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lara635kookie · 1 year

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Okay...Not the ship analysis yet but a little snippet of it. To write the analysis I had to think about why I like Red Crackle so much. And I realized one of the reasons why is that they remind me of another ship I also love:

(Warning:Spoilers of both Carmen Sandiego and Spider-Man Into/Across the Spiderverse ahead.)

Yes, they got differences but also massive resemblance either that once you notice, you can't unsee it. It isn't noticeable when you try to compare Gray and Miles and Gwen and Carmen, but once you switch...

Both Miles and Carmen are latino main characters, just that Miles is black and Carmen is brown. While Puerto Rico is a USA territory, in culture terms they share more with Latin America. And Even Miles not being born in Puerto Rico, his puerto rican roots and heritage are clear. 8/B in spanish is nowhere near as bad. As a Brazilian, we speak portuguese, which is a very similar language to Spanish(I myself know a little bit of spanish), but overall, both languages tend to sound very difficult, specially when you're learning in a place that doesn't speak any. Carmen didn't seem to be totally fluent in spanish either since in the Lupe Peligro episode she says her Spanish is getting better. So not fluent, at least in that point in time. Maybe that changes after that so I'll just assume both Miles and Carmen are working on their spanish. Another point is that they are both very smart. Carmen knows her geography and history AND can speak multiple languages and Miles is great at physics AND art, both very different areas from one another. Saying that, Carmen had everything to be a Mary Sue, just like Miles had everything to be a Gary Stu but instead, while they are extraordinary, we also see their weaknesses, flaws and mistakes. On the first two episodes of the first season of Carmen Sandiego and on the first spiderverse movie, we see Black Sheep/Miles Morales transition to becoming Carmen Sandiego/Spider-Man. And on that transition, someone was always by their side...

Both Gwendolyne Stacy(Spider-Woman) (or Gwanda ;) and Graham Calloway(Crackle) have a four letter nickname that starts with G and the protagonist always call them that(Gwen and Gray). Both have a surname that ends with Y. Both are a little bit older than the main character(Gray is two years older than Carmen and Gwen is 15 months older than Miles). Both are trans to a lot of people(I don't actually believe this, I think both Gwen and Gray are cisgender, specially Gwen, because of the comics and because while I think her revelation to her father was made in purpose to resonate and pass as a metaphor for coming out, I believe in the less popular theory that she was an ally and her Peter was actually trans and that is one of the reasons he suffered bullying and Gwen defended him and had that "Protect Trans Kids" poster in her room, this is literally the vibe she passes me:

Some time ago I saw a theory that the relationship of Miles and Gwen was a metaphor for one of the difficulties that interracial couples pass that the most privileged has to learn that the same society system that protects them, won't protect their partner in the same way, and that is shown through the way Spider Society treats Miles and I know there are more black spider people like Hobie and Margo but the parallel still works:he is not being accepted because he is different. The thing is, that theory kinda breaks the trans Gwen theory because if she was trans, sadly, the system wouldn't protect her either. I also don't believe it because of the voice actors. Some years ago, an adult could dub a children if he did the right voice. Nowadays, they cast a voice actor more similar to the character. Like, black characters need to have black voice actors, etc, otherwise they get canceled. And both of the voice actors for Gray and Gwen are cisgender, and I saw people complaining that if the producers wanted to make characters "potentially trans" they should have casted trans voice actors, for both characters. But anyway, I don't mind and respect the people who think they are trans). Both got competition for the other's affection(Gwen has now Spider-Byte and Gray has Ivy, Julia and pretty much everyone you can ship with Carmen in this show, which is a lot of people). Both are the lighter skin love interest not from where the protagonist is(Gray is from Australia and Gwen is from another dimension).

And now with the storyline similarities. Both pairings start as friends, so both lead to a slow burn. Both were an amazing partners in crime duo, working really great as a team, and being just the two of them or even with more people, their connection always stood out. Miles and Carmen never became official members of Spider Society/V.I.L.E. but disagree with them and escape from them to do what they believe is right. Both Gwen and Gray make a mistake and are expelled from Spider Society/V.I.L.E. (Gwen with the portal multiverse dimension go home machine or whatever and Gray by having his memories wiped) and then they realize too late they made a mistake with Miles/Carmen and now have to fix that mistake. Also both Carmen and Miles say "Goodbye Gray/Gwen." in the most DRAMATIC way possible before doing an grand triumphal exit and I love that for them. And the look Gray/Gwen gives them before they leave is THE EXACT SAME LOOK, I SWEAR. So as you can see, both ships leave a room for A LOT of angst and drama. Also just the way they look so fondly at each other and the way both Carmen/Miles and Gray/Gwen look sad when they have to leave or when the other has to leave them says it all. Platonic or not, both couples have an undeniable bond and just work so well together, being as friends, lovers, partners...They are each other's ride or die. They are each other's everything.

(Also just an personal opinion is that both Spiderverse and Carmen Sandiego have the MOST BEAUTIFUL ANIMATION I HAVE EVER SEEN) (Along with the new Miraculous movie) (Ladybug and Chat Noir are also very similar of Carmen and Gray but that's something more noticeable to pretty much everyone, I don't have to elaborate much on that matter) (I've got nothing to say about LadyNoir/MariChat being similar to Red Crackle that hasn't been said before)

The major difference about them is that, while both the Spiderverse movies and the Carmen Sandiego series don't have romance as their main focus, Miles and Gwen will most likely be canon in the films, just like they are in the comics. I think it will be a movie trilogy so they'll probably get together in the third movie(Beyond the Spiderverse in january? Anyway, 2024, save the date). I mean, Spider-Byte is cool and all but she's a game avatar or something so I don't think Miles and her can get together, even if he travels to her universe and decides to stay there or vice versa. They introduced her just now and we barely know anything about her, and Miles and Gwen clearly already have a whole build up story going on with a consistent arc so why mess it up? Besides, I think we need more main interracial couples representation in media. Aside from these two, the only GOOD main interracial couples I can think of are Druig and Makkari from Eternals(I never even watched Eternals and I know they are better than Ikaris and Sersi)(They are also an interracial couple but they clearly don't have the chemestry Drukkari does and Ikaris seems to be kind of a jerk tbh), Ricky and Gina(from HSMTMTS, which I don't watch either but their clips I saw on YouTube are just the cutest thing), Ben and Devi from Never Have I Ever, Daphne and Simon and Kate and Anthony from Bridgerton, and Julie and Luke(Juke) from Julie and The Phantoms(JATP) which is literally an impossible love story since Luke is dead(he's a ghost) and Julie isn't(she's alive) and the series was cancelled(still mad about it and will forever be). My point is:Couples with different ethnicities are not only little but the ones we do have are mostly either impossible to happen, unfairly treated/messed up by writers/not well executed or when treated right, we don't get enough content of them/they are forgotten, in the majority cases, and that needs to change. Anyway...Meanwhile, with Red Crackle, as Carmen Sandiego had a pretty open ending, canon can be whatever the hell you want, and for me is red crackle. That's it. Thank you for coming to my ted talk. Will be posting more "written podcasts" soon.

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sallyastral · 1 year

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I received this comment under this post. I admit I oversimplified what I wanted to say, so I think it might be interesting to answer more specifically also taking into account my knowledge of psychology, which I am still studying in high school.

First of all, I never said that the relationship between Miles and Gwen could be abusive or manipulative: I rather think that, due to their traumas and their poor management of emotions (especially on Gwen's part, who is still clearly hurt by Peter's death), they would unconsciously hurt themselves psychologically. A manipulative relationship is made up of a stronger subject and a weaker one, where the first is able to apply his supremacy over the other, but this does not seem to be the case at all.

I also think that the one who would suffer the most after the events of ATSV is Miles, for multiple reasons. First of all, it seems that many underestimate his trauma: remember that Miles witnessed two murders in one day at the age of 14, and had to cope with the loss for a year and a half completely alone. While Gwen had Jess and then Hobie to help her cope, Miles couldn't tell anyone about his identify or the fact he literally saw his uncle get shot. It was also confirmed by Sony, with the announcement of the release of a short film focused on this, that Miles suffers from panic attacks so strong that they give him actual hallucinations.

The only hold Miles had was Gwen, the only person who, if she had been there, could have understood what he was going through. And although many (the film itself does so) romanticize his obsession with Gwen, trust me when I tell you that from a psychological point of view it is a very bad sign: it is a symptom of dependency.

As I already mentioned, Gwen too is still hurting and coping, helped a bit by Hobie's company, she's still not ready. Her speech about Gwen Stacy falling in love with Spider-Man and everything going shit was her way to tell Miles "I'm not ready, because I'm afraid I'll fuck up everything."

They are two teenagers coping with massive losses in their lives with no psychological help.

And as we saw in ATSV, Miles was even more hurt and traumatized by what happened, abruptly destroying his obsession for Gwen. The whole Spider Society thing is far from being even half solved actually, it just started, and Miles will probably hardly forgive Gwen for what she did.

But if he did forgive her easily and he reverted back to his old self (thing I hope doesn't happen because it would just erase Miles' growth), realistically, their relationship would become codependency, which is a relationship in which neither partner is whole in themselves, but together they sort of mesh into a single, functional unit. These relationships are uncommonly stable, while they last, because each partner needs what the other provides, and outwardly the relationship can seem healthy and happy, but the longer it persists, the more the dysfunctions become apparent.

In conclusion: I don't think they'd work now, but maybe in the future, healing from their losses and traumas, they could actually work. Just not in BTSV and the immediate future.

To reference another comment I got under the same post no, I don't think two people with issues can't stay together. They can, if their relationship doesn't end up in codependency. Issues or not, codependency is always unhealthy.

#spiderman atsv #spiderman across the spiderverse #atsv #character analysis #miles molares #gwen stacy

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firelance2361 · 2 years

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The Oliverse (Earth-5203)

Here’s a little something I’ve been working on for a bit. It’s a character roster for an AU with Oliver Osnick/Steel Spider and many others. In this universe, after Oliver’s girlfriend, Jane Lane was paralyzed by Muggers, instead of going after them solo, he sought out the help of Peter Parker/Spider-Man to bring them to justice. Because of this partnership, not only were they able to bring the muggers to justice, but they also found a suspicious hidden link to them and Miles Warren/The Jackal. Due to this, not only was the life of Spider-Man’s unborn child saved, so too were the lives of the clones created by Miles Warren for Norman Osborn. Those clones being Ben Reilly, Kaine Parker, and Gwen Warren. Osnick’s actions also allowed for the Clone Saga to be resolved faster than it was in the original timeline, exposing both Osborn and Warren’s inhuman actions to the public, leading to their arrest. This is set 10 years after these events, in where many changes have happened. - The Parker Family has grown exceptionally in this times. - Peter and Mary Jane successfully had their child, May Parker, who took on the mantle of Night-Spider. They also discovered through an investigation of Osborn's and Warren's experiments, the existence of their half-human/half-symbiote child April Parker/Mayhem, who they took in with welcome arms. She and May get along well pretty well, though April still has some issues keeping her symbiotic side under control. - The clones of Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker have become part of the family as well, becoming Peter’s official brothers and May’s “super-uncles.” - Peter’s secret sister, Teresa Parker was also discovered earlier in this universe thanks to Peter and Oliver’s resources in Oscorp. It took a while for her to get back into the family, but they’re slowing starting to accept Terry. She aids them out in the field as the hero, Birdstrike. - Oliver himself gained a little sister named Sadie, who after suffering an attack from Kidney Failure, received a transfusion with Spider-Blood that saved her life. - Said event gave her traditional Spider-Powers, along with bone-like stingers similar to Kaine Parker, leading her to become the heroine, Spindle. - Felicia Hardy retired as the Black Cat due to worsening conditions with her mother’s health, entrusting the mantle to Mary Jane. - The Various Spider-People, including the clones, have reorganized into the Spider-Society, with Ezekiel Sims as a consultant/mentor of the group. - Cindy Moon does exist in this universe with her powers, but she has yet to emerge as the heroine Silk. For now she serves as technical assistant, while training on the sides with some of the other Spiders. - Oscorp came under the control of Oliver’s father, Milton Osnick, who as CEO, reorganized the company into something more beneficial for the public. - Peter Parker works as Oscorp as a consultant on the Scientific Board. - Earth-5203 Oliver, sadly, like his mainstream counterpart, lost his arm in a confrontation with Eddie Brock/Venom and Lily Hollister/Demogoblin that also took the life of Jessica Drew. - Such incident caused Ollie to take a brief Hiatus as Steel Spider until he could get back up on his feet again. - He does usual therapy sessions with Jane once a week, which has helped out with some of problems in their relationship. - Ollie also built a working prosthetic arm to compensate for the damage, which was able to interact with his hero-tech; a trait that helped him out it the field when he finally did return to crimefighting. - Julia Carpenter and Mattie Franklin stepped into the void left by Jessica Drew's death, becoming the unofficial leaders of the Spider-Society. - Eddie Brock, gave up the Venom Symbiote due to Cancer treatments. In his wake, his son Dylan Brock bonded with the Sleeper Symbiote, becoming a somewhat more versatile antihero than his mainstream counterpart, with some harder anger management issues. - Carolyn Trainer has taken up the mantle of Doctor Octopus after Otto Octavius suffered a neuro-related injury to his cranium after a fight with Spider-Man, leaving him comatose. She serves as Oliver’s antithesis in this universe. - In this universe, other sidelined heroes and villains have started to have a greater influence in the superpowered community, from Sally Arvil/Bluebird to Dwight Faron/Counterblow and Elias Wirtham/Cardiac, and several others. Sorry if the bio’s a bit lengthy, I just didn’t want to skimp on the details here. Hope you like it!

#oliverse #oliver osnick #oliverosnick #steel spider #steelspidermarvel #steelspiderollieosnick #man of steel #spiderverse #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman into the spiderverse #earth-5203 #alternate universe #clone saga #spiderman clone saga

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arachine · 1 year

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LEXI I CAME TO ASK IF YOUD SEEN ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE JUST TO SEE ALL THE STUFF YOU REBLOGGED??

I LOVED IT SOOOO MUCH LIKE I WAS SHAKING IN MY SEEATTTTT MANNNNN IT WAS TOO GOODD

(i am soooo close to becoming a spiderverse blog istg)

tell me alllll your thots abt it plzzzz🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

BAE LEMME FUCKING TELL YOU!!//!/!

i watched it a few days ago and??? i’m still in a state of utter shock and bewilderment??? like physically i’m home, but mentally i am still sitting in my theatre chair, with my jaw agape.

it was brilliant and—i truly can’t stress this enough—a MASTER CLASS of a movie. animation as a medium is so underestimated, but i really believe in my heart of hearts that it’ll open up so many doors for other films to come.

there’s so many things i can get into, but first i wanna talk about the color palettes designed for each character!!! i think the animators’ use of colors bode exceptionally well to showcase the characters’ emotions and innermost thoughts/feelings. take gwen for example: her color palette is usually hues of blue and cold tones, and when she’s unsure of herself or feeling down, the background/environment around her, reflects that. you see it a lot when she’s switching back and forth between her earth, and miles’—but especially so when she’s in her room. all the furniture appears abstract, and it’s constantly changing in appearance because she isn’t allowing herself to really focus on her surroundings.

another thing i noticed (this has to do with colors too) is that miles’ color scheme on his earth is blue and red (like every other spidey), but when he’s on earth 42, the color scheme changes to purple and yellow (the colors associated with the prowler). looking back at it now, this was probably obvious and may have been intentionally in-your-face but i was so caught up in other things that i didn’t even really notice it until a friend pointed it out.

beyond all that though, i have so many theories. for one, do you think spider-byte helped miles in good faith? or do you think it was unintentional? a friend and me were going back and forth about it but i think it was in good faith and we even see her in the little group gwen recruits at the end. i mean, i guess i can see the other side of the argument? people think she knowingly sent him to the wrong earth but i don’t think she knew what earth he was actually from. the machine that sent him to earth 42, scans dna. so i’m assuming while she knew he was an anomaly, she wasn’t aware of the fact that earth 42 wasn’t his actual earth. i’d like to think that she helped him escape bc it was either: 1) let him caught by miguel & co. or 2) let him take his chances.

another theory i have is that maybe miles’ dad can be saved. miguel said the canon event was inevitable but so far, miles has been disproving that he’s not like the other spider-people. him being an anomaly is quite literally a miracle within itself. he wasn’t supposed to become spider-man on his earth, but he did it anyway! so maybe…nobody will have to die? they make it a point in the movie that all the spiders go through suffering, and that their suffering is inevitable, but idk…that doesn’t sit right with me. there has to be a reason for miles’ transformation. and i think he can break that cycle.

sorry for rambling!! i’ve got a lot more theories and insights but this reply is already sooooo long 😭 if you wanna talk about it dm me!!!

#will add tag later #spider man across the spider verse #smatsv spoilers #across the spider verse spoilers #atsv spoilers

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jbreenr · 3 years

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I didn't want to post my NWH spoilers just yet but I need to let it out so…

⚠ Spider-Man: No Way Home spoilers under the cut ⚠

Michelle didn't convince me in the first two movies as a character and love interest, but I really liked how supportive and great she was with Peter and how she put up with all that crap for him.

Now, and I apologize beforehand… MATTHEW FUCKING MURDOCK IS BAAAACK, BITCHES!!!!! THOSE CHARLIE COX LEAKS WERE REAL AND I AM SO FUCKING HAPPY BECAUSE MY BOY IS FINALLY GETTING WHAT HE DESERVES.

Istg I screamed when he caught that brick? stone? idk, and everyone was like “how did you do that?” and he goes “Well, I'm a good lawyer.” It was only a few minutes of him onscreen but those minutes were worth the cost of the ticket.

Right now I didn't care if the Spiderverse actually happened. I was more than good with Matty on the picture.

Back to the movie, i did feel bad for Michelle and Ned not getting into the MIT because of recent controversies. Y'all are the reason people say Thanos was right!!!

Strange accepting helping Peter was such a great gesture of comradeship, in the absence of another word.

And even though I understand why Peter kept interrupting him while performing the spell, I couldn't help but to be frustrated. Like, ugh, Pete, shut up and let the wizard do the favor you asked for!

Okay so, the spell didn't go as planned, Peter's trying to convince this lady to give Ned And Michelle a second chance to get in and BAM! we have Otto and the whole spot from the trailer.

+ Peter saving this woman who, in gratitude, will convince the MIT to consider his friends AND him.

I had no idea how Otto got the Stark tech, and now we know he took the nano from Peter's suit, which didn't work well for him in the end but whatever.

Then we have that quick glimpse of the Green Goblin before Stephen brings Peter back and tells him he captured the Lizard, that everyone from other universes that knew Peter was Spider-Man was coming and that he'd have to capture all of them to send them back.

Something I don't understand is why are they all so angry at Peter? As far as I remember from the previous movies, they redeemed themselves.

Maybe Max didn't, but Connors, Doc Ock, Sandman…

Which is brought up again when Flint saves Peter from becoming barbecue thanks to Electro and then he's like yeah, I don't need fixing even though I want to go back to my daughter, I'll be a villain.

Lemme point this out, Stephen separated Peter from his physical form to his Astral form and he was able to go back into his body and keep Stephen from taking the box from him. Was it his Spidey-sense (no, I'm not calling it tingle)? Because it was awesome.

Otto having his silence and mind back is just so good.

And well, Max suggested there is a black Spider-Man somewhere. Miles, I'm looking at you, bud.

Norman. Just ✨ perfect ✨. The way the Goblin analyzed Peter through Norman was brilliant.

And him convincing both Max and Flint and, well, Connors they were Gods and they didn't need fixing.

Now, freaking hell if I knew what was about to happen and still was not ready. I already knew May was going to die, but I had this slight drop of hope when she stood up and walked to Peter saying that she was okay.

She told Peter that with great power comes great responsibility and I'm totally sobbing at this point.

I ugly cried, people. Not as much as I did with Loki or Nat or Tony, but it's fine because we're finally getting a Peter who suffers and has nothing. Which is sad but that's the essence of the character.

And then, Happy watching from the car.): His realization of what was happening broke me.

Okay but Ned is ✨ magical ✨ and he freaking opened portals.

TO NO OTHERS THAT ANDREW AND TOBEY'S PETERS!!!!!

SPIDER-VERSE CONFIRMED. 👏🏻CON👏🏻FIR👏🏻MED👏🏻

FFS I almost end up hoarse. My hands were shaking and sweating and yes, you can call me ridiculous but this is a freaking big event in the History of television.

Then, we have the other two Peters telling… Peter about their losses, about Gwen and how Uncle Ben told them the same thing May did the day(s) he died. It was very emotional.

And they deciding they were going to help the villains.

That joke about Peter, no I mean Peter Parker. Was hilarious. Mostly because in the group of people I went with there is another Brenda and we get that a lot.

Peter (Andrew) saying that he wants to fight an alien. Oh, boy no, you don't want to. Trust me.

And then Peter (Tobey) telling him that he's not the worst Spider-Man, that he's amazing. Man, he is. I love Tom, Tobey is part of my childhood but Andrew's SM has been my favorite till now. Though I believe Tom's is talking over.

I froze when Michelle fell and Peter was about to get her and the Goblin stopped him. I was certain she was gone too.

But then we got Peter (Andrew) saving her and I cried again. His face when he realized that he saved her, that he didn't let Peter's girlfriend die... GOD!!! Too many feelings.

They stop them all, except for Norman and damn if I saw Peter beating him to death.

I gasped really loud when Peter (Tobey) stopped him and then got freaking stabbed. Like what's gOING ON?!? WTF, WHAT'S THIS?

Oc, they heal Norman too and I breath normally again when Peter says he's fine, that he's been stabbed before.

Now, the multiverse is opening again. Whoever that knows Peter's identity is coming through and Strange does his best to stop them.

And Peter makes the most difficult decision ever. A variant of the spell, where everyone forgets about him. Not only that he's Spider-Man, but about his whole existence, as if he'd never existed.

And my heat aches because it works and he couldn't tell Michelle or talk to his best friend or--.

Or Happy, in the cemetery with May. I would have liked it if the gravestone had said “Ben Parker & May Parker” instead, but I guess we'll never know what happen to uncle Ben.

I was lowkey expecting to see Mr. Ditkovich when someone said something about rent in Peter's new place.

Also, did y'all see that new suit!??!??!?!??!? The colors, the spider in the back, the eyes in the mask. Great, beautiful, magnificent. *chef kiss*

And those post-credits. MAAAAAN. Eddie going back to his universe but Venom leaving a little Venom behind!?!! We already knew it was likely to happen but.… YESSSSS!!!

AND MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS TEASER AS THE SECOND POST-CREDIT. MAAAN, STEPHEN ASKING WANDA FOR HELP, ASKING HER WHAT SHE KNOWS ABOUT THE MULTIVERSE AND FREAKING KAECILIUS AND MORDO AND AMERICA CHÁVEZ.

Dude, I can't wait to watch this movie. It's gonna be crazy.

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potatoqueensays · 3 years

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Okay okay so I may have wrote an Irondad drabble. It's kinda like a character study or something, idk I just came up with it and was like yeah let's do this. I hope you enjoy!!

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My World Isn't Perfect Without You In It

3,004 words

It started as a simple feeling.

Tony was in his lab with Peter on one of their lab days, as they always were on Fridays. He would work with the kid after Happy picked him up and they would work on whatever their genius hearts desired.

Tony didn't really find himself looking at Peter with pride until Pepper pointed it out to him, she would comment on how he seemed like a Dad all of a sudden with the kid hanging around more.

He would always deny it with that Stark charm of his of course, deflecting was one of his main traits when it came to his feelings.

"Pep, motherhood may look nice on you, but fatherhood isn't kind for me you know." Flattery was said to get you places, but Pepper was known for never taking his BS.

"Tony, I can tell the way you look at him, you love him, whether you want to face it or not." She grinned at him, she was always right, even if he didn't like to admit it sometimes.

He thought back to her words frequently, picking up on how his heart swelled with pride and warmth when Peter looked at him for approval, or whenever he would get a question right, or even when Tony himself was having a bit of trouble with an equation, and he was Tony Stark, he could do anything!

The kid wormed his way into Tony's cold heart, thawed down his icy walls with a flamethrower and melted his heart into a puddle of goo.

The billionaire could never understand how he became so fond of the kid so quickly, but he always knew the reasons he liked the kid. He was so selfless, kind, and brave. A true hero at heart and much better than Tony even thought he would be, he was everything Tony wasn't and more.

He wasn't even jealous at the kid when he would steal the light, his own best friend becoming fond of the kid and mentioning how he was practically his kid.

"Platypus, he's not a Stark, in any way shape or form."

"He may not be blood related to you Tones, but he's your son in everything else, he has your brains even, maybe even smarter than you!" Rhodey teased.

"I'm wounded, Honey-Bear." He placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt.

"Oh hush, you know it better than anyone else."

And if he did, he would never say it up front.

He was proud of the kid even in his worst moments. He would try to console the kid when he came to him for help when close to a panic attack (which broke the hero's heart, the poor kid didn't deserve any of the unfair treatment the world had, it was too cruel for such a pure hearted kid like Peter.) or when he had a nightmare when staying over at the tower.

Tony wasn't always the most physically affectionate, he would give pats on the shoulder or back, arms around shoulders to keep the person close, and side hugs, even if he didn't do full ones.

When it came to Peter however, he slowly broke out of his shell of that. He kept a hand gently over the back of the boy's neck, sometimes playing with the curls that rested there, occasionally giving a reassuring squeeze when Peter seemed a bit nervous or highstrung. It always got rid of a little of his own stress when the boy would lean into his touch, side hugs and pats on the shoulder were gladly accepted.

Even the occasional hand holding when the kid was kept in the med-bay after a stressful mission or patrol, he would keep his hand over the boy's pulse point to reassure himself that the kid was alive and well. He would keep one hand over the kid's wrist while he worked on his suit, improving how he could make sure the current problems never happened again, whether it be even a scratch or a stab wound, he wouldn't let Peter get hurt on his watch.

He would always keep an eye on the kid, letting Peter know that he could call whenever he felt he needed something, maybe even just to chat, the billionaire found himself even endeared to the chatter that came from the spider-kid, it was a nice comforting constant to fill the silence in his life, even if he worked in his suits with FRIDAY blasting AC/DC, he seemed to have a better preference for the chatty kid. He would invest himself in listening to what happened in his day, to what him and Ted did over the week, and even hearing about how Aunt May burned water when trying to boil pasta.

He was fond of the kid, the feeling that was so simple at the start but steadily increasing over time and getting fiercer and stronger with each visit to the med-bay or after every movie night that eventually had the boy cuddled up to him. It grew into a surge of protectiveness, a very parental feeling and yearning to make his the kid happy.

So yeah, he was fond.

He was in too deep, as he wanted the kid by his side for as long as he could have him in fact, he begun to realize that yeah, he liked the kid and was fond of his company, but even more so.

He loved the kid.

He loved Peter.

Tony had a crisis when he was having a revelation about his feelings towards the younger hero.

He felt parental, even if he kept denying the fact when everybody knew how he felt before himself. Even if he tried to hide his grin whenever the kid's smile lit up a room, even if he kept rolling his eyes affectionately and ruffled the kid's curls when they bantered.

So yeah, he loved him.

Loving was dangerous however, loving got you in difficult situations where you don't think and sometimes your actions get out of hand with how much you care.

He cared about Peter with his iron heart, he cared about the boy so loudly in fact it would almost creep those three words up into his throat when he loved too fiercely with kid.

That's how he found himself in a very dangerous situation.

Peter was hurt, badly.

And it was his fault because he loved him, he was someone he got too close to and now it was his fault.

He stayed too close even when he should have remained at arms length, but the kid had to get close.

The bullet was supposed to be for Tony, not Peter, but the kid saw it coming from a mile away and pushed the iron clad man away from the aim of fire and taking the punishment with all the confidence of a self sacrificing idiot.

Peter was laid up in the med-bay as Cho and her helpers ran around to try and nurse the kid, while Tony was trapped in his own mind with how much he let Peter get too close, how he didn't notice that the kid obviously loved him too, so much in fact that he took a bullet for him, when Tony specifically told him not to if something like that happened.

He couldn't find it in his heart to be angry at the kid, no matter how much he wanted to be, he wanted to scream and shout and punch the walls, blame the universe for giving him someone so precious and kind that he would ruin completely, to rip apart a kid's life. It was his fault that the kid was by his side now, wanting to be an avenger because he took him to Germany just to win a fight against his own team, his own family. Or what he thought was.

He was pushed out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder, Rhodey's comforting voice making it's way to the man in armor, ridding him of the terrible thoughts and guilt that went through him.

"He'll be okay Tones, he's tough, he can handle it, he always does." Rhodey reasoned, trying to take Tony down from his tower of guilt.

"But he shouldn't have to."

"He did what he did because he cares, I know you would do it in a heartbeat if he was the one about to be shot."

"Because that's how it should be, I'm the adult, and he's the kid. He's just a child, Rhodey, a child." The older hero sighed, his face visible as his helmet was open, anyone could easily see his terror and distress. He tried to tear his eyes away from the frittering med staff, but he could only think of Peter. His Peter. His self sacrificing kid that he loved too much, and now it had gotten him hurt, the panic gripping his chest like a vice and not letting go as he feared what worse could have happened to his kid.

"Listen, he'll be okay, I know it." There was no room for argument with his tone, even if Tony wanted to, he needed to be at Peter's bedside, he was always there no matter what, even if he was mad or trying not to think about his guilt, the boy's presence always seemed to calm him.

The hero sighed softly, nodding even though panic rested comfortably in his chest.

He had cleaned himself up after the fight, after seeing Peter taken away from his side as he bled out and was in pain, even under the mask for the spider-suit, Tony could tell by the way the white eyes of the mask were pinched. It haunted him how he thought of Peter's bambi eyes shining with unshed tears and pain under that mask, those bright doe eyes filled with innocence and brilliance.

He remained stationary by the kid's bedside as he was finally left alone in his room, his accelerated healing luckily used in this moment. Helen had said the bullet hadn't hit any major arteries or organs, so that was a plus, but it still was agonizing to think of the boy in any sort of pain, or to even think of Peter leaving his side. If that happened, he didn't know what he would do. If he didn't have Pepper he would certainly lose it.

He just loved the kid too much to let him suffer.

He had his Stark-Pad resting in his lap as he held onto Peter's wrist, the feeling of the pulse underneath his fingers much more reassuring than the beep of the heart monitor. He kept his eyes focusing back between the notes he had down for what he could improve on Peter's suit and on the kid himself, eyeing his chest to check his breathing and checking the face of the boy in case he was going to wake up anytime soon.

He looked at the features of the boy, taking in the curls swept over his forehead, they were always gelled back no matter how much Tony joked about it. He never had a problem with it, but it was always pleasing to know how the boy liked a hand combing through his curls, whether it be his aunt to Tony himself. His face always bright with a smile that reached to his chocolate doe eyes, shining with talent and excitement for everything and anything. From Star Wars to how the Iron Man suit worked, he was always so smart and inquisitive. The boy was a ray of sunshine in Tony's bleak life. Yes he had Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy, he loved them all to bits and they made his life so much better, but loving Peter was different. He was his son in everything but blood, and that didn't even matter. He was a bright light that warmed up even the coldest of hearts, thawing right through to make anyone wrapped around his little finger.

Tony loved him.

He realized he was looking too much at the boy and swiftly changed to reading the schematics of the spider-suit, although he didn't read far when he heard a small sigh coming from in front of him. He looked up to see those bright and beautiful doe eyes looking up at him with that same amount of adoration that made Tony's heart want to burst, he didn't deserve the kid in the slightest, but here he was with him.

"Good afternoon, bambi." He said softly, aware of how Peter was sensitive his surroundings after waking up in the med-bay, the lights always at a dimmer power than normal to accustom to the spider-boy.

"Hi Mstr' Strk'." The boy slurred, still tired from just waking up and having pain reducing drugs in his system. The man carefully let go of the boy's wrist to hit the button that alerted Helen that her patient was awake, he almost missed the small whine that came from the younger hero at the loss of contact, it cut right through his heart.

"I'm here kiddo, don't worry." He held onto the boy's wrist again, fingers resting over the pulse point with quick muscle memory at this point.

"M' srry.." The boy mumbled, relaxing slightly as he registered the touch again, wide bambi eyes drooping sightly in relief.

"What are you sorry for, kiddo?" The man wondered. Peter always apologized, whether it be for something as small as dropping a pencil or bumping into a dog. He had such good manners.

"Ar' you mad a' me?" The boy's speech improving only a little as his enhanced metabolism burned through the painkillers.

Ah, so that explains it, he was worried the billionaire was mad at him. He gently rubbed a circle into the boy's wrist with his hand, comforting the kid into relaxing and not stressing when he needed to heal and get rest.

The man softly sighed and put the Stark-Pad away on the side table, scooting a little closer to the cot as he could look the kid better in the eye.

"No bud, I'm not mad, anymore. But you worried me a lot, I have a heart condition you know." He moved his free hand to go over the boy's front curls that hung in front of his eyes, getting to see those baby browns even better as the kid leaned into the soft touch.

"I knda' had to, you'd do it too.." The kid had a point, as it was similar to Rhodey's, even Pepper would say something like that, and she was always right, so that had to mean that Rhodey and Peter were too.

"That's different Pete. You're a kid and I'm an adult, we seniors kinda have to take the bullet. Figuratively and literally." He chided gently.

The boy let out a small huff of frustrated air, which was absolutely adorable as his nose scrunched up and he eyed Tony with what was presumably a glare that equalled the look of a puppy.

"But we gotta prtect' each other, otherwise you'd get hurt much worse." He brought up matter of factly.

"Well, maybe that's a risk I gotta take for spider-babies like you." Tony provided ruefully.

"Nt' a baby."

Well you're my spider-baby. He almost wanted to say.

Luckily he was saved by Helen Cho coming in to do a small checkup on Peter, looking over his vitals and smiling softly at her patient.

"Hello Peter, how are you feeling? Any pain?" She eyed over her clipboard presumably to check over his vitals and wounds again, being very perceptive to how Peter responded.

"M' fine, jus' a little sore." At that, Helen nodded and worked on administering a little medicine into his system, making the boy sigh gratefully at that. Both Cho and Tony knew when Peter said he felt a little pain it meant more than he played it as.

"I'll be back in a couple more hours, get some rest okay?"

Peter nodded at that and watched as she left the room, now alone with his father figure mentor once again. He looked over at Tony with a dopey smile, looking very tired now, he was bound to fall asleep. He sightly tugged on the man's arm, they both know that was to invite the man to cuddle, which they never brought up out loud, but they both knew the other enjoyed it greatly. It helped assure Tony that Peter was safe and there, while Peter got comfort and protection.

The man sighted good-naturedly as he stood up to get beside Peter.

"Alright alright, scoot over, this isn't gonna be nice on my back later." He joked. Although he said that, he would gladly take a little pain if it meant having Peter safe in his arms.

The boy obeyed and scooted over quickly, allowing Tony to climb in and get comfy, then let out a small "oof" as the kid rested his head on his shoulder and clung like a koala.

The man chuckled, a hand coming up to cradle the boy's head and play with his curls, knowing that helped Peter sleep much faster.

"Okay cuddle-bug, you heard her. It's nap time."

"Nt' a bug." Peter mumbled, blissfully unaware how Tony's heart practically melted with how easy Peter fit in his arms. He was so small. They were like two pieces of a puzzle, father and son, mentor and mentee. They belonged together and they wouldn't have it any other way as they needed the other.

"Right, arachnid." Tony corrected himself, hiding his grin in the kid's hair as Peter let out a pleased hum, slowly drifting off to sleep.

"Night." Peter mumbled, slowly lulled to sleep by the soft rumbling of the older hero's chest as he responded in kind.

"Goodnight bambino." He mumbled, pressing a small kiss to the boy's hair as they soon both drifted off to sleep.

Yeah, Tony loved him, and he needed him in his life like Peter needed him.

Thank you to @polaroid15 for reading this before hand and your lovely comments!! 🥺♥️

#irondad #irondad and spiderson #irondad fanfiction #mine #honestly this is my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction #i normally write for classes or drabbles of my own characters #but i have never done other characters #also im not that good with dialogue but I tried #i hope you enjoy 🥺♥️#tony stark #peter parker #pepperpotts #but only like quickly #james rhodes #quickly as well

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navegandoaciegas · 4 years

Text

Sunshine Girl

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: fluff, soft!Bucky, mentions of injury (no graphic descriptions), 3.6k words

Summary: You are the sun and he’s simply basking in your light. And he’s so selfish, he thinks as he holds the velvet box with the diamond ring inside of it, he’s so damn selfish he wants to keep the light all to himself for the rest of his life.

Two years ago you were supposed to enjoy a solo road trip after years of Avenging, but Bucky invited himself along. Now you’re forced back to New York, and your boyfriend is ready to surprise you once again.

A/N: Bucky’s POV. Sequel to I love my baby to death, but I suppose you could read it on its own. As always forgive any mistakes, English is my third language.

Had to repost this cause it didn’t show up in the tags, hopefully this time it will

“I swear Buck, if I see one more damn corn plant I’m losing it. I am this close” you say pinching your thumb and pointer finger real close “to a mental breakdown. I’m never eating corn again, mark my words. No corn flakes, no corn on the cobble, no nothing. I’m done.”

“We’re in Iowa, in the middle of the corn belt, I don’t know what you were expecting.” he replies, slightly amused by your little outburst and sour mood.

“Well, clearly not ending up on the set of Children of the corn.” you groan, getting back to sulking in the passenger’s seat, seething at the fields that are only a scapegoat to the real problem.

You’d been merrily skiing in Montana when his skis got somehow tangled with yours and he tumbled down on you, dragging you down the slope. Hadn’t you injured yourself, rolling in the snow like it only ever happens in cartoons would have been pretty comical.

“What?” you screech, almost jumping off the stretcher and grimacing in pain when your left foot hits the metal poles at the side. “No. It’s just pain, I’m sure it will go away, right? I mean I was an Avenger, I’ve suffered worse than a fall.”

“I’m sorry, miss, but knee surgery will be necessary, the MRI here shows you’ve torn your ACL and from the looks of it, your left knee was already damaged badly, numerous times at that, probably a result of your time on the field.”

“I can’t, I can’t just get surgery, we’re miles away from home and I-”

You’re almost sobbing and Bucky feels like shit because he’s the reason for all this and all he can do now is pat your back reassuringly.

“Given the extent of the damage, I’m afraid there’s no other option.”

“How long is the recovery time?” he asks, voice unsure.

“Well, it’s my knowledge she’s not an enhanced individual, so like any average human it will take anywhere from 6 to 9 months to recover fully. In the meantime, no more hikes or sports.”

Bucky inhales a sharp breath. Six to nine months. No more hikes. Surely you’ll have to go back to New York.

God, you are so going to break up with him.

Turns out you didn’t dump him in Montana, you didn’t abandon him in one of those auto stops along Interstate 90 in South Dakota, and you don’t seem to want to break up with him amidst the green fields of Iowa, but still, he knows he will drive through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It almost seems like a cruel twist of fate, driving the same route you did as friends two years ago, along Interstate 80 headed East instead of West, only this time he’s not hoping to be more than the annoying old man who invited himself on your trip; he’s your boyfriend now, but maybe not for long.

“You know, you really are dramatic.” you say in a teasing tone, “I’m not going to break up with you, stop thinking about that, it was an accident, ‘s not like you beat me.”

“I know, I’m just sorry because you’re in pain and it’s my fault and now we have to get back home but I know you wanted to stay more and I did too and if I didn’t-” he’s rambling, and your place your hand on his thigh and squeeze reassuringly, offering him one of those sweet smiles he dies for.

“Buck, it’s okay” you interrupt his word vomit “like I said a million times before, it was an accident, it’s going to be fine I promise. I’m sorry if I made you think otherwise with my mood, I swear I’m just pissed at all this damn corn. We’re never going to a maze again, by the way.” That gets a laugh out of him, and he loves you even more because you’re always there to lift his spirits. “I’m dreading these next months, the surgery, physiotherapy and all, but I know you’re there for me, yes?”

He nods, teary eyed, and you continue, “And I can’t lie, it’s been a while, I’m kind of excited to see everyone again, I mean except for Sam of course,” you say, as if he didn’t “live rent free in your head”, like Sam himself put it, “Jesus that man, how many of our trips has he invited himself on? I’ve lost count. ‘Member when we found him waiting for us in Phoenix? Fuckin’ weirdo.”

You both chuckle at the memory of Sam in your motel room, waiting on your bed with crossed arms like a disappointed parent, pissed off because you hadn’t called in a week and he was worried sick that something may have happened to you, a deadly sniper, and him, the Winter fuckin’ Soldier. Truth is, Bucky was so excited about your new relationship that he rarely let you leave the bed when you were in your room, and when you did you were in no condition to Facetime anyone, with your smudged mascara and swollen lips.

“I’ve heard Clint will come visit us with Laura and the kids. Nathaniel must be so big now.” you add, your eyes glazed over as you think of the little boy who was named after your Natasha.

“God, Morgan is probably all grown up.” he muses, a tinge of sadness in his voice. You squeeze his thigh again. “And the spider kid too, he’s a grown man now.”

“That he is.” you chuckle, “But to me he’ll always be the boy in the red spanx who knocked us on our asses in Berlin.”

He smiles and shakes his head at the memory, and you both fall in a comfortable silence. Now that he’s not consumed by fear anymore, Bucky kind of agrees with you that all this green is, in fact, nauseating.

“You know what, no more popcorn either.”

“Deal.”

A year and something ago

Arizona

“Can you believe there’s a city in New Mexico called Truth or Consequences? We should totally go and visit just for the hell of it, sounds like the type of place Steve Rogers should have been born into.” you state with all the seriousness in the world, and he snorts because after all this time you still haven’t found it in yourself to stop mocking Steve’s righteousness.

You’re walking ahead of him and he’s so distracted by your tiny denim shorts that he, the master of stealth, almost trips over a boulder. You’re always pretty but tonight, illuminated by the orange sky of Arizona, you look like a dream. And you’re so happy, snapping photos at everything you see, that even if Bucky hates the desert and the heat makes him uncomfortable, he won’t tell you, because the look on your face makes it all worth it.

“Baby, look at this big boy here, he’s like 20 feet tall. Oh my god, he’s so cute and beefy, just like you.” you gush at one of the giant cactuses of Saguaro National Park.

He raises his eyebrows skeptically.

All he sees are green spiky motherfuckers that he’s accidentally hurt himself with more times that he’d like to admit in all those damn ‘hikes’ you like so much, but to you cactuses are the most beautiful sight in the word. He genuinely does not see the appeal, but he understands now how you feel when he talks about all his ‘nerd shit’, as you call it.

“I’m cuter.” he says frowning.

“Of course you are.”

For some reason you don’t sound convincing at all.

It’s only spring but here in Tucson the temperature is 85 degrees today and he’s sweating buckets underneath the long sleeved t-shirt he’s wearing to conceal his vibranium arm. He’s long past the time when he was forced to hide from authorities or the general public’s judgement, but still he doesn’t want to be recognized and attract attention. He doesn’t do well with crowds, and he doesn’t understand how you can be so calm and collected when people stare at you and ask for photographs while you’re minding your own business.

As soon as you get back to the motel you’re staying at he takes off his soaked shirt, not caring that the air conditioning is probably going to end his old ass.

“What the hell happened to you?” you ask, scowling as you analyze the skin around his prosthetic.

He shrugs. “It happens sometimes.”

“Why?”

“No idea.”

“Don’t you fuckin’ lie to me James.”

You only call him that when he’s in big trouble. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose: why do you have to be so damn stubborn all the damn time? “It’s nothing sweetheart, just sometimes the skin becomes flared when it’s too hot.”

“Nothing?” you shrill, throwing your hands around animatedly, “Nothing? Bucky your whole shoulder is super red and irritated, don’t act like it’s normal. We’ve been in the sun for hours, for days really, why didn’t you tell me anything? I would have driven us back here immediately. Does it hurt?”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you, I didn’t want to ruin your fun, you liked it so much there. And no, it only itches a little.”

Your eyes soften and you move to cup his face in your hands, looking at him with so much love that he feels himself melt away into a puddle, “Baby you don’t need to do that, you know I care more about you than anything else.”

“Even more than the cactuses?”

“Well, now you’re asking too much of me.”

He snorts and playfully hits your arm, then he falls back on the bed and drags you down with him. You stay cuddled like that for a while before you pull back to look into his eyes.

“I appreciate you doing this for me Buck, but you don’t ever need to sacrifice your own comfort for me, okay?”

“I know, I’m sorry. But you looked so happy.”

“Don’t be, and I’m always happy with you, I promise.”

“I’m always happy too.”

“We’re such saps. Gross. Anyways, guess where we’re going next?” you ask him cheerfully, scratching his scalp the way that makes him purr like a cat.

“The plan was New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana, right?” he frowns. You’d made plans together ages ago and you were so excited about visiting Texas of all places for God knows what reason. He’s predicted already that he won’t stand the suffocating, humid heat of that whole area. At least Arizona was dry as hell.

You on the other hand, everyday he’s become more aware of how much of a lizard you are, seeking the sun and walking around in the scorching heat not even breaking a sweat.

“Guess again baby boy, we’re going straight to Oregon. I mean, it's not Alaska but it’s not as hot as the desert here, right?

“Wait, what? Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to overheat?” you state like it’s obvious, rolling your eyes, “We’ll do New Mexico and the rest next fall, and now Oregon and Washington because it’s a little cooler there. So what do you say?” You ask with a hopeful look in your eyes.

“Princess I appreciate you doing this for me, but I promise I’ll be fine. You don’t have to change plans for me, this is your road trip.”

“No you won’t Buck, you’re not doing good and I don’t ever want to see you suffer, you understand? By the time we get to Texas it will be summer and you won’t stand it, it’s better if we visit when it’s colder.”

He smiles softly. He knows he’d do the same for you. “Then Oregon it is.”

You get up from the bed and head to the bathroom to shower, “Oh, and baby?” you call out, peeking your head from behind the door, “This is your road trip too, never forget that.”

Oregon

“Why does Thor get to have places named after him and we don’t? We were Avengers too.”

“But are we norse gods?”

“I mean, not yet, but I definitely deserve some nature’s wonder, or at least a star, to be named after me.”

“I’ll call WMO and get them to name a hurricane after you, princess. It seems more fitting.”

“Asshole.”

You’d been camping somewhere in Oregon’s wilderness when he came up with the idea of visiting all of the State’s so called seven wonders, starting from Thor’s Well on the Coast and ending in Mount Hood near Portland. You took a thousand photos of each attraction and sent a video of the water seemingly draining inside the famous well to the God himself, who enthusiastically expressed his appreciation.

Bucky’s cherished every minute of it, from the hot springs of Crater Lake to the chillier temperatures at night that force you to snuggle closer to him to warm up.

You’re in Portland now, and you’re thoroughly enjoying it, but what’s new about that? You’re always so full of life, so genuinely excited about everything the world has to offer that he’d be worried if you weren’t having the time of your life as you usually are.

He likes the city too, which is saying a lot.

“Blueberries are the superior berry and that’s the hill I’m willing to die on.”

You’ve been eating your way through Portland for weeks, and you’ve been discussing pies for a solid thirty minutes now. It’s raining outside and you’re cooped up in a small pie shop, eating more than an average human can and receiving weird looks from the waitress as you tell her to ‘keep ‘em coming’.

“I’m sorry but you’re wrong princess,” he states with a stuffed mouth just for the sake of aggravating you to no end, “blackberries are just so much better.”

It works as you grimace in disgust, both at his statement and his manners.

He’s found out you are weirdly opinionated when it comes to pies: pecan pies are an abomination, pumpkin doesn’t belong in dessert, lemon pie and key lime pie are only acceptable if someone’s grandma is kindly offering them to you, rhubarb pie without strawberries is a threat to mankind and cherry and blueberry pies are the absolute best. Apple pie is too bland to even take the time to discuss it, although the taste is likeable enough.

He on the other hand likes anything pie and anything sweet. And anything that gets a rise out of you.

“Please Buck, this isn’t even a blackberry pie, it’s some sort of inbred experiment that turned out kinda right.”

He shushes you, barely holding back a laugh when he sees the waiter side eyeing you as you disrespect one of Oregon’s most famous dishes, “First of all, it’s called marionberry and it’s a type of blackberry. And second, keep it down unless you want us to be kicked out, you’re offending a whole state.”

“Sorry.” you shrug, “But blueberry tartness level is where I draw the line, anything more than that is unacceptable.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re still a child and haven’t developed adult taste buds yet baby.” He does love his senior citizen card a bit too much.

This earns him a kick under the table and a scowl. “Stop it, grandpa.” you groan.

He grins and digs in your slice of marionberry pie. You resume to people watching.

God, he loves Oregon. And he loves you.

He really is a sap.

Wyoming

Washington was nice enough. You’ve taken him bar crawling most nights, and all of them have ended with him giving you a piggyback ride, per your request, back to the hotel room you were staying at.

It takes 13 hours to drive from Seattle to Yellowstone and you’ve driven all the way. You refused to disclose the destination of the trip and he’s fallen asleep the last 3 hours in the car. He’d mentioned he wanted to see the geysers somewhere in Pennsylvania two years ago and you remembered and took him.

Bucky couldn’t be happier.

He’s still describing the constellations above you when you fall asleep, and he’s so absorbed by the sky that he doesn’t notice until your head falls on his shoulder and he hears your soft snores.

He picks you up bridal style and takes you back to the fancy tent he bought on a whim in Ohio after you both slept in the SUV and woke up with major back and neck pain. He smiles as he removes your makeup with a wipe and does your skincare just the way you taught him, and admires your relaxed state.

He grazes your pretty face with his vibranium fingers, something so unimaginable to him before he met you, as he never thought his arm could bring anything other than pain.

Back when he was a semi stable 100 year old man thrust in another fight yet again, he hadn’t realized the extent of his feelings for you, believing he was only attracted to your beauty and youth. He hadn’t seen the way your smile lights up a whole room, nor the way you listen, truly listen, to anyone who may have anything to tell you, without ever judging them. He hadn’t witness your kindness and patience, let alone experienced them on his own skin. He hadn’t been lucky enough to watch you feed bird seed to the ducks of every pond of the country, or try to rescue a cat from a rooftop and almost falling off to save it.

Then Sam told him you were leaving and he felt like the word was collapsing on him. He’d found the sunlight and he never wanted to be without it.

Now he’s seen it all, all the little things that make you who you are, including your flaws, and he loves you not regardless of them, nor in spite of them, but because even your worst imperfections make you… you.

Bucky doesn’t know if meeting you was a way for the universe to fix all the wrongs that have been done to him, a sort of payback for all the shit he’s been put through, but in case it is, then he’s got no objections. And maybe he doesn’t deserve someone as good as you, but he’s a selfish man, and now that his sunshine girl is with him he never wants to plunge back into the the darkness ever again.

He tucks you both under the sleeping bag and snuggles next to you.

“Buck?” you mumble in a haze, tugging at his t-shirt, “Love you.”

It’s almost imperceptible, but his supersoldier hearing allows him to pick it up. He kisses the crown of your hair as he caresses your back.

“I love you too sweetheart.”

He wants to spend the rest of his time on Earth proving you how much.

New York

6 months later

The doctor wasn’t lying when she warned you that recovery would take 6 to 9 months.

You said the aftermath of the operation hurt like a bitch and that physiotherapy hurt even more. Today’s your last session and Bucky is glad about it for many reasons, like how you’re not in pain anymore for starters, and maybe because of how annoyingly fun, smart and hot your therapist is. Not like he’d ever admit it to you.

“Jesus,” you groan, “he turned me inside out like a sock, I can’t feel my legs anymore.”

“Sounds fun.” he deadpans.

“Someone’s jealous of the doctor?” you ask with a mischievous smirk.

“‘M not. He’s not all that.” he mumbles, blushing like a school boy.

You snort and drawl a ‘sure’. He sends you his best death glare.

“Whatever. I hope you don’t mind if we take a stop before going home.” he announces, helping you into the car. His palms feel clammy and he’s sweating despite the chilly winds of New York’s fall.

“Sure, where are we going?”

“Actually, that’s kind of a surprise, you’ll see.”

You beam at his words; he knows you love surprises and he hopes you’re going to like this one.

----

You look radiant as you lie on the blanket he’s spread on the grass, surrounded by colorful foliage. You’re sipping some of your favorite wine and nibbling on crackers as you admire a flock of birds migrating south in the sky.

You are the sun and he’s simply basking in your light. And he’s so selfish, he thinks as he holds the velvet box with the diamond ring inside of it, he’s so damn selfish we wants to keep the light all to himself for the rest of his life.

He’s prepared a long, passionate speech to tell you how much he loves you, of all the ways you’ve changed his life for the better and of all the reasons why he’d be a good husband.

But when you look at him with those bright eyes and beaming smile, he can barely remember his own name. He drops on one knee and holds the box out with shaky hands.

“Marry me, please.”

----

Thank you for reading! If you liked it, please reblog and comment, don’t be shy, feedback is always appreciated 🥺🤲

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky x you #bucky fanfic #james barnes x reader #james barnes x you #james barnes x y/n

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ironfidus · 4 years

Text

Every Fifteen Minutes (3)

Summary:

“In honor of Peter Benjamin Parker,” the obituary reads. “2001 - 2017. Peter B. Parker, 16, died on the 5th of February, 2017, as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash involving a drunk driver…”

Tony can't finish reading. He swears his heart stops. “FRIDAY,” he croaks.

He doesn’t have to finish the order; FRIDAY, as if reading his mind, activates his Iron Man suit and sends it to envelop his body. Tony is shooting through the skies before he even fully realizes it.

OR: Peter Parker was in a car crash—except... he wasn’t. One forgetful Spider-Kid, one sleepy best friend, and one misleading post on social media all lead to a disastrous turn of events, culminating in the arrival of an unexpected guest at Midtown High.

Read here on AO3 (@a_matter_of_loyalty)

:::

Chapter 3: the sky’d be falling (and I’d hold you tight)

Chapter Summary: Peter wakes up.

Or: Tony and Ned finally realize Peter is alive and there was never any car crash at all.

:::

Tony’s heart thumps loudly in his chest.

Peter.

Thud. Thud. Thud thud thud—

He whirls around so quickly he nearly falls and suffers from whiplash, Douglas Fitzpatrick and Principal Morita immediately forgotten. The rest of the goddamn world falls away, out of sight and out of mind.

The groan was quiet, barely even audible, but Tony would recognize that voice anywhere.

For the umpteenth time today, his heart stutters, suspended in time, and then stops. “Peter?” he trembles, the kid’s name no more than a whisper on his tongue. Tentatively, haltingly, he abandons Fitzpatrick and Morita both, making his way back to Ned and Peter—Peter, his stupid, reckless, self-sacrificial, brave kid who is still lying on the ground, a sight that predictably sends a shot of pain piercing Tony. But beyond the instinctive pain, a glimmer of hope balloons in his chest, too, spreading through the rest of his body with unrivaled warmth. “Pete.”

“Peter…? Are you… Can you hear me?” Ned chimes in from beside him, and Tony knows then that he can’t be hallucinating. It feels like a dream, but the same hope he feels is painted across Ned’s face, too.

Right in front of their eyes, Peter’s face muscles twitch.

Tony’s heartbeat picks back up at a hundred miles per hour.

Watching Peter wake up feels like watching the birth of a star. Peter yawns, stretching his limbs like a cat that’s been curled up for too long, and all the while, Tony watches in breathless awe. After a few heart-stopping seconds, Peter sits up, and his eyes instantly catch sight of the scene they make, his best friend and his mentor looming above him with equally hopeful expressions on their faces—

And then Peter beams, hand lifting up in a wave, laughter erupting from him like a shower of protons—a supernova. His smile is dazzling, and it feels a little like watching the sun come out from behind the clouds. It’s like a burst of fireworks splashing across the midnight sky. It’s like the comfort of chocolate and marshmallows, like basking in the hot glow of a campfire.

It’s like hope rising up from a sea of misery.

(Tony never again wants to see Peter's brightness fade, to see the stars in his eyes die out.)

Ned pushes forward first, forcefully slotting himself in front of Tony. Tony doesn’t mind; he’s content with watching and waiting, now that he knows there is a Peter to wait for at all. Besides, he knows what this means to Ned; he knows Ned’s heart broke just as his did.

Ned grips Peter tightly by his shoulders, frenzied eyes meeting his best friend’s. “Peter… Peter. Peter Peter Peter,” Ned chants breathlessly, Peter’s name falling from his mouth like a litany of prayers all blurring together. Ned blinks, once, and the tears overflow his cheeks in a series of cascades. “You’re awake. God, you’re okay.”

“Ned?” Peter blinks, too, but instead of tears, there is only confusion and incomprehension in his eyes. Still, despite his own bewilderment, there is a reason he and Ned have always been best friends: no matter what, they are invariably there to support one another. For Ned, Peter doesn’t hesitate to ignore his budding uncertainty and reach out with his own arms, enwrapping his friend in a soft yet solid embrace, wordlessly providing the reassuring presence Ned needs even without knowing it.

“Ned,” Peter whispers in a hushed, gentle croon, a murmured lullaby to soothe Ned’s frayed nerves. “I’m okay,” he echoes Ned’s near incoherent babbles without prompting. “I’m okay, Ned.”

Ned doesn’t hesitate to enfold Peter in his own arms, crushing Peter to him with an urgency that transcends speech.

Peter swallows, repeating his comforting whispers despite the unease that filters through him. Ned has always been his proverbial rock in the midst of disaster, his anchor to normalcy—to the life of Peter Parker, not Spider-Man. It’s unsettling to see Ned like this: devastated and crying in his arms, shoulders convulsing with the force of his sorrow.

(He became Spider-Man to protect families like his own; to prevent the tragedy that stole Uncle Ben from him from happening to countless others. He became Spider-Man to provide the people with a sense of safety, a sense of security, a sense of comfort.

How can he hope to comfort his neighborhood when he can’t even comfort his own friend?

Ned was never supposed to know sadness like this, grief like this.)

“Peter,” Ned snivels, burying his face in the crook of Peter’s neck. The collar of Peter’s shirt grows damp beneath his face. “You can’t – you can’t leave me, Peter. You’re my best friend. You’re my brother.”

Unbidden, tears spring to Peter’s own eyes, drawn out by the raw anguish evident in his best friend’s entire demeanor. He may not understand, but he doesn’t have to understand to know that Ned needs him right now. “I know,” he whispers. “You’re my brother, too. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I’m right here.”

Peter holds Ned, keeping him close, for a few minutes longer, unwilling to draw back before Ned does. He’ll stay like this for as long as Ned needs it.

Eventually, as the minutes tick by, Ned’s whimpers quieten and his shoulders stop shuddering. When he finally—albeit reluctantly—pulls away from Peter, it’s with a shaky smile and reddened eyes. Thank you, his smile says, more effectively than words ever could.

Peter smiles back, understanding that Ned’s gratitude extends far beyond the impromptu hug.

It’s only now, after Ned has visibly calmed, that Peter allows his initial confusion to resurface.

“Ned, what’s going—” he freezes suddenly when his eyes catch onto something, or rather someone, over Ned’s shoulder. Ned had blocked his view of their surroundings earlier, and his concern for Ned had clouded his attention anyway, but now that Ned has retracted himself somewhat, Peter can see the familiar outline of his mentor against the backdrop of his high school.

His mentor. Mr. Stark. At his high school.

“Wha – Mr. Stark!” Peter squawks, voice strangled and high-pitched (read: embarrassed) as he meets Tony’s eye—oh, that’s right, he said his classmates don’t believe he knows me, as if he’s the lucky one, Tony recalls faintly—but it does nothing to tame the pleased, albeit shy, smile that crawls up his lips. “Oh, my god. Mr. Stark, what are you doing here?”

The question comes like an accusation, tinged with both confusion and worry.

Tony isn’t worried. How can he worry about anything when Peter’s awake and whole? Maybe that’s why he says in response to Peter’s question, heart on his sleeve: “I came here for you.”

Peter blinks once. Twice.

And then, as the words sink in, as Peter wraps his mind around the quiet admission, he chokes. “Mr. Stark!” he splutters, embarrassment growing as he becomes abruptly aware of where, exactly, he is. Ned’s distress had blinded him to all else earlier, but now, with no distractions to redirect his focus, he feels the presence of his entire student body all too distinctly. Under his schoolmates’ palpably shocked and interrogatory stares, Peter feels naked and defenseless, vulnerable before the world.

The realization that his classmates, people he sees and socializes with everyday, not only witnessed a private moment between him and Ned, but is also now privy to him interacting with Tony Goddamn Stark in all his grandeur, punches into him with the force of an asteroid. Peter blanches visibly, struggling to find words as he valiantly tries (and fails) to ignore his classmates’ piercing gazes, “Why – I thought – I don’t—”

“I thought you were dead,” Tony interrupts, a mere whisper, thick and stained with the lingering fears of the day.

Peter falls silent, his voice stolen from his larynx. Embarrassment and mortification deflating immediately, he gawks, openmouthed and uncomprehending, at Tony.

Tony’s jaw shifts. When FRIDAY first alerted him of the dreaded post that spurred him towards Midtown High today, he cursed himself for never letting Peter know before it was too late—know how much he’d come to mean to Tony, how deeply he’d snuck his way into Tony’s life, how he’d redefined love and family as Tony sees it.

Now that it turns out it’s not too late—now that Peter is breathing and awake and alive, chest rising and falling with the proof of it—Tony won’t let Peter doubt his place in Tony’s life ever again. He’s done hiding, done pretending.

Life is too short, and he has too much to lose.

(It’s a lesson Peter learned early—far earlier than him—Tony thinks. He should have realized it from the very beginning, when he barged into a homely apartment in Queens and met Peter Parker for the very first time, small and timid and startlingly determined in his cramped room, the brightest fire burning in his eyes as he stared Tony down and said, unwavering:

When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t, and then the bad things happen... they happen because of you.

Tony had never forgotten those words.

Even back then, Peter had known the fragility of life and the importance of making every second count—while Tony had been clueless. For so long, he’d taken things—people—for granted; he’d simply assumed Rhodey and Pepper and Happy and later Peter would stay in his life for as long as he wanted.

It is a fool’s assumption. Because sometimes, it’s not up to you. Sometimes, choice doesn’t weigh in.)

(Tony is scared of letting people in. Has always been scared, ever since his father and Obadiah Stane taught him the taste of betrayal.

But he’s more scared of not letting Peter in, of losing Peter, he finds.)

“I thought you were dead,” he repeats, and there is something too honest—too exposed—in his voice to deny. He meets Peter’s eyes and lays his heart bare: “I thought I’d lost you.”

Peter blinks rapidly, eyes pooling with tears. “Mr. Stark,” he says with a weak laugh, voice watery with choked amazement, “you’re going to give people the wrong idea if you keep talking like that.” A tentative grin curls on his face. He jokes, “God forbid anyone realizes Tony Stark has a heart.”

Tony laughs, his first since this morning. It feels freeing, like a vice grip has been released from around said heart. “Let them,” he says when he’s stopped laughing, warm eyes turning fierce and steely. Peter blinks, startled, and Tony smiles, soft but determined. “Let them.”

Peter resembles a deer caught in headlights. “B-But—”

Your reputation, he doesn’t say. He doesn’t need to; Tony can read the worry in his eyes. You’re Tony Stark. What about your company? What about the press? What if they—

Oh, Pete, Tony thinks. You precious, precious kid. Peter was always worrying about others; he was always putting others first. Putting Tony first. Tony shakes his head in disbelief, because—As if I care what they think about me. As if any of that matters more than this, more than you.

He doesn’t care. Nothing matters more.

“I don’t care,” he murmurs aloud resolutely, taking another step towards Peter, hands twitching with the urge to take his kid into his arms, to press two fingers to the side of his neck and feel Peter’s pulse—Peter’s life—beating against the pads of his fingers. “I just spent the last hour or so”—has it really only been an hour? It feels like a lifetime has passed—“thinking you were dead.”

Peter blinks again, the words Tony didn’t say echoing loud and clear in the air between them. His tears spill over in a rush at last, tracking their way down his cheeks. With a startled, nasally laugh, Peter reaches up and rubs at his cheeks with the undersides of his wrists, brushing the tears away.

The motion of Peter’s hands finally redirects Tony’s attention to the side of his head—or rather, to the blood that smears it. Oh, my god. His stomach twists in horrified realization.

“Oh, shit.” Tony’s heart lurches to his throat as his single-minded focus on he’s alive he’s alive he’s alive dwindles slightly, replaced by reawakened fear for what he almost lost and could yet still lose. How could he have forgotten? Stupid. So stupid. In his defense, he’d been too caught up by the fact that Peter is actually alive and breathing to pay attention to the obvious bleeding wound on his head, but still—

He’s a terrible mentor, he thinks. Shit. How long has it been? What if he has a fucking concussion, Stark? “Peter,” he chokes out, voice strangled with urgency, “you need to… you need to get to the hospital, or the medbay, or—wait, the paramedics are already here. Shit, we’ve wasted so much time already and your head—”

Red. So much blood. Tony’s stomach turns. He’s seen a lot of injuries in his time, both due to his wild past and his occupation as Iron Man, but Peter’s wounds have always affected him in ways no one else’s can.

This is Peter, and he’s bleeding from the head. Tony should have flown him to the nearest hospital ten minutes ago.

But for reasons he cannot discern, Peter doesn’t seem to share his concerns. “What?” Peter’s brows furrow. He looks at Tony like he’s grown two heads, instead of the other way around. “Mr. Stark, I’m fine,” he protests.

“You’re not fine,” Tony hisses, his heart racing in his ribcage. Thoughts of head wound and concussion and internal bleeding sweep through his mind, like vultures looking to feast on the nearest rotten carcass. “Fuck. You need medical attention now—”

Speaking of which, why haven’t the paramedics loaded Peter onto the ambulance yet? Sure, Tony and Ned have been fretting over him, but it’s their job to make sure that Peter is in perfect condition.

Tony’s just about to turn and bark at the paramedics to get your asses over here and get my kid to the goddamn hospital when Peter yelps, “Mr. Stark, I’m not hurt. Really!” He gives Tony a meaningful look. “Why would I be—? I haven’t even gone on the web yet today.”

“Peter,”—he swivels around to face the kid again, eyes narrowing—“there is blood on your face. Stop pulling your ‘I’m Fine, I Swear’ routine. That stopped being believable a long time ago.”

“I don’t have a routine— and I really am fine this time!” Peter persists. “Look, it’s just—” he reaches up and swipes a hand through the blood, offering his newly blood-covered hand to Tony.

Tony stares. He resists the immediate, instinctive urge to recoil, instead trying to assess the situation and figure out why the fuck Peter is holding out his blood-covered hand.

“See?” Peter huffs, and Tony doesn’t. “It’s not real blood, Mr. Stark.”

Wait, what. Tony’s brain short-circuits. Now that Peter’s mentioned it, though, Tony considers the notion and realizes that Peter’s supposedly blood-covered hand is missing the distinctive smell of blood, of rusted copper and iron. What the fuck.

Peter smiles far too triumphantly at the dawning look of realization on Tony’s face. “I wasn’t even injured,” he insists.

“B-But— I—” Tony stammers incredulously. “What is all this, then? Why were you…” he trails off, not quite able to make himself voice the words, and instead simply gestures at the scene around them—the cluster of paramedics and police officers looking skittishly from Tony to his Iron Man suit and back again, the handcuffed teenager cowering against one of the police cars, the gathering of students, Peter with (fake?) blood still on his face.

Tony swallows once, and then clears his throat forcefully. “I thought… I thought you were in a car crash…?”

Peter’s eyes widen as the first drops of understanding finally sink into him. Oh. Oh! “Oh, my god. Oh, my god. I wasn’t — Mr. Stark, I wasn’t actually in a car crash. I promise. Wait, is that why you thought I—? That’s why you’re here?”

Tony nods hesitantly, still reeling from shock.

Peter mouths one more oh, my god as he shakes his head frantically, waving his arms back and forth as if to discourage that belief. He looks like he isn’t sure whether to bemoan their luck or giggle at the insanity of their situation. “Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark. This is just a simulation. It’s all part of an educational program Midtown is participating in.”

Tony makes a guttural, dumbfounded noise at the back of his throat, so taken aback that he can’t even find the words to respond to that. A… program?

Peter finally gives in and snickers lightly, equal parts amusement and sheepish regret on his face. “It’s called Every Fifteen Minutes,” he explains apologetically, registering now why his mentor appears so haggard before him, as if he’s been through a war. “It’s meant to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking-and-driving and stuff. I’m sorry if you’ve been…” he shakes it off with a grimace. “I would have told you earlier, but I kind of – heh – fell asleep.”

Tony instinctively takes in the entire scene again, his gaze absently drifting back to the car wreck, the lineup of emergency responders, the gaggle of students and staff. He should have realized the second he appeared that there is something distinctly wrong about an honest-to-god civilian crowd gathering to goggle at a crime scene.

He shakes his head and zeroes in on the handcuffed student for the umpteenth time—only this time, he pushes past the haze of anger and considers all the facts through an impartial lens. He remembers, abruptly, his jarring realization that the student seemed to show no signs of intoxication whatsoever. In light of his newfound perspective on the situation, Tony can only think: oh.

“Oh,” he repeats aloud, half-ashamed. The other half of him is still far too relieved to care about his mistaken assumptions.

Peter gives another giggle. “Yeah, oh,” he mocks.

Tony’s heart skips a beat. Despite knowing full well that Peter is making fun of him, he can’t help but smile contentedly at his stupid, stupid kid, eyes crinkling at the corners. Call him biased, but Peter’s laugh is the best sound in the entire world.

Peter presses his lips together to muffle the rest of his laugh before he tilts his head, searching for his best friend once more. The second he locks eyes with Ned, he raises his eyebrows and aims a questioning gaze at the other boy. “And why were you crying, Ned? Did you... did you think this was real, too?” He looks endearingly confused. “The teachers handed out pamphlets weeks ago, remember?”

Ned flushes when Tony turns to stare at him, visibly unimpressed. “How was I supposed to know that was today?” Ned protests, grumbling under his breath. After a prolonged moment, he scratches his cheek sheepishly and admits, “I completely forgot about that. I didn’t even connect the dots until you mentioned it.”

Peter squints. “Ned...” he draws out and proceeds to list, the teasing grin on his face growing with every passing second: “Mr. Harrington told us it would be today. Principal Morita sent out emails in advance—both to us and to our emergency contacts, to make sure we’re all informed. One of the officers literally came into our class and notified us that I’d be the ‘casualty’ from our class.”

“Oh,” Ned mumbles to himself, even more embarrassed now.

“Leeds,” Tony groans, eyes slitted in incredulous disapproval, “really?”

Ned splutters incoherently, trying to defend himself to the sound of Peter’s suppressed giggles.

:::

After the initial rush of adrenaline has faded from all of their systems, Tony dusts off his pants, briefly eyeing the dirt-stained patches at his knees with resignation, and beckons for Peter to stand. “We’re leaving,” he announces in a voice that dares anyone to disagree. He shoots Principal Morita—who is still standing a few feet away from Fitzpatrick, posture ill at ease although comprehension (dazed comprehension, but comprehension nonetheless) seems to have finally dawned on him after witnessing Tony Stark’s reaction to Peter’s awakening—in particular, a pointed glare. “Let’s go, Pete.”

Naturally, no one disagrees.

Peter shrugs, rising to his feet from where he’s been sitting cross-legged on the ground. “Good thing I’ve been excused from the rest of my classes,” he says, knowing better than to argue with Tony right now.

Tony nods jerkily. He turns to Peter’s sidekick with a questioning look. “Ted, you coming?” he offers graciously; he knows he certainly wouldn’t want to be separated from Peter after the roller-coaster of a lunch hour he’s had.

Tony’s prompt return to using the familiar nickname Ted startles Ned for a moment, but he’s too relieved by the reason why Tony’s calling him ‘Ted’ again to care.

Ned hesitates, conflicted gaze darting to Peter—hungrily drinking in the sight of his best friend, alive and well—before he sighs and declines, audibly disappointed, “I can’t. Unlike someone,”—he shoots Peter a mock-annoyed glare that Peter promptly responds to with a self-satisfied grin—“I actually do still have to attend my last classes of the day.”

Tony nods in sympathetic understanding.

Ned faces Peter with narrowed eyes. “But you and I are going to have a long, long call tonight. Don’t even think of skipping out,” he declares decisively, not giving Peter any choice in the matter.

Peter laughs, nodding easily. “I’ll hold you to it,” he agrees readily.

Ned relaxes minutely and nods, an expression of immeasurable gratitude rising in his eyes.

“Okay, kid, come on,” Tony breaks the moment, being the first among the three to finally remember all of the eyes on them. “I think we’ve all had enough of being stared at for one day. I grew up hounded by the media circus and even I’m fazed by all of this gawking,” he jokes.

Peter nods in agreement, shuffling closer to Tony self-consciously. Tony obligingly shifts so that he’s covering Peter from the prying stares as best he can.

“Where are we going?” Peter asks, privately grateful for Tony’s unspoken show of support. He knows he can always count on Mr. Stark to try to shield him from the rest of the world. “Is Happy picking us up?”

Tony sucks in a sharp breath. Absolutely not, he wants to snap. You aren’t going anywhere near a goddamn car if I have anything to say about it.

Of course, he knows now that it was all just part of one elaborate educational program. He knows that Peter was never in any danger at all.

But that knowledge doesn’t erase the hour in which he’d existed in his own personal limbo, suffering under the impression that Peter is dead. It doesn’t erase the panic, the fear, the grief. It doesn’t erase the fact that he can’t bear the thought of Peter getting within ten feet of a car.

He also knows, logically, that he can’t keep Peter sheltered forever. Peter will have to get back in a vehicle eventually, whether it’s a school bus or Happy’s—technically Tony’s—car. There’s nothing he can do about that.

But for once, he doesn’t want to listen to logic. For right now at least, he can prevent Peter from climbing aboard a car. For right now, he can do something about it.

“Nope,” Tony decides, reaching out and gripping Peter by the shoulders. Unapologetically, he turns Peter around and steers him down the street, away from Midtown High, smothering his amusement as Peter half-twists in his hold and waves a cheery see you later at Ned. Fortunately—for everyone’s sake—no one tries to stop Tony from leaving with Peter in tow (likely still too shocked to do anything but gape uselessly). “We’re going to walk. Think of it as extra exercise to keep your blood flowing. Your growing teenage body needs to stay active, you know. Keeps your immune system strong and all that—”

“Mr. Stark,” Peter interrupts, completely deadpan, and pauses long enough to look around in search of eavesdroppers before he continues, voice lowered, “I’m literally Spider-Man.”

“—So! Exercise,” Tony concludes loudly, expertly ignoring Peter. He’s only vaguely aware of his Iron Man suit silently trailing after them in the air, FRIDAY intuitively steering the empty armor.

Peter just sighs, accepting it for what it is. Still, he makes one last attempt to make Tony see reason. “Mr. Stark, my bags are still in my locker. I need my books for homework.”

Tony is suddenly and vividly reminded of sitting beside Peter on his cramped twin bed, trying to convince the kid to join him in Germany only for Peter to argue that he had homework. It’s such an insignificant, silly detail, but it’s a response that is so perfectly Peter that Tony is abruptly struck by how precious Peter is. It reminds him, inexplicably, of Peter’s unwavering sense of responsibility.

Oh, kid. And just like he did last time, Tony waves it off. “Don’t worry about it,” he says. “We can come back to take your bags later.” And by “later”, he means: after he’s fussed over Peter a sufficient amount.

Peter seems to understand his unspoken implication, giving Tony an unamused look. “So how are we going to get to the Tower?” he asks, bypassing the issue of his missing books for the moment.

He’s been around Tony far too often, if he can read Tony this easily, Tony thinks. He should probably be concerned, but he finds he doesn’t really care. Peter seems to be the exception to all of his rules.

“Unless, of course, you plan on walking the entire way there,” Peter adds skeptically.

Tony simply raises his gaze to the sky, where Iron Man hovers above them. “Have you forgotten that I have a flying suit?” he says.

Peter follows his gaze expectantly and laughs, shaking his head as if to say I should have known.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Tony coaxes, trying to make light of the situation and ignore the elephant in the room that is his irrational fear of letting Peter get too close to a four-wheeled vehicle (or any wheeled vehicle, period). “Just think of it as express delivery service.”

Peter snorts. “You’re impossible, Mr. Stark,” he complains, but he indulgently follows Tony further away from his school, so Tony counts it as a win. “So, where are we walking to now? Or are we headed to the Tower directly?”

Tony considers it. He really, really doesn’t want to return to the reality of Tony Stark, owner of a multibillion dollar corporation, just yet. For at least a while longer, he just wants to stay like this: relaxed in the presence of his kid, where he doesn’t have to be anything or anyone but Peter’s almost-father as he reassures himself of Peter’s continued existence.

He makes up his mind. “No,” he says. He doesn’t hesitate to change direction, luring Peter away with the promise of a treat—“You’ve been wanting to visit that new ice cream parlor near your school, right? You mentioned something about that last weekend.”

Peter stops short, staring at Tony in unmitigated awe. “You… you remember that?” he whispers.

Tony pauses, too, glancing sidelong at the kid. He huffs as if offended. “Peter, some people would say that I’m the smartest man alive,” he reminds Peter with an arched eyebrow. “Of course I remember. Or do you doubt my memory capacity?”

“No! That’s not… that’s not what I meant,” Peter stammers. “I just thought… I guess I didn’t realize you were actually paying attention. I know I ramble a lot, so…”

Tony softens. “Of course I listened, kid,” he says, and somehow, he sounds even more offended than when he thought his intelligence was in question. At the same time, though, he sounds immeasurably fond. Adoring, even—the way Peter sounds, sometimes, when he’s gushing over an endearing kitten. “I always listen to you.”

Peter sniffles. Tony graciously ignores it and urges Peter along once more with a murmured come on. Peter hastens to follow and falls into lockstep with his mentor.

In the end, they walk away together, side-by-side, as the Midtown High students and staff watch on in openmouthed shock.

:::

“Don’t ever do that to me again, or I swear, Peter, a drunk driver will be the least of your worries,” Tony threatens once the Midtown High gaggle of gawkers are out of earshot, but the still-present tears in his eyes and the disbelieving—awed—smile on his lips betray the truth. He has no room left for anger when all he can feel is relief. Relief and so, so much gratitude. Thank God you’re okay.

He squeezes his eyes shut and slings an arm around Peter’s shoulders, tugging him close. His body seems to be acting of its own volition as he ducks his head slightly and presses a kiss to the crown of Peter’s head.

Peter flushes bright red, but beyond the embarrassment, there’s something giddy about the bounce in his step and the way he burrows closer to Tony’s side.

Tony’s heart swells. This kid. “I can’t lose you, kiddo,” he murmurs.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark,” Peter says meekly, guilt flashing across his eyes and drowning out his quiet elation at Tony’s blatant show of affection. The last thing he’d ever wanted to do was add to his mentor’s burdens. “I swear I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“You better not have meant to. You know I have heart problems, kid,” Tony accuses, and though he means to come across as playful, the words reveal something raw and broken inside him, reflected in the scratchy quality of his voice.

A pause. And then, like the first ray of sunlight after a tumultuous storm, Peter teases, “I knew you cared.” But despite his mirthful facade, a hint of sincerity shines through as Peter grips Tony’s hand in his own, like a terrified little boy hanging on to his lifeline—a guiding light in the dark, someone to look up to and someone to follow.

(It’s easy, sometimes, to forget that Peter is still just a teenaged boy, lost in the real world.

Other times, it’s impossible to forget it—to forget that tragedy took Peter’s innocence from him far too soon; to forget that despite his maturity and strength and sense of responsibility, Peter is only a child.

In times like these, Tony can’t forget. All he can do is hold on tight and hope he can keep Peter grounded. Hope he’s enough to remind Peter that he isn’t alone.)

Tony is tempted to play along, to laugh and dismiss Peter’s words with a roll of his eyes and a “get real, kid.” But the memory of Peter’s blood-splattered face is still too fresh in his mind, so instead, he blurts out, all too honest, “Of course I care about you. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

Peter falls silent, wide-eyed as he stares at his mentor.

Tony swallows, squeezes Peter’s hand tightly in a moment of comfort for the both of them. “You’re – you’re like… like Sullivan Junior.” Young and pure. An innocent child—my innocent child. “You know?”

“Uh,”—Peter raises an unimpressed eyebrow, his stunned awe momentarily back-burnered—“I have no idea who that is, Mr. Stark. If he’s from one of your old movies, then I’m going to need some background context.”

Tony shoves Peter with a huff. “They’re not old!” he protests, the beginning of a familiar argument buzzing between them. It’d be so simple, so natural, to fall back into their usual back-and-forth, their easy banter. But he’s tired of running away from this—from the pride and fondness and affection he feels for Peter—and so he pushes the beckoning urge away and says, “You’d be Simba, if I were Mufasa—that’s a reference a kid your age can understand, right?”

Peter sniffles. “Makes sense that you’d make yourself a king,” he jokes reflexively, even as his mind buzzes with the implication of Tony’s words.

Tony snorts a laugh, quiet but unfeigned. He lets himself enjoy the comfortable atmosphere settling around them—enjoy the reassurance of Peter’s warm hand in his, the steady heartbeat pulsing in Peter’s wrist tangible against Tony’s thumb—for a moment or two before he clarifies, so plainly that there can be no mistaking his meaning: “You’re like my kid, Peter.” And then, because he always calls Peter ‘kid’ and he doesn’t want there to be any doubts left—“Like my son.”

Peter’s vision blurs with tears. “Mr. Stark—”

“And you’re such a good kid, Pete,” Tony breathes, and the praise washes over Peter like the sunset. Inevitable. Real, natural, genuine. It settles like the truth. Perhaps the truest thing Tony has ever said to Peter.

There’s so much more Tony wants to say, too.

Maybe:

I’m so lucky to know you. More than that—more than just knowing you—I’m so lucky that I get to have this. That I get to have you in my life.

Or:

You’re the best person I know, Pete. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, but I promise I’ll do everything in my power to one day become worthy of you.

Or:

Thank you for being here. For being you.

Or:

You’re not allowed to ever die, you hear me? You can’t ever leave me.

Instead, Tony looks Peter in the eye, basks in the warm hot chocolate hue that feels like home, and simply settles on:

“I love you, kid.”

Because this – this is the most important thing. This is what matters most. And as long as Peter knows that, as long as Peter knows his place in Tony’s heart… the rest will follow.

They’ll find their way.

As if to reaffirm Tony's thoughts, Peter subconsciously steps closer towards his mentor, like a child blindly reaching out for their parent in a crowd full of strangers. “I love you, too, Mr. Stark,” he whispers, breathless as if he’s caught in a dream—but despite the awed disbelief in his voice, there is also certainty. Conviction. Peter doesn’t need to think about this—about what Mr. Stark has come to mean to him, beyond his initial starry-eyed impression of the famous Avenger. It’s been a long time since he’s seen Mr. Stark as just a hero, as just Iron Man, as just anything. “I've thought of you as a father figure for a while now.”

Tony, unable to help himself, drops another kiss onto Peter’s forehead. Peter blinks rapidly and clutches his mentor’s hand—his dad’s hand, he thinks giddily, because he can call him that now—tighter, feeling rather than seeing the tender smile on Tony’s face.

“I’m glad,” Tony murmurs, and his heart feels like it’s about to burst from all the joy and bliss flooding him. Peter beams up at him in response, and as Tony imprints the sight of Peter’s happiness in his memory forever, he can’t help but think, again:

This is the most important thing.

:::

They get their ice cream eventually, Peter eagerly and unashamedly wolfing down half a dozen scoops as he recounts the day’s events with animated gestures and infectious laughs.

All the while, Tony watches Peter over his own scoop of ice cream, his gaze openly affectionate and doting, his heart rate gradually slowing and settling with the reassurance that Peter is right here.

(The Iron Man sentry watches, too, FRIDAY’s sensors online and on the alert for potential dangers to Peter Parker’s person. Peter has never felt more safe.)

:::

Once they’ve devoured enough ice cream to satisfy both their appetites (which unsurprisingly takes a lot more scoops for the growing Spiderling than it does for Tony), Tony leaves a wad of cash on the table and shepherds the kid out the door.

The glass doors swing shut behind them. Tony beckons the Iron Man armor to him and, once re-suited up, promptly opens his arms in a wordless invitation.

Peter rolls his eyes in exasperation, but obligingly steps into the space between Tony’s arms with nothing more than a tolerant huff. Tony absolutely does not sigh in inaudible relief as he grips Peter tightly and blasts off into the skies.

As the familiar neighborhoods of his hometown begin to shrink in the distance, Peter’s reservations gradually leach away into the open air. He lets out an involuntary yawn. Eyes helplessly drooping closed, Peter nestles his head more comfortably against Tony’s metal-plated chest.

Within seconds, he’s out cold again.

Shaking his head in amused disbelief at the kid dozing off in his arms, Tony inwardly melts at the implicit show of trust. Granted, Peter could probably fall asleep anywhere—as evidenced by his earlier untimely power nap in the middle of the road—but still. Just the thought that Peter feels safe and secure enough to drift off as they hurtle through the air at high speed, Tony’s arms the only thing keeping Peter from plummeting to his death?

Well.

Peter’s faith in him will never stop leaving him breathless.

The thing is, Tony doesn’t have any of his biological family left.

Truthfully, he’s never even known family, not really—or, at least, he’s never known the type of family Peter and May represent, bound together by unconditional love and trust, existing in a pocket universe of their own making, a safe haven closed off to the rest of the world.

Tony’s own immediate family is nonexistent. He barely remembers his grandparents; he has no siblings to call his own; and as for his parents, well—he lost them long before fate and the Winter Soldier took them from him for good. He lost them to his mother’s neglect and long absences, to his father’s harsh disapproval and cutting remarks, to years of silent suffering behind closed doors.

He used to think he barely knows what family even means.

But when he looks at Peter now, unashamedly snuggled up to him, face open and vulnerable and trusting even in sleep, he thinks he might finally understand. He doesn’t need blood to tell him that this is what family should feel like: warmth and safety and a home away from home.

He thinks he might have found family in Peter—in late night dinners with the two of them trading half-baked ideas for quirky gadgets and suit modifications over the kitchen table; in working side-by-side with Peter in comfortable silence, a well-oiled machine; in movie marathons spent crowded on the couch, Peter’s head on his chest and Pepper’s hand in his; in lab sessions filled with them hollering at each other across the room, Peter diligently working on calculations or doing homework on the floor; in long car rides across the bustling city, Peter rambling in his ear and Happy chuckling from the driver’s seat; in weekend sleepovers and early morning runs with Peter and Rhodey on either side of him; in watching baking competition shows with Peter and his aunt in their pajamas, Peter sandwiched between the two adults on the Parkers’ beaten couch.

A family forged through an eternity of contented moments, away from the glaring, unforgiving media spotlight that accompanied every waking moment of his childhood.

He may not have the DNA to prove that there’s love there, but he doesn’t need it. This is his family—they are all his family—and he belongs to them more than he has ever belonged to his parents.

He glances down at Peter, tucked securely in his arms, unguarded and trustful as Tony flies him across the New York skies. All at once, Tony feels so much love swell inside him that he thinks he might implode from the enormity of it.

Peter is his family, and Tony loves him fiercely. It comes naturally, then—the realization that he’d do anything for this precious kid draped across his arms.

I’ll protect you always, he thinks, a promise burning bright in his chest. It’s a promise he means to keep, for the rest of his life. No matter what struggles you have to face—whether it be gun-toting criminals or drunk teenagers behind the wheel—come rain or shine, I’ll be here.

I am here, kid.

Forever.

:::

BONUS #1:

Tony does, eventually, agree to accompany Peter back to Midtown High—ostensibly to retrieve Peter’s bags and books, but in reality for his own ulterior motives. As Peter makes his way to his locker, Tony makes a detour to a different locker, having discreetly consulted FRIDAY for the name and identity behind the Twitter account that posted Peter’s obituary earlier that day. With all the resources at his disposal, it takes him no time at all to locate Flash Thompson’s locker.

That’s where Peter finds him a few minutes later, schoolbag slung over one shoulder. Peter narrows his eyes at his conspicuous mentor. “What are you doing in front of Flash’s locker, Mr. Stark?” he asks suspiciously.

Tony just smiles, but there’s a wicked gleam to it. “Nothing,” he lies, thinking of the passive-aggressive (read: aggressive as hell) letter he’d printed on official Stark Industries stationery and slipped into the offending locker, in which he’d not-very-subtly threatened to completely obliterate Flash’s academic career and generally make his life miserable if he even looked at Peter the wrong way again.

His smile widens as he ushers Peter away without so much as a backwards glance. “Absolutely nothing at all.”

:::

BONUS #2:

(If Tony Stark goes home that day and immediately messages May to badger her to get him listed as Peter’s second emergency contact in Midtown High’s system—just to prevent another misunderstanding like this, he pleads, and he isn’t lying, but that isn’t his only reason, either—well, that’s his business.)

:::

BONUS #3:

When the time to participate in the Every Fifteen Minutes program rolls by once again the next year, students are expressly banned from taking pictures during the event to prevent another fiasco (ft. another Helicopter Parent, even if not Tony Stark).

Notably, Peter Parker is not asked to be one of the casualties again.

:::

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

#marvel #mcu #iron dad #irondad and spiderson #spiderman #iron man #peter parker #tony stark #marvel fanfiction #iron dad fanfiction #ned leeds #flash thompson #irondad fluff #trope: presumed dead #faye writes

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geek-gem · 4 years

Text

Since I can't find the post of me talking about making or just the idea of interactions between my ideas for a experienced Peter Parker and Spider-Verse's Peter B Parker. I'm just gonna make this on it's own.

Because these kinds of interactions really make me think.

GeekGem's Spider-Man and Peter B Parker: These two would not be on the best terms at first. Both of them strangely hate each other as time goes on.

GeekGem's Spider-Man hates how Peter doesn't seem to care anymore and how he seems to treat Miles. Including he criticizes that he doesn't seem to take being Spider-Man that fully seriously. While Peter B Parker criticizes GeekGem's Spider-Man that he'd probably send Miles out to war and teach him to beat Kingpin to death. Including calling him brooding and kind of grim considering what he secretly learns about him.

When in reality after a while. They slowly start to understand each other. The two just sit down and talk, talk about their lives. Soon realizing they aren't that different.

But that they are just two different sides of being Spider-Man. While Peter B Parker has been a Spider-Man for 22 years who was getting tired of hearing his uncle's quote. GeekGem's Peter Parker after his, "One bad week" took that quote so seriously, his trauma was left unchecked and he pushed others away.

Especially they understand each other more when they soon start talking about aunt May and how much she meant in their lives.

They leave with each other on very good terms or so. With GeekGem's Peter not just wanting to teach a younger Spider-Man not because he feel he has to. But because he doesn't want them to end up like him.

GeekGem's Spider-Man and MCU Spider-Man: He's so shocked to see Peter in the MCU seems to mostly has it good. He hardly suffers from being poor, he goes to a great school, he's got mentors and friends to help him.

It feels so shocking to him to see a version that seems to have it...mainly good. The fact this Peter is still young but even after his uncle's death...he seems okay.

They have a heart to heart and GeekGem's Peter Parker just feels...so relieved to see a version of himself that...hasn't gone through so much suffering as himself.

After looking at GeekGem's Peter for a while. Seeing that he seems so soft spoken but he looks like a mess. He wonders and even asked was it aunt May who was shot in his dimension. GeekGem's Peter says oh no it was still his uncle Ben who got shot, but he can't bare to speak about how his aunt died.

But he tells MCU Peter to cherish his aunt May whenever he can. Because she deserves the best.

This is likely before Infinity War and Far From Home. GeekGem's Spider-Man seems to be more like a older but supportive older brother to younger Spider-Man.

GeekGem's Spider-Man and 1977 Spider-Man: They probably get along just fine. 1977 Peter would say nice suit because their costumes are similar in how they made or so.

Along with 1977 Peter saying GeekGem's Peter really let his hair grew. Wondering if that's a thing with people in his time era. But GeekGem's Peter tells him he just hasn't gotten a haircut yet.

Then we have GeekGem's Peter being quite surprised 1977 Peter hasn't faced any of his rogues gallery that he's used to in his dimension. But he wonders if they even exist in the 1977 dimension. Yet he warns him in case if they do ever pop up.

The one thing that surprises GeekGem's Peter the most is when he learns 1977 Peter didn't become a superhero after letting a criminal kill his uncle. But he became a superheroes because it was the right thing to do. Yet he did have an uncle Max that died before he got spider powers.

But the other thing that also surprises GeekGem's Peter and saddens him is that 1977 Peter hasn't met or know people like Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, Miles Morales, Betty Brant, and other friends or so. It's mainly people he's possibly never met before. The only ones he recognizes are Jameson(Who is strangely more nicer in this dimension at times. Kind of like an uncle figure), Robbie, and of course aunt May.

*This did make me wonder imagine the tv version of theses characters. XD*

#GeekGem Rambles

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majingojira · 4 years

Text

Spider-Man Real-Time Aging Timeline

I’ve been asked to get on my crazy again with this, this time for Spider-Man. Well, here goes and boy, this is about to get WEIRD! A lot of this IS based on Spider-Man: Life Story, so if you are wondering about something, refer to that.

Because there’s a LOT of Spider-Man events out there, I couldn’t include them all without going totally nuts. If you have a question about them, ask! Though beware, “The writers made that up” is a possible explanation. 1946 - Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Jessica Drew, Luke Cage, “Flash” Thompson, and Gwen Stacy born. 1947 - Peter’s Parents die under somewhat mysterious circumstances. His Aunt May and Uncle Ben Parker take him in.

1950 - Julia Carpenter born. 1962 - Peter Parker, 16 years old, invents a quick-drying temporary adhesive with properties similar to spider silk as an entry in a science fair (with hopes of catching someone’s eye to sell the invention to in order to aid his aunt and uncle). Unfortunately, one of the other entries was a might volatile and explodes. Peter is caught in the blast radius and injured. Worse, while on the ground an escaped Tarantula bites his hand in its panic. Peter recovers, but the incident was quite traumatic, and he associated everything that followed with that spider.

When he recovers, he finds himself stronger, faster, and tougher than he was before, and more ‘aware’ of his surroundings. Worse, he was ‘seeing’ things before they happened. He doesn’t know what to do with these abilities at first but is inspired by seeing the masked wrestler El Santo perform on TV. He hits on the idea of fighting for money with a masked identity. It goes rather well, but we know how this song and dance goes by now.

After his, he invents gloves and boots to better help him climb across surfaces, as well as web-shooters for ranged entrapment. He soon figured out web-swinging from there. And thus, Spider-Man was born! But what did cause his powers to awaken? It goes back a few hundred years. One of the greatest swordsmen of all time was a man named Zatoichi. Upon learning of this man, one of the greatest criminal masterminds of all time (Fu Manchu) attempted to re-create this man’s skills. This eventually led to the creation of the Nanjin, a sect of Warrior Monks who ritually blinded themselves to “See With the Heart”. Over time, The Devil Doctor did his best to be eugenic about the subject, but random mutation is going to random. Peter Parker his the jackpot with his genes. Upon suffering a horrendous injury, an epigenetic response kicked in and he became as they were--more in fact with an enhanced musculature and reaction time on top of it. How strong is he? Well, starting out, he was a very athletic human, far more so for his size and weight. After fighting and working out for a few years, he could give some species of vampire a go without much problem. Especially with his “spider-sense”.

And yes, Daredevil is a trained Nanjin. Obviously.

Also, this year, Jessica Drew is the only survivor of a car crash into a chemical truck that kills her family. With no one to watch her, she is kidnapped and experimented on by HYDRA. 1962-1966 - Many of Spider-Man’s classic rogues appear in this timeframe. Notable oddities about them based on what people assume are as follows: Vulture’s ‘flight harness’ was based on the old Doc Savage designed Rocket Pack, most famously employed by the Rocketeer (Cliff Seacord) back in the Late 30s/Early 40s; Otto Octavius is a Cthulhu Cultist; The Sandman is a person who absorbed a juvenile Founder/Changeling and gained some semblance of their shapeshifting abilities; The Lizard is likely tied to the experiments which created the “Alligator Man” of Bayou Landing (The Alligator People); Electro is one of several known “Electrical Mutants” -- people who were born with an electro-kinetic ability.

1964 - Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin.

1965 - Peter Parker meets Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy.

1966 - Flash Thompson goes to Vietnam.

1969 - The death of George Stacy, Gwen Stacy’s Father.

1972 - Giant-Size Spider-Man #2 - Spider-Man and Shang-Chi team up against Shang’s Father, Fu Manchu.

Peter Parker marries Gwen Stacy. 1973 - Giant-Size Spide-Man #1 - Spider-Man tangles with (a) Dracula.

1974 - Giant-Size Spider-Man #3 - Spider-Man helps resolve a case started by Doc Savage in 1934.

Flash Thompson comes back from Vietnam with a wife, Sha-Shan Nguyen-Thompson, but without his legs.

Jessica Drew escapes Hydra’s indoctrination and tries to make headway as a hero on her own as “Spider-Woman”. It does not go well.

1975 - Marvel Team-Up #36-37 - Spider-Man meets Frankenstein’s Monster. Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man - Spider-Man is tricked into fighting the legendary Superman by the machinations of Otto Octavius and Lex Luthor. They eventually team up and stop the malcontents. 1976 - Jessica Drew decides to re-invent herself as the heroine “Jewel” since her powers really have very little to do with Spiders. 1977 - Professor Miles Warren’s plan of making Gwen Stacy his own via “cloning” is exposed by the ‘new’ Green Goblin, Harry Osborn. Unfortunately, tat technology is over a decade away, and his “Clone” is more “Human Meat Puppet” and rather horrifying. In the conflagration/confrontation, he and Gwen Stacy are killed. Harry Osborn disappears for a time... Mary Jane Watson-Osborn and Peter Parker comfort each other over their mutual losses.

Jessica Drew finds herself under the thrall of a mind-mage known as “The Purple Man.” The thrall is eventually broken, but though she manages to recover, it leaves scars.

1978 - Marvel Team-Up #79 - Thanks to a mystical malady, Spider-Man battles Kulan Gath, and things could have ended up badly for him, if not for the revelation that Mary-Jane Watson was a descendant of Red Sonja of Hyrkania. Touching an artifact allowed the She-Devil to manifest in the present and aid Spider-Man in taking down her ancient foe.

Spider-Man first encounters the blind seer Madame Web.

Birth of Samuel Thompson to Flash and Sha-Shan Thompson.

Jessica Drew takes up two new identities, Knightress (for about 5 minutes) and Jessica Jones to distance herself from what happened.

1980 - Marvel Treasury Edition #28 - Spider-Man manages to accidentally thwart the plans of Doctor Doom, to turn the monster known as Parasite into a massive energy storage device after it drained the life force from the Hulk, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

Secret War - Spider-Man is one of the many people invited to this decade’s Mortal Kombat tournament. Unfortunately for Shao Khan, so is Superman (Clark Kent), and he utterly wrecks the event, making the whole thing a wash, forcing Shao Khan to wait another decade to continue his win streak. The monstrous being known as “Venom” follows Spider-Man from Outworld. One of the people taken in by this is a survivor of “The Shop”, Julia Carpenter. Taking a cue from Spider-Man, she dubs herself Spider-Woman (II).

Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson marry.

Mattie Franklin born.

1981 - Marvel Team-Up #111-112 - Spider-Man has a time-traveling adventure featuring King Kull, battling against Valusian Serpent-Men. Marvel Team-Up Annual #5 - Spider-Man has more adventures with the Serpent-Men and their ancient enemies, Kull and Conan.

1982 - The monster “Venom” reveals himself. Its first host is Eddie Brock.

May “Mayday” Parker is born.

1983 - The Venom creature spawns, creating the horror known as Carnage. It goes on to spawn more Symbiotes. Jessica Jones has a child with Luke Cage (Daniel Cage) and later marries him. 1984 - Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds - Spider-Man and Batman (III) team-up.

Kraven’s Last Hunt occurs.

Cindy Moon, the grandaughter of Flash Thompson, born.

1985 - Batman/Spider-Man - Batman and Spider-Man team up once again.

1988 - Anya Corazon born.

1990 - Julia Carpenter retires as Spider-Woman, Madame Web begins recruiting her as a replacement for herself.

1991 - Richard Wentworth jr., the descendant of the pulp-era anti-hero known as The Spider takes to the streets, and takes umbrage with the ‘pretender’ that is Peter Parker. He and Peter clash several times over the next few years, and the comic industry uses the presence of a ‘second Spider” to inflate the “Clone Saga” to ridiculous levels.

Thanks to developments from InGen being stolen when the company was liquidated in 1990, Efforts to Clone Spider-Man go forward under multiple groups. The results are nicknamed “Kaine” but artificial again technology doesn’t exist, so it wouldn’t bear fruit for many years.

1993 - May Parker Sr. passes away.

1995 - Richard Wentworth jr. goes to more volatile places around the world to sate his bloodlust.

Miles Morales born.

1996 - Gwen Stacy (II), niece of Gwen Stacy (via Gabriel Stacy) is born.

Mattie Franklin, a half-demon with arachnid affinities decided to become “Spider-Woman”. Her desire to prove herself causes quite a few problems.

1998 - Mayday Parker has her first outing as Spider-Girl under her parent's noses. After a few of these outings, she catches Mattie Franklin’s attention, who challenges her to a “Title Fight.” Mattie loses and chooses to go by “The Scarlet Spider” for a time afterward.

Benjamin Parker is born to Peter and Mary Jane Parker.

Cindy Moon is identified by the Nanjin and is kidnapped for ‘training’ by them. She ends up with a similar condition to Peter Parker.

2000 - Peter Parker retires from being Spider-Man and working Biotech to become a teacher at his old High School. Mayday Parker takes over properly as Spider-Girl.

2003 - Anya Corazon is kidnapped by the tattered remains of the organization known as Shocker and partly transformed into a quasi-magical cyborg super-soldier by them. She is rescued before she could be brainwashed by Kamen Rider (Kamen Rider Spirits). She takes her new ‘gift’ and becomes known as “Arana”, though people often call her “The Other Spider-Girl” to both her and Mayday’s annoyance.

2004 - Mattie Franklin dies battling drug-runners.

2005 - Samuel Thompson becomes bonded to the “Venom” Symbiot (or a facsimile thereof) by the U.S. Government. Dubbed “Agent Venom” he works with them as he furthers his military career.

Julia Carpenter takes over formally as Madame Web on the original’s passing.

2009 - Miles Morales is bitten by a spider carrying an attempt to create a retroviral payload to make Nanjin Adepts. He nearly dies from the venom, but it works -- with an added perk or two.

2011 - Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man with Peter and May’s blessings.

Kaine Parker reveals his existence to Peter, but more out of obligation, as he’d rather be left alone. He is not, thanks to mystical shenanigans. Even moving to Huston doesn’t help in that regard. He dubs himself “The Scarlet Spider”.

2012 - Cindy Moon escapes the Nanjin order and goes to “Spider-Man” to help. Mayday Parker does her best to get her settled after over a decade in isolation.

2013 - The “Ghost Spider” appears, and is eventually revealed to be Gwen Stacy (II), niece and namesake of the Gwen Stacy Peter knew. She is ‘accepted’ by the family, but has been through quite a lot and is often chastised for making bad decisions.

2018 - Miles Morales has his mind swapped with that of the extremely aged Otto Octavius via a dark ritual.

2019 - Miles Morales is freed of Otto’s domination of his mind. However, the Grand-Nephew of Otto Octavius (name currently unknown) begins causing him problems, dubbing himself the “Superior Spider-Man.”

#Spider-Man #Chronology #Timeline #Peter Parker #Mary Jane Watson #Crossover #Crossover Timeline #Miles Morales #Anya Corazon #Cindy Moon #Kaine Parker #Jessica Drew #Jessica Jones #Gwen Stacy #Ghost Spider #Julia Carpenter

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supersickies · 4 years

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Summary: “It went without saying that getting bitten by a radioactive spider had its perks.

But apparently a cure for the common cold wasn’t one of them.”

College final exam season leaves Peter sick with a nasty cold, and on his wonderful girlfriend Michelle's first day of her summer internship too. Now it's up to mama Pepper and little sis Morgan to nurse their favorite spiderling back to health.

A/N: This was intended to be a little drabble based on a post I saw (I can’t find it for the life of me but once I do I’ll reblog it asap) but it ended up being a 5k+ fic of sweet sick Peter and his mess of a family. I couldn’t help it I love them all too much. You can read it on Ao3 or under the cut! Whatever what works for you!

Spider-Man can, in fact, catch a cold. This was something that Peter was surprised, yet annoyed to discover. Before the bite, Peter was a sickly, asthmatic, all around fragile kid, and while it wasn’t something that he was exactly confident about he never let it crush his spirit. However, that didn’t mean that as soon as the spider bite rid his body of all his past ailments Peter wasn’t overjoyed. He could finally run a mile without having to stop a quarter of the way through or eat a PB&J without having to instantly call an ambulance. It went without saying that getting bitten by a radioactive spider had its perks.

But apparently a cure for the common cold wasn’t one of them.

He and Mr. Stark discovered this about a year after he was bitten when he had come down with a nasty case of bronchitis that had him hacking all over the compound for four days. Since then Peter was bound to catch a bug here and there, much like he used to before the bite just less severe. It was harder for him to catch things as well, his immune system was usually a force to be reckoned with, unless for any reason Peter was not at “peak Spidey performance” as Mr. Stark would say.

Which leads us to now, a mere 24 hours after the last final exam of his junior year at Columbia, Peter was laid in bed suffering through what he would consider the nastiest cold he’d ever had.

It was barely after sunrise, the clock reading a taunting 5:30, and Peter doing everything he could not to sneeze. With deep, even, wheezy, breaths, the spider-boy was using all his strength to keep the sneeze at bay for one reason. MJ. His lovely, wonderful, amazing Michelle who was starting her first day of her summer internship at nine and would massacre Peter if he woke her up before her alarm. The girl loved her sleep, and Peter would be damned if he deprived her of it.

Think of anything else Peter, literally anything. Remember that big biker guy you helped on patrol the other week? He was pretty nice…oh god it iiihhtches…no, enough Peter, biker guy. Right he had that cool jacket with the patches, I bet I could pull off a leather jacket. Maybe put a spidey patch on the back? Fun…cool…really gotta sneeze. Ugh, FUCK! Okay, okay maybe if you just do that pinch-y sneeze, like Ned and Natasha do…heh imagine Ned knowing he had the same sneeze as Black Widow, he’d flip. Ehh..fuhhhhuck okay thats it, pinch-y sneeze please don’t fail me.

With a shaky hand Peter pinches his nose between his thumb and his forefinger, the motion instantly making his nose tickle more and within seconds Peter was attempting, and failing, to stifle his sneeze.

And it failed hard.

The sneeze was stronger than it seemed and instead of being held back and becoming a noiseless stifle, it came out louder than it should have as it scraped the back of his throat, causing barking coughs to escape as well.

Well everyone, bid him farewell, this will be the day that Peter Parker meets his untimely demise. He instantly feels MJ stir against him with a groan. She was up, oh god sound the alarm she was awake.

“P’ter? That you?” She slurs, sleep lacing her voice.

“Umb, yeah. Sorry embjay I didn’d mbean to sndeeze.” God how he wished his could blow his nose, but he was not going to poke the bear any further.

It was quiet for a moment, Peter knew that he was in danger. MJ was plotting how she was going to murder him and it was only a matter of time before she-

“You feeling okay, baby?” Her angelic voice rings as she turns to face him on the bed. “You sound terrible.”

It was like music to Peter’s ears. He would live to see another day! He was almost shocked, she didn’t even pepper in the classic “loser” nickname. She was concerned. Wait, did he really sound that bad? Should he be concerned?

Peter clears his throat before responding. “I-I thingk I’mb combing down with sombthing. I’mb sorry I’ll try to be quieter.” A wet sniffle concludes his sentence. Damn it he really wants a tissue.

Almost as if MJ could read minds, she places a soft white Kleenex into his hand. “Blow your nose, Pete. I’m gonna go get the humidifier, you’re way too congested.”

“O-Oh, okay. Thangk you Emmby.” He uses her absence to sit up a little and expel the nasty gunk from his sinuses. He still can’t completely breathe, but it’s better than it was before. MJ comes back into the room moments later, carrying the chunky machine. The water inside of it sloshes a bit as she set’s it on Peter’s bedside table but as soon as she plugs it into the wall, a warm soft mist starts flowing from its lid. Peter can’t tell a difference now, but he knows it’ll make a difference the longer it runs.

Satisfied with how the humidifier is working, Michelle sits beside Peter on the bed and looks at him quizzically. “How’d you get so sick?” She questions, her fingertips reaching to brush Peter’s bed head away from his eyes. His forehead moderately warm, but it doesn’t feel like anything that provokes worry.

He hums at her soft touch but shrugs his shoulders at her question. “Don’t kdnow,” He presses the tissue to his nose as it starts running, the humidifier must be working. “I felt fidne yesterday. Mbaybe kinda tired but ndot sick.”

“You know what it probably is?” Michelle says. “All those nights up late studying, not to mention all that trash food you ate-“

“What is this, mbake fun of your poor sick boyfriend day?” He gives a wet coughs for emphasis, and because he really needed to cough.

“Sorry sicky,” She giggled. “what I’m saying is that you had a long hard week and you weren’t exactly taking the best care of yourself. No shame in it, I mean, it happens to everyone but I think your body is so used to you eating well and exercising often that as soon as you stopped your immune system freaked out.

Clearing his throat, Peter nods. “I guess that mbakes sense.” He looks down with a sigh, thinking of all the things he was scheduled to do today. “I better call Todny and tell him I can’t combe in to the lab.” He sighs and reaches for his phone but MJ intercepts.

“First you’re going to go back to sleep until a reasonable hour. It’s almost 6 a.m. Parker, and my alarm goes off at 8, so I’d like a few more hours of rest.” She jabs, pulling the covers up to his chin and kissing him softly on the cheek. “And you definitely need the beauty sleep.”

Peter chuckles at that, which only lead to more hacking coughs. MJ softly pats his back until the coughs subside. With a tsk she tucks him into bed once more before rounding the bed to lay back down on her side. “Rest, I’ll let you know when I’m about to head to work.”

With his eyes closed and his breathing only slightly less congested, thank you humidifier, he smiles contently. ��Thank you Emmby, love you.”

“Love you too, snotty.”

Peter wakes again to a kiss on the forehead and the scent of strong perfume making his nose tickle. Before he even opens his eyes, he curls in on himself and muffles three sneezes into his pillow. Ugh, gross. He opens his bleary eyes to see MJ smoothing out her work outfit in their full length mirror. She looks amazing as usual, Peter notes, but her perfume is strong. Or maybe he’s just way too sensitive, a super cold and super senses probably don’t mix well. Without warning, two more sneezes barrel out and he barely has time to cover them. With a groan he sniffles thickly and reaches for the tissue box conveniently placed on his bedside table. He get a warm and fuzzy feeling as he realizes MJ had put them there for him, as they weren't there when he had woken up earlier. It’s the little things. He blows his nose, which get’s MJ’s attention.

She glances over to him with a smile. “Good morning, again.”

“Good mbornding, you look ambazindg.” He rasps, a goofy smile painting his face.

MJ breathes out a laugh at her dopey boyfriend. “Thank you, dork. How’re you feeling?”

He snuggles deeper into the bed, closing his eyes again and coughing weakly. “Call a physiciand,” Peter jokes in a congested and bad British accent. He throws a hand over his forehead for good measure. “I believe it mbay be the plague.”

MJ snorts a laugh at her boy’s dramatics. “Okay, you sickly child king.”

Her heels clack against the hardwood floor of the bedroom as she steps over to where he lies in their bed. As she sits on the bed, her soft hand cups his forehead and then his cheek. “You’re soft.” He mumbles, leaning into her touch.

“And you are running a bit of a fever.” She rubs her thumb sweetly over his cheek before standing back up. She tells him to sit tight and goes to the bathroom to grab a digital thermometer. She returns to find him dozing so she gently brushes his hair back to get his attention. He lifts his eyes to see the thermometer in her hand and opens his mouth just wide enough that she can slip the device under his tongue. “Give that a minute.”

MJ walks out of the room a moment later and Peter hears running water from the kitchen. The thermometer beeps right before she reenters, ice water with a straw in hand. Peter didn’t realize until he saw it just how thirsty he was. He stares at her lovingly as she takes the thermometer from between his lips. “Are you a mbind reader?” He asks, only semi-joking as he sits up slightly to sip the water.

Michelle scoffs lightly. “You bet your ass I am.” She jokes looking down at the medical tool. “Hm, 100.8. Not horrendous but I don’t love it.” Once again she’s gone, this time to the bathroom where Peter hears more water running, making him want to take another sip of his water. He sighs as the cool drink soothes his dry throat. MJ strides back to the bed with a damp face towel folded in half. When she starts to dab Peter’s forehead with the cool cloth he can’t help the shuddering sigh that escapes him. She stops. “You alright?”

Her boyfriend just nods, opening his eyes to look up at her with a small smile. “Feels good. Cold.” He explains. She smiles back at him, taking the cup of water from his hands so he can lay back down. She continues to wipe his brow with the towel and doesn’t stop until a snore leaves his mouth. MJ can’t help the giggle that bubbles up, but to be fair she’s never heard Peter snore before and right now he was quite a sight to see. His hair was sticking up at all angles, even in his reclined position, his nose nearing a shade of bright red, and his mouth open just wide enough that the tiny snores were heard.

She couldn’t help but snap a quick picture to send to Tony.

MJ:

your favorite little mentee won’t be in today…Spidey caught the sniffles : /

Old Man Stark:

Wow he looks rough, you have your internship today?

MJ:

yep first day

dont wanna leave him like this tho

Old Man Stark:

Don’t stress, this is a big day for you. I have meetings all day but Pep would be more than happy to stop by and make sure all is well.

Morgan too

She’s in her “wanting to be a doctor” phase

MJ:

you trying to say she cant be a doctor, stark?

Old Man Stark:

Good lord of course not

The kid is smarter than me and she’s barely 11

I’m just saying wasn’t there a point in your life when you wanted to be a doctor too?

MJ:

yeah of course

Old Man Stark:

And you’re now getting a degree in…?

MJ:

journalism

Old Man Stark:

so…

MJ:

i could be a doctor if i wanted to

Old Man Stark:

I know

And thats why you terrify me

MJ:

>:-)

Old Man Stark:

Go to work!

Let us take care of Peter and we’ll keep you updated as you break into the great big world of being a working adult.

MJ:

:P thanks T-Star

Old Man Stark:

Don’t call me T-Star.

Michelle pockets her phone and grabs her computer bag that’s packed and ready in the living room. Quickly she takes out a stray piece of paper and jots down a quick note for her boy just incase he wakes up alone.

Petey,

Had to get to the office (wish me luck lol) but Pepper and Morgan should be by soon. Please don’t die while I’m gone. I’ll be pissed if you do that. Wash your hands, blow your nose, and don’t leave used tissues on the bed that’s gross. Love you. Feel better.

-M

Satisfied, she leaves the note under the tissue box, gives him one last kiss on the forehead, and makes her way out the door. But not before sending Morgan that goofy picture of Peter.

MJ:

here

use this as blackmail

tell him you’ll post it on insta next time he says he won’t take you to mcdonalds

Mo Mo Stark:

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Peter wakes to his front door closing and whispering coming from the living room. He panics for a moment before realizing that the voices belonged to Pepper and Morgan. As the fan blows above him, he hears a piece of paper flutter next to him. With a shaky hand he grabs it and reads over the note that MJ had left for him. He cant help but blush, just at the thought of his girlfriend. He wonders how her first day is going. He misses her a lot. Then he realizes his fever must of gone up, as he definitely wasn’t this emotionally fragile when he had gone to sleep.

With a yawn, he sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed and grabs the quilt at the end and wraps it around his around his shoulders. With a huff he slides off the bed and makes his way to the living room. He finds Pepper setting grocery bags down on the kitchen island and Morgan already situated in front of the TV, some YouTube vlog video playing over the speakers.

“Morgan Hope, turn that down before you wake your broth-“ Pepper stops when she notices Peter standing in the doorway. “Oh, afternoon sweetheart! Did Morgan wake you? I’m so sorry I told her to quiet down-“

“Pep, it’s okay, I actually woke up whend you guys walked ind.” He rasps, congestion still heavy in his horse voice.

“Oh honey you sound awful, come on now, on the couch. You shouldn’t be up.” Pepper says, guiding him with a hand on his back to the couch. Morgan scoots a bit to make room for her big brother.

“Hi, Dr. Mborgand, you brindg any of the good drugs today?” Peter jokes, making the girl roll her eyes.

“Mom, Peter says he on drugs. He needs to detox stat. Get me an IV with glutathione, vitamin C, and vitamin B.” The youngest Stark states.

Her mother sighs as she returns to the kitchen. “Alright, that’s enough Discovery Life for you. Why can’t you just watch Disney Channel like a normal eleven year old.” Pepper mumbles as she starts taking items out of the grocery bags.

Peter and Morgan just giggle, which leads to a coughing fit from Peter. Morgan’s tiny hand pats his back as he hacks into his elbow, he murmurs an apology as the coughs taper off.

“You need to lay down Petey, and you need tissues.” Morgan articulates as she stands and looks around the apartment.

Clearing his throat, Peter points to the bedroom. “There should be sombe tissues by mby bed…if you could grab those that’d be ndice.”

Morgan nods confidently and makes her way to the bedroom. Seconds later she reemerges with the tissue box in hand and places them in the crook of Peter’s arm.

“Thangk you doctor.” Peter smiles, causing Morgan to smile in return.

“You’re welcome!” The girl returns to her spot on the couch and presses play on the video she was watching. It was vlog about makeup, Peter assumed, as the YouTuber was covered in a very impressive, glossy, look and was showing off makeup pallettes. Peter watches as the video cuts and suddenly the makeup artist is bare faced and begins to work on the look they had previewed in the intro.

Pepper chuckles as she approaches the couch, mug of hot tea with lemon and honey in hand. She hands the cup to Peter, who is drowsily watching the makeup being applied. “You don’t have to watch this you know.” Pepper whispers to him. “This is your apartment and you’re sick, turn on whatever you want.”

Taking a sip of the tea, humming as it soothes his sore-ish throat, Peter shakes his head. “Ndo, this is awesombe, look at how precise he is with the brush. Oh, thangks for the tea…also.” Pepper chuckles more, kissing the boy on the top of the head, and leaving him with Morgan to watch some internet celebrity do a perfect line with their liquid eyeliner.

Pepper had called May in the morning after hearing from Tony that Peter wasn't feeling well, knowing the boys aunt would have all the inside knowledge on how to care for a sick Peter. It wasn’t as if Pepper had never seen Peter sick, though. Since Tony had introduced them to each other way back before Morgan was even a thought, Peter had spent some sick days in the tower, the compound, and even one or two in the lake house. Yes, Pepper had seen a sick Peter Parker in her lifetime, however this was the first time she was his sole caretaker. However, after the quick call to the boy’s aunt, Pepper had a pretty good idea of how to care for the sick Spiderling.

“Oh for a cold?” May had responded. “Simple, grilled cheese and tomato soup for every meal, he’ll probably want to watch Parks and Rec all day, oh and he has Tony’s old MIT hoodie in his closet and he always wears it when he’s not feeling well.”

Pepper smiled at that. When Peter decided to stay in New York for college, for family and spider-y reasons, it was no secret that Tony had been a little disappointed. No, Tony hadn’t done anything special to get Peter into MIT, honestly because he didn’t have too. Peter’s grades and test scores were good enough on their own, but he still would have loved to have seen the kid at his alma mater. When Peter had told him of his college decision, scared out of his mind might he add, Tony just hugged and told him he was proud of him. Tony reassured the kid that where ever he went to school was fine by him and that he’d support him the whole way through. “I am going to need that MIT sweatshirt back” Tony had joked, waiting to be met by a “shut up Tony” or an eye roll, but instead he was met with tears— big fat ones that welled up in Peter’s eyes. Tony was quick to see he had messed up and it took about twenty minutes to reassure the boy that he didn't want the sweatshirt back and that “of course I still love you Peter”. Since then Peter has kept the garment close to him at all times, just incase Tony ever thought about taking it.

Pepper goes to Peter’s closet, instantly spotting the faded maroon hoodie and taking it off of the hanger. Both he and Morgan are still mesmerized by the YouTube video, but they glance up when Pepper walks over again. Peter’s eyes light up at the sight of the hoodie in her hands. He’s close to making grabby hands for it but she hands it to him first. He puts it on and settles back down onto the couch. “Thangk you Pep.”

“Keep it safe, can’t have Tony snatching it.” She jabs as she walks back to the kitchen to start the grilled cheese.

Peter, though thoroughly invested in the new makeup video Morgan put on, can’t help but doze off as the ambient sounds of his apartment lull him to sleep. He hears a shuffling on the couch next to him and opens one of his eyes, seeing Morgan giggling at him. “Can I braid your hair Petey?” She whispers. In true college kid fashion, Peter had let his hair grow out a little bit, and while it wasn’t long enough to braid it all together, Morgan liked to do tiny braids with tufts of his hair for fun.

Turning onto his side away from Morgan, giving her better access to his hair, Peter chuckles at his little sister. “Go for it Mborgie, mbake mbe beautiful.”

With a squeal of delight, the eleven year old Stark pulls tiny hair-ties out of her pocket and gets to work. Peter, who had always loved having his hair played with, lets the braiding put him right to sleep after only a few tiny braids were done.

If Morgan laughed at the snores that came from Peter moments later, she didn't tell him. He did let her braid half his head, anyway.

The rest of the day passes in a sleepy haze for Peter. He remembers waking up a few moments after falling asleep on the couch. Pepper helping him sit up and setting a tray of his favorite sick day meal in his lap. He had to hand it to Pepper, she made a mean grilled cheese soup combo. He finishes the sandwich and about half of the soup before he feels his eyes grow heavy again and the tray is taken from his lap.

“Go back to sleep, hon. Morgan and I are here if you need us.” Pepper reassures the boy, so Peter does.

The next time he wakes was when Morgan and Pepper we’re on their way out. He vaguely remembers sluggishly thanking them for staying with him and Pepper saying something about MJ being home in just a few minutes, but as soon as the apartment door closes Peter was out once more.

The final time he wakes up is to Michelle gently shaking his shoulder, attempting to wake him from his short slumber. His eyes open, but quickly close again as he stretches his whole body, somehow exhausted and sore from his long day of sleeping.

“Emmby, you back?” He asks, not yet opening his eyes again.

He hears her adorable laugh and his heart soars. “Yes, dork, it’s me. Wanna open those pretty eyes for me, Tiger?”

Obviously wanting to see his beautiful girlfriend, he opens his eyes again. MJ looks tired from her first day but extremely happy.

“Was it ambazing? Everythindg you could have hoped for?” He asks, nuzzling closer to her thigh, much like a cat.

She hums an affirmation, bringing her hand up to trace random shapes along his arm. “It was everything and more. Honestly I can see myself working there forever. It was…it was perfect.”

Peter smiles at that. MJ deserved the perfect job and more. “Babe, that fandtastic. I’m so happy for you.” He says horsely but sincerely. He moves closer to her, raising his head a bit to lay it on her lap. With the motion, one of Morgan’s many little braids in his hair make themselves apparent and Michelle can help but burst with laughter.

It causes Peter to jolt up in a sleepy state of panic. “What, what happended?” He asks sitting up slightly, eyes half closed but alert.

She reaches up to ruffle the tiny braids that cover the right side of his head. “What is this? Did Morgan just learn how to fishtail braid because these are honestly kinda good.” She inspects the braids as Peter’s cheeks blush.

He smiles, coughing slightly and gently shaking his head so the braids flop around. That gets another laugh from MJ. “Mby sisters pretty talendted, huh?”

MJ nods, very amused. “An interesting look…but I’ll give it points for creativity.”

As the couple laughs again, Peter brings two fingers up to massage his temple as he feels a dull ache in his head.

“Headache?” Michelle frowns.

“Mhmm,” Peter confirms. “I thingk Mborgan made the braids a little too tight.”

“That’s no good.” MJ sympathizes, lowering her boy’s head back down onto her lap, braid side up so she can work on undoing the little knots. She makes quick work of it and within minutes, Peter’s hair is braid-less and the throbbing in head head dies down. In thanks, Peter snuggles his face closer Michelle’s middle, wrapping his arms around it as well.

“You thingk you can use a vacationd day tomborrow? I mbissed you today.” Peter whines, partly joking but sorta kinda being serious.

“From what I heard, your eyes were open for about thirty minutes today. Too busy sleeping to miss me that much.” MJ giggles at the sniffly boy with his head in her lap. He just shrugs in response, and she can feel his body relaxing and congested breaths evening out. “You going back to sleep on me already, Parker? Not even gonna let me tell you about my day?” She jokes again.

Peter snorts involuntarily as he turns his head to look up at her, eyes glossed with fever and sleepy but apologetic. “I’mb up I’mb up, tell mbe everything.”

She grabs the sides of his face sweetly, slightly squishing his cheeks while she kisses his forehead and then his nose. “I’m kidding, Peter. God your brain must be frying, come on let's go to bed.” She pats his cheek lightly and helps him sit up.

He yawns with his whole body, his hands stretching into the air and his back arching. “But it’s only like six, arend’t you hungry for dinnder?” He coughs into his fists while Michelle takes his other hand, helping him lift off the couch.

“Let me rephrase. You’re going to shower, put new pajamas on, and get in bed while I make us grilled cheeses, your second one today I'm assuming. How does that sound?” MJ asks, leading him to their bathroom.

Peter clears his throat as he sits on the closed toilet. “And…umb…and the tombato soup?”

The shower roars to life as MJ turns the handle. “You think I’d forget the most important part?” She scoffs, feigning hurt. Peter just smiled, the dopey smile he gets when he thinks about how in love he is with this girl. With two more quick forehead kisses she leaves him to shower.

Peter exits the shower feeling refreshed, less stuffy, and hungry once more. Thanks to the shower stream he can faintly smell the toasty cheesy smell from the kitchen and it gives him a nostalgic feeling.

As he grabs pajama pants and the MIT hoodie, Peter thinks of the first time he got sick after going to live with Ben and May. It was the first day of what was considered flu season and the sickly kid had contracted the virus at the drop of a hat. He was miserable the whole day, crying and wallowing in the aches and pains of the illness. The biggest issue, however, was that he refused to eat anything, that is until Ben decided to make himself a grilled cheese for dinner.

The older Parker noticed Peter looking the sandwich with feverish eyes. “Look tasty, bud?” Ben questioned, raising an eyebrow. Little Peter just nodded and Ben smiled, extremely relieved that his nephew was finally going to eat.

Sticking his pointer and middle finger in his mouth, Peter watches as his uncle stands from the couch and starts on another sandwich. “Uncle Ben?” Peter asks in a small voice. Ben looks back over to the kid and nods. “Do you have any of the-the red soup? Mommy always made grilled cheese with red soup.” Peter nearly whispered.

Ben thinks for a minute, not completely sure what the boy meant by red soup, but then it clicks. “Oh! Tomato soup?” He smiles as Peter nods. Ben open the cupboard to him and pulls out a can of tomato soup, flipping it in the air once to see Peter smile. “Tomato soup and grilled cheese coming right up monsieur Parker.” Ben says in a horrible French accent which makes the six year old giggle, as sound that was music to Ben’s ears after all tears. From then on, Peter would only insist on eating that particular meal anytime he had so much as a headache.

The door creaking open as MJ pushes it with her hip brings Peter out of his thoughts. She has the tray of grilled cheeses and soups in her hands and an amused look on her face. “You okay? Need help with something?”

Peter blinks and remembers that he’s sitting in the edge of their bed, in a towel, pajamas in hand. “Oh…no I’mb okay. Just thinking ‘bout stuff.”

MJ sets the tray down on her bedside table. “You already sound less stuffy. Maybe you should sleep in the shower.” She quips, not missing Peter's sweet tiny giggle as she grabs the water tank from the humidifier and takes it to the bathroom with her.

Peter gets dressed and settles into bed. He notices that Pepper has changed the sheets and his heart clinches, nearly overwhelmed by the love he feels from his family. He takes out his phone to text her a thank you but is intercepted by a string of texts from Tony.

Tony Stank:

Morgs is showing me pictures of the wonderful makeover she gave you

Honestly thought you pulled it off really well

…but you need a haircut

Please kiddo let me get you in with my hair guy

You’ll love him

Spider-Tot:

sorry pops but I am fully committing to this college hair thing

mj says she wants me in a man bun by graduation so

cant let my girl down

Tony Stank:

I swear you two are conspiring against me

Oh well

How you feeling bud?

Spider-Tot:

still kinda gross

snotty

but i think my fevers kinda lower

so thats something

tell pep thank you so so much for today

i was barely awake when they left

i feel bad I didn't get to say anything

Tony Stank:

I gotcha Pete don’t worry

If you need more company tomorrow let me know I’m free all day

Spider-Tot:

wdym ill just come in to the lab tomorrow

Tony Stank:

That’s a negative Petey Pie

As your gracious boss i’m giving you the next three days off

I want all this crap out of your system before you’re back in the lab

Spider-Tot:

three days ??

boooo

u stink old man

Tony Stank:

Good lord

You’re the only person I know that complains about getting days off from work

Get a good nights sleep and maybe ill bring you a circuit board to mess with tomorrow

Good enough?

Spider-Tot:

hmmm

fine

Tony Stank:

Good

Now go rest

Don’t bother your girlfriend too much

She complains to me when you do

Spider-Tot:

now I think its you two conspiring against me

night tony

love u

Tony Stank:

Love you too bambino

Michelle returns from the bathroom, makeup off, hair down, and humidifier tank full of water. She sets the tank back in and turns the machine on, steam filling the air. After quickly putting on her own set of pajamas, MJ takes her and Peter’s dinner from the side table and places it on the bed between them. Peter wastes no time digging in, groaning in admiration for the food. He mumbles a thanks with his mouth full and MJ laughs, wiping a bit of soup off of his lip with her thumb.

“You’re welcome, loser.” She teases, beginning to eat her own meal. After a few bites she take the TV remote by her side and flips on Peter’s favorite sick day show.

As the Parks and Recreation theme song begins to play, Peter looks up at his girlfriend with appreciative eyes. “You’re too good to mbe.”

“You remember that next time I make you vacuum and you get pissy about it.” Michelle deadpans, but Peter knew she was messing around.

“I’m not messing around.” She clarifies, turning to look at his with one eyebrow raised.

“You really are a mbind reader.” Peter whispers with feverish wonder.

Throwing a paper towel at him playfully, MJ laughs and Peter joins her. They finish their food as the TV continues to play in the background, Peter yawning and coughing quietly as soon as he swallows his last bite. Without a word, MJ takes the empty plates and tray back to the kitchen. She turns off the bedroom lights as she reenters and tucks herself back under the covers. It's barely after 7 p.m. and the sun it only just starting to set, making the room glow a with dark blues and purples.

Peter is cuddled into her side as soon as she's back in bed, head resting on her chest and arm around her waist. “What am I gonna do with you Peter Parker?” She sighs, twirling her fingers through his already messy hair.

“Love mbe, no matter what? Even if I’mb yucky like this?” He pulls out the puppy dog eyes for this one. MJ may be stoic on the outside but not even she can resist the sweet sparkling glare.

“If I must.” She agrees, holding him tighter and resting her head on top of his.

But she’s happy to do it. Loving Peter Parker is an extremely easy thing, MJ thinks.

#sick peter parker #spideychelle #petermj #irondad #spideychelle fic #pepper and morgan are the best #little sister morgan #domestic fluff #college au #peter and mj are like 22 #and morgan is 11 #and already a genius of course

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hellyeahheroes · 5 years

Text

Dylan is a Mary Sue

*look I know that the symbiote has a name and Venom is both it and Eddie. So I hope you don’t get annoyed when I refer to the symbiote as Venom because writing symbiote 100 times gets annoying and I hope you get what I mean when I call it that.

I’ve been trying to write this like nine times because I don’t want to bash this character. When I wrote the post about how I didn’t want Dylan Brock near Miles, I intentionally left out the reason why because I like the character. I hate the purpose and narrative mind behind him. And plus I don’t want to seem like I bash white cis het male characters when the characters I do trash on are bad because writers tend to make them intentionally bratty. I don’t like Spider-kid, Damian Wayne when written without consequence(he is white passing), Jason Todd,or Alpha. Like giving a character a shitty attitude doesn’t make him endearing especially on a male, I’m sorry. Characters like Tim Drake, Alex Power, and Dick Grayson work because there is something genuine in them that they want to be the good of the world.

Anyways, Dylan is fun to me because he has this precocious roguishness that isn’t malevolent nor out of place. His abuse is actually abuse that isn’t made to serve as his training or whatever nor does it warps his views. And his fandom in Eddie/Venom actually makes sense because he is a kid that was abandoned by his mother and left with an emotionally and physically abusive man who would cut him down. A dark passenger like Venom appeals to him because Venom is like the codifier of misguided anger for misguided teens.

But there is a reason why he is written that way: he is a Mary-Sue. Now I don’t care about the gender preconceptions of Mary Sue vs Gary Stu nor do I try to prescribe to reclaiming Mary Sue in some vain attempt at liberal feminism. Mary Sue is bad writing unless everyone gets to play(Mary Sues work in video games). Mary Sue is something writers in most mediums that tell stories should avoid if they want said character to succeed or evoke if you want said character to be disliked. And Dylan Brock is an example that doesn’t work and is largely getting away with it because he is cute.

1. The Immaculate Conception of Dylan Brock

This is when I knew some Sue shit was unleashed on Venom fans. I don’t have to google it but I can guess that Cates has a Catholic background. Whether he is one or raised one, it is apparent in whatever meaningful writing depth he provides outside of meaningless action. And it works because Eddie Brock, being anti-Peter Parker, is Catholic. Hence the brooding and self-loathing and abusive paternity and motifs of redemption and suffering and shit. But this was not only fucked up, but a little too on the nose.

Dylan wasn’t conceived naturally. In fact, Anne Weying was raped by the symbiote and impregnated with Eddie’s DNA. So Dylan is actually the child of the Venom and Eddie Brock. “But Anne is his mother.” Look, Cates didn’t actually consider Anne so I won’t either. Outside of the fact that it doesn’t make sense chronologically since Peter was like in his early 20s when he had the Symbiote and is at most 29 now, Anne is just a vehicle for Cates’ to necessitate the purity of Dylan Brock. Dylan is the pure child of Venom, born from the womb of Eddie’s first girlfriend/fiancé/wife/whatever and the first human woman to wear a symbiote, I think. I mean she didn’t even have sex with Eddie and boom, mini Eddie Brock is wrapped in cloth and left at the meager doorstep at the sacred house of Eddie. Praise Venom, y’all.

Jokes aside, I don’t know how Venom fans just didn’t go, “Iight, Imma head out” after reading this page. Just shows the conviction of fandom.

But I digress. Now let me regale you just how improbable this is which again only serves to ordain Dylan is the truest son of Venom in all the ways possible and also highlight the very unfortunate implications of this fuckery. Symbiotes bond is how they reproduce. When they reproduce with their host, the end result up to this point has always been a symbiote. For Mass Effect fans, it’s the Asari thing except with goo. Before you ask, yes Symbiotes sexually satisfy their hosts unlike the majority of human men*cough*. Point is that Dylan should be biologically impossible but somehow he is a human symbiote hybrid. And the unfortunate implications of such of incident shouldn’t go unnoticed either. Venom and Eddie have several children and prior to this, all of them have been symbiote. Cletus and Red also have children too and again symbiote. In fact, all symbiote bonds produce symbiotes as far as male hosts are concerned...except for the brief bond of Ann Weying and Venom Symbiote. Gee I wonder why she got a different result? Well there are a few female hosts and surprising none of them have spawned a symbiote child. So logically it can be assumed that woman + symbiote = forced impregnation of symbiote. Well this shit got dark. The symbiotes just became the Jeffrey Epstein alien species. But since Cates swears up and down that is not what is happening, he is going for the God/Virgin Mary angle for some reason.

It’s almost like he is the descendent of the Symbiote God. If only there was such a thing.

Welllllll shit.

2. Dylan is incorruptible and all-powerful without knowing why or how

Okay, backstory time because I never properly explained Knull, another of Cates shoddy creations. Knull is the galactic god emperor of the Symbiotes who created the Symbiotes as a weapon to rule the galaxy. Aside of the fact that his existence retconned the previous backstories of the symbiote, he has the ability to domesticate the symbiotes and make them subservient to him.

Guess who else has this ability.

Dylan is symbiote Jesus, hallelujah. This explains the Church of Carnage/Knull/Grendel/who gives a shit. He is the true son of Abraham and Carnage is the false prophet of Venom. It’s what Christianity considers Islam to be or some shit and both Dylan and Sleeper are about to nail the 95 thesis on the door of Carnage in the form of the greatest mixtape you ever heard.

Look, I too am astounded of the sentences my mind comes up with when I so thoroughly hate a writing like I hate Donnie Cates’ Venom.

Dylan goes beyond being just a special snowflake that was forcefully and crudely implemented. He is the pre-ordained established opposite of the nature of corruption that Knull created the symbiotes for. To Knull, the symbiotes are his thralls. To Dylan, the symbiotes are his pets. To Knull, the symbiotes are a tool to become omnipresent. To Dylan, the symbiotes are individuals who need to be liberated if good. To Knull, there is no such thing as a good symbiote. To Dylan, there is and it’s Venom or sleeper or what have you. Dylan is the forgotten son and the New Testament for symbiote kind.

And he doesn’t know yet.

Okay, this is a common Mary Sue trait to absolve culpability of a Mary Sue character. It’s to say that they are not to blame for being special. It’s like the writing form of don’t hate me because I’m beautiful except somehow more obnoxious. Dylan’s obliviousness to this what is essentially an entire alien species religious revelation is like trivialized because their prophet is a 12 year old. It’s like waiting for a savior only to be told he is a carpenter.

Imma let that last one just marinate for a minute.

Look, Cates did a lot of rewriting and retconning just for his self-insert to become his favorite series and hero to be the second coming. He created this lore for Venom only for his avatar to be the prophet. The intentionality of his obliviousness to how important this is just glazed over the fact like it isn’t a big deal. Just like Cates glazed over the whole rape and forced impregnation thing because somehow that doesn’t warrant a follow up.

3. Dylan Brock is fanboy Cates

Okay before I begin, self-inserts aren’t bad nor are they inherently Mary-Sues. Kong from Ultimate Spider-Man is Bendis’ self-insert. Boomerang from Amazing Spider-Man was rewritten to be Spencer’s self-insert. JJJ is a self insert for Stan fucking Lee like...self-inserts are great. To the degree that they aren’t unnatural to the narrative or overbearing.

Dylan Brock’s previously stated precociousness comes from the idea that Donnie is writing the inner teenager that he was as a kid reading Maximum Carnage for the first time. And I get it, man, live your truth and all. Like yeah, force and subjugate other fans of this series to your childlike inquiries like how Symbiotes poop, I mean it’s not like their fandom is important or anything.

First Dylan is a fanboy of Venom just like he is. And while that makes sense meta-wise, in-narrative it doesn’t because...okay Venom fans are about to tear me apart for this but it’s like someone being a fan of Ted Bundy. His heroics usually came with a body count is all I’m saying and I doubt it would be praised but then again Wolverine has an in-universe fandom so what do I know. Back on topic, Dylan’s fandom and praise of Venom to get him out of the dark place that is his father’s abusive household.

And this is why it’s so hard to hate him because of all the fucked up shit Cates put in this book, Dylan feels like the one character that is genuine and pure in that innocent kind of way. No one hates Dylan and how could you? We all get it. And it helps that Dylan has a completely different voice than every other Cates has written from every other character. Like I can hear the excitement in his voice when he pesters his hero for questions and I’m reading his words. The idolization is pure when he meets Normie, the god son of Spider-Man, and it creates this dynamic of Spider-Man fans vs Venom fans. It’s fun in a way.

But it’s just that. When Cates writes Eddie, he is not only writing to retell Cates own personal past demons but also in the lens of how he viewed Eddie as this tortured soul who just got the wrong interview from a copycat that costs his job. The second banana of a greater and more prominent hero. Born to the wrong person. That none of what happened to Eddie was his fault or really his doing even when he was at his worst wearing Venom, it was Venom who tempted him.

Dylan is that pre-teen who sees the best in everything Venom is: The dark avenger of the abused and neglected. And I don’t want to speculate whether Cates fits the category or not because that ain’t my business, I can see why Dylan would be a compelling self-insert if it weren’t compounded on top of Cates’ forceful insertion into Venom and subsequently Spider-Man lore.

Like you remember Carly Cooper? Dylan is exactly like Carly Cooper. And this is why I like to think of Cates’ run as the equivalent of One More Day. Cates’ retconned a crucial element of Venom to make Dylan necessary to the core of Venom. He retconned the one thing that made Venom and subsequently Eddie go beyond just being a twisted revenge story.

The erasure of Mary Brock, Eddie’s sister and Eddie’s cancer. One is the motivation and the sole good Eddie has ever known. It’s his motivation to move past is mistakes. And Cates then turns the one bond in the series into something...horrific.

Okay, Dylan replaced his sister and Venom itself. His being becomes Eddie’s motivation to be a better person rather the struggle to see himself as more than his upbringing. It’s like reading Spider-Man and finding out Uncle Ben was on crack. Uncle Ben didn’t die. He faked his death. Yeah, that is what this was. So he could evade taxes or some shit. This is exonerated Eddie in the worst way and turned him into a manipulated pawn of Venom. Let’s completely retcon the marriage of MJ and PeterVenom and Eddie, Cates pitches to editorial.

Dylan becomes more than just some kid who idolizes Eddie. He becomes the sole motivation of Eddie himself now. Eddie’s past is now completely erased or made irrelevant to uplift Dylan’s importance to Eddie. It’s too a point that the Symbiote kids of Venom aren’t Eddie’s kids anymore. It’s like Eddie was in an interracial relationship and the one non-brown baby with blue eyes is his one true kid and others are mulatto chocolate eugenic mishaps or some shit that his ass don’t want to deal with anymore. I mean disowning Carnage I understand but come on?

Cates’ self insert changed the entire nature of the series. And for what purpose? To give Venom a legacy just as Peter has one. And that is the problem with Dylan.

@ubernegro

#dylan brock #venom #sleeper #symbiote #eddie brock #long post #donny cates #cates run

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hollandsosterfield-blog · 5 years

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happy father’s day - t.h.

pairing: tom holland x reader

warning: woman giving birth (nothing too detailed)

request: could you write something about tom helps his wife to give birth in their home becuse they can't go the hospital due to storm outside?

summary: You went to Tom's parents's country house for the weekend, but your baby decides to surprise you and arrives earlier than expected, making father's day unforgettable for Tom

words count: 1,557

As your pregnancy was almost due to term and the date of delivery was scheduled for next week, Tom and you decided to leave and spend some time in in his parents's house in the countryside.

You arrived early in the evening on friday, the house being a bit far from the city, there was no wi-fi, only the tv and the landline worked. It was a cozy house, beautifully decorated, and outside there was grass stretched for miles, a pool where you needed to spend some time before leaving and a beautiful lake where a few ducks lived.

You put a hand on your round belly, smiling to yourself. You couldn’t wait to come back here once your baby was born, watch him play in the garden with Tessa, or see him play on a swing that Tom built for him, or teach him how to swim on a summer afternoon, do family barbecues, or celebrate his birthday here...You knew that when he would be here, your days would always be filled with laughter and joy with him by your side.

A shiver ran down your spine and you rubbed your hands over your arms, trying to warm up yourself a little as the wind began to get a little colder and the sky darkened, "Tessa," you called, her head popped out of the grass that was almost as tall as her and she looked in your way, before running towards you. She went past you and entered the house, you followed her and closed the double glass door and the curtains.

Tessa went to lie in her basket in the living room while you went into the kitchen, where Tom was preparing dinner.

"Hum, it smells good, what are you cooking?" You approached him to have a better view of what he was doing.

He looked up at you smiling. "It's a surprise."

"Is it almost ready? I don't want to complain but I think someone is very hungry." You say stroking your belly before going to sit on a chair. "And a little agitated today."

"He's probably looking forward to being next week so he can see his parents, especially his dad." Tom laughed as he put the plates on the table.

You huffed. "Or maybe he doesn't like the sudden change of weather." Tom kissed your forehead, still laughing, and took the dish out of the oven. He had cooked lasagna, your favorite dish, hoping you would like it.

He put the dish on the table and scratched the back of his neck, "Eh, I used my mom receipe but I don't know if I did it well, I hope you will like it, but please if it taste horribly don't tell her." You giggled as he sat next to you before serving you one part.

"I promise to not say it." You said, kissing his cheek gently before grabing your fork and tasting a small portion. Tom looked at you, waiting for you to tell him if you liked it.

"So?" He asked, not having touched his plate yet.

"Well..."

"Oh okay, I know, it's horrible. I'm sorry." He said, lowering his head, looking like a sad puppy.

"I'm just kidding you, babe. It's actually delicious." You couldn't hide your smile when he looked up at you, smiling, his whole face lighten up again.

"Really?"

"Yes", you said, in fact, it wasn’t really good but he had put all his heart to make them wanting to please you and you didn’t wanted him to be sad, so yes, eating a dish that wasn’t very good was not the worse and if that made him happy, it was worth it to suffer.

You took another bite, fake smiling at him, while Tom looked delighted. You hoped there was at least some chocolate for dessert.

But unfortunately, you didn't have chocolate, there was a cake in the fridge, but Tom said it was for tomorrow, that you would eat it when you would came back to his parents's house to celebrate father's day.

You mumbled to yourself while eating a yoghurt’s banana while at the same time Tom went to close the shutters outside before it started to rain. You putted a hand over your belly, "Don't worry baby, tonight we'll get a little piece of this cake when dad will be asleep." You whispered, caressing your swollen belly.

After closing the shutters Tom came back inside, he was a little wet, apparently he had already started to rain and he decided to go take a shower.

After finishing your yoghurt you came into the living room and laid down on the couch a few minutes before getting up again as you felt more contractions.

You decided to go upstairs and watch a movie in bed with Tom, as the storm seemed to be more violent and loudly but that didn't stopped Tom from falling asleep.

Around 11pm you left the bed discreetly, trying to not wake up Tom, you couldn't sleep because of the noisy sound of the storm and the contractions, and you were a little hungry.

Tessa who was sleeping down your bed woke up. She followed you downstairs. Stopping frequently when you were a little long, as if she wanted to check that you were still there and that you were okay.

Once in the kitchen, you turned on the light and saw Tessa rush to her bowl of water as you walked to the closet. You took out a plate and a fork and put them on the table before heading to the fridge.

As you went to open the fridge door you felt a liquid fall from your vagina. You stepped back and looked down, seeing a gush of clear fluid on the floor. You let out a brash sound, as panic started to invade you. "Tom!" You yelled.

"Tom!" You shouted again, your breathing speeding up as another contraction hitted you. You putted your hands on the counter for support, closing your eyes, doing the breathing exercises you learned trying to calm yourself a little.

With the sound of the storm he didn’t hear your calls, so Tessa rushed upstairs and jumped on the bed. She barked loudly, trying to wake up Tom and after a few seconds, he did.

"Uh, Tessa, what are you doing?" He said rubbing his eyes, he looked next to him and saw that your place was empty. He threw the sheets off his body and stood up. He was going to go in the bathroom, to see if you were there, but Tessa barked and he decided to follow her.

She ran into the kitchen where you were sitting on the floor, in agony.

Tom rushed to your side

"Oh my god, we need to get you to the hospital!" He says panicking, not knowing what to do.

"I-I don't think I will be able to get up and there a storm outside." You winced as another contraction hitted you, each contractions becoming more violent and longer.

You knew it was only a question of minutes before your baby was here. Tom got up and rushed to get the phone and a cushion that he placed under your head, while stroking your forehead.

He called the emergency and a woman answered, he tried to explain as best he could the situation. The woman on the other side of the line told him to calm down and explained that help couldn't come yet because of the storm, but that she would help him help you.

She gave him advice and explained how to proceed. He helped you as much as possible, following the woman's advice. You pushed, holding one of Tom's hands. He put the speaker on and the woman told you to stop the panic, as the babies were still usually in the ideal position head upside down while she speaked to you, Tom grabbed some towels.

You pushed, panting and sweating. Tom wiped the sweat from your forehead with a towel, still holding one of your hands.

"You can do it, you're amazing baby, he's almost there." He continues to say encouraging things, but you were too exhausted to hear everything as you continue to push.

Tom went to see how things were going and told you to push again. After a few seconds, you hear soft cries. Tom wrapped your baby in a towel and looked at him with pure adoration as tears ran down his cheeks. He went next to you and put your baby in your arms, as you started to sob.

He was so beautiful, you put a kiss on his temple, he whined softly before closing his eyes.

"You had a very exhausting first day, right baby." Tom said stroking his head, you both looked at him with pure admiration, not believing that you both created such a beautiful thing.

After the storm calmed down, the emergencies arrived and they took you with the baby to the hospital, Tom came with you, obviously. Both your vital and those of the baby were good and of course, Tom put a spider-man body on him that Nikki and Dom had taken with them when they came to see the baby.

His parents and brothers were all already in love with the baby. Tom looked at his son, named Tony, who was looking at all the faces around him in the hospital room curiously.

"I think it's the greatest gift I could have dreamed of for Father's Day." Tom said before kissing your son's forehead.

___

thanks for reading!*ೃ

permanent taglist: @dragneel-cutie @spider-girls-world @chennyetomlinson @awkwardfangirl2014 @screeching-student-unknown @osterfieldholland01 @mandatheredpanda @nikkixostan @just4muggles @shamelessmelanie @kira-mariee @superheroesaremytea @cartiertom @nicole-lynne @miraclesoflove @herbluebirdmiracle @little-miss-existencialcrisis @tessxblxckthorn @xxtomxo @sspideytom @dangerdolns @nymphetsuicide @lou-la-lou @trustfundparker @jackiehollanderr @propertyofmarvel @thomastanleyhollands @roastedpug @spidey-caps @sunshine-rainbow-lollipops17 @marvelismylifffe @p-peterparkers @kaylathekittykat225 @tristfulsighs @sebbystansstuff @ghostofdrfluke @alisoncdariel

tom taglist: @llady-peculiar @marveltrashandstuffs @webbedwonders @pignolithecookie @tomhollandvibes @ophcelia @awhollandx @squishychar1ie

mutuals who might like this: @akaspiderman @lavenderholland @petey-verse @moonstruckholland

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 4 years

Text

This is the most offensivly ignorant comment I’ve ever had the misfortunte of reading

Unsurprisingly it comes from the King of ‘What you just said is so aggressively idiotic I feel like you just insulted everyone’: RDMacQ.

For context you need to read this statement from someone else. Whilst I do not agree with this statement I’m not addressing it’s merits or demerits.

“Let me say that I don't like Evil Superman as a concept, but when written well, like Tom Taylor's Injustice comics, where the guy who wrote it clearly has love for the traditional version of Superman and tries to humanize him even at his worst so you can relate and feel for the guy, I accept it, I enjoy it. By that same token, I was always open to Peter/MJ not working out if it was done well, and not done as in the case of OMD/OMIT with the demonstrable intent of slandering MJ's character and making Peter young hip and open to dating younger girls without him coming off as a creep and sleazebag. I am not okay with it happening to preserving Peter's sainthood. I mean the reason I accepted Peter B. in ITSV is that it did that take on the direction the character went into very well. In the case of Life Story #3, you are meant to agree with MJ and she's shown as a moral force, someone who condemns Venom Peter when he is about to kill Kraven-in-Cloth Suit. And of course people need to keep in mind that in Life Story, Reed and Sue didn't work out either, Vision suffers more guilt than even Peter can fathom, Captain America made a bigger and more difficult choice and faces more consequences for his actions than Peter does. So I feel that whatever Zdarsky is doing he's playing fair in the way that other writers don't when they do the story this way. And also tonally, the story is set in the '80s, the age of Watchmen. I think in terms of decade-specific mood and trend, having a story where Spider-man becomes a deadbeat dad worried about not being in prime physical shape and so on...is quite apposite.”

Then we get to RDMacQ’s bullshit

“Yeah, I find it weird that the main complaint is "This isn't what happened in the original comics" and I'm like "Yeah.... kind of the point!"”

Here is the problem.

Life Story is intended and promoted as a WHAT IF.

The way a WHAT IF works is that it takes what DID happen and changes variables to explore how that’d impact the outcome.

With Variables A+B you get outcome 1 (the main universe).

But what if you had Variables C+D? You would get outcome 2.

Gwen Stacy died so Spider-Man tried (and ultimately refrained) from murdering the Green Goblin.

But what If Spider-Man saved Gwen Stacy? Then she’d accept him, he’d stop the Goblin, but the Goblin would expose his identity in the interim and thus ruin Peter’s life.

Kingpin’s assassin injured Aunt May so Peter beat him up.

But what If the Kingpin’s assassin didn’t injure Aunt May but simply outright killed Mary Jane? Then Peter would directly murder the Kingpin.

Life Story doesn’t play fair as a What if in the slightest.

A what if done properly is confined by the parameters of the original story. Everyone still needs to act in character within the context of the new situation as defined by the older stories.

That isn’t he case in Life Story

To begin with it isn’t changing just one variable it’s changing multiple. Spider-Man is aging in real time. The events of his life are happening in roughly the same time period they would’ve been published, but not in the same order. The level of realism is drastically higher since Marvel heroes are going to the Vietnam War.

Characters act arbitrarily differently in ways they wouldn’t do in the context of the new variables. Case in point, why exactly would Norman Osborn pull the scheme he di in issue #2 just because he’s in prison? His plan never made sense. And in issue #4 his plan was even more asinine. He wanted to destroy Spider-Man and due to being too old to do it himself he pulled the Clone Saga and got Doc Ock to attack Spidey on his behalf. But he knew who Peter was, why not just reveal the truth. Doing so couldn’t harm him as he’d already paid for his crimes as the Goblin and his identity was public knowledge.

That doesn’t make sense. That’s not an opinion that’s just self-evident by the story. The cause and effect of it doesn’t add up.

But RDMacQ doesn’t believe in that. According to him Norman’s actions are justified because ‘ a crazy person did something that didn’t make sense’. That’s the laziest most pathetic attempt at analysis. And yet this cum bubble of a human being has the audiactity to claim I don’t analyse.

To him authorial intent is everything unless he doesn’t like it.

Because the point is that it’s supposed to be different from canon that means that characters can act in ANY way that’s different. ANY thing that is different is a viable option. Which obviously defeats the entire object of the project. If you are going to do that what is the point of rooting it in 616 canon in the first place? Why rely upon familiarity with the canon universe if you are going to randomly change anything on a whim as opposed to in logical response to a changed variable?

In doing that all you have accomplished is a weird and unfocussed Ultimate Universe, not a What if.

But then ol’ Big Mac starts to step up the game.

“I think probably my issue arises due to certain recent fan outrages, and a lot of the rationalizations and justifications that came from them. The latest episode of Game of Thrones, for example, had a lot of people- and I mean a LOT of people- decrying a character's "Heel" turn and their "Out of character" moments- while at the same time showing a bit of a misreading of the material or the subject matter.”

Bear in mind when he wrote this the latest episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones was the penultimate episode of it’s eighth and final season. In it, key protagonist, Daenerys slaughtered a whole city full of civilians with a fire breathing dragon and her army. Throughout the show she’d previously been defined as being unwilling to kill innocents on principle, once claiming that each enslaved person in a city was a reason to conquer the city and liberate it’s people. She was so horrified that one of her dragons inadvertently killed a child that she locked them up. She once affirmed that she did not want to be ‘Queen of the Ashes’ amidst her campaign to retake her homeland.

It’s fair to say the overwhelming majority of viewers AND professional critics took major issue with this and declared it a travesty and out of character.

Behind-the-scenes stories also heavily point to Emilia Clarke (the actress portraying the character) being upset and disenchanted with her character’s direction.

youtube

For my money these two videos are the best examinations of the disaster that was Daenerys heel turn in this episode of Game of Thrones.*

youtube

Also please bear in mind the ‘man’ saying people are misreading things is the same man who has continually insisted that Norman Osborn merely wants to kill Spider-Man in spite of me citing examples to the contrary, including this page.

So you know, not exactly demonstrating great analytical skills there.

“I think it's far too easy to cry "Out of character" when a character does something different, or simply questionable, because it's an easy catch all phrase that sounds like you know something, but in reality it's just a cover for a lack of understanding of things like characterization or plot development.”

Says the ‘man’ who genuinely once said Norman Osborn doing something nonsensical is justified because ‘he’s crazy’.

Says the ‘man’ who leaned incredibly hard on the idea that Miles Warren in Life Story would not have intervened in Gwen’s marriage to Peter Parker even though his entire character revolves around his jealous obsession over her.

Says the guy who once said a writer can randomly decide all of Mary Jane’s character development since the 1980s didn’t matter.

Says the ‘man’ who once claimed Doc Ock at the end of Gage’s Superior run was he real Doc Ock even though he was literally a clone of his mind in a clone of his body…and then he refused to listen to me when I repeatedly spelled that fact out for him. His rationale was ‘Marvel are treating him as the real guy so he is’.

Says the ‘man’ that in his ‘interpretation’ Spider-Man regarded Ned Leeds as a ‘viper’ after he was revealed as the Hobgoblin, in spite of literally no evidence supporting that interpretation and you know Spider-Man literally saying otherwise multiple times; including in the issue he learned Ned was a villain. In fact when I pointed this out to ol’ big Mac he referred to such things as ‘arbitrary’.

Says the guy who once said it’s better for stories to be in multi-parters because before the rise of decompression al stories had rushed endings. Remember how Amazing Fantasy #15, The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man, Sensational Annual 2007, The Conversation and When Commeth the Commuter all had ‘rushed’ endings?

Says the poor excuse for a ‘man’ who once claimed there was nothing wrong with the JMS run having magic but who also lambasted Peter David’s Spider-Man work for involving magic and time travel, even though JMS wrote ASM #500 which is literally about magic time travel.

What I am trying to say is this ‘man’ has systemically demonstrated immense hypocrisy and stupidity but a staggering deficiency when it comes to literary analytical skills.

“The movie reviewer Bob Chipman mentioned this in one of his videos where he talked about the problems that a lot of "Modern" viewers have is that they believe because they watch a lot of movies in a year, that somehow makes them film buffs or gives them insight into the storytelling process, when in reality what they are doing is watching all the Marvel movies or all the big releases, and assuming that gives them the same sort of insight that people who go to school to learn this sort of thing do. And I kind of think that's also true of comics as well.”

Oh boy, is there a lot to unpack here.

Keeper of the Gate

For starters let’s call this out for what it is. As much as he might be softening the statement by saying ‘kind of’, what he is actually doing right here is GATEKEEPING.**

He is saying unless you have ‘gone to school to learn this sort of thing’ you don’t COUNT as a critic.***

Okay let’s dive into that one.

Schooling ain’t everything

Gone to school to do what exactly? How to make movies? That’s what film school is for right? So you can learn how to write, produce, direct, etc movies. Correct me if I am wrong but film school does not teach you how to CRITIQUE movies.

So by this logic going to film school wouldn’t qualify you to critique a movie, just how to make them. Except no one argues that. Bob Chipman himself studied film at school and it is from that point of view that his analyses come from.

So by RDMacQ’s own logic Bob himself isn’t qualified for his own job, let alone RD himself. At which point why does Bob’s words carry any weight at all?

But wait, we can go yet deeper.

What if we aren’t talking about film school specifically? What if someone just studied film as their major in college but not strictly film school? Is that good enough to be a film critic or not? If it is are you a lower echelon of film critic?

What if you minored in film/media studies instead of majored in it? Are you yet lower on the totem pole?

What if you went to film school but dropped out?

What if you studied from home and didn’t actually GO to the school itself?

What if you studied it at A school but pre-college?

What if you studied it privately outside of an educational institution? In other words a self-taught film student?

Shit, what about the first ever film critics or the first ever film makers who pioneered techniques and the art form? If they were going through the trial and error of formulating the art form and medium there obviously couldn’t have BEEN film schools back then?

Do they not count?

Not to mention the cultural implications of this. If you are an American who attended a French film school are you unqualified to critique American films and only French ones, even if you grew up predominantly with American cinema?

Let’s change things up a little and look to TV in Britain. One of the most acclaimed British TV writers of all time was a man named John Sullivan. Sullivan created multiple beloved and acclaimed sitcoms, the most famous of which is called Only Fools and Horses. So successful was this show that it was the most viewed TV show in Britain in both the 90s and the 2000s. The latte in particular is an achievement since the show existed purely as reruns in the 2000s sans literally 3 episodes.

The show had a total of 64 episodes and ran between 1981-2003. Do you know how many of those 64 episodes Sullivan wrote?

ALL of them.

And do you know how many of them have predominantly negative reviews? Arguably just four.

Not only has the show been positively received it’s been regarded as the singular greatest British comedy of all time, a title it still holds to this day.

Amidst the praise that the show has received is it’s great characterization, it’s emotional moments and in particular it’s utter command of narrative structure. Not only do the jokes land they land with grace and make the feat seem easy when it’s all over. The cherry on his record was his OBE, an official government recognition of his positive contributions to the arts.

So you know, this guy clearly knew how to tell a good story. He did like 60 times in a row single handily.

So when and where did he study film? The answer is, he didn’t.

He never studied film. His formal education stopped at age 15 when he dropped out of school with no qualifications. Even if he had completed his secondary high school education he’d have not studied film. Film was not on the British curriculum at the time and to my knowledge still isn’t. At best you can study ‘media studies’ starting at age 16-18 before you go on to university. But up until age 16 it’s just not an available option.

He did go to evening classes for English and read teach yourself books but that was it.

By Big Mac’s standards this writer who’s been recognized by the government themselves wasn’t qualified to write anything, let alone critique it.

Additionally let’s consider one teeny weeny little fact. If you’ve lived through the formal education system in pretty much any Western country you have almost certainly been educated on how to gain an insight into the storytelling process. Because that’s a big part of what fucking ENGLISH class is for!****

MovieBob

I’d say I’m shocked and appalled at RD’s audacity and lack of self-awareness in citing MovieBob Chipman. But I’m not. It actually makes far too much sense.

MovieBob is a broken clock that’s often not even right twice a day. His credibility as a critic and as a human being is also woefully lacking.

For starters RD is a big Spider-Marriage proponent (though he’s recently turned traitor and says he doesn’t really mid if it doesn’t come back). To his credit he has often called out and deconstructed unfair and disingenuous arguments against the Spider-Marriage.

Bob however is staunchly on the other side of that debate.

He’s even said the marriage was never good, came from an illegitimate place, that Spider-Mans imply should never be married and in fact argued that a late Slott era Spider-Man and MJ were more interesting than they were before.

Thus I find RD’s citing of Bob to back up his claims about who is ‘qualified’ to be a critic the height of irony.

But you know, that doesn’t necessarily hurt RD’s argument. Hell, Bob un-ironically believing in eugenics or intelligence testing for voters doesn’t necessarily hurt RD’s argument.

Nor does MovieBob’s weird, weird views on how society apparently punishes the Big Brains like himself of course. Although it’s so telling that an arrogant prick like RD would invoke the words of a ‘brother-in-arms’ like Bob.

No, what hurts RD’s argument is where Bob was probably coming from with his initial statement.

See I heavily suspect that RD’s claims about Bob are kind of stem from his interpretations of this video Bob made called ‘BIG PICTURE: PLOTHOLE SURFERS’. Noticeably that video cites this video by another Youtube film critic named Patrick Willems. Called ‘SHUT UP ABOUT PLOT HOLES’.

The sentiments of both videos explicitly or implicitly echo Big MacQuack’s. Everyone is wrong in how they are critiquing movies except them and people like them because they are ‘professionals’ because they went to school.

None of these arguments hold up to scrutiny both due to stuff I have mentioned above but also for various other reasons I’m not going to bother unpacking here. If you want a detailed look at why Chipman and Willems (and by extension RD) are full of shit there are several Youtube videos dissecting their points, particularly Willems’.

However, I’ve found the most detailed to be this video.

youtube

There is also this video where they more directly address Bob’s video.

Fair warning they are long and get less than PC, and yet they do address why the videos don’t hold up to scrutiny.

Self-taught critic

Here is a crazy thought, if you’ve watched all the Marvel movies and big releases every year, why SHOULDN’T that give you a potential insight when critiquing OTHER Marvel movies or big releases? Those things are competing against one another, they are broadly going for the same audience. If you familiarise yourself with them then it is not beyond impossibility that you could mentally play spot the difference in the storytelling and critically evaluate them. It’s almost like in consuming that media you have formulated a CRITERIA which you are then CRITICALLY judging similar such media against.

Hypocrisy

The best part about RD’s statements? He himself has never gone to film school. Nor has he gone to a school specifically teaching him how to analyse comic books nor write them.

By his own logic he has disqualified himself from partaking in critiquing any story, as he did with Life Story or Game of Thrones earlier on.

But the best part?

If you check out the thread this is from and observe the poster called Chase the Blues Away they often disagree. CTBA points out holes in RD’s arguments and subtly questions his reading comprehension. Entirely separately they also implied they felt GoT’s writing was illogical towards the end of season 8 as well.

Why is CTBA relevant.

Because they actually HAVE gone to film school!

Furthermore, on both Life Story and most other matters related to Spider-Man CTBA and myself have been on the same page, whether this entails agreeing with one another’s statements or by coincidence having similar positions.

Now me?

I NEVER went to film school nor did I study English literature formally beyond age 18. Oh, I’ve read bits and bobs about writing (my favourite being Russell T Davies’ book ‘A Writer’s Tale’). But I have no college level formal education on the craft of writing. My analytical skills were cultivated from my school experiences and a whole load of osmosis and practice.

I have also found myself often on the same page as another person who at least studied English at a college level. They are another poster on the same forum called MacGoblin, perhaps better known as the creator of the (now defunct) SpideyKicksButt website. For many people the site was THE best source of Spider-Man analysis on the web for over a decade.

MadGoblin still participates regularly on a podcast covering new Spider-Man issues and whether or not I agree with all his assessments the manner in which he analyses (with an eye upon continuity) is similar to myself and indeed all the other panellists on the podcast.

One of the former panellists on the podcast (who I have also been on the same page with more often than not) was called Donomark and he too studied English at a college level.

So that’s three people who meet RD’s arbitrary rules for who is a ‘real’ critic. And yet I (someone who doesn’t meet RD’s criteria) have come to mostly the exact same conclusions as they have through entirely independent analysis.

As have other people I know who didn’t study film or English Lit in college.

So, either I’m just an absolute prodigy, or RDMacQ, Willems and MovieBob’s criteria for who can and can’t grasp plot and characters is full of shit.

“A lot of the complaints I've seen is that Peter wouldn't or didn't do this in the original comics. But arguing "Peter wouldn't do this because in ASM #225, on page 11..." isn't pointing out the flaw in the story.”

As always RD is devoid of nuance or appreciating the complexities of things.

If in Life Story or any Spider-Man story in canon Peter acts in a way at odds with his established characterization which is DEFINED by ASM #225 then absolutely that’s pointing out a flaw in a story.

Case in point, here is this poorly drawn satire of Superior Spider-Man RDMacQ himself made:

Most of the gags at the expense of Superior Spider-Man in this page was made through the lens of knowing the characters’ past, of knowing what they did and how they acted in older stories.

The confusion over Crazy Town Banana Pants derives from Superior claiming Peter routinely said this when he in fact never did.

Carlie’s suspicions over Superior’s behaviour stems from he fact that the older stories have established how Peter acts and established that Carlie knows how he acts. Therefore Carlie not realizing the truth when she’s been told is illogical. That’s the gag from someone who’s stamped his foot on the ground and angrily refuted that human beings are capable of being logical.

The same is true of this next page too.

Captain America refers to ‘usual’ people involved with the Avengers (super scientists, etc.). Usual means there is a precedent and a precedent can only be defined via a pattern. A pattern of what? A pattern of older stories!

The second panel is bringing up the OLDER STORY ‘Ends of the Earth’ to prove the hypocrisy of Doc Ock

The final panel references SEVERAL past events. The Clone Saga. The Alien Costume Saga. Every time the Chameleon or another shape shifter has impersonated him. Kraven’s Last Hunt.

It’s also referencing the fact that MJ would KNOW about them and even goes really specific by referencing the events of a few pages of one specific issue of Kraven’s Last Hunt. Not the gist of the story, not the climax or the most famous moments. This one scene in the middle of everything else.

RD is using that very specific moment to draw a comparison between it and the events of Superior in order to point out how MJ is not acting consistently.

Almost like she’s, I dunno, OUT OF CHARACTER or something?

Oh, and or the record declaring Peter would or wouldn’t act this way because of ASm #225 p11 is bullshit because Peter isn’t even on that page.

“That's just spouting comic book trivia, which isn't the same thing.”

But referencing events in the middle of KLH which are hardly iconic and immediately memorable and pointing out how MJ didn’t act consistently with them in Superior Spider-Man?

Oh no, that’s NOT ‘spouting comic book trivia’.

Can you see the hypocrisy of this creature now?

Can you see how BROKEN it is to argue a character being established as acting a certain way by an older story DOESN’T mean it matters thereafter?

And he says I am bad at analysis, Jesus Christ.

“Knowledge of trivia isn't the same as understanding plot structure, foreshadowing, character development, or knowing or accepting that just because something happens in issue 1 doesn't mean it will stay that way throughout the entire book.”

First of all the sheer audacity of someone with such non-existent analytical skills to DARE fucking throw shade like this is astounding. That’s like Michael Bay trying to explain how you make a movie with substance.

Second of all he’s right and wrong here.

Knowing the history of the characters is not the same as knowing those things.

But that doesn’t render it trivia because it’s the fucking histories of the characters that define who they goddam are!

Everyone agrees Spider-Man would not have acted the way he did in One More Day right? And that MJ wouldn’t have acted the way she did in OMIT right?

Why? Why do people feel the characters would not behave that way?

Because they read older stories that depicted them acting in certain ways in certain situations that were then contradicted by OMD and OMIT.

You know like MJ not realising Superior Spidey wasn’t really Peter even though the situation was incredibly similar to Kraven’s Last Hunt and both entailed imposters pretending to be Spider-Man.

No, knowing the history isn’t the same as knowing all that other stuff.

But it is undeniably an integral PART of being able to analyse something because if the prior events don’t matter, if they are merely trivia (or worse trivia when he wants it to be but not when he doesn’t) then NOTHING matters.

Why the fuck should issue #1 matter when reading issue #2? Or issue #3 when reading issue #5?

What does it matter if chapter 1 established our protagonist as an adult black man with a wife but by chapter 10, with no explanation they are a teenaged white woman claiming they’ve never been married?

Hey, chapter 1 is just trivia right. Why should that matter?

By the way, go ask Harry Potter fans if those little details are irrelevant and see how that goes.

He’s also (unsurprisingly) disgustingly disingenuous in his final point. Yes, things between issue #1 and issue #25 will change. But there is a world of difference between something changing via development vs. lazy contradictive writing.

Case in point, in ASM #1 Peter Parker doesn’t have a job, is a pariah at school and runs away crying from a failed adventure. In issue #25 he has a freelance job, isn’t running away crying and 2 ladies are interested in him.

WHAT? Isn’t this a contradiction? Doesn’t accepting this change mean you accept that issue #1 was mere trivia?

No, because between issue #1 and #25 we saw how and when Peter got a job, those two ladies became interested in him and we saw his skills, experience and confidence grow. The end result is that issue #25 was different to issue #1 because we’d been on a JOURNEY to get us there.

In contrast in ASM #700 Doc Ock is seemingly turned into a good guy because all of Spider-Man’s memories were beamed into his head, teaching him Uncle Ben’s famous mantra. But in Superior Spider-Man #1 he’s randomly reverted to what he was doing back in ASM #698.

So that stuff was just trivia? But that stuff was the resolution of ASM #700 and therefore the set up for Superior #1. The latter couldn’t exist without the former and yet it doesn’t make sense.

And you see that? You see how that cause and effect problem exists? Yeah, that’s PART of critiquing plot structure and foreshadowing. It’s ALMOST like the older stories aren’t merely trivia but actually very important and play a factor in the other forms of analysis RD listed off.

Not to mention, the idiocy of saying knowing the trivia doesn’t mean you understand foreshadowing. Motherfucker, the entire concept of foreshadowing is that you establish details in the present because you want to hint at readers about where the story is going to go later. It practically HINGES upon readers remembering that ‘trivia’.

If ASM #225 p11 had Spider-Man pass by a black cat and say ‘Boy that reminds me of Felicia Hardy.’ THAT would be foreshadowing for the next issue, but you couldn’t appreciate that UNLESS you remembered what happened in ASM #225 p11.

And the imbecility of bringing this shit up whilst referencing Game of Thrones too? As if Daenerys heel turn was actually foreshadowed and not just created from splicing old voice overs together in the previously segment of the show.

The next bit is in reference to Life Story again by the way.

“I mean, one of the best bits of subtle foreshadowing here is what happens with Peter and Reed's relationship. In issue 2, Peter reflects on how Reed pushed Sue away with his actions, and how he doesn't want to end up like that. But come issue 3, Peter ends up doing just that, despite his best efforts to the contrary and knowing what happened to Reed beforehand. That shows smart plot structure, which doesn't come out and yell at you "THIS IS IMPORTANT!" or hold your hand in any way. That shows that this story is pretty smart with the narrative choices that are being made.”

No it doesn’t.

Because the way in which Peter pushed MJ away contradicted his character and made no fucking sense. He had a mid-life crisis in spite of being well under 40 years old.

Also, you can have, by skill or by fluke, a dash of GOOD writing amidst your shitty writing.

A LOT of people would argue the podrace or Duel of the Fates fight in Phantom Menace were legitimately good sequences in an otherwise bad movie.

People broadbrush 90s Marvel as wall to wall trash but equally everyone praises Spider-Man 2099, Joe Kelly’s Deadpool run, Ron Marz’s Green Lantern run, etc.

Goddammit, 99% of all Doctor Who is fans celebrating the bits that were great amidst the bits that were bad. There are no end of Dr. Who stories were fans will praise the set design or costumes whilst shitting on the over all writing.

Shockingly a piece of media can have good AND bad elements!

Whenever someone says a story is good or bad they are almost always speaking OVERALL. A New Hope is OVERALL good. It’s not claiming there aren’t flaws to it.

Dan Slott’s Spider-Man run was OVERALL bad. Even I have said there are good elements to it.

But the mere existence of good elements doesn’t prove that something is overall one thing or another.

In Life Story’s case, let’s pretend RD is right. Then Zdarsky executed a good bit of foreshadowing.

Key word there: ‘bit’.

It doesn’t PROVE the over all story is smart with its narrative choices.

That’s such an utterly childish manner of analysis. ‘Well this bit is good that means everything else has to be good’.

Like how the fuck does doing a good bit of foreshadowing prove that Life Story wasn’t mischaracterizing anyone or knew how to tell a good alternate history story?

Shit, DAN SLOTT had foreshadowing, sometimes it was even competently executed. Didn’t mean it wasn’t happening within the context of mischaracterization.

Trust Bobby Mac to have no grasp of nuance.

“But rather than acknowledging that, instead we get stuff like being concerned with that because Gwen finds out Peter's secret identity at the end of issue 1, that therefore means that Peter is going to be hooking up with Gwen throughout the rest of the story, that this is going to be one big Peter/ Gwen book, that Chip Zdarsky is somehow a Gwen shipper because he wanted to just have her as a best friend in Spectacular, that MJ only having two lines in the first issue means her importance will be diminished overall, and that the whole series is going to try and be a rewrite to push that ship.”

None of the allegedly great foreshadowing RD spoke of above was in issue #1

Even if it was nobody could possibly have talked about that as a point of praise because the nature of foreshadowing is we wouldn’t have realised it was goddam foreshadowing until we finally GOT to the bit it was setting up in later issues

RD has been one of the most involved people in discussions about the Spider-Marriage, frequently clashing with a fell named Mister Mets on CBR and on the linked message board. He knows that Marvel from OMD onwards used to spite fans over OMD and the Spider-Marriage and that circa 2019 when Life Story was being released the latest of such instances had occurred maybe just 1 year earlier in Slott’s Red Goblin storyline. He also knows Zdarsky pissed in the well of the Spider-Marriage fans with his FCBD 2017 Spidey story which involved Mary Jane. So for a heavily burned and abused fanbase to suddenly be concerned that Zdarksy would be pushing an agenda was a totally natural and justified reaction to have at the time even if it was proven incorrect in the long run.

RD is being a shithead again. ‘Ugh, look at these overwrought FaNz. wHy CaNt dey celebrate the GUD stuff and not focus on the WRONG stuff’.The wrong stuff being Zdarsky shitting on the Spider-Man marriage, which he clearly did by breaking up Peter and Mj in the 80s when they didn’t break up then but he needed to ship Peter with Jessica Jones I guess

“Yet here we, two issues later, and Gwen is dead, Peter married MJ and now they have kids.”

And in LF #3 their marriage was in a toxic place and they split up. In issue #4 they get back together but only by Peter giving up being Spider-Man. Almost like the story was saying having a family and being Spidey are incompatible or something.

Shit issue #3 BEGINS with MJ griping about Peter.

“All the reactionary nonsense turned out to be for naught, since the story was going in a different direction, and just because Gwen was prominent early on didn't mean MJ wasn't going to play an important role later.”

It wasn’t reactionary nonsense it was entirely justified reactionary concern. People weren’t concerned that MJ wouldn’t be important but that Zdarsky would be pushing a pro-Gwen/anti-Mj agenda which he at least debatably did and certainly seemed to be doing in the first 3 issues.

“And yet we still continue to see that reactionary nonsense continue with decrying because Peter and MJ leave off on a bad note here, it therefore means the rest of the series will be an unending slide into misery.”

Which was proven partially true.

Issue #4 Harry dies, Peter quits like a coward.

Issue #5 Peter’s child is crippled, his identity is outted, ben Reilly dies and he becomes a fugitive as a super human civil war breaks out.

Issue #6 the world has turned to shit because of that civil war and the only way to fix it is for Spider-Man to die.

But again, he’s missing the point like the fool that he is.

People were concerned and upset BECAUSE the series split Peter and MJ up in the first place. Both because that defied the mission statement of the series but also because they know Peter and MJ WOULDN’T split up and the circumstances engineering it were fucking contrived shit.

“Which then unfortunately leads into bashing the creator himself, which I find incredibly unreasonable given the tremendous job Zdarsky is doing.”

He didn’t do a tremendous job.

Chase the Blues Away, the film school student, had been saying so and continued to say so after RD made this comment. So I guess by his own metric he was full of shit.

This is one of RD’s fundamental and fatal flaws. He’s a hypocrite. Everything is subjective unless it’s the shit HE likes or hates. Then it’s objectively good or bad.

Not to mention no one had been bashing the creator personally. He can’t grasp this either. He doesn’t grasp the distinction between bashing the work of a writer vs. bashing the writer personally.

E.g. he falsely claims I’ve sworn at him. I have sworn at him…here. On my own blog here I don’t feel the need to play nice.

On a public forum? Never. I’ve sworn in the course of conversations with him. I’ve sworn in regards to his argument but never sworn to attack him personally.

“Decrying Zdarsky as some form of hack because halfway through a six part story he's had the protagonist go through a rough time and that he is just putting out "Fan fiction," or- as I saw someone else argue- that the reason Zdarsky did this was because he himself went through marital troubles at one time in his life is just silly.”

It’s really not. He admitted that he wrote MJ in FCBD 2017 as his ex wife.

Fanfiction is exactly what LF was. Peter hooks up with Jessica Jones because…no given reason. It’d make infinitely more sense for that to have been Felicia but it was Jessica Jones. Zdarsky invents his own personal new spin on the Goblin who’s wearing kewl black because why not. He has characters randomly act in any way he wants for the story to happen regardless of how little sense it makes. That’s bad fanfiction 101. He has logic holes you can drive a truck through. FFS Russia launched nukes on America in issue #3 and this DIDN”T result in all out nuclear Armageddon. That’s amateuris

“Just like it's silly to say that D&B from GoT are purposefully destroying the show because they hate it and they hate women and they just want to move onto Star Wars,”

This is at worst a strawman.

At best an utterly myopic oversimplification.

The MAJORITY of people crying out against GoT season 8 weren’t claiming D&B were engaging in deliberate sabotage but rather they were ruining the series via their incompetence and RUSHING to get to the end.

Additionally the idea that they are misogynists is REALLY not a ‘silly’ argument. MANY people throughout the show’s history have made that argument, long before the popular opinion was that the show was bad,

A season 4 subplot that was heavily embellished (to the point of being called practically original) from the books entailed rogue Night’s Watchmen raping a household of women beyond the Wall. The most infamous line from the subplot was ‘Fuck them all to death.’

In that same season Jamie Lannister makes sexual advances on his sister Cersei even though she was saying no.

Sansa Stark, in a scene not in the books, was raped by Ramsey Bolton with the focus being upon Theon Greyjoy’s horror at the situation.

And of course there is ever so slightly a dash of gratuitous nudity involving women in the show.

Look, I’m not even saying for sure that D&B hate women or that that was at the root of how they fucked up Daenerys’ character in season 8.

But it’s idiotic to just dismiss the idea as wholesale silly as Smac a Mac is doing above.

“when in reality D&B were the reason the show got made in the first place and all those great female characters were brought to television for a wider audience to experience.”

Hollywood had been wanting to adapt George R. R. Martin’s books for years before he let D&B do it

Their first pilot was so bad they had to reshoot it.

They weren’t the reason we got those great female characters. Martin’s writing was why we got those characters and those good stories and why anyone wanted to make his books into a live action property at all.

Again, RD FAILING at nuance. A female character can have good writing AND bad writing. They can be good over all but drop the ball in certain moments. They can be great for 7 seasons but then fumble disastrously at the finish line. An opinion shared by all those critics that went to film school

Writers can be capable of doing good female characters even if they are misogynists. Writers who are not misogynists are capable of still being sexist at times. Friggin Stan Lee had sexist female characters in spite of also inventing Mary Jane who is lauded as a great female character even in the 1960s. Again, nuance. Mac Attac ain’t good at it.

“We can dislike or criticize a work without having to demonize the creators,”

It’s not demonizing D&B or Zdarsky to call them incompetent writers.

“and I think it's just become far too easy nowadays for people to rationalize their statements by making the creators themselves into remorseless villains, since that justifies them acting however they please in response.”

And it’s become far too difficult for me to stomach any more of this piece of shit.

*For what it is worth, these events are also listed on TV Tropes under the Face Heel Turn page:

Daenerys herself falls victim to this in the final seasons. Her actions in Essos had the purest of intentions: fighting against the Dothraki's misogyny and ending slavery in western Essos. Even her morally questionable acts still had these goals in mind. But when she set her sights on conquering Westeros, which is more or less a standard medieval European setting, her only goal was conquest. Even her claim that the Iron Throne is her birthright falls short since her father was killed due to his madness and love of burning things. Dany really doesn't help her case by burning alive any captive soldiers who don't side with her. This culminates with her slaughtering most of King's Landing's civilian population in the penultimate episode. Had the show started with the sixth season, there'd be no question that she is Daddy's Little Villain, her tragic backstory and past heroic deeds being a footnote at best.

**This is especially ironic as he’s accused me of doing the same.

Me, I’ve called people out or corrected them when they have gotten facts wrong. I’ve even said they don’t know what they are talking about. The difference is I’m not doing it just on principal as he is here.

I’ve never said someone doesn’t belong in the fandom or is not a real fan. Yet here RDMacQ is outright disqualifying people from having the legitimacy to critique comic books unless they’ve gone through what he deems the ‘appropriate steps’.

If I have told someone they are wrong or don’t know what they are talking about or don’t understand the material I have corroborative EVIDENCE to back it up. Their own statements prove that point.

E.g. RDMacQ doesn’t understand Norman Osborn’s character. Why? Because his statements contradicts the clear cut TEXT (not the subtext) of the source material. See? The source material is the EVIDENCE that supports my accusation. But RDMacQ doesn’t believe in analysis that way and has told me so himself.

***This laughable in he modern day and age where film criticism is so transparently ideologically driven as opposed to sincerely critiquing the merits of a film.

Hence why Bob Chipman and most other professional critics laud works like the Last Jedi which a fifth grader can see has little internal consistency.

#RDMacQ #Catharsis #Spider-Man #Game of Thrones #Dan Slott #Mary Jane Watson #Superior Spider-Man #MovieBob #Bob Chipman #daenerys targeryan

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