#marvel's spiderman ii

[inky-squid-art]

just finished watching spider-man 3 for possibly the first time? or at least, the first time since i was really young. um. harry osborn is my blorbo and nothing bad ever happens to him.

[logray]

BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II (1989) SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (2023)

[blue-spider62]

HERE HAVE WIP PETER X GWEN FANKIDS

More info on them and the others as soon as I digitally redraw them

[burningfudge]

Spider-Man (2016) #8

[caffeind-coffin]

peter, ned, and mj all have a musical night where they binge a crud ton of musicals (more specifically, they watched little shop of horrors)

the next day, peter goes to his internship with Tony

Peter: Hey, mr stark, can i work on a little personal project today instead?

Stark, not paying attention: yeah, sure kid. do what ya need, lab's at your hands.

three hours later, stark hears a quiet whisper

peter, the whisper: welcome to the world Audrey II

he then turns around and proceeds to hear and see the most mind boggling shit

Audrey II: Feed Me, Peterrrr

Stark: Kid, what the fuck

[lavendercharacters]

•Below the cut is a list of all Canon Characters currently played but the writer. Don't be afraid to reach out with any questions of other fandoms or characters you would like to play against.

Prince Toussaint T'Challa ii • fc: Kedar Williams-Sterlings• from marvel cinematic universe• 24 years old • Wakandan Royalty and College senior • Molecular and Medical Microbiology major

Miles Morales •fc: Jahking Guillory• from marvel sony cinematic universe • 21 years old • Spriderman and College junior • Quantum physics major

Lady Loki • fc: Ahn Hyejin • from marvel comics • 28 years old • Asgardian sorceress • currently living in New York City • working in an antique bookshop

Aegon ii • fc: Tom Glynn-Carney • from HBO's House of The Dragon • 21 years old • young King fugitive Prince Dragon rider • rumored to be working in a pleasure house in Essos Laurent Carriere • fc: Manu Rios • AMC's Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon • 19 years old • Survivor• Living with his Adoptive father and Aunt in a Virginia safe zone after they made it back to America from France • possible paranormal powers over the dead or walker immune blood Richard Grimes Jr. "RJ" • fc: D'Pharaoh Woon A Tai • AMC's The Walking Dead • 18 years old • Survivor • Living in a Virginia safe zone with his mother, older sister, and father • skilled at hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting • learning botany and medicine

Finnick Odair • fc: Sam Claflin • Hunger Games Cinematic Universe• 38 years old • Tribute / Victor • living free in distract 13 Louis de Pointe du Lac • fc: Jacob Anderson • Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire • 33 years old • Vampire • Art dealer Musem curator multimillionaire Armand (de Romanus) • fc: Assad Zaman • Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire • 26 years old • Vampire • multimillionaire brat switch

[ferrstappen]

F1 MASTERLIST

CARLOS SAINZ

paella en mallorca: spending time with your boyfriend's family was almost as good as having him for yourself.

mónaco : pero si hay algo que nos quedó es todo lo que pasó en Mónaco (but if there's something left in us then it's everything that happened in Monaco)

CHARLES LECLERC

loving him is red: Charles’ girlfriend receives her first Grammy for Song of the Year, sadly enough the inspiration behind the song isn’t able to make it to the ceremony.

and the Oscar goes to: Charles and his actress girlfriend go to the Oscars, and he has to constantly reassure her.

AirPods and Princess George: a story of lost AirPods and Twitter memes.

titi we don't care: Charles can't seem to handle the fact a notorious singer took interest in you during Monaco GP.

Josephine, baby nº2 and baby nº3 Leclerc (dad!Charles)

the first one (dad!Charles):  Charles tries to prepare to be the best dad for his daughter, even if she’s just two days old.

aren't we supposed to surprise you? (dad!Charles): you somehow manage to overshadow Charles and Jo's gift.

ESTEBAN OCON

LONG LIVE: Esteban Ocon (aka the biggest Spiderman fan, according to himself) tried to bribe his girlfriend for spoilers, but Marvel was just too good keeping their secrets (actress!reader)

LANDO NORRIS

august: every single one of her friends warned her that he was fresh out of a relationship. but she didn't care.

when we broke up series

the first time we broke up: it was easy to remember how you and Lando fell in love, but it kept getting harder for you to remember why you love him.

the second time we broke up: there were reasons to try again, but maybe not enough.

everybody wants a taste : Lando had never been the jealous kind, but after seeing you with many co-stars, he reaches his limit. and his girlfriend doesn't like it (actress!reader)

part ii

Amalia Norris (dad!Lando)

surprise! we are a family : this wasn't planned. you are basically children yourselves and why isn't getting pregnant at 24 not considered teen pregnancy? Now Lando is waiting to meet his baby and hoping he doesn't mess up.

meet & greet : Amalia's first time in the paddock to support her dad.

let me take care of it : when papa isn't feeling his best, baby Norris knows what she has to do.

daddy's a race winner : McLaren garage with baby Amalia in what appears to be Lando’s first win.

MAX VERSTAPPEN

what happens with the kids?: Max really didn't have to find a girlfriend that soon after the divorce, and the fact that his girlfriend had a daughter of her own, didn't really help your case.

max, don't panic (driver!reader): your relationship with Max gets exposed in a non-conventional way, an accident.

max the wag: you can’t keep up with all the drama outside the track, but your boyfriend keeps you updated.

max the wag (again) max the wag (for the third time) max the wag: are we the drama? max the wag: caught in the middle max the wag: is taylor swift coming?

chicken soup: chamomile, green tea, honey, chicken soup, and your boyfriend was the best recipe to get over the flu.

primero llegó verstappen : Suddenly, Max isn't annoyed about being featured in a music video.

SLUT! : this isn’t your first time being a WAG, but people don’t seem to like the idea of you ending your relationship with Joe Burrow and falling in love with Max.

Mila & Luca Verstappen (dad!Max)

SAFE HAVEN: the Verstappen family and St. Barths

Disney World Break: Ahead of the Miami GP, Max and his wife take the twins to Disney World.

happy mother's day, sorry for the mess: Mila and Luca go rogue during Mother's Day, ignoring Max's plan.

unscheduled school visit: the twins’ teacher calls, the twins got in trouble. Max is in disbelief.

maxplaining 2.0: Luca Verstappen's first press conference during his karting career. turns out, he even speaks like his dad.

could you be more obvious? : you show up pregnant for the first race of 2024, just six months after Max won his 3rd WDC.

prompts

Accidentally referring them as "my" (MV1)

and whispering in their ears, "I love you" (CS55)

collections

THE COLLECTION MASTERLIST: pieces inspired by Taylor Swift's lyrics.

all the years we stood there on the sidelines, wishing for right now (EO31)

wanting was enough, for me it was enough (LN4)

[bluemoonbun]

Masterlist

19 • Black • She/They

MDNI • Bigots Also DNI

Most recent post: Little Bishop!Reader PT II

🎀 I’ll write for:

DC

JJK

Marvel (Specifically Spiderman and Deadpool)

COD MWII

And my ocs!

🎀 I also accept asks! Send me in with respects to my No’s and I’ll build off it!

#moonie posts - Self tag

#moonie writes - Specifically my writing tag

#moonie rambles - Non Writing Self Tag

#moonie doodles - Art Tag

[elorday]

— ✦ valerie's march fic recs

thank you so much for all of these writers for making me smiling with a lots of butterflies in my stomach, making my mouth hanging agape, or crying so hard and sweating hot. i really can't thank you enough<3

⟡. THE LAST OF US —

⭒ — JOEL MILLER

matchmaker : @quin-ns

domesticity looks good on you : @girlscull

once again in your arms : @foli-vora

a helping hand : @bubbles-for-all-of-us

she's a gun : @cowgurrrl

your smile! : @starpdfs

⟡. MARAUDERS ERA —

⭒ — REGULUS BLACK

annonated book and sleek hardcovers : @messers-moony

his last letter : @timmys-angel

hidden messages in foreign language : @specialbrewbutterbeer

⭒ — REMUS LUPIN

ivy : @enviedear

too much to drink : @nectarcfthegcds

the girl with a book : @solemnarration

heavy handed : @luveline

⟡. GRISHAVERSE —

⭒ — KAZ BREKKER

call me what you like : @sophierequests

buoy : @yelenasbraid

flowers : @violetrainbow412-blog

⭒ — JESPER FAHEY

not what it looks like : @magpiencrow

i hate you : @heathsbitch

⭒ — NIKOLAI LANTSOV

nightmares and enemies : @corpsebasil

in passing : @ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes

a special occasion : @holden-caulfield

the art of pretension : @fleurspun

⟡. MARVEL —

⭒ — MATT MURDOCK

trial tardiness : @alrighty-matty

the matter of opinion : @courtforshort15

it's really... yellow : @pastafossa

finger crossed : @petertingle-yipyip

in another life : @saintmurd0ck

five years : @darling-i-read-it

⭒ — STEPHEN STRANGE

last name : @parkersbliss

slow down : @dre--scape

⭒ — PETER PARKER

the inevitable : @starktonyx

burnt face and second base : @waitimcomingtoo

the forgotten child : @friendlyneighborhoods-spiderman

⟡. STRANGER THINGS —

⭒ — STEVE HARRINGTON

next best thing happen to an angel : @slashersteve

nine facts, one lie : @stevebabey

don't you forget about me : @starberryes

⟡. HOUSE OF THE DRAGON —

⭒ — AEGON II TARGARYEN

the summer islands : @fairysluna

someone, anyone : @asongofmarvelanddc

good grief : @elliewlums

firstborn : @archiveofthe-dragon

⟡. BRIDGERTON —

⭒ — BENEDICT BRIDGERTON

to be loved and to be in love : @desertno3

it is just tea : @leahsficemporium

⭒ — ANTHONY BRIDGERTON

it's a bad idea, me and you : @genyakosstyk

five senses of love : @libraryofloveletters

⟡. STAR WARS —

⭒ — POE DAMERON

the f-word : @the-little-ewok

one kiss : @starryeyedstories

⭒ — DIN DJARIN

fix you : @roguetonorth

just call my name : @prettypiscesgal

softer : @thatredheadwriter

[nekoannie-chan]

Week 3 Reblog Masterlist 2025

Welcome to Week 3, 2025, or Week 263. As always, the fics will be listed in the order I read them.

I hope you enjoy it!

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

♥ You can check my reading guidelines here.

♥ You can check my masterlist here.

♥ You can check my main reblog masterlist 2025 here.

♥ You can check my January reblog masterlist 2025 here.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

𝙺𝚎𝚢𝚜: 💛 ᵒʳᶤᵍᶤᶰᵃˡ ˢᵗᵒʳʸ

💜 ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ

🖤 ᵈᵃʳᵏ

❤️ ˢᵐᵘᵗ

💚 ᶠˡᵘᶠᶠ

💙 ᵃᶰᵍˢᵗ

🧡 ᶜᵒᵐᵉᵈʸ

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

This is the list of the fics I read and recommend in Week 3 2025:

Fic (Ransom Drysdale X Reader) by @sosa2imagines 💚💙

Christmas lights (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @amethystarachnid  💚

You don’t know part 6 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @1000plants 💚💙

Labyrinth (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @innorogers 💚💙❤️

I’m not where you belong (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @callalillywrites 💙

Won over with affection (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @sergeantbarnessdoll 💚❤️

Helping hand (Steve Rogers X Reader, Bucky Barnes X Reader) by @daddysfangirls-marvel 💚❤️

You don’t know part 7 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @1000plants 💚💙

Every bit as magical (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @stellar-solar-flare 💚

Solar witch 2 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @kaunis-sielu 💚

The Three Times Steve Put Exactly What You Wanted in Your Hands and the One Time He Didn't (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @zozowrites 💙

Mission Control 25 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @darkficsyouneveraskedfor ❤️🖤

Danger in the Heat of my Touch (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @buckets-and-trees 💚💙❤️🖤

Fic (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @thezombieprostitute 💙

I fell in love but you didn’t (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @callalillywrites 💙

A fresh start (6) – New Beginnings (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @holylulusworld💚💙❤️

A place to stay part II (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @amethystarachnid 💚💙

Headcanons for being an Avenger with botanical powers Steve Rogers X Reader) by @moonlit-imagines 💚

Fic (Stucky X Reader) by @mercurial-chuckles 💚

Old letters chapter 1 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @sparks-and-smoke 💙

Rainy days (Stucky X Reader) by @spidermans-l-o-v-e-r💚💙❤️

Once Upon A Friendship: Bittersweet Symphony (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @steviebbboi💙

The Fate Of A Fae - Part 8 (Stucky X Reader) by @mrs-barnes-rogers-writes💙

Just the Two of Us: Starry Night (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @darkficsyouneveraskedfor 💚💙❤️🖤

Fic (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @mercurial-chuckles 💚

Climbing trees (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @daddysfangirls-marvel 💚

Steve Rogers headcanons (part 2) (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @fictophilianworld💚

Hope (Stucky X Reader) by @eridanusco💙

[moonlight-prose]

get to know your mutuals!

thank you for the tag @saradika darling!

what’s the origin of your blog title? i had an old old one a few years ago that had been around since 2013 but i love the moon and i love the moon and some days i sit outside and write beneath a full moon. doesn't happen often but i figured why not use that. it's a pretty username so i went with it.

favorite fandoms: marvel, star wars, x-men, top gun maverick, arcane, the last of us.

OTP(s)/shipname: oh god um....poolverine, timebomb (for jinx & ekko), sambucky (yes. yes.), hangster, i think that's it unless i missed one.

favorite color: green, various shades of dark red, some browns and blues too.

favorite game: jedi fallen order, battlefront ii, spiderman. (i use my brothers playstation so whatever he plays i play.)

song stuck in your head: DtMF - bad bunny & Big Love - suki waterhouse

weirdest habit/trait? being able to crack my spine like a glowstick. it freaks out my family.

hobbies: crocheting, painting, writing & reading, making playlists.

if you work, what’s your profession? unemployed babyyyyyyyy. but also i guess published writer and soon to be literary magazine editor (i hope).

if you could have any job you wish what would it be? professional/published writer. which i am working on and sorta getting closer to. but the other is being an archivist for literature and books specifically.

something you’re good at: cooking. i just know how to figure it out on my own. which helps cause no one else in my house really knows how to cook.

something you’re bad at: shutting the fuck up. i'm horrible at taking compliments and finishing things.

something you love: my family, my friends, my stray pumpkin loaf of a cat, the stories that have stuck with me, and music.

something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: star wars, moon knight, lore about my favorite characters, classic literature, and history.

something you hate: assholes, racist motherfuckers, the government, the consistency + taste of tapioca pudding, and when my food gets stolen (looking at my siblings).

something you collect: crystals + pretty rocks, tarot decks, pretty jars and vases, crystal ash trays, and skulls.

something you forget: responding to text messages. it's a constant thing even if i set reminders. i don't know how to fix it.

what’s your love language? making things for people and going all out for gifts, quality time, words of affirmation.

favorite movie/show: practical magic, almost famous, little women, fleabag, my lady jane, gilmore girls, i could keep going.

favorite food: coffee, pasta, birria tacos

favorite animal: cats & raccoons

are you musical? yeah. i was classically trained in piano when i was younger. even though i forgot a shit ton of stuff.

what were you like as a child? my family says i wasn't a kid. i was little adult. so yeah i guess not very childlike/very independent.

favorite subject at school? english + history

least favorite subject? i love science but i fucking hated chemistry.

what’s your best character trait? loyalty to those i love. i'm a ride or die for my family and best friends.

what’s your worst character trait? i am blunt and straight forward and it can come off as being an asshole sometimes. when really i just don't know how to sugar coat anything.

if you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be? that @soulores and i were together in person to celebrate our friend anniversary. but sadly she's at work. (we're not even that far we just don't fucking drive yet.)

if you could travel in time who would you like to meet? i'd want to meet joan didion for coffee in the sixties. and go to dinner with carrie fisher in the eighties.

recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love!): i have a sideblog @djarins-riduur for fanfic love! definitely go check that out for all the good stuff.

tagging the lovelies: @/soulores @softanon @ovaryacted @avocado-writing @superhoeva @pennyserenade @ozarkthedog @karasong @ohtobeleah @fluffyprettykitty @starryeyedstories @sunflowersteves

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Current cast:

1) Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier as Jean Valjean

2) Tony Stark / Iron Man as Inspector Javert

3) Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch as Fantine

4) Steve Rogers / Captain America as Marius Pontmercy

5) Peggy Carter as Cosette

6) Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow as Éponine Thénardier

7) Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange as Monsieur Thénardier

[david3096]

So, today in screenshots I took the second day I played Marvel's Spiderman 2 and forgot about it until I finished the game and I couldn't get Parksborn out of my head we have... Part II

Lol, remember how in that first post I said that Peter and Harry look romantic and I didn't even had to do anything? Well in this screenshot I did something.

I'm doing a little close up first to let you see that I didn't notice that Peter had his eye closed. At first I was so mad that I didn't noticed this, but know I find it so fucking funny.

It's like that episode of the Simpson when Flanders says "Easy Ned, think of the bible." lol

(Obviously I'm thinking on replaying the game justo to have more pics of them lol)

But, here is the whole pic...

And I don't know, I think this is really funny 🤣

[multishipperofgaydeadwizards]

Hii, guess who?

I got some HCs (that have something to do with movies/musicals/shows/books I love)

(They are not dead in the HCs)

Bellatrix and Rita love Star Wars (Bellatrix loves Ashoka the most and Rita loves the OG trilogy the most)

Peter sometimes plays the soundtrack from The Greatest Showman just to hear James and Sirius sing along (They're bad at singing)

Dorcas and Lily would watch/read Percy Jackson atleast 10 times

Pandora loves Anne of Green Gables/Anne with an E

Barty likes The Umbrella Academy (Especially 5 and Klaus)

Evan and Remus sometimes talk about The Maze Runner

Peter loves Ninjago and Spiderman

Marlene loves Marvel and Regulus loves DC so they sometimes arue about the best superheroes

I know, half of these are not popular/are childish

(Please take this site away from me)

hiii boo <3

I. tbh I don't know much abt starwars so I can't tell you if I agree or disagree... I'll agree with you anyway

II. real af. I would totally do the same

III. real af pt 2. they definitely did. they also shared notes and gushed abt ut to each other

IV. I know 1 of those shows, but I assume they're both similar, and so I decide that you're 100% correct

V. he absolutely does. he loves them sm. he's the biggest fan boy ever. literally knows all the lines, and he has forced all of his friends to watch the show with them

VI. definitely. they bond over the show and go from disliking each other to kind of liking each other

VII. SHSOSNSO HE SO DOES. QUOTES THE SHOW REGULARLY (no one get's it </3)

VIII. oh, they definitely do. sometimes, they end up fighting like literally. they have to go to the nurse office

who cares if their childish or not. they're great fr

(I said it before but I'll say it again. no one dare to take the side away from you 🤺🤺)

[originalleftist]

Honestly?

For me, the MCU kind of soft-ended with Infinity War, or maybe twenty minutes or so into Endgame.

It's not that I hate everything that came after (though a lot of it I just haven't seen). But:

a) Endgame's handling of time travel created some serious continuity issues for me (albeit mitigated by Loki).

b) They killed/retired my two favourite Avengers (and Tony). That killed a lot of the interest to keep going, even though I know realistically the same actors couldn't stay for forever.

c) Infinity War/Endgame's fridging of female characters, and then having Gamora replaced with a clone as though they're interchangeable and not unique people with different experiences, left a really bad taste.

d) It just became too big and sprawling to keep track of. Endgame, for all it's faults, was at least a climactic ending. After that, it just felt sprawling and anti-climactic to me, plus weighed down by the baggage of aforementioned mistakes.

I admit I mostly liked the last Spiderman (except for the memory wipe ending), and Loki season one (which is sort of set before/during Endgame anyway). I may watch Black Panther II and Guardians III someday. Hell, I have Madame Web and the Marvels on my list, mostly just to spite the incels. But at this point, I don't have the energy, time, or frankly money to keep up with it all, I feel like it would be cleaner if it ended with Infinity War/Endgame, and I pretty much pick and choose what parts I treat as canon after that.

What I can't decide is whether I prefer it to end before Endgame or after. Infinity War is a dark ending, with some problematic aspects, but it was epic and, in a sense, conclusive. Endgame has an epic finale, ending on a more optimistic note, and sets up Loki season one which I like, but it's also messy as fuck plot and character-wise.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Bezzle excerpt (Part II)

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me next in SALT LAKE CITY (Feb 21, Weller Book Works) and SAN DIEGO (Feb 22, Mysterious Galaxy). After that, it's LA, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix and more!

Today, I'm bringing you part two of this week's serialized excerpt from The Bezzle, my new Martin Hench high-tech crime revenge thriller:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

Though most of the scams that Hench – a two-fisted forensic accountant specializing in Silicon Valley skullduggery – goes after in The Bezzle have a strong tech component, this excerpt concerns a pre-digital scam: music royalty theft.

This is a subject that I got really deep into when researching and writing 2022's Chokepoint Capitalism – a manifesto for fixing creative labor markets:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

My co-author on that book is Rebecca Giblin, who also happens to be one of the world's leading experts in "copyright termination" – the legal right of creative workers to claw back any rights they signed over after 35 years:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/26/take-it-back/

This was enshrined in the 1976 Copyright Act, and has largely languished in obscurity since then, though recent years have seen creators of all kinds getting their rights back through termination – the authors of The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High Books, Stephen King, and George Clinton, to name a few. The estates of the core team at Marvel Comics, including Stan Lee, just settled a case that might have let them take the rights to all those characters back from Disney:

https://www.thewrap.com/marvel-settles-spiderman-lawsuit-steve-ditko/

Copyright termination is a powerful tonic to the bargaining disparities between creative workers. A creative worker who signs a bad contract at the start of their career can – if they choose – tear that contract up 35 years later and demand a better one.

Turning this into a plot-point in The Bezzle is the kind of thing that I love about this series – the ability to take important, obscure, technical aspects of how the world works and turn them into high-stakes technothriller storylines that bring them to the audience they deserve.

If you signed something away 35 years ago and you want to get it back, try Rights Back, an automated termination of tranfer tool co-developed by Creative Commons and Authors Alliance (whose advisory board I volunteer on):

https://rightsback.org/

All right, onto today's installment. Here's part one, published on Saturday:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/17/the-steve-soul-caper/#lead-singer-disease

It was on one of those drives where Stefon learned about copyright termination. It was 2011, and NPR was doing a story on the 1976 Copyright Act, passed the same year that was on the bottom of the document Chuy forged.

Under the ’76 act, artists acquired a “termination right”—­ that is, the power to cancel any copyright assignment after thirty-­five years, even if they signed a contract promising to sign away their rights forever and a day (or until the copyright ran out, which was nearly the same thing).

Listening to a smart, assured lady law professor from UC Berkeley explaining how this termination thing worked, Stefon got a wild idea. He pulled over and found a stub of a pencil and the back of a parking-­ticket envelope and wrote down the professor’s name when it was repeated at the end of the program. The next day he went to the Inglewood Public Library and got a reference librarian to teach him how to look up a UC Berkeley email address and he sent an email to the professor asking how he could terminate his copyright assignment.

He was pretty sure she wasn’t going to answer him, but she did, in less than a day. He got the email on his son’s smartphone and the boy helped him send a reply asking if he could call her. One thing led to another and two weeks later, he’d filed the paperwork with the U.S. Copyright Office, along with a check for one hundred dollars.

Time passed, and Stefon mostly forgot about his paperwork adventure with the Copyright Office, though every now and again he’d remember, think about that hundred dollars, and shake his head. Then, nearly a year later, there it was, in his mailbox: a letter saying that his copyright assignment had been canceled and his copyrights were his again. There was also a copy of a letter that had been sent to Chuy, explaining the same thing.

Stefon knew a lawyer—­well, almost a lawyer, an ex–­trumpet player who became a paralegal after one time subbing for Sly Stone’s usual guy, and then never getting another gig that good. He invited Jamal over for dinner and cooked his best pot roast and served it with good whiskey and then Jamal agreed to send a letter to Inglewood Jams, informing them that Chuy no longer controlled his copyrights and they had to deal with him direct from now on.

Stefon hand-­delivered the letter the next day, wearing his good suit for reasons he couldn’t explain. The receptionist took it without a blink. He waited.

“Thank you,” she said, pointedly, glancing at the door.

“I can wait,” he said.

“For what?” She reminded him of his boy’s girlfriend, a sophomore a year younger than him. Both women projected a fierce message that they were done with everyone’s shit, especially shit from men, especially old men. He chose his words carefully.

“I don’t know, honestly.” He smiled shyly. He was a good-­looking man, still. That smile had once beamed out of televisions all over America, from the Soul Train stage. “But ma’am, begging your pardon, that letter is about my music, which you all sell here. You sell a lot of it, and I want to talk that over with whoever is in charge of that business.”

She let down her guard by one minute increment. “You’ll want Mr. Gounder,” she said. “He’s not in today. Give me your phone number, I’ll have him call.”

He did, but Mr. Gounder didn’t call. He called back two days later, and the day after that, and the following Monday, and then he went back to the office. The receptionist who reminded him of his son’s girlfriend gave him a shocked look.

“Hello,” he said, and tried out that shy smile. “I wonder if I might see that Mr. Gounder.”

She grew visibly uncomfortable. “Mr. Gounder isn’t in today,” she lied. “I see,” he said. “Will he be in tomorrow?”

“No,” she said.

“The day after?”

“No.” Softer.

“Is that Mr. Gounder of yours ever coming in?”

She sighed. “Mr. Gounder doesn’t want to speak with you, I’m sorry.”

The smile hadn’t worked, so he switched to the look he used to give his bandmates when they wouldn’t cooperate. “Maybe someone can tell me why?”

A door behind her had been open a crack; now it swung wide and a young man came out. He looked Hispanic, with a sharp fade and flashy sneakers, but he didn’t talk like a club kid or a hood rat—­he sounded like a USC law student.

“Sir, if you have a claim you’d like Mr. Gounder to engage with, please have your attorney contact him directly.”

Stefon looked this kid up and down and up, tried and failed to catch the receptionist’s eye, and said, “Maybe I can talk this over with you. Are you someone in charge around here?”

“I’m Xavier Perez. I’m vice president for catalog development here. I don’t deal with legal claims, though. That’s strictly Mr. Gounder’s job. Please have your attorney put your query in writing and Mr. Gounder will be in touch as soon as is ­feasible.”

“I did have a lawyer write him a letter,” Stefon said. “I gave it to this young woman. Mr. Gounder hasn’t been in touch.”

Perez looked at the receptionist. “Did you receive a letter from this gentleman?”

She nodded, still not meeting Stefon’s eye. “I gave it to Mr. Gounder last week.”

Perez grinned, showing a gold tooth, and then, in his white, white voice, said, “There you have it. I’m sure Mr. Gounder will get back in touch with your counsel soon. Thank you for coming in today, Mr.—­”

“Stefon Magner.” Stefon waited a moment, then said, for the first time in many years, “I used to perform under Steve Soul, though.”

Perez nodded briskly. He’d known that. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Magner.” Without waiting for a reply, he disappeared back into his office.

ETA: Here's part three!

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