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starrykitty013 · 2 years ago

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Hi! if you have the time, can you give us some good old fashioned Levi, Strange, Wong and Peter scraps? tysm! hope you're having a good day <33

Sorry for the late reply, break has been kinda hectic.

I am having a pretty good day, I start classes tomorrow (well technically they started today but I don’t have class on Monday this semester which is kinda epic) so I wanted to get my ask box cleared.

Also idk if you meant Loki instead of Levi, if it wasn’t a mistype I’m sorry, but either way this little blurb is more between doctor strange and Peter with a little Wong and Loki.

It takes place after No Way Home and Multiverse of Madness, so yea, idk this is unedited so I’m sorry for any typos but honestly I kinda had fun writing this, I’m surprised I could come up with a Drabble concept without a prompt but ig I felt inspired.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. Here is the Drabble.

Enjoy!

___________________________________________

“Okay, I know how this looks but you have to hear me out before you get mad.”

“I’m very tempted not to listen.” Doctor Strange said, looking completely bemused at the decievingly small child in the red onsie that was holding up a clearly drunk slim demigod that had showed up to his doorstep. He had half a mind to slam the door, but honestly, he was kind of curious and it was a slow day at the sanctum anyway. Spiderman always happened to bring a tad bit of fun wherever he went, but he also tended to bring trouble too - despite the kid having the inability to ask for help unless it was offered, don’t get Strange wrong, Spiderman worked well with others but it wasn’t his default mode; he always had to be prompted into doing so , but then again so did the rest of the hero community. Looks like he decided to cut out the middle man and go straight to the trouble

“Come on, isn’t like part of your code to give people shelter or something.” The kid tried to convince.

“That’s nuns.” He said blandly.

“Really?” the kid Asked innocently Stephan actually wasn’t quite sure about that, he wasn’t very religious.

“Wong won’t be pleased.” Cause inviting the god of mischief \, who already had a spotty track record of steal powerful artifacts, into a sanctum full of forbidden and protected magic did not sound like a good idea on any day, but if said god was drunk. Yeah, Wong would be mad.

But it might be fun.

“How did you even find him like this?” Spiderman tended to find himself in a lot of strange situations, none of which had any sort of protocol. Then again, Spiderman wasn’t really known for following any sort of rules given to him. A trait that had Stephan a little envious at sometimes, because despite his rigid discipline that is required to learn and maintain the mystic arts, Spiderman is still somehow more morally stable in most regards while having virtually no discipline.

The boy shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno. I just found him outside the old Stark tower like this when I went to investigate a like minor explosion? Which, isn’t crazy that we’ve gotten so used to people falling out of the sky as a society, that no one even mentions it. Like-“ Stephan held up a hand to stop the ramble while they weren’t too deep - though the kid did make a good point - but he knew Spiderman could ramble on for hours if given the chance.

“Why can’t you just take him to your place?” Stephan asked with a raised brow. At that Spidey went a tad stiff in the shoulder before purposefully relaxing. It was odd, that he didn’t know Spiderman’s identity, they had literally saved the universe together and potentially the multi-verse, although for some reason parts of Stephan’s memories from that event were a little hazy. But one thing is for sure, Spiderman knew more than he was letting on. Despite his iron clad secrecy, the kid was incredibly bad at lying. Stephan has tried to confront him, somehow the conversation always got changed. He stopped because it was fruitless. The kid may be bad at lying but goddamn does he have tight lips.

“My landlord probably wouldn’t like that and besides,” Spiderman gestured to the expanse of the sanctum at whole “You were closer and I think you can handle any…mishaps? God that word makes me sound old. “ Never mind that Stephan used that word quite frequently, especially when describing America’s training. Actually in regards to America’s training, Wong has started using it quite frequently too. Maybe she and Spidey could get along. He banished the though because Teen heroes are literally trouble magnets wherever they go, putting two together would probably set off some kind of natural disaster that would devastate half the world and people were still recovering from the snap, without even taking into regard the blip and seriously who was in charge of naming that. “Anyway, yeah you can handle any magical mishaps that may occur.”

“Fine.” The Doctor relented. Better to keep the threat secure rather than let it wonder off with one of the most notorious trouble attracting teens in the universe. He opened the door more to invite them in. Spiderman just stood their awkwardly. “Well?” Stephan raised a brow and Spidey shifted his feet slightly.

“Actually, uhm, I can’t stay. Sorry, I don’t mean to dump this on you. But you probably know how to contact Thor and stuff so maybe you could call him. I’m sorry I really have to go.” And the kid franticly pushed the demigod toward Stephan who barely had time to react as a body drunkly stumbled towards him.

“How dare you, do you know who I am?” Loki exclaimed in a slurred tone.

“What the hell kid?” Stephan exclaimed but when he turned to look back at the door, Spiderman was gone.

“Where did the spider child go? He has vanished, like a witch.” The god demanded. Stephan ignored him as he furrowed his brow in the direction of the now empty doorway. Something was really off about that boy. But he guesses if he had been in the hero game as long as Spiderman has, and are still a kid, he would have some odd quirks too. But Spiderman operated solo, and he knows that he doesn’t really work or answer to anybody. Still, with all his secrets, being that socially isolated from your peers must be stunting to some sort of mental development. Sure, he’s seen Spidey work with other heroes occasionally and more often work with other vigilantes, but no one his own age, cause seriously if that kid is older than 19 Stephan will voluntarily do maintenance for the mirror dimension for a whole year. Besides, he doesn’t think people like Deadpool are the best influences to hangout with, but the kid has a good head on his shoulders so Stephan isn’t too worried about him becoming that type of menace.

And that’s another thing: since when did he care about that kid. Sure they’ve fought together, they’ve saved countless universes together, but Stephan doesn’t even know what the kid’s name is. So why does he care about his wellbeing this much? It’s like, subconscious. Stephan doesn’t really like that thought.

He heard a sigh from behind him and turned to look at Wong, who just looked done as he took in the scene. Oh, the joys of being Sorcere Supreme. When you clean up one fuck up another shows up at your doorstep. Yeah, Strange didn’t miss that part of the job, that’s for sure.

“I’ll contact New Asgard.” He sighed and Doctor Strange took that as his opportunity to shove Loki off him.

“You insolent wench, I will-“

Stephan just walked away.

Maybe the kid could use a few friends his own age. Even if it might cause the end of the world.

Maybe, just maybe, it would be a little worth it.

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missdawnandherdusk · 5 years ago

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Autistic!Draco (Head)cannons:

Before y’all go off on me or whatever: listen. (also I saw a post like this on insta but it wasn’t as extensive so... here we go)

Draco hates when his hair is out of place, so he gels it back for two years in school. He hates things touching his ears or neck or face so gel

Has no idea how to expression the emotions he’s feeling so he does what he knows how to do, what he’s learned from his father: be a slytherin

High anxiety because he has to mask 24/7 (is he doing it right? Can someone see through it? How is he supposed to go to a school when he has no idea what the new social rules are?)

Which leaves Snape there to help him out. Not that Snape is great on making friends in the first place but ya know

He’s a bit more confident third year

Until buckbeak: he did what he was told and it didn’t work out and it caused him to have a huge meltdown on the spot because his rules didn’t work dad help I don’t feel safe

Not understanding how Harry just coasts through everything Dracos worked so hard at just passing by and it makes him angry and jealous

When he realizes he loves flying on a broom stick, Quidditch becomes a hyper fixation

Dad the new (insert fast broom here) just came out! Can I get one please!? (Insert a long list of specs and facts)! Dad please you have to get them for the Slytherin team!

Dad we have to go to the World Cup! Please! (Insert stats about both teams and the history of Quidditch)!

Potions is also a hyper fixation for him. He just loves that everything works the same way every time as long as you follow the rules

He’s a picky eater and only likes the things he grew up with, making him seem like a brat but you don’t understand I cannot eat mashed potatoes they feel weird

Luna Lovegood sees right through this whole boys charade

Which makes him freak out because what did he do wrong that she can tell no one is supposed to know

Doesn’t go to the Yule ball because it’s too loud, there are too many lights and people and he’d rather just save the meltdown

Snape’s doors are always open when he does get overstimmed and soon, so are all the other teachers’ they realize he’s not a brat he’s just scared and trying to fit in

Draco hates the sound of appertaining because it’s so loud, he prefers floo powder or flying instead

He loves his wand because it is so in tuned with him that when they start to work on casting spells without incantations it just knows

Have you seen his fuzzy winter hat can you imagine how stimmy that is for him?? The boy loves soft things

He takes the dark mark because it’s what he knows. His dad did it and it turned out fine, so why shouldn’t he? He’s so adverse to change especially when everyone is shouting at him about it

Does not liked to be touched. At all. Just. Three feet away please and thank you

Doesn’t understand a family dynamic other than his own. The Weaselys just confuse him and therefore are bad in his mind because there’s a certain way to do things and that’s not it

Is friends with the giant squid. “Well it comes around often enough, you guys should treat Harold better”

Has a hard time with eye contact and whenever he does make it you can bet he’s going to snap at someone to make them look away first

Has a hard time articulating what he wants to say so he defaults to what he’s heard growing up (forgot hermiones names? Mudblood. Don’t know which Weasley Ron is? well Weasley it is. Heard his dad only use Crabbe and Goyle growing up? Crabbe and Goyle it stays. Does Harry have a girlfriend, is that what girlfriends do? He asks but makes it snarky so no one sees his curiosity)

Could he just be a jerk? Sure. Could he be an accidentally written masking autistic that no one caught because it’s so hard to diagnose these days? Absolutely. Do I have any say in this because I’m also autistic? You can bet your Galleons I am.

Tags: @un-limiteddd @geekysimmerthings @coffee-addicti@msmcsmutt @ravn-87 @artemismohr18 @whygz @crazywritingbug @dolphincommander @bisexualbumblebeesstuff @fuzzy-panda@bitemebro522 @zombiesnips-blog@jillanaholland@shookyungsoo @savingdraco@welcometomyworldwithoutrules @akari180 @slytherin-emerald@chaotic-good-gemini @memalfoy-spidey@theres-a-dog-outside-omg @queenfeatherwings @fanficflaneuse @go-whovian-universe@spicyshenanigans@darling-im-not-okay-i-promise@dietkiwi@katsukink @takemetothekingdom @strangerr-things@tmnt-queen@mccloudchloe @hxneybgb @justsomerandomgur @belcvayelena@moviesbooksandfandoms @howdycharlie @xtrashmouthxtozierx @cocochanelthepupper@ninacotte@mccloudchloe @braelynn-j@jiggllyy @honeymarvel@go-whovian-universe @darcypottah@atomicpunkrock@thiccheerioss @lottie289 @boredashaeck @beautiful-pegasus@tceedlmao @deadlynyghtshayde @iconjuresnapeingrandmaclothes @anonymous034 @bi-andready-tocry @lunna-does-real-doodle @dragonsandbread @atomicwonderlandmentality @okaydraco @the--queen-of-hell @langdonzvoid @cmxreader

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marvclsiums · 3 years ago

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okay so more for mcu!harry:

obviously no goblin because he’s living with his mother and not with his father (nwh says oscorp doesn’t exist and my explanation for now is that norman died instead of emily). i think ned on the other hand is in danger of becoming an antagonist.

he will befriend peter in college. he doesn’t care much about spider-man because he has no reason of doing so, and by default he won’t know peter is spidey.

he will start dating mj before meeting peter, but she will eventually remember peter and will then probably go back with him, which will obviously cause some tensions between harry and peter. he will remain friend with both of them, though.

he’s probably gonna end up with liz, you know, his wife in the comics.

#nwh spoilers #about harry

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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 5 years ago

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Batman and Spider-Man Re(re)-Visited: Jake and Marco’s Ethics

I had an interesting discussion in one of my classes today, and the tl;dr is that when it comes to ethics, Batman’s more deontological, and Spider-Man’s more utilitarian. Just like Jake and Marco. AKA, my latest theory about why Jake thinks Batman would win that hypothetical fight but Marco argues for Spidey.

Deontological ethics is about setting codes and principles that one tries ones’ best to follow regardless of situation. Batman doesn’t kill. He doesn’t use guns. He studies and actively avoids the tactics of people like the Joker. His ethics are most evident at times when someone challenges them, like Red Hood trying to force the issue of Batman killing Joker to prove that Batman’s a hypocrite.

Utilitarian ethics is about using math and logic to maximize gains, regardless of overall morality. Spider-Man is concerned with stopping that one mugger, that one car-jacker, that one killer, not with saving all of New York. He doesn’t try to fix the root causes of crime, but to be the “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” who helps people one at a time. He’s largely indifferent to his own “menace” reputation, in contrast to Batman’s obsession with “becoming the villain.” When Green Goblin tries to expose him as a hypocrite, it’s through trying to force him to sacrifice the lives of 20-odd strangers to protect Mary-Jane.

To be clear, these two viewpoints don’t actually contradict each other 99% of the time — often you have to use a stupid trolley contrivance to force a disagreement. However, there are always times when principles run out, and there are always times when the good outcomes can’t be maximized with any degree of certainty.

Jake is focused on means, on morals, on deontology. He’s the one who asks questions like “Is human life worth more than animal life?” (#11) and “Is there greater harm associated with failing to act, or with acting wrong?” (#46). He’s principled, and when in doubt he tries his best to follow his principles: He doesn’t morph sentient beings without consent. He doesn’t kill hosts if he can avoid it. He regards unhosted yeerks as noncombattants.

Marco’s attitude is “fuck means; let the ends justify them or not.” He sets his sights on a Point B, and then he does whatever it takes to get there. He’s calculating while Jake’s moralizing. He wants to free humanity, no matter what he has to do to see that happen. His only guiding principle is “protect my family,” and he very consciously throws that away when he joins the Animorphs.

Deontological ethics are sometimes called “hot” or “heart” ethics, while utilitarian ones are “cold” or “cerebral.” Utilitarians endorse sacrificing the few to save the many. Deontologists endorse avoiding killing if it’s still possible to find a different way out.

Maybe the place this is most obvious: #30, The Reunion. Marco strikes a huge blow against the Yeerk Empire, and he does it by ignoring all principles along the way. The book starts with Marco breaking one of the team’s biggest codes by morphing a human without consent, and he does so with the line “what Jake doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Its whole second half is about him breaking the unwritten Animorphs taboo that Visser One calls out (not killing humans whenever possible) because Marco plots out, and does his best to execute, his own mom’s murder. For the greater good. He does it because he thinks Jake is dead, and in the end it’s Jake who tries to stop him.

Marco quickly jumps to the conclusion that they should kill Jara Hamee (#13), and later Cassie and Karen (#19) because, by his way of thinking, both of those sacrifices are worth it if the alternative is the yeerks discovering the Animorphs’ identities. In both cases Jake advocates a wait-and-see approach to try and avoid those harms, and in both cases Jake proves to be right. But then Jake could probably benefit from Marco’s callous approach to Eva when dealing with Tom, preferably before the yeerks end up with the morphing cube.

They both break their own ethics sometimes — Marco describes his decision to rescue his dad in #45 as “the end of smart and the beginning of right”, while Jake tries and fails to fit his morality around his decision to flush the Pool ship in #53. But they nonetheless have clear default frameworks for approaching ethical problems. Marco’s is about being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man who focuses on concrete outcomes, regardless of what it all means. Jake’s is about being the Dark Knight who is capable of brutality but consciously works to hold himself to a higher standard.

#animorphs #animorphs meta #Jake Berenson #Tiger Mommy #Marco Animorphs #the one and only #batman #spider man #deontology #utilitarianism #superheroes #ethics #morality #30 #the reunion

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brakken-spideyverse · 5 years ago

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Answers <3

Anon asked:

yo do you use any specific brush packs?

Nothing specific, in fact for a lot of the art I just use the Photoshop standard round brush, with slight opacity pressure. And the latest short comic was all drawn in Clip Studio Paint which I’ve just started trying out, again all with slightly tweaked default brushes :)

@votederpycausemufins said:

tik tok isn't the same miles! Byte, however, is the same. especially since it's the same creators.

Spider-Byte™

@miraculousrockgoth asked:

Have you read Marvel Action: Spider-Man? It's a comic series from IDW and Marvel where Peter, Gwen, and Miles are a team. The first volume is available on comixology, except for issue twelve and volume two is currently being published.

I had not heard of it! But sounds cool, and the art looks neat ^_^

Anon said:

Glad I found your work, always interesting to see familiar characters re-imagined (especially Spidey), and I can't wait to see more comics. But I've got four questions. 1. How did Gwen get her powers, as she did in canon or did she get bite by Peter's spider and had a delayed reaction? 2. Any plans to "power up" MJ (I would love to see your take on Red Sonja, or MJ with the Carnage symbiote)? 3. Any plans to include Peter's little sister, Teresa? 4. What's this world's Black Cat like?

Thank you! 1. Currently not disclosing how Gwen got her powers, ‘cause I hope to show it in a comic or some such. 2. No plans to power up MJ - but I’ve had quite a few requests to see my take on Spinneret, so I can probably draw a non-canon pic of that or Carnage MJ, or what have you! 3. No Teresa in this ‘verse, Peter’s an only child. 4. Planning to show Black Cat in the next full comic!

Anon (continued):

Another quick question; your FAQ mentions your character inspiration in partially done by thinking of, "actors who (you) think would work in the roles," so then who do you imagine playing "your" Gwen and MJ?

Interestingly I never picked any actors for those two! But if I had to... hmm, Karen Fukuhara would make a pretty good Gwen. And perhaps Suki Waterhouse as MJ - I think she could pull off the pixie cut look. A great pick for Miles would be Myles Truitt (even has the name!). They’re all a little older than the characters in-world, but around the same age as Dev Patel (my Peter casting), so I’m going off that!

Anon asked:

What is your opinion about Spider-Cop?

Cute joke in the PS4 Spidey game between him and his one ally on the force. But I think that’s probably as far as it should go? I do like the bit in ASM2 where he high-fives the firemen, though.

Anon:

Hi have you ever watch Batman before?

Yep! Some of the old animated show, some of The Batman, and all the live-action movies. Interested to follow what they’re doing with the new version. But let’s get on that Spider-verse level animated movie, eh?

Anon asked:

Hi can you redesign Kingpin with the regular face?

R-regular face? I, uhm, don’t know what you mean. I’m not even sure who Kingpin is, haha... err I think I should probably leave. If anyone asks, we never had this conversa--

#the joke is they killed me but i'm ok though

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harryforvogue · 4 years ago

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ok random but it’s so funny to me how even when i know someone is in the room, seeing one of my family members walk in or out startles me so easily. like literally my brother walked out of the kitchen while i was walking in and i jumped. another time i SAW HIS SHADOW but somehow seeing him emerge from behind the door made me scream. and like every time someone walks towards me to give me a hug my first reaction is to flinch.

and i was like wtf?? this can’t be normal. so, i googled it. and they were like “getting easily startled is something common for people with anxiety disorders”. suddenly it all made sense. like that should’ve clicked a long time ago. OF COURSE i’m always in fight or flight mode. that’s like my default setting.

idk i find it so funny. cause some people see me react this way and get worried or sad. and i get so confused bcs,,, what? i’m fine. i think they probably think i’ve been hurt before or smtg idk. but really it’s just bcs my brain is like,,, constantly on alert. i’m like a shitty spider-man with nothing but spidey sense and it doesn’t help me save ANY LIVES.

anyway yeah idk why this is relevant to anything. i just found it funny 😂

i think you need a long, LONG session with your therapist sweatie

#visiblemisfit

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hellzyeahwebwieldingreviews · 5 years ago

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Untold Tales of Spider-Man 10: The Ballad of Fancy Dan – by Ken Grobe and Steven A. Roman

...ehhhhhhhh...

Heading home from a battle with the Scorpion, Spidey comes across a bar fight and recognizes the voice of one of the participants. Entering, he finds Fancy Dan standing amidst the wreckage and unconscious bodies. He quickly webs him up and whisks him away. On the way to prison, Dan asks for Spidey’s help. “My kid’s in trouble,” he says, “I’ve got nowhere else to go.”Dan explains that his son, whom he hasn’t seen since the kid was born, is Rudolph Loyola, a teenage piano virtuoso who was recently kidnapped. He sought his Enforcer partners’ help but couldn’t locate either Montana or the Ox. Spidey agrees to rescue the boy but takes Dan to the police station. Dan warns him, “If my boy gets whacked ‘cause I wasn’t there to help him, I’m gonna find the thing you love the most… and kill it.”At the Daily Bugle, Peter learns from Ben Urich that Rudolph’s step-father is Atlantic City mobster Joseph “Baby Joe” Loyola and that his mother, Ginger, is holed up her in Fifty-Ninth Street brownstone awaiting ransom demands.

Spidey goes over to Ginger’s place where the FBI agents stationed there leer at her, grind their cigarette butts into her rug and use the kidnapping as an excuse to search for evidence to put Baby Joe in jail. Ginger goes to her room to get away from them and Spidey taps at her window. She lets him in but erupts at him when he tells her that Fancy Dan asked him to help out. She tells him that, “If he hadn’t kept running off with those idiots Ox and Montana – constantly trying to prove to me he was a tough guy – we might have had a chance at a normal life…He had a family to support, but from the way he acted, you’d think Ox and Montana were his real family. Rudy and I were an afterthought. When he was busted during one of their “enforcing” jobs…I finally decided enough was enough.”

Just then, the FBI agents break in and accost Spidey but he webs them up and goes on his way.Heading to the Queensboro Bridge, Spidey suddenly finds himself being shot at. He disarms the shooter who turns out to be an ape-like Kingpin goon named Monk. (“You take up target shooting because things were too slow at the monastery?” Spidey quips.) Monk has been instructed to bring Spidey to the Kingpin. The shooting was just to get his attention. Spidey agrees to accompany him and soon finds himself in the Kingpin’s office. There, the Kingpin tells him that Rudy was kidnapped by Best ‘O Times Casino owner Martin Severino, one of Baby Joe’s competitors. Kingpin claims not to know where Rudy is being held but tells Spidey to keep an eye “on an establishment called Howie’s Harmonies in Atlantic City tomorrow morning for a lead.” When Spidey asks why he’s helping out, the Kingpin will only say that “it’s good for business. “Next morning, Spidey stakes out Howie’s Harmonies, a rundown music shop. He spots someone with long blonde hair and wearing a trench coat heading for the shop. Snagging the figure with his webbing, he discovers him to be Fancy Dan in a wig.

Dan reveals that the Kingpin’s lawyer sprung him from jail and told him to case Howie’s Harmonies. It isn’t long before a huge man comes along and enters the music shop: the Ox. Spidey stops Dan from going off half-cocked by telling him the Ox couldn’t plan anything on his own. Dan realizes that Montana must be involved and that this is why he couldn’t locate his old partners.The Ox exits the music shop with sheet music in hand. Spidey and Dan follow him to the Star World Hotel and Casino. Once there, they surmise that Rudy is probably being held in the penthouse. Spidey climbs the building’s wall with Dan hanging onto his back. (When Spidey mentions “my girlfriend,” Dan asks, “she ever, y’know, put on the tights? Just fer fun?”) They get to the balcony and peek in to find two dozens thugs hanging around. (“It’s like a leg-breaker convention in there,” Dan says.) Amongst the goons is a Steinway piano with Rudy sitting at it. The Ox enters and hands the sheet music to the boy. “Play,” he says. Rudy plays the music Ox has picked out: “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Severino enters with Montana and they have Baby Joe brought in, badly beaten and tied-up. Rudy calls Baby Joe “Dad!” which makes Dan stiffen. Severino orders Baby Joe to sell him his casino and threatens Rudy with a gun.

Dan can’t stand it any longer and he busts in. Spidey is forced to follow. In the fight that ensues, Spidey ties up Montana but the Ox gets him in a bear hug that is slowly killing him. Spidey asks Dan for help. Dan’s loyalties are divided but he finally decides to back Spidey and attack Ox. Spidey slips free. The room’s huge chandelier falls, threatening to land on Baby Joe and Rudy but Spidey rescues them. Ox and Dan end up fighting with Dan taking his partner down. After the police arrive, Dan gets mushy about being a family man and flirts with the idea of a “fresh start” but when Rudy comes over to thank him, Dan discovers that his son thinks his real dad is Baby Joe. Acting tough again, Dan proclaims that “Fresh starts are fer chumps,” but his shoulders sag when he says it.

Afterward, Spidey visits the Kingpin to accuse him of manipulating the whole thing. With Severino in prison and Baby Joe deciding to retire to Florida, there is a power vacuum in the Atlantic City casino scene that the Kingpin is more than happy to fill. “What, exactly, is the problem?” the Kingpin asks Spidey. “Look at the outcome…An evil man is being punished, a good man has found peace, and a man somewhere between the two…Well, it’s a pity Mr. Brito wasted all that time and energy on a boy who will always think of another man as his real father…As you might say, Spider-Man, the good guys won and the bad guys lost…can even you find fault in that?” The wall-crawler leaves but, “The question continued to haunt Spider-Man long into the night.”In a rundown motel room, Fancy Dan plans to find work as muscle for some super-criminal before getting Ox and Montana sprung from jail and re-forming the Enforcers. “Tomorrow would be a fresh start. Dan buried his face in the lumpy pillow, waiting for the night to end. The morning was long in coming.”

I didn’t really like this one.

What’s curious about that fact is that I didn’t think the story was bad at all. it doesn’t contradict any continuity I know of and doesn’t write anyone out of character. Nor does it take Spidey into any territory that would be out of his wheelhouse like if he was in space or something.

This is a crime story, a crime noir arguably, and one that humanizes one of the participants, Fancy Dan. This is interesting to me considering Fancy Dan is arguably the least notable of the Enforcers. The Ox is strong, Montana a Texan and Fancy Dan is just a martial artist.

He really doesn’t stand out as much next to the other two and in this he gets more characterization than either of them put together.

And yet...I found this dull and forgettable.

I think the reason for this is that it was neither about Spider-Man himself nor about a significant figure in his life. Giving insight into the Lizard, Norman, Doc Ock, Aunt May, Mary Jane, etc carries weight because they are major characters who’ve cropped up throughout Spidey history.

The Enforcers are C-listers at best and notable just the muscle for whoever the actual villain is, be it the Big Man, the Kingpin , the Green Goblin, etc. They are essentially just henchmen who happen to be memorable. And noticably, they are memorable as a set of three not individually. They might be a team from the POV of readers’ emotional investment they are functionally 1 unit.

So making a story where 100% of the emotional meat lies with 1/3 of that unit is unlikely to draw much interest even if it is pulled off with technical competency.

That’s why i feel bad for disliking this story. There was really nothing wrong with it it just put the focus on a character I don’t care much about and I suspect most people feel the same way.

As such the story is just kind of there and forgettable. Which is ironic since we could say much the same of Len Wein’s run on ASM and this story fits best within that time period. But not because of anything specific in the tale. Merely because I know the time period of the last story (the Conway run) and the next story (the Wolfman run) and therefore this has to represent Wein’s run by default.

#Untold Tales Of Spider-Man #Spider-Man #Peter Parker #Fancy Dan #The Enforcers #Ox #Montana #Kingpin #Wilson Fisk #Len Wein

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chasseurdeloup-retired · 5 years ago

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I Moose-t Tell You Something || Morgan and Kaden

LOCATION: Moose Caboose PARTIES: @mor-beck-more-problems and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: Morgan tries to be honest with Kaden. They are swiftly punished by the great Mime-Moose.

Exhausted didn’t even begin to cover how Kaden felt after this week. Hell, after this month. He was pretty sure this outing with Morgan wasn’t going to be nice and light hearted or any sort of reprieve, despite the location. God, he was so tired. There wasn’t enough coffee in the world to help the bags under his eyes. Didn’t mean he wasn’t trying as he sat there and waited for her in one of the booths. But coffee wasn’t going to fix this; the frustration he felt at everyone around him holding something back. Morgan, Regan, Blanche, Nadia, for all he knew Alain and Evelyn, too; he could feel all of them keeping something from him all while acting like they trusted him. At least saying they did. That he was a good guy. Sure. Just not good enough. Which alright, that might be true. He could think of plenty of reasons for them not to trust him, but he still fucking hated feeling like this. Whatever this was. He’d just drown it all in coffee and nicotine. It’d be fine. He saw her walk in and waved her over. “See you found the place. Hopefully you didn’t bring any fucking mimes with you.” Looking at her, he wondered which of the two of them looked more exhausted and weary. He still didn’t know what happened but no doubt it wasn’t anything good. “How’ve you been?”

Stars, Morgan missed the variety of human food. Brains were fine, now, but it was like having tuna salad as your favorite food, and then deciding to never have anything else for the rest of your life. She found the pretense of cooking depressing, some sad form of denial that hurt more than it helped. Going out to another White Crest diner was a whole other level. But what could she do? Call Kaden over to the house and tell him, hey, wanna see the shed where I came back from the dead? And while we’re at it, guess from all the taxidermy what our girlfriends have in common? So she pulled herself into one of her cleaner sets of ‘I just died and can’t be bothered’ loungewear and drove to meet him in the afternoon. She found Kaden easily, he couldn’t have brooded harder if he was on the cover of a Batman poster, and plopped down in the seat opposite.

“I’m peachy with a side of keen,” she deadpanned. “Just like you’re walking on sunshine over there.” She was being flippant, but he really did look worse for wear. The part of Morgan that knew better, that cared for Kaden despite the inconvenience, felt guilty over it. She sighed and asked, “You uh, wanna vent about anything first?” I have literally all the time in the world, she silently added.

“Oh yeah. It’s been a wonderful week. Full of mimes and splendor.” Kaden went to take another sip of his coffee only to realize it was already gone. Putain. He ran his hand through his hair instead. Did he have anything to vent? Shit, he had a mountain of things to vent. He could be here all day and maybe the next if he started on all of that. That wasn’t why he was here, though. Still, might as well dump some of it. “Did I mention I got attacked by a mime that looked just like me? Twice. That was fun.” His foot ached at the thought. Thank god for hunter healing but he wasn’t about to go running again any time soon. “Regan ran away from me in the middle of dinner because the ghost of my mother decided to show up and say ‘boo.’ More or less.” It felt like he was being crushed under the weight of this fucking town. He wasn’t aware he could feel this much stress at one time before he moved here. He’d dealt with a lot but nothing like this. Maybe it was that whole caring bullshit. Is this what it did to you? This? God, there really was a reason he was avoiding it all this time. “Enough about me. You wanted to tell me something.”

“Oh, shit.” Was all Morgan could say at first. Maybe she should have postponed this meeting for a better day, one where there was enough of her outside of the pit to give Kaden some comfort. A pat on the shoulder or something kind and smart about how to take these things in stride. She knew all about breaking under the weight of too much suffering. “That’s...a lot, bud. And I…” Shit, this had all been a terrible idea. But what else could she do? She was already here. “I don’t have anything to make it better. Don’t you, um…” She hesitated. He was a hunter, right? Was he just too stressed to feel the dead on her? “Are your spidey senses going off by any chance?” Or maybe that was the wrong tack to start with. “Just, you know, curious. But anyway, you didn’t fuck up the bowl because it’s just a bowl. I wanted to make you fess up to your feelings out loud. Well, I wanted to talk you out of giving Vera your money too. But also the first thing. I thought it would help you. Harmlessly.”

It was odd, she wasn’t picking at his emotions like normal. Maybe she was just giving him some breathing room before digging in. Her first question threw him for a loop and Kaden’s brow furrowed. “Uh, no.” Why was she asking about his hunter senses? Did… did she get bitten by a werewolf? Was that what she was afraid to tell him? He paused and tried to pay closer attention to those senses, see if he got that feeling, the chill down his spine. No. No sixth sense. “Are they supposed to?” Strange she’d ask. He looked down into mug, watching the few grinds left swish around and was about to start concentrating on what he could hear, see if he was missing something, when she mentioned the fucking bowl. “Wait, what?” His head shot up to meet her eyes. “You-- It didn’t--? It wasn’t--?” His mouth pulled into a thin line and his eyes narrowed at her. “Great. Thanks for that. I-- I made Regan think--” He could get up and leave right now. Just leave some cash on the table and book it. He let out a strained sigh and stayed seated instead. “Why would you want me to do that, anyway? Fucking with me is one thing but you fucked with Regan, too.” He wanted to take the salt shaker and chuck it across the room. He settled for gripping the mug to the point it made his knuckles white instead. He felt like such an idiot for buying into that shit. And even worse for giving Regan false hope like that.

“Yeah, well, Regan wouldn’t listen to the actual truth, so a little witchy mind trick on you to get her to do the same fucking thing and actually take care of herself seemed like a fair bargain,” Morgan replied dully. “There was nothing wrong with the amulet, but you guys really wanted to think there was so I stepped in and made y’all feel better about it for a hot second. I wasn’t trying to hurt you, but I wasn’t very good at seeing the big picture either. I did a lot of stupid things.” She fiddled her hands in her lap, painfully aware that this was not the sort of confession Kaden really deserved. She should be explaining, somehow, that she’d been genuinely touched by his willingness, and she hadn’t expected him to listen to her in the first place, only then it was a little too late. She should explain that she did, somehow, want him to be okay. But she didn’t know where those words were. They were buried somewhere in the pit that sat at the bottom of her chest. She looked back up at him, frowning and guilty and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

Something was wrong. Kaden’s nose scrunched as his brows knit further together listening to her speak. He didn’t know Morgan all that well and she was far from happy to see him in the past, but this was off. Defensive. Sullen. Not snippy in the way she’d been in the past. It was harsher, blunter, in a way he couldn't quite place a finger on. It made it hard for him to hold on to his anger. Putain, when the fuck did worry and concern become his default fucking state of being? He felt like that's all he ever was now. Like he forgot how to turn off the switch once it flipped back on. “Look, I don’t even know what the amulet does. I didn’t think it was broken. I just wanted to help her, alright?” He tried to soften his tone some but exhaustion didn’t exactly let him. “Morgan, what the fuck is wrong? Why’d you have to tell me that in person?” It wasn’t that bad. He was still bristling a little, sure, but it was more for Regan than himself. It was a grudge he couldn’t be fucked to hold onto right now, not with whatever strange tension he felt coming off of Morgan sitting across from him. Still it felt too silly to be the sole reason she was here. In the moment of silence, he tried to listen closer, see if there was anything he could pick up but it was no use. Even at an off time with less people, the place was still too noisy for him to focus on much of anything. All he could hear was the shuffling of feet from the servers, muffled conversations, the clinking of knives and forks against plates, the little bell on the door as someone walked in. His hunter senses still didn’t go off but he got the feeling something was off all the same.

Morgan spread her arms in an impression of that shrug emoji Blanche liked to send her when she was at her wit’s end. “It’s the nice thing to do, or something, maybe. And I thought I’d get all the bad news out in one go where there’d be plenty of witnesses,” she said. “Cause the other thing is, I’m dead. Like super dead. There was this cute little pole that went through here,” she traced a circle over the spot with her finger, “And I bled out on the pavement. And then I came back. Not in the fangs way, but the brains way. Which, gotta say, has just been the worst for all kinds of reasons you probably wouldn’t think of at first.” Her voice grew heavier as she went on, no longer glib and deadpan but weighted with the pull of the death-pit inside her. She turned away from him to look out the window. Only a few days ago she’d been riding high from her Beltane night with Deirdre. She’d made dinner. She’d picked up flowers to press. And then something had given out, she couldn’t even remember what, but zoning out at the ceiling had slid suddenly into hiding in bed. Now she was here, and she couldn’t grasp why she had believed anything would turn around for her for long, curse or no curse. Morgan searched the middle distance for an answer, but found nothing. Nothing that is, except for-- “You gotta be fucking kidding me.” She whirled back to Kaden, pointing out the window. “I thought you said mime-moose weren’t real!”

All Kaden could do was blink at her for a moment as his mouth fell slowly open. That was a lot to process. All at once. Very bluntly. Dead. She died. And she was talking. And then brains. Which meant. “Putain.” He rubbed his face with his hands. Shit. This… shit. It-- Nope. He couldn’t process this. He couldn’t take one more fucking shitty thing. Obviously he knew that people turned into zombies and vampires and werewolves. That’s how they spread. That was the problem at its core. But he’d never met anyone who had turned. Why would he? His entire circle was full of hunters. Anyone who could turn didn’t let themselves. With his eyes closed and his fingers pressed into the bridge of his nose he concentrated and tried desperately to hear her heartbeat, like maybe she was lying and he could will it to be different if he just listened hard enough. He didn’t get to listen for very long. His eyes shot open and he turned to face the window just in time to see a fucking black and white striped moose. With. A. Fucking. Beret. “Putain!” This fucking town. There was a crash and glass shattered as the antlers came charging through into the restaurant. With a grumble, Kaden reached into his pocket to pull out a knife and stomped over towards the fucking mime moose. He’d normally charge in but his enthusiasm was a little curbed. “Animal control, everyone out!” he shouted as people scattered, hoping it’d clear the room faster so he could stab this monster without witnesses. At least not live fucking witnesses.

Morgan still couldn’t believe what she was looking at. Moose didn’t wear berets. Evil pulpy mime-doubles were one thing, but a moose with a beret and stripes running through is fur, charging the diner in complete, raging silence--that was a level Morgan had hoped White Crest wouldn’t think to seek to. Glass splattered into the diner. Morgan shielded her face and threw herself out of the booth and onto the ground. When the rain of glass ceased, she picked herself up, checking for signs of the moose. A creature like that should be huffing, wheezing, growling. But she heard nothing. She lifted her gaze and saw its large black-and-white snout. Its black eyes, dotted white around the lids, were not the blank, stupid animal shade of black. Morgan had stared into the eyes of enough deer and rabbits to know that look by now. This creature was something else, something furious. “You heard the guy!” She shouted to the room, not breaking eye contact. Slowly, she staggered to her feet. “Are you bookin’ it or--” Without warning the moose swatted her body across the room. Morgan’s spine bent like a rubber noodle over the bar counter. Her arm, stretched into the air useless to catch itself, crumpled in on itself. “...Ow,” she whined. She braced herself up with a sturdy hand and staggered, as best she would, while her body reset itself. She waved her mangled arm in the general direction she thought Kaden to be. Blood bloomed up from somewhere in her shoulder and soaked her torn sweater sleeve. A shard of glass she could barely perceive jutted out from the apple of her cheek, wiggling as she offered a weak ‘I’m good!’ smile.

Knife in hand, Kaden braced himself as the moose charged forward at him. He reached out and caught a chunk of flesh but ducked and rolled as a striped antler threatened to impale him. He scrambled to right himself, just in time to see Morgan facing off with the moose. Shit. He pushed off the ground but he wasn’t in time to do a damn thing before she went flying halfway across the room. He winced watching her body bend and break like a ragdoll being tossed away. He stopped dead, stunned to watch it. And then she spoke and got up. Putain. She really was dead. And that-- Shit. No time to be horrified. He hopped onto a table and leapt across a few to reach the moose. The beast turned to him and started another charge. Kaden waited as it got closer. Closer. And right as he could practically feel its silent breath he pushed off to the next table and threw himself around to catch the back of the moose with his knife. He pushed down hard as he could, black tar like substance oozing and bubbling up from its black and white fur. Ought to slow it down. He hoped.

Morgan winced as her body reconstructed its old shape. Nothing hurt, not the way it should, but the sight was more than she could bear just yet. When she could stand upright and use both her arms, she scrambled to the other side of the bar, looking for a weapon, anything to fight back with. She tore open every drawer, one after another, until she found a nice pair of butcher knives. She held one out, hilt offered to Kaden. “Need another?” She mouthed silently. The moose opened its mouth as if to roar. The silence wasn’t as comforting on her ears as it should have been and Morgan gave Kaden a look that said he really should consider the big foodie blade and slid across the bar closer to him as she crept towards the moose with her own.

Kaden looked back to see Morgan’s body repairing itself from behind the bar and sliding him a butcher’s knife. He blinked back the image of her bones piecing themselves back together, he’d save the mental gymnastics on that one for another time, and took the knife, looked it over. It’d be a shame to waste a good cooking knife on a monster. Luckily, this wasn’t a good cooking knife. He wasn’t sure what she planned on doing with her own knife exactly but at least he didn’t have to worry about her getting killed. He stood his ground as the animal let out a silent bellow. It ran, he moved to the side, took one of the tables, and shoved it in front of the moose’s path. The mime stumbled, barely, but it was enough of an opportunity for Kaden to launch himself at the animal, a knife in each hand. They sunk into the side of its flesh, more black goo oozing out. The antlers swung as the moose tossed its head and thrashed in pain. Kaden clung to the knives with all his might and tried to hold on.

Morgan leapt at the mime-moose as soon as Kaden pinned it in the aisle of the diner. She dug her hands into the wooly fur of the critter and dug in tight. He was not happy to have a dead weight flopped on its back and thrashed violently, snarling, and huffing without even the whisper of a breath. Morgan flailed to keep her balance, kicking Kaden’s hand in the process. Clawing up its body, muscles straining, even in undeath, she worked her way to its neck. She jabbed the knife into its throat, stabbing awkwardly over and over until she was thrown off again, crashing into the bar stools. The black and white moose stumbled on its feet, straining to stay upright, and finally collapsed. It didn’t even make a sound as it fell to the ground. Morgan was only sure it was dead because of the way its beret fell to the ground, swallowed at once by black, tar-like blood. “Stars. You don’t see that every day,” she mumbled.

Kaden’s hand was kicked away and he lost his grip on the knives. Before he could fall away, an antler clipped his side and sent him reeling across the room. Fucking mimes. Couldn’t catch a fucking break. He peeled himself up off the floor and saw the creature collapse, more of that black crap bubbling out of it. He watched as it faded away into a puff of striped smoke and let out a sigh. Hopefully that meant it was fucking gone. Wait. Fuck, so was his knife. Putain. Like this could get any worse. He pushed himself up off the floor, wincing as he felt the full hit of that mime-moose’s attack. He walked over and held a hand out to help her and then it hit him all over again like a wave of confusion. Shit. Morgan was a zombie. She-- but that. He considered pulling his hand back. But didn’t. “When did it happen?” He knew the answer if he thought about it long enough but he needed something to say.

Morgan jerked back to reality, away from the melting mime-moose. Right. She’d told Kaden she was a zombie and now he had a whole body horror show of proof. She staggered to her feet, her shoes slipping on the black goo that came out of the creature as she tiptoed over. “That big accident on Main Street. Got my foot caught on some stupid banner. You wanna know how it feels to get a metal rod stuck through you, or car parts on your legs?” She looked up at him, meeting him square in the eye despite her fear. There were no witnesses now. No one to help her if he decided to take out one of those knives and run her through with it. “You wanna know what it feels like to die, Kaden?” She asked.

Kaden steeled his gaze as he watched her, putting his hand slowly back down at his side when she ignored it. This wasn’t the woman he’d met before. It was but, it wasn’t just her body that had changed. She was different. Harsher, maybe. “Not particularly, no. Gotten close, though.” Resentful. That was the word. He watched her, kept his eyes fixed on hers, looking for the person he knew. Was it just anger, a reaction, or was it something worse? She’d invited him here. She’d acted like she still cared before. The drawing she’d asked for. The stupid shitty drawing. He couldn’t believe she was gone. Not after that. He kept his face stoic but god he hoped she’d give him some sign that person was still there. Even if she had fucking tricked him into sharing his stupid feelings with a shitty bowl.

“It’s, um, it’s actually not that bad,” Morgan said, folding her arms over her chest. “About to die, sure, completely, but…” She shrugged, sniffing stiffly to keep her composure. The sleep had been fine. And stars, she missed being able to go to sleep some nights. “Anyways, I didn’t want you to find out some other way. And I can’t do anything magic for you, not that I managed to do much in the first place, before. But you should know I can’t. Not good for much besides staying up all night these days.” She stepped closer to him, holding his gaze, searching for some read on what he was thinking, how he was seeing her. “Am I still a person to you, Kaden?” She asked quietly, lip quivering. “I don’t have a grave or anything for you to go to. It’s just me. This. Am I a monster to you now?”

He watched her, kept watching as she spoke, tried to take in what she was saying, how she was saying it. Tried to process it. Kaden saw her resolve start to crumble, something beyond the anger and apathy she’d been displaying the whole time. It made it harder. Harder to figure out how to handle this. Zombies were bad. There was nothing right about dying and coming back in that sort of half life she was doubtlessly existing in. The fact that they could lose control-- that she could lose control and spread her condition like a plague, how could he let that stand? And a few months ago and this would have been an easy fuckin answer. He couldn’t and he wouldn’t. But standing in front of her now, it was harder. A lot harder. Every instinct in him was screaming yes, that was a monster. She fucking came back from the dead. He’d watched her limbs break and put themselves back together. What else did he need to know? But looking in her eyes, it still looked suspiciously like the woman who he bartered for some magic over waffles. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe both.”

Morgan didn’t know what she’d expected from a hunter. It was just like the humans back home; everything was fine until it wasn’t. Until they knew something they didn’t like. And in this case, Morgan wasn’t sure how much she disagreed. She didn’t feel like a monster, she hadn’t hurt anyone she hadn’t meant to. But there was the hunger, the thing that made her groan and fall down on her knees before a battered corpse. The thing that she feared enough to stop her mouth sometimes. And she didn’t feel like she was all herself most times. She kept trying to tell everyone there was less than there used to be. She frowned and backed away from him, “Does ‘I don’t know’ mean you’re gonna try to hurt me now, Kaden?” She asked, sniffling. “I wasn’t a perfect human, or anything. I was just cursed and miserable and for a couple months I thought things were gonna get better, and then it all fell apart and I died, so.” She gave him a sad, bitter smile. “Haven’t eaten anyone yet. It’s honestly not that hard to keep up with. I don’t even need three square meals a day to stay full, which is kind of sad, so I eat more anyway. I can’t burn your skin off anymore or pay you in laundry lent counterfeit, but if you hurt Deirdre or Ricky, I’ll bite you. Whatever I am now, I care about my friends. You know, when I get off the floor and stuff. And you were kind of a friend too, so I figured, what’s a little reckless endangerment with a guy you cheated with a bowl?” She shrugged helplessly. “So how stupid was I, Kaden? Telling you what happened to me?

Kaden didn’t expect the sting he felt when she backed away. Somehow it was like daggers, poking at him, reminding him that he was dangerous and that people couldn’t be close to him. Shouldn’t be. He knew that. Well, he had, before coming here. Not letting anyone in was his rule of thumb. He still wasn’t sure how he fucked it up so badly in White Crest but clearly he fucking did and it was causing some major complications. Like the one standing right in front of him. “It means you’re asking me to tell you something that I don’t know if I can yet.” He sighed and looked away a moment, trying to piece together how he felt. It was hard to do when he didn’t know. “You can’t say you’re not a monster. At least a little. You know that. You have to feel it. You died. And came back. Telling me to ignore that completely, it’s-- I can’t. I won’t.” His words weren’t meant to be harsh, just the truth. Just how it was. He was sure some of her friends were trying to ignore it, tell her it was fine and she was the same. She wasn’t. Still, her excuses kept coming. He didn’t need to hear them, didn’t want the standard lines he’d heard before but from people he’d never known. “But I’m not going to kill you.” He couldn’t, was what he wanted to add. Something couldn’t bring himself to even really consider it. Which made him want to vomit. He should be a better hunter than this. He knew better. “I--” His throat tightened a moment. “I’m going to miss who you were, though.” He wasn’t sure what to make of this, whoever he was dealing with now, how he felt about her, if he could-- So it was all he could find to say. “Even if you were a pain in the ass liar who tricked me with a fucking bowl made of dirt.”

A sad, sobbing laughter bubbled out of Morgan at the hunter’s last words. “You know, you’re the first person to say that to me since I died,” she said, checking her face for tears. Just a few, nothing too embarrassing. “I miss her too, so you know. It’s not great so far being who I am now, at least most of the time. And that alive-me, she was kinda pathetic and lonely, but she...I did my best, when I was that person. I didn’t let go of people, even when they let go of me. I screwed up, but I tried to keep things in balance, and I did…not all that much, but I didn’t give up about it.” She didn’t accomplish even half of what she wanted. She’d thought she was just getting started and there might be a whole other soft world waiting for her on the other side of the curse. “But whoever I am now, Kaden, however much of me death ends up keeping, I’m not a fucking monster. Monsters are the ones who see people as things. And I think you’re a good enough person to know that.” She gave him a hard look through her grief and stormed out the door.

#writing #chatzy #i mooset tell you something #morgan #morbeckmoreproblems

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