#Not Hoco complaint

[destinyc1020]

For as much as the complaints are Z didn’t many lines in Hoco because she wasn’t white, the actress who did get the lines was Laura Harrier, who isn’t white either.

Laura got basic lines. I don't think she can act either btw lol 😂.... she was decent in HOCO, but anything OUTSIDE of that?? Lol. I really think it's the VOICE. That Valley Girl accent just doesn't work in most films unless you're trying to only play certain roles, I'm sorry. 😓

Idk what they were thinking putting her in a period piece lol 🤣

Anyway, Laura got more lines than Zendaya, but you know good and well that if Z was supposed to be Peter's love interest all along, if she had been WHITE, they would have at least developed her character SOMEWHAT, and at least made her a friend to Peter or smthg instead of giving her an "extra" role. 🙄😒

Just think about how most films (with a predom. White cast) are made when the film calls for a love triangle. Zendaya's character would have for sure gotten more lines.

The way they presented Michelle made it almost seem as though Sony/Marvel were worried that if things didn't work out with her, they were gonna scrap her in future films. I know that's not what was really going to happen since they swear she was MJ from the get go. But the way they presented her made it seem like they were afraid of backlash, and hid her true identity because of it. 🥴

[seek--rest]

what do you like and dislike about ffh

FFH is an average MCU movie and a bad Spider-Man movie that— to me— exemplifies everything bad about MCU Peter in a way that made HOCO worse in retrospect and is why NWH had to do so much heavy work in soft rebooting the franchise in the first place.

The Good

MJ had more to do in this movie than she did in HOCO which is a step up, but most of what happened with and around her is Bad. But, bare minimum she actually had speaking lines that went beyond (solely) quips so there’s that.

She was also in the FOS, albeit briefly and proved all our theories that she figured it out / knew his secret. I liked that.

The bridge kiss slaps sorry. It was completely unearned and everything leading up to that as a climax for them is Bad but the kiss itself? The music? The happy little skip? Chef’s kiss.

The Ned and Betty romance was cute and very high school. I liked it.

Flash Thompson was actually perfect in this movie. So many people can’t ever shut the fuck up about how HOCO Flash is “mean” to Peter and while he’s a bit of a dick, he’s still a dick in FFH but it feels more playful. The scraps of Peter looking unbothered as he jokes with him in the hotel, of Flash trying to talk to him on the bus (before Peter knocks him out), the PERFECT line of asking his driver where his parents are??? Tony Revolori you will be avenged.

Peter took hit after fucking hit in this movie and ✨ walked it off ✨ for all the iron boy jr complaints (which are mostly unearned from canonical context), Peter proves yet again that at the end of the day he does not and has never needed Stark’s tech and toys to get the job done.

THE BRIDGE SCENE WHEN HE ALMOST GOT SHOT POINT BLANK ARE YOU KIDDING?,,,?????

the final swing sequence at the end was nice

The Bad

where to start, idk maybe the entire premise I hate that Quentin Beck was a SI employee. Why. Why is he connected to Tony. Why is everything about MCU Peter Parker’s life gave to be fucking tied to Tony. If you’re going to do that, at least make it interesting and have Peter push back, question, wonder about Tony’s influence in his life rather than utter blind devotion and fan worship as a proxy for the audience

Also that— FFH was a palate cleanser for the audience post Endgame and Peter’s story suffers for it. Why is he an audience proxy. I fully believe MCU Peter, who saw Tony fucking die right in front of him, would be messed up about it. But from the narrative, that’s the only thing he’s messed up about. Not the fact that he died. Not that the world moved on. Not his own place in that world and with Spider-Man.

Not wanting to be Spider-Man is also really fucking stupid. “But seek didn’t that happen in SM2 and don’t you love that movie” yeah and that was for Peter’s motivations for what HE wanted in a way that built off the first movie, not out of fuvking nowhere and having to squeeze out subtext for why he went from being proud to be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and then wants to suddenly take a break. He died in space and I can absolutely argue that’s why (and have) but he never actually expresses any emotion similar to that in canon. I’m not a dumb ass I don’t need my hand held but I do need the narrative to actually Say Things and FFH fundamentally doesn’t do That.

You know what else the narrative doesn’t do? Jack shit for MJ. It will FOREVER annoy me that canon not only said “hey Peter likes MJ know just accept it” but that fandom GLEEFULLY accept it what is wrong with all of you. That’s bad! It’s bad writing! It’s bad character work! It’s bad for MJ That her most significant role in this trilogy is Girlfriend. I’m irritated! This could’ve been the perfect movie to have them be friends and to SHOW Peter falling for her instead of just telling us 15 minutes in that Peter really likes MJ. Bitch where! How!!

Ned’s treatment is also a crime. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the MCU can only handle (3) relationships max and Ned didn’t make the cut for this movie. He was worse than comedic relief I hate it here.

Which also extends to May???? Where did May “cut the bullshit” Parker go???? Instead we get a flighty “hehe packed ur suit xoxo” kind of ditz??? Who is that woman!? Did the Skrulls impersonate her too??? Bad work and bad writing that severely undercut NWH’s impact.

They should never have been in Europe I’ve complained a lot about that and I’m right. It’s a stupid decision that makes zero sense in-world.

The entirety of Happy’s involvement further proves that when it comes to canonical irondad/ironfam, the only person who actually has an onscreen relationship that you don’t have to heavily pull from subtext and projection is Happy Hogan. He’s the one Peter talked to most in HOCO and he’s the one who was there for him in FFH (and most of NWH for that matter). It’s bad because I don’t like Happy fucking Hogan taking more of a narrative priority than May Parker but good at least in that undercuts most of irondad’s delusions that Tony was canonically the most important person in Peter’s life. If anyone was, it was Happy.

Most if not all of MCU Spider-Man’s problems start and end with FFH imo. HOCO wasn’t a perfect movie and there’s some fundamental issues had in it but those could’ve been easily tweaked had FFH not leaned in SO HARD to all its worst impulses. Honestly, NWH would’ve been an entirely different movie had FFH been a better one and I stand by that.

[awigglycultist]

Another funny thing about Robert's complaints now is that it's so easily refutable. He complains about biases towards older members? Well, Jon and Angela got the leads in their first starkid shows, and if npmd happened first in the Hatchetfield series like originally planned, then Robert probably would've gotten the lead in that. Mariah and Alex Paul had an amazing duet in hoco even if at the time, both had only been in 1 starkid show (and SSN was longer than that, which is unfair). And Jaime hasn't had a major lead role until Daddy. She mostly got minor characters. Same as Corey Dorris. And we've been wanting to see them as leads for the longest time.

He complains about Dylan having too many solos? Well, didn't he reject the Ethan solo that was supposed to be in bf?

Yes that's what I'm saying!!

I'd like to add: Mariah just after one show was going to a lead (Lex) in BF. Mariah and Angela, both just after one show plus some NMT eps, are playing the leads in NPMD. Jeff played the main villain in his first show. Rachel played a main in character in her first show.

Also yeah, Robert did reject the Ethan solo bc he thought it didn't fit or something.

[kachikirby]

GranEssex Chronicles: Chapter 11 - Trapped in Time

Two weeks had passed since Meta boarded the VictoriousArc. While slow, he had warmed up to a few of the others on board, namely Calzone, Fettuccine, Risotto and Pandoro. He was also getting along with Reedy's children, mainly Lyze as he found her to be the easiest to communicate with. At this moment, the puff was getting ready to begin his day as he normally did.

"I better get my morning call with sensei over with."

He took out his phone and punched in the number before waiting for her to pick up. While Meta did enjoy talking to her, he was glad he only needed to do it once a day now. After a week and half, Kurabe told him that to help both of them get used to having minimal contact with each other, he was now only required to call at least once a day and at any time he wanted. He chose to call in the mornings, thinking that hearing her voice would be a good way to start the day. In a few seconds, he heard her pick up.

"Good morning, Meta."

"Good morning, sensei. I trust all is well on the GranEssex?"

"Yes, everything is well. It still feels a bit empty without you, though I have so many students..."

Meta sighed. Even now he longed to go home, but he promised to see this through.

"It should only be a few more weeks, sensei. I'll be back before you know it."

"I know, Meta. I trust that you will."

This was how their calls usually started. Not that the youth truly minded. In fact, it felt good to know how much his mentor cared.

"Have you made any progress with Reedy's crew?"

"I've become friends with a few of them."

He heard a slight hum from the other side of the line. "Let me take a wild guess. Two of them are Risotto and Pandoro, am I correct?"

"Y-yes. But also, Calzone and Fettuccine."

Kurabe giggled at his reaction. "That's good. Hopefully by the end of this month you'll befriend all of them. You never know when you might have to work with them again, so it's good to start off on good terms."

"...yeah, hopefully." He replied, nodding.

Just then, the youth heard knocking on his door.

"Meta, if you're awake please come to the meeting room." He heard the deep voice of Risotto say.

"It seems I'm needed for something, sensei. I'll have to talk to you later."

"Understood, Meta. I'll look forward to talking to you tomorrow." He nodded quietly.

"Yeah, same here."

"Have a great day, my little knight."

Meta smiled and hung up.

"Better see what they need. I wonder if they'll have me tag along for a mission?" He hopped down from his bed and exited the room, following after Risotto.

---------

In the meeting room, everyone was gathered and staring intently at Reedy.

"I'll get straight to the point. Early this morning we received reports that the planet we normally get supplies from, the planet Hoco, has been emitting strange energy. As we were already in proximity with Hoco, it has become our duty to investigate it. As such, we already landed well before most of you were awake. Now for mission details, I want a team of six to investigate. I've already decided that Meta and I will be a part of this team so I want the rest of you to decide who the other four members will be. Any complaints?"

"No, sir." Was the immediate response.

Reedy nodded. "Then begin discussing amongst yourselves. Once you're finished, I want the selected four to join Meta and myself at the unloading dock."

He then turned to the puff.

"Follow me, Meta." He ordered.

"Understood." The youth nodded and followed Reedy out of the room.

---------

As they walked down the halls, the man asked the youth a question.

"Meta, do you know why I'm having you come with us on this mission?"

It didn't take long for the puff to think of an answer.

"To learn about cooperation and working as a team with people I'm not familiar with, correct?"

"That's one reason. The other is that your skill set is perfect for this type of mission. You're an excellent fighter for your age, combined with your natural survival instinct and your attentiveness, you are a natural fit for searching the unknown."

"...I see."

Not too long after that conversation, Meta and Reedy got to the unloading area, the four chosen Task Force Zetta members appeared, led by Calzone.

"Calzone, Tiramisu, Pandoro, Risotto. I see you were the four chosen." Reedy said with a nod.

Meta gave a slightly relieved sigh. Almost all of them were members he got along with. The only one he was unsure about was Tiramisu. Not that he distrusted the twin Limet. He just wasn't sure on how to handle the two intense personalities.

"So, are we going now?" The puff then asked.

"First, let's cover what strategy we'll be employing. Before I called the meeting, I had the ship scan where the strange energy was at its most powerful. It appears to be in the main city. I'll have us split off into groups of two each. Then we'll search the entire city and ask the citizens if they've noticed anything strange. Then we'll meet up in the town square and discuss what each group has learned. Understood?"

"Understood!" The entire group replied.

"Excellent. Meta, you choose who you want to be paired with first."

He nodded in response before taking a few minutes to think.

"Preferably I should join up with someone I should have no issues with. Maybe someone who can track down the others if needed. In that case..."

Meta then looked at Risotto.

"Would you mind working with me?"

"I'd be glad to." The man replied.

"Very well then." Reedy nodded.

"Tiramisu, you two are with me."

"Yes, sir!" The twins said.

"So Pandoro, looks like you're stuck with me." Calzone said with smirk.

"How horrifying." The swordswoman smirked back.

Meta nodded in understanding at these arrangements. Hopefully, this would be a quick and easy mission.

---------

All six of them headed towards the towns square, deciding that would be a good place to start and split up. Along the way, Meta saw many residents going along with their day like normal. On the surface, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

"Let's see if I can sense anything..." He thought as he closed his eyes and focused his energy. Almost immediately, he felt sick to his stomach.

"What happened?" Risotto asked in concern, noticing that sweat was dripping from the youth.

"I'm not sure. I tried to sense the source of where this energy is coming from but..."

"You were overwhelmed. Clearly, we're dealing with something in the high A tier. Possibly even an S tier." The man mumbled to himself.

"This is... the negative feelings of an S-tier, huh?" The youth gave a slight chuckle, but it clearly sounded more horrified than anything.

"Don't jump the gun, Meta." Risotto said place his hand on the puff's shoulder. "I said it could be an S rank, but again, it could just be an A rank. Now try sensing it again. I'll send my mana into yours to help keep you stable."

The youth then silently nodded before attempting it once more. This time he had an easier time sensing the source of all these emotions, but the intensity still shook him to his very core.

"It's somewhere in this town for sure. It's hard to pinpoint where exactly, however..."

Before he could finish, he was cut off by Reedy, who was adjusting his glasses.

"Alright, now is a good time to split up. We'll meet up back here in two hours. Let's go, Tiramisu."

The group then split up and went in different directions.

"Meta, let's start by asking the towns folk if they've noticed anything unusual." Risotto said, his hand still on the youth's shoulder.

"Yeah. Also..." The puff replied as he turned around. "You can let go of me now, Risotto. But thank you."

The man nodded and removed his hand.

---------

The duo walked up to everyone they saw but they received the same answer each time.

"Nope, everything's been pretty normal around here."

At this point, Meta couldn't help but find the whole situation a bit disturbing.

"How have they not noticed anything? I can't go anywhere without feeling that disgusting pressure. Risotto you've been here before, correct? Has it always been this eerie?" He asked, but his ally shook his head.

"No, it has not. That's why this is quite unusual."

"Couldn't we just investigate all the buildings in town? The townsfolk might be hiding something."

Risotto shook his head once more.

"We can't investigate without good reason. Without proof that something is happening, we can't do anything. But that doesn't mean we're out of options."

The man then clapped his hands and chanted a magical spell, summoning multiple small bird-like creatures.

"Go and search, my little friends." He said to the birds.

While this happened, Meta began to think. What exactly could the townspeople be hiding to cause such a volatile feeling to appear?

"Risotto, when would you say was the last time you came to this planet?"

"At least two months ago."

"So, whatever is happening it's incredibly recent..."

That was when one thought came to mind.

"Is there any kind of dangerous monsters that live here that could potentially cause these feelings?"

"None. Most of the wildlife is harmless and keeps to themselves. Even then the strongest monsters here are only a low C rank and only attack when threatened."

"So, if this isn't caused by the townspeople, could it be an invasive species?"

That was something Meta had learned about from his mentor. Sometimes, monsters and wildlife would hide away on transport ships, meteors, or something similar and that would lead to them running wild within the ecosystem.

"That would the most probable cause. However, I fail to understand why anyone, or anything would target this town in particular. No offense to the people who live here, but besides being a location to resupply, there isn't much to discuss about this town."

While that was the most likely case, another question came to his mind. "...how common is powerful magecraft in this town?"

"As far as I know, not at all. Let's ask around to be sure."

He then took a moment to look around before seeing someone.

"Excuse me, sir, may we have a word with you?" Risotto called out to an elderly man who was walking down the street.

"Yes, what is it?" The elder calmy replied.

"Is magic common on this planet? Or at least in this town?" Meta asked.

"Magic? I'm afraid not. You see centuries ago before even I was born the practice of magecraft was forbidden. I couldn't tell you why. As a result, those born here, myself included, lack the ability and talent for magic. I hope that answers your question."

"It does, thank you very much, mister." The youth said.

He then thought to himself. "So, then it likely is some kind of invasive monster..."

Just then, the birds Risotto sent out returned to him. He then clapped his hands, and the birds became pure mana and flew into him. Upon seeing Meta's quizzical expression, Risotto elaborated.

"By absorbing my summons, I gain their memories and the ability to see what they what they saw. Unfortunately, they weren't able to find anything useful."

The puff nodded. "Then we should keep looking around."

The two kept moving, but Meta kept feeling an eerie force around him. No matter where he went within this town, he felt trapped within a barrier of negative energy that was honestly draining to him. Just then a large explosion could be heard in the town square followed by the violent screams of its inhabitants. Looking at each other with worry the two ran as fast as they could.

---------

By the time they got there the rest of Task Force Z had already arrived, along with several dead bodies and no sign of what caused the destruction.

"W-what in the world happened here...?" Meta uttered in shock.

Reedy walked over to them, a grim look on his face. "You two, I assume you found nothing during your investigation?"

The puff shook his head. "Most is that I think there's an invasive monster on this planet, but that isn't too helpful."

"I came to the same conclusion myself. Unfortunately, none of us found anything more substantial than that." Reedy said as he began to examine the bodies of the deceased.

After a few moments, he gave a slightly puzzled, yet worried expression.

"How curious. It seems whatever caused this must have an appetite for blood. All of these bodies have been drained of any blood they had. Look around, you'll notice there isn't a single drop of blood anywhere."

The rest of the group looked around and confirmed it.

"None of you would happen to know any monsters that do this, would you?" The puff asked.

"Unfortunately, there's quite a lot of blood suckers in the universe, though if we narrow it down to S class creatures only one comes to mind. A Myovam." Reedy stated, pushing up his glasses.

"Myo... vam...?" Meta asked. Despite reading up on a lot of species throughout the universe, he had never heard of something like that before.

"A rare species of blood suckers. In fact, there's only been four of them recorded in our history books. From the information we have on them, they are capable of large-scale explosions, illusions, and, of course, draining the life force of its victims. They like to feed on pure blood, though unfortunately I'm unsure of what exactly constitutes as pure blood by Myovam standards."

Meta began to sweat upon hearing that but quickly shook it off the best he could. "Are there any weaknesses?"

"Despite being able to use magic, Myovam's are allergic to foreign sources of magic. For example, Meta, your lighting might be an effective tool against it. That is of course we're able to track it down."

The youth nodded. "...do you think I'll become a target for that thing, since my magic is very powerful?"

"No, in fact it'll probably avoid you at all costs unless it thinks it can kill you with one shot. Remember that it's allergic to magic. It's no surprise that all the previous Myovams the Organization has dealt with were eliminated by the mage division."

Just then Meta's sense of danger went off and he looked behind himself to see a figure dressed in a cape floating in midair. The figure pointed its finger at Meta and fired a concentrated beam of energy at the young warrior, who was barely able to dodge it. Seeing that it missed, the figure turned around and flew off into a nearby forest. Nobody there doubted what it was.

"Don't let it escape!" Reedy shouted, causing everyone to rush after the escaping Myovam.

---------

Unfortunately for them, the forest was huge and considering that the Myovam has potentially been on this planet for at least a month, it had the advantage.

"Everyone, stick together! It's going to try to pick us off if we try to split up!" Reedy shouted to his subordinates.

"Meta, can you sense it?" The man then asked, turning to the puff.

"I can try..." The youth then closed his eyes and focused his energy. In a few moments, he could feel a malicious presence like the one he had been feeling before. "It's straight ahead, but something doesn't feel right. It's not moving at all, as if it's waiting for us to get close."

Reedy nodded in understanding. "Everyone, let's proceed with caution. It's likely a trap."

As they approached the Myovam, Meta kept wondering what exactly it was planning. Clearly it was a trap, but what kind of trap? Reedy said that Myovams use illusions, what if that monster placed them under a spell the instant they got close? Before he could come up with any more scenarios, Meta saw the creature waiting for them. The Myovam had a humanoid appearance but with pale blue skin and blood red claws. The most striking part were its shining violet eyes.

"...Meta, can you cast some kind of stunning barrier?" Pandoro asked.

"Unfortunately, I think that might be a bit too advanced for me..."

In truth, outside of teleportation and basic healing, most of his spells were purely meant for dealing damage. Barriers were not his strong suit.

"I have an idea, however... I have a magic cloak that allows me to fly. If you could distract it, I could attack it from the sky." Meta explained as he pulled out and put on his cloak.

"Sounds like a plan." She then turned to Reedy. "What do you think, sir?"

She got her answer in the form of her superior already firing a flurry of arrows.

"Fly, Meta!" He commanded.

In a single instant, Meta transformed his cape into bat wings and took to the skies with a nod in response. The fired arrows got closer and closer with each passing second. However, instead making a clean hit, the arrows phased right through the monster.

"An illusory clone." Reedy said gritting his teeth.

Just then, the real Myovam appeared right in front of Meta and slashed at him with its crimson claws. Not having time to react, the puff was sent flying far away from the rest of the group, with the monster flying quickly after him.

---------

Upon crashing to the ground, Meta struggled to get up and put a hand on his cheek, feeling a giant slash wound and plenty of blood coming out of it. Thinking quickly, the puff cast a healing spell to at least stop the bleeding, but he still needed to get proper medical attention.

"Meta, are you ok!?" He heard Pandoro shout.

"I'm fine..." He replied after a brief moment of hesitation. Then he had a single thought.

"Wait, how can I hear her already? There's no way she could cover that much ground, right? Unless..."

He saw Pandoro walking toward him.

"Thank goodness you're alright Meta." She said in her usual kind tone, but Meta could detect a large amount of malice from it.

"I'm not falling for that!" He shouted, firing a bolt of lightning at Pandoro.

Once hit, the illusion was destroyed and instead of Pandoro being electrocuted, it was the Myovam. Holding his sword in front of him, Meta dashed at the monster, intent on killing it with one strike. Unfortunately for him, he would never get that chance. His opponent fired a small blast of energy, knocking Meta away. It then pointed at the moon, which was now fully visible, and shot a beam of mana at it. The moon became blood red and everything on the planet was quickly covered in darkness. The puff couldn't see anything and was starting to lose consciousness. The last thing he heard was the Myovam's chilling laughter.

---------

After a few minutes, Meta's eyes slowly opened, his vision fuzzy.

"Where? Am I back on the ship?"

He looked around and indeed he was in the guest room of the GranVictorious. He went to feel the slash wound he received, only to discover it wasn't there.

"What the hell?"

Meta attempted to think back but most of his memories were blurry, and he couldn't recall much of what happened.

"Was I just dreaming?"

He even pinched himself, giving a sigh when he noted the pain he felt.

"...what happened? Maybe I should call sensei...?"

He took out his phone and punched in her number, waiting for her to pick up. Soon, she did.

"Good morning, Meta." Came the response on the other end.

"Morning, sensei. There's something I need to talk about. It's nothing serious... or at least... I hope it isn't..."

"What is it?" She asked, her tone sounding noticeably dire.

"I had a strange dream. But I'm not entirely sure if it was a dream. Everything felt real, but now I'm having trouble remembering the details."

"Can you give me a vague idea of what happened?" His mentor asked, sounding even more worried than before.

"I believe I was on a mission with a few members of Reedy's crew. The only member I can clearly remember being there was Risotto. I believe we were fighting some kind of creature with claws. The pain getting of getting slashed felt so real, but there's no injuries on me anywhere."

There was a brief silence, as if Kurabe was processing that information.

"Meta, could it be that you had a vivid nightmare? I know you often had those when you were younger." His mentor asked with concern.

"No. I would always wake up with sweat everywhere whenever I had one of those nightmares. But there was nothing like that when I woke up this morning."

"Ah, yes, yes, that's right. And you would come to me crying in the middle of the night and ask if you could stay with me for the night and-" There was a pause, as if she was shaking her head. "Back on topic... that is quite unusual."

"Could it be a vision of the future?" He asked, barely suppressing his embarrassment.

"...there's a chance that it could be. Please be cautious for the rest of the day."

Before he could answer, a loud banging on his door interrupted the conversation.

"Yo, kid, get your ass to the meeting room." A loud, abrasive voice said.

"Ah, Capellini, I know that irritating voice anywhere. You better get going then, Meta." Kurabe said.

"Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow, sensei."

"Indeed. Have a great day, my little knight." She then hung up.

Just then a small feeling of deja vu creeped up on him, but he quickly shook it off.

"She always calls me that, nothing to be concerned about."

---------

That feeling would become stronger once he arrived at the meeting room. In the meeting room everyone was gathered and staring intently at Reedy.

"I'll get straight to the point. Early this morning, we received reports that the planet we normally get supplies from, planet Hoco, has been emitting strange energy. As we were already in close proximity, it's our duty to investigate. As such we already landed well before most of you were awake. Now for mission details, I want a team of six to investigate. Meta and I will be a part of this team so I want the rest of you to decide who the other four members will be. Any complaints?"

"Why does this situation feel so familiar? Probably just my imagination, I need to quit worrying about that dream." The youth thought to himself.

"Meta, is something wrong?"

The moment he heard that, he immediately noticed that Reedy and the rest of the squad were looking directly at him.

"No, sir."

For a moment, the man had a skeptical look on his face, but then he gave a slight sigh.

"Alright, now let's get going."

Reedy gestured towards the door and Meta left the room with him while the other members discussed amongst themselves.

"Meta, do you know why I'm having you come along?" Reedy asked as they walked to the unloading dock.

The feeling became even stronger.

"To learn about cooperation and working as a team with people I'm not familiar with and because my strength and survival instincts are great for this kind of mission?" He answered.

Reedy looked pleasantly surprised. "That's exactly right."

Admittedly, the youth was a bit stunned.

"How...did I remember that...?" He thought.

"Mr. Reedy. Have you ever experienced an intense case of deja vu before?"

The man took a moment to think before adjusting his glasses.

"A few times. There was a time when I was a child and I had something that happened in a dream happen in real life and when I told my mother or Mercury, they would say it's deja vu. I would reply that it was a dream come to life, but then they would reply that we had that conversation the previous month and..."

Meta was now slightly regretting asking that question. But at least he now had somewhat of an idea of what he was experiencing.

"There was also the time where your mentor called me at 4 AM two weeks in a row, I don't quite remember the details but-"

"I think I get the idea. Thank you." He mumbled in annoyance.

---------

Soon the selected four approached them, comprised of Calzone, Tiramisu, Pandoro and Risotto.

"Calzone, Tiramisu, Pandoro, Risotto. I see you were the four chosen." Reedy said with a nod.

The feeling of deja vu became even stronger.

"Before we leave, let's cover what strategy we'll be employing. Before I called the meeting, I had the ship scan where the strange energy was at its most powerful. It appears to be in the main city. I'll have us split off into groups of two each. Then we'll search the entire city and ask the citizens if they've noticed anything strange. Then we'll meet up in the town square and discuss what each group has learned. Understood?"

"Understood!" The entire group replied.

"Excellent. Meta, you choose who you want to be paired with first."

The youth only stared with a shocked look on his face.

"Why... why does this seem so familiar...?" He thought to himself.

"Meta, you've been acting strange today. Is something wrong?" The man then asked.

"I feel like I'm experiencing deja vu, but I'll be fine. The sooner we get this done the better. As for my partner... Pandoro would you mind joining me?"

"Of course!" She replied with a smile.

Meta smiled back. For the first time today, he wasn't feeling that deja vu, but he knew the relief he felt wouldn't last for long.

"Alright, let's head out then." The man said with a nod as the group left the ship.

---------

The walk to the town square was uneventful, at least for most of the team. Meta, however, was incredibly paranoid.

"Alright, Meta and Pandoro. You two take the north side of town." Reedy commanded.

The puff jumped a bit on hearing that.

"Understood, sir. Let's go, Meta." She said while dragging him along.

The duo had asked as many citizens as they could about the situation going on, but none of them had noticed anything strange going on.

"We're getting nowhere. As much as I hate to accuse the innocent, maybe this town is hiding something from us." Pandoro said, putting a finger on her chin to think.

Meta shook his head. "No, I think they are in the dark as much as we are."

"Really? What makes you say that?" His companion then asked.

"I've read the faces of everyone we've talked to. That's something sensei and Mercury taught me. I couldn't detect any lies."

Not to mention the strange feeling he's had all day.

"Alright then, what do you think it is?" The woman then asked.

"I don't know. I've been feeling a strange presence ever since we've arrived. It's oddly familiar but I can't tell you why."

Meta was stumped. Everything felt so familiar yet so foreign.

"Maybe someone is casting a spell on the planet? That could explain why no one notices anything strange."

Honestly, that did somewhat match up with what the youth was feeling. He did feel the presence of some notably powerful mana on this planet.

"You think I should go ask someone about magecraft?" Pandoro asked.

"We probably should, just to cover our bases."

With a nod, the woman walked over to an elderly man.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you have a moment? I'd like to know if anyone knows something about magecraft in this town?"

The old man looked at them in slight confusion. "Magic? I'm afraid not. You see, centuries ago before even I was born the practice of magecraft was forbidden. I couldn't tell you why. As a result, those born here, myself included, lack the ability and talent for magic. I hope that answers your question."

"It does, thank you very much."

The feeling of deja vu got even stronger on Meta's end upon hearing that single conversation. As they walked away from the man, Pandoro spoke up again.

"Meta, I have a question. Have you been to this planet before?"

The youth shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure I haven't, but... everything just feels so familiar..."

"As farfetched as it may sound, maybe you've been to a town with the exact same set up as this town? Stranger things have happened."

The youth took a moment to think, checking his memory for any chances of that happening.

"That would make sense, but..."

"But...?"

"...there feels like there's a bit more to it..."

"Perhaps you have clairvoyance?"

"...would the ability to sense positive and negative energy be clairvoyance?"

"Not exactly. Clairvoyance is more akin to seeing the future or at least knowing what will happen in the near future."

That could explain a lot about what was happening, but Meta wasn't completely convinced.

"Except I've never experienced anything like this until today. Wouldn't it be strange that I'd just happen to suddenly become clairvoyant? If I did have an ability like that, I'm sure either myself or sensei would notice it sooner."

The woman shrugged. "Well, what other explanations do you have for why you're feeling like this?"

The puff averted his gaze. "I don't know..."

Suddenly, they heard a massive explosion. For some reason the explosion didn't surprise him, but he didn't have time to think about it.

"We have to hurry!"

---------

Upon arriving at the scene of the explosion, yet another vaguely familiar scene awaited Meta: no sign of destruction combined with several dead bodies. The others arrived at the same time they did. Reedy walked over to them, a grim look on his face.

"Did you two learn anything useful?"

Pandoro shook her head. "Unfortunately, not. Most we were able to figure out is that it might be some kind of powerful magic user that's not from around here."

"So, it's a monster..." Meta uttered mindlessly.

Reedy nodded. "Not just any monster, but one that feeds on blood. Considering the circumstances, it's probably-"

"A Myovam." Meta said mindlessly before widening his eyes. "How? Why do I know all of this?"

"Meta... are you hiding something from us?" The commander asked.

"I don't know!"

Suddenly the puff's instincts went off and he quickly dodged a beam of energy. Looking at the source of the beam, Meta's eyes widened and all the haze in his head disappeared.

"The Myovam...I remember everything now! I don't know how but we've already lived through this day and that thing is the cause!"

"...that would explain a lot." Reedy then mumbled and summoned his bow. "All personnel, attack!"

Before anyone could get close, the Myovam flew off into a nearby forest.

"Meta, is it leading us into a trap?" Pandoro asked.

"It's probably going to use an illusory clone..." He uttered.

"We could set the forest on fire to draw it out." suggested Misu, only for his brother to punch their shared body.

"You idiot, we can't hurt the planet just to draw out one monster!" Tira scolded.

"I'll just go in first to draw its attention. The rest of you surround it." Reedy then stated.

Everyone nodded and Meta preemptively put on his cloak, ready for action.

"Now, head out!"

As they ran, Meta noticed that the sun was beginning to set and that terrified him.

"Reedy, we have to kill it before the moon comes out! I'm not sure how but that thing used the moon to cast the spell!"

The man nodded in response. "You all heard him! Put the pressure on it and show no mercy!"

Soon, Reedy, by himself, came across the Myovam.

"I know the one in front of me is just an illusion. Quit wasting both of our times and come out. You know that we won't leave until we either kill you or take you into custody. You might as well make this easier on yourself and give up."

Chilling laughter surrounded Reedy as soon as he said that.

"You're right about one thing, Limet. You won't be leaving for a long time."

"What do you mean by that?!" He shouted towards the voice.

Then he remembered. This was no time for questions. He had to attack now. Reedy shot an arrow straight into the air. The laughter got louder.

"Where are you even aiming, Limet?"

"Everywhere."

With a grin, Reedy snapped his fingers at the arrow split into thousands of smaller arrows that then fell toward the forest, like a rainstorm of arrows. Reedy was in no danger of getting hurt, but the Myovam had no such advantage. The monster jumped out into the open to avoid getting hot, only to kicked down back to the ground by a flying Meta. The monster was quickly surrounded by everyone, with no chance of escape.

"What are you waiting for!? Finish him off!" Reedy shouted.

Everyone then pierced the monster's body, Pandoro in particular cutting its head off. Meta gave a sigh of relief. It was finally over.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves now."

The puff's eyes widened. That voice came from the disembodied Myovam, who didn't appear concerned in the slightest.

"This was certainly a fun distraction, but it's time to say goodbye. Until next time..."

The monster then shot a beam from its mouth towards the sky, or more accurately, towards the moon.

"Oh no..."

The moment those words left Meta's mouth, everything around him went dark and he lost consciousness once more, the last thing he heard was the monster's chilling laughter.

---------

Once he regained consciousness, he was again back in the guest room.

"Another dream? No, it couldn't be right?"

He looked around his room and checked his body. If he did get injured, there was no proof of it.

"...maybe sensei might know..." He uttered, pulling out his phone and dialing her number.

After a few seconds, he heard that familiar voice on the other end.

"Good morning, Meta."

"Sensei, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it, Meta?" The woman asked with concern. "Is it about the dream from yesterday?"

Meta's eyes widened. Kurabe's words proved to him that what happened to him did, in fact, happen.

"Before I go into more detail, what is today's date?"

"The 26th of September."

The youth looked at the digital clock in his guest room to see what it said.

"The 24th..." He muttered under his breath. "Sensei, promise you won't laugh at what I'm about to say."

"Meta, you know I'd never laugh at you for anything."

Meta took a deep breath. "I think I'm in a time loop."

There was a deafening silence in the room.

"Meta... I..." Kurabe hesitated as she spoke, as if unable to process what she just heard.

"On the 24th we went on a mission to investigate a strange reading on Planet Hoco. During the mission, we encountered a Myovam. I fought it and then it cast a strange spell that covered the world in darkness. When I came to, I was back on the VictoriousArc, where I thought it was a dream. It wasn't. Then yesterday we went on the exact same mission, fought the same Myovam who then casted the same spell now here I am back on the ship like nothing happened. It's still the 24th here, sensei."

"...there's no doubt about it then." Kurabe said with a sigh. "Meta, did you tell someone on the VictoriousArc? Perhaps one of them might have the same feelings of deja vu that you currently do."

"If everything goes the exact same way as last time, then Reedy will be calling a meeting soon."

"Just in case, I think you should tell him in private. There's a chance that panic will break out otherwise."

Meta nodded, incredibly grateful for his sensei's advice.

"He will force me to take the mission and will take me aside to talk about it. That will be my chance."

"Yes, that indeed sounds like Reedy. Explain it to him then."

"I will. Sensei, how far away is the GranEssex from Planet Hoco?"

There was a moment of silence.

"We should be there in about two days if we travel at maximum speed. Can you hold out until then?"

"I'll try."

"We'll do our best to get there before then. Please be careful and good luck, my little knight."

"Thank you, sensei."

He hung up after that, just in time to hear knocking on his door and the voice of Pandoro calling out to him. "Meta, I'm sorry to disturb you, but our presence is needed."

"Alright, I'm coming." He replied as he hopped down his bed and began to make his way straight to the meeting room.

---------

In the meeting room everyone was gathered and staring intently at Reedy.

"I'll get straight to the point. Early this morning we received reports that the planet we normally get supplies from, planet Hoco, has been emitting strange energy. As we were already in close proximity with the planet, it's out duty to investigate. As such we already landed well before most of you were awake. Now for mission details, I want-"

Meta blocked out the rest of the speech, knowing exactly what will happen and who will come with.

"Any complaints?" Reedy asked.

"No, sir!" The reply was unanimous, except from Meta.

"Alright then. Meta, please come with me."

Silently nodding, the youth followed him out of the room. Upon exiting, the man began to speak once more.

"Meta, do you know why I'm having you come along with us?"

"Because you want my unique skill set and want me to learn the value of working together." Meta said impatiently.

"That's exactly correct." However, the man then pushed up his glasses. "Though, Meta, you appear to be on edge today. Is something wrong?"

"Mr. Reedy, have you felt like we've had this conversation before?"

The man looked troubled for a moment. "...Meta, could you keep this a secret from my crew?"

The puff sensed the urgency in Reedy's voice. "Yes."

"The truth is, I don't remember much about it, but had a dream about having this conversation with you last night. I assumed it was some kind of lucid dream, because I couldn't remember much about it. However, I now have the vague feeling there might be more to it. I woke up Raita to talk to her about it and she said that I'm probably overworking myself and that I should take a vacation after we complete this mission..."

Meta sighed. "...where to begin? For starters it wasn't a dream Mr. Reedy. We've had that conversation before. Twice."

The man stared at him in shock. "...how exactly do you know that?"

"I can prove it, too. The four members that will be chosen are Calzone, Tiramisu, Pandoro and Risotto."

As expected, the four Limets Meta named could be seen walking towards them.

"How did you know?"

"...this is going to probably sound unbelievable to you, but we are stuck in a time loop."

Reedy was silent, processing exactly what he heard. "...Meta, it's not that I don't believe you per say. Time magic like that does exist, but still. This is quite a lot to take in."

"Reedy, please, just trust me, ok?"

"Well, I can tell that you're serious. Very well, I'll trust you for now."

Just then the other finally caught up to them. The man turned to the rest of the group.

"Before we leave, let's cover what strategy we'll be employing. Before I called the meeting, I had the ship scan where the strange energy was at its most powerful. It appears to be in the main city. I'll have us split off into groups of two each. Then we'll search the entire city and ask the citizens if they've noticed anything strange. Then we'll meet up in the town square and discuss what each group has learned. Understood?"

"Understood!" The entire group replied.

"Excellent. Meta, you choose who you want to be paired with first."

Meta silently groaned, not wanting to split up this time, but understood he couldn't do anything to cause the others to panic. "Tiramisu, would you mind teaming up with me?"

"Man, I'd prefer to go on my own..." He then punched himself in the stomach. "Shut up, you!"

"I'll take that as yes then." Meta said as he started to walk out of the ship but got close to Reedy in order to whisper something to him.

"If you see an elderly man, ask him about magic. He'll say that magic has been banned for centuries."

The man only nodded silently. "Alright everyone, let's head out."

---------

Upon reaching the town, the investigation began. As expected, Meta was unable to find anything new about the situation. This however gave him to think about the situation, namely why the Myovam was doing any of this.

"Let's see... it feeds on blood and is allergic to foreign sources of magic. If the people of this planet don't have even a single ounce of magic, then the blood they have would be pure. No wonder it decided to invade this planet, but then why bother with the time loop? Wouldn't it be easier to just kill and leave in a single night?"

"Whaddya mumbling to yourself 'bout?" His travelling companion, specifically Tira, asked.

"He's talking to himself about some monster thing, you moron! Are you deaf or something!?" His brother, Misu, replied.

"No, I'm not deaf! I'm just feeling hungry now!"

"How are you feeling hungry from that?!"

"I don't know! I just randomly thought that if I had the ability to time loop, I'd probably just build up a supply of snacks!"

"THAT'S NOT HOW TIME LOOPS WORK!"

Meta sighed. He never knew how to deal with the sentient comedy routine known as Tira and Misu. Then something hit him.

"Infinite snacks? Could that be its plan? Absorb all the blood of the inhabitants, reset time, and just keep feeding for as long as it wants? But wouldn't the absorbed blood disappear after each loop? Unless of course, the caster of the spell is exempt from being physically affected by time resetting..."

This was going to be a long shot, but...

"Do either of you know if casting a spell that creates a time loop would affect the original caster?" He asked.

Tiramisu scratched their head.

"That's outside our area of expertise..." Tira said.

"But theoretically it should be possible that they're the only ones unaffected..." Misu continued.

"That's it! The Myovam created a time loop to make itself more powerful by drinking all the blood it wants!"

"The what!?" Tiramisu yelled.

Meta flinched. In his excitement, he forgot that his companions weren't aware of the Myovam.

"No time to explain, we have to get to the town square before-"

A large explosion could be heard in the distance.

"...that happens... Come on we have to go!"

With a nod from his ally, they headed for the town square.

---------

Upon reaching the town square, however, Meta saw the familiar horrifying sight of many dead bodies, yet it also looked like nothing occured there.

"Exact same as before...damn it!"

Soon Reedy could be seen running towards Meta.

"Meta, you know what caused this don't you?"

"Yes, it's a Myovam and it's going to target me."

"...because you're its biggest threat, I assume?"

"Yes, it knows my lighting could kill it, so it wants me dead."

Reedy nodded. "Alright, everyone we need to protect Meta at all costs. Understo-"

Just then a beam of energy that came seemingly out of nowhere hit Reedy's core dead on, shattering it completely. The man's body quickly became nothing more than a dead pile of slime. The others stared in silence.

"Don't panic! Follow the commander's orders and protect Meta!" Calzone was the one to give out those orders.

While he could hear what Calzone said, Meta couldn't register it. Reedy, a man he didn't necessarily liked but on some level respected was dead. What was he going to tell Raita and the kids? What would he tell Mercury? Reedy died because he failed to do something about the Myovam.

"Meta, looked out!" Risotto yelled pushing the puff out of the way only to get killed just like Reedy did.

The youth could only stare in shock at that.

"What are you doing!? Are you just going to let their deaths be in vain!?"

Pandoro barely managed to block another attack.

"If you need to, shut off all your emotions and fight!"

Shortly after she said that though, she too fell victim to the Myovam's attack. Tiramisu was also killed almost immediately afterward, leaving only Meta and Calzone behind.

"You bastard!"

Calzone leapt at the Myovam but was reduced to nothing with one attack. The man known as Calzone was dead.

"Everyone..." Meta said, tears forming in his eyes.

He hadn't known them for long, but he viewed them as comrades, friends even. But now they were dead, and it was all his fault.

"No... no... NOOOO!" He screamed with all his might, his mana skyrocketing.

A beam of mana shot out from his body and into the sky, hitting a certain object. The moon. The Myovam's eyes widened.

"No not now! It's too soon!"

Soon, darkness swallowed everything once again and Meta himself fell unconscious.

---------

Almost immediately, Meta woke up in the guest room once more, panting heavily.

"Was it all...?"

That's when he remembered it. Every single thing that happened.

"The date, I need to check the date." He thought scrambling over to the digital clock.

"The 24th. So, they're still alive, right? I saw them die but that didn't really happen, did it?"

Meta tried to convince himself that his friends didn't die, but he couldn't trick himself. They died in front of him. They died because of him. Them being alive now doesn't change that fact.

"...I need sensei." He said in a hollow voice.

Quickly, he pulled out his phone and dialed her number. Almost immediately, she picked up.

"Meta?"

"They're dead, sensei. All of them, but not really. They're still alive but I saw them die. They're dead but still alive. I failed them but I guess I saved them from my failure, but I still failed. They died because of me and-"

"Meta, calm down and breathe!"

He took a deep breath, but he could still feel himself trembling.

"Please, if you don't mind, tell me what happened."

"There was another time loop. I talked to Reedy, and he believed me. From there the mission went on like normal. Then the Myovam attacked and..."

"And?"

"And Reedy was killed. Then Risotto was killed. And Pandoro and Tiramisu and finally Calzone. Everyone died at it's all my fault."

Meta could feel the tears run down his face. There was a brief moment of silence before a response.

"...oh, Meta, how I wish I could be there for you right now." His mentor uttered. "We're about a day away. Now I have a question for you. How did time reset this time? I can't believe the Myovam would do it after getting so close to its goal."

"It didn't..."

"Huh?"

The youth clenched his chest. "I don't know exactly what happened, but after seeing everyone die, I just lost control of my body and its mana."

"...then your mana must have triggered the reset."

Meta blinked. "What do you mean, sensei?"

"The Myovam most likely placed a magic seal on the moon. In order to trigger the seal, it needed to shoot its mana at the moon. While an effective way of resetting time, it's a double-edged sword as anyone's mana could activate the seal."

"So, I saved everyone..."

While Meta was relieved, the pain he felt earlier still refused to leave him.

"That's right, Meta, you saved them. Not only that but you know when the Myovam will attack and how it resets time. With this information..."

"I can perform a counterattack."

"Exactly. So how about I leave you to do that?"

"I won't fail, sensei."

"Then good luck, my little knight." She said while hanging up.

"I won't fail ever again..."

He then looked at the clock, noting that he awoke much earlier than he normally did.

"Time to go talk to Reedy."

He exited the guest room and immediately walked to roughly where the captain's cabin on the GranEssex would be, swiftly knocking upon reaching it. Almost immediately, he heard shuffling from inside the room and incoherent mumbling. Reedy opened the door with a cranky expression.

"Meta? You better have a good reason for this." He uttered with a yawn.

Based on his slightly messy hair, more casual clothing, and lack of glasses, the youth could tell that he had been sleeping.

"Reedy, get the crew together. Now." Meta said, his tone indicating complete seriousness.

Reedy was taken aback by this.

"For what reason? I was going to call meeting anyway to-"

"To talk about how we got a strange reading from the planet Hoco that needs investigating and how you'll form a team of six that includes both you and me."

The man blinked in shock. "...wait a minute, how do you know all that?"

"Because I've lived through it three times. We're dealing with a Myovam that's using a time loop spell in order to infinitely feed on the blood of this planets inhabitants."

Reedy became silent for a moment, as if processing this information.

"...well, that kind of behavior is not unheard of for Myovam and you don't seem like you're lying..."

He attempted to push up his nonexistent glasses, but the quickly stopped upon realizing he wasn't wearing them.

"Alright, I'll trust your judgement. I'll call the meeting in a bit."

He then closed the door. Meta let out breath he didn't know he was holding.

"...I'm glad you're still alive, Reedy."

"What was that, Meta?" He heard from inside the room.

"It's nothing. I'll see you in the meeting room."

Before he could hear a response, he rushed to the meeting room. Shortly after their conversation, an announcement was made that told all members of Task Force Zetta to head for the meeting room immediately and ready for combat. Meta, who was the first one there, saw the various members enter at varying stages of wakefulness.

"Thanks for coming, everyone. I'll cut to the chase. We've gotten a report of something strange happening on Planet Hoco, and Meta knows what it is. Meta, if you would please explain this to everyone?"

The puff nodded and began. "There's a monster called a Myovam on this planet. It's been creating time loops the past few days to try and build up its blood supply and get stronger. We need to eliminate it before it can attack the town square and kill more people."

"And why should we believe you?" Capellini asked in his usual standoffish fashion.

"Because I've lived through this time loop three times and I know that people are going to die if we don't do anything." Meta then shook his head. "No. This crew will die."

Everyone fell silent, until Risotto spoke up. "I believe him. I had this odd dream of fighting and dying against a Myovam. Though I suppose it wasn't a dream, was it, Meta?"

The youth shook his head. "It wasn't. That was what happened in the previous loop."

There was another moment of silence, until someone else spoke up.

"Come to think of it, I had a dream like that as well..." Pandoro said.

Most noticeably, Reedy averted his gaze slightly. "...loathe I am to admit it, I awoke a few hours ago due to a nightmare of myself being killed... Raita was quite worried..."

Calzone and Tiramisu both nodded their heads, silently saying they had the same dream.

"Are you really going to say that all these people who have testimony that supports mine liars?" Meta asked.

"Fine, whatever."

Reedy then nodded. "Now that we have that out of the way, let's go over the strategy." He then turned to Meta. "Do you have any?"

"Yes. Around evening the Myovam will attack the town square. We'll all need to hide from sight. Reedy, right as soon as it's about to attack the square, hit it with an arrow. From there I'll kill them using my magic to target its weaknesses to foreign magic."

The man nodded in response. "You all heard him. We'll be heading to the town square before evening to carry out this plan, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Very well, let's prepare to move out for then!"

"Understood!"

---------

In a few hours, the entire group was waiting, hiding in the town square.

"Come on, you bastard, show yourself already!" Meta thought to himself.

There was a moment of silence. Then, he noticed something in the sky.

"There it is!"

The Myovam raises its hand and started to charge a beam of energy, only to be struck by an onslaught of arrows by Reedy.

"Now, Meta! Kill it before it can recover!"

Without hesitating Meta flew into the air and charged his sword with his mana.

"This is for Risotto!" He slashed off an arm.

"This is for Pandoro!" He cut off the other arm.

"This is for Tira and Misu!" He sliced off both legs.

"This is for Reedy!" He then decapitated the Myovam.

"And this is for all the innocent lives you've toyed with!"

The puff then fired a beam of electricity at the severed remains, completely incinerating the Myovam. It was finally over.

"Everyone, you've been avenged." Meta said, tears now freely flowing from his eyes as his sword slowly dropped from his hand.

"...wait a minute, but we're still alive..." Tira asked, only to be punched by his brother.

However, the youth didn't hear them and only collapsed to the ground, no longer caring about anyone seeing him cry. Silently, Reedy walked over to his side and knelt beside him. He hesitated for a moment before beginning to stroke his head softly.

"That's right, Meta. Just let it all out..." He whispered.

This was the first time Meta had ever experienced the death of someone he knew and cared about. What if it was Kurabe and Mercury that died? He would most likely just shut down completely. In a way, he was lucky he was able to reverse time, but the pain of losing a friend will be with him forever. However, there was one thought that persisted in Meta's mind doing this whole event.

"I need to get even stronger, so that I won't have to lose anyone ever again..." He whispered to himself.

However, Reedy was the only one that could hear him.

"...and I'm sure that Kurabe will support you with that." The man uttered in reply.

Just then a familiar ship could be seen coming in from the distance.

"Speak of the devil and she will appear. I assume you contacted her about the time loop?"

The puff silently nodded in reply.

"Good, that will make this easier." He then turned to the rest of his unit. "Alright everyone, let's head home."

---------

Back on the ship, Meta was waiting for his sensei to show up, Reedy standing a bit behind him figuring he could use the space. Before he could even react, Meta was instantly swept up in a hug by his mentor. It took a moment for the puff to process what happened.

"Sen... sei...?"

"Yes, Meta. I'm here now." Kurabe replied.

"...thank you."

There was a brief moment of silence as he held on to the warrior tightly, as if wishing that she would never let go. Suddenly, he had the urge to speak up.

"Sensei? Will this pain ever go away?"

He heard his mentor gave a slight sigh. "...it won't, Meta. I won't sugarcoat it. However, I will do what I can to lessen it."

He figured that would be the case, still he was ever grateful for his sensei's presence and reassurance.

"We can continue this later, right now I need to give Reedy a piece of my mind. While I do that, there's someone else you should go talk to." Kurabe said, pointing at Mercury.

The youth nodded in response as his mentor walked off and began to fight with Reedy. Mercury shook her head at the sight of her best friend and brother figure up to their usual back and forth.

"Some things never change, do they?" She asked rhetorically, then she noticed that Meta was strangely silent. "Is something wrong, Meta? I might not be the best person to talk to, but I can help you if you have a problem."

Meta looked down at his feet, and slightly fidgeted. He was extremely nervous, but after everything that had happened, he knew he had to get this out. If he didn't, there was no doubt he would die with regrets and that would be it!

"Mercury... I..."

He suddenly looked up with determination. "I love you!"

Mercury blinked in surprise and her face became slightly pink, before returning to its natural silver color. She looked at the nervous kid, trying to think of what to say.

"Listen, Meta, I'm flattered really, but I'm afraid I don't share the same feelings that you do for me. If it means anything to you, I do love you, but only as a little brother."

Admittedly, Meta somehow knew somewhere in his heart that his feelings would be unrequited, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"I... understand..." He whispered, looking down at the floor, as if ashamed. To his own surprise, he felt tears well up in his eyes.

Suddenly he felt himself being wrapped up in a hug by Mercury.

"Hey now, there's no need for you to be ashamed. Kids your age get crushes like that all the time. I know I did."

She then looked at him directly in the eyes.

"Now I understand that it hurts and there's no remedy for it other than time itself. But..." She then wiped his tears away. "You don't need to shoulder that pain by yourself. We're still a family, and I would be a horrible sister if I didn't help you."

While he was stunned for a moment by this sudden action...

"...even for something like this?"

"Yes, even for something like this."

Those words warmed his heart.

"...Mercury, is it fine if we hug for a bit longer? You feel so warm..."

"I already told you, I'd be horrible sister if I just left."

As she said that, Meta could feel the hug tighten. With that, Meta himself began to feel himself calming down. However, it wasn't just from this warmth. Due to how close he was to Mercury, he could now hear the soft beating of her core. It was...strangely comforting to him.

"Mercury... do you hate me for what I said?" He received a flick on his head in response.

"Don't ask such stupid questions."

He rubbed the part of his head where he was flicked, but then gave a smile. "...I'm so glad..."

"Good, now as much as I'm enjoying this, it looks like Kurabe is wrapping up her conversation."

He internally gave a pout before turning back towards his mentor. Soon, Kurabe followed by Reedy came up the two.

"Alright, Meta, let's go home." Kurabe said with a warm smile.

"But I still have a few weeks on the VictoriousArc, don't I?"

The man gave a slight laugh. "After all of that, I think you've done more than enough for us."

Meta couldn't argue with that.

"Not to mention that you were here to learn how to cooperate with strangers. It was your plan that killed the Myovam, Meta. I say you learned the lesson we wanted to teach and more." Reedy added with a rare smile.

"Then in that case, I enjoyed my time aboard, Mr. Reedy." Meta said holding out his hand.

The man nodded back, taking his hand and shaking it. "I'd be glad to have you on our ship again someday, Meta."

The puff gave a small smile of his own.

"Yeah..."

[marvelous-writer]

Responsible for Making Sure You’re Responsible

Summary: Peter knows he’s hurt badly enough that he can’t just slap a bunch of band-aids on his injuries, and especially the giant, still-oozing puncture wounds on his back and along his shoulders from the tips of Toomes’ wings. But it’s not like he can just stumble into an emergency room and ask to get stitched up. So where to go instead?

May would have a heart attack if she saw him right now, not to mention immediately figure out his secret. Ned would also definitely freak out, probably waking his parents in the process. Mr. Stark was an option, but Peter wasn’t about to bother him, not after how the man had made it crystal clear that he didn’t want anything to do with Peter ever again.

So no hospital, no May, no Ned, and no Mr. Stark just left… Happy. 

Or: following his final fight with the Vulture, Peter is left grievously injured and in need of some serious help. Cue Happy to the rescue.

Word count: 6,880

A/N: Me and @blondsak‘s first collab!!!

Link to read on AO3

Peter doesn’t know how he made it from the Coney Island Cyclone all the way to Avengers Tower. To be honest, the entire journey was a bit of a blur as his steadily bleeding injuries throbbed painfully in protest from all the web-slinging. 

When his feet hit the landing pad of the Tower, Peter distantly wonders why he had decided to come here, of all places. Even through his foggy brain, he knows he’s hurt badly enough that he couldn’t just slap a band-aid on the many deep cuts, burns and bruises littering his whole body, especially the giant puncture wounds on his back and along his shoulders from the tips of Toomes’ wings. But then again, it’s not like he could just stumble into an emergency room and ask to get stitched up. At least, not wearing his original Spider-Man costume, which - though basically rags now - was still far too easily identifiable beneath all the stains and grime. 

As for going home, that was definitely ruled out—May would have a heart attack if she saw him right now. Peter could maybe have chanced going to Ned’s, but Ned would have almost definitely freaked out at the sight of him, which would have led to his parents waking up and Peter losing any hope of his secret - not that it was still much of one anymore, but still, he had to try, didn’t he? - staying under wraps. So Ned’s place was out, too. Mr. Stark was another option, but Peter wasn’t about to bother him, not after how the man had made it crystal clear in the form of a forced walk of shame from Brooklyn to Queens - in Hello Kitty pajama pants, no less - that he didn’t want anything to do with Peter ever again. 

So no hospital, no May, no Ned, and no Mr. Stark just left… Happy. 

It’s definitely not ideal, but the fact remains that Happy’s his best bet right now, and Peter, well—Peter is pretty desperate. And the only place he knows Happy could be was back at the Tower, from where he assumes the man had been overseeing the move before the plane took off and Peter’s night went from  really, really bad to totally screwed.

With a deep, weary sigh Peter limps towards the glass doors, one hand pressed firmly against a shoulder in a futile effort to staunch the worst of the bleeding, surprised to find that the door is unlocked as he steps inside. He’s too out of it to notice that the once well-furnished living room is now completely empty. He passes by the kitchen, looking around at the vacant space. He doesn’t exactly know where he’s going to be honest. There’s a small tingling at the back of his head, the only warning he gets before an unfamiliar face comes around the corner from the hallway, a small squeak of surprise coming from the man - a security guard, by the looks of his uniform - at the sight of him. 

“Don’t come any closer! I’ll—I’ll shoot!” the guard cries out, though it comes out shaky, like he’s scared or maybe just inexperienced. All the same Peter doesn’t hesitate to put up his throbbing arms in temporary submission, biting back a groan from the pain. The shaking flashlight suddenly stills on Peter’s chest, the guard taking in the tattered remains of Peter’s homemade suit. His going wide as he exclaims, “Wait—you’re Spider-Man! What are you doing here?” Then, all shakiness gone and replaced with excitement, “Are you here on Avengers business?” 

“No, it’s n-nothing like that,” Peter weakly replies. “I actually need to talk to–”

“I heard that you were, like, an honorary Avenger now,” the guard interrupts, seemingly not noticing Peter’s injured state. “Is that true? I mean, I saw that on The Bugle’s Twitter page but I wasn’t sure if it was true. But I guess you did  fight with Iron Man against the Rogue Avengers, which was totally awesome by the way! That basically means you are then, right?”

Peter’s head is spinning from all of the questions, worsening his pounding headache. He closes his eyes beneath what’s left of his mask, gritting his teeth. 

The guard must take his silence as affirmation, continuing, “I knew it! My buddy Marv keeps saying there’s no way they’d add a low-level vigilante from Queens to their roster, but then he’s always been more of a Cap guy and anyway, he’s from Brooklyn so what does he–”

“S-sorry, but—where’s Happy Hogan?” Peter interrupts with as much force as he can. He’s starting to feel really lightheaded, and he can’t afford to let himself pass out in front of an overexcited Spider-Man fan, and especially one who was obsessed enough to believe any Spider-Man news that came from The Bugle—a news site that Peter knows for a  fact  offers a substantial reward for any proof of Spider-Man’s identity. “L-look, I need to speak to Happy right now. It’s a-an emergency.”

“Uh, okay, sure,” the guard replies after a moment, looking slightly put out even as he pulls out his cell phone and starts swiping through it, putting it up to his ear as he continues to eye Peter curiously. Normally Peter would have no issue hearing the ringing and Happy picking up, but he’s just so tired. Instead finds himself zoning out even as the guard starts rambling to the other person about Spider-Man showing up, until–

Peter startles when someone pokes him in the arm, looking up to see the guard is now standing right in front of him, holding out his phone. “He says he wants to talk to you.”

Trying to blink the exhaustion out of his eyes, Peter nods and takes the device. “Hey, Happy.”

“Kid,” Happy replies with a sigh, the relief in his tone something Peter’s never heard from him before. “You have no idea how glad I am that you’re okay.”

“Me too,” Peter agrees without thinking, then blinking slowly again, “but uh, about that–”

“Look, this line isn’t exactly secure,” Happy interrupts, and now Peter hears voices shouting in the background, along with what sounds like large trucks rumbling, “and neither is the tower anymore, for that matter. How about you head to my place? We’re just about finished getting the tech loaded and off the beach.”

“Oh, um, okay,” Peter replies numbly, the fog in his brain clearing just enough for him to memorize Happy’s address—relieved when he realizes it’s still in Manhattan, and in the Upper East Side at that. Happy doesn’t really come across as a glitzy kind of guy, but Peter supposes it makes sense that Mr. Stark would pay him very well, considering his job title and all.

“...still there, kid? You get that?”

“Wha’?” Peter asks dumbly, pulled out of a second daze in as many minutes. Man, he really needs to focus if he wants to make it to Happy’s in one piece. “Oh y-yeah, yeah. I’ll meet you there, Happy.”

There’s a pause then, as if Happy is mulling something over. But whatever it is he must let it go, saying instead, “I’ll see you there. And no dawdling at the churro stand, you hear me?” 

The line clicks before Peter can reply. Wearily he drops the phone from his ear, passing it back to the guard. “Thanks.”

Not wanting to invite further conversation, he immediately starts limping back toward the landing pad—only to come to a halt when the guard calls after him.

With a sigh Peter turns around, “Yeah?”

But where he expected the guard to bombard him with more questions, or maybe ask him for an autograph, the man looks only worried now. “Just wanted to check, uh—you sure you’re gonna be okay? ‘Cause to be honest, you don’t look too good.”

Peter smiles behind the torn mask, feeling a tiny bit of warmth spark in his chest at the man’s concern. It’s almost enough to overtake the cold that’s already seeped into him—Peter suppressing a shudder as the two war for dominance.

“Thanks, b-but, I’ll be okay.” 

“If you say so,” the guard says after a few moments, clearly not buying it. But he doesn’t say anything else and after a pause Peter turns away again, stumbling over to the doors and back outside. The chill of the night air seems to sink right into his bones, and this time Peter can’t stop the whole-body shiver that wracks him.

“Okay, you j-just gotta make it to Happy’s and then he’ll s-stitch you up and you’ll be f-fine,” he says to himself—taking a deep breath as he tries to shore up enough strength for the trip. “C’mon Spider-Man. Just this one l-last thing and then you can rest.”

With those words of self-encouragement Peter sends a web out and jumps over the edge, falling and falling only to shoot out another web and clumsily catch himself—ignoring the deep stabbing pain as his bodyweight pulls on the injured shoulder, feeling another burst of warmth flow down his back. 

Gritting his teeth, Peter takes aim for the Upper East Side, willing away the tendrils of darkness that keep pulling at his mind as he flies through the air, focusing on nothing else but getting to Happy’s place and continuing to talk to himself just to stay awake. 

“You got th-this, Spider-Man. Just get to Happy’s and th-then you can s-sleep,” he whispers just as Happy’s building comes into view. 

With no small amount of giddy relief he lands on the small balcony and wrenches open the sliding glass door. 

“S-s-see Happy? No d-dawdling,” he announces with a lazy smile, only to belatedly realize the place is still dark. Distantly his mind registers that he must have beat Happy here.

For a few moments Peter sways, before he hears a dripping sound. 

“Wha’s l-leakin’?” he asks the empty room. He glances down when he hears yet another drip, blinking dumbly when he sees it’s coming from him. 

His blood, landing onto what has to be super-expensive carpet. Shit! 

“Ohhh no,” Peter whispers, looking around in a panicked daze. Everything is starting to go blurry now and no—he can’t pass out here! Happy already barely tolerates him… what will he say if he comes back to find Peter ruined his floor?

“Think, Peter, think,”  he says to himself, before stumbling through the apartment toward the hallway—cursing when he trips over the edge of the coffee table, knocking over a plant on his way down. For a second he just breathes as he lies on the floor, eyes closing as he nearly gives in to the exhaustion… only to grit his teeth and stumble back onto his feet.

He leans heavily against the hallway wall for support as he staggers toward the bathroom. 

“M-made it,” he whispers as he crosses the threshold. He clutches at whatever is within reach as he hauls himself across the tiled floor, spots gathering in his vision. But by some miracle he eventually manages to collapse over the edge of the tub, curling up against the far corner of the porcelain. 

With a sigh of relief Peter finally allows his eyes to close and stay closed, telling himself that he’s safe now. After all, Happy is on his way, and he’ll handle everything for Peter, just like he does for Mr. Stark, right?

Right,  Peter thinks. 

It’s the last thought he has for a while.

_______________________________________________________________

“Come on! It’s a frickin’ yield sign!” Happy yells as he blares his horn at the car in front of him. He’s been stuck at this intersection for over seven minutes now, chipping away at what little patience he has left now that he’s back in Manhattan, yet still too far from Peter.

Because frankly, it’s a miracle the kid is even alive after a crash like that. The minutes after he’d first seen the scrawled note - during which he’d frantically searched the wreckage for a matching teenaged vigilante to go with the copious bloodstains strewn about the sand - will forever haunt Happy, especially knowing that Peter had been on the downed plane.

And while at first he’d been relieved to hear that Spider-Man was at the tower and looking for him, when he’d heard how out of it the kid sounded on the phone… well, let’s just say it had reminded him far too much of a different reckless superhero he knew, albeit back in the man’s less sober days. 

But where back then he’d been saving Tony from choking on his own vomit, tonight had raised red flags in Happy’s mind for other reasons. Because Peter wasn’t drunk or high, no—he was injured, badly enough that he was spacing out and slurring his words.

Happy can only hope it’s just a minor concussion, and not something worse. Because if anything happened to that kid, he would never forgive himself for it, and not only because Tony would have his head. Peter’s aunt was at home waiting for him, probably wondering where the hell he is at twelve-thirty in the morning on a Saturday night. 

He recalls then what he’d told the kid not a week earlier, when Peter had called while he’d been busy and distracted preparing for Moving Day: "Stay away from anything dangerous. I'm responsible for making sure you're responsible, okay?" 

Happy chews on the inside of his cheek, feeling another cry of worry-induced—and if he’s honest, guilt-induced—road rage rise up in his throat, only to force himself to swallow it back down. 

He’s not going to let himself lose it, not yet. Because Peter has to be okay. He has to be, because Happy doesn’t know how he’ll live with himself if he isn’t. 

It takes him twenty minutes before he arrives at his apartment building, not stopping to talk to his doorman as he quickly gets into the elevator. 

“Come on, come on…” Happy mumbles to himself as he impatiently punches at his floor’s button as the polished elevator doors slide shut in front of him. 

He all but runs out when the doors slide open on his floor—only to nearly crash into his next door neighbor Ms. Devine and her yappy shih-tzu, Mr. Fluffers.

“Sorry, Ellie,” Happy hastily apologizes, then when Mr. Fluffers growls at him, adds in a faux-casual voice, “Taking the dog for a late night walk?”

“Fluffy here runs on his own schedule,” the older woman responds kindly enough, only to narrow her eyes as if sniffing out a chance for gossip fodder. “And what has you hurrying home in such a rush after midnight?”

Making sure Spider-Man isn’t bleeding to death in my apartment. “Just checking that I didn’t leave my oven on.”

Ms. Devine continues to stare suspiciously for a few moments, before smiling tiredly and saying, “I’ve done that before.” 

“Haven’t we all,” Happy says with a polite smile as he walks around her, reaching in his pocket for his keys. “Have a good evening,” he adds rather dismissively, not looking back at what he is sure is a disapproving glare.

He waits until she turns the corner before racing down the rest of the hallway. Happy stops at his door, hands shaking as he fumbles to slide the key into the lock on the knob, scared of what he’ll find inside. He braces himself as he steps into the dark entryway, shutting the door behind him—careful to lock the deadbolt just in case Ms. Devine gets any ideas and decides to make an impromptu housecall. 

“Peter?” he calls out as he walks further in, feeling around the wall for the light switch, his hand meeting something wet. He finds the switch and the lights come on—only to gasp at the sight just mere feet away from his face. All along the light grey wall of his living room and turning down the hallway are long, broken, halting finger trails of red. With growing horror, Happy realizes it can only be one thing— blood.

Fear shoots through Happy as he turns away from the blood-smeared wall, finding a trail of red droplets along with a plant lying on its side on the floor—its dirt burrowing into the carpet and mixing with more blood stains, as though whoever knocked it over had landed in the mess and only barely managed to get back on their feet.

“Oh shit,” Happy breathes out as he follows the bloodied dirt trail, leading to the bathroom down the hall, finding the door open with the lights on. “Peter?” he frantically calls out.

Stepping a foot inside, it looks like something straight out of a horror movie. There’s smears of blood across the floor, as well as a handprint on the edge of the sink. Happy’s eyes scan over the scene before they settle on the blue and red— too much red —covered figure lying in the tub. 

“Oh my God,” Happy exclaims as he rushes forward and bends over the edge, hands hovering over Peter’s all-too-still form. Shit shit shit!!! 

“Kid? Peter?” Happy calls as he shakes the kid’s shoulder, gently at first and then more forcefully—closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in relief when the kid lets out a weak, pained groan.

“H’py? S’ you?” Peter mumbles, lifting his head, the goggles of his ridiculous homemade mask squinting in the lighting. 

“Yeah, it’s me,” Happy says with no small amount of relief. Placing his hands under the kid’s armpits, he helps Peter’s slumping form straighten a little bit, alarm growing when he spots a pool of blood beneath the kid’s form, standing out against the pristine white tub floor. Happy reaches up and carefully peels off the torn remnants of the mask, revealing Peter’s pale and dazed face. His curls are slightly damp and sticking to his sweaty forehead. Unsure what to ask first, Happy blurts out, “What are you doing in the bathtub?”

Peter blinks slowly. “May says tomato sauce is… is hard t’ get out…” 

Happy brows pull together in confusion. “Tomato sauce? Kid—what are you talking about? You’re bleeding.”

Peter nods slowly, his chin dropping to his chest as he blinks with half-lidded eyes. “S’ what I said…” he mumbles, his eyes closing further. 

“Hey, hey, hey—no falling asleep on me. I have to make sure you don’t have a concussion or anything,” Happy tells him sternly. 

“But m’ tired,” Peter mumbles, words slurring together slightly. 

“I know, and you can sleep soon. Let’s just get you out of the tub and cleaned up first, okay?” 

“M’kay,” Peter mumbles, blinking sluggishly. 

Happy helps him out of the tub, practically carrying him with how wobbly the kid’s legs are, and sits him down on the closed toilet seat. “Do you promise to stay upright if I let you go?”

Peter gives the tiniest of nods, before slowly slumping sideways until his head and the ball of his shoulder hit the tiled wall. Happy waits until he feels confident Peter is safely propped before nodding back, patting him gently on the arm and leaving the bathroom. He practically runs into the kitchen, grabbing two pills of prescription strength ibuprofen and filling a glass of water heading back the way he came. 

“Here kid, take these,” he says, depositing the pills in Peter’s open palm and then holding the glass for him after he puts them in his mouth, helping the kid take a sip to get them down, then a few long gulps to quench his thirst. Satisfied, Happy sets down the glass and moves to the cabinet under the sink, pulling out his heavy-duty first aid kit. 

For as much as he had ignored the kid the past few months—and he’d be beating himself up about that for a good long while after this, no doubt—Happy had taken one aspect of his reluctant side gig of Spider-Man’s Keeper very seriously from the get-go, and that was preparing for a night just like this. One where Peter would call because he was injured and needed help getting patched up, and Happy would grumble but give him his address and tell him to swing over. 

As such, he had promptly taken his SI company credit card details and ordered an expensive, industrial-sized first aid kit to keep at home. He had hoped he wouldn’t ever have to use it, of course. But for now, he just finds he’s glad he had the foresight to plan for such a scenario—knowing that if he hadn’t, they’d be in a lot more trouble right now than they already are. 

“M’ really sorry, H’ppy,” Peter whispers as he watches Happy unclasp the kit and start pulling out supplies, carefully laying them out on the bathroom counter. Happy glances over at him, relieved to see the kid seems more coherent now that he’s both hydrated and medicated. “I didn’t... didn’t know where to go, and m-May would freak out—” 

“Kid, it's okay. I’m glad you’re here and not bleeding out in some alley,” Happy interjects as he grabs some face cloths from the small bathroom linen closet. Finally, with everything set up on the counter within easy reach, Happy turns back to Peter.. “Let’s get you out of that hoodie so I can see how bad it is.” 

Getting the top part of the kid’s homemade costume off of him is a bit of a struggle, but Happy takes it slow as Peter struggles to lift his arms above his head, parts of the fabric sticking to his skin with dried blood. Once it’s off, Happy’s stomach drops at the sight of the dark bruises blooming across the kid’s torso, as well as the cuts and deep puncture marks on his left shoulder. Just from being at the crash sight he knew it had been one hell of a fight, but seeing the consequences in the form of the actual wounds littering Peter’s young body brings it home in an entirely different way. 

“Happy?” Peter’s voice takes him out of his thoughts, looking up to see a puzzled look on the kid’s overly pale face. 

“Yeah,” Happy nods, blinking a few times and forcing himself to focus on the task at hand. He turns the faucet on, rolling up his shirt sleeves and washing his hands and forearms thoroughly before running the face cloths under warm water, wringing them out. “This might sting a little,” he warns as he kneels down in front of Peter, bringing a cloth down to one of the sluggishly bleeding cuts, earning a pained groan.

After a few minutes, Happy’s managed to clean and bandage the cuts. The two puncture wounds on the kid’s back were shallow enough that they only needed to be cleaned and bandaged, but the two on his chest just below his clavicles would both need a couple of stitches. The only problem being that said kid is half-asleep and fading fast right in front of him. 

“I’m gonna have to stitch these chest wounds up, alright? Think you can hold on for a few more minutes?” Happy asks. 

Peter blinks heavily a few times, clearly struggling to keep his eyes open. “Yeah.” 

“Okay,” Happy says as he reaches up for the first aid kit from the sink countertop, grabbing the suture packet inside. He wipes away the blood and disinfects the left-side wound first—being the more serious of the two—before taking out the pre-threaded needle from the package. “Ready?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” Peter replies with a shaky nod, cautiously eyeing the needle before closing his eyes as if bracing himself.

“Try not to squirm too much, kid,” Happy says before getting to work. To his surprise, besides a slight flinch with every pull of the thread Peter remains obediently still, and Happy wonders if he’s had to do this himself a time or two—feeling a pang of distress at the idea of the kid alone in his bathroom with nothing but his aunt’s sewing kit for supplies, biting down on a washcloth to muffle any noises of pain as he shakingly attends to all manner of jagged cuts and wounds.

He wants to think he’s just being dramatic imagining such a thing, but still he refuses to ask Peter—deciding not knowing is better than having his suspicions confirmed. As it is, the kid stays completely stoic even as Happy finishes stitching up the left wound and moves on to the right, being sure to be careful and thorough but still going as fast he can—knowing the kid is operating on his last reserves. 

“Alright, your torso is good to go,” he says as he finishes pressing a bandage over the second line of stitches, looking back up at Peter. “I need you to tell me the truth now. Do you have any other wounds that need seeing to? Because this isn’t the time for modesty if you do.”

Peter blinks slowly, before looking down at his legs. Happy watches in patient silence as the kid seems to take stock of himself—taking the chance to give a cursory once-over of the kid’s sweats. He personally doesn’t see any stains that seem to indicate more than shallow cuts, and is relieved when the kid looks back up only to shake his head.

“I think ‘m okay now,” the kid says, voice weak but tone honest enough that Happy believes him. 

“Alright,” Happy says simply, getting back to his feet—ignoring the way his knees crack and protest at the movement. “I’ll be right back. Try to drink more water if you can. No passing out while I’m gone.”

Peter doesn’t reply but also doesn’t slump any further, which Happy takes as acknowledgement enough before he swiftly moves back into the hallway, heading for his bedroom. He grabs one of his old Stillman’s Gym t-shirts and a pair of drawstring sweatpants that no longer fit him before going back to the bathroom—heartened to see the kid is still awake, albeit barely.

“Lift your arms,” he orders, watching as Peter does so as much as his injuries will allow before pulling the t-shirt over the kid’s head and getting his arms through the holes. “Think you can stand up and get those ruined pants off?” he asks next, Peter taking a deep breath before nodding determinedly. Happy can’t help but hover as he watches the kid stumble to his feet, using one arm to lean against the wall for support as with the other he fumbles with his waistband. Happy pointedly doesn’t watch, just leans over and stares at where the torn sweats are pooled at the kid’s feet as holds open the clean pair of sweatpants so Peter can step into them, lifting them up to the kid’s knees and letting go as soon as Peter has a good enough grip to pull them up the rest of the way himself.

Leaning back up, Happy does one last visual assessment to make sure he’s not missing any hidden injuries. Satisfied, he carefully wraps an arm around the kid’s uninjured lower back, leading him out the bathroom door and down the hallway.

It’s a testament to how absolutely exhausted Peter must be that he doesn’t ask any questions as Happy guides him into the guest bedroom, pulling back the covers and helping him settle in beneath the sheets.

“Th’ks, Hap,” Peter mumbles, eyes closing. He’s out almost immediately. Happy shakes his head as he watches the kid for a few more moments, making sure that his breaths are deep and even and pressing two fingers to the kid’s neck, double-checking his pulse. But everything seems to be fine, and Happy lets out a long sigh, giving himself just a few seconds to collect his thoughts as he tiredly rubs a hand over his face.

Tonight was close—way, way too close. And besides that sociopath Toomes, the blame for it rests squarely on exactly two people’s shoulders—neither of which are Peter. 

With that thought in mind, Happy gives the kid one last look before walking to the door. He closes it most of the way but leaves it just open enough so that he can peek in later, making a mental note to leave Peter a glass of water and some more pills for when he wakes up. 

He silently makes his way back into the living room—pointedly not looking at the dried blood streaked across the walls and staining the carpet—and pulls out his cellphone. 

He’s not too surprised to see he has a dozen missed calls from just the last hour, most of them from his team with the exception of one from Pepper and two from Tony. He debates calling Pepper back first—having no doubt she needs some answers about exactly how everything went to shit tonight so they can start getting ahead of the morning news cycle—but in the end selects Tony’s name. He finds himself mildly stunned when the man picks up on the first ring.

“Hap?”

“It’s me, boss.”

“Good. Listen, Fri’s been keeping me updated on the crash and apparently there’s evidence the kid was there but ran off, is that–”

“Don’t worry, I found him,” Happy says with a sigh. “He’s injured but he’ll survive.”

“Thank god,” Tony replies, and the sheer relief in his voice is enough that Happy is left surprised by him for the second time in under a minute. Tony wasn’t usually so transparently sincere when it came to those outside his inner circle, but his genuine concern for Peter couldn’t be more clear. Happy can’t help but wonder when that development happened, though—on second thought—he supposes he’s not all that shocked it did. The kid can be annoyingly endearing.

“That said, you’re gonna have to call May Parker and come up with a whopper of a good story,” Happy continues, “‘cause I sure as hell ain’t taking him back to Queens yet, what with the shape he’s in.”

“Sure, sure, I’ll figure out something.” A pause. “How bad is it? And where are you two? Does he need–”

“He went to the tower looking for me, after. One of the guards rang, and I told him to meet me at my place,” Happy explains. “Kid took some serious licks during the fight with Toomes but I managed to get him patched up. He’s sleeping now.”

“Good, that’s good.”

And now they’re at the part of the conversation that Happy would rather not deal with. But it’s no longer something he can afford to avoid, not after stitching up the passed out child down the hall. Because Peter is just a child—only  fifteen, for Christ’s sake. Happy swipes a hand over his face again, shaking his head—hating that he ever let himself forget that.

“Listen, bo—Tony,” he begins, “you know I’m not one to actually speak my mind too often, but this was… Look. I don’t know much but I do know that kid needs his suit back, and probably a whole hell of a lot more from you—from  both of us—from now on. Because this? This was an absolute shitshow as it was, and if he hadn’t been okay, I don’t know if—”

“You don’t have to tell me how bad I fucked up, Hap, I'm well aware,” Tony interjects, but there’s no anger in his tone, just weariness. “And just so we’re clear, this isn’t gonna happen again—I’ve already got a plan. As soon as the kid’s healed up he’s coming out to the compound. I’ve decided to make him a full team member—got a new nanosuit ready for him and everything.”

Happy frowns. He’s not sure making Peter an Avenger is any better for his safety than taking his suit away was. But then, if there’s one thing Happy tries to keep out of, it’s all the team drama and politics that Tony seems to constantly be dealing with. As long as the kid’s identity is safe, he supposes it might not be a bad idea—if Peter even wants it, that is.

“Just make sure you let him know it’s a choice and not a demand, boss.”

“Of course I’ll make sure he knows that,” Tony says irritably, but Happy knows him well enough to recognize that he’s only annoyed because he understands  exactly why Happy felt the need to say as much. After all, taking the kid to Germany, making Happy his main contact, keeping him out of the loop with the Toomes investigation, taking away the suit… Tony hadn’t given Peter much choice in anything up to now. 

Happy thinks about pressing the point, but decides it’s not worth it. Him and Tony might not be on the exact same page but they’re at least reading the same book, and that’ll have to do for now. In any case, Happy doesn’t intend to go anywhere, so if the time comes to set Tony straight again where the kid is concerned—he’ll be there then, too.

“Alright, well, if that’s everything for now I think I’m gonna try to catch a few winks while the kid is out,” Happy says. “He should be recovered enough to go home tomorrow, so you can tell his aunt to expect him then.”

“Got it, and yeah, I should hit the hay soon too,” Tony replies with a long sigh.  “Get myself ready for the PR storm that’s no doubt already brewing.”

Silence again, and Happy thinks about apologizing for what happened—knowing all too well that if he’d just listened to Peter’s friend when the kid popped up on his screen, this whole mess might have been mostly prevented. But he clenches his jaw instead. He has things to apologize for, certainly—but it’s not Tony who needs to hear them.

“Tell Peter I'll be in touch soon,” Tony continues when Happy doesn't respond.  “And Hap? Thank you.”

Happy pauses, uncertain exactly which thing in particular he's being thanked for. It could be for looking after the kid, or for saying his piece just now, or simply general gratitude for all the years he's faithfully had Tony’s back. He supposes it doesn't matter which one it is though, not really. The reply is the same. 

“No problem, boss.”

With a small smile, he hangs up. 

In a span of an hour, Happy’s managed to scrub every last drop of blood from the floors, walls and the bathroom. The last thing he wanted was for the kid to wake up and see the mess in the morning. He also threw the tattered remains of his suit in the washing machine and then into the dryer—one less thing for Peter to worry about. 

Tossing the bloody used paper towels in a plastic bag, Happy disposes of it in the kitchen trash can, leaving it hopefully out of sight and out of mind. 

If only the sight of an unconscious and injured Peter in his bathtub could be as easily forgotten.

Casting his guilt aside for now, he grabs a glass from the cabinet and fills it up halfway, along with a few ibuprofen in a plastic Dixie cup. Turning off all the lights, Happy heads back down the hallway to the guest bedroom. 

He quietly pushes the door open with his foot and walks over to the bed, placing the water and pills on the nightstand within easy reach. Happy’s eyes fall on the kid, who is passed out, his mouth hanging open slightly. Another small smile finds its way to his face as an odd feeling spreads through his chest at the sight. Before he can talk himself out of it, Happy reaches a hand out, placing his palm on the kid’s forehead. He tells himself it's to check for signs of fever, but if it's also to physically reassure himself the kid is going to be okay, well, nobody’s gonna know anyway. 

“You’re gonna make my hair turn grey before its time, kid,” he whispers, receiving a soft sleep-sigh in return when he drops his hand. “And that’s only if Tony doesn’t manage it first.”

With a fond shake of his head, Happy makes his way out of the room, sparing one last glance at the sleeping teen before closing the door behind himself, leaving it open a crack once again. He heads to his room, choosing to leave his door open as well so he can hear should Peter wake up and need him. Going through his nightly bedtime ritual, his mind races with everything on his agenda for tomorrow—dealing with Damage Control’s rather displeased (to put it mildly) reaction to the plane crash and the almost-stolen tech, the inevitable PR nightmare, and finally, scheduling security detail for Pepper as she makes the rounds of meetings she'll undoubtedly have handling her end of all the former.

But right now, those things don’t seem as important. The important thing is the injured fifteen year old sleeping in his guest bedroom. The very one who he was supposed to be watching out for, and who he completely and utterly let down. 

As he lays down in bed and turns off his lamp, Happy vows to himself to be better from now on. Better at being there for Peter, even if that involves the kid talking his ears off with stories about school, his adventures patrolling Queens or all the annoying pop culture references he can't seem to stop making. From seeing everything Tony’s been through he knows the superhero business can be a lonely one, and Happy doesn’t want that for Peter. The kid should know he has more than just his teenage buddy in his corner. Which is why as soon as he can tomorrow, he is going to tell Peter exactly that. 

With that last thought in mind, Happy closes his eyes, soon drifting off. 

________________________________________________________________

It’s close to seven-thirty in the morning and Happy is sitting at the center island in the kitchen, all dressed and ready for the day, sipping from a mug of coffee. Despite it being Saturday, he still has a lot of work to do, starting with driving Peter home. 

He’d better get the kid up now so he has a chance to wake up a little and eat something before he goes home and faces the music with his aunt—Happy shooting off a quick text to Tony asking what cover story he gave Mrs. Parker so he can make sure their stories line up. And once he’s got that taken care of with the kid, Happy can apologize to him for the dismissiveness he’s shown over the past few months and explain how things are going to be different from now on. 

First though, he needs to get Peter’s suit out of the dryer. But when Happy goes to grab it, he finds the machine empty. Confused, he heads back down the hall, stopping outside the guest room and knocking softly. “Peter?” 

He’s met with silence on the other end. Happy’s brows pull together as worry pools in his gut. “Kid? I’m coming in.” 

But when he opens the door, he finds it to also be empty—the bed neatly made. Happy walks further into the room, seeing that the window is slightly ajar, the curtains gently blowing in the wind. 

“So much for that talk,” Happy mutters to himself with a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. He can only hope the kid doesn't blow his cover with his aunt. Should Peter reveal everything, he has no doubt his phone—being the only connection the kid has at the moment to reach Tony—will be blowing up with calls and texts from an understandably irate May Parker. While Happy is personally of the mind that she deserves to know the truth, he’d rather not deal with putting out that particular fire on top of everything else on his plate today.

He’s about to walk out of the room, but something on the nightstand catches his eye. Happy goes over and picks up a small folded piece of paper, finding neat handwriting inside. 

  Dear Happy, 

Thanks for helping me last night and letting me stay over. I would have let you know I was leaving but you were sleeping and after how late I made you stay up, I didn't want to bother you.

Also, don't be mad but I thought you should know that you snore REALLY loud. I'm no doctor but you might want to get that checked out.

Sincerely,

Peter Parker

 “That little shit,” Happy murmurs, reading over the part about his snoring again with no small amount of disgruntlement. Yet all the same he makes a mental note to call his doctor later in the day and make an appointment.

After all, he might have missed out for the time being on the big talk he had planned. But actually paying attention and taking Peter more seriously? Letting him know in every way he can that he’s listening, that the kid can trust that he’ll be there if he needs him?

Taking responsibility for all that begins right now.

[kraya-maya]

I wanted to bring this up because I see some people who hate Zendaya (some of whom are Tom Stan antis) complain about how much Zendaya got featured in Dune promos even though she had a small part. Some also extend this complaint to Homecoming and they try to pin this on Z’s management or PR. This is my opinion/problem with this line of thinking:

1. Other Dune actors like Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Fergusson actually did do a lot of promo. It just seems like you didn’t bother watching those interviews, because just like the Z fans you complain about, you are more interested in her than in the other actors who had more lengthy parts.

2. The decision on how much Zendaya or any cast member will be featured in promotions is taken by the film’s producers and publicists, not Z. She is just doing the job she has been asked to do. This also applies to her being promoted heavily during HoCo.

3. Finally, some people complain that Liz was written out of HoCo because of shippers or Z being more popular etc and they feel Laura was somehow cheated in the process. The reality is that Z was cast for the full 3 movies knowing that her character would be revealed to be MJ. Liz was always going to be written off and Laura was cast with that in mind. Marvel and Sony aren’t basing their business decision based on a few online shippers.

[mostsoup]

The student body at my school just makes random Instagram accounts not at all run by the school or for an activity so I’m going to keep track of them here:

• antimasker page (making fun of the anti maskers and those who can’t wear their mask properly)

• bathroom feet

• munchies page

• devious licks/caught in 4k

• people sleeping

• parking lot page

• ships page (two of these accounts, people who should be in relationships with each other but aren’t)

• *school name’s* 13 reasons why

• plane spotting page

• hallway account (embarrassing hallway drama and stuff)

• poor posture page

• bathroom vapes

• prom/hoco dresses (new one every year)

• rate your outfits page

• guard memes

• couples page

• band memes

• 4 different accounts for 4 different music teacher memes

• school “mascot” for the cross country team which is just a captain America doll with school colors

• “steamy” school drama

• cheaters

• pets

• confessions

• vending machines

• complaints

• compliments

• stupidity

• bread

• spoons

• identity theft is bad

[margokesses]

Idk maybe this is dumb but I lowkey find it annoying that marvel insists their spidey movies are all subtitled with "home" in some way //

It really confuses me because there is no themes of “home” in any of the movies???? Unless I’m just misremembering (I haven’t rewatch hoco or ffh in a while). Like there is no Peter learning what “home” is to home or protecting his home. Literally everything time there is a problem he leaves the people that care about him to go be a superhero instead. Not really getting home vibes from that

Yeah I've noticed that too! One of my biggest complaints is that he doesn't have the friendly neighborhood vibes. Like him going in vacation is fine but you're telling me peter parker wouldn't bring his suit just in case something happened?? Or him just doing one friendly neighborhood montage because stark told him too???

Send me asks

[celawrites]

Day 34

“So. How was yesterday’s date?” Pebble sneaks up behind me in class.

“I’m sorry?”

“You and Sun went on a date?” a couple classmates were now staring at me.

“I went to grab the tablecloths from him”

“And then?”

“And then nothing. We may be teenagers but we aren’t irresponsible”

“You guys didn’t plan another one?”

“He tried to. I was too tired to agree”

“sERIOUSLY?”

“CRESSIE HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US”

“Huh?”

“What’s going on?” Sun leans on the door frame.

“Quit trying to look like a model Sun. Your acne said no”

“What’s everyone talking about?”

“Date”

“Yesterday?”

“Yeah”

“tELL US WHAT HAPPENED PLEASE”

“tHERE MUST HAVE BEEN MORE THAN JUST TALKING. DID YOU GUYS KISS? HUG? FU-”

“No to all 3”

“Wait that’s boring”

“I mean it makes sense. The two of them are awfully vanilla in the things they want”

“Say that when you’re in a position of power” I give the classmate a lazy smile.

“Not my fault the school likes you better. You literally have the most contorted sleep schedule out of everyone here” He huffs.

“Except me”

“Gamer issues”

“Honestly”

“So nothing happened? No hand-holding, cheesy stuff, soft couple-y things?”

“We’re not even dating?”

“Wait. yOU DIDN’T ASK HER OUT YET?” Sam screeches.

“He’s not even into me??? Sam wake up this isn’t some perfect fairy tale”

“He asked you out on the date though?”

“And?”

“hE ASKED YOU OUT?” now that got the class’ attention.

“So?”

“yOU’VE BEEN PINING AFTER HIM EVER SINCE YOU CAME BACK WHAT DO YOU MEAN SO?” Pebble screeched.

“I’m being used as a rebound and I have way too much respect for myself to allow that”

“I told you. You aren’t being used as a rebound I’m just giving you a chance” Sun groans.

“And? You don’t like me when I sure as hell do and I’m not forcing you into a relationship”

“Cress I swear-”

“Tone down the volume” our homeroom teacher calls. “As much as I like the tea, tone it down before our principal gets a noise complaint”

“Sorry”

“Ok so how about we just all agree that Sun is whipped”

“I thought Cressie was the one who was whipped. I mean she literally memorized his coffee order”

“He knows mine too”

“Wait what”

“Are you two sure you guys aren’t dating?”

“Positive”

“Sus”

“Like me”

The conversation floats off to god knows where, and I find myself typing on my Chromebook again. Mint is off doing his vice president duties and honestly, it’s surprising how little time he spends with our class. My fingers click away and the conversation does as well. At some point, we get to the topic of homecoming.

“So do we all have hoco dates?”

“Yea”

“Mhm”

“I’m planning on asking”

“Good luck then”

“Cress? Homecoming date?”

“Student council is on duty. No time for a date or dancing. Trying to make sure no one’s drunk or high”

“No date?”

“Nope”

“Sun-”

“No. I’m not going”

“Sunburn it’s literally the last year you get to experience all this at least go” I scoff.

“Sunburn?”

“SUNBURN IM CRYING”

“Where did that come from?”

“A work of mine from 7th”

“You had an Oc called Sun?”

“No. The character I made based off of Mint was called Sunburn”

“So I’m just a replacement for him now?”

“Murder on my mind” I sang. “Murder on my mind”

“Someone make sure she doesn’t jump out our second-story window”

“Bet”

The day ends. Oh nice. Just kidding! It’s 3am again and I finally make my way to McDonalds after 2? Weeks? Of not going? I miss the employee not gonna lie.

“dARLING”

“DEAR”

“YOU’RE ALIVE”

“I’M BACK”

“I missed your presence”

“I missed your vibes”

“Honestly same”

“The same order as always?”

“Yeah”

“Alright then I’ll see you soon!”

“See you thursday”

“See you darling!”

Serenity made a new post!

The sunrise today is a scorching crimson. It’s the shade of red you see when you stare at a fire. The red that you only see in your dreams, when you fantasize about whatever it is for the day. When you see that passionate anger someone has for something, a harsh reminder of how cruel the people around you may be. The red you see when you fall in love with someone for the first time.

Yes I tried to write when it’s morning I can tell you this did not end up half as interesting as I had hoped it to be.

Previous : Masterlist : Next

[doctorstark]

ffh opinion time 😌

the movie itself is waaay better than i thought it would be. it's fucking great but it's not in my top 5 fave mcu movies and i'm not sure if i like it more than spider-man 2 because i really fw sm2. but still. it's amazing. my only complaints would be that it kinda moves really fast and it didn't have some of the elements i enjoyed from homecoming. but it was a tony stark event so i have to stan

as for characters and relationships, i do feel as though happy hogan carried this entire movie and i love him. iron man franchise characters stay winning as usual. his relationship with peter is really nice and i love how its changed since hoco, him gushing ab tony was the best part of the movie, and he and may INVENTED love. brad davis deserves no rights and annoyed me more than flash, who i actually kinda love despite him being an asshole. ned and betty are WONDERFUL as characters and together and i would die for both of them. it was nice to see more of mj but i wish we knew more about her, not how she feels ab peter bc like.. wbk. i don't mind spideychelle within like. the mcu world, i think they're nice together and all but i'm not gonna be out here writing fics and making edits of them. ok that is all fuck mysterio and stan happymay 2k19

[destinyc1020]

Most long term fans of Z are appreciative of the opportunity that being in the Spidey movies opened for her but many have the criticisms of the lack of character development over the course of 3 movies. You even posted about your issues with the way Marvel developed the character. They understand that she was playing a love interest, but you can have a 3-dimensional love interest instead of a 2-dimensional one, and Marvel had a lot of chances to make MJ feel like a real person with an actual family and goals outside of loving Peter and just spending a few more seconds would have made the love story more believable rather than suddenly have Peter with a crush on MJ even though he had ignored her existence for years. We just need to compare all the background that was given to Kirsten Dunst's MJ or Emma Stone's Gwen to see how shallow the MCU was with Zs MJ

Also we even have Tom saying that he may not go back to Spidey because he feels protective of the character and will just return if there's a story worth telling. Can we afford the same grace to Z regarding MJ?

Most long term fans of Z are appreciative of the opportunity that being in the Spidey movies opened for her but many have the criticisms of the lack of character development over the course of 3 movies. You even posted about your issues with the way Marvel developed the character.

Well, you're certainly not wrong about that. I def have my complaints about Marvel's Spiderman film (and just some of the Marvel films in general) when it comes to character development, Zendaya's MJ character to be specific, and I've voiced my concerns and opinions about this on my blog for years.

So yea, it's def no secret that I think they could improve in certain areas.

But with that said, let's be honest, this is just a Marvel movie. It's a superhero blockbuster popcorn flick. 🍿 This isn't War and Peace lol. 😅 Tbh, I've long-since given up trying to expect much character development in a Marvel film (especially for Spiderman, which is geared towards kids it seems). 🤷🏾‍♀️

It's not like those films take forever to make, and if Z enjoys it, and she keeps getting those Disney/Marvel coins, then I'm not mad at that at all. 😊

I just find it strange and a bit sus when some (I said some) Z stans hate Spiderman with a passion. It just seems strange. The films are enjoyed by most ppl, they make a ton of money, there's no DRAMA with the cast or franchise, and it doesn't take nearly a year to film like with Euphoria. 🤷🏾‍♀️

They understand that she was playing a love interest, but you can have a 3-dimensional love interest instead of a 2-dimensional one, and Marvel had a lot of chances to make MJ feel like a real person with an actual family and goals outside of loving Peter and just spending a few more seconds would have made the love story more believable rather than suddenly have Peter with a crush on MJ even though he had ignored her existence for years.

No I totally agree with you here Anon. Marvel/Disney could def do better imo. I mean, some things would only even take a few minutes to show or even mention.... like, seeing where MJ lives lol.... or her home life. We really could have seen more insight into WHY her character was so cynical in HOCO. But nope! 😒

We just need to compare all the background that was given to Kirsten Dunst's MJ or Emma Stone's Gwen to see how shallow the MCU was with Zs MJ

I totally agree with you here, but I think we need to keep in mind too that Tobey and Andrew's spidey films were SONY solo films. They weren't attached to Marvel in any way. In fact, I don't even think Marvel studios existed back then lol 😆

Their films weren't tied to some "cinematic universe" or "multiverse" with 50-11 things going on that character development takes a back seat. 👀

I've been saying for years that when Tom's Spiderman was being threatened to be taken OUT of the MCU, I was actually not too upset about that, because I felt at the time that this would have allowed for better character development with MJ, and even with Tom's Peter Parker. To me, going back to Sony solo meant separating away from the MCU "universe". When you're not having to insert Ironman, Nick Fury, Dr. Strange, or other former spidey villains and Peter Parker's into the films, you have a LOT more time for character development imo. 🤷🏾‍♀️

But I digress.

Also we even have Tom saying that he may not go back to Spidey because he feels protective of the character and will just return if there's a story worth telling. Can we afford the same grace to Z regarding MJ?

Well I assume that if Tom isn't going to go back to Spiderman then Z wouldn't go back either? Rofl 😅😂

I def don't see her continuing on if Tom drops out. So if Tom takes on the role again, I just automatically ASSUME that the new script and agreement btwn Sony and Marvel must be good! 👍🏾 😁

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

Spidey hoco And/or spidey ffh?

homecoming 

never seen | want to see | terrible | boring | okay | good | great | a favorite

it’s cute, it’s fun, it’s got Tom Holland crying and a catchy soundtrack- what’s not to love! but also you’re used to spiderman movies having a little bit more....angst? depression? general underlying seriousness? idk even though it did a great job of making you feel things through Peter’s perspective it was just Too Happy lmao. also, it didn’t have a single gratuitous, no bearing on the plot, cinematic shot of Spidey webbing throughout the city just for fun, which is CRUCIAL and its absence actually upset me lmao 

far from home

never seen | want to see | terrible | boring | okay | good | great | a favorite

He’s Back, And He’s Got PTSD And Depression With Him! lol but seriously this is the best live action spiderman movie...not even just my Opinion its an objective fact. I didn’t really have like...any complaints about it? which is rare for me. It was fun, the fight scenes were awesome and we got to see Spidey actually being a good fighter this time around, the villain was great, the location shots were great, the effects were great, the chemistry between the cast was great, the emotion was great, and it did achieve a more serious air than homecoming while still being a comedy. we also got the undercurrent of grief we’ve been missing....the gratuitous web slinging shot...delicious. finally some good fucking live action spiderman 

[ultimatespider]

there was a lot of backlash, especially on twitter, anon. i think even one of the writers of the spider-man comics started "fighting" people who were saying she wasn't right to play mary jane. their complaints were mostly about the hair, as if that's mary jane's only personality trait lmao. and i think kirsten dunst was hating on hoco because she considers the og trilogy to be the best one and it was unnecessary to make another spidey movie, it had nothing to do with mj

yeah people were all suddenly being all red haired lives matter on twitter over mj’s character. kirsten dunst’s comment on hoco was a bit immature to me especially when she’s been in the industry for a longer time than these kids. don’t understand why she was so bitter lol

[soulspideys]

A Review of Tom Holland’s Complete Filmography

According to imdb

I had a lot of free time, so I decided to watch every movie Tom has acted in, according to his imdb page. I review each film, some with separate spoiler-free reviews.

spoilers under the cut

Arrietty (UK dub)

Not much to say about this one, so both reviews will go together. Tom plays Sho, the sick boy who finds Arrietty and her family. Quite similar to the Disney version, though a little less childish and fun. An enjoyable viewing; I find both English dubs interchangeable.

The Impossible (2012)

Wow. For my spoiler-free review, I just gotta say: watch this movie!! The whole cast is phenomenal, and Tom really does carry the story. He’s a 12-year-old boy on Holiday with his family when a tsunami hits, and we watch his struggle to get his mother medical attention and reunite with his father and little brothers. For such a young character, it is truly remarkable to watch him steal every scene. Definitely recommend!

Spoilers: I cannot stress enough how amazing this cast was. Of course, the movie had its flaws, with three of the main cast being portrayed by children, but it was still remarkable. The way Tom shows Lucas’s character development was remarkably done, and every time Lucas breaks or begins to scream, you’re reminded how young these children are. Ewan McGregor, as always, played his role to the best of his ability, and as he showed a mourning dad desperate for information on his family, you could feel your heart break with him. Naomi Watts, of course, was phenomenal. Just an all around remarkable film, and one that really showcased some of Tom’s strong suits. Quite graphic throughout, but if you have the stomach, I highly recommend taking the time to watch young Tom act his heart out in crisis.

Moments (short film, 2013)

mmkay so this is just a short youtube film, but it’s pretty great. It has Tom doing a voiceover with a montage of a boy and girl in a relationship. Heartbreaking, sharply done, and quick, it’s worth the four minutes of your time.

Locke (2013)

This one’s about a dad on a car ride and how his life kind of falls apart over the course of a few phone calls. Though Tom has a very small part in this film (it’s just his voice for like five minutes, max) he does it well. You understand the relationship between he and his father, and he sounds just a like a teenage kid waiting to watch a match on tv would. The whole film isn’t really necessary if you’re just watching for Tom, but it’s actually really remarkable. Would recommend, just be aware this isn’t a “Tom” movie.

How I Live Now (2013)

ALRIGHT, BUCKOS, STRAP IN! I have my fair share of complaints with this movie, but Tom’s character (Isaac) is NOT ONE OF THEM! Basic plot: an edgy™ American girl comes to stay with her cousins in England, and WWIII breaks out and they get separated and she’s trying to find them. It’s enjoyable, Saoirse Ronan does a great job playing her character, and I’m glad I actually watched it.

Spoilers: She falls in love with her eldest cousin, and that’s a main instigator of the plot. GROSS. But it’s her middle cousin, Isaac, that really made this movie tolerable. Tom plays a 14-year-old kid that really just wanted his cousin to enjoy her stay without letting her walk all over him. He and Daisy exchange banter, and he never lets her negativity get to him. For the first half an hour, he spends all his screen time trying to make light of situations and caring for his family. Then, they kill him off after seeing nothing of him for 40+ minutes. NOT. COOL. Daisy tenderly buries his glasses after finding his dead body, but they don’t really mention him again until the little sister is like “lmao where’s isaac???” He deserved far better. I will probably watch this movie again, but it really goes downhill when you take his positivity and warmth from it.

Tweet (short film, 2015)

Another short youtube film. This one stars Tom’s youngest brother, and is very witty and cute. You get about thirty seconds (max) of Tom onscreen, but he actually directed this! V v adorable, I recommend those two minutes of cuteness.

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

Ahhh, the origination of the iconic Quackson meme. Won’t lie, I was a bit disappointed by this one. The movie is based off a book that is telling the “true story” that inspired Herman Meville to write Moby Dick. Tom plays the young version of the sole survivor of the ship Essex that was attacked by a white wale and marooned for months. A rowdy period piece full of action and high tensions, it’s a good popcorn movie.

Spoilers: The pacing was really weird. They spend the first hour of the movie sailing around on a nice boat, hunting whales, and bullying the new kid (Tom). The captain is jealous of the first mate so he makes dumb choices. Tom’s character (Thomas Nickerson) thinks the first mate is the coolest guy ever. And suddenly!! WHALES. FIRE. TENSIONS. There’s literally like fifteen minutes of whale smashing, half an hour of floating around and starving and cannibalism, and the last fifteen minutes are split between angsty old Nickerson and everyone making it home fine. The idea was interesting, and the cast did wonderfully, it just felt like the production was a bit rushed. Would still recommend!

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

I’m not really gonna review this, we probably have all seen this. I just wanted to put it here so it’s all his films. Tom’s great. The ideal Peter. A quality beeb. I’m so sorry that I said beeb. WOW I LOVE THIS SPIDEY!

Edge of Winter (2016)

Okay!! I was really excited to see this one, and it was perfectly mediocre. A quick summary: Bradley (Tom) and his little brother are left with their dad for a week or whatever. Their dad finds out that their new step-dad is planning on moving the family and freaks out. Horror movie cliches ensue. An interesting concept with a pretty decent cast, but lacking in certain areas. A mellow horror, much more of a thriller.

Spoilers: Tbh Luc and Richard felt a bit flung in, and there was a lot of unrealistic things. Like... Brad drives a car for like a mile one time and then at the end he’s fine driving miles and miles to get away. Also what happened to their dad?? It’s never discussed at the end. And ik this is about Tom (don’t get me wrong, he was great) but can we discuss the little brother??? Honestly the two brothers pretty much carried the film and they did amazingly! If it had the proper score, I feel it would have boosted the film’s quality tenfold. Altogether, an enjoyable movie to watch when you want something freaky, but not too bad.

The Lost City of Z (2016)

Quite possibly my least favorite movie on this list, but that might just be me. Percy Fawcett is an explorer that becomes obsessed with his search for the lost city he calls “z” in the amazon forest. Despite ridicule from his superiors, he dedicates his life to it. His family feels he has abandoned them, but still support him. It’s literally 2 hours and 20 minutes of this dude looking for native inhabitants of “amazonia.” There are long, sophisticated scenes of dialogue. This is a movie you need to pay close attention to in order to capture completely. 

Spoilers: It’s probably bc I was watching the movie for Tom, but I was disappointed. We get maybe 20 minutes of Tom, the majority of that just squeezed into the end. Tom’s character development felt rushed and flimsy. Robert Pattinson’s character was great, and honestly, why did we not get more development from him??? It was a lot of dialogue with not a lot of movement. Probably like a 5 or 6 out of 10. Just a bit of a mess.. The best part was probably what an early feminist his wife was.

Pilgrimage (2017)

okay so this movie isn’t technically out yet but it’s online illegally (ssssh.....) and I really wanted to see it. I was prepared to dislike it bc people kept talking about how dark it was, but it was actually very enjoyable. Definitely gory and v intense, but all the same, a good story. Possibly the best showcase of Tom’s talent yet (other than hoco obs). Be warned: it can be very hard to watch at times, but stays true to its story.

Spoilers: ok so tbh sometimes it felt like the movie couldn’t decide who it wanted its main character to be. We see Mr. French Richard Armitage Princey a lot, and the herbalist, and the French Priest dude, and definitely a lot of The Novice (Tom), but it wasn’t until the end when it becomes clear that we were watching through the eyes of the Novice. Where Edge of Winter’s big climax failed to feel high-stakes when it was, Pilgrimage does the opposite. During the final scene, I went “oh, yeah, this is the climax!” and it felt v high stakes. Definitely dark and gory and intense, but an intriguing and fascinating film to watch if you have the time.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Wowowowow i love tom and he’s so good and i can’t wait to see more spidey YEET!!!

thank you for reading, let me know if this helped, and i will probably continue to add to this as more of his movies come out :)))

[lexlaflare]

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This past weekend was HOCO.

Shockingly I only went out Friday but it was greeaaaaattttt. No complaints.

Today (Sunday), I went to Calvary for their first service in the new building and it was definitely enjoyable.

After church I hung out with Gee.

Went to the mall, finally got some Fenty.

Went home and had family with with Papa, Janet, Gee, and my grandma.

Now, Sam Smith.

[destinyc1020]

Denis villeneuve's filmography is flawless and he's incredible at directing female actors/characters so I'm almost certain it'll be good. Granted z doesnt have much screentime but I'm sure it'll turn out great. The diff between paul/chani and peter/mj is that Paul falls in love w/chani the moment he lays eyes on her bcuz he'd been dreaming abt her. Peter expressed 0 interest in mj before ffh so it just comes off as very forced to me how they jumped straight into things in the very next film

Yea Denis’ work is highly praised a lot, so I’m looking forward to seeing “Dune” when it comes out.  😊 And yea, I feel like that was one of my biggest complaints with the transition from HOCO to FFH.  We didn’t get to see how Peter fell in love with MJ.  It was very out-of-the-blue.  I mean, maybe some might argue that he’s not “in love” with her (it’s just a crush lol), but I’m trying to figure out how he even developed a crush on her lol, because in HOCO they only had like two lines together, and in most of those lines she’s bullying him lol.  😂    

I just think it would have been better had Peter & MJ at least been close friends (even w/all the banter lol) in the HOCO film.  IMO FFH would have made a LOT more sense lol.