises the feel of wet clay, and then the feel of dry clay on her skin so she doesn’t sculpt stuff without gloves on.

Hates the texture of pasta, it has to be made in a VERY specific way for her to enjoy it.

Doesn’t like being smooched on the temple because it’s too close to her eyes and she thinks it’s unsanitary.

Had a seafood boil one time and was out like a light for a full DAY.

Tried a vegan diet for like a year but she accidentally ate a wet piece of ham in a sleep deprived delirium.

Beans on toast FIEND.

One time had a five day mental breakdown over magic and specifically quidditch brooms not following the laws of physics.

Dinosaur nerd.

Dr Strange and Reed Richards fan

Golden Trio:

Codependent.

They have a book club, Ron’s favorite genre is a mix between really cheesy badly written romances and westerns, Harry’s favorite genre is murder mysteries and philosophy, funnily enough, Hermione doesn’t like murder mysteries because she guesses the plot/plot twists and they’re always correct, she usually only reads non-fiction but she occasionally likes accurate science fiction and she also enjoys biographies.

Hermione once sat them down to watch a bunch of muggle movies, some Harry recognized, while Ron was just utterly entranced by the television, occasionally shaking Harry’s shoulder when something happened on screen.

While Hermione was finishing her seventh/ “eighth” year she was sent at LEAST ten letters DAILY, from both Ron and Harry.

They shared an apartment for like two years and would quiet often all sleep in the same bed.

That habit followed them into adulthood, and they occasionally sleep in the same bed.

Both Harry and Ron, along with Ginny, will flaunt Hermione being the minister, often.

Harry has forced the other two to rewatch every Star Wars movie, more than ten times.

Ron and Hermione broke up one time in their relationship and Harry was more distraught than both of them combined.

[grahambaham]

Something that has always annoyed me is the habit of many fans to declare that a villain of a certain piece of media is in the right when they are most definitely not.

A few examples that I can think of right now are Thanos, Magneto and Doom. What. The. Fuck.

First of all, Viktor Von Doom barely even has anything to be right about. The guy’s goal in life is to get as powerful as possible and use that power to rule the world or whatever, prove to everyone he’s smarter than Reed Richards (he is not) and to inflate his own ego as much as is psychically possible. Though that last one could be a result of the first two I guess. He basically wants the basic ass stuff all villains want, even if it’s not what they’re focusing on specifically. There is nothing for him to even be right about, my guy. Alright so the wanting to rule the world thing isn’t for his ego, though it helps. It is because he has a fucking god complex and thinks he’s the only one who can truly do it and properly protect the Earth from any future attacks. Everything about Doom basically boils down to his ego.

Now, I understand how Megneto, otherwise known as Max Eisenhart (Erik Magnus Lehnsherr is just an alias), can be a sympathetic villain. He’s gone through a lot and when very simplified his goal seems fairly noble. Dude just wants to protect mutants, make sure they’re safe and living their best lives or whatever. The problem is that he believes mutants are the superior species and treats humans how you might treat a mosquito. He wants to eradicate them completely, and so the world would be there for mutants to rule over and live happily ever after or whatnot. Any of that sound familiar to you? Yeah… Anyway, the point is that even though we can understand how he might’ve come to the point where he’s willing to do such horrible things, that does not mean he is right at all. People seem to think that the humans deserve it for the way they’ve treated mutants, even though there are a lot of good ones who most certainly don’t do that shit AND so many of them are children too. Because you do know that Max would legit murder even the little toddlers? Not for any reason other than ‘they’re human’. So yeah, he was not in the right. He was not the good guy all along or whatever. He is a villain and a horrible person who has also been treated horribly their whole life. Those two things can both be true. Having a bad childhood does not excuse your shitty actions though.

Last and certainly least we’ve got Thanos. First of all, that fucker did not give a shit about overpopulation or whatever in the comics. Bro wanted to court Death so he went around murdering people and destroying planets to impress her. Not very noble of him, I gotta say. Now as for the MCU, his goal is in fact to kill half the universe so more people could get more resources because he’s seen the way the poor live because of that lack of food and other things essential to living. Now, instead of using that infinite fucking power that he had in his hands to create more shit to give to everyone or, I don’t know, anything else? They’re called INFINITY stones for a reason? This fucker instead decided to just commit genocide real quick. I genuinely believe the only people who think this loser was right are actual children. Twelve years old at the most. Because there is no way in holy hell that grown men and women think Thanos was good and smart to use the INFINITE POWER IN HIS HANDS to just KILL A BUNCH OF PEOPLE INSTEAD OF SAVING MORE BY JUST WISHING FOR MORE RESOURCES OR FUCKING WORLD/UNIVERSE PEACE OR WHATEVER THE FUCK? Thanos is secretly twelve years old and hasn’t gained any critical thinking skills yet, I swear to fucking god.

So yeah, I guarantee whichever villain you think was right was not in fact right, they’re simply easy to sympathise with or their cause is. But if their way of making that sympathetic idea come true is murdering/torturing/conquering etcetera, then THAT MEANS THEY AREN'T RIGHT AT FUCKING ALL.

Good night.