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taylizmasterpost · 3 years

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Swiftgron Shows Up, Liz Spirals (March 2012 - September 2012)

This is not going to be a timeline of Swiftgron and their relationship. For that, you can go to the @swiftgronmasterpost. This is just to show how, when things got serious with Dianna, things deteriorated between Taylor and Liz:

25 March 2012 - Swiftgron go watch the Hunger Games together. Taylor follows Dianna on Twitter afterwards. This is likely their first actual date:

27 March 2012 - Liz tweets this:

Was this in response to Swifgron’s first date? Maybe. Was Liz jealous Taylor had pulled the exact same move on Dianna that she’d pulled on her back in 2009 when she took her to Valentine’s Day? Also maybe. But also maybe not. Still, #Lizgototherapychallenge.

30 March 2012 - Taylor introduces Dianna to her mom, they all get dinner together:

12 April 2012 - Dianna blows a kiss to Taylor on Jimmy Kimmel.

18 April 2012 - Mutual friend Chantelle tweets that she spent the night and early morning hanging out with TayLiz.

Chantelle will post a picture of her, Taylor and Liz hanging out in a kitchen together almost a year later -- when the girls don’t seem to be on speaking terms -- making me think this picture was taken on this night:

24 April 2012 - Swiftgron Shirley MacLane party happens:

27 April 2012 - Taylor and someone (possibly Liz) are papped getting lunch together in LA. The secret message for the song “The Last Time,” which will be written in a few months, is “LA On Your Break.” They’re certainly in LA, and the tour is certainly on break. Perhaps this is Taylor finally ending things with Liz.

Liz tweets at Taylor about Skittles later that day, making me think it was her at lunch.

28 April 2012 - Dianna’s birthday party. Taylor dresses as a tiger and leaves a note on the door with a joke they’d made that reads “I’m a little kitten and I need to nurse because I’m a runt and I’m likely to fall victim to predators.”

10 May 2012 - Taylor posts on Instagram “Going back to Nashville. Thinking about the whole thing. Guess you gotta run sometimes.”

This is from the song Nashville by David Mead. Other interesting lyrics include:

You’re a distant memory, you’re an exit sign I was talking crazy on the driver’s side

I was talking crazy on the driver’s side I will always love you like a long goodbye

The driving references are interesting, considering that Red has the theme of driving all over it. “I will always love you like a long goodbye” also seems to support the theory that Taylor has just finally broken things off with Liz.

15 May 2012 - Taylor finishes writing Everything Has Changed with Ed Sheeran then gets dinner with Dianna Ashley and Claire. The original lyrics of Everything Has Changed talk about “falling for a Gemini,” which describes Gemini Liz, but Taylor seems to have re-fitted the song to be about Dianna and removed those lyrics:

27 May 2012 - Liz’s birthday. Taylor does not tweet at her. No pictures are posted of the party, if there is one.

28 May 2012 - Taylor and Ed record Everything Has Changed:

Late May 2012 - Taylor writes The Last Time:

Here’s what she had to say about the inspiration for the song:

The Last Time is a hard song for me to analyze, not because I don’t have theories about what it means, but because I think Taylor is oversimplifying the story here. To me, looking at this song, assuming it’s about Liz, it reads less like a pleading “baby I want you back” song, and more like an “I’m losing you to addiction song.”

We haven’t fully gotten into this yet, but Liz was dealing with a lot of mental and internal shit at this time. According to rumor, she’s about to be let go from The Agency due to getting “out of control,” and the songs she writes this summer, including Wreck of Who I Am, definitely seem to imply she was trying to claw her way out of a spiral here. When I listen to The Last Time through this lens, it feels more like a last chance, pleading intervention.

Wreck of Who I Am:

And the tide is strong that it keeps me from the land

And I’m low on faith and I pray with shaky hands

Well it hurts like hell tryna tell myself

This ain’t the only thing that’s meant for me

Gotta piece back together the wreck of who I am

The Last Time

This is the last time I’m asking you this

Put my name at the top of your list

This is the last time I’m asking you why

You break my heart in the blink of an eye

And there’s also the fact that The Last Time seems like it was written on if not around Liz’s birthday (May 27).

3 June 2012 - Dianna jokes at the GLAAD Awards about having kissed girls before:

4 June 2012 - Liz does some songwriting of her own with Seth Jones and Megan Mace:

Taylor and Liz’s dresses from Mean are placed next to each other at the Speak Now Tour Exhibition:

10 June 2012 - Taylor diaries about recording 22, and IKYWT, says she’s already written WANEGBT:

Story behind WANEGBT: I wrote it with Max Martin and Johan Shellback who are two of my songwriting heroes, they’re amazing. And we were in the studio, and we were writing a different song and this guy walks in who I- was- A friend of someone I had previously… dated. And he comes in and he’s like “Oh, I hear you and [redacted] are getting back together” and um that was like his opening line. And we weren’t. We’d done that whole like on/off on/off just the worst. Bleh. And um… And so when he left I just turned to Max and I was like “We are never getting back together. What? That’s ridiculous!” Um and I told them the whole situation as I do ‘cause I tend to share, as you know. And so uh he just looked at me and he was like “I know the song we’re writing today. Let’s start a new one.” And so I got the guitar and it just sort of happened and so uh this is that song.

So what we know from this is that it is HIGHLY more likely that a friend of Liz just happened to walk into the studio that day than a friend of either Jake or Dianna (I’m guessing someone from The Agency maybe? Taylor seems to fumble when choosing how to describe them)

Martin and Shellback are credited on three songs on red -- WANEGBT, IKYWT, and 22. We know Taylor wrote 22 here. She also says she “came back to trouble.” From that I can assume they were trying to write IKYWT when this story took place.

The secret message for WANEGBT is “When I stopped caring what you thought.” To me, this really signals things have broken down between them. Rather than the pleading in The Last Time, this is song is much more distant and moved on, where Taylor is able to have a sense of humor about the breakup.

18 June 2012 - A friend of Liz’s tweets this at Taylor (am I the only one sensing some shade??):

1 July 2012 - Liz does some songwriting in Nashville:

Between this session and the session on the fourth, presumably the songs she’d release later that winter (One Hand On the Wheel, Wreck of Who I Am, and Blessed Are the Brokenhearted) are written here, making it seem like Liz is processing both some depression and a breakup of some sort.

8 July 2012 - Taylor takes pictures with a fan at a coffee shop (presumably in Nashville). According to the fan’s account, Liz was also there, sitting at the table behind them. The fan ends up taking pictures with both Liz and Taylor:

I’m not entirely sure what this means for them. Obviously Taylor has just written The Last Time (presumably about Liz) and then gone off to Hy(i)annis port with Dianna to go frolic in the waves and all that, so I don’t think this means TayLiz is back on. However, we know from fan accounts (which I’ll get to in a second) that Liz thought she was going to be coming on the Red Tour until she was let go from The Agency in September. Perhaps this is some amount of reconciliation? A check in? An ultimatum to get her act together or she won’t be allowed on tour?

Truthfully, we can’t know for sure. But this is one of their last hang outs together (that we know of) this year.

13 August 2012 - Taylor’s Red Youtube Webchat. She describes what some of the songs on the album are about

22: This is a song that I wrote with Max Martin and Johan Shellback and it’s a song about the way I spent my summer when I was finishing this album. Kind of hanging out with my friends all the time and I really decided that I love being twenty two. It’s um kind of my favorite age that I’ve ever been. I kind of have like different theories of the years in my life and like what they meant and 22 has been so much fun. It’s- it’s been so much fun and I decided to write a song about that and just all the ridiculous nonsense that my friends and I got into. And, um, so this one’s called 22.

Treacherous: This is a song that I wrote with Dan Wilson… I’ve always wanted to work with him. So I called him and um it turned out that he was into the idea of working with me. And um so I went in with this idea and uh we wrote a song about when you’re falling for someone and you know that it’s dangerous. And you know that it could really really really really really just annihilate you if it were to not work out and it could possibly not work out and it probably won’t work out, but you go for it anyway. And so this is called Treacherous.

31 August 2012 - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is released as a single. The MV features the rest of the Agency, but not Liz. Fans take notice.

13 September 2012 - The news breaks that Liz is leaving The Agency and will not be on the Red Tour:

Interestingly enough, according to the L Chat, Liz had been telling fans that she was planning on going on the Red Tour before this point, so something must’ve happened:

And because of this fan encounter below, we have somewhat of an idea of what it was:

So from the combined events of this summer we know this about Liz being let go:

1) Liz wrote songs that summer about having a hard time and trying to claw her way out of it.

2) Taylor and Liz met up twice that summer, and Taylor did not acknowledge Liz’s birthday publicly.

3) Taylor may have written The Last Time, a song about begging someone to choose you over other things (possibly addiction) on Liz’s birthday.

4) Liz thought she was going on The Red Tour.

5) Liz was fired for “getting out of control.”

The picture this paints to me is that, while Liz was spiraling, Taylor was trying to help her, using coming on the Red Tour as a reward for getting her act together. When she ultimately couldn’t, presumably after that meeting in July, Taylor had no choice but to ask her to leave the Agency, since hardcore intense tour life is likely the last thing Liz needed to get better. This is a really difficult and hard situation, regardless of whether or not the two women were ever sexually or romantically involved.

Fortunately, as we’ll see moving forward, this seems to be the wake up call Liz needed to start the process of getting back on her feet. However, it’s clear that for at least a little bit after this, Taylor became a taboo topic around Liz. But ask anyone who’s dealt with addiction or helped a friend/family member through it -- there’s some resentment that’s bound to happen, even towards the people trying to help.

20 September 2012 - Liz spends “quality time” with Claire and Taylor:

I personally read this as one last hurrah of the trio after Liz was not asked back for the Red Tour. The “not mad at this day” feels a little weird to me too, and I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be shade or not. Either way, this is the last major interaction between Taylor and Liz for a while.

IN CONCLUSION: Liz had her demons. Whether this is what caused the end of her and Taylor’s relationship or something else, it’s almost certainly what caused her to not be asked back on the Red Tour. In the winter, she would release the music she was writing over the summer, making it clear she was going through some shit, probably not helped by seeing Taylor so obviously move on with Dianna. But this is the low point. Things with Liz can only go up from here.

Liz After the Agency (September 2012 - September 2014)

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orange-imagines · 3 years

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How would the Mud Dogs react when they develop a crush on one of the turtle's best friends? Do you think the turtles would be okay with that?

A/N - I’m gonna try to do this in relatively the same universe as the other ask where the reader was best friends with both the Mud Dogs and turtles, and one of the Mud Dogs is crushing on them. Hope that’s ok!

(I feel like this went too long again so whoops beneath the cut-)

Leonard

He was conflicted about his crush before he knew you were friends with the good guys, and now that he knows, it’s an even bigger problem. Not because of you or anything, just because, well, you’re one of the good guys! He’s sure there’s a million righteous, well-put-together heroes that’d be way better for you than him. At this point, does he even stand a chance?

It certainly doesn’t help that he tried to stab Raph, and now his brothers -your best friends- all distrust him

Whenever everyone comes together to hang out, the turtles (usually Leo, Donnie and Mikey) are constantly glaring at him from across the room. Every time he tries to make a move on you, he just sees those menacing eyes bearing into his soul! Good lord, he doesn’t need that

But they’re just worried about you. He knows that- he gets it. They don’t know how to feel about you being so buddy-buddy with a crook, and they know you can handle yourself, but still...they just don’t entirely trust Leonard

If he wants this to stop, he’s gonna have to bring it to you so you can talk to the turtles. Once you explain to them that you’ve known Leonard just as long as them, and you trust him just as much, they’ll start to get it, and ease up a bit, which is ultimately better for everyone

God knows Leonard’s grateful he doesn’t have Donnie’s Mad Scientist Eyes bearing into him whenever he turns away, or Dr. Delicate Touch somehow always managing to sneak up directly behind him

Danny

Yeah...Danny likes you, so come hell or high water, he’s not giving up on his advances

The turtles are fairly chill about him (he didn’t try to stab anyone, after all-) so they can usually manage to get along during group get togethers. They don’t love him or anything, but it’s obvious he respects you and vice versa, so they’re cool

Up until they find out he has a crush on you. After that, manners are out the window and they’re in Protective Little Brother/Best Friend Mode. Honestly, they were bound to get this way with anyone who made advances towards you, because you’re family, and family always looks out for each other. But it just amplifies here because, well...Danny’s a criminal

Admittedly, their efforts to stop his flirting put a bit of a damper on his mood. It annoys him, if you’re putting things generously, but he can’t just snap and tell them to screw off. Because they’re your family

But if they’re really that adamant about the two of you not getting together...who is he to stand in the way of that? I mean, they obviously have your best interests at heart. Maybe they’re right, y’know?

You thought it was kind of funny how worked up the turtles got about the whole situation, but once you realize it’s actually starting to take a toll on Dan, you’re putting a stop to it then and there

You tell the turtles that you love them, but they gotta ease up. You can take care of yourself- hell, you’re the adult

Alright, so maybe they got a little swept up in their own protectiveness. They’ll lay off, and, hey, maybe after a while they’ll even start being your wingmen!

You standing up for Danny just makes him like you even more. And he may not have the turtles’ blessing quite yet, but he’s damn well almost there

(Splinter likes him, that’s for sure. Please god someone ask me for HC’s about Danny having a crush on the reader while Splinter’s basically their parent-)

Mickey

Similar to Dan, Mickey’s into you and he doesn’t care what a few weird little teens think of him

He’ll fight the turtles for the right to date you if he has to. Please stop him from fighting the turtles

Like Danny, they’re cool with Mick. They think he’s a little unsettling at times, but he and Dr. Delicate Touch get along well, so he’s already kind of friends with Mikey. But, of course, when they hear Mick has a thing for you, they’re all skeptical

The difference between Mickey and Danny here is that Mick just. Does not care

Sure, he values the opinions of your friends/family, and he secretly wants to get along with them because who is he kidding these guys are pretty cool- but he’s not gonna step over eggshells or suck up to them just because they don’t think he’s right for you

It’s your own decision, after all. And, honestly, he feels like he’s got a pretty good shot. He doesn’t care what the turtles say: he likes you and their intimidation tactics aren’t gonna change that

You’re probably still gonna end up catching on to the situation though, and you’re gonna have the same talk with the turtles that ends with them realizing they’ve been a bit much

Unlike Danny, Mick’s probably gonna end up rubbing this in their faces -not too much, though. He doesn’t actually want to go back to being on thin ice

But yeah. He definitely likes you. Especially after you made the effort to defend him. Heart eyes, motherfucker

#rottmnt mud dogs x reader #rottmnt imagines #rottmnt x reader #rottmnt leonard x reader #rottmnt danny x reader #rottmnt mickey x reader #rottmnt mud dogs

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starlightnovas · 3 years

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I'm bored so imma introduce/reintroduce some of my OCs :)

(Picrew)

So little background: all the characters here are part of a superhero team called the Defenders. They were united by Henry in response to a large scale threat, and the team just never dissolved after that. They went on to stop dozens of threats over the next decade.

Rex

Aka: The Dragon King

Species: Royal Dragon-Demiurge Hybrid

Personality: Intimidating, isolating, cold, blunt, but still a great leader and has people's best interests at heart

Powers: Elemental manipulation, accelerated reflexes, draconian regeneration, regenerative immortality, flight, super-strength (max strength unknown; largest display of physical strength was unmeasurable), can sense threats before they happen, natural knowledge of all modern and ancient languages and magics

Backstory: At 25 years old, Rex Foster developed his draconian abilities. He was completely normal at the time and had no idea that supernatural creatures and magic existed. He was immediately thrust into a world of said monsters and magic. He soon found himself to be a Royal Dragon, meaning he could control all of the seven elements; dark, fire, earth, energy, air, water, and light. Under the training of the previous Dragon King, Rex earned the throne and the power that came with it. The Defenders weren't formed until three centuries later. By then, Rex was greatly weighed down by the loss he had experienced in his life and had hardened himself to the world

Current life: Living among the Defenders, Rex has learned to open up again with the friends he now considers a second family. He remains with them as often as he can, staying on alert to help with threats and battles.

Power Rating (Extraordinary power scale): 126; Rex is one of the most immensely powerful creatures in the universe and falls on a whole other level than everyone else. His power is difficult to rank.

Henry

Aka: Exo

Species: Draconian (Heavy genetic modification; basically human)

Personality: Kind, extroverted, leader; has a very strict moral code that he holds his entire team to

Powers: Superintelligence; Henry fights his battles utilizing a highly advanced technological armor that puts him on par with his enemies and allies.

Backstory: Henry Callaghan is the most intelligent man on the planet and the heir to the richest tech company in the world. His father, David, was leading one final project for the company before he retired and handed control to his son. Project NANO was a peacekeeping program. Being made of microbots, it can disassemble itself at a moment's notice and reform in any shape it pleases, even if it just chooses to remain formless. The project is corrupted by an ancient artificial intelligence. Henry is then approached by another rival intelligence Mare, who warns Henry and gives schematics for his armor, allowing him to become the Exo and fight Nano

Current life: Eight years after becoming a hero, Henry started the Defenders. He still leads the team and uses his company to fund all their equipment and necessities. He is constantly working on something for the team, rarely ever returning to his personal life. Some of his friends say that he's Exo more often than he is Henry

Power Level: 19; Despite his lower power level, his intelligence and cunning make him a much more effective hero, often outperforming everyone around him

Maximus

Aka: The Green Knight

Species: Human

Personality: Cocky, Arrogant, Egotistical, Stubborn, Short-tempered

Powers: Like all Dragon Knights, Maximus is gifted with the ability to control Telesteel. The metal is nearly useless out of a Dragon Knight's hands and extremely brittle. But the Knights can control the metal and use it to fashion armor. The strength of the metal is directly correlated to a knight's willpower and skill. The more skilled and disciplined the knight, the stronger the armor and tools. Knights also have natural enhanced strength and durability.

Backstory: Maximus' parents, who were Dragon Knights before him, were murdered when he was a baby. A dragon killed them in their home, crushing his mother and injuring the father so that he succumbed to his wounds shortly after the battle. Nearly two decades later Max is discovered by the Dragon Knights, an order of monster and dragon hunters. They take him in when they see his natural strength and aptitude to be a knight. He quickly climbs their ranks but soon finds himself, along with the entire order, pitted against one of the most powerful dragons they've seen yet. The very dragon that murdered Max's parents.

Current life: Also living amongst the Defenders, Maximus' will has never been stronger. He's learned to open up to his allies, make new friends, and even find love. He finds a true purpose in his life saving lives and defending the world.

Power Level: 36; with an iron will and burning determination, Maximus can easily tank any punch thrown at him and stop at nothing to achieve his goal. He is a true example of an unmoveable object.

Dan

Aka: "I don't need a superhero name. I'm always gone before anyone shows up anyways."

Species: Human Body (Time Incarnated)

Personality: Energetic, Bouncy, Fidgety, Quick, Spry, Funny, won't sit in one place for very long

Powers: Can harness tachyon energy and manipulate time, effectively allowing them to control the flow of time for themself and everyone around them. Certain actions require large amounts of energy which takes more time to build up. Dan often utilizes their energy to move at superhuman speed, even able to outrun the speed of light. They also have an extremely fast metabolism, and their energy allows them to resist certain catastrophic consequences of superspeed, like friction. Speed healing is also included.

Backstory: Always on the run from an evil speedster, Dan kept on the move constantly. They used their super speed to move all over the world and always stay one step ahead and never stayed in one place for too long. After staying in one place for too long and getting themself into a situation they couldn't just run from, the other speedster, Quadrios, caught up. Dan made new friends, who helped them realize that they didn't have to run in fear. So Dan stopped running away and ran towards the danger instead.

Current life: A valued and vital member of the Defenders, Dan uses their speed to stop crime all over the world, still preferring to stay on the move. But when duty calls and the team needs them, they come running.

Power Level: 69; While not physically strong, Dan's speed makes them a dangerous foe. Beyond just being untouchable and moving faster than the speed of light, Dan's ability to alter the timeline at will and leap between worlds grants them nearly godlike power.

Mya

Aka: Halcyon

Species: Human

Personality: Kind, thoughtful, energetic, sarcastic

Powers: Can harness celestial power to create energy and utilize it in a number of ways including flight, superstrength, enhanced movement and reaction speed, and can basically shoot lasers out of her fingers made out of celestial energy

Backstory: Mya was the childhood best friend of Rex, and developed her powers because she accidentally encountered one of the elemental walls on Rex's quest to master all the elements. The encounter left her with celestial powers. Later down the line, she accidentally got caught in a time rip and was presumed dead. Instead, she was found by Rex three hundred years later, having been flung forward in time. She was forced to adapt to living in a world where everyone she knew was long dead except her draconian friends.

Current life: Having decently adapted to the future, she has more of a hero life than a social life. She threw herself into her work, knowing that she would never completely adapt to the new world she found herself in. It was better to protect it than to become part of it. The closest she ever got to being normal again was falling in love with Maximus.

Power Level: 38; Her celestial energy gives her a huge advantage in combat, and constantly fuels her endurance. She is good at keeping up a relentless barrage of attacks to keep enemies off balance and distracted.

Amelia

Aka: Genesis

Species: Human

Personality: Kind, thoughtful, motherly, anxious, cautious

Powers: Can turn her body into a cloud of spores. Any allies within the radius of the aura experience enhanced regeneration, endurance, speed, strength, and perception.

Backstory: Amelia was orphaned at a young age and was taken in by her godfather, David Callaghan. She and Henry grew up together and knew each other very well, eventually falling in love. She was an expert in bioscience and virology and invented a "virus" that could've been the cure to all diseases thanks to nanotechnology from the nano project. An accident destroyed the entire project and caused her body to fuse with the cure. She became disembodied by the accident and Henry personally found a way to piece her back together.

Current life: Amelia stays amongst the Defenders at their tower. She is primarily responsible for patching up wounds after battles and being moral and mental support for the team. She watches out for every aspect of the team's health and does everything she can to help them.

Logan

(I've got a lot to say here)

Aka: The Black Shadow (Later changes name to Guardian)

Species: Human-Altrimite Hybrid

Personality: Sarcastic, Funny, Energetic, Talkative, Innocent

Powers: Logan is a shadowborn, which means that he has the ability to manipulate the shadow element. He can create shadow constructs and teleport short distances. Logan also has increased strength, speed, agility, and reaction time. He wields a sword passed down from each Black Shadow that allows him to cut rips in space-time to move between universes, as well as harness dimensional energy. After he becomes eighteen he loses most of his previous powers as his altrimite powers develop. He gains flight, extreme strength, superhuman speed, near invulnerability, the ability to react to a threat or action almost before it even happens, regenerative immortality, and gains the power to absorb and redistribute energy in any way he pleases. His energy manipulation is so powerful he can even absorb the kinetic energy of strikes, effectively making him more powerful the more he's attacked.

Backstory: Logan is the son of Maxwell Cruix, the previous Black Shadow, who kept peace on a multiversal scale. After his father's death, Logan took on the mantel at 16 years of age. He was taken in by the Defenders and trained by them as Maxwell's dying wish. Logan was quickly realized to be the second most powerful member on the team but was told he was the weakest to keep his power in check and keep him humble until his training was complete.

Current life: Living amongst the Defenders and learning everything he can from them. He struggles to master his new powers and has become a personal student of the Dragon King. Logan is trying to find his place in the hero world, unable to focus on the much smaller threats that he's used to because of his strength, but unable to grapple with larger threats due to his inexperience.

Power Level: 84; His immeasurable power is matched by nearly no one. The only thing holding Logan back at this point is his inexperience and lack of ways to gain any without some world-ending threat to actually challenge him.

Chloe

Aka: Stormcaller

Species: Human (Universe EX-7401)

Personality: Mature, Funny, Kind, Thoughtful, natural leader, Powerful

Powers: God-tier regeneration, super strength, flight, regenerative immortality, Stormcall (summon and control an electrical storm), can resist most effects from other powers i.e. mind control, gravity, illusions.

Backstory: The daughter of the Cal, the previous Stormcaller, Chloe earned her title of another Stormcaller and acts as a hero in her world. When Logan accidentally stumbled into her world in need of help, she joined him. Seeing that there was another world that needed heroes more than hers, and being shown that her world would be just fine without her, she stayed with the Defenders and joined them.

Current life: Having joined the Defenders, Chloe finds immense joy in fighting and is deeply loving the fact that the villains in Universe Prime actually stand a chance against her. She is enjoying her new home and plans on sticking around for a long time.

Power Level: 52; Her mastery over her ability gives her immense power and control over her storm and makes her a deadly adversary. She was pleasantly surprised that a lot of people in Universe Prime could match her power level.

#Ocs #oc stuff #The Dragon King #Defenders #Extraordinary #Rex #Maximus #Henry #Dan #Mya #Amelia #Logan #Chloe #Cal #Maxwell #super hero stuff #They're a family leave them alone #Long post

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mrallnight57-blog · 3 years

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The Crystal of Mordokia

Chapter 15

As Litias told the story of Billbo H Hero. The two of them had made there way to the fourth floor. Once there. Litias took Jenny to a room at the end of the hallway, this was the room that Litias slept in.

Jenny had listened to Litias's story, yet she still had many questions. Once the two of them got into the room. Litias went to her bed, and began pulling a trunk from underneath her bed. That's when Jenny started asking questions. "So this Billbo, he was some kind..."

Before Jenny could finish the question. Litias turned to her and cut her off. "Shhhh! Don't say his name. He might hear you, and neither one of us are prepared to face him. No... from this point on, just call him The Hero.

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "He is more like a monster."

Litias got up into Jenny's face. "No, pretty one. I'm the monster. I am the Dark Witch, the all powerful Ruler of Mordokia!" Litias paused for a moment. Then begrudgingly said in a low voice. "Ex-Ruler of Mordokia."

Now Jenny was beginning to become more curious about Litias, but she knew that would have to wait for later. Right now she needed to get all the info she could on Billbo, or Litias preferred name for him, The Hero.

Litias opened up the trunk, and her demeanor changed. It was as if this strange creature was genuinely happy.

Litias pulled out a old parchment, and more excitement came over the creature. Jenny even picked up a little giddiness in Litias's voice as she spoke. "Ah yes! This is when he battled the ogre king!" Litias put the parchment down, and grabbed another one. This made Litias even more giddy. This is when he found the treasure of Goldoff!" Litias grabbed another parchment with her other hand. The creature's eyes widen, and she got even more excited. "Oh!!! This is when he battled the two headed dragon Korn Tello!!!" Litias gave Jenny the look of someone who had just came out of a fan convention. "Did you know The Hero was only ten years old, when he defeated his first dragon!?!"

Jenny's eyes widen. "He slayed his first dragon, when he was ten years old?"

Litias quickly shook it's head no. "Not slayed. Defeated. Korn Tello was still alive, the last time I was on Mordokia." Suddenly Litias spoke in a somber tone. "The Hero didn't believe in killing. Thought everyone deserved a second chance. That is why the Dark magic makes him do it. A punishment for interfering with the Difias's quest.

Jenny was carefully watching Litias. She couldn't help but feel as if Litias, the creature who claimed to be a dark witch, seemly admired The Hero. Litias was acting like a child telling it's new best friend, about their favorite super hero. The only difference was, Litias was unlike any child Jenny had ever seen, and the creature's favorite super hero threatened to kill everyone in the building.

Jenny kept her eyes on Litias as it continued to rummage through it's trunk. Not knowing much about Litias, and it's relationship with The Hero. It made her wonder if the two of them had ever met. As Jenny was about to ask the question, Litias cut her off. "No. I've never battled The Hero. He was before my time. You forget pretty one. This all happened over two thousand years ago."

Jenny's eyes widen. She never actually ask the question, plus now she wanted to know how old Litias was, but before she could inquire, Litias spoke again. "I'm one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven years old." Jenny's was in complete shock. Litias then followed it up by saying. "Apparently, for my kind, that is very young."

Litias was still pulling out stuff from her trunk, and Jenny was becoming more dumbfounded, it was at this point she thought about Gothic Mirror, and knowing it was this creature that probably taught him everything he knew. She came to the conclusion, Litias could read her mind. Jenny was going to say something, but Litias interrupted her again. "Yes Pretty One, I can read your mind."

"Can you stop!?!" Jenny finally got a word out, and was becoming frustrated.

Litias gave Jenny a look of a scolded child. "Meaah. I'm just making sure you don't try to hurt me."

Jenny settled down. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Good." Litias seemed happy with Jenny's response. Then added. "It's not like you could anyways." Trust me when I say, many heroes have tried, and I humiliated every single one of them."

Jenny smiled. "Well all of them except, you know who."

Litias shrieked. "Meeaaaah!!! I was never suppose to fight him, and now he is here!"

The two of them had a awkward moment of silence, but after a few moments, Jenny began speaking. "Look... If you want me help you defeat him. Then I still need some information. So I can fully understand what I am up against.

Litias gave Jenny a look of annoyance. "Why would you help me Pretty One? I'm a creature of pure evil, and he is a hero."

Jenny folded her arms. "Well The Hero said he was going to kill everyone if I don't stop him, and you haven't."

Litias gave a faint laugh. "Not yet."

Jenny gave Litias a dirty look, and Litias said. "Fine. What would you like to know?"

Jenny unfolded her arms, and gave Litias another dirty look. "Don't read my mind this time. I want to actually be able to ask the questions."

Litias, once again acted like a scolded child. "Fine... I see you take the fun out of everything, don't you? Ask your questions."

Jenny was trying to think what she should ask first. Everything about Litias and it's story seemed unbelievable. Finally she decided to ask some basic questions.

"So I know the hero isn't a demon, what is he exactly?"

Litias growled, then the creature began mumbling in a language Jenny didn't understand as it stared at the floor. Finally the creature looked back at Jenny, and began speaking. "I hate to have to explain it this way. Have you ever seen," Litias gave a look of disgust. "Lord of the Rings?"

Jenny let out a bit of a chuckle. "Yeah. I watched it with my dad as a kid. I really only watched it to spend time with him. It was one of his favorite movies." Litias gave another look of discuss. Then Jenny had a epiphany. "Bilbo was the name of one of those little guys, you know, the one with the r.."

Litias quickly cut her off. "Stop!!!" Litias seemed to be getting angry. "That damn Tolkien! He got everything wrong! For fuck sake he thought Billbo was a Kender, and even misspelled his name."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Kender?"

Litias rolled her eyes. "Excuse me. I guess you would call them hobbits."

"Is there a difference?" Jenny asked.

"Yes." Litias replied. "You see Hobbits, went on a quest, to destroy the one ring in a volcano. Kenders would trade the one ring for a stock of celery."

Jenny wanted to laugh. She even wanted to ask some follow-up questions about these creatures, but realized she was getting off topic, and needed to refocus. "So if The hero is not a Kender, or whatever. What is he?"

"He's an Elf." Litias stared at Jenny as she answered her question. Then followed it up with. "At least Half-Elf, but it has always been up to debate, what the other half was."

Jenny thought about it for a moment, then asked. "I thought Elves were short and fat."

Litias shook it's head. "No, those are dwarves."

Jenny was now scratching her head, then she snickered. "Well I prefer the Elves that make cookies, or Christmas presents." Litias just stared at Jenny. Then Jenny followed it up by saying. "Sorry. I tend to make jokes in stressful situations. It's how I keep my sanity.

Litias continued to stare for another moment, until finally the creature went. "Ha." Then it went back to staring at Jenny.

Jenny thought about her next question. As Litias sat on the end of the bed. Jenny decided to sit next, to her, but left space between them, before she asked her next question. "You said The Hero, was half elf. Could the other half be human?"

Litias let out a hard laugh. "That is the problem with you humans. You all want to be part of everything. Earth is the only world I have been to that has humans. Yet when you fools make up stories about my world, you arrogantly put yourself in as the hero."

"Is that so?" Jenny replied. Jenny scooted just a little bit closer to Litias. "Tell me this then. How are we telling stories about your world, if humans have never been there?"

Litias let out a little growl, which caused Jenny to move away from the creature. Then Litias began to answer. "You been around the crystal, haven't you?" Jenny nodded. Litias continued. "That sickness you feel, the dread, and nightmares it gives when someone is exposed to it. The crystal has been on earth for over two thousand years. Even though the ones who are closest to it feels it's effects immediately. The orra it gives off still travels. It's possible that over time you humans had succumbed to visions, which turned into stories, creating a entire genre.

Basically, I'm saying, what you humans call fantasy, was once my reality."

Jenny was now thinking about the story Dan told her earlier. "I heard that those visions, turned nightmares, may have droven some to suicide."

Litias smiled. "You mean like one of the archeologist that found the crystal?" Jenny nodded, realizing that Litias had probably read her mind again. Litias snickered. "Don't lose any sleep over it. After the man died. It was discovered that he had a large amount of child pornography on his computer."

Jenny's eyes widen. The only thought going through her head now was, damn! Even when trapped in the crystal. He still found ways to kill bad people.

Jenny shook that thought out of her head, then came to a realization. "So you're telling me that dragons, elves, dwarves, and ogre all exist?"

Litias gave a slight smile. "Yes... In one form or another."

Jenny sat there in shock. Normally she would think that the person she was talking to was insane, but considering the fact, the person she was talking to wasn't even human, made everything it said, far more believable.

Litias stood up and walked to a door that was in the room, she opened it up and it lead to another room. As Litias entered the adjacent room, Jenny followed her. Once in there Jenny noticed Litias had a desk. Litias picked up a parchment that was on the desk and began looking at it. Jenny looked around the room and saw another bed, she then sat down on the foot of that bed and asked. "Is that another one of The Hero's story?"

Litias turned it's attention back to Jenny. "You're funny pretty one. You must think all I do is sit around, reading stories about The Hero."

Jenny smiled. "Well you could have fooled me."

Litias frowned. "It's a spell. Similar to the one that put The Hero in the Crystal. I'm going to need to memorize if I'm going to battle the hero."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. Why did Litias have that spell on it's desk? Did Litias think there was a possibility of The Hero escaping the crystal tonight?

Jenny didn't want to think about it to much, she was once again letting herself get off topic. She needed to focus, and figure out what she was truly up against. "Look if we are going to work together, I need to know what kind of powers The Hero has."

Litias put the parchment down, and began pacing around the room. "He has many. He is extremely strong, and fast. He can summon his legendary weapon out of thin air. Any ability he sees, he can mimic it, and do it better. He can transport himself anywhere he wants. He can even read the soul of anyone he meets."

Jenny stared at Litias. She was completely puzzled about the last thing, the creature said. "What do you mean, he can read soul of anyone he meets?

Litias stopped pacing and let out a sigh. "The Hero can look inside one's soul, and see everything they have ever done. Everything they have said. All the knowledge one person has, can become his in a blink of an eye. Afterwards the victim will become disoriented, feeling as if hours have just passed them by."

After listening to Litias, she began to mumble. "That's how he knew everything about me."

Litias watched Jenny for a moment, then the creature asked. "Is there anything else you want to know? If not, I need to return to the task of memorization."

Jenny looked at Litias. "So with soul ability, he can judge whether someone is good or evil, and he will kill the one's he deems evil first, right?"

Litias growled. "Yes, that's why he can't know I'm here."

Jenny shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about him coming for you anytime soon. He has plenty of other bad people to deal with tonight."

Litias eyes widen. "What do you mean?"

At this point Jenny realized that Litias probably wasn't fully aware of everything going on. "The Gothic Lights are putting on a concert, with a popular band, and has hired a really nasty motorcycle gang to be their security. They are doing this to promote the arrival of the Demon.

Litias began freaking out. "No!!! That fool Travis promised he would only have a few of his followers here, when I gave him the contract!"

Jenny didn't understand how Litias didn't know what was going on. "How did you not know about the concert?"

Litias, who was now enraged, yelled at Jenny. "I was asleep!!!"

Jenny gave Litias a confused look. "You must have been asleep for a long time not to know about this."

"Yes!!!" Litias screamed. "I've been asleep for the last six months!"

Jenny's eyes widen, but before she could inquire further, Litias continued speaking. "I can go many years with out sleep, but at some point I have to recharge my magic. I went into hibernation six months ago. During that time, Travis was suppose to be working on away to get me the crystal, now I see he has been far more busy than I expected."

Jenny interrupted Litias. "He killed a person, to bring you that crystal."

Litias looked to be bothered by what Jenny just said. She stood silently for a moment, before mumbling something in a language Jenny didn't understand. Then Litias spoke in English again. "That is none of my concern. My concern is to trade contract for the crystal, and to take my prizes. Once that is done, I will leave your world."

Jenny raised an eyebrow again. "Prizes? Besides the crystal, what else was he suppose to get you?"

Litias smiled. "Nothing, I was going to retrieve my other prize myself."

Jenny became worrisome. "Where is this other prize?"

Litias laughed. "Don't worry pretty one, I already have it now."

Jenny knew it was pointless to keep asking her about the other prizes, because the creature apparently didn't want to talk about it, and she knew she couldn't make her. There was still a big problem though. The contract, she couldn't let it get into the hands of Travis, Aka Gothic Mirror.

#supernatural #super hero #horror #my writing

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someone-worth-racing-for · 3 years

Note

I would love to read a sad fanfic of Carlos and Isa getting married, Lando being strong at the ceremony, but depoius collapsed and being comforted by Max and Dan

I hope you are satisfied with how this story turned out anonym 😊 I really gave my very best for my first story based on a Tumblr request.

I know you probably have wanted to read more hurt and maybe also more about Max and Daniel comforting Lando, but I just had to write it like that. I couldn’t help myself, I’m sorry. I just can't see our boy that sad and heart-broken. I really hope that you will still enjoy reading it 😊

Actually I have already wanted to write something like that since a longer time - you just gave me the last shove I have needed to finally write it down, anonym 😊 so thank you for that!

If you want to read on AO3 - here is the link

Forever and always

Lando still didn’t know how he had ended up here. Here in this beautiful, little church somewhere in Spain on a cliff by to the endless ocean. He was standing next to the altar with his fancy suit on and in front of him the man of his dreams.

Carlos did look amazing. He was smiling over both of his ears, every part of his body was endless happy and overjoyed about the coming and the faint light falling through the windows covered his body in the most gorgeous way and he was shining from every pore of his body.

Everything about this all was so perfect and gave Lando chills, but unfortunately the man he loved with his whole heart was standing on the wrong side. Carlos stood there in front of him, showing his friend his back, while his eyes were fixed on the old wooden door on the other end of the little church, waiting all impatient and full of anticipation for the woman he loved more than his own life.

Like actually every one of the small group of guests inside here, the Spaniard was waiting for his long-term girlfriend to finally make her to his beloved wife and promise her his endless love.

Carlos was waiting for Isa.

And Lando just stood there behind his best friend, waiting for Isa as well, even when at the same time he wished she would never step through that door. But he also knew, that he shouldn’t even think about something like that. It wasn’t fair, after her being always so nice to him and all the things she had also already done for him.

But still, Lando didn’t know how he had ended up here.

The last few months, the last year, actually since he had started his F1 career, things weren’t always easy for him. Especially in the beginning with everything being so new for Lando, him being the youngest rookie and still so inexperienced. Everything stressed, even panicked him, but then there came Carlos, who took him by his hand since the very first day.

He taught him everything he needed to know, he made sure he was alright while being far away from home and his family. Lando could have the biggest fun with him, but Carlos also took him into his arms when he needed it the most.

First Lando had blamed it on his stupid teenager hormones, that he had formed some kind of crush for his older team mate. It was probably Carlos’ being, him being so nice and protective towards him, his funny, sometimes even hilarious side, which never failed to make him laugh, but also his serious side and his passion for the sport.

Carlos was someone Lando looked up to, some kind of personal hero in so many ways. To spend time with him together was great and so easy, he could be himself around him, feeling so accepted. Their first year being team mates was amazing and Lando was still endless grateful to have been able to spend his rookie year next to his side, to had learnt so much from him and the precious friendship they had formed.

But then things got more complicated. When Carlos told him about him thinking about to sign for Ferrari he was first endless overwhelmed with the situation. What should he do without him? Lando was already so fixed on the Spaniard that he couldn’t imagine just one day without him any more.

But Carlos promised him that nothing will change, talking about their friendship here because everything else will change drastically, and so Lando had to let him go. The lock down also didn’t make things easier, because he had a lot of time to think then and if he wanted to admit it or not, he had more than just a stupid teenager crush on his older team mate. Lando had deep feelings for him and he was already sure back then that they won’t go away that easily with Carlos moving the team next year.

When the season had finally started in the summer of 2020, everything suddenly happened so fast and Lando really had to force himself to enjoy every second he was still able to share with his favourite team mate and at the same time it was sadly also the last season with Carlos together. They had their highs and also lows till December and Abu Dhabi was really the climax of everything.

During the off season Lando went through hell and back with all those changes. His new team mate, Carlos moving to Italy, not being able to just get over to his place and hang out the whole afternoon long. Sometimes they didn’t see each other for weeks and Lando’s feelings for his friend still only became even stronger, even when it wasn’t logical at all with not being that close to each other any more.

The start of the new season was strange. Of course the young Brit came along with his new team mate, he already did so before, but even when he was able to call Daniel one of his friends, he still couldn’t stop himself from wishing Carlos back right next to his side.

It was different with the Aussie and the first few races Lando really felt himself under pressure and his awful race results didn’t help him at all. But in these moments Carlos held his promise and was right back by his side to take him into his arms, let him cry out all his worries, motivate him with everything he could and also just be there for him, like he had secured him so many months ago.

At the beginning Lando was also kind of jealous about Charles, since Carlos and he were able to spend so much time together in contrast to him. All patiently the Spaniard had promised him that no one could ever replace him and that he will also always stay his best friend. Lando was his only cabron.

By now the young Brit was almost 22 years old and he was still in love with his ex-team mate and slowly but sure he did really worry about that, because damn, he was Carlos’ best man today.

It wasn’t like the Spaniard had ever given him any hopes that maybe one day something more could be between the two of them, but still he had fallen completely for him. Since Lando got to know Carlos back in autumn 2018, he knew he had a girlfriend and he also knew how happy he was with her, everyone could see that and Lando also really liked Isa, seriously no one could hate her, but still his foolish heart didn’t want to get it.

He also couldn’t help himself, it just happened without his will. Carlos and Isa had always been so nice to him. Lando remembered about all those many afternoons the three of them had spent together, their dinner in Abu Dhabi after the last race of their first season, their shopping marathon through London back in December 2019, all the many times Isa had cooked something for them, while Carlos and he were playing FIFA together, just everything.

All those summer days they had spent together at Carlos’ place in Spain, after the couple had invited Lando to spend the off season with them together. The many times Isa had taken the younger one into her arms, either because he had a bad race and needed someone to comfort him or because she was so happy and proud about him and also told him so.

Isa was a very lovely and wonderful person and in his eyes Carlos and she were the definition of a perfect, harmonize and working couple. The only thing that stood between Lando and being 100% happy for them was that he would like to be in Isa’s place. Especially at the moment.

When Carlos had told him about his plan to ask Isa if she wanted to marry him and he had also showed him the ring he had chosen, Lando forced himself to smile and tell his friend how happy he was for them and that he was more than just sure that she will say yes and that his plan how he wanted to ask her was also pretty romantic.

Actually Lando did really mean it, he was really happy for his friends, but at the same time his heart did cramp and he still cried himself into sleep that night.

And once again he was in a roller coaster of emotions, when Carlos and Isa told them a few weeks later that they will marry this summer in Spain. They had smiled over both their ears and looked so happy and arrived into each other’s eyes, while telling the younger one the big news.

And once again Lando told them sincerely how happy he was for them and hugged both of them long and tight, but at the same time he still wanted to be the one to get such a beautiful ring from Carlos, to shine up at him, knowing that he will be his man forever.

It became too much, when the Spaniard even asked him then, if he wanted to be his best man. Lando broke down into tears, because he felt so proud and honoured, but at the same time his heart was broken. He just couldn’t believe how wrong this all felt.

He got another slap right into his still so-in-love-with-his-best-friend-face, when Carlos told him a few weeks ago that Isa was pregnant, that they expected their first child together. Lando and just a few other were the only ones knowing about it yet and once again he was really happy for his friends, about them becoming parents, become a family and he already knew right then that Carlos will be a great father, but at the same time he was sad once again and also a little afraid about that his friends could maybe forget about him.

Carlos was part of Lando’s family and he really couldn’t imagine a life without him any more. He was his support, his best friend and at the same time also his older brother, who always watched out for him and protected him from everything which wasn’t good for him. But the Spaniard did also still belong his heart and Lando really didn’t know how he should get through all this alone.

But still he stood here now. Watching how the love of his life got married today and even when he actually already knew it since the very first moment that Carlos won’t ever be his, his heart will still not stop to love him, even after the wedding. Forever.

For probably already the hundred time today, Lando breathed deep inside his lungs to calm down his nerves, because he knew Isa could step through the door within every moment. Lightly uncomfortable he began to pluck on his tight tie to loosen it up a little, so he could breathe properly again.

His eyes, had finally stopped to look alternately from his best friend over to the door on the other side of the church, onto Carlos’ eyes were also fixed the whole time long, and back at him again, he was now looking over to where Max and Daniel were sitting in the small crowd in front of him. They both smiled encouraging up at him, knowing how hard this moment was for him.

Max was one of Lando’s best friends and it was hard to hide such a big secret like being head over heels in love with the Spaniard. The Dutch already knew so since a longer time and had helped him through some of his darkest moments in his life and like Lando couldn’t hide such a secret from him, Max also couldn’t hide such a big one from his boyfriend.

So Daniel also knew about it since a few months and even when Lando had first felt uncomfortable about it, he was now happy for their support, especially in these days. They were his emotional support also last night, when he couldn’t sleep because he was so tensed and nervous about the wedding and also scared.

Lando had spent last evening with Carlos together, before he got into bed and stared up at the ceiling for already hours, tears rolling uncontrollable down his cheeks like little rivers. Because he had thought he was shortly before a panic attack, he had finally run over to Max’s and Daniel’s room to find some comfort in their arms.

Like already so many times before they were holding him both close, told him that everything will be good again and that they were sure he could do it all tomorrow. To know they were on his side and could also understand him and his feelings, at least most of the time, had made him finally falling asleep, but it still wasn’t the same as being in Carlos’ arms.

Sometimes Lando really wished to talk with Carlos about it, but that wasn’t possible of course. It felt so wrong to have such a big secret hidden from his best friend, but he was so scared about the Spaniard’s reaction if he should ever find out about it. Carlos probably wouldn’t want to be his friend any more then, he would be so disappointed about that he had lied to him all the time long and maybe he would also be disgusted.

But Lando needed him in his life so badly, even when he won’t ever be able to have him and call him his. Lando’s eyes were badly swollen this morning, when he woke up between Max and Daniel. While he was still lying in bed he tried to remember about the order of events during the ceremony.

About those things he had to do with being Carlos’ best man, about all the things he wanted to say, about his speech later, about just everything, even when he already knew it all from memory anyway after getting through it already so often.

But Lando just wanted this day to be as perfect as possible, for both of them, Carlos and Isa. They deserved it and even more.

And Lando really didn’t want to be the reason, why their wedding wasn’t like they had dreamed about. He didn’t want to be the cause of their wedding being a disaster. He was probably as nervous as Carlos, even when the Spaniard didn’t seem to be nervous at all, like always.

But Lando really was. He was sweating badly under his thick suit, he still didn’t get enough oxygen inside his lungs, his heart was racing and suddenly he began to feel sick and also dizzy. The whole colour in his face faded away and without his will, he began to sway back and forth.

Even when he had felt so hot and he had sweated so badly just one second ago, he was now feeling ice-cold and a shiver ran down the whole length of his back, when he closed his eyes for one moment to get his body back under control. It turned out to be the worst thing he could have done at that moment, because then he lost even his last sense of balance and fell uncontrolled forward.

In panic Lando opened his eyes again, but it was already too late. Even before he hit the ground everything went black and the last thing he could hear was Carlos calling shocked his name.

Lando really had no clue what had happened and why his head did hurt so much, when he carefully tried to open his eyes the next time. “Dan, he wakes up.” He could hear Max nervous and also worried voice next to his side. The young Brit hissed out in pain, when he opened his eyes fully and instantly covered the most painful and so wildly pounding part of his head.

“Damn. Why does my head hurt so much?” Lando complained, while he tried to sit up wherever he was lying onto, which only caused his headache to get even worse. “So my actual question about how you feel is probably unnecessary now, I guess.” Max admitted and watched his friend closely with a tilted head.

“I feel like shit. Damn, what has happened?” The young Brit whined and didn’t miss the look his two friends did share. “You better take that first to ease your headache.” Daniel told him well-meant, when he offered him some glass of water and two painkillers.

Because it did really hurt like hell, Lando did like he got told, swallowed the two pills and drank up the whole glass. Just when he had wanted to ask once again what had happened, because he couldn’t remember any more how he got here, the memories came rushing back into his mind all on their own, when he looked down himself and found himself wearing those fancy shoes, black trousers and this white, well-ironed shirt.

Somehow his jacket and tie were gone, but that was his very last problem at the moment. “Shit. Oh my god. What have I done?” Lando cried out, when he finally realized what had happened and what he had caused. “Great. He at least remembers about it again.” Max told his boyfriend in relief, but Lando was everything else than relieved at the moment.

“It’s not great, you muppet. I have destroyed Carlos’ wedding. I have screwed up, I have messed up everything. Oh god, I have really fainted in front of everyone. That’s so damn embarrassing. How could this happen?”

“Well, you probably haven’t drunk enough over the last hours, your nerves were on a roller coaster and the love of your life will get married today, so I actually think that this part is pretty understandable. And if you ask me it really wasn’t the most embarrassing thing you have ever done. Remember about..” But before Daniel could go on with his not very helpful try to cheer him up, Lando interrupted him with attacking him

“Shut up, that’s not very helpful, Dan! Oh god, what should I do now? I have ruined everything. Carlos is probably all disappointed, when not even annoyed about me now and Isa probably also hates me for destroying their wedding. I’m such a horrible friend.” Lando whined out before he did hide his face inside his hands and began to cry in despair.

Because trying to cheer up his friend’s mood and make him smile again hadn’t worked with how Dan had tried it before, Max now gave it a try, when he moved closer to the young Brit, took him into his arms and whispered to calm down his nerves

“You are really not a horrible friend, Lando. I think you are actually the best one Carlos could have got and I bet he also isn’t mad at you. No one is, also not Isa. Everyone was pretty worried about you. You should have seen Carlos’ expression, when he had seen you lying there on the ground. We all know, especially Carlos that you didn’t do that on purpose and I’m also sure that you haven’t destroyed anything.”

Max’s words were balm for his broken soul, but still Lando didn’t feel good at all, only a little better. “So the ceremony is probably already over by now or?” Lando wanted to know with half of his face still hidden behind his hands and his watery eyes looking up at Max next to him.

“No, it hasn’t even begun yet. Carlos had stopped it, after he has carried you into here and has made sure you are alright.” It kind of felt good to know that they hadn’t gone on without him, but still Lando was to his bones ashamed and also hated himself for being that stupid.

“Don’t be. Everything will be good, you will see.” Max got his thoughts instantly and tried to comfort him, while he rubbed carefully over his back and pulled him into his side. “Max.” Lando whined out, while he supported his head against his friend’s shoulder and closed his eyes while doing so. “It hurts so much.”

“I know, mate. I know.” Lando wasn’t talking about his headache, all three of them were aware about that. Also Daniel looked in compassion down at the youngest, before he petted his shoulder carefully and the couple shared a knowing look.

In silence they kept sitting like that for the next few minutes. Lando still tried to calm down in Max’s arms and he also still tried to realize that this really happened, while Dan got him some more water for his circulation, which Lando took to avoid something like that again with any cost.

They were still sitting in silence inside this small room, when it suddenly knocked at the door and moments later Carlos’ head pocked into the room. “Hey, cabron. What crazy things are you even doing?” The Spaniard asked caring, while he made his way over to them and sat down on the free place next to Lando. He had also taken off his jacket, even when he still looked amazing.

“How does our patient feel?” Carlos wanted to know all lovely still truly concerned about his being, when he pulled his younger friend closer. The young Brit’s cheeks blushed in embarrassment, while he only dared to look up at the Spaniard through his still lightly wet lashes. Max and Dan shared another look, before the young Dutch stood up, took his boyfriend’s hand into his and the couple left the room.

Carlos and Lando were alone now, sitting there in silence, while the older one had laid his arm around his friend’s shoulders and rubbed his hand up and down his arm. At least Carlos really didn’t seem to be angry with him, Lando thought to himself in relief, before he breathed deep inside his lungs once more, before he finally murmured with a small, still to his bones ashamed voice “I’m sorry.”

“About what are you even sorry for, cabron?” It was a question, but still Lando didn’t dare to answer, also because they both know why he was that embarrassed and about what he was sorry for. It was when Carlos placed his index finger under his chin and carefully lifted it, that their eyes met for the first time then.

“Lando, there is really no reason why you should apologize, even when you probably have the need to do so. It’s okay, I know you didn’t do it on purpose, of course you didn’t and hit your head that hard voluntary.” The Spaniard smiled softly down at him, while he moved with his fingertips all carefully over the red already lightly swollen bump on his forehead.

“I’m still sorry for destroying your wedding.” Lando admitted with a small, still filled from self-reproach voice. “Oh, cabron. You really didn’t, you just made it one more time unforgettable. Don’t worry about it any more. I’m just glad you didn’t hurt yourself seriously when you hit the ground and that you are obviously feeling better again. But I really don’t like to see those tears swimming in your eyes.”

Carlos then only eyed him even closer all worriedly, he probably thought those tears were coming from the caused pain of the unrestrained impact on the hard ground, even when that pain was more bearable for Lando than the pain deep inside his heart at the moment. “I bet your head must hurt like hell?”

Lando also didn’t answer his friend’s question this time, he still made himself the biggest reproaches and he had a very guilty conscience. Instead of answering, the young Brit asked a question himself, when he wanted to know from his friend “You shouldn’t have stopped the ceremony because of me. I will only screw it up again. You should have better done it without me, as long as you still had the chance to. And I would also understand it if you don’t want to have me here any more.”

Even when Lando had meant everything serious, he could still hear Carlos giggle softly next to him in disbelief, which only caused his cheeks to burn even more. “Don’t be silly, cabron. Of course, I still want you to be here. You are my best man and the wedding also wouldn’t be the same without you. Stop thinking such things. No wedding without you, little one. I have always thought you know that.”

Lando still seemed insecure and hesitant, why he also still kept quiet. The whole situation was so unpleasant for him and once again he had himself a fool in front of so many people.

“Come here, you muppet.” Like already so many times, Carlos got his discomfort, of course he did, when he pulled him even closer and stroking in a soothing way over his arms to give him some comfort.

Like always the closeness felt amazing and Lando tried to enjoy it even more, when he closed his eyes and let himself fall. But that moment was quickly over again and his whole body began to tense badly, when the Spaniard whispered into his curls “I know the last time hasn’t been easy for you, cabron.”

What exactly did Carlos mean with that, Lando asked himself, because there were many reasons, why he hadn’t felt that good in the last time, so he couldn’t be the best version of himself? Lando just wasn’t Lando any more since a longer time. The younger one stayed quiet, while he tried to listen to his best friend, even when his fast racing heart inside his chest and the blood pounding in his ears gave him a hard time.

“I know I should have already tried to talk to you about it since a very long time, but.. I seriously don’t know any more why I haven’t told you so sooner, but right now seems to be a good moment for it.” Carlos stopped here to breathe deep inside his lungs for one more time, before he finally went on with a very soft and carefully voice “I’m just trying to tell you, that I.. I know it, Lando.”

Perplex the younger one pulled away from his friend’s chest to look all shocked into his still so warm and familiar eyes. “You.. you know what?” Lando wanted to know, he just had to, to be 100% sure they were talking about the same.

“I know about your feelings towards me. That you like me more than just a friend or a brother. That you have deeper feelings for me. I know it, little one.” Carlos said calmly, like it was the most normal thing ever, while he reached out to stroke through his curls.

“I.. Why.. How..” Even when Lando tried so badly to form a decent sentence, he still couldn’t bring it over his lips. In the end he only gaped like a fish at the Spaniard, with his eyes painfully widened in fear. He just couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Denying it probably didn’t make any sense any more, his friend just knew him way too well, he always knew when he was lying anyway.

But why did Carlos know about his feelings? How got he to know about this secret? Why the hell wasn’t he mad at him? And why was Lando even still allowed to be here then, at his wedding when Carlos knew about his feelings? Everything became just too much for him at that moment, when he broke down into a mess of tears right in front of his friend.

“Oh, Lando. Please, don’t cry. I didn’t want to make you cry. It’s okay.” The older one whispered in compassion, while he pulled him once again tight into his arms and stroked over his shaking back.

Carlos just held him then, let him cry out all his tears he had held back for too long and even when the whole situation was actually so uncomfortable for Lando, he still felt safe in his friend’s arms, like always, and it also kind of felt good, when not even very liberating that the Spaniard finally knew about it and he didn’t have such a big secret hidden from him any more.

But still, there were so many questions running through his head and when that one thought hit him, he just had to ask so out loud, when he said with a still lightly shaking and weak voice “Was it Max and Dan? Have these bastards told you about it?” Hell, if he will get them, he will kill them both with his own hands for breaking their promise to not ever tell anyone about his big secret. Especially telling it Carlos.

The older one seemed first a little surprised about that information, but in the next second he already wasn’t any more, when he thought about it. Lando had told them about his feelings. He had at least talked with someone about it, that was good. “No, they haven’t told me. Actually no one has, little one. I have found it out by myself.”

Lando’s head turned into a deep red once again for being so obvious and he asked himself who else had probably noticed so and just hadn’t told him about it until now. “Since when do you know?” The young Brit finally dared to ask, when he felt strong enough, but still he didn’t dare to look up at his friend.

“Always.” Was Carlos’ short but sincerely answer, which caused Lando to panic once again and this time he just had to look up at him to make sure he wasn’t making fun of him. But Carlos wasn’t, he was still smiling softly down at him, his eyes full of compassion and it just caused him to panic even more.

“What do you mean with always?” Lando’s voice was suddenly so high, while he thought about if he should better ran away from here as fast as possible or disappear into the next mouse hole. “It means, that I know it since the beginning actually. Lando, spending so much time with you together and not noticing those strong feelings you have, I must have been blind to not see it.”

The whole colour faded away from his face, while he thought back about all those shared moments they ever had, but now with the knowledge that Carlos knew the truth since the very beginning. Even more questions than he already had before were haunting through his head now, but in the end only one made it over his lips, when he asked in disbelief

“If it’s true, why I’m still here?”

Carlos then reached out to take his shaking hand into his and stroked with his thumb over the back of his hand to calm down his nerves, when he tried to explain “Because you are still my brother, Lando. My best friend and you also mean a lot to me. I also love you, just in a different kind of way, but I still do.”

With an in surprise wide opened mouth, the young Brit stared back at him, still not believing what he had just got to know. But then all those questions came over his lips all at once, when he began to speak like a waterfall “But why have you always spent so much time with me together then? Why have you made me to your best man? Why have always been so nice to me? Why aren’t you angry at me, disappointed or maybe even disgusted? What will Isa say when she will find out?

And why do you still want me to be at your wedding, when you exactly know that I.. that I love you?”

There was a little pause, before Lando went on to ask the final question “Why did you even let me in your life?”

Carlos eyed the younger one for some moments, before his expression got even softer and he told him with a tender voice “Lando. Please, stop worrying. Really. I have already told you the reasons. You are one of the most important people in my life, I just can’t imagine only one day without you any more. And I also know that you haven’t chosen the way you feel, the way it is right now. I know that it just happened and you never had bad intentions. You are helpless towards your feelings, I can understand that. But it’s okay. Nothing you should worry about or even be ashamed about. We are not disappointed and especially not disgusted.”

Lando overheard all those nice, compassionate words Carlos had for him, instead he only asked, when a new wave of shock hit him “Who are we?” The Spaniard blinked at his friend three times, before he understood and tried to calm down his nerves, when he explained “Isa and me.”

“Isa also knows it?” Lando seriously asked himself how many almost panic and heart attacks he already had today and how many he was still able to take before getting real ones and maybe collapse once again. “I have talked with her about it in the summer break of our first year being team mates. She has also already noticed it and she is also okay with it. So please, don’t worry about it.”

“Who else knows it?” The sickness hit Lando once again and goose bumps broke free over his skin, thinking about that probably everyone outside this door knew about him being in love with the groom and making himself look like the dumbest idiot ever.

But then Carlos quickly rescued him from his fear, when he answered sincerely “No one else, little one. Just Isa and me. We both find it actually pretty cute and we also know that you would never try to bring us apart. Lando, seriously, everything is alright. I’m still the same Carlos and you are still the same Lando. Nothing will change between the two of us. You are still my little, cute brother and you will be forever.”

Still insecure the younger one played with the sleeve of his shirt, thinking about that Carlos was maybe right once again. “Actually I should be the one to be sorry, cabron. I should have talked with you about it way sooner, tell you that I know it, but I just didn’t want to make it even worse for you. I know the situation wasn’t always easy for you with seeing Isa and me together, while you have those feelings for me, but especially because you have all these feelings for me, you still managed to be the best possible friend on this whole world for me.”

When Carlos took his still lightly shaking and cold hand into his then, Lando just had to look up at him, also because his words did touch him. “Seriously, Lando. You are the best friend I could have ever get and I really admire you and how strong you are. I know you haven’t chosen to fall for your team mate, I know it just happened, destiny didn’t even ask you about if you wanted it or not, but you still stayed next to my side. Our friendship was more important to you than anything else and I really wish we would have talked about it sooner. But I just thought it would be easier for you if you don’t know about me knowing it. I thought it would become easier for you with time. But heads up, cabron.” Carlos lifted his chin carefully, before he smiled fondly down at him. “One day the right one will also come for you, you will see.”

Tears were silently falling over Lando’s cheeks, while he listened carefully to his friend’s words, still not believing that Carlos was neither angry nor disappointed in him. He even seemed to understand him and he also wanted their friendship to stay like it was.

“You really don’t have to apologize, there is nothing you should be sorry for. I should have talked with you sooner about my feelings for you, but I was so afraid to lose you, Carlos. I don’t know how my life would have turned out without you, I don’t know what I would have done with you being not at my side any more. But you are right, I have never tried to bring you and Isa apart, because I already know since the beginning that one day you will marry her and become a family, but still my heart didn’t get that. It didn’t stop it to form those feelings for you and it still doesn’t get it. But you don’t have to worry about it, I would never try anything. And I also believe your words about that one day I will fall for someone I’m also able to get.”

For the first time since they were here, Lando tried to response his best friend’s smile, while the relief washed over him. It was finally over.

“I’m really sorry I’m not the one, cabron, but you will see, everything will be good. It actually already is. You won’t ever lose me, I will always be there for you and this wedding won’t change anything about it. You will always be my baby brother and because of this and so many other reasons I and also Isa would be very happy, if you would become the godfather of our child.”

It was the first heart attack because of happiness that day. Lando’s eyes widened and he finally began to shine again, when he squeaked. “Really? You and Isa really want me to be the godfather of your child, even after everything?”

“Especially because after everything, little one.” Carlos confirmed, before Lando already crashed into his arm and cried tears of joy. “I would really like to. You don’t know how much this means to me, Carlos.” The young Brit whispered with his cheek pressed against the Spaniard’s chest.

“And you don’t know how much this actually means to me, little one. I’m so happy you are here with us.” The Spaniard whispered into his curls, while tears were also waving in his eyes. All gently he placed a kiss against his forehead and pulled him one more time closer against his chest, so they could both enjoy this unforgettable moment between them.

They stayed like that a half eternity and when Lando finally believed his friend fully about that he wasn’t mad at him and that everything will stay like it was, Carlos whispered down to him “Do you think you are ready for another try?” Quickly and especially determined the younger one nodded his head, before he loosened their embrace to look up at him and tell him with his usual cheeky smile “Come on, we still need to get you married, before Isa will change her mind because you are all late again.”

After Carlos had helped him to do his tie, making sure to not do the button too tight this time and they had smiled and nodded their heads at each other all ready, the two best friends finally went outside back to the wedding guests. Lando secured them all that he was alright again and explained that the cause was probably because he had drank to less over the whole day. Max and Daniel he offered a smile, which both seemed to satisfy them, at least for now.

Back in the little church, Lando stood on his place again and together they all waited pretty impatient by now for the bride to finally arrive. One last time Carlos turned around to look at his best friend and smile at him, still grateful for him being here on this so important day in his life.

Of course, Lando returned the smile but when he saw from the corner of his eyes how the doors finally got opened, he showed his best friend with a small move of his head to finally take a look at his bride. Carlos eyes instantly filled with tears by the so beautiful appearance of the love of his life and also Lando’s eyes began to water, but this time only because he was so happy for them and he was sure about that one day he will also find something like the two of them had.

Lando did his duty as best man great, without any more problems or incidents and by his speech later everyone had glassy eyes, especially the bridal couple, but the tight hug he got from Carlos and also from Isa afterwards was worth it all.

Later he finally told Max and Daniel about what had happened and when he danced together with the bride he also talked with her about it and he also thanked Isa for her understanding. Like Carlos had already secured him, also the woman herself told him that they will always stay friends and nothing could bring him and Carlos apart any more. They were all one family.

And to finally be able to talk about it, to talk about his feelings especially with Carlos helped Lando to finally close this chapter of his life. It didn’t sound logical and it didn’t make any sense either, but it really helped him to let go, to let those feelings behind and start something new.

And once again Carlos had been right, when not even six months later someone stepped into Lando’s life and changed everything. Of course, Carlos was right. He always was.

-------------------------------------------

Thank you so much for reading! ❤️

My inbox is opened for your request, but I really can’t promise that I will be able to write a story for every request I will get. But I will try my best!

#Lando Norris #Carlos Sainz #Carlos Sainz Jr #Max Verstappen #Daniel Riccardo #Isa hernaez #Carlando

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starfiretheninja · 4 years

Text

BBRae- Shaking Off the Dust

This was originally a piece for the BBRae Zine, but that got cancelled. Regardless, I was proud that I got another piece done for these two and still want to bring it into the world. Enjoy!

Despite being part demon, a creature associated with darkness, Raven had a standard sleep schedule. The headaches induced from staying up too late tended to aggravate her powers and often required a longer meditation session to alleviate. On this particular night, however, the trilogy Raven was close to finishing was simply too much of a cliffhanger to leave until morning. Her extended reading session paid off, as the book ended on a surprisingly non-cliché and satisfactory note and she was only suffering from mild thirst.

Nothing a little tea can’t cure, Raven thought as she stood up, stretching her tense legs.

Leaving the quiet of her room, she noticed a dim light down the hall. Shuffling past Beast Boy’s room, she blinked wearily at the light that peeked out from under his door. Only unintelligible mumbling sounded from inside. Raven shrugged, figuring he was up late playing a tough level of Mega Monkey: Apes Rising on his GameDude console again. He hadn’t done that in some time, but old habits die hard.

With that, Raven continued on her way. Having made it to the kitchen and satisfied her parched throat with warm herbal tea, she came back past Beast Boy’s room. This time, she heard a yelp, followed by the crashing of Beast Boy and what sounded like a stack of comic books hitting the floor.

Raven sighed. She couldn’t let that go uninvestigated. At the very least, she felt she had to know if Beast Boy had managed to break a toe tripping over his massive collection of nerdy treasures again.

Opening the door, she spied Beast Boy rubbing his face. Around him were his possessions, pulled from his closet and tossed around the room in what, to her eyes, was a haphazard mess. The garbage can in the corner was stuffed well past the brim with dolls—action figures, as he insisted—that Raven was certain he had had since the Tower was first built. Beast Boy caught sight of her. Surprised, then sheepish, he attempted to stand amidst the scattered pile surrounding him.

“Care to explain what you’re up to on this once peaceful night?” she inquired as he morphed into a hummingbird, flitted over the pile, and returned to his human form right in front of her.

“I’m, uh, cleaning up a bit,” he said, clearing his throat.

“If by ‘cleaning’ you mean ‘purging your room of all of your cherished comics and collectibles’.”

“If you’d like to help, then it would get done quicker. Heck, you could pick it all up with your powers.” He gestured towards the remaining work. Raven didn’t take the bait.

“I’d rather not be partially responsible for the post-cleaning regret you could have.” She took a pointed look at his belongings, as if to emphasize just how much he was suggesting tossing out.

“Aw come on, Raven.” He picked up a random comic by his feet and waved it. “Do you really think I’ll miss Goo Goblins #37? I think I’ve moved on past that one.”

Raven shrugged in slight agreement. The admittedly campy-looking comic was certainly goofy enough to make a seventeen-year-old question if he was engaging in appropriate level material. Still, Beast Boy was always one to cling to childish endeavors.

“If you insist,” is all she could comment. If he was truly ready for such an adjustment, she wouldn’t be the one to stop him.

Grinning satisfactorily, Beast Boy took to scooping up his disheveled comics and setting them in lumps just outside his room. Raven stepped further into his room to allow him through the open door.

“I’ll just set these out here for now. Then I can get them into boxes and maybe even pass them out to some kids at their schools. I know a few Dirty Dan fans who would kill for some of these issues,” Beast Boy thought out loud, already beaming at the thought of making a kid’s day.

“Just as long as their parents don’t object,” Raven snarked, hoping that Dirty Dan wasn’t about a kid who refused to take a bath. The last thing Robin would want was a surge of complaints from parents claiming they were bad influences on the youth.

Watching Beast Boy’s slow progress, Raven’s curiosity got the better of her and she leaned down to investigate what kind of reading Beast Boy had invested himself in for all of these years. There were plenty of brightly colored covers of fictional superhero groups. Why these were written when literal superheroes saved the world was beyond her. Beneath that was a handful of light horror, with cartoonish monsters chasing hapless teenage victims. Perfect for a demographic who hadn’t witnessed literal demons in their lifetime. Next was . . .

Raising it up for a closer look, it dawned on her just what she was holding.

“Wait, is this-?”

“Crud! My bad!” Beast Boy rushed over to carefully take the book from her hands. “This must have been mixed with my Deranged Daredevils collection. I wasn’t going to throw this one out, promise.”

Beast Boy reached over her to place the book on the singular chair in the room. So far, the supposed ‘safe’ pile consisted of childhood classics, Insect Care for Dummies, 1001 Drop Dead Puns, and a few wildlife encyclopedias. The newest addition was gifted to Beast Boy by Raven for his first birthday after the team had formed. Back then, she hardly knew him, but didn’t want to deny him the joy of receiving a gift from someone he always reached out to. So, she decided on something that could either come across as a gag gift or a genuine appeal to his interests, despite her complete uncertainty on whether or not he would appreciate it.

When he ripped open the packaging and read the title, The Essential Calvin and Hobbes, he lit up.

“Oh, cool! I’ve read some of these before! I don’t know half the words that come out of the kid’s mouth, but the tiger is pretty cool! Thanks, Raven.” He gave her a classic toothy smile and Raven was admittedly relieved that he didn’t reject the gift or feel any disappointment.

That was years ago, though. Was he still so attached to that particular book? Raven had given him far more personal gifts since getting to know him on a more familiar level.

“Why is that one an exception?” she posed the question as he squatted next to the pile she was looking through.

“Hmm?” Beast Boy looked back for clarification, and a light bulb went off.

“Oh! That’s easy. Because you gave it to me. You probably knew I wouldn’t get half the jokes, but you took a chance anyway. Maybe I’d get it eventually, you know?” His voice trailed off at that last statement.

There it was. Something truly was nagging at him, then. That something had pushed him to embark on a spontaneous cleaning spree to either distract or remedy. While Beast Boy was, oddly enough, the toughest one on the team for her to read empathetically, he was normally easy to understand by his actions alone. However, she had noticed a pattern with him over the years. He was the best at wearing a mask. Robin attempted to remain stoic, but one could still tell what he was feeling. Beast Boy, on the other hand, played pretend. Concealing aggravation and hurt with a stream of jokes was his fallback. This left him with buried sadness, which was never good for the long-term psyche.

Considering how to approach the situation, Raven supposed prodding him a bit would perhaps bring more clarity as to the cause of his distress.

“Hmm. I figured your vocabulary would expand.”

“When, though?” Beast Boy let slip out. He asked so sullenly, the way that a child would when they were seeking approval. Raven recognized this tone from her time spent with Melvin as she began her early teen years. The girl wanted more independence, but a part of her still sought to know that Raven was proud of her in everything that she did.

Upon realizing his slip-up, Beast Boy’s eyes darted around the room. He nabbed a toy from the pile before him and held it up.

“Does this one bring back memories or what?” he chuckled, beaming a large smile. It was the singing monkey with the cymbals that sounded while Raven’s manifested fear chased the Titans throughout the Tower.

Raven sighed softly. That was a poor diversion and he knew it.

“Beast Boy, why are you doing this?” she queried, gesturing around the room. “This ‘spring cleaning’ is too out of character to come out of nowhere.”

“Can’t a guy want a little more walking room?”

“Not when it involves pretending that nothing’s wrong.”

Raven’s eyes met his. He held contact for mere moments before the façade cracked.

Beast Boy’s false smile slowly dropped. He knew he shouldn’t be hiding from her. Raven was one of his best friends, after all.

“’s not a big deal,” he mumbled, looking away.

“It is if it’s bothering you,” she responded, gently touching his shoulder to get his attention. Beast Boy turned back to her, setting the monkey down.

How would he start?

“It’s kind of complicated.”

Raven had the time for him.

“Then start from the beginning.”

With that, Beast Boy sat back, leaning his cheek on a propped-up knee. Raven lowered herself into a crisscross, fully facing him. He took a few moments to collect his thoughts, memories reflecting clearly in his eyes.

“Back, ah, with the Doom Patrol, I was just a kid when Mento started training me. He saw that my powers could be controlled and used for the greater good. And I wanted to be a hero! I wanted to help others. But I wasn’t used to getting shot at or transforming so much I passed out. It was rough for a while. And I messed up. A lot.

“Mento never let me forget any of the mistakes I made, even long after I learned from them. Sometimes, it took longer than it should have to learn, but I eventually got it. But that wasn’t good enough for him. It was for Rita, but Mento was the one in charge, so there was never an end to it.”

Beast Boy exhaled, stopping for a moment to likely push away memories that were crawling out of unpleasant depths of his subconscious.

“And that’s part of why you left?” Raven prompted.

“That was a big part of it. Just one day decided that I had enough, and I thought I could grow stronger if I became the sidekick of someone who could actually help me build on when I did something right. And when I met you guys, things were finally different, and everyone could rely on me in a fight. That felt good and I thought that maybe I wasn’t a total screw up after all. But today, with the mission I just- I messed up really bad and I knew what I did wrong right as it was happening.”

Oh.

Raven and Starfire had split off from the boys to tend to another emergency and didn’t hear back from them until after their mission was complete. Robin had seemed somewhat frazzled, but otherwise they had been successful as well. She hadn’t heard about any particular difficulties on their end.

Beast Boy continued on, his frustrations spilling out at this point.

“I mean, Robin and Cyborg were able to fix it, but Mumbo almost got away. We had him, but I slipped up and he did a lot more damage before we nabbed him again. That’s the kind of dumb mistake I made when I was just a kid, except back then, people died.” He nearly choked on his last words.

Raven’s thoughtful expression instantly morphed into a mixture between solemnity and shock. She had no idea he carried such a weight.

“Beast Boy . . .”

He let out a humorless laugh, his eyes unfocused and unwilling to meet hers.

“Do you ever just . . . get frustrated that you haven’t changed at all? Sometimes I still feel like the kid that can’t follow an order without screwing something up. I’m trying to get better at my job, but that’s not enough when lives are in danger,” he agonized, reaching up to grip his hair in his fist.

His emotions were beginning to overwhelm him. Beast Boy was so used to holding these demons in that he didn’t know how to handle them when they reared their ugly heads. And he hated himself for dumping his worries on Raven. She didn’t need to be dragged into his problems; he should be able to handle them on his own by now.

However, one fact that Beast Boy forgot was that Raven was a healer. She knew that part of the healing process included recognizing the hurt so one could fully recover.

“Beast Boy, you’re right to feel frustrated over this.” Raven began gently, so as to properly acknowledge his despair. “But you have grown up through the years that I’ve known you.”

“Today might prove you wrong,” he sighed defeatedly.

“One bad day doesn’t always indicate a pattern. Failing to react well under pressure happens to even the most disciplined of people.”

“Does it happen to you?”

Raven blinked. Where did that come from?

“What do you mean?”

“You’re always so in control and know what to do. I just don’t know if I can ever be as level-headed as you are.” Truthfully, though he complained about her supposed standoffishness when they first met, Beast Boy always admired her ability to remain calm. She could be cranky at times, but Raven was the Titan to turn to when you needed sage-like wisdom and a calming presence.

“. . . Not always.”

Beast Boy paused. He met her earnest and somewhat hesitant eyes. Where did that come from?

Raven pressed her lips tightly together, then, ever so slowly, began to speak.

“Sometimes . . . I think that I’m still as much of an isolated shut-in as when the team formed. You guys understand my snark, but I still go too far at times and I can tell the others don’t want to tell me that I hurt their feelings. We all struggle with insecurity, Beast Boy, no matter how well we hide it.”

Beast Boy leaned toward her, resting a hand in the space between them.

“You’ve grown so much though, Raven. I’ve noticed how much more you smile nowadays, and you actually talk to us about what you’re thinking about. I don’t think you would have been caught dead in my room like this when we first met,” he cracked a small smile, realizing just how intimate their situation was.

Raven relaxed, quietly grateful that the Beast Boy she knew was reemerging.

“No, I wouldn’t have.”

Now it was her turn.

“But the same goes for you. You take initiative when it’s called for and frankly, some of your strategies are the reason we make it through rougher battles.”

“Name one time,” Beast Boy held up a finger, still not entirely convinced.

“The initial charge against the Brotherhood. Morphing into a jellyfish to filter Scarecrow’s fear gas. Disabling that bomb as a cockroach so you wouldn’t be detected or incinerated,” Raven listed off confidently.

Beast Boy looked down, pondering her words. His shoulders relaxed and a soft smile slowly crept up onto his cheeks.

“Huh. I guess that was pretty mature of me,” he chuckled.

“You know,” she started, peering her head down to catch his eyes once more. “If you’re so worried about making mistakes, maybe talk to Robin about changing your training routine. Having variety might help your ability to react appropriately to any situation.”

“Yeah. That’d probably be a good place to start.”

“Also,” she began, gesturing to the mess around them. “Growing up doesn’t mean getting rid of your childhood joys. It just means you step up without being asked to.”

“I suppose you’re right. But I’ve been meaning to clean up for a while. Kind of hard to stay focused with so much clutter in your room.”

“Maybe leave it until you get a good night’s sleep,” she suggested.

“Eventually, but first there’s something I want to try.”

“And that would be . . .?”

Beast Boy reached back and grabbed the treasure that had sparked their night of revelations.

“Giving this book a try.” He waved the Calvin and Hobbes compilation before her. “You’ve granted me so much wisdom just now, I must have aged a few decades mentally. That is, if you’re not too tired.”

His hopeful expression was too much to pass up, especially at a time when he had opened up so much to her. It was out of character, but Raven was willing to give it a shot.

“I think I’m up for a little humor.”

Beast Boy mock grabbed his heart.

“Such an anomaly only comes once every other blood moon, so I’ll have to cherish you discovering your sense of humor.”

“The anomaly will pass faster the longer you talk about it.”

“Got it.”

They sat on the floor together, each holding one end of the book. Page by page, Beast Boy laughed outwardly at Calvin’s incessantly precocious dialogue. His eyes lit up as he brushed Raven’s shoulder, giddy to share the joke with her. Raven, in return, chuckled at Hobbes’ playful antics and allowed Beast Boy to see her rare carefree expressions.

What happened next truly made their night. The punchline was perfectly worded and timed for the both of them and they shared a singular moment of genuine laughter. Raven’s only a brief chortle and Beast Boy’s a lengthier guffaw, but the laughter of two friends nonetheless.

Raven could have denied the moment and blamed her increasingly delirious state. But she wasn’t about to deny Beast Boy the rare opportunity to have made her laugh. After all, sharing this moment with him was the best feeling she had all day.

#bbrae #beast boy #raven #teen titans #fanfic #i write

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hellzyeahwebwielingessays · 4 years

Text

Superior is INDEFENCIBLE! Part 1: Why MJ SHOULD have known ‘Peter’ was an imposter in Superior #2!

Part 2

I wanna talk about some of the comments made regarding Superior Spider-Man #2 on this podcast. It starts at the 18 minute mark.

The person who voiced the comments under discussion also had some follow up in a messageboard regarding the episode.

So first let’s define what those comments were. Basically it’s all a defence of Mary Jane’s obliviousness to Doc Ock pretending to be Peter in Superior #2. I say defence it’s more of a finger wagging/pointing at the people who had a problem with it and were calling it out.

Mary Jane Watson is not real so stop getting upset about her potentially being raped

If Doc Ock did rape her that wouldn’t be Marvel claiming that it’d be okay to rape people because Otto is a villain

He calls out someone who claimed that Doc Ock ‘technically’ raped Mary Jane by tricking her

If no one is having sex with anyone it is not rape

He tries to justify MJ’s obliviousness like this: Imagine being in a relationship with someone for many, many years. You guys break up and spend a lot of time apart not even in contact with one another and then a few years later you see each other again and hang out regularly in the same social group. There is still an unspoken distance between you two because you weren’t intimate to the same degree as you were when you were together. In that amount of time someone changes. In this case Peter he has had a lot of crazy Avengers adventures since he and MJ broke up. He’s a financially successful member of HORIZON labs, a fact that surprised MJ and hurt her because he did it without her. And now when MJ and peter were back together there has been a few years between the last time you two were together and Peter has done a lot of growing without you. Even though you hung around as friends you don’t act the same way around your friends as you do with an ex that you were now getting back together with.

He goes on to argue that MJ is noticing some differences in Peter that she is commenting upon.

He continues by addressing MJ’s deduction of Peter being the Chameleon in Spec #245. He claims that there were big differences between that situation and Superior #2. Chameleon didn’t have Peter’s body, he was merely using a hologram of it so there’d be ore subtle differences. At the time Peter and MJ were married whereas in Superior #2 they were not. Otto could address any subtle difference MJ noticed by simply bringing up something only Peter would be aware of.

During Spec #245 and the Clone Saga Peter and MJ were more in tune with one another since they were married

‘Chameleon can't make himself as tall as Peter is....same weight....the voice will be similar but can't be 100 percent the same....Ock can though.’

So let’s unpack all this.

“Mary Jane Watson is not real so stop getting upset about her potentially being raped”

I trust I need not go into a detailed explanation about how emotional investment into fiction works.

Instead let’s consider this from a moral perspective. Many if not most female characters in Marvel and DC had gotten the short end of the stick and MJ circa 2013 (when this issue was released) perhaps more than many.

99% of the time rape in superhero fiction, especially to women, legitimately comes from a place of sexism or misogyny. The understandable sensitivity of the topic is such that it’s utterly repugnant to had milked it for cheap tension the way Marvel had done at the time.

And to do it with such a beloved and iconic character, the leading lady of the Spider-Man universe no less. No, that was simply out of order.

That’s not a ticking time bomb that should even BE in a Spider-Man story in the first place.

The PRINCIPLE of the matter is what most people were upset about.

“If Doc Ock did rape her that wouldn’t be Marvel claiming that it’d be okay to rape people because Otto is a villain”

Again, most people were not concerned over this.

What they were concerned about was the damage it’d do to MJ and Otto as characters were Marvel to go through with it and indeed the damage it wound up doing to Doc Ock specifically because he attempted to rape MJ. Until a retcon is employed it will be forever canon that Doc Ock WOULD had raped MJ by deception if given the opportunity; a concept this poster denied on another thread just FYI.

But why would fans feel such a way? Why is Doc Ock doing that somehow worse than attempted mass murder with a nuclear bomb or orbital space technology?

Because everyone reading super hero comic books is totally awwere that death is not only reversible, but that within the context of DC and Marvel’s defined morality systems rape is a special kind of evil.

TVTropes lists off some infamous examples:

“Identity Crisis: Dr. Light was evil, but he wasn't evil until it was Ret-Conned that he had raped Sue Dibny in the JLA watchtower. Following the retcon, it's become standard practice to write Light as a serial rapist. Quoth Plastic Man: "It's like that's his power now."”

“He calls out someone who claimed that Doc Ock ‘technically’ raped Mary Jane by tricking her”

Okay. If someone did say that then they were in the wrong.

But Otto was still exploiting and violating Mary Jane’s sense of trust and emotional intimacy by preying upon her feelings for Peter.

Worse he violated her in other ways (in terms of privacy if nothing else) by accessing Peter’s memories of being intimate with Mary Jane.

The closest real world equivalent to this would be breaking stealing someone’s property breaking into it for the express purpose of seeing private photos given to them by their lover which you proceed to masturbate over…Whilst the person you’ve stolen from watches in horror and yells at you to stop…

Except in context it’s even worse than that because Otto literally feels the sensation of Mary Jane’s body in spite of her never giving him consent to do that.

Maybe you could argue that is not rape or sexual violation. But it’s unequivocally some form of serious ethical violation.

“If no one is having sex with anyone it is not rape”

Even if we said this statement is technically accurate (which can be debated depending on what counts as sex), the issue is one of violation which can take many forms beyond just sexual violation.

“He tries to justify MJ’s obliviousness like this: Imagine being in a relationship with someone for many, many years. You guys break up and spend a lot of time apart not even in contact with one another and then a few years later you see each other again and hang out regularly in the same social group. There is still an unspoken distance between you two because you weren’t intimate to the same degree as you were when you were together. In that amount of time someone changes. In this case Peter he has had a lot of crazy Avengers adventures since he and MJ broke up. He’s a financially successful member of HORIZON labs, a fact that surprised MJ and hurt her because he did it without her. And now when MJ and Peter were back together there has been a few years between the last time you two were together and Peter has done a lot of growing without you. Even though you hung around as friends you don’t act the same way around your friends as you do with an ex that you were now getting back together with. “

This is the big one that needs discussing. First of all here is another poster who had some astute comments:

“While you made a good case for why Mary Jane would realistically not figure out right away that her beloved "Peter" was really Doc Ock, there were, however, two very big strikes against this. In the first place, Dan Slott himself has repeatedly acknowledged that Mary Jane knows Peter better than anyone else.”

This is totally true and it even precedes Slott’s tenure too. She offered Peter insights into himself towards the end of BND and encouraged him to get with Carlie.

Early into Slott’s run she advised him to tell Carlie to truth.

She was able to inspire Peter into action during Spider-Island by pointing out he was still special in spite of everyone possessing his powers.

She reaffirmed his uniqueness after the crisis was resolved.

And she set his mind straight at the end of that story. In fact her big take away from this story was a greater understanding of Peter because of her experiences saving the city with his powers.

She continued to connect with Peter and offer clear insights into his deepest inner nature in the ‘’I Killed Tomorrow’ arc.

She was one of the few people in ‘Ends of the Earth’ who had absolute faith in Peter to save the entire world from the Sinister Six. She was so confident that she exploited the lowered real estate prices due to the crisis and purchased a nightclub.

In the immediate aftermath of ‘Ends of the Earth’ she was again a confidant who offered him advice and understanding over his inner problems. Specifically his guilt regarding Silver Sable’s ‘death’ during the crisis.

She did this again in the ‘Alpha’ storyline, this time zeroing in on stuff connected to his childhood and Uncle Ben’s influence.

Now, we can (justifiably) take issue with the specifics of the above. We could argue they were out of character or misinformed or what had you.

But the point is that Slott was framing Mary Jane as the person both closest to Peter and the person who didn’t just comparatively understand him best, but who simply got him on an incredibly deep level.

And yet when inconvenient for the plot all that went out the window.

So Mary Jane was clearly contradicting Slott’s own personal definition of her.

The astute poster continued.

“After all, she has known Peter was Spider-Man practically since day one, has been in a continuous on-again, off-again relationship ever since they first met, and has lived with him for years. This is someone who, by all accounts, has been intimate with Peter on every single level. Even after brief periods of separation, someone who has been that close with someone else is going to know things about them that other people would not.”

Again this is very on point. Prior to Brand New Day (let alone Superior) and across at least 5-10 years of their lives Mary Jane had known Peter Parker when:

He didn’t know she existed

He knew she existed but hadn’t met her

They had been acquaintances

They had been friends

They had been casually dating

The had been going steady

They had been serious

They had been drifting apart

They had drifted apart and become exs

They had been becoming friendly again

They had become friendly again

They were friendly but had awkward sexual/romantic tension

They were friendly but had not-awkward sexual/romantic tension

They had become confidants

They had become BFF

They were BFFs/confidants who had not very subtle romantic/sexual tension

They had been the above and were falling back in love

They had been the above but had fallen back in love but weren’t dating

They had been the above, had fallen back in love and were practically dating but in denial about it

They had been the above, had fallen back in love, were practically dating but only barely in denial about it at all, to the point where they were making each other breakfast in bed and locking lips

They had admitted their feelings to one another and become engaged

They had been married

They had been married and had major tensions

They had been married and separated

They had been married and were trying to maybe patch things up

They had been married and were back together and patching things up

They had been married and had successfully patched things up

And amidst all that they’d been expectant parents, grieved a miscarriage, she’d seen Peter pushed to a breaking point due to grief or mental instability.

Amidst all that Peter definitely changed. But outside or the above mentioned extenuating circumstances, he had literally NEVER acted like he had been acting whilst Otto was in control of his body.

In fact the Peter Parker she would’ve met again during the 1980s after they broke up the first time would’ve gone through FAR more growth and changes than the Peter between OMD and Superior. Shit it was during this time period where MJ was explicitly said to had been able to read Peter like a book.

Bear in mind this was when they hadn’t spent years of their life together and when she didn’t know the details of how/why he became Spider-Man. It was even written with the intent that she didn’t know at all. And Peter had not yet learned MJ’s own origins and thus become more emotionally intimate with her either.

Equally it can be argued that Peter had changed and grown much more between between their trial separation under Mackie and their reconciliation under JMS when he’d become a school teacher, told Aunt May the truth and considered his powers having mystical roots.

Yet he didn’t act this drastically differently.

He is literally not even talking the same way he used to before.

Even if you act differently among friends or colleagues than privately with your partner, the idea that MJ believes that because of Avengers adventures Peter suddenly speaks totally differently is ridiculous. It’s even more ridiculous when you consider how she can observe him speaking similarly outside of interactions with herself.

Not to mention she is friends and roommates with Peter’s most recent ex-Carlie Cooper and observed their interactions whilst they were dating. Peter didn’t act this way and Carlie could confirm that for her.

Additionally, let’s consider MJ has some psychology and acting training, meaning she’s very good at getting inside people’s heads to understand them. A great example comes from ‘Soul of the Hunter;

And she was able to sense something was fishy about Norman Osborn when she met him. This occurred when she didn’t know he was the Green Goblin and Norman himself had amnesia and didn’t know it himself.

Plus she’s extremely socially savvy and so you would imagine she’d be great at picking up on subtle behaviours like body language, etc. Even if Doc Ock had Peter’s body he would be unlikely to carry himself the same way simply because he’d had no idea how Peter would had carried himself in the first place.

So MJ wouldn’t need to had been married or living with Peter for a while to pick up on the nuances of Otto’s behaviour; not that he’s even being nuanced or subtle in the first place.

But it goes even deeper than this.

Peter and Mary Jane were not like a regular couple. And no that isn’t some Disney-esque miracle love at first sight nonsense either, it’s simple psychology.

As the astute poster noted, the length of time MJ has known Peter and been close to him would mean she’d be able to see through Otto.

But it’s not just that they were friends, confidants, lovers or life partners during this time.

Peter and MJ are one part romantic couple, one part war veterans.

In real life soldiers who fought side-by-side with one another, especially if the situation was very traumatic, forge an extremely potent mental/emotional bond. This is obviously accentuated if there was a pre-existing positive relationship, like if they were friends or family.

A very good albeit fictional example would be the relationship between Captain America and Bucky in the MCU.

Peter and MJ already had a generally positive relationship before they began to fall in love with one another. And they were one another’s best friends by the time they were married. Under Slott’s pen it was also clear that they were one another’s closest companions prior to Superior.

The deep bonds between them would’ve been accentuated through shared tragedies and deeply personal experiences. These would have included their respective origins which echoed one another’s lives growing up. But more poignantly it included enduring emotional pain and trauma together.

Gwen’s death which was the catalyst for their romance.

‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’ which forced the pair to confront their greatest fears now that they were newlyweds.

The death of their child, which is an experience that can often result in the ending of a couple’s relationship. In Peter and MJ’s case they grew closer as a result.

Their life on the run after Peter’s identity went public and Aunt May was dying in a coma. Peter and MJ had options of escaping the situation at the cost of their relationship but instead reaffirmed their commitment to one another.

These are just some of the myriad of traumatic and testing life experiences Peter and MJ shared together. Experiences that they helped one another get through. The pattern of behaviour for the two of them was clear. Emotionally or mentally traumatic situations made them grow closer. And quite apart from traumatic situations there is an element of physical danger heavily involved in this too.

There have been countless times MJ has been rescued by, or relied upon Peter to rescue her from danger.

Peter himself has been rescued by Mary Jane’s physical intervention.

And like him she’s been more than willing to make sacrifices in her life for his sake. This can be something like her career opportunities but have also included risking her life to see him from harm.

But more frequently her presence in his life as ben an empowering force that has enabled him to save himself, a fact he has actively attributed to Mary Jane.

So yes. Peter and Mary Jane are incredibly comparable to soldiers. Just soldiers who happen to also be in love with one another too.

It’s not just the mere existence of these traumatic bonding experiences either but the high frequency with which they have occurred. Any one of the things Peter and MJ have had to endure might have broken the strongest of couples, the best of friends. But so many of them? Seeing their lover/friend Gwen Stacy, their mutual friend Harry Osborn, their brother/friend Ben Reilly and their baby die? All within a 10 year time span?

No.

It is just absurd to strictly apply how the majority of regular couples behave to these two.

And it is equally absurd to argue that they within a mere year or two (during which time they were still in one another’s social circles half the time, still close friends, still confidants, AND had underlying romantic feelings for one another) that they’d fall so far out of synch.

Absurd that MJ could be so blind as honestly presume merely having adventures with the Avengers or becoming a successful scientist could have changed Peter so drastically. And changed him drastically only within the context of private romantic moments, not whilst he was interacting with anyone else.

Absurd that either of them could genuinely not tell an imposter when they see one. This in fact came up during the marriage more than once.

Obviously we have the Chameleon situation, but MJ within like a month of living with Peter she could easily tell (on a dark rainy night no less) that Kraven the Hunter wasn’t the real Spider-Man.

Sure, he was way more violent than Peter normally is. But in a then very recent arc Peter had gotten pretty violent when MJ was threatened.

And for the record MJ didn’t realize ‘Peter’ was an imposter after she witnessed Superior Spidey deliver a similarly violent beating in Superior #6.

During the Clone Saga Mary Jane confronted one of Peter’s clones and deduced him as a fraud.

However she immediately recognized Peter when she saw him. For context she was running for her life at the time, Aunt May’s funeral had been (at best) two days earlier, Peter had been arrested for murder immediately after the funeral, she’d been abducted (twice) by a scary new villain called Kaine and as far as she knew Peter had been locked up in jail, unaware of her plight.

Rationally it made no sense for her to presume the Spider-Man in front of her was the real guy. And yet she just knew because of the bond between them.

Shit, Aunt May deduced the Chameleon (who is a MASTER of disguise) was an imposter in spite of him being far more subtle than Otto was. She could tell simply because she had raised Peter, in spite of being in the dark about him being Spider-Man for years.

The astute poster corroborates further corroborates my points:

“Likewise, as I believe Zack pointed out, the changes "Peter" underwent since Amazing Spider-Man #698 weren't exactly subtle. In fact, by the end of Superior Spider-Man #2, Mary Jane essentially acknowledges that Peter has changed so much that it seems as if he's become a completely different person. Given all of her past experiences with Peter and how intimately involved she was in his life, wouldn't it stand to reason that she would logically conclude that if Peter is acting like a different person, then maybe he actually is a different person and not Peter?”

Let’s move onto the next bullet points.

“He goes on to argue that MJ is noticing some differences in Peter that she is commenting upon.”

“He continues by addressing MJ’s deduction of Peter being the Chameleon in Spec #245. He claims that there were big differences between that situation and Superior #2. Chameleon didn’t have Peter’s body, he was merely using a hologram of it so there’d be ore subtle differences. “

“‘Chameleon can't make himself as tall as Peter is....same weight....the voice will be similar but can't be 100 percent the same....Ock can though.’”

I know I’m adding the final point here but it seemed appropriate.

Let’s consider the fact that Chameleon was merely making I seem like he had Peter’s body whilst Otto id in fact have Peter’s body. Thus MJ would pick up on the subtle differences.

Well first of all MJ would be picking up on various subtle and unsubtle behavioral differences in Otto as I spoke about above.

Second of all this mentality does not fly. Partially because I am honestly struggling to remember a time in canon that anyone noticed physical differences between Chameleon and the genuine articles. Maybe I am forgetting something, but IIRC he impersonated Jameson and managed to fool both his old friends, colleagues and family members (including his wife).

Additionally the idea that there would even be subtle differences is extremely questionable because Chameleon at the time could perfectly recreate anyone he wanted. His powers and technology was such that he was able to simultaneously disguise himself as Peter Parker AND cast a secondary hologram of Doc Ock. He isn’t just wearing a disguise or hologram but rather physically transforming his body and clothing into a perfect replica of his target. These abilities are detailed in ASM #307.

He basically just needs to get a good enough look at his target and he can totally become them.

In the story in question he had Spidey rendered unconscious, unmasked him and even had the time to drug, imprison and disguise him in an effort to make him believe he was someone else.

So yes, Chameleon 100% could’ve perfectly replicated Peter’s body. Height. Weight. Pimples. Everything sans his powers.

This means there were no physical differences MJ was picking up. She just figured it out the moment he kissed her and she knew the truth.

So MJ could tell Chameleon was an imposter in spite of him having identical lips to Peter due to his powers. And yet MJ couldn’t tell Otto was an imposter when he kissed her in ASM #700.

This should be enough to call bullshit on the OP because of the sheer goddam number of times MJ must have realistically kissed Peter before.

But let’s say for the sake of argument that in the Chameleon story it was only because MJ had kissed Peter in recent memory that she could tell the difference. That she wrote off Otto’s kiss as there having been such a long time since they’d kissed that maybe it would just naturally feel different. This argument is critically wounded because less than a year before ASM #700 (in-universe) MJ and Peter did share a kiss in the deplorable ‘One Moment in Time’ storyline.

Oh and let’s not forget that MJ was able to deduce Peter from his biologically identical clones!...Twice!...Under stressful life and death circumstances!...Whilst pregnant!

“At the time Peter and MJ were married whereas in Superior #2 they were not. Otto could address any subtle difference MJ noticed by simply bringing up something only Peter would be aware of.”

Yes MJ and Peter were married when she recognized his imposters. I’m going to address that point later as it’s more relevant there.

As for the latter point though it holds no water.

Yes, Otto could bring up something only Peter would know about, like how he once proposed with a crackerjack box.

But Mary Jane is aware that she lives in a world of shape-shifting Skrulls, mutant telepaths and A.I. intelligences based upon the brain patterns of human beings. All of these concepts have included the imposters having private memories from their subjects.

Looking like someone else AND having access to their memories or private information is totally possible.

Not to mention an imposter could simply keep their subject locked up and torture them for information.

Ah, but none of those things originated from the Spider-Man brand. Surely it isn’t fair to use the entire Marvel universe for context because then nothing would ever make sense.

Okay, then let’s confine this to just Spider-Man specific characters and concepts.

Alien symbiotes are shape-shifters that form telepathic bonds with their hosts. They can often control their hosts’ bodies too. So not only might a symbiote be controlling Peter but it could very well be someone else with a symbiote, one who has bonded with Peter and thus has access to his memories.

The Winkler device was a machine that could brainwash people but also cause them to become irrational and violent. Ned Leeds and Captain Stacy were among it’s victims. It is possible Peter has been brainwashed by that or a similar device, hence he’s acting out of character but he’d still remember intimate things Either way it’d be a cause for concern.

Peter’s robot parents were shape shifting A.I. creatures, and the one based on Mary Parker actually risked her life to save Peter because she genuinely loved him. So, she had artificially inserted memories that could recreate a feeling as potent as love.

And here is the big one…fucking clones.

Peter’s clones have his memories up to the point the DNA sample from his body was separated. But the Jackal had methods of actually updating the memories of clones so they’d be identical in mind as well as body. This is how Ben Reilly, in spite of being grown from DNA donated before Gwen’s death, had all of Peter’s memories from after that point.

Not only does MJ know that but for a long time she believed the man she married was a clone and that Ben Reilly was the original Peter Parker. As a result the man she was involved with from 1975-1995 looked and acted identically to the man she’d been dating prior to that. He remembered when MJ shut the door after Gwen’s death. He remembered the first words MJ said to him. He remembered their first kiss in the airport. He remembered all this stuff even though he wouldn’t have been the real deal. The fact that he turned out to be the genuine article eventually doesn’t matter because Ben Reilly knew all that stuff too.

So his knowledge of private information is absolutely not proof he is the real Peter Parker.

“During Spec #245 and the Clone Saga Peter and Mj were more in tune with one another since they were married”

Mostly I’ve already addressed these. First of all MJ was clearly in tune with Peter prior to Superior as witnessed by all the Slott stories above.

And for other reasons listed above she and Peter wouldn’t have fallen out of tune with one another to the point where MJ could be so gullible. Additionally, they were clearly still mostly in tune with one another on both other occasions they broke up and became reacquainted with one another. I refer you back to how MJ was said to be able to read Peter like a book following their first break up. Again, this was when she was written to not know he was Spider-Man. That changed with retcons but even so she didn’t know how, when or why he was Spider-Man. He didn’t know her own origin and they hadn’t had nearly as many of the serious and intimate life experiences they’d have later in life.

However, more poignant proof can be found when we jump to the JMS run. To be clear between OMD and MJ’s reintroduction into ASM over a year elapsed and then we can guesstimate another year elapsed between then and he start of Superior. But Peter and MJ were interacting in that second year, as witnessed in those Slott stories.

In contrast Peter and MJ had been drifting apart and not been seeing too much of each other face-to-face between ASM v2 #1-13. This was due to various factors, chiefly MJ’s busy modeling career, Peter’s Spidey work and the fact that they were both keeping secrets at this time. They had also been drifting apart emotionally too.

In ASM v2 #13 MJ was seemingly killed in a plane crash and presumed dead for six months.

Six months where she was locked in a room, all alone. Her abductor never even spoke to her most of the time.

She even, developed PTSD as a result.

It was heavily implied upon her return that the time between ASM v2 #1 and her return had been almost a year.

Shortly after her return she and Peter separated and we don’t know how long elapsed between then and their eventual reconciliation in ASM v2 #50. However long it was, Peter and MJ only saw one another face-to-face once for at best maybe 6 hours tops; and that’s being incredibly generous. They also spoke very briefly on the phone to one another. On one occasion Peter tried to call her but hung up.

So that’s at least a whole year in which they had been seeing little of one another, drifting apart and had zero contact for over 6 months. So you know, that would mean they had less time together than prior to Superior. They’d have been less in tune here than at the start of Superior.

And yet in the issue they reconcile they are still in tune enough that they finish one another’s sentences and are thinking the same thing.

They also fall back fairly easily into their old habits together even though they took it slow. They weren’t trying hard to rediscover how one another had changed.

Again, it can be argued that Peter had actually internally changed and grown far more between his first and second break ups with MJ and their respective reconciliations than between OMD and Superior.

I’m not trying to say that Peter and MJ wouldn’t have been comparatively more in tune whilst they were married than at the start of Superior. Just that they would’ve remained mostly in tune and not have been so out of tune that MJ could’ve been fooled as easily as she was.

The proof of this can be found in ASM #604. For the first time in over a year Peter and MJ get a chance to talk following their separation. They are still so in synch that they can speak in unison.

All in all…sigh.

See this guy?

He used to be ‘on side’. He used to be a PeterxMJ shipper. He talked about doing a petition to prevent OMD before it happened. He used to speak out against the badness that was BND and Slott’s run but over time he gradually drifted into being…well look my inner angry emotional assessment would say he’s a traitor. Perhaps that is not the technical term. He basically became someone who would never speak about the marriage other than to bash ‘fanboys’ (as he’d call them in a needlessly aggressive and petulant tone of voice) for still being concerned with it. Whether that was not ‘being over’ the erasure of the marriage or for basically talking up MJ’s importance.

To speak personally about this for a moment, I used to look up to this guy.

No seriously his work on this and another podcast along with his essays in the late 2000s and early 2010s were partially a revelation to me.

Back in 2012 when I discovered his work the idea of actual in-depth analytical essays on Spider-Man was still pretty new to me. The idea of someone not talking broadly on the characters but diving into the details of the narratives and following them sequentially? Man, that shit was an inspiration for some stuff I do here and on other blogs. I’d still recommend some of his earlier works.

His understanding of continuity I once thought unparalleled. Now days, and especially just looking at the above, not so much. It helped me to learn more about the history of these characters and stories.

It seems that I discovered his backlog at the wrong time because I think he had already drifted farther out to become, well, what you can see above, by the time I started listening to that podcast.

I thought that surely these guys, who must clearly know about the subject than I do will call out this crap for what it is. Surely he would? And on Superior #2 most of them did. But he did not.

I remember in 2013 struggling to process that. I looked up to him. I thought that since he knew so much about Spider-Man and so much more than me that he could not be wrong. So either I was wrong or he was wrong which called into question everything else he’d said about the subject matter. Everything else I’d taken his word for was called into question.

I’m older, wiser, uglier and less forgiving now.

I see the situation for what it was.

Someone who used to be good at their job slipping, becoming interested in other things and for personal reasons seemingly getting frustrated with (unfairly) with certain other people and having that taint their stance going forward.

And it feels so wonderful after 7 years of this being at the back of my brain to finally let it out.

I think one more post addressing Superior #2 ought to do it though.

P.S. He got huffy about MJ noticing Peter said toodle-loo to her in Superior #10.

So Peter saying a common phrase he could’ve picked up anywhere (even in the months between issues #2 and #11) is more worthy of complaint than the immeasurably more obvious shit from Superior #2.

Part 2

#The Superior Spider-Man #Superior Spider-Man #Peter Parker #mjwatsonedit #mary jane watson #Mary Jane Watson Parker #MJ Watson #spider-man #Dan Slott #otto octavius #Doc Ock #Doctor Octopus #chameleon #The Chameleon

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flamingpudding · 6 months

Text

Fictober23 Prompt: 20 - "This better be good."

Fandom: DPxDC

Rating: T

Warnings: -

A green Vortex swirled in front of them and Constantine held his breath. This was not like any of the summonses he usually did. He looked over his shoulder at the others present, wondering if he could somehow bullshit his way out of this. But one thing was clear, whatever he had summoned was not one of his demons.

The Vortex continued to swirl before them, slowly greenish smoke started to rise out of him. Then suddenly a melody started to echo around them and Constantine felt like face palming.

"Uh… isn't this the Melody of This is Halloween?" The Flash asked aloud, exchanging glances with the others present.

"Constantine." Great Bats was getting grumpy, the JL Dark member thought, refusing to turn around to face any of the heroes. Ignoring them might make them stop questioning what was happening with this summon. It wasn't like there were any pressing situations, forcing this summon in hopes to prevent whatever interdimensional war Trigon was about to start. No, they hadn't forced him out and away from the curse he had been working on. Not like there were other members of the JL Dark, Constantine clearly knew the big bad Bat liked to work more with than him.

Humming resounded from the vortex now too, clearly depicting the chorus of the well known Halloween song, and John's eye twitched. The fuck kinda demon spirit did he summon now? Was whatever he summoned making fun of him just because that being got summoned in October? The rising smoke started to move, taking on a shape that appeared more humanoid as the humming started to become clearer though it sounded like it was filtered through static as it still sounded somewhat distorted.

"Shadow is the one hiding under your bed, teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing green! Spectra is the one hiding under your stairs, fingers like snakes and spiders in her hair."

The voice echoed sounding like a mix of static and white noise but became clearer the more or the green smoke escaped from the vortex. None of them really knew what was going on and Constantine was cursing up a storm in his mind. What the hell was happening right now, he just wanted to get the Spirit of Balance to help them out with Trigon? They were supposed to symbolize balance, surely they would have the easiest time to fix that imbalance the demon was about to wreck across dimensions.

"In this zone we call home, everyone hails to the ghost-like song! In this zone, don't we love it now? Clockworks' waiting for the next surprise!" The smoke was twirling around and moving like they were picking something up from inside the vortex, its shape still smokey but slowly Constantine was able to make out certain shapes of the head and arms as the voice continued to hum and then sing the static was more and more receding.

"Freakshow is the clown with the thermos to his face, sucked up in a flash and gone without a trace. I am the who when you call, 'Who's there?'. Dani is the wind blowing through your hair. Dan is the shadow on the moon at night, Frighty filling your dreams to the brim with fright!" The voice was now very clear, no interference, the smoke had fully formed a human-like body and appeared to be a white haired teen boy, though John noted, his summon was turned with his back to them appearing not to notice him or the heroes in the room and holding… Was that a Halloween party garland?

"This is Halloween, this is Hallo- who the fuck are you guys?" Mid lyrics the kid appeared to have turned around his arms raised like he was going to hang the garland of cut out pumpkins on a wall. White green eyes stared at them before the summoned eyes went to the garland in his hands that were then quickly hidden behind the teens back.

"Spirit of balance-"

"It's Ancient actually."

The spirit, ancient, cut in and Constantine hurried to correct his mistake. "Ancient of balance, we are the Justice League and have summoned you to seek your help…" Constantine started his usual spiel, ignoring Green Lantern's mutter of if that kid really was the spirit of balance as well as the judging looks and burning glare he felt on his back from Batman. He was not going over with them again about the fact that demon, spirits, ghost and the likes can look like whatever the fuck they wanted.

"Okay, stop!" The summoned teen held up a hand before John could continue. "I was in the middle of an important Halloween themed stabilization party preparation! To finally celebrate Dan after Dani pestered him for months! So this better be good, to get in the way of my first fight free weekend in years!"

"A war with demons is about to start." Constantine's head whipped around to glare at Batman, does he need to hold another course of how to properly communicate with interdimensional beings?

"That's Demon Realm Issues, not Ghost related. Could you humans stop mixing us up? I am not even from the same dimension as them and we have enough troubles with them breaching the Ghost Zone borders every month!" The summoned teen arched an eyebrow at them, crossing his arms and bringing that damned Halloween garland back into view again. They clearly didn't want to be here and if Constantine knew anything about unwilling summons then one wrong world could screw them all over right now.

"Trigon is the one starting it." Batman added and once more the JL Dark member sent the Dark knight a seething glare. That hypocrite put him through a lecture about hero behavior and cautions before, John would return the favor once the crisis was handled.

"Trigon?" His head whipped around to look at the suddenly very interested ancient of balance floating over to Batman.

"What did that big toddler do now?" It appeared like the Ancient was talking to themselves more than them as he crossed his arms completely forgetting about the wall decoration in his hands as they tilted their head in thoughts and started to ignore them. They were mumbling something John couldn't hear, for once he wished Superman was around so he could tell them with his super hearing.

"I have no idea who you guys are but, fine! I will help but only because Dan mentioned wanting to fight that overgrown toddler again. That's going to be his stabilizing day present! He can't complain this way that I got him something lame."

Constantine was about to sigh a breath of relief until he noticed the Ancient of Balance opening a good damn vortex and pulling out a snarling, red glowing eyed and blue flamed haired spirit by the neck. He paled then realizing that the being of balance just pulled the Spirit er Ancient of Wrath into their dimension. John then also noticed what appeared to be a little girl hanging like a koala of Wrath's back and then remembered a passage in the summoning text of the Spirit of Balance, he apparently had carelessly ignored.

Summoning Balance, Wrath and Mischief always stuck together. Sweating heavily, Constntine ignored any and all looks sent his way, because he was sure he might have just doomed their Dimension or at least plunged them into chaos for the time being.

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tessatechaitea · 4 years

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Justice League Spectacular #1 (1992)

Just off-panel: Bibbo's ice cream truck.

I probably shouldn't be reading this or Justice League Quarterly before I read the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League but what can I do? That's the order they were placed in the short box! It would be a different story if free will were not an illusion but since it is, my hands are tied. It's either read this or, um, I don't know. Die from a temporal paradox? I won't risk it! I was looking through a bunch of my old writing and art last week and discovered a bunch of the kind of sentimental and sort of intellectual crap young people write. It's the kind of stuff you hide away and never show anybody ever and hope that when you die, it'll just get tossed in a dumpster with your old porn and Magic the Gathering cards. But it got me thinking about how brave I am! So brave! The kind of brave you wouldn't hesitate to call some jerk who signed up for the military because he couldn't live as a civilian. No, no. More braver than that! And being this super brave kind of person, I thought that maybe I should share some of this old poetry with everybody! But not yet! You have to work up to being truly brave! So instead, I'll share this piece of artwork I did that was supposed to be the first in a lengthy and disgusting series. It's of Lord Fondlerot, a character I created for the Dwarflover online comic I used to do. He was really into fucking things and I thought, "Hey! I should do a series of drawings where he fucks every creature in the monster manual!" But instead of doing an entire series, I drew one picture and grew either bored or disgusted with the concept. So here's that one picture:

Lord Fondlerot fucking an Axebeak.

Now you're probably wondering just how terrible my poetry must be if I'm opening with that! Well, you'll see soon enough! This issue begins with Sue Dibny still alive and visiting a Florida theme park with her husband, The Elasticated Man. Wow, remember when Sue Dibny was killed and all the heroes freaked out about their secret identities and considered doing intense brain damage to every single person who ever knew any of their identities until they found out that The Atom's ex-wife Jean Loring had gone cuckoo for Atom's cocoa puffs? She wanted them back so bad that she began threatening and murdering the loved ones of all the super heroes. It was the kind of story DC sometimes does where you read it and think, "Well, the twist at the end of that mystery was definitely worth the destruction of the most stable marriage in the DC Universe and also the death of Firestorm and Captain Boomerang! So good!" I mean it doesn't make you think that. It makes you think the exact opposite. Tom King would eventually do pretty much the same thing in Heroes in Crisis but instead of Jean Loring fucking up by accidentally killing Sue Dibny and murdering more people to cover her tracks, Wally West fucks up and kills Poison Ivy and some others and then tries to cover his tracks. But at least Tom King's had all of those entertaining scenes where the heroes are doing therapy and we get to see how much they're all suffering from PTSD. That's always a fun aspect of super heroes we never get to read enough about. Dammit! I keep doing it. I meant it was the opposite of fun! Although I still liked it because sometimes I just like seeing other people in pain. Not in a sick perverse way where I pop a boner or something! Just in that way where you sit around all day thinking, "My life is terrible and everything is wrong and I hate my parents for bringing me into this wretched existence and the only thing that might make me feel better is to learn that Superman sometimes feels the same way." Oh, remember when Tom King was writing Batman and he had that two issue Booster Gold arc where we got to see how fucking insane Booster Gold was from living through all of those horrible, wretched, dark alternate timelines? And the only way he can deal with the trauma and the PTSD is by making a joke out of everything? I'll have to think of that as the canon Booster Gold when I'm reading Giffen and DeMatteis's Justice League. Maybe it'll make all of Booster and Beetle's inappropriate joking more appropriate. Back to the story, Sue Dibny, alive and well, and her husband Ralph "The Elasticated Man" Dibny are busy showing a bunch of European diplomats around the non-Disney World theme park.

See? You can tell they're European because they're all smart and shit.

The first stop in the park is to Alice's Wonderland where the diplomats are attacked by the Royal Flush Gang. They are a gang whose theme is playing cards and not expensive toilets. Their powers are the ability to ride on gigantic cards and to make poker puns.

If looking good in tight fitting costumes is also a power, it's my new answer to the question of which super power would I choose..

Ten's outfit reminds me of the days when nipples were allowed to show through tops without being erased away through some kind of editing software. The 70s were a wild decade! Sure, there were also nips on television in the 80s but the 80s, generally speaking, sucked and were a huge contribution to the downfall of America.

The King of Spades mansplaining their entire concept to the Queen of Spades.

It's true that the royal flush beats any other poker hand but I doubt Superman is going to surrender after this concept is explained to him because, in the end, they're not fucking playing poker. It turns out Maxwell Lord paid the Royal Flush Gang to make a little trouble so the Justice League could beat them up and get some media attention. But the Justice League has apparently broken up and The Elasticated Man just isn't hero enough to save the European delegates all by himself. He might have been if the Royal Flush Gang had done what they were told and not really fight back. But why would they do that?! Wouldn't they still be in trouble with federal agents?! Booster Gold finds Blue Beetle busy pouting in the old Justice League cave headquarters. Booster has decided to try to cheer his old buddy up although why wouldn't Booster just travel to a timeline where Ted Kord is already cheered up? Is that how time travel works in the DCU? Or did Booster already try that, it went horribly sideways, and now he's a little more fucked up in the head when he returns to the "real" timeline?

For some reason, Ice and Fire have also come down to the cave. Probably to accidentally go on a double date with Booster and Beetle. Booster and Fire and Beetle and Ice hear a news report about the Royal Flush Gang and decide to go save Ralph. Superman also hears about the situation and heads to Florida where he's almost immediately defeated by The Royal Flush Gang. Not because they're dangerous and competent super villains but because some mysterious benefactor has give them weapons capable of knocking out Superman's powers. Maxwell Lord is not that benefactor so who could have done it? Certainly not Guy Gardner, right?! What would he want with getting the Justice League back together. Isn't he busy being Warrior or something by this point? Power Girl, Metamorpho, and Guy Gardner all join in on the fight. The guy behind it all is that Weapons Master dude who is desperate to get a new weapon for his arsenal: a Green Lantern ring. The attack on the Royal Flush Gang fails to get him the ring so he decides to attack directly. But not in this issue! He has to wait for a regular series issue. Ice uses Guy's ring to contact Hal Jordan because somebody finally decided this Justice League wasn't really a big league Justice League. Everybody reading it knew it for years. But I guess Dan Jurgens was assigned the task to get a new, more believably powerful League together. So Hal Jordan flies around to pick up some new members to save the day. He chooses The Flash and Aquaman which seems about right. But he also chooses Crimson Fox which seems like sliding backwards into goofy Justice League territory. Not that I totally approve of Aquaman but I have to admit he's a "serious" choice for the League.

Doctor Light also joins the party. Although why she'd keep the name of a pedo, I couldn't guess. Just become Lightwoman or something. But no! Once some jerk earns their doctorate, they just have to demand to be called Doctor.

I'm sorry. I was too distracted pointing out that Doctor Light joined the fight and how her namesake was a pervert to comment on Metamorpho acting like a huge fucking pig. Crimson Fox beats up some guys dressed as cards and admits that she's a boring idiot whose favorite part of the game is shuffling the cards. I understand the need to think up some kind of goofy one-liner when you go into battle but shouldn't you at least try to think up one that doesn't make yourself sound like a pathetic asshole? Weapons Master's plan failed but he figures he has enough information to get Green Lantern's ring next time. He'll then sell it to a Dominator for a few bucks and maybe some slaves. The big hitters talk it over and decide they should start a new Justice League without the approval of the United Nations. Yeah! Who needs some stupid Earthly authority when you've got an invulnerable Kryptonian, an all powerful space cop, and the king of the seven seas! All they need is a Greek Goddess and a mentally ill furry with a long history of violent behavior and they'll have the big team back together! Booyah! I mean, without that stupid Booyah shit because Cyborg is basically a toaster at this point. Maybe. I don't know! What am I, Johnni DC, Continuity Cop?! The heroes make one more decision: split the group into two Leagues. So once again, they're forming Justice League America and Justice League Europe. How come I don't remember this shit?! Did the comics get canceled in '92 and then immediately fired back up? I don't seem to remember two different incarnations of these teams. Maybe I should have stored my comic books in chronological order so it would all make sense. Justice League Spectacular #1 Rating: C. I just read the letters pages and it looks like this comic book takes place between JLA #60 and JLA #61! So editorial decided the teams needed to be shaken up and the best way to do it was to disband the League in the regular series, have a special one-shot comic that gets them back together but with a different roster, and then send them back to work in the next issue of the regular series. I guess I should just shove this comic book into the middle of the regular series so when I reread it all again in my 80s, it'll make more sense! Let's close with the worst drawing of Aquaman I've ever seen:

Actually, he looks a little bit like Grunion Guy.

#Justice League Spectacular #Justice League #DC COmics #DC #Dan Jurgens #Gerard Jones

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ty-talks-comics · 4 years

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Best of Marvel: Week of January 15th, 2019

Best of this Week: Iron Man 2020 #1 - Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Pete Woods and Joe Caramagna

This shouldn't work, but oddly enough it does.

Machine life forms in the Marvel Universe have a complicated history in terms of their status as sentient beings and whether or not they feel as humans do. Ultron has always displayed a rage and hatred towards humanity and the Avengers in particular not dissimilar to any number of human or alien enemies of these heroes. On the flip side of that, Machine Man, since his original comic series and until his newfound prejudice against meatbags, has always sought to show just how human that he is in the face of anti-robot discrimination. (see Machine Man, 1978)

This conflict was on full display in Tom King’s amazing Vision (2015) series which saw Vision feared for building a robotic family and trying to live a human life. While robots and AI based beings aren’t nearly as hated and reviled as mutants, Dan Slott’s Iron Man series has been building to this - a human/robot war spurred on by Tony Stark’s brother Arno. Though he’s not quite the Arno Stark from 1984’s Iron Man 2020, he still sees a future in peril from an as of yet unknown technological threat.

Pete Woods opens this book with Arno having a nightmare in the form of a planet sized being that looks like they’re composed of circuits and death. Woods colors the lights of the creature with an eerie purple tone that accentuates its darker purple-ish exoskeleton. Arno appears almost as an insect by comparison as he floats towards this. All of this is made even creepier by Joe Caramagna’s use of stilted, robotic lettering to give the creature a cold and calculated voice of doom. When we do get a close up of Arno’s face, he is stricken with fear.

Arno’s been up to a lot in the background of Tony’s adventures in the Tony Stark: Iron Man series from the last year. He’s resurrected his dead parents sing the same method and technology that Tony did after Carol Danvers killed him (and she DID kill him), he’s taken up the mantle of Iron Man after Tony revealed himself to have been an advanced AI in the form of Tony Stark and he’s found himself a partnership with the money hungry Sunset Bain, who’s now in control of Stark Unlimited after Tony’s revelation. Arno’s been a busy man.

On top of all of this, spilling out of The Ultron Agenda, there’s a crisis among the people over the uprising of machines which Arno eggs on by calling even the most advanced ones lifelike simulations.Janet van Dyne tries to quell the fears and James Rhodes can’t be bothered to talk to the press as he also has robot matters to deal with. One of the first conflicts that Slott and Gage present us with is a hostage situation in which Life Model Decoys of the original Nick Fury try to liberate construction bots. Woods frames it as a dangerous situation with one of the LMDs holding the site manager as a human shield. The numbers of the LMDs look intimidating until Iron Man appears.

Pete Woods does an amazing job in revamping the original 2020 armor for the modern day. Arno looks like a terror with his almost Ultron like faceplate and even more ridiculously oversized gears as shoulder pieces. He retains the standard Iron Man colors and even homages the original golden legs by placing armor over the front of his legs. I would have preferred that all of the leg be gold, but Woods still does well with the redesign and the pose that he gives Arno when he appears - blowing the head off an LMD with lethal force.

Arno quashes this rebellion easily enough, but somehow all of the robots manage to escape. Tensions continue to rise and the same thing happens when anti-robot forces invade a secret robot bar and they manage to escape again. We then find out that one of the heads of the Robot Rebellion is Machine Man (Aaron Stack). Both Machine Man and Arno Stark were the feature characters in the original Iron Man 2020 story so it’s great that Slott and Gage recognized that and revitalized their history in this new story. The potential for their eventual conflict to end in much the same way is pretty tantalizing in my eyes as Machine Man defeats Arno at one point in that original story.

Though, I have to admit that both sides in this story have some NEFARIOUS ways of taking the fight to one another. In an effort to draw out the Robot Resistance, Sunset Bain and Arno blow up a robotics factory after buying it out. Woods draws Aaron with genuine shock and anguish as he watches the explosion on the screen and it really sells how much pain this is causing. After the broadcast, Sunset and Arno look at the rubble as a necessary evil to stop Stack and his followers.

In retaliation, however, Machine Man WIRES A BOMB TO A MATERNITY WARD. I’m usually on board with Robot Rights, even advocating for better AIs in sex dolls, but this is the thing that people are afraid of and Aaron is only stoking the flames of fear here. It’s a reckless move that won’t garner support for the Robot Rights Movement, if anything Arno is just going to fight back against Machine Man and the Resistance even harder out of fear of his nightmare.

Woods draws an amazing stare down between Machine Man and Arno, neither of them really having eyes to blink with. Machine Man gives Arno an ultimatum; either let him and the poor bomb disposal robot escape or the bomb goes off. In five panels, we see the character of both. We get ne close up shot of Arno’s plated eyes with rain pouring down on him and similar shot of Machine Man, then we get a third person perspective with the bomb on one side and Machine Man on the other. Arno takes the bomb and Aaron taunts him as he flies away. It’s tense and the lack of dialogue makes it far more serious than expected from the mostly comedy character that Machine Man has become.

Arno also tried to warn Aaron of what was coming, but I understand why he didn’t want to listen. For whatever reason Slott gave Arno a sudden-ish character change either in a recent Iron Man annual or a little while before a rogue AI invaded Tony’s eScape (2019?). Arno was initially helpful and supportive of his brother and robots like Jocasta, but then all of a sudden he became withdrawn and kind of a dick. This version of Arno had been locked away, unable to move without machines until Tony found him and tried to reintroduce him into the world (Iron Man, 2013), so maybe Slott and Gage are building on his use of the Extremis virus for movement to explain the change?

Alternatively, this is all just a way to retell the original Iron Man 2020 story as Arno inadvertently created the threat he went back in time to stop in that story because he refused to take a moment to see how damaging his actions were and that same recklessness is on full display here with Arno 2.0.

All in all, this story was pretty weird and fantastic. I doubt it will reach the heights of the philosophical masterpiece that is Nier: Automata in regards to it’s “can machines feel human too” themes, but Slott and Gage are doing their best and that gives us a fan story with lots of callbacks to the past. Pete Woods pencils, coloring and inking are phenomenal here and make this book visually appealing. His style and heavy hitting action give the proper weight that an Iron Man story needs and his updated 2020 Armor isn’t bad at all. This one is absolutely a high recommend.

#iron man #iron man 2020 #arno stark #tony stark #machine man #marvel comics #robot rights #dan slott #christos gage #pete woods #joe caramagna #comics #comic review

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mobius-prime · 4 years

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143. Sonic Super Special #12 - Sonic & Knuckles

Turnabout Heroes

Writers: Ken Penders and Karl Bollers Pencils: James Fry and Andrew Pepoy Colors: Josh and Aimee Ray

So this issue is a bit strange. As you can see, Zonic is up there being all sideways and whatnot, and while he doesn't actually appear in the first story, nonetheless we're invited by him to turn the book sideways to read it, as it's all rotated clockwise. We open to Sonic waking up confused in the hospital, with Dr. Quack and his friends standing over him. They ask him if he remembers anything, and he proceeds to give them a quick rundown of his life story, which seems like a strange thing to do until they hold a mirror in front of him - and, shockingly, he sees Knuckles' face! Meanwhile in Echidnaopolis a similar situation is happening with Knuckles, waking up to Julie-Su and his father and describing himself only to see Sonic's face in the mirror. Now what could have caused such a bizarre thing to occur?

Now I know what you're thinking. What the hell is original Robotnik doing up there? Well, essentially, this story exists in a really bizarre gray area in the timeline. Depending on where you look for the answer, it takes place anywhere in between StH#71 to KtE#29, which as you might have noticed, is a huge timeframe. No matter where you try to fit it in that gap, it doesn't make sense for a variety of reasons, ranging from Julie-Su's location during the plot, to Knuckles even having reunited with his father in the first place, to Sonic's growing knowledge of the new Robotnik's plans. Once Ian Flynn took over later in the comic, his opinion was that this issue couldn't have even taken place at all due to the discrepancies, but regardless, we'll be covering it and just pretending that somehow it makes sense.

The two body-swapped heroes decide they need to go to each other's homes and try to work out what has happened, so Sonic, in Knuckles' body, hops aboard a shuttle to the Floating Island with the other Freedom Fighters, while Knuckles, in Sonic's body, hops aboard a shuttle of his own with Julie-Su to Mobotropolis. However, before either of them get far, they're both shot down, Sonic's shuttle by a legion of swatbots (which look significantly upgraded from regular swatbots, but not quite like shadow-bots, though no one acknowledges their new intimidating design), and Knuckles' by the Dark Legion. Knuckles, climbing out of his downed shuttle and seeing Sonic's going down, realizes he can't glide as normal due to the body-swap, and instead picks up Julie-Su and uses Sonic's speed to race to Sonic's rescue. Everyone groups up just in time to face the combined threat of two evil fighting forces.

WhaaAAaaAAaat? You mean to say ROBOTNIK is BACK? Come on, Sonic, you've seen several different false comebacks by now, you shouldn't even be fazed at this point. Robotnik and Dimitri give the group an ultimatum - Sonic and Knuckles must surrender immediately, or else they will never swap their minds back into the proper bodies, and they'll also kill all their friends. Well that's a choice all right! Sonic and Knuckles allow themselves to be teleported to… uh… whatever facility their enemies happen to be in. Honestly, my assumption would have been that it was the orbital platform from Robotnik's comeback or something, but Sonic didn't give any indication that he'd ever seen it before when he and the others went up there to investigate the Robians' disappearance, so who knows where they actually are right now.

Sonic and Knuckles are forced to agree to go along for the moment, and are quickly teleported into the island's Chaos Chamber, with the Master Emerald (still containing a frozen Mammoth Mogul) inside. Knuckles is loathe to hand over the emerald since removing it will cause the island to fall, whilst Sonic is mostly just irritated at the idea of Knuckles getting to be in his totally awesome body forever. Robotnik and Dimitri watch a video feed of the two from their base, but just as Sonic and Knuckles touch the emerald the screen goes to static. Robotnik and Dimitri, suspecting treachery, immediately hit the button to bring the two back, and are surprised to see them holding the emerald after all. They gleefully instruct them to insert it into their Chaos-Cannon, and activate it for a test run on the Great Forest…

Who knows how the hell they faked such a large gemstone on such short notice - hell, maybe the Brotherhood made a fake copy for just such an occasion and hid it within the chamber somewhere - but the two heroes get to work beating their enemies up. Knuckles goes for Dimitri, who vanishes in a puff of smoke, and Sonic punches Robotnik only for Robotnik to explode violently, revealing himself to be a robotic duplicate. Gee, I'm sure that means that he was just a fake, and not a literal robot version of Robotnik himself, right? Sonic and Knuckles cheerfully walk out upon their victory, amiably arguing over whether it's cooler to be a hedgehog or echidna.

Zone Wars: Giant Robotno

Writers: Dan Slott and Karl Bollers Pencils: James Fry and Nelson Ribeiro Colors: Josh and Aimee Ray

We're back to the present now, with a story that actually fits into the timeline. Sonic is taking a day off to relax and get away from freedom fighting, fishing in a pond in the forest, when suddenly a shuttle emerges from an energy portal in front of him. A strangely-dressed being within informs him that she is Sally from another zone and needs his help, but Zonic then arrives and warns Sonic that this version of Sally, called Sallactor, is evil and trying to deceive him. He calls in the rest of her zone's Freedom Fighters, the Sonicaman: Chaos Ninja Team, who are basically dressed like Super Sentai heroes (fittingly, they're from the Sentai-Zone). Zonic is surprised to see Sonic sigh and walk away from the action, as the others defeat Sallactor and drag her back to their own zone, and Sonic says he's getting sick of all this inter-zone action, that he has a hard enough time keeping track of his own zone's shenanigans. He challenges Zonic, asking how he keeps track of it all and accusing him of using others to get what he wants.

Manipulative little bastard. Sonic goes along reluctantly, and finds himself in a city full of panicking Overlanders all running away from a gigantic, mutated Bunnie, fittingly called Rabbot-zilla. Of course, as soon as Sonic tries to turn around for answers, Zonic pops out of existence.

Sonic uses his super-speed to melt the asphalt under Rabbot-zilla's feet, gluing her to the ground, and this zone's version of Robotnik, who is of course just named Julian Kintobor and wears a white coat instead of red, runs up to thank him. He explains that he tried to stop her from rampaging with a robo-virus, presumably explaining her half-roboticized state, and points to a frozen, robotic Uncle Chuck looming over a different part of the city to show its prior effectiveness. He guiltily continues to recount how he had a hand in this entire disaster…

So to be clear, Knothole Island was clearly inhabited by sapient Mobians. Those aren't ordinary animals being mutated - they're wearing gloves and shoes the same as any other Mobian from Mobius Prime. This guy knowingly detonated an atomic bomb on an inhabited island, and he's trying to pretend like it was all an accident? Sorry, Kintobor, but I don't believe you one bit. He then built giant juggernauts which basically attempted to reenact Pacific Rim against the mutated creatures, but there just wasn't enough energy to power them, as the two halves of the split Chaos Emerald used in the experiment were left on the island inhabited by the mutants. Sonic decides to go along with his plan, using his own speed on a treadmill installed in one of the doctor's Jaegers, the Giant Robotno, a name which pretty much describes how I feel about this whole thing. Clearly Sonic isn't too thrilled about working with him, however.

He blasts off, using the robot's rocket feet to fly to Knothole Island, where he encounters all his friends as mutated monsters. He has no choice but to fight them in order to search for the emeralds, and happens to spot this zone's version of himself, mutated as well, with one of the emerald halves affixed to his chest. However, at that moment he's attacked by his mutated father, also with an emerald half in his chest, and tries to shove him away and block himself from being hit at the same time, clenching his fist as he does so.

Horrified, Sonic flies away from his dead father, as the mutant Sonic approaches and cries in grief. That's right! Sonic was accidentally forced to kill an alternate zone version of his own father to save everyone. That is brutal. Later that night, Sonic stands quietly and sadly next to Kintobor as he celebrates the acquisition of the emerald, saying he can finally protect his city properly, when Zonic shows back up to check on Sonic.

Zonic congratulates Sonic on a job well done as he drops him off back in his home zone, but Sonic angrily confronts him about having known all along that he would have had to kill his own father (albeit from a different zone) to save everyone, accusing him of not understanding how it feels to him right now. In response, Zonic simply takes off his helmet.

Is anyone surprised? Anyone? Did anyone not see it coming that the hedgehog-sized being named Zonic who constantly involves himself with, well, himself, was an alternate version of Sonic? He vanishes, leaving Sonic with even more questions, but alas, we'll have to delay those for now, as it's time to jump into the comic's adaptation of Sonic Adventure!

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sonic super special 12 #writer: ken penders #writer: karl bollers #writer: dan slott #pencils: james fry #pencils: andrew pepoy #pencils: nelson ribeiro #colors: joshua d ray #colors: aimee r ray

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lord-explosion-baku · 5 years

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Dancing’s Not a Crime (Unless You Do It Without Me) pt 13

Bakugou x fem!reader, Todoroki x fem!reader

You flirt and tease with a certain hotheaded classmate of yours without realizing how far it has escalated and someone gets a little jealous.

Warnings: swearing

A/N: I know it’s short but it packs a bit of a punch. Idk. Huzzah?

Part 12

You felt so guilty. Your best friend, Todoroki, wound up in the Hosu City hospital along with Izuku Midoriya and Tenya Iida and you had gotten mad at him for warning you to stay out of Hosu. What was wrong with you? Sure, you didn’t respond but you still got stupid and defensive about it and he didn’t deserve that. Not she he was in real danger. So you had to see him.

You smiled politely at a nurse and hoped that the shadows under your eyes weren’t too prominent. You didn’t sleep much the previous night. Bakugou had prodded you even more about your personal life and not willing to dive in to… any of that with him, you had to go home. Home was where a familiar Hizashi snored on the couch and Aizawa graded papers on the couch. You were sure that the smell of smoke still lingered on your clothes but you he didn’t bother asking about it, seeing the look on your face. He’d wait for another time.

When you laid your head to rest your thoughts were swarmed by that wretched man with the staples face said to you about your biological father. How he has been watching you. How you made him proud. The way you remembered his face haunted your dreams so you decided you’d stay up and that morning you found out that Todoroki was in the hospital.

You poked your head into the room you were told he was staying in.

“Woof!” Woof?!

Standing before Todoroki, Midoriya, and Iida was a man with a dog faced chief of police, Mr. Tsuragamae. You quickly shut the door but you didn’t walk away. You listened to him speak to your friends. He talked about the status quo and ethics, how heroes work alongside the police. He said something about how Endeavor, Manual, and Gran Torino, whoever that was, should be receiving punishments for the boys’ actions.

What… happened?

“Now wait a minute, if Iida hasn’t stepped in, Native would’ve been murdered,” Todoroki’s voice was stern but frustrated. “And if not for Midoriya both of them would be dead. No one else even realized that the Hero Killer has been in Hosu City. Are you saying we should’ve just stood by and watched people die?” What? The Hero Killer?

“So it’s okay to break the law as long as it goes your way?”

“But sir, isn’t it a hero’s job to save people?” Todoroki barked back.

Mr. Tsuragamae sighed. “This is why you’re not a full

Fledged pro yet. It’s obvious the UA and Endeavor haven’t been teaching you nearly enough. What a shame.”

“You damned mutt,” Todoroki growled back. His pent up rage was getting the best of him again. You closed your eyes.

And aged voice cut him off and then the police chief continued to explain that he was going to give them an option of keeping this under wraps so save three promising careers. He didn’t want them in the press and Endeavor was going to be credited for taking care of the Hero Killer.

“I know it’s not fair. You won’t be able to enjoy any of the fame and praise you would’ve received otherwise. But at least, allow me as the chief of police to thank you.”

You backed away from the door. You shouldn’t have heard any of that. You started to walk down the hall when the door creaks open and an elderly hero, Hosu City’s Manual, and the chief of police come out. You averted your eyes. You didn’t want them to know you had been eavesdropping. Mr. Tsuragamae woofed as he walked by you. You let out a shaky breath and look back at the door.

You poked your head through the door. Iida noticed you first and he stands, arm tucked into a sling. “L/N?”

Midoriya is sitting in his bed and his eyes widened at your presence. He looked like he injured his leg but he didn’t look nearly as bad as Iida.

Todoroki Met your gaze and you felt your throat tighten. “I’m… sorry. I- uh, got your text and…” you exhaled. “I’m sorry,” you said before leaving the room. What the hell were you thinking bathing in after that?

You were rushing down the hall when you heard him call to you. “Y/N, wait!” Todoroki sprinted after you and you turned and shake your head.

He put his hand on your shoulder and shook your head. “Dad told me you were in the hospital,” you began, tears starting to burn your eyes. “And with the attack on Hosu… with all those nomu… and the,” your voice is hushed, “Shouto, the Hero Killer?!” Your hand hovered over the patch on his face. “Sho…”

His eyes watched your face soften. His hand pushed some of your hair out of your face. You blushed, anxious that he would see the lack of sleep in your eyes. You wondered if he was going to say something about it.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he brushed the back of his hand against your cheek, leaned down, and kissed you.

His lips were soft as they grazed your own, pressing against you. You inhaled the familiar spearmint scent and wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing him back, deeper. It was nice… having him there, touching him, knowing he was alright. Knowing he was safe.

His hands reached around to the small of your back and pushed you closer to him and you wove your fingers through his bi-colored hair. He pulled away and your eyes fluttered open. The corner of his mouth tilted up and he kissed you once again, shorter.

The old man in the Hero suit past the two of you by carrying snacks. “Mehh, young love,” he muttered, shuffling on.

Todoroki turned his attention back to you. “I had to do that, Y/N. After last night… well, I don’t know what you heard-“

“Nearly everything,” you interrupted him, “but I won’t say anything to anyone. Are Midoriya and Iida alright?”

Todoroki exhaled. “I’m glad that at least you know… and yeah. Iida has some nerve damage in his arm and Midoriya… well he’s used to it, I think. But Y/N… two people could’ve been killed last night. It got me thinking that anything could happen at any time.”

“Yeah,” You half heartedly agreed, still taken aback by his kiss.

“I’m not going to give up on you, Y/N. You mean the world to me and until you tell me to stop… until you tell me to fuck off, I’m not going to stop loving you. I don’t care who stands in my way.”

You blinked at him, realizing who he was talking about. Oh.

He grinned. “How was your date?”

Oh no. Bakugou. ‘When I do kiss you… you won’t be thinking about him.’ Todoroki did it. He did it and you didn’t know how to feel. Your brows knitted together, the guilt you were feeling before only clinging heavier to the pit of your stomach.

Your mouth fell open. “It- it was…” what could you possibly say to that? You shook your head, incredulous at the situation you had gotten yourself in. It was unfair. You were so worried and a lot had happened to all of you. You shook your head again.

“I would apologize but it wouldn’t be sincere. I don’t regret this, Y/N.” His hand went to the back of his head. “I have to go though. Iida has had a rough couple of days… are you good for the bus fare?”

You can only nod.

“Okay. Well… seeing that I have to stay in the hospital today I won’t be able to make it to the cafe today. So… see you Monday?”

You stare at him. Again you nod and watch him go back to the room.

You stood there, silently and minutes pass before you finally make your way out of the hospital. Your phone buzzed in your bag and you don’t bother to see who it was.

Oh no.

THIS FIC IS DISCONTINUED. PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME FOR UPDATES.

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calliecat93 · 5 years

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RvB17 Episode 10 Review: Killing Time

Wasn’t last week fun kids? Nothing like Wash having to accept being shot and Genkins tricking Chrovos into making him the Big Bag to get you pumped up, right? COMEDY GOLD, HUH?! So yeah, we’re in the home-stretch people. With our heroes one paradox away from saving time and Genkins now having ultimate power and preventing their efforts, what’s going to happen next?

Overview

Time resumes, and Wash is stunned that he didn’t get shot. He’s prevented from trying any further by Locus, who outright tells him in a pleading tone to not get shot. The shootout rages on as Wash tries to figure out what’s going on, no longer able to jump into past versions of himself. At this point, he realizes that Donut isn’t there… well not the Donut they know, S15 DOnut is there. If you recall, at this point Donut was in Chrovos’ domain with The Hammer and that’s where he is now… kinda. He isn’t in the past, he’s back in the present and he sees Chrovos’ now weakened state. She confirms that Genkins betrayed her and put them into this new situation… but since Genkins is now essentially going along her own plan, she also knows how to stop it.

The shootout ends and the S15 Reds and Blues and Locus go to deal with Temple, leaving Wash and the S16 versions alone. They try to figure out what to do now. Ont he upside, they now have a time gun again which Simmons tries to use… only to find that he can’t go through it. Yep, Genkins has completely blocked them from traveling through time. Wash does a brief test though, having Grif go into the hallway and open another portal which acts essentially as a view screen. Grif takes the moment to trick Simmons into running into it again, which provokes the latte rot shoot at him… which the bullets actually go through. Take a note of this.

With this knowledge, Wash opens a portal to reach Donut, who is utterly done with Chrovos as she tries to trick him into listening to her. He refuses, not at all impressed with her theatrics, as he tells her to tell him how to beat Genkins. Chrovos confirms that the only way is to use the weapon that beat her before: the club. What club you may ask? Remember the golf club hat Genkins had last season that the Gods gave Caboose? Yeah, that club was the one sued to defeat Chrovos, so it can be used on Genkins. Speaking of, Donut deducts that if he’s going through the same plan again, it means that he’s gone back to where he created the second crack way back int he beginning: Chruch’s first death in Season One.

Indeed, Genkins has possessed Church one more. But this time, he isn’t even bothering with acting. He’s acting far crazier and boastful than before, outright mocking Sheila so that she’ll shoot him and he’ll block the barrel as he did before. But after Simmons points out that objects can still go through the portal, Donut and Wash quickly agree on a plan. Wash uses the Time Gun, first to distract Genkins and then to load the club right into Sheila’s barrel. Genkins realizes this too late as Sheila fires, the club piercing straight into Genkins and pinning him into the canyon wall. His holographic form even fluctuates as a result.

If the intent was to kill Genkins however… not only does this not work, but this drives him utterly insane. Everything fluctuates before going white, and the Reds and Blues (minus Donut and Doc) find themselves in a new location. Genkins is there as well, ripping the club out of himself as the Reds and Blues open fire, but it fails. Genkins says that he brought to somewhere ‘’special’ and hopes that they like labyrinths. Which… well, if you all recall from Episode 13 of the last, it was explained that Burnstorm constructed one to seal Chrovos in. Not only that, but Kali said that they’d have to fight the demons and ‘shosts of history’ within it to reach the TIme God. As it turns out, she meant that in the most personal sense possible.

Tucker draws his sword… but then finds everyone gone, including Genkins. He yells for them to be brought back. We then cut to Sister, who is standing in the rain in front of a very worn down house. She knows this place, calling out for her mom and saying that she’s sorry for something that she did. Yes, we just seemingly saw the place where Sister and Grif grew up. But this isn’t the real place, just a vision. All of them are stuck in some kind of nightmare/bad memory, the floor under them piecing off. The episode ends with our heroes floating into the darkness, reeling in horror at the memory that they are trapped in.

Review

Holy fuck guys. I knew going in that this episode was going to hurt like Hell. But… damn, I was NOT expecting it to go the way that it went. That cliffhanger man. You can tell that Miles really is supervising Jason’s writing because that is RWBY levels of evil right there.

Okay, so before we talk about the ending, let's talk about everything else. Which really… there isn’t too much. Genkins has utterly cut off the Reds and Blues ability to time travel, even with the Time Gun. So they’re all stranded int he past… but somehow, Donut was put back int he present. Chrovos said that her and Donut’s timelines are connected, so I supposed that it either has to do with how Chrovos’ domain works or it’s due to Donut being revived via her essence. Either one makes sense and leaves him in an utterly vulnerable position since he can do nothing to help the others. It was nice to see him utterly done with Chrovos’ bullshit and refusing to fall for her pleading. Seriously, Dan Godwin’s delivery was A+ during those moments.

Speaking of Genkins… the guy has utterly lost it. He’s always been a dick since his introduction, but he seems to have just lost any sanity that he had. Might be due to the power he got, might just be that he’s gotten over-confident. Either way, he’s not even trying to play along anymore. He has ultimate power. He is essentially time itself. He doesn't have to act like Church anymore since he can now do whatever he wants. It feels like he’s having a Felix-esque breakdown, only control over the situation hasn't escaped him yet… mostly. He did plan properly on blocking the guys time travel efforts… but utterly neglected to realize that they can still send objects. As such, he gets brutally stabbed by his own golf club. Which damn, that looked brutal. On par with Biff in S15, only Genkins deserved it. Big time.

But of course, it doesn’t work. Which leads us to that ending. Ho boy that ending! So the labyrinth was mentioned back in S16 as the place where they kept Chrovos. So this is likely right under where Chrovos and Donut are right now. First, I am annoyed at the lack of a treadmill, dang it! Second, it’s an awesome design. IDK if they made it or it’s a Halo 5 map, but damn it is perfect. Then… there is what this place does. So it’s not 100% clear, but it looks like that Genkins has trapped everyone in some kind of nightmare/worst memory scenario. It’s hard to say which one, but considering how Kalirama described it before… yeah, this makes sense.

So far we’ve only seen Tucker and Sister’s scenarios, but they’re pretty damn brutal. Tucker’s isn't too much, just him being left alone and demanding his friends back. Which fits his issues, especially after reliving the loss at Crash Site Bravo. But then we have Sister’s, and holy fuck. So assuming that the house we see is the one where she and Grif grew up… damn. We all knew that their childhood sucked, but this is the first glimpse of it we’ve gotten in canon and… damn. But then we have Sister calling out to her mom, saying sorry and that she ‘shouldn’t have left’ and stuff along those lines. Is she talking about leaving to find Grif? Was her mother against it? Or is it something else? Whatever the reason, not only does this open a more serious side to Sister’s character that hasn’t been touched on, but really raises a lot of questions about Sister and her mom, and in turn maybe Grif as well. We’ll see if it goes any further.

It’s hard to say for anyone else. I’m really hoping that these don’t turn out to be jokes. I can live with Lopez’s being a joke (cause let's be real, just being among the others is his nightmare) and maybe even Sarge. But I feel like this is a golden opportunity for the others. It’s a good chance to look into their psyche like never before, even just for a little while. I already think of several different scenarios for Grif alone. As for how they’ll get out of it… best I can think is Donut somehow finds out and is forced to trust Chrovos in order to save them. I kinda hope they get out of it and beat the shit out of Genkins, but we’ll see. Huggins could also maybe get the Cosmic Powers if she goes back to when she had just been Black Hole’d. Only time will tell. Either way… yeah, we’re in for one Hell of a ride.

Final Thoughts

This was one Hell of an episode. It left me stunned. Like… S16 finale stunned. But it was a super fun ride and ended on one Hell of a cliffhanger that’s already making the wait for next week unbearable. We have two episodes to go, and still so much ahead of us. I can't say that I’m ready for it, but hey I’ve made it this far. Great episode, and can’t wait for next time!

#rvb #rvb17 #rvb spoilers #rvb reviews #callie reviews

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unabashedly-here · 6 years

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Part 2

Ever since the start of the school year, everyone had been talking about Homecoming and who’s going with who. You were too focused on your studies to truly care about the dance. After all, you had to start off with the best grades possible so you wouldn’t have to try to raise your grade by the last semester. Of course, you knew you would probably go, but you just assumed that you would go with friends, like Ned, MJ, and Peter. That was your plan until the very last minute.

A couple of weeks before the dance, your worst fear about Homecoming came true. Last year, after rejecting his advances, a boy in your grade, Dan, continued to flirt with you throughout the whole year. After a while, you suspected that he just wanted you to say yes since he had never been rejected in his life. That or he enjoyed seeing you flustered. Either one, he was never too serious and was respectful towards you after you denied his offer of countless dates, so you didn’t treat it very seriously. You figured he would find someone who actually wanted to go out with Dan and he’d leave you alone.

Unfortunately, when you closed your locker, your eyes met his brown ones. His skin was still tan from whatever vacation he went on over summer break and his blonde hair was just messy enough to be considered cute. Even so, you found yourself preferring brown hair and his eyes were not warm enough. When he caught your attention, Dan smiled charmingly. “Y/N, you look very lovely today.” You involuntarily turned red at the compliment and thanked him quietly. “So I was thinking, since we both don’t have plans for Homecoming, that you’d give me the honor of being your date?”

Not particularly wanting to go to the dance with him, you thought of multiple excuses that went through your head. They mostly sounded too ridiculous, meaning Dan would continue trying to convince you to be his date. Before you could stop yourself, you mentioned casually, “I have plans.”

His eyebrow rose slightly. “With friends or a date?”

You backed yourself into a corner and you knew it. If you said friends, he wouldn’t back off. He’d only make a comment about how having a date is more socially acceptable and all that crap your mom seemed to think. No one had asked you to Homecoming, so he would know you were lying if you didn’t say a name. Glancing around a bit, your eyes landed on one of your good friends, Peter Parker, at his locker. As far as you knew, he didn’t have a date and was planning on going with you, Ned, and MJ. He would be okay with this, you told yourself, especially since the only alternative is feel so guilty that you go with Dan to the dance. Peter mentioned many times that he thought Dan was being creepy and should just stop since you are clearly not interested.

Looking at Dan, you stated confidently, “I have a date. Peter Parker is taking me.” Just as you had hoped, Dan backed off, not without making a comment that, if something happened, you should call him. He was a good guy, if not a bit persistent, and he knew when to stop. Letting out a sigh of relief, you looked at Peter before approaching him. His eyes met yours and, with a smile, he asked, “Did Dan actually take no for an answer?”

“Uh, yeah,” you replied nervously, “And I just want to apologize, since it was the first thing that came to mind. He laid off because I told him I had a date.” You paused, hoping he would understand what you were hinting at, but Peter remained looking clueless. “I said you were taking me and I’m super sorry for dragging you into it, but I just assumed we were all going as friends so it wouldn’t hurt to tell him you were my date-”

Peter interrupted your rambling with a laugh. “Y/N, it’s okay. I can be your date to Homecoming. I don’t mind, really.” With a little smile, Peter said goodbye and left you with your heart beating faster than it should be. You were a little shocked at how calm he seemed, but remembered how odd Peter had been acting recently.

At school, Peter might have acted calm about taking you the dance and he truly didn’t mind. To be entirely honest, he was a little disappointed that he couldn’t even plan to ask Liz. He probably wouldn’t have done it so it was nice to know he had a date. Besides, he knew that, if you didn’t already have a date, Dan might’ve been your only option and that didn’t sit well Peter. Being an escape from someone else didn’t make him feel very good either. His disappointment kept growing slightly as the week went on.

When he and Ned got home from Washington D.C., Peter asked him to hang out so they could talk about where he was during the competition. His mood was considerably better after the few interactions he had with Liz on the trip and he rambled about it as they started to rebuild the Lego Death Star at his apartment. “Did you see the way she was looking at me? She looked at me like I was her hero.”

“Well, you did save her from falling down an elevator shaft,” Ned agreed, “Too bad you can’t tell her that it was you.” Ned had come to terms that people wanted to hurt or even kill Peter just for being Spiderman, so it wasn’t as cool as he originally thought.

“No, but the thing is this conversation we had when I was myself before I had to leave,” he said absentmindedly, “I don’t know. Maybe she would have gone to Homecoming with me.”

Once you heard about what happened at Washington D.C., you immediately rushed to Peter’s apartment. A frantic Aunt May hugged you when you entered, muttering about how worried she was for Peter. You really suspected that she just needed someone to hug and you gladly complied. Finally, she let go of you with a teary smile. “Y/N, Peter is lucky to have a friend like you. Go, talk to them. I’ll be fine.”

“Thank you, May,” you said with a small smile. This whole situation had shaken you more than you’d like to admit. Hearing that the school trip had gone awry made your stomach drop. Frankly, you weren’t feeling well until the bus dropped off everyone in New York and everyone was deemed safe, courtesy of Spiderman. No one knew why Spiderman was at D.C., but thank goodness he was. Walking towards Peter’s room, you were about to knock when you heard your name through the thin walls.

You hesitated on listening in, but your curiosity got the better of you. When you heard your name, it was Ned talking. “Whatever. You’re taking Y/N anyway. To keep Dan away, remember?”

“Yeah,” Peter replied, obviously distracted from the actual conversation, “But, I mean, it’s always that ‘what would have Liz said if I asked her to Homecoming’, you know?” He mumbled a few other words, but you guessed they had something to do with not being able to do what he had planned.

Hearing his words made you freeze. Of course Peter wasn’t willingly taking you to the dance. You forced him into it and therefore made him cancel his own plans. How desperate must you seem to him to coerce him into going to a stupid dance because you couldn’t tell a boy no? You didn’t even ask his permission before you told Dan. Before you could get out of there or, at least, compose yourself from the flushed mess you were becoming, Peter’s door opened to reveal those warm brown eyes filled with concern.

“Y/N?” He asked with a tired voice, “What’s up?” As his eyes focused, he noticed how startled you acted and how, he didn’t know, betrayed you looked. “Is everything okay?” Finally, he figured out what must have happened and his eyes widened slightly. “Did you hear…?”

Managing to compose yourself a little, you quickly stuttered, “N-n-no! I had only come to see if you’re alright.” Quickly looking over him, you offered a weak smile. “You’re a-alright.” Even if you tried to convince him everything was alright, Peter saw how you didn’t keep eye contact. “Uh, about Homecoming, I didn’t consider your own p-p-plans and I don’t want to barge in, of course.” Your stuttering became more prominent as you took a few steps towards the living room. “I’ll be g-g-good. Really, it’s all good, Peter.”

Peter took a step towards you. “Y/N, I don’t-“

“Peter,” you repeated before reaching the door, “It’s fine.” Still refusing to look him in the eye, you left the apartment and didn’t look back until you reach your own. You locked yourself in your room, feeling dejected and almost gross. Of course, Peter wouldn’t willingly take you to the dance when he thought that Liz might say yes. She was the perfect girl in every way and you couldn’t even try to hate her. Sighing, you glanced at your Homecoming dress that you and your mother spent a whole afternoon finding. You couldn’t even imagine what she would say if she found out you didn’t have or -more accurately- lost a date to Homecoming. Maybe you wouldn’t even go.

The next day, you avoided Peter, Ned, and MJ all day and therefore avoided further embarrassment. It wasn’t hard to avoid Peter or Ned since both of them seemed to have their own little secret they’re not telling anyone else. You’d managed to avoid practically everyone until 8th period. MJ and you shared Honors English and she sat next to you. Without looking up from her book, MJ stated clearly, “Peter wouldn’t have minded going to the dance with you. He would have said yes even if you weren’t trying to avoid Dan. You weren’t twisting his arm or anything.”

Her words helped, but you still couldn’t look at her without your cheeks flushing. You didn’t say anything in return, but offered a small smile so MJ knew you appreciated it when the teacher walked in. As you listened to the teacher drone on about To Kill a Mockingbird, which half of the class didn’t read, you got the strangest feeling of someone looking at you. MJ was pretending to look through the book, while she was really reading her own book. Turning your head slightly, your eyes widened when your eyes met Dan’s in the back of the room.

He smiled cheekily and even waved when the teacher turned his back. Shaking your head, you smiled nonetheless before turning back around. MJ, who had seen the whole encounter out of the corner of her eye, frowned slightly and tried to catch your attention, but wasn’t able to. You left the classroom the second class was over so you could stop at your locker and leave quickly.

Of course, your master plan was thwarted when you made eye contact with Dan and didn’t immediately look away. He smiled, only that time, it didn’t feel like a flirty one. “I heard about what happened,” Dan said softly, not trying to make a big deal out of it, “With Parker, I mean.”

“Yeah,” you replied flatly. Your cheeks were already flushed as you remembered how embarrassing it was for a date to ditch you before the dance even began. Still, it was all your fault for putting him in the situation.

For the first time since you knew him, Dan looked almost nervous. He bit his lip and thought about what he should say next. “I don’t know what you want, but I think that is a dick move for someone as nice as you. This is probably the last thing you want to hear. Still, if you want to go with someone, we can go together.” A light blush covered his cheeks as he added, “As friends.”

Looking at this whole new side of Dan, you inquired, “Then the flirting is done?”

“The flirting is done,” Dan reaffirmed, “Besides, like I could ever compete with Penis Parker.”

“Don’t call him that,” you said instinctively, “And it’s not like that between us. We’re just friends.” There was no denying the relief you felt when you heard that the flirting was done. You even felt a bit grateful that Dan asked you so politely. You liked him better when he wasn’t so cocky or cheeky about everything. Maybe what you saw was just an act the whole time.

Quickly writing your phone number down on a piece of scrap paper, you tore it out and gave it to him. “This is not a date,” you repeated, “Friends?”

Taking the piece of paper, Dan stated with a small smile, “Friends.”

The next few days before Homecoming, you noticed that Peter wasn’t acting like himself. You haven’t spoken to him since he caught you outside his door, but that doesn’t mean MJ or Ned haven’t tried. He occasionally texts you, but he knew that you wouldn’t talk to him properly until you moved on from this. Glimpses of his old self were back. It was almost like before he got all secretive and distanced himself from everyone.

Of course, you heard that he ended up asking Liz. People were shocked that she said yes, but you would have been surprised if she actually said no. Peter is a great guy with adorable features that you almost couldn’t say no to. You didn’t know if he had heard about who you were going with, but you could only assume that he had.

Avoiding Peter only made you realize just how much you wanted him in your life, even if he didn’t think you were anything but a friend. Liz was lucky to have him. You couldn’t hate him for liking someone else, especially when you could see why he would. The weeks without him only helped you accept the fact and you knew that, maybe after Homecoming, you might be able to talk to him again.

The night of Homecoming came before you were emotionally ready, but, physically, you could pass as a functioning human being. You waited in the living room with your ecstatic mother and a little rose for Dan’s coat. The horrible thought of Dan standing you up crossed your mind. He’d laugh about how stupid you were, falling for his little act and finally agreeing to go out with him. You bit the inside of your lip as you imagined what your mother might say.

A sharp knock brought you back to reality and your mother opened the door with a smile. She quickly introduced herself before glancing at you. It was obvious she was impressed with the guy you were going to Homecoming with. Dan looked at you and smiled comfortingly, which you returned out of relief. His brown eyes met yours and, no matter how hard you tried, they couldn’t compare to Peter’s. Dan opened the box where your corsage was and waited for your mother to grab her camera. “Are you ready?” He asked politely.

It was a question with a hidden meaning, of course, but you smiled and forgot about Peter’s perfect eyes. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

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