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horeformilfs · 3 months

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Sacrifices in the Name of Love

Alcina Dimitrescu X Fem!Reader

TW: Death, Grief, Suicide, Afterlife

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In the dimly lit library of the imposing castle, Alcina Dimitrescu and Y/N sat with their daughters, wrapped in an atmosphere of warmth and love. The crackling of the fireplace echoed the coziness that enveloped the family. Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela, the adoring daughters, reveled in the presence of Y/N, a figure they cherished beyond words.

Five years of togetherness, a year and a half of marriage—their bonds were woven into the very fabric of their existence. Y/N, with the extraordinary ability to shapeshift into various animals, brought a unique enchantment to their lives. Yet, little did they know that this enchanted evening would soon unravel into a heart-wrenching tale.

The tranquility shattered when news reached Alcina that an intruder, Ethan Winters, had breached the castle's defenses. Panic etched across her regal features as she made a fateful decision. "Bela, Cassandra, search the castle," she commanded, concern shadowing her face. Daniela, the youngest, was to remain in the library—a sanctuary now marred by impending danger.

As Alcina and Y/N locked the library door behind them, a silent understanding passed between the two. Y/N, determined to protect her newfound family, insisted on aiding the search. Alcina's protests fell on ears attuned to a different calling. "I'm not just a human," Y/N whispered, conviction in her eyes, a testament to the depth of her sacrifice.

They parted ways, promises of a reunion in two hours hanging in the air like fragile threads. Alcina watched Y/N disappear into the labyrinthine corridors, her heart heavy with worry. The castle, once a haven, now echoed with the haunting uncertainty of what awaited them.

As time trickled away, the library stood witness to Alcina's silent vigil. The crackling fireplace no longer whispered tales of warmth; instead, it mirrored the flickering hope in Alcina's eyes. In the looming darkness, the pages of their family's story turned, uncertainty etching its narrative, and the once blissful haven transformed into a poignant waiting room for the unknown.

The echoes of the castle seemed to taunt Alcina as she ventured into its cold, stone corridors. Panic clung to her like a suffocating shroud, the seconds ticking away like the beats of an anxious heart. Desperation etched her regal features as she searched for any sign of Y/N or the intruder who threatened their sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Y/N's search led her to the grand dining room, where the opulence of the setting clashed violently with the impending tragedy. As she prowled through the room, a sudden gunshot pierced the air, sending shivers down her spine. The ominous sound drew her towards the kitchen, where an unthinkable sight awaited her.

The once pristine kitchen now bore the scars of a violent struggle. Bela, noble and fierce, clashed with Ethan Winters amidst shattered glass. A broken window allowed the biting winter air to invade, casting an icy chill over the scene. Bela, weakened by the cold, succumbed to the inevitable, her form crystallizing into delicate remains that glistened in the pale light.

Y/N's heart shattered as she witnessed the loss of one of her beloved daughters. The air seemed to freeze around her, mirroring the unbearable grief that gripped her soul. She knelt beside Bela's crystallized form, her hands trembling as she reached out, a futile attempt to undo the irreversible.

Through tear-streaked eyes, Y/N whispered to the frozen remnants of Bela, words heavy with sorrow. "I'm so sorry, my love. I failed to protect you." The cold silence of the kitchen became a haunting backdrop to the lament of a grieving mother, a requiem for a life extinguished too soon.

Ethan, finally noticing Y/N, made a hasty retreat, leaving chaos in his wake. Y/N, shock still etched across her face, felt a surge of rage coursing through her veins. In that moment of anguish, she transformed into a sleek black panther, a manifestation of the darkness that consumed her soul.

The castle corridors reverberated with the haunting growls of the panther as it pursued the fleeing intruder. Y/N's once-human eyes now gleamed with an untamed ferocity, fueled by a mother's fury. The shadows embraced her as she raced through the labyrinthine passages, guided by an insatiable thirst for vengeance.

Amidst the darkness, Alcina continued her desperate search, unaware of the tragedy that had befallen one of their own. The castle, once a haven of love, now echoed with the anguished cries of a mother and the relentless pursuit of justice in the form of a vengeful panther, lost in the shadows of sorrow and revenge.

In the desolate corridors of the castle, Alcina's frantic search persisted, the weight of each footfall echoing her growing despair. Shadows clung to her like ghosts, haunting her every step as she traversed the cold expanse. Unseen and unheard, she pressed forward, her heart entwined with a mother's fear, an ominous premonition of impending loss.

Meanwhile, Y/N moved through the dimly lit halls, urgency propelling her towards the armory—a once sacred space now marred by the imprints of tragedy. As she entered, the scene unfolded before her like a macabre play, and the air thickened with a sense of foreboding.

Cassandra, the second of their cherished trio, fought valiantly against the unrelenting onslaught of Ethan Winters. Y/N's heart raced as she rushed to intervene, a desperate attempt to shield her daughter from the looming threat. However, in the cruel ballet of combat, Y/N found herself on the receiving end of Ethan's aggression.

Pain lanced through her, both physical and emotional, as the clash continued. The armory, once a bastion of protection, now witnessed the unraveling of familial bonds. Y/N's attempts to protect Cassandra ended in her own injury, the searing pain a visceral manifestation of the sacrifices made in the name of love.

In the midst of the struggle, Ethan, driven by a relentless determination, succeeded in breaking open a section of the castle wall. The frigid air rushed in, a harbinger of doom reminiscent of the winter's frost that claimed Bela and Cassandra's sister. Cassandra, weakened by the biting cold, succumbed to the same icy fate.

Y/N, her gaze fixed on Cassandra's crystallized form, felt the cold tendrils of grief tighten around her heart. Another daughter, full of strength and vitality, stolen away by the merciless hand of death. The echoes of Cassandra's struggle faded into the haunting silence of a life extinguished too soon, leaving Y/N to confront the suffocating void that now enveloped her.

Cassandra, in her final moments, summoned a defiant declaration that would etch itself into Y/N's shattered soul. "You won't escape. You're my prey," she declared, a testament to the unyielding spirit that defined their familial bond even in the face of tragedy.

Ethan, satisfied with his ruthless victory, departed, leaving Y/N alone in the cold, lifeless armory. In the depths of her grief, Y/N shapeshifted back into her normal form and approached Cassandra's crystallized remains. The air hung heavy with sorrow as Y/N gently touched the frozen surface, a futile attempt to convey love and warmth to a daughter now lost to the cruel embrace of eternity.

"Cassandra, my fierce, brave girl," Y/N whispered, her voice a fragile melody in the emptiness of the armory. Tears flowed freely as she cradled the crystallized form, the icy surface serving as a bitter reminder of the warmth that had been stolen away. In that moment, the castle seemed to echo with the haunting wails of a mother's grief, a sorrow that transcended the confines of stone walls and reverberated through the desolate corridors of their fractured family.

The library, once a sanctuary of familial joy, now stood as a silent witness to the unraveling tragedy that had befallen the Dimitrescu family. Y/N, heart heavy with grief, returned seeking solace, only to find that the tendrils of despair had reached even the sanctity of their haven.

Daniela, the youngest and the last flicker of hope, stood at the entrance, a determination etched across her delicate features. In the dim light, Y/N could see the spark of vengeance in her eyes as she pursued Ethan, the intruder who had stolen the warmth from their family.

With a frantic urgency, Y/N rushed after Daniela, the echoes of their footsteps resonating through the corridors like a somber drumbeat. As they approached the confrontation, the air thickened with tension, a palpable manifestation of the impending tragedy.

Ethan, sensing the pursuit, reached a lever that controlled the castle's roof. With a cold determination, he pulled it, the mechanisms groaning as the roof began to open. The moonlight spilled into the room, casting an eerie glow over the impending confrontation.

In a swift and calculated move, Y/N shapeshifted into the black panther, a creature of darkness and ferocity, and leaped at Ethan, a desperate attempt to protect her last remaining daughter. The clash of forces echoed through the library as Y/N fought to shield Daniela from the looming threat.

The battle between Ethan and Y/N raged on, each blow a painful reminder of the losses suffered. Yet, in the cruel ebb and flow of the confrontation, Ethan managed to subdue Y/N, leaving her weakened and helpless. With a sinister grin, he turned his attention to Daniela, a defenseless prey caught in the cruel machinations of fate.

Y/N, injured and restrained, watched in helpless horror as Ethan approached Daniela. The air turned colder, the moonlight casting an ethereal glow on the scene. Daniela, the last vestige of their once vibrant family, pleaded for mercy, her voice a fragile melody of desperation.

"I don't want to die," Daniela whimpered, her eyes wide with fear as the frost of impending doom gripped her. Y/N, unable to shield her daughter from the inevitable, felt the weight of despair settle like a heavy shroud.

Ethan, unmoved by the plea, carried out the final act of cruelty. Daniela's form slowly crystallized, the frost enveloping her in an icy embrace. In the deafening silence that followed, Y/N's heart shattered into irreparable fragments. The library, once filled with laughter and warmth, now echoed with the haunting stillness of a mother's grief.

As Ethan fled the scene once again, leaving behind a trail of shattered lives, Y/N, battered and broken, made her way to Daniela's crystallized form. The moonlight cast a melancholic glow on the frozen figure as Y/N spoke in a voice choked with sorrow.

"I've lost all of my girls," Y/N whispered, the words carrying the weight of a thousand tears. "In a matter of minutes, everything changed. I couldn't protect any of you."

The library, a silent witness to the tragedy, held the remnants of a family that had been torn apart in the span of a night.

The castle, once a haven of love and laughter, now stood as a desolate monument to tragedy. Y/N, bearing the scars of a shattered soul, sought Alcina, only to discover that her beloved had morphed into her formidable mutated form. The weight of despair pressed upon Y/N's heart as she ascended to the castle roof, compelled to witness the unfolding calamity.

The scene that greeted her was one of chaos and sorrow. Alcina, in her mutated magnificence, clashed with Ethan Winters, the intruder who had become the harbinger of their destruction. The moon hung heavy in the night sky, casting an eerie glow over the impending battle.

The clash between Alcina and Ethan felt eternal to Y/N, each blow resonating through the depths of her heart. The castle roof became a silent theater of agony, the air thick with the unspoken fear that their family's fate hung in the balance.

As the battle reached its crescendo, Ethan, relentless in his pursuit, gained the upper hand. Y/N, helpless in her distant observation, felt the tightening noose of despair. In a final act of cruelty, Ethan fired a bullet that found its mark in Alcina's majestic form. The once indomitable matriarch plummeted from the sky, a tragic descent that mirrored the crumbling of Y/N's world.

Heart pounding, Y/N ran to the spot where Alcina's body lay, a crystallized testament to the brutality of their assailant. The air was charged with grief as Ethan, having claimed victory, departed into the night. Y/N's eyes, swollen with tears, traced the crystalline outline of Alcina, her once powerful presence now reduced to a cold, lifeless sculpture.

Amidst the crystalline stillness, Y/N's trembling voice broke the oppressive silence. Kneeling beside Alcina's frozen form, she whispered words of heartache as if the cold sculpture could still hear her.

"Alcina," Y/N's voice quivered with a mixture of sorrow and longing. "I never imagined a world without you. How do I go on when everything that matterd crumbled around me?" Her fingers traced the icy contours of Alcina's face, a futile attempt to bridge the gap between the living and the crystallized memory.

Tears blurred Y/N's vision as she continued to pour her grief into the empty air. "Our daughters, Alcina, were the light of our lives. Now, they're gone, and I'm left here alone, surrounded by the remnants of a love that once bloomed so beautifully."

The castle, usually a grand and imposing structure, felt like a tomb encasing Y/N's agony. Her words hung in the air, carried away by the chill wind, a lament for a family torn asunder. The moon, a silent observer to the tragedy, cast its indifferent light on the broken tableau.

Y/N's hand rested on Alcina's crystallized heart, a futile hope that warmth might return to the lifeless form. "I don't know how to bear this emptiness, Alcina. I keep waiting for you to open your eyes, to tell me that this is just a nightmare. But the silence mocks me, and I'm left here drowning in the echoes of our shattered dreams."

The pain etched on Y/N's face deepened as she spoke, her words a raw confession of the unbearable loss she now carried. "I failed to protect them, Alcina. I failed you. And now, I'm left with nothing but the remnants of a love story that ended in tragedy."

As Y/N's sobs echoed through the desolate castle, a haunting answer resonated in the silent chambers—a love story, once vibrant and enduring, now reduced to the fragile threads of memories and frozen tears. The moon cast its indifferent glow over the scene, a celestial witness to the unraveling of a once-majestic love, now entombed in the cold embrace of crystallized despair.

The castle, now draped in the shadows of desolation, echoed with the haunting symphony of Y/N's grief. Alone amidst the crystallized remnants of her family, she felt the weight of sorrow crushing her spirit. The air, once vibrant with love, now hung heavy with the scent of despair.

Kneeling beside Alcina's frozen form, Y/N's tear-streaked face pleaded with the lifeless sculpture. "Alcina, my love, I don't know how to live in a world without you and our daughters. The emptiness is suffocating, and I can't bear the echoes of our shattered dreams."

The moon, a silent witness to her torment, cast an indifferent glow on the castle roof. In the oppressive silence, Y/N's decision crystallized—a desperate resolve born from the unbearable weight of grief.

She ascended to the roof, each step heavier than the last, as if the castle itself conspired to anchor her to the agony below. The cold wind whispered through the stone corridors, carrying with it the final lament of a soul pushed to the brink.

Alone on the desolate roof, Y/N gazed into the abyss below, the depths mirroring the void in her heart. She spoke, her voice a broken whisper carried away by the night. "Alcina, I hope you find peace wherever you are. I can't bear to live in a world without you and our precious daughters. I hope... I hope I see you again."

With those words, Y/N stepped to the edge, the precipice of her despair. The moonlight cast a mournful glow on her tear-streaked face as she looked into the abyss below. The chilling wind seemed to echo the finality of her decision.

A silent plea escaped her lips, a desperate hope that she might find the family she had lost. "I'm sorry," she whispered to Alcina, as if seeking forgiveness for what she was about to do.

In that moment, the castle, once a sanctuary of love, bore witness to the heartbreaking choice of a shattered soul. Y/N, her heart consumed by grief, let herself fall into the void below. The cold night swallowed her, and as she descended, she felt a fleeting sense of weightlessness—the burden of loss momentarily lifted.

But in that fleeting moment, regret mingled with the wind, and the abyss claimed her, leaving the castle roof as empty and desolate as the shattered remains of a once-beautiful family. The moon, still indifferent, cast its light on the vacant space, a witness to the tragedy that unfolded in the shadows of a once-grand castle.

In the surreal embrace of the afterlife, Y/N found herself in a realm that transcended the boundaries of the living. As she opened her eyes to an ethereal landscape, a gentle calm washed over her, replacing the oppressive weight of grief with an unfamiliar tranquility.

Walking through the otherworldly expanse, Y/N felt an indescribable sense of serenity. The air seemed to echo with the whispers of departed souls, and the surroundings bore a dreamlike quality. In the distance, she spotted familiar figures, and as she drew closer, her heart skipped a beat.

Bela, Daniela, and Cassandra, radiant and full of life, stood together as if untouched by the events of that fateful night. The warmth of their smiles mirrored the love that once defined their family. In an instant, Y/N's eyes welled with tears, and she felt an overwhelming surge of emotion.

Daniela, the first to notice her presence, turned with a gleeful exclamation. "Mamă!" A sweet melody that echoed with the joy of reunion. In a heartbeat, Daniela was followed by Bela and Cassandra, their laughter filling the air.

They enveloped Y/N in a joyous embrace, their presence a balm to the wounds of her grieving soul. The afterlife had bestowed upon them the essence of their former selves—their laughter, their warmth, and the unwavering love that had defined their familial bonds.

Tears streamed down Y/N's face as she held them close, the echoes of their laughter weaving a tapestry of solace around her. "My darlings," Y/N whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "I'm so happy to see you again. I've missed you more than words can express."

The girls, their eyes reflecting the purity of love, responded in unison, "We missed you too, Mamă."

In that ephemeral moment, the boundaries between grief and joy blurred. Y/N, surrounded by the embrace of her daughters, felt a profound sense of peace. "I'm so sorry," she confessed, the weight of guilt resurfacing. "I couldn't protect you. I failed you."

Bela, the eldest, touched Y/N's cheek with a gentle hand. "Mamă, there's nothing to be sorry for. We know you loved us with all your heart. That's all that matters."

Y/N's heart swelled with a mixture of gratitude and remorse. As they stood together, the wounds of the past night seemed to fade into insignificance. The girls, resilient in their love, reassured Y/N with their unwavering presence.

Y/N's heart fluttered with a mixture of joy and trepidation as she caught sight of Alcina in the distance. The reunion felt like a dream, yet the warmth that surged through her was undeniably real. Alcina, adorned in her regal grace, turned to face Y/N, and a flicker of surprise crossed her features.

The girls, sensing the need for a private moment, gracefully stepped away, leaving Y/N and Alcina alone in the otherworldly expanse. Y/N, overwhelmed by emotions, ran towards Alcina, and the moment their eyes met, the world seemed to fade into the background. Alcina's gaze held a mixture of astonishment and adoration as Y/N wrapped her arms around her.

For a moment, they simply held each other, the ethereal landscape bearing witness to a love that defied the boundaries of life and death. Alcina, her voice a soft whisper, uttered Y/N's name like a sacred hymn, "Dragă mea."

Y/N, feeling the familiar touch of Alcina's fingers gently caressing her cheek, looked into those familiar, mesmerizing eyes. Time seemed to stand still as Alcina, overcome with emotion, leaned in and kissed her with a tenderness that spoke of a thousand unspoken words.

Breaking the kiss, Alcina, her eyes searching Y/N's, questioned with a gentle urgency, "What did you do, my love?"

Y/N's gaze fell, the weight of her actions bearing down on her. She hesitated, reluctant to share the painful truth. Alcina, sensing her distress, gently guided Y/N's face to meet her gaze again. "Tell me, Dragă mea. What did you do?"

With a heavy sigh, Y/N admitted, "I did what was necessary."

Alcina, a furrow forming on her brow, persisted. "What do you mean, 'necessary'? What have you done?"

Y/N, her eyes clouded with sorrow, finally spoke the painful truth. "I did what I had to do to be with all of you again."

Alcina's eyes widened with realization, and she asked with a sinking dread, "You didn’t...?" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Y/N nodded, the weight of her confession hanging in the air. "Yes, Alcina. I couldn't bear the grief. I saw our daughters die, and I saw you fall. I couldn't find a reason to keep going without all of you."

Alcina's expression shifted from realization to profound sadness. She cupped Y/N's face, a mixture of love and sorrow in her eyes. "Dragă mea, you didn't have to do that. We could have found a way to be together again."

Y/N shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I couldn't endure the pain, Alcina. I needed to be with you all, even if it meant sacrificing myself."

Alcina, holding Y/N close, whispered words of solace. "Dragă mea, our love is eternal. You didn't need to go to such lengths. Now, we're together, but at what cost?"

"In my heart, Alcina," Y/N said, her voice filled with a quiet resolution, "I wouldn't have changed a thing. The pain was unbearable, but the thought of an eternity without you and our daughters was even more excruciating. I'd make the same choice again, even knowing the price."

Alcina, her eyes reflecting the melancholy of their circumstances, held Y/N tighter. A realm of both reunion and reckoning, became the stage for a love story that defied the limitations of time and mortality. In the embrace of eternity, Y/N and Alcina navigated the delicate dance between joy and sorrow, their hearts entwined in a bittersweet symphony that echoed through the ethereal expanse.

"I wish you hadn't felt you had to bear such a burden alone, Dragă mea," Alcina whispered, her voice a soft lament. "We could have faced the challenges together, found another way."

Y/N, tears glistening in her eyes, met Alcina's gaze. "Alcina, the pain was consuming me. I couldn't fathom a future without all of you. The grief, the guilt—I needed to escape it."

Alcina, understanding the depths of Y/N's torment, kissed her forehead gently. "But at what cost, my love? Our eternity together marred by the sacrifice you made."

Y/N's voice wavered with emotion. "I thought the pain would end if I could be with you again. I was wrong, Alcina. The pain lingers, but at least I have you now."

Alcina's eyes bore the weight of shared sorrow as she spoke, "Dragă mea, our love is eternal, but the wounds you carry... I wish I could have spared you from this pain."

Y/N nodded, her tears falling freely. "Alcina, I would endure a thousand lifetimes of pain to be with you and our daughters. The love we share transcends everything, even the darkness that brought us here."

Alcina, caressing Y/N's cheek, spoke with a tenderness that echoed through them. "My love, you mean everything to me. I would traverse the realms of existence to be with you, to shield you from the burdens you carried alone."

Y/N, leaning into Alcina's touch, whispered, "And I would find a way back to you, no matter the obstacles. Our love is a force that defies the boundaries of time and space."

Alcina's eyes shimmered with unspoken affection. "Dragă mea, you are my eternal flame. No matter the trials we face, we will endure them together."

In the embrace of paradise, where love transcended the boundaries of time and mortality, the familial reunion continued to unfold. As Y/N and Alcina exchanged tender words, the ethereal landscape witnessed the return of the three beloved figures who had once again become an inseparable part of their shared eternity.

Bela, Daniela, and Cassandra approached with an otherworldly grace, their eyes reflecting the joy of being reunited with their parents. In a scene that mirrored the warmth of their past family gatherings, they enveloped Y/N and Alcina in a circle of love.

Y/N, overwhelmed with emotion, gently reached out to hold Bela and Daniela close, one in each arm. The girls, in turn, pressed themselves against Y/N, a collective hug that transcended the physical and embraced the boundless depths of their connection.

Alcina, standing beside Y/N, extended her arms to encircle both Y/N and Cassandra. The afterlife became a tableau of familial love—a tapestry woven with the threads of joy, sorrow, and an eternal bond that defied the passage of time.

In the tender embrace, Y/N kissed the heads of Bela and Daniela, their presence a balm to the wounds she once thought were irreparable. The soft murmur of love filled the air as Y/N spoke, her voice carrying the weight of their shared journey.

"I never thought I'd hold you both like this again," Y/N whispered, her eyes glistening with tears of gratitude. "I missed you more than words can say."

Bela and Daniela, in the comforting embrace of their parents, felt the warmth of love that transcended the trials they had faced. A sanctuary for their eternal reunion, echoed with the melodies of a family made whole once more.

Turning to Alcina and Cassandra, Y/N continued, "And you, my loves, are the pillars of my existence. I promised myself that I'd never let you go again. We're a family, bound by a love that defies even the boundaries of life and death."

Alcina, holding Y/N and Cassandra close, spoke with a solemn tenderness, "Our family is eternal, and nothing can tear us apart. We've faced the darkness, and now, we embrace the light of our enduring love."

The Dimitrescu family shared a moment of profound unity. Y/N, surrounded by the warmth of her daughters and Alcina, felt the echoes of grief dissipate, replaced by the timeless embrace of love. The afterlife, once a realm of solitude, had become a haven for their eternal reunion—a sanctuary where the threads of familial love were woven into the very fabric of existence.

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traincat · 5 years

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Is there a difference for you between Ned Leed's abuse if Betty and Harry's abuse of Liz during his Goblin breakdown?

I’m kind of boggling a little at this question because, yes? Absolutely? I have to believe this is either just trolling or that you’re very unfamiliar with the source material, anonymous, because the distance between these things is Grand Canyon vast. I know the MCU may have convinced people that Ned Leeds is a genuinely important character by way of its blatant theft of Miles Morales’ best friend Ganke Lee but: he’s not. And even if he was, very few Spider-Man characters can measure up to Harry Osborn in matters of importance, and especially very few male characters. Just on a level of characterization, Harry Osborn is fully realized in a way Ned Leeds isn’t, and comparing their behavior doesn’t strike me as fair at all, especially given Harry’s backstory. We know why Harry acts the way he did during his second Green Goblin breakdown, we’re inside his head, and it makes all the difference. If we’re looking at the specific Ned!Hobgoblin story, I think if you wanted to compare Ned’s actions towards Betty against Flash’s actions towards Sha Shan, that would be a more valid comparison, because as much as I love Flash and as much as I blame the book’s inconsistent writing on the fact that they were trying to pull a bait and switch on the “is FLASH the Hobgoblin? Is NED the Hobgoblin? Oooh tune in next week” plot, Flash’s actions towards Sha Shan are terrible. But Flash, though this was woven into the narrative at a later date, like Harry is also a victim of abuse at the hands of his father, and I don’t really think you can compare Ned’s brainwashing plot to either of them. This isn’t to say that being the victim of abuse excuses further abuse, but it is to acknowledge that the cycle of abuse is a thing, and furthermore that these are fictional characters, and that this abuse informs their actions in ways that make them fully fleshed out and realized, and to say that the arc you’re pointing is explicitly about the breaking of that cycle of abuse, and that Harry pays the ultimate price for doing so, in a way that Ned’s actions – and Ned’s death – absolutely do not. Look, I don’t dislike the storylines surrounding Ned as the Hobgoblin, but with the exception of Spider-Man vs Wolverine, they’re really not examples of the series’ best writing. Harry’s final descent into the Green Goblin, meanwhile, is in my opinion one of the best Spider-Man stories ever written.

I think a lot of Spider-Man is about abuse, when you look at the material. Abuse of power, abuse of people you have power over. And I think this abuse aspect gets overlooked because the main character, Peter, isn’t the one being abused. By contrast to much of his supporting cast, Peter has an extremely loving upbringing, with very loving parents in the form of Ben and May Parker. But everything in Spider-Man, ultimately, comes down to “with great power comes great responsibility.” This is the difference between Peter and the people Peter fights against: he fights to use his power responsibly, in all areas of his life. And if we’re going to bring in the biggest example of the opposite of that, it’s Norman Osborn. Norman abuses his power, and Norman abuses his son. The Child Within (Spectacular Spider-Man #178-184, follow through to Harry’s death in Spectacular Spider-Man #200) and its aftermath, the story you’re referencing, is explicitly about child abuse: Vermin’s father’s sexual abuse of him literally manifests in his becoming a monster. Harry’s father’s abuse of him does the same. It’s horrible, it’s intricate, it’s fascinating, and it is very, very well written, in a way I cannot say that any of Ned’s actions are.

(Spectacular Spider-Man #180) Harry is so completely unable to deal with two things – that his father abused him, and that his father killed Gwen – that he literally needs to create a mental construct of Peter to confirm these things for him. He cannot do it on his own, so he recreates the person that he, ultimately, trusts more than himself to affirm it for him, and even then he can’t accept it because it’s too damaging. Norman’s claws go so deep and are so poisonous that Harry cannot confront these things on his own. Harry does terrible things, because Harry is in terrible pain. If Ned is in pre-existing pain, we don’t see it. And Harry truly loves Liz and their son in the midst of that suffering. The comics clearly show that:

(Spectacular Spider-Man #180)

(Spectacular Spider-Man #184)

(Spectacular Spider-Man #189)

(Spectacular Spider-Man #190) The Betty-Ned dynamic is very uneven: Betty tries to leave. Ned drags her back. Betty tries to communicate. Ned grows more distant than ever. She’s essentially trapped; does she love him or is she just so desperate for stability that she needs her marriage to work? That’s not the question with Liz. Liz loves Harry, in spite of everything.

(”I’m sorry, Liz – for everything. (…) You be good to Mommy now, Normie. Don’t be like Daddy. Don’t ever be like Daddy.” – Spectacular Spider-Man #204) The whole point is the breaking of the cycle of abuse; Norman abused Harry, but Harry refuses to abuse his own son. It’s why it annoys me so much when current writers act like Normie’s doomed to villainy no matter what, that he’s a bad seed, that this is irreversible, because it goes against what this entire storyline works to establish.

My complaint about Ned’s storyline is that they wrote the character as explicitly abusive and then backtracked on it – he was brainwashed, he loves her, so it’s all okay, it wasn’t really his fault, it excuses his behavior, and it’s unnecessary. If a lot of Spider-Man is about abuse, then the stories have a responsibility to take that abuse seriously. The Child Within and the death of Harry Osborn take it seriously; Ned’s storyline brushes it off as a side effect of brainwashing. Harry’s storyline here is completely different, in that it acknowledges the abuse Harry suffered, and the way that abuse poisons everything around him, that it provides context for Harry’s action and that Harry himself suffers for those actions. Harry’s own heroism at the end saves not only Peter, but his son and Mary Jane at as well – at the cost of his own life. Harry does his best to make amends with Liz upon his return: Harry cures her step-brother, Mark Raxton, the Molten Man, shortly after his resurrection, and he does it because it’s the right thing to do, because he can help, not because he expects her to get back together with him immediately. He doesn’t harangue or harass Liz for moving on. Harry’s resurrected for over 200 issues of Amazing Spider-Man before he and Liz do reconcile romantically. So yeah, I do think they’re totally, completely different stories.

#harry osborn #liz allan #ned leeds #marvel comics #traincat talks comics #*replies

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