#(i tend to default into the greyer routes)

[crossoverfamily]

Okay this is hilariously similar to some ideas I have, because I have a whole thing about my Peter making "echoes" of himself to find Tonys who don't weren't going to have a Peter in their universe (to either be born into it or just pop up into existence) for ReasonsTM, and I have multiple ideas of how SIM came to be, with most having SIM not being "under influence" (or not anymore), and I can't say I had thought of a proper dark SIM Starker yet, but there's an inherent grey area to having Peter willingly be with SIM that I was already thinking about, so now my brain is very much starting to buzz with more stuff to consider XD

In short: I can't say I had thought of that exact idea yet, but I did have similar ideas in mind and I can feel more ideas rising now. Especially because it's not just post NWH Peter I can play with, but Soul!Peter and Crossover!Peter who each have their own unique set of additional abilities. And who are just as able to become darker willingly. They're all still canon Peter though, which makes it even better for me, because there are so many ways I can think to make Peter greyer or darker and it's still our canon Peter who evolved.

If I had to speak of how I personally imagine darker Peter, the word that comes to mind is "predator/hunter", in the way whoever bring out that dark side becomes his prey. SIM is similar, but SIM is all about dominance, he's the top of the chain, he's powerful and not afraid to apply his power. But darker Peter? You don't see him coming, because by the time you realize he can be much darker than you ever knew, it's already too late. You don't see him coming, because he's not just dark or just not-dark. He's both. He's kind, he cares, but touch the wrong buttons, and you effectively cause him to not care about you personally anymore. SIM is the one everyone knows to be afraid of, but Peter is the one no one knows to be afraid off until it's too late.

I want to say not even SIM knew at first, because he only discovers it when someone actually manage to be a real threat to SIM, and Peter steps in. SIM could see into Peter and how he wasn't all sunshine and rainbow, but he actually never expected that Peter could cross certain lines. Until Peter did, all for SIM. If they weren't together by then, they certainly are after that~

And yeah, in general, I just think back to what I said in my original post: I feel like a Peter that stops holding back/caring would be absolutely terrifying. I love that the same can be said for SIM, he's absolutely terrifying because he doesn't care and/or doesn't hold back. At the same time, I feel both of them, depending how you imagine SIM came to be and/or is like, can be said to care too much. About each other, about the things that still matter to them, about whatever goals they might have. They are also both intelligent, both could figure out plans that others don't see coming. A power couple, who isn't afraid anymore to cross lines.

It's just so fascinating to consider why Peter turns darker, like obviously there can be verses where he's that way from the start, but it's quite fun to imagine how canon Peter would become greyer, then darker, or fast pace into becoming darker.

I don't know if it's something that is meant to be picked up and/or has been picked up before and I'm just late to the party, but I ended up realizing that there is a strong parallel between Peter vs Green Goblin and Tony vs Winter Soldier.

Green Goblin and Winter Solider both relates to the actual person (Norman and Bucky) not having control of their own body, of their own actions. And both end up the murderer of parent(al figure) for Tony&Peter.

As a result, the parallel continue as both Tony and Peter end up fighting with intent to kill despite knowing the actual person wasn't in control of their own actions.

The major difference, however, is when the murder happened, and how much time passed between the "moment of truth" and the attempt to kill the murderer. And when I think about it, Peter was much more cold blooded than Tony.

Tony did seem to want to kill Bucky during that fight, but at the same time, he wasn't so "lost" that he tried to kill Steve, and I did wonder because after the initial few moments where Tony really went for it (tried to blast and missile Bucky right in the face), the only moment Tony had a real chance for a mortal blow was by the end, he's the closest to Bucky who is on the ground, and Steve is a few feets away, and I was stuck by how Steve needed a few moments to stand back up, and Tony actually wait (when he could have used those few moments to shoot at Bucky that was right there). Maybe it's because the actual loss is years in the past for Tony, but at the same time, discovering it was murder, not accident, can easily make it feel anew again.

But most importantly, Tony was immediately fighting Bucky right after the "moment of truth". There was no time to "cool off" between discovering the truth ("reliving" the murder) and being able to do something about it. But Peter?

Peter actually has time pass between May's death, and being able to face Green Goblin again. He's able to have time with Ned, MJ, the other Peters. Yet, when the occasion came, he still goes for a fight to kill with the Goblin, and would have dealt the killing blow if Peter 2 didn't step in.

With that said, I do feel that Peter's mental and emotional state have to be taken into account. The list, in my head, goes like this: it all starts when alien attacks and he goes on the spaceship with Tony, ends up fighting Thanos knowing fate of universe is at stake, end up loosing, end up dying, suddenly awake and sure he's told its been five years but at that point I feel it doesn't process yet, is back into battle for the sake of the universe and it's a real war like battlefield, looses Tony, returns to "normal life" except nothing is normal (the reality of having been gone five years sets in, having to deal with grief, all the expectations placed on Spider-Man), desperatly tries to have some sort of normal high schooler life and vacation, we all know how that vacation went, he's barely returned from it attempting to once more have some sort of "normal life" back when his identity is revealed and he's accused of murder, everything super stressful, he tries to do something that backfires, and it culminates into loosing May.

So yeah, I feel like Peter has been under a lot of stress that he's barely been able to deal with, which can explain why he goes for the kill without it being the heat of the moment (unlike Tony). All that stress, and grief, turned into anger that last him and make him cold blooded when he sees the chance to fight and kill. Then again, Tony himself wasn't stress free when he learned the truth. He also learn/realize at the same time that Steve has known and hide the truth, all the Avengers he's known for years have either been MIA for a while or have sided against him, he almost lost Rhodey, and there's all the lingering PTSD plus the knowing something big is coming. So Tony isn't really stress free when he ends up fighting Bucky.

Still, for all there's parallels between Tony and Peter emotion mental states, plus the general situation, and how they react, which is all very similar, I just can't help seeing that one difference in which Tony acted in the heat of the moment, but not Peter. Funnily, they do have another parallel in how there is someone to stop them (Steve, Peter 2). But yeah, I just love that it shows Peter has his own dark side. And how terrifying it would be if he stopped holding back and/or stops caring about not hurting someone else.

And just, my brain stays stuck of the idea that Tony didn't have any real time to process "this guy who killed my parents also wasn't in control", whereas Peter did. Again, Peter had a lot of stuff that piled up, and his loss is very fresh, so that likely plays a part.

But the way that Peter shows such a cold blooded dark side, whereas Tony in a similar situation only was "heat of the moment"? Delicious.

(You can bet this influence my Peter-muse, because there's no going back from having seen your own dark side in such a way. He can't forget what he was willing to do, and I'm tempted to consider the idea that he doesn't feel regret. He knows, objectively, that Norman wasn't in control, and to some degree, he's glad that he was stopped, yet he just doesn't feel "horrified" or genuine deep regret about how he acted. He's touched his dark side, his cold blooded anger, and there's so much to play with. Does it scare him? Or does it "scare" him because he realizes he's not afraid of that dark side?).

(Additional thought: I've toyed with the idea that Peter's cold blooded anger start to find a new target. May wouldn't have died if there had been no need for the spell, and there would have been no need for the spell if Beck hadn't revealed his identity and made him look like a murderer. So Beck receives part of Peter's anger, but then it doesn't stop. Because a part of Peter feels like "none of this would have happened is Tony was still alive", and this same part feels like it's all Thanos fault that Peter lost Tony. So Peter feels pretty cold about Beck and Thanos, and if one of them was to threaten (or threaten again) Tony's life or someone else Peter cares about? That dark, cold blooded willingness to maim and kill miiiiiight show up again. Same goes to anyone who threatens Tony's life, he lost him once, he won't loose him again. The joy of writing ideas for time shenanigans: canon happened, but people dead are alive again, and such situations as "oh no you won't kill him again, not on my watch" can happen~).

(Do imagine Tony's shock when Peter who he's never seen be anywhere really "dark" goes cold and lethal due to someone threatening Tony's life. And any other reactions you want to imagine. I know I am~).