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#only problem is that Peter would have to actually tell Erik that’s he’s his son
rebelrebel1974 · 1 month
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I know for a fact the reason Erik decided to work with Charles to destroy the Sentinels in DOFP is that Peter was killed by one
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moonbaby26 · 3 years
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(gif from Jason Passaro’s youtube edit here)
Title: One Shitty Friday Night (Part 2) *contains some smut*
Pairing: Peter Maximoff x Fem!Reader
Summary: Set after the events of Deadpool 2, this is the conclusion from the previous part here. After your semi-disastrous double date night, you, Peter, Kitty, and Colossus head home with Deadpool and Russell in tow to face Logan, Charles, and Erik back at the mansion. You also get some well earned alone time with Peter at last, only to go back to chaos the following morning with Peter confronting Gambit, and Deadpool popping back in.
Warnings: It’s still a bit of Deadpool and all that entails, but only at the beginning and end. *In this part there actually is some Peter x Reader sex.* But you’re welcome to skip over that if uncomfortable with it. I clearly mark in red before and after any smut within the story so readers can choose what to read and still enjoy just the fluff and character interactions before and after if wanted. ❤️
Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist
——————————
The ride home was surprisingly quiet actually. Colossus driving, with Kitty sitting shotgun in the front with him. Russell was in the second row seat behind Kitty, but the seat that normally would have been behind the driver had been taken out specifically with Colossus in mind to let his seat sit further back with his large height.
That just left the third row of three seats. With Peter still not in the best mood, you’d chosen to sit between him and Wade. But they’d mostly just been snacking on the cannolis the whole way home rather than saying or doing much of anything else.
You’d only eaten two in all, hungry but not wanting a stomach ache from the sweetness. You’d felt your own phone buzzing in your pocket most the way home too, but you refused to look at it yet. You could only imagine which friends were trying to call or text you about whatever was being said on TV and the internet now.
Kitty only told you that she’d messaged Xavier to tell him you were all on your way home. But you weren’t sure if she’d warned him about Deadpool and Russell coming with you. Or if she’d kept her phone out at all either afterward, afraid of what the Professor might say in response.
It could have been worse was what you kept thinking. It had been worse actually. Deadpool had once killed an Essex House staff member on live TV, while wearing an X-Men shirt, and with Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead also in camera view. But, given that that trouble had already come from him once, would the Professor be harder on you all this second time around? Would he still think you handled the situation as well as you could have or not?
By the time you felt the familiar turns up the long drive to the mansion, you realized that the period for anxiety was over. Whatever would be would now be.
Colossus had decided to park right in front the main entry doors instead of pulling down into the garage. Mostly just in case Wade’s welcome wasn’t a warm one. He could step right back outside if needed instead of already being in the depths of the compound.
Russell was actually the first one to speak though as you all climbed out the vehicle in front of the well manicured landscaping and dim accent lights.
“Holy shit, he is a rich son of a bitch.” The boy spoke, gaping a little at the sheer size of the mansion and the number of floors still above you.
“The cursing, Russell, please.” Colossus reminded. “There are younger children who live here.”
“Though they should be in bed,” Kitty responded, albeit sounding doubtful herself as she started up the entryway stairs.
They might normally be yes, but probably not if the rumor mill of tonight’s excitement was already burning through the place.
“Well I’ve actually never seen more than three people anytime I’ve been here. So there’s that,” Deadpool quipped.
“Yeah well, we were probably busy.” Peter retorted.
“Oh? Well yeah, maybe you were.” Wade replied, eyeing Peter. “Here’s a thought though, Peters. Maybe next time Ryan Murphy calls, just say N-O. No means no, right?”
“What-” Peter started to ask, but then thought better of it. It really wasn’t worth trying to piece together anything else Deadpool said into something more sensical right now.
As Kitty pushed open the doors and you all strode into the large foyer in front the main staircases, you weren’t sure what would be awaiting you. But the immediate, utterly ecstatic squeal that erupted from Deadpool next had all of you jumping before a gruff voice responded from up on the second floor landing.
“You have to be goddamn shitting me. You actually let that idiot follow you home?” Logan responded, the odd mix of disgust and annoyance so clear on his unshaven face.
“I thought you said no cursing here,” Russell complained.
“Logan is sometimes another matter...” Colossus attempted to answer with some neutrality, even as Deadpool was now bounding up the stairs towards the older man.
“Finally! Finally! I don’t even care if it’s just Tumblr and like two people and their FBI agents will see this! Beggars can’t be choosers! I missed you so much, papa bear!”
You stood there staring in complete disbelief, Deadpool looking as if he was actually going to try and hug the Wolverine.
You were likely all of the same mindset about the only way this could possibly play out, but Colossus was the only one to speak, pleading really. “Please, Logan! No blood on the inside of the house! You know how badly it would stain the floors!”
But Wolverine only growled, claws already aimed as Wade stopped just millimeters short, the metal tips now grazing the mercenary’s throat. “You heard him, Wade. Don’t give me a reason and you won’t be having to regrow limbs tonight.” Logan replied.
“You salty old bastard. We haven’t even seen each other in ages, you won’t return my calls, and this is the welcome I get?” Deadpool pouted.
“You’re bad luck walking, Wade. These kids don’t need you hanging around here for long.”
“Oh, and you’re such a tasteful role model. Grandpappy Wolverine teaching a class on cigar chain smoking, and stabbing your problems away this semester?”
“The fuck are you on about? How many people have you killed this month alone, Wade?”
“Twenty four and a half, thank you. And ask me how many of those never killed or raped someone themselves. How many the police never would have touched. What do you think I’ll say there?”
“Reason it all you want, bub. You’re just a wack job vigilante.”
“This could go on all night.” Kitty sighed. “Logan! Where is everyone else? We brought Russell with us, we need to take him to the Professor.”
Wolverine only softened slightly at Kitty’s voice, answering her. “Charles put in a curfew tonight, all students back to their rooms. Wade’s not allowed past the entrance, but the Professor is waiting for you in his study.”
“Discrimination.” Wade huffed, yet then posed in a mock seductive look. “But if you wanted me alone tough guy, all you’d have to do is ask.”
“Please do not make a mess, Logan. We will be back to collect him as soon as we can.” Colossus said with some concern, you all just starting towards the hallway that lead to Xavier’s office.
“No promises.” Logan called back before continuing, louder then so you could hear him even as you walked away. “And hey, Peter-”
“Yeah?” He answered back from your side, glancing over his shoulder at Logan.
“Your dad’s here, kid.”
Peter paused in his tracks, staring for a moment. You could see the emotions process through him before he took a deep breath. There was nothing more that any of you could do though. He just lifted a hand up in a wave of acknowledgement, finally starting to walk again. “Thanks for the warning,”
Even in all that had happened through the years though, going to see Xavier like this still brought back an odd sense of childhood. And that little feeling of dread to be honest. Not because you really thought he would be angry, but because you worried that you may have disappointed him. Which would have always been the worse of the two options in your own mind.
Colossus was the one to slide the ornate pocket doors open, you all trailing in behind him as you entered the study.
It was warm inside, the fireplace crackling and dancing. That fire was the only light besides a couple small table lamps and a TV now on mute, but still running the late night news.
You were but weren’t surprised to see Erik sitting there as well, a short glass of what looked like scotch in one hand. There was a chessboard as well, positioned between himself and Charles on a little table, the pieces clearly still in play.
As the TV flickered again though, you glanced back to it reflexively. You saw an exterior shot of the restaurant you’d been at only a short time earlier, now with police tape all around. It cut to a video of Colossus walking up to police cars with Giovanni in hand, but then just as quickly the flashing red and blue lights changed to the white flashes of cameras and yourself and Peter talking before the sudden kiss. You only looked to the floor in renewed embarrassment then, choosing not to read the ticker captions currently scrolling beneath the now looping video.
“Hey, Dad...” Peter said somewhat unsure, but still the first to speak. He’d shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket now, as he often did when nervous. “Didn’t know you were in town.”
“Peter.” Erik answered plainly though, taking a sip of his drink before setting it back down. “I only arrived this afternoon. I had been hoping for a quiet evening.” He looked briefly towards the television, but then coolly back to Peter. “But here we are aren’t we?”
“Erik,” Xavier warned lightly though, no doubt sensing Peter tense further at the tone.
“They aren’t children anymore, Charles.” Erik responded sharply. “And it never should have been allowed to get to this point. I told you from the beginning that they should have worn masks, they should have been discreet. Trying to craft this foolhardy public image of the new X-Men as some celebrity clean up crew for humans’ mistakes, it’s making a mockery of us all.”
The exasperated breath that came out of the Professor next told you that this was far from the first time that this subject had come up as a point of contention between the two. But the rest of you were quite helpless whenever Erik and Charles would start to argue in front of you.
Xavier countered, “As I have also said before, Erik, we all knew there would be some negatives from moving more into the public eye with our team. But how can mutant kind ever be accepted for who we really are if we only kept slinking in the shadows for the rest of our lives? It’s no different than Raven showing herself on camera all those years ago. You know what an impact that made on the youth in our community then.”
“But the humans are fickle. The magazines and the talk shows only jest at you now. What happens when they turn on you? When my son’s face is only on a wanted list in a database, Charles? What then?”
The anger and protectiveness flaring up in Erik’s tone only made the room even more uncomfortable, yet you didn’t find yourself surprised. Peter’s relationship with his father would never be an easy one, but you knew in the end that Erik did feel a sense of responsibility towards his progeny. And hell have mercy on anyone who did ever truly harm Wanda, Peter, or Lorna and word of it get back to their father.
Charles remained patient though, likely understanding those paternal emotions all too well himself. The Professor treated you all as well as his own after all. “The ones that wish to harm us already knew who we were, Erik. They don’t need to pick up that gossip drivel to find us. We protect ourselves by staying together, as we always have. They want us, then they’ll have to face us all. And Lord knows even gods have tried.”
Erik frowned, and for a moment you wondered if Xavier was saying something more to him telepathically. Something to make him finally quiet or at least agree to postpone the argument’s continuation for later in private.
Regardless of whether your instincts were correct or not on that, their conversation did end abruptly then. Charles switched to a warmer, but still slightly tired tone as he looked back to the rest of you. “Well, I know you’re all ready for tonight to be over. I won’t keep you much longer. Kitty, if you could make sure that weapon you confiscated ends up locked in Hank’s lab tonight, we’ll see about it later. Given that those men would not need something so extravagant just to dispose of other humans, I’m certain it was developed or at least purchased with our kind in mind. We will learn what we can.”
She nodded in agreement before he then turned his attention to the, to this point, uncharacteristically silent Russell with a kind look. “And Russell, I appreciate you deciding to give us a second chance. You’re welcome to stay of course. Did you still wish to speak to me? I know it’s late. Don’t feel obligated to stay and talk if this is all a bit much right now. We can always go over more about the school in the morning.”
“Um...” The boy blinked, not quite ready it seemed for any of the focus to be back on him so soon. And it was only then that you realized it was Erik that Russell kept staring at as he tried to formulate a real response. Actually Erik and briefly back to Peter, that tell tale look on the boy’s face that you’d seen so many times before when people realized who Peter really was, who his father was. Russell was maybe even regretting picking on Peter earlier now.
Charles certainly hadn’t missed that though. Surely sensing all the boy’s thoughts and feelings now as he continued. “It’s alright, Russell. Yes, Magneto does stop in here from time to time. We’re old friends. Yet I hardly think you should be so concerned with him when you’ve already gotten on quite well with my stepbrother haven’t you?” Xavier was actually smiling then. “To get on the Juggernaut’s good side, if even briefly, is quite impressive I must say.”
That did seem to finally break the ice a little then as Russell looked back to Charles. “Yeah, I... I needed a prison friend. A big one.”
“He is that, certainly,” The Professor responded. “Yet to answer the other questions still running through your mind -and forgive me to read you- but of course you can absolutely train with us to better learn to control your fire powers if you’d like. And yes, you may also have a television in your room. I think that’s a reasonable request after living in less than desirable conditions with Wade for this long.”
“Yeah, there were rats and the old blind lady sells cocaine.” Russell answered so matter of factly that the rest of you, minus Charles who was evidently now fully aware of Russell’s recent memories, all just stared.
“Despite his, ah, unique flaws, I can say that Wade would never willingly let anything happen to you.” Xavier just continued. “But yes, it would likely be best to give you a bit more sanitary and less illegal living conditions. And of course this would all be voluntary, if you find you don’t like it here after all, you’re always free to go as well.”
“Cool. Yeah.” Russell agreed. Though not really sure what else to say.
“Wonderful,” Charles just looked back to Colossus and Kitty then. “Can you two please see Russell to one of the empty rooms so he may pick one out to sleep tonight? And please let Wade know of his decision to stay for now.”
Colossus spoke up though before they all walked out together, “And am I sending Wade home as well? I do not think he and Logan can be peaceable for a whole night in the same building.”
“Agreed. Like oil and water there. I would prefer not to have to repair cerebro again either, as we’d had to from his last stay with us.” Xavier looked apologetic though to Colossus. “Is it too much to ask that you offer him a ride back home tonight?”
But Russell just cut in before Colossus could respond. “Nah, Wade already called a cab to meet him back here before we left town. You can just dump him outside now. Let him be their problem.” But even Russell knew to elaborate a little. “And it’s not some random person he might scare off. It’s his friend Dopinder. But you might want to give him some money first. He never pays the guy. Wade doesn’t carry a wallet. Tightwad.”
Kitty sighed. “I’ll cover it. I have cash. Never got to eat or pay for our dinner after all.” She glanced to you and Peter briefly. “Maybe next weekend?”
“We can try,” You offered quietly.
She smiled, understanding that sentiment that you all might want to lay low for awhile after this fiasco of an evening. “I guess we’ll see how we feel. Night, guys.”
“Night.” You and Peter responded to her in unison.
When Kitty, Colossus, and Russell had left the room, you happened to glance back at the TV, though you were at least a little relieved to see the news had finally gone off and by the captions it was just some talk show host joking about whatever a bigger idiot politician had done now.
But Peter’s voice brought your attention back to him.
“Are we free to go too?” He asked cautiously, maybe even more uneasy now that it was just the four of you as he looked to his father and Charles.
The two older men exchanged a glance of their own as silence hung for a moment.
Erik sighed eventually though to break it. His voice serious, but lacking it’s usual coldness. “You can’t keep diving into everything headfirst, Peter. You’re going to get yourself killed.” He seemed to be studying his son’s face a moment. “And what are those bruises even from?”
“I, uh...fell down a flight of stairs.” Peter answered, taking a breath as if to steel himself for further scolding, obviously that admission only adding to his father’s point.
Yet you interjected before Erik could respond. Before you could help yourself, as it wasn’t fair for Peter to be singled out here. “I’m the one that told him to go to the basement.” Normally Scott was mission leader, or maybe Ororo. This wasn’t a role you were used to, but you’d take responsibility where it was due tonight. “I thought it would be safest for him to go first, to disarm them all, but-”
“But you sent him straight into an ambush.” Erik countered. And when his gaze shifted to you with those words, it was clear that even after this long, it still had an effect. An intimidation factor that you could only hope didn’t show through in your expression.
But it was Charles that came to your defense. “That’s a gross over simplification, Erik. Peter had already examined the area on his own accord moments before to no harm. There would have been no reason for them to think he couldn’t return to it.”
For Xavier to already know that level of detail, meant he’d already searched you and Peter’s minds tonight as well, just as he had Kitty about the gun. Which honestly was okay with you as it meant you wouldn’t have to really explain everything that had happened and risk making things sound even worse.
But Erik was still staring at you both, looking displeased.
Peter shifted, uncomfortable with the quiet. “Look, if you’re going to yell at me for what I did on TV, then just get it over with. It wasn’t (Y/N)’s fault. I was the one that made us stay as long as we did, and I was the one that got pissed off at what those guys were saying. It’s always like no one can believe we’re still together. Like I have to keep proving it.”
That admission actually did catch you off guard. Especially to be said here in front his father, and well in all honesty sort of stepfather that Charles was for all intents and purposes. You immediately felt you should say something, but were even further stunned when Erik beat you to it.
“Peter, for God’s sake. You may have problems, but I assure you that (Y/N) is not one of them. Quit being so dense, boy.”
You blinked, unsure if you’d actually just received a rare semi-compliment from Erik.
But Peter just rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the pep talk, Dad. Yes, I know that. I’m saying how do I make everyone else know that? Some fatherly wisdom would be great right now.”
Erik frowned, looking annoyed at Peter’s reaction. “I’ve told you before, I can’t teach you self-confidence, no one can. Though I’ve always been willing to fight for what I wanted. That’s a start.”
“Erik, no.” Charles interrupted. “Peter, we all question ourselves from time to time. But when it comes to relationships, nothing going on on the outside will matter as long as you focus on keeping things strong between the two of you. Weakness there is the only way those outside troubles can get in to break things down.”
“Oh typical, Charles. So it’s still turn the other cheek to everything else then? Pacifism is not how love is won.” Erik replied, now staring back at Xavier.
“Love is not a thing to be fought over, Erik, and neither is (Y/N). People are not trophies to be claimed.” The Professor responded, meeting Erik’s gaze easily.
“Okayyyy,” Peter said, glancing to you and the no doubt really uncomfortable expression on your face now. “I think we’re just going to go to bed now.” His voice was getting a little quicker as he touched your arm as if to usher you out with him. “We’ll be more careful next time, we learned our lesson, so sincerely sorry and humbled, good nigh-”
“Peter.” Erik called back though before you could both reach the doorway.
Peter looked back reluctantly, only to see Erik now holding up a phone.
“Do at least message your sisters tonight to tell them you’re alright. As refreshing as it is to be receiving so many calls from them this evening, it’s only you they wish to speak to.”
“Uh, sure,” Peter offered, a little surprised. “I haven’t even looked at my phone. I will. Night!”
“Good night.” You also managed, speaking back at least politely to the two men just before Peter hurried you out into the hallway.
——————————
You’d both chosen to take one of the other halls afterward, as to avoid the front foyer and any drama that may still be occurring there if Wade and Logan were still facing off. There was another set of stairs at the back of the house, and it’d been a real relief not to run into anyone else on the way as you took them up to your floor.
By the time you finally got to your bedroom, you didn’t bother to turn on the ceiling light, just switching on the lamp at your bedside end table as you sat down on the bed. You pulled off your shoes, and heard Peter’s jacket already hitting the floor before his own weight hit the bed, making you bounce slightly.
“Ugh,” He said, already barefoot and stretched out behind you laying on his back. “That was awkward right?”
“What part of the night specifically?” You questioned, throwing off your own coat into a then indiscernible pile in the darkness outside of the lamp light. Normally you were the one picking up after Peter, but you weren’t in the mood to hang up or fold anything tonight.
“Good point,” He conceded. “But I was mainly thinking of Dad and Charles. Sorry to drag you into that.”
Yeah, that had been pretty weird. “Well, Xavier was just trying to help. And I think your Dad was too...in his own way. I guess.” There wasn’t a whole lot you could add to that. Peter’s insecurities could flare up from time to time still, but he’d actually gotten a little better over the years. At some point he had finally realized you really were going to stick around. It wasn’t just pretty words and passing teenage hormones.
After you’d actually started rooming together officially, you knew there had even been some joking from your friends about Magneto one day becoming your father-in-law. But you tried not to humor any of that. You were in no hurry, and felt further commitment to that level would have to be Peter’s decision. It wouldn’t be fair to put him under that kind of pressure.
You knew he had reservations on the subject when none of his father’s marriages had ever worked out. He wouldn’t say it outright, but you were sure Peter felt there was still some sort of family curse there that he didn’t want to tempt fate with. As if making you his spouse would be the final straw and something would come to take all his happiness away.
You felt him moving a little then as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Alright, before I forget, group message to Wanda and Lorna...” But he paused, looking up at you with just a blank white screen on the phone. “What do you think I should tell them?”
“Peter, they’re your sisters.” You smiled, not sure why this would be a question to you. “Just say you’re fine, you’re back at the mansion, and you’re going to bed. You can always call them tomorrow.”
He made a face at that though, “What if I don’t want to call them tomorrow? They’re just going to lecture me. Oh, I know!” He smirked as if he’d thought of something clever, adding to whatever he was already typing. “Dad already fussed at me. So don’t worry about it. Wanda, tell mom the same thing. ❤️👍”
He turned the screen to show you. “Think that will work?”
“Genius.” You replied.
“Smart ass.” He grinned, but sent the message before quickly turning his phone back on silent and setting it on the other end table.
You took your own phone out your pocket, intentionally not reading the number of notifications left on the home screen as you also set it to the side before standing up to take your pants off.
You’d just slid them down, trying to step out of them when a sudden pinch to your backside almost had you stumble forward, one foot still stuck in a pants leg.
“Speaking of ass...” Peter teased, pulling his hand back before you could smack it.
“So the cannolis gave you a second wind, huh?” You turned, not surprised to see that devilish grin starting as he now looked you over while you next removed your shirt. You’d think he’d be used to this view by now.
“I was feeling hopeful, yeah,” he replied, though remaining where he was in the bed as your shirt joined your pants on the floor. “Of course I am still pretty tired,” He added, “Maybe you could help me out here?”
You raised one eyebrow as he motioned to the zipper of his jeans. Oh, so this was how it was going to be? He seemed so pleased with his idea though, you couldn’t help but be amused.
***smut starts here, scroll on to skip*** “So pitiful, my poor speedster.” You said, albeit smiling as you climbed into the bed. You straddled him gently, seeing that needful look already beginning to cloud his eyes as he still laid on his back beneath you.
You were tired yourself, and hungry still, but you’d survive until morning. This effort for some physical intimacy seemed worth it to at least end this bizarre night on a good note for the both of you.
And you knew you both wanted it. He might be making a play that he was going to make you do all the work right now, but you highly doubted he’d have the self control to not jump in once things actually got going.
You pushed his shirt up, running both your hands up the sides of his torso. Like anyone would expect for someone as fast as him, he was built lean, though there was sinew there. Just that bit of muscle, storing all that energy, ready to take off at a moment’s notice.
The room was cool. It was still winter and the high ceilings didn’t do much to keep heat near the floor. You knew your hands would be a little cold as well. So you willed just the slightest bit of your energy field from your palms, warming them as you stroked his chest. You could see the bit of bruising here and there from his earlier fall, but luckily nothing extreme.
He relaxed his head into the pillows behind him, clearly enjoying the feel even as you heard his breathing increase slightly. He liked to be petted, but you knew it would be too much of a tease for him if you focused above his waist for too much longer.
You left his shirt pushed up to bare his abdomen to you, even as your hands ran carefully back down, stopping at his belt. Never quite the typical guy when it came to fashion, it wasn’t a normal peg and hole type, but actually an old seatbelt buckle. You undid it with a click, pulling it out through the belt loops of his pants as he arched a little to take his weight off the back and fully free it.
Once that was out of the way, you unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans with little fanfare. His normally loose boxers were already a little tighter though you noticed.
He made a noise, shifting into the touch as you cupped him with your hand. You massaged the area through the fabric, feeling him gradually stiffen as you got a little more forceful.
By the time he was fully erect, it was all too simple to slip him through the now stretched open flap in the boxers.
You had been intending to stroke him now, but on a whim you decided to go another route. Something a little less predictable you hoped, but what you knew he would still like. You doubted you were all that good at it really, but he’d never complained before.
And you could tell he was surprised, you heard him take in a quick breath as you lowered your mouth down on him, sucking him as he spread open his legs for you. You couldn’t take him in too deep without gagging yourself, but you tried to make up for it by moving up and down gingerly as you used your tongue as well.
It must have been stimulating enough for him though as you felt his hand on the back of your head shortly after, and felt his hips starting to rock rhythmically against your mouth.
He gave a quiet moan, he was so very hard now, but you didn’t let up. You knew sometimes, especially if it’d been a while since you’d last had a chance to be intimate together, he may actually cum fairly quickly. But if he did, then he did. You weren’t worried about whether you got anything in return tonight. Truthfully, your heart was already pounding, the heat in you building, just because you knew he was so aroused.
It was always give and take, and there was no rule of whose turn it was at any given time.
His whole body stiffened a little and for a moment you thought that would be it. But his hand moved to your shoulder suddenly instead, pushing you back as you released him in response.
You pursed your lips as you looked back up at him, that little bit of irritation still felt on them of where they’d dragged against him.
He was already sitting up though, pulling his shirt off completely before he tossed it off the bed. “Come on, babe, clothes off please.” He breathed, his silver hair falling into his dark eyes as you moved off of him and he laid back again just long enough that he could pull off his jeans and work his erection free from his boxers before they ended up cast out into the darkness as well.
While you’d been watching him, you’d also been unhooking your bra as requested, tossing that away. Which left only your underwear before you’d slid it down your legs, flicking it off too once it’d only been left swinging from one foot. He closed the small distance between you so fast then, you were sure he’d actually just used his powers before you felt his lips against yours. Desperate almost, as his tongue pressed through immediately afterward.
You shivered, not expecting the feel of his fingers against your entrance almost simultaneously. Just two of them, moving methodically against you. The room felt far from cold now. But you were just kissing him equally as hard now as he started to push his fingers in further, testing your readiness.
By the time you trembled again from his probing, you knew you were fully wet enough. It was a mutual realization evidently as he broke the kiss, urging you to turn so your back was facing him as he moved behind you on the bed.
You understood what he wanted as he kneeled behind you. You let yourself lean down onto your elbows in the pillows, but also on your knees in the back as you felt him grab your hips from behind. You arched your back, curving your back downward to help angle yourself into him as you felt his tip pressing into you.
As wet as you were now, he only had to try a couple times before he was able to slide fully in. To the hilt so to speak as you felt his torso now pressed flush against you. Already that slight sheen of sweat was starting where your skin touched together as he began to thrust.
The bed was creaking, and you bit back a moan of your own, never quite sure how thick the walls really were in this house. It was kind of an unspoken thing that as long as precautions were taken, and the others in the house didn’t have to hear or see anything you did in the privacy of your own room, then no one would care if people coupled up. For the two of you, precautions only meant a birth control pill, not worrying about condoms any longer after several years of monogamy.
His thrusts were getting even more uneven though, which told you he was close to orgasm. But you couldn’t help but push back against him yourself, panting a little as you felt him grab and squeeze one of your breasts. He was supporting himself with his other arm as he leaned forward suddenly, still inside you as he nipped you lightly on one shoulder, then kissing the same spot before he breathed in your ear.
��How do you always feel so good?” He murmured.
As he let go of your breast, you felt his hand go back between your legs. Even though he was still buried fully in you, his fingers went back to teasing the outside. The over stimulation left you shuddering, and you knew he was trying to get you to orgasm first.
His fingers just kept moving as he started to thrust again. You loved that feeling of fullness, when he was all the way inside, but it was the added teasing of his fingers where you were most sensitive that finally sent you over the edge. Your muscles inside spasming around him then as that unmistakable burst of euphoria went through you, leaving every piece of you trembling.
He clearly felt your orgasm, only moving both hands back to your hips then. Pulling you back against him as he thrust roughly several more times, enough to get his own release as you felt his erection pulse in its own right, knowing he had then let go inside you as you felt that warmth already dribbling back out onto the bedsheets.
Even though you’d started the foreplay, he’d done most the work for the finish. Yet you still felt spent now, only rolling onto your back after he pulled out, trying not to let too much of his seed run back out of you and onto the bed.
He was still breathing a little unevenly as he left the bed only long enough to go grab a clean hand towel from the bathroom. One of those pluses of having had the mansion rebuilt back then was that so many more of the rooms now had their own bathrooms. And after he’d wiped the residue off of himself, he handed you the towel. You dabbed up the small spot on the bed, before wiping off the remainder from your skin as well, then tossing the towel unceremoniously onto the floor with everything else.
Peter turned off the end table lamp before climbing back into the bed beside you in the darkness. The only light then coming from the moon and starlight through the thin curtains at the windows.
You were both still naked, and a little bit hot as you only pulled the covers as high as your waists, knowing the room’s cool air would chill you quickly enough now that no more physical exertion was taking place.
Hot or not though, his arms went around you as he then pulled you into a spooning position in the darkness. You actually felt that he was still about half hard too as it touched against your backside again, you now both laying on your sides with your back to his chest.
***sex over, you’re safe to start reading again*** “That almost made up for this entire night,” He joked quietly, kissing the back of your neck a couple times before you felt him smile against your skin. He moved one of his hands to trail it lightly over your hip, the sensation tickling you slightly as he spoke again. His voice was soft, a true contentment in his tone. “Love you.”
That wasn’t a phrase he said often. But the both of you seemed to save the word as to never water it down. When it was said, it made it really mean something more.
You reached down for his hand that’d been playing with your hip, grasping it warmly and weaving your fingers between his. “I love you.” You said simply, no need to elaborate on what was just a fact.
He squeezed your hand a little harder, but said nothing more, you both just enjoying the touch and comfort of each other’s presence.
You moved your head a little more into the pillows, getting just right as you closed your eyes.
——————————
Your dreams faded in and out, nothing you could remember in detail though as the sunlight on your face now had you squinting. You thought of just pulling the blanket back over your head, but your brain started to register the smell of food as well. Bacon specifically as you lifted your head a little, trying to focus.
“It lives!” Peter joked from beside you, sitting cross legged on top the blankets and just in his boxers again. Two plates of food sat in front of him, the source of the smell you realized as you sat up a little, pulling the sheet up enough to cover your bare chest in the cool room.
Very rarely did he ever wake before you, and your still half asleep stare of confusion only made him smirk a little.
“I had to pee.” He said through a mouthful of food, a sausage biscuit with a large bite already taken out of it in one hand, and a video game controller pressed down into the bed with the other. His hand with the controller was blurring slightly as he moved it just fast enough to work the joy stick and buttons simultaneously. “Then I remembered they released that new DLC last night. Had to try it out. I turned the volume down though. Considerate right?”
And it was indeed silent, not the usual grunts and blasts and screams from that gory fighting game he loved so much. His character was currently comboing another into oblivion on the small TV across from the end of your bed.
Your lack of any real dinner the night before had you focusing back to the food in front of you though.
“Go on,” Peter encouraged. “I knew you’d be hungry. It’s not all for me.”
Normally you were against eating in bed, just from the crumbs and general mess it could make. You’d had the misfortune to find the sticky remnants of Twinkies and the like from Peter’s late and early snacking many times.
Yet even as you picked up one of the amazing looking sausage and egg biscuits for yourself, you wondered if anyone else was now going without. Was it stolen goods? “Where...did this come from?” You asked, voice still a little hoarse from just waking, even as you bit down hungrily.
But the implication of your question didn’t even faze him. “Oh there was plenty. Raven told Hank he didn’t know how to cook, so guess who wins? Us when he made three damn trays of these things.”
“Sounds like she had a plan.” You responded, also grabbing a couple pieces of bacon now.
“Totally.” He agreed. “And orange juice is on the end table, babe.”
You glanced to your side, indeed just noticing the glass beside you then. “Well, you’ve been busy.” But your attention eventually drifted back to him only sitting there in his boxers after you’d taken a few sips of juice. “Did anyone even see you?”
“Nah. Maybe they felt an errant breeze or two.” But he was grinning in a way that still gave you pause.
You watched him a little while longer, only feeling more and more sure before you finally offered out the accusation. “No. You did something. Something else...”
He’d already emptied his plate now, both hands on the video game controller then as he seemed to put his focus solely back to the TV screen. Intentionally of course before he grabbed the nearby remote to start turning the volume back up.
“Peter.” You spoke anyway, knowing full well he could still hear you. “Did we not just scrape by last night without any big consequences? You’re going to put that goodwill to the test already this morning?”
“It’ll be fine.” He answered. “It’s nothing.”
Your eyebrows raised a little. His ‘fine’ and yours could sometimes be completely different things. You sighed, going back to eating the food in front of you as Peter’s character liberated the head off another in a ridiculous fountain of CGI blood.
If you could just finish your breakfast before the next possible calamity-
The bedroom door absolutely rattled in its frame with the pounding on it that almost had you spilling the juice in the bed. By the time your annoyed look moved to the spot Peter had just been, the video game was already paused. Only yourself now alone with whoever was on the other side of that door.
“Just say I’m not here!”
You couldn’t even tell where the whisper came from. Peter either hiding in the closet or maybe the bathroom, they were too near each other to tell.
“I’m not even dressed!” You retorted just to him, quite literally naked as you tried to disentangle yourself from the blankets without dumping your food plate, while simultaneously setting the glass of juice back onto the end table.
Peter said nothing more, so you could only call out that you were coming as you anxiously tried to find some of your clothes from the night before. You were able to find your underwear, and the um, incriminating towel, but that was about it. Sure it’d been dark, but how on Earth anything else could have gotten much farther or under something so quickly was beyond you. You kicked the towel under the bed, and you just had to settle for Peter’s t-shirt crumpled in your path as you grabbed it up and yanked it over your head, hurrying for the door.
You still tried to tug the shirt down as far as you could though, at least covering your panties and butt you hoped before you finally pulled the door open. Pantsless, barefoot, and probably with bedhair as you stared up into the glowing red eyes of a very irritated looking, and entirely shirtless Remy LeBeau.
His expression softened just slightly at the sight of you, his lips curling into a handsome smile. But one that didn’t quite reach those crimson eyes. “Mornin’, cher...so sorry to intrude, but I need to have a few words with that boy toy of yours.”
Yet you were staring still, taking time to process the sight before you. There was black...large black streaks all across his face. It circled his eyes in a cartoon like representation of glasses. Though he already had some stubble on his face, the streaks condensed around his mouth as well, like the upturned mustache and goatee of an old timey villain. As if he should be going to tie up some poor girl to train tracks somewhere.
“Oh my God,” you breathed. Permanent marker, seriously? How old were all of you again? “Remy, I’m sorry.” You thought about saying something about how Peter had let those paparazzi get under his skin last night. But it wouldn’t matter. Not if none of these boys were in the mood to be reasonable right now.
“You know you’re not going to catch him.” Is what you finally said. “Please don’t blow up my bedroom trying.”
“And he ain’t worth my chasin’, petite. I just want to talk,” Remy insisted though, voice as smooth as you’d ever heard it as he leaned against your doorframe in only a pair of pajama pants.
But the few playing cards now flitting between his fingers told you otherwise on his supposed peaceful intentions. Yet when he saw you look down at them, another one appeared seemingly from nowhere in his other hand.
He offered it to you, “But if he isn’t man enough to show himself, at least I get the pleasure of your company, non?”
The card was the king of hearts of course as he palmed it into your hand before you could think to stop him. But you knew it wouldn’t be charged if he was handing it to you like that. You trusted him at least that much.
Yet you were quite sure he was still only trying to lure Peter out by audibly flirting with you now. And sadly, it would probably work. “Remy, can you two just save it for the danger room?” You tried again. “It’s too early, really. I was just trying to eat breakfast.”
“Well, seeing as how you’ve been ditched, I don’t see why someone like you should have to eat all alone.” He answered effortlessly, just strolling past you further into the bedroom as if there was no awkwardness in this at all.
In a moment of panic you wondered if it’d be best to just call for backup. Your cell phone wasn’t very far. Was everyone awake already? What if you just called Rogue? That’d be the most straight forward right? Oh, but you could imagine that conversation. Hey girl, come get your man out of my bedroom please? Yet she totally would. He’d be as helpless as a toddler if she decided she was dragging him out.
“You know,” Remy said, considering a little as he palmed one of the uneaten biscuits right off the tray like it was a bauble to steal. “I did think we looked good together in those pictures they printed from the beach. It’s only natural you know. When two people have chemistry, everybody can see it.”
And that was it, the final straw. You didn’t even know why you still jumped when the bathroom door flung all the way open. The window opened too, a couple cards Remy had already thrown then exploding out there harmlessly like little fireworks as Peter had redirected them outside.
Your bedsheet seemed to have a mind of its own as it ripped off the bed and tied around Gambit as well, pinning his arms to his sides as he was forced to then kneel in front of you.
Peter reappeared at your side, looking down at his handiwork as he scowled at the other man. It was a rare expression on Peter’s face, but a little more jarring for that reason.
“Apologize to (Y/N).” Peter demanded. “Or you’re going out the window next.”
But you knew Remy’s wounded pride meant there would be no such possibility of deescalation now. They were going to have to be physically separated and given a cool off period no matter what. As you considered whether to actually put a shield around one or both of them to essentially begin preparations for mutant time out, Remy was already countering back at Peter, a mocking tone rolling off his tongue.
“Alright. I’m sorry, (Y/N). I’m sorry that you got saddled with a jealous little boy who goes after rivals in their sleep rather than face them like a man. And then just hides behind that same woman he thinks they’re going to take from him, yeah?”
Oh for God’s sake! You dropped the card Remy had given you, that you’d for some reason still been holding. You powered up, trying to catch both of the guys in two of your force fields, Peter had already been in movement though. In actuality you’d only ended up shielding Remy just before Peter had kicked the field, looking as if the hit had been intended for the Cajun’s chest.
“Don’t protect him!” Peter looked to you in surprise.
“I’m protecting both of you!” You responded, then glowing white and hovering now several feet off the floor in your annoyance.
“Kinky.” A new voice spoke, followed by a sing song voice that unfortunately you did now recognize as Deadpool continued. “I see London, I see France, I see (Y/N)’s underpants!”
With your energy humming around you, Peter’s shirt you were wearing was now billowing up a little you realized. Indeed giving a full view to all those below you. You dropped back to the floor immediately, but didn’t power down, keeping the field around Remy as you turned to look at the several people now standing in your doorway.
“You know, this is exactly how those rumors start,” Ellie said in her usual dry tone, taking in the truly bizarre scene of the three of you. “Putting on some clothes might be a good first step. Or you know, at least closing the door.”
The girl otherwise known as Negasonic Teenage Warhead was never one to mince words, even to you all, her sort of superiors. Her girlfriend Yukio only stood beside her, smiling a bit sheepishly.
“Yeah, don’t mind us you little OT3, I just came back to bring Russel his stuff.” He motioned to the boy, who was now also staring at you all. “And your boss Charlie X said I had to have an escort, so I got my old buddies here Nega-angst and Yukio-chan. Oh and-”
Deadpool suddenly grabbed another man who had been standing behind them, bringing him to the front. “This is my all time best buddy Dopinder, he wanted a tour of mutant Hogwarts as well.”
“Hello.” The young man waved a bit shyly. “It is an honor to meet more of DP’s superhero allies.”
“Hey.” Peter said oddly to them after a moment, then looking back to you again. The randomness seemed to have snapped him out of his fixation on getting even with Remy at least for the moment. It now looked like he was waiting for guidance from you on what to do next.
You heard an audible sigh from Remy then as he spoke up. “I rather not destroy your sheets, cher. Truce for today?”
You glanced back to Peter first though before letting down the shield. Making sure he’d agree to untie him. Peter looked reluctant still, but eventually nodded.
And with that you powered down, your field around Remy disappearing as all the energy faded back inside you. In another instant he was completely untied, the sheet semi neatly back on your bed then. You knew some of the food had to have gone flying wherever when Peter had ripped off the bedsheet earlier in their scuffle. But you didn’t really care right now.
“Woah, woah. Is that the new MK game?” Wade just questioned suddenly, then seemingly oblivious to all else as he strode into your room as well.
Why no one had any boundaries today, you had no idea.
“Wait, we get video games too?” Russell also sounded impressed, just following.
“Some of us,” Ellie replied though, giving Peter a skeptical look. “That one might have had a five finger discount.”
Peter huffed at her, non committal on the truth of that statement though, “It’s the new one, yeah. The new DLC just added more characters too.”
You didn’t even care anymore honestly as Wade pulled off his mask and hopped immediately onto your and Peter’s bed, grabbing a controller. “Dibs on Johnny Cage, mother fuckers. Let daddy show you how it’s done.”
“Hey, I want to be Scorpion!” Russell replied, actually sounding like the fourteen year old he really was for once.
And you saw Peter was already digging out another controller from his gaming pile as he scoffed at them both. “Man, you can try. I’ll wipe the floor with you and buzzcut you down to bloody stumps with Kung Lao.”
“Dopinder, google Johnny Cage combos, stat!” Deadpool requested as his friend hurried in, dutifully sitting on the floor and pulling out a cell phone to do just that.
Remy was actually the only male in the room to not be sucked in as he gave you a little look while walking back out. “Later, petite. Sorry for real about the fuss. You know he just irks me.” He leaned in a little closer just to you though. “And I know you’re faithful. He just needs to leave me out of it. Quit readin’ dem damn gossip magazines, yeah?”
“Yes.” You agreed with a smile. A little optimism returning that maybe the two of them could be reasoned with after all. “See ya, Remy.”
He nodded, winking at both Ellie and Yukio as well before he slipped past them and out down the hall. Yukio giggled, but Ellie only rolled her eyes.
“Well, if you put some pants on, maybe there’s still some breakfast left down there. Want to go?” Ellie asked you, crossing her arms. She smirked then though, the guys now commentating and mocking one another like there was some big sporting match going on just a few feet from you. “Let Wade be Peter’s problem for a while, I think you’ve earned it.”
“Sounds like a plan.” You agreed without much hesitation. If Peter needed you, it’s not like it’d even take him two seconds to find you, even with the size of this house.
You did see him glance back ever so briefly as you dug some sweatpants out your dresser drawer and pulled them on though. You made an eating gesture and he nodded, understanding where you were going.
He also made a motion like drinking and you knew that meant he wanted you to bring him back some soda. The more sugar the better for him.
As you walked back downstairs with Ellie and Yukio, Ellie chuckled to herself a little. “You know Wade’s going to think Peter is his bff now. Better buckle up for that ride. Colossus can probably give you some pointers.”
You sighed, looking at the younger two girls. “We’ve survived everything that’s been thrown at us to this point. Could always be worse.”
“Oh yeah, it’ll get worse.” Ellie answered.
Yukio nodded, yet still smiling. “Wade is very special. And deadly.”
“Like a contagion,” Ellie added.
It still didn’t matter though. New, strange friends, or old sometimes combative friends. Gossip and rumors, or anything else. In the end you had to agree with Xavier as you so often usually did. As long as you and Peter kept strong together, none of that outside noise could ever tear you down. You had each other and that was all you needed.
————————
End. Thanks for reading! Art by NACCHAN96.
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empresslesbiace · 3 years
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Ok but Peter Maximoff ends up saving Nina and Magda but like gets hit with the arrow in a leg or whatever (don’t ask me how ok) and Magda takes one look at this dude in his like early 20s and promptly adopts him lmao. Erik tried to reason with her but Magda just went, “Hes my son now” so Erik gave up and accepted it.
So Peter wakes up on Eriks couch while Eriks away or whatever and Magda is being so,, motherly,, towards him. And he’s sooo fucking confused. He’s like, “DOES SHE KNOW IM ERIKS SON” but Erik comes back home and thanks Peter and Peters like, “oh my god do they know” so he’s panicking the entire time also he got hit with an arrow so he’s bed rest for rn.
Erik and Magda meanwhile have no fucking clue they’ve actually just adopted Eriks flesh and blood son and once Peter finds this out he’s just like, “???????????”
And Peters just sitting there on the couch and Nina takes one look at him and claims him as her big brother and Magda is so proud in the background and Erik is just like,,, “there’s two of them oh no” because Nina and Magda are now teaming up to adopt Peter and he is just,,, long suffering,,,
Peters like, “I,, already have a mom” and Magda is like, “now you have two”
Peter reveals his name is Pietro and that he goes by Peter cause reasons and Magda is like, “Erik said he would have liked to name his son Pietro should he ever have one and guess what? Now he does. It’s all coming together”
They all bond as Peter recovers and Peter sends word back to like Charles or whatever cause Charles sent him and Charles is just so confused because Peter is like, “imma stay here awhile”
Ninas like, “I gotta show you my friends” and Peters like, “oh ok so I’m meeting a bunch of school children of something” but Nina brings him out back and there’s just a bunch of fucking deer everywhere and he is So Confused.
Erik sings Peter the lullaby that was passed down from his parents to him and Peter is like, “oh my god” because he’s literally just having an ongoing crisis of, “how do you tell a man who thinks of you as his son and is passing down family knowledge to you that you are actually his biological son HOW DO YOU-“
Awhile after bonding it just kinda slips out that Peter is actually Eriks son but it causes a giant confused mess because Erik literally just responds, “yeah I know” and Peters like, “no I mean like,,, biologically” and Eriks just like, “wait what” because he went through this whole chosen family crisis and Peters just there like, “yeah I’m your bio kid surprise!” And he’s having a fucking aneurysm
Magdas only response is, “ah good that makes paperwork much easier” because she’s been trying to find out how to legally adopt a 20 something year old man who has a living parent already and this news has solved all her problems
Magda and Nina are unfazed like they do not give a single fuck because they’re both badasses
At some point Charles shows up because Peters been missing awhile and he’s concerned and he just finds them having a nice family dinner
He is promptly invited by Magda to the table and the cycle starts all over again
Magda is like, “you’re my second husband now” and Eriks like, “HOW DID SHE FIND OUT I USED TO DATE CHARLES”
She had no fucking clue he dated Charles but once she finds out she kisses both of them and goes to make a snack or something and Charles and Erik are just,,, shocked,,,
So now OT3 is happening and Peter is sitting there like, “holy fuck” while Nina chats happily to her deer friend that she has two dads now
And Raven shows up and Nina looks at her and yells, “auntie!!’ And Ravens like, “?!?!?!?!!?!?” And then she sees Magda kiss Charles and she’s like, “HOW LONG WAS I GONE-“
Hank shows up and now an uncle is in the fray
Multiverse happens and Wanda shows up with Vision and Tommy and Billy and Magda has officially rubbed off on Peter because he takes one look at this shit show and says, “I’m an uncle now hell yeah” and just goes with it
Wanda is confused.
Lorna shows up one day and has metal powers on full display and Raven looks at Erik and is just like, “HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU HAVE-“
And so the cycle continues.
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statticscribbles · 3 years
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Baby Daddy Pt 2
Summary: Baby Daddy Pt 2; Soft x-family
”He’s crying again; can you see what’s wrong this time?” Erik mumbles from where he’d stuffed his head under the pillow. Charles smiles but it’s lost to the darkness before he carefully enters Peter’s mind. “He’s scared..” Charles doesn’t finish explaining that Peter was scared of his open window before Erik is back with his son tucked on his chest. “You could have closed the window.” “I could have; but he was crying; he’d probably start again if I left.” Erik asserts and Charles nods scooting over in the bed slightly so Peter can rest between them. “Thank you for taking him in.” Erik addresses Charles who looks confused, his hand reaching over Peter to nudge Erik’s head closer to his; they almost touch foreheads but Peter prevents this; still both Charles and Erik push the sensation and thoughts of cuddling each other despite Peter being in the way.
Peter doesn’t actually have anyone he dislikes in the mansion; both Erik and Charles won’t admit how pleased they are that his favourite, besides them as his father’s is Raven, with Hank at a close second to her but that’s only because Peter like to nap on his back whenever Hank falls asleep on the couch and the serum runs from his system. Charles had almost caved on the giant plush teddy bear he’d seen in one of the shops but managed to resist the temptation of the joy on Peter’s face and settled for a more modest size, half the size of the four foot giant one in replacement of Hank who would eventually be getting back problems from sleeping on the couch.
Peter’s speed seems to be doubling all of the milestone’s he should be meeting although Charles is the one to panic when Peter goes from his half crawling and blurring into just straight standing and walking; which leads to Charles only being able to tell where Peter is when his thoughts still from careening down the hallways in the mansion. Erik has a much more practical solution; a small metal bracelet which just increases the silver when Peter blurs by but ensures that Erik always knows where he is.
”I know what a birthday party is for Raven. Peter doesn’t have any friends to invite.” Erik mumbles covering Peter’s ears at the last sentence who just giggles. “It’s not really for him he’s too young to care.” “Peter has plenty of friends here!” Hank interjects and Erik is about to combat this but Angel appears grinning holding two different party hats towards Raven. “So blue or yellow?” “Both?” Charles offers and Erik narrows his eyes. “We can have the party on one condition.” “Oh?” Raven grins laughing into her hand when Erik turns to glare directly at Charles. “The present limit is fifty dollars.” Charles smirks. “Per person.”
“Dammit.” “I already bought-” Hank looks worriedly up from the notes he was taking on the party decorations that Angel was showing. “It’s fine Hank; I’m mainly making that for Charles; wait what on earth did you get him that’s more than fifty dollars? He’s a one year old.” “Nothing for a one year old…” “Hank…” “Raven and I split the cost.” Hank assures and Erik keeps his eyes narrowed when Charles laughs; no doubt having learned from Hank’s thoughts what Peter was going to be presented with.
“Magda’s here.” Charles nods and everyone turns to try to subtly look at Erik. The birthday party hadn’t really started but Peter was already a mess Angel having snuck him a tiny piece of cake; Charles had let it slide but had been too distracted by telling everyone who was invited that wasn’t in the mansion about his son to realize Jean, Scott and Logan had also given him a slice of cake. “Oh good she got the invitation I sent.” Erik grins as Raven sighs dramatically after everyone had been waiting with baited breath as Hank had gone to greet Magda. Angel had laughed at the overdramatics Raven had done, draping herself over the couch and exaggerating Charles as he laments his current boyfriend’s ex showing up uninvited. Erik just stares at Peter; who’s nice shirt that Charles had bought is now covered in cake. Azazel offers out a clean shirt in a puff of smoke and a grin; tail flicking back and forth now vindicated in his earlier comment about children not needing such fancy tiny breast pockets and buttons.
Magda greets everyone and laughs when Raven informs her Peter is currently getting changed as everyone else had given him cake when both his fathers were occupied. “Peter really is a sweetheart; despite his powers developing more.” Charles grins. “Aren’t you going to tell me? All Erik does is send me pictures of smudges.” Magda leans forward and Charles’ face lights up. “Magda no! he hasn’t shut up about Peter’s gift since he first crawled.” Angel moans and Charles looks sheepish. “He’s very fast; look.” Erik smiles when he walks back in Peter cleaned and dressed in more casual clothes; Erik’s keeping a tight hold on him and the bracelet with his powers as he helps Peter walk over tiny hands looped onto Erik’s fingers. Erik lets go and then there’s just a blur; before Peter appears at Magda and Charles’ chairs. “Very impressive; just like your fathers.” Peter grins and reaches his hands up laughing.
“Fast.” Everyone freezes; turning towards Peter. “Oh thank god none of you missed that; we’d never hear the end of it if one of you had missed his first word.” Hank looks relieved and Magda is just laughing as Peter giggles with her. “I don’t know what they would have done if your first word was mom.” “Fast!” Peter laughs again and Logan and Raven both slink off to the kitchen. “Wait did you two teach him that?” Charles regains his composure and Logan nods slowly. “Why would you teach him that!” Erik rounds on them and Raven just laughs; Logan sighs and offers out cake to everyone as he explains. “Well it was either that or the other ‘F’ word; and then father is too complicated anyways; well that’s what Hank said; plus having him shout fast might be a good warning sign of him trying to like run on water or something.” Erik looks horrified over to where Peter is once again covered in cake. “Walk on water?” He whispers and Hank nods at him. “Yeah once he can control it; there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to do that and more.” “More?”
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stattic-writes · 4 years
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Baby Daddy Pt 2
https://statticscribbles.tumblr.com/post/639099629845233664/masterlist
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Cherik Moodboard: Enchanted AU
Note: This is supposed to be a little more detailed exploration of the plot bunnies I have in mind for this (though I am really happy to read that I am not the only one feeling a mighty need for such an AU). I hope to put that into fanfic one of these days, but until I find the time and muses needed… I guess this can be taken as a small preview. :)
In a magical kingdom far, far away lives a young man in a cottage in the woods. Charles is a man heading towards his personal happy ending, as does anyone. With his sister Raven, he has any intention to not only find his personal luck but also for other people. Raven and he are special – they possess a kind of magic. Charles can read people’s minds whereas his sister can change her outer appearance at will.
Charles since harbored the wish to become a teacher and wants to build a school for people like them, those with magical gifts. Westchester Castle would be perfect. And at last, the owner of the property is willing to negotiate a treaty with Charles so that he can build his school there.
However, his supposed benefactor strikes Charles as rather strange. Now meeting him for the first time in person – they conversed by letter before – he can’t read his mind. Charles believes it is due to the strange helmet Sebastian Shaw is wearing, but before he has any chance to investigate, Charles finds himself pushed into a well in Westchester’s garden, and just like that, he is gone…
Erik Lehnsherr is going about his life as a lawyer while keeping a low profile, hoping not to draw too much attention to himself or his teenage son who is busy giving him trouble instead of listening to his father. Until just recently, Erik didn’t even know Peter was his son because his mother and he fell out of touch when he moved to Poland.
Trying to make ends meet as a normal person is hard enough, but doing so as a mutant who has to keep his faster-than-lightning son from exposing them at a time when mutants are more and more under scrutiny is an entirely separate nightmare.
When Erik and Peter pass by Time Square after dinner, both are in for a surprise: A man in a medieval-looking costume runs around in the middle of the busy street, shouting at people to stop thinking. It takes Erik a moment, but then it dawns on him: that man is likely one of them, a mutant. Thus, he instructs Peter to use his lightning speed to get them out of the situation, whiplash notwithstanding.
Peter takes them back to Erik’s loft, where a still very clearly disoriented man with dark hair and beautiful blue eyes struggles with “so many voices.” Any effort of Erik’s to get the man’s personal details fail – knowing very well that the new identification laws for mutants he is desperate to dodge in court won’t do that man any favors if he just hands him over to authorities. But it’s no use.
“I like him,” Peter declares.
“Why?”
“He’s weird.”
“Ah.”
In an effort to help the young man struggling with his mutation, Erik tries to calm him by instructing the, for what it seems, telepath to only focus on his thoughts. Luckily, that solves some of the problems, though sadly, it also creates more since that telepath is strong enough to dig into the darkest corners of Erik’s mind, recovering all those painful memories he put away for good.
“I am so sorry, Erik.”
“It doesn’t matter. I want to know who you are, now that you took a look around my head. So?”
“I am Charles. And I believe something is very much at disarray.”
“You don’t say.”
“I mean to say that… I seemingly ended up in the wrong world.”
As it turns out, Charles was sucked into another dimension. Erik nearly chokes on the name of the man Charles was busy making deals with. Sebastian Shaw. The man who made him into a monster. The man who killed his mother. The man he is still desperate to find and bring to justice.
However, as much as he wants revenge, Erik knows that figuring out the situation with Charles currently takes precedence.
“So we get to keep him?” Peter asks.
“You make it sound like he is a stray cat?”
“Well, he’s a stray guy, then. Though he definitely dresses fancier than the homeless guys down Time Square.”
“I would very much appreciate it if you granted me lodgings until I… well, acquainted,” Charles offers shyly. “It appears my home is in another dimension at this moment.”
Erik agrees to have Charles in his loft until they have this sorted out, though the thought of having a telepath in his home does nothing to calm his mind. After all, Charles accidentally dug in very deep already, and Erik has no intention of revisiting the memories he buried inside him.
The following days are filled with confusion foremost. Charles has some issue adjusting since cars, showers, or toasters are, to his mind, witchcraft. Though Charles seems curiously drawn to that which he doesn’t know, which only ever seems to fuel Peter to show Charles the “ways to modernity” by declaring himself Charles’s personal “reality tour guide.”
While Charles can be convinced to wear something more up-to-date to blend in better in public, his way of expression and lack of knowledge continue to get Erik into one awkward situation after the other.
When Charles starts an impromptu musical number in the park, Erik is just about to lose it, though.
Things hit another level of oddity when Peter’s mother checks in on them without letting Erik know of her surprise visit in advance, only to start making comments about how he seemingly "switched teams" after she runs into a half-naked Charles emerging from the bathroom after yet another hot shower, which he finds an “absolutely fantastic invention” they should have long since adopted in his world.
“It is so convenient!”
Despite their continuing clashes, especially once both discuss the methods of their taking on Shaw, the two have a vested interest in finding the man. After all, Charles himself has any intention to get back home to his sister, for whose safety he fears.
Unknown to them, Raven has since taken it upon herself to search for her brother after he didn’t return from his business dealings with Sebastian Shaw as he promised. And Charles always keeps his promises.
She travels to Westchester. While looking for her brother, she nearly walks in on Shaw talking to some of his minions. Raven can gather that Shaw needed to get rid of Charles because of his powerful mind that may have the power to destroy his plans of world dominion – and used Westchester as a way of luring him into a trap. Though, to Shaw’s dismay, something went wrong and Charles was not killed – as it was planned – but sent to another dimension.
“That’s the trouble with the fairytale world. Here, we can’t win – because the bad never wins here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t gather our weapons and then head back to our terrain where we most certainly can.”
One of his fellows, a blonde woman going by the name Emma Frost, is tasked to travel to that dimension and “take care of business” and ensure that Charles doesn’t get into their way a second time once they launch their plan in the other dimension.
Shaw releases a blast of energy through which Emma can travel to that dimension. Raven takes a chance and sneaks in after the blonde woman without anyone’s realization, only to find herself in the middle of Central Park, naked, blue, in her natural shape – and thus in the eye of everyone.
Unable to control her abilities, Raven has no other choice but to seek cover until she gets a hold of her magic. After all, she has to find Charles before this Emma Frost can.
Though help may soon be on the way when she runs into Hank, a young man who loves video games and tells her that she looks exactly like one of the characters of his club’s most beloved game. The group hails her like some kind of blue goddess, which Raven finds flattering, surely, but she really needs to find her brother first.
Hank volunteers to help her, arguing that she won’t have to hide at the convention he intends to visit, because everyone walks around in costumes there. He reveals to her that this is the one occasion where he also travels around in his natural shape – which is, like hers, blue. Just with a lot more fur. Raven agrees, hoping that going from there, she may have it easier to find Charles. And the prospect of being able to be herself in public, she will have to admit, is all the more intriguing.
In some other part of the city around the same time, Erik has his dear trouble taking care of a kleptomaniac teenage mutant who won’t listen to a word he says and an adult mutant who walks the earth with the curiosity of a child, leaving Erik wondering whether he truly is the only adult in the room.
But then again, Charles is from fairytale land where everyone is happy and where no bad can come to you. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to him that Charles won’t see the bad in the world when Erik witnessed it firsthand, more than once.  
Yet, there is a part of Erik that is completely enchanted by that man’s perception of the world, the happiness and hope he radiates and inspires.
Charles, for his part, finds himself both irritated and fascinated not just by this strange world but the man so kind to take him in. There is a great deal of darkness in Erik that Charles never witnessed back in his world – because it doesn’t exist where he comes from. And more than anything, he wants Erik to see the part Charles saw for himself when he accidentally looked into Erik’s mind, but Erik keeps ignoring this light – all the good in him, his love and his compassion, among many other things. Yet, Charles remains determined to show him just that magic.
In an effort to help mend the fractured relationship between Peter and Erik, Charles tries to communicate their feelings to one another, as this father-son pair fails to express what they truly think and feel. While Erik feels offended at first, he realizes that Charles is doing so with best intentions in mind – and actually succeeds to build a bridge between the two after Erik already thought he’d lose yet another child, like back in Poland.
Things take a sudden turn when Peter takes Charles to a convention in the city, so that Charles can “let the weird run wild and free” – only to run into none other than Hank and Raven.
While everyone is happily reunited, Erik is only left wondering just how many more “stray people” according to Peter he’ll have to take in. Though thankfully, Hank proves to be of help, having developed a device that would increase a telepath’s abilities so drastically that he or she could locate other mutants. Charles is thrilled by the idea, hoping that this will finally give him a chance to track down Shaw, not only for Erik’s sake but now also to make sure that Raven makes her way back home safely.
Erik, while driven to finally find Shaw after all those years, finds his mind constantly overwritten by his growing worry and care for Charles, who, to his mind, puts himself in far too much danger in an effort to find Shaw.
While Charles can’t locate Shaw thanks to the helmet, they end up with a lead on the woman Raven followed, Emma Frost. Conveniently, she hosts a ball that is supposed to be a great finale for the convention – though really just for high society – which may prove like a good opportunity to get some answers.
Thanks to Charles’s convincing, the group has no trouble getting in.
And yet, trouble lurks just behind the next corner, since they are not the only ones with special abilities – and the will to see their goals achieved.
Erik fears that he will remain right in the end – that in his world, there are no happy ending stories…
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douxreviews · 5 years
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Jessica Jones - ‘A.K.A. Hero Pants’ Review
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“No one’s ever who you need them to be.”
I’ve never been much of a gamer but this show continually brings the D&D alignments to mind. Jessica is the epitome of chaotic good. Good guys should be rewarded and the bad guys should be punished, laws be damned. Her only problem is determining good from bad.
Her attempts at lawful good failed miserably when she had to choose between punishing Sallinger or saving Trish. Now Jessica is reaping what she sowed. The police may not suspect her of evidence tampering but the murder of a police officer kinda trumps that, anyway. Solving Nussbaumer’s murder is now added to her already overflowing plate which includes stopping a serial killer while planning the funeral for her adoptive mother.
Jessica's first suspect is Erik who, if we’re being honest, is probably a true neutral. Or, at least he was. Erik is perfectly willing to follow the law, but not averse to bending it if it benefits him. However, thanks to his particular gifts, he’s not one to harm the innocent. Has he decided to try on his “hero pants” as Jessica put it and punish Nussbaumer? Considering that Nussbaumer died, wouldn’t that make Erik more villain than hero?
When Jessica confronts Erik about Nussbaumer’s death he claims innocence. He may have omitted certain facts but to my knowledge, he’s never lied to Jessica. Is it the lack of any other viable suspect that made her so loathe to believe him? Or just her general cynicism about human nature? More importantly, did she go over to his place and sleep with him just for the opportunity to search his apartment?
If we continue with the alignment theory, Hogarth would have to be lawful evil. She uses the law to protect herself and those she cares about as well as to attack anyone she considers a threat. Her willingness to “color outside the lines” may have been the intersection point in her Venn diagram with Jessica. However, even Jeri is having a hard time justifying representing a serial killer. Is her impending death giving her pause? Is she trying to make amends or just telling everyone what they want to hear?
Kith finally recognizes Jeri for what she is just as Jeri may be trying to change. And that is a heavily accented may. Yet Kith's need to protect herself and her son makes unleashing Jeri on her enemies a viable option. Does that make Kith neutral or push her into evil territory?
Malcolm has traded the lawful evil of Hogarth’s world for the chaotic good of Jessica’s. Neither is a particularly good fit. Malcolm still needs to figure out who he is and what he wants. On the plus side, he’s honest enough to own up to his actions. However, Zaya is not a bad person, and while she may have assumed he wanted the same things she did, she never forced him to do or be anything. Breaking up with her because of her association with Hogarth was not his finest hour.
Neither was his tumble with Brianna. I have no issues with them hooking up. But Malcolm’s desire seemed to have more to do with Brianna believing he was a “good guy” than because of any actual attraction.
Which leads us back to Trish. Once upon a time, she could have been considered lawful good in opposition to Jessica’s chaotic version. However, after watching the law fail Jessica in season one, she joined Jessica’s chaos in season two. Unfortunately, her worldview is far more simplistic than Jessica’s and her need to punish is far more direct. One might excuse Trish’s desire to kill Sallinger due to her mother’s murder. But killing Nussbaumer or Montero, as we’re being led to believe she did, definitely crosses the evil boundary.
Is Trish’s lack of impulse control a result of Malus’ experiment or the result of her addictive personality? Either way, it has surpassed a mere lack of faith in the authorities. Whether that’s because she no longer understands the distinction between good and evil (i.e. killing) or no longer cares is up for debate.
All of which is shown through the prism of Dorothy’s death. Jessica compares Dorothy’s last-ditch efforts to redeem herself with Jeri’s death’s door manipulations. And as much as Trish resented her mother, her speech on Dorothy’s hatred of wasting talent sounds like a justification of her own actions and a rebuke of Jessica’s approach. Finally, Malcolm’s tryst with Brianna at the expense of supporting Jessica and Trish at the funeral proves he’s not the “good guy” he wants to be.
This episode was an interesting character exploration. Thus my examination of the alignment theory. But no progress was made in the quest to stop the Big Bad and there was little forward momentum in the search for Nussbaumer’s killer until the final moments. It seems that Erik and Trish may both be trying on their hero pants and it doesn’t look like they fit.
3 out of 5 arrest warrants
Parting Thoughts:
Why would Trish’s wrists be bruised and not her hands? You don’t usually beat people to death with your wrists.
Does anyone else wonder what would happen to Erik’s head if he ever met Jeri?
New York’s Finest has not been so fine. This is not the first time they failed to watch all the entrances of the house of the person they are staking out. Then there’s the added bonus of Defford admitting she knew Nussbaumer was dirty and didn’t seem to care.
Sallinger was notably absent from this episode. I did not miss him.
Just for the record, I LOVE Gillian.
Quotes:
Jessica: “I would say ‘it wasn’t me,’ but it kind of loses impact after the 50th time.”
Defford: “Your hands have been murder weapons before.”
Jessica: “Don’t antagonize them. I’ve got that part covered.”
Kith: “What fresh hell has Peter’s crimes brought me today?”
Erik: “I’ve never wished my power on anybody, but if you had it right now, you’d be standing here headache-free.”
Malcolm: “I quit.” Jessica: “Got fired.” Malcolm: “Both.” Jessica: “Welcome back to humanity.”
Jessica: “Dorothy had no clue that she was about to die and even she wanted to do something good before she checked out. You know you're dying. What are you doing?”
Jessica: “What did you tell them.” Gillian: “That I’d never personally seen you murder anyone.” Jessica: “Thanks.”
Jessica: “There’s nothing I hate more than searching for something I don’t want to find.”
Malcolm: “What am I looking for?” Jessica: “Proof of life.”
---
Shari loves sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, and anything with a cape.
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honeylikewords · 5 years
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hey can i request a peter maximoff x f!reader? where its during apocalypse and kinda follows their realtionship through it, from when he saves her from the x mansion. obviously im not expecting a long ass thing lol just small snippets or something! thank you!!!
hey anon? this is so darn cute, thank you SO much! (you phrased this so politely and i 100% adore and appreciate polite anons who are aware that i’m a busy gal :’) you’re a sweetie! also, thank you for specifying the pronouns and gender, that always helps!)
plus, i’ve been itching to write more peter stuff as of late to branch out a bit, so let’s try a few of these out! it’s been a hot minute since Apocalypse came out, though, so please be lenient if i forget some of the finer details of the plot!
(btw i know you said you weren’t expecting anything long but i got carried away! also, i know this deviates a little from what you probably had in mind, but i wanted to tie it in with my larger peter narrative!)
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I think Peter would probably not have a girlfriend before or during the events of Apocalypse-- at least not in a conventional sense. He was pretty defeated and reclusive after Days of Future Past (aka “That One Time He Broke A Murderer Out Of Jail On A Dare And Said Murderer Nearly Assassinated The President And Destroyed The White House And Oh Also? That Murderer Is His Dad”) and kept to himself. A self-described ‘loser’, Peter just didn’t want to bother with people any more: he felt like he’d let everyone down.
That’s why I always imagined that if Peter was going to be in a relationship with someone, he’d have to know them as a close friend who has been in his life for a while. I think he’s prone to flighty crushes based on the way someone looks (he doesn’t ‘fall’ for them, but rather flirts with them until he gets bored), but he finds that, deep inside, what he really needs is someone to keep him in line, call him out on his bad behavior, and remind him of what really counts, and what really makes him a hero: protecting other people and doing his best for them.
So, I argue that Peter’s best friend would be the one who loves him and who he loves, but that they never clarified their emotions to one another, and then Peter became a recluse and shut-in after the incident with freeing Erik, so neither of them is aware of how the other feels. After all, Peter felt personally responsible and horrified to know that his actual, biological father was... that kind of person, so he was already an emotional mess just trying to sort out the fact that he is the son of a very dangerous, very unstable man. But at the same time, he was desperate to find Erik and know if his father knew about him, to understand him better, to see where he, himself, came from.
I imagine that Peter’s friend would try to talk him out of it on the basis that Erik is a clear and present danger to people and would probably not sympathize with Peter’s plight (”He blew up the White House, Peter!”). But, since Peter is such an obstinate, bull-headed young man, he pushed on, insisting that he could find something out about his father.
Maybe it’s because, deep down, Peter worries that he, himself, is the bad guy; he worries that this kind of violence, these kinds of mistakes, this failure, is bred into his bones. His mom’s a drinker, his dad’s a terrorist. One’s a little worse than the other, but it still bothers him to think that maybe he is the result of pure dysfunction. He needs to know if that bitter kind of blood runs in his veins, too, or if he can change his fate.
So, knowing that Peter is going to run headlong into danger like he always does, his friend comes along, citing that he’ll need someone to “yank him by the ear when he does some dumbshit stunt”, inevitably. 
Peter ran from D.C. to the X-Mansion in the film, so if he brings his friend with, he’ll likely have to carry her (and take periodic breaks so she doesn’t get motion sick or whiplash), all the while trying not to let his hands wander too much, nor to let himself stare at her and watch as she clings to him and her hair bounces in the breeze his speeds creates. She looks so pretty as she blinks, her lashes kissing together... He then makes himself look away so he doesn’t build his hopes up too high.
I think Peter really severely considers himself a complete and total loser, fluke, failure, and mistake, so he doesn’t think someone as sensible, pretty, and kind as his friend could ever love him. He’s happy(ish) to just stay her friend if that means keeping her in his life. He just wants something constant, something familiar, something stable, and she brings that to him.
As they arrive at the X-Mansion, he feels something’s off, and the moment he looks at the place, he gets that itchy feeling all up and down his spine that says “something’s wrong”. He sets his friend down at a safe distance from the school and makes sure to slow down to her speed so she can see him as he says “I gotta go for a sec. You wait here.”
He tucks the Twinkie he’d picked up at the gas station during their last break into her hand and zips off to handle the explosion and save as many students (and dogs eating pizza) as he can. Once they’re safely removed, he returns to his beloved and stands between her and the explosion, wrapping her in a tight hug and tucking her in so that if any part of the blast rattles them, she’ll be safe in his arms. He slows down and the world returns to normal, his friend clinging to him.
“What did you DO?!,” she shrieks.
“I just saved everyone’s lives, that’s what!”
“You BLEW UP the SCHOOL?!”
“NO, someone else did that! I got everyone out! Jeez, someone’s not grateful to her hero, huh?”
But she pauses for a moment, cupping her hands on his cheeks and noticing he has a few smudges of dirt and soot from the burning air in the mansion. She strokes a thumb over the harsh line of his cheekbone, smearing the dust on his face. He grows very quiet as his heart runs even faster than normal, its beats shaming the fluttering of hummingbird wings.
“You’re a mess,” she murmurs. “Someone’s gotta look out for you, big hero.”
“That’s why I’ve got you,” he replies. “To look out for me.”
She nods and gently squeezes his face, and he can feel the tips of her fingers brush against the long ends of his silver hair, barely a ghost of a touch. He still shivers.
In the background, stones collapse and timbers creak, letting out almighty groans and snarls as the oxygen gets eaten up by ravenous flames. Peter shivers again, but for a different reason: there’s real destruction happening before him. Hundreds of people could be dead if he hadn’t intervened, and she could have been among that body count if he hadn’t been careful.
From there, Peter realizes the severity of the situation. It’s no longer fun and games, no longer hide-and-go-seek with an absentee father. It’s life or death stakes. And he doesn’t want her involved in any of this.
Peter intentionally hides her away before he makes his break to go find Erik, insisting that she stay clear of all of this. She tries to fight him and come with, but he grips her arms and looks deep into her eyes, a strange kind of gravity in his demeanor. Peter is normally never so serious, but as he looks at her and squeezes her, she knows, things are far from normal for him.
“I need you to stay here,” he stresses, emphatically shaking her. “You cannot get into this with me. I’m not gonna let that happen.”
“Peter--”
“No. This is my problem. This is as far as I’m letting you go with me.”
“But--”
“I’m sorry, okay? Just... don’t miss me too much. I’ll always find a way back to, ya know, drive you crazy.”
He leans forward, and kisses her brow, quick and light. The gesture could almost be mistaken for something fratenal, had both their hearts not leapt and their eyes fixed on each other. His hand lingers on her a touch longer than it ought to for a platonic moment, and as he walks away, he casts another glance over his shoulder. She looks into his deep, dark brown eyes, and smiles at him nervously.
“Hey! You... you come back home to me, alright?”
Peter takes a deep breath and flashes her his biggest, toothiest smile.
“You bet your pretty little ass I’m gonna.”
She flips him off, laughing (though he notices her eyes remain tight with worry, and he blows a theatric kiss towards her, trying to seem goofy and playful despite the growing knot of anxiety in the pit of his stomach. He wants her to feel relaxed, and to see him confident. After all, he thinks grimly, this may be the last time she sees him.
But he can’t imagine not seeing her again. He doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to think about her living a quiet life without his racket, without him there to bother her, to annoy her, to love her, whether silently or out in the open.
When he’s captured, Peter begins to despair and panic, though he masks it under his usual layers of humor and sarcasm. Though he’s quippy outside, inside, he’s riddled with worry. He might die here, in a metal cage, surrounded by freaks, and never get to tell the girl he loves that he cares about her. 
He’s spent his whole life a few degrees removed, desperate to appear so aloof and carefree, but only now does he realize how much he wanted to say and do. He swears to himself that once he’s free, and once this is over, he’s going to tell the truth. He’s going to take her home and hug her tight and kiss her ‘til they both can’t breathe and he’s going to tell her, flat out, that he’s in love with her, come hell, high water, or the nuclear destruction of the earth.
From there, things progress as they must, and, eventually, Peter does come home. But he’s hobbling on a broken leg, covered in dirt and grime, looking exhausted and sweaty. His beloved runs up to him as the plane touches down, her hands spread as tears burst from her. He falls into her, gratefully and exhaustedly hugging her close. God, she feels so good, even as she weeps into his hair and runs her hands panickedly all across his back and torso, as if feeling for injuries.
“Oh, Peter, oh, god, baby, what happened?”
He’s in her arms and halfway ready to tell her, but pauses, resting his head on her shoulder tiredly as he smiles.
“Did you just call me ‘baby’, sweetie?”
“...Did you just call me ‘sweetie’?”
“I asked you first.”
“I asked you second... baby.”
They lean on each other for a moment before they manage to stumble towards a place to sit down and rest Peter’s leg as the emergency response teams and paramedics appear to take care of the injured. Peter leans his head against her chest and closes his eyes, hearing her heartbeat. That pulse reminds him of the promise he made to himself.
He reaches out and takes her hand, intwining their fingers and squeezing her.
“Hey, babe, I have something I need to tell you.”
“Yeah?”
“...I, uh, I was thinking about some, um, stuff. And I realized some stuff about myself and about what I care about and... I, you know, I didn’t end up telling Magnet-Head about... who I am. Because I think I realized that I don’t really need him. He’s not my family. He’s never been there for me, and I don’t need to keep chasing him to know where I’m supposed to be, you know?”
“...Peter, what are you saying?”
He takes a deep, shaky breath and nuzzles in closer, letting his tired eyes fall shut as he takes in the smell of her; smoke and ash and just the littlest hint of perfume. All her. Warm and present.
“I’m saying... the people who matter in your life aren’t always the ones who, you know, you share DNA with. Sometimes the most important people are the ones who have been there for a long time, and you realize you love them and you can’t live without them and-- oh, fuck it.”
He sits up, puts his hands on her cheeks, and looks into her eyes, smiling as sweetly as he can with all the butterflies coursing through his stomach.
“I love you. And you’re more a part of my family than that guy could ever be to me.”
“...Are you saying I’m like a sister to you?”
Peter pauses, then snorts, rolling his eyes. He lets out a playful, exasperated sigh, and presses his forehead to hers, his tired muscles groaning with relief to find solace in her.
“No. I mean that I love you. As in ‘I want to be around you forever’ love you. As in ‘you’re my best friend but even more than that’ love you. As in ‘can I kiss you’ love you.”
He gets his answer as she rubs her thumb on his small, chapped bottom lip, staring at it hungrily.
“Thought you’d never ask, you big jerk.”
In a pile of rubble, on an overcast day, with a broken leg, after the threat of nuclear armageddon, after the most taxing and painful battle of his life, Pietro Django Maximoff has his first kiss. Far from his house, far from the little world he used to inhabit, he finds his home, pressed into the lips of the girl he’s known and loved all along. 
Peter swears, for years after, that the kiss healed his broken leg. She always bats his chest and tells him to check his facts and remember the full limb cast he was in for a month. Then he kisses her again and remarks that nothing could hurt him with her love in his heart, and they both laugh at the schmaltz and sweetness of the love they’ve built together. 
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a34trgv2 · 5 years
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In Defense of Black Panther
WARNING: There will be spoilers for the film Black Panther. If you haven’t seen the film, please watch it before reading this post.
Black Panther one of the MCU’s most well received films from a critical and financial standpoint (with 97% out of 455 critics giving an average rating of 8.3/10 on Rotten Tomatoes and making $1.3 billion dollars at the box office). It’s even made history as the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. So, naturally there are a select few people that claim it’s “overrated” or “not worthy of all the hype” as is the case with every film that makes a splash with audiences, critics and film institutes like the Academy of Arts and Science. Full disclosure, if you dislike this film, that’s fine. It’s impossible for any one movie to please everyone. That said though, it’s still important to recognize why it resonated with so many people, including myself. Calling it (or anything, for that matter) “overrated” makes you sound jealous. With that out of the way, let’s talk about why Black Panther is not just a great film, but an important one. 
Despite being set in the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther is very much a standalone picture with the only acknowledgement to the film T’Challa was introduced in, Captain America: Civil War, occurring in the beginning and post credits scene of the film. T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka, died in Civil War and Bucky is seen living in a hut now under a new moniker, White Wolf. The plot mainly revolves around T’Challa learning the difference between being a good man and a good king. If Peter Parker had to learn “with great power comes great responsibility” T’Challa has to learn what responsibility he must take for the good of his country. This plot reminds me of this quote Mufasa said in The Lion King to Simba: “...there’s more to being a king then getting your way all the time.” The film shows how T’Challa’s actions can make or break his country and if it were put in the wrong hands, it can lead to dangerous consequences. That’s where Erik “Killmonger” Stevens comes in and when he defeats T’Challa in combat and becomes the new king, his first order of business is to send weapons to blacks around the world, which would lead to genocide. Killmonger is who T’Challa would’ve became if he let his bitterness consume him, and the two of them actually learn alot from one another by the end.
Let’s talk about Killmonger and why he’s one of the best villains I’ve seen in a film, comic book or otherwise. Every minute he’s on screen we learn more and more about him and why he’s does what he does. At the start of the film, T’Chaka killed his brother, N’Jobu, for attempting to kill Zuri after it was revealed that he’s been stealing Vibranium and giving it to Ulysses Klaue. N’Jobu being Killmonger’s father, the young boy spent his entire life killing and getting stronger so that he could take his place as king and right the wrong that was done to him. Killmonger represents the anger and frustrations of many young black men who are oppressed and undermined on a daily basis and if they had the power, they’d make all the oppressors pay. During the final fight, T’Challa recognizes where his hate comes from and makes an effort to be a better king than his father. Killmonger is a good villain not because he wants power, but because he wants to help other people just like him but is going at it the same way Adolf Hitler did: not through peace, but genocide. Also he kills 5 people, beats T’Chaala to near death and burned all the heart shaped herbs that gives the Black Panther his powers.
Now Killmonger is a great villain, but it’s the hero we’re all here for. So let’s talk about T’Challa. What makes T’Challa such an interesting and well throughtout character is how calm and nice he is. He remains the better man even when he has every reason to be otherwise. Not to mention, he’s just so charming and has a good heart. Ultimately though, it’s how he deals with the fact that his father wasn’t a saint like he always thought he was that makes him so relatable. He goes through an array of different emotions when he’s in the Ancestral Plane: anger, disappointment, sadness, resentment. We spend our entire child hoods believing our parents to be the best in the world and when we learn they committed heinous acts such as murder, it turns our world upside down. But rather then spend time wallowing in his misery, T’Challa makes an effort to be better than his ancestors and ensure someone like Killmonger doesn’t happen again. Captain Logon of Geekvolution made the bold claim that T’Challa, Captain America and Luke Cage were better Supermen than the one in the DCEU and I think that’s true, considering the thought of giving up NEVER crossed T’Challa’s mind.
This film goes above and beyond when it comes to making strong supporting characters. Starting with Shuri, she has definitely become an audience favorite and is in my top 10 supporting characters. At just 16, her genius makes her on par with the likes of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Also, she has some of the funniest moments in the film, including the “What are those?” gag. I’m aware many people hate memes being used in popular media, but when it’s done well, it’s at the very least chuckle worthy. She is responsible for upgrading the Black Panther suit, controlling vehicles from her lab and having battle armor ready for Nakia during the final battle. Speaking of which, Nakia is very much a subverted love interest as despite showing good chemistry with T’Challa, they’re not an item in this film until the very end and by then it feels earned. Nakia is very much by T’Challa’s side the entire time an it feel natural like they’ve been friends since childhood as opposed to them just meeting at the start of the film. Then there’s Okoye, captain of the Dora Milaje and loyal to the thrown even if Killmonger’s in it. She see’s T’Challa not just as her king but also a friend. Her lover, W’Kabi, makes for a good friend turned foe and shares perfect chemistry with her. T’Challa’s mother, Ramonda, makes for a good supporting character, showing that she very much loves her son and is willing to anything she can for him. Zuri is a good adviser and key player in Killmonger’s arc. M’baku of the Jabari tribe was just so much fun, being a fierce rival for T’Challa and having some good jokes thrown in for good measure. Then we have Ulysses Klaue, the nasty but clever and funny thief who has a Vibranium arm since he was last seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron. He just steals the show every time he’s on screen until Killmonger kills him and drops him at the border of Wakanda.
Credit should really be given to the cast for bringing these characters to life. Chadwick Boseman gives what is quite possibly his most defining performance in his career, playing a compelling, charming, and so very human character with super human abilities. Michael B. Jordan made Killmonger his own, bringing out his humanity and bitterness towards the people who oppressed him. Letitia Wright very much sells the spunky Shuri is meant to have as well as being tech savy. Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurrea, Forrest Whitaker, Angela Basset, Winston Duke and Daniel Kaluuya are all good and very memorable as Nakia, Okoye, Zuri, Ramonda, M’Baku, and W’Kabi respectively. The one having the most fun in this film is Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, taking full advantage of his onscreen presence with his eccentric and funny personality.
The soundtrack for the film is also very memorable, embracing the African atmosphere with sounds and music influenced by countries in the continent. Rapper Kendrick Lamar was brought on to produce music for the film and his single, All The Stars (featuring SZA) used in the end credits ties in to Killmonger’s arc perfectly. Not only does the music play a key part in bringing this film to life, but the costumes and visuals aesthetic make the it feel alive. The costumes feel like they belong in an African country, making use of various colors from the lower East side of the continent. People seem to have a problem with the CG used in the film, particularly in the final battle. I’m not sure what the problem is, the CG looks fine throughout the film. Wakanda feels lived in and looks like a real place you could visit. Practical effects such as really buildings and cooking stations were used for shots in the city, but for wide shots, the CG looks flawless. I guess they’re referring to how T’Challa and Killmonger fighting in the Vibranium minds “looks like a PS2 game.” If I may go on a side tangent, I really hate the “it looks like a video game” argument. I undermines the hard work and effort that went in to making games as well as the effort put into CG in movies. In this case, the CG looks exactly like what it’s showing: two guys in black cat suits (one purple, the other orange) duking it out in a dimly lit cave. I might not be a visual effects supervisor, but even I can tell the difference from a game that came out a decade and a half ago and a movie released in 2018.
The last thing I want to talk about is why this film resonated so much with people, particularly with people of color. Contrary to popular belief, the fact that this film has a black superhero is not the only reason why it resonated with black people. It’s actually has to do with timing and how that played a huge part in it’s success. Racism still thrives around the world, particularly here in America. Just 2 years before this film came out, Zootopia tackled racism in a way children could understand and that also resonated with people unlike most animated films have done. Black Panther tackles a different angel than Zootopia and yet gets it’s message across just as effectively. Deep down, we’re very much like Killmonger. Everybody is sick of racism and we all want to do something about it. However, as the film shows, genocide is NOT the answer. The reason why the Holocaust happened and terrorism exists is because people think that killing other people they don’t like is the best solution. This film ends with T’Challa learning the right lesson from Killmonger: by opening Wakanda to the rest of the world and offering to help people instead of hurt them, T’Challa proves to be the best king in Wakandan history. The film isn’t “just another superhero movie” as some would claim it to be. It’s the film we need now more than ever. We need to be told being angry at the oppressor isn’t going to stop him, but offering to help those who are being oppressed makes a big difference. To quote a young woman from a little movie about space ships, “That’s how we’re going to win. Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love.”
Look, the film isn’t perfect by any means. Martian Freeman gives a good performance as Everett Ross, but the character is just there to be the “Phil Coulson-esqu” type of character. That and I was a little bummed we didn’t get to see more of Klaue in the film. That said, I have nothing but positive things to say about the film. As a film it’s got a strong story, excellent characters, impressive visual effects, a memorable sound track and great performances all around. And to top it all off, it’s message culturally significant and it’s delivered in an organic way that doesn’t come across as pretentious. To anyone who dubs this film “overrated” (looking at you Dishonoured Wolf -.-), please refrain from doing so. It’s fine if you don’t like it, but you can’t deny that it’s message isn’t important. I now leave you with a quote from T’Challa himself. 
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fangirlfanwritings · 7 years
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Charles Xavier!daughter
Hey hon!! Could you please write an imagine where the Charles Xavier (the reader father) finds out that she's dating Peter Maximoff?
You walked out of your bedroom and made your way to the large kitchen. “Good morning, Y/N,” your Dad’s voice rang in the kitchen. “Ready for class today?”
“Depends, do I get to teach today or are you making me sit in class again,” you quipped.”
“You may have good control over you power, Y/N, but you are 16. I don’t know if you are ready to teach yet.”
You lifted your hand and let the sparks fly between your fingers. “You don’t think I’m ready to teach but I don’t think I need to sit and listen to the same exact things that you told me as I grew up,” you exclaimed. “That’s how I got control over my powers in the first place. And, the kids here hardly talk to me unless they need my help because they know I’m in control and they’re freaked out that I’ll run and rat them out to you.” “Perks” of having your Dad be the founder of the school.
“Well, I know it’s been harder for you lately, which is why I’ve invited Peter to the school. He’ll be here tonight, actually.”
“Peter...Peter Maximoff? Erik’s son, Peter?”
“Yes, I spoke with him and we both agreed that he belong here. He’s coming to learn how to use his abilities better and train for the X-Men. Now you’ll have a friend here,” your Dad smiled and turned to leave. “See you in class.”
You cursed under your breath, grabbed your breakfast, and got ready to avoid the problem coming.
******
You were bouncing around the office, dealing with paperwork, when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” you yelled and ran to the door. You blew past your Dad and answered the door, seeing Peter’s smiling face. “Hi, Peter,” you said tensely. “Welcome, let me show you to your room,” you grabbed his arm and lead him upstairs, quickly.
“Didn’t know you were so eager to get me in bed,” he joked when you closed the door to his new room.
“Stop it,” you pointed at him. “Why did you agree to come here without calling and telling me first?!”
“Your dad didn’t really give me the option, it was really on the spot. Plus, I thought it’d be nice to be together rather than rely on calls and seeing each other on the weekends.”
“It is nice, babe, but my dad doesn’t know about us, remember? We were going to keep it a secret until things between our dads calmed down a little bit.”
“I know but we still don’t have to tell him.”
“Pete,” you threw your head into your hands, “he’s a telepath. He reads minds for a living.”
“Yeah but he doesn’t read our minds unless something is wrong,” he tried to point out.
“Hon, he can’t always control it and your mind races quicker than the average, your thoughts are louder and harder to ignore...if you slip up for one second or my dad gets a little suspicious and he hears we are dating…”
“I’ll be careful, ok. We both just have to be a little extra careful until this mess blows over,” he hugged you tight and kissed your forehead. “We can do it, ok?”
Once you finally left the room you showed him the rest of the mansion and, finally, met your father in his office. “Peter, great to see you again,” you dad shook his hand. “How have you been?”
“Great Professor X, thanks for having me here.” So far so good.
*2 weeks later*
You stood outside in the pasture, sending your electricity through the air like a bolt of lightning and hitting the targets you had scattered across the lawn. You sent out a bolt but suddenly the target was moved a few inches from where you had it. “Are you crazy,” you said to the empty area around you and suddenly your boyfriend zipped in front of you. “If you had been just the slightest bit off that voltage would have killed you,” you said with worried anger.
“I knew what I was doing,” he grinned.
As you stood talking with him outside your father was calling around the mansion for you. Finally, passing a window, he saw you and Peter talking and smiling outside. He was glad to see you so happy...but he needed you inside to help prepare a lesson for next week. He decided he’d just slip into your mind and tell you to come in but he stopped when he heard what you were Peter was saying to you. “Why don’t we go out tonight. It’s Saturday, we have nothing else to do, let’s go on a date. It’s been awhile since we’ve gone out.”
“Because you moved in and us disappearing every night would be a little suspicious.” Your dad stood listening to your conversation trying to figure out how long this had been going on.
“Hey, you remember that date we went on when we met up in DC and walked around all night and ended up way out in suburbia,” Peter laughed and you thought back on that night. Charles saw the images flash through your head and was unable to keep them from popping into his head.
That’s when you felt your dad in your head, something that you were only able to pick up after a lifetime of living with him. “Dad,” you said allowed, letting Peter know your dad was mentally there and letting your dad know you knew he was there.
“Come inside right now, Y/N,” he spoke into your mind and you felt his presence leave.
You looked at Peter. “He knows.”
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trendingnewsb · 6 years
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Forget heroes: The Marvel Cinematic Universe needs more supervillains
Thanos deserves more than this.
Image: marvel studios
Warning: This post contains MAJOR spoilers for the end of Avengers: Infinity War
Maybe I’m a monster, but the moment I cheered the loudest during Avengers: Infinity War was when all the superheroes disintegrated and the bad guy got his happy ending.
I’m certainly not a fan of genocide (to put it mildly), or even a Thanos groupie. But I do like compelling stories, and a villain-centric arc that refused to let the heroes win was the first time a Marvel movie has surprised me.
SEE ALSO: After ‘Infinity War,’ which ‘Avengers 4’ heroes will lead the fight?
So what’s the problem? Well, the ending leaves me itching for a Thanos prequel instead of the next Avengers or even Captain Marvel — which will undoubtedly undo this unhappy ending. And the knowledge that we’ll probably never get that prequel is why the Marvel Cinematic Universe is starting to lose me.
Every two-bit comic book fan will tell you heroes are only as great as their villains. Everyone, it seems, except for the folks at Marvel Studios.
I’m not the first to point out Marvel’s “villain problem,” or how evil characters tend to be disposable onscreen. Many had high hopes that the introduction of Thanos would fix this problem, but he’s only shined a spotlight on it. Marvel’s villain problem runs deep, requiring a total shift in the MCU franchise formula. 
But it won’t be fixed until Marvel actually admits it’s a problem. Head of studio Kevin Feige told io9 that he recognizes the issue with their villains — yet he feels pretty OK about it. “It always starts with what serves the story the most and what serves the hero the most,” he said. 
I could do with getting rid of, like, two-thirds of these characters.
Image: marvel studios
But by failing to see how villains are as integral as heroes, the MCU fundamentally misunderstands what makes a good superhero story. 
At first, the MCU got away with wasting great superheroes on forgettable villains who were plot devices disguised as characters. But Avengers: Infinity War showed how short-sighted that was. And it ain’t gonna cut it anymore.
SEE ALSO: What happens in the end credits of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
I’m tired of paint-by-numbers movies introducing hordes of new bad guys that the hero can Hulk-smash until the next round and round and around we go, ad infinitum. Infinity War’s ending was powerful because it finally broke from that cycle … until the end credits, at which point Nick Fury reminds us it’ll be business as usual soon enough. 
What’s next for the MCU once it wraps on the biggest bad’s inevitable defeat in Avengers 4? I hope investing in villains is a top priority. From the looks of Venom, it just might be (though don’t put all your eggs in that basket).
Once the Infinity Gauntlet conflict ends, villains will be key to keeping audiences engaged in this increasingly expansive crossover machine. Here’s why, and how.
Villains need their own arcs, developed over multiple movies
The first step is to invest time and effort into establishing villains who evolve throughout the franchise. Marvel was so careful about slowly introducing and incorporating its heroes into the larger MCU. Why don’t villains get half as much thought?
I’m legitimately crying.
Image: marvel studios
This shift toward villains would set the stage for more meaningful conflicts, and allow for experimentation with the kind of stories Marvel tells. Why not bring Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan back for a prequel? Or zoom in on Thanos and Gamora’s backstory?
There’s a reason Loki was crowned “best Marvel villain” for so long. It’s because the first Thor movie was as much his origin story as Thor’s. Loki’s reappearances across the franchise made us as attached to him as we were to any Avenger. 
Then there’s Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War, which succeeded because the original Captain America established the foundation of Bucky’s character — and then twisted it and his relationship to Cap in a gut-wrenching way.
SEE ALSO: Jeff Goldblum picks his Avengers champion (and it’s not Thor)
And don’t forget Erik Killmonger, who captivated our hearts and minds in about 30 minutes of screen time. Black Panther started with Killmonger, as J’Bou tells his son the story of Wakanda, leading to an entire opening scene establishing Erik’s motivations.
Thanos had the best Infinity War arc, but it was still wasted
Sure, Thanos was better than, say, Ultron. 
I was really hoping Thanos would kill Tony Stark.
Image: Marvel Studios
But many comic book fans felt the movie squandered his story. Our own Adam Rosenberg wrote an explainer on the character’s comic book iteration, showing moviegoers just how many missed opportunities there were in Infinity War. Like how “the sight of a rough-skinned, misshapen Baby Thanos was too much for his mother to bear. It drove her instantly mad, and she tried to kill her newborn.” 
It’s a detail that would have given much more depth to his and Gamora’s story.
For general audiences, Thanos came across as, at first, laughable. So much so that Peter Quill feels the need to speak roast Thanos, almost as if the movie anticipated the criticism. Marvel probably did anticipate it, because despite 10 years and 19 movies of carefully fitting superheroes into the Infinity War puzzle, it’s never really been about the villain. When the time came, they were like, “Shit — no one even knows why this big dumb purple gummy bear even matters.”
SEE ALSO: Thanos isn’t as lame as the MCU has made him seem
Thanos was basically relegated to after-credits scenes for 10 years, only being more prominently featured in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1. as a disembodied giant stone monster. 
Marvel’s run out of heroes — but there are plenty of great villains left
Marvel’s done such a good job of establishing a wide array of heroes that it’s basically run out of top tier IP for more franchises. Ant-Man should be indication enough that we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, and it only gets Hawkeye levels of mediocre from here.
You know what Marvel Studios hasn’t capitalized on? Its fantastic villain-centric comics.
We’ve already mentioned the wasted material of Thanos Rising. But in the comicverse, there’s also a whole run after Civil War where Green Goblin takes control of S.H.I.E.L.D. and assembles a “Dark Avengers,” re-appropriating our favorite hero costumes as villains: Bullseye becomes Daredevil and Venom takes over for Spider-Man. That’s just two relevant examples. 
You can get rid of all of these except Spidey and the big dude.
Image: marvel studios
Fix Marvel’s arms race for bigger, badder threats with better villains
Ever since the first Avengers, Marvel’s been chasing bigger catastrophes than the attack on New York —  but that’s the wrong way to go about it.
The result is a franchise stuck in a disaster-porn arms race. The cost of this increasingly enormous and ridiculous scale is personal stakes (and apartment buildings). Infinity War kept needing to remind us that the risk of Thanos winning was universal genocide, because we’re that desensitized to world-ending threats.
Spider-Man: Homecoming, on the other hand, is a great example of how villains can ground the whole story, introducing personal stakes on a smaller scale. Yes, that’s kinda Spidey’s thing, while the Avengers deal with universe-ending stuff. But actually, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Civil War, Black Panther, and even Logan all took similar approaches to villains and scale. 
SEE ALSO: One Doctor Strange line from ‘Infinity War’ basically sets up ‘Avengers 4’
We live in the age of the anti-hero
Just look at some of the biggest pop culture phenomenons over the past few years: Breaking Bad, Dexter, Mad Men. Or, if you want to go closer to home, Marvel’s own Jessica Jones or Deadpool.
No one is wholly good or wholly bad. That’s why we adore Game of Thrones, with its heroes who commit villainous act and its villains who have undeniable humanity. Blurring the lines between good and evil is the point of George R.R. Martin’s series, which deconstructs the common fantasy genre trope. 
I need about 100x more of this.
Image: marvel studios
Marvel movies almost always fail at making even the heroes relatable. Save for Black Panther, Marvel stories are usually irrelevant to the real world. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Superheroes inherently engage with our society’s ideals, morals, and struggle to be good. Shouldn’t Marvel reflect how difficult that question is to answer?
Which reminds me…
This sanctimonious heroic bullshit is getting old
Show of hands: How many times did you yell at the heroes of Infinity War for repeatedly losing stone after stone to Thanos because of an aggressively simple-minded and selfish moral compass?
Yes, I know Cap: “We don’t trade lives.” That’s the summary of this entire movie’s conflict. Thanos believes in sacrificing half the universe’s population for a greater good, while the Avengers think they shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything at all to save half of the universe’s population. 
SEE ALSO: The Marvel Cinematic Universe would be 1,000 times better if EVERY hero rocked facial hair
That’s not only a really narrow definition of heroism, but also astoundingly unsophisticated ethics. 
The Avengers could use some lessons from The Good Place, namely the trolley problem. Because the idea of sacrificing one to save the lives of many isn’t a rosy concept, but there’s enough ethical grounds to warrant some debate!
But no. Cap grunts, everyone agrees. Ultimately, we have their moral high horses to thank for saving Vision (not even) at the cost of half a universe full of lives. Hope that clean conscience is worth it!
Avengers’ morality is tired, outdated, and underdeveloped. Sacrifice is part of the superhero job description. Heroes do trade lives. Just ask 9/11 first responders, or other everyday people risking their lives for others. Hell, ask Groot! Or Peter Quill! Even annoyingly uncompromising heroes like Batman are willing to sacrifice reputation and love for the greater good of Gotham.
I’m only watching Avengers 4 if Vision stays dead.
Image: marvel studios
This Care Bear heroism plagues the Marvel franchise, preventing fresh, original storytelling. Black Panther was the first movie in a long time to complicate the Marvel moral ethos. We can’t just keep relying on Cap and Iron Man’s creative differences.
It’ll be increasingly hard for us to care about another two hours of dudes in tights fighting when we know the good guy wins, almost always without consequence. Infinity War dared to break that mold, and we hope Avengers 4 genuinely wrestles with the mistakes the heroes made in it. But I’ll eat my laptop if the Infinity Gauntlet story doesn’t end with most of the heroes being revived.
I’m not arguing the bad guys should take over the MCU. But the MCU needs to let bad guys do what they do best: Force us and our heroes to complicate our understanding of what it means to fight for good.
If it doesn’t, we’re just going to keep getting superhero movies where the good guys win — because that’s how the MCU business model works. And that’s not ultimately very entertaining.
WATCH: Everything you need recapped about the Marvel Cinematic Universe before ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Read more: https://mashable.com/2018/05/01/avengers-infinity-war-villain-movies-mcu-thanos/
from Viral News HQ https://ift.tt/2wlfurM via Viral News HQ
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aion-rsa · 7 years
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Spider-Man, Venom & the Sad, Sad Story of Eddie Brock
Marvel Comics recently announced that Eddie Brock, the original man beneath the evil symbiote, will be returning in this April’s “Venom” #6. With such a momentous occasion, we felt it only appropriate to take a look at the history of Eddie Brock, which is sadly a pretty bleak history when all is said and done.
RELATED: Eddie Brock Returns in Venom #6
Eddie Brock debuted in the classic “Amazing Spider-Man” #300 by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, where he confronted Spider-Man and revealed just who he was and why he had bonded with the alien symbiote that Spider-Man had brought to Earth from “Secret Wars” but had then had broken away from with help from the Fantastic Four and the symbiotes weakness to flames and sonic weapons.
Eddie, you see, was a successful columnist for the Daily Globe, a rival newspaper to the Daily Bugle. He wrote a series of very popular columns about the serial killer known as the Sin-Eater. The series gained so much attention that he was contacted by the Sin-Eater himself! Or at least, a man named Emil Gregg, who claimed to be the Sin-Eater. He gave Eddie a series of interviews. They became a media sensation, but Eddie was hounded by the authorities to turn over the identity of the Sin-Eater. He refused, until finally, in one sensational story that was on the front page of the Globe, he revealed to the world the identity of the Sin-Eater!
The problem, though, was that Emil Gregg was not the Sin-Eater! Police detective Stan Carter was. When Spider-Man defeated the real Sin-Eater and unmasked him, Brock’s career was ruined. He was fired from the Globe. Brock’s mother died in childbirth, and his father blamed him for it the rest of Eddie’s life. Eddie did everything he could to impress his father, but it never worked. So when he became an actual disgrace? It was too much for Eddie. He got work for some tabloids, but his life was in a spiral. His new obsessive hatred for Spider-Man also led to his wife divorcing him. Eddie began working out heavily at this time, transforming his body into basically a bodybuilder, but further separating him from his past. The pain was so much that he went from church to church trying to figure out a way to kill himself that wouldn’t violate his Roman Catholic beliefs. While at one church, the symbiote was hiding there (following a confrontation with Spider-Man in “Web of Spider-Man” #1 after it escaped from the Fantastic Four) and when it learned that Brock hated Spider-Man, as well, it bonded with Brock and they formed Venom! Since the symbiote had bonded with Spider-Man, it knew his secret identity, so now Venom did, as well. Spider-Man barely defeated him by forcing him to use up too much of his webbing.
RELATED: Marvel Releases Over 20 Venom-ized Variant Covers
Venom only appeared in two stories during McFarlane’s “Amazing Spider-Man” run, with him escaping from custody in “Amazing Spider-Man” #315 (by Michelinie and McFarlane) in a story that showed a disturbing aspect of Brock. He believed in protecting innocents, but he still had to kill sometimes, so he would really mourn the people he killed. He was truly broken as a person, as he believed he was doing good.
Brock’s desire to protect innocents (which Spider-Man, of course, was not), led to a bold gambit by Marvel. You see, after McFarlane’s run, Venom appeared in a very popular arc in the Erik Larsen stint as artist that followed. This was during the early 1990s when comics were selling millions. Venom was extremely popular, so Marvel wanted to cash in on that popularity. However, he was still a villain, so they felt kind of weird making him a feature character. But in “Amazing Spider-Man” #361 (by David Michelinie, Mark Bagley and Randy Emberlin), they introduced the spawn of the Venom symbiote, who merged with a serial killer named Cletus Kasady. The merged being called itself Carnage, and unlike Venom, it killed indiscriminately.
This was very important for Marvel as now they a villain to replace Venom, while Venom could become, in effect, an anti-hero, or, if you prefer, a “lethal protector.” This came to a head in “Amazing Spider-Man” #375 (by Michelinie, Bagley and Emberlin), where we first met Eddie’s ex-wife, Anne Weying. Brock had kidnapped Peter Parker’s parents (although he did not tell them that Peter was Spider-Man, as he wanted to protect their innocence) and Spider-Man, in turn, tracked down Anne so that she could try to reason with Eddie. When Silver Sable’s Wild Pack (who had been hired by J. Jonah Jameson) showed up to take Venom down, the battle knocked a tower over, which was going to crush Anne. Venom couldn’t stop it by himself, but then Spider-Man stepped in to aid him. This led to the famous Spider-Man/Venom truce of 1993. Venom would stop hunting Spider-Man, using his information about Spider-Man’s secret identity, and Spider-Man would not actively try to stop Venom (so long as Venom wasn’t going around killing people, of course).
Venom headed off for San Francisco, where he became a champion, of sorts, for the homeless population in that city. During his time there, he also spawned a few more symbiotes. Interestingly enough, almost immediately after finally leaving New York, Venom returned to fight alongside Spider-Man against Carnage in the crossover event, “Maximum Carnage,” where Spider-Man debated whether he had to adopt a more aggressive, Venom-like, approach to stop the evil Carnage and Carnage’s cronies. At a time when he was back in New York, Anne Weying ended up shot by a new Sin-Eater, so Brock makes the symbiote bond with Weying to heal her. After temporarily becoming She-Venom, Anne decided she wanted nothing to do with Brock or Venom ever again.
Likely spurred on by things like that, Brock began to question his relationship with the symbiote, but during the “Planet of the Symbiotes” crossover, he ended up having to fully commit to the symbiote, bonding permanently (well, as permanent as these things go) in “Web of Spider-Man Super Special #1 (by David Michelinie and Steve Lightle).
However, as the 1990s came to an end, Venom’s popularity had fallen a bit, enough so that Marvel decided that they could stop doing Venom series (neither of Marvel’s Editors-in-Chief of the decade, Tom DeFalco and Bob Harras, were fans of giving Venom his own series, which is why he only had a series of miniseries. They did not like the idea of giving a villain such a high profile). So there was a “Venom: Finale” book that ended with Eddie separated from the symbiote and with amnesia, and the character took a bit of a break.
When he returned in 2000 in the two relaunched “Spider-Man” titles, he fought Spider-Man a few times, but wasn’t really into it, not until “Amazing Spider-Man” #19 (by Howard Mackie, Erik Larsen and John Beatty), where Eddie tried to win Anne back, but Anne had locked herself up as she was afraid of the world and, most of all, the symbiote. Eddie forced her to open up her shades, and wouldn’t you know it, Spider-Man happened to swing by wearing the black costume (he was running low on costumes at the time). She freaked out and Eddie turned into Venom, which freaked her out even more. He didn’t notice that, of course, he just saw that Spider-Man upset her. When he returned, Anne had killed herself. Eddie blamed Spider-Man and the rivalry began again! It was cut short, though, when a villainous senator stole the symbiote.
RELATED: Is Venom’s New Host a Lethal Protector, or Just Lethal?
It returned to Eddie later on. The next big change in Eddie’s life occurred in “Spectacular Spider-Man” #4 (by Paul Jenkins, Humberto Ramos and Wayne Faucher), when the symbiote was trying desperately to re-attach itself to Spider-Man. This was because, as Eddie revealed to Spider-Man, Eddie was dying of cancer!
The symbiote kept Eddie alive for a while, but finally, in “Marvel Knights: Spider-Man” #6 (by Mark Millar, Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson), he decides to auction off the symbiote so that he just get on with the end of his life.
He made $100 million, which he gave to charity (the symbiote was purchased by a mobster, but it quickly dropped the son of the mobster and bonded with another Spider-Man villain, Mac Gargan, the Scorpion). Without the symbiote, Brock’s cancer got progressively worse, but since Brock was such a popular character in his heyday, writers seemed like they were hesitant to be the be the one who finally killed him off. So he would keep making guest appearances as he got sicker and sicker and sicker. He began to hallucinate that the Venom symbiote was still talking to him and at one point the hallucinations almost got him to kill Aunt May. At the end of that story, he does try to kill himself, but he fails.
He later went to work for a soup kitchen owned by Martin Li, who was secretly the criminal known as Mister Negative. Li’s magical powers cured Eddie of his cancer. What Eddie didn’t know is that Li cured him by sort of super-charging the white blood cells in his body. When Eddie got involved in a fight between Spider-Man and the then-current Venom, Mac Gargan, touching the venom symbiote kickstarted residual traces of the symbiote within himself and, combined with the almost magical effect Li had on him, Eddie created a white symbiote that was deadly for the original symbiote. He called himself, appropriately enough, Anti-Venom!
When Anti-Venom figured out that Li was a bad guy, it messed him up pretty good, since Li was his savior, after all. Plus, if Li was his savior and hewas evil, then did that make Anti-Venom evil? He ultimately figured out that it did not, and he teamed up with Spider-Man to take Mister Negative down (well, at least expose Martin Li as a villain).
However, soon afterwards, Eddie had to give up the Anti-Venom symbiote for it to be transformed into a serum that would cure everyone during “Spider-Island.”
As we have seen a lot of times over the years, Eddie is pretty easily rattled and very easy to use faith as an excuse for him to do some awful things. So now that he was sans-symbiote, he decided that it was his duty to kill all other symbiotes, as he determined that symbiotes were inherently evil. He showed up in the pages of Flash Thompson’s “Venom” series. While working his way up to Flash Thompson’s symbiote, he killed a few other symbiotes along the way.
Back in the last year or so of Eddie’s original time as Venom, a new symbiote shown up, that was spawned from Carnage. This symbiote was called Toxin and it bonded with a police officer. In the pages of “Venom,” Eddie was captured by the evil Crime Buster and forcibly bonded with the Toxin symbiote, which had been removed from its original host (tragically, the heroic host was killed in the process). This was not a pleasant experience for a man who had just devoted himself to destroying all symbiotes.
As Toxin, Eddie has most recently become part of a team of people hunting down Carnage in the pages of “Carnage.” Eddie has a little bit more control over the symbiote, and he appears a bit like how Flash Thompson did when Thompson was Agent: Venom.
In the history of comic books, characters tend to eventually revert to the most famous version of those characters. Eddie Brock is clearly the most famous version of Venom that there has been, but he has now been separated from the symbiote for over a decade. That’s a long time to keep from reverting to the original status quo, but it appears as though that time has come to an end. We don’t know if Eddie will be permanently bonding with Venom, though, so we still have to find out come April. If he does, though, we will see if it ends up with Eddie Brock being any happier than he has been in the past. It doesn’t seem particularly likely.
The post Spider-Man, Venom & the Sad, Sad Story of Eddie Brock appeared first on CBR.com.
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Forget heroes: The Marvel Cinematic Universe needs more supervillains
Thanos deserves more than this.
Image: marvel studios
Warning: This post contains MAJOR spoilers for the end of Avengers: Infinity War
Maybe I’m a monster, but the moment I cheered the loudest during Avengers: Infinity War was when all the superheroes disintegrated and the bad guy got his happy ending.
I’m certainly not a fan of genocide (to put it mildly), or even a Thanos groupie. But I do like compelling stories, and a villain-centric arc that refused to let the heroes win was the first time a Marvel movie has surprised me.
SEE ALSO: After ‘Infinity War,’ which ‘Avengers 4’ heroes will lead the fight?
So what’s the problem? Well, the ending leaves me itching for a Thanos prequel instead of the next Avengers or even Captain Marvel — which will undoubtedly undo this unhappy ending. And the knowledge that we’ll probably never get that prequel is why the Marvel Cinematic Universe is starting to lose me.
Every two-bit comic book fan will tell you heroes are only as great as their villains. Everyone, it seems, except for the folks at Marvel Studios.
I’m not the first to point out Marvel’s “villain problem,” or how evil characters tend to be disposable onscreen. Many had high hopes that the introduction of Thanos would fix this problem, but he’s only shined a spotlight on it. Marvel’s villain problem runs deep, requiring a total shift in the MCU franchise formula. 
But it won’t be fixed until Marvel actually admits it’s a problem. Head of studio Kevin Feige told io9 that he recognizes the issue with their villains — yet he feels pretty OK about it. “It always starts with what serves the story the most and what serves the hero the most,” he said. 
I could do with getting rid of, like, two-thirds of these characters.
Image: marvel studios
But by failing to see how villains are as integral as heroes, the MCU fundamentally misunderstands what makes a good superhero story. 
At first, the MCU got away with wasting great superheroes on forgettable villains who were plot devices disguised as characters. But Avengers: Infinity War showed how short-sighted that was. And it ain’t gonna cut it anymore.
SEE ALSO: What happens in the end credits of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
I’m tired of paint-by-numbers movies introducing hordes of new bad guys that the hero can Hulk-smash until the next round and round and around we go, ad infinitum. Infinity War’s ending was powerful because it finally broke from that cycle … until the end credits, at which point Nick Fury reminds us it’ll be business as usual soon enough. 
What’s next for the MCU once it wraps on the biggest bad’s inevitable defeat in Avengers 4? I hope investing in villains is a top priority. From the looks of Venom, it just might be (though don’t put all your eggs in that basket).
Once the Infinity Gauntlet conflict ends, villains will be key to keeping audiences engaged in this increasingly expansive crossover machine. Here’s why, and how.
Villains need their own arcs, developed over multiple movies
The first step is to invest time and effort into establishing villains who evolve throughout the franchise. Marvel was so careful about slowly introducing and incorporating its heroes into the larger MCU. Why don’t villains get half as much thought?
I’m legitimately crying.
Image: marvel studios
This shift toward villains would set the stage for more meaningful conflicts, and allow for experimentation with the kind of stories Marvel tells. Why not bring Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan back for a prequel? Or zoom in on Thanos and Gamora’s backstory?
There’s a reason Loki was crowned “best Marvel villain” for so long. It’s because the first Thor movie was as much his origin story as Thor’s. Loki’s reappearances across the franchise made us as attached to him as we were to any Avenger. 
Then there’s Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War, which succeeded because the original Captain America established the foundation of Bucky’s character — and then twisted it and his relationship to Cap in a gut-wrenching way.
SEE ALSO: Jeff Goldblum picks his Avengers champion (and it’s not Thor)
And don’t forget Erik Killmonger, who captivated our hearts and minds in about 30 minutes of screen time. Black Panther started with Killmonger, as J’Bou tells his son the story of Wakanda, leading to an entire opening scene establishing Erik’s motivations.
Thanos had the best Infinity War arc, but it was still wasted
Sure, Thanos was better than, say, Ultron. 
I was really hoping Thanos would kill Tony Stark.
Image: Marvel Studios
But many comic book fans felt the movie squandered his story. Our own Adam Rosenberg wrote an explainer on the character’s comic book iteration, showing moviegoers just how many missed opportunities there were in Infinity War. Like how “the sight of a rough-skinned, misshapen Baby Thanos was too much for his mother to bear. It drove her instantly mad, and she tried to kill her newborn.” 
It’s a detail that would have given much more depth to his and Gamora’s story.
For general audiences, Thanos came across as, at first, laughable. So much so that Peter Quill feels the need to speak roast Thanos, almost as if the movie anticipated the criticism. Marvel probably did anticipate it, because despite 10 years and 19 movies of carefully fitting superheroes into the Infinity War puzzle, it’s never really been about the villain. When the time came, they were like, “Shit — no one even knows why this big dumb purple gummy bear even matters.”
SEE ALSO: Thanos isn’t as lame as the MCU has made him seem
Thanos was basically relegated to after-credits scenes for 10 years, only being more prominently featured in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1. as a disembodied giant stone monster. 
Marvel’s run out of heroes — but there are plenty of great villains left
Marvel’s done such a good job of establishing a wide array of heroes that it’s basically run out of top tier IP for more franchises. Ant-Man should be indication enough that we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, and it only gets Hawkeye levels of mediocre from here.
You know what Marvel Studios hasn’t capitalized on? Its fantastic villain-centric comics.
We’ve already mentioned the wasted material of Thanos Rising. But in the comicverse, there’s also a whole run after Civil War where Green Goblin takes control of S.H.I.E.L.D. and assembles a “Dark Avengers,” re-appropriating our favorite hero costumes as villains: Bullseye becomes Daredevil and Venom takes over for Spider-Man. That’s just two relevant examples. 
You can get rid of all of these except Spidey and the big dude.
Image: marvel studios
Fix Marvel’s arms race for bigger, badder threats with better villains
Ever since the first Avengers, Marvel’s been chasing bigger catastrophes than the attack on New York —  but that’s the wrong way to go about it.
The result is a franchise stuck in a disaster-porn arms race. The cost of this increasingly enormous and ridiculous scale is personal stakes (and apartment buildings). Infinity War kept needing to remind us that the risk of Thanos winning was universal genocide, because we’re that desensitized to world-ending threats.
Spider-Man: Homecoming, on the other hand, is a great example of how villains can ground the whole story, introducing personal stakes on a smaller scale. Yes, that’s kinda Spidey’s thing, while the Avengers deal with universe-ending stuff. But actually, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Civil War, Black Panther, and even Logan all took similar approaches to villains and scale. 
SEE ALSO: One Doctor Strange line from ‘Infinity War’ basically sets up ‘Avengers 4’
We live in the age of the anti-hero
Just look at some of the biggest pop culture phenomenons over the past few years: Breaking Bad, Dexter, Mad Men. Or, if you want to go closer to home, Marvel’s own Jessica Jones or Deadpool.
No one is wholly good or wholly bad. That’s why we adore Game of Thrones, with its heroes who commit villainous act and its villains who have undeniable humanity. Blurring the lines between good and evil is the point of George R.R. Martin’s series, which deconstructs the common fantasy genre trope. 
I need about 100x more of this.
Image: marvel studios
Marvel movies almost always fail at making even the heroes relatable. Save for Black Panther, Marvel stories are usually irrelevant to the real world. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Superheroes inherently engage with our society’s ideals, morals, and struggle to be good. Shouldn’t Marvel reflect how difficult that question is to answer?
Which reminds me…
This sanctimonious heroic bullshit is getting old
Show of hands: How many times did you yell at the heroes of Infinity War for repeatedly losing stone after stone to Thanos because of an aggressively simple-minded and selfish moral compass?
Yes, I know Cap: “We don’t trade lives.” That’s the summary of this entire movie’s conflict. Thanos believes in sacrificing half the universe’s population for a greater good, while the Avengers think they shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything at all to save half of the universe’s population. 
SEE ALSO: The Marvel Cinematic Universe would be 1,000 times better if EVERY hero rocked facial hair
That’s not only a really narrow definition of heroism, but also astoundingly unsophisticated ethics. 
The Avengers could use some lessons from The Good Place, namely the trolley problem. Because the idea of sacrificing one to save the lives of many isn’t a rosy concept, but there’s enough ethical grounds to warrant some debate!
But no. Cap grunts, everyone agrees. Ultimately, we have their moral high horses to thank for saving Vision (not even) at the cost of half a universe full of lives. Hope that clean conscience is worth it!
Avengers’ morality is tired, outdated, and underdeveloped. Sacrifice is part of the superhero job description. Heroes do trade lives. Just ask 9/11 first responders, or other everyday people risking their lives for others. Hell, ask Groot! Or Peter Quill! Even annoyingly uncompromising heroes like Batman are willing to sacrifice reputation and love for the greater good of Gotham.
I’m only watching Avengers 4 if Vision stays dead.
Image: marvel studios
This Care Bear heroism plagues the Marvel franchise, preventing fresh, original storytelling. Black Panther was the first movie in a long time to complicate the Marvel moral ethos. We can’t just keep relying on Cap and Iron Man’s creative differences.
It’ll be increasingly hard for us to care about another two hours of dudes in tights fighting when we know the good guy wins, almost always without consequence. Infinity War dared to break that mold, and we hope Avengers 4 genuinely wrestles with the mistakes the heroes made in it. But I’ll eat my laptop if the Infinity Gauntlet story doesn’t end with most of the heroes being revived.
I’m not arguing the bad guys should take over the MCU. But the MCU needs to let bad guys do what they do best: Force us and our heroes to complicate our understanding of what it means to fight for good.
If it doesn’t, we’re just going to keep getting superhero movies where the good guys win — because that’s how the MCU business model works. And that’s not ultimately very entertaining.
WATCH: Everything you need recapped about the Marvel Cinematic Universe before ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Read more: https://mashable.com/2018/05/01/avengers-infinity-war-villain-movies-mcu-thanos/
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