#it's this 3 part story in web of spiderman where

[thelittlestspider]

i'd love a spider-man tv to have the storyline where he gets trapped in a psych ward, but i don't think they could do it justice.

[pixelsandpins]

Let's say you see the new Venom movie this weekend. Then you want to read the comics. Reading guides can be very overwhelming. So as a Venomaniac, let me give a broader approach discussing main storylines, what's worth your time, and where I think you should/could start.

80s-90s: Origin, First Villain Run, Transition to Hero

The Alien Suit Saga begins in Amazing Spider-Man #252 (1984) after Peter finds the goo in Secret Wars #8. Then more specific Eddie/Venom shenanigans start in 298-300. Venom's whole origin story can be found in a trade paperback (aka a TPB) called Spiderman: Birth of Venom which also includes issues from other series to fill out the story. Venom continues to be a villain in Spider-Man for awhile, so most of his story up through 1993 is found across Amazing Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man. There're couple of collections that cover parts of this, but the most complete is Spider-Man Vs Venom. From this era you can also get the trade paperback called Carnage: Born in Blood which covers the arrival and birth of Carnage. A more in depth reading guide will give you these individual issues, and you can find them all in Marvel Unlimited or other online source.

(I'm having a hard time finding what I feel is the optimal link, but these have the information, at least).

Birth of Venom individual issues.

Birth of Carnage individual issues.

These are all very 80s and 90s comics, however, so they require a little bit of fortitude if you've never read comics before. This theme will continue up through Venom's solo work through the 90s.

Venom's solo stuff begins with Venom: Lethal Protector in 1993 (available as a TPB). This is the arc where Eddie moves from villain to hero. It also introduces the first symbiote spawn and a few other major lore elements.

Up through the rest of the decade there are A LOT of 3-4 issue mini-runs starting with Venom: Funeral Pyre. You can knock each of them out in an evening, and they provide some details about character and story. You absolutely don't have to read most. There are some key ones, though, where the lore carries through:

Venom: The Madness brings value not in lore, but in narrative. It shows the way Eddie and the other physiologically affect each other. It's also just really good.

Venom: Separation Anxiety separates Eddie and the symbiote, exploring the changes in their relationship and deals with more spawn. This one is a major influence on the first movie.

Carnage: Unleashed gives more development to Carnage and sets a story beat up for later.

Go back to Spider-Man for Planet of the Symbiotes. This expands on symbiote lore and is a key element of Eddie and the others relationship. You can read it as individual issues or as a TPB. This one has a major influence on Venom 1 and 3.

Venom: Sinner Takes All introduces She-Venom, traumatizes Anne, and sets some later lore hooks for story.

Venom: The Hunger expands on the brain eating/addiction and introduces the chocolate substitute. They also hold hands at the movies, and I think that's super important, personally.

Venom: Seed of Darkness is one of the lesser priority ones but does provide some interesting Eddie backstory.

Spider-Man: The Venom Agenda sets up some new story and lore beats for the Venom/Spider-Man relationship.

Venom: Finale the symbiote temporarily dies, and it sets up narrative for future comics.

If you've never read comics before, this whole era might be a difficult starting place. Mostly because the ethos of comics have changed, and it can be harder to connect with material from the 80s and 90s. It's not bad, it's just different. It's kind of essential narrative and lore establishment, however. So either accept the challenge or come back to it later and accept you'll have gaps in the lore. If you've read pre-2000s comics before, you'll be fine. Read from the beginning. It's a riot.

Venomnibus 1 and 2 covers this era. The first bout of Epic Collections also end here.

1999-2010

There's a bit of a tricky transition here over the change in millennia as Venom goes back to being a villain for a bit, joining the Sinister Six. Because of this most of the story moves back to Spider-Man. The problem is: there's major story shit introduced, and there isn't a collected edition that covers this era properly. You'll require a reading guide or accept the lore gap.

Peter Parker: Spider-Man #9-10 covers the return of the symbiote to Eddie.

Amazing Spider-Man #19 features the death of Anne Weying, Eddie's ex-wife and, at one time, temporary host.

In 2003 they start expanding the Venom story again, in earnest, but he's still an antagonist. The first solo run here is Venom Vol 1 by Daniel Way. This is collected into 4-5 trades, also appears in Venomnibus 3, and consists of 4 arcs. This one never got narratively resolved, but Wolverine is there. So that's something. This is probably the most skippable of the "big series" however you could use this as a starting place. It's early enough that you won't be missing the second phase of lore, and it's a more "modern" story. However, it's not the strongest of the runs, so it might set the wrong expectations.

Spectacular Spider-Man: The Hunger adds an element of maliciousness to Venom's motivations. It's moderately essential narrative but very divisive.

Venom/Carnage is pretty good, introduces Toxin, and transitions us into the next narrative beat.

The Symbiote and Eddie Part Company, Scorpion!Venom Begins

Here is where Venom becomes a proper villain again, only...he's a protagonist? A PROTAGONIST VILLAIN, YOU SAY?

Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #5-12 are often left off reading guides, but they transition the symbiote from Eddie to Angelo Fortunato to Mac Gargan.

Gargan, as Venom, then joins the Thunderbolts for a while. This is in Thunderbolts #110-127 and continues in Dark Avengers

Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-Man is the story of Mac Gargan fuckin' around as Venom/Dark Spider-Man.

I'm of the opinion you can pretty much skip the entire Gargan era, and you won't lose much going forward. But it's also...kind of a fun read? And it does expand on what the influence the symbiote has on their host looks like.

Venomnibus 3 also collects much of this, but not all. Marvel Knights, Thunderbolts, Dark Avengers, and Dark Reign are all available as TPS/Omnis

Also skip Venom: Dark Origin, for now. It sort of rewrites Eddie in a way that didn't really stick going forward.

Right at the end here, Carnage gets a few more series and Eddie as Anti-Venom is first introduced in Spider-Man. Anti-Venom barely shows up, at first, but he persists going forward. There's no dedicated collection to the era, but the primary comics are collected in Spider-Man: New Ways to Die, and Anti-Venom: New Ways to Live.

2010->today

Flash Thompson/Agent Venom Begins

Here, the government strips the other from Mac and gives it to military vet Flash Thompson

If you start here you're coming in right at the start of the next major phase of lore for Venom that covers all the Cool Space Shit. It's a fan favorite and an objectively well-written run, but it's also thematically and narratively a bit of a turn from all the others. It will also be a really really long time before you see Eddie as Venom. So just keep that in mind going forward.

After a bit of Spider-Man prologue, this kicks off properly in 2011 with Venom Vol 2 by Remender and Bunn. The Spider Island crossover as part of this run goes in tandem with Amazing Spider-Man. You can use a guide to sort these issues or get the TPB or Epic Collection that covers them.

Right in the middle of Venom Vol 2, Flash joins the Secret Avengers in issue #23. This is the sort of "official" intro of the Agent Venom iteration specifically. You'll also see this era tie in to the Minimum Carnage crossover. It's an okay read, but doesn't leave a lot of lasting impact on the story. You can skip it, for now.

Agent Venom also joins the Thunderbolts from issue #1-23 (Way and Soule). This is skippable.

Superior Spider-Man #22-25 is the pretty darn Superior Venom story and coves the gap between the end of the Agent Venom run and the beginning of the upcoming space-based stories. It's an an odd comic, though, in that very quickly changes the shape of Flash's relationship with the symbiote, but that relationship holds going forward.

Flash Goes to Space

His story continues in the Guardians of the Galaxy run from 2014, joining in issue #14. The most important part of his tenure with Guardians, however is issue #21-23. This is where we see the symbiote/Klyntar homeworld.

He rejoins the Guardians for 20 issues in the next run starting in 2015, but it's skippable.

These are both available as their own omnis or TPB collections.

Venom: Space Knight is sick as fuck and my favorite with Flash. A lot of good, juicy alien lore.

Eddie Becomes Venom, Again

Before Eddie goes back to his boyfriend, he spends some time as Toxin. The bulk of this is covered in the 2015 Carnage run by Conway.

Venom Vol 3 by Costa begins in 2016, and we see the transition from Flash to Lee Price briefly then finally back to Eddie. This is my personal favorite major run. It currently comes in 4 TPB. Starting here gives you street level Venom again but does drop you deep shit into the lore. You can one-hundred percent start here, though, extremely easily because they treat it as a soft reboot.

Within this run you'll see crossovers for Venom Inc. and Poison X. These expand on the overall story by introducing Mania and the Poisons, the latter of which are lead-ins for the first Venomverse comics. You can skip the Venomverse storylines, for now, but they are a lot of fun.

First Host is a really great mini-run in 2018 that talks about the true first host of the symbiote and introduces Sleeper. It's available as a TPB.

The Cates run (vol 4) (also has Bunn on it) begins in 2018, and it's very very good. It's where the character of Knull comes from, as featured in the new movie. A lot of people start here and have a good time. The way it's narratively constructed, it's beginner friendly, but you're sort of coming in at the end of Eddie's arc.

This also involves the Absolute Carnage and King in Black crossover events which are collected in a TPB/Omni.

This is also all collected in the recent Cates and Stegman Venomnibus.

The current Ewing run (vol 5) ends in November (cries), but you CANNOT START HERE. Without the previous Cates run, at minimum, the current run is missing vital story and lore information. You will be so lost, at first, that it simply won't be fun.

You'll note I've skipped a number of side runs including a few Carnage runs and Toxin. Slot them in if you want additional lore and story, but you can get by without them if it all becomes too much.

The lore drops that appear in Spider-Man in between solo runs might seize you up for a moment, but when necessary, the solo comics will catch you up as needed.

The past five years have also seen a handful of retro-runs that go back in time to tell stories from Eddie's early time with Venom. You could slot them in with the other 90s mini-runs, but I think they're more fun after you've been reading for awhile.

A new run is starting in December called All New Venom where Eddie will no longer be the host. Who will? We don't know! The way it's being advertised, I'm going to make a guess it ends up being a passable starting point for new readers. I'll know when I get my issue #1.

[supercap2319]

"And these nodes where the lines converge…?" Y/N asked, touching one of the webs that had different scenarios and different versions of Spiderman. Male. Female. All of them into one thread of web.

"They are the canon. Chapters that are a part of every spider’s story every time. Some good. Some bad. ...Some, very bad." Miguel said. He turns to Y/N. "That's how the story's supposed to go." He gestures towards the images of different events, but similar nonetheless. Y/N watched in shock as he saw Peter 2 and Peter 3 holding their Uncle Ben's.

"Canon Events are the connections that bind our lives together. And those connections can be broken. That's why Anomalies are so dangerous. It's why you are so dangerous to your Peter and to the rest of the multiverse."

"Me? What did I do?" Y/N asked.

"You were never meant to be in love with Spiderman. Like the death of Uncle Ben, and in your Peter's case, Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Spiderman was always meant to be partnered with Mary Jane Watson. Even the death of Gwen Stacey is what makes Spiderman into the hero he's destined to be, but I'm sorry, Y/N. You and your Peter were never meant to be together." Miguel said with a flick of sympathy.

"No. I don't believe you." Y/N said.

"It's true, Y/N." Peter B said. "There's never been or ever will be a story where Peter Parker and Y/N Maximoff end up together."

[victoria-rue]

victoria-rue's Recommendation Masterlist part 3

Okay, so, this is my third masterlist. And each masterlist has about 50 stories, so 100+ stories in total. All I'm saying is I might have a problem, but these authors deserve recognition for their amazing works of art. They deserve to be spread out to more people, even if there's only a small amount people that see this. These authors deserve the world ♥︎

Recommendation Masterlist part 1, part 2, part 3, & part 4

Marvel

Miles Morales

❝ white lies ❞ by @berriweb

LINK UP by @qkopi

you loved your boyfriend miles, you really do. he was everything you could ask for; he was handsome, gentle, and very caring towards you like a good boyfriend should be… but there’s also times where he would cancel dates out of nowhere and that would leave you to be disappointed and go home bored. miles then tried to make it up to you by planning to hangout at his place this today, but things go sideways when his twin brother decides to take things into his own hands..

Bereavement by @famwhy

Miles is missing, and all you can think about is getting him back. Upon finally finding him, however, you're taken aback by the copy that stands beside him—the same copy that was staring at you with wide, shaking eyes full of... disbelief?

Peter Parker

Part Of Your World by @waitimcomingtoo

Peter meets a girl who dreams of being where the people are

hoax by @waitimcomingtoo

when Peter strikes out with you but discovers you’re a fan of his alter ego, he gets you tangled in his web of lies

Miguel O'Hara

Across the Street by @quaintii

It's been a couple weeks since a new family moved in, across the street. You go pay them a visit with an offer.

The game of cat and spider by @lucywrites02

You are a criminal and he's a hero. You don't know each other's names, never seen the person behind the mask. You aren't enemies- you are supposed to be but that didn't work out quite well. You liked each other a bit too much,  but your relationship was strictly…. Professional? What happens if you meet as normal people, with no masks and responsibilities in your way? What did the universe plan for you? And most importantly…. Will it last?

Daddy Issues by @drefear

Halo by @missdictatorme

You are an AI designed by Miguel. He gave you a unique voice, one he knew he would like listening to. He didn't really gave much thought to how you looked like when he made you a hologram form, he just choose a random picture of a woman from the internet. What happens when you ask for permission to design your own look?

Web of Secrets by @liliacamethyst

Bittersweet Devotion by @diejager

IGOR by @papuhater

Bucky Barnes

i never thought you’d happen to me by @nickfowlerrr

Wade Wilson

Here’s To Us by @baka-bakeneko

Wade's street neighbor needs to use Wade's hot water.

Marc Spector + Steven Grant + Jake Lockley

Already over. by @m00nsbaby

With You by @ivystoryweaver

Eddie Brock/Venom

RUSH HOUR by @ghostheartfelt

you meet eddie during morning rush hour, vv understanding man who admires your connection with your customers and dedication towards your job. eddie's hungry for chocolate (n you), you pique interest in the host and his symbiote.

Miles Morales, Miguel O'Hara, Hobie Brown, Peter Parker (Spider-Noir)

THIS IS A LIFE by @mo0nfairy

in every universe, spiderman will inevitably lose the one thing that matters most to him: y/n l/n. miguel o'hara, peter parker, and hobie brown have all suffered through this story. they soon discover another version of you is alive, bound to fall in love with miles morales and to die abruptly. with the prospect of a second chance and a newfound obsession, these four men will do anything to keep you at their side.

Detroit become human

Connor RK800

Criminal Analysis by @gogogodzilla

You never pictured this life for yourself. Never pictured that android cases would start piling up and you'd be assigned to figure out why they were deviating. You were a forensic psychologist hired by the Detroit Police Department as a consultant. You usually dealt with figuring out what made suspects tick and why they did what they did. You figured it'd be the same thing, as usual, that is until a certain android walked into your crime scene and completely turned your life upside down.

Hunger Games

Finnick Odair

Finnick Odair book series by @mrsnancywheeler

midnight rain (Book One)

finnick had pulled the plug on your relationship long ago, when he could no longer keep from you what he'd been forced into. but after you've returned victorious from your games, he knows you need him as the nightmares come for you each time you close your eyes.

the lakes (Book Two)

it's supposed to be over, you and Finnick are supposed to spend the rest of your lives helping each other heal. living as peacefully as possible, but the the third quarter quell throws a wrench in your domestic bliss.

the river (Book Three)

the Capitol has taken you away from Finnick, the life you've been trying to build together and now he has to fight to get every part of you back

Avatar

Jake Sully

A Child of the Stars by @berry-blue03

you are Jake Sully's six year old daughter, who goes with him to Pandora. Takes place during the first Avatar movie

ꜰᴀʟꜱᴇ ɢᴏᴅ by @teyamsatan

Being one of two human kids left behind after the war, Jake has never seen you as anymore than a little stray cat, always hanging around his village and his kids. All will change one day when the two of you are stranded together, and he gets to discover there's more to you than he ever thought - enough to risk everything he's built for himself in the last 24 years of his life.

Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyo'itan

Do you hate me? by @byunpum

You are the eldest Sully daughter, you are adopted. All your life you have grown up watching tsu'tey, and your feelings for him have grown. Everything changes when one day you go hunting with your crush.

Miles Quaritch

Sweet like cherry by @pandoraslxna

Miles has a secret admirer and apparently, she has a thing for photography.

Damsel, let me de-stress you… by @quaritchsluts

Y/N te Suli Neytiri’ite is captured and imprisoned by Colonel Miles Quaritch and his squad, alongside her childhood friend - Spider - when attempting to aid her younger siblings whom were cornered by the recom team when exploring the woods. As Jake Sully’s eldest child, she knows it won’t be long until her father bites back at the recombinants, as does Miles. Because, how dare he take his precious daughter? His firstborn? So, with the odds against him — as well as the clock — and not to mention the displeased dad on his tail, Miles knows he must do whatever it takes to get all the information out of her that he can. Whatever it takes.

Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan

Ghost girl by @byunpum

After their village was destroyed by humans, Y/N must seek refuge in the forest. Her being rescued by a peculiar family, she discovering that her gift had led her to them.

i remember her hands. and the way the mountains looked. by @vampsywrites

In which the Sullys approach the mountain clan for sanctuary. The Olo'eykte agrees but proposes one condition: Toruk Makto's eldest son must be promised to her daughter. Surprisingly, instead of the solemn response one would expect, Neteyam agrees almost instantaneously.

Jealousy by @eyweveng

You have a secret relationship with Neteyam but find out terrible news from your bestfriend.

~To You He Feels Like Home~ by @ghoul-bonez

You were born to the forest, wild by nature, wild by nurture, and surely wild in spirit. Your animal family had always warned you about strangers, the odd people who looked like you, but when one approaches you, you can’t help but be curious. When your curiosity wears off and you deem him weird enough you’re convinced you’ll never see him again, but Eywa has other plans.

Lo'ak te Suli Tsyeyk'itan

twin flames by @strangerdangerwrites

Eywa has bonded the Son of the Forest and Daughter of Ember over the pain and grief towards the Sky People.

Ao’nung

Fated Mates by @anemonelovesfiction

-stars- by @adhdduckie

When Y/N, and the sullys first reach the reef, a boy catches her eye, and she does her best to catch his attention. She doesn't believe he likes her back, and she thinks it's ridiculous that she's so whipped for this boy. He seems to have no interest in her.

Ronal & Tonowari

Connection by @blue-sadie

Traveling with the sullys to the Metkayina village and tonowari and ronal falling in love with you at first sight and feeling a connection to you.

Neteyam & Lo'ak

Do It If You Dare by @aonungswifeyy

Picture her being quaritch’s daughter, who tries to kill lo’ak but she gets captured by neteyam and by the end of it all, quaritch finds out she now belongs to both lo’ak and neteyam

Reunion by @yourstrulybluelover

The Sullys have been away for years. They have just returned to the Forrest, not only bringing with them joy and hope but also uprooting masked feelings.

"The Love Shack" by @vivid-ink

You’d heard the whispered speculations and stifled giggles during the daytimes. You’d seen the furtive glances that the other women cast at Neteyam and Lo’ak through coquettish eyes, cheeks stained a blushing mauve as they exchanged coy smiles with the two brothers. And during the nights? Hell, you’d heard the moans and wanton cries for yourself… You were definitely curious, but did you have it in you to go through with their proposition?…

Actors

Jamie Flatters

ALL THINGS CONNECTED by @yawneneteyam

growing up on set together, y/n and jamie share their love for one another through the only way they know.. filmmaking

Time Wasters

Ralph Penbury

Worth It by @wheels-of-despair

Your mother forces you to go to a Valentine's Day dance with a dull date, but Ralph manages to make your night worthwhile.

Scream

Ethan Landry

Perverted by @demontonic

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐈 𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 by @n-slayaaaaa

Seeing the Core Four years after an explosive argument ended your friendship brought about plenty of unwelcome emotions—can you let the past go or has your plan for healing old wounds gone too far?

obsessed by @messylustt

getting a call from ghostface is never good. especially when you find out who lives under the mask—the dorky boy who you drunkenly kissed one night.

a father’s malice by @shadesslut

After the Ghostface attacks, Y/N tried her best to move on from Ethan with raising their son, but things get harder after Ethan gets out of jail.

Billy & Stu

Of Friends and Horror by @grimoireofhayley

You have been best friends with Billy Loomis since you both were in diapers, however, when high school hit, Billy's mom had filed for divorce and had left his father. His dad was miserable even in marriage, hence his continuous affairs with Maureen Prescott. Though, after the divorce and his mother leaving, Billy has been different since; He started dating Sidney Prescott, the late Mrs. Prescott's daughter. He never showed an interest in her until now… But why?

The Last Airbender

Zuko

rotations by @reinerispretty

written during the prime of the atla rennaissance (summer 2020), (y/n) is a child of the fire nation aristocracy and a close friend to prince zuko. as circumstances drive the two apart, she finds them thrown back together. this time on opposite sides of a war.

Daughter of the Spirits by @jettingtothemoon

In which y/n comes across the fire nation prince during her stay in Ba Sing Se.

Last of Us

Joel Miller

Against All Odds by @and-claudia

Look For the Light by @cowgurrrl

When you left Boston with Joel Miller and a little girl named Ellie, you never thought it would land you in Jackson, Wyoming with a tiny family.

sun bleached flies by @sempersirens

stumbling upon the settlement of jackson whilst 4 months pregnant had almost felt too good to be true. for the past seven years, you had been able to raise your daughter, mia, surrounded by a safe and supportive community. however, your small slice of paradise came tumbling down the day joel miller arrived. despite only crossing paths for a fleeting encounter all those years ago, you would never forget the face of your daughter's father.

Strawberries and Cigarettes by @hischeapcigar

you're falling in love with the person your dad hates the most

Miraculous Ladybug

Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir

New Bug in Town by @lilian-writes-sins

With Marinette AKA Ladybug gone, Chat Noir has to hold down the fort and protect the city of Paris from Hawkmoth, while waiting for Master Fu to choose the next Ladybug miraculous holder. The city is in disarray for months, with no sign of Ladybug returning, people are starting to lose hope. Until one day, when some passersby see a red and black figure jumping on the rooftops.

[elletheactualmenace]

Roller Coasters

Pairing: tasm!Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Summary: A fun, uneventful day at Coney Island with Peter. But when Peters involved, things are not always uneventful.

Warnings: Horribly written fight sequence, fluffy at the beginning, angsty at the end, nausea, People in danger, nonsensical occurrences, lame ass ending, lmk if i missed one

Word count: 2.9k

a/n: hate hate hate hate hate hate hate this. But I needed to finish it. Anyways I have another Peter Parker story brewing in the pot, hopefully a multi part story. Don’t trust me on it. Also ignore the ugly photo :’) As always enjoy my horrible writing.

“Hey, Peter?” You ask, leaning over the kitchen table chair. Peter lifts his head from the newspaper he was looking at. The headline reads ‘Electro Still On The Loose’ with a picture of Peter, well Spiderman, fighting Electro. It’s the fight from last week.

Electro hasn’t shown his face since then and it’s stressing out Peter. You can tell by the bags under his eyes and his slumped shoulders against the table.

“Yeah?” He asks, turning to you.

“I know you’ve been stressed about Electro, you haven’t left the apartment all week, except for your patrols. You need to get out. So I was thinking, tomorrow, just for an hour or so, we could go to Coney Island.” Peter looks down thinking for a moment. His tired gaze meeting the table.

“Y/n, baby I-“ you cut him off before he can turn the idea down.

“Listen, I know you need to be alert and ready for him, and you have been, but you also need to de-stress. It will be for an hour. Okay? Then we’ll come back. If you really want you can bring your suit under your outfit.” You try to reason and Peter sighs, giving in, too tired to argue. He also knows you’re right.

“I would have either way,” he states and you give him a confused look.

“Brought the suit, I would have brought it whether or not you said I could.” He sheepishly explains. And you give him a pointed look, telling him that he shouldn’t have said that, as he rubs the back of his neck.

“So that’s a yes?” You move on with a raised brow, and he nods reluctantly. Your smile shows him how grateful you are that he said yes, even if you are still a little annoyed.

The next day at around 3:00pm you walk into the gates of Coney Island. Smiles on both you and Peter's faces. He’s already more relaxed just at the change of scenery.

After a couple of rides you can tell that Peter doesn’t have as strong of a stomach as you and he thought.

“Come on!” You tug on Peter's sleeve walking in the detection of the next ride you want to go on.

“Hold on,” Peter looks pale and nauseous. The last ride you went on was so fast you think your clothes might have fallen off if the buckle on your seat wasn’t suffocating you like it was.

“I need a,” he interrupts himself with a gagging noise. “sec,”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the one who can handle this sort of thing? You are, you know, Spiderman.” You whisper, “And these rides are like swinging with your webs,” You chuckle and he rolls his eyes at you.

“Shut up. This is nothing like swinging. When I’m swinging I have full control over where I’m going and what I’m doing.” He retorts standing up straight with his hand on his stomach.

“Oh, really?” You ask skeptically, “what about the times you get thrown by monsters or ‘bad guys’?” Peter thinks for a moment then continues walking in the direction you were pulling him, without you.

“I have no control over that, just like on roller coasters. And I don’t get thrown for fun, so why would I want to experience the same thing on rides for fun?” He asks in a grumble, as you catch up with him.

You roll your eyes. Looping your arm in his, you guide him to the next ride you want to take him on.

“You’ll still go on the roller coasters with me though, right?” You ask looking up at him with pleading eyes. He sighs, defeated.

“Fine.” You grin widely at him and he gives you a small smile back.

“Okay so now we have to go on Cyclone!” You exclaim pulling him again. “The best ride here.”

“It was opened in 1927,” You comment as you walk over.

“19?” Peter squeaks out.

——

You and Peter are waiting in line for thunderbolt and Peter is trembling. He looks up at the 115 feet tall ride, which drops at a 90 degree angle. He gulps gripping the metal railing of the line for dear life. He turns to you whispering in a small voice.

“Any chance you’re gonna wanna back out of this?” You roll your eyes at him shaking your head.

“Not a chance.” You pause and then speak again. “What happened to the unafraid skateboard kid I fell in love with?” You raise an eyebrow in question. 

Peter's nose scrunches up at your use of words. “‘Skateboard kid’? Really? I was never a ‘Skateboard kid’. So you clearly fell in love with someone else.” His disgusted face breaks into a smile and wholehearted laugh when you raise a brow . 

“Ok, fine. Skateboard kid or what you want to call it, you still were unafraid,” You note. He shrugs.

“I am unafraid…of most things.” He remarks. You puff out a laugh and step past the worker onto the platform to get into your seat.

Peter's body freezes when he realizes it’s finally his turn to ride Thunderbolt. His eyes go wide and he is unmoving.

“You unafraid of this?” You laugh as you try to pull him to your seats.

“I said most things.” He informs you.

“Common tough guy, you’re holding up the line.” You say and Peter turns around to see a big bulky bodybuilding looking guy looking down at him with an annoyed look on his face. Peter shrinks and lets you pull him to the seats. 

When he sits down he can’t tell if he’s more scared of the guy or the fact he was about to lunch from this coster to an early death. Peter turns to you and he sees your outstretched hand, ready for him to take. He takes it gratefully. He whispers thanks and you smile.

The ride starts up, moving forward and Peter's grip on your hand gets tighter. The rides track turns and you begin your ascent up the big drop. The cranking noise is loud in your ears. And all of the sudden Peter is thankful you didn’t get the front row of seats. His grip on the bar is so strong he is worried he will leave a dent. You stroke his thumb hoping to soothe his worry. It works.

“I'm sorry that I forced you to come on with me.” You confess out of nowhere. In truth you see his scared eyes and the grip he has on the bar handle and feel bad. He is also crushing your hand. Peters brows scrunch.

“What? I wanted to come.” He says, turning his head to look at you.

“You did? You look pretty terrified right now.” You blurt out. He laughs nervously. 

“Oh, believe me, I am. But I like doing things with you, and this can’t possibly be worse than getting tosed around by villains like im a bean bag.” He says focus on you, you smile and so does he.

Then in a second the cart you are sitting in plummets down toward the rock hard ground. Peter's grip on your hand loosens as both of his hands grip the bar in front of him. The ride reaches the ground but immediately flys back up and into a loop. He yells but instead of just fear you can hear joy and excitement. The same joy and excitement as when he swings you around New York.

You lift your arm up, ‘whoo-ing’ with happiness and adrenaline pumping through your veins. The cart twists with the corkscrew. Out of the corner of your eye you can see Peter smile and then you hear him laugh. Not something you expected. It makes your grin grow as you laugh with him.

After the last bump up and down on the ride, it slows to a stop. Peter's hair is messy but not too unusual form normally. When the bar lifts you chuckle and ruff up his hair more.

He turns to you panting. You both hop out of the seats and walk to the exit gate where all the other riders are headed. Once you’re out and you both get your phones you head over to a shady spot on the boardwalk.

“So?” You ask Peter.

“I don’t know what it was, but that one ride was a lot more fun than the other ones you made me go on.” He laughs out and you smirk, content with yourself.

“See? All you needed was to find the right one. And next time if you don’t want to go on something just tell me and I’ll drop it, and we won’t go.” You say with a tiny bit of gilt. He gives you a reassuring smile and wraps his arms around you in a tight hug.

“I will.”

——

When it starts to get darker crowds of people begin to gather on the beach and the boardwalk, waiting for the fireworks to begin. Americans take the fourth of July seriously and if you hadn't known that before, you sure do now. The herds of people make it hard to walk without bumping into someone or touching someone unintentionally.

You and Peter find a somewhat vacant spot in the crowd and wait to watch the fireworks.

When the first spark of light shoots into the sky the crowd of people erupt into cheers. People wiping cameras out and others just enjoying the view. The lights come first and then the sound. It’s like popcorn popping but louder. Purple orange, from red and yellow to green. Yellow lines in the sky shoot out from the spark. So loud and powerful you swear you can feel it in your heart and stomach. There is screeching and wailing that sounds like people on rides but it’s the fireworks.

After many minutes of the breathtaking lights of color you know that the finale is soon. You grasp Peter's hand in excitement and he smiles down at you with love. Peter pulls you close to him by wrapping his strong arm around your waist, hugging you to his side.

As the final shots of light leaps up into the night air the normal colors of streaming light changes into a face. One very familiar to both you and Peter and the People of New York. Electro. Peter immediately springs into action. He gives you a look that says he’s sorry for leaving but you reassure him.

“Go Peter, I’ll help evacuate the boardwalk.” Peter nods at your words and runs off somewhere to change into his suit. Before you are able to start evacuating, Electro shoots a blast of electricity out toward a big crowd of people and everyone begins panicking and running around trying to get away. You use your arms to direct people away from the scene. 

Spiderman leaps unto the Thunderbolt sign, effectively getting Electro’s attention.

“Hey Max-a-million,” Spiderman says waving to him. Electro is not so pleased with Spiderman's name choice. “What’s goin’ on man? This is supposed to be a celebration, not a free for all, destroy what you want,” Spiderman comments standing up with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. As Spiderman says this you are running down to the water to help people get away. You spot a small family trying to get out of the water and run towards the buildings in the distance. You run into the water, clothes on, and help the father by grabbing the baby in his arms so he can help his daughter.

You hand the baby to his mother and run back into the waves of the ocean to help the others. The father's grip on his daughter's hand falters as she trips and falls into the deep sandy water, the father successfully gets on land, and you run over to the girl.

Electro lets out an almost growl. “Piss off Spidey. This is my celebration, causing chaos and causing you the trouble of trying to save everyone when you know you can’t.” Peter gets mad at this. And jumps over to where Electro is connected to his power source, which is right by you. But before Spiderman can get it disconnected Electro shoots a bolt of lightning this time at the ocean. Oh no. Peter thinks as he watches the bolt in almost slow motion. Peter spots you and his eyes go wide. You have the little girl in your arms and are trying to pull her out of the now ankle deep water. 

Spiderman shoots a web towards your body, his heart pounding against the stretchy fabric of his tight suit. When it attaches to your shoulder he pulls as hard as you can. You and the girl in your arms are yanked back harshly.  You both crash onto the dry sand right as the Electricity hits the water. You get whiplash from the pull and hit the sand harshly.

The little girl gets up and runs into her fathers arms, and then they run away. You try to get up but your body aches from the fall. You get yourself up slowly and painfully and try to follow the herd of people away, but you stumble and limp.

Peter looks to you anxiously, but then turns back his attention to the task at hand when he sees you get up. Peter runs to where Electro is getting his power from and yanks at it. Electro shoots a blast in his direction and he flips over it, dodging it. He dodges many more blasts while trying to get Electro unplugged.

Then finally he gets it. Electro's eyes go wide as his electric form turns into a human one. Peter watches as he begins tumbling towards the ground. Spiderman leaps up to catch him, and lands on the boardwalk with a smoking Max.

The next few minutes are a blur. The police arrive and take Electro into custody, Spiderman talks to the cops about casualties and what happened. And then he swings away to somewhere, where he won’t be spotted changing into everyday clothing, and then Peter rushes back the the boardwalk to find you.

When he get there he searches everywhere, he even calls you. Hes on the beach where he saw you last when he hears a phone ringing next to his foot. He bends down to pick it up. It’s your phone. Peter slides the phone into his back pocket and runs back over to the police. Peter runs over to an officer and is stopped from going further.

“Wow, wow, hold it there.” The officer says. “I'm looking for someone, Officer.” Peter pants out.

“Alright, breath son.” The Officer orders. “Do you think they were injured?”

“Yea- yes. I lost her in the crowd. She fell on the beach and I couldn’t get to her.” His lie seems believable enough, because it was partially true. The Officer sighs.

“If you recognize any of the people over by the ambulances then I can let you by, but otherwise I can’t help you.” The Policeman points behind him to the medics and he scans over the faces of the people looking for yours.

When he spots you sitting in the back of the truck he points, “Over there, I know her, She's my girlfriend.” The Policeman hesitates, “Can I please go over to her?” He pleads out, eyes getting teary.

“Alright, go ahead.” The policeman sighs, steps aside and lets Peter through, and he runs over to you while calling your name. You look up abruptly and Peter sees the cuts on your face. His fear worsens.

“Y/N? Oh, baby are you okay?” Peter asks as he takes your face in between his hands. You nod. Your skin is cold and it makes him worried. He takes of his jacket and pulls it around your damp and sandy body.

“Peter, I'm fine, really.” Peter pulls you into a tight embrace, after a moment of hesitation you hug him back.

“I'm so, so sorry, honey,” Peter says shakily. Griping you for dear life. Like if he lets go, his whole world would fall apart, because without you it would.

“I'm alright Peter, just a little frazzled, that's all.” You rub his back soothingly and he holds you with his face in your neck, willing tears not to come.

“I should never have agreed to come here.” Peter whispers into your shoulder. You shush him and tut.

“If you hadn’t so many more would be hurt. Including me.” You whisper back. “None of this is your fault.” Peter pulls away at your words to rest his forehead against yours. You both close your eyes taking in each other. Peter raps his hand around yours with a heavy sigh.

“I'm so happy you're okay,” He says before he leans in to leave a long, loving kiss on your cheek. “I don’t think I could do anything without you. I don’t even know who I’d be, especially if it was my fault.” His voice brakes as a tear slips from his eye.

You don’t say anything but pull him into a hug as he quietly cries.

“I can’t promise I won’t leave Pete,” You start trying to find the right words. You know you can’t promise anything or be sure of what is to come, but you can be sure of this, what is happening in the present. “All I know is, right now, at this moment, I won’t let anything happen to us.”

You pull Peter impossibly closer to your chest. “I won’t let anything change how I feel about you. I love you Peter. And no Electric man or Lizard can change that.” He chuckles softly as you kiss the top off his head. Peter leans all his weight against you, as you hold each other. And he mumbles.

“I love you too Y/n, more than you will ever understand.”

[animentality]

Your hot take on the boys and invincible kinda piss3d me off, not cause I totally disagree, but only because superhero media as a whole is lazy. Specifically for these two, though? The boys isn't just evil superman, it's corporate owned supervillainy, vigilantes who don't have powers, and yeah the shock value gets too much sometimes but like clearly you haven't seen it. And invincible is about a kid (son of superman) who is betrayed by his idol and forced to fight him and lose. Maybe don't judge so quickly!!

What, I have to watch the entire show to judge it?

That would necessitate that I take time out of my day to watch something that I don't like.

And if I watched the entirety of both, and still hated it, you'd tell me I shouldn't watch things I "hate" and I should just leave you and your dumb opinions alone.

So we're discarding that part of your argument because it's pointless.

oh wait.

but that's your entire argument.

hm.

well.

ok. let's talk anyway.

so first off. you just said that superhero media as a whole is lazy.

that's quite a generalization to make about a genre.

I don't disagree but you're giving me shit for saying deconstructions of super hero movies are worse, to me personally, than super hero movies themselves, when you just made a blanket opinion statement disguised as a fact.

Think about that for a second.

Then I wanna talk about the whole "it's about politics" and "subversion of superman" schtick.

you're telling me that the boys is about politics, and invincible is an alien invasion story.

yet neither of those things need to be told through a superhero angle. they just are because of the superhero hype justifying their existence in the market.

and that's fine and all... but to me that's what they are.

gimmicks based on what was hot at the time, which was super heroes.

so they don't exist without the superhero genre to make fun of. they don't have relevance except by being reactionary.

and that's a lame selling point for me.

super hero movies have been dying lately, and frankly, I didn't even know invincible had a season 2 until I saw invincible had popped up on fortnite.

and even then I didn't see anyone talking about it, aside from the shock value of the rape scene.

but don't worry. we'll get to that.

as for the boys, well, I don't know, it could last for some time... but do deconstructions that wallow in misery and mega angst and are highly topical based on the year they were released really stand the test of time?

I don't know. we'll see.

all I know is that no one anticipated the fall of marvel after the success of Endgame...

but look at it now.

The Marvels, Antman 3, Madame Web... the lackluster performance of DC...

if you look back at the boys 50 years from now, what will you see?

a satire of the Justice League.

but it's not something on its own.

at least watchmen, as garbage as it is, has unique characters and a weird, but mildly interesting take on history.

the boys is like oh what if there was a world where superheroes existed and they killed people?

yeah that'll stand the test of time I'm sure.

Spiderman has lasted this long because he's relatable. He was the prime example of a changing genre, that allowed its heroes to be more down to earth.

Batman has his gothic detective thing, and you can tell so many stories with him, as he's just an ordinary man, who's also coincidentally a huge freak at the same time. what's not relatable about that?

And even Superman... oh, so he's boring because he's a good person?

yeah. sure. I don't particularly like him. I don't think he's that deep.

but his popularity did come from the basic idea that people should be good to each other.

what is the average jackass going to learn or remember from the boys?

oh that homelander likes drinking breast milk.

gee, that's relatable.

also that the deep fucked an octopus.

because haha... Aquaman, am I right?

so.

now let's move on to shock value.

It sucks.

the boys is made for people who hate super heroes.

it's fine to hate super heroes, but Jesus Christ.

you hate them so much that you make them edgy. you make them rapists and mass murderers. you make them do nasty shit just because you wanna make someone vomit.

like. ok.

I don't like shock value in anything, not even horror movies.

if there's no plot reason for it, then I don't want to see it.

but the boys is all about throwing in sex scenes wherever they can, and making them as fucking weird as they can just because "oh we're not marvel."

yeah. I know that. even marvel pretends to have a story from time to time.

the boys literally starts off with a fucking 90s ass rape revenge story. like seriously?

so revolutionary ahahaha.

with a guy who fucks animals.

and is meant to be sympathetic later on because he's pathetic.

soo soooo deep.

good rape revenge plot.

reminds me of the misogyny of blade runner, and the director saying well I'm objectifying women because sexism exists in real life.

gee thanks, guy.

forgive me if I was turned off by a show that immediately sexually assaulted its main female character.

I'm a triggered snowflake, hahah, you got me.

but when I look at all this, it's like...

I never got into game of thrones because I never liked the mega edge lord plot of that either.

but at least game of thrones was doing something different with a genre, rather than just making a satire or parody of the genre.

it stands on its own.

the boys relies entirely on shock value and superheroes having sex in depraved ways.

it might have some valid political commentary somewhere in its messy gory insides, but nothing I couldn't get, and much better, from the Wire.

[the-sweet-hibiscus]

2023 fic round up

borrowed this idea from several people but specifically @liminal-zone @softlighter @conundrumoftime & @thecoziestbean

Fanworks

posted

Baby, I'm Jealous (LOTR | Haladriel | step-cest | Rated E)

Eyes to Welcome You Home (Shadow & Bone | Darklina | Age-gap | Rated E)

It's a vicious cycle, baby (Shadow & Bone | Darklina | step-cest | Rated E)

Belonephobia (Marvel / Spiderman | Migwen | non-con/kidnapping | Rated E)

je te vuex (discontinued) (Shadow & Bone | Darklina | Best Friend's Brother | Rated E)

Mountain Glory (Call of Duty | Simon "Ghost" Riley/OFC | One Bed Trope | Rated E)

wips

• Lost In Translation (LOTR | Haladriel | the all too well AU)

• Take Me (In the Midnight Hour) (LOTR | Haladriel ) In an attempt to find herself, Galadriel ends up in the tangled web of lies orchestrated by the man she thought didn't exist.

• Lose Control (coming back to AO3 in 2024) (LOTR | Haladriel | Dystopian ABO) Galadriel starts to question the legitimacy of the City after witnessing the harsh treatments of Alphas that come to her door. With the mounting coldness and hostility coming from her family and her government, Galadriel must choose between acceptance or trusting Halbrand and the alphas in the Lower City.

• Untitled (Marvel / Spiderman | Migwen) Detectives Miguel O'Hara and Gwen Stacy must work together to solve a series of murders while denying their own pasts with each other.

• The Office (Marvel / Spiderman | Hobbie x Margo)

• Crimson Clover (LOTR | Haladriel)

Total number of completed works/fandoms written in: 6 Complete Works (5 technically), nearly 57K words combined; 3 Shadow & Bone, 1 Marvel / Spiderman, 1 LOTR, and 1 Call of Duty

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I'm slow but I still like (most of) what I published. Also clearly not built for non-explicit writing.

MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED: Eyes to Welcome You Home might be my favorite of the year. It was written during one of the worst trips of my life to bury my aunt, and I think that it helped at least keep me distracted enough from grief to help my family where needed. My favorite part was the hopeful ending.

MOST POPULAR: It's a vicious cycle, baby with 246 Kudos. This was part of the Darklina Spring Fling and probably the last time I was my most active in the darklina fandom. I was a silly goober for posting early and not understanding how to post to the collection. In my defense, I am just a baby.

STORY WITH THE SEXIEST MOMENT: OOOF this is hard. But! I have to give it to Mountain Glory, when OFC watches Gaz jerking Soap while Ghost fucks her? It's called team bonding.

MOST FUN STORY TO WRITE: Another win for Mountain Glory. Probably my least second (eighth) guessed story? And probably the quickest one, where the words came easily and I didn't spend two months debating if it made sense.

HARDEST: A tie between Eyes to Welcome You Home and Belonephobia because they both came during a heavy time in my life. Like many 2023 was filled with loss but for as hard as they were to write I'm glad I did.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: This is so hard! But I think the reception to Belonephobia! I was so critical of it, especially with using a beta reader for the first time in a long time so when people seemed to enjoy it I was floored.

DID YOU TAKE ANY RISKS IN WRITING THIS YEAR? I think branching further in to actually doing multi-chapters? I stuck to posting longer one shots but towards the end of the year I really started planning and writing my first long multi-chapter fics.

MOST UNINTENTIONALLY TELLING STORY: Lose Control (recently hidden, sorry) has a lot of direct correlation to how I feel about living in America this year. Take Me more closely resembles my relationship with alcohol so there's that lol.

FAVORITE LINES/SCENES: Ooo okay okay okay. I'm going to have to cheat and pull from Lose Control. It's the scene where Galadriel first sees Halbrand, and I just really like how it came out.

But the young collector looks up, for just a second. My heart beats loudly in my chest, filling my ears with the sound of rushing water as our gazes connect. It could not have lasted more than two seconds, but it felt like an eternity. There is something that comes, unbidden, from the recesses of my mind. Alpha.

The word pushes through as if breaking through a dense fog. I nearly scream, frightened by the uncontrolled thought that threatened to seep out of the confines of my mouth. The Zevalise should've prevented it. The Zevalise was supposed to be stronger than our urges. Stronger than the genome. The young collector's eyes bulged minutely – as if he could hear the dangerous thought take shape inside me. He turns abruptly, and his partner takes the case.

They leave, and my mother turns to fuss at me again. She's speaking again, but it doesn't register.

I am frozen. Deaf to the world as I tried to piece together what just happened. I tried, in vain, to understand the thudding in my chest, the rapid decentralization of all my senses from just the connected sight of an alpha. My mouth dries out, and I gaze blankly into my mother's eyes as she makes her final adjustment. I hope she doesn't see right through me.

I wish for no one to see me at all.

MY FAVE PART OF FANDOM IN 2023: Meeting some of my favorite people via the Haladriel & Darklina fandom! Some of the most accepting people I know and I love them dearly for being there during some of the craziest moments. A lot of times it felt like I was going insane with other people in the fandom spreading lies & contextless biases. But it was nice to have people who could objectively come together and acknowledge that "no, I see it to. You're not alone in this."

2024 WRITING AMBITIONS: I'm going to attempt to 1) Write every weekday and plot/edit on weekends, 2) post a completed multi-chapter (more than 5) work, and 3) write at least 100K this year. But most importantly, I would like to actually take more time in editing/writing, and just generally improving.

2024 FICS ON THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON: I don't plan to post in January, however, my next one-shot is likely the Brother's Best Friend Call of Duty AU with Ghost x OFC.

[maggie44paint]

Thank you! Also, this is me, I was using anonymous, if I am going to write the story, I just need to clear up a few things. did the bite of 83 happen as the canon event for Michael? is Charlie a robot in this au just like she is in the books? (sorry about spoiler.) I saw that you said that the animatronics would be enemies, how would that work? Is Charlie stuck in Michaels universe? Where do the symbiotes come from and how do they affect the two? And how did the two get bit by the spider?

I'll answer the questions first :))

1. No, the events of the FNaF games never happened, the pizerrias do exist but there we no murders or anything, Evan was Michael's canon event tho he died because Michael was too cocky and brought him along on one of his fights with a villain (Lizard who is basically Monty, but he aint that important). Evan couldn't hold onto Michael anymore during the chaotic fight and slipped from his back, Michael failed to catch him with his web, causing his death. Until that moment, Michael was basically a shitty jerk who happened to become a superhero, after Evan's death he started to take the job seriously

2. No she isnt, Charlie is a normal human girl :)

3. Easy, some animatronics can appear as the villains, antiheroes etc. for example Monty as Lizard, Lefty as Venom, Ennard/Molten Freddy as Carnage

4. Charlie got sucked into Michael's universe along with her villains by accident

5. Me personally I like the idea they were brought on Earth like in Venom (2018) from Klyntar, Charlie is the only one who gets to experience having a symbiote (Lefty)

6. Michael was bit when he and his friends were bullying Evan at his own party. Charlie was bit when she got locked out of the pizzeria by bullies in the rain

Few more stuff thats important;

William: there are two versions of him, one is him as a Spiderman from his own universe (this version doesnt have kids but is married to Mrs. Afton who fun fact is a Deadpool variant :D they are both kind of antiheroes, William is similiar to Miguel's personality if you wanna tip on how to write his personality ;D, he was sucked into Mike's universe along with Charlie) the other William is Doc Ock who is a villain from Charlie's universe, basically our canon killer William (he does have kids, is divorced) not much to say about him cuz as i said hes not different from our Willy

Spidersociety and other Spiderman; if you want you can put characters from ATSV into the story, thats up to you I originally didnt pay them much mind but Spider William is part of the society

And thats about it, this is probably the most important stuff but my advice? Just be creative I dont mind if u put ur own ideas or other charapcters into the au, my version of the story isnt rlly developed yet either :D if you have more questions feel free to ask

[hongcherry]

Hello! How are you? :D For the "fanfic end of the year asks", can you please answer numbers 1, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 24 and 25?

Hi Anon! 🥰 I've been good, thank you. Are you doing well?

Ah, so I realized while looking back that I didn't actually write as much as I did in 2021, so this will probably be very repetitive, and I'm so sorry for that! But I still wanted to answer as best as I could (: Thank you so much for your ask! *insert hugging gif* 😄

Questions/Answers:

1. favorite fic you wrote this year - My favorite fic would be By Your Side, my neighbor!San fic. It's my first ATEEZ story, and writing for a different group was a lot of fun. Plus, I was really soft writing it, so I'm glad it was received well 💖

5. most popular fic this year - My most popular fic was By Your Side with 815 notes c: Runner up was In Your Web (spiderman!Jungkook) with 767 notes! Thank you to everyone who supported me! 😁

6. least popular fic this year - My least popular "fic" was everywhere you go (spiderman!Jungkook). It's a social media au, so maybe it doesn't count as a fic but I'll bend the rules a little hehe. It has 73 notes and was my first sm au ever. Maybe it's because I'm a perfectionist, but it took me a while to edit it, so kudos to all my sm au writers out there 😅

7. longest completed fic you wrote this year - My longest fic would be In Your Web with 10k ^-^ woo! It has been a while since I hit double-digits in wc, so I was really trying hard to achieve that again. I'm very happy I did!

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write - Requests are always unexpected so Forever (dancer!Jimin; Drifting couple) and Your Light were not planned! However, an unexpected fic that was not requested was Torn (Mingi). Per my author's note, I was just in the mood to write more ATEEZ, and that's what came out of it.

15. something you learned this year - Kim Hongjoong is the loml Something that I learned is this:

This was extremely inspiring to read. It's especially motivating to learn that I've written one novel already! That was shocking to learn 😂 It wasn't published this year, but I'll still include it. It's my spiderman!Jungkook series called Warning Signs with 46.5k! Please give it some love if it's something you'd like to read <3

24. favorite fic you read this year - This question excites me greatly! This is actually probably my favorite fanfic ever, and I've been reading fanfic for years. It's called pirate king and is an ATEEZ fic written by @chaseatinydream. It's also on AO3, which is where I read it. This story will pop into my head at random times, and I've been tempted to reread it because it was so captivating. You can read my full review of it, but in short, it was incredible and I stayed up several nights binging it all 🤩

25. a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read - Besides pirate king, I'll recommend three because I've already broken the rules in the previous questions lol, and I want to give a majority of my fandoms some love.

*Please check the fics for more details.

My first recommendation is The Boy by @milfgyuu! It's a The Boyz Sunwoo fic. Lana wrote Sunwoo so accurately and it drove me crazy (in a good way heh). After reading this, I can't drive past a car wash peacefully. I just keep thinking of Sunwoo. IT'S NOT HEALTHY, BUT ALSO THANK YOU? You can read my full review, but it does contain spoilers! I need more Sunwoo fics in my life guys. TRULY. I swear I'll write one eventually.

My second recommendation is push it down (sooner or later it all comes out) by @dontflailmenow. It's a camboy!(Seveteen) Seungcheol series. I'm so smitten with Seungcheol, so this series really has me by the throat I swearrrrr. A review for the first chapter can be read as well as the other parts on my fic rec blog. Again, it has spoilers so beware.

My third recommendation is crema (review link) by @inkedtae for all my army followers. It's a Jungkook fic and really... steamy 😆 The writing was great, and it was a lovely read.

Please give all the authors some love (through reblogs as it's the best way to support them) if you read their works! 💕

Thank you again, anon! 😍 This was my first end-of-the-year ask game. It was fun to reflect on what I've done in 2022. I hope I can write more next year and do another game similar to this in the future.

edited 12/28/22 because I forgot about a fic 🥴

[admiral-alby]

bob fic recs galore

here’s the fruits of my labour. a working fic rec master-post containing multiple bob ships and many, many amazing fics. the writers in this fandom are absolutely incredible and their talent astounds me every time I read a new fic. all the kudos to y’all. keep on keeping on!

this is a long post. recs and some general notes are under the cut :)

(04/13/21) I’ll do my best to keep this list updated... or I’ll make a part 2 depending on length. if anyone has any recs that are not already listed in this post, please please message me! this is no way an exhaustive list and I’m sure I missed some fantastic fics out there - to get started I mostly just plucked from my bookmarks. I’d be happy to add on new fics for ANY pairing, rare-pairs included. I don’t really have much for rare-pairs in this rec because I haven’t read much yet but that will change soon when I have some more time on my hands to get into them  :)

if you are an author on this list and you would like your work removed from it, please just message me. no explanation necessary I will take it off asap.

I’ll make the disclaimer that while I tried to include some general information about each fic, I did not include tags/warnings. so if you choose a fic, read the tags and proceed at your own discretion.

 @capsparkyspeirs   you’re a lovely human being and this is probably not what you were imagining when I said I’d be happy to rec some fics for you. I admit it got a little out of hand but there’s so many great fics out there I couldn’t stand to choose just a couple to send your way... so you get them all! you inspired me to do this, so this is for you and anyone else who wants to read some great fics but doesn’t know where to start <3

WINNIX (RICHARD WINTERS/LEWIS NIXON)

Long Ago and Far Away (Canon Winnix) by churchkey (Series) Rated T-E / Canon Era / 18013 Words (Total) / 4 Parts / Not Complete

Summary: “A few scenes exploring how Dick and Lew became the timeless cosmic lovers they were born to be.“

*Each part can be read as a stand-alone!

It Happened One Night by raquelelpillo Rated M / Groundhog Day AU / 7704 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Nixon gets the chance to do the day before the big jump over and over and over (or, Every Fandom Needs Groundhog's Day Fic).”

Finding Our Way in the Dark by rilla Rated E / Canon Era / Soulmate AU / 8477 Words / Complete

Summary: “After Dick and Lew share their first kiss in Austria, they open their eyes to find a golden thread binding their wrists together.“

Mutual by miss_grey Rated G / Canon Era / 2105 Words / Complete

Summary: “Dick couldn’t help wondering to himself when exactly Nix had decided that Dick’s personal space had become their mutual space.“

Let Me Be Close by armyofbees  Rated G / Canon Era (Post-War) / 8679 Words / Complete

Summary: “Five things Nix loves about Dick, and one thing Dick loves about Nix.Or,The thing about Nix, Dick is beginning to learn, is that he doesn’t love in halves. Nix loves with everything in him, and sometimes that means moving to the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania for Dick. Sometimes it means making spaghetti with him because Dick came to New Jersey and planted tomatoes, of all things. Sometimes it means telling without saying.”

Let’s Start the New Year Right by slightlytookish Rated G / Canon Era (Post-War) / 10523 Words / Complete

Summary: “Nix had always been able to pick Dick out of a crowd, even when he was lying on his belly in the dirt two hundred yards away, squinting through binoculars at an entire company of men wearing identical uniforms. It was easier to spot him in the crush of people inside Penn Station, even out of the familiar uniform: the same tall figure, the same bright hair, the same way he always seemed to find Nix just as easily and turn towards him, like an arrow on a compass.”

Lancaster County by raquelelpillo Rated T / AU / 31500 Words / 17 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “Nix is born later. Dick is there. (AU). Set in the summer of 1942 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.”

**It is part of a series with the other works being small ‘extras’ set through the story. This is the main work. It ends a bit ambiguously.

SPEIRTON (RONALD SPEIRS/CARWOOD LIPTON)

The Desolate House by Howling_Harpy Rated E / Canon Era (Post-War) / 26672 Words / Complete

Summary: “It's been fifteen years since Carwood has last seen or spoken to Speirs when they reunite suddenly at an Easy Company reunion and have both recently relocated back to the US. Carwood has promised to his mother to finish packing and cleaning the family's boarding house that's about to be put up for sale, and on a whim invites Speirs to help him. He didn't expect him to actually show up.”

and you on my mind by seabright Rated E / Canon Era (Post-War) / 11081 Words / Complete

Summary: “’You say that you don’t want any of Easy to know that you’re in Boston but you give me your address.’  Following a relationship through the end of the war and beyond.”

Of Soldiers and Secrets by nanuk_dain Rated E / Canon Era / 62988 Words / 26 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “A series of moments in the life of the Easy men, from Foy until after the war, focussing on the development of the relationship of Carwood Lipton and Ronald Speirs.”

Erasure by Howling_Harpy Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 15255 Words / Complete

Summary: “Carwood takes time off from work to visit his mother to get away from his lonely life in Boston. Ron is deployed to Korea and has been for a long while, and after spending a year alone and even longer lying to everyone, Carwood is not sure he wants to live like this anymore.”

Fluences by masongirl (Series) Rated T-M / Canon Era / Soulmates AU / 12818 Words (Total) / 5 Works / Complete

Summary: “ Soulmate AU in which soulmates can sense each other's emotions if they are close enough.”

**Mainly Speirton centric. Part 2 is Winnix & Part 3 is Shifty/Tab.

A Thousand Kisses by Arwen88 Rated T / Canon Era / 1993 Words / Complete

Summary: “ A late night in Hardigny brings Carwood to the room where Ron is dealing with paperwork, but even with a comfortable bed, he can’t find his peace. Late night chats have Ron showing a side of himself that Carwood had not expected.”

stop the world by languageofthebirds Rated T / Canon Era / 3001 Words / Complete

Summary: “The way his hair fell in mussed waves over his forehead made Carwood want to reach out and run his fingers through it. He was sin personified, in that moment.”

**Did I throw in a shameless self promo? Sure did.

WEBGOTT (JOSEPH LIEBGOTT/DAVID WEBSTER)

rivers always reach the sea by bitchbutter (Series) Rated E / Canon Era / 40790 Words (Total) / 2 Works / Not Complete / Last Updated March 17, 2021

Part 1 Summary: “Joe breaks things off with Web in Austria. Of course, nothing with them is ever that simple.“

Part 2 Summary: “The end of the war could be the end of a lot of things. If Joe could let it be.“

if i know you at all, i know you’ve gone too far by starblessed Rated T / Canon Era / 2654 Words / Complete

Summary: “How many stars d’you think there are, Web?” Joe asks after a moment.David has no damned clue. “A lot,” he answers confidently. “Millions.”“Millions,” echoes Joe. The glittering stars are reflected in his eyes, like black pits sending each beam of light back outward. It’s almost hypnotizing, the way they flicker. If he stares too long, David knows he will get lost in them...  and that doesn't seem like the worst way to go.”

Teller of Tales; Song of Songs by thedastardly Rated E / Canon Era (Post War) / 8352 Words / Complete

Summary: “He hopes that he dreams about the mountaintop tonight. He isn’t in the mood to dream of the water, the shore, the everything after, again.”

the only noise beating out is ours by lakehymn Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 3470 Words / Complete

Summary: “Over the next couple weeks, Webster realizes that Liebgott has effortlessly invaded every corner of his life. Even on the days when he barely sees Liebgott at all, he can always find comic books or packs of cigarettes lying around somewhere. It’s almost disconcerting how ordinary it’s beginning to feel to stumble upon someone else’s belongings in his own house.”

push and pull by LT_Aldo_Raine

Rated T / Modern AU / 4115 Words / Complete

Summary: ““got hands like an ocean, push you out, pull you back in” And David Webster never could resist the ocean. OR: Webster snorted, a sardonic sound that echoed across the hotel room. “You don’t know the first thing about what I need.””

hang in there, baby by rilla Rated M / Modern AU / 3116 Words / Complete

Summary: “Written for the Kisstober prompt 'upside down Spiderman kisses'. '“I don’t know what I was expecting when I asked you what your top fantasy is,” Web says, “but it wasn’t this."'”

In His Wildest Dreams by Impala_Chick Rated E / Canon Era / Dream Sharing AU / 3891 Words / Complete

Summary: “While David is in the hospital, he starts sharing dreams with Liebgott.“

Black Ink on Some Blue Lines by thelastfig Rated E / Canon Era & Post War / 10185 Words / Complete

Summary: “It’s been sixteen years since the letter was written, but it never found its way to the one it was intended for. The thing about secrets is they eat away at you, not all at once but slowly over the years, and you begin to wonder, to play out the what if scenarios in your mind. Instead, David buried it away and pretended like it never existed. He should have killed it, he thinks to himself, not buried it while it still had breath in its lungs. In which David remembers his evolving relationship with Joe over the course of the war and decides to deliver a letter.”

LUZTOYE (GEORGE LUZ/JOSEPH TOYE)

The best laid plans by masongirl (Series) Rated G-E / Modern AU / 52652 Words (Total) / 15 Parts / Complete

Summary: “Modern AU in which Joe and George find each other as college students and build a life together.“

each and every day (of the year) by bruce_the_shark Rated M / Modern AU / 21630 Words / 2 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “Joe grins, lifts his hand from George’s hip to grip him by the chin, twists his face around to catch his lips in a bruising kiss. George relishes in it, likes how the taste of Joe’s preferred brand of liquor mixes with the taste of his own on his tongue. He grins against Joe’s lips, knows it’s going to be a good year.”

Babysitting and Other Rationales by aces_low Rated T / Modern AU / 3267 Words / Complete

Summary: “George Luz is a god damn saint, or at least some kind of kid whisperer. And Joe's just trying to keep his head on straight.”

who let the dogs in? by starblessed Rated T / Modern AU / 1869 Words / Complete

Summary: ““And he heard me shouting and I guess it inspired him or something, cause he full-on charged at me, Joe, and before I could even slam the door, he was just —“ George cuts off with an incoherent noise, gesturing grandly to their front door. “In! And then he was running, and sniffing everything, and exploring our shit, and he peed —““Not on my damn couch,” Joe growls.“No, on the nice carpet. Marking his territory, y’know? Except it’s our territory, but I guess it’s his now, because he won’t freakin’ leave.”

BABEROE (EDWARD HEFFRON/EUGENE ROE)

Call me sweetheart, please? by mariamegale (Series) Rated G-E / Modern AU / 95865 Words (Total) / 12 Works / Complete

Summary: “A not-relationship in the making.”

**Each part could be read as a standalone I suppose... But it’s so worth it to read the whole series!

between the walls by CountlessStars Rated M / Canon Era (Post-War) / 2275 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Eugene decides to paint his living room. It should be easy, it really should, but it doesn't go as planned (in more ways than one).”

Walking Wounded by papersky_pencilstars Rated G / Canon Era / Magic AU / 3501 Words / Complete

Summary: “Prompt: Canon-era; Either Gene or Babe have magic, or both. Maybe magic is known or maybe they need to hide it.”

JOHNNY MARTIN/BULL RANDLEMAN

they don’t know about the up all nights (they don’t know I’ve waited all my life) by PotofCoffee Rated T / Canon Era / 22010 Words / 3 Chapters / Complete

Summary: “ Johnny and Bull throughout the war, in a slow meandering dance you might just call love.”

All My Love to Give by Muccamukk Rated E / Canon Era / 8852 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Johnny wants to screw around to pass the time. Bull wants to show Johnny how he feels without having to risk saying it”

The Red String by Arwen88 Rated M / Canon Era / Soulmates AU / 1834 Words / Complete

Summary: “He had to wrench his gaze away from the sickening sight, from the machine that was probably moments away from killing his soulmate. He would’ve thrown himself under that tank if that meant saving his lover, but he couldn’t do it. He had to take care of his men, and so he forced himself to stop looking, to order his men to retreat, to see that they did what he was screaming at them.“

Over Where You Began Muccamukk Rated E / Canon Era / 2949 Words / Complete

Summary: “ The way Bull saw it, Johnny was mad at him now, and Bull had no idea what he'd done wrong. Maybe it was better to just let it lie, let Johnny come out of whatever angry mood he was in on his own, instead of kicking an ant's nest.”

Simple as a Glass of Chocolate by ThrillingDetectiveTales Rated E / Canon Era / 2600 Words / Complete

Summary: ““It was supposed to be syrup,” Johnny muttered darkly. “Says right there on the can!”“Reckon it started out that way,” Bull shrugged, biting his lip against a smile when Johnny narrowed a glare over his shoulder.(In which Johnny and Bull try to sweeten up their sex life and it doesn't go exactly as planned.)”

CHUCK GRANT/RONALD SPEIRS

to Babel, in ruins by captainkilly Rated T / Canon Era (Post-War) / 5114 Words / Complete

Summary: “Chuck knows recovery isn't a linear event. Knows there are times when words will leave him and the night will place him back beneath the dirt. Knows there are things he just can't speak about.Captain Speirs hears him anyway.”

pulse by captainkilly Rated T / Canon Era  / 4706 Words / Complete

Summary: “ Ron Speirs knows how to kill. Knows how to hurt, how to twist, how to maim. He doesn't think he's figured out how to love, not really, not where it counts the most, but the touches he reserves for Chuck Grant beg to differ.. “

AUTHORS

there are so many authors on this list that have written tons of amazing works for one or multiple pairings. as much as I would have loved to, I couldn’t rec all of their works... I had a hard enough time keeping it down to 3 or less works from the same author! similar to fics, I’ve only linked authors that I am familiar with/know have written multiple fics, so feel free to send me more people to add to the list :)

churchkey - is a sweetheart. has multiple amazing winnix works. she has recently gotten into super rarepair toye/malarkey. godspeed I’ll see you there when I read those fics.

ThrillingDetectiveTales - writes for multiple pairings. all of their works are fantastic! every time I see their name as the author I go !! and know it’s going to be good.

Howling_Harpy - has written so many fics. many different pairings. lots of speirton. they’ve ripped my heart out and made me cry but then gently kissed my forehead and put my heart back. I think that’s praise of the highest order.

masongirl - another fantastic author who has written so many amazing fics. tons of speirton and other ships too. also has made me cry and then quietly wiped my tears away.

mariamegale - baberoe queen. that’s all I have to say. I was tempted to just rec all her baberoe fics. check them out!

Muccamukk - another multi ship, multi works writer. i had a hard time only choosing a few of their fics to rec. they’ve got so much to offer!

Impala_Chick - writes lots of great webgott and other pairings too!

captainkilly - if i could rec all her fics I would. there’s some rarepair pieces that are fantastic. I didn’t list it here because it’s more of a character centric piece with an OFC and a little bit of ron/chuck dashed in mostly at the end, but read her form & void series. seriously. read it. I have nothing else to say because her work speaks for itself.

Arwen88 - another writer for multiple pairings with multiple works! love to see it. some great rarepair stuff and also fantastic popular pairings.

LT_Aldo_Raine - love their work! they write for multiple pairings.

[punchdrunkdoc]

Given To Fly

Chapter 8: The Girl On The Rooftop.

Masterlist here

TASM! Peter Parker x Original female character

Summary: After the events of Spiderman: No Way Home, Peter 3 is determined to make some changes to his life. It starts with a new job, and a chance meeting with a beautiful stranger in a bar.

Notes: The lonely, somewhat tortured TASM!/Andrew Garfield version of Peter Parker in Spiderman: No Way Home broke my heart a bit. This is my attempt to give him his happy ending.

I can’t say too much, as there’s a mystery at the heart of this tale that I don’t want to spoil.

But I can say this will be a multi-part story with a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance with an OC character (the x reader format doesn’t work for this particular story - sorry!)

Also available on AO3

She sat cross-legged on her bed, frantically scrolling through twitter as the sounds of screeching sirens pierced through her open window. There’d been a massive explosion just moments ago, the fireball visible from her apartment building and she’d immediately jumped on social media to find the cause.

Apparently, a bus had blown up just as Spider-man was rescuing a small boy from the vehicle.

Eye witnesses saw him walk away from the blast.

She sighed in relief.

No, wait.

She didn't like Spider-man anymore!

Not after their encounter in the lab, when he'd broke her arm and ruined her plans to retrieve the serum for Mel. He was annoying, and nosy and...too talkative. She hated him.

Right?

But he was also the guy who had come to her fire escape to comfort a crying stranger. And he was the guy who’d risked his life just now to save a child. She didn’t want that guy to be blown to smithereens. He was a good guy after all. Just doing is job.

She was the scumbag.

A loud clatter outside her window made her jump. Peering outside she gaped in shock.

Spider-man was unconscious on her fire escape.

She clambered out the window and dropped to her knees, having to straddle his waist as his limp form took up the entire walkway.

She spotted the blood straight away. And there was a lot of it. His left side was dark with it, the rest of his suit sooty and torn from the explosion. She tried to lift his mask to check his airway, but the heat of the fire had melted the webbing, fusing the headpiece to the neck of his suit. She settled for resting her head against his chest, reassured when she felt the shallow, irregular rises that indicated he was still breathing.

Running her hands along his left side she searched for the wound, mentally taking stock of her meagre first aid supplies. How was she going to stop this bleeding? Should she just call 911? Would they even get here in time?

She gasped as her right hand slid against a sharp piece of metal, the jagged edge slicing into her finger. Her healing ability kicked in automatically…and a whole new world of sensation suddenly opened up to her. She could ‘see’ the piece of shrapnel inside Spider-man. Where the sides of it scraped against his ribs. Where the blood pumped from damaged vessels and leaked from torn muscle. She could ‘see’ the metal slicing through his left upper lung lobe and the tip-

Shit! The tip was embedded in the left ventricle of his heart.

The metal wedged in the gap it had created was the only thing stopping Spider-man from bleeding out in seconds.

There was no time to wonder how this was possible - how her powers were suddenly able to sense a body other than her own.  She had to save him.

If this were her own injury, her abilities would already be healing the wound without her having to even think about it. But this wasn’t her injury, so she’d have to do the hard work herself.

She placed both hands on his chest and concentrated, trying to project her power into the body below. It wasn’t enough to sense the damage, she had to fix it.  She strained harder, until she felt like she was one person in two bodies. His blood was her blood, his cells were her cells.

His pain was her pain.

Ignoring the sudden searing sensation in her left side, she went deeper, noticing the unusual DNA, the changes in his skin and muscle, the extra sensory regions in his brain. The doctor in her was fascinated, but she forced herself to focus, until she had control over his body, the same way she had control over her own. Starting with his heart, she contracted the muscle around the tip of the shrapnel, pushing it out of the beating cavity. When it was forced clear, she sealed the gap, encouraging super-fast healing of the wound, building up a thin layer of scar tissue that would normally take a human body weeks to create. Her fingers grasped the metal wedge where it protruded from his side and she started to pull it clear of his chest, repairing the blood vessels as she went and encouraging his immune system to attack any bacteria left behind. It took a few tries - her fingers, slippy with blood, kept losing purchase - before the full length of shrapnel was free. She dropped it off the side of the fire escape and returned to her patient.

His breathing was steadier now, his chest visibly rising and falling. She assessed his pulse - strong and regular. She placed her hands over his wound…but could no longer sense him. She checked her injured finger. It was completely healed.

She must have needed her own wound to be able to ‘transfer’ her powers to him. And now that it was healed, that ability was cut off.

The wound in his skin was still open, oozing slightly. And she hadn’t healed the damage to his ribs.

Should she cut herself again?

No, she realised. It would be too suspicious if he woke up without a scratch on him. How would she explain that?

She’d have to patch up his skin the old fashioned way, and let his ribs heal on their own.

She sat back on his stomach, contemplating how on earth she was going to drag his dead weight through her small window and onto her bed. She couldn’t stitch him up out here.

His hands suddenly landed on her hips. Startled, she looked down to see Spider-man shake his head, as if groggy. Then the reflective lenses on his mask seemed to focus on her.

“Hey,” he whispered weakly. “Am I dreaming? Because I’m sure I’ve had dreams that’ve started just like this.”

Realising her compromising position, she manoeuvred off him, then bent over to help him to his feet. He swayed and she grasped him around the waist. “Woah,” he said, leaning against her. “Sorry, I…I’m not feeling so hot.” He shook his head again.

She helped him into her apartment, worried about his confusion. “Yeah you were injured in an explosion. Here, lay down and let me fix you up.”

He collapsed back on her bed and clasped his side, groaning at the pain. His fingers moved over the wound as if searching for something. “There was metal…,” he mumbled.

Not wanting to explain - not knowing how to even start - she lied instead. “No. No metal, but you have a nasty laceration.” She ducked into her small bathroom to look for supplies. Re-emerging with her first aid kit tucked under her arm and a bowl of water in her hands, she found Spider-man passed out again, his breathing deep and even.

She sighed in relief, spared any further questioning, and set about treating his wound.

Once finished, she sat back on her heels and contemplated the figure sprawled on her bed. Her fingers itched with the urge to remove his mask and find out who lived beneath. The scissors were right next to her…she could easily cut it-

No.

She knew what it was like to have to hide who you really were. To live in fear of being discovered. To have secrets.

She would respect his.

She tidied up her supplies, washed her hands, then curled up in the chair by her bed, suddenly exhausted.

As her eyes drifted shut, her last thought was that she hoped Peter wouldn’t turn up tonight after all.

This would be really hard to explain…

———

The first thing he registered on waking was the pain.

Everywhere. A dull ache pounded through every inch of him, concentrated on his left chest.

But he was alive.

How was he alive?

That last swing onto Jane’s fire escape had taken every last bit of effort he had. He remembered collapsing onto the metal walkway and feeling the strength just drain out of him.

He remembered feeling like he was dying. He remembered his eyes drifting shut before he got the chance to see her again.

He remembered nothing after that.

Cracking his eyes open, he glanced around his surroundings. He was in a bed, the floral duvet cover faded and worn. To his right, a window was open, a slight breeze entering the room along with bright sunlight.

To his left sat Jane, curled up asleep in an armchair. She held her glasses loose in her hand, and her head was tipped forward until it almost touched her chest. She looked uncomfortable, and exhausted…but he was alive and with her, so to his eyes she looked absolutely wonderful.

She must have slept there all night after patching him up.

He touched the side of his chest, feeling the bandage and the slight tug of sutured skin underneath.  Taking stock, he could also feel various scrapes and bruises from his tumble across the road. He could feel the tight warmth of a burn on his neck and, based on his breathing, he must have at least a couple of cracked ribs.

It made an unwelcome change compared to the last time he’d woken up with a woman.

But gazing at the rumpled, tired doctor sleeping two feet away from him…he wouldn’t trade her for Jen for all the money in the world.

She stirred then, stretching her arms above her head and yawning widely. Catching him watching, she froze, then covered her open mouth with her hand, looking embarrassed.

“Morning,” he said softly.

She gave him a strange look.

And that’s when he realised he’d spoken to her as Peter - not as Spider-man, who barely knew her.

At that, he suddenly panicked, hands coming up to check his mask.

Still on.

Shit, did she take it off at any point-

“I didn’t peak,” she said, reading his mind.

“Uh, that’s good. Thanks. But, uh, its for your benefit as much as mine - its not a pretty sight under here,” he joked. “Zits, monobrow, gnarly scars, the works.”

She gave him a weak smile.

Maybe he should just tell her, Peter thought. Their kiss on the rooftop felt like a turning point. They were together now, right? And he wanted her to trust him with whatever she was dealing with. So maybe he needed to trust her in return.

But could he deal with the potential fall out? What happened to Gwen…it happened because she knew he was Spider-man. She never would have been there that night otherwise.

No. Spider-man needed to be alone. Peter could have Jane, but Spider-man couldn’t. It was safer that way.

Ignoring the fact that keeping secrets was a shitty way to start a relationship, he tried to engage Jane again. She was strangely quiet. “Thanks also for, you know, patching me up. I thought I was a goner for sure.”

She watched him silently, biting her lip as if debating something.

“Is everything ok?”

She shook her head. “I’m debating how much of a selfish arsehole to be right now.”

That got his attention. He levered himself up, so he was sitting against the headboard of her bed. “Well, you saved my life. So as far as I’m concerned, that entitles you to be the biggest, most selfish asshole on the planet.”

“That’s just it. I…I need to ask you for something. A- a favour”. She stumbled over the word, as if she wasn’t used to asking for help. “But I don’t want you to feel that you owe me. That I only helped you to get something in return-”

“I don’t think that. I want to help you. Please let me help you.” This was the chance Peter had been waiting for.

“Ok.” She took a deep breath. “There’s this girl I know. I need you to meet with her.”

Peter frowned. “Are you setting me up on a blind date? Cos I’m kinda taken.”

She smiled. “No, its nothing like that. She’s actually the one who needs help...I’m just acting as the go-between.”

So this wasn’t his chance to help Jane, after all.  But intrigued - he thought Jane didn’t know anyone else in New York - he agreed.

She looked relieved. “Ok. She’ll be waiting for you here,” she handed him a folded note. “At 6pm tonight. Do you think you’ll be ok by then? No offence…but you look a mess.”

He glanced down at his blood-stained, torn and burnt suit. “I look worse than I feel. A couple more hours of rest, and I’ll be good as new.”

“Great, that’s great. You can, um, stay here if you want. I need to go into work, but you can sleep here, and help yourself to any food that’s in the cupboard-”

“I’d actually really appreciate it. I don’t feel up to making my way back to my apartment right now.”

She gave him another strange look. “Its funny, I never thought of you having an apartment. But of course you do. Its not like you hang out on cobwebs across the city.”

“Nah, webs aren't as comfortable as you’d think."

She stared at him, unsure if he was joking or not. He shrugged.

Checking her watch, she sprang up out of her chair. “I need to get ready. Thank you, Spider-man, for agreeing to this.”

“Thank you for saving me…-”

“Jane.”

“Thank you for saving me, Jane.”

———

The next time Peter woke he felt a million times better - the perks of accelerated healing.  

According to the time on the microwave, he had a few hours before his mysterious rendezvous with Jane’s friend. He was dying with curiosity. Who was this woman? And why the secrecy? There was no name on the note Jane left him; just an address, and instructions to meet on the rooftop.

He checked out the cupboards and grabbed a Pop-Tart, eating it cold straight out of the packet. He’d pick up a more substantial meal on his way home to change, but he needed some instant calories. Healing from an explosion used up a lot of reserves.

Perched on the kitchen table, munching on his snack, he took his first good look around Jane’s apartment.

It was…sparse.

No, sparse wasn’t the right word - there was plenty of furniture. It was…impersonal. No pictures on the wall. No photos in frames. No trinkets on the windowsill or the bed side table.

There was nothing of Jane in this place.

She’d been in New York for almost a year and yet it looked as if she’d moved in yesterday. He knew from watching her that she spent little time here, preferring to be at work or in the cafe across the street; he spent little time in his own place, but it still held mementos and sentimental items.

This place was so barren. And it made him worried for her.

Why did she not allow any warmth in her life? She kept herself so apart from anyone.

He remembered how she looked yesterday when he found her on the rooftop. So…broken and desolate.

“I’m trying to keep you from being hurt.” Those were her words to him.

What could she be involved with that would hurt him?

He took another look around the room, noticing the chest of drawers by the door to the bathroom. So many secrets could be concealed in those drawers…

No.

He’d already stalked her as Peter and invaded her home as Spider-man. He wouldn’t go hunting for clues.

Besides, he wanted her to tell him. To trust him enough.

A pang from his conscience reminded him of his hypocrisy regarding his own secret. But, keeping his identity a secret was nothing to do with not trusting her, he reasoned with himself. It was a matter of her safety.

He checked the time again. 4:05 in the afternoon.

He’d missed a whole day at work.

Shit!

Peter hadn’t shown up to work! The day after kissing Jane, he hadn’t shown up to work, or visited her like he promised he would.  He’d seen her last night and this morning as a Spider-man. But from her perspective, Peter had ghosted her the day after kissing her on the roof.

He groaned. This was not going to help foster any trust between them. She must think he regretted it, or was just playing with her.

Peter jumped to his feet, annoyed with himself, with bombers of buses and with the universe in general.

Couldn’t he catch a break?

———

She sighed and pushed the journal article away. She'd been trying to read the same paragraph for five minutes, but her brain wasn't co-operating.  There were too many other things to think about.  

Number 1. Was Spider-man ok? She'd left him in her apartment this morning looking...not good. Sure, he was conscious and talking, but the guy had been literally blown up. He still bore the scorch marks on his skin where his suit was torn away.  

Number 2. Had she done the right thing by asking him for a favour? It wasn't in her nature to seek help. She'd become an adult far too young and had spent too many years being in charge and shouldering all the responsibility for her tiny family of two. It didn't feel right involving a stranger in her mess - especially when it had the potential to be so dangerous.  

But watching over Spider-man last night, thinking about how he always stepped up to the plate to help the people of his city, how strong and capable he was...she felt like she could lean on him.  Despite their less-than-friendly interaction when he caught her in the lab...strangely she felt she could trust him. Rely on him. In a way that she didn't dare with Peter.  

Which brought her to number 3 on her compulsive thought list: Peter.

He'd caught her in a rare moment of self-pity yesterday on the roof, her failure to secure Mel’s cure bringing on a flood of frustrated, hopeless tears.  

And Peter had found her in that state  

All her resolve to push him away had crumbled and she'd collapsed in his arms. Wanting to be held by him. Held up by him.  She was so desperate to confide in him, to share the burden of her fears and struggles. And he wanted that too - had practically begged her to let him in.

But she couldn't.

Because she'd have to tell him everything.  

And she'd have to watch the care and compassion on his face distort to anger and disgust as he'd realise she tricked him as Jen.

And lied to him as Jane.  

No. She couldn't reveal the truth. And she couldn't risk putting him in danger. Allard was a murderer; a sociopath who didn't care about the lives he ruined in pursuit of his goals. And the organisation he worked for were even more ruthless.

She could live with Peter hating her.

She couldn't live with herself if anything happened to him.

So she'd denied him the truth, and selfishly taken comfort in his arms...and she’d kissed him. 

It had been...magical. And full of love. At least on her end.

She loved Peter.  

And she hadn't heard from him since the kiss. 24 hours and counting...

She sighed again, and scrubbed her hands over her face.  Did he regret it? Had he wished they'd just stayed friends? Yeah, so the kiss didn't have the passion of their first encounter, but she thought it had been more special and more meaningful than anything they'd shared as Jen and Peter.

Did he disagree?

Or was he sick? He never made it to work and she assumed he was avoiding her, but maybe he was hurt...

God, this was torture! Why didn't she have his number or his address? She had no way of getting in touch with him.  

Enough, she berated herself. She had shit to do and it didn't involve moping over a guy.  She was meeting with Spider-man in a couple of hours. She needed to get her head in the game.

And she needed to change.

The Thief was needed again.

———

Peter dropped down to a crouch, his silent landing on the rooftop allowing him to scope out his mysterious contact.

She was standing near the edge of the darkened roof, her gaze on the city scape in front of her. Her short hair was covered by a baseball cap, and she wore sunglasses, dark jeans and a leather jacket.

It all felt very clandestine.

So, of course, he had to try out his best 007 impression. “'In London, April's a spring month,’" he quoted.

She spun around, startled. "What?"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Its from James Bond - a codeword between spies."

She laughed, the sound shaky and nervous. It didn't match her confident pose and badass outfit. "What am I supposed to say in return?"

“I can’t remember. Something about freezing your butt off in Russia."

She laughed again, the sound a bit more relaxed. "Thank you for coming."

He shrugged. "I was asked a favour by a beautiful woman. How could I say no."

She ducked her head, a small smile on her lips.

"How do you know Jane?" he asked.

She lifted her head. "We...we have a mutual friend."

"Well, that's not vague at all."

It was her turn to shrug.

"OK. Can I get your name at least? Its always a good start to a first meeting."

“You can call me Maria. But it’s not our first meeting." She removed the hat and sunglasses, revealing short black hair and bright green eyes. It was the would-be thief from GenTech.

He took a step back. "You."

"Me."

"What the hell is this? How do you know Jane?" he repeated, more forcefully. Was Jane mixed up in something criminal? Something dangerous?

“Jane’s not important. What’s importa-“

“Jane’s important to me.”

The thief cocked her head, a strange expression on her face.

Peter backtracked. Spider-man had only a passing acquaintance with Jane, after all. “She saved my life. I need to know if she’s in danger.”

“If you help me with this, she won’t be.”

“Is that a threat?” He was getting angry now.

“No!” She dragged a hand through her hair, ruffling the short strands. “No. Just listen, please. We’re on the same side.”

“I’m not usually on the side of criminals.”

“I’m not a criminal!”

“You electrocuted me!”

“Well, you broke-!“ She stopped. Closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if composing herself. “Please,” she continued, her voice calm now. “Just hear me out, and if you don’t like what I say, or you don’t believe me, you can call the cops on me. Just, maybe, give me a five minute head start? I can’t jump off buildings like you.”

The last bit was said with a small, beseeching smile and dammit if he wasn’t falling for her innocent act. He remembered thinking after their last encounter that she wasn’t a typical criminal; that there was something desperate - and not malicious - about her. Maybe his instincts were right.

“Ok.” He said, boosting himself onto a nearby vent. “Let’s hear your pitch.”

She exhaled, shakily, then reached into the bag at her feet. She removed a battered looking laptop and handed it to him. “Read the file on there. It lays it all out.”

Peter grabbed the machine and flipped open the lid. A single folder was present on the desktop, labelled ‘Allard’. He glanced up at her in question, but she just gave him a small nod. “Read it. Please.”

Opening the folder, he started clicking through and skimming the various documents within: newspaper articles from obscure publications….a timeline, dating back to France in the 1980s…medical journals documenting breakthroughs in gene modification…eye witness accounts from study subjects…redacted government documents about an organisation named Hydra…

The frown beneath Peter’s mask grew deeper as he read on, a horrible picture starting to emerge.

Finished, he slammed the laptop shut. “Is this for real?” His voice was hard.

“Yes.”

“Professor Allard is conducting illegal human experiments?”

“Yes.”

“In a hidden lab beneath GenTech.”

“Yes.”

“On behalf of a secret Nazi science organisation?”

“Yes.”

“Stop saying ‘Yes’!” He yelled, irrationally angry at her calm, measured responses.  

“Well, the answer is ‘Yes’!” She yelled back. “Everything in there is true. Allard is a monster. He’s obsessed with unlocking the secret of gene modification. He wants to create a race of superhumans, and he’ll stop at nothing to achieve it - murder, kidnapping, human experimentation, nothing!”

“Then why haven’t you gone to the authorities with this?” He waved the laptop at her. “Or the press?”

She bit her lip, looking away briefly. “I will,” she said. “But I need something from that lab first.”

“Are you kidding me? If this is true, there could be innocent people trapped in that lab and all you can think about is how to get something for yourself?”

Tears sprang to her eyes, but her voice was firm. “I’m well aware of what a selfish piece of shit I am. But there’s a serum in that lab that will cure someone I love. And I’m going to get it with or without your help.”

“Help? You didn’t seem to need any help the last time you broke into GenTech.”

“Yeah, well, thanks to you, my plans had to change.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Explain.”

“The last time I tried to access the lab was after the latest round of Allard’s experiments failed. There were no test subjects on the premises. And no test subjects meant no guards.” She started pacing. “Now there will be guards. Hydra soldiers. And I can’t go via the elevator in his office, he’ll have shut that down after the break in - he’s paranoid and smart. So I have to access the lab through the other entrance.”

“What other entrance?”

“There’s an access tunnel. It starts above ground about a quarter mile from the facility. I don’t have the access pass for the entrance, but I’ll get it somehow. And when I do…” she hesitated, looking at him. “When I do, I’ll need your help to get past the soldiers.”

He was all for shutting down Allard’s operation. If even half the dossier he’d just read was true, the guy deserved to be locked up for the rest of his life. But could he trust her? “Why should I help you?” He asked. “For all I know you’re going to sell this serum to some terrorist group, or use it to make your own batch of supersoldiers.”

She pulled a faded, creased photograph out of her back pocket and thrust it at him. “This is my sister. She’s scared of the dentist. She loves pretty shoes and handbags. She likes to sing at the top of her lungs when she’s driving. But soon she won’t be able to drive anymore, or even walk. She’s dying - slowly - and she’s all I have left in this world. And that serum is going to save her.”  

Peter stared at the picture, seeing a vibrant, pretty young woman smiling at the camera. Glancing back up at the girl in front of him, he didn’t see much of a resemblance. But he believed her - the pain in her voice was unmistakable. “I’ll help you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But we do it soon, we rescue anyone we find in that lab, and we bring down Allard straight after.”

She nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Okay then.” Peter held out the photograph. Their hands brushed slightly as she took it back from him…and his Spidey-sense activated.

The same way it did for Jen, then Jane.

‘This woman is important.’ He wished his instincts could be a bit more specific, but that was the only sense he got. That she was important. The third ‘important’ woman he’d met in the past few months.

Would she end up disappearing like Jen? Or confounding him like Jane?

Time would tell.

But for now…he would trust her.

[eliemo]

Something Long and Stupid (Part 2)

Summary: Remus knew he wasn't a good person. He was Deadpool, a killer for hire, "the merc with a mouth." He'd come to terms with what he was a long time ago. He didn't need Spiderman to remind him of what he was.

He didn't need Virgil to come into his life and make him question it for the first time

Notes: Violence, blood, gore, sexual inneundos

I didn't make a taglist for this story but I know @teamplutoforlife wanted to be tagged <3 And thank you @cheshirevalentine for editing

Part 1

Remus was falling, twisting onto his back as he plummeted towards the ground, the buildings around him nothing but a blur as he flew past. He could faintly hear the construction on the ground over the pounding of his own heart and the howling of the wind rushing past him, barely hearing the alarmed shouts of the workers watching him fall.

Virgil was nothing but a speck in the distance now, perched on the edge of the roof. Lifeless white eyes watched him fall, unfeeling and still.

Pain exploded in Remus’s back as he slammed into something sharp, legs hitting the ground when he finally stopped falling. He could just barely make out the rusty, blood stained spike in front of him, poking through his chest from his back where he'd fallen, blood pooling around the wound and into his suit.

-

“Hey.”

Remus jumped so hard he nearly fell off the roof, scrambling to his feet and reaching for his gun as he whirled around to face whoever the fuck was stupid enough to sneak up on him.

Spiderman was perched beside him, apparently fine after his near death experience last night, and holding… a pizza box?

“Hey,” Remus said carefully. “What the fuck?”

Spiderman shrugged and held out the box in his hand. “I have pizza. You asked for pizza.”

Remus stared for a moment, frozen where he stood with his hand hovering over his gun, trying to figure out if this was a joke. “You… actually brought it?”

“Yeah?” Spiderman said, like he didn’t understand how this was in any way strange. “Oh did you… were you joking? Did you not actually want it, or—”

“No, I did.” Remus stayed right where he was. What the hell was this? Was this a prank? Was he being pranked?

“Then… here,” Spiderman said. He held out the pizza box, close enough for Remus to cautiously take. “I didn’t know what you liked so I just got cheese. But cheese is good. Everyone likes cheese.”

Holy shit. Spiderman was a dweeb.

Remus carefully opened the pizza box, and when there wasn’t a bomb or some kind of spider-themed booby trap inside, just a freshly baked cheese pizza from some local place he’d vaguely heard of, Remus let his shoulders relax and barked out a laugh.

“Well shit,” he said, pleasantly surprised. “Thanks, Webs.”

Spidey was shuffling a bit, looking ridiculously awkward, and Remus was suddenly reminded that they were both just… people under their masks. “Uh, yeah. No problem.”

Remus hesitated, because he hadn’t been kidding about Spiderman owing him a pizza he just… hadn’t actually expected him to follow through. There was no way Remus was eating all of it on his own, he barely ate much as it was.

“Do you, like…” he paused, wondering if this was going to get him punched or laughed at. “Do you want a slice?”

Spiderman actually startled, like him being asked to lunch was just as rare as Remus asking someone to lunch. Jeez, he’d have figured people begged Spiderman to eat with them all the time.

“I, uh… I bought it for you, so—”

“Yeah, and I’m offering. Christ, do you want some pizza or not?”

Spidey still hesitated, and while it was annoying as hell Remus supposed he’d be a hypocrite to judge when he’d been half convinced there was a bomb in the pizza box two minutes ago.

Well, it wasn’t like it would have been the first time.

“Uh, sure,” Spiderman said, still visibly wary. “Thank you.”

Remus ignored him in favor of opening the pizza box and setting it down, motioning for the vigilante to take as much as he wanted.

It wasn’t until Spidey turned away slightly to hook his fingers under the bottom of his mask that Remus remembered- duh- they both had to pull up their masks to eat.

It wasn’t a problem, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to risk exposing their faces to each other, but Remus really wasn’t in the mood to be gawked at. A glance at his jaw might ruin Spiderman’s lunch.

“I’m not looking,” Spidey said, and Remus realized he’d been hesitating for a few too many seconds. “I can go, if you don’t wanna pull up your mask around anyone.”

Remus waved him off, even as he continued to fiddle with the leather. “I’ve got some scars, is all. Like… a lot. People think they’re gross.”

“Oh,” Spiderman said, and then simply shrugged. “That’s fine, I don’t care. Scars happen, dude. I’ve got a bunch.”

Remus still hesitated, a little caught off guard from Spiderman calling him ‘dude' while so nonchalantly eating his pizza just a few feet away, but he quickly pulled himself together and tugged his leather mask up just below his nose.

It was just a few inches of skin, and still enough to reveal a handful of scars littered across his jaw, and the one that stretched down from his cheek.

Spidey barely glanced at him, which Remus guessed he should have seen coming. It’d be a little out of character for New York’s hero to be an asshole about someone’s scars, but you never knew with heroes. Some of them were pretentious assholes.

They ate their pizza like common civilians, perched on their rooftop and watching the people of New York mingle below.

Remus barely ate two slices. He didn’t really eat much to begin with, and it was far more entertaining to watch in silent awe as Spiderman easily finished the rest of the box. The hero was a good two heads shorter than Remus, and looked like he barely weighed a hundred pounds. If Remus didn’t know better, he’d think the guy never ate at all.

“My metabolism is different,” he explained sheepishly when he caught Reus staring. “I eat more than… you know. You. Regular people.”

Remus scoffed, because this was definitely the first time anyone had described him as a ‘regular person’ but he let it slide with an eye roll and a thanks for lunch.

They parted ways, and Remus let himself relax at the thought of having one less enemy roaming New York.

Remus hadn’t meant to start hanging out with Spiderman.

Really, he hadn’t. The impromptu pizza date was supposed to be the end of it, just a slightly awkward peace offering that made it clear neither of them would actively try to kill each other in the near future.

Remus had saved Spiderman because he was bored, and Spiderman had bought him a pizza. That was all.

But then less than a week later Spiderman had swung (literally) by with takeout- coincidentally from Remus’s favorite place a few blocks away- and Remus hadn’t been able to say no to sharing.

They’d shared a meal together three times in the last two weeks, and Remus was starting to think it wasn’t an accident.

It probably wasn’t helping that Remus had started carrying snacks on him.

Remus wasn’t going to eat them himself, and Spiderman was always complaining about how hungry he was, so he’d just started keeping packets of gummies or granola for when he saw the hero swinging past. Chucking them at his head was good target practice, anyway.

That didn’t mean they were friends. Remus didn’t have friends, because being friends with Deadpool was possibly the dumbest idea anyone could ever have.

Remus had seen what happens when people get close to him. He wasn’t going to go through that again.

Apparently, Spiderman had other ideas.

It had been just another fight that Remus had happened to run into, watching for a moment as Spiderman took down what was probably his third armed robbery of the day.

He knew he probably could have just continued on his way and gotten lunch, but there were five of them, all armed, and Remus didn’t feel great about those odds despite Spidey’s reputation.

So Remus had decided to return the favor, Spiderman had introduced himself by butting into Deadpool's fight after all, and stepped in to finish the job twice as fast.

And it had gone fine. Spiderman had greeted him with stupidly cheeky finger guns and unfortunately insisted they keep all of them alive, which wasn’t Remus’s specialty but he’d manage.

It had been easy, some druggie civilians no match for New York’s hero and the merc with a mouth, three of them encased in webbing within two minutes, another on the ground with a bullet in his knee.

It had been fine, until Remus was shot in the chest.

Which, to be fair, wasn’t a big deal. He was shot in the chest all the time. It’d be a hassle if he didn’t get the bullet out before his skin healed around it, but it wasn’t like he could die.

It occurred to him a bit too late that he had forgotten to tell Spiderman that.

“No!”

The raw panic and emotion In Spidey’s voice caught Remus off guard as he stumbled backwards, pain he was unfortunately used to by now exploding in his chest as the bullet met its mark. There had been a fifth goon, hiding out and biding his time, which would have been a great plan if it didn’t end with a face of webs and a swift punch to the temple.

Remus lowered himself to the ground, the wind knocked out of him, dark crimson blood pooling around his hand and flooding through his fingers as he clutched the wound.

Spiderman was rushing over, and Remus could practically feel the worry behind that lifeless mask. He skidded to a stop and dropped to a crouch, hands hovering, frantic and unsure.

And maybe Remus was just an asshole, but this was fucking hilarious.

“Deadpool?” Spidey called, the vigilante leaning over him as Remus dropped to lay on his back. “Jesus- hang in there okay? You’ll be fine.”

Remus forced himself to cough, wet and ragged, biting back a smile. “This is it for me, Webs. I can see the light.”

“Deadpool shut the fuck up!”

“Everything’s getting dark—”

“I said shut up,” Spiderman snapped, and Remus gasped involuntarily, arching his back when gloved hands pressed down on the wound. “You’re gonna be fine, you’re… just- just stay awake, okay? Don’t close your eyes.”

Remus coughed again to hide a smile, blood splattering his chin, closing his eyes anyway and letting his head fall back on the concrete. He stopped listening to Spidey’s rambling, committing to the bit of playing dead- very obviously playing dead, for the record. He stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth and everything, waiting for Spiderman to catch on and tell him off.

“No!” Except Spidey still sounded genuinely distressed, only pressing harder on the wound. “No, no, no! Deadpool! Wake up!”

Well. This wasn’t any fun if Spiderman was too panicked to even pay attention. He sighed, opening his eyes again to sit up slightly and whack the vigilante’s shoulder.

“I can’t die, stupid,” he said, grinning when Spiderman scrambled back. “Cut it out. I’ve just gotta get the bullet out so it doesn’t heal around it. Those things hurt like a bitch, so—”

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Remus opened his mouth to respond, because there were lots of things wrong with him and he had a list at the ready. But he didn’t get the chance because suddenly Spidey was throwing himself forward, wrapping his arms around Remus and pulling him close, probably getting blood all over his suit.

Haha, what the fuck?

“You’re such a bitch,” Spiderman said, muffled since his face was practically buried in Remus’s shoulder. “You’re the fucking worst.”

“Aww, were you worried about me?” Remus asked, burying his shock. “That’s so sweet, Spidey.”

“Shut the hell up,” Spiderman growled. “I thought you were going to die.”

“You were so worried! It was so cute, oh my god!”

Spiderman finally pulled back, only to rear back and punch Remus square in the shoulder. Hard.

Remus barked out a laugh, now nursing two injuries. “Fucking- ow. I still feel pain.”

“Sucks.”

Remus crossed his arms, wincing when it pulled at the bullet wound still in his chest. “Rude.”

“I’m rude?” Spiderman asked, incredulous. “You thought it would be funny to play dead!”

“To be fair,” Remus argued. “It was funny.”

“No it wasn’t!”

Remus shrugged, already turning his attention to the bullet in his chest. “If you had known it would be funny.”

“Well I didn’t,” he said, the mask’s white eyes glued to Remus’s hands. “I thought you were dying.”

“I can’t die,” Remus said. “That’s not a joke, Webs. I don’t just regenerate fast, I can’t be killed.”

“How the fuck was I supposed to know that?”

Remus shrugged, a little put off because this was not how he’d expected this to go. Damn Spiderman and his stupid savior complex.

He turned his attention back to the bullet wound, the pain already faded to a familiar numbness, but two gloved hands grabbed his wrists before he could start digging around for the bullet.

“Here,” he said, obnoxiously soft. “I’ve got it, let me help.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Remus said, tensing against his will at the thought of someone else caring for a wound. “It’s not too deep, I can get it.”

“Are your gloves clean?”

He took a minute to consider that, calculating the swords he’d been holding, the gun he’d reloaded that morning, coming up blank when he tried to think of the last time he’d properly cleaned any of his weapons. Not to mention he had to climb buildings with his hands, lacking Spidey’s abilities to walk up walls and propel himself across the city in seconds.

“Probably,” he lied. “What am I gonna do, get sick?”

Spiderman hesitated. “Do you do that?”

“No.”

“I can still get it,” Spidey said. “Let me help.”

Remus scoffed, trying to cover up his own uneasiness. “You wanna stick your hand in there? You know it’s gross, right?”

“I know how to remove a bullet, Deadpool,” Spiderman said. “I’ve gotten shot before, I can get it.”

There was no reason not to drop his arms and let Spiderman do what he wanted. The asshole was stubborn, but he obviously meant well. With how shaky Remus’s hands were, Spidey getting the bullet out would probably be quicker anyway.

And he was the city’s hero. He’d made it clear he didn’t mean Deadpool any harm, especially not when the Merc had so graciously dropped in to save his ass today.

Remus didn’t know why it was so hard to just relax.

“This is dumb,” he said, wondering if he could annoy Spidey into giving up. “I can handle it fine.”

“I know,” the vigilante said. “But I want to help. It’s like...returning the favor or whatever.”

Remus sighed, a little shaky now, but reluctantly nodded. The longer they argued, the faster the skin would heal over the bullet still lodged in his chest, and Remus would really like to avoid that happening. Again.

“Fine,” he growled. “Jesus, you’re stubborn.”

Under the mask, Remus was sure Spiderman was smirking at him. “Look who’s talking.”

Remus hadn’t expected Spiderman to be so gentle. He was digging a bullet wound out of Deadpool’s chest, there wasn’t really a way to make this a pleasant experience, but Spidey was taking his time, moving carefully as he dug into the wound.

“Could you hurry up?” Remus growled, teeth clenched. This would have been over in seconds if he was doing it himself. It was so much easier to just stick his hand in the wound, dig around for a second, and rip the bullet out. “I’m not exactly a fan of having someone else’s fingers in my chest.”

Spiderman didn’t even spare him a glance. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I got shot,” Remus snapped. “We’re well past that.”

Spidey didn’t respond after that and Remus for once stayed quiet to let him concentrate, breathing heavily to try to ignore the panic that came with being vulnerable like this. The vigilante couldn’t kill him, but he sure as hell could cause him a shit ton of pain.

But he wouldn’t. Remus had to keep reminding himself that he wouldn’t. Spiderman was insufferably good- he wouldn’t kick someone while they were down.

Eventually Spiderman’s fingers found the bullet and Remus gasped, forcing himself to shove the pain away and make a lewd sounding moan when Spidey’s fingers left the wound.

“Jesus,” Spiderman muttered, and Remus laughed when he tossed the bullet dripping in dark blood to the side. “You okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Remus said, and he was. Physically at least. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a civil conversation with someone, let alone had someone willing to help patch him up. “See? All good. It’s already healing itself.”

True to his word, Remus’s chest was fusing itself back together, skin closing up over the still bleeding wound, the rest of the pain fading to a background throb. It’d be like nothing ever happened in ten minutes.

“Holy shit,” Spiderman muttered, leaning in close to watch. Remus tensed uncomfortably. “That’s...fucking wild.”

“Yeah, it’s great.” Remus brushed it off, scrambling to his feet and ignoring the way Spidey moved to try and help. “Anyways. Are there any more fights you need me to hold your hand through, or can I go take a nap?”

“Oh please,” Spidey scoffed. “I was fine. All you did was get in the way and get shot.”

“I saved your ass,” Remus retorted, smiling behind the leather mask. “You’d be dead if it weren’t for me, Webs.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Spiderman mumbled, but Remus was willing to bet money he was smiling too. “Go take your nap, Deadpool.”

Remus gave a mock salute, sheathing his sword and turning away from the remnants of the battle and starting for his apartment.

Maybe Spidey wasn’t so bad after all.

[cassandraclare]

Hi Cassie, ever since I started reading your Shadowhunters books I've loved the world you created and I'm amazed at how you manage to build it out more and more with every book you write. Do you have any tips or tricks regarding worldbuilding? How did you go about creating this amazing world?

I could write a whole book about world-building — in fact, there are lots of books about it! Every book, even contemporary fiction, requires world-building: you are always creating a sense of place, time, and character in a story, which is essentially what world-building is.

Obviously fantasy has specific elements of world-building that other genres don’t have, so that’s what I’ll talk about — briefly — here. These are a few steps you need to consider when you’re building a fantasy world, be it an open world or a closed one.

1) What’s your normal? 

You’re always going to establish what the norm is in your world before you do anything else. You don’t have to get into the nitty-gritty, but set your basic ground rules. Is there magic? If so, what’s the cost of magic? (Power is never free — it always costs in effort, knowledge, body parts, etc.) Does everyone know about magic (in which case yours is an open fantasy world)? Is it a secret (closed fantasy world)? What’s your time period? Tech level?* What are the major antagonists of your world? What are the biggest dangers? And finally, what’s the main thing your character wants? That may seem like character work, but it’s intrinsic to world-building. If your character wants above all other things to be King, for instance, then you know you have a monarchy. 

*Remember Clarke’s First Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. In other words, you can usually have magic or super-advanced technology, but not both, because they do the exact same thing in a story. Location spells are pointless if you have GPS tracking devices implanted in everyone. If you are going to have both, you have to figure out how what they do is different. Otherwise you are giving Spiderman the power of flight, thus rendering his web-slinging useless. So give it thought!

2) Make your rules.

Otherwise known as internal consistency. Our world is governed by natural laws that determine what people can and cannot do. A world you make up must be the same. What if only some people can do magic? Then you have to figure out who they are, why they can do magic, what rules govern the practice of that magic, how the rest of the population feels about them, and what that magic is based on. While you don’t need to — and shouldn’t — explain every detail of these rules on-page, your characters have to abide by them. We need to believe these are real people who are governed by an internally consistent set of strictures that shape and define their behavior. If your main characters live in a walled city that closes at night, show us that by having them worry about getting back before the gates shut.

3) Break your rules.

Half the reason you established your normal is so you can fuck with it. Stories are about conflict. They’re about the moment things go wrong, not about things going right. They’re about things suddenly not conforming to expectations. If you have a land ruled by a benevolent King everyone adores, assassinate him. (Even better if your main character does it.) If you have a world where women can’t do magic, you need a badass sorceress to rise. If parabatai can’t fall in love, make sure two of them do. If Shadowhunters are the descendants of angels, what happens when one is a descendent of demons? Once you build your world, your first question should be, What is this story going to do to change it?

4) Everything hews to a theme.

Think about the thematic implications of your world. If you’re building a low-tech, high-nature faerie world, think about the way not having tech, and having nature magic fill a lot of those uses, will influence the way the characters talk, the expressions they use, what they wear (nothing with zippers, nothing mass-produced) the way they live their day-to-day lives (alas, no flush toilets). For instance, the thematic character of the Shadowhunters books is defined by the overarching mythology of angels and demons. Seraph blades, which have to be activated by speaking an angel’s name, hew to that theme. Everything the Shadowhunter characters do is defined by their belief that they have angel blood (or fear they have demon blood.) Whenever I build new mythology into the Shadowhunter world, I have to think “Does this fit with who the Shadowhunters think they are, their priorities, beliefs and history? Is this something that could or would happen in this complex, small, militaristic society?” 

It can help to think of it as an aesthetic, as if you were putting together a house. Does this piece go, or does it clash with everything?

5) Small details. 

Little pieces that feel unique and true help build out a world. Rather than spending your time detailing the entire history of the Royal Family for a thousand years, create a room in the palace where the faces of royal enemies are dried, stretched and mounted in glass. Now we know the Royal Family is creepy, which is more interesting than knowing everyone’s grandparents’ names. Stuff that isn’t momentous is fine if it’s interesting. Random stuff I know about Castellane, the city in Sword Catcher: interior light comes from carcel-lamps, dentures are made from the teeth of dead soldiers, the Queen loves kalamansi fruit, and if you fall in the bay, a crocodile will eat you.  Think of the big world-building details — names of countries, the type of religion, the way magic works — as the walls, beams, and floors of your house. The small details are your paint, wallpaper and furniture. One is a structure; the other is the sense and character of that structure.

There’s a lot more to say about world-building, and I’m always happy to answer writing questions. It offers me an amazing opportunity to procrastinate. :) Good luck!

[accio-victuuri]

A Love Story in 3 parts.

Disclaimer : Everything is fake. Or is it? 👀

Why the month of June is always very interesting. basically an excuse to try making a timeline of 1 month spanning three years before I attempt to do the 2017-2020 timeline. the keyword there is ATTEMPT.

﹌﹌Part I:  June 2018 ﹌﹌

This is a popular guess on the month that they actually got together— as far as acknowledging that they’re NOT bros. Keep in mind that these two supposedly first met on 3/14/2017 with no interactions or even eye contact ( as per Web). After that, they meet again 4/2018 as CQL started shooting. 

That’s two months of interaction. We have different timelines in our head with them, so you can interpret this as A.) they hit it off really quickly that’s why it only took a little time for their feelings to go THERE. B.) they are lying liars who lie and have been in contact from 2017-2018.

• 6.2.2018 - Shooting of LWJ and WWX in the rain.  • 6.3.2018 - Produce 101 Performance! Yes, the same one where GG was a mentor and they acted like they didn’t know each other. Famous for moments such as:

Glancing at each other even if separated by people. +  Sharing an earpiece. GG smiling while watching Web Dance.

Here is the whole episode 

• 6.3.2018 - TTXS episode airing where Web gives love clues, where he says it depends on how he feels. Also that when he’s 40, he wants a kid and a dog. 

• 6.9.2018 - GG’s interview with him showing how much of a Libra he is. 

• 6.10.2018 - TTXS episode airing where Cheng Xiao is a guest and she proceeds to be Web’s good bro by exposing him ; saying he’s a Monk. 

• 6.11.2018 - Interview with Popular highlight, Web mentions GG for the first time while looking THIS good. The Audacity. Honestly. 🤦🏻‍♀‍

He talked about how long GG’s lines are compared to him, especially when they highlight it on their script books. 

• 6.14.2018 - Shooting of Cold Pond Cave scene ; Then clinging to each other amidst the cold water. If you watched the new BTS from fansites, there is a 🔞scene here. Pertaining to the M*gnum W*ng. 

• 6.16.2018 - Shooting guns at each other and dancing to Black Pink’s Ddu Ddu.

• { VERY IMPORTANT DATE} 6.18.2018 is when they shot this scene. GG is looking all wet, with mud on his face but Web just says he still looks handsome with no make up on. Also, CAN WE TAKE A SECOND AND WEEP at how GG looks at Web here. His eyes. Wow. He clearly adores Web at this point.

• They also shot WWX handing Zongzi to LWJ.

• Later that day, they ate together. They were photographed by paps who thought Web was going out with a girl. The produced and director of CQL was also there.

• GG then posted this on Weibo on 20:18 “love you yibo” as a greeting for the Festival. Web took the picture, according to me. I’m the curtain.

• 6.19.2018 - The next day, Web is photographed at the airport with the same clothes. This is also the first appearance of his white Nike Bag. He had to go and film an episode of Happy Camp.

AND OUR BOI WAS ABSOLUTELY GLOWING IN THAT EPISODE. Watch it english subbed here. 

• 6.22.2018 - a supposedly important day too as they cued 622 a couple of times. This is a good read on that.

﹌﹌ Part II: June 2019 ﹌﹌

•  6.1.2019 - GG interview with cosmo where he sings Kepler.  • 6.2.2019 - Web attending Yuehua family concert • 6.15.2019 - Web in extreme youth press conference wearing a questionable spongebob shirt.

• {VERY IMPORTANT DATE} 6.19.2019 - First appearance of Web’s ox head necklace via a picture of him in an airport, at Chongqing. 

• 6.19.2019 - GG posts an ad for Qeelin on his instagram account. ( which is now non existent since it was hacked incase you didn’t know). Qeelin Bo is significant to BJYX, you can check it on my jewelry post. 

• 6.21-6.22 2019 - Web posted himself practicing skateboard. 

• 6.25.2019 - They both posted on their Weibo about their joint Bazaar Magazine cover. This was re-released and became bazaar’s #1 e-magazine issue.

• 6.27.2019 - They both post about the premiere of CQL! 💚❤️

• 6.28.2019 - Web posts himself as LWJ, saying rabbits are cute. 

• 6.30.2019 - Web attends Yuehua annual party as Spiderman (into the spider verse).

.

﹌﹌ Part III: June 2020 ﹌﹌

• 6.5.20 - GG posts after a long time of silence with a picture of blue sky. Captioning it with : “Blue skies and white clouds, what do you see?” more on the significance of blue sky and white clouds with BYX here.  • 6.9.20 - XZ studio posts a video about GG’s daily life, giving us a glimpse of what he was doing. • 6.12.20 - We finally get a selfie from GG! He mentions on his caption that his hair is getting long. There is a CPN on this that the shirt he is wearing is a couple shirt from trasher which matches Web’s. Also, as people match the scenery posts on this, it matches with Web’s filming locations. 

• 6.13.20 - GG Douyin update, making orange juice like a pro. CPN on this is that the place he is filming at is pretty similar to Web’s house. But let’s not go there. 

• 6.18.20 - Another artwork post from GG. 

• 6.20.20 - Himalaya releases a CF for their new endorser, Wang Yibis. THIS CF ANS EVERYTHING ABOUT IT KILLED US. Starting with Web’s post,  “Some words, even if I don’t say it, u guys will know. This is our tacit understanding. Love is like this. Accompanying everyday.”

and this parallel, >>   

• 6.21.20 - Web video doing an Ollie (skateboard trick). People were speculating where he actually is on this one. most probably just him enjoying his down time and probably Lele taking that video.  • 6.25.20 - GG posts an artwork of zongzi along with an actual one for dragon boat festival. People have analyzed the little drawings and noted one looks like him & the other as Web. 

• AND FINALLY, this year’s Dragon Boat Festival gave way to the crazy fake rumor of them getting “engaged” + buying a house and car. When this came out, it was such a sweet fanfic— but with how the fake rumors becoming true lately— this is now very scary 👀.

CPN is that they spent this year’s Dragon boat festival together because of this clue. (Let me copy my own post) -->> 

This started with GG’s post and the background being compared to one of Web’s cast-mate, Wang Hao Xuan.

What gets me is the caption saying, “stuff that happens at work is a secret”. / “someone became super talkative while eating zongzi” What? Why? Who do we know is quiet but becomes really talkative when with his GG? WANG YIBIS.

Post-shoot, The director attended SDOC 3 finals too! To support Web. Plus Web’s message for the wrap was sweet. I felt like they really took care of him and will not say anything that will bring him down.

@p-h03n1-x - added a few more details on the posts particularly : Web’s popular highlight interview, video of DD almost going to GG’s care and heading back to trailer together. 

BONUS THROWBACK 6.1.2017.

Both of them posted selfies on that day, talking about 6/1 but there’s no event to celebrate on China on that day. 

@choke-and-dye​ added an explanation for these: 

AND THAT’S IT <3 If you made it this far, Thank you. old time bxgs won’t see anything new in this post (probably) but I hope you still enjoyed it. Let’s see what happens on June 2021 and onwards. :)) Also, if it takes this long just to create one month, how long with it be for their whole timeline so far. LOL. T.T 

EDITED 11/10/2020 4:28 AM 

[nightcoremoon]

Tom Holland is a good actor, a great spiderman. I won’t say anything negative about his performance.

No Way Home essentially ruined the character.

Anyone can be a superhero. Xmen has hundreds of characters with awesome superpowers but very few of them are good characters. DC has several characters in the comics with squandered potential. Superman and Shazam and Aquaman are all capable of being great characters as we’ve seen from recent films, but in a lot of the comics they’re just vehicles to deliver plot with. oh superman needs to freeze something, he has magical frost breath; magic eye lasers; magic telekinesis; MAGIC FUCKIN FABRIC S HE THROWS AT YOU THAT MAKES YOU FALL OVER FOR TEN SECONDS AND THEN BE FINE. Shazam goes Shazam and magic beans go and do a thing. Aquaman is like FIIIIIIISH and fish go do some random bullshit. The good stories involving them are in the minority, especially in comparison to Batman. Now, it’s ludicrously difficult to fuck up Batman. He is easily the best thing DC has ever made. He has the best and strongest character writing of any DC superhero, and in fact, nearly every marvel superhero too. Dark Horse wishes they were on the level- much as I love hellboy spawn & umbrella but they are so many levels below batman levels of iconic. Try listing iconic metal bands and convincing anyone that above megadeth pantera slayer and cannibal corpse should be fucking MGK. and I say that liking some of his work (but goddamn is he such a fucking scumbag douchelord sometimes). Anyway Marvel has its fair share of great characters but a lot of them are… bad. at least nowadays. no love for gambit or psylocke or firestar or magma or polaris. fucking polaris, you know, quicksilver and scarlet witch’s sister? I think. maybe. I don’t know, there’s too many comics out there to worry about all of it. but that’s the thing. the market is oversaturated. there’s too many cool powers but not enough character development.

and then there’s spiderman.

I daresay spiderman is marvel’s greatest creation. he is marvel’s batman; the best of the best, the cream of the crop, characterisation perfected. if not the best he is definitely up there. and he’s definitely the most loved.

and for good reason! spiderman is special not because his powers are super unique and interesting in the realm of comics. ok yeah he’s fast and strong and he can do spider webs and he can fight. but there are a lot of spidermans out there. way too many. even scorpion and doc ock and uncle ben and j jonah jameson have all been spiderman once. same powers for the most part. but we don’t really care about most of them. and why? because peter parker is easily the best //character//. and don’t worry, miles is a close second. in fact, spiderverse is probably the best spiderman movie of the 10 based on everything that isn’t spiderman related. miles and peter both have very strong developed characters that have nothing to do with the spiderman persona. this is what makes spiderman special. he’s not just spiderman. he’s peter parker. he’s miles morales. he’s all of us. we are all spiderman. we can relate to him. we can see ourselves in him. no matter what walk of life you come from, we can all understand where he comes from; he’s just some dude. but he’s a good person. we got to see him as peter or miles for a long time before he got bit by that spider. well… except for holland. but that’s fine because where the other peter films faltered was in things besides peter. but not the mcu spidermans. if anything, this is the best spiderman that has ever graced film… spiderverse is an animation which is valid and great but we can all agree that they’re different mediums, and that spiderverse is easily a 10/10 whereas all the others range from 7-9. yes, spiderman 3 and the amazing spiderman are both 7s. no lower. don’t question me. ok anyway the point is we all love spiderman and peter parker.

mcu spiderman operates a little differently. in civil war he’s already established as a friendly neighborhood spiderman; he’s where we were at in the sequels in his cameo in steve rogers’ trilogy finale and tony stark’s initiation into Definitive Main Protagonist territory and T’challa’s introduction and Scott Lang’s return to form and etc etc. he’s just there to help tony stop steve from committing war crimes. we get time with both peter and spiderman. we get a sense of his character. he’s just a young kid with bright eyes and starry dreams and a real sense of duty. he understands that with great power… you know the rest. it’s an establishment of his place in the universe. we’ve already killed uncle ben, we don’t need to rehash that. we know who he is. we get it. and that’s what made civil war such a great film; it is easily by far the best ensemble writing in the entire franchise.

then in peter’s solo romp we get more of peter himself. he’s only spiderman for a short time in the film, and even then most of it he’s not using his powers to fight, he’s fully injecting his personality into every scene. we can see how much he looks up to stark and how much he wants to help the avengers and how much he’s willing to give up popularity and homecoming and the mathletics and good graces of school staff for the sake of being the hero that the plot demanded. he is not a superpower to deliver plot; the plot happens and he has to react to it. homecoming was a phenomenal spiderman movie and deserved all of the high marks it got. and then infinity war happened and, he was also good in that too. and then he died. and then endgame happened and he came back to life! but then tony died. and he was sad. very sad. the sadness bled into far from home and he found a new mentor in fury who was actually talos, he pursued the other side of the coin that was wishing to be the peter he wanted to be now that the world demanded spiderman in the wake of stark’s loss, he realized that he’s not a kid anymore and he can’t afford to be so selfish because of that whole great power thing. he found a happy medium.

and then jameson had to go and fuck it up /positive

(I loved that cameo)

and

…

this is where the positivity ends.

I fucking hated no way home.

I genuinely think it ruined spiderman for the future of the mcu.

it affirmed my belief that endgame and far from home are the absolute final pieces of the marvel puzzle that will constitute my enjoyment. no more. never again. it’s over. I am perfectly satisfied with it ending there.

now, don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy most of it. I liked doctor strange taking on the mantle of mentorship. I liked the way they brought together a bunch of the untied plot threads of the amazing duology, and the fanservice from raimi’s trilogy was comforting. I felt like 3 ended as well as it could have and sufficiently tied it all together, so maguire (and norman) functioned to give us the uncle ben moment that was such an effective gut punch that came from out of nowhere especially after teasing her and happy together. it felt like iron man 4; we saw that they could move on from the grief of his loss. but then right smack dab in the middle BOOM we get a devastating tragedy right when the plot needed a kick in the pants. and the final fight scene was very well done; right up to the moment maguire stopped holland from stabbing norman AND THEN EVEN AFTER THAT. the movie ended with everything going back to normal.

…god I wish I could say that.

STUPID FUCKING GODDAMN MULTIVERSE PHASE FIVE DISNEY GREEDY CORPORATE MEDDLING BULLSHIT

sorry, I had to get that out of my system

ok so yeah the multiverse almost fucking exploded and then the universe had to purge its knowledge of peter parker. you know, the one thing that makes spiderman special. now he’s just a sad boy with dead parents and a magic nanobot suit. completely indistinguishable from a whole host of boring garbage saturating the market. so whatever the fuck disney is forcing its people to do with a gun to their heads is gonna be just… so fucking bad. I don’t care anymore. I legit don’t give a shit. They took a promising start to a long franchise and just squished it into the dirt because they want wanda to be the next thanos. they should have ended it a long fucking time ago. and now they’re going to force keaton back in it and force us to acknowledge morbius and ruin venom and come up with some random dumbass bullshit to fill a sinister six roster. I am so fucking disappointed with disney for screwing get more actors of color out of long contracts. I’m not shocked at all that downey evans & holland and all the other white men get like 400 billion dollars. it’s an atrocious travesty. my baby is aflame.

Spiderman is dead.

Marvel is dead.

The mcu is over and I don’t give a shit about it anymore.

I’m gonna write my own fix it fic and slap a flex tape on that shit and make it all better because I’m a better writer than whoever’s pulling the strings right now.

[cosplayinamerica]

Spiderman from Marvel 1602 // Cosplayer: kammospark

Tell us about Spiderman1602, I’ve seen many versions of Spiderman but  thiis is a new one to me! What led you to this concept of this version of Spiderman?

Well I've always had an appreciation for lesser know outfits of popular heroes. Looking through many wardrobes and outfits, the obscure ones always stood out to me, "Wow, I've never seen this one before!" I'd think to myself, and I figured others who know the characters well would love to see them brought to life too, or even people curious about the stories of them would enjoy seeing it. I feel everyone has a love for Spider-Man; he's such an iconic superhero and has so many suits, and even though they can be quite diverse, they still feel recognizable as one of the Web-slinger's costumes.

While I was looking at different Spiderverse characters for inspiration on a new Spider-Man cosplay, I saw Marvel 1602 and it immediately caught my attention; I thought it was such a fun looking design. Definitely away from a modern or futuristic look, it's charm won me over, and I had to put it together. And as a fan of the fantasy genre in general, thanks to many years as a GM from D&D as well as other media, I also enjoy Ren-faires and wanted something to wear to show my love for Superheroes and Renaissance.

When you wore it out to conventions, what was the response? Obviously they knew you were Spiderman because of the mask but were they confused about the rest of your outfit? What were some of their guesses?

Oh people certainly get a kick out of seeing the outfit. Some people have called Me 'Lord Spider-Man', 'Ren-Spidey', 'William Spider-Speare', a lot of creative names for it that never fail to make me smile as much as it does for them. Whenever I wear a Spider-Man cosplay, I always want to try and take pics with as many Spider-Men as I can find, and most of the time it's the other Spiderman cosplayers that recognize who the character really is. I love having people laugh and get excited over the character, it's part of that Con Magic where people just can't help but feel like a kid when they see something that fills them with joy; its my favorite part of this fun hobby, just making someone's day memorable, even for a moment.

Besides conventions , I see you wore the costume to a Renaissance Fair. What was responses there? Was it different from conventions?

Ren-faires in general are a great time! And when I started this costume, I was excited just thinking of the reactions from people and how happy they may be. I've taken 1602 to quite a few Ren-faires: Central Coast Ren Faire, NorCal Ren Faire, and Kingsburg Renaissance of Kings.

The first place I ever debuted it was as CCRF, and I was stopped by about 20 people before I could make it past the first 3 booths. It really does feel like a different environment going to faires. D

uring them, I'd be a bit more 'theatrical' and introduce myself as Peter Parquagh, and try my best to make people smile or laugh. I've gotten the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and people with stunning and gorgeous Renaissance outfits. Kids come walk by amazed that they actually got to see a Spider-Man at a Ren Faire.

One instance, a bard played the spider-man theme song on a lute as he traveled around me. At two different faires my presence was requested by the Queen, and I was escorted to her, one even knighted me! Everyone just has a blast role playing and getting caught up in the fun, the energy is so infectious and delightful! 

Take us through how the outfit was put together?

Well, I cannot take full credit on the cosplay. My mother was actually a large part of it. Growing up, my mom was always really involved and loved making costumes for Halloween for me and my sister. And one of her favorite aesthetics is period piece era fashion and she loves Jane Austen.

As I was looking for ideas for a new cosplay and showing her, she was drawn towards 1602 and offered to do as much as she could to help create it, and she loved helping putting it together. The suit is a handmade outfit following a 14th century cavalier pattern. The design called for detachable sleeves and very baggy slops, but we decided to have the sleeves attached and slim down the slops slightly, to give it a mix of authentic and Spider-man's sleekness.

We went looking online and found this wonderful blue velvet fabric with Fleur De Lis imprinted onto it and thought it'd really help the outfit pop! We had to make sure we kept the fabric in the same direction: it has a difference in shimmer if facing a certain way, and we wanted the Fleurs facing the same way as well, so we tried to be mindful of that. We pleated the red fabric in the front and it was quite stubborn, but we tried our best to make it look similar on both sides of the torso. The back has a spider and has legs that lead unto the front; we cut out red fabric and hand-stitch embroidered on, and was quite meticulous.

Me and my mom kept an eye out online for just the right buttons we wanted for the costume. Something antique and era appropriate but also thematic, and after a while, we stumbled across a web-designed antique gold button set. We also looked for a thick ruff rather than the costumes original thin look. The original costume look also called for the mask to have open eye holes, but I opted out of that, and felt that a traditional mask look better complemented the costume. After that I acquired socks and shoes and then it was finished! 

How did you discover cosplay?

As mentioned earlier, my mom loved making mine and my sister's costumes growing up. She's a seamstress as a hobby, and is so creative and artsy. Halloween was probably my favorite holiday growing up, and I was so happy I got to wear something made with much love from my family. Some of my favorite notable costumes growing up was a knight, an astronaut, and Pikachu.

As I got older, around high school, I still liked the idea of costumes, even bought a cheap Captain America outfit for The Avengers premiere night, but I mostly dropped off on dressing up. I grew up in a very small town, but eventually, after I moved out to the city, I heard about 'conventions' and I was interested and wanted to try and wear something to one. I decided to make a classic Punisher costume, and wore it for the con. It was a small venue, but even then it finally hit me, 'This is a thing people do. People love to dress up, go make friends, bring smiles and show their love for their Fandoms and interests. THIS is what Cosplay IS'. I finally understood what this little hobby of mine was, and I embraced it.

Have you discovered something about yourself through cosplay?

I've always thought of myself as a people pleaser. I'm someone who really only want others to be happy. I'm also someone who loves to share their interests and engage with others about things that we can share and discuss and geek out over.

When I was young, I often felt left out from social circles, due to my often eccentric personality. I found it really hard to make friends, and I am forever grateful for the friends that I have made and been with me for years.

Cosplay has opened up another avenue as far as friends and socializing. My first couple of cons I was initially intimidated, but I have to say that I'm so glad I got into this hobby, for I've met many people with interesting stories and wonderful personalities, and people I still talk to often. It's really helped me feel like I can make good friends and memories, and I'm sure that others have felt similarly and that's something I treasure.

What are your future cosplay goals?

As with most cosplayers I'm sure, I have way too many projects in my head with very little work on a lot of them. I suppose my current goal is to rework the headpiece of a cosplay I finished last year, my Bioshock Big Daddy Doll. The head was massive and too cumbersome so it needs to be redone.

As far as new projects, I would very much like to do a Prince Link cosplay, inspired by the creation of theLostSindar. Another idea would be to do more superhero variants and make a Blue Lantern Flash that 8ve been eyeing for a couple of years.

One thing I definitely want to get good at is working with foam. I am massively inexperienced with foamsmithing, and I strive to learn how to be good at it and learn how to make wonderful things with it. It's just like when I first went to cons; starting off can be a bit scary or even overwhelming before we really get it going, but that exposure to things we really desire is all we need to get hooked and make it our passion.

https://www.instagram.com/kammospark/