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sineala · 3 years ago

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Tony Stark and Arthuriana

Coming to you by special request, a very long post about 616 Tony's interest in Arthuriana, with a focus on all of Tony's run-ins with Morgan le Fay!

I feel like I should disclaim the extent of my knowledge here, which is that I still haven't managed to read anywhere near every issue of Iron Man -- at least, not yet, anyway -- so I'm just going by the things I know I've read, and Morgan le Fay's Marvel wiki entry is frustratingly under-cited, so it's very possible I've missed something relevant, but I'm pretty sure I've got the big stuff down. My other disclaimer here is that I'm not as big an Arthurian nerd as Tony is, which is to say that most of my familiarity comes from modern retellings -- T. H. White's The Once and Future King, Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave, Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset -- and not so much the usual classic sources on the Matter of Britain, though I've read bits and pieces of them.

(This is because I wanted to read versions of them that were as close to the original as possible but so far have not ended up finishing any of them because, well, that's hard. So I've never read the Mabinogion because I do not know Welsh. I've got the Norton Critical Edition of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, which is probably the best student edition if you're looking for something without modernized spellings, as I was. I've also got -- well, okay, it's my wife's but I'm borrowing it -- a relatively recent Boydell & Brewer edition (ed. Reeve, tr. Wright) of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), which is, you guessed it, in Latin with a facing English translation. I haven't gotten very far in it because, in case you didn't know this about Latin texts, the beginning is pretty much always the hardest, so I gave up and read some Plautus adaptations instead. Anyway, if for some reason you too want to read Geoffrey of Monmouth in the original Latin I'd recommend that one, but I can't recommend any particular English translations because I've never read one by itself. I bet you didn't think you'd be getting Latin prose recommendations in this post. I mean, maybe you did; it is me, after all.)

Okay. Right. King Arthur. Here we go.

We've got:

Flashbacks to Tony's childhood in late Iron Man volume 1

A brief discussion of Morgan's origin story and Avengers #187

Iron Man vol 1 #149-150: Doomquest

What If vol 1 #33: What if Iron Man was trapped in the time of King Arthur?

Iron Man vol 1 #249-250: Recurring Knightmare

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #1-4

Avengers vol 3 #1-4: The Morgan Conquest

Civil War: The Confession

Mighty Avengers vol 1 #9-11: Time Is On No One's Side

In terms of universe-internal chronology, we know from Iron Man #287, from 1992, that Tony has been a fan of King Arthur since childhood. This is an issue of a fandom-favorite arc which features Tony having a lot of childhood flashbacks, including the famous "Stark men are made of iron" line (in #286) that for some reason MCU fandom decided it loved; I mean, seriously, I've seen that quoted in way more MCU fic than 616 fic. But slightly later, in #287, we get an entire page devoted to Tony's love of King Arthur.

The narration reads: "Over the next few years, I learned as my father intended. Discipline of body. Strength of character. But in what free time I was allowed, I worked my way through the school's library. At thirteen, I discovered Mallory [sic], who showed me a whole new world. A world of dedication to a cause greater than oneself. Of chivalry and honor. And the fantastic deeds -- of armored heroes."

The art shows Tony as a child sitting under a tree, reading a book labeled Mort D'Arthur by Mallory [sic] -- no, don't ask me why nobody at Marvel checked how to spell either the name of the book or its author -- and daydreaming of King Arthur, the Sword in the Stone, knights, et cetera. Just in case you somehow missed the extremely blatant hint that we are meant to understand that Tony's knight obsession heavily influenced him becoming Iron Man as an adult, we see one of his armors mixed in with all the drawings of knights. So, yes, canonically Tony is Iron Man at least partly because he's a giant King Arthur nerd, which I think is so very sweet. I love him. He's such a dork!

(This issue is currently in print in the Iron Man Epic Collection War Machine, should you need your own copy.)

This isn't actually the only reference to Tony as a King Arthur fanboy in this era of canon, either; a little later, in IM #298, we see that one of Tony's passwords is actually "Mallory." (Yeah, no, they still couldn't spell. But it's cute.)

But in terms of actual publication order, this is definitely not the first time we have seen in canon that Tony is into Arthuriana, as I'm sure you all know. I would assume, in fact, that giving Tony a childhood interest in Arthuriana is because Doomquest is one of the most beloved Iron Man story arcs of all time, and that all started at least a decade before IM #287 here was published.

The villain of Doomquest -- the one who isn't Doctor Doom, at least -- is Morgan le Fay. Yes, that Morgan le Fay. Yes, Arthur's evil half-sister Morgan le Fay. Yes, all of this King Arthur stuff is canonically real history on Earth-616. Morgan's first appearance in Marvel, per the wiki, was in Black Knight #1 (1955), which I have not read, and judging by the summary I feel like this is probably just supposed to be a straight-up comic retelling of Arthurian legends for kids; I don't think Marvel really had the whole Marvel Universe in mind as a concept in 1955, so I'm not sure this was meant to connect to anything else. I feel like this is another one of those instances of Marvel discovering that they can write comics about characters in the public domain for free -- like, I'm pretty sure that's how we also ended up with, like, Norse, Greek, and Roman mythology wedged into 616.

As far as I can tell from the wiki, the first time Morgan tangled with the Avengers (or indeed the larger 616 universe) in any way actually predated Doomquest -- it was in an early arc in Spider-Woman (#2-6) and then Avengers #187, which came out in 1979, actually right when Demon in a Bottle was happening over in Iron Man comics. If you read #187, Iron Man is not in it because he's off the team due to his drinking problem and also his accidentally murdering the Carnelian ambassador problem. So Wonder Man's filling in instead. This issue is part of Michelinie's rather sporadic Avengers run, which makes sense, I guess, considering where we see Morgan next.

Anyway, Avengers #187 is the classic issue where Wanda is possessed by Chthon, but what you may not remember from Chthon's backstory (I sure didn't!) is that he was summoned by Morgan le Fay because she was the first person who tried to wield the Darkhold to summon him. As you can imagine, this did not work out especially well for her and her followers and they had to seal Chthon away in Wundagore Mountain, which was where Wanda found him. (The Spider-Woman stuff is only slightly earlier and also appears to be about Morgan and the Darkhold; the Darkhold is not one of the areas of 616 canon I am especially conversant with, alas. It's on my to-read list.)

Doomquest, as you probably know, was a classic Iron Man two-parter in Layton & Michelinie's first Iron Man run that set up Tony and Doom as rivals; Doomquest itself was IM #149-150, in 1981, and then in their second IM run they came back and did a sequel in 1989, Recurring Knightmare (IM #249-250), and then the much later four-part sequel to that was the 2008 miniseries Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, which was also by Layton & Michelinie but generally does not seem to be as popular as the first two parts. They've all been reprinted, if you're looking for copies; I have a Doomquest hardcover that collects the first four issues and then a separate Legacy of Doom hardcover. Currently in the Iron Man Epic Collection line there's a volume called Doom, which confusingly only collects the 249-250 part of the storyline (as well as surrounding issues), because for some reason the first Layton & Michelinie run isn't in Epics yet but the second one is. So the beginning of Doomquest isn't currently in print, as far as I can tell. I'm sure you can find it anyway.

So what's Doomquest about? Okay, so you remember how Doctor Doom's mother's soul is stuck in hell for all eternity? Well, Doom's obviously interested in getting her back, and the strategy he has embarked on is to try to team up with other powerful magicians who can help him out, and he thinks Morgan le Fay would be a good choice, for, uh, his quest. Doom's quest. A Doomquest, if you will. (If you've ever read Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph & Torment, you're familiar with the part where he later ends up waylaying Strange for this and they go to hell together. And if you haven't read Triumph & Torment, you really should, because it's amazing.)

So Doom is off to his time machine to go team up with Morgan le Fay and Tony thinks Doom is up to something -- Doom has been stealing components for his time machine from a lot of people, including Tony -- and he follows him and it turns out one of Doom's lackeys has a grudge and wants to trap Doom in the past forever, and Tony gets caught up in it. Now they're both in Camelot. Surprise! #149 is actually all setup; they don't get to Camelot until #150.

IM #150 begins with Doom and Tony thrown back into the past; there's a fandom-famous splash page of them locked in combat, only to realize that they have found themselves in Camelot.

They are then discovered by knights; Doom would very much like to attack them, but Tony, who naturally would be happy to LARP Camelot forever, persuades him to play nice. Also Doom thinks Iron Man is only Tony's bodyguard so he keeps referring to him as "lackey," much to Tony's annoyance. Somehow everyone thinks they're sorcerers. Can't imagine why. The knights take them to meet King Arthur himself, and Tony has clearly had his introduction all ready to go, as he introduces himself in a timeline-appropriate manner, says he's here to apprehend Doom, and demonstrates his "magic" by levitating Arthur's throne. Doom's response is essentially "I'm the king of Latveria," which is, y'know, also valid. So they're guests at Camelot for the night while Arthur figures out what to do with them.

We then have a page devoted to Tony alone in his room, musing sadly about how alien he feels, how he doesn't know if he'll ever get home, how he could never fit in here without his beloved technology. Then a Sexy Lady shows up to keep him company for the night, and he decides maybe it's not all bad. Thanks, Marvel. I guess they can't all be winners.

Doom is using his evening much more productively; he compels one of the servants to tell him where Morgan's castle is, because he's still interested in having that team-up. Then he jets off. Literally. He has a jetpack.

The next morning Arthur's like "one of you is still here and one of you has punched a hole through the castle wall and flown off to join Morgan so I guess I know which of you is more trustworthy." He then explains to Tony who Morgan is, because Tony professes ignorance, because clearly we had not yet retconned in Tony's love of Arthuriana. Tony offers to go fight Doom and Morgan with Arthur; meanwhile, Morgan and Doom have teamed up and Morgan has offered to help get Doom's mother out of hell if he commands her undead armies against Arthur because for Reasons she can't command them herself anymore. So that's a thing that happens.

So, yes, it's Tony and Arthur versus Doom and Morgan. Fight fight fight!

Tony tries Doom first but then decides to hunt Morgan down, and in the ensuing fight we get what I think is Tony's first ever "I hate magic," a complaint that we all know he still makes even to this day.

Anyway, Tony freezes a dragon with Freon (mmm, technology) and Morgan gets upset and disappears, so the battle comes to an end, and of course Doom is extremely mad at Tony because he blames Tony for Morgan not sticking around to save Doom's mom, because I guess Doom trusted her to keep her word? Weird. (Like I said, for the next chapter of Doom saving his mother, go read Triumph & Torment.)

Doom says if he and Tony work together, the components in both of their armors can send them both home. So Tony has to trust Doom. Which he does, because he really has no other choice. They build a time machine and Tony makes Doom agree to a 24-hour truce when they get back, so they can both get home. So it all works out okay, and they end up in the present, and Doom tells him, ominously, that they will meet again. Okay, then. That concludes the original Doomquest. It's fun! You can see why fandom likes it.

So that's all well and good, but you might have noticed that Tony's ability to get home hinged on Doom actually being trustworthy. And Doom was. But what if Doom hadn't been? What if he'd just stranded Tony in Camelot forever As you may have surmised from the form of that question, that is in fact a question Marvel asked themselves, because, yes, there's a What If about this! What If v1 #33 is "What if Iron Man was trapped in the time of King Arthur?"

The divergence point from canon, as you can probably guess, is the very end of Doomquest. Instead of Doom bringing Tony home, he deceives him and leaves him in Camelot. And since Tony cannibalized a lot of the tech from his armor to make the time machine, he doesn't have a way to go home.

This is not a story where Tony comes up with a way to go home after all. He really doesn't get to go home. But instead of drowning his sorrows in mead -- because, remember, Demon in a Bottle has already happened and Tony is sober now -- he decides he might as well just play the hand he's dealt. So with what's left of his armor, he defeats some enemies that Morgan rounds up to send against Camelot. And for his services, he's knighted. He is now Sir Anthony.

Tony acknowledges that he is both living the dream and would also like very, very much to go home.

He does end up having some fun in Camelot; it's not all miserable. But he obviously doesn't want to be there.

So if you're at all familiar with King Arthur, you know how this goes, right? Arthur fights Mordred and Mordred kills him. And that does happen in this version. Except Tony is right there, and with his dying words, Arthur asks Tony to rule Camelot... and Tony agrees.

So, yes, Tony Stark becomes king of the Britons after Arthur's death and he never goes home again. The end. Man, I love What Ifs.

Heading back to main 616 continuity, there is still more of this arc to go. The original Doomquest was only two issues, yes, but it was popular enough that Layton & Michelinie did a sequel a hundred issues later, in their second run of Iron Man, and that's Iron Man #249-250, Recurring Knightmare. (In the intervening issues were Denny O'Neil's IM run, specifically the second drinking arc (#160-200), and then Layton & Michelinie came back and most famously gave us Armor Wars (#225-232). I would have to say that Armor Wars is definitely the standout fandom-favorite arc of their second IM run; for their first one, I think a lot of people would have a hard time choosing between Doomquest and Demon.) But anyway, yes. Recurring Knightmare.

Recurring Knightmare is... well, the best way I can describe it is "a trip." It is definitely a sequel to Doomquest, and it is also definitely not a sequel you would ever have expected to see for Doomquest.

Much like #149, #249 is pretty much just setup. Fun setup, but the big action is in the next issue. We open with Doom in Latveria, on his throne, pondering which of his servants he should have disintegrated. Anyway, he's just hanging out there when a mysterious object appears. In California, Tony is suited up and entertaining the crowd at a mall opening when the same object also appears! He takes it to his lab. Please note that this is after the Kathy Dare incident, so Tony is still recovering and is walking with a cane. Doom sees on the news that Iron Man has found the same object, which cannot be carbon-dated, and he shows up at Tony's house. He criticizes Tony's taste in art.

Anyway, Doom basically orders Tony to work with him. Tony refuses, and then Doom sends some robots to attempt to steal Tony's version of the object because he thinks if he has them both he will be powerful. Doom manages to steal it, and when he puts the pieces together, both he and Tony disappear.

So where do they go, you might ask? Camelot?

Not exactly. The future! There is a great callback to the Doomquest splash page.

It turns out they are in London in 2093. Merlin brought them there. Tony still hates magic. And in the future, King Arthur is still there, except he is now a child, because he has been reborn. But he does remember Tony from Doomquest, at which point Tony kneels. Doom, of course, is not impressed. He asks why they have been brought to the future.

The answer is that things are going wrong in the future. If you do not personally remember United States politics in the 1980s, I need you to google the words "Strategic Defense Initiative" right now. I'll wait.

Back with me? Okay, so this is a future where Reagan's Star Wars program actually happened the way he wanted it to, and the satellites are still hanging around the Earth in the future and messing everything up, and Arthur and Merlin need Tony and Doom's help to stop them. Doom once again flies away with his jetpack, of course.

Tony is game to help, but he's not in an armor that can stay in space for long. This is when Merlin takes him and Arthur to the mall and Tony manages to get everything to upgrade his armor at Radio Shack. You see what I meant about this issue being weird.

Tony is out in space trying to disarm the SDI platform, which is where he runs into his future descendant, Andros Stark, who is in armor you will probably recognize from Iron Man 2020. He is referred to as "the resurrected spawn of Iron Man 2020" so I assume he's actually directly related to Arno rather than a direct descendant of Tony; Wiki confirms that Arno is his grandfather. This is all from way before Arno was contemporaneous with Tony in canon. Anyway, he's fighting Tony.

Oh, by the way, Future Doom exists. Future Doom would like to rule this future Earth and for some reason Andros would like to help him. Meanwhile, Present Doom finds out from Merlin that he can't leave except by magic and he can't leave without Tony, so he is reluctantly on Tony's side.

They need help from the Lady of the Lake, except the lake has been paved over and is now a parking lot. Merlin makes the lake come back and then of course they get Excalibur. Arthur is a kid, so he can't wield a longsword; Doom assumes he's going to take it because he is basically a king, and he's pretty grumpy when the sword picks Tony. Tony then uses Excalibur to destroy the space lasers, and I bet that is a sentence you never thought you would read. It's pretty cool. Tony concludes that magic has its good points. Tony stops Andros and Doom stops, uh, himself, and the world is saved and they get to go home. Also, Doom finds out Tony is Iron Man, but when Merlin sends them back he conveniently erases their memories, so neither of them remember anything about this and Tony's secret is still safe. And that's the sequel to Doomquest.

And if you think that's weird, wait until you see Legacy of Doom.

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom is a four-issue miniseries from 2008, also by Layton and Michelinie. Even though it's from 2008, it's set during a much more classic time in Iron Man, continuing on from where we left off in this Doomquest saga. We start with a framing story in 2008. Tony, who has Extremis now, is busy scrapping some of his older armors and reviewing his logs when he suddenly remembers that there was a whole thing with Doom that happened that he seems to have forgotten about until right now. So the whole thing is narrated by Tony in flashback.

Tony's in space fixing a satellite when a hologram of Doom shows up and summons him to Latveria. It's not really clear why Doom needs Tony's help in particular here, but Doom tells Tony that he's discovered that Mephisto would like to bring about the end of the world, which Doom finds, and I quote, "presumptive." So Doom has his Time Cube, and with it he takes Tony to hell.

(Yes, I promise this is relevant to Doomquest. There will be some Arthuriana shortly.)

Doom brings Tony to Mephisto, and it turns out it's a setup! Doom trades Tony for an item he wants from Mephisto, leaves, and Tony's going to be trapped in hell forever! Oh no! (I mean, he's not. But it's quite a cliffhanger.)

At the beginning of issue #2, we find out what the Arthurian connection is, which is that we learned that after the events of Doomquest, Morgan had been granted sanctuary by Mephisto in exchange for a shard of Excalibur that she had somehow stolen. Doom still wants Morgan's help with some magic -- he doesn't mention what it is here, but he says he needs someone of Pendragon blood, and that'd be her -- so he traded Tony to Mephisto in exchange for, I'm guessing, Morgan and the Excalibur shard.

I have probably mentioned this elsewhere, but Legacy of Doom #2 is one of my favorite issues of Iron Man ever, solely because of the next scene. We return to Tony in hell. Howard Stark is also in hell, and he is now a demon, and Tony has to fight him. Mephisto brings popcorn and watches. This is the one time in canon when Tony actually confronts his father, and okay, yes, it's a fistfight in hell and Howard is a demon, but that's comics for you. Howard spends several pages insulting Tony -- specifically insulting his masculinity, but that's a whole other essay -- until he finally insults Maria too, and that's when Tony fights back, because his mother taught him to be good. Honestly if you're a Tony fan I'd recommend this issue just for that scene.

Anyway, we go back to the Doom and Morgan plot, and Morgan casts the spell Doom wanted, which was fusing the Excalibur shard with Doom's armor. Then Doom sends her back to Camelot rather than hell, because he's still mad that she never helped him get his mom out of hell like she said she would.

Tony freezes Howard with Freon -- yes, the same trick he pulled on the dragon back in Doomquest -- and tells him, "You're no father of mine." It is immensely satisfying.

(I had been going to mention that I thought it was a shame that neither canon nor fandom seems to have really engaged with this confrontation, and I know canon never believes in narrative closure but fandom sure does -- and then, anyway, it occurred to me that since the framing story of Tony remembering this is set when Tony has Extremis, there's a very good chance that he no longer remembers remembering it. Goddammit, Marvel.)

(If I got to retcon one canon thing about Tony, I think "the entirety of World's Most Wanted" is up there. I mean, okay, a lot of things are up there, but WMW is definitely on the shortlist.)

Okay. Tony has now engineered his way out of hell, and he's back with Doom in Latveria. Doom has Excalibur. Doom would very much like to fight him. While wielding Excalibur. You get the sense that this is going to be bad. Another cliffhanger!

Legacy of Doom #3 opens with Tony destroying Doom's lab to buy time and running away from Doom and Excalibur. I should probably mention that Doom still doesn't know Tony is Iron Man (anymore), so he thinks he is dealing only with Iron Man, Tony Stark's lackey. Meanwhile, some scientists at SI think there's something weird going on with space. Meanwhile meanwhile, Tony is in a forest taking a breather when a mysterious old man walks up to him.

It's Merlin! Surprise! Merlin wants Tony's help to stop Doom from doing whatever he's doing with Excalibur. The sword makes you invincible and the scabbard makes you invulnerable, so Merlin sends Tony to Scotland on a fetch quest for the scabbard. Doom has now magically sent the sword in search of the scabbard, so the sword flies away to meet it and Doom follows. Turns out the thing that's wrong with space is a thing that's going to hit Earth at the exact place Tony and Doom are. What a coincidence! So Tony and Doom get trapped in a stone circle and fight some stone warriors and then Tony ends up with the scabbard. And by "ends up with," I mean it fuses to his armor. Next issue!

Legacy of Doom #4 is when things really, really get weird. A giant demon made of eyes (???) appears, and this demon is apparently what Doom had been preparing to fight (because it's mad that Doom stole one of its spellbooks), and now he can't, because the sword and the scabbard aren't together. Thanks, Shellhead.

That's when Merlin shows up and says all is not lost. They can defeat the demon... if they put the sword into the scabbard.

"But I'm the scabbard now!" Tony says, uncomprehending.

"Yes," Merlin says. "You are."

Then Tony gets it.

So, yes, Doom has to, um, penetrate Tony. With Excalibur. I love comics. I love comics so much.

So that's a thing that happens.

And then Tony flies off and, I guess, resolves to never, ever think about any of this again.

We head back to the framing story, in which Tony, now having remembered all of this, flies to Britain, buys the land the lake is on, and paves it over, presumably so it will be there for Merlin to bring back in Iron Man #250. The end.

Whew.

Okay, yeah, I know I didn't have to summarize the whole thing, but Legacy of Doom here really is one of my favorite Iron Man miniseries. And I just want to share the love. Please read it. It's great.

But the Arthuriana fun doesn't end there! In fact, now we get an Arthurian-themed arc that actually isn't in Iron Man comics. It's in Avengers! Iron Man is involved, though.

(There is also apparently a Morgan arc in Avengers #240. I actually haven't read it. It seems to be yet another Spider-Woman arc. I get the impression that this isn't really Arthuriana other than having Morgan in it fighting Jess, though, so it doesn't seem quite as relevant. Morgan also apparently has some appearances in FF, Journey into Mystery, and Marvel Team-Up, but those seem like more of just basic villainy. Also, probably not involving Tony.)

Kurt Busiek's 1998 Avengers run, volume 3, is in large part the kind of Avengers run that is a nostalgic love letter to older comics. Heroes are heroes and villains are villains and good triumphs over evil. The Avengers all live in the mansion and are BFFs. I love it. It does assume that you are already a fan of the Avengers, because it starts out by summoning pretty much everyone who has ever been an Avenger and is available to the mansion, and that is... a lot of people. Thirty-nine, by my count. Also, when the entire team is magically whisked away, we are treated to the following narration, as Steve disappears: "And Captain America's last thought, as the world goes white around him, and he with it -- is that Iron Man would hate this."

The narration doesn't tell you why Iron Man would hate this, or how Captain America would know that Iron Man hates this. This is not explained later on. But if you have read comics -- or if you have read the above summary of Doomquest -- you know that Tony is absolutely, one hundred percent, thinking, "I hate magic." And Steve knows it.

The reference is not relevant to the plot; if you don't get it, you'll be fine. But that's what I mean when I say this is a nostalgia run. There are definitely Easter eggs for people who have read a bunch of comics. Busiek does this a whole lot in his work -- there's a reason you can buy an annotated edition of Marvels -- and, yeah, it happens here too. Just know that there will be references you're not getting, if you're new to comics.

Anyway. So Busiek's run actually starts out with an Arthurian arc, #1-4, "The Morgan Conquest." The name is a dead giveaway. Yes, Morgan le Fay is back. Again. For once, Doom is not involved.

The Avengers are all back from their sojourn on Counter-Earth after fighting Onslaught -- don't worry about it -- and mysterious things are happening. There are a lot of monster attacks. So pretty much everyone who has ever been an Avenger is summoned to the mansion, at which point we learn from Thor about some mystical artifacts that are being stolen. (They are the Norn Stones and also the Twilight Sword. That sounds like something from a Zelda game, doesn't it?) The Avengers go to try to stop this, end up in Tintagel, and then they run into Mordred. He wants to capture Wanda, presumably for Magic Reasons. Morgan le Fay casts a spell on all of them, reshaping reality. Yes, all of them. Surprise!

So now all the Avengers are living in a medieval castle and/or town; Morgan is their queen, and thanks to the power of mind-control they are all basically living in Ye Olden Times. The Avengers are all some variety of knight, except for Wanda, who is chained up in the dungeon so Morgan can steal her magic and use it to fuel all this reality-warping.

Wanda calls for help, and that snaps Steve (Yeoman America!) out of the mind control (or altered reality or whatever you want to call it) pretty fast, because Steve's always been very good at resisting mind control, and then Steve promptly goes and snaps Clint out of it, because I guess Steve is also good at inspiring people to snap out of mind control. "Oh, man!" Clint says. "Not another alternate reality! Not again!" (I assume he's referring to Counter-Earth? Maybe?)

So Steve and Clint go around reassembling the Avengers and orienting them as to reality. They get Jan and Monica easily, but then Steve insists on trying to get Tony because, I guess, he likes Tony and would really like to hang around Tony, who is half-naked and asleep in his bedroom, and certainly I am reading nothing whatsoever into this. Clint tells Steve it's not going to work. Tony has historically been fairly susceptible to mind control; it was only pretty recently at this point that he'd been doing Kang's bidding in The Crossing. But the more serious impediment is that this is Tony Stark and he would obviously like to LARP being a knight forever and ever. Tony, therefore, does not believe Steve, and throws him and Clint out of his bedroom and into the barracks.

"Iron Man's a good guy, normally," Clint says. "But he's waaay too into his whole nobleman/lord of the manor trip. That spell musta hit him right where he lives!"

Clint speaks the truth, clearly.

Anyway, they go around and manage to make pretty much every Avenger in the room other than Tony snap out, and attempt to rebel against Morgan while Tony is stil fighting them because he is Still A Knight. There's a lot of punching, because some of the Avengers still aren't free; they weren't ones Steve found.

The day is saved when Wanda manages to channel Wonder Man and break free. This gives the Avengers a fighting chance against Morgan and the Avengers are all lending Wanda their power when Tony finally snaps out of it and is on the side of good.

Then they take Morgan down, go home, and attempt to figure out which of these thirty-nine people should be on the active Avengers team. Hooray.

But that's not the end of Morgan le Fay showing up to screw around with Tony's life! There's more to come! Not much, but there is one that I know of, and at least one more memorable reference.

(I haven't read all her appearances or anything, but one of them definitely involves Tony; I can't swear that he doesn't appear in any of the other books Morgan shows up in, but it'd be a cameo for him, because I only know of one more arc that she's in in a book that Tony stars in.)

In a few more years, we have now entered the part of Marvel Comics history where Brian Michael Bendis writes all the Avengers books at the same time for, like, seven years running. It was sure A Time. There were a lot of word bubbles.

And the thing about Bendis is, Bendis looooooves Doomquest. If you're familiar with the very end of his tenure at Marvel where he made Doom be Iron Man after Tony got knocked into a coma in Civil War II, you have probably figured out already that he likes Doom. But he also likes Doomquest, specifically.

I mean, if nothing else, the giant splash page in The Confession where Maleev redrew the climactic Doomquest fight while Bendis had Tony talk about how deeply meaningful to his understanding of the world this all was -- and how it allowed him to predict Civil War -- was probably a big clue, right?

As far as I am aware, Morgan le Fay makes exactly one more appearance in Tony's life. And that's in Mighty Avengers vol 1 #9-11. Only one of those issues is named, so I'm going to assume the arc is named after it: Time Is On No One's Side.

You remember Mighty Avengers, right? The deal with the Avengers books at the time was that after Bendis exploded the mansion and made the team disband in Avengers Disassembled, the main Avengers book was no longer called just Avengers. Instead, the main Avengers book was New Avengers, and that was the only Avengers book. Then Civil War happened, Steve got killed, and New Avengers became the book about what was left of the SHRA resistance (i.e., Steve's side) after the war. So about halfway through New Avengers, Mighty Avengers starts up, and Mighty Avengers is about an extremely fucked-up and grief-stricken Tony Stark trying to run the official government-sanctioned Avengers team, with Carol's help. This is the comic with the arc where Tony turned into naked girl Ultron. You remember.

So, anyway, there's this Mighty Avengers arc where Doom is Up To Something (there are symbiotes and a satellite involved) and somehow Tony and the Avengers end up in Latveria, punching Doom. Also, by the way, Doom is visiting Morgan in the past because he likes her. The Avengers attacking his castle made him have to come back to the present, so he's kind of cranky. And he fights Tony, and in the course of the fight, his time platform explodes and sends Doom and Tony and also the Sentry to... the past.

This is one of those times where you should definitely look up the comics if possible because the way the past is visually indicated here is that it's colored with halftone dots the way you would expect old comics to be colored, although they have modern shading and color palettes. It's very charmingly retro.

So the three of them are stuck in New York in the past, and naturally they would like to leave. There's one person in this time who has a time machine and it is, of course, Reed Richards. Doom and Tony have a lot of banter in this arc; I think it's entertaining.

Sentry has to be the one to break them all into the Baxter Building because of that power he has where no one will remember him. So they do that, travel forward in time, and end up in Latveria in the present again except Doom is gone and also things are currently exploding where they are.

Doom, of course, has made a side trip to visit Morgan again and he asks her to help him build an army, because I guess this is what their relationship is like. So the rest of the Avengers are captured by what look to me like Mindless Ones and are in a cave in magic bondage, because comics. Jess comments that at least they aren't naked, because she too is remembering that memorable New Avengers trip to the Savage Land. Doom threatens Carol in some creepy sexist ways and eventually it turns out that Tony and the Sentry are fine and everyone kicks Doom's ass. Business as usual.

And the last page of the arc is Morgan alone, wondering where Doom is. So technically Morgan and Tony don't come face to face here, but I think she counts as being at least partially responsible for ruining Tony's day here. And then Secret Invasion happens and Tony has a very, very bad day.

There are a few more Morgan appearances after this, but, as I said, I don't think any of them involve Tony. She shows up in Dark Avengers, apparently, which was one of the post-Civil War Avengers titles I didn't read, and I know that recently, on the X-Men side of things, she's been in Tini Howard's Excalibur one, which I have only read a little of. No Tony there. Just a lot of Morgan and Betsy Braddock and Brian Braddock and the Otherworld.

If you are interested in Morgan's other appearances, you might like this Marvel listicle that is Morgan le Fay's six most malicious acts. I pulled some of the Darkhold backstory from their discussion, but it's not really focused on Morgan and Tony.

So there you have it! That's everything I know about Tony's love for King Arthur and every run-in I know about that he's had with Morgan le Fay! One of two terrible people in Tony's life named Morgan! Actually, I don't think we've seen Morgan Stark in a while. I wonder if he's alive. There should be a Morgan & Morgan team-up. I should probably stop typing and post this.

The tl;dr point is that you should all read Doomquest and its sequels, especially Legacy of Doom. They're great!

#posts i actually wrote

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chiseler · 3 years ago

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Gnostic Boardwalk

Canonical stature is a fragile and contingent thing, which is why powerful institutions seek to shore up the various canons of art with rankings and plaudits. We’ll play along by asserting that one of our favorite “B” movies was originally screened by Henri Langlois at the Cinematheque française with Georges Franju in attendance. Night Tide (1961) was an unlikely contender for this particular honor—shot guerrilla style on an estimated $35,000 budget, and intended, by its distributors at least, for a wider, less demanding audience seeking mostly air-conditioned escapism.

With its hinky cast—nonfictional witch, Marjorie Cameron; erstwhile muse to surrealist filmmaker Jean Cocteau, the undersung Babette who usually appears en travesti; and lecherous, booze-addled, fresh-faced Hollywood castoff Dennis Hopper—Night Tide invades the drive-in. A tarot reading at the film’s heart gives Marjorie Eaton her time to shine, traipsing into nickel-and-dime divination from her former life as a painter of Navajo religious ceremonies. Linda Lawson might have issued from an etching by Odilon Redon, with her raven locks and spiritual eyes, our resident sideshow mermaid. Not surprisingly and despite such gentle segues, the film itself traveled a rocky road from festivals to paying venues.

Night Tide had spent three years languishing in the can when distributor Roger Corman smuggled the unlikely masterwork into public consciousness, another of his now legendary mitzvahs to art. And the sleazy-sounding double bills that resulted also unleashed an aberrant wonder: the movie’s compact leading man, a force previously held captive by the studio system—looking, here, like some homunculus refugee from the Fifties USA. Dennis Hopper, in his first starring role, would later recall that it represented his first “aesthetic impact” on film since his earlier appearances in more mainstream productions such as Rebel Without a Cause and Giant had denied him meaningful outlets for collaboration.

It’s the presence of its featured players—certainly not their star power—that lends the film its haunting and enduring legacy, and elevates the term “cult classic” to its rightful place in the pantheon of cinema. But we argue that Night Tide remains outside these exclusive parameters—upholding an elsewhere-ness that defies commercial, if not strictly canonical, logic. Curtis Harrington’s first feature film escapes taxonomy, typology or genre—gets away—fueling itself on acts of solidarity instead. If Hopper contributes his dreamy aura, then Corman rescues the seemingly doomed project by re-negotiating the terms of a defaulted loan to the film lab company that was preventing the film’s initial release. His generous risk birthed a movie monument that would add Harrington’s name to a growing collection of talent midwifed by the visionary schlockmeister responsible for nursing the auteurs of post-war American cinema. And here we enter a production history as gossamery as Night Tide itself.

Unlike his counterparts entrenched within the studio system, Harrington was an artist – i.e. a Hollywood anachronism, with aristocratic graces and a viewfinder trained on the unseen. We see Harrington as Georges Méliès reborn with a queer eye, casting precisely the same showman’s metaphysics that spawned cinema onto nature. By the time moving pictures were invented, artists were moving away from a bloodless representational ethos and excavating more primordial sources for inspiration. The early stirrings of what surrealist impresario André Breton would later proclaim: “Beauty will be CONVULSIVE or it will not be at all.”

Harrington owned a pair of Judy Garland’s emerald slippers, and according to horror queen/cult icon Barbara Steele, also amassed an eclectic array of human specimens: “Marlene Dietrich, Gore Vidal, Russian alchemists, holistic healers from Normandy, witches from Wales, mimes from Paris, directors from everywhere, writers from everywhere and beautiful men from everywhere.” On a hastily constructed Malibu boardwalk, Hopper would be in his milieu among the eccentric denizens of California’s artistic underground—most notably, Harrington himself, a feral Victorian mountebank of a director who slept among mummified bats, practiced Satanic rites, and hosted elaborate and squalid dinner parties. One could almost picture the mostly television director in his twilight years as Roman Castavet of Rosemary’s Baby; a spellbinding raconteur with a carny’s flair for embellishment and enticement. Enthralled by the dark gnosticism of Edgar Allan Poe that had started when the aspiring 16-year-old auteur mounted a nine-minute long production of The Fall of the House of Usher (1942), Harrington would embark on a checkered film career that combined his occult passions with the quotidian demands of securing steady employment. Night Tide, a humble matinee feature whose esoteric underpinnings would spawn subsequent generations of admirers, united the competing forces of art and commerce that Harrington would struggle with throughout his career. Like Méliès, Harrington pointed his kinetic device towards the more preternatural aspects of early motion pictures to seek out the ‘divine spark’ that Gnostics attribute to transcendence, and the necessary element to achieve that immortal leap into the unknown. What hidden meanings and unspeakable acts Poe had seized upon in his writing were brought infernally to life with a mechanical sleight-of-hand. It was finally time for crepuscular light, beamed through silver salts to illuminate otherworldly and other-thinking subjects.

Curtis Harrington

By the time Harrington had embarked on his feature film debut, a more muscular celluloid mythology based on America’s proven exceptionalism was in full force, taking on a brutalist monotone cast in keeping with the steely-eyed, square-jawed men at the helm of a nascent super-power, consigning its more feminine preoccupations to the dusty vaults where celluloid is devoured by its own nitrate. Harrington would resurrect the convulsive aspects of his chosen vocation and embed them deep within the monochrome canvas he’d been allotted for his first venture into feature filmmaking, and combine them with the more rational aspects of so-called realism. In the romantic re-telling of a familiar myth, Harrington was remaining true to gnostic roots and the distinctly poetic language used to express its cosmological features.

In Night Tide, Harrington would map the metaphysical terrain that held up Usher’s cursed edifice as a blueprint for his own work that similarly explored the intertwined duality of the natural and the supernatural. The visible cracks that reveal a fatal structural weakness and a loss of sanity in both Roderick Usher and his doomed estate are evident in Night Tide’s conflicted heroine compelled to choose between her own foretold death underwater, or a worse fate for those who fall in love with her earthly human form.

A young sailor (Dennis Hopper) strolling the boardwalks of Malibu while on shore leave offers the viewer an opening glimpse into the film’s metaphysical wormhole, and a not so subtle hint of the director’s queer eye, stalking his virginal prey in the viewfinder. A beachfront entertainment venue is, after all, where one would casually encounter soothsayers and murderers, sea witches and perverts, as the guileless Johnny does, seemingly oblivious to the surrealist elements of his surroundings as he makes his way on land.

Harrington’s carnival-themed underworld is both imaginatively and convincingly presented as a quaint slice of post-war America, effortlessly dovetailing with his intended drive-in audience’s expectations of grind house with a dash of glamor—not to mention his own avant-garde leanings, which remain firmly intact despite Night Tide’s outwardly conventional construction and narrative.

Harrington is able to present this juxtaposition of kitsch Americana and the queer arcana of his occult fascinations. Indeed, Night Tide’s lamb-to-the-slaughter protagonist could have wandered off the set of Fireworks, Kenneth Anger’s 1947 homoerotic short film about a 17-year-old’s sadomasochistic fantasies involving gang rape by leathernecks.

Anger would later sum up his earliest existing film as “A dissatisfied dreamer awakes, goes out in the night seeking a ‘light’ and is drawn through the needle’s eye. A dream of a dream, he returns to bed less empty than before.” Harrington (a frequent collaborator of Anger in his youth) seems to have re-worked Fireworks, or at least its underlying queer aesthetic into a commercially viable feature film that explores his own life long occult fascinations.

Both Anger and his former protégé would view the invocation of evil as a necessary step towards the attainment of a higher level of consciousness. Harrington coaxed a more familiar story from the myths and archetypes that informed his unworldly views for a wider audience; a move that would be later interpreted by sundry cohorts as selling out. Still, Night Tide shares a thematic kinship with Anger’s more obtusely artistic output as acknowledged by the surviving occultist, who confirmed this unholy covenant at Harrington’s funeral by kissing his dead friend on the lips as he laid in his open coffin.

The hokey innocence of Dennis Hopper as Johnny Drake in his tight, white sailor suit casts a homoerotic hue on the impulses that compel him to navigate a treacherous dreamscape to satisfy a carnal longing, just as Anger’s dissatisfied dreamer obeys the implicit commands of an unspeakable other to seek out forbidden pleasures.

As he makes his way on land, the solitary, adventure-seeking Johnny will be lured into a waiting photo booth, his features slightly menacing behind its flimsy curtain, and brightly smiling a second later as the flash illuminates them. Johnny has entered a realm where intersecting worlds collide, delineating light from shadow, consciousness from unconsciousness. The young sailor’s maiden voyage into the uncharted waters of his subconscious is made evident in the contrasting interplay captured by the camera, where predator and prey overlap in darkness. Here, too, we get a prescient preview of the deranged psychopath Hopper would subsequently personify in later roles, most significantly as the oxygen deprived Frank of Blue Velvet—a man who seems to be drowning out of water. But here, Hopper convincingly (and touchingly) portrays a wide-eyed naïf, still unsteady on his sea legs as he negotiates dry land.

As a variation of Anger’s lucid dreamer in Fireworks (and later Jeffrey of Blue Velvet) Johnny will have abandoned himself quite literally (as his departing shadow on a carnival pavilion suggests, before its host blithely follows) to his own suppressed sexual urges; a force that eventually compels him towards denouement.

Moments later, inside the Blue Grotto where a flute-led jazz combo is in progress, Johnny spots a beautiful young woman (Linda Lawson) seated directly across from him. Her restrained and almost involuntary physical response to the music mimic his own, offering the first indication of a gender ‘other’ residing in Johnny; an entombed apparition cleaved from the sub-conscious and projected into his line of vision. Roderick and Madeline Usher loom large in Harrington’s screenplay and Usher’s trans themes lurk invisibly in the subtext. Harrington is arguably heir apparent to Poe’s vacated throne, pursuing similar clue-laden paths and exploring the dual nature of human and the primordial creature just beneath the surface poised to devour its host.

The near literal strains of seductive Pan pipes buoyed by the ‘voodoo’ percussion sets the stage for Harrington’s reworking of the ancient legend of sea-based seductresses and the sailors they lure to their graves.

Marjorie Cameron (or ‘Cameron’ as she is referred to in the opening credits) makes a startling entrance into The Blue Grotto as an elder of a lost tribe of mermaids seeking the return of an errant ‘mermaid’ to her rightful place in the sea. Cameron, a controversial fixture in L.A.’s bohemian circles and one-time Scarlet Women in the mold of Aleister Crowley’s profane muses, would later appear in Anger’s The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, and as the subject of Harrington’s short documentary The Wormwood Star (1956).

The inclusion of a bonafide witch, along with a host of less apparent occult/avant-garde figures, is further evidence of Night Tide’s true aspirations and its filmmaker’s subversive intent to sneak an art-house film into the drive-in, and introduce its audiences to the heretical doctrine that had spawned a new generation of occult visionaries influenced by Edgar Allan Poe. Decades later, David Lynch would carry that proverbial torch, further illuminating the writhing, creature-infested realm underlying innocence.

Johnny approaches the young woman who rebuffs his attempts at conversation, seemingly entranced by the music, but allows him to sit, anyway. Soon they are startled by the presence of a striking middle-aged woman (‘Cameron’) who speaks to Johnny’s companion Mora in a strange tongue. Mora insists that she has never met the woman before, nor understands her, but makes a fearful dash from the club as Johnny follows her, eventually gaining her trust and an invitation the following day for breakfast.

Mora lives in a garret atop the carousal pavilion at the boardwalk carnival where she works in one of the side show attractions as a “mermaid.” Arriving early for their arranged breakfast, her eager suitor strikes up a conversation with the man who runs the Merry-Go-Round with his granddaughter, Ellen (Luanna Anders). Their trepidation at the prospecting Johnny becoming intimately acquainted with their beautiful tenant is apparent to all except Johnny himself, who is even more oblivious to Ellen’s wholesome and less striking charms. Even her name evokes the flat earth, soul-crushing sensibilities of home and hearth. Ellen Sands is earthbound Virgo eclipsed by an ascendent Pisces. (Anders would have to subordinate her own sex appeal to play this mostly thankless “good girl” role. She would be unrecognizable a few years later as a more brazenly erotic presence in Easy Rider, helping to define the Vietnam war counterculture era.)

As Johnny ascends the narrow staircase leading to Mora’s sunlit, nautical-themed apartment, he almost collides with a punter making a visibly embarrassed retreat from the upper floor of the carousel pavilion. Is Johnny unknowingly entering into a realm of vice and could Mora herself be a source of corruption? Her virtue is further called into question when she not so subtly asks Johnny if he has ever eaten sea urchin, comparing it to “pomegranate” lest her guest fails to register the innuendo that is as glaring as the raw kipper on his breakfast plate. Johnny admits that he has never eaten the slippery delicacy but “would like to try.” Moments later, Mora’s hand in close-up is stroking the quivering neck of a seagull she has lured over with a freshly caught fish, sealing their carnal bond.

Their subsequent courtship will be marred by an ongoing police investigation into the mysterious deaths of Mora’s former boyfriends, and her insistence that she is being pursued by a sea witch, seeking the errant mermaid’s return to her own dying tribe. Her mysterious stalker will make another unwelcome entrance after her first appearance in the Blue Grotto—this time at an outdoor shindig where the free-spirited young woman reluctantly obliges the gathered locals who urge her to dance. The sight of ‘Cameron’ observing her in the distance causes the frenzied, seemingly spellbound dancer to collapse, setting off a chain of events that will force Johnny to further question her motives and his own sanity.

Mora’s near death encounter through dance is an homage of sorts to another early Harrington collaborator and occult practitioner. Experimental filmmaker Maya Deren had authored several essays on the ecstatic religious elements of dance and possession, and later went on to document her experiences in Haiti taking part in ‘Voudon’ rituals that would be the basis of a book and a posthumously released documentary both titled Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. Note the Caribbean drummers whose ‘unnatural’ presence, in stark contrast to the more typical Malibu beach party celebrants, hint at the influence of black magic impelling the convulsive, near heart-stopping movements that eventually overtake her ‘exotic’ interpretive dance.

The opening sequence of Divine Horsemen includes a woodblock mermaid figure superimposed over a ‘Voudon’ dancer. The significance of this particular motif was likely known to Harrington, a devotee of this early pioneer of experimental American cinema. Deren herself appeared as a mermaid-like figure washed ashore in At Land (1947) who pursues a series of fragmented ‘selves’ across a wild, desolate coastline. Lawson with her untamed black hair and bare feet could be a body double of Deren’s elemental entity traversing unfamiliar physical terrain to find a way back to herself.

Mora’s insistence that she is being shadowed by a malevolent force directly connected to her mysterious birth on a Greek Island and curious upbringing as a sideshow attraction compel Johnny to investigate her paranoid claims, hoping to allay her fears with a logical explanation for them. The sea witch (or now figment of his imagination) will guide the sleuthing sailor into a desolate, mostly Mexican neighborhood where her departing figure will strand him—right at the doorstep of the jovial former sea captain who employs Mora in his tent show as a captive, “living, breathing mermaid.”

The British officer turned carnie barker is in a snoring stupor when Johnny first encounters him, snapping unconsciously into action to give a rote spiel on the wonders that await inside his tent. Muir balances Mudock’s feigned buffoonery with a slightly sinister edge. When Johnny arrives at his doorstep to find out more about the ongoing police investigation into her previous boyfriend’s deaths, the captain’s effusive hospitality takes on a decidedly darker tone when he guides his visitor to his liquor/curio cabinet where a severed hand in formaldehyde, “a little Arabian souvenir,” is cunningly placed where Johnny’s will see it. The spooky appendage serves as a reminder to Mora’s latest suitor of the punishments in store for a thief.

Captain Murdock’s Venice beach hacienda is yet another one of Night Tide’s deviant jolts: a fully fleshed out character in itself that speaks of its well-travelled tenant’s exotic and forbidden appetites. The dark, symbol-inscribed temple Johnny has entered at 777 Baabek Lane could be a brick-and-mortar portal into this mythic, mermaid-populated dimension that Johnny’s booze-soaked host thunderously defends as real.

Before falling into another involuntary slumber, Murdock will try to convince Johnny that while he and Mora merely stage a sideshow illusion, “Things happen in this world”—or, more to the point, Mora’s belief that she is a sea creature is grounded in fact.

Murdock’s business card that Johnny handily has in his pocket while tailing his dramatically kohl-eyed mark is oddly inscribed with an address more likely to be an ancient Phoenician temple of human sacrifice (Baalbek) than a Venice Beach bungalow. A lingering camera close-up offers another tantalizing, occult-themed puzzle piece—or perhaps a deliberate Kabbalah inspired MacGuffin. The significance of numbers as the underlying components for uniting the nebulous and intangible contents of the mind with the more inert, gravity bound matter, existing outside it, as the ancient Hebrews believed, wouldn’t have been lost on Night Tide’s mystically-minded helmer. Mora’s explicitly expressed disdain for Johnny’s view of the world as a rationally ordered, measurable entity that could be mathematically explained, reinforces Harrington’s world view, his love of Poe, and those French Symbolist artists who interpreted him.

In Odilon Redon’s Germination (1879), a wan, baleful, free-floating arabesque of heads of indeterminate gender suggests either a linear, ascending involution, or a terrifying descent from an unlit celestial void into a bottomless pit of an all-too-human, devolving identity. Redon’s disembodied heads gradually take on more human characteristics, culminating into a black-haloed portrait in profile. The cosmos of Redon’s etching is governed by an unexplained, inexplicable moral sentience, which absorbs the power of conventional light. Thus black is responsible for building its essential form, while glimmers of white, hovering above and below, prove ever elusive; registering as somehow elsewhere, beyond the otherwise tenebrous unity of the picture plane.

Night Tide has its own unsettling dimensions, of course, this black-and-white boardwalk where astral, egalitarian bums want to tip-toe; and, somehow, practically all of them do. Not a movie but an ever-becoming place, crammed into low-budget cosmogenesis unto eternity. We won’t discuss the ending here, since it hasn’t happened yet.

by The Lumière Sisters

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geekgemsspooksandtoons · 3 years ago

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GeekGem’s Major RE8 Rewrite Details & More

I am writing this because my good friend @kaijuguy19 was very interested in this. And I want to kind of get it out of the way. So I am gonna write a post that almost seems like a leak of before a movie or a game gets released like this very old Sonic movie leak that I still recall. https://www.reddit.com/r/SonicTheHedgehog/comments/7e8a15/some_info_about_the_upcoming_sonic_film/

Including I will reveal other details such as changed canon relating to RE6, and this version’s RE9. But it is mainly about RE8.

I am done with the post and I put, “& More” in the title....be warned. If you’re gonna read this, this is long. And there is some sensitive subjects I talk about. If you’re interested...I hope you can enjoy this. Which sounds very sick considering some of the details in this.

1. The protagonist of Resident Evil 7, 8, and 9 in these rewrites is going to be Emma Rosemary Winters. The daughter of Ethan and Mia Winters. Originally she was meant to be a different character and Rose was still a baby, maybe a sibling. But things just developed and she’s now the daughter that was a big deal in RE8. In this version, Emma is the focus of the trilogy. And not as a plot device.

She was born in 1999, making her 18 in 2017, and 22 in 2021. Much older than her, “Canon” counterpart. She was born a year after the events of Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, and Code Veronica.

2. More classic characters would be more involved. With Jill Valentine possibly being more involved in RE7 and not as a ending surprise for RE7. With her character being what Chris was to Ethan. But it’s more of a aunt and niece relationship in a way. Especially in Resident Evil 8.

Including other details that are revealed in this that Jill sadly became infertile because of being used as a BOW by Wesker in Resident Evil 5. Making a strong and sadly...depressing connection to that game. Along with the many infections that have happened to her in her years. Including she mostly has been dying her hair brown for years.

3. Spoilers for Resident Evil 6. Compared to the, “Canon” events of the timeline. The USA is no longer a superpower. After the knowledge that the US military had a hand/knew about Umbrella’s development of BOW’s in 1998.

Ever since 2013, America has been mainly disowned by other countries and maybe not actually demilitarized...and my comment is that America became pussyifed. Which my friend found to be a derogatory term to describe demilitarization. But it is likely not a failing country, but one that is no longer in control of many others.

4. It is likely Leon joined the BSAA sometime or somewhere else. But in 2015, Leon and Claire finally...boned with Leon moving on from Ada. So that Redfield bloodline stuff is done with.

One of the reasons why is that the CGI films are likely not canon in these rewrites...or mainly the recent ones.

5. Resident Evil 8 biggest themes would be about mothers. And that Mia and the truth of who she is. It is a big focus and Emma trying to find her possibly. But also on another mission.

6. As with classic characters returning. Hunk is supposed to be a major part in RE8. Along with the return and the canonization of the Umbrella Security Team Delta known as the Wolf Pack.

Having first returned in a DLC story to RE7 featuring Jake Muller, Nikolai Zinoviev, and Sherry Birkin. Which features Hunk as the playable character killing Nikolai, rescuing but using the already captured Sherry(Who was captured by Nikolai) as bait for Jake. Which results in a fight to the death between Jake and Hunk. With Hunk winning and killing Jake, but leaving Sherry alive.

This ends in possibly Hunk(Who was hired by The Connections to kill Nikolai and Jake) being able to get into the BSAA as a mole and get close with the Winters family.

7. Replacing the stupid twist at the start of the game. For the next four years, Hunk has been secretly posing as a different man. But using his real name because his real identity has never been revealed.

Originally having the name Derek. His real name is Hank, and called, “Uncle Hank” by Emma. He has been keeping tabs on the Winters family for The Connections.

But during one night, personally sent by Bailey(The leader of The Connections), Hunk and the Wolf Pack invade the Winters home and replaces the opening scene from RE8. With a moment of Emma realizing Hank is Hunk, but telling her to not call him that, but instead what he’s usually called.

And during the scene with him saying, “I’m not sorry Emma” before kicking Mia in the face in front of Emma. Showcasing even more Hunk did not validate or cared about Emma’s own trauma or well being.

8. In RE7, the Bakers are gonna be less sympathetic minus Zoe. Maybe having some tragic angles, but there’s no mind control really. Instead, Eveline is portrayed in a more tragic light and as a victim. Instead of how the, “Canon” RE7 did with her treatment.

With the tragic angle of Emma seeing Eveline at first as a young girl. But soon understanding she’s not who she is and what she was built for. With Emma knowing she has to kill her, despite she doesn’t want to. And even Eveline not wanting die as well.

9. The story with Emma in the RE8 rewrite is a big thing. And it’s what I have really focused on. While still using a lot of the same story from RE8. But being inspired by Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge.

After the events of RE7, Eveline dying, and some months after that sneaking out with Party Girl to a mall. She gets kidnapped by Ada and put for ransom for her mother to secretly help her to give her information from the BSAA and The Connections. And to make sure Emma doesn’t know her involvement too.

For years, Emma has slowly grown a little bitter. Despite being compassionate. Having developed anger toward hers captor and not wanting to be a victim anymore. But in RE8, this is where her mindset starts to darken even more.

But the night Hunk and the Wolf Pack invade their home, kidnap them. Including one scene akin to Mission Impossible 3, with Hunk shooting Mia(Who is somehow still infected with the Mold) in the head in front of Emma. But Mia doesn’t die and slowly healing. With Hunk doing this to force Emma to be complaint and quiet.

Because of this moment, Emma vows revenge by saying she’s going to kill of the Wolf Pack, and Hunk personally. Developing a hatred for the man the most after he revealed who he was and what he had done. Including the Wolf Pack leader Lupo after she thinks she learns a hard truth.

Throughout the game, her mindset darkens as she starts to think humanity isn’t worth saving as she faces against the four Lords, and the Wolf Pack.

While not killing all of the Wolf Pack. She does brutally hack Bertha to death, and somehow killing Beltway and possibly Vector. But when she thinks she learns a horrible truth that the Wolf Pack leader known as Lupo may of somehow murdered her father.

She fights the woman, breaks an arm of hers, and stabs her in the side of the breasts. But before killing her, Lupo reveals she wants to see her family one last time. Which stops Emma cold once she hears those words.

With it resulting in Emma turning Lupo in to Jill. And Lupo somewhat, “Redeeming” herself by revealing vital information about The Connections. But also getting a visit from Burton’s and apologizing to them.

10. A big theme and...it’s gonna be dialed down. Is that Emma is slowly sharing this dark view on humanity. As she starts to share similar beliefs such as Mother Miranda, and other similar villains. She feels like vengeance is going to help her against the Wolf Pack and the four lords.

Originally, her story was inspired by the story of Scorpion/Hanzo Hasashi from Mortal Kombat. But...things are slowly changing.

But the point is with my original intentions. Emma was gonna be more savage in these RE8 rewrites, hating the lords such as Alcina Dimitrescu, Karl Heisenberg, Moreau, but not really Donna. But her focus seemed to be more on the Wolf Pack. But again, things have changed.

Yet what’s the cause of this is that she is viewing the world in such a black and white way. With Jill, the Duchess, and whoever else trying to teach her that she needs to realize this isn’t how things should be handled.

But the big twist of the game is where Mother Miranda reveals to her who Mia is. Which shakes Emma’s viewpoint forever.

11. I have talked about dialing things down. With understandable criticism I needed from a friend who’s been helping me.

I felt like my intention with Emma was very extreme. I felt like my idea was very disrespect towards people who have endured trauma and Emma’s reaction seemed more selfish and she seems unaware of certain shit.

The best way my friend put it as. I’m gonna share this one paragraph.

“That being said, I do think with the way girls are raised, even in modern times and with strong mothers like Mia probably is, the reaction to trauma is less "I'm gonna go burn down everything in my way" and more "I want to get strong enough to move past this pain." Maybe that sentiment's changing with the kind of upbringing people have now, especially with feminism encouraging women to speak up and not be shut up, but I'll also say that there is a big difference towards fantasizing about revenge and actually having to cope with the often unavengable violence many people have to deal with. Like if everyone just acted out vengefully over every single 'wrong' done to them, the world would be a far more chaotic and unstable place. I think even with all the pain and anger Emma feels, her socialization as a 'normal' girl would have her motivations be more geared towards trying to spare others the pain she felt rather than necessarily a desire to torture and destroy.”

Along with the mentions that she isn’t a Mortal Kombat character or a soldier. While there is some vengeance stuff and anger going on...it’s gonna be dialed down a bit. Bertha is likely still killed brutally liked how I mentioned, and the fight with Lupo is still brutal. I feel this paragraph helps with what I’m talking about too.

“Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Emma can't be a fighter and I actually do like the irony of this small and terrified damsel managing to survive extraordinary odds and defeat incredibly powerful enemies...I just think she probably wouldn't just be swearing and yelling all the time, and honestly she'd probably be better using guns rather than doing everything up close. Think of all the RE heroines and how none of them needed to really punch a boulder (or carry a stupid huge BFG, at least before the remake) to be "strong" - of course, I know part of that is that their designs are meant to appeal to the 'male gaze' and that's why they're all so curvy yet skinny, but I think if you are going for "realism" and "horror" then it's MORE believable to have a protagonist who isn't a brawler. Think of Silent Hill, or Clock Tower, or Fatal Frame.”

12. A major new character or some what new is Eris.

A BOW originally named in developed as, “The Perfect Nemesis” because he is a Nemesis BOW The Connections have made. But what made him perfect was the combination of the Mold with the Nemesis Parasite. Making it easier to control him. Despite thinking about it, he looks more akin to the original Nemesis than the remake version. But with some differences.

He is dropped into the village after Hunk contacts The Connections for a little help to find Emma and even Mia. Including the realization of the four lords and the powers they possess.

But the major twist is that Eris is actually Ethan Winters. Who back in 2017, was murdered by Hunk in a likely story DLC maybe titled, “End Of Ethan”.

Ethan does pop up in RE7, but supposedly dies. But it is revealed in a DLC he is somehow alive. Considered to be a biohazard and maybe trying to save his family, including his daughter. But it ends with Hunk finding and killing him.

Due to the Mold being in Ethan’s body. He is the perfect candidate for Eris. Being sent on missions to kill certain people. And nearly killing Leon Kennedy on one mission but failing.

He doesn’t really mutate because of the Mold, which controls the Nemesis Parasite. Thus, making him perfect in a way, easier to control.

But compared to Nemesis, who was still quite intelligent for a BOW. Eris seems to showcase more intelligence. Such as being able to talk a bit more. Talking in a way similar to the likes of Grimlock from Transformers. Because of the Mold and this Ethan’s memory slowly popping up.

Basically, he can’t talk regularly. He just has a bigger vocabulary. Such as these.

“Eris....head...hurt”. “Winters....familiar”. “Emma.....Rose.” And whatever else, it depends.

There are also snippets of blonde hair on Eris’s head. Showcasing the last remaining human parts of Ethan.

It is likely he does at the end of his arc, remember who his daughter is and maybe is the one who kills Hunk instead of Emma. Despite my idea of Emma stabbing Hunk in the balls and chest, but him being so stubborn to pain that he doesn’t care.

During the story, Eris tries to follow Emma and Jill around the village. And even facing off against some of the lords such as Alcina, maybe Moreau, and likely Heisenberg.

It is likely Heisenberg is the one that kills him. But I think I’ll have Emma kill Hunk instead. I want to put that in. Yeah...Hunk is maybe getting stabbed in the balls.

The big reveal where Emma finds out(With Jill telling her) Eris is her dad. Which seems to replace the scene where Ethan discovers Rose’s head in a flask. Because of some reason, she thinks Lupo is the one who murdered her father. Which results in her trying to find the woman and killing her. Until she finds out she was wrong and Lupo reveals it was Hunk who did it.

He dies with a death scream in a similar way of how Superman dies in the beginning of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. And in way...Eris is basically a more tragic version of The Iron Giant.

13. In a retcon or not. The part of Wesker in Resident Evil 1 saying Barry Burton’s family was taken hostage is actually true in this. With the Wolf Pack taking them hostage. But leaving them alive after they hear on a radio Wesker betraying Umbrella, but also because of Lupo due to Kathy holding out for her children.

Outside of the main story. Kathy, and many well known RE characters such as Jill, Chris, Leon, Claire, Sheva, are considered family friends to Emma and Mia.

With a mention from Emma that people like Jill, Chris, Leon, and Claire(Maybe others like Barry) posed as family for Emma’s college graduation in 2020. It’s really meant as the closest easter egg and to namedrop certain characters without using them in the story.

Along with the fact before RE8, Jill, Sheva, Rebecca, Kathy, and likely Claire have also talked with Emma about personal things. Such as trauma. And that she had therapy for years. But Mia has not done any therapy. Which bothers and saddens Emma.

At times she tries to ask her mother if she wants to talk about what happened in 2017 and even the events with Ada. But Mia politely asks her she doesn’t wanna talk about it.

14. Compared to their Operation Racoon City counterparts, which was their first appearance. The ages for the Wolf Pack and Echo-6 are very different.

Most of the Wolf Pack are near the age range of Chris Redfield. Such as Lupo being a little older than Jill. Such as maybe being born in 1971. Making all of them middle aged in 2021.

Most of Echo-6 were born in the 90′s. Making them mostly in their 20′s in 2021.

15. Compared to the, “Canon” version of RE8. There is almost a three way war between The Connections/Wolf Pack, the BSAA/Jill with Echo-6, and Mother Miranda with the four lords.

With Emma in the middle trying to find her mother. And considering the notes, it is likely the BSAA is still corrupted. But that’s another topic.

16. Unlike the, “Canon” story, Donna Beneviento lives with Emma not wanting to kill her after she discovers some things that makes realize Donna isn’t in the right mental state. I won’t reveal much more more of this.

17. Compared to her father in, “Canon”. I have called and thanks to my friend giving me this idea. But I have called Emma the, “Perfect Hybrid” because she was infected in RE7 during her time at the Bakers. I’m gonna share some shots.

Despite my original intention to make Emma normal...she kind of still is...

So she’s not having her limbs cut off. But this explains her recent increase in strength and anger in RE8.

18. Compared to how the real RE8 is. Mia is a bigger focus with the biggest twist in the game is Mother Miranda revealing that Mia was a clone of hers. How she escaped the village years ago was because of an arranged kidnapping done by Heisenberg.

But the big twist is that Miranda reveals that Mia was responsible for being involved with The Connections, knowing who Eveline was and what she did to the Bakers, knowing who Ada was and why she was kidnapped. And also saying Mia was the reason Ethan was murdered and turned into Eris(Which she wasn’t).

She puts it in a way that Mia was responsible for every horrible thing that happened to her. Including that she’s the reason their family was destroyed.

After this and it’s not a boss fight. It results in well...I did make some dialogue. But it’s deep somewhere...I just wanna share some shots.

But the idea I’ve been thinking Jill finds her after the reveal. And takes her back to this small HQ where the remaining survivors of the village and Echo-6 are at.

I don’t think that, “Megamycete” might be a thing. I want Miranda to be fully aware of what she’s doing.

The point also being Miranda see’s Emma as a perfect host because she sees a younger but more savage version of herself. Including she decides to reveal everything of why some characters are saying, “You don’t know who your mother is”.

19. Elena, and maybe Luiza survive. Along with a new character named Vincent survive. The entire village doesn’t die...that just wasn’t needed. Some die, but not those three.

20. The Duke is now the Duchess...who’s basically a more kinder and wiser lady who may not look that good. And usually when I read the word Duchess, I think of the character from Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends.

21. One of the ideas is to showcase more of the Dimitrescu’s because of their popularity. But also to make them possibly...more evil and whatever else. Seeming more like sexual predators(Which they are in a way.), and Emma having a huge desire to kill them. But one of the daughters, Daniela showcases more of her humanity. Who feels like she’s in love with Emma. But she’s really not right in the hand.

Including one of the weapons Emma gains is a flame thrower...which may do some damage to the daughter’s and even Alcina.

22. Considering the zombies in the Dimitrescu and Beneviento areas are themed to fit for those places. Instead of Lycans in Moreau’s area. You have more Gillman like creatures. Which fits the fish aesthetic of the area.

23. It is likely Chris is in there...just not a whole bunch now. He’s likely in RE7. But Jill overtakes his role and...he’s not doing the stupid shit in RE8.

24. For RE9, the focus is on Emma working with Leon trying to save president Ashely Graham on an island with the help of Carlos Oliviera. Including Claire Redfield is involved. Along with Emma and Leon having to work with Ada. Despite Emma having an intense relationship with Ada as she realizes this is the woman that started her downward spiral into anger.

With Natalia from RE Revelations finally being the leader of The Connections because of Alex Wesker controlling her. Including the island is the home base of The Connections...

25. Mia is gonna be more...sympathetic is maybe the word. She’s more akin to Bioshock’s Brigid Tenenbaum. She regrets things she’s done. And she didn’t want her family to know because she was afraid of her daughter hating her. And the relationship with Mia continues in RE9.

Despite her relationship with Emma is scorned. A little in the ending of RE8 maybe and in RE9. She soon hugs her mother and forgives her.

RE9 is basically gonna be my own RE4/5.

26. I think this is gonna be the last part. I’ve been writing this for way too damn long. Maybe nearly two hours or so....

So....why did I stop this for awhile...I have talked about this has honestly depressed me.

Dealing with themes such as trauma, a young woman discovering her mother was a bioterrorist basically, Jill being infertile, Lupo’s children actually found out who she was and disowned her when they got older.

There is also the old idea(Might still add it) that Lupo was raped and one of her children were born because of that(Yet Lupo later on in life would murder the man). But also Miranda was raped by the soldiers(An idea from me).

But also Ethan becoming a BOW and forced to hunt down his daughter...it’s also the whole tragedy of the Winters family too and other thing that really dampened my mood for sometime. Including the whole theme about trauma, governments, and vengeance.

This...this was the shit that depressed me and why I needed a break...this is what I was talking about in some of my other posts...this is why my interest kind of...changed to cartoon stuff.

This is why I worried of being a, “Diet Neil Druckmann”.

I think I’ve written enough...I’m gonna have to warn the readers about how long this is.

#GeekGem Rambles #GeekGem's RE Rewrites

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toomuchhcart · 3 years ago

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💥 welcome to avengers campus, isn’t it nice to be back, ETHAN WINTERS ? it’s been so long since i’ve seen you being a typical THIRTY-TWO year old ENGINEERING TEACHER, the image of BRENTON THWAITES against the retroreflective panels of headquarter buildings. feels like forever since i’ve seen you hanging around AVENGERS ACADEMY. i don’t blame you, though; it fits your vibes perfectly given everyone associates you with BLACK OOZE, MISSING FINGERS, TAN JACKET. makes sense too: considering you’re known for being + DETERMINED & + WITTY, even when you can be quite - SARCASTIC & - STUBBORN, too. hey, have you seen the news reports lately …? i heard you’ve been getting visions from RESIDENT EVIL beginning to return, waking up from dreams of SACRIFICING HIMSELF FOR HIS FAMILY. must be something in the water … say, did you always have your JOURNAL on hand ? i’ve never seen you leave home without it. — ( he/him & cismale )

wiki ☣ pinboard

name: ethan winters nicknames: eth (pronounced like eeth), just because i like it :) age: 32 gender & pronouns: cismale and he/him sexuality: bisexual occupation: engineering teacher species: in canon, well... bioweapon, i guess? though he wasn’t intentionally turned into one. he was infected by a fungus called mold that completely took over his body when he died. now he can regenerate, to an extent. inuries, including serious ones, heal very quickly, and he can reattach any limbs that are cut off. he also managed to survive for a period of time without his heart, though he was significantly weaker, and was still dying.

earth-200,000:

married mia, his childhood sweetheart.

lost his parents when he was young and lived with his aunt when he was growing up.

was attacked by a dog as a child and had two of his fingers amputated because of this. is now terrified of dogs because of it, though he doesn’t really tell people this

is a great teacher who really cares about his students’ progress, wants to see them do well and does all he can to help them

canon life:

had a completely normal life until his wife, mia, went missing. after a long time not knowing where she was, he got a message supposedly from mia telling him where she was. so he went after her. when he found her, she attacked him, under the influence of a bioweapon called eveline, and he was eventually infected and killed by jack baker.

not knowing that he was dead, he awoke in the baker house, and fought the family one by one. with the help of zoe, the bakers’ daughter, he found what was needed to created a serum to cure both zoe and mia of eveline’s hold on them.

instead, he was attacked by a mutated jack baker, and had to use one of the doses on him to kill him. with only one dose left, ethan chose to save mia, telling zoe he would bring help.

he was attacked by eveline, saved by mia, then went to find and kill eveline herself. he was successful, and was rescued by chris redfield and a new, reformed version of umbrella.

from here onwards, ethan and mia were taken to live in europe, where they had a baby named rosemary.

chris shot who appeared to be mia and kidnapped both ethan and rosemary. on their travels, mother miranda attacked the vehicle and took rose with the intention of bringing back her own child, using rosemary as a vessel.

when ethan awoke in mother miranda’s village, he fought against various different bioweapons, including the four lords of the village, and slowly collected the pieces of his daughter.

mother miranda tore his heart out. but he was still alive. when he awoke, he was brought to mother miranda by his friend, the duke, and the two fought. when he successfully killed her, he was also weakened enough to finally be dying for real.

in order to save chris, chris’ team, mia, and rosemary, ethan stayed behind to blow up the megamycete (the bioweapon that started it all), dying in the process.

#' ethan. '#' ethan : intro. '#' ethan : about. '#afm.intro #death tw #body horror tw #gore tw

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caranfindel · 4 years ago

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Initial reaction 15.14: Last Holiday

Well, friends, here we go. Are you ready?

(I'm not. But here we go anyway.)

THEN: Cuthbert Sinclair. (Really? That's a deep cut.) Abbadon. Larry Ganem. (And S8 Sam, who is fucking gorgeous.) Oh, and God and Jack and all that stuff, in case you forgot.

NOW: Sam's in the library, doing research, and is distracted by some ominous noises. Ominous in a machinery-breaking-down kind of way, not in a monstery kind of way. Enter Dean, wearing an apron. "What's with the apron," asks Sam, "because it's only protecting your jeans, not the Red Shirt of Bad Decisions." At least that's how it sounded in my head. I mean, who only gets dirty from the waist down when they're cooking? (Well, that lends itself to all kinds of double entendres, doesn't it?) Or maybe Sam doesn't say that because he hopes the RSoBD will be destroyed in a tragic burger accident.

Seriously, Dean, that shirt is precious and you need to protect it, no matter what Sam thinks.

Dean complains that the pilot light keeps going out, and the hot water is unsatisfactory (and we know how he feels about his showers), and Sam reminds him that if the bunker was ever state-of-the-art, it was in the 50s. They exposition for us that Jack is hiding in his room. "Can you blame him?" Sam says. "His soul is back. Everything is hitting him. Everything he's done..." And Sam continues, but I'm sorry, I'm stuck here, thinking about re-souled Sam with everything hitting him. {sob} However, neither of the Winchesters seem to be thinking about this, so. Carry on.

The guys remind us that if Jack kills God, he'll have to kill Amara as well. Which I assume means Amara isn't going to get killed? Just saying. As much as I talk about foreshadowing (too much, please stop!) this show teases us with anti-foreshadowing with equal fervor. And Cas is apparently looking for Amara? What does he hope to accomplish? "Excuse me, but we're killing your brother, so you have to die too. Condolences. But if we follow canon - not that there's any reason to assume we will - you have to die at about the same time. So I need you to come with me while we figure out where he is and how to kill him."

There's another ominous noise, and Dean says "Oh, come on. Now the air?" I hope he means the air conditioning, and not the air purifying/exchange/whatever that Ketch shut off when he locked them in the bunker back in... whatever the BMoL season was. Hey, remember when the guys were locked in the bunker and they were running out of air and they wore single layers and goggles and got all sweaty and depressed? Because I've kind of never gotten over it. But I digress.

Sam is surprised that Dean expects them to fix it. "We've fought the devil," Dean says. "I've killed Hitler. I think we can handle a few old pipes." Surely this isn't the first time they've had to do some repairs around the place.

Deep within the bowels of the bunker, Sam reads some ancient instructions and complains that they can't just call a plumber. Dean refers to the bunker as the most "secretive, secure supernatural hideout in the world," which makes me laugh, because remember when Larry Ganem told Sam it was secure against all manner of evil? What a joke. Is there anything or anyone evil who hasn't been able to get into the bunker? My house is more secure against evil than the bunker, and all I have for protection is a circle of termite bait and a couple of ancient dogs.

They locate the "bunker grid control center thing thingy" (oh Sam, I adore you), complete with reset and standby buttons. Standby is glowing. Dean hypothesizes that it will work just like his computer, which needs to be shut down when it gets too many popups (I suspect you need some virus protection, dear boy), and slams down the reset button before Sam can stop him. Everything goes dark, but then starts up again, so Dean considers it a success. He calls himself "Meat Man" again and heads upstairs to finish cooking his burgers.

Time jump. Dean goes into his room, carrying a burger and a beer, and is astonished to find a middle-aged woman there. She's wearing a plaid wool skirt I owned in the 80s and is folding his underwear. "Oh, hello dear!" she says cheerfully. Dean yells for Sam.

Gosh, Dean, it's like this place isn't secretive or secure at all.

The horrified Shaggy and Scooby boxers are ~chef's kiss.~ Well done, someone.

Title card!

Library. The woman tuts at dust and wonders how they've lived in "this filth," which reminds me of an awesome Tumblr post which theorizes that faeries actually keep the bunker clean, and only first-born son Dean can see them. "Lady, who the hell are you," Dean demands, and is chastized for his language. He calls for Sam again, and gives him the story of how he walked into his room and found her "folding my underthings."

She explains that her actual name is indecipherable in "your tongue," but "Mr. Ganem called me _Mrs. Butters."_She's a wood nymph. And she's not in the woods, nymphing (thank you Dean) because she has more important things to do - she lives in the bunker and takes care of the Men of Letters. I.e., "my boys. My family."

Dean invites her to leave, but this is her home, and she's been here since "before the war." And she thinks it's 1958. "Well, I hate to tell you," Dean says, "but it's 2020." YES, DEAN, WE ALL FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT 2020. Mrs. Butters is horrified to learn all her boys are dead. And for some reason Dean tells her they were murdered by a demon instead of saying old age, or they went to a farm upstate, or whatever. She spots a photo of the last group of MoL, which we've never noticed before, and realizes that this is why they never came back from that last ceremony. When they didn't return, she decided to put the bunker - and herself - in standby mode.

But she also realizes that if these boys are like those boys, it's been a while since they had a home-cooked meal or celebrated a holiday. Or washed their clothes, as she makes a face. That's uncalled for, lady. We all know that Sam Winchester smells like rosemary and mint no matter how long it's been since he did laundry. Sam explains that they're not really "holiday people," which rings true coming from the guy who didn't want to celebrate Christmas and hates Halloween. (And only had one real Thanksgiving in his life and his brother still holds that against him but NO I'M NOT BITTER.)

Dean is more interested in what "standby mode" is. Mrs. Butters says the MoL used her magic to give the bunker "extra oomph," and snaps her fingers. Voila, extra oomph! There's some humming noises, the telescope alcove lights up (!), and an alarm sounds. Because the map table is actually a monster radar, and it indicates a nest of vampires 50 miles away. And gives the address. WELL.

{Sidebar: Why didn't the BMoL know the AMoL had this capability? Why was their focus on "you're not as good as us" instead of "you used to be as good as us; what happened?" Discuss.}

Do I care? No. Because look at these precious perplexed faces.

Dean's ready to go (and it earns him another stern warning about his language), but Sam wonders if they can trust her. "Look at her," Dean says. And I agree. She's a dumpy middle aged woman in a brown plaid wool skirt. She's basically me. And who could be more trustworthy, more concerned with the Winchesters' health and safety, than me?

Um. Anyway.

Not to change the subject or anything, but the pretty is strong tonight, y'all.

Dean suggests they give her the benefit of the doubt, and if it turns out she's not what she says she is, "then we deal with it." The music turns ominous. "What about Jack?" Sam asks.

Oh, Jack is actually in this episode? I thought maybe they were explaining his absence earlier, like they always do with Cas. (Because I always cover the guest star credits on first watch. Spoilers.) But it turns out Jack is actually with us tonight. Sitting on his bed, looking depressed. Dean knocks on his door and tells him they're going out, and there's a "probably harmless" guest making snickerdoodles. This sparks Jack's interest. It would work on me, too. I love snickerdoodles.

Impala. Sam's not sure it's a good idea to keep Mrs. Butters around, even if she is legit. He's concerned about Jack, but Dean brushes him off.

He'll be fine. I mean, I've been through worse and look at me. I'm the picture of health.

Ignoring your trauma doesn't make you healthy.

Sure it does.

Oh, Sam. Just listen to yourself. No, I mean, please. Listen to yourself.

Sam feels like Jack is hiding something, and I wish there were someone around who had also done awful things while un-souled, and remembered what it felt like to deal with that afterward. Someone sympathetic and empathetic. With soft puppy dog eyes and beautiful hair. Oh well. I guess Jack will just have to go unburden himself onto whoever he comes across.

Bunker. Mrs. Butters brings Jack a sandwich. He doesn't open the door, but she leaves it for him.

Vampire nest. A couple of vampires are watching Dark Shadows (so meta!) and drinking blood stolen from a blood bank. So, are these, like, maybe not bad vampires? Maybe they don't kill people? We'll never know, because Sam and Dean walk in and cut off their heads. And come home to... Christmas. Lights are strung all over, jazzy Christmas music is playing, there's a huge decorated tree and gifts, and Mrs. Butters has a tray of homemade cookies. "We are so keeping her," Dean says. Sam looks unsure.

Kitchen. Mrs. Butters tells Sam that since he and Dean have been so busy killing monsters, they haven't had a chance to celebrate anything. But I can barely pay attention to a single word that comes out of the woman's mouth because LOOK AT SAM IN THIS T-SHIRT. LOOK AT IT.

Single-layer Sam is something to celebrate.

She insists that Sam "enjoy the world you're fighting for" (which is never gonna happen, lady) and excitedly talks about all the holidays she wants to make up for. Then Jack enters, and her mood changes instantly. Even Jack's adorable little dorky wave doesn't melt her. "What are you?" she asks coldly.

Enter Dean, wearing a real-life version of the purple "sleeping robe" and nightcap he wore in "Scoobynatural." OH MY GAWD. I really hope this was a surprise for the rest of the cast.

And I also hope he's not really going commando underneath... or do I?

Mrs. Butters is distracted enough to decide that if the boys vouch for Jack, he must be okay. She hands Jack a smoothie but tells Dean he must have tomato juice due to his cholesterol. And she pronounces it the Patrick Stewart way, not the Mark Hammil way.

Before Dean can drink his to-mah-toh juice, the monster radar alarm goes off, and the guys rush off to prepare for a hunt. For future reference, when you leave the kitchen, Sam's room is to the right and Dean's is to the left. We next see the guys fully dressed, receiving sack lunches from Mrs. Butters. Dean's sandwich has the crusts cut off. {Sidebar: Sam never had someone to cut the crusts off his sandwich. Hold me. And also, how many reminders am I going to have of "Dark Side of the Moon" tonight?} She tells Sam the monster is a lamia, the blessed knives are in the trunk, and she just waxed the car so Dean needs to take it easy.

As the guys rush off, she turns to Jack and his smoothie mustache. "Well. What shall we do with you?"

NOTHING GOOD, I'M SURE.

As Jack helps wash dishes, he fills her in. Lucifer was his father, Mary was his family and his friend but he killed her. Mrs. Butters is very supportive, telling him "life gives us second chances and it's our obligation to hold onto them." And she presents him with another smoothie.

Montage! Thanksgiving dinner. More hunts. More sack lunches. Halloween (and even Sam seems to enjoy it). Fourth of July. (Yet another "Dark Side of the Moon" shoutout). A hunt requiring the grenade launcher and Thor's hammer from that episode whose title I can't remember! Sam's birthday! By the way, none of these holiday celebrations include Cas.

Mmmm. So worthy.

Time jump. Jack catches Mrs. Butters looking at something in a file cabinet and being very sneaky about it. He requests another smoothie to get her out of the room, and then finds what she was looking at. It's her MoL file, including a reel of film. The film shows Cuthbert Sinclar talking about File 5150 (aw, RIP Eddie Van Halen). The subject was actually recovered from the Thule (aw, "Everybody Hates Hitler") and we learn that wood nymphs "react violently when home or family are threatened." Sinclair says he "conducted a series of experiments designed to show this strange and magical being of our mission" and convinced her to join the MoL family. Huh. Wonder how he did that. Then Mrs. Butters demonstrates her devotion by literally ripping the head off a Thule. "Son of a bitch," says Jack, because he's been spending a lot of time with Dean.

Jack runs into the war room looking for Sam (and yes, I'm petty enough to love that he looks to Sam first), who is off getting ready for a "big date." Huh. Okay. Mrs. Butters offers him soup, but then Sam walks in, giving off some pretty strong Hot Professor Sam vibes (hello again, "Everybody Hates Hitler") with a sweater vest and tie, and I am thrilled with this development.

Thrilled, I tell you.

Mrs. Butters tells him he looks wonderful but offers to trim his hair (back off, lady, I will cut you) and Dean enters in time to make a weak Abercrombie and Bitch joke. Sam tells him Eileen's in town, and he's taking her out to dinner and "some privacy, something."

"Heavy on the something," Dean says, and we're going to talk about that later, I promise. But for now, Mrs. Butters tells Sam to take one of the old cars from the garage. Finally. Can we just make this permanent? Can Sam have his own fucking car, please? She produces a bouquet of roses from nowhere and sends him on his adorably anxious way. Then she tells Dean she found a broken TV in one of the rooms and fixed it. "The Dean Cave?" Dean is off like a shot. I wonder if that's the TV he smashed with a hammer, and if so, how did she fix it? (Also, hello again, "Scoobynatural.")

Jack is still unsettled. He follows her into the dungeon and tells her he saw the film. {Sidebar: The film showed her killing one of their enemies because she's protective of the MoL. Is it really that awful? Discuss.} "And how did that make you feel?" she asks. "You relished his pain, didn't you, Jack?" Oh, turns out that was a setup - she wanted Jack to see the video, so she could confirm that he was a bloodthirsty little monster. And do the Winchesters know how powerful he has become?

They should be scared of you!

I would never hurt them.

You have before, haven't you? Have you ever thought that Sam and Dean keep you in here, closed in, secure, because they're scared you'll do to someone else what you did to their mother?

Well, I mean. Now he has. She flings Jack into the wall. He tries to use the glowy eyes on her, but he finds himself powerless. She snaps the magic handcuffs on him. "You didn't think those smoothies were for your health, did you? Oh, I've learned a few things while I was doing the dusting around here. A little yarrow root, some ground jawbone for texture, and voila! You are as weak as a puppy."

Wait. That's all it took? To power down a nephilim, who is canonically more powerful than his archangel parent? So when the Winchesters were trying to take down Lucifer and AU Michael, all they needed was some yarrow root and ground jawbone? And the answers were all right here in the bunker?

(Sigh. Don't think about it. That way lies madness.)

(Also, canon! Ha ha ha ha.)

She tells Jack she's making the bunker safe again and getting rid of all the monsters. Like you, sweetness. Aw. Sad Jack.

Kitchen. Dean comes in looking for a snack and is immediately presented with some kind of grilled sandwich. She tells him to eat it, because he'll need his strength when they go kill Jack. Aw, that's the sound of a heart breaking.

Dean is disappointed that their good thing has gone "full Nurse Ratchet," and glances longingly at the sandwich he has to leave behind. He takes Mrs. B's knife and suggests they let Jack go and pretend this never happened. The only logical conclusion is that Dean is under Jack's spell, so he gets tossed into the dungeon too. Oh, cool. Does that mean Sam gets to be the hero and save them?

Spoiler alert: Ha ha ha ha no.

Hello, Demon Dean. That's the only other time we've seen this expression, isn't it? {Or is it simply the only one branded onto my brain? Discuss.)

Map table room. Sam comes in and is met by Mrs. B. "Bit past your curfew, Samuel," she says curtly. He's no longer wearing his tie. Hmm. So, let's talk about the Eileen situation. Isn't it weird that (1) Dean didn't know she was in town, and (b) she's not spending the night at the bunker? Wouldn't you think she'd be a house guest? I mean, she's not "in town" for the heck of it. The only thing that would bring her to Lebanon would be Sam. So why isn't she here seeing Sam? Is she just driving through on her way somewhere else? She can't even spend one night in the bunker? And the tie? If Sam removed his tie, doesn't that strongly suggest Dean was right about the "something" going on? Did they do it in the back of the old car? At a hotel? I have questions, friends.

Anyway. Sam asks where Jack and Dean are, since it's late and they should be sitting around the map table waiting for him to come home and not, like, in bed or anything. "Well, I have some good news, and some bad news."

HERE IS SOME GOOD NEWS INDEED.

Honestly, I like this look better without the tie.

Time jump.

So, Jack has taken over Dean's mind. And they're both downstairs, right now, ready to be killed by us.

You were always the smart one, yes.

Sam, who is the smart one, says he's going to go to his room and get his gun, and he'll meet her in the dungeon. "And we can... get to the killing." I LOVE HIM. {Sidebar: I have watched his fake relieved sigh several times and it makes me smile every time.} Once he’s safe in his room, Sam calls Dean and starts to tell him about Mrs. Butters.

Went psycho, we know.

Why didn't you call me?

Well, I mean I, you know, I figured you were "practicing your sign language."

And that's more important than coming to save you?

...

Dean?

It's been a while for you, man, you know?

Aw. Always the supportive big brother. {Sidebar: As long as Sam is doing something Dean thinks Sam should be doing. But I digress.}

{Sidebar: I love Dean, y'all know I do. Warts and all. He'd be boring if he were perfect.}

Dean suggests Sam shoot her, although they don't know if a gun will kill her because neither of them got around to researching it because they were distracted by Christmas and Thanksgiving and breakfast on Boxing Day. That's how you get killed, guys. {Sidebar: How much do I love that Sam calls it Boxing Day? For my Brit friends, that's not really a thing in the U.S., although it's gradually starting to become one. And I love it.}

Dean then suggests that putting the bunker in standby mode might put Mrs. B in suspended animation again. Meanwhile, Jack and Dean are stuck in the dungeon. Jack suggests using his power to remove the cuffs, but Dean points out that the power surge would catch Chuck's attention. But what power surge? Jack already tried to use his power against Mrs. B and it turned out he didn't have any.

Jack suspects there are other reasons Dean doesn't want him to use his power, and suddenly decides it's time for a deep conversation.

Do you still think I'm a monster? Okay, I'm just gonna say this, okay? Just get it out there. Jack, I'm trying, okay? I really am. But what you did, that's not easy to forget. Now, I was angry with you. For a while. And maybe I still am a little bit, okay? But I'm not gonna let some evil Mary Poppins take you out. You understand?

Okay. Good talk.

Sam shows up in the library looking for Mrs. B, and trying to hide his gun, as if he hadn't told her he was going to his room specifically to retrieve said gun. But Mrs. B realizes he's trying to kill her, and freezes him. She's not mad, she's just disappointed. She tosses him into a chair and keeps him there with the power of her mind, not with rope or anything, in case you were wondering. {Oh, hello, "Funeralia" and "The Trap."} She tells him that when the MoL first found her, she didn't realize how important they were. But Mr. Cuthbert explained it to her. And since Sam is her favorite, she's not going to give up on him. Yet. She's going help Sam the same way Mr. Cuthbert helped her understand. Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all.

He's my favorite too! And I also think he needs to be hurt! See, she's basically me!

Dungeon. Dean is going to try to chop Jack's handcuffs off.

You're sure this is gonna work?

Let's say yes.

Aw. That was a perfect opportunity to bring back "maybe 90% sure." And it doesn't work - Jack is sent flying into a glassed-in cabinet that I've never seen in the dungeon before. Dean says "dang it" before remembering that he can use his big boy words, which is adorable. And then he gets an idea.

Upstairs. Mrs. B tries to convince Sam that Jack is a monster because he's Lucifer's son. Sam, of course, takes the opposite side of this debate. "Now, Mr. Cuthbert taught me that pain can be a wonderful teacher. Let's see if it can't correct your ways."

I SWEAR, Y'ALL, SHE IS ME.

Sam could sneer at her and say "I've been tortured by the devil himself; what can you do to me?" but we don't have that version of Sam any more. Mrs. B, without tools, yanks off one of his fingernails. {Oh, hello "A Very Supernatural Christmas!"}

Meanwhile, downstairs, Dean has a different theory on pain. It's just "weakness leaving the body," he tells Jack. We get a little "on three" bit, where he actually does the thing on one. And the thing is that he tries to cut Jack's handcuffs again, but this time Jack is strategically placed in front of the dungeon door. So when he's thrown back by the blast, he ends up breaking the door down.

Upstairs. Sam's been relieved of even more fingernails.

Downstairs. Dean takes a hammer (!) and smashes the reset button. Why doesn't he just push it with his hand? I mean, sure, we get the hammer, and the red lights and warning klaxon, and all of that turns me into Pavlov's dog {Hello, "Soul Survivor"}. But still. Seems unnecessary.

Upstairs. Mrs. B seems to be gone, and Dean bends over like he's untying Sam's wrist. But Sam's wrists aren't tied to anything, so. I got nothin'.

Downstairs. The runes that seem to hold Mrs. B in stasis light up, but do not stay lit. Well, that can't be good. And then the bunker grid control center thing thingy starts shaking and springs a leak. Ooops. Here she comes, complete with glowy green eyes.

Upstairs. Dean finishes untying Sam from the chair he wasn't tied to, and remarks on how gross his tortured hand is. Mrs. B shows up, yells that they've all been very bad, and flings them across the room. She's sure Sam will thank her someday for killing Jack, because it's so important to kill monsters and keep the MoL safe. It's why she couldn't go back to her forest. Sam explains to her that Mr. Cuthbert tortured her and used her, and Dean tells her Jack is going to save the world. Oh, okay then. The regular lights turn back on and Mrs. B tearfully says she misses the MoL so much.

Aftermath. Mrs. B heals Sam's hand and apologizes and all is immediately forgotten and once again, Sam gets to forgive his torturer and turn the other cheek. Yay! Sam, what was it you said earlier?

Gif stolen from @michaeldean

The guys send Mrs. B back to the woods, but first they have this conversation:

Sadly, without my magic, the bunker will revert to standby mode, so. Ah well, things were getting too easy anyway, you know? Who needs a monster radar? Or whatever that telescope thing is? It's an interdimensional geoscope. It's a what? I looked in it earlier; I didn't see anything. Oh. Well that's not good.

Holy crap, you guys. Interdimensional. It let the MoL look at the alternate worlds. And now you can't see anything because all of the alternate worlds have been destroyed. Gotta admit, this is an excellent little twist.

Jack presents Mrs. B with the photo of the MoL. "Oh look," she says. "The man who tortured me and kept me from my home, right here, front and center." Well, no, she doesn't. But I do.

Mrs. Butters gives them some last instruction. "Dean, eat your vegetables. And Sam, cut your hair. And Jack, go save the world." Well, I'm in favor of one or two of those things.

Try to tell me I'm wrong. Just try.

After-aftermath. Jack tells Sam that he doesn't know if he can kill God, since he was sidelined by a wood nymph "because I was stupid." He asks if Sam thinks he can do it.

"Jack, you're the only who can." No pressure.

Dean shows up with a truly awful-looking birthday cake for Jack. "I made it myself. Obviously." But Jack is thrilled because it's from Dean, and it means Dean loves him and has forgiven him, until the plot requires otherwise. He makes a wish and blows out his single candle. Fade to black.

So! There were parts of this that were simply marvelous. There were parts that were kind of dumb. There were parts that would have made me very angry if I weren't so tired and jaded. But the good parts were darn good, and the pretty was dialed up to 11, and we all know I'm a sucker for a pretty episode. And there was NO B PLOT. AT ALL. Thank you baby Jesus.

And let’s just refuse to consider the possibility that these were, in fact, their last holidays. Thanks.

Now I get to see what you thought about it. And, as always, please help me stay unspoiled for future episodes, including episode titles and casting info. {smooches}

#spn #15.14 #initial reaction #recap #tv recaps #spoilers

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sorry-rosie · 4 years ago

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✧ Welcome Post ✧

➼ Introduction

Hello! This is a blog dedicated to the canon pairing of Mia Winters / Ethan Winters in Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village, or Mithan for short. Here I’ll post fanfiction, headcanons, and other writings about the pairing, but I’ll also reblog others’ art, writing, photography, gifs, etc. that remind me of them for inspiration.

Asks are open! Feel free to send in requests for fanfics or headcanons or if you just want to talk, that’s fine. Asks and prompts to choose from will be tagged as “prompts” or “ask away”.

Warning that the blog may cross into NSFW at times, though I will properly tag it as nsfw. It also can delve into darker or more mature topics since it is an M-rated franchise, I’ll tag blood and gore as well. Feel free to send an ask if you need more tags to filter something out.

➼ Archive

➼ Headcanons

Personality

Dealing with Trauma

Confessions After Dulvey

Affection

Ethan and Mia’s Songs

Rosemary’s Name

Favorite Music Genres

➼ Alternate Universes (AUs)

...

➼ Fanfiction

It’s the Wine Talking (NSFW)

Little Things

Hearthside (NSFW)

Losing Me Without You

#new blog like #hello! hope I find some mutuals :)#resident evil #mia winters #ethan winters #mithan #ship blog #otp

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writteninsunshine · 4 years ago

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Death Is A Beginning Not An End Chp 001/025 - Jerry Dandridge/Ed Lee - SFW

Title: Death Is A Beginning Not An End

Author: Reno

Fandom: Fright Night

Setting: Various

Pairing: Jerry Dandridge/”Evil” Ed Lee (Main), Charley Brewster/Amy Peterson, Past Mark/”Evil” Ed Lee, Charley Brewster/Peter Vincent/”Evil” Ed Lee

Characters: Jerry Dandridge, “Evil” Ed Lee, Charley Brewster, Peter Vincent, Mark, Amy Peterson, Jane Brewster, Adam, Ben, OC: Heather Charles

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Hurt/Comfort/Angst/Drama

Rating: E

Chapters: 1/25

Word Count: 2379

Type Of Work: Chapter Fic

Status: Incomplete

Warnings: Gay, Slash, Yaoi, MLM, AU - Omegaverse, AU - A/B/O, AU - Soulmates, AU - Canon Divergent, Vampire Typical Violence, Omega Ed Lee, Alpha Jerry Dandridge, Alpha Peter Vincent, Alpha Charley Brewster, Violence, Gore, Character Death, Cunnilingus, Blowjobs, Virgin Ed Lee, Vaginal Sex, Threesomes, Pack Mating, A/B/O Dynamics, Vampire Turning, Vampires Feeding, Underage, Charley and Ed are 17

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except Heather.

Summary: "Every time I find you, I turn you. I won't make that mistake again."

AN: Hey guys, it’s me again! Just thought I ought to say, if you want vague updates and to talk to me more, I have Twitter and Tumblr, too! Twitter is Sunnywritings, and Tumblr is Writteninsunshine! I also have a writing Discord that is currently pretty dead. xD I can PM it to people who want it on FFN, for everyone else, it’s here: https://discord.gg/FyaWw25

So, there are absolutely no stories for my OTP for this fandom, so I have to feed myself content. Hopefully, someone will see it and also want to spread the love for these two. At any rate, I hope you guys enjoy this fic, it’ll be kind of long. I have no idea how long, but I hope that I can do them justice.

Fright Night Fic Masterlist

Chapter One: Bright Lights

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It had been weeks since the last time he’d heard from Charley, and Ed was starting to get offended. How could his best friend just up and abandon him like this for the popular guys? Mark and Ben were assholes, the worst kind, gaping, infected, disgusting. Ed couldn’t fathom hanging out with the two stoners, but he figured Charley saw something in them because he spent all his time with them and Amy.

Still, Ed was feeling left out. Charley had been so close to him and Adam, and now it was just radio static on his end. He’d decided that after school, he would try to go see if he could get a hold of Charley by going to his house. His parents had needed him at home, however, so he’d gone home to handle his chores and the family trip to Pizza Hut. After his room was clean, the garbage was on the curb, and his belly was full, the sun was already starting to set. Regardless, he was going to see Charley even if it killed him.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have had that thought.

As he walked, he listened to a playlist on his iPod that would hopefully give him the confidence to confront his friend. When he saw Charley’s house up the street, he pulled his headphones out and started to cross over the neighbor’s lawn, jogging lightly.

“Hey!” A rather muscular man snapped at him, standing in the shadow of his house, “Don’t run on my lawn!” The Alpha barked, using the tone he knew would make the Omega listen. Ed paused, staring at him for a moment, just standing on his lawn with wide eyes, not unlike a deer in the headlights.

“What did I just say,” His statement wasn’t a question, but a barked order, and he narrowed his eyes as he crossed his lawn with all the power and grace of a tiger stalking its prey, “Move, Omega.” He growled, finally close enough to touch the teen before him. He’d smelled the Omega on him from far away, but suddenly he was hit with a strong, desperate need to be close. It made him take pause, blinking a little.

He was the one. The one he’d been searching for.

Taking Ed by his armpits, he lifted him up like he weighed nothing and strolled to the sidewalk, placing him down gently on the concrete. Ed continued to stare up at him, somehow feeling safe with the glaring Alpha. It was strange, he didn’t know what was happening to him. Most Alphas made him feel flighty and skittish when they were older, and now he felt like he’d die if he left his presence.

“Stay off my lawn, okay?” The man’s voice was softer, now, a purr threatening to underline his words. “I’m Jerry, by the way.”

“Ed.” Finally, he found his voice, nodding a little, “I… Y-yeah, I’ll stay off it.”

Ed couldn’t believe how strange he felt right now, drawn to this stranger like he’d known him his entire life.

“Nice to meet you, Ed.” It was hard not to call him something else, any pet name he could. ‘Precious’ came to mind and he had to shake his head to relieve himself of the thought. “Now, get.” He patted the Omega’s back, giving him a little push in the direction he’d been going.

“Yeah.” Ed nodded, still lost in the fog of being near Jerry. He started walking, hesitant to leave, towards Charley’s house, looking over his shoulder as Jerry started for his front door. “Fuck.” He muttered, rubbing at his hip a little as he took the steps to the door at a jog. Knocking on the door, he waited for a minute or so before ringing the doorbell. It hit him as he rang that he didn’t remember walking to the door.

Jane answered after another ring, and Ed smiled at her. Her return smile was tight, almost sad.

“Hey, Ed.” She offered lamely, “Looking for Charley?”

“Yeah, I, uh, I need to talk to him about something.” Nervousness and an odd sense of despair filled him and he closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, “Is he home?”

Jane visibly tried to sort out an answer and Ed knew that meant he was home but had asked not to speak to him. He sighed, shaking his head.

“Nevermind.”

“No, no.” She sighed, unable to handle the sadness tinging his scent, “ He’s home, upstairs in his room. I don’t know if he’s asleep already or not.” She told him, stepping aside and opening the door up for him. “Come on in.”

With a nod, Ed entered the house, hands in his pockets to keep from fidgeting with them.

“Thanks.” He smiled, though it was saddened, anxious, it didn’t meet his eyes.

“It’s no trouble, just knock before you go in.” She knew her son needed his privacy sometimes, and she didn’t know what he was doing up there at the moment.

“Yeah, I will.” He almost didn’t want to. Heading up the stairs, he sighed as he came to a stop in front of the other’s room. He knocked twice before entering without waiting for an ‘okay’, afraid he would lose his nerve.

“Ed!? What the hell, man!?” Charley exclaimed, eyes wide as he put down the book he was reading for class. He laid out on his bed, one leg bent up against the mattress., but he shot up when Ed entered the room, “You’re supposed to wait before coming in!” He added, eyes narrowing. “What do you want?” It was clear Charley wasn’t impressed with him just showing up unannounced. Even his mom didn’t warn him.

“It’s not like you’re masturbating, I don’t see the problem. I need to talk to you, asshole.” Ed snarled, crossing his arms and shaking his head, “What’s the deal? You’re just going to abandon me and Adam for those dickweeds?”

“Man, you don’t get it,” Charley sighed, shaking his head. The Alpha smelled acrid like he was pained, but Ed ignored it the best he could. “I need this.”

“You need this? Why? I don’t think Amy cares who you’re friends with! Those assholes are gonna throw you to the wolves the second you fuck up.”

“They’re…” He wanted to say ‘good friends’, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it in front of the best friend he’d ever had, “Not so bad.” That was the best he could do.

“Not so bad? Not so bad?” Ed’s voice was shrill and it was clear he didn’t like to hear that. “Mark’s been bullying me since grade school!”

“I… I know, but he’s better, now.” He wasn’t actually better, if anything, his bullying had gotten worse.

“He’s just better because you aren’t a target anymore.” Ed huffed, growling a little under his breath. “I can’t fucking believe you. You can’t ever hang out with me anymore? Not even a little bit? Come on, man, this isn’t you.”

“It’s me, now, Ed.” Charley snapped, eyes narrowing, “Grow up, move on, it’s time we both did.”

Ed had to hold back from another growl, taking a deep, steadying breath and trying not to lose his mind over this. Charley was pissing him off something awful and he was ready to go back to the good feeling he had when he was with Jerry. His thoughts strayed to him and he couldn’t help but bite back a smile. This was no time to feel soft and mushy over a stranger he’d just met.

“You’re a fucking asshole, Charley.” He growled, finally finding his ability to speak. “I hope you rot for this, it’s not fucking fair.”

And Ed was right, it wasn’t fair, and Charley knew that. But he had to keep up appearances. Amy wouldn’t want to date a loser like he used to be. He needed to be cool, and hanging out with Mark and Ben made him cool. It wasn’t like Amy would accept him being friends with Ed and Adam. He had to move on, and he was trying so hard. It wasn’t easy, especially with the scent of despair mixing with the calming scent of rosemary and fire filling his room. Ed was clearly upset and all he wanted to do was hug the Omega standing in his doorway. Soothing him with his scent and a firm hold sounded like the best option, but he went still and glued himself to his bed instead.

“I… Yeah, maybe I am an asshole.” He conceded, shaking his head and standing up. “But you know what? This is my life, now. If you can’t accept it, then I guess you won’t accept that I’ve moved on and that’s fine. I’m not about to abandon my life for you. We can’t be doing... Whatever this is.”

“You’re such a dickweasel, you know that? When they turn on you, and they will, don’t come crying to me. I won’t take you back.” Ed snapped, finally turning on his heels and storming out of the room. It was possible, he realized, that Ed was crying. There was a salty scent in the room, now, and he felt his stomach sink. Charley wanted so badly to call him back, but he heard the front door slam and knew it was too late.

Texting Amy, he hoped she would offer him some form of solace.

[Text To: Amy, 8:07 PM] Hey, what are you up to?

[Text To: Charley Barley, 8:09 PM] Just getting ready for bed, wyd?

[Text To: Amy, 8:09 PM] Ed came over

[Text To: Amy, 8:10 PM] I feel like shit. He’s pissed.

[Text To: Charley Barley, 8:14 PM] Oh shit, u ok?

[Text To: Amy, 8:18 PM] I don’t think so. It hurts

[Text To: Charley Barley, 8:20 PM] U don’t have to leave him u kno. He’s still ur bff.

[Text To: Amy, 8:21 PM] It’s too late now, I don’t think he is anymore. He called me a dickweasel and an asshole and stormed out of my house.

[Text To: Charley Barley, 8:22 PM] It’s not 2 late, apologize.

Her words rang true. He should apologize, but he didn’t think that he could. It wasn’t like Ed was going to respond. He was too angry, now. But he thought he’d try, anyway, at least he could send him a message. He spent a solid five minutes writing and rewriting his text.

[Text To: Evil, 8:27 PM] Hey, man, look, I’m sorry, okay? I just can’t do this right now. I can’t just up and leave, they’ll kill me.You think you have it bad but they would CRUCIFY me. It’s safer having them on my side than against me. I’m sorry they hurt you, maybe I can get them to leave you alone.

At least in his presence, he could help somewhat. Maybe if he influenced Mark and Ben enough, nothing bad would happen.

Ed turned on his read receipts on his phone, leaving Charley on read so he could see how angry he was. What else did Charley expect, an acceptance letter? There was no way after what had just happened that he’d do that. Still, the text on his phone kept him up most of the night, spending time browsing the web didn’t help, either. He ended up on Peter Vincent’s website, as he did, rereading something about vampires in California. It was always interesting to read about it, even if he’d reread this story a thousand times. Maybe he should check something else.

He turned to a forum he was part of, searching for ways to talk to Charley. No one was helpful, all of them told him not to accept the apology. Somewhere deep down, he wanted to. He picked up his phone several times, writing out responses before he ended up deleting them.

Charley didn’t sleep well that night, either, thinking about what he’d said and how he could make it up to his friend. Maybe they could hang out after school sometime if Evil would even look at him.

The next day in class was horrible, with Ed shooting him looks that told him he wanted to talk, and then glaring daggers at him. If looks could kill, Charley would be full of knives in the back. Even after class, Ed turned his back on him, stomping out of class like it was the best thing he’d ever done.

“Hey, man, you look… Shitty.” Mark commented with a raised eyebrow, leaning on Charley’s locker, “You okay?” He didn’t really care, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

“Uh, yeah. I just didn’t sleep last night.” Not well, anyway. He’d had a nightmare that Ed had died, and he didn’t really know what to do with that.

“You gonna sleep during class?” Ben asked, though he didn’t really mind either way. It wouldn’t affect him. That was what Ben always did when he couldn’t sleep at night.

“I dunno, maybe.” He had social studies next, and that meant he’d probably sleep to the teacher’s droning monotone.

“Cool, cool.” Mark brushed it off easily, “You should get some sleep, and then we’re going out after school.”

“We are?” That would throw a wrench into his plans with Ed, for sure. But maybe it would give Ed time to cool off. With any luck, he’d come to actually accept his apology if he just gave him some time.

“We are. You, me, Ben, the car, some weed.” Maybe they’d troll the mall after smoking a bit. “We could go out somewhere, get some food.”

“Uh, yeah, sure. I’ll be there.” Charley needed some time to think, and maybe the weed would help his mood.

“Alright, see you then, man.” Mark and Ben started for their next class, leaving Charley to his thoughts. He spun the dial and opened his locker, getting out his book for his social studies class.

He worried that Ed would never accept his apology, and that cut him to the core. All he wanted was for Ed to forgive him and for things to go back to normal, but he guessed this was his new normal, now.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: Alright, chapter one is in the bag! I’m really feeling this story so hopefully I can get through it without any issues. I hope you guys enjoyed it!!

#Fright Night Fanfic #Fright Night Fanfiction #Jerry Dandridge x Ed Lee #Jerry Dandridge #Evil Ed Lee #Omegaverse #Soulmates AU #chapter fic

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