#i need to check the marvel zombies comics

[thecityonthemoon]

This is a loaded question, but do you think Black Bolt is autistic-coded? Maximus is typically the one saddled with the reputation of not being neurotypical, but I think there's an argument for Black Bolt himself being neurodivergent.

Black Bolt is selectively mute -- out of story, you can see him as a guy who never really knows what to say, or has never found a conversation in which he's interested in saying something. In reality, there's no true analogue for Black Bolt's condition, but while someone without a mental mouth filter can't level city blocks by saying the wrong thing, they can destroy personal relationships, and cause devastation in other ways. And for a lot of those people, once they learn that they have an issue in that department, they train themselves to clam up. Black Bolt has done both things -- destroy his personal relationships (his son) and city blocks.

Not only is Black Bolt silent, but even when he uses sign language, he barely communicates anything beyond the basics. While this emphasizes his stoicism, it also implies that there's more communication issues than just stoicism. And you also have stories where he has run off and done something incredibly unorthodox (by both human and Inhuman standards), because it was an action that made sense to his own, personal logic, and he didn't see fit to explain it to anyone else.

Also, while this is going off an AU, for one Marvel Zombies, where Black Bolt can talk because the zombie plague interferes with his voice powers, he goes on rambling tangents and has to be reminded to stay on subject by other people. This tendency to go off on tangents while being interested in having a conversation with another person is definitely something I have experience with.

All in all, I do think there is a possibility of exploring Black Bolt's possible autistic-coding. It would be one more wrinkle to add to his personality.

Yes! I relate a lot to him as an autistic person, and I think this is one of the reasons I find him such an interesting character

Like you said, there is no real analogue since it is a fantasy story with many fantasy elements, and there are other ways to interpret it

For instance, I think him being bad at communication has a lot to do with being kept isolated his whole childhood, with the trauma of it. We will never know what he would be like if he hadn’t gone through that, and if he would still have those issues or not. But when I see him for example acting first instead of trying to communicate what he means (specially in comics in which the authors don’t have him sign so he has to play charades or hope someone will guess looking at his face), that hits very close to home because at times I too feel like speaking words is just as frustrating and unreliable, and give up on trying to say what I mean

(Can’t forget that childhood trauma is common in autistic people, too)

I never thought of the parallel between the destructive power of his voice and the feeling that saying what you think can destroy conversations and relationships, and now I can’t stop thinking about it. That’s also a feeling I deeply relate to at times

I also remember a couple of times in the comics that random characters have underestimated him for not speaking. While I have never been in this specific situation, as I am not nonspeaking, I know this is something that other autistic people face, and in general when we’re not able to do something that “everyone else can do”, people assume nasty things

Also this is just a hc, but since he spent so many years in a soundproof chamber, I hc him as having sensory issues with sound. In the show, he does go to his old chamber when he needs to think

On a semi-related note, another character I see as possibly autistic coded is Triton. He is also physically disabled (needs aids to breathe air), and was for a period written as having trouble with language. And he has moments like these:

On another semi-related note, while the disorder or mix of disorders Maximus has is never specified, I think it’s possible Black Bolt has it/all of them/one of them as well. First because with Ahura’s story it’s shown to be possibly genetic, and second because of that story in which he has hallucinations when the device on his suit is broken. He is rarely without the device, so I think it could contain something that works as treatment somehow. This is not related to autism of course but I am mentioning to say I don’t think he’s neurotypical at all either way

[marybatson]

wait is this a safe space let me rank captain marvel kablooeys

vamp mary mercy kill (if this is not ur no. 1 u need a conversion)

nondescript zombie death in dceased

when he got inverted inside out n exploded by a tesseract bomb

(Large gap here)

kingdom come but the waid/ross comic. (nothing more surreal than Diana Clark and Bruce toasting to him w his face on a shot glass)

Infected (I wanted to put this here but I didn’t read it so I went n skimmed the first few pages so I could final confirm the ranking. The things I do to fact check I need an award)

kingdom come novelization version bc his death freed me from making this face 😬 most the book

everything else I can’t rmr rn

injustice

memmrfmfmfj STAWP WAIT. addendum. rock bottom of the rankings.. worst appearance and death combined goes to …..superman: distant fires. he died by lava but not the craziest thing in this book btw

[comicwaren]

Hey y'all! I'm gonna start using the Community Labels feature to hide some posts that contain above average levels of violence or gore. I know it can be triggering for some people and I wouldn't want anyone to stumble upon something disturbing without a warning.

I won't hide "normal" depictions of violence, since I'd have to pretty much censor the entire blog (we're talking people who punch other people all the time here), but I will for the more over-the-top stuff, like this issue of Marvel Zombies, which can be a bit gruesome at points.

I probably won't need to use any of the other Community Labels either since Marvel comics don't have explicit nudity or stuff like that.

So if you don't see some of my posts and want to see them, check your settings to see if you have it set to hide that kind of stuff. You can even set it to blur them instead and that way you can choose if you want to see it or not!

That's all, thank you all for following my blog!

[mrwolfhare]

So I stumbled on to the fandom wiki page dedicated to upcoming Marvel movies and series, and rumoured Marvel movies and series, and I ended up looking through all the places our sweet raccoon boy might make an appearance. Do note I'm just going for cosmic and maybe cosmic movies.

The Marvels (Doubtful RR will make an appearance, maaaybe a video call for checking up on things on Rocket's side of the galaxy)

Deadpool 3 (Doubtfull RR will make an appearance, but you never know about Deadpool, he actually did have a team up comic with RR once, so Deadpool just mentioning the words "talking raccoon" would be enough for me)

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (doubtful RR will make an appearance, Kang just doesn't seem as galactic menacing as Thanos, might end up just being Loki level threat that just current Avengers would be able to handle.)

Loki Season 2 (I honestly hope they would have just like a 5 second background cameo of him as Loki jumps through portals, but highly doubtful, apparently the writers were given strict instructions on which Marvel characters they may use in the show.)

Marvel Zombies (I want to see the Guardians fight zombies, but the zombie virus might just stay on Earth. )

Nova (The Guardians or just Rocket giving Nova the guided tour of Knowhere would be fun, but think this will stick to just Earth, Nova Corps, Xandar and some space fights away from Guardians.)

Silver Surfer (Highly doubtful RR will make an appearance, but one can always hope the Guardians will be around when Galactus is a threat.)

Rumoured (Take the following with a grain of salt, the following is the most rumoured of them all)

Adam Warlock (RR will definitely appear if this movie ever happens)

Celestials: End Of Time (Sequel to Eternals, highly doubtful RR will appear, might just focus on Earth with some cosmic moments here and there. At least we might see Patton Oswalt as Pip the Troll again.)

Hercules (Doubtful RR will appear, but Hercules might drop in with the Guardians in his vengeance against Thor. Might just be Earth focused.)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.4 (Ha! No way that's ever going to happen without Gunn at the helm. He'll be way too busy wrangling the new DCEU over at WB. One can only hope.)

Thor 5 (Doubtful, unless if Thor checks up on his favourite rabbit and needs help with Love)

World War Hulk (Doubtful the Guardians would make an appearance, most likely is them just giving people a lift off of the war torn planet. Mind you, having Rocket help Hulk would be a fantastic way to wink at the comic)

Gamora & The Ravagers (Definite RR cameo if this ever happens)

Howard the Duck (Definite RR cameo, just to drop Howard off at Earth if this ever happens, which I really really hope for)

Legendary Star-Lord (Rumours of a movie or series with Star-Lord and Shadowcat, doubtful, but would be fun to watch if it ever happens, and definitely must have a Rocket appearance if it)

Mantis (If we get a Mantis movie where she becomes more like her comic counterpart, then a RR cameo would be greatly appreciated)

Untitled Rocket Raccoon & Groot Series (This rumour started way back when Gunn was taken off GotG 3, so insanely doubtful this show would happen. However that being said, I would gladly welcome a Rocket Raccoon & Groot series focused on them pre-GotG, live action or just animated, preferably still within the MCU)

Untitled Sif Series ( If this happens, we just need a Rocket cameo to give her a new arm, that's it.)

[1batch2batch]

♜ main ♜ bio ♜ face ♜ muse ♜ starters ♜ wishlist ♜

about:

This is a sideblog, and I follow back from my main @grimmusings. Please direct IMs there, since it's easier for me to keep all my messages on one blog. It's also easier to start interactions with me there, where I regularly post open starters and meme prompts. For a full list of rules, see my main. Honesty hour questions will largely be answered IC and treated as anonymous unless signed by a muse.

All details vary based on verse, but in general I write Frank based on the Daredevil/Punisher shows, with occasional elements or connections from 616 comics pulled in as needed. Please keep in mind that in this timeline, he is not a Vietnam veteran, but served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Please note before interacting that Frank is very hostile to known villains and will react accordingly, up to and including attacking or trying to kill them, but I will check with you before either so we can better plot things out. Likewise, if you prefer to plot Frank's death, I'm happy to work with you on that. Being an antihero has consequences, but communication is key. He does not kill innocents or heroes (and canonically won't even take a swing at Captain America).

wanted connections:

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I can roll with most muses as far as basic interactions. I’m happy to ship Frank with other Marvel characters and OCs/fandom crossovers based on chemistry, but unless they’re on my OTP list, they need plotting and interaction first. There is never any pressure to ship with me, even if they’re on my list.

OTPs: Maria Castle, Karen Page, Matt Murdock Family: I adore Dad!Frank, but he's understandably going to have a lot of trauma attached to that, so please run any canon/OC kids by me first Other: Steve Rogers, Billy Russo, John Hartigan, Nancy Callahan

default verses:

canon (+/-): Any events that take place within the Daredevil/Punisher timelines.

alt!postblip: A merging of the shows into the greater MCU, where Frank has just watched half the world be snapped out of existence and then returned.

semper fidelis: Any events that take place while Frank is with the Marines or the Cerberus Squad.

multiverse!madness: Various comics universes collide, whether Marvel/DC/etc. have always existed on the same Earth, or other-dimension shenanigans are at work. Duplicate friendly!

verses by request only:

I'm happy to write these, but since they're more specific AUs, I don't default on them for asks/memes. Please feel free to request them.

sin city: An AU set in the Sin City universe, where Frank is working as a detective with the Basin City police department when his family are brutally slaughtered by convicts he once put away. Almost two years later, the case is declared a mistrial, setting him on the path as the Punisher.

twd!verse: A zombie apocalypse AU that more or less follows a Walking Dead timeline. Frank's family was killed by humans at the start of the outbreak, which sets him on the path as the Punisher. When he's not taking out the trash, he lives alone in a remote, sustainable cabin surrounded by traps.

[brettsinger]

The Last Ronin and More

My guest this week is comedian Mario Pisano! What super-team did Mario start reading as a kid? Why did Mario love the X-Men collectible cards? What card game does Brett not understand? Why might it suck to have superpowers? What's the deal with Jubilee? Can Storm use her powers in space? What area of superherodom is Brett most into? What happens in The Last Ronin? What's special about reading a great comic book and telling all your friends? When did Kraven the Hunter team up with Squirrel Girl? When does Brett like the Punisher? How did Deadpool kill Thor? Why does Deadpool need comic books in a way that Spider-Man doesn't? Is collecting comic books a harmless hobby? 

  Reading list:

X-Men (the Brood Saga)

https://amzn.to/3VXorj4

  Incredible Hulk: The End (free on Kindle Unlimited)

https://amzn.to/42xUpF8

  Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe

https://amzn.to/3LRnsMI

  Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe

https://amzn.to/41yo67Z

  The Last Ronin (free on Kindle Unlimited)

https://amzn.to/42w1AOe

  I Kill Giants

https://amzn.to/42Qcnm1

  Secret Invasion

https://amzn.to/3LY6Djh

  Something Is Killing The Children

https://amzn.to/3We71PH

  The Department of Truth

https://amzn.to/3O8sKpY

  Marvel Zombies

https://amzn.to/44WpvYB

  Marvel Apes

https://amzn.to/3pGH2DW

  DCeased

https://amzn.to/44SFgjs

  Punisher MAX

https://amzn.to/3M1nfGP

  Squirrel Girl

https://amzn.to/41w1OU8

  Old Man Logan

https://amzn.to/3O62WLd

  Old Man Hawkeye (free on Kindle Unlimited)

https://amzn.to/3OaOkud

  Old Man Quill (free on Kindle Unlimited)

https://amzn.to/42PqrfB

  Deadpool: Dead Presidents

https://amzn.to/3nYZUxy

  The Death of Wolverine (free on Kindle Unlimited)

https://amzn.to/3O1axuB

  Return of Wolverine (check title)

https://amzn.to/3O8tsUa

  The Walking Dead

https://amzn.to/3I5t70E

  Spawn (free on Kindle Unlimited)

https://amzn.to/42BkLGn

Recorded 4-29-23 via Zoom

Check out Comics Who Love Comic Books!

[themultiverseofmarvel]

Ranking Every Episode Of Marvel Studios' 'What If...?'

(updated weekly, be sure to check back next week!)

Only two episodes remain of Marvel Studios' What If...? Here is a little sneak peek of what is to come...

Here is every episode of What If...? ranked so far...

#7: What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark

While it was great to hear Michael B. Jordan and Andy Serkis reprise their roles of Killmonger and Ulysses Klau, this felt like a story we really didn’t need to see. It’s the only episode of the show so far where I was genuinely bored at times, and it ultimately seemed pointless and ended up feeling like a more convoluted way for Erik Killmonger to achieve the same as what he did in Black Panther. Just when What If…? needed to step things up a gear, this episode actually held it back.

6/10

#6: What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?

Although the episode had some fun action sequences, this episode really didn’t have much going for it. But perhaps that might have been by design? It was always going to be jarring seeing characters we know and love in animated form, but this episode was basically a retread of something we'd seen before and had some wildly inconsistent voice acting. It felt like it was just introducing us to the What If...? concept.

Not terrible, but it wasn't the best start.

6/10

#5: What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?

The key to writing a good murder mystery is giving viewers just enough clues so that they can try and play along. Whilst this episode was fun (and pretty good to be fair) the payoff was slightly underwhelming because it came out of nowhere.

7/10

#4: What If... Zombies?!

Marvel Zombies is something that I, along with many others, have been hoping to see on the screen for many years. Whilst it's not entirely accurate to the comic book version, the 5th episode of What If...? was a fun and surprisingly heartwarming entry to the series. We got to see Hope van Dyne be the Avengers leader she should have been from the start, we got to see characters like Kurt actually get something to do, and we got to see a Futurama-esque version of Scott Lang, which was particularly silly.

This was one of the most gruesome entries of the MCU so far and left us with a twist that I hope we get to revisit in Season 2.

8/10

#3: What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?

How good was it to hear Chadwick Boseman's voice again? After the slightly underwhelming first episode, What If...?'s second instalment provided us with a fun adventure, giving us a version of T'Challa we hadn't seen before, whilst also giving us fresh takes of The Collector and Thanos. We're still waiting to see what will happen after that finale with Ego and Star-Lord. Fingers crossed we'll find out what happens before the end of Season 1!

8/10

#2: What If... Thor Were an Only Child?

By the far the silliest episode of What If...? so far, this episode had me giggling like a child. A lot of the humour throughout the show has been more eye-rolling rather than chuckle-worthy, but Chris Hemsworth was clearly having a blast whilst recording this episode, which in turn made it a hugely enjoyable entry to the series. I couldn't help but laugh at his high-pitched squeals every time he was punched by Captain Marvel.

Considering What If...? is an animated show, and assumedly intended for children, it has delivered some of the MCU's darkest tales to date, so it was nice to have an episode that explored what it is like to be a teenager (even if you are a literal god) and the consequences of throwing a house party when your parents are away for the weekend.

Good silly fun.

8/10

#1: What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

This was the first truly great episode of What If...? and the darkest thing Marvel Studios have ever done, with Benedict Cumberbatch delivering his best performance in the MCU to date. Watching this, it's hard not to wish that Marvel and Disney would take risks as bold as this in their feature films and it proved that they can deliver more mature and darker content alongside the sillier entries such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man.

Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. We only have to wait until February to find out.

9/10

What's been your favourite episode of What If...? so far? Let us know!

[crazyaboutto]

What If Theories - Multiverse Merging & The Watcher

I will talk about prior info based on trailers and episodes, how Ultron won, how The Watcher will interfere and collision of the multiverse respectively 

I was suspecting some an Avenger from each world coming together for a battle because of this scene from mid season trailer:

In original MCU timeline, Avengers assembled in this shot and in trailer, we had similar shot:

In the first trailer and my previous thought on Nat centric episode, I mentioned that Natasha looking like she was in an apocalyptic world. In mid season trailer we saw Captain Carter, Gamora in armour, Thor with tattoo and T’challa as Star-Lord. Cater came instead of Loki in episode 1, Ego the Living Planet came to visit Peter in episode 2 and frat boy Thor is in episode 7.

There is direct connection at the moment but I think this is the same Thor as the one in episode 7:

We see Episode 4 Doctor Strange and Frat boy Thor together and talking about Zombies which is episode 5.

At the end of episode 7, Thor faced with Ultron!Vision with all infinity stones:

Below picture is from mid season trailer too. Natasha is riding a bike, he has short hair and same outfit as the assembled picture: 

Lastly, at 1:12 in the mid season trailer, The Watcher says “Witness the biggest heroes of the multiverse”

With these information, I presume the post apocalyptic world where Avengers aka the biggest heroes of the multiverse assemble is the world where Ultron managed to get Vision as his body and got all the infinity stones. I have some thoughts how this could have happened:

1. At the end of episode 2, Ego the Living Planet visited Peter Quill in the diner he was working at and The Watcher commented that it would be the end of world. From mid season trailer:

Ego consumes Peter and because of it, he would accomplish his goal. However, there are heroes on that universe such as Star Lord T’challa and his crew whose name was also shown in the trailer. In my first theory, The Avengers build Ultron to fight off Ego and make him snap the gauntlet so none of them would die. Since Ultron’s body is weaker than Vision’s, they need stronger body, hence the creation of Vision. After defeating Ego with the help of infinity stones, Ultron doesn’t give them back and does what he always wanted, destroying the humanity. He would discover the multiverse and want to do the same in other universes.

2. In episode 3, Hank killed all the Avengers. While in MCU, Tony and Bruce created Ultron, it was Hank all along in the comics. In this theory, I presume Hank built Ultron and after his death or imprisonment and Loki invasion, there is no one to check Ultron. Ultron can become independent as in Age of Ultron and have the same goal. With no Avengers other than Captain Marvel and newly awakened Captain America, Ultron can have free reign. However, how Ultron gets the infinity stones isn’t something I was able to find reason

--

One way or another, the main crossover will be Ultron’s post apocalyptic world or multiverse in this case.

If you noticed, The Watcher became more visible. He even interacted with Doctor Strange in episode 4, he said ouch in episode 5 and he was surprised to see Ultron at the end of episode 7. He keeps saying he can’t interfere but I believe he will.

My theory is that he will interfere and gather the biggest heroes of the multiverse together. Captain Carter has experience with staying inside an infinity stone, Doctor Strange destroyed his world and has nothing to do so getting them is easy

It is almost impossible to win against an immortal with all the infinity stones so our assembled heroes will need to gather the stones to counter Ultron. This is where Episode 5 comes in. At the end of Episode 5, we saw Zombie Thanos with all infinity stones minus the mind stone which was being brought by T’challa, Peter Parker and Scott Lang. In the mid season trailer as seen above, Doctor Strange and Thor are at the zombie universe. I assume, it is where they will get the infinity stones.

Check This Out For More MCU Theories

[sappyscarfy]

I just saw Doctor Strange 2 it was epic! Sorry im gonna have to yell about it

Spoilers below!

[Ok first im a normie mcu movie-only fan but i do frequent comic discussions so i know some things]

DS2 has been my most anticipated phase 4 marvel movie. I went into it 100% for doctor strange cause he's my fav character. Im not that huge about wanda sorry so i wont have much opinion on her,,, I won't lie i was quite worried for this movie with all the delays and reshoots, not to mention early reviews/reactions seems rather "mixed" so my expectations are kept in check Things i wanted to see before going into the movie: -Better magic fight. Frankly the magic in DS1 was rather meh. But they have been powering him up for the past couple movies so i had high hopes -Strange not getting overshadowed by Wanda and cameos -Better magic. Seriously i just want to see some cool magic. See that cool Strange vs Thanos battle in Infinity war? I just want an entire movie of that 💀 And they delivered! The magic was much more creative and varied! No more boring fistfight (except for that one scene where they literally cant use magic lol) A huge huge upgrade over the first movie. The music battle with darkhold strange (idk what to call him) was incredible! And when zombie strange turning the spirits into a cape. Metal af!! (Im gonna have to draw that someday). The magic in this movie is absolutely eye candy! Also holy fuck this movie is brutal i can't believe its PG-13. Black bolt head just fucking pop and Reed Richard is just shredded like spaghetti and its clearly see on screen. Rip all the parents bringing their kids into this movie I know many people are disappointed that the Illuminati were taken out so quick but im not a comic book reader so i wasn't obsessed over these cameos. Tho Professor X in that yellow chair was so funny i cant get the mental image of him rolling around in it during the battle with thanos out of my head So for the characters. Strange did get huge character development and i think he was really well written. I love the whole thing of him being able to accept that he doesnt always have to be the one wielding the knife. Christine role was very good too and im so glad she didnt give Strange a goodbye kiss at the end. Really like that last scene where Strange repaired the watch to show that he was finally able to move on too. Im very very glad that they didnt get back together at the end -The new character America Chavez i love her! I've only known her for 2 hours but if anything happened to her, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself. She punch star portals. Coolest thing ever! Needs more development in the future tho -Wanda. Im not wanda stan so i dont mind whatever role she's playing in this movie. I think she was a good villain. Tho im actually glad that it was the darkhold that corrupts her because going from wandavision to murdering a bunch of people is way too steep of a character turn -Wong my beloved! I was so scared they're gonna kill him off to make Strange the sorcerer supreme but im glad they didnt. He was really funny in this movie and i love the banter with strange as usual. There's that scene in Kamar Taj where he yells "FORTIFY YOUR MIIIIIND!!!!!" was so hilarious to me -Mordo (838) he doesnt really do anything. But im glad they didnt kill off og mordo like some leaks said -Who is that green minotaur i want to know moreee

Visual-wise this movie looks way better than most mcu movies. Lots of more interesting shots and better color grading. Tho some of the transition scenes are really goofy like that one going from Wanda's apple field and fading to Wong face lmao. And Raimi really loves eye closeup huh

Hm hm what else? Yeah the post credit. Im sorry I know many comic fans are very excited for Clea but that scene has strong "it's me blorko" energy skskskks. Anyways idk anything about her but she seems very cool and im excited to see her in the future I think the pacing in this movie is a bit too cramped. Def needs some extra minutes in some place like the beginning to kamar taj fight

Side note, this movie has a B+ Cinemascore (which is a rating system used in box office community to represent the casual general audience opinion). The only other B range mcu movies are Thor 1 (B+) and Eternals (B). Im honestly baffled that people like thor 2 (A-) and black widow (A-) more than this 💀 Overall good movie, better than NWH for me!

[richincolor]

Magnificent Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Stormranger (Magnificent Ms. Marvel #2)

Creators: Saladin Ahmed (Author), Minkyu Jung (Illustrator), Joey Vazquez (Illustrator), Ian Herring (Color Artist), Alex Arizmendi (Illustrator), Juan Vlasco (Inker), Joe Caramagna (Letterer)

Between her space adventure, her complicated feelings for Bruno and a looming family tragedy, Ms. Marvel really needs a break. Zoe and Nakia decide to get Kamala out of town for a while - but their chill road trip is about to be derailed... by literal corporate zombies. [Cover and summary via Goodreads]

Review: I've been a fan of the Ms. Marvel series starring Kamala Khan since Volume 1: No Normal launched in 2014 (you can check out a review by co-blogger Audrey here). So of course, after the end of the run written by G. Willow Wilson, I was so excited to learn that there would be more Ms. Marvel, with a new series written by Saladin Ahmed and illustrated by Minkyu Jung -- both incredible creators whose work I admire. The first volume in this new series, Magnificent Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: Destined, was an exciting and fresh read, and I'm happy to say that Volume 2 is another fantastic addition.

If you haven't read Magnificent Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: Destined, I highly recommend you pick that up first -- and you definitely should read the original run of Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson if you haven't yet. Volume 2 of Magnificent Ms. Marvel picks up where the first volume left off, with Kamala struggling to grapple with her father's illness, her feelings for Bruno, and her responsibilities as a superhero. While the first volume heads to outer space, this volume slows down the pace and zeroes in on Kamala's conflicted feelings about her values and what's important to her. The stakes are high, just as in the first volume, but they're on a much, much more personal scale.

What I love about the Ms. Marvel comics, and particularly Magnificent Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Stormranger, is the focus on Kamala and her family. Teens may not be able to stretch as tall as a skyscraper or embiggen their fists, but they can relate to Kamala's struggle to figure out how to balance her responsibilities, connect with her family, and navigate new relationships. Kamala's story always feels grounded, and that's what makes it an excellent read.

Volumes 1 and 2 of Magnificent Ms. Marvel, written by Saladin Ahmed and illustrated by Minkyu Jung, is a must-read for Ms. Marvel fans and superhero comics readers. The action-packed illustrations perfectly accompany an entertaining and impactful read.

Recommendation: Buy it now!

[cruciatusforeplay]

This is part two of a hella big post. Check out part one here. These are all a lot more recent, so I'm gonna try to be less spoilery, but there are gonna be some.

A not-so-brief history of Hawkeye in Comics Part Two (spoilers below the cut)

A note on events, dying and doubling down on Hawkeyes

Comics love doing big events, and I'm not covering them in here. Partly because they are huge and complex and to just focus on Hawkeye would be an injustice to the stories, but also because the amount of stuff I would need to spoil would be way beyond just a little Hawkeye. Clint was involved in Secret Wars (1984), which was one of the first crossover events of its kind. Another notable era is 2004-2009, where there is an incredible amount of superhero politics driving big narratives. If you're new to comics, you might not know that characters dying is common and rarely permanent. This is relevant because while I said that I wouldn't talk about events, I think it would be pretty uncool to not mention that Hawkeye dies and is brought back to life (Avengers Disassembled, House of M, New Avengers #26). It's around here that Clint picks up the Ronin mantle.

This is also when Dark Reign/Dark Avengers is going on. For anyone who'd like some Clint whump from this era, there's a top notch naked torture scene in New Avengers Annual (2009). Clint is involved in several other big events and crossovers over later years, but that's definitely a seperate list.

In the time where Clint is dead, Captain America is hanging out with a group of newly formed Young Avengers, including archery badass Kate Bishop. Cap suggests to her that she take up the Hawkeye mantle and gives her Clint's old bow. After Clint returns, he becomes initially her mentor, before they form a very close friendship. Clint is initially doing Ronin things, but even when he lays down ninja robes, they decide to be very Hawkeye about the whole thing and both keep calling themselves Hawkeye, despite the obvious confusion this causes.

Hawkeye's ears: Hawkeye vs. Deadpool #0-4 (2014)

This is a fun little miniseries that you could treat as a Halloween special if you so desired. It's set in the time after Fraction's run and there are a few callbacks, but nothing major if you've not read that. Clint is a little short-tempered and hypermasculine in this run for my personal taste, but it's got lots of grumpy Clint Vs sassy Wade while they vaguely attempt to team up. The thing this run does really well is Clint's deafness, despite the lack of visible hearing aids. There are comments around lip-reading, wearing aids when wearing other headgear, there's some sign language, and this is the run where Deadpool pulls his mask up so Clint can lipread and see his face while he signs (facial expressions are really key in sign language). It's lovely. Otherwise the run gives you a Kate cameo, some Deadpool and Hawkeye disaster/shenanigans, and perhaps most importantly, the return of the skycycle.

Key background: All New Hawkeye #1-6 (2015)

This run is often overlooked, but the art in the flashbacks is beautiful. We get some key information around Clint and Barney's abusive home situation - with their dad who drank and beat them, and how they ended up in care after their parents died, and subsequently their early days in the circus. There is a definite shift in how Barney is characterized as a bad influence compared to the 2003 run. It parallels with the rest of the arc which focuses on Clint and Kate Bishop working together to get some kids out of a very bad situation. The rest of Lemires run is a little weird and has no major repurcussions for anyone except Barney (which I won't elaborate on because it's relevant to the Fraction run).

Back to your roots: Tales of Suspense #100-104 (2017)

Seeing Clint cycle back and return to Tales of Suspense is really lovely. This comic is one of my all time favourites. It's incredibly tight story-telling with a great plot and really fun dynamic. The premise is Clint and Bucky teaming up to figure out the body trail being left after Black Widow's death. Clint is obnoxious and a delightful mess, Bucky is sporting a permanent scowl and is hilariously level-headed. It's a lot of fun and it's a lovely build on the tension and teamwork between these two idiots (who I, as an avid Winterhawk shipper, am completely gone for, but even without that, this is a great comic.) It also has some killer covers, and the facial expressions are absolutely hilarious.

Hawkeyes together: Hawkeye #13-16 (2017) and West Coast Avengers #1-10 (2018)

The Hawkeye run is Kate Bishops run and it has a larger continuing storyline that runs from the beginning of her Hawkeye and way into WCA, but I've listed the issues that you'll want for Kate and Clint shenanigans, and you should be able to catch up without the rest if you don't want it. These comics are ridiculously fun, especially West Coast Avengers, which has Kate leading the team this time. There's loads of jokes, and it strikes a nice balance between Hawkeyes being disasters and being hyper competent. Truthfully, this is Kate's show, and Clint takes a backseat, but their dynamic is killer here so I think is deserves a mention. There are also plenty of Clint related wardrobe malfunctions and Lucky the Pizza Dog is around.

Our most recent boy: Hawkeye freefall #1-6 (2020)

I haven't read this one yet, but it's been extremely well received by the fandom. As a result, good news: no spoilers! It's a short run, which may have had something to do with it being published during 2020, and specifically around a time when Marvel were experiencing some major distribution issues (which would have led to digital release only and as a result lower sales), but that's all guesswork because I haven't actually researched it. This run has someone dressing as Ronin and letting Clint take the blame for their nefarious deeds (oh no!). Clint makes some classic Clint (read: dumpster fire) decisions, and the art looks fun and vibrant. Can't really give you more without reading it myself 😅 If you need more Clint still, he's also rumoured to be knocking around in the 2020 Black Widow run, but I've not had the money to get my mitts on that yet either.

Notable AUs:

Marvel is a big fan of throwing a well known cast into an alternative universes, so there are a few other places to look for him.

The Ultimates universe was largely speaking a bit of a shitshow, but they did give us a very dark and gritty Clint, so if that's your jam, ultimate hawkeye is the place to be. Old Man Hawkeye appears alongside Old Man Logan, and they are both, you guessed it, old. It's not the only time we get Clint as a wrinkly dude (the second half Lemire's run also has some timey-wimey stuff happening), but this is a version of Clint who is going blind (granted we've seen that before too, but this is a darker vibe than Blindspot). Wanna know who the greatest marksman is without his sight - old man Hawkeye for you! Finally there's the Zombie 'verse: zombie Clint is a little confused, but he's got the spirit. Clint got zombiefied and then left in some rubble as only a head for 40 years before getting picked up, so he's a little worse for wear. If you need that in your life then Marvel Zombies is your universe. For a full rundown of all the universes including animated and MCU, click here.

Notable aliases:

Clint's been a few other people than Hawkeye in the 616 universe (the main Marvel Comics universe). He used one of Hank Pyms growth serums and became a giant strongman in Avengers #63 (1969) and stuck around in his Goliath form for more than a few issues. After Cap had died, Clint returned from the dead and tried on Captain America for all of one issue in Fallen Son #3 (2007). He decided (with a little help from Kate) that it wasn't right to wear the uniform, which in turn led to some interesting tension between him and Bucky Barnes when Buck did become the new Captain America. Finally, there's his most well-known alternate persona: Ronin. Clint becomes Ronin after returning from the dead, wanting a break from his Hawkeye persona and an opportunity to become Ronin arises in New Avengers #27 (2007). Clint is not the only person to have used these aliases. Additionally, Hawkeye has been used not only by Clint and Kate Bishop, but also by Bullseye during the Dark Reign.

The things we haven't talked about

Like I said at the very beginning, there is a lot of Clint Barton knocking around in comics and even with all this there's a lot of content I haven't focused on. For instance, I've not talked a lot about his relationships, beyond his marriage to mockingbird (and really I only scratched the surface with that), and honestly once you start getting into interpersonal relationships we're starting to move on from what can be done in a Tumblr thread.

There are also some topic specific threads floating around, which you might like to look at too.

@vaguelyrotten has done a run down of some great dumpster fire Clint Barton comics (some of which I haven't listed) and you can see that here.

@bobbimorses did a great summary of Clint's historical deafness for instance which you can find here.

There's also this little bit all about Clint and Bucky in canon (thanks to @nightwideopen ) and how Winterhawk became a thing (thanks to @1000-directions )

This is slight sidenote, but @clintscoffeepot did a really great comprehensive of Fraction Clint's apartment which is just a really useful writing resource and you can get that here.

There is also this website which I stumbled across fairly far into writing this post which does actually look like it might be comprehensive.

If I've missed anything major, or listed something incorrectly or you just have some Clint related opinions that I need to know about, do hit me up.

[pulaasul]

Lightning and Nexus

Billy, as Captain Marvel, was patrolling Fawcett city when he came upon a glowing red hexagon near the train station where he first met the Wizard Shazam.

Naturally, he investigates.

FFN I Ao3

Preface: Not at all related to my Justice League Unlimited in the DC Animated Universe and Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover, but I'll be using the Billy Batson of that crossover but minus getting sucked in during Endgame.

If you want to read the fic, it's called "Undo".

--------

Billy was just minding his own business, he was patrolling Fawcett City when he noticed an eerie red thing glowing at the alleyway near the train station where he first travelled to the Rock of Eternity. He cautiously approached the glowing hexagonal thing.

Upon closer inspection, the red hexagon had tints of blue around it.

He cautiously tried to reach out it when the Wisdom of Solomon warned him of it.

That was when he learned that the glowing red hexagon was a combination of spells that were cast by the homo magi from before the Salem Witch Trials.

"Mom! H-he-help me!"

Billy could hear two voices coming from the hexagon, two voices that the Wisdom of Solomon supplied to be coming from children.

"SHAZAM!" Billy shouted

Thunder cracked as lightning lit up the night sky before lightning struck Billy's champion form.

Billy soon found himself, as a fifteen-year-old, inside the Rock of Eternity.

"I'm sure the Wisdom of Solomon has informed you that those were cries of help young Billy Batson." The Wizard Shazam's ghostly form appeared sitting on the lone throne.

"Is it safe?"

"You are the world's mightiest mortal young Billy Batson." The Wizard offered, "The gods, your benefactors, through the nexus of the multiverse has provided you with the power."

"Nexus?"

"A being, place, or thing that is outside the confines of time and space," Shazam explained. "The constant in every universe," Shazam's ghostly form approached the teen. "Only you and your family can pass through the nexus of all realities, even a lord of order like Doctor Fate will have trouble passing through there."

Billy looked a bit reluctant as he processed what the wizard told him.

"Young Billy, what does your heart say?" The wizard asked his young champion.

"I want to help."

"Then you go help."

"What about this universe? What about Fawcett City?"

"I'm sure young Mary and young Freddy are up to the task."

Lightning struck the ground a few paces beside Billy before he saw his twin sister and best friend stood the ground where lightning just struck.

"Billy? What's the emergency?"

"Young Billy is about to travel to a different universe." Shazam informed the new arrivals.

"Travel?"

"Different universe?"

"A hexagonal portal just appeared in Fawcett," Billy supplied. "It's a call for help."

"You want to help them, don't you Billy?" Mary sighed.

"And we're called here so we can pick up the slack." Freddy raised an eyebrow. "We'll be this world's champion of magic while you go dimension-hopping to help someone in need."

"This show of humility and selflessness proves that I chose well in you young Billy." Shazam's ghostly form smiled.

"What about me?" Freddy pointed out. "I get why Mary was called here but without Billy, no one would give me Shazam's powers."

"Freddy's right, Billy shares his powers with Freddy," Mary nodded.

"Do not worry young Freddy, you'll still be able to transform into your champion form even if young Billy is not in this universe." The Wizard assured.

--------

Not before long Freddy, Mary and Billy were in front of the glowing red hexagon in their mortal forms.

"I trust that you'll take care of things here." Billy smiled at his best friend and sister.

"Don't worry Billy, I've got the league handled." Mary assured his brother.

"And I'm taking care of everything else." Freddy proudly announced.

"Oh please Freddy, we're taking care of everything in Billy's absence." Mary rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, what about Pedro, Eugene, and Darla?" Freddy voiced out. "They'd want to know where you've gone to, especially Darla."

"Not to mention Batman would go to great lengths to find where you've gone," Mary muttered to herself. "He might commission Superman's services to check the areas where technology is still sparse or outright non-existent."

"Just tell everyone that the wizard sent me somewhere to restore order," Billy instructed. "As the Wizard was once a Lord of Order."

"Wouldn't they ask Doctor Fate about that?" Freddy questioned.

"Doctor Fate is the least of our worries," Billy shook his head. "We have to worry about how Constantine is going to react."

"Why Constantine?"

"Because he's as unpredictable as sorcerers and homo magi go, one of the rare homo magi that have been to hell and back," Billy answered. "Just tell Constantine everything from my encounter with this thing." He gestured to the hexagon.

"Tell the family and Constantine the truth then tell everyone else that the Wizard sent you somewhere to restore order." Mary summarized the instructions.

"Got it one Bill." Freddy grinned.

"So this is goodbye?" Mary asked.

"For now." Billy smiled at his sister. "I promise that I'll come back."

"SHAZAM"

Lightning struck Billy Batson, and Captain Marvel was standing where the young boy stood.

"I'll leave everything in your hands." Captain Marvel smiled.

Captain Marvel reached out to the glowing red hexagon and braced himself for what was about to happen.

All Freddy and Mary could was watch as Captain Marvel was yanked into the red hexagon even when he was already approaching it.

----------

Captain Marvel found himself in an empty street wearing some sort of cosplay of his hero costume; form-fitting red shirt and red form-fitting trousers, bright yellow belt, and boots with a big black lightning bolt with yellow outlines printed across his shirt.

Thanks to the Wisdom of Solomon, he was able to identify that he was supposed to be in some sort of sitcom-like reality, and apparently it's just starting their Halloween episode.

"SHAZAM!"

Lightning struck the heroic captain and was replaced by his mortal form, Billy Batson.

Billy was wearing a smaller version of the outfit he was wearing as Captain Marvel from the form-fitting shirt to the bright yellow boots.

Billy shook his head and decided to forego thinking up of theories and possibilities like he used to when he was fighting with the Marvel family and ran straight ahead.

As Billy was running he noticed few people were out and about, standing stationary in their places. He narrowed his eyes and approached one of them. He waved his hands in front of one kid, trying to get a reaction but to no avail.

He tried to do the same from an adult but to no avail. He even tried poking them in areas he knew most people were ticklish but he barely got an 'eep' from them.

Not a moment later, everyone around him started moving, children running around going house-to-house trick-or-treating some adults were putting up Halloween decorations in their lawns.

"Sorry boy, I didn't see you there," The adult he was just poking earlier stated. "Let's get you to my front door."

The adult escorted Billy to the house.

"Trick or treat!" Billy exclaimed, trying to blend in.

"Here you go boy, you're costume looks great, a circus performer right?"

"Yeah! I just love them! Especially that one family that does all their acts together." Billy grinned.

It didn't escape Billy's notice that everyone started being responsive and moving when a woman in red walked with what seems to be her family.

-----------

Billy continued trick-or-treating but he kept passing by the odd family. Apparently, the man the lady was with was her twin brother and the two boys were her children. The four of them were dressed in costumes that one would find in the pages of a comic book.

From passing by them constantly, he was able to put faces on the voices he had heard back in Fawcett city. The other boy's voice back then was just overpowered by his brother's voice. They were clearly trying to get some help, they were trying to call their mom to help them.

Acting against his better judgment, he decided not to approach the family.

It can never be said that Billy can't learn from his mistakes or the mistakes of others. He knew that he did the right thing when he and Superman fought because of Luthor's machinations. He just hoped that Superman can learn from his own.

That was during this moment that Billy noticed that all his candy were gone and he was covered in silly strings. He looked at the family only to find the red woman talking to a man in a zombie costume. He looked around his surroundings and he can see the blue and red streaks breezing around his immediate surroundings.

-----------

Night came, and the family was at the town square and they pointed at Billy as if they finally found him.

"Mom, that's him." Billy heard the boy with the red cape exclaim.

The family approached Billy and handed him a handful of candies.

"Now boys, what do you say?"

"We're sorry," The Maximoff twins apologized. "We won't do it again."

"It's fine," Billy smiled at the twins. "I understand the feeling of having all the candy to yourself especially on Halloween night," He stated. "What do you say that you two split the candy you got from me earlier?"

"Really?" Tommy looked at Billy expectantly.

"Are you sure?" Wanda asked.

"I'm sure," Billy nodded. "It's my fault that I wasn't attentive that you were able to steal my candy," He grinned. "I've been an orphan for years and that was basically what I first learned after running away from my uncle. It's my fault for letting my guard down after being sent to a foster home here."

It wasn't a complete lie, after Billy ran away from his uncle Ebenezer, one of the very first things he learned was how to guard all of his things and make sure that none of them end up getting stolen. Ever since Uncle Dudley took him in and then by the Vasquezes, his guard had been lax.

However, Billy knew that super speed was applied during the Maximoff twins' candy heist, but they didn't need to know that he knew that.

Wanda glanced at her twin brother and frowned.

The Maximoff twins looked at each other then looked at their uncle.

"If you're sure." Wanda nodded, unsure how to process the information. "What is your name?"

"I'm Billy Batson." Billy introduced himself.

"No way!" The other kid exclaimed. "My name's Billy Maximoff!"

"No way!"

"What should we call you little dude, I don't think we can call our Billy any other name." Pietro offered.

"You can't even tell the difference between us." Billy Maximoff fired.

"Hey! I've been here for a day only," Pietro defended himself. "You can't blame me if I can't tell the difference between you two demon spawns."

"You can address me as Batson, my family name." Billy Batson suggested.

"Now boys, what do you say to Batson after he graciously told you to keep the candy that you stole?" Wanda asked her twin boys.

"Thank you, Billy." The Maximoff twins expressed their gratitude.

"It's no problem," Billy grinned. "Gotta run, I have a few more houses to get to, assuming you returned the candy you stole to the others." He gave off a smirk. "See you around."

"See you around Billy!"

-----------

As soon as Billy was a distance away from the Maximoffs, he can sense something different from the twins and their supposed uncle. It may just be the Wisdom of Solomon leaking out to his mortal form, but he just had this feeling.

Billy nodded to himself as a plan formed in his mind.

"SHAZAM!"

Billy transformed back into his champion form of Captain Marvel. He flew upwards and gained a fair distance from the ground.

He looked around and finally found the family he was looking for.

It seemed like the feeling he had as Billy was right. The Wisdom of Solomon has informed him that the boys were mere constructs, living constructs, of the mother.

The uncle on the other hand has a different feel from everyone he had encountered so far, minus the Maximoff twins. It felt like he didn't belong in this universe, just like he was. Then there was the fact that he the man was showing signs of magical possession, and Wanda, the mother of the twins, was none the wiser.

But before he could even take action, he saw that the boys approached their mother frantically which was followed by Wanda blasting her supposed brother with red energy.

It looked like Wanda has just realized who the man was.

The next thing Captain Marvel knew was that everyone around Wanda, minus the twins and the man who was just blasted away stopped moving in the middle of what they were doing as if time had stopped for them. Someone was even jumping when they froze in the air.

A pulse of red energy was released from where Wanda stood and engulfed everyone it came in contact with.

When Captain Marvel came into contact with the pulse of energy, which was when things clicked into place.

Magic.

Wanda was casting magic through sheer willpower. She simply has to think of what she wants and the magic, as if it was subservient to her will, would follow her desires to a T.

It was a good thing he was in his champion form or the red magic would have placed him completely under Wanda's control and cast him to a role in this reality-warping magic. The rock's magic protected him from the supposed effects Wanda's magic would have had on his mortal form.

As soon as the effects of the pulse subsided, everyone was suddenly walking to their respective houses all robot-like with no conversations, no laughter. They were just like machines ordered to go back to their storage centers.

----------

Captain Marvel soon found himself in the morning when everything has changed shape as if trying to depict a certain era: buildings, advertisements, even the cars were changed.

He ignored the fact that it was suddenly morning and decided to fly around the area and see what the effects of the red magic pulse earlier was. Much to his surprise, the area seemed to have expanded as there were areas that weren't present before.

Captain Marvel decided to descend near where the circus was situated. He saw, an unconscious man?

A machine?

A synthezoid?

A synthezoid that emanated the same magical signature as the twins, which would mean this man was also a product of Wanda's magic.

He was about to approach him when the circus became lively. People were coming out of circus tents and started practicing their supposed routines and acts.

-----------

Only a few short moments have passed and the machine woke up from slumber and approached the woman in chains, her supposed role was that of an escape artist considering the ease she showed in escaping from the chains she was previously bound in.

A few more moments of observation, the synthezoid pressed two fingers on the woman's temple. It unscrambled the magical energy that was lingering unto her heart and brain, suppressing it.

Captain Marvel was about to approach the duo when he noticed what he was wearing. It was certainly something. He was now wearing what Clark Kent would wear when covering stories. He supposed that Wanda's magic rewrote his clothes into that of a journalist considering that he was a radio reporter himself, despite the rock's magic protecting him from further alterations.

He shook his head and decided to approach the duo who were now about to board an ice cream truck.

"Excuse me." Captain Marvel called out. "William Batson from the Daily Planet, I would like to ask the escape artist some questions."

"Sorry," The machine apologized. "We really have to go, we were double booked."

"It's fine, this is an ambush interview, and I could ride with you to your destination." Captain Marvel bargained.

"Fine, he can come with," The former escape artist acquiesced.

The ice cream truck moved and both persons talked to each other as if they didn't have any other passenger with them. This does work to his advantage, he didn't have to ask any potentially triggering questions that would be detrimental to anyone involved.

"This was fueled by grief." Captain Marvel shared his conclusion.

"Wha-?"

"I'm sorry I had to lie earlier," Marvel apologized. "I didn't lie that I was supposed to be a journalist set to cover the circus in town but I knew that I didn't have the same mentality as the rest of them," He admitted. "That gist of what I knew was that I was suddenly in a place where people acted differently."

"You noticed that we acted differently from the others, that's why you approached us." The man in red surmised.

"That's the gist of it."

"What do you mean this is fueled by grief?" The woman asked. "I'm Dr. Darcy Lewis by the way."

"I'm The Vision."

"As far as I know, based on your explanation, this Wanda person seems to have more powers than what was recorded: telekinesis and telepathy. Why not say that her power evolved through grief or even say that her powers are magical in origin?" Captain Marvel offered.

"Magic would make a lot of sense," Darcy nodded. "Especially considering what's happening."

"A sitcom-like reality where nothing dangerous or traumatic ever happens." Captain Marvel nodded along.

"I'm still stumped on that fueled by grief part." Darcy frowned.

"It makes the most sense, according to you, five years ago this universe experienced an extinction-like event that erased half of the universe's population out of existence and it wasn't until a few months ago that those who got their existences erased returned."

"For Wanda, when she returned, my death was only a few minutes earlier."

"And in turn make your death only a few months old from her perspective," Darcy concluded.

"Grief has five stages and Wanda's on the first stage of grief – Denial." Captain Marvel somberly stated. "Add that with magic, and she can essentially deny the reality of her losses."

-----------

As the conversation inside the ice cream truck evolved to a myriad of topics, they waited for the group of school children to pass through the intersection. Captain Marvel must admit, if he wasn't being subjected through these circumstances, he would get a good laugh about this situation.

Not a moment later, Vision the synthezoid, flew upwards and phased through the truck's roof and left Dr. Darcy and Captain Marvel inside the truck.

"O-okay, meet you there." Darcy remarked belatedly.

"Dr. Lewis, I suggest you hold on tight." Captain Marvel suggested as he exited the truck from the back door and lifted it up in the air.

"Gaah! What are you doing?!" Darcy exclaimed in surprise.

"Getting us to our destination faster."

Captain Marvel lifted the truck off of the ground and flew towards the direction where the Vision flew.

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

Captain Marvel placed the ice cream truck at the town square where a lot of Westview's citizens were living their days as they cast of Wanda's sitcom reality.

"Take a minute to compose yourself then do what you need to do." He instructed before he flew off.

Captain Marvel flew towards a strong magical presence, not of Wanda's, that's filled with mal intent. The feeling he got from this magical presence was the same feeling he got from facing one of the seven deadly sins way back when.

Captain Marvel utilized the speed of mercury and increased his flying speed that he was able to overtake the Vision and see what was happening near Wanda's residence.

"Let my brother go!" Captain Marvel heard Tommy demand as both he and his twin struggled from the purple strings tied around their necks. "

Captain Marvel summoned a lightning bolt to his hands and threw it towards the strings that connected the noose to the floating woman's fingers, cutting the captive boys free.

As soon her twins were free, Wanda immediately launched two red energy balls at the woman, knocking her back a few meters away from where she floated.

"Go to your room boys." Wanda ordered.

"Mom, we can help." The twins protested.

"Listen to your mother boys." The woman remarked as she got up from the pavement just by planting her feet on the ground.

"But-"

"I'll take them home." Captain Marvel volunteered.

The lightning hero flew towards the twin boys and carried them under his arms towards their residence.

"Who are you? How do you know where our house is?" Tommy frowned.

"Never mind that boys, you need to get inside while I go help your mother."

Captain Marvel left the boys and tackled the woman in purple robes and actively utilized the Wisdom of Solomon once more.

The woman before him was Agatha Harkness, an ancient witch from the Salem witch trials. She dabbled in magic that was above her station that cost the life of her entire coven when they punished her for going above her station.

"Another magician in the midst." Agatha smirked.

The purple witch sent out a pulse of purple energy that sent Captain Marvel flying towards the sky however she failed to notice the flying car that Wanda had summoned and slammed her into a nearby house.

By the time Captain Marvel was able to regain his bearings from being unceremoniously blown away from where he was, he immediately flew back to where he knew Wanda was at only to be greeted by the Vision flying towards a white version of himself and Wanda chasing after Agatha.

Captain Marvel was about to chase after both witches when he saw clear signs of magical tampering on a certain house. He flew towards the top of the house and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"SHAZAM!"

As thunder cracked on an otherwise clear sky, he immediately flew away from the structure as the lightning he summoned dispelled whatever magical spells the house was under by way of a purple-tinted glass dome shattering to pieces.

As soon as the purple dome shattered, the lightning hero could feel insidious magic emanating from the house, magic that would even make the Lords of Chaos back in his home universe giddy with excitement.

Marvel shook his head as he immediately headed for the window at the top of the house in question only to be greeted by a woman straddling a man.

"Nice to meet you, Ralph."

"Hello, Peter." Marvel greeted.

"H-how…"

"None of that right now, Peter your speed is needed now," Marvel ordered. "I fear the residents of Westview are going to be caught in a crossfire between a fight amongst witches, and robots, once the dome we're in opens, I need you to transport all of the civilians outside."

"Gotcha!" Peter nodded.

"As for Captain Marvel…"

"You mean me? I'm not her." Monica raised an eyebrow.

"Right, Danvers is the Captain Marvel of this universe." Captain Marvel muttered to himself, "You're on guard duty, your powers can be used to protect the civilians unlucky enough to get in between Wanda and the other witch."

"How will I get there?"

"You're going flying with me."

"See you on the flip side." Peter saluted before speeding off towards the town square.

----------

Monica and Captain Marvel flew towards the town square only to be greeted by a screaming Wanda Maximoff, whose magic seemed to strangle the crowd that formed around her.

"Wanda, control your magic," Captain Marvel called out. "I know grief can be drowning and this magic is the only thing keeping you afloat but you need to control your powers so you won't hurt others in the process.'

Wanda looked around and saw for herself what was happening, everyone around her on the ground struggling to breath.

"No! Stop!" Wanda forcibly dispelled the spell that she unconsciously cast on the townspeople. "Stop! I'm sorry."

Captain Marvel nodded to Monica as he set her down on the nearest sidewalk, intending to assist Wanda.

"I will, I will let you go, I will." Wanda remorsefully nodded.

"What's stopping you?" Agatha inquired. "Use your power and do it now." She urged the grief-stricken hero. "Heroes don't torture people."

"You've done enough damage, Harkness." Captain Marvel growled.

The lightning hero summoned a lightning bolt to his hand and threw it right at the purple witch, missing her by an inch. He summoned another one and threw it in the same direction.

"Were those supposed to hit me?"

"No, they weren't."

As if on cue, the billboard behind Agatha started to crumble and fell towards the witch. He knew that the witch was able to save herself from the oncoming fall, but it was enough distraction so that he can tend to Wanda.

Before he could even approach her, Wanda screamed and summoned a pillar of red magic that pierced the skies, opening the hexagonal dome that trapped all of Westview.

"Go!" Wanda ordered. "All of you! Now!"

"Peter now!"

Two by two, Peter Maximoff carted off the residents of Westview just outside the premises of the dome as military-grade trucks entered its premises. The speedster ignored the people going inside in favor of getting the residents out of the dome Wanda has created.

As the surroundings flickered back and forth to different eras, Captain Marvel was vigilant and observed everything. Even with the powers of the gods at his beck and call, he still doesn't know where Harkness would soon reappear next.

He was a bit surprised when the Vision plummeted towards the ground, slowly but surely disintegrating. He soon witnessed Wanda's twin boys arriving, also sporting the affliction that plagued their synthezoid of a father.

The recent turn of events has made Captain Marvel come to a conclusion: All of Wanda's living constructs are tied to the dome that she created. Dispelling the dome would technically kill her family as well.

The family that kept her afloat from the sea of grief within her.

"Now do you see?" Agatha appeared in front of the downed billboard. "You tied your family into this twisted world, now one can't exist without the other."

"Mom!"

"Boys!"

"Save Westview or save your family?"

Peter managed to return to the dome and nodded to Captain Marvel.

"Wanda, close the dome!" Captain Marvel ordered. "Every man, woman, and child of Westview has been evacuated."

Wanda looked at her husband and sons, and that was all the motivation she needed to close the dome that was slowly and but surely killing her family as painful as possible.

With the dome closed, the Vision, Billy, and Tommy Maximoff reformed to their original states.

"M-mom!"

"Mom! Are you okay?" Billy Maximoff asked his mother.

Wanda simply hugged her boys as a response while the Vision hugged his family.

"Really?!" Agatha growled, sending a beam of purple magic towards the family.

"Oh no you don't"

Captain Marvel threw a car to intercept the purple beam and exploded as Wanda erected a red shield to protect herself and her family.

Agatha didn't give up and sent another purple beam towards the Maximoffs, this time Peter reacted and was able to whisk away the younger twins with the lightning hero grabbing both Vision and Wanda.

"It makes me wonder," Agatha spoke. "How come I haven't absorbed your magic sorcerer?"

"I know how your absorption magic works Harkness," Captain Marvel responded. "You're not getting a whiff of mine or any more of Wanda's magic."

"Let's see about that." Agatha smirked as she fired off purple balls of magic towards Captain Marvel, all of which were dodged.

As Captain Marvel dodged every attack that came from Agatha, military-grade trucks came running before military personnel exited their vehicles and pointed their guns at the Synthezoid-Human family in the center.

"Listen, boys, your mother and I never really prepared you for this." The Vision started, eyeing the military personnel pointing the guns at him and his family.

"But you were born for it." Wanda finished.

Vision flew towards his differently-colored counterpart as Wanda and the twins stared at the military before them.

As Captain Marvel continued to dodge the purple balls of magic coming towards him, some of the military people pointed their guns at the flying beings in the sky, namely himself and Agatha.

With one final purple ball, Agatha shifted her attention to the gun-bearing men and lifted them off of the ground.

"Same story, different century." Agatha scoffed. "There will always be torches and pitchforks for people like us Wanda." She smirked as she faced the lightning hero.

Agatha dispelled the floating spell she cast on the military men, with gravity doing the rest of the work for her.

Captain Marvel was quick to save a few of them, as did Peter who was watching from afar not knowing what really to do next, but there were some of them left who would surely plummet to their own deaths.

Wanda was quick to act and saved the remaining few with her magic and stopped the momentum of their fall before unceremoniously dropping them on the pavement.

"Boys," Wanda faced her sons. "Handle the military, mommy will be right back."

Wanda flew towards Agatha.

The military turned their guns on the Maximoff twins but Billy Maximoff already had a plan in mind. He immobilized everyone from the military, who were pointing their guns at him and his twin, through his magic, while Tommy used his super-speed to steal their guns, a hat, and a pair of sunglasses.

"Right on, my dude!" Peter praised.

"Uncle P?" Tommy questioned, unsure.

"Not exactly kid," Peter shrugged. "But close enough." He grinned.

Another person exited his vehicle and pointed his pistol right at the celebrating kids.

From a distance, Monica was riding the ice cream truck with Darcy as they helped Peter in evacuating the residents of Westview, saw what the man was about to do.

"No, no! That Hayward!"

"What about Hayward?" Darcy questioned when she noticed what her passenger was doing. "Monica! What are you doing?!"

Monica ignored Darcy's questions, and the fact that the vehicle she was in was still moving, and exited it before rushing towards the boys, leaving behind a golden streak, and placed herself between the twins and the man firing his pistol.

The bullets passed through Monica before falling just behind her, losing their momentum, but one lone bullet whizzed past her, helpless to stop as she did the bullets before.

Billy Maximoff used his magic to stop the bullet in its tracks before he dropped it to the ground.

"Nice tricks." Monica praised.

"I like yours too!" Billy Maximoff returned the compliment.

"I'll take this."

Captain Marvel landed before the man, Hayward, and grabbed the emptied gun from his hands and crushed it all the while glaring at the man who dared to shoot at children.

Hayward scrambled to get to his vehicle to make his hasty escape. He was able to successfully drive the car backward only to be slammed by an oncoming ice cream truck, stopping him dead on his tracks.

"Have fun in prison." Darcy quipped.

Monica was quick to rush to Darcy's aid, even if she still didn't know how to open the door that was most likely slammed shut from the driver's stunt earlier.

Billy Maximoff knew what to do, he immediately used his magic to open the door as Monica helped the relatively unharmed driver out of the truck.

With the de-facto leader pinned inside his vehicle and the other military personnel deprived of their guns, and he just saw the white version of the Vision fly upwards, Captain Marvel instantly knew that the remaining threat was the witch, Agatha Harkness.

Captain Marvel looked around and there he saw Agatha looking down on the Vision, his kids, her supposed husband, Monica, and Darcy. He was about to charge when he saw Wanda approach the unsuspecting witch, albeit creepily, and whispered something to her ear.

The next thing that happened was Wanda and Agatha jumping off of the roof before flying towards the sky.

Wanda began attacking Agatha, firing off red energy balls, some of them hit the other witch right on the chest while some outright missed.

Vision and Captain Marvel flew towards Wanda only for her to cast a dome right at the both of them, which the lightning hero was able to evade leaving Vision trapped inside the dome which left him with no choice but to land back towards his sons, hugging them.

"What are you doing Wanda?" Captain Marvel shouted.

That was when Captain Marvel realized, he looked at the places where the energy balls hit every time Wanda missed Agatha.

Wanda was casting runes, magic dampening runes.

Runes that would make any other sorcerer, witch, or wizard incapable of using their magic once inside them.

Before Captain Marvel could react, Agatha started the process of absorbing Wanda's magic.

A few moments passed and it seemed like Agatha has absorbed every ounce of magical energy inside Wanda as she floated lifelessly in her place.

"About our deal, once cast, the spell can never be changed. This world you made will always be broken." Agatha blinked. "Just." She raised a lone finger. "Like." She pointed at Wanda. "You."

Agatha raised both of her arms, intending to deal a finishing blow towards her opponent, but once she placed her arms forward, her spell failed to materialize.

She repeated her actions but nothing still happened.

Wanda slowly straightened her body as the effects of having her magic drained on her body faded and reflected her age, with a slow turn of her wrist, the runes Wanda has cast beforehand revealed themselves.

"Runes?"

"In a given space, only the witch who cast them can use her magic." Wanda quoted Agatha. "Thanks for the lesson.

Agatha glared at Wanda.

"But I don't need you to tell me, who I am."

"No, no, no." Agatha panicked.

An ethereal red crown appeared on Wanda's head as magic around her, including the magic that Agatha has absorbed from Wanda and various other witches, were going towards her.

It took everything in Captain Marvel's power not to get swept up in the magic absorption that was happening but he successfully landed on the pavement, albeit on his knees.

"SHAZAM!"

Thunder cracked as lightning flashed the sky, not a moment after, lightning hit Captain Marvel's chest, much to everyone's shock, to which he turned back into his mortal form, Billy Batson.

"No way!" Billy Maximoff exclaimed. "You're that lightning dude!"

"Yeah, I'm the lightning dude." Billy Batson nodded.

"How?" Darcy questioned.

"How did you do it? Did you just de-age yourself? Why would you go back to being a kid?"

"Slow down." Billy Batson chuckled. "To start with, I'm Billy Batson, I turn into lightning dude, I call myself Captain Marvel while in that form."

"Captain Marvel? I thought I heard you say 'Captain Marvel of this universe'."

"He also mentioned how this universe experienced an extinction-like event." Darcy chimed in.

"Who are you Billy Batson?" the Vision questioned.

"I'll explain once Wanda's done with Agatha." Billy smiled at the group.

As Billy, Darcy, Monica, and the Maximoffs, including Peter watched how Wanda close this threat.

"So what now? Just gonna lock me up somewhere?"

"No."

Billy tensed at Wanda's response.

"Not somewhere."

"Wanda no," Billy immediately spoke up. "I know it can be tempting to exact vengeance but that will never satisfy you, it may bring temporary relief and closure, but it's just that, temporary. You just have to believe that if you're good, good will follow."

"Here." Wanda paid no heed to Batson's outburst.

"Here?" Agatha questioned.

"I'll give you the role you chose, the nosy neighbor." Wanda approached Agatha.

"No, please!" Agatha begged.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," Agatha scoffed. "You're cruel."

Wanda ignored Agatha's last verbal stance and approached her some more.

"No you, you have no idea what you've unleashed, you're gonna need me." Agatha bargained.

"If I do, I know where to find you."

"Wait, wait, wai-"

Wanda touched Agatha's left temple and a red swirl of magical energy morphed Agatha's whole appearance to that of an unassuming person.

"Hiya hun, say, that's some kinda get up you're wearing," The woman who was known as Agatha grinned. "Did I leave the oven on, is that just you, hot stuff?" Agatha chuckled.

"You live here now, no one will ever bother you."

"Okay dokey, artichoke."

"I'll be seeing you, Agnes."

"Not if I see you first, hun." Agatha-turned-Agnes fired back.

"Mom!"

The Maximoff twins ran towards their mother and hugged both in joy and relief. Wanda returned the hugs with kisses on both the boys' foreheads.

"So it would appear that our dream home has been reduced to a fixer-upper," Vision commented. "I know you'll set everything right." He looked around. "Just not for us."

"No," Wanda shook her head but in affirmation. "Not for us."

"It's time, should we head home?"

"Yeah."

Darcy, Monica, Billy Batson, and Peter looked at the family of four with sympathy, especially for Wanda. They knew that this will be the last time they'll see this family.

Wanda looked at the four of them but only nodded in acknowledgment.

Monica and Darcy simply nodded back at them.

"I promise you'll get your answers, but there is something that I need to do first."

"I'll take you there."

Peter placed his hand on Billy's shoulders before they disappeared from view.

-----------

"Boys… Thank you for choosing me to be your mom."

Wanda turned off the lights and closed the door.

"SHAZAM!"

Billy transformed back into his champion form and entered the boys' room. He looked at their sleeping forms as they were slowly but surely disintegrating one piece at a time as the barrier of Wanda's dome inched closer.

Captain Marvel raised his arms sideward, each hand hovering over one of the boys. Harmless bolts of electricity seeped out of his hands and made contact with the Maximoff twins.

Captain Marvel was going off of what he did to Freddy years ago, after his fight with a villain resulted in broken bones and losing a grandfather. While he may not have fully healed the broken leg, it did protect his best friend from further injuries even as Freddy Freeman.

Despite the minimal amount of contact Captain Marvel had with the boys, both as Billy Batson and Captain Marvel, he knew that the Maximoff twins were sentient and possess a soul of their own, and they just lack a body.

As they were beings constructed with magic, there is a high chance of them being used against Wanda, and he was hoping that what he was doing to them, that by sharing a small amount of divine magic to them, would protect them from malicious beings that would use them against their mother.

As soon as he was done, it took everything for Captain Marvel not to keel over from the experience. He might have done something more, something unexpected, to the boys and the experience was draining, to say the least.

Captain Marvel looked at the boys for one more moment and that was when things clicked, thanks to the Wisdom of Solomon. He left a small imprint of himself, of Billy Batson, on the magic that he shared with the Maximoff twins.

All things considered, it was probably for the best, now he knew that the boys would have someone else with them, regardless if that someone was just a small projection of his mortal self, at the very least the boys won't be lonely by themselves.

Billy knew loneliness and no one deserves that fate, especially not children who chose the Scarlet Witch as their mother.

With everything done, Captain Marvel exited the boys' room and shouted his magic word before transforming back into his fifteen-year-old self.

Almost as soon as Captain Marvel returned to his mortal form, he and Peter made contact with the contracting dome of magical energy as everything transformed back into what it should be: including the disappearance of the house in front of them, leaving one Wanda Maximoff standing at the center of the lot.

Peter immediately approached the grief-stricken mother.

"Can I hug you?" Peter asked.

Wanda simply nodded, still unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Why did I have to lose everyone dear to me?" Wanda muttered to herself.

"I can't give you an answer to that myself." Peter rubbed Wanda's back.

"You're not Pietro." Wanda removed herself from Peter's hug."

"I'm not."

"Why do you have his power?"

"It's because he's your brother in another universe." Billy answered.

"Batson."

"What do you mean another universe?" Peter frowned.

"Ask Wanda of something you're sure to exist." Billy urged the speedster.

Peter decided to humor Billy and looked at Wanda.

"Do you know of a Professor X?" Peter asked Wanda. "The X-men?"

"Professor X? X-men?"

"You mean to say that there are actually multiple universes out there?" Peter exclaimed at Billy. "There's no way mutants don't exist!"

"Mutant?"

"You're standing in one Peter." Billy smiled.

"I'm a long way from home." Peter realized.

"Who are you Batson?"

"I'm just someone from another universe who's here to answer a call for help," Billy answered. "And no, it's not someone from Westview or the people from the military." He sighed. "Frankly speaking, I don't think I'm done with this."

"Not done?" Peter raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure myself, it's just this feeling I've got."

In truth, the Wisdom of Solomon who alerted Captain Marvel had informed him that he wasn't done just yet. Billy does have a sneaking suspicion that he may have travelled to a point in this universe before the boys, Wanda's twins, were asking for their mother's help.

"How did you come to this universe, Peter?" Billy asked. "I came here through a hexagon portal in red of my own free will."

"I'm not sure…" Peter trailed off. "I was on an en errand by Professor X when I felt like one of my sisters needed me," He admitted. "The next thing I know was that some woman approaching me and forced on me a necklace then I found myself at your doorsteps claiming to be your 'long lost brother'."

"Sisters."

"It's possible that you responded to Wanda's grief and pulled you out of your home universe." Billy hummed.

"Did I… No." Wanda gasped. "I promise that I will send you both back to your home as soon as I understand my powers."

"No need to rush sis," Peter grinned. "I can wait."

"As I said, I came here of my own free will," Billy repeated. "I can wait, maybe even assist you."

"No, I need to do this on my own."

"I understand," Billy nodded. "But if you need me, you can simply cast one of your spells and I'll immediately come to you."

"Count me in on that too."

"I have to go." Wanda excused herself.

"We'll go together." Billy smiled.

---------

As Wanda walked towards the town square of Westview, she has her hood up as if hiding from the glares the citizens were giving her.

Billy and Peter tried their best to shied Wanda from those stares. No matter what they did, it won't erase the fact that they were held hostage by someone who should have been their hero. The feeling of betrayal was there, and Billy was familiar with that kind of feeling.

Especially after his bout with Superman years ago.

Wanda approached Monica.

"They'll never know what you sacrificed for them."

"It wouldn't change how they see me." Wanda sighed.

Monica simply nodded, agreeing with Wanda's sentiment.

"And you, you don't hate me?"

"Given the chance, given your power, I'd bring my mom back." Monica nodded. "You know, I would."

"I'm sorry, for all the pain I caused."

"I know,"

"I don't understand this power, but I will."

Wanda looks around her before looking at Monica's eye.

"Goodbye, Monica."

"Bye Wanda."

Wanda turns her back on Monica before transforming her clothes into something else and flew off to who knows where.

"As for the both of you." Monica looks at Billy and Peter. "Care to tell me who are you both?"

----------

"Let me get this straight, you two are from a different universe, different from this one." Jimmy questioned.

"Seems to be the most plausible explanation," Peter shrugged. "Seriously, no one here knows about mutants or even the X-men or even the brotherhood of mutants."

"Where are you from then Billy? If that even is your name."

"I came from a universe where one of our heroes dresses as a bat." Billy shrugged.

"A bat? Seriously?" Peter snickered.

"Hey I was an orphan who was given these powers by a wizard, I'm not one to judge on why he dresses as a bat."

"No more joking this time." Jimmy groaned.

"I'm not joking." Billy told the trio seriously.

"And so am I." Peter nodded.

"I'm sorry, but I'm still lost at 'the different universe' part."

"Yet you're not at all surprised that the Norse god of thunder is part of your hero lineup." Billy raised an eyebrow.

"He has a point." Darcy conceded.

"Why are you here Billy?" Monica took over the questioning. "What about your home universe?"

"I've got my family to pick up the slack." Billy smiled.

----------

"M-mom!"

"H-help us!"

"I don't know if Billy can last much longer."

--------

Somewhere, Wanda in her Scarlet Witch costume, opened her eyes as it glowed red.

[bisexualoftheblade-old]

how many wips do you have? like what are they all, and not the number of wips in a fandom? what are all the names?

okay. fuck you. fuck you so much. fuck you.

i’m putting this under a read more cut no one else deserves to see this shit. a lot of these are requests, and for those i will just write out the request itself

Shadowhunters:

domestic polycule fluff with tem, jessa, and will because im not a coward

Supernatural

- hehe hoho i request destiel hehehe

- request 61/? cai cai cai cai i need you to rewrite the destiel scene but yk. GOOD. not like i'm in the know about the spn fandom or anything, it's been years for me. but DO IT

Bright Sessions

- caleb/adam grisha AU

- mark bryant vs. united states aka sue the AM

- caleb/adam college fluff

Umbrella Acaademy

- request 31/? i want a ben and klaus drabble please spare me some brotherly bickering

- AND SO BEGINS NIGHT 4 with request 13/? oooh oooh can i get a raymond and allison playlist??? i think their vibes together would SLAP

- hi there night 2 is technically morning 3 but who's counting not me anyway request 5/? can i get a ben moodboard? gotta rep my tua bb

Percy Jackson

- request 9/? can i get a percabeth moodboard or quote edit?? like god they're the og couple goals take me back to high school cai

- For the 100 follower things :D Jercy getting caught in the rain

- request 29/? a drabble about literally anything to do with pjo. i’ll be happy with anyone and anything i’m love these children

- *somersaults in like I’m a real fancy acrobat* hello ello ello may I request some camp half blood chaos possible involving *does a flip* ✨side characters✨ <3

Penumbra Podcast 

- request 52/? drabble about the penumbra podcast. this is for ren bc ren likes it and i don't actually know anything about it. juno? i think? that's the one ren likes. write it for ren

- Tpp ghost hunting / buzzfeed unsolved au

- sad juno smut

- final resting place fic go brrrr

Marvel

- request 6/? i'm going to my roots y'all can i get a spider-man playlist? if not a playlist then i'd honestly be happy with literally anything involving spider-man

- request 15/? i'm going crazy this is recorded evidence of me actually losing it ANYWAY can i get a quote edit for something from iron man? literally anything that man says is gold so cai's choice :D he deserved better in endgame i'm still bitter

- request 42/? do another spidey thing that differs from the other spidey thing

- request 73/? you have Opinions. rant about infinity way and/or endgame. go.

- request 74/? quote edit for deadpool!!

- spideytorch relationship character study

- peter parker as a tired grad student monitoring the young avengers (send help)

Six of Crows

- okay listen i wasn't going to request anything bc i worry about you but also? if you want to/have the time hit me with a playlist for our girl nina zenik

- request 43/? fuckin give me the ending anya should have had. she is alive and with her new son and having a great time

- request 45/? inej moodboard?

- request 47/? will you make literally any meme of your choosing for six of crows?

- request 48/? write a drabble for kaz, my favorite bastard

- okay so i don't actually like nina or mattias that much but i still wanna hear about your thoughts (and also see if you'll change my mind)

- kaz brekker turning 18 fic. birthday party, everyone singing, whole shebang. i need it stat

- religious trauma fic aka i started shipping kaz/alina/inej and i can’t stop

- kaz trauma soup (he has D.I.D. and you can’t prove me wrong)

- my two redacted fics for @grishaversebigbang​

- wesper fake dating

- six of crows bright sessions crossover: everyone gets therapy

TMA

- uhh... s1 gang having a nice time? melanie getting to have some Pride™️? some "fun" horror thing?

- request 7/? spare steph and jason bonding? please sir? spare some for a humble child such as myself?

- okay so this was meant for night 3 but i had midterm shit SO this is honorary night 3 let's DO THIS request 8/? i want a moodboard of extremely out of context magnus archives shit like i mean confuse the FUCK out of me i don't go here i know Nothing about it

- request 11/? OKAY so i need tim stoker meeting tim drake now i need my timmy to meet your tim plus i want to see character differences no i'm not trying to create a tim stoker in my head so i can read a's fic while NOT thinking of tim drake whaaaaaat you're crazy

- request 18(i think)/? i need a quote edit of every time within the first like. 15 eps of tam where jon is like “sounds fake but go off” thank u bb

- request 40/? i challenge you to write a tma drabble based only on the episodes i've heard. i'm currently halfway through episode 23

- Jon being lovingly bullied into taking a break. I'm aware this has been written a million times but it is one of my favorite things.

- spiral!sasha AU

- extinction martin go brrrrr

- high school era timsasha. they've both been friends for years, and everyone always asks when they will be a couple. they decide to fake date, to prove everyone wrong and show what a bad couple they would be. turns out that's a bit trickier than they thought

- after sasha comes back, tim is broken. he can't let go, scared that if he looks away for even a minute he'll lose her again. sasha suggests shibari as a way for him to give up control

- sasha pov mag 19 au, sacrificing herself to save the others, knows that if she gives herself up to the not!them it will let the others live

- this is the "tim finds a polaroid of sasha" trope

- early archives days,, long nights in research,,, clothes sharing,, somft. late nights and falling asleep at their desks warm and safe in the other's presence

- two parts: timsasha as kids, each picking a constellation that is "theirs". just soft kid antics. tim at sasha's grave glancing up to see their constellations

- continuing your job’s a joke (you’re broke)

DC Comics

- TIMSTEPH HADESTOWN AU,,,

- my redacted fic for @batfam-big-bang​

- request for you to get a decent amount of sleep? serious answer, dickkori, SAL's Venus

- request 4/? timsteph morning after 👀 mayhaps?

- a concept: nonbinary stephanie brown

- teehee hi mom, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, but can i request damian angst for your accomplishments 100 followers?

- hi you can ignore my first request if you want, or you can ignore this one. but bls possibly write some bikini ra’s? -the bikini bitch

- request 27/? jay is asking through me for a jondami playlist but tbh i also want it so win win yk?

- "I don't know how to help you but I can help you find someone who does" with bruce and jason? im just craving bruce being a good day to jason for once

- “I am putting you in time out because you need to understand the consequences of your actions.” with steph and jason as dumbass disaster bi best friends pretty please?

- request 32/? timsteph patrol date!!!

- request 33/? timsteph *gala* date? mayhaps??

- request 37/? tim drake drabble but make it Edgy cai

- request 39/? drabble of a prank war between tim and damian

- joyfire cuddly fluff please? or like just any outlaw fluff if joyfire isnt your thing (feel free to add every member of the outlaws, dont feel like u gotta stick with jason, kori, roy i love them all)

- barbara and robin! jason fluff? bonding over books or something?

- request 62/? i need a drabble about the chaotic trio jason, tim, and steph i'm love them ty

- request 63/? batfam x mcu crossover. batfam meets ironfam. give me ALL the cliches. ALL OF THEM

- request 64/? young justice x young avengers - jay cuz idk SHIT about the young avengers

- request 66/? jondami moodboard pls and ty

- request 67/? timsteph moodboard!!!!!!

- request 69/? HEHEHE kinky 😏 i would v much like a timsteph drabble of the almost first time. does that make sense? like i don't want you to go all the way NSFW cuz i know that's against the rules and i'm a rule follower. but like they *almost* go all the way. this could be fade to black or some shit i don't care just make it a lil steamy and have Fun

- i request damian angst! all of it

- hmm... maybe i request? jondami?

- mayhaps,,,,some batfam,,,,,committing crimes? ily be gay do crime <3 - lu

- How about a ficlet with Steph and Cass?

Found Family Bingo Prompts

- no powers au

- tunnel

- first day

- join the club

- hurt/comfort

- experiment

- playing favorites

- hold on

- possession

- 10 o’clock

- singing

- road

- snitch

- curfew

- timer

- fantasy au

- zombie au

- dreams

- campfire

- are you okay

- movie night

- games

- scared

Miscellaneous

- a request: Write A Drabble, Coward

- is it too late to request a moodboard for me?

- request 20/? i’m going off book because i’m in a Chaotic Mood™️ can you just absolutely vibe check me like go off cai demolish me

- request 21/? i formally request that you pick a favorite cai. i don’t care what that favorite pertains to, just pick a favorite something

- request 23/? roast me

- request 24/? can i have a buzzfeed unsolved spoopy playlist but spoiler alert it’s not spoopy bc shane doesn’t believe does this make sense it has been a Day™️

- request 25/50 i want a jake and amy fic make it Soft cai i’m love them b99 is so good

- request 28/? i know nothing about the lord of the rings so make something that will confuse the shit out of me

- request 34/? malvie and jaylos moodboards 😈

- request 35/? a moodboard for the bbb mods!! perceive all of us!!!

- request 36/? moodboard for the tua mods too???? mayhaps??

- request 41/? doctor WHO? idk but i want a drabble of him and the one character i know from doctor who which is rose

- request 46/? make an alignment meme with our group, have fun!!!

- request 49/? i want you to kin assign me a character from every fandom you can/want to. go feral

- request 50!!!!/? this is a special request. the most special request. can you make a bastards tbh playlist? i want our vibes encapsulated. i want us in music form. i want to hear those songs and be like "that's me and cai" and smile.

- requests 51/? i know jack shit about good omens. explain it to me in the most confusing way possible. make me know less by the end than i know now

- request 53/? can you write a mel aesthetic? i'm Curious

- request 54/? give me a list of book recs cai i want some good book recs pls

- request 56/? edit a picture of US together too

- request 58/? oooh can i have a disney edit? like. hm. i just really love disney and i want anything to do with disney. like a quote or an aesthetic or an aesthetic edit i just want disney.

- request 59/? i would v much like a recipe for carbonara. i've never had it but it sounds fucking delicious

- request 60/? ooh hey can i get a makeup tutorial? i know you like makeup, i'm shit at doing makeup. teach me

- request 65/? i need the most emo playlist you can make that vibes with dear evan hansen thank you

- request 68/? i want a superwholock moodboard. this can be serious, with the actual fandoms in mind, or literally what the era felt like. the insanity. the horror.

- request 70/? ooh ooh ooh do you have a good bread recipe?? i wanna get that bread

- request 71/? i want a playlist with the vibes of summoning a demon. please don't ask questions. i don't have answers. and if i do, no i don't.

- For the requests, how about writing something based on a friend?

- request 75/? MMMM i want literally anything to do with natasha, pierre, and the great comet of 1812

- request 76/? i want some healthy recipes. help a girl out

- a feral bbb quote or two?

- you perceive my plant but now I dare thee to perceive mine own visage

- okay this is a two for one request. 1. you did the bee movie script so now we need a shrek two script edit 2. sleep please

- Pansexual mb for my lil queer soul?

- my (probably) final request is just for you to ramble about something, i don't really care what

- HI ILY CONGRATS AS WELL CAUSE IM LATE BUT CONGRATS. could i request a pirates of the caribbean (or just pirates) or whatever you what to do, free range.

- mood board for the beluga whales who got brought to the animal sanctuary in Iceland please?

- 100 follower request: Moodboard for my stuffed cow Oaky?

[thanksjro]

Dark Cybertron Chapter 7: Simon Furman and His Lack of a Relationship with the Singular They

The Lost Light is still being attacked by Ammonites, like it has been for the last few issues. Hound’s taken over as acting field commander and is calling all the shots. Chromedome uses his stupid beefy arms to punch things. Trailcutter is screaming. Swerve’s got his My First Blaster™ strapped to the top of his alt, and saves Crosscut.

Crosscut is our toy tie-in character for this issue. He’s a senator, and drafts play scripts. Arguably one of the more interesting tie-in guys, at least in theory. In practice, all he’s doing is forgetting Swerve’s name, which isn’t going to help the guy with his through-the-floor self esteem.

Crosscut points out that Swerve’s communicator is flashing, and while he’s checking his voicemail, all the Ammonites seemingly vanish… at least, until the gang realizes that they’re instead heading for Metroplex.

Inside, it would appear that the Rod Pod Squad aren’t actually dead, though their ride is probably toast. Before everything went to hell, a wall slammed down from the ceiling, protecting everyone from being utterly destroyed. Skids has figured out what all the arrow graffiti is about, earning himself a BOMP from Getaway. Looks like the internal structure of Metroplex has been shifting, and that’s why they got the runaround last issue. Also, Whirl’s gone missing, but we don’t have time to worry about that, because Swerve just called back with some bad news: the admium flakes they saw earlier mean that Metroplex has an alchemical virus.

Don’t you look at me like that, I’m getting to the explanation.

Alchemical viruses turn the metal of the body into admium, a rare, incredibly soft metal that will break down very easily and also kill you. It’s pretty bad to have. Also, contagious. Fellas better get outta there, posthaste.

The Ammonites are also storming Metroplex, so that’s an additional issue. God, it just never stops, does it?

Over in the Dead Universe-

Is

Is that a fortress of evil in the shape of Nova Prime’s head?

Is that a goddamned fortress-

Anyway, the center of Nova Prime’s universe is Kup, who was the guy who got oh-so-dramatically revealed at the end of the last issue. Unfortunately, Orion Pax also considers Kup to be very near and dear to his heart, and the whole “being turned into a space bridge” thing is going to be an issue.

This is the weirdest love triangle I’ve ever seen.

How the hell did Kup even get here? Well, in order to know that, you’ve have to had read Infestation, the bullshit zombie crossover comic miniseries that ran in 2011.

But I’m not going to do that.

Because I don’t want to.

After a bit of showboating, Nova Prime orders Nightbeat to take Team -Imus to their cell.

Over on Cybertron, Shockwave is getting real sick of Galvatron’s shit, but Galvatron is too busy posing dramatically to notice. Waspinator, Metalhawk, and Dreadwing float in the air. I’m not sure what they’re up to, but I’m sure it’s important. Jhiaxus shows up with a gaggle of goons, one of which seems to have forgotten his face in the jar by the door.

Galvatron gets shamed for tearing Megatron in half, since that sort of broke the space bridge in his torso, but he’s too busy being classist to care. Waspinator floats in the background. What are you doing back there, pal?

Shockwave orders Waspinator to carry Megatron to his quarters, but Galvatron’s decided that he’s going to be an asshole about everything today, even when he’s being helpful.

…Okay, Boomer.

Waspinator still ends up hauling Megatron’s ass away, and Shockwave and Jhiaxus have a little chat.

Back in the dead universe, Team -Imus are in their cell, as Nightbeat double-checks the locks or some shit, I dunno. They’re gonna get their sparks ripped out later in the day, so that the space bridge Kup’s got running in his torso finally has enough juice to actually friggin’ work.

Then Rodimus flashes his mystery hand at Nightbeat and makes him fall down. In order for the whole brainwashing thing to work, Nightbeat’s true nature had to be suppressed; however, whenever Rodimus shows off his mystery hand, it makes his brain kickstart back on, messing up the brainwashing.

Well, you know what, Cyclonus? That’s not my fucking fault. Blame Roberts and Barber. I certainly do.

ORION PLEASE.

We finally get a look at what Rodimus’ hand mystery is, and if you read Eugenesis, you might know where this is going. It would seem Nightbeat has not- which is for the best, really, given what happens to him in it- but he’s still a pretty smart cookie and can suss it out through the power of deductive reasoning. Here’s what he’s working with:

After a moment’s deliberation, he asks Rodimus, who he knows to be the captain of a ship, how many folks are riding around in the space yacht. Rodimus tells him 190, and shows off that he’s got his lipgloss on, and it would seem that Nightbeat’s a free man again. He lets everyone out of the cell, and they gear up to go pick up Kup. Orion Pax is confused as to what the hell just happened here, and Rodimus promises to explain why he’s carved a division problem into his palm once they aren’t in immediate danger.

Back on Cybertron, Galvatron and Waspinator are dragging Megatron’s halves towards Shockwave’s quarters, when Bumblebee pops out of nowhere with a gun and a mouth full of swears. He’s here for Megatron, and he’s not taking “no” for an answer. Galvatron thinks that this is super fucking funny, and tosses Megatron like an empty soda can into the wall so he can squash a bug.

It looks pretty grim for ol’ Bumblebee, but suddenly Galvatron realizes he left the oven on that Megatron’s gone missing.

Oh, there he is!

Megatron blasts Galvatron in the torso, then- in a surprisingly polite manner, at least for him- tells Bumblebee to grab his legs so they can get out of here. As the two of them traverse the burned-out husk that is Cybertron, Megatron decides to be a complete bastard, as he smiles at the idea of Starscream suffering. Like, dude, I know he kept you in weird hamster ball jail and spouted soliloquies in your general direction every single day you were there, but folks are dying right now.

Speaking of Starscream, he’s having a moment, as he sits on his knees and stares at the sky in abject horror while the world burns around him. Scoop comes by to yell at him for being a harbinger of death, and generally being a less than stellar leader, and Starscream halfway calls himself a dumpster fire.

Back inside Metroplex, the Rod Pod Squad are fortifying their defenses against the Ammonites, even though they really need to be getting the hell out of there before they get turned into talcum powder through the power of alchemy. Whirl shows back up, the Ammonite hanger-on in his grasp, and we get the skinny on why the hell the Ammonites are involved with this whole debacle anyway.

The answer is Shockwave.

The answer is always Shockwave.

Then the little dude explodes. It’s fine, they do that sometimes.

Before he went kablooey, little dude uttered the phrase, “if the dead are not enough.” We’ll get to what all that’s about later. Right now there are far more important things going on.

LIKE MOTHERFUCKING LADY ROBOTS.

But why is this such a big deal? Why is it that non-male coded robots who aren’t Arcee haven’t been seen up until this point? What’s up with that, huh?

Well, in order to understand IDW’s complicated relationship with gender, we’re going to have to do some digging into the history of Transformers as a franchise.

We’re going to have to talk about Simon Furman.

We're going to have to talk about Prime's Rib.

And we’re going to have to talk about Spotlight: Arcee.

Simon Furman wrote a lot of Transformers. You cannot get away from Simon Furman, because the man is so ingrained in the franchise. He was there for Marvel UK, he was there for the back half of Marvel US, he wrote for several other publication runs of Transformers, he worked on the Earth Wars mobile game-

-and, of course, IDW publishing.

Because Furman is so very well established and known in the industry, he gets the benefit of not being questioned on a lot of the calls he makes.

Which is a problem, because the man is a massive misogynist.

In 1989, Marvel UK #234 came out, containing the story entitled “Prime’s Rib!” in which the Autobots built Arcee in order to appease a group of strawmen feminists. Of course, one female Transformer isn’t enough for them, and they yell at poor Optimus Prime for trying his best. This is the point where Hot Rod is used as a writer avatar to try to smooth things over with the reader, because you see, the Transformers don’t even know what sexual dimorphism and gender identity even is, so of course they wouldn’t have female members of their race! Jazz is used for a breast joke. Arcee acts like a massive, stereotypical bitch the whole time, despite not having been written like that at all in the other issues. It’s a bad comic with hideous ideology leaking out of it, and I'm halfway sorry I read it, so I’ll just give you the essence of this nightmare.

Oh, those big, mean, scary feminists are bullying the robots for living their lives, huh Furman? Life is just so goddamned unfair when a woman exists in your fucking line of sight.

Furman has gone on record saying that he doesn’t see the point in including the concept of gender in a race of non-sexually reproducing robots. He sees them as “genderless.” Which, if that statement existed in a vacuum, I could perhaps see where he’s coming from.

But Simon Furman does not exist in a vacuum. He exists in a world where sexism exists, something that he’s willingly participated in.

Let me back up that little tidbit with a bit of a disclaimer: I’m not in any way an expert on gender. I didn’t study it in school, I’ve not read an obscene amount of pieces on the topic. I’m not even sure about it on a personal level.

Maybe some of y’all have noticed the whole other set of pronouns I slapped into the bio in the last month or so. It doesn’t really matter, 90% of people don’t read the FAQ/About, I know that, and then 95% of those people only read it once, and this has been a relatively new self-revelation.

BUT ANYWAY.

Let’s be… fair about this. 1989 was a while ago, a lot of research on the concept of gender has taken place, maybe he’s ch-

Oh, what’s that?

Misogyny?

Transphobia?

Transmisogyny?

Treating women as an aberration being forced on Transformers as a whole?

And the writing is clunky and overstuffed?

Well, that’s just fucking fantastic, Furman, thanks so much.

This was in 2008. Because Furman established that female Transformers weren’t something natural, but rather made, and forcibly at that, and nobody fucking smacked his little hands away from this terrible idea, AND nobody tried to fix it for years, there was a lack of gender diversity within IDW until 2014, with the release of Dark Cybertron Chapter 7. Because we waited six years to fix this nightmare, things couldn’t be done quite the way that Roberts had been hoping, in that he intended for our female robots to not have the whole… fembot build happening. IDW wanted them immediately clockable, because this was very clearly a problem that needed rectifying.

So, in short: because of boys’ club mentality and a lack of understanding of what gender means or why it’s important for roughly 50% of the world’s population to have representation in media, Nautica and Chromia are here now.

And despite the convoluted road they had to take, I love them very much.

[davidmann95]

Today's comics?

An unusual week: while I got plenty of stuff, over half of it was non-Big Two. Would have been even more if not for the tpb for Bang! not showing up at my LCS, I’ve heard good things about that; hopefully soon.

Dark Nights: Death Metal #5: I’m still largely enjoying this, but it’s weird that after a prior event and a run leading into this that perfectly balanced pure comics bullshit lore and wild comics bullshit fun, it’s the absurd maximalist finale with the Chainsaw of Truth and an evil Darkseid arm and a zombie army commanded by Batman in a trenchcoat that it goes all the way into Lore as the heart of the thing.

Batman #103: I’m really enjoying the hell out of Ghost-Maker, the idea of the 90s globe-trotting uncompromising ass-kicker superhero with all the resources, guns, katanas, smooth self-assurance backed up by ruthless competence, and badass one-liners contemporized, made as cool as you always wanted it to be, and taken to its horrific logical conclusion. Also his name is Ghost-Maker because he kills people and that’s how ghosts work, never gonna get over that. I would for real read an ongoing about this dude, or at least legit hope somebody takes some inspiration from his new model of the template.

Catwoman #27: A lot of fun! The logistics were more than I could fully follow on a casual read, but bit-by-bit this does feel like it’s turning the Brubaker paradigm into something uniquely its own.

Rorschach #2: I very much liked it. I wonder if the stuff with how it played with time visually might have been influenced by Pax Americana, and I cracked up at the bit you’d assume I cracked up at. Again, “I liked it/didn’t like it” and maybe one or two comments are all you’re getting out of me with this one.

Ice Cream Man #21: Great as usual, but I can’t say I grasped the purpose of the riff.

Stillwater #3: This feels like it’s tending back up towards what I really dug about the first issue.

We Live #2: Didn’t quite measure up to the first issue - there’s a storytelling choice here that wasn’t entirely clear at first and left me confused for the back half of the issue, I needed to reread it to get it - but I’m still quite pleasantly surprised by this one and would recommend it even if you’re tired of the post-apocalypse.

DIE #15: I assume either next arc is the end or it completely changes up after #20, given the countdown on the back (and of course how that matches up with the physical die). Totally lost, still loving it, glad I have time to reread it and make sense of things.

Once & Future #13: Tidily answered a question I’ve had for awhile, and as much as I’ve moaned that while this is good it hasn’t been fully clicking with me, that opening was an all-timer.

Die! Die! Die! #13: Still an extremely dumb hoot.

Commanders in Crisis #2: Once again reviewed it for AIPT! And also once again would recommend checking out the site’s exclusive ‘interviews’ with the members of the team courtesy of Ritesh Babu and Orlando, this month’s being with Sawbones.

Marvels Snapshots: Avengers: Aside from the Chaykin Spider-Man one I skipped, this was the first one to leave me ‘meh’. I’d say pass.

The Immortal Hulk #40: Some of the more recent forays into more traditional superheroic territory in here - while still great - haven’t hit me as hard as its pure horror, but this is as Marvel-ass comics as the book’s gotten thus far and it’s a total blast. And among the volumes that will be dedicated to this book when it’s over, some of that writing better be dedicated to how hard each and every issue’s title fucks month in and month out, because damn.

[aseriesofunfortunatetexts]

🔥 Kit and Esme!

Haha, boom, bitches, last one finished! Still taking place within the zombie AU, still good and angsty.

***

The doctor showed up at the penthouse thirty minutes after the called him on their secure line. Esmé was standing behind him, dressed impeccably in a white nurse’s uniform, the outfit completed by a little hat, perched atop of her neatly coiffed hair. Jacques immediately refused her entry, while Jerome lingered behind him looking like a kicked puppy, but in the end, it was both of them or neither, Esmé said, and Jacques had to relent.

Kit has no idea why Esmé wanted to be there in the first place, but as the contractions grew worse, and Jacques turned white as a sheet and fled, Esmé actually stayed with her, going as far as holding Kit’s hand, even as she watched the whole thing go down with wide-eyed terror.

(“This can’t be normal!” she cried more than once, to which the doctor sighed and patiently assured her that it was quite normal)

Kit lost all sense of time during the birth, her world reduced to pain and pressure, but now that she’s lying back against the headboard with the baby bundled in her arms, she’s already starting to forget about the pain and the screaming and the bodily fluids ruining the nice Egyptian cotton sheets.

All that matters now is her.

Esmé seems even more relieved that it’s over than Kit is. She fuzzes with her little hat, checking her nails and groaning in despair when she sees that a couple of them broke off at some point when Kit squeezed her hand too hard.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a good manicure in an apocalyptic hellscape?” she asks when she catches Kit giving her a wonky smile.

“Look, Esmé, I want to thank you for-”

“Don’t thank me,” Esmé cuts her off. “Well, you can thank me later, but right now I need you to listen to me very carefully.” She sits down on the edge of the bed and leans close to Kit, like she’s afraid someone will hear them talking. “You need to get out of here.”

Kit frowns. “What?”

“We’re building a place upstate, out in the countryside,” Esmé says, her words coming quick and precise, like she practiced this pitch beforehand. “It’s going to be safe. Secluded. Food, doctors, teachers. Everything you’ll need.”

“By ‘we’, do you mean...?”

Esmé sighs. “Yes, my side. But this place will be for people like you as well.”

She should have known, of course Esmé would have ulterior motives for being here. Trying to whisk Kit away from her family, from the VFD, with the promise of a quiet life upstate. But at what cost?

“Absolutely not,” Kit says, tugging her baby closer, like Esmé might steal her. “I won’t just leave, I-”

“Don’t you want your child to be able to play outside?” Esmé asks, desperation creeping into her voice. She glances down at the baby, then back at Kit. “Running in the fields, playing hide and seek in the forest, swimming in the lake with other children her age?”

It makes no sense that Esmé would care, Esmé hates children. The only explanation Kit can come up with for this offer is that Esmé still cares about her, and that’s deeply troubling. And yet, Kit can’t help it; she lets herself imagine the life Esmé describes. Her beautiful daughter, smiling and laughing, playing while the sun sets over a beautiful meadow. But that’s a fool’s dream.

She tells Esmé just that.

“Darling, no,” Esmé hisses. “It can be real, you just need to come with me!”

“I can’t,” Kit replies, tears threatening to form in her eyes. “I can’t just leave everything behind. And Dewey-”

“You can bring the ghost,” Esmé says immediately. “It doesn’t matter. His brother will be pleased.”

“Ernest is there?” Kit asks.

“He will be, once that stupid hotel of theirs has been lost for good.”

It’s only a matter of time, Kit knows. It’s an unspoken agreement amongst them to not discuss it with Dewey, but Frank is already planning their immediate evacuation to the mountain headquarters.

But she won’t tell Esmé that, and Esmé doesn’t get to decide anything she does for herself or her child either, no matter how rosy a picture she can paint. “Dewey can’t just-”

“Dewey can’t just what?” a familiar voice asks from the doorway. Esmé is off the bed in a split second, stepping back and glaring at the intruder with silent distain.

Dewey looks like he ran through the dirty tunnels all the way from the hotel, which he most likely did. But he takes one look at Kit, at the baby in her arms, and his shoulders drop in relief.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Kit says, but her voice is weak and when Dewey rushes to her side she drops all pretense, sobbing quietly while he climbs onto the bed to hold her and the baby.

“Marvelous,” Esmé mutters under her breath, but Kit ignores her. “Truly a beautiful moment. Can we focus, please?”

“What is she talking about?” Dewey asks, loud enough for Esmé to hear even though his lips pressed to Kit’s temple.

“She wants us to leave with her,” Kit says, “she says they have a place-”

“Upstate,” Dewey finishes. “Yes. Ernest told me.”

“Finally, some inter-organization cooperation,” Esmé exclaims, sounding like that settles it. “Now, get your things, and let’s get out of here!”

Kit ignores her, but Dewey pulls back and gives her a withering glare. “We’re not going with you.” But then, much to Kit’s surprise, he turns his eyes to her, eyes suddenly uncertain. “Right?”

“Of course, I...” she pauses. “Why? Do you... want to go with her?”

Dewey looks pained. “I’m not sure. Ernest says it’s safe.”

“Do we trust Ernest?” Kit asks.

“Of course he trusts Ernest, he’s the only one who is actually looking out for him,” Esmé says derisively. “Or so I’ve heard.” She smirks at Dewey. Kit knows she is missing something here, but she doesn’t miss the way Dewey’s arms tightening around her protectively. Neither is the movement lost on Esmé. “Cute,” she says. “The ‘protective husband and father’ act suits you, Dewey.”

Kit doesn’t think she’s ever heard Esmé say Dewey’s name before now. It sounds wrong, somehow.

“We’re not going with you,” Kit says, her voice sounding foreign even to herself. “Thank you for offering, but no.”

Esmé face twists into something ugly, equally angry and frantic. “Kit, you have to! Think about the baby!”

“We will think about it,” Dewey says, and Kit is just as surprised as Esmé looks to hear that. “We’ll contact you if we change our minds.”

It’s almost comical, this look of surprise on Esmé’s face. She definitely didn’t expect Dewey to be the more amenable one. “Make it quick, will you?” she asks. “You know how to find us.”

On her way out she stops in the doorway, glancing back at Kit, Dewey, and their little baby girl, but she doesn’t say anything else before she leaves.

“We can’t go,” Kit whispers, clutching her daughter to her chest as tight as she dares. “Can we?”

“We could,” Dewey says. “Some of our associates might even understand.”

“Jacques wouldn’t.”

“Jacques isn’t the one who is important here. Neither is Lemony, or Jacquelyn, or Frank, or any one of them. It matters what you want.”

“I just want her to be safe,” Kit breathes, voice breaking. “I don’t know how we’re going to keep her safe, Dewey.”

It’s clear that Dewey doesn’t know what to say, so he just holds the two of them close while Kit cries.