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LIVING ON THE EDGE, FIGHTING CRIME, SPINNING WEBS, LOOKING UP WITH NO SURPRISE, ARRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TIME— FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN

[attr="class","monsterexo"]Spider-Man finally swung back onto the rooftop and this time he wasn’t alone; he had brought along a box of cookies he had just bought at a market. He didn’t know how much it took him but he could have definitely made it back a lot faster if it weren’t for that quick robbery and he also had to take a few pictures with some Spidey fans. He was pretty sure they weren’t actually there for a picture with the vigilante, though, but who wouldn’t take a picture with a picture of such a high-level Spider-Man cosplay?

Who knew, though.

He wasn’t exactly just a cosplayer, but— it was kind of difficult to put it on words, honestly. But hey, it was all cool. He had begun to make his appearance around— he could only expect some notoriety to tag along with his vigilantism acts, right? He did wish common robberies were a little less uncommon; they weren’t usually all that much and it wasn’t like he had actually met any supervillain.

Probably for the best.

Julia invited him and his box of cookies to join her and he did as he dropped to sit down next to Jules, he let a leg lay with its onto the cement beneath him, the knee was slightly bent while the other leg was just raised— supported by the foot’s instep that was pressed against the edge of the roof and allowed one arm to rest onto the raised knee, less but not least important he also put the cookies between them.

“The thugs? I just left them hanging; the police will take them in," - said the male as he looked far into the distance, he couldn’t quite pinpoint the location of the shop, it was probably a few blocks away. “You said I am awesome, right? I mean— I am totally amazing or maybe spectacular, but I will tell you a secret okay?”

The man’s masked face turned to face her for a slight moment in anticipation of his revelation.

“I can’t actually fight.”

Spidey just dismissed it with a chuckle and lowered his head for a brief moment. “Like, let me rephrase it; I can fight. But I haven’t actually ever looked into that stuff, not yet. I probably should. It would make up for a few things. So far I have just been improvising and imitating Spider-Man’s moves. Take those thugs as an example— how do you think I got them?”

Not even a moment later, the vigilante lifted a finger as if he preferred to interrupt any sort of answer with a quick ‘statement’. “Spider-Man, Spider-Man— does whatever a spider can~”

The guy seriously even tried to tune his voice for a brief moment, just to go along with the famous, catchy song of the original Spider-Man cartoon. Also of the video game in the early two thousand but that one was pretty much a remix. A neat one at it, though!

Spider-Man then, out of nowhere, suddenly pulled a hand towards his neck and reached out for the cloth of his mask as he slid his fingers beneath and lifted it up enough to roll it above his mouth as he finally let his mouth grasp for a fist of air— god, wearing a mask could be so annoying, especially when you did it for hours a day.

But it wasn’t long until he smiled and grabbed a cookie for himself, too. “Not like those guys were anything like that Shockwave guy. Or seriously any supervillain I can think of— I don’t think I have met any, actually. I just wish I could have done things differently at times,” - said the male as he clenched his teeth against the cookie and stripped the snack of a piece; he took a bit and savored it as he looked at the polluted sky of the metropolis.

“But hey, I wouldn’t be Spider-Man now if it weren’t for that day!” - he exclaimed with a smirk directed towards his friend.

Until he finally realized that, in the end, he was also recognized as a criminal in most cases; which also reminded him of his proposal. He sort of let a faint gasp escape from his mouth as he figured out that she was actually about right. “Yeah, also, just scrap what I said. It’s not worth it to become a criminal— maybe not even a hero, honestly. If I were you, I’d just you know… take care of my family and have fun with my powers. I just do this because I don’t have anything to lose anymore, so one day I thought I may as well have fun and do it my way,” - August mentioned before he pointed an index finger towards her.

“Your daughter deserves a cool mom like you around her,” - finished the man with a smile and then moved on to the next cookie. They were tasty and all, plus he kind of needed to ‘restore himself’ a bit; sure he had grown used to swinging but it was still a taxing action. But hey, at least he didn’t have to worry about diets or stuff like that— all of that movement preserved his fitness and built him further just fine! Many would probably think it wasn't fair given people actually subscribed to a gym and paid money. But hey, swinging and all those acrobatics were not all that easy, either! But he could definitely imagine something like:

'Spider-Man's secret to getting fit in less than a month. All fitness trainers hate him!'

Come to think of it, though, he had come here to call it a day, right? He hadn’t almost even realized he had gotten involved in the woman’s training but hey, it was actually an amusing experience. He couldn’t help but wonder; why was she on this rooftop?

“So… You come here often or something? Because, like, it’s not that I am here every night. But I pass by and I don’t think I have ever seen you training up here.”

@jules

MADE BY ★MEULK

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Jules wondered how literal his words were. With the strength and versatility of the webbing Spider-Man seemed to produce, she could very much picture them hanging up like a tightly wrapped Christmas present for the police to enjoy. She continued to munch on her cookie as she pictured the mental image, amused by what she saw. Her power could have a similar effect – albeit with a slight risk of hypothermia for her victims.

“Wow Spidey, pretty badass. You stick a pretty bow on them and everything? So kind of you.”

She supposed it was the only option for vigilantes – they couldn’t exactly proudly present their work to the police when they were criminals themselves, after all.

Suddenly he was talking about some kind of secret, turning to face her. Jules raised her eyebrows slightly – surely he wasn’t about to reveal his identity? Then he confessed that he couldn’t fight, his chuckle immediately evaporating any tension, and Jules joined him in laughter. Then she hummed along with his song for a moment before laughing once more.

“Hey, maybe you should pick up some defence classes, just in case Spider-Man can’t one of these days. I know a couple of tricks – I’m a lot better up close than long range, as you could probably tell.” Jules conjured up an ice dagger in her palm idly and launched it across the gap between their building and the next, watching it shatter against the brick wall. “I’m getting better though. Your practice with me has probably helped,” she added with a smile.

She was surprised when the vigilante pushed up the bottom of his mask, catching a glimpse of the guy’s real face. Just his jaw, really, and a hint of his mouth as he took a breath before grabbing a cookie for himself. It was a funny reminder that there really was normal guy beneath the cosplay.

She frowned sympathetically as he spoke, even as he quickly attempted to lighten the mood. It was true, being Spider-Man seemed to give him a sense of purpose – he was perfect for the role with his whacky sense of humour – and he couldn’t dispute that as a positive outcome even if he had some regrets along the way. “Well, I’m glad you’re Spider-Man. You seem pretty chill about it. Just sorry you had to go through the Shockwave incident to get here.”

It was amusing that he was advising her not to become a Hero. In many ways, she agreed with him, but the financial gains were too lucrative to pass up in her situation. She felt sad that he claimed to have nothing to lose any more, wondering at the back story behind that.

“Yeah, I guess she is a pretty cool daughter, so I guess I’ll stick around,” she teased. “What makes you think you’ve got nothing to lose, Spider-Guy? You really the rugged lone wolf type?”

She crammed the last of her cookie into her mouth while she listened to him talk, immediately shoving her hand into the box for a second cookie.

“I come up here sometimes, but it’s not often I have somebody around to look after my daughter for me unless I’m officially working. I’ll have to head back in a little while but I plan on making the most of my free time – meaning more cookies, of course. You here most nights then? What – you live in the building?”

@spidey | 570 words

LAIKA OF GS!

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LIVING ON THE EDGE, FIGHTING CRIME, SPINNING WEBS, LOOKING UP WITH NO SURPRISE, ARRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TIME— FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN

[attr="class","monsterexo"]August couldn’t even hold back his chuckle at Julia’s remark; he did feel somewhat badass when he could just leave them hanging somewhere. But he couldn’t help but wonder: what if they were no simple thugs? What if it were Shockwave?

Even worse; he happened to get powers very close to the Spider-Man from the comic books. But if he compared himself to the comics and looked into what he would have arranged against the renowned villains-- he felt somewhat clueless as to how it would have gone.

Green Goblin, Electro, Vulture, Doc. Ock, Shocker-- Venom; no, that would have been terrifying. Thankfully there were no bad guys like that… he hoped.

Well, best case scenario, at least the comics would have hinted at him on how to neutralize them. But, what about other super villains with sets of powers he couldn’t even imagine?

August tilted his head amusingly towards his fellow metahuman with a curious smile. “Really? Well, you do look like you would fit in between close and medium range. But hey, if you ever feel like teaching good ol’ Spidey, I will be all ears—... and webs,” - said the man before he happened to delight himself with the icy girl’s performance.

“Of course it helped. Else I wouldn’t have offered the treat,” - he replied, following his words with his actions as he put the rest of the cookie in his mouth, allowing his teeth to slowly break through it and munch on the snack before he gulped it down.

But what Julia said next allowed his lips to pursue a genuine smile; he liked to hear people appreciate his work as Spider-Man. It felt rewarding. He wished he could hear it more often at times but the man didn’t expect too much appreciation our of a vigilante… unless he was New York’s friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, of course.

“Thanks, ice lady. That Shockwave thing is… history anyway.”

August pressed both his lips together and exhaled a gentle breath out, pulling another cookie from the box. It wasn’t something he was too… comfortable talking about but he did appreciate the concern.

It allowed for a sensation in his back to explode in a chill and relax the man from such thoughts. The man nodded along in her words until she had come to the conclusion of him being a ‘lone wolf’ to which he just let his mouth gape without too much of an answer for a few moments.

The man just launched his hand forth and pressed both his middle and ring fingers against the palm of his hand, spinning webs at a high velocity that stuck onto the building the ice lady had previously hit with her dagger.

“Pretty sure a wolf can’t do that,” - replied the man with a hint of humor in his voice before he chuckled it away. “No, like… I am more of your friendly and chill nerd type. Just, uh, well… you have your daughter to look after. I have lost my someone that day.”

He hated having to bring that up. It hurt in so many ways that he couldn’t describe and while she couldn’t see his face; he was uncharacteristically silent for moments after that.

But then she asked him if he lived in that building-- thank God!

No, wait...

That wasn’t good at all!

August smiled silently. Not in agreement, not in amusement for her ‘silly guess’. No, it was an “I am fucked” smile. The man just shook his head slowly and looked to the other part of the street.

“No, like… uh. When the… like when it is late! Yeah, I live… tons of blocks away in that direction. So, y’know, I pass by and stuff when my day is done.”

Spidey then looked at her again, hoping that her expression wouldn’t scream doubt from every pore. But somehow, the man was self-aware more than enough of his performance to know it wasn’t all that convincing.

“Fuck my life…”

Yeah, totally add some acting classes on top of the defense ones.

@jules

MADE BY ★MEULK

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Between close and medium range was right – Glacia just didn’t have the firepower to do any damage from far away. The way she fought was mostly defensive anyway; she sought to subdue her opponents quickly while staying in one piece for as long as possible. Fortunately, freezing someone into place with well-placed blocks of ice did tend to do the trick for a lot of villains. She knew that the Hero program appreciated her swift, minimal-collateral-damage approach to crime-fighting. To her, it just made sense. Why make the fight any longer or more deadly than it needed to be?

Still, she needed something in her arsenal for long range, hence the training. “Me, train you? I was thinking more of a professional than just some random lady you met on a rooftop, but I guess I could give it a try some time if you were really desperate,” Jules said with a grin.

“A treat, yeah!” she said enthusiastically, raising her half-eaten cookie into the air. “Though I think if I kept eating these every time I tried to exercise then it’d probably defeat the point, right? I can’t just demolish snacks like I used to,” Jules added mournfully.

She caught the pleased smile on his face, reflecting it with one of her own. She caught the soft exhale of composure shortly after he spoke, too, and decided not to leave that topic of conversation there. He was right. It was history. A formative piece of history that had shaped everything about the nation’s attitudes to metahumans, yes, but maybe not something enjoyable to discuss if you’d actually lived through it.

There was a slight groan from Jules as Spider-Man made his spider – not wolf – powers apparent, shoving his shoulder gently. “Okay, okay, spider-wolf? God, no, actually – that’d be really creepy.”

Again, the Shockwave incident, and now Jules could see exactly why it was so raw and difficult for him to discuss. “I’m sorry,” she said simply.

He looked away from her, tripping over his words as she asked him if he lived here. She rolled her eyes, though he couldn’t see. Tons of blocks away. It was a good thing she wasn’t secretly some baddie trying to track him down or he’d be utterly useless under interrogation.

“Riiiiiight,” she said disbelievingly, giggling a little. “It’s okay if you want to pretend you don’t live here. I’ll just cover my eyes when you head home and never know any different.” Jules winked. “And here I was thinking how awesome it’d be to have a spider-babysitter.”

@spidey | 425 words

LAIKA OF GS!

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LIVING ON THE EDGE, FIGHTING CRIME, SPINNING WEBS, LOOKING UP WITH NO SURPRISE, ARRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TIME— FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN

[attr="class","monsterexo"]“It’s fine! It’s water under the bridge.”

It wasn’t really, but he hated having to ruin the mood because of his stuff. He was totally good at the moment but it felt like a sadness that would not stop to creep up onto him.

Thankfully a far more relieving moment, even if uncomfortable took the suit.

Okay, now this was actually awkward…

She could tell he didn’t exactly know how to feign or at least fake reality from his words. But at this point, he probably needed to look after a number of things if he wanted to go far in this. She was right.

What if Spider-Man can’t one day? It could result in either his self-harm or others and those were not options he would like to consider. Not at all.

Maybe he should have looked into martial arts? They were supposedly good for a number of reasons or at least something that could also sharpen his mind somehow. He was sure he wasn’t that bad at talking, maybe it was because he didn’t feel like he was currently being Spider-Man? Again, he also needed to improve on that.

But the thing was said and done now. She definitely saw through him and as Spidey looked at her with pursed lips, at least, she didn’t seem too… like, maybe she wouldn’t have told anyone.

He smiled a bit and let his hand at least comfort the sense of shame he felt as he caressed his skull gently.

“Please don’t tell anyone…”

His quick request was also accompanied by a gasp. “Spider-babysitter?” - chuckled the man and shook his head. “That’s not fair, ice lady; tempting me like that!”

Spidey munched the last of his cookie next and kind of lifted his legs up and down as he pondered.

August had grown a little fatherly desire ever since his marriage and it did not fade away with his wife but it turned out to be a little bit of a sad reminder: how such possibility was stripped from his grasp together with his dear.

For a moment, he seriously wondered if he should have just taken off the mask and introduce himself. But that wasn’t Spider-Man; it’s not what he would have done. Nor did he want to risk too much. Sure he had kind of screwed up already.

But he wasn’t all that eager to wake up one day as his place got swatted.

“Thanks, ice lady,” - said the man and gave her a little bit of a smile. “If I am not around webbing up baddies or swinging old ladies to the other side of the street,” - he paused for a brief moment with a smirk; no, he didn’t actually do that.

He didn’t want to risk scaring them to death.

“I’m definitely gonna take a shot at that sometime! I am curious to see if I would have been a good spider-dad,” - he chuckled the joke away with a friendly reminder. “I am not taking money for it, though. Just consider it a favor by a friend, yeah?”

@jules

MADE BY ★MEULK

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Jules frowned, her concerned-mom look already perfected, but allowed the guy to deflect from the seriousness of the incident. Losing someone was never really something you could describe as ‘water under the bridge’, especially when they were torn from you so violently, but Jules couldn’t fault the guy for being reluctant to discuss it with a total stranger he’d just met on the roof of his apartment. Instead of offering more sympathy, she dove into the bag and pulled out a cookie to shove at his face.

“This one’s a feel-better cookie,” she insisted. “Eat – and be happy!”

He seemed to be similar to her in that he hated taking anything too seriously. As such, joking around the subject was sure to be a winner – Jules was certainly comfortable with moving along the conversation in such a way herself.

She pouted, a little offended, as he pleaded with her to keep his secret, inadvertently admitting that he did indeed reside within the building.

“Me? You think I’d tell anyone? Don’t you think I’d have called the cops on you by now if I was trying to turn in vigilantes?” She grinned, nudging him with his elbow to show there were no hard feelings. “I won’t tell the press either, although I do have a very good friend whose interests lie heavily in this sorta thing. She’ll kill me if she ever finds out I’ve let her down on an interview opportunity,” Jules confessed with a grin.

“No, I won’t tell anyone. You don’t tell anyone about me, too, okay?”

She raised her pinky finger to seal the promise. If Spider-Man took it with his own, she’d temporarily freeze over their fingers with ice as though trying to trap him, then giggling and melting it away.

Shaking her head at the gasp and eagerness to be a Spider-babysitter, Jules stuck out her tongue. “Yo, Spider-Guy, offer’s open if you ever want it.” She swallowed the last of her cookie. “If you don’t want money, I’m sure I can pay you in cookies. Or adorableness – my daughter is pretty damn cute,” she added proudly.

Em was very cute. Jules knew it. Unfortunately, Em seemed to know it too and used it to her advantage. She was every babysitter’s dream and worst nightmare all in one adorable package.

@spidey | 385 words

LAIKA OF GS!

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LIVING ON THE EDGE, FIGHTING CRIME, SPINNING WEBS, LOOKING UP WITH NO SURPRISE, ARRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TIME— FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN

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August didn’t, unfortunately, believe what he said. He wouldn’t call it a lie, but, he didn’t want to channel sadness. He wasn’t even the kind of person to be a drama queen, honestly, he just liked to be straightforward— that was how the whole jokes part came so good to him, but, whenever the topic of his loss would surface; he couldn’t find the words.

It was daunting. When two souls would bind together— they couldn’t just break apart. If they did, unwillingly, of course, it was going to be painful. That’s how he felt. Truly, grief, but also anger. For several reasons. He didn’t even wish to communicate them to anyone. Not to someone who had been so nice to him so far.

Even then, leaks of that day were still vivid in his mind. Everyday. He could still see her. No, who was he kidding? He couldn’t even dare to believe he had any sort of memory of her if he lost her sight that day. She died because of him.

He survived. But at what cost?

Not that difficult of an answer. For every push, swing— so desperately he tried to find her among the crowd. His lungs couldn’t take a single more attempt at calling out her name after a while. Why didn’t she answer? Where had she gone? He had just left a moment. All he did was to save a pair of innocent lives.

An act that had gone without recognition, too.

What was left for him? The night that he returned home— or like, day, it didn’t make a difference to him. He was sleepless, restless. Every second, he hoped to hear knocks on the door and for several other nights. She didn’t. She wasn’t coming back, was she? Why? Similar thoughts filled his mind for months to come— whether he laid like a corpse on the bed or on top of a skyscraper.

He used to sit at the highest he could find and just stare, as he pressed his knees together and his back rested against some piece of metal. He didn’t even care if anyone saw him.

He didn’t want to go through one more second anymore. He wanted to freeze himself. Disappear. He hated himself too much, for him to even be proud of his heroics.

‘Pride’.

At times, he would have wanted to project an image of himself and just beat him to death.

He would have wanted to find Shockwave and kill him.

Why?

He took his wife away from him, in the worst way. August did it himself. He couldn’t blame himself or the children, either. He didn’t know what to think. He didn’t dare to even guess what would have happened if he didn’t save those kids— he couldn’t. The man wasn’t a priest, but he was a good person, he… he was a mess.

“Huh?”

The vigilante soon found a cookie shoved up against his mouth as he looked with lips slightly gaping in a little ‘o’, snapping back into reality. Back where his lips were idle and expressed no emotion, but his teary eyes, beneath the mask, would have told a whole different story. He wouldn’t usually cry, but, god, it was so easy for his eyes to get wet when thinking back on this.

He didn’t know what to feel about that.

Just like the lady over here offered him a cookie; he could still remember his wife’s blessing. What he would call the start of his ‘cosplay’ or ‘vigilantism career’, even if he didn’t really do much until after her death.

It was his birthday that her wife would gift him the mask he still wore to this day. He didn’t even know how, but she apparently had a quality time in the basement with his old stuff. She was… out of the ordinary, to say the least. She wasn’t the kind to go for the usual ties or stuff; she liked to make her gifts special.

Just like Julia held the cookie— he could still remember when his wife offered him the mask. That nervous look on her face; she expected it to be a hit and miss chance, probably, but he couldn’t help but actually hug her out of amusement. She, god, she was so adorable and nice.

So, that makes me your hero now?

You’ve always been my hero, silly! You will keep ‘us’ safe, right?...

August forced a smile on his face. It was weak but totally sincere, he just… didn’t have the strength to even push his lips up. He felt like dying for a moment, there, just at the faint recollection of that day.

He eventually allowed it to grow into a smirk as he reached out for the cookie and took a bite. He gently let his teeth smash the snack before he silently gulped it down. He didn’t say too much of a word, at first, he was trying to truly fracture the line between reality and his thought and switch back to the real world.

Spidey didn’t mean to offend her, even if, she later hinted that it was just a joke, he couldn’t help but feel amused.

“This Spidey is guilty, but I would rather not wake up to my place getting swatted. You’re totally awesome, though, so I am sure I can trust you,” - mentioned the man. He didn’t even know there would be someone else in this apartment with superpowers, he didn’t actually look around too much for that sort of thing— maybe he should have from now on.

She couldn’t stop to amuse him, either. She actually knew someone from the media? Sure, that was awesome, but eh, such careers could be tough. But hey, if they were friends, then he guessed she had to be trustworthy, to her at least. Here and there, a chuckle escaped too as he leaned back ever so slightly and gazed at her.

“I can’t blame her! I would kill you too if I missed the chance to interview Spider-Man,’ - added before he broke it down into a grin. “Then again I am the guy.”

Each bite on the cookie felt sweet, he did like himself a snack at times. His fitness wasn’t all that much of a problem, thankfully, given how much he would swing around and everything: a perfect training for the body. She did make him a bit curious, though.

What was there for him not to say? That she had powers? He could definitely arrange that.

“Got it! No one will know they're missing on a super mama in this building.”

He would have shot a wink but, then again, he had his mask on. But his humor was definitely easy to pick up. Soon, the woman lifted up her pinky fingers to make a promise, to which Spidey couldn’t help but agree as he locked pinkies with her— and then she froze them.

He legit shuddered for a brief moment at the feeling. It was just the pinky, but hell if it was sudden.

The man joined her in the laughter, a short one but still, a full smile was visible on his face. “I getcha. Spidey sorbet gotta be tasty, but, I need that finger,” - he added as he watched her melt it off before he pointed his index finger right at her.

“Yep! Totally taking the offer.”

August wasn’t looking for money, but, eh, since his wife… and their desire to raise a family both faded— he did kind of develop a wish to see how taking care of a kid was like; it couldn’t be that difficult, right?

But the vigilante hummed softly at the offer. Cookies or adorableness? That was a tough one.

“I’ll go for the adorableness! Actually, if you are serious, I’ll legit take you around for a swing. Trust me, it’s actually fun. Unless you’re scared of high heights, kinda, yeah.”

Spider-Man shrugged it off with a nonchalant grin before he looked at her and was once more about to call her ‘ice lady’, but then his instincts kicked off and guessed he could as well give it a shot and see if she’d tell him her name. It might have been a little rude given he didn’t take off the mask or something like that.

“I don’t think I caught your name, by the way,” - he mentioned before he soon collapsed the statement beneath another. “By all means. I can always call you ice lady. I am good with that.”

@jules

MADE BY ★MEULK

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The feel-better cookie seemed to have had a positive effect on her newfound vigilante friend, if only on a superficial level. His mask was raised just high enough for Jules to catch the smirk that grew on his mouth as he considered her cookie offering before taking it and biting into the crumbly choc chip snack. She let him finish the cookie in silence, aware that the cookie wasn’t actually a miracle cure for sorrow.

Still, she liked to think it had helped.

Jules beamed proudly, sitting up straight and squaring up her shoulders. “You’re damn right I’m awesome! I uh, will have to bear your presence in mind in case they put a tempting bounty on your head though. My daughter’s gotta eat,” she teased. She grinned mischievously for a moment before waving her hands. “Totally kidding, obviously.”

His response to her brief mention of Liz intrigued her. Jules’ own journalistic instincts kicked into action as she eyed him carefully, “She’s very trustworthy, very honest, very protective of her interviewees’ secret identities. You swing by me sometime if you want to get your message out there through a news outlet with some actual integrity, okay?”

There, at least she could tell Liz that she’d tried.

She liked the Super Mama title. That was her, through and through. Not that Spider-Man could possibly understand the extent of her own heroics, but she was still super just by nature of her powers alongside her never-ending love and care for Emily. She liked that her personality challenged that of your stereotypical ice queen – it made the looks on her enemies’ faces all the more amusing once they registered the cognitive dissonance.

“Spidey sorbet? Gross.” She pulled a face. “And awesome, I’ll just bring her up to the roof one day and see if you happen to be hanging around, yeah?” Jules laughed. “Yo, I said I was down for a… uh, swing. On the webs,” she clarified hurriedly. “Just grab me next time I’m up here – preferably with some warning so I don’t ice ya!”

Jules pondered for a second as to whether or not she should tell him her name. It was pretty low risk but there was always a chance he could link her powerset to that of Glacia’s and it would be a short jump from Jules to Julia Barlow, mother of Emily Barlow, resident of New York City. Still, she’d heard of this guy, and he was one of those gold-hearted vigilantes who was just trying to do the right thing. It felt like the right thing to do to trust him.

She looked up at him from beneath the fabric of her hoodie. “It’s Jules. Ice Lady is great though, if you wanna stick with that. I don’t mind,” she added with a smile. “Kinda has a ring to it, you know? And I guess you want me to keep calling you variants of Spider-Dude – secret identity and all.”

@spidey | 492 words

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LIVING ON THE EDGE, FIGHTING CRIME, SPINNING WEBS, LOOKING UP WITH NO SURPRISE, ARRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TIME— FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN

[attr="class","monsterexo"]The cookie wasn’t definitely a cure. But as far as it went, the man wasn’t so vocal about this— it was just one of those things he didn’t share with people that much because it was just that much of a sore argument. It was easier to smile for him rather than expressing his sadness and, in the end, he didn’t even want to influence other people with it. August didn’t know what he wanted, to be precise, but, maybe that was also what he was trying to figure out.

For the moment, he could as well be as amazing as he could as Spider-Man. Why? Because, hell, who didn’t want to be the amazing human spider that beats up baddies? Sure, unless you were that lame that you liked the DC Comics but, well, that was probably not a discussion worthy of even thinking about, to be honest.

But hey. The snack was nice. So he could say that much and, as much as he thought about this meeting as a disturbance for his return— and a scary one, possibly. Given at first he assumed she might have connected the building, but, all of those thoughts were kind off onto a slide as he just found himself that comfortable, but hey, he just met a new friend.

Speaking of, the fellow metahuman stood up and quite stated her ‘awesomeness’ and a quick joke in regards to his vigilante status. August didn’t seem too worried, he just lowered his head and chuckled for a moment as he also once more stood wholesome with a quick stretch.

“Well… Why the head? Sure I do have some amazing reds and those slick web lines. Not to forget the charming spider eyes, but I’d rather get a bounty on my extra limbs,” - commented the man before a brief pause. “—Yes. I don’t have any. That’s why.”

The secret hero girl suddenly got hit with a certain instinct but also allowed her to render quite a positive image of this journalist friend of hers. Spidey listened silently as he pressed both his lips together, silently nodding his head as he pondered.

“I don’t think I have too much of a message, honestly. I don’t think your friend would get too much of a scoop out of it, but, if I’ll ever need the media help, I will hit you up!”

The man was sort of experimenting, still, but he had indeed been targeted as a vigilante for past actions and all. It was just like a river taking any control over him and he just happened to be doing these things. He liked it, honestly. He didn’t want to be praised as Spider-Man; it sure was a distraction and a hobby. But it was difficult for him to express further than that. For now.

August pushed an eyebrow up from beneath the mask as he also made a little bit of a face. “Rude,” - he replied with a smirk at the ‘gross’ and the expression didn’t quite fall but rather it also grew into a chuckle that was followed by a slow shaking of his skull. “Please, tell me I am not influencing you with my jokes,” - said the man before he gathered himself together once more and nodded with a smile.

Then, he did freeze. Sort of. As she mentioned ‘being down for a swing’ as his lips just gaped slightly in a tiny ‘o’ and just stared at her until she clarified herself. But then again, he did stomp the ground gently with his right foot as he glanced upwards.

“I seriously said that and didn’t even realize it,” - mentioned the man faintly but he quickly snapped out of it with his usual smirk and a little tap on his chest with all of his five fingers before he just shrugged it off. “What can I say? I am just that innocent. But yeah, web-swinging!” - exclaimed the man. But yeah, she did seem to be down for trying out how it felt to be Spidey, that was cool! She wanted some sort of warning, though, fairly but also August was one for jokes, so he raised an index finger towards her. “Oh, you shouldn’t have told me that. Next time I’m definitely going to snatch you off the roof.”

August laughed but then he also re-assured her. “I actually won’t, don’t worry. Maybe.”

A brief moment of silence came upon his request, to which, not even he knew what she would have responded. Not like he would have made it a big deal, after all, he was the one who was unsure about giving her any hint of identity. But, she did, actually. And, when she also added about how he’d have liked to be called, he kind of felt bad honestly.

He also did, earlier, when he considered taking off the mask, because in the end? He was kinda a sucker for those moments where heroes would reveal their identity. So you know, just your classic big nerd August over here. Nor was the whole ‘manner’ as to how she wouldn’t have known his identity but he sort of did, either. He didn’t consider such complications.

But he had these powers for a while now and really he never felt like he’d have been that comfortable telling anybody. But Jules seemed so thoughtful and considerate of her journalist friend. It kind of inspired him.

“Ah well…”

He was probably going to regret this, but, yeah. Whatever! Not like they would ever raid an apartment in this building, right?

Hah. Anyway.

Spidey happened to show some kind of a conflict over his lips until he just sighed happily and reached out for his mask, as he slowly let his fingers roll it off his skull and eventually slipped in his grasp. He couldn’t guess what she would think about it, other than he wasn’t Peter Parker, at all. Burned, blonde hair— something leaning towards a brown and his features and all. That was kinda obvious. It wasn’t even the sort of face you’d expect out of someone dressing up as Spider-Man.

But hey, being handsome didn’t mean you couldn’t be a nerd.

“August.”

His smile soon brightened further he lifted his eyebrows up in amusement about his own action. “Sure, probably not the ideal Spider-Man choice. But hey, I am also myself other than Spidey and I feel I can trust you,” - he said with a small chuckle. “If not, I suppose I could be the first Mexican Spider-Man.”

@jules

MADE BY ★MEULK

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Jules stared him down in bemused silence at the strange tangent he was going off on about the bounty on his head. She raised an eyebrow, smirking good-naturedly.

“Ya done?” She shook her head. “I did notice you were missing six – I thought maybe you’d just hidden them away somewhere secret,” she added with a childish grin, tickled by the very idea.

Spider-Man listened more carefully and thoughtfully than she’d predicted to her Liz Evander pitch. It was certainly something to think about; vigilantes usually felt strongly about something that kept them from following the legal Hero route. Perhaps he would develop his own to broadcast over time, at which point Jules and Liz would undoubtedly swoop in for the exclusive scoop.

“Hey, it helps to have the media on your side. New York isn’t exactly the most meta-friendly city to begin with,” Jules explained with a frown. “The Heroes are just about holding onto their credibility for now but the general public is pretty suspicious of anyone else.” She shrugged, doing her best to give the impression that she was in the latter group. So far, she had distanced herself pretty well from the Hero Program, and she intended to keep it that way with the vigilante.

August recovered pretty swiftly from the swinging slip, and Jules met his enthusiasm for web-swinging with her own excitable smile. “Of course! It must feel like flying, right?” She narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger sternly at him, a little mom-ferocity creeping in. “Just you try snatching me off the roof, Spidey!”

What happened next wasn’t a development Jules had been expecting in the slightest. She hadn’t wanted to pry, had quite deliberately avoided doing so for the most part, and so to suddenly see the whole mask pulled away was a shock. She couldn’t help but stare in surprise at the full reveal, the hints of his jawline before giving away little about the rest of his appearance.

In fact, she was fairly sure she recognised him – probably from passing in the halls at some point – but the name, though unusual, didn’t ring any bells.

“Woah,” she said quietly, wondering how she’d managed to portray herself as trustworthy. “I… dude, you can definitely trust me.” She felt a little guilty for keeping her own alter-ego a secret, but she knew it was safer that way. For now, at least, until she knew this August guy a little better.

“Don’t worry about swinging down to Mexico,” she reassured him with a laugh. “And hey, uh, it’s nice to meet you August.” She extended her hand, as though meeting him for the first time. Which, in a way, she felt like she was.

@spidey | 451 words

LAIKA OF GS!

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LIVING ON THE EDGE, FIGHTING CRIME, SPINNING WEBS, LOOKING UP WITH NO SURPRISE, ARRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TIME— FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN

[attr="class","monsterexo"]How long had it been since he had shown his face to anybody else— that he revealed to be Spider-Man? Only once, as far as he recalled, but that was a story for another time. Yet, doing it after such an extended amount of time wearing the mask; it was somewhat relieving, honestly. Especially given the enormous difference of circumstances. Not that August hated what he was doing.

He had fun. It was a great way to escape from the complications of life itself. He didn’t care about having an original identity or being paid from the Program. If he could go back, he wouldn’t do anything different on how he had begun this, but, it wasn’t even about being a huge hero or even a vigilante.

August was fine the way he was. He didn’t need super strength and everything; he kind of built himself with what he was given and Spidey was powerful enough for what he was. He was a crimefighter. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Low on the grounds but high in the sky and he didn’t exactly need more to take care of the common criminals.

What about villains? Eh, not like he’d wake up and suddenly find the Sinister Six in your apartment or anything. The guy barely heard about super-powered bad guys or at least, individuals that could actually be defined, super villains. They probably barely existed, too!

Not that the man was all that… interested culturally in this world of metahumans. He considered himself pretty human— he liked to keep himself a pretty average guy on the outside and… spectacular with the mask? He honestly did it out of fun and doing something good, that was about it. For the stolen identity, well, maybe he did like getting recognized as Spider-Man. He liked the idea of possibly making people dream; because that was quite the dream that a comic superhero that people grew up with— came to reality? That was quite cool!

Again, maybe not the wisest choice— but hey. If he didn’t quite hit the jackpot and made a mistake, then, at least his life would have been a little more dynamic than usual; running from the police and all. Not that he wished any of it, but, well, life could also be boring at times.

With that, the guy pretty much lifted an eyebrow and smiled at her reaction. “Some people react like that, yeah,” - responded the man before he quickly drew it back once he realized a little detail as he lifted his index finger and quickly shook it. “Not to my face, you know— you’re the first who’s seen me without my mask in a year or something like that.”

The man smiled and nodded his head. “I get that feeling from you. I can’t exactly describe it,” - paused the guy briefly. Maybe it was just that she was that friendly and honestly seemed defensive of her friend— despite the people’s opinion on the mass media. “But hey, I couldn’t wait to take that mask off, too. I was just about to sneak back into my place, but then I saw you and thought I’d swing by!”

August shrugged softly with his shoulders as he held the fabric of the mask, repeatedly moving it from one hand to the other as he conversed.

“But yeah. I might give that a try if you ever book me a meeting with your friend. I am not too worried, honestly, but I would like people to feel safe when I am around, not endangered by my presence,” - said the man briefly as he looked at his mask and at the sharp, oval eyes of the iconic Spider-Man figure. “Sure, it’s like a hobby to me. But that doesn’t mean I am just gonna swing around and go out all Rambo like when criminals show up. If someone’s in danger, then helping them is the priority. That’s kinda what messed up everything at the station. And that’s why I wish I had picked this up earlier.”

With a gentle bite at the corner of his lip, once more, the man lost his sense of reality for a brief moment in the mask; at times he just wondered if he could have saved both the kids and his wife, maybe only if he had stood firmly as Spider-Man, maybe he would have.

But hey, it was in the past, right? Right. Gotta look forth.

He broke his silence with his own joke and Jules’ response before he eyed her hand and did not hesitate to return it with his own as he held the mask with his other hand.

“Sure, likewise, Jules. It’s always good to make friends.”

And that was it. Kinda. If the idea of ‘payback’ or something like that hit the guy’s thoughts and Jules would suddenly feel the grip warmer and ‘as wholesome as it could get’, literally as if both hands had united and when they would try to remove it, they would see the silk between their hands.

August gave a short laugh. “Way to seal our friendship, I guess,” - he said but then, as he tried to pull away, soon, his expression of delight faded and rather he stared at the hold before he came to the realization.

“Alright. I might have not thought this through.”

Again, the male couldn’t help but smirk. He found it hilarious but, yeah, they had to find a way to tear it off.

@jules

MADE BY ★MEULK

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She tipped her head to one side. She was the first who’d seen him without a mask in so long? Now she was feeling even more confused about how she’d managed to convince him she was trustworthy. Maybe it was a secret superpower – she would have to try persuading her landlord to stop charging her rent if that was the case.

“Well I’m glad you don’t just run around revealing your identity to everyone, Spider-Dude,” she said with a grin. “That’s a long time to keep a secret – does anyone else know?”

He was trying to justify how he’d managed to gather a trustworthy impression of her. She rather suspected he’d just got caught up in the moment, but she was definitely glad to see that she’d come across so positively to him from the onset. “Is it normally easy to sneak around dressed like that?” she asked, gesturing to the suit. “You must get a few close shaves in this building – not that anyone can usually make it up to the roof.”

She wondered if she’d ever noticed a flash of crimson slip past her window at any point. Jules certainly couldn’t remember running into Spider-Man in the halls.

“You seem like a nice dude, August,” she said. “I can definitely hook you up with my friend some time.” Jules frowned. “Uh, maybe not in a hook-up way though, she’s in a pretty committed relationship with her career. Sorry,” she added with a laugh. The idea of Liz somehow managing to end up with Spider-Man was just too bizarre for Jules to wrap her head around.

As they shook hands, Jules felt a strange sensation in her palm. With sudden alarm, she realised they were literally attached with spider web.

Her first reaction was to be a little grossed out. It was essentially a bodily fluid, right?

“Oh God, that is so weird, August!” she laughed, tugging her hand away uselessly. Her eyes widened in horror as the delight on his face slipped away, realising far too late that they were stuck. She tugged once more. “Please tell me you are kidding and you can just dissolve this away. How strong is this?”

She summoned an ice dagger in her free hand as she spoke, wondering if it would be strong enough to saw them free. Somehow, she doubted it, and she looked to August to see if he had any more bright ideas.

@spidey | 405 words

LAIKA OF GS!

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LIVING ON THE EDGE, FIGHTING CRIME, SPINNING WEBS, LOOKING UP WITH NO SURPRISE, ARRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TIME— FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN

[attr="class","monsterexo"]Spider-Dude.

Hah. God, that’s actually the first time he heard that. As a Spidey fan himself, he didn’t ever even think about a name like that for his favorite superhero, but hey, it was hilarious. He couldn’t help but smile as he pulled up the corner of his lips and just stared at her with an eyebrow frowning while the other was high.

“Yeah, totally. The only other people I tell are definitely people who are gonna give me a discount for being Spider-Man. Not that it is all that great. People usually stop me from taking selfies,” - commented the man before he curiously stomped on her question with his mind and wondered.

Did anybody know? Kinda.

“Well, there was this dude who did, but kind of… lost his memory. Long story. Kind of the one where I get my arse kicked but hey, that was a trip.”

August could say a lot about that one but, perhaps, that was a story for another time. Especially given how much of it was still close to him and closer as to how he came to be Spider-Man, but regardless, someone used to, indeed. But no one else. Not even his friends, his family, no one.

“Easy? Kinda. It’s… well, people rarely look up at the sky, but yeah,” - he paused briefly before he looked up at his suit and nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. Maybe I should try and, dunno, maybe see if I can make it safer but I haven’t had problems so far. I come up here, change and then go off until I am done.”

August smiled genuinely and shrugged when she called him nice. “One of the things I’d like to hear more, see?” - he remarked. Obviously, the guy has not been way too much ‘active’ as the guy but rather spent his time as Spidey to exhaustion. No, literally, it could be difficult at times.

But then, the man did sort of freeze and just gave Jules that kind of stare. Where he couldn’t tell whatever she was on about. Sure, hooking up wasn’t probably the ideal thing someone could do with August. Kinda. Not really? Not that he… had been too active either in that sense. Hey, it was hard enough having lost his wife, sure he couldn’t hit on chicks as Spider-Man without feeling weird.

Soon, though, he laughed. “I mean. Not that I have ever been all around in getting hooked up emotionally. That happened once. But I was more, the party guy. You know? Now I am all Spidey vigilante and everything. Crazy how things change, huh?”

But then, of course, the whole getting stuck in webs ordeal happened and things went from one to one hundred in so little time. At first, her reaction was one quite the hilarious one. Not one he could actually skip commenting on, obviously. “Weird? Nah. Weird was having to dress a nude woman I rescued in my webs,” - he added but before long, he also realized that saying stuff like this without the mask on was a lot more shameful than he imagined, so he soon looked down and just lifted up his free hand’s index finger as he gently spun it around. “Don’t ask.”

But yeah, they were now stuck and god it was a lot funnier than it used to be as he couldn’t stop himself from holding a chuckle. He was obviously having too much fun with this, but he was indeed concerned. “I am not. Like, okay, Peter Parker could do that but, he was a scientist and knew that stuff. I have nothing to dissolve this.”

Though the attempt with the ice dagger was good, she’d soon notice that all she did was simply expand the webs almost as if she pushed them, but if she were to go any longer, the dagger would probably get stuck as well.

“Too strong. Okay, so, edgy things work well, but they need a certain force and speed to cut through it. Nothing abnormal but still… don’t really know how we can get them— huh…”

August went blank for a moment as he stared off in direction of Central Park. Okay, he couldn’t believe what he just thought of, but it was probably the one way to get this done.

“But it does have one weakness— please, don’t hate me for this.”

The man shortly after reached out for his mask as he rested it over his skull and pulled it over his face as he once more returned to his full cosplay, but shortly after, he pulled his hand away as the webs expanded, almost as if they weren’t going to get off, no matter how far one would try to walk away, but that wasn’t his plan. He was aiming to make them weaker.

“Hold yourself tight!” - announced the man before he pulled his hand and wrapped it around her hips as he held onto her tight as he made a few quick steps for the edge and then hopped off and soon went on to swing between the buildings with his free hand as the webs allowed him to dance in the skies of New York, even though, he wasn’t going too high nor too fast: he was still taking along someone, after all.

But, blocks away and soon, the park was in sight as the web he spun landed them almost down to a structure— oh, no that it was what he was aiming for, obviously, but he did need somewhere he could shoot his webs for what he’d do next.

August simply used the building in the park, somewhat of a stead— he didn’t really know, but either way, he used it to zip and launch forth. As his body leaned forth, leading down by his head in a deep dive. Yes. Forth and down into a lake.

“Woohoo!” - exclaimed the dude before the two would end up soaked in water and in the middle of a lake at night.

Yes. Water was his webs’ weakness.

Yeah. Better cover up well later or no one would have saved them a cold.

@jules

MADE BY ★MEULK

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Jules was definitely amused by August – the man went through regular face journeys and it was always fun to be around somebody who openly wore their emotions in every facial expression. Maybe not the best trait for a vigilante to have, but definitely a source of entertainment for Jules. Better still, it seemed like she was somewhat of a source of entertainment for him too. Jules always enjoyed feeling entertaining.

“You got your ass kicked huh? I can find time for that long story some time I bet,” she said with a wink. It wasn’t often that Heroes liked to tell her about their failures but Jules thought it was fun, humanising, to talk about such things. God knows she hadn’t always been her most effective and successful self in combat.

She looked sad momentarily. “People don’t really look up at the sky here, do they? Especially not at night – there’s not much to see up in the sky when you’re in the city. Perfect for you though,” she added, grinning.

There was an awkward moment after Jules explained that she wasn’t going to attempt to hook August up with Liz romantically. Still, he joined her laughter, and surprised her by revealing himself as having been more of a party guy. Jules looked at him for a moment, trying to see it. He didn’t exactly take things seriously now – he was dressed up as Spider-Man for Christ’s sake – but it still felt like a big step to full on “party guy”.

There was no time to go into it, however, as there were more pressing matters at hand. Quite literally at hand – joined palm to palm by his ill-advised web prank.

“You- what? A nude woman? Don’t go getting any ideas, mister,” she chuckled, her tone only a little stern. “You can’t say something like that and follow it up with ‘don’t ask’, c’mon.”

August had nothing to dissolve the web away, and her ice dagger didn’t seem to be having any effect. She pulled a face.

The face melted into pure apprehension as August uttered those foreboding words – “Please, don’t hate me for this.” He pulled the mask on.

“Uh… Spider-Dude?” But he had already grabbed hold of her and before she could really formulate a protest – verbal, physical or otherwise – she was swinging through the air with freaking Spider-Man.

Honestly? She was enjoying herself.

Or, she was, until he dumped the pair of them in a lake.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS? THIS WAS YOUR SOLUTION?”

Jules spluttered and splashed at the cold water, her words laced with venom. And just when she was beginning to think that Spider-Man was actually a cool dude.

She moved towards him and grabbed his shoulders – noting that, hey, at least their hands were free now.

“You couldn’t have just run the faucet, or used a shower head or something? You had to drop me in a lake?”

The anger remained for approximately half a second before she burst into giggles.

@spidey | 497 words

LAIKA OF GS!

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LIVING ON THE EDGE, FIGHTING CRIME, SPINNING WEBS, LOOKING UP WITH NO SURPRISE, ARRIVING AT THE SPEED OF TIME— FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN

[attr="class","monsterexo"]It was a cold.

Maybe he was regretting this already, honestly; it wasn’t making for such a great feeling to be with the costume in a lake. He felt like he was about to freeze and not only that, he had no idea of how else he was going to get rid of this weird feeling about the suit literally tightening against him as it got wet— he was probably gonna wait until he’d have been back home to dry it up.

He already knew he was gonna order a seat just right next to the electric heater, that was for sure. But other than that, at least, he had Jules to warm up the situation a bit with her anger. The man watched from beneath his mask at the woman who gripped his shoulder and went all the way out at him, the latter who simply decided to stay silent and stare at her until his hands fell down to her sides and both started laughing, as he held himself onto her as he lowered his head and just continued to laugh for a few moments.

“Man,” - he mentioned briefly as he shook his head time and time again. “Looks like the ice queen has lost her chill. I just wanted to help you know! Any of those things would have taken ages! This literally happened in a snap!”

The man was smirking, even though, she couldn’t see it. But yet again, he simply tilted his head. “And for instance— One, I’ve got no ideas because I am not in the mood of fighting your angry husband. Second, it was actually pretty innocent! She lost her clothes because of her powers and I made her some web clothing.”

August simply shrugged them off, but, he would soon feel shivers not only down his spine but everywhere as he eyed the shore. “We should probably get out of this, ice queen… But, you know, we’re… way too wet and swinging in the air is literally gonna be the worst thing ever.”

Spidey was at a loss, honestly. It was cold, they were wet and web-swinging was not an option to go home at the moment.

“Any ideas? How do we dry up at this hour in a park?”

@jules

MADE BY ★MEULK

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