#only symbrock fans

[stealthypussycat]

But I need him...♡ I’m with you to the end ♥︎

They love each other, they are canon and they will be together in eternity, because they prefer to die than to live without the other.

[stealthypussycat]

♡

Today, we recover after a long night of wild shit lol. So, naturally they will RECOVER WITH ME

[karmathehalflander]

You know who would be friends?

These four. I need to draw a crossover between them some time.

Just a guy and his parasitic (but not really more like mutualistic) canabalistic bodymate for whom their antagonism for each other grew to a deep trust and love (one is decidedly more romantic in nature but still) and in which the human never truly learned to appreciate their other until they left by sacrificing themselves for him.

They have so much in common I think Migi and Venom would rant about their hosts not taking care of themselves and being genuinely stupid.

Shinichi and Eddie would relate to adjusting to sharing a body and having to explain human customs and culture.

They both have a “the monster becomes more human and learns empathy and love and the human becomes more of a monster and learns to be brutal” dynamic going on.

Guys they mean so much to me I could rant about this for hours.

[eupheme]

Hello, first I wanna say I live for your post!

If your taking request could you do one where wade and Logan react to f!s/o having a symbiote. Please I would live for this one.

hi! Thank you!! 🥺💖 and I would love to give some ideas a shot! I brushed up on some symbiote lore (but apologies if this isn’t 100% accurate!) 💖 thanks so much for sending the is in!

LOGAN / WADE x SYMBIOTE!F!READER

With Logan, it’s revealed when you’re in danger. It’s not like you’re hiding it from him - you just don’t know how to bring up that you have an extraterrestrial parasite tied to you (even if you do have an understanding).

It curls around you, when a fight breaks out. Something automatic, smoothing over your skin - and it sends a jolt of panic through him. His hands at your jaw the second he gets you to safety (not knowing that you were always perfectly fine), eyes wild until your symbiote peels back from your face.

“It’s okay, Logan,” You coax - trying to explain. It takes him a while to understand. His brow pulled tight, eyes trailing down your suit. Only with your convincing, does he relent - claws retracting.

“It… protects you.” He manages, slowly. Eyes coming back up to meet yours, “And it’s still you. Underneath.”

You laugh then, “It’s always been me. It’s just us, too.”

The edges of his lips twitch, that sharp frown easing.

“…Alright.”

(He comes around quickly. The thought of your symbiote being there to help keep an eye on you - keep you safe - is a comfort.)

With Wade, he walks into it. He’s sneaky that way, quiet when he wants to. Curious about the voices - your early-morning murmuring.

A startled yelp when he sees you - the suit and the eyes and the tongue - only for it to half-slip from your face, as your hands raise.

“Wait, Wade! It’s me.”

You try to explain your situation. He’s quick to follow, a glance to the side and a comment about how he’s ‘always been a fan of symbrock’.

“She’s gonna have to start paying rent. You know that, right?” Wade deadpans, and your eyes roll. A second, before his head cocks to the side, “And wait - does this mean I’m dating both of you now?”

There’s a murmur in your head, your teeth sinking into your bottom lip as you hold back a smile, “She says you’ll just have to see. Not sure if you can keep up.”

His head tips back with a groan, “God, I love a challenge. I can so work with that.”

You do laugh then - a beat, before your voice softens, “You’re not freaked out?”

“Baby girl, are you seriously asking me that right now? This is the coolest fucking thing, like, ever-”

(and he is fucking dying to ask “any chance you wanna show me what that tongue can do” but he IS a gentleman, so he’ll at least wait until the next time you’re ‘spending time’ together. Or in five minutes, whichever comes first.)

[artandmartini]

Mild Venom: The Last Dance spoilers

One thing I think would’ve made TLD better even if it had the same plot and ended the same way is more reciprocal affection.

I think the biggest problem of the movie symbrock-wise is that all affectionate/romantic scenes are mostly from Venom. Eddie seems to just be tolerating Venom most of the time. They’re suppose to be ride or die at this point. They’re suppose to be best friends he said it himself! I think if more scenes showed Eddie’s love or at least fondness for Venom, then more fans would be happier with the movie.

To be clear tho, I didn’t hate the movie but I do think it’s a step down from how their relationship was previously. Obviously I wasn’t expecting it to be so explicit with loving pet names and sloppy make outs but more implied in the way the previous movies did it.

Some examples I came up with for Eddie loving venom moments (actual spoilers):

Eddie complaining to the bartender that his fun vacation time with his “friend” was interrupted when they got punted into Marvel universe instead of talking about thanos and meta humans and how annoying aliens are. I want to believe they had fun in Mexico!!

Eddie smiling (and being grateful!!!) when Venom made him a cocktail. Also he shouldn’t have a headache venom can heal him.

When Venom says “You always take me to the best places” Eddie replies with “anything for you, bud” (but make it sound like babe)

More bonding over stuff they’d do in New York. Eddie can talk about food and Venom asks if there are bad guys there and Eddie says They can be the lethal protector there

More scenes in the Casino!!! It was so short :((

They should’ve tried to cheat at cards at least to show they also have a mind bond. It could’ve been cool or funny!!

A woman trying to hit on Eddie but he gets awkward and rejects her cause “I’m here with someone”

Mrs Chen could mention Ann and Dan are married and Eddie is happy for them but implied he’s sad cause he can’t marry venom

While separated in the Area 51 lab, Eddie is significantly distressed about it and talks about feeling hollow inside or like with a missing limb

Eddie should’ve been given the option to sacrifice Venom save himself and the world. But he CHOOSES NOT TO he says “but I need him” like the trailer suggested!!!

Have Eddie explain to the scientist women what being with venom is like and how he makes him feel (like the end of the first movie). Not only is this sweet but will allow the scientists to be more sympathetic towards symbrock and explains their willingness to help them and also to bond with the other symbiotes later in the movie

Have Venom apologize for hardships he put Eddie through and have Eddie assure him he’d do it all again if given the choice

Have Eddie shed a tear (at least 1!!!) when he wakes up without venom for the last time

The rest of these are more significant changes to the movie but still in keeping with the general plot:

Venom should’ve kept the codex a secret for a while and just told Eddie the xenophage was just revenge for the symbiotes imprisoning knull or something

Eddie can tell venom is acting strange and suspects he is hiding something (like in the comics re: their pregnancy)

The codex truth is revealed after the dance with Mrs Chen when they get attacked by a xenophage but before they get separated and taken to Area 51 leading to the sacrifice venom convo

When they reunite, venom admits he kept it a secret cause he was afraid Eddie would leave him but Eddie reassures him it’s them til the end

The rest of the movie plays out the same. But I think these choices would’ve really solidified their bond. It would’ve been more painful at the end but more satisfying!!! If you wanna make angsty tragedy then go all the way don’t half ass it

They’ll also have more scenes for their RomCom/Valentine’s Edit

[herefortheships]

Omg! 😍 You know what they say, "great minds think alike". But seriously, that means this theory has canon support, when it's a conclusion more fans have thought of. I personally think this theory has strong canon support and I wish we could see something like this for a final installment in this story. Betelgeuse having to marry his true love in order to be free would be lovely as a conclusion for him and this story. Seeing him move on will feel bittersweet, since one would wish he could go on forever as the fun, beloved character he is (hence the tendency to give him open endings), but it'd be beautiful too, to see him go and be at peace with Lydia as his conclusion. Lydia also deserves a conclusion in which she is at peace and by the side of someone who loves her *unconditionally like Betelgeuse.

I'm happy to hear there's a fanfic out there similar to this, because I thought of writing one myself, but I already know how lazy I am to write fanfic lately 🥲. Maybe I will get motivated to write it, but I can't make promises. 😅

(*Betelgeuse loving Lydia unconditionally is now canon after the second movie. He did wait for her specifically for 30+ years instead of attempting to find someone else to marry in all that time, called her the love of his life, plus all he did in this movie that supports this).

Betelgeuse and marriage theory

A Beetlejuice head-canon/theory I have (warning, it's somewhat "Beauty & The Beast" coded 🌹🥀).

Having died poisoned on his wedding night, Betelgeuse's soul is bound by the ritual of marriage.

We already know he will be able to reenter the mortal world if he marries a living person (due to the rules of the afterlife and whatnot), but here's where my head-canon starts:

Bound to the ritual of marriage, if he marries someone he loves, who truly love him back, dead or alive, his soul will be freed and he will be able to pass on to the great beyond next to his beloved (once his beloved passes away as well, assuming she happens to be currently alive *hint hint*). This person has to wear Delores' ring and accept and love Betelgeuse as is. She has to fall in love with his soul. Only loving him truly, wearing the ring, and sealing the deal with a kiss will release him, and that way, in the end, both his soul and his beloved's (it has got to be Lydia, please) can move on peacefully into the great beyond and exist without curses or attachments.

Totally a fantasy in my head because there's no way something like this would happen in canon much to the sadness of my little heart lol, but I thought I'd share it with you all. And who knows, maybe if there's a third movie they will explore what it is about Betelgeuse's character that is so attached to the concept of marriage. Because, listen, maybe the ritual where a ghost marries a living person and can materialize in the living world is something that is bound to the rules of the afterlife, and detailed in the Manual for the Recently Deceased, but the symbols and ritual of marriage is something intrinsic to the character of Betelgeuse itself.

He died on his wedding night, for starters. He was tricked by Delores and fell for her immediately. One could argue he fell quickly because she is so gorgeous and no doubt manipulated him into believing she loved him, and that's definitely part of it, but also, (and I have no doubt about this one), he believed her and fell for her immediately because Betelgeuse wants to be loved. He's a romantic underneath it all, and he wants to love and be loved. He might have been desiring it for a long time, failing to find love throughout his life until he met Delores.

He may exude self-confidence (maybe even to a delulu extent lol) and present himself in this very raunchy way, but inside, I'm sure he desires a genuine love; he wants to love someone and be loved truly. And he died, murdered by his bride on the night of his wedding. Betelgeuse was murdered on the night that should have been the happiest of his life, and his desire for love and a wedding stayed with him beyond the grave, now stained with blood and betrayal and a curse that can only be broken, in my head-canon/theory, by marrying someone who truly loves him, whom he truly loves.

Marriage is definitely a very important theme in Beetlejuice, so it'd be interesting if there's something more underneath it, which could be explored in the next movie if we are so lucky to get it.

[daydreamerwonderkid]

Genuinely confused by the people who are confused that Venom: The Last Dance didn't end with Eddie and Venom making out/fucking nasty/screaming their love for each other from the roof tops.

Disclaimer: All of this is my opinion. Your feelings about the movie are valid. Just as mine are. We cool? Okay.

Guys. Venom sacrificed himself so that Eddie could live. Eddie was ready to die with him. Venom admitted to Eddie in the previous film that he loves him. Eddie is torn apart that Venom is gone. He literally says he needs Venom. Eddie goes to the Statue of Liberty for Venom. He makes a vow to never forget Venom.

I don't know what expectations some of you went into this movie with, but I don't view these films as queer bait. As a long time Venom and Symbrock fan, I left Venom: The Last Dance feeling very bittersweet but ultimately happy. The ending to me was like a love letter to a dearly beloved that is no longer around.

(Yes, the montage was cheesy. Yes, I loved it anyway. Sue me).

Maybe it's just my greysexual ass speaking, but I viewed this movie as a tragic love story. I didn't need to see Eddie and Venom making out to know they loved each other. To me, Venom sacrificing himself and Eddie whispering "Buddy?" only to be devastated when he realizes Venom is truly gone-that shit right there is love.

If you needed Sony to make their relationship even more explicitly obvious in an even more overt way so that the straights in the back can finally admit they see what we see, I'm sorry you didn't get that.

As for me, I'm content with what we got. I've read the comics, I know Symbrock is canon. I don't need an explicit scene of them fucking. And I don't need a straight person to validate what I already know.

[introvert-slushie]

VENOM THE LAST DANCE SPOILERS

I don’t know how to feel…mixed emotions.

I just watched the movie, I feel empty and distraught, it was an okay and good and sad and disappointing movie, however it had amazing action parts. But, god I’m so mad that symbrock fans didn’t get actual queer representation we were hoping for. I know there were undertones that I was happy about though.

What happened to the “But I need him?” “So romantic” lines?! (I might’ve missed them but I didn’t hear them??? edit: okay nvm I remember the “But I need him” my point still stands.)

I cannot believe they cut them out. I was excited for that, I adored Eddie’s character still and Venom. I like the adventures they went on before the final end. I had expected the whole wild end of the battle to be messy. To be honest, most of it made me go “What the hell?” and felt slightly confusing.

And I did cry at Venom’s death, that part was beautiful to me but FUCK I WISH THAT THEY SAID “I LOVE YOU” OR SOMETHING!!! That’s why I felt so empty because I didn’t see not one love confession in this movie, I did cry when Venom kept defending and protecting Eddie and in last plane scene where they talked.

Personal opinion: I wish they focused directly on Eddie and Venom, not so much on other characters. I didn’t think that the family was bad, or the scientists, or the military, or the other symbiotes but could’ve been better if they had their plot lines in sequels rather than this last special movie. I just felt disappointed with some lack of romantic intentions that the venom accounts in Tiktok and Twitter were hyping so much about. It wasn’t there.

I only am upset about that, the rest felt rush but that’s a Venom movie alright. I did love the beginning towards the middle had my favorite parts. And the codex? BRILLIANT! The Xenophages made me actually impressed at how horrific they looked and acted, which was one of my favorite things. And my absolute favorite scene was the river scene. I will talk about that later.

“Hey buddy” Sobbing forever. How dare you.

[oroontheheels]

Venom 3 spoilers!!

(I know I know I’m making like 5th post already)

Interesting question people brought up is “Is Venom movies queerbait or queer subtext”.

Honey. I’m an old bisexual person from a very homophobic country. I’ll share a wisdom with you: it is always queerbait. No matter what happens on the screen, It queerbait until the moment straight people in the audience are feeling uncomfortable. Then it’s gay representation.

The only time it is “queer subtext” is if you live in a times when they put you in prison for being gay. Or if it’s modern days but you live in a country where they put you in prison for making positive gay representation in media. And as far as I know it is not illegal to be gay in USA.

So.

Venom movies. Is it queerbait or queer context? Queerbait. 100%

Good old monetised machine.

It is bad that corps use queerbait tactics? Yes.

Is it so bad you should boycott the movies and never ever interact with Venom media again? No.

After all we are just “small people”. We want to enjoy things. And symbrock is very enjoyable and nice. In comics and in movies. And times we spent creating fan content for each other is priceless. 🖤

But what is my complaint then? My complaint is that Venom 3 didn’t do enough. There was so much opportunity and possibilities. They didn’t even use 10% of those.

They did some good old queerbait but even compared to Venom 2 they did too little. Venom 2 was gayer. It was bolder. It was more.

They should’ve go all out in Venom 3 to top that but they didn’t.

I can live with corporations using queer audiences for monetary gain. But it is humiliating when they won’t even give us bare minimum in return.

No joke about wedding in Vegas. No head boop. Not even “love you man, bye”. Believe me, when it comes to queerbait you can put SO. MUCH. MORE. and get away with it. (Remember fucking Naruto or Evangelion for example)

It’s not even half-asses effort. It’s quarter-pubic hair effort. Barely any noticeable effort.

Oh and I also do not believe in “studio meddling probably played a role”. C’mon. “Studio meddling” didn’t remove kiss from the first movie. Didn’t remove “IM OUT OF THE EDDIE’S CLOSET” in second movie. But for some reason it removed something from third movie?? Yeah, I’m not buying it. I don’t believe that third movie had some martyr writer who tried their best but failed to make symbrock canon but failed.

To end it on positive note and not to be complete salty person: Venom dancing to ABBA was indeed very gay. And him wanting to see browday musical was also very gay.

I just wish we also had some symbrock moments too.

P.S. I wrote this before but I repeat myself this movie would’ve benefited greatly if Eddie and Venom had a very big and very bad fight about The Codex reveal at the beginning. Without it Eddie coldness feels incredibly OOC and uncalled for.

[agonizingdespair]

Just came back from a completely blind viewing of Venom 3. Not going to spoil anything (like at all, even which characters were the villains because I have no idea what things were in the trailers as I didn't see them) but as a near lifelong Venom fan this was so good! I actually felt a bit emotional at the end. I was also the only one who stayed long enough to see the final post credits scene, which felt cool.

I liked how they adapted the villains in this one, which is an improvement from the previous two. Riot was a blank slate who looked enough like Venom to be a physical mirror so that they could play out the "villain having the heroes exact powers in a superhero movie" trope, and Carnage was hindered by the lack of an R rating, and being a bit ooc in general especially in regards to Cletus not being very close to his own symbiote, when in the comics those two are closer than any other symbiote host combo which is part of why they are so dangerous. As well as the fact that he just died unceremoniously in a way he wouldn't come back from, when, as essentially a slasher movie villain with a symbiote, he should've been allowed to survive.

But enough about the previous movies, point is they made the antagonists work this time in a really clever way, taking previously unrelated concepts and syncretizing aspects to better adapt those ideas in a way that wasn't disappointing to me as a comics fan.

I will say that there is a bit less explicit symbrock content than some might've been hoping for. There's subtle signs of it but I might not be the best at detecting that, actually.

To end on a positive note, the soundtrack slaps as always with these movies.

[asheurbanipal]

Larger Rules Even You Must Follow

Next>>

Venom, Eddie x Venom, symbrock

Explicit

7k words

Content: mention of suicidal ideation, angst, reunion, minor gun violence, tentacle masturbation

Ep 1 in series

On Ao3

Summary:

It's been six months since...well...since the voice stopped altogether. Life was supposed to be normal again. He's working as a reporter again! It's fine! Except there's some kind of new, mysterious figure climbing across the roof's of New York. Good thing the multiverse opens the door for those we think are gone to get...a second chance.

Notes on continuity:

Fun fact, I know the Venom comic canon backward and forward, intimately. However, the movieverse doesn't follow comic canon and technically wraps itself up with Madame Web and Morbius. And while I want to include facts and characterization from the comic canon, the movie continuity seems like more fun to write in with more spaces to write into. What the FUCK is a boi to do?

My solution? Well? Fuck it, multiverse.

Which means I also had to watch Madame Web and Morbius. These movies aren't nearly as bad as people say they are.

Eddie laid on the couch and stared at the ceiling. It was too quiet. He scrambled for the remote and turned it on to General Hospital. Too quiet. He used another remote to turn on the window AC unit, turning the fan all the way up. Too quiet. If he turned on the radio, too, the downstairs neighbors would complain again.

That was fair, honestly. She was a work-from-home mom with three kids under five. She didn't need him making her life harder. 

eddie

He rolled off the couch and hopped a few times, shaking the auditory shadow from inside his ears. He shuffled over to the office/exercise area he had set up in his dining space. He didn't touch the free weights, instead dropping to the chair in front of his laptop. Then he looked at the dumbbells. Then the computer. 

"Ten reps. Just ten reps of ten." Once he actually started, though, he rolled into a proper, basic, low weight arm routine. Nothing fancy. Nothing hard. Just something to keep his body moving so his brain wouldn't catch up. 

Before Ve-...before he wasn't really the dedicated exercising type. Living in walkable cities kept him fit enough for what he needed to do on the daily. When he met…when he had the other, though, he learned quickly he was not in any kind of shape to handle the things his body demanded of him. Yeah, he wasn't necessarily doing most of the heavy lifting, but he could feel it afterward. Punching through walls still hurt even when the force was distributed by black goo around his wrist and arm. Even a basic weightlifting routine had helped him get out of bed every morning without feeling like a robot. 

He had fallen out of the habit over the last six months. Since…

He was determined to get back into it, though. Something to make it easier to deal with…

"Fuck, I'm crying again." He dropped into the computer chair and swiped his hands across his eyes. It kept happening. He didn't even feel some specific swell of emotion, just suddenly his eyes were welling up. He had convinced everyone in the office that he just had the worst allergies known to man and they appeared at extremely inopportune times. 

Speaking of, a Teams alert went off on his laptop. He didn't have a dedicated desk, one of the hybrid reporters, but there was a last minute meeting. They wanted him at the office. 

He slammed the lid of the computer closed. Good. Fine. Anything to get out of this apartment where only shit feelings lived. 

Grief was supposed to get easier with time. That's what the book said.  

It better start working soon. 

The problem was that it came in waves. Through the weeks after, through moving back to New York, through settling into a shitty one-bedroom apartment, through all the little things he needed to do to get his life back on track, he had been fine. Sad, but fine. Distant from everything but fine. 

It was after that. After he found a routine again. After life started looking normal. 

That's when the weight of the loss hit. 

No one to talk to as he drifted off to sleep. No one to make half of breakfast poorly. Yeah, he hadn't eaten a head in half a year, but was that worth it? Really?

He had made it from his apartment, to the subway, then down a few blocks to the building of the Daily Globe , all without really thinking about what he was doing. 

"Thanks for making it Brock." Barney Bushkin was a weird guy. Fat bald. A man caught in the middle of a different time. The Globe was on the downswing, falling apart against its rivals that had better been able to adapt to an all-digital world. 

But they were willing to take them--him back. 

They probably needed him more than he needed them. The Eddie Brock byline was facing another Renaissance after internet conspiracy had (mostly correctly) decided he was the victim of some alphabet agency black op. If he kept his head down, he could ride it into a book deal of some sort. 

What the fuck would he actually write about, though? 

Bushkin led him into one of the small conference rooms with the handful of other managing editors for sections of the website and paper. Eddie shouldn't technically be there. He was a team of one, covering obscure crimes and tracking down the seeds of high-level corporate espionage. No one else wanted to touch his niche, so he had no one to report to but Bushkin himself. It was nice to have a long lead, but that also meant if something went sideways, he was the only one carrying the weight. Again. 

Bushkin closed the door and dropped the blinds. 

"This is an in-person meeting because I don't want any of this in writing." He dropped a manila file on the table and opened it up to a few 8 x 10s. It was some guy in red, swinging on some kind of thin rope between skyscrapers. The pictures got picked up and passed around the room.

"These came in anonymously, and I got a call from Jameson at the Bugle and a few other places that they got the same. Now this combined with some weird street crime patterns lately means we've come to a bit of a truce. We're all gonna hold back until we have more information. Not just gonna run any random old picture. We're gonna at least pretend we're journalists. Because honestly? None of us know what the hell this is, and no one wants to look stupid. Doesn't mean we can't get the scoop, though."

The pictures made it to Eddie, and he flipped through them. Something pinged a memory deep down that shot an arrow of unease through him. Action shots were blurry, a red and blue figure hurtling through the sky. A nighttime candid from inside the crown of the Statue of Liberty when it was absolutely closed to the public. He sent them along to the next person.

Bushkin nodded to a young woman with pink hair. One of the designated "younger generation" that every paper needed and he had been at one time. 

"Lee, is this enough to figure out how and where these were printed? Get us something to work back from?"

"I've got an ink analysis guy," she assured, and that was enough, for now. 

"Okay, everyone else, I want you on your toes, looking into this, but I don't want you dropping off your main stories. We've still got a paper to keep running." 

Bushkin answered a round of questions, then everyone was released out of the office. 

"Brock." Except one. 

Bushkin waited for everyone else to filter out before leaning into Eddie. 

"Is this the kind of thing you might know something about?" 

Bushkin knew Something. Eddie didn't know how or what or any actual useful details that would help him navigate this conversation, but Bushkin had some kind of information that other people didn't. And he had figured out Eddie did, too. 

"Nothing from me." Eddie had gotten good at failing to commit to anything specific. In more ways than one.

"You sure? Maybe, you find something no one else would think to look for?"

Eddie sighed. 

"Barney, you don't want it to be something I know about. Because I won't be able to give you that scoop without being put in a wooden crate and stored at the back of a warehouse. Are you getting me?" This was the first time he had been this direct about the situation, and it was still skimming around the outside. But Bushkin nodded. 

"Then I'll just ask you to use your unique experience and keep an eye out."

"I can do that." He gestured vaguely toward the door. "We good?"

Bushkin flicked his head in dismissal. 

 

"Hey, Yousef, can I ask you about something?"

Eddie slid into the bodega at the corner by his apartment and headed straight back for a six pack. By the time he made it to the counter he had a bag of chips and a chocolate bar. He didn't remember grabbing the chocolate bar. For a half second he stared at the shelf, considering whether to put it back. Then Soup the calico nudged his hand from her station on the counter, and he focused his attention on petting her, instead.

eddie, kitty

"Stop it," he muttered to himself.

"What are you yelling at me about, boss?" Yousef emerged from the backroom. He was probably only a few years older than Eddie, but he'd been in the city his whole life. Street level. 

"Do you remember something maybe…fifteen years? About some dude in, like, I don't know…a unitard chasing people around the city?" 

Yousef stared at him with narrowed eyes, thinking.

It had struck him while he was dredging through crime reports looking for possible clues or information, a sort of weird nag of information in the back of his head. He had been a dumb college kid at the time, though, still pretending he was hot shit out in the suburbs. He was too disconnected from things happening in the city. The general internet had shit-all, and if the crime beat archives at the Globe ever had anything, it was gone now.

Suspiciously gone, honestly. 

But people don't forget so easily. 

"Yeah…yeah." Yousef knocked his knuckles on the counter then started ringing up Eddie's purchases. "Some fucking asshole in black pajamas blew up a taxi then went chasing an ambulance through Queens. News said they were shooting a music video and the pyrotechnics malfunctioned. Never believed it for a second." 

Yousef looked at him sideways.

"Big shot reporter asking makes me think I'm right." 

Eddie leaned across the counter conspiratorially. 

"Not that you heard it from me. But if you happen to see or hear anything else about a man running around in a onesie, I would appreciate the notice." 

Yousef tapped the side of his nose that he understood.

 

Eddie sat on a crate on the fire escape pretending it was a balcony drinking a beer and doom-scrolling on his laptop. The city was noisy. Bright. A lot of extra-sensory information in the background to keep the soft parts of his brain occupied. 

eddie

He tossed the echo of a sound out of his head and chugged down the last half of his beer in one gulp. His thumb hovered over the trackpad. He told himself he would stop doing this, but the urge kept rising up. 

His fingers found the keystrokes before he realized he was doing it. "Life Foundation rocket" "Carlton Drake" "San Francisco church" "Cletus Kasady" "Nevada aliens" Then a collection of additional keywords and searches laying out the major events of the most eventful year of his life. True to the word of the US military, there was nothing that could incriminate him beyond being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Carlton Drake had died in a rocket launch failure. The Life Foundation had been shut down, at least temporarily, for unknown disclosed FDA-related reasons. Cletus Kasady had orchestrated a prison break with a homemade explosive and burned down a church. Which, by the way, Eddie Brock had nothing to do with upon further investigation. It was a misunderstanding based on the raving declarations of a now-dead serial killer. 

And, of course, there was an absolute glut of conversation about aliens at the old Area 51 site. Some of it was eerily accurate, but it all lived on forums and subreddits and Discord servers and old-school IRC channels that didn't exactly hold themselves to a high burden of proof. 

"Goddamnit, Martin," he muttered. Once he had figured out his handle, it was easy to track him across every site. "They're gonna come get you if you're not careful." But the Martins of the world helped keep the secret. Cover the truth with loud absurdity. He glanced through the window at a manilla folder on his desk. Inside were photocopies he'd secretly made of the weirdo in red and blue. He wiped away a mysterious stray tear.

"I swear to god, if all the politicians end up being lizard people, I'm gonna be so pissed."

 

eddie

He sat up in bed, the fabric of his blanket agony against the gooseflesh of his skin. 

"Stop it." He pressed his palms to his ears and growled into the empty room. "Stop talking to me like this. Just…be dead…I can't…I can't keep doing this." 

I'm sorry, Eddie. Do you want me to go?

He froze, hands still over his ears. It was real. It was real and it was inside his head. This wasn't possible. He had watched the symbiote melt in a rain of acid. Felt the connection sever. Felt the silence descend and expand through his body until the only thing left was himself.

"Buddy?" Eddie searched the room, crawling to the end of his twin bed. "Buddy, are you there?" The tears came hot, pouring down his cheek, dripping down over his chin and jaw. "If you're actually here, you need to fucking talk to me. I can't…I can't do this." 

Can I come into you Eddie? I want it to be better this time.

"Yes, please oh my god." He held out his hands, unsure where to aim them. Part of the pitch black darkness of his room reached out and touched his fingertips. It crawled up his arm, circling his chest, his neck, his face. Then it settled down under his skin. A sea of bubbles spread between his fat and muscle, popping in quick succession until he was floating in his own skin. He focused on the sensation of the symbiote--his symbiote--wrapped around his spine. The tendrils curled around his ribs and settled into the spaces between his organs. He felt so heavy. So dense. Mass stacked on mass stacked on mass. 

He didn't even realize how much he had missed this. How much he missed the weight . 

"So you didn't die or…where have you been this whole time?" 

I'm tired, Eddie. Took so long to find you, again. Let me rest then I'll show you.

Eddie moved the conversation to his internal monologue, tripping into the line of thought awkwardly. He had barely mastered it before…well…shit before the alien died. 

Yeah okay, buddy. Yeah. 

Eddie fell back against the lumpiest set of pillows in existence. Matter raised along his chest, seeping out of his skin and through his undershirt. It formed into the shape of an arm across his sternum, a half-formed hand dropping around to his back. 

Is that safe? For you to be out like this?

It's fine. I'll tell you what I learned later.

They sounded so tired. Eddie nodded. Rest. Right. There was a twitch in his arm, and he followed the impulse to pick it up and place it across his stomach. His symbiote's arm moved lower, and their hand intertwined with his, fingers clasping over the back of his hand. 

I missed you, Eddie.

I missed you, too, bud.

Eddie was out the minute he closed his eyes, and he had the best goddamn night of sleep in months. 

 

Something in his body was waiting for the symbiote to wake him up when he sensed the sunlight on skin. They didn't. 

Eddie forced it himself, blinking his eyes open against the new daylight. It was brighter. Whiter. Like he used to see it. When he tried to move his hand, it was stuck in a death grip of alien matter. His other hand was free and he looked down at his body. He was wrapped in thick bands of matter around his chest and stomach. Thinner stripes coiled around his thigh, and he couldn't tell whether they were curling up the leg or down the waistband of his boxer briefs. Or if they simply erupted from his skin. 

He brushed a hand over a band of matter. It was warm. Pulsing. The matter was unmoving, but not still, micro-twitching and breathing under his hand. He ran his fingers along it, trying to find out how it faded back into his body before giving up and giving in to the feeling. 

This specific display was new. A strange middle ground between extension of his body and limbs and existing as their own being. 

"Hey, are you awake?" 

Waiting for you, Eddie.

The bands moved around his body, sinking back into him. Eddie let his symbiote move him out of bed and gently pad across the room to the window. His symbiote emerged from his shoulder.

"You can't see the statue from here, Eddie," they said. They're cadence was still subdued but not as tired as the night before. 

"Well, yeah, you can't see it from everywhere. I'll take you down to Battery Park when you're feeling better." He could feel the matter-deep weariness in the other part of him. His other part. His Other. The Other touched the top of their head to Eddie's, knocking their temples together. 

"You gonna tell me what happened?" Eddie asked. 

"While we make some breakfast. You're hungry." 

On cue, Eddie's stomach growled in anticipation. The Other sunk back into Eddie's shoulder and let him stay in control as they moved into the kitchen. The other's arms and tendrils hesitated at first, feeling out the new kitchen. Then they moved, slow and deliberate, pulling eggs and milk and bread to their workstation. This wasn't the same frenetic energy that he'd fallen into sync with. 

No baking powder, Eddie. Can't make pancakes. A tendril touched Eddie's cheek in apology. 

"That's fine. I usually have coffee and nothing for breakfast. So…"

Not good for you, my beloved.

Something tightened around their words, like they had let them slip and fall and tumble without thought. The Other produced a small head to speak again. 

"What have you been doing while I was gone?" they asked.

"Nah, you go first. My life is boring without you. You can just pluck the last six months from my brain."

"I'd like to listen to your voice," The Other said quietly. The eggs they had scrambled and thrown in the pan were cooking up perfectly smooth and light and fluffy.

"Ahh. Okay. Well. I'm at the Globe . Bushkin has me looking into these people in spandex tooling around the city. I think I might be onto something, but…I don't know."

He could feel the other's interest pique.

"Are there pictures?"

"Yeah, actually. I'll show them to you…after you tell me where you were and what you've been doing."

The Other slid back into his body with a sigh. 

Eat your food. 

This time they were forceful, dragging Eddie's body to the high stool on the other side of the kitchen island while they finished and plated the eggs. The other added fresh toast then went searching in the fridge for something. They returned with butter slammed hard on the counter.

I didn't die.

  "Obviously," Eddie replied, taking a bite of the best fucking eggs he'd ever eaten. 

Shh and listen.

The other thwapped him on the side of the face with a tendril. 

A few cells survived and remained here, but my consciousness retreated into the hive. Back beyond the edges of the cage. Then…I don't know. 

The Other showed him something. A forever collapsing infinity. An event horizon. Light and heat and time compressed in on him revealing an eventuality at the end of time. 

I was nothing. I was everything. I connected to all the different versions of us through space and time.

"Wait, what?" Eddie found himself pausing with the tip of his fork resting on his bottom lip. 

The multiverse Eddie. Versions of us over and over and over again. I watched through the eyes of different hosts. Versions of me that weren't bonded to versions of you. I watched you hesitate as you held a gun to the roof of your mouth. I watched you actually pull the trigger a few times. 

I saw you angry and sad and riddled with sickness. I saw you fueled by rage, justified and otherwise. 

I saw Anne dead. 

That stopped them both. Eddie had texted her exactly one time to inform her he was in New York and off the FBI's most wanted list. She congratulated him. From there, he had decided to let her go. She had a life to lead, and he didn't belong in it anymore. 

I saw…I saw versions of your life that I don't know how to give you, yet, but I want to. I saw versions of us that…hmmm. I'll have to show you. But not, yet. We're not ready.

The Other slid a tendril across Eddie's chest, dropping over the opposite shoulder. 

I was wrong about the Codex…..no….not wrong. I was just missing pieces. Knowledge all caught up in the hive that I knocked loose. Knull knows it now, too. But that means he won't try to kill us again. Not yet, at least.

"What did you find? About the codex?"

The Other made a rumbling sound. Nothing he heard but felt in his stomach.

I can't figure out the words. Can I show you? I'll be gentle. 

"Yeah, yeah, go for it." Eddie closed his eyes, waiting for the boil-over of information. It wasn't like the last time The Other had done this, forcing a curling mass of sticky, prickly Stuff down his throat. This was nice and slow and his dumb-ass understood it.

It took more than a single codex to unlock the cage around Knull. It was a collection of codices. And they came together and…and that part he wasn't sure he understood, yet. Something about…connection…to the hive? It must be something symbiotes…klyntar understood innately. He'd get there. It would all come together. 

So there are more codexes? It was easier to keep the voice in his head now that he'd slipped into the liminal space of thought. 

Yes. Which is super confusing to me, I'm not gonna lie. I know that we have one, but now I'm not so sure how they're made. 

Can you go back into the hive thingy? 

Not without Knull knowing again. And I don't think I'd find the answer. I think this may be new. Or something so old we've forgotten how it works. 

But you're sure Knull won't come after us?

Yes. I'm sure. Not yet. 

That "not yet's" scaring me a bit, buddy.

It's fine, beloved. 

They did it again, freezing up for half a moment. 

If you're done eating, show me the pictures. 

He was halfway through a bite of toast when The Other yanked him off the stool and across the room, dropping him at his desk. Symbiote matter dropped over his head, and he found himself looking through The Other's eyes. His hands moved the pictures over into the center of their shared vision. Matter emerged from his fingers to trace the line of action of the blue and red swinging figure. 

Spider-Man.

"Whomst the fuck?" Eddie said, the incredulity pushing his voice from his throat. The Other released his face to emerge as a head. They spread the rest of the pictures out. 

"There are universes where we never meet, but in all the ones we do, it's because of Spider-Man," the other explained. "Sometimes he finds me on a space station. Sometimes I hitch a ride on a meteor. He becomes my host, but we never truly bond. Not really. He gets tired of me and uses sound to pull me off."

"That's rude," Eddie said. 

"You did the same thing with the MRI machine, Eddie." 

"Yeah, but not because I was tired of you. I was scared because of the, you know, organ failure." 

"And when you kicked me out the second time?"

"You beat me up then left!" 

The other vibrated and hummed. A tendril passed over Eddie's cheek. 

"I don't want to fight with you. Not now." 

"Keep telling me about this Spider-Dude," Eddie said softly. 

"After he leaves me, I find you. And we become Venom. This is the only universe where none of that happened. Where he wasn't part of our creation. Maybe because he didn't exist yet." 

"I'm not gonna pretend I understand this multiverse shit, but…like…why?"

"Maybe we're simply inevitable."

 

Venom sat on the edge of the rooftop not doing anything in particular. Just…existing…a black mass against the night and the lights of the city. They pulled another chocolate from the sampler box and threw it back. 

Cherry cordial is fucking disgusting.

I don't disagree, but the only other option was vegan.

That's unacceptable. 

I know. Fiending for brain?

I'm okay. That probiotic actually took the edge off.

Yeah, I learned a little about bio-chem while you were gone. 

Smart man.

It had taken a few days to readjust to being Venom again, all of which he had managed to convince Bushkin he needed to work from home from. He sweetened the deal by strongly implying, without outright lying, that he had information on their mystery masked crusader and was close to tracking them down. The Other expressed some uneasiness but didn't say anything outright. 

What do you want to do, Eddie?

Is this not fine for now? Still getting our sea legs back. 

No, in the long term. What do we do with ourselves?

Gotta figure out how to deal with the big guy in the cage, but otherwise, I don't know. Been a rough two years, mate. Having a hard time seeing very far into the future. 

Well, I've seen a whole bunch of futures, so-

Something disturbed the atmosphere. A twitch in the fabric of reality. Then a scream maybe five blocks over. 

LET'S GO EDDIE

They were running across the rooftop before he ever realized he was moving. The wind rushed past their head as they leapt to the neighboring rooftop. The next jump dropped them down the side of the building, claws slamming into the brickwork and slowing them as they dropped downward. 

You need to hold back or the military's gonna have our ass.

It won't be the worse thing that happens to us.

That cryptic shit was getting old fast, but it certainly kept piquing his interest. They slipped through a few more alleys and fire escapes, fast enough that no one caught them. 

They finally found the source of the scream in a blind courtyard between buildings. A group of four that was almost cliche in their arrangement. Two men in beanies pulled low over their brows were bearing down on a young couple. One had a gun and the other looked like he maybe wished he had a gun, too. 

Eat their heads?

Let's stop them first, then cross that bridge when we get to it. 

Good enough. 

Venom didn't need to be fast, now, heavy doing all the work as they came down hard on the man with the gun. The woman screamed again. How did no one else hear this? These muggers were just some asshole dudes, so landing on him was enough to disable him. The other mugger tried to get away, but a fling of matter around his waist pulled him back to join his friend with another glue of matter. 

Venom turned on the victims, keeping his mask in place but pulling back on the teeth a little. 

"Are you ok-"

The man had a camera up, filming them, dancing around to get better angles. 

"You fucking kidding me?" Venom snatched the phone. This was, again, just some dude, so it was easy. He broke it in half with a quick snap. "You can't fucking film me, dude. What the fuck? You want me to be fucking X-filed? Goddamn think for a fucking minute, dude." 

"GUN!" The woman shouted. 

Venom turned. They had forgotten about the gun. One of the muggers had been able to wriggle out of the matter enough to reach it. He got one shot off. The kinetic energy pushed him back half a step, but bullets didn't exactly do anything. 

" Oh, now we're eating his head."  

A soft quick sound -- a thwip -- ricocheted down through the canyon of buildings. Some kind of sticky material, not unlike his own matter, shot down from the rooftop and knocked the gun to the ground, glueing it in place. Venom looked up. At the edge of the roof was a guy in a red and blue one-piece morph suit with bright white eyes. Most of the other details were lost in the distance. 

"Spider-Man?"

" Nope!"

And The Other yanked Venom up through the night, dashing across rooftops. 

 

Venom rolled through the window, breaking apart into Eddie again. 

"Why did you pull us away? The kid was right there!" 

The Other emerged from his shoulder with gnashing teeth.

"No. Not until we understand him better."

"How am I supposed to do that if I don't talk to him, huh?" Eddie fell on the couch, dropping his face into his hands, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"We just need to be careful." 

"Careful for-" but then Eddie felt it. Fear. Worry. Something that reached back through the Everything. "What does Spider-Man do to us? What have you not told me?"

"When he rejects me, the other versions of me become so…mad. Sorrow. Need. I can still feel it when I look at him. In all the universes I seek out hosts who feel the same about him just to feed the rage. To have a like-minded partner. It's what he does to you, though. That's what scares me."

"He seems like a good dude, I'm sure whatever it was--" but there was that shiver of panic again. The other clicked their teeth and re-merged. 

It's a little different every time, but you're working on a story. It's important. It's the break of a lifetime. You're at the top of your game. Then Spider-Man undermines you. Scoops you. Finds the real killer. You lose your job, your credibility. You lose Anne.  You lose your mind. Lose your will to live. I find you at your lowest and we bond over our shared hatred. 

"Okay, well, you already found me at my lowest. We've been through that. Anne is off being…all…happily ever after with Dan. She's solid. I've got a new job. And I didn't even want to kill myself." The Other knew it was a lie when he said it, and something grazed his brain in consolation. 

There had been a few moments in that six month gap between everything going to shit and joining with his other where things grew particularly dark. He had briefly wondered if everything would be better if he stopped existing. Had never existed to begin with. 

"I'm just saying we'd be meeting this kid at a totally different time in our lives. And also those other versions of me seem super dramatic. We're chill."

Our hatred of Spider-Man turns us into a monster, Eddie. 

"Sweetheart, we're already a monster."

Shut up and listen. 

The other slammed him with a punchbowl of emotion. The same things The Other already described. Rage. Sorrow. Agony. All dialed up and tuned in to a level that wanted to pop his limbs at the joints. And at the center of it all the overwhelming desire to completely and totally decimate Spider-Man down to a molecular level. 

Okay. Okay. I get it. We'll give the kid some space until we figure it out. 

Thank you, beloved. 

Eddie threw his head back against the couch.

"I want to ask how I stack up against this…multiverse of other hosts, but I think I might hurt my own feelings."

One version of me attached to a talking raccoon for a short while. 

"Wait, is there a way into that universe? That sounds fun as hell."

Nah, those guys were fucking assholes. 

"Anything else interesting from the magical symbiote multiverse I should know about?"

Matter rose across Eddie's stomach and started creeping up his chest. It tugged at his shirt and started removing it. 

"I hate it when you do this, you know that."

Want to show you something. Take your shirt off. 

Eddie tutted but obeyed, pulling it over his head. As soon as he leaned back, another shirt appeared, just like the first. 

"Yo, what the fuck?" 

The other branched from his shoulder. 

"It's a trick I learned," The Other said. The shirt changed from blue to white and the words "FRANKENSTEIN HIMBO" appeared across the chest in block letters. "I've got shirts figured out, but I'm still working on pants. Then I'll figure out jackets. And suits. You look sexy in a suit." 

"Ah, man, if you were able to do this in Vegas, we wouldn't have had to knock that one guy out. WAIT?! Can you make other stuff?"

A tendril emerged from the matter to hover over the coffee table. The Other formed a little cube of matter and set it on the table. Once it detached, it lost structure and melted into nothing. The Other reincorporated it back into their matter. 

"Other versions of me were able to take on more solid forms on Earth without a host," The Other lamented. "I'm not sure how, yet." The other tilted their head against Eddie's. He reached up and pressed his fingers against their temple, stroking their cheek with his pinky. 

"You'll get it. Anything else important?"

"It's all important, Eddie, but there's so much of it. Let me save some for later." 

"Okay. That's fair." He pressed The Other's face to his. It was nice. It was one thing to have another voice inside his head, another to experience the physical touch.

The Other's head turned under his hand and pressed further into his cheek. A grazing of teeth ran along his skin. 

"I did not miss this little bitey-kissy thing you do," Eddie said, slightly turning his head. "Just commit in one direction-" The Other answered him by kissing him. Actually kissing him. 

Lips pressed to his, slithery tongue prying open his mouth and clicking around against his teeth. The fucked up thing was that Eddie let it happen. He let the other form hands to wrap around the back of his head. When his own hands came up, he knew it wasn't the other controlling him, and he hooked them around the back of the other's head. It wasn't until he started trying to work his fingers down a neck and back that didn't exist that he startled himself out of what was happening. The other almost didn't let him draw back, clutching around his neck. Eddie became starkly aware that he wasn't wearing a shirt as the other moved their hands down to his chest. 

"We've never done that before," Eddied gasped stupidly. 

"Fuck, you're right. Shit. Shit. I forgot we weren't here, yet."

"Have…other versions of us…done this?"

"Other versions of us have done so so many more things, Eddie. Brought you to the height of ecstasy over and over again."

"Okay that's…that's a lot. That's…I have to think about that."

"I know. I'm sorry." 

"Stop saying you're sorry. Goddamnit, ever since you've been back…You weren't like this before."

"Did you prefer me before?"

"No! I mean…yes. I mean…fuck. I mean I don't get what your deal is. Apart from the whole dying and slipping through interdimensional portals yeah…okay. I'm realizing that I've also done that at least once, and it does kinda suck. You don't come back super normal from that." 

"No, you do not." The other pushed their head back to create space, but they kept their hands touching Eddie's chest. "I've lived a hundred thousand versions of us, but in all that I've managed to mostly hold on to what is true to our reality. The things we've actually done. While there are other versions of me that despise you and tried to destroy you from the inside out, I can separate that from the Now. From the Us. But all those lifetimes of loving you? That I can't seem to get rid of. That's sticking around, and it's going to make some things more difficult." 

"Love?" Eddie choked.

"You didn't believe me the first time, either."

"I didn't think it meant the same thing to you." 

"It doesn't mean the same, probably. Klyntar don't have the need to form the sort of social groups that humans do, so the names for those things are different. Doesn't mean it's not important. That it's not strong."

"I didn't say it wasn't. I just don't think I understand. What do you want from me? What does whatever this word mean for you? Feeling a little lost." 

The other rubbed their head against Eddie's cheek. 

"I can give you the feeling I feel," The Other offered.

"No, that's too weird. I get all hungover when you do that." 

"Then I'll show you." 

"Show me what?"

But the other slid back into his chest. Tendrils rolled up from his stomach. One flicked at the button and zipper of his jeans, pulling it down. Another tendril slid down and around the bulge covered by his boxer briefs. His body reacted immediately. He couldn't be sure he didn't want it to. This was normal, right? Any red hot American man would react to any kind of stimulus of this nature. Right? Right…

A tendril slipped through the slot of his fly and around his dick which hardened immediately. 

"Okay… okay… hold on."

Of course, I'll stop if you want Eddie, but…

"But what?" he choked. 

Did you think I just disappeared when you masturbated? I've been here the whole time.

"I spent a great amount of energy not thinking about it, actually." 

Eddddiiiee. I know what you like. Let me show you. The voice whined in his head, and The Other's impatience tugged at his spine. But they stopped, their matter pulling back into a mass at the base of his pelvis. Eddie took in a deep breath and sunk back into the shared place in his mind, the little hollow spot where their voices connected. 

Okay.

The Other was slower this time, delicate. The Other pulled down the waistband of his briefs then slipped a tendril around his cock, pressing around it softly. 

First it was just a ring that settled at the base of his cock, pulsing and squeezing in pattern.Then more matter stretched up from the ring, swirling upward until it covered his entire length. A soft tip of tendril traced along the sensitive head making him jump. The matter was dry but full of undulating pressure, squeezing bottom to top, dragging the sensations out of him by the root. 

You think you like it hard, Eddie. You and your deathgrip.

It's how I learned to do it, I guess. Somehow his inner voice was panting more than the hot breaths that emerged from his lips. 

I can feel your mind and all the dirty parts of it. What you really like is soft and slow.

With a slow pump, the matter began to move up and down, the inside against his cock moving faster than the layer on the outside. A piece reached down to cup his balls warmly, rolling them ever so gently in the hammock of The Other's hand. More matter emerged from his stomach and crawled up his chest with thin hands. 

You like to be touched. Two hands splayed flat on his chest over his pecs, palms pressing into his nipples. Two more hands emergred to run up his neck. To be caressed . The Other's head emerged in a flow from his chest.

"To be kissed." Their mouth fell against his, tongue dipping casually into his mouth. Soft. Hesitant. Testing and tempered. Their teeth nipped at his mouth but didn't puncture. The Other was so rarely like this, treating him so gently. He didn't totally know who was in control of his hands anymore as he lifted them again to the sides of The Other's head, keeping them locked so he didn't drift down and freak himself out again. He focused, instead, on the sensation happening around his mouth., the ever deepening kisses, the fingers digging and scratching at his chest, the quickening movements of The Other on his cock. 

A stifled moan rose in his chest, bleeding out around the edges where their mouths touched. The sound didn't stop as The Other moved faster and faster, increasing pressure slowly as the heat burbled in his body. The other clicked into the cavity of his mouth while he grunted and keened, climaxing into the warmth of The Other's matter. At the same time The Other's chirps became growls, pressing harder into Eddie's mouth, swallowing his breath and every other part of him. 

The Other's head slunk back into Eddie's body, replacing itself with a tendril that crept around Eddie's head and neck. The Other tucked his now soft and sticky cock back into Eddie's shorts and patted it gently. Eddie leaned back against the couch, panting.

"Uh…did you also…um…"

I feel everything you feel, Eddie.

"So you…okay…okay wow."  

Do you need some more time to process that?

"A little yeah, thanks."

We can go to sleep, Eddie. That might help. You're exhausted.

"That is actually a not terrible idea." 

Eddie let The Other pull him up from the couch, across the living room to the bedroom. Let them strip him out of his jeans and flop him into bed. The blanket pulled up over his head, and he went out like a light.

 

Eddie woke to bands shifting around his body. He was on his side and a symbiote head was resting in the curve of his waist. He looked down to find The Other flicking through his phone, half body leaning against his back. 

"Don't delete any of my e-mails," Eddie said. 

"I'm on Twitter. We might have fucked up last night by smashing that guy's phone."

"Knew that would come back to haunt us, what's happening?" Eddie sat up, the bands shifting to give him space. The Other's half body followed, attaching at his side and head rubbing against his. They brought the phone over. 

"Douchebag is all over Twitter saying a 'tentacle monster' attacked him and his girlfriend last night," the other explained.

"Leaving out that we saved him from a mugging, I'm sure." 

"Of course. But here's the real fucked up part. A bunch of people got a bunch of photos of Spider-Man last night. So now people are putting those two things together."

"I mean…okay…not totally off, I guess. I feel like that is not gonna go well for this kid. Shit." A weird pulse of emotion shot through his body that he knew was from The Other. "Are you excited about everyone thinking Spider-Man's a bad guy?"

"Remnants of another me."

"Yeah. Alright. Okay. Don't be a loser."

"Takes one to know one," The Other replied. One of their tendrils curled around his shoulder, then ended up flicking through his hair. 

"Do we…um…do we talk about what happened last night?" Eddie asked. "Is that a thing that happens? Or are we ignoring it?"

"I have no intention of ignoring it, beloved. I'm just waiting for you to catch up."

"For me to fall in love with you?"

"To realize you already are."

"You're so fucking weird."

The Other pressed their face to his cheek and slid a tendril down his stomach. 

"I can show you something real fucking weird, if you want."

A text message on his phone saved him from having to make a decision about consenting, and he took it from the perch of The Other's matter. It was Bushkin asking if he had seen Twitter that morning. He was going to need about fifty lifetimes to figure out how to answer that question. He absently rubbed the surface of one of the tendrils that had dropped over his shoulder then let the tip of it curl around his finger. 

"This is my new normal, isn't it?" Eddie sighed.

"Took you long enough." The Other pressed their forehead to his temple. Eddie brushed his fingers over their cheek.

"Sweetheart," Eddie said, really feeling the shape of the word form on his lips, "we have to track down Spider-Man." 

"Fuck," the other replied. They sighed. "I guess it's…haaah…"

"Inevitable," Eddie finished.

[stealthypussycat]

Fanarts became canon 😏🔥

[indigoraven]

Back from the cinema. Thoughts (Spoilers!!) under the cut, do not expect any particular order to these things

First of, I liked it. More than the second one I think.

Everything with venom and Eddie was fun, they had a lot of goofy moments together that I liked. The dance sequence was so stupid but I loved it. (I will not think about how venoms decision there made 0 sense in the way it was presented)

The lab scenes fell very flat for me. I wanted to care but didn't. Maybe because we already had a lot of disappointing lab scenes in the first films and these ones didn't really add anything. I just don't think these movies make the scientific part of the sybiotes very fun to watch which is why I don't understand why they insist on using them. The lab design was kinda fun with the lights? But still felt very boring in general.

The monster design was great, actually a huge fan of the wood chipper thing and how visceral it feels. They actually commited and had someone lose their legs as well which I feel like we don't see a lot of? Its usually just down right death.

And the "road trip part" was cool too. I actually like the family quite a bit but I probably would have written them in a slightly different way, especially at the end. And the entire thing where venom takes different forms was really nice, I wish we could have seen more of that.

I didn't honestly expect any explicit romance and I like the sort of implied thing they have going on. I am still pissed about it though. Solely because the marketing was so heavily focused on symbrock. Which then makes me feel like it was all queerbaiting. I would not think so otherwise because at that point it would have just been queer coding. But the entire thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth standing as it is.

I also liked the two scientists having a sort of romance going on, all that hand holding was very cute on top of the way they interacted. I just wish I would have cared about them even more. But the movie didn't exactly give a lot besides a few small pieces here and there. Maybe they will come up in future projects though. Otherwise the end would be kinda pointless.

The ending is basically the best I could have hoped for given the plot. It just didn't give me the gut punch I was hoping for. I don't know what I would have changed to make it feel more earned right now but maybe I will come up with something at some point. Maybe part of it is that we now know that, canonically, venom was on earth for only a year. That feels like too little time for such a huge comic character. And I'm sorry but the slide show at the end made it feel even cheaper. That's something you can do after 8 seasons of a show. Not after three movies without actually comminting to anything concrete in their relationship AND telling us like 30minutes before that it has "only" been a year.

There are also some plotholes that annoy me (or things that weren'r explained). especially because most of them wouldn't have needed to exist if they went about it a bit differently but the way they did things, stuff just doesn't make sense.

I guess I'll just go back to the comics now

[kalechip247]

⚠️VENOM THE LAST DANCE SPOILERS⚠️

…

i have to say… as a diehard venom fan a symbrock supporter, i am mildly disappointed by the third movie and it honestly felt like a cash grab. i loved the cute and funny bits that we did get, but it felt like they just needed to find a way to split Eddie and Venom apart. SOMEONE told Tom Hardy they couldn’t do more with their relationship and i stand by that.

in the first movie, it’s about their introduction to one another and becoming friends and in the second movie it’s about them learning to accept one another and realizing that they’re all they need. but i genuinely cannot find a theme in the third movie that matches the first two movies. it feels like they took a big step back with the third movie in terms of their relationship… in the end credits scene of LTBC we essentially get a love confession between Eddie and Venom, it’s very cutesy and gives off the vibes of middle schoolers falling in love for the first time, and there’s this mutual feeling of “he is all i’ll ever want,” but i just did not get those vibes in the TLD… very buddy comedy and very much leaning into bromance rather than romance (which is what i assumed we’d get considering all of the symbrock content the marketing team was putting out, which now just feels like queerbaiting and a stab in the back). not to mention Venom’s poor decision making, but he did change Eddie’s memories to make him think he still had cancer in the comics so i can’t really talk on that lol.

but considering how much comic lore they put into the movie (the xenophages, Knull, the Codex(which is Dylan in the comics)), i expected them to also take Eddie and Venom’s relationship a step further too, especially with the character development that they left us with in LTBC. when Venom dies while they defeat Knull (at least a manifestation of him) in Venom (2018), Issue #6, the symbiote uses this chance to say “I love you” one final time before saving Eddie.

and then in Issue #7, Eddie only thinks they’re separated and doesn’t even believe it’s dead until Reed Richards says so.

But it truly does destroy Eddie and he becomes incredibly depressed throughout the next few issues.

Issue #9–

losing Venom is the worst thing to ever happen to Eddie, and that’s what made the nature of their relationship so important, they’re entirely codependent on one another… so it’s frustrating to me that they didn’t incorporate any of that into the final movie and it seemed like Eddie moved on immediately from Venom’s death. but when Anne dumped him he became a sad sack of shit for months until he met Venom??? make it make sense.

ok that’s my hot take for the day. will i go see the movie again? …yes. but only to take notes so i can rewrite it in fanfic form.

[herefortheships]

My thoughts on Venom 3.

It's been a long time coming! I'm pausing my Beetlejuicy blogging tonight to talk a little bit about Venom. If you didn't know, back when Venom 2 was released, and a little bit before then, I was absolutely obsessed with Venom. More specifically, I was totally obsessed with Symbrock. (Although my love for the character of Venom has been with me since I was around 13 or 14 years old, back in the early 2000s.) So for a while, I think between 2021 and 2022, this blog was almost entirely dedicated to Symbrock (and Destiel, that one is always here). That's the reason why my blog title was originally "My Fandom and Random Blog": I hyper-fixate on whatever piece of media blows my mind. And for a good chunk of time, that was Symbrock, so I'm writing this little intro to this post because my blog is currently, predominantly, a Beetlejuice (Beetlebabes) blog. And it will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

But tonight, we go back to my previous hyper-fixation.

I have a lot of feelings about Venom 3. This post will focus on the Eddie x Venom relationship, as that's what I am most invested in. Warning: There are spoilers here.

My fresh-out-of-the-movie feeling is that I loved it, but a few things made me go "hmm..." Starting with the marketing for this movie.

I would not have expected much in the Veddie shipping department if it wasn't for the marketing. It's a superhero action movie and I know what kind of world we currently live in (plus this world isn't reading for a monsterfucker leading character like our beloved monsterfucker king Eddie Brock lol). But I noticed that a good effort was put into highlighting their relationship, not just as a friendship, but as a romance, in the marketing for this movie. There were TikTok edits and Instagram posts showing them as a romance, and the phrase "We ship Eddie and Venom" was also used (here's the Instagram post, if you don't believe me lol). What I'm getting at is that the ship was used to hype the movie. So, what was I supposed to expect? Look, there was a lot of lovely subtext between Eddie and Venom, which I loved, but it wasn't any more obvious than what we got in LTBC (in fact, maybe it was even less evident? I'll get to that in a second). So it doesn't really justify all this effort to hype up their relationship.

So, when they amped up the shipping as they marketed a movie with the slogan "'Til death do they part" (which I should mention had scenes in Vegas, notorious place for odd weddings, hello), a lot of fans (myself included) thought that something was going to happen in Vegas, if you know what I mean. Or that at least the subtext would be even more obvious. Some fans even expected another Veddie kiss scene (my expectations were more reserved, but after all that marketing I would not have been surprised to see a kiss, tbh).

I never expected to get anything overt in Venom with Symbrock, but this being the final film in the trilogy, the previous movie ending with the two of them on the run, the release of that deleted scene in which Venom is teasing Eddie about Eddie being in love with him, plus all this gay marketing? I started to expect we'd get something a little more evident, and only that is what made me feel disappointed we didn't get more. I'm sure I'd be more excited and happy with all the subtext we got in this one if it wasn't for the expectations created by the marketing, ngl.

I did cry in the scene where they were with the hippie family and Venom was talking to Eddie at night about how they'd been happier with a different kind of life. But I think I only cried because I had been spoiled about the ending. Knowing they would be separated in the end, that Venom would die, made that scene a lot more emotional and tragic, because Eddie and Venom will not have a chance at that happy and peaceful life.

And now that I brought up Venom's death, I have to say this: I really wish we could have had a couple more minutes with Eddie on that bed reflecting about his loss at the end. In the comics, whenever they are separated, usually Eddie is losing his mind, either desperate to reconnect with the symbiote, almost like an addict who's been cut off cold from his addiction (like in my favorite "The Hunger", 1996), or out of his mind in grief, feeling the symbiote still there like a phantom limb (...pretty sure this was in Donny Cates' 2018 run, but correct me if I'm wrong). What I'm getting at is that separating from the symbiote has never been easy on Eddie Brock. But, due to the constraints of movie play time I guess, he got over it seemingly very easily. Also, just an observation, the trailer featured a different take for that scene, in which Eddie says "but I need him", instead of "but I need him back". Both takes were very emotional and Tom's acting was superb, but the scene is too short. I feel like we needed a couple more minutes of mourning. Or if not minutes, then a couple of seconds of Eddie sobbing on that bed, or, I don't know, trying to get up and finding his way back to where he last saw Venom... Something more dramatic like that, is what I mean.

Eddie appeared to be more fond of Venom by the end of LTBC. Especially with comments he made earlier in this film about Venom stealing his life and being (understandably) cranky, I would have expected more grief and even regret from Eddie after losing Venom presumably forever.

About the after credit scene... I'm not sure what I'm supposed to make of it. I mean the cockroach one. One could think one of the symbiotes survived and took over the roach (hopefully Venom), but there was no indication of it; one could only assume the cockroach has a symbiote because, why even show it? Right? Now, about the Knull ending scene, was he breaking the 4th wall and telling us, the audience, that he would make us watch? Or did he say that to someone else? If there was another Venom movie or appearance after this, then I could come to the conclusion that Venom was successfully captured and taken to Klyntar, but being separated from Eddie he cannot operate as the codex anymore. <- That last bit is my own interpretation, though, and should be taken with a grain of salt.

I'm going to leave this post here. I'll write more if I feel like I have more to say (which, maybe I do, because I always do lol), but this is it for now. It was a good movie and I did like it. I do have my criticisms, but overall, they did a pretty good job and I will miss this Eddie and Venom symbiote very much. I hope we can see them again.

One note I want to leave this post with is that I'm pretty sure both Eddie Brock and the symbiote have died more than once in the comics (the most recent Eddie death was this year, btw. I'm not buying that it's permanent because in the comicverse characters die and come back all the time), but one thing will always be consistent with these two, and that is, they will always find a way back to each other. Always 🖤. So don't be sad; Venom is only gone for now.

[grays-matter]

okay buckle up little gay monsterfuckers in my phone

MY THOUGHTS / A REVIEW OF VENOM 3: THE LAST DANCE. it only took the whole weekend to gather my thoughts. sheesh. I tried really hard to be coherent and not have any typos but they're probably inevitable.

(feel free to add on / build off this post if you want I WANT TO YAP)

First, the spoiler free portion:

Solid 5.9/10, A good movie, not great for the non-comics fan and also not good for the people ONLY there for the symbrock. This is about their conflicts. If you wanted a queer romance that isn't angst and constant separation and generally a victim of bad writing, this is not the character or movie for you. They're fucked up little guys and that's pretty well conveyed.

The movie doesn't deserve the horrendous tomatometer score it has right now, HOWEVER, it was not as good as the first two. It made some REALLY odd character choices but none that I'm entirely like, furious over although they peeve me slightly. It feels like a plot set up for some sort of spin off or, more than likely, a setup for Spider-Man 4 (elaboration below the cut, and spoilers, duh).

I go into the movie viewing it as just another universe, another set of stories for the character so I can push down the nerd in my brain going "ThAt'S nOt CoMiC aCcUrAtE!!" (he got out anyway sadly)

Good thing I'm not the average fan and run a blog where I yap about Venom!

Extremely Heavy Spoilers for Venom The Last Dance below the cut!!

I'll try to keep this as chronological as I can but I'm more talking about individual characters.

Starting off with a bang, Knull with the voice of Andy Serkis was utterly terrifying, this is the only point I went HOLY SHIT to audibly. I'm surprised by the use of the xenophages but they were quite fun actually I loved those.

YAY YIPEE SAVE THE DOGS

Some of the plane scenes from the trailer were cut :(. This movie needed more of those slightly comedic elements. With the precedent of comedy that was set in Venom and LTBC, I felt like this could have taken itself less serious and still been good, violent and dark (more on that in Vegas).

The relationship between eddie and venom was kinda regressed this movie idk what happened it made me sad. I know they were mad at eachother. Also yeah yeah best friend line whatever this wasn't queerbait to me. They're messy as fuck but I can still be dissapointed without yelling queerbait.

The Travel Sequence besides meeting Martin and his family could have been a montage. (Yes, even you venom horse).

THE KID. THE KID GIVING EDDIE CHOCOLATE AND VENOM TELLING EDDIE HE'D BE A GOOD DAD. <- wrecked me. I'm looking at You Venom War... Let Eddie be a dad at all 2024... This is the gayest moment of the whole movie. And y'know the creation of man shot with eddies hand and venom's tendril.

The only comedy being the vegas segment felt overdone it should have just be peppered throughout the movie. Vegas still could have happened just been less overwhelming. The suit he wore should have been made of Venom instead :/

Dr Payne needed more setup for me to actually care I liked her alot I wish I had more of her in conext of the movie. They could just not make me care about her. Like what are they doing with that End reveal of Agony?? Trying to sell fortnite skins?

I could have jumped out of my seat and climbed the fucking walls with how Rex Strickland was used. WHy did they just turn him into a different character. He's supposed to be a walking symbiote from the Vietnam days of experimentation that absorbed the codex of his original host.

I mean maybe he was but he seemed a little shocked at all that symbiote info and yknow. He bleeds. And more importantly, where WAS HIS MUSTACHE. I liked the Ve'nam book and his intoduction (one of the few stories of KiB and AC that I liked) so I thought the use of him in the movie was just a very odd character choice but I was so excited to be like "I know that guy!" to be really mad about it.

also. My favorite character tag holds so true in this movie. cause that guy??? that guy rex was helping during the xenophage attack??? the guy who got his legs woodchippered off just above the knee? FLASH IS THAT YOU????

*shakes sony by the shoulders* Sony. Sony if you fuck up a Flash Thompson Agent Venom movie. SO HELP ME GOD. I think I'd drop dead of mortal embarrasment that that's my favorite little guy.

I wish Mulligan and Lasher lived longer. Having lasher with actually coherent dialogue was nice. And they looked really cool.

The ending...

Well. If you didn't watch the 2nd end credit scene I can see why your devastated. Also what was that capcut ass montage. Had me cringing cause what the fuck guys. All of our hope is in that silly little cockroach. and that symbiotes aren't weak to acid soooo V is fine.

Felt like agony should have shown up at the begining of the fight. Instead of like. the very end. Shes cool I like her and i think it's funny that they're Payne and Agony. But like I said before they just could not make me care.

The final battle with Hybrid showing up and the other unnamed symbiotes zipping around was really fun actually. The credits were so long cause of all the cgi artists on this movie. Also the venomized animals in the credits were hilarious. WHY PUT GRENDEL IN THERE THOUGH IF REX ISNT A SYMBIOTE???

Unanswered questions:

1. Mulligan was abandonded by his previous symbiote, which we now from the LTBC end credit scene was Toxin. Where is Toxin now?

2. Is Rex Strickland alive? We know he gets his acid burn on his face, will we see his return in another movie?

3. What happened to the glob of venom that got left behind in the mcu when Eddie dissapeared? because we know it happened in both universes. Did Bartender get it? Is Bartender the MCU's Eddie Brock? But as I've posted before Bartender is catholic and has reasons to hate spiderman.

4. Who owes Eddie in New York?

I'll add onto this once I see the movie again but these are my thoughts for now.