#it takes a LONG while for parker to even reveal his name to john

[mudwingprince]

john doesnt have as good of a starting experience in the dark world as arthur

(kind of a continuation/concept branching off of this)

reblogs>likes

[fantasyandromancelover]

Spider-Man AU Act 1

Inspired by literally every movie and TV adaption of Spider-Man there is, and in a case where there are not one but three main heroes.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Raimi’s Version) - Alastor

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Webb's Version) - Angel Dust

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (MCU Version) - Moxxie

Mary-Jane Watson - Charlie

Gwen Stacy - Vaggie

Michelle Jones - Millie

Harry Osborn - Blitzo

Ned Leeds - Fizzarolli

Uncle Ben and Aunt May - Alastor's parents

J Jonah Jameson - Husk

Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin - Adam

Dr. Curt Conners/The Lizard - Asmodeus

Dr. Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus - Sir Pentious

Max Dillion/Electro - Travis

Adrian Toomes/The Vulture - Chazwick

Flash Thompson - Striker

John Jameson - Vortex

Liz Alan - Queen Bee

P.S I stink at hero and villain names.

In 1980, Etienne, Henrion, and Carlo "Crimson" Hansen were brothers who started out as petty thieves living on the streets. But later in life they were employed by a mysterious crime lord who dealt in illegal experimentation, drug smuggling, and seizing control of other corporate businesses. As they years went by Henrion and Crimson revealed in the money and power that organized crime gave them but Etienne gradually grew to regret it upon seeing just how dangerous their boss's operations were and even more so after he fell in love his long-time girlfriend Marie. In time all three brothers had one son, Etienne's and Crimson's were born through marriage while Henrion's came from a one night stand with a hooker. When Etienne became a father he decided to quit and live a life of honest work, begging his brothers to the same for their sons but they both refused.

Then a year later in 1986, Etienne received a call from Crimson's wife begging him to come help her, insisting that her husband has gone mad and that she needs to escape with her child. Etienne agrees to help but knows his brothers will seek retribution, so he arranges for himself, his family, his sister in-law, and his nephew to go into hiding until the heat dies down. Unfortunately when he goes to get Crimson's wife and one year old son he finds her dead, having been killed by Crimson and is knocked out. When he wakes up he learns that Henrion and Crimson have kidnapped his own son and later discovers that all three boys were being used as test subjects for their boss's experiment to advance human D.N.A. Apparently older test subjects were unable to survive the effects and younger ones were suspected to have a stronger system. Engraged that his brothers would stoop to this Etienne kills them both, takes his nephews to raise his own alongside his son, and left town with his family to start a new life, changing their name from Hansen to Devalcourt.

Fourteen years later, seventeen year old cousins Alastor and Anthony "Angel" and their fifteen year old cousin Maximus "Moxxie" have been brought up in a loving and nurturing environment provided by Etienne and Marie and all three are blessed with extremely high IQ's and intellectual gifts. But upon reaching the teen years they develop their own personal issues. Alastor is a socially awkward nerd who is constantly mocked and bullied by his peers, Angel is a rebellious punk who acts out to deal with feelings of abandonment and is belittled by most of his teachers, and Moxxie is always trying to fit in only to constantly be rejected. Despite this they do have some friends. Alastor’s rich high school classmate Blitzo who's father is the owner of a corporate company, Moxxie’s fellow theater geek Fizzarolli who is also bullied due to being held back several years, and the boys’s beautiful next door neighbor and childhood friend Charlotte “Charlie", who Alastor has secretly been in love with since he was six.

One day the school takes a field trip to a genetics lab run by Doctor Asmodeus Rapha, a brilliant scientist and former science teacher for the boys, and among the few to recognize Angel’s potential. Asmodeus unveils his latest invention for all to see, the Neogenic Recombinator, a device that crosses science with spiritual forces to create a whole new form of healing and advancing one's natural abilities. However the effects of the device have so far be unstable due to the fact that all the recent test subjects of it can't handle to extreme change in their blood and D.N.A. They are also introduced to Asmodeus's workers Travis and Chazwick, his pretty young intern and Charlie's best friend Vaggie who takes an instant dislike of the boys, believing them to be trouble makers.

During a tour of the lab, Stiker the school bully and his gang grab Moxxie and drag him off somewhere to beat him up. Alastor and Angel come to his defense which results in a fight breaking out and one of them hitting the Neogenic Recombinator. The device is turned on and it hits Alastor, Angel, and Moxxie with a blast but nothing seems to happen to them so they quickly run home, to avoid getting into trouble. However in actuality they have been given super natural, demonic, powers and skills without any negative side effects due to their blood and D.N.A having been made stronger cause of the experiments made on them at a young age. All three have super-strength and genius level intelligence but Alastor can control and morph with shadows, produce tendrils as a means to climb and swing, and his given heightened senses. Angel has advanced speed and agility, instinctive combat skills, and producing a paralyzing venom. And Moxxie can shapeshift, has healing and regenerative powers, and can build any form of device, weapon, or force.

At first the boys just use their powers to benefit themselves. With Angel using his to intimate local thugs who mugged him for money, Moxxie getting revenge on Striker and hid gang, and Alastor signing up for a wrestling match to win a thousand dollars, money which he intends to use to help his parents with their money problems. Charlie happens to notice that Alastor and his cousins are acting different and she informs Etienne and Marie of her worries. Etienne, secretly fearing that they might make the same mistake he and his brothers made, has a talk with all three of them but Moxxie and Angel get angry and snap at him to stop trying to be their father. When he talks to Alastor, just before dropping him off at what he thinks is a trip to the library, Etienne confesses to Alastor the whole story about him and his brothers. He warns him that while in the beginning they were only trying to take care of themselves and their family, in the end it lead them down at dark path of murder and betrayal. Then he tells Alastor that as the oldest he has to look after the family should something happen to Etienne and he gives his son the advice "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility." Alastor only brushes off the advice, telling his father that he has no responsibility to Angel or Moxxie because technically they're not his brothers and unlike his father, he didn't choose to look after them. That was just saddled on him.

Turns out Alastor had lied to his father about going to the library and was really going to the wrestling match he secretly signed up for. With his powers, he easily beats his opponent and wins the match but is cheated out of the money by the crooked sponsor. Shortly after said sponsor is robbed and Alastor let's the thief get away as revenge. Later as Alastor waits for his father to pick him up, he discovers that a car jacker shot his father and Etienne dies in his son's arms. Heartbroken and enraged, Alastor hunts down the murderer but is horrified to find that the killer is the same thief he let get away. Alastor is now condemned with guilt, convinced that his father's death was his fault and Angel and Moxxie are also stricken with guilt for how they treated their uncle. At Etienne's funeral Charlie, Blitzo, Fizzaroli, and Vaggie comfort the boys and Marie. Alastor then swears on his father's grave that he'll make things right and always look after the family no matter what.

Meanwhile Blitzo has always felt neglected by his father and is desperate to win his approval. So desperate that he begins taking drugs to be good at sports and become a star athlete, ditching his real friends to hang with the popular crowd, and sets out to woo Charlie despite knowing that Alastor has loved her for years. Charlie tells Blitzo that she's not sure if she wants to be his girlfriend but she agrees to date him to see where this goes. At the moment Charlie isn't really looking for a relationship, she's too busy trying to achieve a career in acting yet unfortunately no one really supports that dream except for her Vaggie, Moxxie, and Alastor. One night Charlie has a fight with her father over her career choice and Alastor invites her out to comfort her. As they talk Charlie confesses that she always admired Etienne for being a devoted and supportive father, calling him a hero to which Alastor agrees. He then confesses that he believes himself to be a disappointment to his father and that he may never be the man he wanted him to be. But Charlie just kindly assured him that he's better than he thinks and that someday he'll be a hero just like Etienne was.

This inspires Alastor, Agnel, and Moxxie to honor Etienne's wish for them to be good men by using their powers to defend the innocent from evil. Donning masked costumes, they fight crime and save lives as honorable vigilantes with demonic powers and skills. This earns them the names the Demon Deer, the Spider Sinner, and the Incredible Imp. However despite their heroics, newspaper publisher Husk is convinced that the three of them are villains and vows to find proof as this by hiring Alastor as the newspaper's photographer due to him being the only one able to get a clear picture of the heroes. Meanwhile Angel decides to clean up his punk act by taking up an internship with Asmodeus which allows him to work alongside Vaggie who is soon impressed by his hidden genius and Moxxie helps Charlie further her acting career by getting her involved wit his acting trope.

Unknown to everyone including Blitzo, his father Adam is secretly the crime lord Etienne used to work for years ago and has been building his own criminal empire to run the city. At some point Adam decides that he wants to use the Neogenic Recombinator on himself despite Asmodeus's warnings of the danger. The device does in fact give Adam supernatural powers and skills but because his body and D.N.A has no immunity or stabilizing factor like Alastor and his cousins do, he is driven insane and becomes a villain known as the Dark Archangel. At a world unity fair where Adam was supposed to meet his son and Charlie, the Dark Archangel arrives and assassinates a rival crime boss attending the event. Alastor as the Deer Demon fights him but has to let him escape when Charlie falls from a building amidst the chaos. He catches her in time and she can't help but feel that there's something familiar about her savior.

Adam continues to plan the murders of his competition but many of his attempts are thwarted by Deer Demon, Spider Sinner, and the Incredible Imp. Eventually he realizes he can't take all three of them so he kidnaps his employees Asmodeus, Travis, and Chazwick and uses the Neogenic Recombinator to mutate them into villains that he unleashes on to the city to distract the heroes. Travis and Chazwick are both gleefully embrace their new, sadistic identity but Asmodeus tries to fight it and goes to Angel and Vaggie for help. The two of them and Alastor keep him secretly contained and run experiments on him into order to find a cure for the mutation. During this Angel and Vaggie grow closer and after a surprise kiss, they start a relationship. Alastor and Charlie grow closer too much to Blitzo's jealousy. On a rainy night, Alastor and Charlie share a romantic moment just after a failed audition where he encourages her to keep holding on to her dreams. She walks home alone but Alastor notices some men following her and sneaks after them through the shadows. The men try to gang rape Charlie but the Deer Demon saves her again. Thinking that it was Alastor who saved her, she kisses him in the rain but is shocked and embarrassed when they part and she sees that it's not Al. Or so she thinks.

At Thanksgiving, Charlie, Vaggie, Fizzarolli, Blitzo, and his father are invited to spend the holiday with the boys and Marie. At first the dinner goes well but then Adam sees a photo of Etienne, recognizing him as his former employee which rouses suspicion. He also finds out that Charlie happens to be the daughter of his ex fiance Lilith who left him to be with his best friend Lucifer from college. Adam suddenly starts acting rude, berates Blitzo and reveals that he's been taking drugs, taunts Moxxie about his father killing his mother, and calls Charlie a gold-digging whore. Moxxie runs off with Fizzarolli following to comfort him and Charlie is reduced to tears. Blitzo doesn't defend any of them out of fear but Alastor respectfully tells Adam to leave and warns him never to speak that way about his family or Charlie again. When Adam is gone Blitzo tries to comfort Charlie but she rejects him and retreats into Alastor's arms, seeing that he only was interested in her to impress his father.

Adam, having never known that any of the Hansen brothers had children until now, uses his illegal connections to pull up concealed information about their background and discovers the experiments done on the boys. This causes him to deduce that Alastor, Angel, and Moxxie are the Deer Demon, the Spider Sinner, and the Incredible Imp. He chooses to punish them by striking at their hearts and preying on the people they love most. First he has Chazwick attack Fizzarolli and force unstable drugs into his system which leads to an overdose. Next he has Travis release Asmodeus and set him up to be hunted and put down by animal control. Finally as The Dark Archangel, he breaks in and terrifies Marie to the point that she has a heart attack. Alastor and Charlie stay at the hospital to look after Marie and Fizzarolli while Moxxie and Angel look for Asmodeus and the other villains.

At some point Blitzo comes to the hospital to apologize and make amends but backs out upon seeing Alastor and Charlie embrace. He goes home that night and reveals to his father that Charlie prefers Alastor over him and that Alastor has always loved her. This reminds Adam of when Lilith chose Lucifer over him and he assumes that Alastor and Charlie purposely hurt his son. He kidnaps Charlie and uses her as bait to lure Alastor to the Brooklyn Bridge. Alastor goes there as the Deer Demon and finds the Dark Archangel holding her and a tram car of children hostage. He forces Alastor to choose whom he wants to save and drops them both but Alastor manages to save both Charlie and the children. Adam refusing to let him win, sends Chazwick, and Travis to kill them all but though Angel and Moxxie arrive just in time to hold them off long enough for Alastor to get everyone to safety.

During this Vaggie finally creates a cure and sets out to use it. She finds Asmodeus and cures him just before his shot by the authorities then races to the bridge to cure the others. But things soon take a tragic turn. As Moxxie is curing Chazwick, Travis electrocutes him to the point that he can't move and throws Vaggie from the bridge. Angel catches her with his webbing but he finds her motionless and unresponsive. And Adam grabs Alastor and subjects him to a brutal beating him. However when Adam brags about how he will kill his mother, his cousins, his friends, and for last subject Charlie to a slow and painful death, Alastor becomes so enraged that he gains the upper hand, and nearly kills him. Adam reveals himself and begs for forgiveness while subtly getting his glider ready to impale Alastor from behind. Warned by his senses, he dodges the attack, and the glider mortally impales Adam instead. Adam dies with a torn piece of the Deer Demon's suit in his hand and when Blitzo later finds it on his father's body, he assumes the Deer Demon killed his father and swears revenge.

In the end Chazwick and Travis are cured and arrested for their crimes while Asmodeus is given proper treatment. Marie and Fizzarolli both recover but the incident at the bridge leaves Vaggie comatose and Moxxie paralyzed from the waste down, unknown if he'll ever walk again. Blaming himself for what happened to Vaggie, Angel gives up being the Spider Sinner and a protective Alastor forbids Moxxie from ever being the Incredible Imp again, choosing to take the burden on his own. Charlie confesses to Alastor that she loves him and they kiss, but he feels he must protect her from the attention of his enemies. So he hides his true feelings and tells Charlie that they can only be friends. She sadly accepts this but is left wondering if there's more to what he said due to the familiarity of their kiss. Alastor goes with Angel to visit Moxxie in the hospital all while recalling his late father's words and accepting his responsibility as the Deer Demon.

[dw-flagler]

okay, so:

back in the 70s, Spider-Man's Clone Saga was a thing. A lot happened, but the long and short of it was this: Gwen Stacy was killed by the green goblin in Amazing Spider-Man 121. A while later, she seemingly comes back to life. This is revealed to be a plot of the supervillain The Jackal, who created clones of peter and gwen because he could just do that. Peter fights the clone, one of them dies, and they assume that the surviving peter is the original. There's another clone saga, which was widely panned, but the important thing for my post here is Ultimate Spider-Man (2000-2009).

We have to establish a couple things first, though. So in USM issue 31, Gwen Stacy's dad, John Stacy, is killed by a spider-man impersonator (for honestly some really stupid reasons but whatever), and Gwen is formally adopted by May, moving in with her and Peter in issue 32.

Now, shortly after this, the venom saga happens. It differs from most versions in that the symbiotes, in the ultimate universe, are not aliens, but instead human-made living organisms. They were made by Edward Brock Sr. and Richard Parker, and peter's parents are killed because Richard refuses to make the suits weapons. Eddie Brock Jr. (Peter's childhood friend, current college student, and pedophile) recreates one of the symbiotes, and eventually it bonds with Eddie to become Venom in issue 37.

Anyway, some other stuff happens, and then in Issue 57, Gwen finds out that Peter is Spider-Man. She confronts him in Issue 59, and eventually decides she's cool with him being spider-man. She calls him her "super hero little brother" in a conversation with Mary Jane.

Later, in issue 60, Curt Conners, the guy whose lab Eddie was working in, takes a sample of Peter's blood, and, working with a guy named Ben Reilly, creates another symbiote, Carnage.

Carnage, a symbiote cloned from peter, breaks out of the lab, killing a bunch of people, including Gwen, in issue 62. Peter, furious at this, tracks down the Carnage symbiote (which never actually has a host in this universe) and throws it in a fire, killing it. Later, in Issue 64, that other guy, Ben Reilly, steals a sample of the Carnage symbiote from Connors' lab, for unknown purposes.

Cut to issue 97, the start of Ultimate's Clone Saga. So Peter encounters this supervillain called the scorpion, who turns out to be a clone of him. He also encounters Jessica Drew(!), who is also a clone of him. Then, after jessica whooped his ass, he sees Gwen, who has miraculously come back to life!

So, the particular details of the ultimate clone saga aren't important for this post, but I'll describe them in brief anyway. The clones, including Scorpion, Jessica, and the others who i'm not mentioning, were made by Otto Octavius and Ben Reilly together, working to recreate Spider-Man for the CIA. Ben, as he already had a failed attempt to clone spider-man just sitting in his pocket or something, decided to do some fucky stuff to the carnage sample he had on him. He tries to recreate the full Carnage, but it doesn't work quite right, and it ends up kind of becoming Gwen Stacy. It's still carnage, but it's also her.

Anyway, Peter and Jessica beat the hell out of Doc Ock, who was responsible for this, all the clones other than Jessica and Gwen die, Peter gets back together with Mary Jane and breaks up with Kitty Pryde (who he was dating at the time), everything goes back to normal. More or less. Eventually, carnage Gwen gets attacked by Eddie "Pedophile" Brock and he steals her symbiote (despite the fact that she is a symbiote) and becomes Venom again, and she is completely normal now.

Anyway, by Vol. 2 Issue 1 (about 30 issues later), we're in a new status-quo. The important part is this: Peter has broken up with Mary Jane (again) off screen, and is now dating Gwen Stacy for some reason.

So, as I have exhaustively laid out, peter is, in fact, dating his own clone.

What's even weirder about this is that a few issues later, in Vol. 2 Issue 9, Johnny Storm (who was there during the whole clone saga but I guess he wasn't paying attention) goes and kisses Jessica Drew, who is also a clone of peter, and peter finds this extremely gross.

I don't really have a moral or anything to this. I just sort of recognized that gwen is technically a clone of peter and felt like i had to explain this to someone.

[tomorrowedblog]

Friday Releases for September 20

Friday is the busiest day of the week for new releases, so we've decided to collect them all in one place. Friday Releases for September 20 include Wolfs, A Different Man, The Substance, and more.

Wolfs

Wolfs, the new movie from Jon Watts, is out today.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt reunite for the action comedy WOLFS. Clooney plays a professional fixer hired to cover up a high profile crime. But when a second fixer (Pitt) shows up and the two “lone wolves” are forced to work together, they find their night spiraling out of control in ways that neither one of them expected.

A Different Man

A Different Man, the new movie from Aaron Schimberg, is out today.

Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.

The Substance

The Substance, the new movie from Coralie Fargeat, is out today.

Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? You. Only better in every way. You’ve got to try this new product. It changed my life.

Eureka

Eureka, the new movie from Lisandro Alonso, is out today.

The protean Argentinean director Lisandro Alonso continues to shapeshift, delight, and challenge with his marvelous and immersive new film, which takes the viewer on an unexpected journey through three stories set in wildly different terrain, each of them reflecting lives haunted by the specter of colonialist violence. In the first, Viggo Mortensen and Chiara Mastroianni guest-star in a black-and-white neo-Western pastiche following a taciturn gunslinger seeking revenge in a lawless frontier town. In the second section, in a different kind of law-and-order narrative, set during the present day in the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, we accompany a Native American cop (Alaina Clifford) on her nighttime patrols, revealing a community troubled by addiction and poverty, but also, because of the cop’s good-hearted basketball coach niece (Sadie Lapointe), touched by transcendence. Finally, the film travels to the magnificent Brazilian rainforest of the 1970s, where Indigenous workers pan for gold while articulating their dream lives. Cleverly transitioning between segments without hand-holding the viewer, Alonso has created an improbably unified aesthetic experience that leaves it up to us to make the connections among its transient worlds.

Long Gone Heroes

Long Gone Heroes, the new movie from John Swab, is out today.

Gunner, a special forces soldier who has witnessed the darkest side of country and combat, is forced back into the field of battle to save his niece, who is being held in South America. As the fight intensifies, Gunner and his team discover that her disappearance is part of a corrupt private operation that hits way too close to home.

Never Let Go

Never Let Go, the new movie from Alexandre Aja, is out today.

In this new psychological thriller/horror, as an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother, played by Academy Award winner Halle Berry (Monster’s Ball), and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond. Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival.

Omni Loop

Omni Loop, the new movie from Bernardo Britto, is out today.

OMNI LOOP follows Zoya Lowe (Parker), a quantum physicist who finds herself in a time loop, with a black hole growing in her chest and only a week to live. But what the doctors and her family don’t know is that she has already lived this week before; so many times, in fact, that she doesn’t even know how long it’s been. Until one day Zoya meets a gifted student named Paula (Edebiri). Together they team up to save her life – and to unlock the mysteries of time travel.

Transformers One

Transformers One, the new movie from Josh Cooley, is out today.

TRANSFORMERS ONE is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.

La Maison

La Maison, the new TV series from José Caltagirone and Valentine Milville, is out today.

High fashion meets high stakes in this realistic behind-the-scenes look at how an iconic fashion house is thrown into scandal and reinvention by a viral video featuring star designer Vincent Ledu (Lambert Wilson), leaving his family’s iconic and legendary haute couture house, LEDU, hanging by a thread. Perle Foster (Amira Casar), Vincent’s former muse who is still in his shadow, teams up with visionary next-generation designer Paloma Castel (Zita Hanrot) to save, evolve and renew the century-old Maison LEDU. Taking advantage of Vincent’s demise, Diane Rovel (Carole Bouquet), the ruthless CEO of the powerful Rovel luxury group, launches an offensive to acquire what she sees as her most important prize: Maison LEDU. To achieve her goal, anything is fair game, as this is more than acquiring just another brand — it’s about revenge.

Frostpunk 2

Frostpunk 2, the new game from 11 bit studios, is out today.

Develop, expand, and advance your city in a society survival game set 30 years after an apocalyptic blizzard ravaged Earth. In Frostpunk 2, you face not only the perils of never-ending winter, but also the powerful factions that watch your every step inside the Council Hall.

Lorn’s Lure

Lorn’s Lure, the new game from Rubeki Games, is out today.

An android is led through a vast structure by a glitch in his visual system. Lorn's Lure is an atmospheric narrative first-person platformer with novel climb-anything mechanics and modernized retro 3D graphics.

Parking Garage Rally Circuit

Parking Garage Rally Circuit, the new game from Walaber Entertainment, is out today.

Retro Arcade Rally Racing... in Parking Garages?!? Precision driving with tight simple controls and arcade physics, all in a Sega Saturn style presentation.

MIXTAPE PLUTO

MIXTAPE PLUTO, the new album from Future, is out today.

The Genuine Articulate

The Genuine Articulate, the new album from The Alchemist, is out today.

[samasmith23]

You know what makes the retconning of Aunt May's death an even bigger slap in the face? Prior to this reveal during The Gathering of Five & The Final Chapter story arcs, it was instead heavily implied that the person whom the Green Goblin was holding hostage was actually Peter & Mary Jane's baby, who just so happened to be named after the then-late May Parker.

See, during the final story arc of The Clone Saga, "Revelations," Mary Jane was believed to have to have suffered a miscarriage due to one of Norman Osborn’s agents disguised as a nurse poisoning her food. However, we later see that same agent, Alison Morgrain, delivering a bundle to Osborn which he then orders for her to take out of the country.

So the ultimate fate of Peter & MJ's baby daughter was left incredibly ambiguous at the end of The Clone Saga, leaving the possibility that she's still alive out there somewhere. The Spider-Man writers initially seemed to be following up on this plot point during the Identity Crisis crossover, wherein Norman's elite agents from the Cabal of Scrier are shown planting a bomb on Alison Morgrain's yacht in Europe, while Kaine attacks several other Scriers as revenge for both the baby's disappearance and Ben Reilly's death at Norman's hands. During the following crossovers, The Gathering of Five and The Final Chapter, Morgrain was revealed to have survived the explosion and fled back to the US where she informed Peter and MJ that, “May is alive.”

Peter understandably thought Allison meant their baby since she was named after Aunt May, but when Spider-Man infiltrated Osborn’s mansion where May was supposedly being held captive, look who he found instead:

Now this not only retconned J.M. DeMatteis' brilliant work on Amazing Spider-Man #400, but apparently according to long-time Spider-Man writer Tom DeFalco the original plan was indeed to have it be the baby May who was revealed to still be alive, and Kaine would have been the one to rescue her as part of his redemption. However, John Byrne & Howard Mackie ended up revealing that the May in question was in-fact Aunt May after DeFalco prematurely left the Amazing Spider-Man title following the Identity Crisis crossover, leading to Byrne replacing him only accepting Marvel Editorial's offer to helm the upcoming reboot if he could revive Aunt May since according to him, "The killing of Aunt May was the capper to the whole 'famous photojournalist married to a supermodel' mishmosh. When Aunt May died, the last vestige of the real Spider-Man was gone."

Just... what a load of bullcrap!

While I place the majority of the blame for this retcon on both John Byrne and Marvel Editorial (the anti Spider-Marriage comments only rub further salt in the wound), I have more sympathy for Howard Mackie since despite him being the other leading voice for the Spider-Man: The Next Chapter reboot initiative alongside Byrne, he was one of the original Clone Saga writers just like DeFalco was. Plus, Mackie is NOT a bigoted creep like Byrne is as far as we know…

At least Tom DeFalco managed to carry out his original plans to bring back the baby with the alternate-universe Spider-Girl series, wherein the baby not only grew up into the superpowered Mayday Parker, but was also rescued by her Uncle Kaine!

The Retconning of Aunt May's death from Amazing Spider-Man #400... aka, screw John Byrne!

Wanna know something else we can criticize John Byrne for aside from his general creepiness and bigotry? He undid Aunt May’s death in the beautifully written Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #400, "The Gift," aka one of the best stories to come out of the entire infamous Clone Saga era.

Like... when Linkara reviewed the Web of Death storyline, one particular complaint he brought up was how all of the all the beautiful & emotional moments between Peter Parker and comatose Aunt May were severely undermined in hindsight due to the later retcon that this wasn't actually May Parker, but instead an highly-skilled actress whom Norman Osborn replaced Aunt May with after her stroke and made resemble Peter's aunt through cloning technology.

And the person who was responsible for this controversial retcon? None other than John Byrne!

Byrne apparently refused to even initiate his divisive 1999 Chapter One and The Next Chapter reboots of the Spider-Man titles unless he was allowed to utilize Aunt May as a member of Peter's supporting cast. Consequently, this meant completely retconning Aunt May's lovely and tragic send-off by J.M. DeMatteis & Mark Bagley in ASM #400, even though that issue was highly regarded and celebrated by even the most hardened detractors of The Clone Saga era as a whole.

And you know what made the retconning of Aunt May's death even more stupid? It directly contradicted Norman Osborn's own recounting of The Clone Saga from his perspective in The Osborn Journal one-shot after he was revealed to be the true mastermind behind the whole saga. Writer & editor Glenn Greenberg specifically made sure to include these passages from Norman's private journals:

-"And as luck would have it, the clone -- Reilly -- learned of May Parker's stroke and returned to New York to be near her during her final days. This saved me the trouble of concocting some elaborate scheme to lure him back to the city."

-"Then the old woman finally died, delivering a major emotional blow to Parker and his wife. My only regret is that I was NOT the cause."

Yup, Greenberg wanted to make sure that DeMatteis' brilliant work from AMS #400 wouldn't be undone by having Norman himself state in his private journals that May's death was strictly due to natural causes instead of another part of his behind-the-scene's manipulations. Which makes sense considering that the entire issue was dedicated to Peter & Aunt May's final days together as she revealed to her nephew that she had always known he was Spider-Man and was deeply proud of him before passing away in her bed right besides Peter, Mary Jane & Aunt Anna, with Peter's final words to his surrogate mother-figure being him quoting his favorite childhood novel Peter Pan to her, telling Aunt May:

"Let go. Fly. 'Second to the right... and straight on until morning.'"

Its honestly one of the most simultaneously heartbreaking & beautiful scenes that I've personally ever read in a comic. The silent panels of Ben Reilly crying to himself on the roof of the house, unable to be by his Aunt's side during her final moments since he's only a clone of her nephew, especially tug at my heartstrings (poor Benjy)! And its an issue that resonates with me even more deeply today than back when I initially read it a few years ago, since I now know what it feels like to lose a dearly beloved relative, with both my paternal grandmother (Nana) and maternal grandfather (Paps) having since passed away.

But then John Byrne decided in his infinite wisdom to screw it all up, ignoring all of that emotional weight and feelings of down-to-Earth loss by not only revealing that the Aunt May Peter watched die was actually just a random actress whom Norman Osborn "genetically modified via the Jackal’s cloning technology" (which again… makes ZERO sense), but that Osborn apparently now lied in his own personal diaries or something?

So yeah, the resurrection of Aunt May by John Byrne during the Spider-Man: The Gathering of Five/The Final Chapter arcs is easily one of the most insulting retcons that I've ever encountered since it spits in the face of one of the most beautifully written single-issues that I've personally ever read (both because of how it personally resonates with me as someone who's lost two grandparents, and because is J.M. DeMatteis is among my Top 5 favorite comic book writers).

But trust me, this is the LEAST of John Byrne's problems, which fellow comic creator Ramon Villalobos made an excellent thread discussing in detail if you want further information:

[em-responds-to-things]

in the heat of the summer

i. rory - forever

Everyone was sitting at the edge of their seats as the minute hand ticked closer to three pm signalling the start of summer. The shrill bell rang as students got up out of their seats, ignoring the teacher who was struggling to speak up above the group of rowdy teenagers who were more interested in the freedom summer vacation gave them. This was Rory’s last summer before senior year and potentially last one together with all her friends before they go their separate ways for college. In a way she was sad that this could be the last time having the excitement of getting up to no good with the Pogues, Marli, and Parker over the upcoming weeks.

Rory laughed as she made her way down the hallway, watching as JJ ran pass everyone, hooting and hollering with Pope trying to keep up with him and John B. She didn’t miss the wink John B sent her making her stomach do flips. Neither did Marli as she snorted throwing her arm around Rory’s neck. “Don’t say anything.”

She put her hands up in defence, trying to hide to smirk that was creeping onto her face. “I was just wondering what time you want me and Parker to pick you up?”

“I’m not coming tonight.” Rory shrugged, her friend grabbed her arm stopping her as if she had just said the most absurd thing.

“What do you mean you’re not coming? Its tradition!” Rory wasn’t exactly sure where this tradition came from but every summer, the students becoming seniors in the fall, start it off by jumping off a cliff so wonderfully named ‘Dead Man’s cliff’.

“Firstly, I’ve got to clean up the crap you caused at my house before my parents come home. Secondly, its family dinner tonight and I can’t bail.” The brunette told her.

“Okay, fine.” Marli gave in, although Rory wasn’t convinced she was going to let this go so easily. “P and I will help you tidy.” She said, hooking her arm through Rory’s as they headed towards her house, meeting Parker there.

They didn’t end up helping, instead sitting on Rory’s garden chairs passing a joint between them. The chairs were haphazardly positioned facing the house where Rory was cleaning the mess up. It wasn’t too far from Parker’s house and just a little further away from Marli’s and Pope’s. The Bennett’s house was close enough to the water to suffer when a storm hit but not enough to have a boat tied up which was why Rory loved going on HMS Pogue with her friends. She loved the feeling of wind through her hair and water spraying her, cooling her down from the North Carolinian heat.

“You know this is your mess I’m cleaning here.” Rory pointed out.

“And you’re doing such an amazing job that I would simply be no use.” Marli said and Rory had to hide the laugh that was threatening to escape while Parker didn’t care and laughed. “Moving on though as to why you’re not coming out tonight.”

“You’re not coming?” Parker asked. “but it’s tradition!”

Rory sighed. To her it wasn’t a big deal but apparently to her friends it was as if she turned Kook or something. “It’s family dinner night and I can’t miss it, okay.”

“I’m sure your dad’s will let you go if you ask them. Want me to talk to them?” Marli asked making the both of them burst out laughing. “What? They love me.” She frowned slightly.

“No, they don’t. They tolerate us because we’re Rory’s friends.” Marli squinted at Parker trying to come up with an argument against his point but gave up. She knows they don’t hate her it was just that the three of them would sometimes get in trouble and they are just doing what parents do, worry and protect.

“Fine, you’re right. I’ll drop it.” She gave in, reaching out for the joint off Parker. “So, what’s everyone’s resolutions for the summer.”

“This isn’t fucking New Year.” Parker mumbled as Marli rolled her eye’s at him and chose to ignore her friend.

“Are you finally going to tell a certain Pogue how you feel?” Her grin was mischievous, matching the sparkle in her eye.

“There’s no Pogue on Pogue macking, remember?”

“Aha! So you do have a crush on John B!” Marli exclaimed, excited that she just got you to reveal your deepest secret even though apparently everyone knows about Rory’s blatant crush except John.

She took a breath, not wanting to blow up on her friend as she knew she meant well. Plus, her minimal filter disappears further when she gets high. “What about you and boardshorts? You gonna tell us who it is?” Rory pointed out snatching the joint from Marli’s hands and taking a hit.

The playful banter between friends when a car pulled up and the deep voice of Rory’s dad called out of the window. “Aurora Skye Bennett! That best be not what I think it is!” The teenagers panicked. Rory stubbed the joint out while Marli wafted away the smoke and Parker shoved everything back in his bag.

“Hi, Mr Bennett.” Marli greeted, standing up and failing to act normal. “We were just- we were just heading home so we’ll see you around.” She grabbed Parker’s arm and dragged him away with her, waving goodbye at the Bennett family.

“Hey, dad.” Rory said into Jack’s chest as she hugged him. She could feel a hearty laugh coming from him making her playfully elbow him. “You know they think you hate them.”

“Then I’m doing my job as your dad.” He pressed a kiss on top of her hair before letting her go to head inside with Don and Rory following.

-x-

John B rubbed his hands on his trousers as he got ready to knock on Rory’s door. He could hear her laughter trickling out of the open window bringing a smile onto his face. It didn’t take long before the door opened. John gulped, forgetting how intimidating her dad could look. “Hi, sir.” He greeted clearing his throat.

“John B, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Don asked, a smile on his face relaxing the boy in front of him.

“I was- err I was wondering if Rory is free tonight? We were going to hang out at Dead Man’s Cliff.” John B asked.

“Rory!” Don called for his daughter. “Why didn’t you tell us that you were supposed to be hanging out with your friends tonight?”

Her mouth opened then shut, surprised at John B standing on her doorstep. “Well we were having family dinner tonight.”

“And that can wait ‘til tomorrow.” Jack assured her from his spot by the oven so he could keep an eye on dinner.

“Go and get ready.” Don urged her and she did, leaving him and John alone. “You take care of her tonight, okay?”

“Yes, sir.” He stuttered out, surprised that him coming out here to ask if Rory could come out actually worked.

“And please call me Don.” He said. John nodded, his averting from the man to Rory who stood beside him. She was wearing a thin sweatshirt, to take the chill off, and a pair of shorts covering the swimsuit she was wearing underneath.

“Ready?” Rory asked after saying her goodbyes to her dad’s and assuring them that she won’t be back and late and that she’ll be safe. The two teenagers made it to John’s truck and climbed in. He put his hand on the gear stick as he started driving away from the house and up to the cliff. Rory had the urge to put her hand on top of his but instead stopped herself by sitting on it and looking out of the window. “I’m surprised that worked.” She hummed. “I’m guessing Marli put you up to this.”

John B laughed. “Yeah, it was her plan. I honestly thought your dad would have shut the door in my face.”

“They love you, what can I say?” She giggled before silence fell between them. It was suffocating. There was so much tension that Rory felt like she was about to explode. John felt it too. Luckily the sound of JJ shouting broke it letting them know that they had arrived.

“Look who finally joined us!” John B shouted wrapping his arm around Rory as if nothing happened in the truck.

“Thank you.” Marli grinned at JJ, holding her hand out for the ten dollars he owed for losing the wager. Pope was quick to take it from his cousin before she could pocket it. “Hey!” She exclaimed while everyone else laughed.

“You owe me remember.” He said while she just grumbled.

“Let’s get this party started!” JJ exclaimed before running to jump off the cliff followed by Parker and the rest of them with John jumping last leaving Rory alone up there.

Standing at the top of Dead Man’s Cliff with her feet at the edge, Rory realised that she wasn’t just hiding behind the fact that she had family dinner tonight but rather she was scared to jump. It didn’t make sense because she jumps off HMS Pogue.

John B seemed to notice her hesitance when Rory didn’t follow him down. He brushed his wet hair out of his face as he climbed out of the water making his way back up to the cliff. No one else seemed to notice, so engrossed in splashing each other which Rory was glad for, knowing she won’t be able to live it down. “Hey, you okay?” John nudged her.

“I’m fine.” She scoffed, trying to play off that she wasn’t in fact freaking out internally which only caused John to giver her a pointed look. He didn’t say anything though, not wanting to embarrass her. Instead, he just held his hand out.

“You got this.” Was all he said, his voice soft and calming. Rory took his hand and smiled at him before jumping off the cliff with John. The start of summer officially beginning.

Tag List: @mayaslifeinabox @princess-of-the-fandoms @live--aloud @les-bio-lie @ivvitm1109 @seninjakitey @dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt @genius2050 @tiannawashere @brithedemonspawn

[purvishraick]

Blood Bound Chapter 6

Fanfiction : Bloodbound (Choices)

Pairing : Adrian Raines x Amy Richard Parker (MC)

Warning : none

Rating: PG - 13

TAG LIST : @otherworldlypresents​  , @evelynistic​   , @silma-words​ , @fireycookie , @lauren-raines-x

If anyone wanna be tagged in future do let me know….

read previous chapter here ….. Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5

so i have been busy .... so sorry it is late ..... so in today’s chapter here comes our favourite MR. RAINES *fangirl scream* 😍😍😍😍😍

It was the same old day , same Monday morning , and Adrian felt nothing special about it. For others everyday was a new day but for him it was the all same , nothing new. For the others with each and every passing day, the number of days reduced from the lists but for Adrian, with each and every day the number of days increased only.

He didn’t have any interest in the life he was living. He just lived for the sake of living.

Adrian watched as life continued around just like every day, from his office. He frequently thought about the safety of people he was responsible for. His existence as a vampire among all the humans was a thing he was always afraid of. He always dreaded that what would happen if his secret is revealed as it could bring a lot of harm to both the worlds. He always had to be cautious about his actions.

To Adrian, one of his major priority was the safety of all the employees of his company, as he was responsible for them. But after the recent incident he thought he was not doing his job properly. Though it has been a month since then but still, Emily’s screams as the feral attacked her, were quite fresh in his ears.

Emily Vaughn has been his executive assistant for past 3 months, and he thought that it was his responsibility. He always did his best but the things would still go south anyways. It was a good thing that she didn’t die or any serious injuries didn’t take place, but still he had to debrief her and send her away for own safety.

Adrian never tried to make connections in this world, he was oblivious to the pleasure of being loved since more than 100 years. Every time giving away his feelings brought him nothing, it only ended I misery and pain. He was always haunted by the memories of his family and his lover. He swore to never give his heart away ever again, after being left wounded two times by doing so.

He always wondered what could have happened if his family was alive, he could have seen his beautiful boy grow up into a handsome man , but fate had something else in store for him.

The day he was turned into a vampire was the worst of his, he didn’t understood why some vampires see immortality as a gift to them , to him immortality was a curse because living too long without the ones he loved is useless.

“Adrian …” interrupting his thoughts a voice came through the corridor. He turned to see who it was. As he expected it was Nicole Anderson, the VP of Raines Corporation.

Nicole was a dedicated woman and focused on her work. Adrian has been working with her for years now. She is also one of the people he truly trust. Even after knowing his truth of being a vampire , she stayed there. She was always stern which he despised the most.

“yes … “ he replied .

“ Adrian , the interview for executive assistant will begin today at 10.30 sharp , so --- “

“ok … you take it and let me know of the progress later on “ he interrupted her .

“okay…” she was taken aback on his sudden response , she might have thought that Adrian might want to take look at the candidates but anyways she was least bothered by these things , so she stormed out as she came in .

Adrian sighed and went out of his office . He was just going through the corridor and something caught his eye.

A small figure at the end of the corridor , just standing there and talking to someone on her phone , with a big smile plastered on her face. He neither had seen her before here nor she was any of his employees. But whoever she was , she was exceptionally beautiful with a professional attire and her flowing hair and that amazing smile that could  win heaven. He was irresistibly attracted towards her. He heightened his senses to listen what was she saying on her phone and hid in the shadows.

“ Ya – ya I know…oh stop it …I am not a kid…” the beautiful girl said.

“ I know you are not a kid …because if you were I wouldn’t have sent you to Manhattan“  the man on the other side spoke . Adrian assumed him to be her father or her boyfriend .

“ Come on brother stop it …she is right …she is not a kid …and you didn’t even give so many instruction to John and Jenna when they left for school”  another voice said .

“ya maybe because our sister is an  even smaller kid , in the flesh of an 25 year old “ the first one shot back .

“ Excuse me brother …can you repeat what you just said “the girl said while attempting to be mad at him but at last giggling . But it sure as hell , cleared their relation and failed his assumption.

“ it is better you not listen to that one …” first voice .

“oh really …now I am even more intrigued “ the girl snapped back .

“ well well well …you can give me $1000 to keep my mouth shut , brother “ the second voice said .

“ how will it be, if I punch you to keep your mouth shut , brother “ first voice snapped back in mock sarcasm .

“ well well …what did I say about not murdering one another in my absence , brothers “ the girl said .

“ well… then remember to stay away from my euology “ the second one said.

They both laughed , Adrian assumed that it must be some inner joke between them , but watching that girl laugh mesmerized him. She did have a beautiful smile, and Adrian never admitted it but he did found her beautiful .

“okay okay ……now if you two five year olds are done …then let me say something serious to our little sister …now Amy …”

Oh her name is Amy

“…you listen to me carefully …now you will stay alert and if there is any problem you will call me and tell me everything ……and don’t you dare go to any other club – “  he was cut off again .

“ you cant bloody… restrict her from not going to clubs …that is not fair …she is not a minor …for god’s sake Christopher … she is effing 25 years old …you yourself said that “ the second one said .

Adrian kind of agreed with him.

“I swear… if you interrupt me once more… I will throw that laptop of yours and you yourself… out of this house” he warned .

Adrian understood that he surely does have some authority in their family and that girl was the youngest among them . She came out to be pretty sweet to him.

“ I love you , Nathaniel …I hereby promote you to the post of my most favourite brother now on “

“ I love you too sissy “ second one replied .

“ oh you two are going to be the death of me …now stop this nonsense …Amy listen …seriously this time …if I get to know you are getting wasted at a club in the middle of the night then I swear that I will deport your ass from Manhattan to New Orleans myself …getting--- “ he was cut off again by his sister this time.

“ hello…brother …I cant hear you …you are not audible to me “ she kept taking the phone away from her ear.

“no…don’t you dare do that Amy , don’t you dare cut the fucking phone …AMY “ the first one shouted but was late as she cut off the phone.

She let out a long sigh and continued to explore the place, then after taking a look at the place she sat down  on the bench and waited . The girl must have got some alert senses , that she realized that she was being watched by someone and searched behind her but found no one. And he was smiling to himself at the look she got on her face after finding no one .

She was extremely beautiful , Adrian has never seen someone like her in centuries . There was an undeniable attraction towards her .

And in that moment he knew that he has to know her, moreover he needs to know her , but as he started to approach her , Nicole came near her and she followed her away. He got it that she was one of those candidates for being his assistant. He saw the look Nicole gave her , which clearly reflected that she was jealous of her and he knew that she will give her a hard time. So he followed them inside, putting on his most professional face and decided to take the matter in his own hands.

- Purvi Shraick ❤❤

[eirabach]

Steady As You Go [2/3]

The further adventures of Gordy’s leather trousers for @olliepig and @mrmustachious and @badthingshappenbingo. TW: Implied Drugging / Spiking, Drinking, and the aftermath of violence. 

It’s actually not as bad as it sounds, honestly, I’m just cautious as fuck.

Prompt Gordon + Caught in an Explosion + Penelope (+ jealousy + disaster bisexual)

Gordon doesn’t bring the next bottle to the table, nor the one after that. They just seem to appear, dropped from the darkness by a large, calloused hand to be poured into glasses and down throats at a rate that would make even the most rum-hardened sailor of Gordon’s acquaintance quake with nauseous horror.

Well, some throats.

One throat. Probably.

Penelope, for her part, tips the glass to her lips often enough but her eyes are sharp, her bursts of laughter far too perfectly timed to be anything but by design.

Gordon's playing it a little more -- fast and loose.

Playing is probably the operative word.

He really can’t drink any more of this stuff though, because otherwise he’s likely to fall right off his perch on the arm of the sofa and Penny -- Penny will be mad. Penny kinda already looks mad. Huh. She lifts the glass to her mouth again, narrowing those over-dark eyes as she does so. Mr Gonna-Be-Arrested turns to beckon at one of the two giant goons that are lingering at the edges of Gordon’s vision, and Penny tosses the majority of the glass over her shoulder where it lands - presumably - in a puddle of other sticky, liquidy stuff that some poor sap will have to mop up in the cold light of day. Her eyes flick to Gordon’s own glass and one tightly drawn eyebrow ticks up. Oh. Oh.

He flicks his wrist.

It’s uh. It’s the wrong wrist.

Mr International-Crime jumps up, shaking little sparkles of champagne from his hands. The goons move in closer, fists tight in the flashing lights.

“Oh dear,” Penny sneers. “What an awful mess!”

Gordon would stick his tongue out at her, but there’s a soggy guy blocking his view and anyway it was her idea.

"Oh, whoops!" He pats at Marc's -- because that's his name, apparently, and apparently he thinks Gordon ought to use it -- freshly dampened trouser leg, "Oh man, gosh I'm so sorry boss! Uh --"

“Now, now,” Marc tuts, and one sticky hand covers Gordon’s. Holds it there, against the damp heat of his thigh. “That wasn’t very nice was it?” He smiles, leers, and half of Gordon knows that this is not at all a good thing. The other, somewhat tipsy, half thinks it looks like quite the promise. He might be Penny’s mark, with all the associations that Gordon’s spent several months trying not to think about,  but it’s Gordon who finds himself caressed by one of those sticky hands. Marc’s cool fingers step down his throat, tilt his chin up, and this -- this really wasn’t the plan at all, but Gordon is nothing but adaptable. In every sense.

Either way, he’s gotta get this guy out of this club somehow.

He licks his lips, sends a silent prayer up that Scott never ever hears about this. “Maybe I just want to get you out of the suit.”

“Oh, is that --”

It’s not the first time he’s had a demijohn of very expensive alcohol poured over his head. 

At least it’s not televised this time.

Gordon splutters in shock, shuddering as leatherette sticks uncomfortably under the unexpected shower. Marc for his part, is staring at something over his head, mouth agape. Gordon twists around, but his protest dies on the tip of his tongue.

“As entertaining as it is watching you flirt with the lower orders, we have business to attend to.” Penelope tosses her wig over her shoulder, and drops the empty bottle onto the couch beside him. Gordon blinks champagne out of his eyes and tries to catch hers, but her focus is entirely on Marc, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol she hasn’t drunk. “Or is my money not as interesting as this -- “ her eyes finally flick down to meet his for half a second. “Boy.”

“Hey lady,” Gordon snaps, “it’s the twenty first century, don’t get jealous.”

Penelope’s cheeks flush a little darker. 

“Marc?”

“Of course -- I --” Marc pushes a damp curl off Gordon’s forehead and honestly it’s kinda a shame that he’s a bad guy because there would have been a time -- still. Marc pulls a keycard from his pocket, pushes it into Gordon’s hand. “Here, go upstairs. When I get back we can have a little chat about your career prospects.”

He bites back the FAB, but doesn’t quite manage to restrain himself from a sloppy sort of salute as he half staggers to his feet. There’s an unpleasant squelching as he does so, and he must have drunk a lot more than he thought because he sways on the spot, the room blurring in and out of focus. Someone, a large, calloused, someone, takes hold of his elbow. 

“‘K, I -- hey, I can -- I can --” Penny and Marc fade into the shadows at the edge of his vision, and then he’s outside, released to slide against the rough brickwork of the alleyway, the night air freezing against his exposed skin. “Hey!”

The dark mountain of a man who’s dropped him outside pauses, but doesn’t turn around. 

“Where’s -- where’s the stairs?”

“If you can find ‘em, up you go,” grumbles the mountain, “Otherwise, I suggest you watch out for the wildlife.” 

A door opens into a world of light and sound, slams behind him, and Gordon thinks -- Gordon thinks --

“What the bleedin’ ‘ell happened to you? Get that bloody thing off!”

Gordon squints into the darkness. Something grey and grubby looking floats in front of him. Two somethings. One and a half. There’s a sharp pain in his neck, and his vision clears enough for him to see the grubby grey things coalesce into Parker, his face screwed up in disgust, a clear bit of plastic hanging from one gloved finger. Gordon rubs at the sore patch and glares up at him.

“What was that for? What’s that?”

“What’s --” he rolls his eyes. “For a group of smart young lads you ain’t ‘arf sheltered. Someone took a shine to you, did they?”

Gordon’s never been ashamed of who he is, never, but he finds the thought of coming out to Parker while wearing wet leather in a grubby alleyway is just a little bit beyond his comfort zone. 

“Uh, he --”

“Take an old man’s advice, lad. Don’t go on a second date,” Parker says sagely, and taps his nose. Then he stands, peers out toward the main road. “Where’s ‘er Ladyship?”

A sharp drill seems to have started up right behind Gordon’s right eyebrow and he forces his fist into his temple as he gets to his feet.

“Leaving, I think. Deal’s on.”

Parker drops the square of plastic to the floor and crushes it beneath the heel of his boot.

“Grand.” He claps his hands together, and shrugs off the battered old overcoat he’d been wearing. “I’ll be orf, then. You ok lad?”

Not really, is the answer, but Gordon has Marc’s keycard in his pocket and he knows that if Penny’s operation is to come off she’s gonna need all the evidence she can get. After all they know from hard experience that catching them red-handed rarely seems to be enough.

“Yeah, sure.” Parker holds out the coat, but it smells kinda funky and Gordon shakes his head. “S’ok, I got -- got a plan.”

Parker peers at him, then sighs. “If you say so. Miss Kayo nearby?”

“Totally,” Gordon assures him. “Go. Penny will need you.”

Parker hums, hesitates a moment longer before grabbing at a nearby rusted shopping trolley filled with more of the funky smelling grey fabric. As Gordon watches the fabric shifts, falling away to reveal a complex looking piece of flashing, bleeping electronics. God, his head hurts. 

“Don’t you fret, Mr Gordon,” Parker assures him as he pulls a remote control from the machinery. “I’ll see to her.”

From high, high above them comes the whine of engines, and they both look up to see FAB1, black as the sky above, hovering over the alleyway. Her VTOLs fill the alley with an unearthly blue light, and in it Gordon sees the carefully cut staircase that leads up and away and into the shadowy building above. 

“Right,” he says. “Right.” 

--

He’d lingered long enough to see Parker and his fancy machinery safely away in FAB1, waiting until he’s sure that he’s alone before approaching the staircase. His head is pounding and his legs are still feeling strange, but he presses upward regardless, keeping one hand on the brick wall to steady himself as the ground falls away. He doesn’t even see the door at first, only the flash of a red light then the green as his keycard passes over it, and he’s not beyond admitting the relief that he feels as it opens inwards and he half falls in.

How long do arms deals take, exactly? He could use a nap.

Except -- Except, oh. Someone may have beaten him to it.

“Hello?”

The feet at the end of the hallway don’t move from where they’re pointing up to the vaulted ceiling. Smart shoes, but not over polished. The cuffs of a pair of dark trousers just visible over navy socks.

When they were kids John always used to say that Gordon was too stupid to feel fear, and sometimes, sometimes that was probably true. Sorta. He's always been more about the rush, the adrenaline, fear to him has rarely been a baseline negative anyway. It works for him. Mostly.

Thunderbird four surveys the corridor. Spots the darkly spreading stain on the wooden flooring. Slows his pace to a stop. The air smells like rust and sulphur, the silence is thick as blood.

There’s an old style umbrella stand just beyond the door, and he takes hold of it, grips the central pillar tight as he takes another step forward.

“My name’s Gordon,” he calls. “I’m here to help. Can you answer me?” 

He reaches the end of the corridor, umbrella stand extended like a rapier and the answer -- well, the answer is no.

The man, or what’s left of him, lies sprawled on his back, glazed eyes and mouth wide in a silent scream, russet dried in thick rivulets around the gaping wound in his chest and where it had poured from him to pool around his feet. There’s a gun still loosely held in one blue hand. Safety off. One in the chamber.

He’d been prepared, but too slow on the draw. Poor bastard.

Gordon drops his umbrella stand and reaches down to peel the stiff fingers away from the gun, He clicks the safety back on, and stuffs it, as best as he can manage, into the waistband of his trousers. Unsure of what else to use under the circumstances, he unbuttons his sticky, sodden waistcoat and lays it gently over the staring, screaming face.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I really am.”

He has to bodily force himself back up to his feet, his body aching something rotten, but it doesn’t matter, not compared to the spark of absolute dread that burns through him as he looks around the apartment proper.

It's wrecked.

Every drawer, every table is tipped over, their contents scattered far and wide and battered by what looks like several pairs of boot prints. There's gunpowder streaked up the walls, smatterings of red brown across overturned sofas, and maybe Gordon ought to give his dead guy a little bit more credit. 

Maybe he's just a shit shot.

Glass crunches underfoot as Gordon cautiously pushes on the closest, half shut door. Behind it lies the bedroom, simple enough with bare brick walls and a grey coverlet on the king size bed, but it's not much better than the rest of the place, not really. The wardrobes are open, contents spilling all over the floor, a pair of handcuffs and a sheet of those funny little bits of plastic hanging from the bedside cabinet -- and wires, dozens of wires, pulled from the ceiling, from the walls and amongst it all, the only life in the whole godforsaken place, a tiny, holographic image of Penny with the words sale agreed flashing above her dark head and beside her, scrawled on a light type by another hand:

That damn girl.

And half drunk and half naked, sticky and cold and yeah, probably coming down from something, with a dead body in the next room and in the middle of a gangland battlefield, that’s the moment Gordon Tracy finally, truly feels fear.

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Nigerian Job

(PART ONE)

leverage 1.01

note: there are A LOT of scenes in this one, but they are all important in one way or another in terms of notability, character-building, etc

Dubenich: I’m sorry Mr. Ford, sorry, I know who you are I’ve, uh, excuse me. I’ve read all about you. I know for example that-that when you found that stolen Monet painting in Florence you probably saved your Insurance Company what 20-25 million dollars. Then there was that identity theft thing and you saved your insurance company I don’t even know how many millions of dollars but I just know that when you needed them… What happened to your family is the kind of thing--

Nate (slams glass down): You know that part of the conversation where I punch you in the neck nine or ten times? We’re coming up on that pretty quick.

- - - - -

Dubenich: I’m serious. Look, look at the people I’ve already hired. Do you recognize any of these names?

Nate (going through file): Uh, yeah, I’ve chased all of them at one time or anoth-- Parker? You have Parker?

Dubenich: Is there somebody better?

Nate: No, but Parker is insane.

Dubenich: Which is why I need you.

Nate (laughs): No. I’m not a thief. (closes file)

Dubenich: Thieves I got. What I need is one honest man to watch them.

- - - - -

Hardison: I’ve been doing this since high school, bro, I’m Captain Discipline.

[Flashback]

(New York City Hotel, Five Years Ago)

Manager: They came straight from the airport and up to their room.

Security: So you never actually saw any of them then.

Manager: No, but the credit card numbers checked out.

Security: Break it down!

(Doors open to reveal Hardison sitting on a couch drinking orange soda while three beautiful women dressed as Princess Leia fight with lightsabers)

Security: Does that look like Mick Jagger to you?

Hardison: This is not the room you’re looking for.

what a fucking GEEK oh my god

like, his flashback is so tame compared to the others???

like, his version of criminality is hanging out with cosplaying pretty girls and watching them fight with lightsabers, all under the guise of pretending to be mick jagger

- - - - -

Hardison (holding up an earpiece): It’s a bone-conduction earpiece mic, works off the vibrations in your jaw.

(Hardison tosses it to Eliot who holds it to his ear)

Hardison (whispering): You can hear everything.

Eliot: You’re not as useless as you look.

eliot being subtly impressed with hardison is my religion

- - - - -

Hardison: I don’t even know what you do.

[Flashback]

(3 Years Ago Eliot, wearing glasses and drinking from a mug of tea, enters a room full of men in Belgrade, Serbia)

Eliot: I’m here to collect the merchandise.

(Most of the men pull guns. Eliot takes a long sip of his drink. Outside, the windows flash with gunfire. Moans and the sound of a body falling fill the air. Inside, Eliot calmly takes another drink. One man sits at a table surrounded by bodies that litter the ground. He places a baseball card on the table. Eliot smiles)

am I the only one that wants to know the context of this???

- - - - -

(Parker drops down between Eliot and Hardison, hanging upside down from scaffolding)

Parker: Can I have one?

Hardison: You can have the whole box.

(Hardison holds the box of comms up for her. She takes one and pulls herself back up)

Eliot: What are you going to do when she finds out you live with your mom?

Hardison: Age of the geek, baby. We run the world.

Eliot: You keep telling yourself that.

(Parker puts the comm in her ear, smiling)

ot3 moments from day one baby

also eliot goes from ‘baby’ to ‘oh god, I’m baby’ in 0.0000005 seconds

- - - - -

[Flashback]

(19 Years Ago in Kansas City, a ten year old Parker stands in her living room watching her foster parents fight. The foster father turns to Parker, holding a stuffed bunny while the foster mother stands in the background, crying)

Bill: You thought I wouldn’t find this? You don’t get bunny until you do what I say. So be a good girl or, I don’t know, a better thief. (walks out of room)

Foster Mother: Bill!

(Parker walks outside and down the walk. Behind her, the house explodes. She hugs her bunny and smiles)

for the LONGEST time I thought she blew up the house with her foster parents until I saw that john rogers confirmed they weren’t home at the time

also this gives HEAVY insight as to how even the smallest part of Parker’s childhood was

abusive, emotionally manipulative, etc

- - - - -

(Parker adjusts her repelling gear, caressing it as if it were a lover)

Parker: Last time I used this rig, Paris, 2003

Nate: You talking about the Caravaggio? You stole that?

- - - - -

Eliot (examining earpiece): Is this thing safe?

Hardison: Yeah, it’s completely safe, it’s just, you know, you might experience nausea, weakness in your right side, stroke, strokiness.

Eliot (puts earpiece in): You’re precisely why I work alone.

shut up eliot you’re about to be so far gone for them it will be amazing

- - - - -

(Parker dives off the roof)

Parker: Yeehaaaa!!

(Eliot and Hardison run to the edge and watch her fall)

Eliot: That’s twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag.

what’s the opposite of foreshadowing? because I’m thinking about the long goodbye job and it’s reference to this (also the SIGNIFICANCE in that episode in how both hardison AND eliot repeat this line, finishing one another. because they both are on the same wavelength by that point, so in tune with one another and in constant awe of parker.)

- - - - -

parker just ??? drops the fucking glass ??? onto the sidewalk below ??? like ??? what if it hits someone ???

- - - - -

Nate: Okay, you got any chatter on their frequencies?

[Electrical Room]

Parker: No. Why?

[Unfinished Office]

(Nate checks records)

Nate: There’s eight listed on the duty roster, there’s only four at the guard post.

[Electrical Room]

Parker: I can’t even tell how many guys are in the room. How can you tell who’s who?

[Unfinished Office]

Nate: Haircuts Parker. Count the haircuts.

[Electrical Room]

Parker: I would have missed that.

[Unfinished Office]

Nate: What?

[Electrical Room]

Parker: Nothing.

mastermind father and daughter in episode ONE

- - - - -

we love to see eliot beat up four guys in the time it takes hardison’s bag to fall to the ground

- - - - -

Eliot (empties gun and smiles): That’s what I do.

(Hardison looks impressed. Behind him, the door clicks open. He and Eliot smile and enter the server room together)

the FLIRTING ENERGY in this scene

- - - - -

Eliot: Did you give them a virus?

Hardison: (chuckles) Dude, I gave them more than one virus.

hardison doesn’t half-ass, pass it on

- - - - -

Parker: Problem. Those guards you ganked?

[Electrical Room]

Parker (looking at monitor): They reset all the alarms on the roof and all the floors above us. We can’t go up.

[Hallway]

Eliot: Every man for himself then. (starts to move away)

Hardison: Go ahead I’m the one with the merchandise.

[Electrical Room]

Parker: Yeah, well I’m the one with an exit.

[Unfinished Office]

Nate: And I’m the one with a plan. Now I know you children don’t play well with others but I need you to hold it together for exactly seven more minutes. Now get to the elevator and head down. We’re going to the burn scam.

[Elevator]

(Eliot and Hardison enter an elevator and begin changing their clothes)

Hardison: Going to Plan B.

[Unfinished Office]

Nate (packing his things): Technically that would be Plan G.

[Elevator]

(elevator doors open and Parker runs in. She begins changing while the men look away)

Hardison: How many plans do we have? Is there like a Plan M?

[Unfinished Office]

Nate: Yeah, Hardison dies in Plan M.

[Elevator]

Eliot: I like Plan M.

there are SO MANY things about this scene I want to discuss but here are the top ones:

1- nate calling them out as children? amazing

2- eliot and hardison canonically changed in the elevator together BEFORE parker dropped in, but they weren’t necessarily looking away in a backs-turned way when she came in (when they were still getting finished getting dressed)

3- parker being completely nonchalant changing with two men in the elevator? she must not really care about being naked in front of other people (as seen later in what I think is the morning after job (?), for example)

4- the boys look away to be polite but there is definitely interest in BOTH of their faces

5- so this is what the burn scam entails

- - - - -

parker takes shotgun while the two boys are in the back. I need to see the scene of them awkwardly sitting together in the back. possibly bickering.

- - - - -

Nate: All right, all right. The money will be in all your accounts later today.

Hardison: Anybody else notice how hard we rocked last night?

Eliot: Yeah, well, one show only, no encores.

Parker: I already forgot your names.

Hardison: It was kind of cool, being on the same side.

Nate: No, we are not on the same side. I am not a thief.

Parker: You are now. Come on Nathan, tell the truth. Didn’t you have a little bit of fun playing the Black King instead of the White Knight, just this once?

(they all walk away in different directions)

smh you’re all 0.000005 seconds away from becoming a family

“no encores” my ass

+ I love how hardison is the FIRST one to (immediately) bring up how awesome they worked as a team

- - - - -

(Nate walks slowly down a toward a large room where voices are coming from)

Hardison (holding gun): You mind telling me what happened to the designs?

Eliot: What makes you think I know what happened? Stupid.

Hardison: Look, forget you man. You did it when we were coming down from the elevator.

Eliot: Yeah, that makes sense doesn’t it? You had the file every second.

Hardison: Hold up Kujo, I did my part, I transferred the files.

Eliot: You better get that gun out of my face...

Hardison: What did you do?

Eliot: …or else I’m gonna feed it to you.

Nate: Hey!

(the men turn, Hardison pointing the gun at Nate)

Eliot: Did you do it? You’re the only one that’s ever played both sides.

Nate: Yeah, you seem pretty relaxed for a guy with a gun pointed at him.

Eliot (looks at Hardison): Safety’s on.

Hardison: Like I’m gonna fall for that.

Nate: No, no, actually he’s right, the safety is on.

(Hardison looks at the gun and Nate grabs it)

Nate (to Eliot): You armed?

Eliot (shakes head): I don’t like guns.

(Eliot looks pointedly past Nate’s shoulder. Nate turns, pointing the gun at Parker who is holding a gun on him)

Parker: My money’s not in my account.

(She walks around Hardison, raising her gun as Nate lowers his)

Parker: That makes me cry inside in my special, angry place.

Nate: Okay, Parker. (slowly reaches out to lower Parker’s gun) Now did you come here to get paid?

Hardison: Hell no. Transfer of funds man. Global economy.

Eliot: It’s supposed to be a walk away. I’m never supposed to see you again.

eliot could have IMMEDIATELY taken the gun away but it made hardison feel safe so he was humoring him

and how easily nate took the gun away? interesting, for a former insurance agent

“you armed?” “no, I don’t like guns” eliot sweetie I love you

also parker’s entrance tho

- - - - -

Nate: Then the only reason you guys are here is because you didn’t get paid. And you’re pissed off. (laughs) As a matter of fact the only way to get us all in the same place at the same time is to tell us that we’re not. Getting. Paid.

(a look of realization goes through the group and they all start to run. Nate opens a garage door and directs them out. Hardison trips on the stairs and Eliot pulls him to his feet)

Nate: Come on, come on, get up. Let’s go, hustle. Go.

(the others exit and Nate looks back to see a ball of fire headed toward him)

eliot: I hate you all, I work alone, I don’t care about any of you

eliot 0.000005 seconds later: hauling hardison off the ground so he doesn’t die in an exploding building because ‘I guess he’s by boyfriend now’

- - - - -

Nate: Have we been processed?

(Eliot waves ink covered finger tips at him)

Eliot: They faxed our prints to the State Police.

[Hospital Room B]

Hardison: Yo, if the staties run us man, we’re screwed.

Parker: How long?

Hardison: Thirty, thirty-five minutes depending on the software

- - - - -

Nate: Parker! Get me a phone. What we’re going to do is, we’re going to get out of here together.

Eliot: This was a onetime deal.

Nate: Look guys, here’s your problem. You all know what you can do, I know what all you can do, so that gives me the edge, gives me the plan.

[Hospital Room B]

Parker: I don’t trust these guys.

[Hospital Room A]

Nate: Do you trust me?

Eliot: Of course. You’re an honest man.

Nate: Parker, Phone.

[Hospital Room B]

Parker: This is gonna suck.

(she sticks her fingers down her throat and bends over)

Hardison: Oh. Hell no

the amount of times eliot brings up that it was supposed to be a one-time thing is HILARIOUS considering just how fast he imprints on them lmfao

also how they all immediately trust him, I’m soft

- - - - -

(Parker nods compliantly. The doctor and nurse leave the room. Officer checks her handcuffs then leaves. Parker and Hardison hold up the phones they stole. After a quick glance, they switch phones. Parker holds up the keys she stole and tosses them to Hardison before standing up and talking to the vent into the next room)

domestic pardison

- - - - -

(Hardison leads Eliot to a police cruiser that Nate and Parker are already inside of. As Hardison guides Eliot into the backseat he hits Eliot head on the top of the door frame. Eliot turns and growls at Hardison)

Hardison: Walk it off. Walk… get inside. Get inside.

(Eliot gets in the car)

I love chaotic (pre)boyfriends

- - - - -

Eliot: I’m gonna beat Dubenich so bad that even the people who look like him are gonna bleed.

Parker: You won’t get within 100 yards. He knows your face. He knows all our faces.

Eliot: He tried to kill us.

Parker: More importantly he didn’t pay us.

Eliot: How is that more important?

Parker: I take that personally.

Eliot: There’s something wrong with you.

okay to be fair eliot at least is open to and listens to parker’s reasoning before concluding she’s crazy

- - - - -

Eliot: What’s in it for me?

Nate: Payback, and if it goes right a lot of money.

Parker: What’s in it for me?

Nate: A lot of money, and if it goes right, payback. Hardison?

Hardison: I was just gonna send a thousand porno magazines to his office, but, hell yeah man, let’s kick him up.

these characterizations are so on point

- - - - -

SOPHIE’S INTRO LMFAO

+ how everyone else is horrified but nate just looks entranced

- - - - -

[Flashback]

(In Paris seven years ago, Sophie is cutting a painting out of a frame with several empty frames nearby. The door burst open and Nate enters with a gun in hand)

Nate: Freeze.

(Sophie grabs her gun and shoots Nate in the shoulder. He responds by shooting her in the back. They both clench at their wounds)

Sophie: You wanker!

so are we, as a fandom, EVER going to talk about this scene ???

- - - - -

(so apparently there’s a 250 text block limit for posts on tumblr so I guess I have to make more than one post for this now. the following part will be reblogged on this post immediately after. reblog that version instead please lol)

[gumnut-logic]

Thoughts on the Tracy Boys - Scott

This popped into my head today while watching Penny and Virgil trying to pull TB4 out of some sea sludge. I’ve started here and no doubt it will go elsewhere. Where I know not, but I hope it will be fun along the way :D Theoretically each piece should be able to be read stand alone, but they will be a set eventually :D

No spoilers or warnings, other than I know nothing of the history of the Tracy and Creighton-Ward families and as usual, I’m just making stuff up :D Thank you to @scribbles97 for the read through and encouragement :D

-o-o-o-

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward first met a Tracy at age thirteen. Her father had been called over to the United States on business and he had taken her with him with the idea that she needed exposure to different cultures and customs.

Not that she hadn’t been to a variety of places, but the United States was a different kettle of fish to Europe.

The first Tracy she encountered was a serious young man by the name of Scott. A little older than her and fraught with responsibility, she at first had no idea what to expect from him. A mess of brown hair and a smile that was rather charming, he introduced himself politely and shook her hand firmly.

Her father was meeting with Jeff Tracy regarding funding of one of their smaller aeronautical companies. It was obvious that Scott was the son of her father’s business associate, his appearance was a younger echo of the older man.

Left to themselves while their parents spoke money, Penny eyed him. Even at thirteen she knew her interests lay in people, in delving into who they were, what they were thinking. She had read books on body language and tells, cultural norms and human communication, but really it was just obvious that Scott Tracy was worried about something.

“A worry shared is a grey hair spared.”

“Er, what? Um, I’m sorry, pardon me?”

His eyes were such an alluring blue.

“You are worried about something. I was wondering if I could help.”

He eyed her, not with suspicion, but some wariness. This was a boy who had seen difficulties in life, that much she could tell. Otherwise why would he show such reluctance?

“I don’t bite.”

He arched an eyebrow at that. “I should hope not.” But then he let loose a ravishing smile enough to conquer a thirteen year old girls heart at the mere hint of it. “It’s nothing. One of my little brothers played a prank on me before I left this morning.” He pulled up a sleeve and her eyes widened as he revealed a smudged drawing of a fish on his forearm in permanent marker. “I don’t really care so much, but Dad didn’t take it well.”

“What sort of fish is it?”

He frowned at her. “Er, I don’t know? You’d have to ask my brother.”

“It looks very much like a marlin. A great sporting fish.”

Scott blinked at her. “Do you know much about fish?”

“I know a little.” She looked around the room. “However, my interests tend to lie elsewhere.”

Her chauffeur-slash-bodyguard stood in one corner, his eyes darting suspicious glares in Scott’s direction.

“Oh, what are you intending to specialise in?”

She frowned. This was not the typical teenager she was used to. He was ever so, well, thoughtful and introspective. Now, glancing at his attire, she could see he kept it immaculate, Every seam was neatly pressed and he wore the suit with ease. There was nothing gawky or unkempt about Scott Tracy.

“People. I intend to specialise in people.”

She would look back at the encounter later and realise that for one of the few times in her life, she had taken the young man as he was. She blamed youth for it, but honestly she suspected that smile altered her perception of him.

There were many meetings after that. Their parents were proposing big things. Jeff Tracy himself was like a man possessed, yet so kindly to all he met. Cut throat businessman if he had to be, but never unfair.

His eldest son was around for many of those meetings, being trained up to possibly follow in his father’s footsteps. The impressions she got off of him regarding the subject were highly volatile. He followed his father like the man was a messiah in the boardroom, yet he had his own mind and wasn’t afraid to use it. Jeff, for all his passion, listened and decided, weighing equally whatever his son had offered with everything else on the table.

There was one instance however that stuck in her mind for a long time and more clearly detailed how this father and son relationship worked.

It was late and this time it was in the Creighton-Ward residence. She was fifteen and Scott had been called into the meeting during some leave from the airforce. She could tell Scott was unhappy from the moment he arrived, but he kept his mouth shut and was all politeness until towards the end of the night. Her father offered them lodging and Jeff had kindly accepted when Scott drew him aside, taking him out through the main doors for privacy.

She doubted they had intended to raise their voices, but they were American and father and son and the whispers became words that could clearly be heard through the ancient doors of her home.

Scott was arguing that they needed to return home that night, something about an awards ceremony he wanted his father to attend.

Jeff claimed that negotiations hadn’t been completed and he needed to speak to the London board in the morning...which was true. The deal was yet to be finalised and a large amount of her father’s money and the Tracys’ money were tied up in this.

But Scott was vehement.

“This is very important to Gordon, Dad. He needs you to be there.”

“I know that Scott, but I can’t just leave. There will be other swimming titles. Gordon will go all the way to the Olympics, I’m sure of it.”

“Please, Dad. You’ve missed so many. He is counting on you being there. Please don’t make me have to tell him again.” His tone was pleading, yet underneath she could detect hurt and anger.

“Scott, I am truly sorry.” And Jeff was. She could feel his disappointment and regret through the doors.

But it wasn’t enough for the younger Tracy. “Then I guess I’ll be flying home alone tonight.”

“Scott-“

“No, Dad. Someone has to be there for him. Virgil is trying, John can’t, I’m grabbing Alan out of school on the way down.

“Alan? Are you sure that this is that important. He shouldn’t be missing his-“

“Yes, Dad, it is that important and you would know that if you had listened to a single word I’ve said.”

There was a silence after that

Penny looked at her father and found him frowning.

Jeff returned to the room, but Scott did not. His father made apologies for him.

Her father continued to frown.

The last few items on the agenda were addressed, but she could see Mr Tracy was distracted and his heart was no longer in it.

“Jeff, go.” Her father’s voice was soft. “I’ll take care of the meeting in the morning. Go.”

“No, no, this is far too important.” The man was shaking his head as it bowed towards the desktop.

“Jeff, from one father to another, go. Some things are far more important than anything else.”

The man looked up at her father, his grey eyes worried. “I know.”

“Then go.” Her father waved his hand impatiently. “Go on, get. Hunt your boy down before he bad mouths you to the airport staff.

Jeff’s raised eyebrow pretty much summed up what he thought the chances of that was and Penny couldn’t agree more. Scott would find a plane, fly it home, do what needed to be done and them silently fume.

She wondered if Scott was the type to take out a gym or one of those who buried themselves in work to abate their anger. Because there was plenty of anger in the young man. She had identified that much.

Years later she found out first hand exactly what Scott was capable of destroying when his father went missing. Her gym still had the gouges in the walls.

But that night of the meeting was when she discovered where Scott Tracy’s passion lay. He was all about flying and speed and just as gunghoe as any flyboy on the planet, but it mostly hid his true passion.

Family.

She got to know the Tracy boys well. Eventually her family and the Tracys practically merged as International Rescue was born. They worked together from opposite sides of the planet. Sometimes they played together as well.

But the eldest tracy always stayed the same. Ever passionate about his brothers and sister, Grandmother, Brains and even herself.

She had seen him turn from the kind and well mannered gentleman she knew him to be to a defensive lion of a man at the mere mention of a threat to those he loved. She witnessed it first hand in a night club. He blew her cover by throwing her assailant over the bar. It was an inconvenience and she noted to herself not to invite any of the Tracys undercover in the future, but it was terribly sweet.

He didn’t have to know that she later picked the guy off the floor and dragged him into a back room to interrogate him. Parker was most put out that he missed the argument because he had been home sick with the flu.

He did however look at the eldest Tracy with more respect from that point onwards.

So Scott Tracy was easy to read, easy to admire and honestly, that smile still made her insides all funny, though she would never admit it. Especially since she had long since fallen hopelessly in love with another smile.

But Scott was the first and first impressions were important.

And so was he.

-o-o-o-

End Part One

[agentmarymargaretskitz]

The Goatman’s Bridge.

Quite a few months ago, @lostinthespeedforce and I were talking about Ava and Gary recruiting Goatman to help them out after we saw a BTS pic of Jes and Adam with the guy who played Tiberius. After seeing him on last week’s episode, I figured I needed to sit down and write it last night so I could get it up before tonight’s episode. So here you go.

AO3

“Are you sure about this idea? Because maybe we can do something else that works just as well and then we don’t have to go down to Hell. I can ask John if he knows a-”

“No,” Ava shook her head while she watched Gary prepared the spell. “You said that you had something that could be used to keep in touch, even from Hell. It’s a good idea and we can really use it now that Astra’s no longer in Hell.”

“I’m pretty sure it works. I haven’t really used it beyond another room before, but it’s strong magic.”

“Then I’ll take it,” Ava stood up as Gary finished the circle. “Are you ready?”

He fidgeted a bit. “As ready as I can be to go back to Hell.”

              Ava stepped inside the circle with Gary. Once again, she did have to motivate him to chug the demon blood down. After he had and started chanting the spell, Ava smelled sulfur before the circle surrounding them burst into flames that rose above them. When they fell, the two of them were standing in a dark and dirty alley instead of the clean, pristine Waverider.

“How long do we have down here?” she asked once they found their way onto an actual street.

Gary checked his watch. “Around an hour and a half. I modified the spell so we didn’t have to spend so long down here again. How long can it take to talk to him anyways?”

“If we’re lucky, I should be able to negotiate something quickly,” Ava replied, leading them across the street. “Hey, thanks for doing this with me.”

“You needed a wizard, I needed to not be afraid of doing this, and it’s a good idea,” Gary shrugged. “Kinda weird how a few years ago we were just two Time Agents trying to fix a history broken by the Legends. Now we’re working with them to keep it safe.”

“A lot has changed,” Ava mused before looking back to him. “Do you ever miss it?”

Gary was quiet for a moment, ducking his head as a few denizens of Hell passed them. “Sometimes I do. I liked being part of something bigger, and it was nice to have that cool tech and a desk. Getting paid was great too. But I like being a wizard… or almost a wizard.”

“Yeah, being a Legend turned out to not be so bad after all,” Ava agreed. “I get to travel with my girlfriend. I fight serial killers and Fates. I started a podcast. But I do miss a paycheck. Maybe my office too a little.”

“It was a nice office.”

“Had some good memories there,” Ava smiled wistfully as she remembered her birthday before catching sight of Astra’s club. “We’re here.”

              A determined glint in Gary’s eyes matched the one in her own. They entered the club, weaving in and out of the damned to get to Astra’s office. A few people gave them funny looks, but none of them attacked or tried to stop them. Once they finally made it to the office, Ava shut the door while Gary pressed the buzzer on Astra’s desk. Now all they had to do was wait.

Minutes of their precious time ticked by before the door opened and the horned man entered. However, he stopped short when he saw Gary at the desk.

“Tiberius, right?” Gary asked. “Remember us?”

His lips curled into a snarl. “You’re not Astra.”

“Good eyes,” Ava slammed the door shut and locked it. “Astra’s working with us now. But we need to have a talk.”

“Whatever do you want to discuss?” he leered. “If you’re wasting my time, I’m sure I can find some extra torture cells down here for the two of you.”

Gary gulped. “We’re actually here with a suggestion. Perhaps you’d be interested in forming an alliance with us?”

“What?”

“What he means is that we can help each other out,” Ava clarified. “Souls from Hell are coming back for revenge and causing chaos. Also, the Fates stole Astra’s soul coins to control them to find pieces of the Loom of Fate. They’ll probably keep using them too until they get their hands on the Loom. Once they have it, they’re going to change things and restore them to the old order.”

“Including Hell,” Gary chimed in. “And how everything gets run down here.”

“Right, and I’m betting that won’t be as much fun as it is now.”

Tiberius growled. “It was awful. Everything was uptight and miserable.”

“Sounds like it would suck to go back to that,” Ava crossed her arms. “But if you help us by letting us know who gets out and what the Fates are up to when they’re down here, we can prevent that from happening. You can keep going about life is Hell doing…whatever you do.”

Tiberius looked between her and Gary, silent as he considered the offer. Ava waited; her hand ready to grab Genghis Khan’s sword if necessary. She had Bonnie Parker’s gun in her coat as well as one of Sara’s knives should things get ugly. Ava had no clue if Gary had any tricks up his sleeve with magic, but now was not the time to find out. All she could hope for was that Tiberius accepted her offer.

“I do like Hell the way it is now,” he mused. “And I’m not eager to let it go back to the ways of old. But if you’d like my full cooperation, the two of you will have to do something for me.”

“Name it. What do you want?”

“Before my confinement to Hell, I spent some time on Earth. I constructed a few gateways that connected Hell and Earth. It wasn’t anything terribly significant and they didn’t get used often, but they were mine. Unfortunately, being away from them has loosened the hold I had on them. Sometimes I can pop up and scare away a human trying to stake a claim. A while back, two fools challenged my claim on one such gateway, I couldn’t make it to the surface to stop them, and I lost a bridge to them as a result.”

Ava frowned as she listened to the story. Something about it sounded familiar. “Was this bridge in North America by any chance?”

“Why, yes. It’s known as the Old Alton Bridge in-”

“Texas,” Ava finished, looking at Tiberius again as the pieces clicked into place. “Wait, you’re THAT Goatman?!”

Gary’s eyes widened. “He’s Goatman? Ava, we’re talking to Goatman?!”

“The humans never stuck around long enough to ask for my name,” Tiberius grumbled. “But they still had to call me something when they told the stories to anyone who would listen. That’s what they came to know me as. Then that lanky buffoon made a mockery of me and took my bridge! You don’t take a demon’s hell gateway without consequences?”

“So…what do you want us to do about it?” Ava asked him. “You want your bridge back from Ryan and Shane?”

“Exactly! And take care of Shane Madej while you’re at it?”

“Oh, that’s all!” Gary looked relieved. “Yeah, we can do that. We can just drop in and make sure he’s doing alright from time to time. You know, it’s really sweet that you care about him even if he did take your-”

“I said take care of him!”

Realization dawned on both of them and the happiness drained out of Gary’s expression. “Oh.”

Ava shook her head. “I’m not going to take care of him.”

“Then no deal.”

“Ava-”

“I got this,” she muttered to Gary. “What if I get him to relinquish his claim on the bridge instead? He gives it up, you get it back, and everything works out.”

Tiberius considered it. “I suppose it will suffice. You have a deal. I’ll provide information and updates. The two of you get my bridge back.”

“Great,” Ava shook his hand. “Gary, how much time have we got left?”

“Seven minutes, and I still need to give him the mirror.”

“Oh right. You can take that one.”

Gary stepped towards Tiberius now and pulled a mirror out of one of the pockets of his coat. “So how familiar are you with Harry Potter?”

“I don’t believe I know anyone down here with that name.”

“Oh, uh, I can explain it without,” Gary passed the mirror to Tiberius. “You look into this and speak to it. We have the other half. If you have something to say, we can see and hear you and talk back. Kind of like Facetime.”

“Face...time?”

“Like he said, you see us, you hear us, you talk to us, and vice versa,” Ava told him. “Anything happens, then you tell us. And we’ll let you know about the bridge.”

“Excellent.”

~~~~

              Charlie had been planning to construct the Loom of Fate before Nate had found the Hell sigil. Now they were camped out by it with the rest of the crew sans Sara. Ava and Gary were missing and unaccounted for, so it was likely they were down there. Gideon had also ratted them out when John asked where Gary had gone. So they were all waiting for the former Time Agents to come back and explain why they’d gone to Hell.

“It’s nearly complete,” Zari pointed to the circle. “So how are they coming back?”

To answer her question, flames surged upward, revealing Gary and Ava when they flickered out.

Gary was the first to notice they had an audience and waved. “Oh hey, guys!”

“What were the two of you doing down there in Hell?” Charlie demanded as Ava stepped out of the circle.

“Gary and I got someone to keep an eye on the Encores coming up to surface,” Ava explained. “Although we have to go scare someone now for claiming Tiberius’s bridge. So we have to do that.”

“You’re what?” Nate frowned.

“We have to get Goatman’s bridge back,” Gary told him.

Zari looked over at them. “Are you serious? He’s real?”

“Who’s Goatman?” John asked.

“It’s a long story that Astra might be able to explain part of, so ask her,” Ava said. “Gary and I used to watch a series on YouTube at the Bureau, we’ll have a viewing party on it later. But we have to go scare someone from it who doesn’t believe in demons or ghosts and I want to get it over with. Let’s go, Gary.”

Everyone watched them leave, not sure what to make of what they’d just heard.

[dailybuglenow]

WEDNESDAY, 5 AUGUST 2024. EDITED BY J. JONAH JAMESON.

BACK & BETTER THAN EVER, OR, A TALE OF REALITY WARPING & RESURRECTIONS 

Gone, but never forgotten. That’s what we’ve repeated to ourselves time and time again in the six years since the Mad Titan Thanos snapped his fingers ( an act we call the Cleanse ) and half the world dissolved into ash. It wasn’t until five long years later that a group of brave heroes reversed what he had done and restored the world to a shade closer to what it once had been. This was, of course, not without great costs having to be paid. When Thanos was finally vanquished for good two founding Avengers were laid to rest: Natalia Romanova, the Black Widow, and Anthony Edward Stark, aka Iron Man. News of their deaths were confirmed by a representative for the New Avengers the day following the New Avengers Facility battle against the Black Order that culminated in the largest hero team-up we’ve yet to see.

Natalia Romanova, more commonly known by the alias Natasha  Romanoff started her career in Russia’s infamous Red Room academy, which turns young girls into trained assassins. Romanoff’s ledger was made public in 2014 following the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the revelation that the Nazi organization H.Y.D.R.A. had been embedded in the agency for years. After being recruited to S.H.I.E.LD. by fellow Avenger Clint Barton ( Hawkeye ), Romanoff worked as an agent for years before becoming a founding member of the Avengers in 2012, where she continued to serve until 2016 when the Sokovian Accords were passed and stricter international restrictions were put in place. Although she originally sided with Stark and the government, following the Clash of the Avengers in Berlin Romanoff dropped off the map. She was spotted once in Russia before going on the run with the former Captain America, Steve Rogers, and his associate Sam Wilson ( the former Falcon who has recently taken up the Cap mantle -- for more, on this please see Christine Everhart’s article on page 3 ). Despite two years as an international fugitive, Romanoff fought in the Battle of Wakanda against Thanos and acted as the representative to the public during the Cleanse. One of the more vocal Avengers dead set on righting Thanos’ wrong, a New Avengers spokesperson confirmed that Romanoff died on April 26th, 2023 securing the Soul Stone from a classified location alongside Barton. She was laid to rest in a private cemetery with the Romanoff Scholarship for at Risk Girls being created in her honor shortly afterwards.

Anthony 'Tony’ Stark was always in the public eye due to his father, Howard Stark, being an inventor, scientist, engineer, businessman and movie director. The elder Stark created Stark Industries, which his son later inherited after his untimely passing. As an arms dealer Tony was taken hostage in Afghanistan in 2008 but freed himself by creating a suit of armor. Living with an arc reactor in his chest, Stark became the first superhero with a public identity as Iron Man and became a founding member of the Avengers. After nearly sacrificing himself in 2012′s Battle of New York, Stark remained active even though it was his actions that led to the creation of the villainous robot Ultron and the untimely destruction of a large part of the European nation, Sokovia in 2015. Many considered Stark’s actions to be an apparent disrespect to life and property and urged him make amends. As a result, Stark sided with the Sokovian Accords and urged other heroes to sign as well.  Because of this he and Steve Rogers had a falling out that lasted years as Rogers went on the run and Stark started the Stark Internship, whose inaugural recipient was high school student Peter Parker ( who was recently unmasked as Spider-man ). After going to space in 2018 to try and stop Thanos, Stark came home after briefly being presumed missing and largely vanished from the public eye. The failure of the Avengers to stop Thanos from the Cleanse was something not commented on by Stark, who chose to move Upstate with his wife, Stark Industries C.E.O. Pepper Potts, and their daughter, Morgan Stark. He came out of retirement to help retrieve the Stones and was the one to don a specially created Infinity Gauntlet to kill Thanos once and for all. Following his passing Stark was buried a few days after and the Stark Foundation for the Rehoming of those Disrupted by the Cleanse was created.

For the last year, the world mourned the losses of both Stark, Romanoff and other deceased heroes, such as the synthezoid known as the Vision who was killed by Thanos in 2018 when the Titan stole the Mind Stone from his forehead. Rumors began flying recently, however, when Avenger Wanda Maximoff ( the Scarlet Witch ) appeared to be spotted with a man who resembled the Vision. This set in motion what appears to be a new era in which what we lost has been returned to us. The New Avengers were able to confirm that it was, indeed, the Vision returned by means not yet confirmed. Mutants have been known for their resurrections as of late, but that seemed limited to their nation of Krakoa. It never seemed like something that we’d see in our world at large. Not until recently, that is.

On August 3rd, 2024, President Norman Osborn held a press conference that promised a sign of hope and change. Osborn’s Avengers, known as America’s Avengers, have been received with various degrees of public support. Along with him Osborn brought team member Star, who was recently revealed to be reporter Ripley Ryan. A controversial member, it has been revealed that Ryan possessed the Reality Stone from her home world of Earth-616 in her chest. “I don’t want to dip into the cliché and say that I live to serve,” she stated at the press conference. “but my goal is to be an Avenger for the people, and that means doing everything in my power to make the world a better place. Thankfully, I happen to have a lot of power.” This sentiment was echoed by Osborn, who pointed out that in the past the Avengers had failed as public servants and had instead caused more harm than good. He went on to add, “Instead of trying something futile like banning them once more, we’ve taken a new route. We’re leading by example, making good of our gifts. We’re making America a place you can feel safe and secure in. Consider this the first step.”

The ethics behind President Osborn’s following announcement have already been debated on popular social sites like Twitter as the public weighs on that which was once considered impossible: resurrection. That’s right, folks. You’re hearing it first here from the Daily Bugle that President Norman Osborn along with the help of Star has resurrected Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark. The two were present at the conference and expressed gratitude for their return but remained, for the most part, silent and let Osborn speak. A call to the New Avengers confirmed that they were unaware of the President’s plans or the return of their teammates. We have reached out to Stark’s widow, but so far Ms. Pott’s has been unreachable.

“The last thing we wanted to do was dishonor Stark and Romanoff’s respective sacrifices, but this was a wrong that we knew we could right. Under careful supervision Star was able to achieve a great feat and there’s no ulterior motive or fear that reality will crumble. We’ve  worked with multiversal experts to see what it’s possible to achieve. We also won’t be pushing Iron Man or Black Widow to join America’s Avengers. They’re welcome to rejoin their old team or retire and enjoy the world they helped save. This is the power that heroes who work in the best interest of the people possess. This is a world that we can live in, and America’s Avengers are dedicated to continuing this notion. We hope you accept this offering and remember that we live in a world of possibility.”

As soon as the dust clears the Bugle plans on reaching representatives for Romanoff and Stark to try and get individual statements. Osborn spokeswoman Lily Hollister, who handles statements for America’s Avengers, has promised that more details will soon be revealed and that an exclusive interview with Star will take place. In the meanwhile, sources have reported that Stark and Romanoff have been taken to the New Avengers Compound in Upstate New York to reacclimatize. The Bugle will continue to update the story as it unfolds, but in the meantime we wish the best to our fallen heroes and hope they’re happy to see the world they died to protect. If we live in a world where the dead walk again, what will we become when life is no longer fleeting?

— Ben Urich, Daily Bugle News Senior Reporter

TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN: CAP’S, THOR’S AND MORE. OH MY.

Captain America. Thor. Captain America. Thor. The names are likely to be familiar to anyone who follows the Avengers, but lately things have become a bit convoluted. Following the final battle against Thanos on April 26th, 2023 our beloved Captain America, Steve Rogers, retired and passed the shield off to friend and former Falcon Sam Wilson. In the year since we’ve reported the trajectory of Wilson’s attempt to get his footing as the public pushed back with the unfortunately popular hashtag #NotmyCaptainAmerica. Some have accredited the hesitation to embrace Wilson as Captain American as a racist statement due to Wilson being an African-American man, while others attribute it to an inability to let go of the old and embrace something new. Rogers, meanwhile, has voiced his support for his friend but has remained out of the debate for the most part. Old rumors have placed Rogers and the deceased Romanoff in a romantic relationship, and his withdrawal from the spotlight could be a direct result of her death and the two years he spent on the run as an international fugitive. An issue some have had with Wilson is that appears to be too ‘bipartisan’ to be Captain America, and they prefer the United States Government’s option to #takebacktheshield: John Walker. Walker stated that he was flattered to be considered but doesn’t step on any toes. Still, if Rogers picked Wilson as a replacement he must see something in him that the rest of the us should believe in.

Similarly, there’s a new Thor in town. Although we love Thor Odinson whether he’s rocking long hair or short, he seemed to fall on hard times during the Cleanse and has only recently resurfaced as a hero. In the meanwhile a new blonde, helmeted, Mjölnir wielding Thor has made an appearance. Although dubbed the Mighty Thor by some, public reactions to a female Thor has been mixed as preciously repeated. Despite this she has served as a New Avengers as of late even though it appears that no one knows her true identity. When asked if she had any inclination of who it could be, Asgard’s current King, the Valkyrie, scoffed and stated, “No, but she’s worthy so that must mean something. Asgardia needs the help she can get, and we seem to have a preference for beautiful sparkly blondes.” It not the most illuminating statement, and while it may be concerning that their leader doesn’t even know the name of one of their champions the Asgardian’s need a break after all the sorrow they’ve faced between Thanos and the mutants during the Avengers v X-Men conflict of last year. As for our original Thor, he’s been spotted in both Norway where Asgardia is located and around New York with a very large axe. As it stands we’re not totally sure of the relationship between the two Thor’s and why they share a name, but it only seems like a matter of time before some answers come to light. Some wonder if Thor Odinson will try to take the throne back, especially as reports about the Valkyrie’s drink continue to pop up. Welcome to Earth, Asgardians. Hope you like speculations.

I’m sure everyone has their preference on which Avenger they prefer, but I personally am open to trying something new. After all, we as people aren’t stagnate beings. Some things change and people do as well. It’s natural to see mantle passed from one hero to another as time goes on. Hero work is, in a strange way, a job and sometimes positions need to be filled. Of course, time will only tell how well these new faces hold up against the daunting legacies of those who came before them. If it counts for anything, they have the good luck of this reporter.

— Christine Everhart, Daily Bugle News Senior Reporter

IN OTHER NEWS:

Despite the passing of Kamala’s Law within the last few months, underaged superhero activity has remained at an all time. The black-suited web crawler Spider-man was recently spotted with his team, the Champions, in Brooklyn despite the fact that their teammate, Ms. Marvel, remains at large for her part in a recent incident at Coles Academic High School that left civilians injured. Recently registered underaged heroes include Ghost Spider, the two children of Reed and Susan Richards ( Franklin and Valeria Richards ), Billy Kapplan ( Wiccan ) and Nadia Van Dyne ( the Wasp ). The majority of the public has so far responded positively to the idea of underaged heroes requiring some form of accountability but response from the heroes has been negative. 

Go away, Guardians of the Galaxy! Not really, but most are scratching their heads over the fact that the intergalactic team that consists of aliens, talking trees and raccoons are still residing on Earth a year after Thanos was defeated. Members Rocket Raccoon and Nebula acted as honorary Avengers to help reverse the Snap, and when the Cleanse was undone their teammates Drax the Destroy, Groot, Mantis and Peter Quill ( Star Lord ) were returned to life. They are joined by former Daughter of Thanos Gamora and seem quite comfortable on our planet. Maybe it’s just part of our apparent alien invasion as the Shi’ar, Skrull and Kree still have dignitaries present. Looks like Earth is getting a little crowded!

[peterparkers7evilexes]

Lightless miles, miles and miles [Starker - darkfic]

Words: 3.6k

Summary: Peter has one rule that's helped him stay alive the past 5 years: Don't get in the john's truck. Or: The one where Peter's working a truck stop for cash when he catches one particular trucker's eye, and Tony has to have him.

Notes: Wazzup it’s ya bitch back with another dark fic who’s fuCKING SURPRISED!!!! Peter is in his 20s. Dark!Tony, sex worker!Peter. TWs for smoking (cigarettes), mentions of cheating, kidnapping. There will be non-con in the next part. DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT.

Also on AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17918384/

Peter has one rule that's helped him stay alive the past 5 years: Don't get in the john's truck. He'll suck cock behind the fueling station, let men fuck him up against their cargo, he even let one really hot driver handcuff him to a pipe in the bathroom and call him 'Mommy' while he fucked his face.

Peter likes what he does - sure, it was never in the plans but shit happened, and at least this way he gets a steady income, food in his belly, and an added bonus of maybe a couple of orgasms a day. So all that said, Peter has never once been tempted to bend or break his only rule. After all, he's heard enough horror stories of girls and boys like him who show up months later halfway across the country (as Captain Stacy never tires of reminding him every time she stops by the lot).

Luckily, most of Peter's clients are perfectly normal men with a normal amount of empathy, if a little on the kinky side. "Thank you for breeding my pussy, Mr. President," Peter says sweetly, batting his eyelashes at one of his regular clients, Ross.

Ross groans appreciatively and pulls out, using his soft cock to slap Peter's ass. "God, wish I could take you home with me," he sighs, not the first time he's voiced this desire.

Peter winks at him, pushing himself off the grimy brick wall and rolling the spent condom off Ross' soft dick. "And let me meet the missus? Don't you think it's a little soon, baby?" He lets Ross lean in and kiss him one more time, his breath stale from days on the road but the two crisp hundred dollar bills pressed into Peter's palm make his chapped lips taste a little bit sweeter.

He sees Ross off, the chug of his 16-wheeler raising up dust as he rolls back onto the highway. Peter sighs and tucks his earnings into his jeans, then makes his way into the cramped convenience store attached to the lot’s fueling station.

The bell above the door jingles, announcing his arrival and MJ looks up from her phone. "The usual, please," he says, leaning against the counter.

MJ rolls her eyes, spinning around in her chair behind the cash register to grab a pack of condoms and a fun-size bag of Skittles. "You're not cute, Parker. Also, that last guy looked like an extra hairy, stubbier Abe Lincoln."

Tearing open his pack of Skittles, Peter laughs and tucks the condoms into his back pocket. "Funny enough, he pays me almost double to call him Mr. President. Also he's nice, don't be rude. When's your shift end?"

"Ah." MJ's face twists into an apologetic grimace. "About that, Pete. I can't actually give you a ride tonight-- I'm sorry!" she cries, holding her hands up defensively at the hurt look Peter gives her. "My car broke down! But Gwen's giving me a ride if you want to come with."

Peter gives her a flat look, glumly shoving a handful of Skittles into his mouth. "Your girlfriend is turning out to be real inconvenient for business, MJ," he says as the doorbell jingles again.

"What business?" comes Gwen's voice from the door.

Peter spins around on his heel and smiles politely. "My burgeoning soap-making business, Captain Stacy!"

Gwen raises her eyebrows at Peter but comes over, leaning over the counter to give MJ a kiss. "That so, Parker? I'd love to buy something from you, help out a local business owner," she says, her bright blue eyes piercing into him.

"Ah, I don't think you'd be into the kinda soap I'm selling," Peter snorts, and when MJ snickers as well, Gwen gives her a chastising look.

"Don't test me, Parker," she warns. "There's only so much I can turn a blind eye to."

That nettles a bit. Like the cops have ever done anything but hurt him, all under the guise of protecting an orphaned, homeless kid. "Don't you have innocent children to drag from their only remaining families? Murders to ignore or something?" he snaps, his hands clenched into fists on the counter.

To his surprise, Gwen's face softens and she takes off her captain's hat. It always shocks him, seeing how young she really is when she lets down her walls like this - reminds him that they're about the same age, that if things had just... not gone to shit for him, maybe they would've graduated high school together, even become friends.

"I'm sorry," she says honestly. "I... Look," she sighs, combing a hand through her tight ponytail and meeting Peter's eyes with a firm sort of sincerity. "I just want you to be careful." When Peter purses his lips, she continues quickly, "I'm just saying, there's been a spike in people going missing from truck stops. So just... you know. Be aware, okay? Besides," she adds more lightly, reaching over the counter to punch MJ's shoulder and ignoring her indignant yelp, "MJ likes you, I guess. I can't explain it. And it'd suck if something happened to you, 'cause she'd be sad or whatever and she can't eat me out if she's crying."

MJ flushes pink but looks pleased. "You're a fucking psychopath, baby."

A little mollified, Peter shrugs his shoulders. “Message received, Captain Stacy,” he says placating, not really in the mood to argue with an officer of the law again - not tonight, in any case.

Through the smudged plexiglass window of the convenience store, he can see the headlights of a red 18-wheeler rolling in. He salutes Gwen and flips MJ off, shouting a goodbye over his shoulder as he walks back out to the dark lot.

The driver who steps out of the truck cab is about middle-aged, stocky build with a flannel rolled up at the sleeves and a baseball cap pulled down low over his eyes. The parking lot lighting is too dim and yellow to discern much of his features, but from what Peter can see, he’s definitely one of the more attractive men he’s met. Peter imagines a man with looks like that has got to have a wife at home - which means he’ll have been lonely on the road. Good odds.

“Hey sir!” he calls, approaching and waving his fingers at the man. He smiles as the man looks him up and down, dark inky eyes drinking him in hungrily. “How long you been driving?”

The man takes his cap off, sweeping his fingers through thick black hair as he looks Peter up and down like a piece of meat. “Little under twenty hours,” he says in a voice low and smooth, leaning against the cab of his truck. “You’re not auditing me, are you?”

Peter laughs, ducking his head and tugging at the hem of his shirt, revealing the sharp angles of his collarbones and not missing the way the man’s eyes flick down to watch the slow expanse of his skin. “I dunno sir,” he says with a shy little smile. “Do I look like a truck auditor?”

The man laughs, a handsome rich sound, and reaches in his flannel pocket to pull out a pack of American Spirits. “No,” he concedes, propping a cigarette between his lips. “Guess you don’t, kid.”

“Here,” Peter says, reaching in his jeans for a lighter. “Let me.” He steps forward into the man’s space and clicks the flint wheel, flame bursting forth from the tip. The man meets his eyes curiously but lowers his head, letting Peter light the end of his cigarette. As it catches cherry red, thin smoke rises from the end of the cigarette and the man watches him hungrily. Peter shivers, suddenly feeling like cornered prey.

“I’m Tony,” the man introduces himself, taking the cigarette from his lips and letting a smoky exhale vanish into the evening’s humid atmosphere.

“Hi Tony,” he says breathlessly. “You looking for any company tonight?”

Tony gives him a crooked smile, taking another drag. “You're sweet. What's your name?”

“Peter,” he says, licking his lips. “Can I?”

With a wry look, Tony reaches forward, gripping the back of Peter's neck in a firm, gentle hold and lifts the cigarette to his lips. “Pretty thing like you shouldn't smoke,” he murmurs, his voice low and and gravelly in Peter’s ear.

Peter shudders as he inhales, the acrid taste burning down his trachea. He holds it in his lungs, slowly exhaling through his nose, furls of pale gray smoke floating in the still air between them before it disperses in thin wisps. “So?” he presses, the remnants of cigarette smoke fading from his lips. “You wanna order me around some more, handsome?”

Tony gazes appraisingly at him, something flashing in his dark eyes. “No,” he says finally. “I can’t. But thank you for the offer,” he says politely, like they’re concluding a boardroom deal instead of discussing the commerce of Peter’s body.

Peter can’t lie to himself and say he isn’t a little disappointed. Something about Tony’s piercing eyes and the primal look in them makes his cock twitch and he feels certain that Tony would’ve been an excellent fuck. “Well,” he shrugs nonchalantly, turning to leave. “if you’re sure.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Tony calls, halting him in his tracks, “you’ve made quite an elevator pitch. Can I buy you dinner or a bus ticket outta town or something?”

Peter turns to look over his shoulder, batting his eyelashes. “Why sir,” he says in an exaggerated, sultry voice, “are you trying to take me out on a date?”

Tony laughs again, his face open and surprised. He’s really handsome when he laughs, Peter notes with some glumness. “I got a route to keep, kid,” he says, rapping his knuckles against the red of his truck cab. “But if I just cost you a meal, let me at least make it up to you.”

Hands on his hips, Peter huffs out a breath. “Are you implying that I’m a hooker? How d’you know I’m not just really slutty and looking to get laid?” he teases, although he’s grinning back at Tony. He should get home, a stern voice tells him, and stop flirting with a mid-tier sugar daddy who won’t even fuck him.

“Hey, easy,” Tony smirks, finishing off his cigarette and crushing it beneath his heel. “Nothing wrong with making a living wage. Besides,” he leans forward, his eyes glittering beetle black and intent in the dim evening, “You're such a sweet, gorgeous little thing, I hardly imagine you'd have to resort to a truck stop to get laid.”

Despite himself, Peter chews at his lower lip, unconsciously leaning forward into Tony's space. The man smells good, like engine oil and cloves, and Peter thinks for a harebrained second about offering to fuck the guy, free of charge. That thought snaps him back. “Um,” he clears his throat, grateful the awful lot lighting can't give away his flushed face, “You're a real sweet talker, sir. But I'm not gonna take your charity. Thank you,” he adds earnestly with a smile.

Tony pulls his cap back on, tugging the brim low over his eyes again. “No problem, kid,” he says lightly. “Take care of yourself.”

Peter nods, walking backwards regretfully. “You too, sir. Drive safe.”

He continues watching over his shoulder as Tony goes to the fueling station seemingly unbothered by their interaction, before Peter remembers that he doesn't have a ride home.

“Damn you, Captain Stacy,” he swears under his breath. He could call a cab, but getting one all the way out in the middle of the freeway at this hour would cost him his next week's meals. He's better off hoofing it the two and a half miles back into town, he decides. Besides, he thinks, squinting up at the waxing moon above head, it's light enough outside that he can follow the road back.

As he walks along the wire fence of wheat fields that hem in the highway, Peter trudges home, feeling perhaps irrationally annoyed at Gwen Stacy. It isn't really her fault that MJ's car broke down, and he's sure that if he'd asked, she would've been more than happy to give him a ride home. But it's the principle of the thing, Peter thinks petulantly to himself, kicking a crushed beer can off to the side of the road.

As each set of headlights passes him by, he keeps an eye out for state troopers, hyper-vigilant since the last pair of clowns that picked him up had him cited for ‘public intoxication’ (untrue) and ‘trespassing’ (what's he supposed to do, walk on the highway?), and then thrown him in jail for the night for ‘resisting arrest’ (technically true). 

It's not like the local cops don't know what he's really doing at the truck stop in the middle of the night - they're not quite that dumb, unfortunately. It's only been a combination of a lack of hard evidence and Captain Stacy somehow keeping her guys in line that Peter's really been able to continue working in relative safety. He should maybe be nicer to her, a reluctant little voice says (that sounds suspiciously like MJ). She doesn't represent all the wrongdoing that the entire institution of law enforcement has done to him.

But, Peter counters himself, maybe kicking another beer can in front of him a little more violently than necessary, when Gwen's job is to literally stop him from making his livelihood, he can't let his guard down and get too cozy with any cops.

He's still mid-tirade when he notices a set of headlights that lingers behind him a bit too long. Peter grits his teeth, expecting to have to justify himself to the power-addled state troopers again, but as he turns around, he's blinded by the massive beams of a semi-truck. Instantly, Peter tenses as the truck rolls to a stop just behind him, the only other occupant on the lonely highway.

He can't exactly outrun an 18-wheeler, nor does the wheat field offer much coverage. As he's frozen in place debating his best move, the window rolls down and he hears a familiar voice.

“Kid? Do you need a lift?”

Tony kills the engine and leans out the window, his handsome face wrinkled in concern.

“No, no thanks,” Peter says reflexively, his muscles easing a bit. “I thought you were a serial killer,” he jokes weakly.

Furrowing his brow, Tony unlocks the passenger door and swings it open. “Get in. This isn't charity,” he adds knowingly with a reassuring smile. “It's for my own ease of mind, kid, seriously.”

Peter worries at his lip, looking anxiously up at Tony. “You really don't have to do this, sir--”

“Tony.”

“Tony. I can walk myself home fine, it's just another mile up--”

“Then it's not a big deal at all,” Tony interjects firmly. Another truck blazes by them then, blaring its horn indignantly at how haphazardly Tony's pulled over. “C'mon kid, hop in.”

Fuck it - Tony isn’t technically a john, he didn't even want to fuck Peter. He nods to himself and makes his way to the truck, holding onto the tall door handle and carefully climbing the metal steps up into the cab.

It's nicer inside than he’s expecting. The black leather seats are well-kept and clean and every button and switch on the dashboard looks polished. There are signs of Tony's long hours on the road - crumpled receipts and empty coffee cups in a little plastic bag, a sun-faded photo of Tony and another man in army fatigues grinning taped to the dash. There's a thick, light-blocking curtain behind the front seats that's pulled aside, and Peter can see a bit of the sleeper cab from where he’s sitting. It's cramped but just as tidy as the rest of the cab, holding just a twin-sized bunk, an ice box, and some stacked, clear plastic drawers filled with clothing.

“Nice place,” Peter says once he's snooped his fill.

“You sure you're not an auditor?” Tony grins, locking the doors and turning the ignition.

“Pretty sure. Thanks for the lift though, seriously. It's really nice of you.”

As he pulls them back onto the highway, Tony looks aside at him. “It's my pleasure,” he says with a little smile.

“So, um, it's really not that far,” Peter says, leaning forward so he make out the signs in the glare of the truck’s headlights. “The next exit for Forest Hills is me. You'll take a right off the exit ramp and then a left.”

“Sure,” Tony says lightly, his voice harder to pick out as the truck picks up speed, rumbling loudly beneath them. He keeps one hand on the steering wheel while he digs around in the driver's door compartment for something.

“Um, it's coming up,” Peter says, realizing they're not slowing down as the exit ramp comes into view. They whiz by it. “Uh, Tony, that-- that was the exit,” he says, his voice polite even as alarm bells start humming in the back of his brain.

“Oh, did I miss it?” Tony asks with concern, his inky eyes flicking across to Peter.

Fuck. “It's okay, I can just hop out here,” Peter says quickly. “Can-- Can you pull over?”

Tony looks at him and smiles, and a chill shudders down Peter's spine. “It's okay Peter,” he says coolly as if they're discussing where to stop for breakfast. “We’ll keep going for a bit.”

Peter can see his hands beginning to shake in his lap, and he presses them tight to his knees. “There’s another exit ramp in about three miles,” he says as calmly as he can, forcing the tremble out of his voice. “Can you make a U-turn there?”

Tony doesn’t answer, just looks serenely at the road ahead, one wrist draped over the steering wheel and completely unbothered.

Moving as slowly as he can, Peter’s eyes flick to the passenger side door and he leans his head back a little, trying to see how fast they’re going on the dash. It can’t be more than 70 miles per hour, but it’s a long, hard fall to the ground, and the highway shoulder is hard, unforgiving gravel. He’ll be lucky if he only breaks a few bones.

They pass the next exit ramp and Peter tries one more time. “Tony?”

“Hm?” Tony doesn’t look at him, just keeps driving and staring at the road ahead.

“Pull over. Please.”

“I’m not gonna do that, sweetheart,” Tony says, low and composed. Fuck. Peter makes his move.

He grabs at the door and flicks the lock, but when he yanks at the handle, nothing happens. He yanks again - the handle clicks uselessly but the door doesn’t budge, and Peter scrabbles at the window, finding that this too won’t roll down. He turns to look at Tony, his heartbeat pounding in his ears and adrenaline racing in his veins.

Tony is looking at him now and his lips are curled up in a smirk, his eyes dark with that hunger again. In his other hand, he’s holding a thin, black taser and he clicks the switch in a clear threat, electricity sparking between the two needles. “I made this myself, you know,” he says offhandedly. “Delivers 100,000 volts per pulse with modified electrodes that make for a much more efficient shock, enough to paralyse a full-grown man for up to 10 minutes after a 5-second cycle.”

“Pull over,” Peter demands, pressing his back into the door and watching the taser warily.

“I had to have you,” Tony says, somewhat apologetically, his eyes flicking between Peter and the road. “I wasn’t going to. I let you go, back at the truck stop - God, it was hard, but I did it. And then, seeing you walking along the highway?” Tony laughs, a cold, cruel noise that makes Peter bite down a whimper. “It was like you were giving yourself to me. Laid out pretty on a platter.”

Peter is shaking so hard, he can feel his elbow trembling against the cold glass of the window, sure to leave a bruise. “Pull over,” he says again, his voice cracking, betraying his fear.

“You’re going to behave for me,” Tony says, smooth as silk, like Peter hadn’t interrupted him. He looks across at him, desire swimming in his dark pupils. “And in return, I promise you Peter, I’m gonna take care of you.”

Peter lunges. He throws himself across the cab and grabs at the steering wheel, but Tony is expecting him. The older man boxes him in the jaw soundly and, as he tries to reorient himself, Tony backhands him across the face so hard he tastes blood exploding over his tongue.

“You’re brave,” Tony growls, his voice feral and low. Stars swim in Peter’s vision and every little movement sends a jolting pain through his skull. He pushes himself upright against the dashboard and grabs at the wheel again - his fingers close around the black leather and he pulls - he can't tell if he's actually throwing the truck off the road or if the lurching is the dizzying nausea building up in his brain. He feels Tony's hand close, tight and bruising over his wrist. “I'm going to enjoy you.”

“Stop,” Peter gasps, and he feels twin needles piercing the meat of his thigh, then an agonizing pain shoots through him, locking up every muscle in his body. As he collapses uselessly across Tony's lap, his vision blurs out at the edges and the man's glittering black eyes meet his.

Tony grins, baring white teeth, and Peter slips under.

part 2

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael in the Mainstream - Spider-Man: Far From Home/Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

It really is a good time to be a Spider-Fan.

This guy is hitting all the right notes lately: he’s got a great video game beloved by all who plays it, he’s one of the golden boys of the MCU after only a handful of appearances, and he featured in one of, if not THE greatest animated movie of all time. Now if only his comics would undo One More Day and they renewed Spectacular Spider-Man and gave it the finale it deserves, things would be absolutely perfect.

So with me being a big Spider-Man fan, I think it’s about time I talked about his greatest cinematic achievments: Into the Spider-Verse and Far From Home. That’s right, Spidey is so good he’s conquered two mediums and delivered his best stories within a year of each other. My only regret is not talking about both of these films sooner, but I suppose that just gives me the opportunity to praise them both at once.

The greatest common factor these two movies have between each other, and what makes both films infinitely relatable and entertaining, is how both films feature a young protagonist who has great responsibility thrust upon them and they must find some way to deal with it. In the case of Peter, he is saddled with the pressure of being able to live up to his mentor, Tony Stark, in the wake of Endgame’s finale and Tony’s sacrifice. Frankly, Peter just wants to be a normal teenager, get the girl, and have a good vacation – it’s perfectly understandable, and while it may come off as a bit selfish, Peter is still a young man, a young man who has suffered through numerous traumas in his life and is probably upset he can’t just be normal for once. Of course over the course of the film he remembers that with great power comes great responsibility, and he rises up to save the day.

Miles, on the other hand, while initially a bit confused and unsure of himself and what to do, really does want to live up to the memory of Spider-Man, who he only knew a brief time before his death. However, he lacks training, he doesn’t understand his own powers, and he just lacks faith in himself. The entire movie builds up his character, his relationships to others, and all he does so that moment when he takes his “leap of faith” is well-earned and solidifes the moment when he goes from merely being a Spider-Boy to truly earning the name of Spider-Man. I find it very interesting how the two Spider-Men in the two best Spidey movies have sort of opposite motivations – one is being crushed by the pressure to be a world-saving hero while only wanting to be normal, while the other wants to live up to the destiny thrust upon him but initially lacks the skill and finesse to do so – before coming to the same sort of ending. More than the man in the comics who sold his marriage to a demon because he couldn’t deal with the consequences of his actions, these Spideys realize the immortal phrase from Uncle Ben that I need not repeat.

Of course, what would a hero be without a villain to oppose them? Thankfully, both films deliver some of the best superhero movie villains anyone could ask for. Far From Home is a bit more focused, giving us one major antagonist: Mysterio, in the least shocking movie twist of all time. But it truly is a testament to how great an actor Jake Gyllenhaal is and how good a character Mysterio is that he is able to sell you on all of his hero garbage right up until the reveal, and even afterwards he never once drops that affable charm and charisma that belies his true nature as a petty sociopath. Mysterio has always been a character who has struggled to find good use in the comics due to writers not knowing how to use him; he does not have that problem here.

Into the Spider-Verse, on the other hand, goes for what most Spider-Man movies tend to do: cram a bunch of villains in and see what sticks. Thankfully, they manage to hit home runs three out of six times and only whiff twice. Let’s get the less impressive villains out of the way first: Tombstone and Scorpion. While Scorpion’s design is cool and he gets some decent fight scenes, he really could be swapped out with a generic mook and it really wouldn’t make any difference either way. Tombstone, on the other hand, is an absolutely pointless waste of a character, which is a real shame. He’s the bodyguard for a guy who killed Spider-Man with his bare hands and has superhumans and cyborgs under his employ, he’s frankly a bit superfluous. Green Goblin is the only middle ground villain, one who isn’t amazing but is certainly cool enough in his own right to leave an impression despite only having a single scene. His monstrous design really goes a long to selling his threat level and his brutal fight with the original Peter really is impressive. Sadly, he dies at the end of the fight and is quickly overshadowed.

Then we have the two side villains that really work: Prowler and Dock Ock. Prowler is the obvious one, as due to him being Miles’ uncle he adds a sort of tragic emotional connection, one that is only exacerbated once Prowler hesitates in killing his nephew and ends up becoming Miles’ stand-in for Uncle Ben. Dock Ock is a bit surprising, seeing as she is a somewhat unique take, essentially a genderbent original character version of Otto Ocatavius, complete with all that implies (yes, I am talking about the relationship with Aunt May). She’s been the big breakout villain of the movie, and with good reason: she’s cool, she’s cunning, and she’s hot, all hallmarks of a quality villain beloved by the masses.

And then we come to the big one, and I do mean big: Kingpin. Here, his size and intimidation is played up for all its worth, turning him into an absolute mountain of a man and giving him one of the slickest designs I have ever seen. He’s a brutal, ruthless thug, but he’s also given a legitimately tragic and heartbreaking reason to his actions, and while it certainly doesn’t redeem him, it does make him an interesting and complex character. If nothing else, it’s just really nice to see Liev Schreiber finally get to be the villain in a good superhero movie and a good animated movie villain, after getting the shaft in both regards on two previous occasions.

The ensemble casts of both films are great. Far From Home ropes in Maria Hill and Nick Fury, and finally gives Hill some more to do while letting Fury have a lot more fun and taking a more direct approach than usual. Aside from that, all the returning characters are improved – Happy is nicer, funnier, and a better mentor; Dash is still a jerk but he’s toned down and has a bit of tragedy to him; and MJ is fleshed out, given a personality, and has excellent chemistry with Peter. And then there is Peter’s best buddy Ned, who gets ne of the funniest romantic arcs I have ever seen in a movie. And I’d be remiss to not mention Peter’s bumbling teachers, who deliver some more top quality humor to the proceedings. I think it would be best to state now that Far From Home is honestly really funny, with pretty much all of its humor hitting the bullseye, and a lot of that has to do with just how well these people play their parts and dive into their characters with the sort of fun conviction you’d want out of Spider-Man characters.

Into the Spider-Verse has the heavily advertised Spider-Ham, Peni Parker, and Spider-Man Noir, but they actually only appear in the last third of the film and really only stick around to showcase how good the animation can handle other styles, fuel jokes, and help fight in some awesome fight scenes. Frankly, this is enough; they don’t really stick around long enough to overshadow Miles, but they’re also around just long enough to establish personalities and endear themselves to the audience. Out of the three, I find Peni to be the least interesting due to changing her mecha’s design from the more Evangelion-esque one from the comics as well as her just not really grabbing my attention all too much, but it’s easy to see why she has fans. Personally, I preferred the cartoony antics of Spider-Ham and the noir-tinged grittiness of Noir. Also, Noir is voiced by Nicolas Cage and Ham is John Mulaney. It would be a challenge for me to not love them.

The major supporting characters are Peter B. Parker and Gwen Stacy, and both manage to be great in their own right while, again, not overshadowing Miles, with Peter especially being an absolute blast, giving us the miserable, chubby, downbeat Peter we never knew we needed and having him go through a full arc of his own where Miles helps him overcome his hangups as much as Peter helps Miles. Gwen is a fun character, but she sadly doesn’t get quite as much of an arc as Peter, but that will definitely be expanded upon in sequels; she’s still a solid sidekick here. The rest of the supporting cast, such as Miles’ dad, are solid characters, and the film also gives what may be the best version of Aunt May ever (though all Aunt Mays are great and let no one tell you different); I don’t really think the supporting cast is quite as good as Far From Home’s overall, but it certainly does have memorable characters that will stick with you.

Before wrapping up, I of course have to address this: Spider-Verse has some of the most amazing animation I have ever seen. It truly captures that look of being taken right from a comic book, and there are just so many clever visuals and shots that it’s simply astounding. This is the pinnacle of CGI, and revolutionary in the field of stylized CGI. I hope other studios take notes on how to make CGI look good and stylish like this.

Into the Spider-Verse is just a stunning piece of animation. It has good characters, a solid plot, a lot of great humor, a lot of great emotion, and some really decent morals, all while paying tribute to the comics and the Raimi films and giving us some closure by adapting bits of the unused Raimi Spider-Man 4. It’s a beautiful tribute to everything we know and love of Spider-Man while also being a fantastic “passing the torch” story that gives Miles his own time to shine in the spotlight. This movie is basically what Big Hero 6 tried to be, but where that movie kind of stumbled over itself and felt more like a TV pilot for a series on the big screen, this feels like a fully fledged story unto itself. It also has one of the most beautifully poignant Stan Lee cameos ever, as well as what may be the greatest joke in Spider-Man history after the credits. If you love Spider-Man, see this movie. If you love animation, see this movie. If you love movies, see this movie. This might very well be the greatest animated film of all time, and it deserves to be seen.

Far From Home, meanwhile, is a fantastic achievement in live action Spidey cinema. It gives us a wonderful supporting cast, a love interest who actually has chemistry and isn’t a boring damsel that disgraces the name of her comic counterpart, an awesome villain, and genuine funny moments, and for once all of these things are in the same moment! This really solidifies MCU Spider-Man as being a fun, fresh take on a character who has been done to death in almost every medium; it keeps most of what we love while changing some details here and there so that Spider-Man can resonate more with modern audiences. What they do change tends to be for the better, too – I really have no problem, unlike a lot of people, with Tony “taking Uncle Ben’s place,” for a variety of reasons but not the least of which is the fact I’m frankly tired of seeing Uncle Ben die. Having him merely be the long dead motivator for Peter’s early heroics is enough for me. This is absolutely peak MCU, and a fantastic epilogue to the Infinity Saga. If you’re invested in the MCU or Spider-Man at all, this movie will be right up your alley. If you still need more convincing: they combined Raimi Jameson and PS4 Game Jameson into a character, and Simmons still plays him.

Both of these films are the cream of the crop when it comes to cinematic versions of Spider-Man, with Far From Home sitting comfortably up there with Spider-Man 2, if not surpassing it, and Into the Spider-Verse frankly taking on a league of its own, Both projects really alter the course of what can be done with Spider-Man, and it has me excited for all the future works involving the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man we might be seeing soon. With Spider-Verse getting sequels and spinoffs and Far From Home absolutely getting a sequel, it’s safe to say that anyone who loves Spidey will have plenty to love for years to come. And the best part is we will never have to worry about either Spidey making deals with Mephisto.

[susanspace6-blog]

12 Fashion Accessories Made Famous by Celebrities.

Custom Patches Style icons and celebrities have a propensity for wearing clothing. They can use a pair of denim pants with custom-made patches as well as make it a fashion statement as well as they can wear a torn coat and it will become a pattern the next day. The history of style has many examples of accessories that were made famous by stars. Whether it is the Coco Chanel's pearl locket, the headband of Grace Kelly or the Michael Jackson's popular white handwear cover, the history is filled with several famous style accessories that were promoted by celebrities. This short article will certainly look back at a few of the renowned accessories that are attributed to a star. 1. Pearl Pendant (Coco Chanel). Coco Chanel had a fascination for pearls and she was commonly seen putting on the pearl necklace in public looks. In among her renowned pictures, she posed wearing a pearl locket around her neck. The locket emphasized her feminine style and also made her resemble a real style diva. Later, she worked together with Robert Goossens as well as launched a line of long-strand pearl locket which came to be a staple product of her brand name and females started using fashion jewelry which was only a high-end for the elites during that time. Also today, the pearl locket is considered a chic item of jewelry for every female. 2. Headband (Elegance Kelly). Headbands have many remarkable moments in background of style yet none are as iconic as the ones when Grace Kelly used them. From Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor to Katy Perry and also Alexa Chung, there is no style diva that could match the killer beauty of Elegance Kelly using a headband. Elegance Kelly carried the headband with such grace that it ended up being a symbolic device of the lady and also individuals still connect the thing with her. 3. White Hand Handwear Cover (Michael Jackson). It was perhaps begun with the well-known 1983 NBC performance of the King of Pop when he revealed his moonwalk for the first time and individuals discovered that white glove on his left hand. Ever since, he would put on the handwear cover in his every efficiency. Just like the moonwalk, the white handwear cover has come to be a signature device of Michael Jackson. 4. Coke Container Glasses (John Lennon). John Lennon is the poster face of the Beatles. As a lead vocalist, he added a mood of design to the band. His legendary coke bottle glasses became the talk of the community when he started wearing them in his efficiencies. He looked dapper in those circular-lens glasses as well as he added to the sales of the glasses during the 1960s and also 1970s age. Also today, the trend of coke container glasses is still in trend many thanks to John Lennon. 5. Bicycle Rider Gloves (Karl Lagerfeld). Karl Lagerfeld has left a heritage that would continue to affect the style globe. Among the many signature style items of the Karl Lagerfeld, the bicycle rider gloves are something that instantly remind us of the style genius. But this is the only item from bicycle rider's culture that motivated the guy. Besides, he was too classy to put on the bicycle rider's coat with custom back patches or the torn denim pants. 6. Newsboy Cap (Leonardo DiCaprio). When you are a mega Hollywood star, paparazzi wishes to maintain a track of your every move. For celebs like Leonardo DiCaprio, maybe a real migraine. However he finds a fashionable method to take care of this circumstance. He puts on a newsboy cap. Leonardo DiCaprio wishes to keep a reduced profile as well as newsboy cap is this accessory to stay incognito in the public looks. The cap provides him enough cover to his face to quickly move around a city without revealing his identity. Whatever the reason, he looks also hotter in the cap that he usually wears throughout his evening outs. 7. Tiara (Lady Diana). Tiara is a legendary crown that is worn by the royal women throughout the official ceremonies. Woman Diana had several tiaras however the most well-known was the one that had studs of pearls and also rubies. The a pretty tiara made her look like the princess that she was and also it became her most valued belongings during her life. The popularity of a pretty tiara led several ladies to wear it during their wedding event and engagements. 8. Large Sunglasses as well as Pillbox Hat (Jackie Kennedy). Jackie Kennedy was the most elegant Very first Woman in American history. She had the mood and also beauty that can mesmerize the onlookers and she had an extraordinary sense of design. Her large sunglasses and pillbox hat are 2 of her legendary accessories that specified her look. Media called it the 'Jackie Look', a term that is credited to her signature design. The large-scale shades and also pillbox hat are still a warm style products that women enjoy to show off. 9. Heel (Sarah Parker). It was in the Sex and the City that Sarah Parker became known as the lady who can carry the high heels like a true design queen. Her character Carrie Bradshaw was seen using the stiletto by Manolo Blahnik. The stiletto included a streak of a design geek in her character. Carrie Bradshaw came to be the most renowned character of the TELEVISION series as well as stiletto resurged in popularity. 10. Bandana (Tupac). Bandana began a new stage of trend in vogue globe after Tupac began using them in his music performances. Celebs like Justin Timberlake, Brad Pitt and David Beckham have actually flaunted their style in bandanna however it wanted Tupac Shakur donned this kerchief that individuals took notice of this style device. Tupac has a collection of several turbans that he enjoys to put on in his public appearances. 11. Black Ballet Flats (Audrey Hepburn). The black color is commonly connected with Audrey Hepburn as the girl is credited with popularizing the little black outfit and also black apartments, both staple garments pieces that females like to use. It remained in 1957 when Audrey Hepburn played the character of Joe Stockton in the music 'Funny Face' that she promoted the black ballet apartments. While the film can refrain well at the box, it advertised the black ballet flats worn by Audrey Hepburn. Ever since, the black ballet apartments have actually continued to be a renowned piece of ladies's garments. 12. Oversized Black-Rimmed Sunglasses (Iris Apfel). Can somebody look stylish at a breakable age of over 90 years? Well, I can not consider anybody aside from Elizabeth Taylor and Iris Apfel. The last is the lady that promoted extra-large black-rimmed sunglasses. She had a fascination for the sunglasses considering that her childhood and she would gather the black shades considering that her adolescent. Today, she is a living style symbol who uses the most elegant black sunglasses and made the ladies and also women a run for their loan when it involves style. These were the celebs who popularized some of one of the most famous style devices. They continue to inspire people that like to wear them in their daily lives.

[neighbours-kid]

Dammit, Dean Devlin.

Once upon a time, there was this little show called Leverage.

It first aired in 2008. It had 5 seasons, 77 episodes, 5 main characters.

I was probably fifteen when I first laid eyes on this little show. I was at my dad's, it was some time after dinner, we were watching TV. And there it was, that first episode. We watched it, it was fun.

Over the course of a couple of years, I kept catching that episode on TV. But only the first one. Never more than that.

I forgot about it and was surprised every time I saw the episode. And I kept thinking, I wanna check this out, this looks like fun.

I think either shortly before the last season aired in 2012, or shortly after, I finally remembered the show well enough to go, okay, let's watch this. I have not been the same person since.

This little show called Leverage is without a doubt the best show I have ever seen in my life, and it is to this day still the only thing that has never disappointed me once. I loved Chuck, but it was not perfect. I had issues with it. I love the Marvel Netflix stuff, I think it's fun. But it's not perfect. I adore NCIS and The Mentalist. Are they perfect? Nope.

But I cannot find one single flaw about Leverage. I love it with all my heart and I would not change one single thing. Well, maybe I would've not cancelled it after five seasons. But even with that....it rounds off so perfectly. The last season, the finale, it is so fucking perfect.

One of the things that made Leverage so perfect, were the absolutely fantastic main characters and the development they had over those five seasons. I feel like I could write endlessly about the character development in this show. It's so marvellous and so well done.

You have Nate Ford, the "leader" of the group, this little family. The ex-insurance fraud detective, so broken, so flawed, such a wonderful jerk. He makes sure that the plans work, he is the mastermind behind their cons, their grifts, their thefts. He is the puppet master. Ah, I adooooore him. His alcoholism and control issues were never glamorised, it wasn't sugarcoated, and he was not vilified for it. He grew so much in those five seasons, he changed a lot, and yet he never betrayed his own character. Tim Hutton just smashes this role. I really, truly adore him.

You have Sophie Devereaux, femme fatale, grifter extraordinaire, a character so diverse, so beautifully portrayed by Gina Bellman, from episode to episode different, and yet still only one very complex and wonderfully crafted character. While Nate is the one who makes sure that the plan works, Sophie is the one to make sure that everyone gets out of it alive, unharmed, safe. She is the caretaker. To watch a grifter struggle with identity issues is such a great thing. Watching Sophie finding herself, finding her own dreams and ambitions, finding her calling over those five seasons, was such a treat.

That's the "parents". Then you have the "kids".

Alec Hardison, a motherfuckin' ray of sunshine. Hardison is the nerd, the geek, master of computers, the best hacker on earth, and just an all around joy. Only 22 when they started filming, Aldis Hodge is so fucking young but he plays him like a master. Aldis absolutely acts the shit out of that character. Hardison is such a sweetheart. On my first round through the show, he was definitely my favorite character, I identified with him so much. He was handsome, he was elegant, he had style, he was such a beautifully crafter character, and he still was the nerd and he is still black. You don't usually get that. Hardison is so incredibly kind and loving and all he wants is for his little family of criminals to feel good, to be safe, to feel loved. He gives them a home wherever they go. Aldis Hodge fucking rocked this role and I can't do anything but applaud him.

Then you have Parker, the all around misfit. Usually, in every other show, her character would be dismissed as either the "beauty" just there for the male gaze, or the weirdo who is the butt of every joke. But not with Leverage. Just like the other characters, she is wonderfully portrayed by Beth Riesgraf, has so many interesting layers and we learn so much about her over those five seasons. Parker is the world's greatest thief, she likes money for money's sake, she experienced a lot of bad things, was hurt in so many ways, and came out of it anyway. She found her own family, the people who did not dismiss her as a freak, an outcast, but embraced her being different, maybe a little weird, and loved her anyway. The relationships she builds with the other characters are so very different from each other, so well thought out, so wonderfully done. And what Leverage does so masterfully is that it does not pit Sophie and Parker against each other. It gives you a beautiful friendship between those two women, who could not be different from each other. There is so much love, respect and understanding between those characters. It's so refreshing to see. Have I mentioned how much I love this show already? I fucking love this show.

And then you have Eliot Spencer. Oh, I could cry buckets just thinking about him. I have never in my life seen such beautiful character development. What they did with Eliot over those five seasons is an absolute masterpiece of writing. Eliot -- the hitter, the fighter, the stone cold cowboy, whose fists say more than his mouth -- that guy changes so much. But not just that, he's not just the fighter. He's the "beau" mostly, and not Sophie. And he is incredibly passionate about cooking. You have this knife-wielding, punch-throwing, fucking badass, and he loves cooking. There is so much history revealed over the course of the show and he learns so. fucking. much. He goes from "You all annoy me and I'm just here for revenge and money" to "I will protect these people from this unjust world with my life and I would take on dragons and mountain trolls if it meant that they are safe and protected". Christian Kane is such a wonderful actor and he gives this character an immense amount of depth and he has more than three dimensions. Eliot is a masterpiece. And I love him to pieces. I could write ESSAYS about him. Long, wordy, essays.

You have this beautiful little family of thieves, of criminals, con-men, flawed, hurt, wonderful people. Incredibly gorgeously crafted characters, played so magnificently by all these great, amazing actors.

Leverage has rocked my world and sparked so many different interests in me. I would be a completely different person without it. I have no idea how many times I have watched it through. I spent at least half a year just going through it over and over and over again. As soon as I watched the finale, I put the first season on again, no stops, no pauses. It never got boring, I kept seeing new things, kept making connections between certain things. This show brought me so much joy. I love it with all my heart.

What Dean Devlin and John Rogers created is a show that makes me feel at home, that makes my heart swell with love, that was just absolutely fucking perfect. And still, it got cancelled and the last season ended in 2012.

Two years later, a NATO counter terrorism agent is in the middle of taking down terrorist and stopping a bomb from exploding, when suddenly an arrogant, brilliant, kind of dashing guy shows up, talks about ancient artefacts and curses and mythologies, and helps the agent stopping the bomb.

And with that, The Librarians is born. Or better yet, reborn into a tv show. By whom? None other than John Rogers and Dean Devlin.

What is it? Well, it's a little show that just finished it's fourth season. It's a show about a team of people who would've never found together if they had not been thrown into this adventure. They could not be different.

You have Flynn Carsen, a kind of arrogant, incredibly brilliant and well-versed guy, who is kind of dashing, has a tendency to go off and do things by himself, and is, more or less, the "leader" of the group.

You have Eve Baird, ex-NATO agent, the actual leader of the group, the protector, who sees to it that everyone gets out of the adventures alive. She is the guardian. Eve is a strong, independent woman who don't need no man, but chooses to have one anyway, because that self-destructive, arrogant idiot is so very intriguing, and he genuinely cares about her.

You have Ezekiel Jones, a Korean-Australian, nerd, computer genius, thief and, deep down, a sweetheart. He is more arrogant than anyone, he loves nothing more than himself, and saying his name, but he does have a heart. A big one. And he loves his new-found family.

You have Cassandra Killian, a quirky, pretty, absolutely brilliant young lady, who does not always fit in. She gets excited about things at the wrong time, she is overly hyperactive at times, but so so loyal, and caring, and loving.

And then you have Jacob Stone. The fighter. The brawler. The country kid from Oklahoma. The one you look at and think, that guy has skin like stone, nothing can hurt him, and he has no soft side. You have this tough ass bitch of a guy.... and he is soooooooo passionate about art, about architecture, about literature, about poetry. He quotes some author in every episode. He gets excited about museums and buildings and old symbols and engravings. And he cares so much about these people he only just met, he will protect them with everything he's got. A big teddy bear, a softie.

(Then you also have Jenkins who is just absolutely fantastic and I adore him and I could go on for ages about him but words could not make him justice, so I'm not trying. Also, he is kinda not relevant for my point.)

Now look at those five characters.

Leader guy, arrogant, self-destructive, cares so much but can't really express it, runs from commitment for the longest time, but actually wants to stay, just doesn't know how?

Strong, independent woman who's actually kind of the leader, sees to it that everyone feels good, doesn't need a man, but falls for the one who runs away anyway?

Nerdy, non-white computer guy, who knows he is awesome at what he does, is unconventionally stylish compared to the usual type of this character, cares about his new found family a lot and tries to support them with new ideas?

Brilliant, weird woman but absolutely beautiful in her own way, very caring but can't express it sometime, quirky and hyperactive?

Badass softie with a super specific interest he is brilliant at despite it maybe being considered effeminate in comparison to his other super manly, buff-ness, played by Christian Kane?

Sound familiar?

Nate or Flynn, Sophie or Eve, Hardison or Ezekiel, Parker or Cassie, Eliot or Jacob?

I am NOT saying these are exactly the same characters, far from it. They are all their own wonderful selves. But there are similarities there that I just adore so much. I admit, I think of Jacob as just an alias of Eliot's that he had before he joined the Leverage crew, and he is indeed the very same person. But that's just me, because I love Leverage so much and I miss it with all my heart and having the opportunity to have Eliot live on in something else? I'll take it in a heart beat.

I started watching The Librarians a few weeks ago. I am close to finishing season three now. It took me about two seasons to warm up to Flynn, and I admit I still don't like him as much as I loved Nate. I admit, Ezekiel still pisses me off a lot because of his constant "I am Ezekiel Jones". And yet... I still like them. I still think they are wonderfully crafted characters.

I did not mean to like The Librarians. I did go into this show thinking that I probably won't like it because it's not Leverage. These are not my beloved characters and this is not the best show on earth. But it's a good show. It's a beautiful show. It's lovely.

And I fucking HATE that I like it so much, because I really did not want to love another show. I am so pissed at myself for really liking it.

But I do. And I wish this show all the best. Season four just ended and the campaigning for a fifth season is on its way. I think it really deserves it. I am so on board for a fifth season.

I have one more thing to say.

Dammit. Dammit, Dean Devlin. Dammit, John Rogers. I did not want to like this show. And yet your wonderful show is exactly that. Wonderful. Adorable. Lovely.

I really miss Leverage. I miss it so much. And I wish you'd make a movie, get the gang back together again for one last job. Just one more time breaking the law, no encores.

(Thank you Dean, John, and also Chris Downey, for Leverage. It still is everything I ever wanted from a TV show and still the only show that never disappointed me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You guys are the best.)