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dustedmagazine · 2 years

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Dust, Volume 8, Number 6

The Orange Dots

As spring makes its way into summer, the Dusted crew digs in with our monthly collection of short reviews that hits on jazz reed outings, noise-encrusted drone, fuzzed out songs, blown-out garagey rock and abstracted music for film with plenty of stops in between. Contributors this time through include Tim Clarke, Justin Cober-Lake, Bryon Hayes, Mason Jones, Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Michael Rosenstein and Jonathan Shaw. Now on to Summer!

Zoh Amba — O Life, O Light Vol. 1 (577 Records)

O Life, O Light Vol. 1 by Zoh Amba featuring William Parker and Francisco Mela

Not every 21-year-old saxophonist can say that John Zorn put out their first album and William Parker plays on their second. Zoh Amba is off to a hell of a start, but it’s fair to ask, what’s going on besides a case of heavy company? On the strength of the music on O Life, O Light Vol. 1, the tenor saxophonist from Kingsport, TN has her free jazz fundamentals in order. Her broad vibrato and importuning melodies recall Albert Ayler and she stands her ground while William Parker and Francisco Mela make it move around her. If that sounds like a statement of what she thinks is right rather than what new ideas she has conceived, well, let’s see what she comes up with when she’s 22. Time is on her side.

Bill Meyer

Andrew Anderson — Vagrancies (Elevator Bath)

Vagrancies by Andrew Anderson

Between the heat and the cost of living, Austin, TX gives a body good reasons not to leave the house. Andrew Anderson has put his time behind closed doors to good use by magnifying and warping the sounds of a piano, electronics, distant wildlife and his pal Thor Harris’ piano string harp into audio environments optimally designed for wandering. Are you walking streets after dark? Taking up residence on the dial in between a couple radio stations? Putting your ear so close to your happy cat’s belly that you are picking up transmissions of dreams about birds they wish they’d eaten? Maybe you are, or maybe Vagrancies just makes you think that’s what’s happening.

Bill Meyer

Asher & Jordan — Foliage (Crash Symbols)

Foliage by Asher & Jordan

Foliage is an enticing alloy crafted by Airick Asher Woodhead, who records as Doldrums, and Jordan Christoff, half of cosmic new age unit PJS. Each artist brings their own signature flair to the party, yet as a unit the duo produces something unique. Theirs is a visceral, noise-encrusted drone that constantly searches to reveal its ever-evolving contours. Scything sawtooth waves and short, spiky loops carve their way through layers of dreamy synth ambience. Woodhead’s chosen moniker calls to mind a certain act from the 1990s that recorded for both the Kranky and VHF labels. This nicely packaged cassette displays elements associated with both imprints: imagine Stars of the Lid collaborating with Matthew Bower, covering Tangerine Dream. Woodhead and Christoff pride themselves on live recording, with no overdubs or computers involved. Pursuits this daring can lead either to happy accidents or to a muddled miasma. With Foliage, it’s the former, likely due to this pair’s long-standing partnership in sound.

Bryon Hayes

Ballister — Chrysopoeia (Not Two)

Chrysopoeia by Ballister

Ballister redefines refinement on refinement on Chrysopoeia, the trio’s tenth recording. Recorded in concert at Alchemia, an establishment in Krakow, Poland that’s hosted the combo many times since saxophonist Dave Rempis, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love first convened in 2009, it makes a virtue of familiarity. The knowledge of one another’s moves that comes from improvising complete concerts, night after night and tour after tour, results in music that feels unerringly right at the same time that it makes the listener stop and ask — what the fuck was that? Sometimes the question is inspired by some unearthly sound, or a ratcheting of tension beyond the point where the wrench ought to shatter, or a sudden moment of restraint within the full-on barrage. Or maybe it’s asked after the CD’s 51 minutes have passed, when you’re wondering what just went down. Or maybe it’s when you take the long view and consider that these guys sound as committed and exciting as they did a decade ago. But the question is always asked appreciatively. Ballister has done it again.

Bill Meyer

Kevin Drumm — !!! (JMY)

!!! by Kevin Drumm

You might not see Kevin Drumm playing concerts, not notice labels releasing new LPs of his music, but that doesn’t mean he’s unproductive. If you head over to his Bandcamp page and subscribe, you’ll enjoy a steady flow of new music, ready for you to stream or download. “!” and “!!” were first released there in August 2020, but JMY proprietor Brent Gutzeit (also of TV Pow) has brought them into the physical world, albeit as a humble CDR. Both tracks last over twenty minutes and they offer contrasting immersive experiences. The first is a big blast of noise, which feels grating and monolithic until you give it your undivided attention. Then, it differentiates into a maelstrom of not-quite-identifiable sonic detritus, an audio equivalent to the dense mess that a planet might dissolve into after the monitoring galactic cops accidentally bump the Annihilate button while reaching for the cosmic snack box’s last donut. The second is quieter, but no less quizzical. It appears to be a mix of field recordings that have been woven together like memories in an unbounded reverie.

Bill Meyer

Alexandra Grimal — refuge (Relative Pitch Records)

refuge by Alexandra Grimal

Somehow, Swiss musician Alexandra Grimal has escaped my notice up to now. This solo soprano saxophone release, recorded in the double helix staircase in the castle of Chambord, France during a residency she spent there changes all that. Working with the natural resonance of the open, central edifice, Grimal’s eight pieces, ranging from two to 16 minutes long, utilize sonorous snaking themes that hang and twist back on themselves like the circuitous setting where they were recorded. Grimal utilizes a full tone colored by multiphonics, letting notes hang, filled out by the relatively short decay of the warm reverberations of the space. Grimal lets each piece develop slowly, never rushing notes or ideas, letting densities and volume ebb and flow. Take “château,” where sections drop to a near whisper and then ultimately build to long quavering tones that mount in surging waves. On “martinets,” short notes are placed with sharp attack against silence melding seamlessly in to “vent,” which weaves a songlike line with an abstract lyricism. That sense of songlike structure appears again with “escalier,” which builds from angular, melodic kernels that slowly accrue with a birdsong-like delicacy. A look at Grimal’s site reveals that she’s about to drop a recording of songs with electronics composed during the same residency at Chambord while working on a composition for four voices. Clearly, she’s a on a roll and worth keeping an eye on.

Michael Rosenstein

Bill Harris — Blinking Glue (Amalgam)

Blinking Glue by Bill Harris

If you attend free jazz concerts and multi-disciplinary performances in Chicago in recent times, you are likely to have shared space with Bill Harris. Sometimes he’s the guy at the drum kit, powering music made with Jake Wark, Matt Piet, Ishmael Ali, or the total improv trio of Harris, Jim Baker and Brandon Lopez (full disclosure — I wrote liner notes for that group’s forthcoming album, Dura). Other times, he’s recording the concert. On Blinking Glue, his skill sets of percussionist, sound capturer, and electronic tone manipulator converge. The 24-minute-long recording documents Harris alone, the day after Boxing Day 2021, but don’t call it a drum solo; Harris is a one-man band. The first sounds are scything feedback sweeps whose serrated edges would make many guitarists envious. But since the feedback comes not from a guitar, but from parts of Harris’ kit, it is integrated into the harsh punctuations and rushing, rhythmic forays of his drumming. If you are a fan of physical media, be aware that the compact disc, like many Amalgam releases, is a CDR; be further informed that the disc’s sleeve, which reproduces illustrations taken from a report on the condition of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, is a thing of beauty.

Bill Meyer

Interior Geometry — Tore Through the Sky (Self-Release)

TORE THROUGH THE SKY by interior geometry

Jared Sparkes piles the fuzz onto his tuneful songs, hedging in bright, positive melodies with thickets of discordant guitar sound. Your natural inclination is to bring in the Guided by Voices comparisons, but tunes like “What Have You Done?” have more of Superchunk’s detuned vulnerability than Pollard’s teenaged kicks, and “Wet Swans Go On & On” echoes and hisses like a Pink Reason outtake or maybe a tune by the Quietus. This latest missive from Michigan’s burgeoning indie pop/punk scene bears the imprint of Fred Thomas’ influence; he produced and plays bass on two tracks. Mary Fraser of the Ypsilanti band Child Sleep sings soft, nearly twee vocals on “Tender Terrible,” musing that “you are something tender…in a terrible world.” But it’s mostly Sparkes, cranking up the noise to veil but never entirely obscure the sweetness of his songs. Buy the physical copy and you’ll get a spiral notebook full of sketches by Detroit-based artist Grace Millard, as well as photos and lyrics.

Jennifer Kelly

Masayo Koketsu — FUKIYA (Relative Pitch Records)

FUKIYA by Masayo Koketsu

Starting out with a burred surge, alto saxophonist Masayo Koketsu makes it clear that she understands the notion of tension and release. For the ensuing 46 minutes, she mines that command with an entrancing solo that draws on the vocabulary of free jazz, Japanese folk tunes, skronk overblowing and a canny balance of intensity and silence. That sense of balance defines the entire release. She embraces sections of brawny vigor, punching out squawking yelps imbued with harsh overblown multiphonics then drops to stark silence. Fifteen minutes in, she introduces a sliding theme that evokes the breathy phrasing of a shakuhachi folk theme and then decomposes it into skirling flutters which build to raw lamentations. The solo swells with a raucous astringency which carries through with chafed yawps and dark, abraded, mournful musings. But Koketsu’s underlying sense of pacing and structure hold this all together. She ties these discrete events together with resolute control and a clear sense of the trajectory of the piece, wending her way to a doleful conclusion. It is no mean feat to pull off an extended solo outing. With FUKIYA, Koketsu establishes that she is more than up to the task.

Michael Rosenstein

Bennie Maupin & Adam Rudolph — Symphonic Tone Poem for Brother Yusef (Strut)

Symphonic Tone Poem for Brother Yusef by Bennie Maupin & Adam Rudolph

Adam Rudolph played percussion alongside the great reedist Yusuf Lateef for much of his career, accompanying him in a spiritual/musical journey that touched on Eastern and African traditions as much as American jazz from 1988 until Lateef’s death in 2013. Much more than a drummer, he composed alongside Lateef on landmark albums including The World at Peace and Beyond the Sky. To celebrate Lateef’s 100th birthday, Rudolph joined with another celebrated jazz woodwindist, Bennie Maupin, to compose this tribute. Maupin is best known for his work on Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, but like Lateef, he is a man of wide interests and skills.

Across these five movements, the two men traverse a varied, magical realist terrain, constructed from saxophone, electronics, voice and percussion. The first movement shimmers with latent energies, heated scrawls of saxophone across murmuring backgrounds of electronic tone, insistent rhythms of hand drums and tonal percussion sketching a time-path through primordial mists. The second blows a plaintive flute over humid silence, scattering xylophone notes like jewels in its wake; a steady pulse of drums, the crash of gongs, the glow of electronic keyboards, the intermittent shouts of one of the players join in an inscrutable sort of dance. Movement three wavers like a heat mirage, while number four rattles and mutters like a techno track. There is an intuitive give and take between the two players but also an ecstatic release, as mindfulness gives way to Zen-like no mind. Wonderful stuff.

Jennifer Kelly

Anthony Moore — Flying Doesn’t Help (Drag City)

Flying Doesn't Help by Anthony Moore

Having reissued 1976’s Out in 2020, Drag City continues their campaign to introduce twenty-first-century listeners to the wonders of Anthony Moore. Perhaps best known as a member of Slapp Happy and Henry Cow, Moore also released music under his own name, which has its own specific and addictive flavor. Broadly speaking, this remastered edition of 1979’s Flying Doesn’t Help belongs among the overlapping circles of a Venn diagram that includes art-rock, glam and post-punk. Though his albums flew under the radar at the time, they sit proudly alongside obvious reference points such as early Roxy Music, Eno’s Here Come the Warm Jets and Berlin-era Bowie. Opener “Judy Get Down” is an absolute cracker, crammed to the gills with sing-along hooks, while the remainder of the first side has plenty more fizzing pop gems and sneering choruses. However, Moore doesn’t let you forget his experimental credentials. “Ready Ready” opens with a glorious lattice of overlapping sheet-metal guitar waves, then its main riff is underpinned by what sounds like the pulse of a car alarm. The intimidating wall of noise that kicks off “War” goes some way towards evoking the horrors of its title. And the closing instrumental “Twilight (Uxbridge Rd)” is an uneasy send-off, pairing warbling synths with distant, eerie saxophone squeals.

Tim Clarke

Kyle Motl / Patrick Shiroishi — Apparitions (Notice)

Apparitions by Kyle Motl/Patrick Shiroishi

Who witnesses the ghostly visions referenced in this tape’s title? Might it be Patrick Shiroishi, a man of several saxophones, or double bassist Kyle Motl? Or might they be hoping to induce you, dear listener, to perceive things that type no weight on the scale? Neither player is the kind of guy who is inclined to be confined by mandates of instrumental or stylistic expectations, and both invest the music they make with a meaning beyond the undeniable impact of the raw scrapes, explosive snaps, coarse multiphonics and intricately twisted lines that they play. Since the specter that moves through walls can still stop your heart, perhaps they want to be apparitions, not see them. There is something undeniably eerie about these improvisations. Wear your garlic cloves, and keep your ears unstopped; there’s nothing going on here that you want to miss.

Bill Meyer

Nihil Nihil Nihil — Things Fall Apart As They Shall (Caligari Records)

Things Fall Apart As They Shall by NIHIL NIHIL NIHIL

That looks like a whole lot of nihilism — but what you get on Things Fall Apart As They Shall is a whole lot of death rock, heavy on the metal, partial to some post-punk. The spirit of Ian Curtis is being conjured by the unnamed vocalist (the interwebs are pretty short on info about the band), but it’s clearly schtick. Curtis came by his stilted, performative singing style honestly, as a byproduct of his anxieties and dread. Nihil Nihil Nihil do their best to summon dread and the four tunes (three originals and a cover of a Chameleons song) on this EP have a promisingly morbid sensibility. Mid-to-downtempo bummer rhythms, gits with some growl and gritty drama dominate. This reviewer responds especially well to “Further Inwards,” in which the band lets its goth thang strut. You can just about smell the mascara sizzling and it works. Just how morose, pessimistic and pissed these dudes really are remains to be seen. A full-length release would be revealing, if the world doesn’t beat them to the punch and completely fall apart. This EP isn’t quite the soundtrack for an event that doom-struck, but you can sure shake your butt to “Dance the End” while reading about the latest awfulness from Nigeria or Palestine or Ukraine. Now that’s some nihilism.

Jonathan Shaw

The Orange Dots — Nautic Girl (self-released)

Nautic Girl by The Orange Dots

This Norwegian duo present six tracks of blown-out garagey rock, with a variety of approaches making for an enjoyable ride. Tore Ljøkelsøy and Thomas Bergsten kick things off with a blast of grunge, then “Oh Lord Can You Show The Way” closes out with a gentle vocal duet. The guitar tone, buzzing and breaking apart into distortion, has an echoey, West Coast psych feel to it, while the drums fill the crevices with splashes, fills and rolls. The tick-tock drums and southern blues guitar of “Change Will Come” move from atmospheric jam into full-on heavy fuzz intensity. Amidst the distorted chaos, their intermittent dual-voiced vocals, simply chanting the title, work quite well. “Lost A Dream” alternates heavily blasted guitar and frenetic pounding drums with brief pauses for peaceful, reverbed vocals, then “Born Again” offers a break, with its quietly plucked guitar, gentle drums and airy vocals, slowly growing more tangled. After the fun instrumental jam “Duo For Mallets & Guitar,” with what seems to be xylophone and inner-space guitar noisings, the duo close out with a simple and visceral chugging rock tune. The wonderfully-named “Woke Up Dead With Nothing To Do” locomotives along nicely, with a break in the middle filled with tape delay overdrive and multi-limbed drum flailing. In its final minute the song returns to its opening chug and finishes with a strong MC5 vibe. Nicely done.

Mason Jones

R.E. Seraphin — Swingshift EP (Dandyboy/Mt. St. Mtn/Safe Suburban Homes)

"Swingshift" by R.E. Seraphin

Five originals and two covers from the Bay Area fuzz master, R.E. Seraphin thread the needle between twee pop and the melodic garage rock roar. Last time around, reviewing the Tiny Shapes disc in 2020, I likened one of his songs to “a summer radio megahit heard from several rooms away, bittersweet and slipping away even as it plays.” A year later, his tunes are similarly soft and scratchy, like a Jesus & Mary Chain song put on late at night, softly, so that you can barely hear it. So, while “Playing House” thumps and blares in an instrumental backing redolent of Exploding Hearts, its verse and chorus are murmured in your ear. Jangly “Stuck in Reno” mines the all-weather rock ’n roll topic of being out of place (in this case, in Nevada) but at a nostalgic low simmer, as if this disastrous road trip were already softened by time and memory. The two covers near the end demonstrate Seraphin’s excellent taste and bifurcated interests. “I’ll Be Around,” from the Wipers, gives him a chance to show off some lovely, driving bass and mine the power of a simple, urgent chorus. The Television Personalities “This Time There’s No Happy Ending” explores the poppier, trippier side of Seraphin’s aesthetic. If you like lo-fi pop of the Bay Area (Reds, Pinks and Purples, Umbrellas) or even New Zealand variety, check out Seraphin.

Jennifer Kelly

Paul Slavens — Alphabet Girls, Vol. II (State Fair)

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Paul Slavens makes no sense. He's had some solo releases and played in some interesting Denton, TX-area indie bands. He's also been a radio host and a voice actor, though he admits to being “not too impressed” with his own vocals (maybe Fullmetal Alchemist doesn't prepare you for singing). His latest endeavor finishes a project first started over a decade ago. He now releases Alphabet Girls, Vol. II, completing a series of songs inspired by 26 abecedarian women's names. The songs provide a vehicle for the breadths of Slavens’ influences. Listeners who know him only has a member of the Travoltas or the Baptist Generals might be surprised by the jazz and stage influences.

Slavens sees himself more of a composer than a traditional songwriter and moments on the album tie in more to jazz or even cinematic scores (given a time machine, he could write for an early Bond movie). Scott Walker makes for a reasonable touchpoint, as does some of Tom Waits’ career, although Slavens’ voice is unlike either of theirs and his mania comes across more happily. “Ophelia” gives a tongue-in-cheek talk with the Hamlet character, its zaniness heightened by following the lovely “Naomi” and preceding the theatrical “Priscilla.” “Queenie” adds some bebop to the mix. The whole record precedes like this, gleefully skipping around, mixing playfulness and classiness, all developing Slavens’ strange ideas and strong compositions.

Justin Cober-Lake

Squirrel Flower — Planet EP (Polyvinyl)

Planet EP by Squirrel Flower

Squirrel Flower’s Ella Williams constructed Planet EP out of leftovers from her second, environmentally focused LP, Planet (i). Minimally produced, sparsely instrumented, these seven tracks showcase the lovely fragility of Williams’ voice, often twined around itself in translucent harmonies and agilely supported by flurries and bursts of acoustic guitar. The artist continues to make a distinctive space for herself in the crowded singer-songwriter space, breathing delicate life into knotty sentiments and leaning into the sheer beauty of her melodies. But while Planet (i) considered global, environmental catastrophe, Planet EP is far more personal, centered on the unsatisfactory dynamics of uneven love. “Open Wound” pokes at the underpinnings of a romantic relationship, the narrator seeking support and understanding, her lover unresponsive. The song builds in overlapping layers of meaning and tone, overdubbed voices swelling then fading as Williams intones “I won’t do it, I won’t do it” and a siren wails. “Your Love Is a Disaster” traverses similar emotional terrain, its plaintive request, “take me dancing,” evidently falling on unhearing ears. The Bjork cover, “Unravel,” is an unassuming triumph, Williams’ voice high and pure and echoing, making the choruses both vast and introverted. Heartbreak rarely sounds so spectrally pretty.

Jennifer Kelly

Teddy and the Rough Riders — Teddy and the Rough Riders (Appalachia Record Co.)

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Teddy and the Rough Riders probably wouldn’t do so well at San Juan Hill. At least not in battle, but maybe their music would go over okay. The group doesn’t quite fit in anywhere, which means they fit in everywhere. With their self-titled debut album, the group shows its comfort blending related styles into a cohesive album. The country sound runs throughout the disc, but the band turns from 1968 San Francisco to 1972 Nashville to more modern Southern rock and country-folk with aplomb. Margo Price’s production (and a guest vocal spot) helps organize everything but never hinders the fun. Luke Schneider’s pedal steel adds plenty of flavor (even as he keeps his experimental side in check), but the songs each bring their own character. The use of the past peaks with cowboy closer “Hey, Richard,” a tribute to the mythology of Little Richard, a thought of the ghosts of both rock ‘n’ roll and country. The group might acknowledge its forebears, but it doesn't linger on these ghosts. Utilizing the best of a broadly considered country-rock aesthetic, Teddy and the Rough Riders make music more permanent than a poltergeist and more potent than pastiche, but still plenty playful.

Justin Cober-Lake

Terminal Nation / Kruelty — The Ruination of Imperialism (20 Buck Spin)

The Ruination Of Imperialism by Terminal Nation / Kruelty

With this downtuned, densely crunching and death-driven split, Terminal Nation and Kruelty seem to be militating for the accolade of heaviest record of the year. Regular listening may find you listing floor-ward, weighed down by the riffs’ irresistible gravitational pull. Terminal Nation’s side of the split is the real monster, a Boss pedal manifesto of lefty vituperation and revolutionary zeal. You usually encounter that sort of ethos on the punkier end of heavy music’s continuum, but Terminal Nation is pissed and convincing about it. Two-thirds of the way through “Curators of Brutality,” vocalist Stan Liszewski repeatedly hollers, “We have the numbers!” That’s direct action he’s demanding, folks. On the flip, Japanese hardcore freaks Kruelty do their characteristic thing: long, piledriving, midtempo beatdowns, with death metal-inspired growls aplenty. Both of their tracks are quite good. But it’s hard to match Terminal Nation’s energy and passionate political fury, which is serious stuff to shout about in Little Rock, Arkansas. Somehow, Liszewski’s vocals ride the top of Dalton Rail’s and Tommy Robinson’s amp abuse. He snarls, “There must be retribution / Before redistribution.” Right on, brother.

Jonathan Shaw

Rafael Toral — Music For Film (Noise Precision)

Music for Film by Rafael Toral

There’s no way that Rafael Toral, a rigorous student as well as a skilled shaper of evocative sound, is unaware of Brian Eno’s Music For Films. So, what gives with the absent S? The meaning turns out to be literal; this DL-only recording, which is available from Toral’s Bandcamp page, comprises music he recorded for a short film, Pedro Cabaleira’s By Flávio. If you caught it at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, you could let me know how the music worked in that context. But it stands quite well on its own; so well that one wonders why it’s only being released in such an ephemeral format. This is Toral’s first recording in a couple decades to put the guitar first, and if you have a hankering for his 1990s work using that instrument, and especially Sound Mind Sound Body, then it’s time for you to pop the cork on that special bottle you’ve been saving. The long, unfurling tones are very much in the spirit of that recording, although years of experience in fundamentally dissimilar musical contexts ensure that this is not simply a matter of picking up where he left off. These days, Toral’s music is, like a lot of us, a bit roughed up, with gritty, ground-down textures pushing through the fluorescent glow. Rumor has it that there’s a new, proper album on the horizon; if this is an advance trailer, then the finished feature might be quite something.

Bill Meyer

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yourfavehateshussie · 3 years

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PARKER FROM COMBO CREW HATES ANDREW HUSSIE

#your fave hates andrew hussie #parker combo crew #combo crew

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69ywivez · 3 years

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Dialogue from the Cell - round 011

#parker combo crew #combo crew #sammo combo crew #gina combo crew #MK’s posts

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darkfinch · 2 years

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making an ask bc the comment got long but how do you see the team name thing?

i've always felt like hitter/hacker/thief is more, what they do for the team and it's all about "i am a x and i work alone doing x" until nate calls bullshit

vs. grifter/mastermind is a more all encompassing "this is who i am"

also, maker and fixer feel more like the latter bc brianna grew up w parker/hardison/eliot and this is harry's whole career, just, more illegal and less morally ambiguous

so i think to classify quinn as the former, it's like, enforcer, i.e. will do the murder eliot can't. or, on a funny note, Problem

but if it's the latter it's more......bastard, i guess.

but also, both could be just Quinn. which also would go along with the running theme of "who is this??" "it's. just. quinn."

(and i feel like there's precedent since fake nate said like hitter hacker thief and a sophie)

i apologize this is probably way more thoughts on the matter than u wanted i am just overly invested

WAIT THESE ARE SOME INTERESTING THOUGHTS

for me i've always thought about the titles as what their primary specialty is For This Crew Specifically? because there's definitely variable levels of like. how much each of them actually considers that as their Whole Deal

honestly i think parker, sophie, and quinn are the people who identify most strongly with their roles as being Who And What They Are? they'll pick up additional tips and tricks if it helps to make their Main jobs a little easier, but those are just to supplement their actual primary skill/interest

meanwhile hardison actually does a ton of stuff for cons and for fun that isn't related to hacking or to computers at all; he does forgeries, he comes up with aliases, he builds physical things etc

eliot has skills and hobbies that are completely unrelated to fighting, and he's the second-best grifter on the team, and he's worked alone as a hitter/grifter/thief combo doing retrievals

nate's a grifter and a thief and a string-puller and while i think he's a menace 2 his core, i don't know how strongly he identifies as a mastermind specifically, because while he does have control issues and a god complex, he also worked solo for a really long time?? nates a dude who does stuff idk man

also i do agree that bre and harry seem to fall into that second category, especially since bre's is kind of vague and harry's role on the team is absolutely just his existing career slightly to the left

quinn tho is tricky because it...depends?

like *eliot voice* people are like knives, except eliot is a swiss army knife, and quinn is less knife and more gun and should really only be used in certain contexts actually. pre-team qwat au quinn is absolutely an enforcer, it's him and his new bestie against the world and he'll kill anyone eliot (a bewildering little pacifist) can't or won't

but qwat au quinn doesn't really get written into the cons most of the time, and is mostly just there to hang out while occasionally freelancing in the background? he's just chillin on the floor with his book. vibing. he's the backup, but not like...actively. he's the nuclear option. weapon u keep under your pillow in case shit gets real etc

like you only really ask quinn to do something if eliot can't, or won't, and most of the things eliot can't or won't do aren't things the team is regularly asking for? so he's less Enforcer and more just little bastard man who eats all their food and provides unprompted suggestions of how homicide could solve all of their problems

he waits in the van. he reads books. his role on the team is Quinn

#finchtalks #this is too many words thank u for the ask i love ur thoughts

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notdeadjack · 3 years

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annual rec list 2020

13 fandoms represented:

Part 1: 55 fics total

Leverage: 13 fics Star Wars: 3 fics Star Trek: 2 fics Haikyuu!!: 13 fics Teen Wolf: 3 fics Jurassic Park: 1 fic The Witcher: 1 fic Merlin: 3 fics Borderlands: 2 fics She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: 2 fics Naruto: 8 fics Dorohedoro: 3 fics

Part 2:

Boku no Hero Academia: 211 fics here

If the read more breaks, I am truly sorry oTL

List split into two bc tumblr called me out on reading too many fics and wouldn’t let me post all of them at once boo

Leverage

https://archiveofourown.org/works/799639 your body is a war zone but you are not a ruin by postcardmystery 2k, Alec/Parker/Eliot,

“Make me a sandwich,” Parker says, so he does.

“Cut the damn wire,” says Hardison, so he does.

“Jump,” says Parker, says Hardison, and he never needs to ask, “How high?”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12475840 Well Worn, Well Loved by BabylonsFall 3k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, fluff, sharing clothes,

You would think, given everyone’s space issues this wouldn’t be a thing. But it was. And none of them were complaining.

(Everyone steals each others clothes. They're all surprisingly okay with it.)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6363724 Hotel Heart by Laughsalot3412 45k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, canon-AU, psychic abilities, mind rape,

He had a sniper rifle scoping the girl’s bright eyes and the guy’s smile.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1407967 The Safe and Sound Job by flutterflap 15k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, injury, h/c,

Eliot Spencer doesn't do hospitals.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3861028 like a map of a place you've never been by bydaybreak 24k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, pining, slow burn, fake/pretend relationship,

He knows it’d be so fucking easy, if he’d let himself. Because he’s easy for them, has been since that first job, since the day he hauled Hardison’s ass out of a building about to explode. It’d be so easy.

So he won’t.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3928687 the warmth of your doorways by gyzym 3k, Alec/Parker/Eliot,

Don't let me in with no intention to keep me.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1357111 Old Dog by thingswithwings 16k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, service submission, bdsm, mild puppy play,

Eliot's their hitter, and taking on any physical threats to the team is his job, but there's something beyond professionalism – even beyond the obvious fact that Eliot relishes the fight itself – in the way he puts his body between Parker or Alec and any potential threat. Alec has a good view of Eliot's back on a lot of jobs, and he reads something in the tight line of Eliot's shoulder, in the slow turn of his foot as he steps into a fighting stance.

Something possessive.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8823406 Motion Parallax by Laughsalot3412 8k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, outsider pov,

So, apparently Amy’s boss was part of a criminal gang.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9071065 Wash the sorrow from off my skin by Keiya 2k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, soulmates,

He lays on his bed and knows without a doubt that his soulmates can read Fucking Genius on their skin, or maybe just Genius, but Fucking gives a ring to it.

Because he is, baby, he is.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2854310 Love (By Any Other Name) by ChouetteAnanas41 5k, Alec/Parker/Eliot,

Eliot fell in love on a Tuesday.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3928888 Pancakes by saavik13 7k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, mentions of rape and child abuse, h/c,

Parker can't ever ask a simple question.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3556844 No Time Like the Present by waterbird13 22k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, past Moreau/Eliot, violence, murder, child murder,

Eliot's past with Damien Moreau is even more complicated than most people know about, and of course that would come up again when dealing with his incredibly complicated present feelings for Parker and Hardison. Eliot isn't a hundred percent sure how love works, but he's pretty positive it exists only to bite him in the ass.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4542576 Guard Your Eggshell Heart by letsgostealafandom 14k, Alec/Parker/Eliot, praise kink,

Parker had a theory, and her theory was this: it made Eliot really happy when they noticed the things he did for them. It made Eliot happy when they made sure he knew they noticed the things he did for them. And when Eliot thought they didn't notice, it made him- not unhappy, but something worse, something like he knew that was all he could expect from anyone and he'd resigned himself to it a while back. Once she'd noticed it, she couldn't stop, and the realization of how often they took Eliot for granted made her stomach twist uncomfortably.

Star Wars

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5783371 This is Called Falling by Cartopathy 24k, Finn/Poe, h/c,

Poe stood and he walked, remembering suddenly his only friend on the planet was gone and there was little hope of finding a town, much less hospitality.

And yet he walked in hope.

There was a stormtrooper—he needed to find the stormtrooper. ________________________________

“Was Poe important to you? You were close in the Resistance?” Rey asked.

Finn cleared his throat. “Yes, because I’m in the Resistance and he was in the Resistance so we've known each other for a while. He was important to me, yes.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18546007 Stop Your Fear by gloss 12k, Finn/Poe, sex pollen, dub-con, public sex, pining,

Imprisoned by space pirates, Finn and Poe get to know each other better. When Finn gets whammied with sex pollen, Poe helps him out, not entirely unselfishly.

Afterward, they try to clean up the mess and take care of each other.

please note: sex is entirely consensual, but within a compromised situation. Dub-con, not non con.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6904006 Against Disaster by gloss 29k, Finn/Poe, pining, PTSD,

Not that he loved Finn. There was no way he could love someone he'd spoken to for all of ten minutes, no matter how lifechanging those minutes proved to be.

He loved the feeling of it all. The thrill, the novelty, the rush. Everything he'd shared with Finn had been more exciting than the rest of his life put together, and his life had been far from sedate.

That's what he told himself, anyway.

__ Poe's a disaster and Finn's still got a lot of brainwashing to work through.

Star Trek

https://archiveofourown.org/works/849107 Treasures by yeaka 17k, Kirk/Spock, AU, pon farr, soul bond,

Sometimes the other Vulcans wonder how Spock managed to obtain such an exotic bondmate, and sometimes Spock wonders himself.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11697684 Echolocation by Darksknight 8k, Kirk/Spock,

Kirk and Spock don’t realize that they’ve bonded right away. The rest of the crew is a different story.

Haikyuu!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21762448 discovering the smile of one kageyama tobio by Emlee_J 8k, Hinata/Kageyama, fluff,

Kageyama blinks once before a grin of his own spreads over his face. Shouyou’s breath halts in his lungs at the sight, and he wills for time to stop, just so he can drink it in. He sees it sometimes, when they’re playing - Kageyama’s fierce smile when they pull a combo off just right, when they show their opponents how possible the impossible can really be. But then there’s another serve, another rally, and the moment is gone.

'Shame', Shouyou thinks to himself, as he lets his eyes roam over Kageyama’s stupidly happy face, taking in the creases that are from joy rather than frowning, for a change. 'It’s a really nice smile.'

In which it's their third, and final, year in high school and Hinata has only one goal: to make Kageyama smile outside of volleyball.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5479973 75% Useless Pining by ravelqueen 4k, Nishinoya/Asahi, pining, hair kink,

People often ask Asahi why he keeps his hair long. He gives them a different reason every time, from being too lazy to cut it, over saying he thinks it looks nice on him, to just ducking his head and hoping they'll move on.

The actual reason is pettier and smaller and has nothing to do with his fashion sense and everything to do with Nishinoya.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2330126 Exception to the rule by Mysecretfanmoments 2k, Sugawara/Daichi,

In which Sugawara Koushi just so happens to belong to the .001% of guys Daichi might conceivably fall for, and it takes a confused third party for Daichi to realize it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21580309 Just Another by Mooifyourecows 103k, Sugawara/Daichi, drama, humour, childhood friends, flip-flopping,

Everything is changing. But in the midst of exams, plans for the future, nationals, and a tumultuous new fracture to his family life, at least Sawamura Daichi can always count on his friendship with Sugawara Koushi to stay the same.

Or so he thought.

(RN: some of the best flirting i’ve ever read. also, Sugawara’s family? A++)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2940728 boys by buu 5k, Sugawara/Daichi,

Before, if Suga had been asked to pick a type, he would have hummed and thought it over, maybe said something vague like “nice eyes” or “nice legs” or “a good personality”. Now, he can only think “Daichi”.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3189353 Perfectionism by Mysecretfanmoments 2k, Sugawara/Daichi, practise kissing, accidental boners,

“I just wish it was something you could practice before you have to… perform.” He narrows his eyes, imagining it. “Like a CPR class.”

Suga raises an eyebrow. “You want to practice it. Beforehand.”

“Yeah. Are you offering?”

((Daichi doesn't like to be bad at things--kissing included--and Suga is willing to help him practice.))

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6411370 Jealousy by surveycorpsjean 7k, Sugawara/Daichi, jealousy,

It’s so horrid- it feels like sludge in Suga’s stomach, like poison in his veins, like an itch behind his skin.

It burns, it stings. He hates it, he hates it more than anything, but he can’t help it.

He’s hopelessly in love.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7496004 Hinata Shouyou's Fucking Face by Esselle 17k, Hinata/Kageyama,

'Kageyama doesn't know why Hinata's face rubs him the wrong way—it just does. So one day, in an attempt to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes Hinata's Shouyou's fucking face so fucking annoying, he begins to catalogue all the things that really tick him off.

This proves to be startlingly revelatory.'

A thought-provoking study and critical analysis of Hinata Shouyou's stupid face, by Kageyama Tobio.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1831732 need a friend you can fuck, i can be that by readbetweenthelions 5k, Nishinoya/Tanaka, friends with benefits,

noya and tanaka are just really good friends who have a bit of good, not-exactly-clean friendly sex sometimes. here's the first time it happens.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3332642 it's fine by lokh 2k, Nishinoya/Tanaka, phone sex, just dudes being bros,

have you ever wanted to jack off but you're in the middle of talking to someone and you can't exactly tell them that you've gotta jack off so you either sit through it awkwardly or make an excuse to leave? imagine that they found out and tell you that it's fine if you just jack off mid-conversation. now imagine that it's not you and it's tanaka and noya. that's the whole plot.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5103794 find out what we're made of by sweggscellent 2k, Nishinoya/Tanaka, first kiss, frottage,

It’s weird, noticing things about your best friend when your best friend is literally the goofiest person on the planet, but Noya does; the swell of his powerful calves, the line of his back when his tee shirts cling to it with sweat, the strangely graceful determination on his face when they’re up against a particularly strong team. It almost makes Noya uncomfortable.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6205864 Rule 4 by mean_whale 15k, Nishinoya/Tanaka, friends with benefits, friends to lovers,

Nishinoya and Tanaka are tricked into watching gay porn, and curiosity gets the better of them.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5979136 Roundabout by Shaples 12k, Nishinoya/Tanaka, past asanoya, post-canon, emotional h/c,

“Actually I, uh. I was thinking I might stick around. Like, long term? I mean, if you haven’t already found someone to rent the other room, and you still. You know. Want to live together.”

Tanaka’s eyes widened in surprise. “I thought that you and Asahi were-”

“Yeah,” Noya said. “We aren’t.”

“Oh,” he said. And when Noya didn’t look up from the label on his beer bottle, Tanaka breathed out, “Shit.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13344624 And They Were Roommates by Hella_Queer 7k, Hinata/Kageyama, first time, trans character,

“I can like...eat you out if you want.”

Silence surrounds them. This was it. Three years of friendship down the tubes. Kageyama would move out, or demand he move out, and he'd be forever branded as the Pervert Roommate. No one would talk to him ever again. His life was over!

“Okay.”

“Whaaaaa?!”

Teen Wolf

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22812937 Five Times Derek Heard Something He Wished He Hadn’t, and the One Time He Did by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) 14k, Stiles/Derek, 5+1, pining,

“This place is hell,” Derek decided. “This place is absolutely hell.”

How was it possible he’d gone so many years of his life without hearing anything nearly as over the top as he had just visiting Stiles at school? This had to be some kind of record for the most disgusting things he’d ever overheard.

(I mean really, the title says it all lol)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27872045 Can You Feel A Whole New Part of Your World? by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) 53k, Stiles/Derek, AU, neighbours, fluff,

“Can you hear me singing in the shower?” Stiles blurted out, because he had to know, now. If one of his neighbours had slid that note under his door, then it meant Parrish as another neighbour could hear him, too! He had to know if this was all a huge joke and one person had walked by and overheard him and decided to fuck with him.

Or if everyone could hear him and he now had to leave the country.

Parrish gave him a weird look at the question, but answered anyway, making Stiles’ plans to leave the country speed up in his mind.

“Of course I can. You’re actually not bad. Though you have been singing a lot of Frozen lately, getting kind of tired of the soundtrack.”

“Oh my God!” Stiles shouted in his face.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6156885 you're never too much of an old dog to teach a duckling a new trick by driedupwishes 2k, gen, light angst,

“Y’know, it’d be real neat if someone gave me a gun,” Stiles says.

And Chris does.

Jurassic Park

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5199038 5 Times the Raptors Tried to Kill Miriam, and 1 Time They Didn’t by JulisCaesar 22k, OCs, gen, blood, science, freaking dinosaurs heck yeah!

Miriam thought the job working for InGen sounded perfect. Tropical island, good pay, first dibs on publications… At least, she thought so until she found out that she was the only behaviorist on staff. Once the eggs hatched, it became all she could do to keep up–with the dinosaurs, the science, and her health.

The Witcher

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22247587 swallow my breath and take what is mine by anacaoris 6k, Jaskier/Geralt, first time, sugar baby!geralt,

“It began with the baths.

It had been so easy to dismiss at first. Some attempted to win him over with kindness-with-a-catch when in need of something, a bed for the night, a pouch of coin, a good drink to lower the cost.”

Jaskier likes to take care of Geralt. Geralt very quickly takes notice.

Merlin (BBC)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7287 In Want of a Wife by syllic 43k, Merlin/Arthur,

When Merlin first hears that Arthur has been betrothed, his ribs pull inwards with an odd little hitch, and he only allows himself a second—which he needs in order to coordinate spinning in place without falling on his face—before he’s running to Arthur’s chambers.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2193282 The Frog Prince by Clea2011 58k, Merlin/Arthur, canon AU, disability,

Canon era AU. A teenage Arthur is hit by a mutation spell intended for Uther. Unable to speak and hidden away by his father because of his appearance, Arthur is left lonely and isolated. A few years later Gaius takes on a new apprentice, someone who can understand Arthur and see through the enchantment. Someone with magic.

But breaking the spell was never going to be easy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/835089 Such a Life, a Heart, a Mind as Thine by dreamlittleyo 42k, Merlin/Arthur, sex pollen, first time, non-con, soul bond, guilt,

In which Arthur inadvertently triggers an ancient magic, but he does not face the consequences alone.

Borderlands

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8628043 How They Met Themselves by Wheat From Chaff (wheatfromchaff) 205k, Timothy/Rhys, slow burn, past abuse,

Rhys wants to change Pandora. He wants to make things better, build things up. He wants, more than anything, to prove Jack wrong.

Tim just wants to get paid.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9951275 you'll find me buried by Wheat From Chaff (wheatfromchaff) 7k, Jack/Timothy, fight club, hate sex, dub-con,

It's not every day you face yourself in the ring.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16748245 tooth for a tooth by nowweareunstoppable 3k, Adora/Catra, exploration, first time, biting,

Now, though, Adora was on top of her, and her chest heaved in a way that was decidedly not sleepy. She pleaded with Catra with her eyes, then her words, “Please, I just-” before cutting off, not knowing what to even ask for.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19767655 More than Words by SimonKilnsworth 5k, Kyle/Rogelio, first time,

Rogelio gets woken up in the night as Kyle struggles with his feelings.

Naruto

https://archiveofourown.org/series/37259 Ten Years Gone series by 100demons 80k, gen, time-travel,

Thirty year old Kakashi was supposed to have been killed by Pein during the Invasion. Instead, he wakes up in the body of his twenty year old self.

(It gets a lot more complicated.)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25538635 Better It Be You by cricket_aria 4k, Kakashi/Sakura, dodging arranged marriage,

When Sakura's parents realize that she would be ill-trained for any job in the civilian world should she ever be too badly injured to remain a ninja they decide to try to arrange a marriage for her with one of the members of a major clan, so that at least if that day comes she'll still have value within the ninja community. Too bad they didn't discuss it with her first.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14143890 the chosen fruit by theformerone 51k, Sakura/Shikamaru, AU, honey pot, sex work, exhibitionism, implied non-con, kidnapping, drama, politics,

Sakura is a rōnin, but she's good enough with a blade to find work. She's trusted at Fukiage because she's a nameless woman who can't afford to bite any hand that feeds her.

Shikamaru's awful attitude makes him a favorite in the teahouse. He makes his money on his back but his real trade is information. There is rot in Fire Country. Shikamaru sees it, and he is going to burn it at the roots.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16304705 Being Over-Prepared is Impossible (and other mottos) by Pleasedial123 gen, 40k, canon-AU, BAMF!team 7,

In one world, Kakashi awoke, felt grieved at being assigned a team he sees his own in, and he let that grief make him a lazy teacher. He saw himself in Sasuke, Obito in Naruto, and Rin in Sakura. He woke, saw himself in them, and took a large step back, regretting accepting them as his new team. In another world he was quite hands off, merely a watcher because it was so very painful to watch. He saw himself and all his mistakes in this new team of his.

In this world, Kakashi awoke, saw the similarities, and instantly panicked. He suddenly realized what he had done, passing a team. Kakashi was left scrambling not to repeat old mistakes and regrets. This team would not suffer the fate of his team.

In this world, simply put, Kakashi became a teacher. This is the starting of a new Team seven.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13690269 there to welcome you home by theformerone 1k, Sakura/Neji/Shikamaru, fluff,

Sakura gives birth to their daughter in the bathtub in the main house on the Nara compound.

Neji comes home and nearly has a stroke.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14902124 brown eyes steal me by theformerone 10k, Kiba/Shikamaru, canon-au, arranged marriage, mutual pining,

"You planted a -,"

"I planted a tree, Ino, I know, I was there."

"Kousa," she says, finishing as if he never interrupted. "Not very original, but cute. You think that'll be what you name your firstborn?"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18913750 gonna give you all my love, boy by theformerone 2k, Sakura/Shikamaru, first time,

Shikamaru is a (maybe ace?) virgin. Sakura is not either of those things. It still all works out. Sexually, speaking.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18756313 Consideration: Or, The Smart Kids Get (It) Together by cairn 12k, Sakura/Shikamaru, friends to lovers,

Noun: Consideration 1. Careful thought, typically over a period of time. 2. A fact or a motive taken into account in deciding or judging something. 3. Law: (in a contractual agreement) anything given or promised or forborne by one party in exchange for the promise or undertaking of another.

"You want to give yourself cancer?" she had asked.

"Good afternoon, Sakura," he'd drawled back. "So nice to see you so unexpectedly."

Dorohedoro

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25767034 I Am Intrinsically No Good by Medegela 2k, Noi/Shin, accidental voyeurism, sexual tension, masturbation,

They had recently renewed their partnership for the third time and things he faintly noticed and always dismissed before were amplified. He knew now that she also enjoyed watching him, he knew that the same kind of release ran through her when she saw him, and he was sure of that because of the contract.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12192696 Secondhand Smoke by dirtbag -1k, Noi/Shin, unresolved romantic tension, magical shotgunning,

They sure do this a lot, for something that's so endlessly frustrating.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12387897 Love Is a Verb by dirtbag 4k, Noi/Shin, pegging,

Shin can’t figure out why Noi is so insistent on being careful with him tonight when he’s pretty sure he’s come out of her bedroom mildly concussed before.

#notdead recs #rec list

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its-always-the-witching-hour · 4 years

Text

Chapter 1 of Apocalyptic AU - Sanders Sides

This is way longer than I intended it to be, and it’s only chapter one. I don’t have a name for it yet, but I’ll come up with one soon.

Word count - 1643

Pairings - None (yet)

Warnings - (Spoilers) Zombies, blood, guts, the undead, being left alone, death, disease, summoning rituals - Tag anything I missed

Characters - Virgil Sanders, Deceit (Devan) Sanders, Remus Sanders

Next chapter

---

Everyone had called his parents crazy, and conspiracy theorists, but now they probably wished they had listened to them. It was month 4 of the apocalypse, and Virgil was probably the only survivor. The outbreak had started with what seemed like a new disease, one that was extremely contagious but harmless, and put the infected person into a sleepwalker like stupor that lasted for days. At first, things just continued like normal, with people still going to work and school, and traveling around the globe, but Virgil’s parents hadn’t bought it. They had locked him from the outside and inside in a bomb-proof bunker, stocked with enough food to last a person a year. They refused to join him, though, and instead attempted to figure out where the disease had originated from. The days down in the bunker were long, but not that boring, due to the fact that there were at least three charging points for electronic devices on each wall, and a tv to keep connected to the outside world, not to mention the bookshelf with all of Virgil’s favorite books in it. He thought that the whole thing was an over-reaction at first, but still got some pleasure out of it, mainly because he now had a valid excuse not to turn up to school, as he was locked in his crazy parent’s basement. Then the disease went into its second stage.

Everyone who had been infected once, or was still suffering from it just collapsed onto the ground. Scans of the bodies showed that their brains had just stopped functioning, and nothing that was done could bring them back. There were too many funerals that week. A week after every dead body was buried, stage three started. People walking past or paying their respects to the dead reported scratching sounds from the graveyards. The government and police dismissed it as a Halloween prank – as it was October at the time – and stated publicly that there was no point looking into it further. Then, the voices started. At first, it just sounded like the wind ripping through the leaves of trees, until people realized that there was no wind, and hadn’t been for weeks. The unexplained chattering noises became the root of many dares that week, and police had to stop many people, young and old, from doing stupid things like digging up the bodies, or chanting so-called ‘summoning rituals’ and trying to connect to the ghosts of the dead. And then, about a month after the disease was first discovered, all hell broke loose, literally.

A report to the police had told them that a man was walking strangely along the pavement outside their house, and they suspected that they were illegally drunk in public. However, when the police arrived, they found a man covered in dirt, mud and grass. Both of his hands had sizeable splinters sticking out of them, and a few fingers dangled as though they were broken, but there was no blood. He walked with a shambling gait, looking like he had broken at least one of his legs. One policeman approached him, to see if they needed to call an ambulance, and the rest, well the rest was recorded by a camera crew doing one of those police documentaries for TV. The horrifying video, which was aired on every station in the world, started off with the policeman approaching the man and asking him ‘Are you okay’. When the man didn’t respond, the policeman tried again, each time moving closer to the man, until he put his hand on the man’s shoulder. With a creepy, unhinged look, the man turned slowly towards the policeman, who seemed happy to get a response out of him at last. The man flew at the policeman, shoving him to the ground and sinking his teeth into his arm. The policeman screamed in agony, then his head flopped back against the pavement.

After that video, Virgil’s parents re-enforced the door with twice as many locks, and for once he was glad that his parents always thought the worst was going to happen. Even days after the video came out, Virgil was still having trouble sleeping, so at 3am, when it happened, he heard everything. It started off with a banging on the front door, but nobody took any notice of that, because their house was pretty old, and weird noises appeared almost every night. As soon as the groaning and mumbling bubbled up, Virgil knew his parents were going to die. He huddled under the weighted blankets of his bed, silent tears running down his face as he listened to his parent’s screams. A couple of times, the zombies banged on the door to his bunker, trying to find a way to get in, but it was built too well. They left around 5am, leaving Virgil alone in a now broken home.

That happened 2 months ago, and Virgil hasn’t heard a thing since. The TV in his room doesn’t work, because there is nobody left to air anything, and the electronic generator has been slowly running out of energy. Every book on the shelf has been read for at least three times, and food and water levels were running low. He knew that his slow and painful death from starvation or dehydration was about to begin. All he could do was just try and ration the remaining supplies he had left, and sleep. When he heard the noises, it was no wonder he thought the zombies had returned. Then, he heard their voices.

“Try this one.”

“I can’t it’s locked.”

“Oh. Well this one is empty. Looks like someone beat us to it.”

A pause, then, closer to the door of the bunker,

“Hey, look at this. What do ya reckon it is?”

“Pictures of… paranormal activity?”

“Woah. This one’s really cool. Look at all the organs on the floor.”

“I think I know who lived here…”

“Yeah? Who?”

“Those weird scientists that were convinced that the world was going to end soon.”

“Well, looks like they were right after all.”

A small bout of harsh laughter with no humor behind it caused Virgil to retreat further back into the safety of his bed, his heart pounding.

“Hey, didn’t they have a kid?”

“Yes, a son, I’m pretty sure. He went to our school, I think, but we’ve never seen him around because when anything remotely strange happened, his parents locked him up for days. Wait Remus don’t –”

A loud crash echoed through the house as ‘Remus’ knocked over something.

“I’m fine, stop fussing Dee. Was there a door here before?”

“A what?”

“Look, it’s like a safe door! But with a thousand more locks!”

“Interesting. Perhaps there’s more food inside.”

“Or bodies!”

“Why am I friends with you?”

“Because I’m the only one left alive apart from you.”

“I hate it when you’re right.”

“Aw, you know you looooove me.”

“Quit being weird and help me open this door.”

Virgil could hear them unlatching locks, and then, alarmingly, the door to his bunker began to shake. He let out an audible gasp, thankful that he kept the inside of the door locked in fear that the zombies would figure out how to open the outside locks.

“Huh, I think it’s locked on the inside as well.”

“But how, unless…”

There was a moment of terrified silence for Virgil, then the voices started speaking again, not to each other this time, but to Virgil.

“Hey, if there’s anyone in there, we won’t hurt you.”

“Yeah, we’re nice people, really, and also… we might be the only other people left.”

“Please open the door, if you need it, we can help you.”

Taking a deep breath, Virgil realized that they were his best chance at surviving, even if it meant leaving his safe haven, he would have to go with them. Steeling himself for what would lay behind it, he opened the door.

Standing in front of him were two boys of a similar age to him. One was wearing an interesting black cloak around his shoulders, fastened with a golden chain. The shirt he wore under it was plain grey, and he had jeans on. Half of his face was covered in dirty bandages, and he had a slightly surprised look, as if he hadn’t expected the door to actually open. The other boy had a dark green parker jacket on, and shorts, which made an interesting combo. His hair was extremely messy, with twigs and clumps of dried mud in it. He had a wide-eyed smile, that almost made him look crazy. Virgil regretted opening the door immediately.

“Hey…” the one in the cloak stepped forwards slowly, wincing as Virgil backed up nervously at the movement. “Don’t worry; we’re not going to hurt you. I’m Devan, but you can call me Dee, and that idiot over there is Remus.” Remus gave an energetic wave as he peered past Virgil into the bunker.

“I-I’m Virgil,” Virgil whispered, “and don’t bother looking in there for food; it’s nearly run out. I do have some medical kits if you need it.” He directed the last one at Dee, who touched the bandage on his face self-consciously.

“That… would help.” He admitted, sending an exasperated look at Remus as the energetic one glanced over at Devan, worry clear on his face, “I’m fine, Remus. It just… hurts sometimes.”

“Okay, but you need to let me know if it opens up again. I can help you, ya know.”

Unsure of what to do at this moment, Virgil retreated back into his bunker, then came out moments later carrying a bundle of blankets.

“Here,” He mumbled, offering the bundle to the other two, “This will hopefully have enough stuff to keep us going.”

“Us?” Devan asked.

“Yes, I’m coming with you.”

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #remus sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #sympathetic remus #zombie warning #zombie apocolypse au #tag this as dukedon'tlook or twdeceit and I'll steal your knee caps

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laufire · 4 years

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In depth fandom ask: the last fandom you joined bc I can't remember it now

Well, I guess the last fandom I’ve properly joined --making a few edits, starting yet-another-WIP etc.-- is Black Sails, so. Plus I want to talk about it a little, spoiler-free, in case you decide to watch it ^-^ (I’ll leave that to the s3 post I need to finish...).

Top 5 favourite characters: Max is my number one, without a doubt, and of the rest of my faves Silver has an edge... but the remaining positions are a tough fight between Flint, Jack, Madi and Miranda, and I honestly can’t choose DD:

Other characters you like: Mr. Scott, Anne, Idelle, the Maroon Queen, Billy, Eme, Abigail... This show has a lot of great characters tbh.

Least favourite characters: I still loathe Peter Ashe with every fiber of my being. Alfred Hamilton is obviously The Worst(TM). And though it hasn’t grown into hate (yet), I don’t like Woodes Rogers one bit ¬¬

Otps: Flint/Miranda, and the combos in Flint/Madi/Silver and Anne/Jack/Max (in no particular order at the moment because I just HAVE TONS OF FEELS ABOUT THEM ALL).

Notps: I don’t have strong NOPE feelings towards anything, but I’m not into Eleanor/Max (which is a dynamic I actually really like BUT that I’m glad it doesn’t return to shippiness LOL); Eleanor/Rogers (I might be indifferent towards Eleanor most of the time but I haaaaaate Rogers for her. RUN GIRL), Flint/Vane (booooooooring).

Favourite friendships: Max & Silver (THE duo I swear), Jack & Max, Flint & Silver, Idelle & Max (I might not have said so before but I guess I like a little conflict LMFAO), Billy & Flint (NOT a friendship, but their relationship absolutely cracks me up I swear. “Who’s Billy?” XDDD).

Favourite family: Madi’s family, which is all I can say without getting spoilery. I just. *lies down on the floor overcome with emotions* xDD

Favourite episodes: the problem with binge-watching (okay, I’ve taken s3 more slowly but) is that they all kinda blur together LOL. Hmm. The season finales are all *chefs kiss* so far (sometimes in a very painful way... I’m looking at you s2. Though the ominous Flint/Silver moments in the s3 were A LOT too); any in which I get to see Max & Silver scheming together ofc. And the first handful of eps in s3 were particularly enjoyable to me because I was drowning in PURE ANGST and Flint & Silver feels xDD (I can’t NOT believe the fandom seems to call one of those “the shark date” asñldfjasdfñl).

Favourite season/book/movie: oof. I honestly can’t pick; s1 is probably the “least” because the others include better moments for some of my secondary faves, and because there’s a plot that’s really hard to watch... BUT it has things on it I adore to pieces too. s1-2 doesn’t have Madi (major drawback xD), and s3 is after one of my faves’ death... but frankly they’re all neck and neck so far.

Favourite quotes: “I am ruined over you” always comes to mind DD: “Liked is just as good as feared”; Max combo with Eleanor about sand (typing that down made me think of Anidala LMFAO. The scene itself is very different though! xD) in the s1 finale; “in another time, in another place, they would call me a queen”; “this ends when I grant them my forgiveness, not the other way around”, Mr. Scott’s “No. Only YOU.”... honestly, this show’s dialogue is just too good(TM), I could just quote it all back xD. And of course, I HAVE to mention “WHO’S BILLY”. It’s the law.

Best musical moment: the score is perfection all around, but given that I never skip the intro just to listen and watch it... yeah, the intro xD

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: well, I *might* have lost it the moment CAPTAIN FLINT COMES OUT TO LONG JOHN SILVER OVER A BONFIRE, IDK XDD

When it really disappointed you: the fact that I won’t get to see a fully fleshed out Mr. Scott-Silver dynamic is MAJORLY disappointing, let me tell you. That Flint’s actor didn’t somehow get his mother (aka Maggie Smith aka Professor McGonagall aka Lady Violet) on the show too ¬¬. LOL.

Saddest moment: character’s deaths of two of the characters listed on “top 5”/“others you like” xD.

Most well done character death: the hanging in 3x09 was well done and served its purpose.

Favourite guest star: for a value of “guest star”... I’m going with Idelle.

Favourite cast member: Jessica Parker Kennedy is the one that I know and love for other projects she’s done.

Character you wish was still alive: THE ONE WE TRAGICALLY LOST IN 2x09.

One thing you hope really happens: I’m cheating because I know there’s some of that in s4, but I want to watch more Flint/Madi interactions pls.

Most shocking twist: well, I wasn’t spoiled for Mr. Scott’s plot in s3 so I was (pleasantly) surprised by that xD

When did you start watching/reading?: a little over two weeks ago; I watched (devoured) s1-s2 and 3x01-3x04 in a few days because I wanted to meet Madi, and then I tragically had to slow down :(((

Best animal/creature: I will always love Treasure Islands’ parrot that Silver named after Flint LMFAO.

Favourite location: Nassau aka Max’s ~domain xD. And Miranda’s house.

Trope you wish they would stop using: noooooone. I love the tropes this show reuses LMFAO. Romantic Betrayals(TM), triumvirates, “good things happen in the dark/away from civilization”, the power of narratives, social climbing and revolt... bring them oooooon.

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: quite a few xD. But one that really stands out to me is the dialogue; both the ~deep and sorrowful type (there were so many quotes where I had to take a break to freak out properly lol), and the humorous ones.

Funniest moments: I know I’m repeating myself, but I recently rewatched the pilot to edit some scenes and I keep remember the WHO’S BILLY one xDD (which I maintain it was Flint trolling him. He could give Abigail a rundown of Billy’s whole life story AND he shamelessly checked him out that one time. Flint knows who Billy is, he’s just an asshole xD). Really, all the scenes between Billy and Flint in that episode are comedic gold lmfao. Billy’s “oh dear I fucked up” expression when he tells Flint the crew has started to think him weak and Flint looks half a second away from murdering him right there, his WTF face at Flint’s antics with the stolen page... Gold, seriously.

Couple you would like to see: I meannnnnn. I would’ve been very happy if the show had decided to go with Flint/Madi/Silver, for one. Bonus if Miranda could’ve been included. Or just explicit Flint/Silver in poly arrangements (THEY ARE IN LOVE, IT’S JUST ~COMPLICATED XD).

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: MAGGIE SMITH DAMMIT.

Favourite outfit: literally everything Max wears in s3. Eleanor’s s1-s2 outfits were things I’d love to wear too. Flint’s ~dramatic coat. Miranda’s collection of supposedly-puritan-but-showing-the-goods dresses xDD (and ofc her London clothes), Jack’s clothes (he’s Nassau’s fashion icon lbr).

Favourite item: the books!! Especially when Flint gave Miranda “La Galatea” as a gift (given that sometimes he reminds me of my OC Latoya, you might understand the freakout I had when he gave the other member of my OTP a book titled like that xDD).

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: no, but I kinda want to. I did have a Treasure Planet computer game I tragically can’t find... it was about collecting money in increasingly difficult scenarios LOL. And I probably have more pirate-y/Treasure Island theme stuff. I had a long pirate phase xD

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: Max’s because I like being on the winning team, thanks xD (though I do ~align more with Flint and Madi’s lbr...).

Most boring plotline: Eleanor and Vane’s ~romance is not at all badly written... but the fact that I find both of them boring kinda ruins the whole thing because I always wish that time went to someone else xD. Also, Blackbeard. Meh.

Most laughably bad moment: n/a.

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: the London flashback where Miranda goes to Flint’s house unannounced to take him to an art gallery, she finds him half-naked and he gets all awkward about it lmao. And then they hook up in the carriage :DDD

Most layered character: we get to explore Flint and Silver the most. Silver’s development in particular is something that never ceases to impress me ngl.

Most one dimensional character: except the one-note characters I wouldn’t really call anyone completely one-dimensional, tbh. Though I do think the fandom attributes more complexity to Thomas than it’s seen in canon? Like, I like what I see; I think he’s functional, he works well, and he adds wonderfully to Flint’s (and Miranda’s) story, but I don’t see him as a full character in his own right. Which is perfectly fine for the narrative so far, but I fear it might fall apart for me at the very end.

Scariest moment: I never know what to say in this... I mean, I guess Flint killing a man with his bare hands in the pilot Like That was scary xD. I understand why Silver freaked out LOL.

Grossest moment: any of Max’s interactions with Vane tbh. Stay away from her ¬¬

Best looking male: Flint has that ruggedly handsome thing going on for him, if you’re into that (and sometimes I do appreciate his ~aesthetics... very sad he shaved his head in s3 though. Like, I get you did it for the Angst, honey, and trust me, I Feel U, but still). I feel like I might be forgetting someone, but seriously, none of the dudes in this show so far do anything for me LOL. I can honestly say I love them for their personalities xDD

Best looking female: I have a weakness for Max, but Miranda, Madi, Anne, the Maroon Queen, Idelle, Eme... all of them are gorgeous in their own way. This show is good for sapphic women’s enjoyment in that sense xDD.

Who you’re crushing on (if any): I could crush on any of the women mentioned above tbh.

Favourite cast moment: I have literally only seen this post about an interview where Flint’s actor says he’s too old to party with The Youth of the cast and just wants to chill on the weekend... with bonus Max and Eleanor’s actress talking about how Vane’s once climbed the side of a building up AND back down. I’m with you, Toby Stephens, you don’t need those shenanigans xDD

Favourite transportation: the Walrus, for sentimental reasons LOL. I liked stolen Spanish warship too.

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): lots of good ones, though I think my fave might be the one of Miranda sitting by the window in London. Or the one of Charles Town burning down, I liked that :))) (I remember thinking “Flint better go full Daenerys on them”. And he did! It was nice xD).

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: n/a, so far.

Best promo: n/a.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I liked it from the word go, but the moment that TRULY cemented it for me was in 1x03, with Max making a decision that I... frankly didn’t expect. It made things worse for her in the short-term, the storyline itself was difficult and disturbing to watch and I still have some mixed feelings about it. But what it said about her as a character and how her journey goes after that... I was in awe of her, and of the show.

#missbrunettebarbie #replies #my thoughts #black sails #black sails thoughts #talking to the void #bsmax #miranda barlow #james flint #john silver #flintmiranda #silverflintmadi #silverflint #silvermadi #billy x flint #bsmadi #i think those are the most prominent ones #thanks for the ask :D

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forasecondtherewedwon · 5 years

Note

So many options, I'm picking 8,16 and 37 (separately of course) also bring on the NSFW 🥵🥵

Thank you for the prompt request, Anon! As I can only respond to your ask once, I’ll be fulfilling prompt 8, but rest assured that I’ve received another request for 37, so I’ll get to that one as well.

Hostel FeelingsPairing: Peter Parker x Michelle Jones (Spideychelle)Rating: E/NSFWWord count: 4826

8. “There’s only one bed.”

The Spider-Man-community-appearances thing was really takingoff. In fact, it had taken off sowell that Peter was beginning to understand the lives of his superhero mentorsin ways he’d never really thought he would get a chance to. Mr. Stark and Mr.Rogers had both been in the spotlight a lot, for very different reasons, andPeter thought he could finally comprehend… just how much those spotlights madeyour back sweat. Seriously, rivers down his spine. Nanotechnology was cool andall, but Peter felt like Mr. Stark could’ve maybe taken a page from Nike orAdidas’s book instead and build in some kind of sweat-wicking layer. Metaldidn’t breathe.

Apparently, the old suit wasn’t as impressive. Didn’t havethat shine seldom seen outside Mr.Clean ads like the new suit did.

Oh sure, the metal Spidey-suit was fun to wear, filled Peterwith pride, and looked awesome―all gleaming and eye-catching for the generalpublic and flocks of photographers―except once it was heated under thoselights, it was a human barbecue, expensively and meticulously molded to fitPeter and only Peter. (Or some other guy about his height, build, and shoesize. Or girl. Or even, like, any well behaved dog. Maybe a Border Collie? Hewas confident that the old model mask would stretch to fit a long snout, havingonce seen it filled by Ned’s foot. There’d been an explanation at the time, butit had been so weird that Peter had given up trying to understand and basicallyforgotten about it since then.)

Anyway, Peter may have made some subtle complaints about thelights and suit combo. Even though―he swore!―hehadn’t done it to bug Happy, next thing he knew, he was getting a call fromPepper, who totally ratted on Happy as bringing Peter’s ‘whining’ to herattention. She had a plan, or her people had a plan, or the Avengers’ PR team(who still could’ve been Pepper’s people, Peter didn’t know) had a plan.

Then there were informational meetings and strategy meetingsand branding meetings and itinerary meetings and somewhere between ‘summerworld tour’ and ‘big white marquees,’ Peter heard the word ‘shade’ and said theword ‘yes.’

May was in, of course, thrilled by the idea of a vacationand hopefully nothing else, if it was up to her nephew; Happy was going alongtoo and Peter knew his aunt knew, and that she knew he knew she knew, and thatthis might still not be enough to head off any potential canoodling. He didhave to thank their disturbing occasional flirting for one thing though: itgave Peter the idea to ask if MJ could come too. Not for all of it, just acountry or two.

He’d also asked about Ned tagging along, but once again,Happy got wind and refused to include Peter’s best friend on any of the stopsoutside of the continental United States. Apparently, Ned made Happy feel likehe was on a game show―not the win-a-million-bucks kind, but thehave-questions-rapidly-fired-at-you kind. But Happy hadn’t met Peter’sgirlfriend, so some unvoiced reason prevented him from barring her from thetrip. Ethics or something. The point was, MJ was coming with him. And that MJwas his girlfriend. That was also the point.

It had turned out to be easier than Peter had thought toconfess his feelings to MJ. Especially after she told him she knew he wasSpider-Man… and then that she knew he liked her. Luckily, she liked him too,which she was also prepared to disclose. Peter was aware that he was thesuperhero, but MJ was definitely the brave one.

Between the tour’s schedule and MJ’s (which she repeatedlyinformed Peter was the more important of the two―always said with a teasingsmirk on her face), they would meet up in Italy for three weeks in August. Thatwas kinda nice, since they’d both enjoyed Venice during the school trip. MJalso appreciated that all of her expenses were being covered, including the flightover so that she wouldn’t have to worry about booking tickets last minute whentheir schedules finally aligned.

To give Peter additional time out of the suit (wow, Happymust have really laid it on thick about Peter’s so-called ‘whining’), it wasarranged that he and MJ would be allotted extra travel days between appearancedates. They could visit museums, eat, take pictures, eat, go shopping,eat―generally get a feel for a ton of places in Italy that their Midtown triphadn’t covered.

A week into Peter’s MJ time (he never called it that outloud), he was getting sick of hostels, their accommodations of choice. Only itwasn’t the stuff about hostels that people usually got sick of, like, havingtheir belongings stolen, or rooms with too many bunkbeds and not enoughprivacy, or rats. Peter had heard that there were sometimes rats. What wasmaking him restless was brushing his teeth next to MJ after dinner in thecommunal washroom and seeing her foamy toothpaste smile in the mirror. Passingher in the hall, both of them in pajamas, as she headed for the room reservedfor girls, while he went to the one for guys. Catching her eye as they eachshut the door of those rooms and knowing as surely as he knew he was Spider-Manthat he was going to suffer all night because he couldn’t roll over and see herface or pull her warm body close to his.

That was a thing too. The thought of them sleeping together.In senses of the word that he was not comfortable discussing with May in themiddle of a public restaurant, no matter how many times she tried to spring theconversation on him, claiming she wanted to make sure he was mentally preparedand, jeeze, a lot of other stuff that he’d drowned out by loudly chewing astarter salad. May had also been the reason that Peter and MJ sleeping togetherhad not happened at all, let alone as many times as he would’ve liked it to.(Ideally more than once a day, and twice on Saturday mornings.) His aunt wasjust around. There was nothing more to it than that. Peter loved her so much,but he sometimes wanted May to decide that he could be alone in the apartmentall night, no questions asked.

He probably could’ve finagled something with theaccommodations during this trip if the thought of going up to Pepper andrequesting one hotel room for him and MJ to share didn’t make him feel like theheated embarrassment on his face was trying to burn him alive. Peter hadpracticed a couple of times in bathroom mirrors while the tour was movingthrough France; no good―he was an easy blusher.

The only thing he was capable of doing was behaving himself,holding MJ’s hand all day long and breaking off kisses while he still felt likehe could. Peter kept his underlying frustrations well hidden. Meaning MJprobably knew everything.

For years, Peter had been developing the belief (and thenbeen mentored into it even further by Mr. Stark) that science was the answer.The question didn’t matter. Being in a school lab, theorizing new chemicalcombinations, or taking stuff apart―possibly not always being able to fixit―let him be both excited and totally calm at the same time. Probably likepeople who climbed really high mountains, with icepicks or whatever. God, hehad tried that, fiddling with tech in the non-metal suit he had packed in hisbackpack for emergencies while the metal one was carefully housed andtransported with Pepper and the rest of the tour crew. Evidently, even themight of science was humbled in the face of teenage hormones. So he was goingthe route of a true man of science and trying a different approach totemporarily escape his desires.

“Fresh air?” MJ asked again, looking skeptical and also so beautiful as they walked out intoearly golden light. Peter didn’t look back at the hostel they’d just checkedout of. It was no friend of his.

“Yeah,” he said excitedly, “I was researching on my phonelast night and I found this plum orchard place that’s only like, an hour out ofour way, and it’s really scenic and rural and it’s kind of like a bed andbreakfast too? And it said they make their own―”

“So,” she interrupted as Peter was extracting his phone fromhis pocket to win MJ over with pictures of the property, “this is like adaytrip or we’re changing our plans and staying overnight there?”

“Um, the second one. Is that ok?”

“Yes, dork, it’s ok with me. But I’m not the one bankrollingthis little holiday.”

“I called this morning to let…” He paused, cautiously eyeinga couple ambling past them. “…our friendsknow. They said the rooms are taken care of under some company name that won’tmake it obvious that one of us is an Avenger.”

MJ frowned at him, then yawned massively. Well, herirreverence over him dropping the A-word would keep him humble.

“Jeeze, Peter, how early were you up? And you stayed up latelast night figuring this out too?”

Peter attempted an innocent closed-lipped smile.

“Oh, just couldn’t sleep.”

One coach bus ride with a group of Austrian tourists later(Pepper’s people really could gettickets for anything), and Peter and MJ were deposited at a stately yet homeywhite villa surrounded by green Tuscan countryside. He wasn’t sure he’d everseen anything so green. The Hulk could come here for hide and seek. But it wasbetter to keep a lid on these supernatural-themed remarks, so Peter didn’t sayanything out loud. The two of them crunched across gravel, craning for one lastglimpse of the sprawling orchard of plum trees on the other side of a hedge.Well, Peter was craning. MJ could probably see over it no problem.

She was blinking, eyes adjusting to the indoors, when theyentered, so he steered them over to someone who looked like staff. Not being ahotel, there wasn’t an obvious front desk or anything. At least they had areservation. That was comforting.

“Hi, um, buon giorno.Uh, mi chiamo Peter Parker.”

“Ah, benvenuto!”the man said immediately, warm eyes sparkling in a way that Peter was beginningto find very Italian.

“Grazie,” he andMJ replied together. Phew, that was one of the words he definitely had down.

He assumed the guy recognized his name because the rooms hadbeen booked so recently. It set Peter even more at ease and he followed the manto a computer where he assumed his booking was being pulled up.

“Bene,” the manconcluded, glancing at his guests with a friendly smile. “Already paid,” heproceeded in lightly bouncing English. “The room upstairs with windows facing east.”

“The rooms,” MJ jumpedin with a reassuring smile. Peter guessed the smile was to show she wasn’ttrying to be condescending by correcting the man’s mistake, just accurate. Shecould be particular like that sometimes.

Except, uh oh, the guy was frowning.

“Una camera,” he said,eyes darting back to the computer.

“Due,” MJcountered, holding up two fingers. She and Peter exchanged a glance too shortto allow him to convey everything he was thinking.

The man did some more staring at the screen.

“Due persone, una camera,” he concluded, facing themand holding his hands palms-up.

“He thinks the reservation was for two people in one room,”MJ told Peter.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought I was getting,” he replied.Still having a lot of feelings about that.

“Con bagno,” theman supplied, going with a conciliatory smile.

“There’s a bathroom attached,” MJ muttered automatically.Yeah, she’d totally been putting in time with her English-to-Italiandictionary. What a nerd.

“It’s just,” Peter said to the man, willing a certainoutcome with his eyes that he wasn’t ready to admit to out loud, “we meant toeach get a room. Each of us in our own room.”

“All of the other rooms have been booked,” the man said.“Last reservation was for you. But one room is ok, yes? You’re having abeautiful vacation with your girlfriend.” He shot MJ a playfully sly look.“Everything has worked out,” he concluded in a tone of absolutely certaintythat Peter had also identified as very Italian.

The man handed MJ the key and pointed in the direction ofthe stairs. As they talked on the way up, Peter didn’t think he’d hadbutterflies like this since he’d found out she liked him back.

“It’s not like it actually matters,” his girlfriend said, cutting their situation down tosize.

“No, not really,” Peter agreed.

He kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Did sherealize? Crap, they did it at the same time. His gaze shot forward.

“Sharing a room with one person I actually know is going tobe nothing after hostel life,” she continued. This was practically rambling forMJ. She’d said ‘actually’ twice. Peter clamped his lips together, trying not togrin.

“For sure. It’ll be roomy.”

“Exactly.” They arrived at the top of the stairs and wentdown the hallway. MJ was nearly marching, fully of what appeared to be newfoundcertainty that she had a handle on everything. “I’ll be in my bed and you’ll beway across the room in yours.”

“Right.”

The word ‘bed’ made swallowing a struggle. Peter wasofficially an idiot. Then again, MJ’s hand was shaking as she unlocked the doorto their room, signifying that she was an idiot too. It would be fine though.He would act normal. Sleeping in the same room? Not a big deal. It’d be likesleepovers at Ned’s.

The door swung open. They both thought it―Peter knew theydid―but MJ was the one who said it.

“There’s only one bed.”

They discovered that there was a lot to do (outside,isolated, away from urban distractions) all day when returning to their roomwasn’t an option, and a lot to say to each other when mentioning the room wasalso off the table. After making sure it was allowed, Peter and MJ took alengthy walk down avenue after leafy avenue of plum trees. His heart surged ashe squinted through dappled light at her smiling face. When the heat rose inthe afternoon, they feasted on bruschetta at a shaded table next to thehouse―the owners’ homegrown tomatoes were also in season. MJ had gone up totheir room alone to change before lunch and the bright, wet red of the dicedtomatoes against the dazzling summer blue of the plate their food had beenserved on was almost enough to keep Peter’s eyes off her legs.

The afternoon stretched luxuriously while they stayed insideto escape the hottest hours; Peter worked out some equations in a notebook andMJ read Dante’s Paradiso. (She saidshe liked to theme her holiday reading based on location―her bookishness madehim starry-eyed.) After a while, not planning to, he realized his notebook wasin his lap and he was watching her. This place kind of was paradise, thoughPeter missed New York, but he was definitely in hell. How was he supposed to…?What was he going to…? Man, she was pretty.

He couldn’t remember what they ate for supper, diningcommunally with the handful of other guests. Any fresh, local ingredients werewasted on Peter that night. Was it possible that he hadn’t stared at MJ acrossthe table for the entire meal? Yes. Was it probable? No. He made excuses abouttoo much sun, pretending like he’d zoned out and his gaze had only happened toland on her because she was right in front of him.

“Your face is kindof red,” she agreed, then reached over to lay her fingers on his forehead. Itcould have been clinical if MJ hadn’t brushed her fingertips through his hairbefore she drew her hand back.

Peter smiled, feeling weak.

“Sun,” he repeated.

They were quiet going upstairs. The wooden steps had acomfortable old groan to them that managed to feel familiar to two people wholived in apartment buildings with concrete stairwells. Their arms skimmed asthey walked. Peter exhaled slowly through his mouth, drawn closer to MJ in ahallway settling into its own navy shadows.

“Hold on a sec,” he finally said while she unlocked thedoor. His hand was suddenly on her wrist, then stroking over the back of herhand.

MJ kissed him before Peter could tell her why he’d asked herto wait, which was great because he had no idea. He kissed her in return,slowly, holding her face with one hand so it stayed where he wanted it. Thesoft bump let him know that yes, he really had backed MJ up that tiny half-stepit took to hit the closed door. She slouched against it, keeping their kisslevel while everything inside Peter unbalanced. Somehow, his thigh was pushingwith its own determination between her legs. He wondered what her skin feltlike right below the hem of her white denim shorts. He wondered what it feltlike underneath them too.

Peter’s hands went to her hips with a squeeze that woke himup a little. He put his palms on the door instead. Gradually, the kiss loosenedand the distance between their mouths grew until their lips didn’t touch again.The last thing he shifted away from her was his lower body. He’d been hardagainst her. That was another fact for MJ to collect, another detail. It wasn’tmuch work to be observant with him. Peter gave it all away.

She finished letting them into their room while he tried notto pant on the back of her neck like a wolf about to sink its teeth in. Therewas a feeling between them, he thought. This was nothing like strolling into ahostel together after a gelato excursion or holding hands in one of a millionpiazzas. Piazze? MJ had more wordsdown than he did.

So they got changed separately―Peter in the bathroom and MJin the bedroom―but they tugged each other’s pajamas when the two of themslipped by at the threshold between rooms. And they brushed their teeth side byside― he splashed his mouth to clear away toothpaste―but he saw MJ breathinghard when water rolled down his chin, her dazed eyes on it until it passedunder the neck of his t-shirt. And they caught each other watching each other―Peterfolded down his side, she kept hers squared up to the head of the bed―as theycrawled between the sheets.

MJ had opened the large window earlier and the air had comein with the low sounds of people talking while they drank limoncello. Maybe Peter and MJ moved closer because of the breeze.Or maybe there was no breeze because the heat of an Italian August is still andinevitable. They could’ve related to part of that, if they’d thought about it.

“Pretty sure you’re supposed to be way across the room,” MJmurmured. Her foot found his.

The bedroom wasn’t so dark for him and his eyes traced thecurves of her face.

“Pretty sure you’re the one who didn’t stay on their side ofthe bed.”

“Prove it,” she said as her ankle crossed his.

Peter’s clipped laugh accompanied a smile that went widethen disappeared completely. His heart pounded.

“I’ll see you in court,” he said, lips hitting hers when hespoke.

She rolled on top of him and Peter gripped the back of herthigh just below her ass as his tongue shoved into her mouth. Her body forcedthe breath out of him―not her body’s weight, but its presence―and when he couldinhale, it was with an audible waver. Using his other hand, Peter inched theside of MJ’s tank top up until he could put his hand on her bare waist. Shedragged him deeper into the kiss, found the hem of his t-shirt and, with moreconfidence than he’d used, jerked the fabric upward as far as she could whileit was mostly trapped between them. Her pulse seemed to be right there, in herstomach when their skin met. Peter liked it, how MJ felt against him. A lot.

Their lips unlocked and they stared at each other. Her hairtickled his cheek.

“I’m on the pill,” she abruptly informed him.

“O-oh.” His face probably looked surprised, but he hoped itwas at least a good surprised,because that was how he felt.

“Apparently, sending a teenage daughter abroad to meet hernerdy yet deceptively well-muscled boyfriend in a country famous for its nudeartwork is the kind of thing that makes mothers nervous. Or so I’ve found.”

MJ pushed herself up on her elbows enough to shrug. Peterwas still struggling to exist, but knew it was time to generate a response.

“I’m… glad?” he tried, then frowned slightly. Did that makeit sound like he was happy her mother was worried? A second attempt wasnecessary. “Was the description of me your words or hers?”

“You weren’t actually mentioned during the birth controlacquisition outing, but you were strongly implied.“

Peter gathered her hair at the back of her neck, the slackcircle of his fingers standing in for an elastic.

“So, what you’re saying is that it’s your description.” Hegrinned at her as she rolled her eyes.

“Calm down, nerd. It was just a statement of facts. Am Isupposed to have somehow not noticedyour body?”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ve just noticed it,” he countered, gaspingin a breath when her palm smoothed over his abdomen. “I think you’ve thought about it.”

She went in for a kiss, probably to shut him up, but Peterdodged her, thanking his supernaturally speedy reflexes. Sighing like she wasgoing to complain about his teasing became much better sighing as his mouth ranalong her neck. Slowly, Peter started to kiss her skin. MJ’s upper body grewless tense and she dropped back onto him completely. Then, she started to pant.He licked a line, chasing her pulse.

“Fucking hostels,” she groaned and grabbed his face to kisshim on the lips again.

He moaned into her mouth as she wriggled to push her soft PJcapris off. Helpfully, Peter lifted the hand on her leg, then put it right backdown on naked skin. He raised his hips, grinding into her thigh. When she gavehim a little more space, he was sad, but not stupid; he hurriedly kicked hisown bottoms off, then yanked his shirt over his head before sitting up andgoing after hers. MJ raised her arms and the corner of his mouth ticked withhow vulnerable she was, how much she trusted him.

Pajamas shed, they both shuffled back down under the sheet.God, he wanted to reach out for her. His fingers flexed.

“It’s ok to―” he started to check, gaze descending.

“It was ok like three hostels ago,” MJ assured him.

She grabbed his hand and set it on her hip, then scootedtowards him, making his palm run over her skin. Peter thought about their daytogether. All their days together. He kissed her hard and let his hand travel.There was a noise in the back of her throat that stiffened him an improbable(not impossible―he was a scientist, he allowed for possibilities) fractionmore.

He didn’t push MJ onto her back, only fingering her gentlyin a way that made her shaky, but that was how she ended up. Still dumbstruckat the wetness as he traced between her thighs, Peter continued to trail thetip of his middle finger over and around her clit as he climbed onto her. Herhands were busy too; he hadn’t expected the greediness behind MJ’s touch as shecaressed his abs, gripped his biceps, and, most daringly (with a bold raise ofher chin as she met his eye), groped his ass. There was so much to ask herabout later. Clearly, she really had had a few thoughts in all that time she’dspent observing him. That was excellent, in Peter’s opinion.

Her hands stopped roving to grasp his hips, so Peter movedhis coaxing fingers away and ground directly against her in a determined drag.She cried out, legs jumping up to shelter his hips. He clenched his jaw.Parting her thighs slightly wider―more as a hint than because she needed to, hethought―MJ guided him that little bit lower, invited him. He looked into herface for long enough to be fully in love with her by the end of it.

“Per favore,Parker,” she whispered up to him, utterly fucking with him. “Per favore.”

“I know what that one means,” Peter said. He pressed thehead of his erection against her.

“Then why aren’t my manners getting me anything?”

He released a short laugh and started to ease inside her. Rightaway, he heard MJ’s breathing get rough and dropped his forehead to hershoulder, rubbing a hand soothingly across her arm. She shook her head after aminute. Peter thrust a little deeper, questioningly. MJ nodded rapidly. Heinhaled like he meant it and slid further. The heat in the room that they’ddefinitely added to, the midnight sounds of the countryside, the scent of herbody on clean sheets―nothing won out in the battle for his attention over thefeeling of her, so tight around him that pleasure was an agony.

MJ hooked her arms below his, damp palms pressed to thecenter of his back, and let out a contented sigh that felt too private to hear.But then again, Peter guessed they were redefining those boundaries now. Heworked his way out and back in with a focused care. A few more minutes ofgentle rocking had MJ’s hips joining in and Peter sighed too, like she’d takenaway some massive burden. It wasn’t that at all, just that this was the greatestthrill of his life―and he threw himself off skyscrapers on a regular basis!

Once they started, it only gained momentum. For real, itcould’ve been graphed or something to demonstrate the exponential escalation.Peter thought that afterwards, of course. Inside of those immeasurable moments,he was living from second to second with MJ. Her nails were short, but he feltthem in his lower back, urging him on. When her neck arched, he licked it. Allthe time, their hips were going like crazy. The intensity was almostunbearable. That didn’t mean Peter would slow down though, especially not whileMJ kept saying “faster” every few seconds at an increasingly higher pitch.

She climaxed suddenly and he felt like he’d been riding abike that had just hit a curb, sending him flying over the handlebars; thestrength of her squeeze, holding him irresistibly, was a power Peter was notequipped to fight. It brought him to his knees. Metaphorically. Physically, hewas still on top of her, thrusting shallowly through his orgasm while he waitedfor his brain to reassemble and tried to keep forcing those shuddering gaspsout of MJ.

They collapsed together after another minute: her backlanding on the bed and him landing on her. She made sure to exaggerate how muchhe was squashing her, while also wrapping her legs around him and pressing herface intimately into his neck.

“Laugh now,” she encouraged, “but how will you live withyourself after crushing me?”

“I can feel you smiling against my throat.”

Her face twitched as he felt her getting her expressionunder control.

“I was getting ready to bite you. You know, battle my wayfree.”

“Oh, sure.”

“Tell me you’ve never taken down a bad guy like that,” MJchallenged.

“With my teeth?”

“It’s called using all the weapons in your arsenal.”

Peter’s arms closed in around her and he smiled to himselfwhen MJ’s palms went to his biceps as he moved.

“Good thing you came for part of the tour. These are usefultips.”

“You know what they say. Behind every superhero is agirlfriend, assessing their combat technique and checking out their ass.”

He laughed hard, kissed her, and laughed some more. Hersmirk was delightfully smug.

“I knew you were thinking about it,” Peter teased quietly,mouth on her throat. His hips jerked.

She made a round mmmof agreement, her fingers raking into his hair.

“One more piece of advice,” MJ offered.

“I’m listening,” he promised, barely bucking.

“No―” she gasped, “―more hostels. I sleep where you sleep.”

“Or not so much sleep as…”

The white sheet twisted helplessly as MJ pushed a grinning Peteronto his back.

Pick a prompt for a Spideychelle drabble!

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grimelords · 5 years

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My March playlist is finished! This one is slightly more diverse than usual, swinging all the way from vibraphone jazz to Bhad Bhabie to black metal so I’ve taken the liberty of actually sequencing it properly for you. So if you’ve got 3 hours you can listen to this straight through and be taken for a hell of a ride. No matter what you like I’m sure you’ll find something in here that you love.

Tahiti - Milt Jackson: For an unknown reason I had a big jazz vibraphone phase this month and when you're talking jazz vibraphone you're talking the Wizard Of The Vibes himself, Milt Jackson. I feel insane even having an opinion on this but it's a shame that some of the best vibraphone performances were made at a time when the actual recording technology wasn't really there, they all have this very thin quality that I think misses a lot of the great character of the instrument.

Detour - Bill Le Sage: Like compare this from 1971 to Wizard Of The Vibes from 1952, the sounds is miles warmer and gives so much more of the full range and detail of the instrument. I also listened to this song five times in a row when I first heard it, the central refrain is just so fuckin good. Like I said, big vibes vibe and who knows why.

Blowin' The Blues Away - Buddy Rich And His Sextet: Superhuman playing aside, it's unbelievable how good these drums sound. The whole first minute just feels like a tour of each specific drum and I absolutely revel in it. I feel like flute and vibes is a relatively rare combo so it's extremely nice to hear Sam Most and Mike Manieri go ham in tandem.

Yama Yama - Yamasuki Singers: A friend sent me this song that he's had stuck in his head for ten years ever since it was in a beer ad from the days when beer ads were incredible strange for complicated legal reasons about not showing people enjoying the product or something https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORfkh0OojxY and this incredible song is apparently from a 1971 French concept album where a couple of guys wrote a bunch of psychedelic songs in Japanese for an unknown reason that later became a massive drum and bass breaks album, and one of the guys was Thomas Bangalter from Daft Punk's dad! Music is crazy.

Alfonso Muskedunder - Todd Terje: I'm starting a petition to get Todd Terje to write the soundtrack for the next Mario Kart. I absolutely love this song and this whole album because it's so joyful and strange and it just sounds like nothing else I've ever heard. He seem to truly operate in a world entirely of his own.

Pala - Roland Tings: I love this song. It's like he wrote it with normal sounds and then went back and replaced every instrument with the party version. This song hands you a coconut and says welcome to the island where bad vibes are punishable by firing squad.

Keygen 13 - Haze Edit - Dubmood: There's a fucking album of keygen music on spotify and it's absolutely great and so good that someone's doing the work to recognize the value of the music this extremely weird scene produced and preserve it. If you don't know, back in the day when you pirated photoshop or whatever, you would download a license key generator which was a program made by extreme nerds who had cracked the license key algorithm to give you a fake one, and for unknown reasons they would make the keygen program play original chiptune music that someone in their nerd crew would compose. Who knows why but god bless them.

My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix) - Feist: The very concept of a Boys Noize remix of My Moon My Man is hilarious and it turns out it sounds absolutely amazing as well. Two great tastes that taste great together.

Low Blows - Meg Mac: I had a big Meg Mac phase this month too, listened to her album a lot and it's extremely solid. Great timing too cause her new one comes out in a month or so too. I really am excited to hear her next album because she's so good but I've always got this feeling that she hasn't reached her full potential yet, she's only going to get a million times better in an album or two.

Patience - Tame Impala: I love that the cover of this single is a pic of congas because it feels like that's the central thesis here. Kevin Parker bought some congas and is making disco Tame Impala now and I really couldn't be happier about it.

Unconditional (feat. Kitten) - Touch Sensitive: I love a 90s throwback done with love. There's nothing cynical or ironic about this it's just fun as hell!

Last Hurrah - Bebe Rexha: Get a fucking load of this Bebe Rexha song that interpolates Buy U A Drank by T-Pain for the chorus! It's a testament to how good that song is that she's using the verse melody as the chorus. T-Pain will quite literally never get the respect he deserves. Also this song goes for 2.5 minutes. There's something happening where pop songwriting is getting more and more compact, completely trimming the fat and ornamentation and it's very interesting.

Hi Bich - Bad Bhabie: Also I'm fully six months late on Hi Bich but I'm of the opinion that it's extremely fucking good. A perfect little reaction gif of a song and it only goes for 1m45!

Friends - Flume: I'm doubling down on my thesis about emo rap from last month but this song literally sounds like a Flume remix of a Hawthorne Heights song. The whole melody of it, the overlapping yelled/clean vocals. The lyrics obviously. I don't know it's just very odd how close it is. A sort of emo trojan horse to trick people into thinking The Used are cool again.

How To Build A Relationship (feat. JPEGMAFIA) - Flume: I've been meaning to check out JPEGMAFIA (AKA Buttermilk Jesus AKA DJ Half-Court Violation AKA Lil' World Cup) for a while but this is the song that convinced me. There's just so much to digest in this. Every line is gold and delivered with massive conviction even when he realises it's total nonsense like 'dont call me unless I gave you my number'.

Bells & Circles (feat. Iggy Pop) - Underworld: Underworld alive 2019?? I love this song becuase Iggy Pop has been riding a fine line between punk provocateur and old man yells at cloud for a while now and this song is the perfect mix of both. You can't hijack airplanes and redirect them to cuba anymore and as a result it's over for liberal democracies. Just yelling about air travel for six minutes and it's good.

Guns Blazing (Drums Of Death Pt. 1) - UNKLE: This beat is some of my favourite DJ Shadow work I think. The menacing organ bass throughout, and especially the distorted drum freakout near the end. It's just great all the way through.

Homo Deus IV - Deantoni Parks: Another Deantoni Parks track like I was raving about last month. This whole album is great and flows together as a single piece of work amazingly. I love the purposefully limited sample palette of each track forcing an evolving groove throughout. He absolutely wrings every bit of variation he can get out of every single sound he uses and once you get into the groove of it it's absolutely mind blowing.

Boredom - The Drones: I love that The Drones can write a song about joining ISIS that's also a lot of fun. Spelling out radicalization in a way anyone can understand and sympathise with and then switching it in the second verse to spell out how we got into this situation anyway.

Loinclothing - Hunters And Collectors: I love how much this song sounds like a voodoo celebration in christian hell.

The Fun Machine Took A Shit And Died - Queens Of The Stone Age: There's a good bit on the live dvd they put out after Lullabies To Paralyze where they play this song and they say it was supposed to be on the album but somebody stole the master recordings from the studio, which is an incredible and brazen crime. Then when they put it out on Era Vulgaris as a bonus track Josh Homme said in an interview "The tapes got lost. Actually, they were just at another studio, but we falsely accused everyone in the world of theft" which is extremely funny. This is really one of their best songs and I sort of really with it had been on Lullabies because it fits perfectly between The Blood Is Love and Someone's In The Wolf type of vibes, I love how it just kind of keeps shifting ideas and riffs throughout. An absolute jam overflowing with ideas.

10AM Automatic - The Black Keys: This song is an all time great in my opinion. It's so straightforward and so effective. I wonder if we'll get a blues rock revival ever or if Jack White still being alive and bad is souring everyone on that idea. This song also has one of my favourite guitar sounds in history I think - the outrageously huge sounding solo that comes out of nowhere and swallows up the rest of the mix like a swirling black hole near the end.

Gamma Knife - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: I've never gotten much into King Gizzard and because of their one million albums already it's hard to know where to start but I've been listening to Nonagon Infinity a bit and it's great, it's just good old fashioned 70s prog jams front to back.

Gina Works At Hearts - DZ Deathrays: I absolutely love this song and I absolutely love the second guitar sound in the chorus of this song that sounds like it's made out of thin steel.

Black Brick - Deafheaven: When I saw Deafheaven the other month I was right up the front and it was a life changingly great experience AND they played this new song live for the first time before it went up everywhere like three hours later which was very exciting to be given a sclusie like that. After they finished a guy behind me whispered to his friend "Slayer..." which was very funny to me.

Gemini - Elder: I found this band because one of my Spotify Daily Mixes was all stoner metal for a while, which is a good genre to see all lined up because it'll have Weedeater, Bongripper AND Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats right there in a row for you. Anyway this album is extremely good, the very best kind of stoner metal where it's groovy and fun and has big meaty riffs and ripping big solos and it's extremely easy to listen to three times in a row.

The Paradise Gallows - Inter Arma: My big obsession the past little while has been Inter Arma ever since Stereogum posted The Atavist's Meridian from their new album. It is just so fucking good and I can't believe I've never heard of them before. You know when you find out about an amazing band and then you find out they've been around for nearly ten years and you can't believe everyone in your life has been selfishly hiding them from you?

The Atavist's Meridian - Inter Arma: I think a big part of my enjoyment of this band has also been that I discovered them at the same time as I'm listening to an audiobook of the complete Conan The Barbarian omnibus so I'm very much in the brain space for music that sounds like it would be nice to swing an axe to.

Untoward Evocation - Impetuous Ritual: I love how halfway through this kind of just turns into a big swirling mist of dark sounds. It feels so formless and dark that it could just shake apart and dissipate at any moment and you'd look down to realise your skin is gone.

Eagle On A Pole - Conor Oberst: from Genius: 'In an interview with MTV news, Oberst stated “We were on the bus one day and a friend of ours that travels with us and works for the band kind of came out from the back of the bus and said that first line: ‘Saw an eagle on a pole… I think it was an eagle.’ And then this guy Simon Joyner, who is a great songwriter from Omaha and one of my great friends, he was on tour with us and sitting there and he was like, ‘You know, that’s a great name for a song.’ We kind of had a contest where he wrote a song with that first line, and [then] I did, and a couple of our other friends. We kind of all played them for each other. Simon’s is better than mine, but it is a good line to start a song.” Another version–Mystic Valley Band drummer Jason Boesel’s interpretation–is on the next album, Outer South.' The idea that such a good song has such a braindead origin only makes me love it more.

Lake Marie - John Prine: When I saw John Prine the other month he played this song that I had never heard before and I had to look it up after and now I'm completely obsessed with it. It feels like falling asleep during a movie and missing a critical plot point so the rest doesn't make sense when you wake up but is thrilling nonetheless. Also he absolutely screamed "SHADOWS!!!" when he played it which was a fucking cool thing to see a 72 year old man do.

Little White Dove - Jenny Lewis: The drums on this whole album are absolutely huge for some reason and I love it. My favourite recent sound is in the first chorus where there's a funny little pitch correction noise as she sings 'dove'. It's very strange and very very good.

Locked Up - The Ocean Party: I only found out The Ocean Party existed as they announced their farewell show this month which is a real shame but I'm glad I got to hear of them at all because they're very good. A very good song about that feeling we all know and love: driving for a long long time.

Plain & Sane & Simple Melody - Ted Lucas: I found out about this song from Emma Ruth Rundle's Amoeba Records video and she makes a good point about this whole album sounding like something's gone wrong and it got accidentally pitched down slightly in the recording process. It's unclear if that's what happened or that's just how he sounds but it adds a very softly spooky undercurrent to a very nice song.

listen here

#playlists

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bipherpol · 5 years

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i’m not entirely sure when i’ll get around to posting it so i’m gonna ramble a minute about the leverage au currently sitting in my WIP folder

for those unfamiliar, leverage is (was) a delightful show that aired on tnt for five seasons and started back in 2008 about a group of thieves who were basically ocean’s eleven but robin hood. every episode had a caper, every episode had a corrupt/evil asshole who needed to be taken down a peg or fifty.

(if you haven’t seen it and you enjoy media about con artists/thieves/capers, media about found families and media involving a fuckload of competence porn, please watch leverage. it’s great. i love it.)

anyway

so the straw hats are the main crew.

luffy is the resident bleeding heart and a hitter who decided he wanted to be a thief because he spent too much time with shanks as a kid who definitely is a thief and a grifter and was a terrible influence on luffy (according to garp, who works for the fbi.) while they haven’t appeared at all in the plot i have so far, ace and sabo are on their own crews and are a hitter/thief and grifter/thief/hitter combo respectively. (sabo’s crew, naturally, is based off the revolutionary army and specializes in conning corrupt politicians and getting them taken down.)

nami is. well. nami. she’s a thief and a grifter and is behind at least 50% of the planning for every job. in a bit that may or may not be a take-off of the episode “the san lorenzo job” where they take down crocodile in alabasta, she pretends to be vivi’s fiancee much like sophie does in the episode for michael vittori. because reasons. (bellemere was also law enforcement but, while she encouraged the girls to be on the right side of the law, wasn’t as pushy as garp) (RIP bellemere but arlong’s the fucking mob in this fic so.)

zoro is. zoro. primarily there to beat the shit out of people. can steal and do sleight of hand and can pull grifter duty if need be but would rather just hit people.

sanji! is a grifter and a hitter and a thief and his vinsmoke backstory is mostly canon barring genetic enhancement bullshit and he did ditch them and get raised by zeff, who is (was) a thief in his own right, much like archie does for parker in leverage, only with way less issues because zeff doesn’t do the ~real family~ shit archie did. so. (related: yes the vinsmokes will come up at some point. no, they’re not all irredeemably evil in this universe because the genetic modification shit didn’t happen which means they’re all just products of judge’s bullshit abuse but that’s an essay and a half so i’m gonna leave that be for now.)

robin! grifter. information. can also beat the shit out of people. primarily a grifter. best one on the team and is very good at getting things/information/money/etc out of people. her backstory isn’t canon but i’m working out the details on how to best write her into things because i don’t want to have to necessarily wait until croc to get her on the crew. also behind a decent amount of the crew planning.

franky is the hacker, naturally, and splits the gadgets dude role with usopp. it’s franky. like. what else was he gonna do.

usopp! partially gadgets dude. also the team forger. the best forger in the country, really, but usopp wouldn’t know an ego if it bit him in the ass.

chopper is literally there to patch them up after fights and rarely pulls double-duty as a grifter if need be.

brook is also there! grifter, primarily. is very good at playing upper class if they need him to.

jinbe (like i would forget jinbe) is also a hitter and can grift if need be and mostly meets luffy in the first place because ace is like “this is my little brother he’s a little shit” and jinbe’s like “......where the fuck did my wallet go” and luffy’s moved, like, twice, and not out of jinbe’s line of sight. so jinbe likes him and joins the straw hats.

aside from the straw hats!

again, sabo’s crew is essentially the revolutionary army. what else would he do.

law shows up, def, and yes the heart pirates too. (i can’t leave bepo out, i just can’t.) mastermind, doctor, grifter when need be. (bepo is actually the team grifter for them but nobody believes them because bepo is cute and adorable)

smoker and tashigi are law enforcement, of course.

i’ve mentioned shanks, who is a grifter/thief/hitter and definitely used to be on a crew with buggy and trained under rayleigh and shanks definitely has the rest of his major crew. also did/does the occasional job with mihawk when he can drag mihawk out of “retirement”

and then! the other thing that i really really want to write in this universe at some point!

so, in leverage, season two, episode seven is called “the two live crew job”. the plot is a rival crew shows up and takes the painting the team was going to steal and then someone tries to kill the main crew’s grifter so they fake her death and steal a thing out from under the rival crew to extort them into giving up the painting they wanted in the first place.

naturally, when i hit “the two live crew job” in my (...fifteenth?) rewatch to work on this universe, it was about the same time i hit water 7/enies lobby. you can probably guess what’s next.

“the two live crew job” in this universe is straw hats vs. cp9.

(quick crew rundown for cp9: lucci - grifter/thief in that order, kaku - thief/grifter, kalifa - hacker/grifter, blueno - hitter/grifter, jabra - hitter, kumadori - grifter, fukurou - information) (all of them can also double as hitters, but jabra’s best skills are punching people and baiting lucci so. it’s also blueno’s focus, though he can also grift better than jabra.)

idk how all the details for that mess would work yet but i want to do it, so.

i did mention vivi, who is, aside from nami’s fake fiancee and sort-of their client, can work as a thief and a grifter and may or may not help the crew on occasion. because i love her.

hancock - grifter. (like there was any doubt, really.)

you get the point! anyway, so the straw hats do it because luffy is luffy and wants to help people and thinks laws are mostly bullshit so they rob the fuck out of rich people and ruin their lives a little bit and help out the people who got screwed over by them.

at some point, there is an alliance a team-up with the heart pirates because law’s exasperation at luffy’s ability to fuck up his plans remains one of the best things

aaaand i think that’s it for now. obviously, it’s not a perfect au but i’m working on it, so.

#my nonsense #anyway i'm gonna be honest i wanted to kind of do this and rewatched the show for better ideas on it #and then i hit two live crew and went 'okay now i have to write it' so.#anyway don't mind me

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creepykingdom · 5 years

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Breaking News: Spider-Man is a Menace

The war on fake news has a hero: J. JONAH JAMESON and THEDAILYBUGLE.NET! Where the tides of real news crash the shore of dangerous truth, the Daily Bugle will be there! Read the stories that the super-powers-that-be don’t want you to know! Stay informed! Be a real hero! Listen… to the BUGLE!

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Join Jameson in the fight for truth against the real enemy of New York, Spider-Man! Together we can continue to spread Mysterio's message of bringing peace and order to our great city.

The billion dollar blockbuster, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, comes home on Digital September 17 and on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD on October 1 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. From Spider-Man: Homecoming Director, Jon Watts, comes a global adventure for everyone. SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME is now the biggest Spider-Man film of all time!

Tom Holland returns as everyone’s favorite web-slinger in SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, the next chapter after Spider-Man: Homecoming. Our friendly neighborhood wall-crawler decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter’s plans to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks are quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks! Spider-Man and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) join forces to fight the havoc unleashed across the continent but all is not as it seems.

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME stars Tom Holland (Spider – Man: Homecoming) as Peter Parker, Samuel L. Jackson (Spider – Man: Homecoming) as Nick Fury, Jon Favreau ( The Lion King) as Happy Hogan, Zendaya (“Euphoria”) as MJ, and Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) as Mysterio.

The Blu-ray, DVD, Digital, and 4K Ultra HD release arrives filled with bonus materials for the whole family including a special short, alternate and extended scenes, gag reels and Easter Eggs! Additional special features include Teachers’ Travel Tips with Mr. Harrington and Mr. Dell and interviews with the cast and crew focused on stunts and location in The Jump Off and Far, FAR, From Home. Explore how Spider-Man was introduced in the MCU in Stepping Up and get a closer look at the special chemistry between Jon Watts and Tom Holland in It Takes Two. Fans will want to dive into The Ginter-Riva Effect, Thank You, Mrs. Parker and Now You See Me features for more character focused details. The 4K Ultra HD also features Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos audio.

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME is directed by Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers and based on a Marvel Comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The film is produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal. Executive Producers are Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Thomas M. Hammel, Eric Hauserman Carroll, Rachel O’Connor, the late Stan Lee, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME has a run time of approximately 129 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some language and brief suggestive comments.

Bonus Materials Include:

New Original Short, Peter’s To – Do - List: Peter has a few errands to run before he can leave on his class trip.

Teachers’ Travel Tips: Mr. Harrington & Mr. Dell present a few tips on how to traverse the European continent.

Stepping Up: Explore how Spider-Man was introduced in the MCU, the ways Tom Holland transformed the character of Peter Parker, and what the future holds for Spider-Man.

Suit Up: The suit doesn't make the hero - but it does play a big role in who they are and who they can become. This piece examines all of Peter's different suits in the movie, and with behind the scenes footage, we see why some suits are better than others.

Far, FAR, Far from Home: The film's illustrious locations serve story points and establish tone, but they're also amazing to travel to! Hear from the cast on their experiences filming on-location.

It Takes Two: A special look at the chemistry between Jon Watts and Tom Holland.

Fury & Hill: MCU stalwarts Cobie Smulders and Samuel L. Jackson are back as Agent Maria Hill & Nick Fury!

The Ginter-Riva Effect: A look at the villain sub-plot and how William Ginter-Riva ties Spider-Man: Far From Home all the way back to the beginning of the MCU.

Thank You, Mrs. Parker: A look at Marisa Tomei's reimagining of Aunt May, from Homecoming to Far From Home.

The Brother’s Trust: A quick look into some of the amazing work Tom Holland and his brothers have done through their charity, The Brothers Trust.

The Jump Off: Interviews with the cast & crew take us through all of the amazing stunts of Far From Home.

Now You See Me: We examine the evolution of Mysterio and why Jake Gyllenhaal was the perfect fit for the role.

Stealthy Easter Eggs: Allow E.D.I.T.H. to reveal some of the hidden Easter Eggs you may have missed!

Select Scene Pre – Vis: A side by side comparison of the Pre-Vis with the film

Gag Reel & Outakes

Never-Before-Seen Alternate & Extended Scenes

#blogpost #spiderman #spiderman far from home

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comicsxaminer · 5 years

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“No endgame for Spidey—he’s flying higher than ever!” – Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

THE BIGGEST SPIDER-MAN MOVIE EVER IN THEATERS NOW AND SWINGS ONTO DIGITAL SEPTEMBER 17 AND ON 4K ULTRA HD™ COMBO PACK, BLU-RAY™ COMBO PACK AND DVD ON OCTOBER 1

COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION WITH SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDING AN ORIGINAL SHORT, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN ALTERNATE AND EXTENDED SCENES AND MUCH MORE!

CULVER CITY, Calif. (September 3, 2019) – The billion dollar blockbuster, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, comes home on Digital September 17 and on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD on October 1 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. From Spider-Man: Homecoming Director, Jon Watts, comes a global adventure for everyone. SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME is now the biggest Spider-Man film of all time!

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME stars Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Peter Parker, Samuel L. Jackson (Avengers: Endgame) as Nick Fury, Jon Favreau (The Lion King) as Happy Hogan, Zendaya (“Euphoria”) as MJ, and Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) as Mysterio.

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME has a run time of approximately 129 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some language and brief suggestive comments.

Bonus Materials Include:

New Original Short, Peter’s To-Do-List: Peter has a few errands to run before he can leave on his class trip.

Teachers’ Travel Tips: Mr. Harrington & Mr. Dell present a few tips on how to traverse the European continent.

Stepping Up: Explore how Spider-Man was introduced in the MCU, the ways Tom Holland transformed the character of Peter Parker, and what the future holds for Spider-Man.

Suit Up: The suit doesn’t make the hero – but it does play a big role in who they are and who they can become. This piece examines all of Peter’s different suits in the movie, and with behind the scenes footage, we see why some suits are better than others.

Far, FAR, Far from Home: The film’s illustrious locations serve story points and establish tone, but they’re also amazing to travel to! Hear from the cast on their experiences filming on-location.

It Takes Two: A special look at the chemistry between Jon Watts and Tom Holland.

Fury & Hill: MCU stalwarts Cobie Smulders and Samuel L. Jackson are back as Agent Maria Hill & Nick Fury!

The Ginter-Riva Effect: A look at the villain sub-plot and how William Ginter-Riva ties Spider-Man: Far From Home all the way back to the beginning of the MCU.

Thank You, Mrs. Parker: A look at Marisa Tomei’s reimagining of Aunt May, from Homecoming to Far From Home.

The Brother’s Trust: A quick look into some of the amazing work Tom Holland and his brothers have done through their charity, The Brothers Trust.

The Jump Off: Interviews with the cast & crew take us through all of the amazing stunts of Far From Home.

Now You See Me: We examine the evolution of Mysterio and why Jake Gyllenhaal was the perfect fit for the role.

Stealthy Easter Eggs: Allow E.D.I.T.H. to reveal some of the hidden Easter Eggs you may have missed!

Select Scene Pre-Vis: A side by side comparison of the Pre-Vis with the film

Gag Reel & Outakes

Never-Before-Seen Alternate & Extended Scenes

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME Comes To Digital This September And 4K Ultra, Blu-Ray In October! “No endgame for Spidey—he’s flying higher than ever!” - Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE THE BIGGEST SPIDER-MAN MOVIE EVER…

#marvel comics #spider-man #Spider-Man: Far From Home #tom holland #zendaya

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fatmandd1 · 5 years

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Spiderman for the PS4 is an incredible experience. It’s way different than any spiderman game out there. This game is the beginning of the next evolution of marvel turning their comic series into video games. This is what I wanted from Marvel the entire time; for them to create an incredible spiderman game that immerses you in story, fighting skills, and the best combos you have ever seen. It may take something from the Arkham series but it adds its own nuance and amazing web-slinging fun, and that’s what people want from Spider-Man. Web-slinging fun, taking villains seriously and, having the best villains. When you fight Shocker, when you fight the Sinister Six, and Mr. Negative (and find out who Mr. Negative is), everything comes together. If you are the type of person that’s not spoiled by trailers or don’t even watch a trailer or watch one second of a teaser, Spider-Man immerses you in an entire world full of ass-kicking, web-slinging, amazing characters and the story is just full of immerse-ness. You can grab onto the Spider-Man story and relate to every single comic, and there’s more mysteries within Spider-Man. There’s more that leads up to the stories of Spider-Man. When you’re going on a mission to collect back-pack pieces, everything for the back-pack, everything that he lost when he was in his younger years, has a story within it that you find. Including, a capsule that holds Sandman and that’s crazy and beautiful. It holds the essence and it holds Sandman. It may be a hint to other future games coming out from Insomniac games. This is the best moment for these characters and for the amazing Spider-Man himself, not just dealing with silver-sable, not just dealing with the backlash from kingpin. It’s the story coming out of there that’s incredible. Especially after the buildup of Doc Ock becoming evil and Spider-Man defeating him, as well as Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane and them getting back together. After playing Spider-Man and seeing the Spider-Verse, seeing characters, and finding out where they’re going next, you kind of get the connection between the two (game and movie). They’re amazing because you can see the suits, the costumes, and you get a bit of the story of Spiderman and Mary Jane. But, Peter in his adulthood trying to adult, and trying to hold down a job and pay his bills and his mortgage, it’s kind of hard to see him still struggle. It’s different seeing him going from the Daily Bugle to being a scientist and doing what he loves to do, something we don’t see often for his character. We also find out that his relationships with people are also kind of diminishing. I think in real life, we all go through the same struggles but this never makes Spider-Man selfish. Peter Parker is never selfish. And when they introduce Miles Morales, the selfishness is never displayed, it’s always “defend the people,” “for the people,” “do what’s right” and “don’t be selfish with anything.” That’s incredible coming from such an amazing character as Peter. And seeing the growth of Miles Morales before he loses his father in the game is even better because we’re taking a different look from the ultimate comic universe, in the video game. We get to see Miles, his hacking skills, and his relationship with his family. We see everything from the character up until the moment Mr. Negative attacks the town hall meeting with mayor Osbourne—and Miles’s dad dies. That is one of the hardest moments, because even Peter gets knocked out and we get to play as Miles for a moment and you get to use hacking scenarios with him. We also get to run from the rhino with Miles, and that is incredible. And then we also get to fight and punch up some guys with Miles for the first time. As the Spider-Man story progresses we see the growth of Miles when he gets his spider bite, we see the growth of the relationship between Peter and Doc Ock and how that relationship has failed, which is scary. We saw Doc Ock turning into a monster and turning into someone that was fueled by anger, deceit, destruction, and even when that deadly gas hit, Peter could have saved his aunt but he didn’t. And he had let his aunt die to save others. This is the most grueling part of the game, where Peter’s aunt passes away and now he has to take the mantle of an adult, he has to grow even further, he lost his aunt May and uncle Ben, and the only one he has left is Mary Jane by his side. Just going further in the story, finding out that Harry Osbourne is not on a trip in Europe, and he’s actually been held (willingly) in Oz Corp. behind secret doors. In the scene where MJ gets scared by a spider, Harry Osbourne is behind secret lab doors and at the end of the game, seeing that he’s surrounded by the venom symbiote, we get an aspect of the story that’s incredible because Norman Osbourne is using the symbiote to maybe try to cure Harry of the same disease his mother had, which is very emotional. The story layered is incredible and Insomniac games has pushed the envelope of what a Marvel and Spider-man game is. People say that there are many Spider-man games that have done the same thing. Not like this. Not story elements, not cinematic elements, nothing. From fighting all the enemies, to the story, to the hunts and the quests, you can never get bored with this game. You can never ever get bored with an incredible Spider-man game. There’s so many quests, there’s so many hunts, and there’s DLC that’s already out. If you haven’t played it, silver sable, hammerhead, black cat; 3 incredible DLC’s that are already out and people can’t wait for what’s next with the game, if there is anything. People can’t wait for part two. I can’t wait for part two. And that’s the thing, because we all want to know what’s gonna happen next. I hope they introduce Kraven the hunter and the Chameleon. I hope they introduce more aspects of Spider-man’s rouge gallery. And that’s another part about Spider-man that’s amazing. You can never stop wondering what they are gonna hint about in the comic, what comic are they going to hint, what movie are they going to hint to, what comics are they going to just throw out there, like “this is from this comic and that is from this issue.” As a Spider-man fan and a comic fan, anyone that buys this game knows there’s a lot of heart and soul that went into this. I thank the creators, I thank the producers, I thank the voice actors, I thank everyone that did every visual thing on this game, to the audience in New York City. I wish they had dialogue DLC so the dialogue could change up for the character and the emotes. But the web-slinging is incredible, the diving is amazing, the combat is smooth and sick and crazy. And the best part about taking pictures in New York City is that you can see Avengers Tower, you can explore and, the missions are just amazing. This is a solid Spider-man game, and whenever part two comes out, I hope it beats this one in sales and everything. And also that we get to choose from as many suits as possible. People love this game for the suits. If you’re a Spider-man fan, you should grab this game. You should cherish it forever, if you got the PS4, hold on to it. If you got the statue, you’re awesome. People may have invested a lot into this but it’s worth it. Every investment into a video game is worth it. Shout-out to the studios, thank you so much for creating an incredible game. I loved it. I can never stop playing it. I platinumed it and beat it, and I want the second one to be so hard that I can’t even reach a platinum. So, thank you Insomniac studios, thank you to the entire crew that worked on this game. So much awesomeness. A. Ringling

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69ywivez · 3 years

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OKAY OKAY LISTEN.

IF YOU LOOK AT HIS TURNAROUND, AND SPECIFICALLY AT THE CAT EARS ON HIS HOODIE?

(CREDIT GOES TO GIANTBOMB FOR THIS OBVIOUSLY)

HIS EARS FUCKING *MOVE*

AND WE DONT SEE ANY HUMAN ONES WHEREAS ON GINAS

WE *DO*.

IN CONCLUSION, I THINK PARKER HAS CAT EARS

#combo crew #parker combo crew #movement #gina combo crew #MK’s posts

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husbandoneeded · 6 years

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The Friendly Foe (part 3) Peter Parker x reader

Please do not repost my work without my permission.

Summary: As a child, (y/n) never grew up wealthy. Her dad had left her and her mom at a young age, leaving them behind with almost nothing. She was used to not being able to go out much or enjoying life with friends. She never minded though- life was hard, but it was okay in the end. At least that's how she felt until things quickly started to change as her mom got sick. Paying the bills was harder than before- so much more money was needed and she didn't have it.So she did the only thing she could do that would earn her enough money for everything. Become a villain...

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Masterlist

There will be quite a lot of cursing in this chapter so if you're not okay with that then well yeh... Im a naturel curser I cant help myself sorry It was already getting quite late, and no Spider-man to be seen yet. I guess I'm lucky today then... My thoughts were interrupted by a loud blast noise though, it seems like I judged too soon. "What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" One of the guys yelled. "Well she was supposed to test the new suit right?! Well she can't just get money from doing nothing, lets get that spider kid here and than she can at least be useful!" You have go to be kidding me... "You are absolutely insane, be glad the bug aint here you idiot! What if someone else shows up huh? Do you know how loud that blast was you fucker?!" The second guy yelled. "I'm just showing off the weapons to the client- and if spider kid or someone else shows up or little firefly can deal with it here. Now stop complaining and wrap this up." Guy B ripped the weapon from the other idiots arms and scoffed. It seems like he was just as amused with the gunshot as I was... I heard some rustling and looked around, as if on cue our favorite hero in red and blue appeared from behind some rocks. "You know, you guys are right, let's wrap this up indeed!" Spider-man held his hand up and was about to shoot his web shooter. But I quickly moved in front of the guys and activated my shield. His webbing stuck to the shield but once it de-materialized it fell to the ground. I could see his mechanical eyes move as if he was confused, or was he impressed? It was hard to tell. "Do I know you, I feel like I ran into you before... Cute light by the way- firefly" He said, the smirk obvious in his voice. "Maybe but who knows, bugface." Its not like I didn't like the guy, but he's still the reason so many of my missions failed recently. And his casual banter wasn't helping. "Ooooh clever comeback." He held his hands in front of where his mouth would be. He was taunting me. I'm pretty sure he'd beat me in hand to hand combat, even with my upgrade. Like Adrian said- he has more experience. It's better to keep my distance and give the guys some time. So banter it is then... "As if your insults were any better to begin with." "You know you have a really smart mouth why don't I just, shut it?" He moved his arm again to shoot his web at me, I was about to block it again when he suddenly aimed at the ground and catapulted himself towards me. SHIT. I lowered my shield and quickly dodged him, jumping to the right. "Fast reactions Firefly." "I can hear your grin from under that mask and I swear to god I'll wipe it of your damned face!" Okay now he was starting to get on my nerves. He let out a small "hm" to prove his point and ran towards me again, aiming for a tree branch above me that he could swing from. Instead of putting up my shield again i took a fighting stance- enough with the bullshit. He dove towards me, swinging on his stupid spiderweb, aiming to kick me in the side. I swiftly moved to the side and grabbed his foot, and threw him to the side. I could feel the energy collecting in my arms from the suit, damn it really did give me a power boost. "Wait I know yout voice!" He said and I tensed up. Did he mean from previous encounters? Or from school? From the store? What if he knows me in real life? "Oh yeh, tell me spider-boy, where you know me from." I tried to act confident, but my voice still slightly wavered regardless. "You were trying to rob the clean up site last week! But you had a different suit then, you got an upgrade?" The smirk was once again very prominent in his voice. I tsked and slowly started backing of, while I had been keeping bug boy busy the crew had finished the deal and cleaned up. I could hear the cars motor pulling up from behind me, ready to drive away. As fast as I could I turned around and gather my strength in my legs to run away as fast as possible. I reached for some sticky thingies, something the guys made to make my stick on the van -or other cars- when making an escape of some sort. Jumping on the car, I looked behind me, to see where spider-man had gone of too. To my dismay he was right behind us his web attached to the van. "Fuck..." I muttered under my breath, if this idiot follows us to the open we will have to fight in housed areas, which I wanted to avoid. Again, I'd rather avoid people getting hurt. And I also wasn't ready to be known to the public, Adrian preferred laying low as well. "Give up spider boy, lets not take this to the general public before someone gets hurt!" I yelled, in the hopes he'd actually give up. "Yeh as if you care, is that why you're selling guns and weapons?" Auch, that kinda stung. "I...I have my reasons you have yours. I don't want innocent people to get hurt, do you?!." "No! That's why I'm actually protecting them and not selling arms!" "You don't know anything!" I yelled back, frustration was building up, and it caused me to fail at noticing how close he had come to me by now. Shit. Shit shit shit. SHIT! I leaped of the van towards him, catching him by surprise. I held him in an arm lock as we dropped on the highway. The pressure made me lose my breath for a while and seemingly spider-boy was no different. I coughed and tried to sit up. "Are you crazy?!" He yelled at me. "I didn't want to take this into the town! People will get hurt!" He was honestly so stubborn, I could feel my energy draining. Not eating enough and having to fight and run while also being sleep deprived... Not the best combo. "Again, if you care so much, why are you letting these guys escape with selling their weapons." The hero's voice was a lot more soft now. And he seemed to show at least a bit of compassion. A silence filled the air, as I looked down. "You should get out of here, before back up arrives." I said. "or a car hits you in the face spider-boy." I said calmly, while slowly backing away. Spider-man just looked at be- he seemed baffled. "I'm gonna go now... I'm sorry." I said, and sprinted towards the side of the highway. I used my last energy to run away so he had no way of catching up anymore, even if he was still fast enough to web me. I quickly leaped over the edge, as i took my leap down the meters high bridge. Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14713436/chapters/34015325

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