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lizartgurl · 5 years

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I need..... Kaldur and Vic being soft. Not necessarily with or to each other, just in general. Idc how just. They are different sorts of gentle! But they are both kind.

taken from my mal fanfic because goshdarnit now that s3 is out I need to write more about it.

“You look worse than I do,” Barbara told Mal over the video call.

“Thanks for the compliment,” Mal grunted, not bothering to sound offended.

“I’m not going to replace you though, you’ll be out of there in a week.” She said. Mal could see that she was sitting at a computer desk in a wheelchair, adjusting the position every so often to get comfortable.

“Did you get the team’s care package?” Mal asked her.

“I did, but from the amount of crumbs in the tray, I have a feeling I was supposed to get more cookies, but Bart got to them before I could get them.” Barbra held up the half-empty plastic sheath of M'gann’s homemade cookies to demonstrate.

“I’ll debrief him on that.” Mal promised. “What else is on the agenda today?”

Barbara did a few quick moves across her keyboard. Her hands were just as quick as they always had been. “Now that you’re awake, it’s be nice to send at least a semi-formal thank you to the Runaways who helped with evacuating STAR Labs, a gentle reminder that we’ve got open spots on the team for them.”

“Yeah, because that won’t get annoying.” He sighed.

“Training got moved to tomorrow because of everyone who’s in recovery, but I suspect you’ll still want Tigress and Superboy to supervise that?” Barbara asked.

“That’d be nice, thanks.” Mal nodded.

“I’ve also got an updated list of teenage meta-humans and vigilantes that have been popping up who could use some company and guidance, but you don’t have to look at that if you don’t want to.” She assured him. “Batman keeps track of everyone anyway, and if he picks any he thinks show promise he’ll pair ‘em up with a mentor and shove them into a place on the team anyway.”

Mal shrugged. “But it would be a good idea to get to these kids before the Dark Knight does so that they don’t get traumatized.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Barbara chuckled. A small box in the corner of Mal’s screen indicated that he’d received Barbra’s files.

“If that’s all, then I-”

Mal’s goodbye was cut off by a painful shout. “GO AWAY!”

On the other side of the screen, Barbara’s eyes went wide. “Nope, that was it. Better go see what that was. Bye.” The screen went dark as Mal yanked his walker to the side of his bed, and hobbled to the door as fast as his sore legs could carry him. He finally discarded the walker completely. He’d gone through four-hour-long football practices at three in the morning and made it through third quarter with a twisted ankle. His legs could handle walking down the hall to see what was up.

“You’re supposed to be in bed rest,” John Stewart reminded him.

“Thanks for the reminder, I’ll log it away for safekeeping,” Mal nodded, continuing down the hall towards the room where Vic was staying. Black Canary and Batman were still there in the doorway, holding Doctor Stone, who seemed to have fallen backwards.

“Victor, let’s calm down,” Black Canary urged gently but firmly.

“This is all your fault!” Mal heard Victor Stone shout, his voice hot and angry. When Mal finally reached the doorway, he saw Vic standing on hesitant metal limbs, a plasma cannon on his right arm ready to fire at his father.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Vic!” Mal squeezed past Black Canary, stepping between Silas and Victor Stone. “What’s going on?” He asked.

He didn’t know if Vic remembered him, but tears squeezed out of the boy’s one good eye as his new body shook and trembled. “It’s all his fault!” He insisted, referring to his dad. “If he’d come to my game instead of working on his stupid science project, it wouldn’t have exploded all over me like this!” He explained angrily, the red light that replaced the eye on the burnt half of his face glowing brightly with Victor’s emotions.

Mal heard Batman ushering Doctor Stone out of the room, quietly asking the scientist what he’d been working on with his project, but Mal ignored him, reaching out a hand to grip Vic’ metal shoulder.

“How do you feel, kid?” He asked.

Victor’s eyes went wide, not expecting that gentle tone or the question it conveyed. The plasma cannon on his arm morphed back into a robot arm, just like Blue Beetle’s armor did. Victor held his half-human half-metal face in his handsb as the tears leaked out of his eye.

“I’m mad and I’m angry, and it hurt, but now it doesn’t hurt so much and I look like a freak and I just want it all to stop-” Victor sat down on the edge of the bed, shaking too much to articulate any words.

Mal sat next to Victor, and arm around his shoulders. “I’m not going to tell you that it’s okay, because it’s obviously not.” He said quietly. “But I have to promise you, kid, I’m not gonna leave you on your own until you feel that it is.”

#lizart writes #young justice #young justice fanfiction #this was written before outsiders incase u cant tell #mal duncan #guardian #herald #victor stone #cyborg #barbara gordon #oracle

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pennywaltzy · 5 years

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Passion Over Propriety (COMPLETE)

So this is a fun little Mollcroft fic I started a while ago for @fibrochemist and @mollyhooperish that I had languishing at one chapter but had the headcanons to fully flesh it out. I thought I had lost the headcanons but surprisingly I had them uploaded to my Google Drive so I was able to finish this. I hope it is everything you both hoped it would be,

Passion Over Propriety - Mycroft Holmes is loathe to admit he just might fancy Molly Hooper, one of his subordinate hand-picked to keep watch over his brother. And, due to propriety, Molly Hooper may be loathe to admit she has a crush on her boss (more or less), Mycroft Holmes. But Anthea can see what's between them, and she hatches a plan.

READ CHAPTER 1 | HELP ME SURVIVE? | COMMISSION ME?

Dr. Molly Hooper was his favourite agent.

Not that he would ever admit this to her, or anyone else, but she was. Ever since Anthea had suggested they find someone to install in his service who was into the forensic sciences since Sherlock had it in his head that he should be a consulting detective. He already had Lestrade involved in all this, because Gregory had been an old school chum, one of the few Mycroft had made, and would be a good influence on Sherlock whether Sherlock liked it or not. But his brother was a scientist at heart, and having someone at Barts as well would be preferred.

He had been drawn to her as a potential agent because her marks were extremely high and there were already universities and police organizations clamoring to get her in their employ, willing to offer just about anything to her to get her to work for them. Barts was among them, so he decided to use a little leverage to get her to consider Barts.

Or, rather, to make sure Barts was where she decided to reside.

He admitted, his dramatics had rather backfired at their first meeting. She’d been spitting mad to be kidnapped off the street on the way to her appointment to take a position at Barts, and even telling her she had it already and there was no need to go to the interview had barely mollified her. She said she felt violated and harassed and had been close to hitting him, he was sure. Beneath her mild-mannered outward appearance was a passionate woman who let her words be known. Mycroft admired the passion but needed the meek.

He kept getting the passionate woman.

Three times she refused his offer. Oh, not the offer from Barts; he made sure she got the job with a second interview which he did not interfere with. That job was rightfully hers, as it should have been, whether he got her to work with him or not. But it wasn’t until he saw the dingy flat where she was living the second time and saw the contrast of good cookware to shoddy kitchen conditions that he knew what his lure would be.

It had almost pained him to give up possession of the flat and the bright kitchen, but it had gotten Molly to sign on to work with him. And just in time, too; she’d recently had her first encounter with his brother and she could see why Mycroft needed her help. He was a genius, but he was brittle and edged with swords and would get into far more trouble if there weren’t people he trusted around him. She agreed, but only if Sherlock never knew.

That was an agreement he could make.

Still, there had been something since their very first interaction that drew him towards her. Her passionate side, he supposed. He was so used to people being cool and composed, having a facade up when they dealt with him. While Molly generally was on the timid side, push just the right buttons and the passion would pour out. It didn’t even have to be in anger; she was passionate about cooking and her pet cat Toby and science, and he took advantage of their meetings on a weekly basis, with tea late at night, to find out more about that passionate nature. And he, sometimes, would reciprocate, about art or music or theatre, the few pursuits he found interest in that weren’t the government or his brother.

It was alarming, then, the day he realized he liked Molly’s company more than he should. More than was proper. Something would need to be done, but what? That was the question.

And it was one he sorely did not want to answer.

CHAPTER 2

#IFD2019 #WIPBigBangChallenge #mycroft x molly #mollcroft #fanfic #fanfiction #sherlock #mycroft holmes #molly hooper #anthea #queuel beans #fibrochemist #mollyhooperish

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mousedetective · 7 years

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I'll take one of the slots for your mind boggling 950 fic milestone, please! Mollcroft :)

And here it is, the 950th fic! It’s based on the headcanon list I did for @mollyhooperish about Molly working for Mycroft, so it will be multiple parts, and as I’m making an effort to work on my WIPs, hopefully it won’t take long to finish!

Passion Over Propriety (1/?) - Mycroft Holmes is loathe to admit he just might fancy Molly Hooper, one of his subordinate hand-picked to keep watch over his brother. And, due to propriety, Molly Hooper may be loathe to admit she has a crush on her boss (more or less), Mycroft Holmes. But Anthea can see what's between them, and she hatches a plan.

Read Chapter 1 | Send Me A Prompt | Buy Me A Coffee?

Dr. Molly Hooper was his favourite agent.

Or, rather, to make sure Barts was where she decided to reside.

He kept getting the passionate woman.

That was an agreement he could make.

It was alarming, then, the day he realized he liked Molly’s company more than he should. More than was proper. Something would need to be done, but what? That was the question.

And it was one he sorely did not want to answer.

#Sherlock #mollcroft #mycroft x molly #mycroft holmes #fanfic #fanfiction #my stuff #Multipart: Passion Over Propriety #answering asks!#fic milestone #mollyhooperish #fibrochemist

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victorluvsalice · 7 years

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AU Thursday: Holistic Coffee Shop -- Modern Prometheus

Okay, so two weeks ago, I showed you the scene I came up with for Victor using his power of “life transfer” for the very first time. Now, that scene involved a stabbing, courtesy of Barkis Bittern, but this one happens to be even darker!

Mostly because it takes place inside Blackwing. And someone dies. Someone who really goddamn deserves it, to be sure, but still. Your warning for the day!

Backstory: After the above scene, upon getting Emily to safety, Victor eventually goes back and gives himself up to the CIA so they’ll leave his other friends alone. Barkis happily takes him in, and Victor is put into Blackwing custody. Amidst the experiments performed on him, he learns that Alice’s sister Lizzie is too a guest of Blackwing -- she’s a ghost now, trapped inside a containment field for study. The two become friendly, as her cell isn’t far from his, and start making escape plans.

Meanwhile, Alice is furious that Blackwing has her boyfriend and tells the others they have to rescue him. Everyone is for this, and they even bring in this universe’s Bart and Ken to help. Plans are made, discarded, and made again, and eventually the group heads off to find themselves a secret CIA facility.

The escape attempt and the rescue attempt end up colliding, and for a bit all goes well. Victor and Lizzie take out the power and release the child subjects Blackwing was testing on, while the Rowdy 3 run into those same kids later and Martin has Gripps, Cross, and Vogel get them out of there safely. Victor and Lizzie meet up with the remaining members, and all prepare to flee --

And then Angus Bumby shows up with an armed guard, a portable containment field for Lizzie, and a hard whack across the shoulders for Victor. A short standoff ensues, with Bumby THINKING he has the upper hand. . .

"Now, I'm sure I can arrange somewhat more comfortable quarters if you all come quietly." Bumby smiled at Alice. "Particularly you, Miss Liddell. Perhaps something near my room?"

Even through watery, pain-filled eyes, Victor could see the hate smoldering on Alice's face. "You expect me to comply with my family's murderer?"

Bumby shook his head. "Alice, even if you were to escape – who would believe you? You're a coffee girl with a history of mental illness. Specifically, of psychosis and hallucination. We know it's a bit more than that – much more than that, in fact – but to the outside world, if you started going on about Angus Bumby, who disappeared twelve years ago. . .well. Rutledge never refuses a patient."

"It's more than just me!"

Bumby's eyes raked over the rest of the rescue crew. "Ah, yes. A 'holistic detective,' another girl locally known as mentally ill, her dropout brother with a history of untruth, a computer hacker, an unkempt 'assassin,' and a common thug. I'm sure everyone will find them credible witnesses." He smirked. "I have friends in much higher places than you do, Alice. And I've been doing this a lot longer." He nodded to the men with guns surrounding them. "Please – let's do this the easy way? Your sister chose the hard way, and you see how well that worked out for her."

Lizzie tried to lunge at him, but the man next to Bumby twisted something on his device, and the containment field constricted with a crackle, forcing her to her knees. Victor looked at her, then back up at Bumby. He's going to win, he realized with a sick sinking feeling. He's actually going to win. Martin's going to start swinging at any moment, and he'll probably take out a couple of them, but even he can't survive being riddled with bullets. Same with Bart – she'll get a few, and then she'll be dead, and probably Ken too since he'll try to help – and the others will be taken in and Dirk won't have the universe to help him anymore and Amanda will be just another experiment and Todd will probably be 'recruited' and have to help them torture his own sister and Alice – no no no I have to do something I have to stop him – but I don't know how to fire a gun and they'll probably just shoot me if I get up and even if I end up a ghost like Lizzie I won't be any good to anyone I won't even be able to heal anymore –

And, for some reason, he suddenly found himself thinking of Emily and the oak tree.

He blinked, unsure why that memory had popped into his head. Emily was nowhere to be seen this time, thank God, and he wasn't near any trees. . .maybe he was just worried he was never going to see a tree again? No, that can't be it. Dirk says everything is connected – how does that memory connect to what's happening now? He shut his eyes and let it replay. Emily's tortured gasping, the blood under his hands, terror frazzling his nerves, the crunch of the leaves in his fingers – then that incredibly pleasant, warm electricity zipping through his body – and then the dead leaves crumbling to the ground, and Emily sitting up, the color returning to her cheeks, wiping away the blood to reveal the wound was gone – he'd saved her, at the cost of practically killing the tree –

His eyes snapped open. His power – how had the scientists put it? He rebalanced the distribution of life energy – helped and harmed in equal measure. And he'd saved someone from a fatal wound. . .maybe he could – it was a mad idea, but they were always encouraging him to push his powers farther. . .

He reached out and took Lizzie's hand, ignoring the faint sting from the containment field. She looked down at it in confusion. "Trust me," he whispered, then looked up at Bumby. "Sir – I just had a thought."

"What is it, Prometheus?" Bumby said, not even glancing down.

"It's about that, actually. My project name. You said it was from the Greek myth, but there's actually another place someone might have heard it from."

"Oh?"

"Frankenstein. I had to read it for an English class. The subtitle is The Modern Prometheus."

Bumby finally deigned to look at him. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"It's a book about raising the dead, more or less." He gritted his teeth. "Let's try an experiment."

His hand snapped out and closed around Bumby's wrist before anyone could react – and then suddenly his body was overflowing with energy, pulsing through him like a live wire, scorching his nerves with something that wasn't quite pain as he rebalanced the books of life – he could hear Bumby screaming, feel the man trying to pull free; his fingers tightened, sucking with lethal intent – Lizzie yelped, and he squeezed her hand, now comforting, now giving – and then there was gunfire and a familiar howling scream from Martin and a whistling snickersnack and an uncoordinated "Hiiii-yah!" followed by what sounded like someone's foot meeting someone else's groin and he wanted to worry about it but he couldn't right now because he couldn't really think beyond the flow of pure unadulterated life roaring through him, pouring through veins and arteries as it sought a new home, touching him along the way with the merest whisper of the sublime – everything was connected, and right now he was that connection –

And then, with a loud thud!, it was over. Victor released both Lizzie and Bumby, needing his hands to brace himself as he came, shaking and wheezing, off the high of being the conduit for the most powerful force in the universe. He managed, after a moment, to focus on the scene around him. Bumby was lying dead on his left, face twisted in a rictus of shock. The containment man was also dead, blood dripping from multiple gunshot wounds, his device sparking. The rest of the Blackwing soldiers didn't look much better – even those that he could see were still alive weren't getting up anytime soon. His friends were still standing, blood staining faces and hands and clothes but apparently uninjured – and all staring at him like they'd never seen him before. And to his right –

was Lizzie, gaping at him, her body no longer a mass of blue electric light but wonderfully, warmly solid. Victor managed to give her a smile as he struggled to catch his breath. "Oh good. I was hoping. . ."

The world inconveniently started spinning then, the walls and floor switching places like he was stuck on a Tilt-A-Whirl. He pressed down hard on the tiles, trying to steady himself, but all that did was make the ceiling start twisting in a different direction. He raised a weak hand to his head. "I – I think I overdid it a little," he confessed in the vague direction of Alice, tipping dangerously toward the left wall.

Then everything went black.

#coffee shop au #fanfic #tw: death #I mean it's Dr. Bumby's death but still #the image of Victor kneeling between Bumby and Lizzie #blue electricity crackling across him as the world goes to chaos is just #I like it #don't worry folks he's fine at the end #just that was a big transfer and he hasn't been treated well in Blackwing #I mean holy hell if you saw that one clip from Max #worst place ever :(#but everybody's going to be okay don't worry #despite everything this is a positive AU #another one to reblog while you're big banging away Hel :)#queued

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 7 years

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Here is the thing about Ben Reilly in Clone Conspiracy.

Hypothetically the idea of someone who has to an extent led Peter’s life but who’s been so damaged that they are now a villain, but their villainous acts still come from a place of misguided altruism is an interesting idea. It really is.

But there are several problems with the way Slott realized this through Ben Reilly (for the sake of argument lets pretend Ben27 is the legit Ben Reilly) in Clone Conspiracy.

First of all the most glaring problem is that whilst this was not inherently a bad idea for a villain the fact is the character was being set up to be what all observations indicate to be a redeeming hero or anti-hero. Ben Reilly Scarlet Spider the series appears to be about someone not actually being a villain but at worst someone who’s doing bad things for good reasons.

And we’ve already had that before in the past with Spider-Man.

Superior Spider-Man.

Venom.

Kaine.

Some were better than others and they might’ve been different to Ben but the point is this is not a fresh idea, at least not entirely.

Worse is the that whilst up top I said this wasn’t inherently a bad idea for a villain, giving him his own series removes him as a villain in Spider-Man’s world. Like even if he is an outright villain it is meaningless unless he is actually actively going up against Spider-Man himself.

Its one thing to follow Kaine on a redemption tour it’d be another thing to follow the adventures of Ben Reilly who is a bad guy but is deludedly thinking he is doing the right thing. That’s basically 90s Venom sans Marvel outright pretending he is actually a good guy. With Kaine, there was no delusion, he was genuinely trying to be good but stumbled and struggled along the way.

Then you have the fact that Ben in Clone Conspiracy just went full on evil mad scientist and tried to mass murder a lot of people. At best this is cliche, at worst this is a rip-off of the Jackal from Maximum Clonage, ever a good thing. It is also way too MUCH of a leap from who Ben was to how he is now. Maybe you could justify it on the grounds that he’s insane and therfore it is not unrealistic. But is it not a lot more interesting and rewarding if you can draw a clearer line between his life and experiences and his actions even if they are crazy.

Case in point. Doc Ock was bullied and belittled by many people growing up but his mother hammered into him how special and intelligent he was. And in fairness he was immensely smart lending validity to her claims, claims which would be taken to heart not just because he was a kid but because she was his mother and the person who gave him the most unrepentent affection throughout his life. Consequently Doc Ock is mentally and emotionally unhealthy because he is walking around beleiving himself to be superior to everyone else, has some proof that validates that belief, and has a burning desire to prove it to everyone who ever hurt him. When he loses his fiancee and his mother and is hurt in an explosion and on top of that gets clear PHYSCIAL power too he goes over the edge and lets his ego run loose. You could even argue his inhibitions are gone now. He wants to hurt the world as he has himself been hurt but also wants them to appreciate his genius and respect his power so he is never hurt and bullied again. This leads him to doing stuff like causing a nuclear meltdown in order to stop it or detonating a nuclear bomb to prove how dangerous he is even if it’d kill him too.

These are insane and irrational but by looking at Doc Ock’s life and by extension getting into his head you can understand how and why from his warped point of view he would do those things even if they do not entirely make sense.

Similarly you can understand why Ben Reilly would clone a load of dead people and even insist they are the real deal. MAYBE you could even understand why he’d try to kill Peter upon his refusal to ally with New U. But mass murdering people? No. That is just evil crazy bad guy does evil crazy thing because he is evil and crazy.

And that isn’t the only example of that with ben. A shitton of his actions honestly do have to be explained via ‘he’s crazy’. Now arguably given his experiences this is not unrealistic but for the reasons I outlined above it is bad writing.

From a creative perspective having a character be crazy generally isn’t enough as a justification for them doing anything and everything. You have to both be more specific and at least allude to a clearer line of reasoning between their mentality and their actions. You can even do that with the 1990s Jackal in Maximum Clonage. The idea and execution might’ve been godforsaken but it wasn’t like it made no sense for the Jackal to try and pull that plan. Miles Warren obviously has a God Complex and through his cloning can to all intents and purposes create and manipulate life itself. He effectively brough back a dead person, replicated a living person, replicated himself the very being who created those people and in characters like Spidercide he even managed to create something more powerful and dangerous than the original being it was based upon. The idea that he’d thus want to eradicate life and replace it with his own creations actually seems entirely logical from his own warped point of view. You can follow the line of reasoning once you understand the context of where he is himself coming from and the beliefs he holds.

However that doesn’t change how it was still a reductive direction to take the Jackal in both because of the concept he was originally created for and also the context of Spider-Man’s world. This applies to Ben as well.

To begin with the notion that Ben would attempt to make Peter feel better by bringing back all the people who’s died in his life is far less powerful coming from a place of twisted brotherly love as opposed to if Ben did in a sense think of himself as the real deal Peter Parker. If this was essentially yet another clone of Spider-Man, or maybe even someone who’d somehow come to beleive themselves to be Peter Parker and their actions were coming out of a warped perception or misinterpretation of who Peter was and Peter’s own thoughts and feelings that’d be a powerful examination of who Peter is. It’d highlight the guilt he feels but also showcase his ethics as this warped version of him crosses boundaries the real Peter never would.

But in the story as presented Ben Reilly basically ‘resurrects’ everyone for Peter’s sake not his own. His goal was to alleviate Peter’s guilt and was thus a step removed from being truly powerful. After all there is little to no emotional resonance to Ben Reilly resurrecting Jean DeWolff, someone he never even met, because he knows someone else feels sad that she died. Compare and contrast to the hypothetical that a clone of Peter believing itself to be Peter or at least acting out of warped emotions inherited from Peter brings back Jean DeWolff due to the tormenting memories he has of her? Way more poignant right? This isn’t even getting into how it makes little sense for Ben to resurrect VILLAINS who’ve died in Peter’s life like Bart Hamilton or Jason Macendale. These were not people Peter OR Ben had much of an attachment to, nor were they people who’s deaths’ either one felt guilty about.

But moving on perhaps the biggest problem with CC Ben Reilly is how his portrayal throws away everything Ben was before, aside from the vague idea he has a brotherly bond with Peter.

Sometimes these radical departures can work, but only when they are egrgiously additive, or because the original concept was so weak or things of that nature.

But compare this to Mary Jane’s character development from the 1980s. That worked with some ideas that’d been hinted at as early as ASM #122 at the very least. It also didn’t ground up change her to the point of her being unrecognizable. The development was a slow burn that came from realistic, common and organic stimuli.

For Ben even if you take his experiences to be metaphorical for something that could happen in real life, he was essentially tortured into madness whereupon he acted little-nothing like he did before. Torture was more or less an in-universe soft rebooting of the character. It was too quick, too abrupt and at the same time too uncommon in real life to carry any true meaning. Even Peter Parker’s own change in personality in the pre-Clone Saga era (where he ran around referring to himself as ‘the Spider’) was a slower and more justified change from an execution point of view.

To go back to Mary Jane, whilst she acted somewhat differently after we learned her backstory than she did before or back when she was originally created she could still do all the things she did before that made her popular but now with added dimensions. Dimensions which made her an even better match for Peter in all the ways she was before and more, thus adding to the narrative and enhancing the point of the series. It wasn’t a soft rebooting of her character as was the case with Ben.

But let us look at another point of comparison: Harry Osborn.

A good supporting character turned into a great villain before that led to his destruction.

Why, might we ask, is this acceptable but Ben’s turn is not? To do that let us examine Harry’s character for awhile.

Well for starters Harry was not an invaluable supporting character and his history dating back to the 1970s and arguably even before that very much invited the idea of him going on a path of self-destruction. Thematically this made for a POWERFUL short term story arc that not only added more dimensions to him as a character and briefly provided peter with a true Goblin nemesis after so long (and one aruguably better than any before him). It also enhanced the overall mythology of the Spider-Man storyline as it paid off seeds planted long ago with Norman’s character.

Now sure, we briefly got a great villain with a fitting end, but lost a less good but still good supporting cast member. So was this not a reductive trade off? Or are villains just more important than supporting cast members.

To the latter the answer is that some villains are more important than supporting cast members and some supporting cast members are more important than villains. Good villains are worth their weight in gold but Flash Thompson isn’t as important as Doc Ock and Otto isn’t as important as MJ. More on this later though.

For Harry his role as supporting character whilst good was not something invaluable to the series the way Peter’s relationship with MJ or Aunt May was. Harry’s primary role was that of Peter’s best male friend who had Daddy issues from his old man being a psychopath. Issues which by the way were hardly a constant in his history. Such a role could’ve been filled pretty adequately by Flash Thompson, especially after DeMatteis established he was abused by his father and like him had become an alcoholic. Substance abuse+Daddy issues+animosity turned friendship with Peter Parker. It sounds an aweful lot like Harry, even down to the idea of there being a cycle of abuse, something which was introduced to Harry’s story only in the mega arc which resulted in his destruction. And of course Harry’s ghost loomed over the series therafter and could’ve done so more had the writers made better use of it.

Although they weren’t really slouching as Harry’s death was a massive motivator for Norman Osborn’s return and renewed rivalry with Peter. Norman is the best Spider-Man villain there ever was so Harry’s death bringing him back is a pretty good trade off.

Furthermore Harry’s progression into villain (and by extension removal as a supporting character) and MJ’s own development were very much earned by the writers through a slow building narrative.

Now lets compare this to Ben’s case.

For Ben the change from what he was to what he is now was abrupt. Essentially one issue’s worth of torture broke his mind to allow him to be whatever the plot demanded of him. This is not an earned change.

But moreover it does not add to Ben’s character so much as wholesale changes it.

Ben Reilly as well meaning yet ultimately unethical super villain seeking to take Peter’s mantra to extremes is an entirely different concept to Ben Reilly man who’s Peter Parker had his life gone down a different road, man who’s struggled to balance being Peter Parker and his own man and accept that he is entitled to his own humanity despite the circumstances of his birth. And above all man who truly loves Peter as his brother.

You could argue the same is true of Kaine but not really when you break his character down. Kaine was driven by physical pain and inadequacy to help Peter in violent ways and to hurt Ben out of spite. But he and Ben grew closer over the course of several stories and accepted one another as brothers. In a sense this is a great reverse pay off of Peter and harry’s relationship and makes a lot of sense to do when you consider Kaine’s animosity was wrapped up in Ben being the real Peter Parker and he himself just being a pale imitation of him. In light of Ben ACTUALLY being a clone after all Kaine and Ben’s relationship changing makes a lot of sense and is justified by virtue of Kaine originally being conceived of as an ongoing villain for Ben Reilly when Ben was going to be the lead character of the franchise. Since that wound up not being the case there is greater justification for Kaine’s role changing. And in a narrative where Ben didn’t even exist having Kaine become the Scarlet Spider is incredibly fitting.

Returning to ben though, not only does Clone Conspiracy radically alter him but it does so in such a way that really is unnecesarry.

The interesting and poignant character moments and ideas behind this villainous take on Ben Reilly could’ve been achieved as effectively had he been substituted with another character, perhaps another clone of Peter’s, perhaps even Spidercide, or perhaps someone who simply has come into the possession of Peter’s mind, memories and emotions.

Through all these methods you’d come out with the same interesting conception for a villain, that of someone who has a warped interpretation of Peter’s beliefs and is willing to go to unethical extremes to achieve them, not unlike Jason Todd when he was first brought back to life as the Red Hood. But you come out with this conception without throwing away Ben Reilly as we knew him.

Looking at Clone Conspiracy there were seldom any moments of true poignancy which required it to be Ben specifically rather than a generic clone of Peter’s. If the Anubis style Jackal had unveiled himself as simply another clone of Peter’s and explained his life of never ending death and abuse at the hands of the Jackal Peter might still have been sympathetic to his cause and briefly been tempted by his offer. After all it wasn’t really the fact that the Jackal turned out to be Ben that tempted Peter so much as the idea that he could bring back Uncle Ben. This hypothetical other clone of Peter might even have struck a chord with Peter by appealing to him as a brother reminding Peter of Ben, or perhaps might even have deliberately brought up Ben in an effort to make Peter sympathetic to him.

Now true, this would water down a dramatic reveal and reader’s emotional investment in the character since it is not one they already know. Similarly there would be less irony to Ben Reilly affecting a scheme not dissimilar to Miles Warren’s his creator.

However these aspects as presented were poorly executed, unnecessary or indeed could’ve still been dramatically effective even without it being Ben specifically in the role he was in.

Revealing Jackal to be a clone of Peter would still be a shocking twist even if it was a new clone instead of Ben. Indeed revealing this to be a reformed (in more ways than one) Spidercide could’ve still carried a shock for older readers.

The disintegration of Ben’s brotherly relationship with Peter and Kaine would’ve been mostly lost but few readers liked that in the first place and to make that point as an argument in favour of this being Ben is the equivalent of arguing there would be no weight to One More Day if it was not Mary Jane who Peter was parting ways with.

Finally the irony of a clone of Peter affecting a plan and methodology not dissimilar to Miles Warren would not be devoid of irony even if it was not Ben Reilly. Like Ben this new clone could’ve been abused by the Jackal (Ben was abused in the back up stories of Power and Responsibility) and would still have a metaphorical father/son relationship with Warren. Potentially this new clone of Peter’s would also have Peter’s memories of the Jackal thus acting like him would still carry weight to it.

Indeed in this scene we see little reference to Ben’s own life rather than the memories and experiences he has in common with Peter.

Even if one were to argue that not making this villain Ben Reilly would nevertheless not be AS effective as going ahead with the story as was could one hand on heart say that the Ben Reilly we got in this story was worth trading in the one we used to have.

I already talked about what Ben was above but nothing else is it not more poignant to have a character who is a true brother figure for Spider-Man rather than another villain?

Spider-Man has lots of villains and lots of good ones at that. And whilst good villains are invaluable, the series clearly has never NEEDED one of the variety Ben provided in Clone Conspiracy, as potentially interesting as he was conceptually.

So the question is do we supplant an established well developed and multifaceted character with a unique and irreplaceable relationship with our hero with a mentally deranged yet interesting villain to join the ranks of Peter’s already substantial rogue’s gallery?

Or to put it another way should we get rid of Spider-Man’s one and only legitimate brotherly relationship and supplant it with another villain who knows his identity and who represents a corrupted friendship?

The answer is patently obvious.

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funface2 · 5 years

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The Simpsons: 10 Homer Simpson Quotes That Are Still Hilarious Today – Screen Rant

Few television characters are as legendary as Homer Simpson. As the lazy, dim-witted and short-fused father of the Simpson family, Homer has been a pop culture fixture for decades. We have followed him on many adventures, from the show’s very beginning to the less satisfying later seasons. And through it all, he has always made us laugh.

RELATED: The Simpsons: The 10 Funniest Apu Quotes

Though Homer might not be the perfect husband or father, he is a constant source of amusement. He is responsible for some of the funniest television moments of all time, even if we’re often laughing at him rather than with him. Here are some Homer Simpson quotes that are still hilarious today.

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10 To Start Press Any Key’. Where’s The ANY Key?

You would think that someone who works as a safety inspector of a nuclear power plant might be tech literate. To be fair, there are a lot of qualifications for that job that Homer doesn’t meet and the technology side of things is just one small area.

After securing his dream job of working from home, Homer sets up at the home computer. Ready to get started, he is immediately thrown off by the first command on the screen. He then tops his own stupidity by hitting the TAB key to order a drink.

9 I Think It Was Called “The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down.”

Homer’s stupid is a thing of amazement at times. He is so oblivious to the world around him that he almost accidentally stumbles on the right answer before blowing right past it. This even extends to simple things like remembering the name of a movie.

RELATED: The Simpsons: 10 Most Painfully Relatable Moe Quotes

As Homer explains, “I saw this movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode!” He decides the title of the movie was “The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down”. So close.

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8 Captain What’s-His-Name

We’ve seen Homer get mad plenty of times, especially at Bart. But despite his rage, he is not much of a disciplinarian. Even when he is trying to lecture his kids, his confused rantings are hard to take too seriously.

When Bart is caught shoplifting, Homer is legitimately angry, but he can’t quite get his point across. He yells at Bart “Haven’t you learned anything from that guy who gives those sermons at church? Captain What’s-His-Name?” Maybe Bart wasn’t the only one not paying attention in church.

7 To Alcohol! The Cause Of, And Solution To, All Of Life’s Problems

Is it possible that Homer is secretly smart after all? Probably not, but even a broken clock is right twice a day and Homer can, at times, say something that is at least a little profound. It makes sense that his words of wisdom relate to beer, something he thinks about a lot.

After a brief era of prohibition is ended in Springfield, Homer triumphantly raises a glass of beer and shares his throughs – “To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.” It’s a funny examination of alcohol with more than a little truth to it.

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6 Batman’s A Scientist

Homer might primarily be a nuclear power plant employee, but for a lazy man, he sure has taken on a lot of different jobs. As it turns out, one of his shortest and most dangerous career paths was as the conductor of Springfield’s first monorail.

RELATED: The Simpsons: 10 Most Hilarious Principal Skinner Quotes

Designed by a shady businessman, the monorail almost immediately malfunctions, causing it to take off at dangerous speeds. Marge finds the scientist who built the first monorail and tells Homer she has someone who can help. Homer immediately guesses it’s Batman and when Marge explains it’s a scientist, Homer points out “Batman’s a scientist.”

5 The Lesson Is, Never Try

Homer loves his children very much, but he’s not going to be named father-of-the-year anytime soon. Perhaps due to his limited knowledge or his laziness, Homer is not filled with the kind motivating pep talks you’d want from a father.

When Mr. Burns is looking for an heir, the Simpsons kids try to impress the right old man but, as Homer points out to them, they failed miserably. Along with that bunt criticism, Homer imparts the lesson that he seems to live his own life by, “never try“.

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4 No TV And No Beer Make Homer Something Something

While Homer is unhinged in a regular episode of The Simpsons, the Treehouse of Horror specials allow him to really show off his wild side. One of the best segments from the show’s Halloween episodes is the parody of The Shining with Homer in the role of Jack Torrance.

In a recreation of the classic scene from the movie, Marge finds Homer’s written ramblings which say “No TV and no beer make Homer go crazy.” Yet Homer can’t quite think of the right title for it until Marge suggests “go crazy?” and the deranged Homer responds “Don’t mind if I do!“

3 I’m Normally Not A Praying Man, But If You’re Up There, Please Save Me, Superman

As we see with the Captain What’s-His-Name remark, Homer is not really a man of religion. That’s probably mostly due to his own laziness rather than putting actual thought into any kind of belief. But in his hour of need, he is willing to turn to a higher power.

RELATED: The Simpsons: 10 Funniest Krusty The Clown Quotes

Finding himself in yet another dangerous situation with his life on the line, Homer looks to the skies and prays to the one man who can help him. To be totally fair to Homer, Jesus and Superman do have a lot in common.

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2 You’ll Have To Speak Up I’m Wearing A Towel

Sometimes the things Homer does are so hilariously unusual that you could spend hours considering how he got himself in that position. His stupidity brings up so many questions to which we may never know the answers.

When Bart’s school calls him at work, Homer runs to the phone in a towel around his waist and answers it, remaking “You’ll have to speak up I’m wearing a towel”. Why was he wearing a towel at work? Why would wearing a towel affect his hearing in any way? So many questions.

1 I Am So Smart. S-M-R-T

This quote might be the perfect summation of Homer Simpson. It is also one of the quotes that can get lodged in your head forever.

Shockingly, Homer has never had any secondary education. However, when he is accepted to college, he waists no time in setting his high school diploma on fire and declaring himself a genius. As the diploma fire spreads across the house behind him, Homer sings “I am so smart” while misspelling ‘smart’ for good measure.

NEXT: The Worst Things Homer Simpson Has Ever Done, Ranked

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Bài viết The Simpsons: 10 Homer Simpson Quotes That Are Still Hilarious Today – Screen Rant đã xuất hiện đầu tiên vào ngày Funface.

from Funface https://funface.net/funny-quotes/the-simpsons-10-homer-simpson-quotes-that-are-still-hilarious-today-screen-rant/

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speedyistheotherguy-blog · 7 years

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Hotline Bling

Just a fun little one-shot for @melonithawne because we both are addicted to warm fuzzies:)

(Note: I imagine that this takes place just after Bart becomes Kid Flash. In the comics he seemed not to think about her as much after that transition, but knowing Bart I think he probably did think about her a lot and missed her a whole bunch even though he didn’t say it as often out loud.)

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He just wanted to hear her voice again.

The first prototype he’d tested had blown up in his face. Literally. It turned out that recalibrating a Quantum-Entanglement Reactor to run on Speedforce energy wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Who knew? But Bart was nothing if not persistent. So he tried again. And again. And again and again and again until one day the machine finally broke through the spatial-temporal rift.

“YES!” Bart whooped happily, punching a celebratory fist in the air and grinning hopefully at the computer screen. “It’s finally ready!”

“What’s finally ready?” An annoyingly familiar voice demanded from the doorway behind Bart’s make-shift workstation.

“Wally!” Bart yelped, spinning around in his swivel chair a little bit too quickly to appear innocent. “I mean- how’s it going, cuz? I wasn’t expecting you to come by...”

“Really? You weren’t?” Wally replied skeptically, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. “Because I gotta tell you, Bart- stealing the Cosmic Treadmill from the Flash Museum is a pretty good way to get my attention very quickly.” The other speedster accused, waving an arm at the room around them where machinery and wires hummed and buzzed like a living jungle. Bart had turned Jay and Joan’s empty garage space into his makeshift workshop. In it’s current state it looked more like the lab of a mad scientist than the place where his adoptive grandmother stored her gardening supplies. The Cosmic Treadmill itself had also undergone a complete makeover. Wires snaked out of the gutted front panel and wound around the room, connecting to three separate computer banks cluttered on the table and various arrays and generators scattered about the room, then lastly to an enormous satellite dish that Bart had mounted on the roof.

Bart bristled at his cousin. “Okay, I borrowed it, alright? I didn’t steal it. I’m gonna put it back when I’m done, I promise! I just- I need to use it.” He explained, turning back to the computer to run the diagnostic test for the tachyon amplifier one more time, his fingers flying across the keyboard irritably.

“Need to use it for what?” Wally repeated, zipping over to Bart and peering over his shoulder. “Wait- are those readings... is that from a Fermionic Regulator?” He asked, pointing to the screen. “And a quantum capacitor?” He went on, his eyes flitting around the room. “A tachyon amplifier? Bart, what are you doing with all this stuff?! Did you make all of this?!” Wally exclaimed.

“Yes, I did.” Bart answered irritably, annoyed that Wally was distracting him right when he was finally ready to put his creation to the test. “And if you stop freaking out for an microsecond then maybe I’ll tell you.” Wally looked slightly nettled by Bart’s snappish tone, but his curiosity got the better of him and he wisely decided to shut his mouth and wait for Bart to finish what he was doing.

“There.” Bart said a few seconds later, entering one last set of Heisenberg coordinates before flopping back in his chair and stretching his cramped back muscles. “It’s a cell phone!” He explained excitedly, turning to Wally with a proud grin.

“Uhhh...” Wally drawled, his expression torn between disbelief and irritation. “What are you talking about?”

“This!” Bart said, gesticulating to the room around them. “It’s a inter-dimensional transmission system! Look, see? I’m going to use it to call my Mom!”

Wally was silent for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed. “But... isn’t your mom... I thought she was-”

“Trapped in a temporal paradox, yeah!” Bart interrupted, his unbridled excitement overriding his emotions and making him sound frenetically enthusiastic about the whole situation. Wally looked alarmed and quite lost.

“But I thought you couldn’t-” He began.

“-get to her by using the Cosmic Treadmill. No, you’re right. Nobody can get through because the time paradox deflects quantum energy from outside sources like the treadmill.” Bart explained, steamrolling over Wally once again in his excitement. “So, I figured if I can’t go there myself then maybe I could find a way just to talk to her. And soooo~ say hello to the Cosmic Cellphone!” He beamed, patting the nearest computer bank lovingly. “Instead of using the treadmill’s speedforce energy to punch a hole through time and space-”

“It uses quantum entanglement to transmit simple vibrational energy without the need for the massive energy burst that it would take to penetrate the temporal barrier.” Wally finished for him, his eyes growing wide as he connected the dots. “Bart, that’s actually pretty genius!”

“I know, right?!” Bart replied proudly, too happy to be offended by the surprise in Wally’s tone.

“So does it work?” Wally asked, zipping over to the treadmill and examining the modifications Bart had made with keen interest. All of his cousin’s previous concerns had apparently been laid by the wayside. Now, he appeared to be just as excited as Bart was to test the thing out.

“Yes! Er- well, no. I mean, maybe? I hope so...” Bart floundered, “Actually, I was just about to test it when you got here.”

“Well then let’s get to it! How can I help?” Wally said, putting a hand on Bart’s shoulder. Bart looked up at him in surprise.

“Wait, you want to help now? I thought you were mad at me.”

“Look, Bart. I know that we don’t always see eye to eye, and I know that when it comes to encouragement- well, I haven’t always been there for you. But we’re family. And this thing you built? It’s amazing! And it could really work.” He said sincerely. Bart almost couldn’t believe his ears. Was this a dream? “I know what it’s like to lose someone important to you.” Wally went on. “And I know what it’s like to miss them. So if this ‘Cosmic Cell Phone’ of yours really can reach your mom, then I’m behind you all the way.”

Bart simply stared at his cousin, unsure of what to say. After a moment, he smiled, laughing a little. “Y’know, your encouragement skills aren’t as rusty as you think.”

“Shut up.” Wally grinned back, punching Bart’s shoulder lightly before straightening up and looking around. “So what can I do to help this thing get a dial tone going?”

“It doesn’t really work that way exactly.” said Bart, “It uses a combination of quantum entanglement and our own speedforce energy to transmit the message. No speakers, no receivers, no cell towers. Actually, it’s more like telepathy than a cell phone, I guess? But anyway, if the system establishes a connection with my mom- er, when the system establishes a connection with her, we should be able to kind of ‘hear’ each other’s messages in our heads? I think? I’m not 100% on that part since I haven’t actually done it yet and there’s no real way to know until we try.” Wally raised an eyebrow, pausing for a moment as he considered Bart’s words.

“Okaaaay? Well, then- this should be interesting.” He replied finally, more to himself than to Bart. “Let’s get this party started!”

Bart nodded, looking around. “Hmm... I know! You can run on the treadmill! The whole thing runs on speedforce energy, so you can be like the generator.” He said brightly.

“You just need me to run? Great! That I can definitely do.” Wally obliged, stepping up onto the treadmill. “What are you gonna do then?”

“I’m gonna be the operator.” Bart said, scooting his chair closer to the computer table in front of him and beginning to type. “Just start running when I tell you.” He instructed, starting the software sequence. He paused with his fingers over the keyboard, hesitating over the enter key.

“Bart? You okay?” Wally said after a moment, looking at Bart quizzically.

“Um, yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” Bart replied quietly, staring at the screen in front of him with an anxious expression. “It’s kinda funny, I just- I haven’t actually thought about what to say to her.” He admitted, looking up at Wally. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen her. What do... what do I even say?” Wally stepped off the treadmill and returned to Bart’s side. He knelt down on one knee so that they were at the same level and placed his hands on Bart’s shoulders, swiveling him on his chair until they were face to face. “Hey,” He said, meeting Bart’s eyes, “She’s gonna be so happy to hear from you. I know it. You’re her son, Bart. She loves you.” Wally assured him with a soft smile. “So how about you just start with ‘hello’?”

Bart took a deep breath, then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.” He replied, his confidence restored anew. “Alright. Alright, let’s do this!”

“Yeah!” Wally echoed back with an excited whoop as he zipped back to his place on the treadmill. “Wait, before you start it- what kind of a data plan does this thing have? Because you’re gonna have one heck of a roaming charge.”

“Shut up, man!” Bart laughed, “Quit talking and start running!”

Wally grinned unapologetically, but did as he was told. Sparks began to fly around him, climbing up the sides of the treadmill and making the overhead lights flicker as speedforce energy filled the room. Bart turned his attention to the computer screen. So far so good. He flipped a switch on a panel next to him to start up the klystron actuator. “I’m starting the connection! Just keep running!” He called to Wally, who nodded and gave him a thumbs up. It was getting increasingly difficult to hear over the humming of the treadmill. Bart watched the fluctuating readings on the computer screen with baited breath, waiting for just the right moment to establish a connection. And... there! As soon as the energy levels had reached full capacity he flipped another switch on the panel, activating the quantum regulator. Bart grabbed a headset off the table and slipped it on, adjusting the microphone in front of his mouth. “Just keep going!” He instructed Wally over the din, “It’s trying to connect! Should be any second n-” Bart inhaled sharply and closed his eyes. He’d felt something. A kind of pulling in his chest as if someone had reached their hand inside and started pressing on his heart. Then the pressing turned into shaking, rattling his very core and climbing up his nerves into his head. Someone was there. He could feel their confusion, the quickening beats of their heart. Or maybe it was his own heart? It was hard to tell. He couldn’t hear the treadmill anymore, nor the sound of Wally’s pounding footsteps or the speedforce crackling around the room. All he was aware of was the overwhelming presence of the other person around him. If he had to describe it, he would have said it was like seeing with his heart. He couldn’t physically see who it was that was there with him, but somehow he knew it was who he’d been looking for. Hello? Bart said, unsure of whether or not he was voicing the question out loud or in his mind.

Bart? The answer was almost immediate. The emotions bleeding into his awareness switched rapidly from confusion to joy and disbelief and something else. Something so strong and so familiar that it drowned out the other feelings in an instant. It was love. Mom? Bart answered, feeling tears beginning to drip down his cheeks, wherever those were at the moment. He’d quite lost track of his body. Mom, it’s me! It’s Bart! I missed you so much! He said, frantic to tell her everything he could, yet lost for words.

I just wanted to tell you that I love you, Mom. He told her, deciding to give himself a rest for a moment to let her respond, but not before adding one last thought.

I just wanted to hear your voice again.

#melonithawne #hotline bling #This really got away from me and ended up taking FOREVER #but I love it so much #I have enough feelings about Bart and his Mom to power an entire city for 10000 years #hope you like:)

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