#i love the parallels of him and peter... and love that he didn't need a spider-bite to become super he just has a brilliant mind

[sciderman]

amazing spider-man #78

[couldpolyamorysavethem]

ELIZABETH BURKE, PETER BURKE, and NEAL CAFFREY from WHITE COLLAR

Justification:

"okay listen this might already be in the queue but i sincerely believe the last three seasons of the show would've gone in a completely different direction if peter got that last little push away from his bullshit cop behaviour by neal pulling some grand romantic gesture for him + el. like, come on man, you've already come to peace with legality not being the same as morality after you ran all those cons and let neal cut and run, but he's so convinced the ONLY way to do good in the world is being an fbi agent that he like, actively makes things worse for neal (AND HIMSELF? AND ELIZABETH?) over and over again just so he can preserve the status quo of neal being his CI + while peter's an active field agent. would kissing about his devotion to their dynamic and neal's rehabilitation and peter's complicity in neal's dehumanisation by the state solve that? maybe not! but considering the alternative is neal fucking dying (he got better) about it i think we should give it a shot!

that previous paragraph was more or less me preaching to the choir wrt this relationship but still here's my pitch:

neal is essentially already the third in elizabeth + peter's marriage, with how much he lives in peter's brain during pre-series sequences, how INVESTED he is in their relationship (reminding peter of anniversaries), and then IN the actual series that only increases when he's coming around to their place all the time

each pair within this trio have supporting but distinct relationships w one another that they all benefit from (and they often need the support of all three dynamics to get through Issues™)

that one episode where peter ends up on the run w another fbi agent and neal gets paired up with that guy's CI, and there's just an unbelievable amount of parallels between the two pairs and their relationship, even after its established that those two are in a romantic relationship and peter and neal 'aren't'. like peter says he'd go to neal first if he was ever in trouble LIKEEE

fucking everything about the run up to the finale of season 2 where we hear over and over again that the only two ways conmen end up are with 'one last score' (which inevitably leads to the next, because they can't help themselves), or going to prison. OR, the 'true love' option, where an ex-conman is able to genuinely settle down and go straight (more or less). this 'secret third option' is literally even spelled out to us IN an episode about a trio of thieves (byron june and ford) who meant the world to each other!

neal uses the engagement ring he was GOING to give to his TEXTUAL 'true love' in order to pay for peter's ransom that one time and isn't even cut up about it??

also like the episode before that neal and peter switch identities (very well) and neal acts like elizabeth's wife, and the only issue peter (or anyone) has with it is that he's also committing the crime of impersonating a federal agent.

season three finale where peter asks why neal didn't run when he just got the score of his life and the first thing he says is 'you, elizabeth', before listing literally anything else. INCLUDING HIS CURRENT ROMANTIC INTEREST?

also the scene before that where neal immediately folds from his season long cat and mouse game with peter and hiding the treasure because elizabeth's in danger! and peter only believes he's not lying abt any of it bc it's elizabeth!

that one shot in the pilot where neal and elizabeth look up at peter and you can so clearly see he has a type.

literally everything about elizabeth + neal's interactions in s1. get you a girl who sneaks you into her house past dozens of fbi agents so you can talk to your handler personally about being framed for a crime that she has no reason to suspect you didn't do other than believe in your and her husband's relationship!

im losing track of my argument at this point. anyway can someone please knock peter upside the head with some kind of bi awakening for the love of god this homoerotic 'partners' situation has an unbelievably high body count not to mention all the violation of civil liberties and frankly you could've all moved to paris and started a detective agency YEARS ago and this show would become slice of life" - @time-is-restored

[awhoreintheory]

Okay okay I have. Two thoughts that have been in my brain for a while that could go together if you want:

1. Peter, both as Spider-Man and his civilian identity, meets Red Hood/Jason first, and Jason, much to his dismay, gets attached REALLY quickly. This snarky, acrobatic shithead is adorable and reminds him of Dick, and to his horror, himself. Depending on how old Peter is, whether his actual age or he's deaged, Jason is either going "new baby brother" or "my child now". He signed the mental adoption papers SO fast and he's mad as hell about it, and he knows the heart attacks Peter gives him are karma

2. Peter is shockingly similar to Jason in a lot of ways; bonus points if Ben is an alternate version of Jason. He grew up poor, had issues with Tony in Homecoming because Tony wasn't trusting him and Peter believed Tony didn't care/was too controlling (parallels to both Jason *and* Dicks relationship with Bruce), died at 15, was betrayed by a sort of mentor/parental figure he was just getting to know, traumatized deeply by a green and purple themed crazy guy who killed his mother figure in an explosion he tried protecting her from, 100% has trust issues after all that... yeah the similarities are definitely there and you KNOW that would pain Jason. In general I think Peter is a mix of Dick and Jason in terms of personality (i mean, Peter was worried about homework in Civil War, that's such a kid Jason thing) and... well a lot of ways, really. The parallels run deep lol. Oh also Peter in Homecoming had a similar color palette to Robin (mostly red suit with the yellow jacket) and in Far From Home/No Way Home he had the red and black suit. Idk!! Similarities. Oh oh you could pull Harley into this too if you want, since Tony knew Harley first and for way longer than Peter

Just... gestures. Everyone talks abt Peter and Dick parallels but no one discusses the Peter and Jason parallels

You're right. I was a down right FOOL to not see these downright gorgeous parallels???

And you KNOW that while Jason seeing their similarities hurts, imagine how Bruce, Dick, and even Alfred would feel about that? How they would feel about getting a glimpse of the happy-go-lucky kid that Jason used to be?

That's another similarity! Jason and Peter both started out as pretty optimistic and happy. Like, Jason was going around saying "Robin gives me magic!", how cute it that? And Peter started swinging around in homemade suits when he was 14, and is just generally hard to get down. Spider-man always gets back up, right?

So for Jason, Peter is nostalgic. He reminds him a little of himself, maybe how Jason could've turned out if he'd spent more time with Dick. Jason sees this kid so like himself but with the chance to turn out different, and he's gonna take that opportunity damnit!

Bruce and Dick? They see a ghost of the past at first. Bruce doesn't see many of Jason's smiles anymore, if ever, but he could've sworn they looked just like that. Dick is a bit more privy to a relaxed Jason, so he hears it in how Peter speaks, his laugh, and how he gets when he's passionate about something. No one else really sees it besides Alfred, because they didn't get to see Jason without his anger.

I love me some Harley!! He's a cutie patootie. And would also add amazing angst,,, giving only child, orphaned Peter Parker middle kid syndrome was actually a therapeutic recommendation by my therapist, scouts honor. Because hello! Harley and Morgen? I need more siblings content of them.

[quiet-desperationn]

okay i finished reading my fourth pink floyd book and i want to share my thoughts on them:

Inside Out by Nick Mason: first one i read, so i didn't know much of the band’s lore or the side characters, will probably reread it in the near future. Nick is funny and he was definitely the best one and the only that could write a book about themselves. He gives a lot of details on how things were recorded, but kind of just glazes over other stuff I wanted more details on. And he makes fun of Roger and I love him for that.

Pigs Might Fly by Mark Blake: i think most people consider this the best one and it is very complete, specially up until dark side, for wywh and animals i needed more. It is very up to date as well, I think the last edition is from 2017 and has extra stuff. Really liked when he would start the chapter with some more recent pink floyd happening and use it to segue back into their history. He also tells Syd story after pf in parallel with the band’s , giving Syd updates at the start of almost every chapter, I liked this approach.

The Making of Pink Floyd The Wall by Gerald Scarfe: i got a great deal on a used copy of this and i absolutely adore it. His art suits Pink Floyd so well and I’ve become obsessed with him while reading this. Really interesting insights on some of the creative processes and the band’s personalities. Probably one of my most treasured pf items.

A Saucerful of Secrets by Nicholas Schaffner: this one was written in the late 80s and early 90s so it is very interesting view of the band up to that point. He didn’t follow the same linear approach as Mark Blake and it kind of bothered me a bit, i.e. he finished all of Syd story before getting to the post Syd floyd. Some new stuff I learned was that peter jenner really hates roger lol and that roger and judy were trying to have a child but it wasn’t happening.

next one will probably be ginger gilmour one

if you know a good one that is not impossible to find (rip in the pink) please let me know :)

[tae-rambles]

OP ch 1120 SPOILERS

My reaction as i read:

hi Denjiro where did you come from? was he just on a walk or did he come to meet w Yamato on purpose? also he's the new daimyo of Kibi? did we know that already or is it a new info i cant remember

also i like how Yamato is like "no need for all this, its ok"

a flashback?

oh... never even crossed my mind to ask why was Clover arrested and let go so many times... thats clever

"answer to good and evil"? what does that mean

oh my god another D family! (how do you even pronounce that surname) i wonder which other characters we know of were/are hiding the initial...

i wonder what changed Vegapunk's mind to continue Ohara's research and risking his life if he couldnt understand why Clover did it those 22 years ago

hi Zeff, Patty :D

oh Robin... this is making me sad

damn Atlas...

wtf was that "snap" coming from Lilith

oh Atlas please dont tell me youre about to do what i think

good job Atlas but can ppl pls stop sacrificing themselves for at least five minutes my heart cant take it

but what about Stussy? she can skywalk so she might be fine?

the Marines are just so out of their depth lol

Luffy can hear Emet! :D Luffy's so confused lol

lmao Emet's immediately annoyed w him i cant

oh Emet, he's so sweet! i love himm!! "i've known Emet for only a couple of chapters but if anything happens to him i'm gonna kill Oda and then myself"

aaaah he's talking to you Luffy! but i like how Oda keeps emphasizing that Luffy is his own person, not Nika, not Joyboy, but Luffy

"but there are those who cannot be stopped" under the imposing worm Peter going in for an attack - love this visual storytelling

uh oh... Emet's rusty

and still fended the worm off! you rock Emet! :D

Saturn doing a jumping spider impression

dont fucking talk to the precious Kuma and Bonney you damn spider!

Atlas! D: my poor heart! this is just Pedro all over again

fuck off, York

dont you dare Emet dont you fucking dare! no more sacrificing yourself! no more blowing yourself up! i said no! D:< (also Peter bit off his arm :( )

oh, right, the general population didn't know Roger was a D

Great chapter as always :D, even though it was painful, can't wait for the next one...

i really hope Emet won't sacrifice himself here but it seems that's where it's headed... dammit!

EDIT: i've thought about this some more and was Joyboy really someone who would instruct his people to sacrifice themselves for him and his cause? that doesn't sound right. so maybe Emet has something else up his sleeve?

also, Emet is the second person to lose their arm to a snake-like monster while protecting Luffy. both Emet and Shanks were also waiting for the awakening of the Nika fruit to make their move it seems. i wonder if there are any other parallels between them...

[princeescaluswords]

Against the World

It never fails to amaze me how many members of the fandom miss how carefully crafted Allison and Scott's relationship in the first two season of Teen Wolf actually was.

We start with Scott, an asthmatic loser who wants to play first line on his high school lacrosse team. He feels like his whole life is spent sitting on the sidelines. He has one very good friend, who never-the-less thinks Scott's dreams are pathetic and unrealistic. He has a mother who has to work double-shifts so they don't lose the house, and a father who is noticeable by his complete absence. Even though Scott is conscientious, kind, and determined, he can't escape the feeling that he's no one. In the middle of everything, he's nothing.

Then we go to Allison, who while an overachiever doesn't have any close friends (except her aunt) because her family is always moving. Nothing she tries satisfies her: not poetry, not photography, not art. She's good at archery, but she didn't keep up with it, and she's good at gymnastics, but she didn't keep up with that either. Her mother and father are both overprotective ("three calls on my first day") and demanding. She's worried that people will think less of her, but the thing she worries about most is being useless and powerless. "I hate feeling like that."

When they meet each other, neither of them see the insecurities that bedevil the other. Allison sees a kind boy who offers her a pen without conditions, who excels on the lacrosse pitch yet helps her without judgment when she accidentally hits a dog with her car. Scott sees a gorgeous girl who makes friends easily but seems interested in him of all people.

Of course they'd be attracted to each other! Since without conflict there would be no story, events intervene. Scott gets bitten by an evil werewolf who wants to use him to murder Allison's family, and Allison discovers that her family has a secret that covers up even darker secrets.

If their attraction had been shallow, it would make sense that they would not last. But it is not as simple as wanting each other; they need each other. Allison and Scott tend to look at each other only in terms of their individual selves, regardless of the greater context of their lives. When they do have problems it is when one of them lets those other things get in the way. And they do have significant problems.

In the first two season, these problems take the form of exterior forces that demand that Scott and Allison fulfill a role regardless of their own personal wants and needs. For Allison, it's her family, who may love her but can only see her in relation to their family's Code and history. "Think of how strong this makes you!" Victoria crows before threatening to kill Scott if Allison shows weakness. Chris can only manage to show his concern by violating her privacy and pulling Scott through a car window. Unlike Scott who sees only Allison, Chris and Victoria's can't separate their love for their daughter with the needs of their family.

For Scott -- and this parallel should be able to be seen from space but is often missed -- it's not his family, it's the Hales. Derek and Peter see Scott as a Beta first and a person second. "Do you want to study or do you want to not die?" "We only want you to reach your full potential." Just like Victoria and Chris, they can't separate what's best for Scott from what's best for them.

Their relationship may be damaged by the events that happen about them, but both of them given the other the strength to define who they are outside of these exterior forces. Allison becomes Scott's anchor, which not only keeps him from murder sprees but also allows him to defy the Hales. Scott gives Allison a reason to reject her family's legacy and define who she is going to be for herself.

It's a good story and a good romance.

[the-archetype-of-civilization]

More little things I noticed in my third rewatch of ATSV.

-SPOILERS AHEAD-

There was a moment that confused me where Spot was robbing the guy of the ATM and he was setting down some cans for (seemingly) no reason. He was actually placing the ATM on top of the cans so he can roll it out.

I can't confirm if this is what was actually there, but when Uncle Aaron was telling Miles they "gotta roll," there was an acrylic stand of Spider-Man there that looked like Miles Morales Spider-Man (color and all).

When Miles was swinging through 42 NYC, there was an advertisement for "Vulture" something, I'm assuming a company. Messed up.

When Miguel first introduces himself by ramming into Vulture, Gwen gets to the spot and does this really slick landing animation where she kinda just gracefully brushes against the bannister briefly before landing on the ground.

42 Rio being given more hours at the hospital shows just how bad 42 New York has gotten without a Spider-Man. Terrifying.

I think I may have pointed this out on a previous post, but 1610 Uncle Aaron had a lucky black cat while 42 Uncle Aaron had a lucky white cat instead. I also like the parallels of Peter being tied up against a punching bag by Miles in ITSV while Miles is tied up by Uncle Aaron in ATSV.

I find it hilarious that Miles STILL doesn't know about ComicCon and didn't bother to look it up since ITSV when 42 Rio brings up "ComicsCon."

When Hobie is blocking off Miles from walking through to Miguel and Miles bumps into him, there's a tiny skull that appears when they make contact. It might just be a punk thing, but I wonder if it's an omen for the bad thing that's ahead of Miles.

Lego Spider-Man's vocalized "boop boop"s killed me.

I love the reveal when Miles realizes he's in the wrong universe, the camera pulls into his face and twists slightly. Obvious but nonetheless cool film styling of "his world is spinning" aside, I love that it feels like a 40's/50's kind of thing. Like this is something that you would see in The Twilight Zone, it nails the old comic book-y vibes too.

42 Miles' facial posture has his head up high and his chin slightly jutting out and up, like he's this "in-charge," cold, dignified superior while our Miles has his chin straight, sometimes pointed down and his head straight, showing he's trying to appeal to his humanity and trying to be humble and unassuming. It's awesome details like this that I love.

Hearing Spot say that he couldn't get a job because of what happened to him at that deli really hurts, honestly. Even if, in a way, he himself is partially to blame, it sucks that he has to resort to this. And the way he says it, almost in a "well, I can't do anything else so this is the only thing I can do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" kind of way is really saddening, like he's trying to take it in stride and as a matter of fact. As awful as Spot becomes, I still feel bad for him.

Miles has a "#BLM" pin on his backpack. I'm sure people saw it already and it's probably a given, but in a world where media is trying to appeal to as wide of an audience as possible, it's nice to see the studio make a clear stance with a character that absolutely fits the bill.

That title drop for Earth 42 when Uncle Aaron tries to dab up Miles going into slow-mo with the music subdued was dope as fuck.

Miles throwing his arms up when asking when his dad dies ("When does it happen?!") is so on-point and well animated, it feels like something every New Yorker would do (I would personally know, since I am one).

When Gwen asks Jess if she ever made mistakes, Jess' reply, saying "yeah, but I got over it," is pretty toxic. It feeds into Gwen's need to avoid her problems rather than address them and face them, and I think that's why she probably chooses to avoid discussing things about Miles to him directly.

That look of disgust on Miles' face when he's being surrounded by Spider-People ("What is this? Some kind of intervention or something?") was so real.

The long silence between Miles choosing to go into the portal to follow Gwen is so good, I love when the movie speaks for itself rather than the dialogue. You can see the hesitation in Miles' eyes and face and then his determination as he jumps headfirst into the portal. A great character scene and fitting transition into the next act.

The album cover for the soundtrack is so good and comes from the scene where Miles goes into the portal. It feels like a mix of something from a Golden Age comic book cover, Miles' hand opened out towards the camera like he's being thrust into another world. And the colors of the portal and transition to Mumbattan are gorgeous. Fills the 40's/50's vibes I was talking about earlier, too.

Jeff's toast is really well done and I like how heartfelt and real it feels. Makes his anger, unfortunately, justified on Miles, even if Miles was trying to do the right thing for him and Rio in the end.

"I was just cool the whole time" is such a boss line, I love Hobie.

Miguel casually (almost lazily) swinging around rescuing civilians at the Guggenheim whilst talking to Gwen about a serious conversation is unironically cool. And it fits to his character, he's probably done it so many times that it becomes child's play in the end.

"I ain't got Scooby-Doo, mate."

How does Hobie know that Miles should use his palms for those powers? Curious.

"But now...I'm not afraid of anything." I love Miles so much, he's grown and become so strong not just for himself but for others. He's the best Spidey. Full stop.

I love the reversal of reflections for Gwen. At the beginning of the movie, she's in her casual wear but with the reflections always showing her in her Spider outfit. At the end, she comes home in her Spider outfit but with herself in her casual wear in the reflection instead. She started off alone in the world as Spider-Woman and ended feeling like Gwen. Her arc was completed and she's facing herself, the real Gwen Stacy and not Spider-Woman.

I felt bad that the deli clerk got bonked by the bat :( But, at least he's all right.

Miles saying "Don't do that" to the kid licking the subway window is real. That shit is nasty, the windows are the least clean parts of NYC's subway.

I love that both Gwen and Miles use comically deep voices around their respective dads. It's cute.

When the police officer was saying "I think we found our sign" when Gwen webbed them up, George's silent head turn with unamusement was awesome.

I will not have anymore George Stacy slander. Yeah, he made a bad call in seemingly arresting his daughter, but he QUIT his job for her. He loves her that much that he quit being, not just a police officer, but a CAPTAIN, for HER sake.

Speaking of which, when George had his gun pointed at her before she unmasked, he had his gun down the whole time after she unmasked, even while he was re-relaying her her rights. And when she tries to approach him, his gun flinches up a bit but stops.

"Can you go easy on the penguin?"

This is actually a follow-up post, since I said before that I might make another. This movie is too much for me and I love taking it apart.

Edit: I'm sorry for the constant updates and changes/revisions, but I can't stop thinking about this movie.

[neverenoughmarauders]

Hii! What are your personal headcanons about james and sirius friendship?

I've got soooooo many. In the end, I thought I'd share three big ones rather than a long list of small stuff.

Sirius and James were each other's first friend - as well as first best friend

Yes, I know, James was clearly adored by his family and had a great upbringing. But he was raised by very elderly parents, whose friends probably had grown up kids by the time James was born. I don't see him going to muggle school, so I've always pictured James as someone with a loving family, but no friend before starting at Hogwarts. Being an only child I think it could have made him lonely, even if he wasn't lonely in the 'he had no one around him who loved him', more lonely in the sense of 'he didn't really have anyone his own age to play with.'

Sirius, I hc to never having truly fitted in with his family. Some people are very much a product of their childhood and their parents believes - but some aren't. Some have always grown up knowing that their parents have (in their view) the wrong measure of things, and I've just always pictured Sirius to fall into this category. What his upbringing has brought to him, is the same confidence that privilege often brings - and has brought to both him and James, even if that privilege in Sirius' case, is also tainted by a cold and unloving childhood.

Like many, I do think he was closer to Regulus before Hogwarts, but I think he knew, deep down that they were different. I think we can categorically state that Sirius did not go to muggle school (lol), and I think the people his family surrounded themselves with would be people Sirius wouldn't enjoy, so yes, I picture both Sirius and James as friendless prior to Hogwarts.

This is part of why they take to each other so so quickly. They've always wanted a best friend, and suddenly they run into this person they just vibe/click with. In fact, if you read my fic you will notice that I've made all the marauders friendless ahead of befriending each other. I think Peter was bullied, Remus was obviously growing up in isolation (that's just canon), and I've explained my thoughts of Sirius and James. I think this dynamic made them super eager to protect and foster this friendship group.

Assuming Sirius would be able to cast a Patronus (not sure he could) after Azkaban, his would have been a stag

In fact, I wrote a one shot about this: I can't love you back to life, but I can live your love.

While this is entirely a headcanon, I have my reasons for it. Firstly, there's a strong parallel (and contrast!) between Severus Snape and Sirius Black. Both came from quite challenging home situations, both had some expectation of being in Slytherin (whether that was personal expectations or family expectations), but clearly had a need to differentiate themselves from their family, and both spent the majority of their adult life mourning and punishing themselves for a mistake that cost them their (former, in Snape's case) best friend's life. They also spent that adulthood trying to make it up to their best friend. YES there are lots of differences between the two, and that's an essay in itself, but fundamentally, Snape lives in the service of Lily's memory and Sirius in the service of James' memory. Snape's Patronus is a doe, and I don't think it's a stretch to assume that Sirius' would likewise be a stag.

From the wizarding world:

The form of a Patronus may change during the course of a witch or wizard’s life. Instances have been known of the form of the Patronus transforming due to bereavement, falling in love or profound shifts in a person’s character. 

And also from the wizarding world:

The Patronus is, after all, on its most fundamental level, ‘a pure, protective magical concentration of happiness and hope’. Happiness and hope, with which love often walks arm in arm.

The times Sirius is described to be at his happiest is when James was alive and happy, such as when Lily and James got married. Given he pretty much acts only in their memory and out of love for them and Harry in the books, just like Snape's whole essence is to keep Harry alive for Lily, it just makes sense in my head.

You pretty much did NEVER see one without the other

Wait? That's just canon!? Yes, of course it is, but it still opens it up for interpretation HOW literal those statements are, when the teachers, Fudge and Rosmerta discuss them.

I think they were pretty much inseparable, like: always, for a few different reasons. For one, the teachers are pretty strong worded in the way they describe this friendship:

‘Do you remember who his best friend was?’ ‘Naturally,’ said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. ‘Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here – ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!’ Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked him. ‘Precisely,’ said Professor McGonagall. ‘Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course – exceptionally bright, in fact – but I don’t think we’ve ever had such a pair of troublemakers –’ ‘I dunno,’ chuckled Hagrid. ‘Fred and George Weasley could give ’em a run fer their money.’ ‘You’d have thought Black and Potter were brothers!’ chimed in Professor Flitwick. ‘Inseparable!’ ‘Of course they were,’ said Fudge. 

In the series, you do really never see Fred and George apart, and we're not going to go into when that changes. I don't think the parallel is by chance, even without the whole 'trouble-maker' aspect.

Also, the mirrors. Sorry, they had to speak to (or pull faces at?) each other during separate detentions? It was that bad to be apart for a few hours? I am not even sure it's cute. It's clearly co-dependent- and unhealthy, but it's fiction and we love them for it.

Finally, we actually never see James and Sirius apart in all the flashbacks we have during the story (including the 800 word short JKR? wrote), until James is in hiding. Like: wedding photos of James and Lily? Yes, but Sirius is also there. From the moment we learn who Sirius is (not counting PS/SS mentioning him by name), he is present by James' side.

Does that mean I think Lily and James went on dates with Sirius? No, of course not, but aside from romance, I think they were pretty hard to see apart. In fact, I'd say that in my long fic, I actually possibly underplay it a little because I do want Sirius and James to have scenes with the other marauders without the other one present. What level of inseparable am I thinking of?

Sirius would watch James' Quidditch practices unless the weather was too bad (which admittedly will have been a great deal in Scotland). And while I don't think JKR intended for Sirius to play Quidditch, I actually find it hard to picture him not getting on the house team so he could spend time with James, but that one, I do go back and forth on.

I think they absolutely took all the same subjects. It wasn't a question of what one of them wanted to take, it was always: what electives are we taking. I don't think the teachers basically did see them apart.

I am also not sure they would have chosen different occupations had they not joined the Order and lived off their inheritance, and it's not to romanticise their friendship. Ron follows Harry to become an Auror, and while I think Ron and Harry are closer than people remember, and are a strong parallel to Sirius and James (also the two did take the same subjects in school), I think Sirius and James were a bit closer still. So I find it hard to believe the two of them would choose different jobs. Even though both Sirius and James are, at least from what I see them as, independent people. They are just not independent of each other.

I think James, Lily AND Sirius became closer friends in year 6, which leads the way for James and Lily dating in year 7, as Lily increasingly feel confident that the two boys have started to mature, crowned by James becoming Head Boy.

I very much believe James and Sirius moved in together first after Hogwarts, and that James wanted them to have a few years together just being boys, but that the war just sped everything up. Also, in case you saw my 'I recently went to a wedding' post, that best man lived with the bride and groom for a LONG time before they got their own place, so I do sort of headcanon Lily to have moved in with them both before she and James got married (I also think they got married not that long before Harry was conceived - but that is a different post)

And so on.

What I certainly don't buy, is the number of posts where Sirius and Remus walks into a room and start talking to James. Nope. Sirius and James might walk into a room and start talking to Remus. Doesn't matter if Sirius and Remus were romantically involved (which I don't hc) or not. Sirius and James were hard to find apart. Most of that is canon, some of that is headcanon.

Time to pack up, congratulate myself on another too long post about how I obviously got everything right (don't worry, most of my reasoning is truly just explaining how it ended up making sense in my head), and say mischief managed.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[mysterious-trail-of-goop]

I LOVVEEE Jason todd and Peter Parker fics because their stories are almost exact parallels except for the fact that Peter had a support system and Jason didn't.

They both grew up dirt poor and surrounded by tragedy. But Peter always had uncle ben and aunt may to keep him optimistic and happy. Jason had an extremely abusive father and a mother who had drug problems and that home environment made him cynical and untrusting.

They both experienced the loss of a parental figure (Uncle Ben and Catherine Todd) and became heroes shortly after.

They both got superhero mentors (Tony and Bruce). Except Tony (and u can fight me on this) was horribly manipulative, threatening Peter with releasing his identity (effectively threatening his family and friends), forcing A FIFTEEN YEAR OLD to fight CAPTAIN AMERICA, WHO DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS A CHILD AND WASN'T HOLDING BACK. Jason got Brucie boy who despite being emotionally constipated did LOVE Jason as a son.

Both their mentors/father figures took away their ability to help people over a well intentioned mistake. This taught their mentees (whether on purpose or not) that they were only accepted when they are useful and that their love is conditional. This is NOT what bruce intended but he is too traumatised a up his own ass to verbally affirm his love for Jason, and because he never TOLD jason that he was his son, or that he loved him, Jason never knew.

After their ability to superhero was taken away both of them rebelled in an attempt to find love (Peter trying to prove he IS worthy and win Tony's love and Jason tried to get affection from Sheila Haywood because he believed so deeply that Bruce's love was impossible to attain)

In both cases they ended up with a warehouse on top of them.

Peter had slowly been realising over the course of Homecoming that Tony DIDN'T love him, and that tony WASN'T coming to save him from the building. So peter knew he had to get himself out of that situation and he only had this revelation because he had an example of what real love looks like (MJ, Ned, May etc). When jason was in that warehouse in Ethiopia he took Sheila's betrayal as proof that he was undeserving of love and therfore, he thought no one was coming to save him AND ACCEPTED THAT. Particularly heartbreaking because Batman WAS coming to save him, but didn't arrive in time.

Peter (in my au at least) heals from Tony and Vulture with his family, friends and other heroes (cough daredevil cough). But Jason never got that chance, after he was resurrected he found out abt tim and abt the Joker surviving and took it as FURTHER confirmation that Bruce never loved him.

Jason returns to Gotham and eventually comes to a sort of truce with batman but he feels like he can never truly be a part of the family again because of what he's been through. Batman believes so deeply in second chances, but thats the issue. Bruce EXPECTS jason to change, change his methods and his morality. Even though nothing about who jason is was his choice, he literally couldn't change if he wanted to.

Peter (despite having a no kill rule) doesnt expect this from him. Sure he will actively sabotage kill shots or stand in the way, but he won't ask him to change (experience with deadpool and punisher).

This results in Jason changing his methods OF HIS OWN FREE WILL, because he sees how much the killing upsets Spider-Man, and how he has never asked him to stop.

Jason would be fiercely protective of Peter, because symbolically, it is jason seeing and accepting that he is NOT peter and he shouldn't be. But also how easy it would have been for Peter to end up like him.

Ultimatley Peter is able to give Jason the one thing he needs, a support system. And Jason can give Peter what he needs in Gotham, someone to look after him, feed him, clothe him, help him through the Pit rage.

Basically this duo is super important to me and you can pry them from my cold dead hands.

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

I DIDN'T KNOW YOU'RE WILLING TO WRITE FOR PETER 3 AAAAAAH, sorry I just love him

can you write some pinning (fluff or angst), please?

thank you sm <3

hii!! yess!! I love peter 3, he’s my fav🥹 and no don’t be sorry, I react the same way. I had too many ideas, so I had to shorten everything, hope it all makes sense lol. thank you for requesting, hope you like it 💌

strangers

peter parker x f reader

wc || 854

warnings || none, just fluff

masterlist & taglist

You liked routine and order. You like doing things a certain way, most days of the week. And one of those things is your daily visit to your favourite coffee shop. This quaint little store had become a part of your daily routine a for a year now, where you'd drop by on your way to work or go in-between errands. 

You've grown to know the staff and other regulars well, so when you notice someone new enter, you can't help but look. The stranger sits on the opposite side of the room, parallel to your usual seat by the window, a book in hand with an espresso in the other. He's really quite a sight, a slim guy with brown hair, wearing a chunky knit sweater and glasses, the cute nerdy type. He was a rather beautiful stranger, and you definitely would've remembered his face. 

You pick up your drink and aimlessly look around the room until you meet a set of brown eyes that are not so subtly staring at you. You smile in your usual friendly way to the stranger opposite before resuming the work on your laptop. You slowly peek over the screen, slyly gazing from afar, briefly making eye contact, in which you both momentarily look away as if you're nervous. Get back to work, you told yourself repeatedly, but you couldn't. You couldn't pull yourself away from him because all you wanted to do was look at him. He was like one of those beautifully mysterious people you walk by on the street, the ones you think about weeks later.

Eventually, you finish everything you were supposed to, so as a reward, you allow yourself another opportunity to look at the handsome stranger. But when you peek over, he was gone. He left. New York is a populated place, so the possibility of seeing him again was very slim, a slither of a chance. So when he disappeared, you couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at his absence. 

The next day you come to the coffee shop at your usual time, order your usual drink and sit in your usual space. You put your headphones on and open your laptop, immediately getting to work and doing everything you need to do.

You take a brief break, sipping your drink and taking a bite of your cake when you notice him. The stranger from yesterday sat in the same place, doing as he did the day before. What are the chances? You thought to yourself.

You subtly gaze at him over your mug, almost instantly locking eyes. You hold eye contact for a few seconds before you glance away, feeling too nervous under his gaze. He notices the shy expression on your face and chuckles into his hand, which causes him to get strange looks from the other patrons, consequently making you snicker into your mug. You meet his eyes again and softly smile at the exchange. 

Over the next week, similar events would occur. You'd make eye contact more frequently, and as the days went by, he sat at a table closer to you. He was almost to you, just one day to go, one table to go. 

Today was the day you two would technically meet, and you couldn't wait. You felt sick, nervous, like a bag of jelly, but you were excited. You were looking forward to finally meeting the man you've been gawking at all week. He wasn't here yet, so you get to work on your laptop, trying to kill time and ease your nerves before he arrives. 

But he never came, and you felt hurt. 

-

The next day you were feeling better about the situation. You understood he had a life outside the coffee shop, but in that moment, you were upset. You were looking forward to meeting him, so when he didn't show up, it did hurt your feelings.

You walk into the coffee shop and immediately notice the back of a person in your place. It wasn't your seat, but all the other regulars had specific spots, and the one in the corner by the window was yours. The man turns around when he hears the bell chime on the door, and you meet the face of the stranger, your stranger. He smiles at you and waves you over.

Once you reach the table, you see two sets of drinks and cakes, his usual order and yours. 

"Hey, I'm Peter," he grins, gesturing for you to sit. "Hope this isn't too weird," he chuckles, nodding to the spread on the table. 

"No, not at all," you smile as you share your name, shaking his extended hand.

"I- uh, hope I got your order right," he softly laughs, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "I had to check with the barista,"

Your smile widens. "It is. It's my exact order, thank you," you pull out a couple notes from your wallet, and Peter instantly pushes it away.

"My treat," he grins before sipping from his espresso. "Maybe you can pay me back by accepting this as a date?"

@idontknowwhattohaveasmyuser @queerponcho @selfryed

[faithrainee]

It hurts me so bad to think about Peter B Parker's story. This man lost his parents either at a young age or at an age he could somewhat remember them. Which in itself is traumatic, and painful, and changes a person for the rest of their life. How many birthdays did he go without having his parents with him? How many school events did he have no parent to take with him? "Take your dad to school day" isn't the same when your uncle, who you do love dearly, is the only masculine figure you can take to school. I can't imagine the looks, the conversations with teachers, the, "Is that your grandpa, bud?" questions that he probably was asked for years.

Then he loses his uncle. In ATSV we see its probably a sudden thing. Probably an accident or a crime being committed against him. Something along those lines. No one deserves that. How painful must it be to say you're the man of the house, the only man in the house, at 14, 15, 16+ years of age?

He becomes Spiderman. Its probably amazing, probably freeing and thrilling and- it's probably traumatic, let's be honest here. This is New York, I can only imagine the crimes he witnesses very young, if he got bit young like Miles. But even if he got bit as an older teen like some of the other spidermen, its still trauma. Getting hurt, seeing people die, being practically in charge of saving people. It takes a toll on you.

And then his aunt dies. And in ITSV his reaction to Aunt May's house hurts. He didn't want to even ring the doorbell. Why would he? She's gone. He doesn't want to see his dead aunt now alive, its not even his aunt. It's an interesting parallel to Miles seeing living Uncle Aaron. Miles hugs him and is shocked, rightfully so, but Peter doesn't react that way and its interesting to me.

And Peter has no one. He's actually alone. Besides MJ, and for a while I'm sure its okay. Until they divorce. He seems terrified of settling down, of having kids, of having people to take care of. Because realize, he had so many people that he likely feels he failed. They're gone because he couldn't save them. Why would he want kids? Why would he want to risk losing them? I saw someone post about how in ATSV Peter keeps Mayday close to him even in fights because he doesn't want to lose her. And I agree.

Peter is a clingy person, we see it with Miles. At the beginning of ITSV, Peter wants nothing to do with Miles, he wants to get back home and sulk and cry and be comfortable in his sadness.

And sure, comfort is nice, but he realizes caring for others feels so good. Loving others feels amazing. Being loved feels so warm. Being proud of others, being supported by others, being wanted and needed by others is the best feeling. It's uncomfortable, being so loved because he's afraid of losing it all. And after seeing Miguel lose his daughter, its likely worse. And after Miles feels betrayed by him for not visiting, for giving away his location, for planning not to tell him about his father's death, it's likely more worse.

He does not want to lose people again. He's happy and flippant and jokes around so much its funny on screen, but goddamnit is this man so full of hurt. He loves people so much, you can see it on screen. The way he teaches Miles in ITSV. The way he touches the people he loves, hugging Gwen and Miles close to show them pictures of his baby, holding Mayday close when he's feeling vulnerable, patting Miguel's shoulder to get him to loosen up, standing close to Miles trying to talk him down- he loves people and he loves them so big and he's just so scared to lose them.

[sciderman]

Sci I would like to speak to you about your quote on quote “Wade Wilson is half native Canadian” agenda pls it sounds Coolio

i haven't had the chance to do due research, and i don't have a lot of greater plans but i kind of just always like to make wade wilson a little more complicated than he appears, even if it's something he's buried. i don't want wade to be a plain toast white boy. not that white boys can't be complicated, but - you know, you know. i need more to sink my teeth into. and i'm kind of all about wade and peter consistently having parallels, and that being a strange sort of explanation for everything. for why they kind of hate each other but can't let each other go. for why they kind of understand each other better and are so forgiving of each other, over and over.

for - well, for why wade picked peter, specifically.

i think a huge motivation for wade wilson in 9319 - like, a huge motivator for all of his behaviours, and the reason why peter is such a vital part of his journey of self-improvement is that - he kind of lives vicariously through peter.

[x]

peter had, has, or has the opportunity to obtain everything wade wilson has ever wanted. peter embodies what wade wishes he was, and what he feels like he could be, if... if he was dealt a different hand, or whatever.

kind of obsessed with wade "could'a been, would'a been different, if i had what you had" wilson.

so wade kind of becomes obsessed with getting peter to reconcile all the pieces of his identity. all the things that wade sees in peter, that peter buries. and all the things that peter has, that he doesn't show gratitude for.

peter had a loving father figure, wade wishes he had that.

peter has a flawless bod. he should flaunt that.

peter is fruity as all get-out. he should be proud of that.

and – well, peter has a culture and a heritage too, that he's estranged from. he's jewish, but he wasn't raised that way because his parents left him.

[x]

it isn't a part of his life or identity that he's reconciled with. even though he could. it's something he doesn't do much with. it's not wrong of him, really, but peter has a tendency to reject vital parts of his identity just for fear of complicating his life. for fear. fear of being othered.

wade's obsessed with peter as a project, and kind of likes to live vicariously through peter. if he can improve peter and get peter to reconcile those missing parts of his identity then it's catharsis for him too. he can feel proud knowing peter's proud.

i just think it speaks to wade a little that he also has this heritage that he's estranged from. and it's one that can't be reconciled with, because not only is his mother gone, but his community is so dispersed and so forcibly assimilated that there's very few resources left for him to better understand his heritage. so, when he sees peter ignoring or rejecting this heritage that he has the means to rekindle, wade encourages peter. it's - it's this whole storyline i really wanted to do. where wade falls backwards over himself trying to throw peter a bar mitzvah because he's SO invested in peter reconciling his cultural identity.

and i think he's so invested because he doesn't have the chance to do it for himself.

same as him doting uncle ben because he didn't have that for himself either.

wade "i wish i had what you have" wilson, lovingly forcing one peter parker to count his blessings.

anyway this is just a thing that lives in my head all the time. don't know when it'll make it to the blog. but it's in my head, every time i write wade wilson. a boy who was "othered" in his community for every little piece of his identity. every little thing about him made him different. his heritage, his class, his gender expression – his brain.

[x]

he's a kid in a world that never felt built to fit.

[x]

thinking of him, always.

[gffa]

Ok over on the discord we're invested in your 9-1-1 journey and agree 100% with your assessments, but we NEED to hear your thoughts on Mr. Eddie Diaz, esp his introduction, like I still cackle that this weewoo show actually introduced a new character half-naked in slow-mo with "Whatta Man" playing in the background (and I'm sure you've figured this out but it's him and Buck that's the giant ship).

I have struggled to put my 911 thoughts into coherence because there are two giant blaring sirens going off in my brain whenever I think about this series: 1) 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 ANGELA BASSETT🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 How am I supposed to care about anything else on this show when Angela Bassett is there, being stunning and delivering a performance that's top tier every single time??? Okay, I'm being tongue-in-cheek about it, but genuinely Athena is my favorite character and the one I'm most emotionally invested in, the one that it's hard for me to look away from. It helps that I'm also deeply fond of Peter Krause because I watched Sports Night and loved him in that a lot, so connecting Bobby to Athena's story has been a double shot of my faves. 2) I AM LAUGHING SO HARD BECAUSE I'M SURE THEY DON'T MEAN IT BUT WHAT IS UP WITH THE WAY THEY ARE STRUCTURING THE BUDDIE DYNAMIC? Introducing a character with "Whatta Man" playing is hilarious, but even more hilarious to me is the way their arcs are kind of thematically running parallel to each other. Buck's whole character arc is about him feeling finally ready to grow up, to take on the scary parts of relationships that include responsibilities towards other people and being genuinely emotionally available, that was the entire point of getting close to Abby, who came with her sick mother that was always going to be part of her life. So, Abby leaves, then along comes Eddie who has a kid that he takes his responsibilities for very seriously, where it's not intentional to intersect with Buck's arc, but then they have them immediately interacting in a way that neither character does as much with any other character, conflicting at first, but then opening up and being real with each other and I'm sitting here going, "If one of these dudes was a lady, the way Buck just stared at Eddie with his kid, they would 100% be signally that this was building subtext." I can't say I'm deeply emotionally invested in them yet (see my Angela Bassett Problem), but it's been a wild ride watching them interact and going, wow, are they doing this on purpose? Because they sure clicked really fast. *eyebrow raise* Bonus thoughts: I knew Chimney/Maddie was going to be a thing beforehand, so do I like them because they're cute or because I was primed for them? Who knows, but they're cute! I love that they brought back Tatiana and I have to say, maybe she was kinda cold, but I was 100% on her side, because she was right. She didn't love him and if she'd gotten pulled into that, she'd have been expected to drop her entire life to be at his bedside and that's not what she wanted, I love that the show was so gentle with her and Chimney's reunion and realization that they sparked each other into realizing they each needed to get on a new path. I love that Hen got to be complicated and almost left her ex to die because it would have saved her a lot of hassle and she really hated her, but ultimately was a hero, yesssss, let queer women be complicated, messy, and ultimately heroic!

[moralesmilesanhour]

I'd love to hear what fundamental issues you have with spiderverse... 🎤

Hm I'm just gonna rattle off a few from most to least important before I forget (note: some of my issues with spiderverse are less about the concepts or characters themselves but more about how the writers or producers chose to handle them, or even just exploring the possibilities of what could've been. I still think it's a really excellent movie and complex story.)

If you're someone that skims through longer paragraphs a lot, I've also put my most important points in italics so that you get the gist of what I'm saying :)

Making Miles' story about everyone else but Miles. I understand that Miles' whole thing in Spiderverse is that by defying the odds, he inspires the people around him. But there's a certain point where the story become *about that* and the other characters more than him and his interiority. In its efforts to focus on his growing into the mantle of Spider-Man, the films only kind of allude to the fact that he has a life outside of the mask. His mental health and relationship to his community are pushed to the wayside so much that even Ganke is only on-screen for a few minutes at most.

(This is a long one sorry) Spiderverse as a movie doesn't seem to know for sure whether it likes cops or not. It presents the literal police and policing as a concept as something that is inherently neutral, likening it to the mantle of Spider-Man where they simply have power that they have to use responsibly, and that there are just "bad apples". But the way that Spider-Society operates quite closely parallels how policing and criminality work: you have a bunch of spiders go out and detain people and send them where they're "supposed to be" under the guise that a) the order of things will essentially fall apart if you don't, and b) there is a specific way that your story is supposed to go, and you should be willing to sacrifice lives to maintain that status quo. There's also the categorization of those who break those rules as an Other (anomalies), and the fact that Spider Society reacts to the presence of the anomalies instead of addressing the thing that created them (the collider. HELLOOOO). With all that being said, Miguel and the rest of Spider Society are clearly framed as anatgonistic forces by the film and even has a punk anarchist character calling them out and being right about it. The movies simultaneously critique policing metaphorically through Spider Society while trying to justify it in the real world.

Girl where is Pavitr. His character is literally perfect for Miles to interact with, but we don't see him again until the very last scene. Same thing with...literally everyone we just met. The movie is over two hours long, where did all that time go--OH WAIT

Gwen and the scene with her dad take up wayyyy too much of the movie's runtime, I'm sorry. We spent the entirety of the beginning of the film learning information about Gwen and her dad that could've been quickly conveyed in much less time. Not to mention that, apparently, Mr. Stacy literally gets fired in the comics for letting Gwen go, so that whole plotline didn't even need to happen. Why change that? To say he's a 'good cop' that does his job? The trauma of losing Peter would've been present in her story either way.

The art style. No, this doesn't mean what you think it does. I do not have an issue with the 3D and 2D hybrid style of animation obviously. Spiderverse has literally revolutionized the field, but there are some limitations to it that were made especially clear once TMNT:MM came out. You may or may not have noticed, but isn't almost everyone in Spiderverse...kinda gorgeous? Hear me out here. Someone has pointed this out before me, and it really changed the way that I look at aesthetics in animation. In Spiderverse, everything from the environments to the way that things are shaded and colored is extremely stylized and pushed quite far...until you get to the main characters. Yes, there is diversity in features the likes of which we haven't seen 'till recently, but I'm purely talking about the style in which they're drawn. Compared to everything else, they look closer to something Disney or Pixar might produce. This is not inherently problematic or "bad", but I do wonder how much cooler and cutting-edge and comic-y we could get if it wasn't so pre-occupied with beauty. You can disregard this one, it's just a thought. Apparently the idea that not every cartoon character you see on the big screen has to be hot makes people very angry.

I think those are all the big ones. I'll reblog with new additions if for some reason I come up with new things to complain about lmao

[lara635kookie]

Okay...Not the ship analysis yet but a little snippet of it. To write the analysis I had to think about why I like Red Crackle so much. And I realized one of the reasons why is that they remind me of another ship I also love:

(Warning:Spoilers of both Carmen Sandiego and Spider-Man Into/Across the Spiderverse ahead.)

Yes, they got differences but also massive resemblance either that once you notice, you can't unsee it. It isn't noticeable when you try to compare Gray and Miles and Gwen and Carmen, but once you switch...

Both Miles and Carmen are latino main characters, just that Miles is black and Carmen is brown. While Puerto Rico is a USA territory, in culture terms they share more with Latin America. And Even Miles not being born in Puerto Rico, his puerto rican roots and heritage are clear. 8/B in spanish is nowhere near as bad. As a Brazilian, we speak portuguese, which is a very similar language to Spanish(I myself know a little bit of spanish), but overall, both languages tend to sound very difficult, specially when you're learning in a place that doesn't speak any. Carmen didn't seem to be totally fluent in spanish either since in the Lupe Peligro episode she says her Spanish is getting better. So not fluent, at least in that point in time. Maybe that changes after that so I'll just assume both Miles and Carmen are working on their spanish. Another point is that they are both very smart. Carmen knows her geography and history AND can speak multiple languages and Miles is great at physics AND art, both very different areas from one another. Saying that, Carmen had everything to be a Mary Sue, just like Miles had everything to be a Gary Stu but instead, while they are extraordinary, we also see their weaknesses, flaws and mistakes. On the first two episodes of the first season of Carmen Sandiego and on the first spiderverse movie, we see Black Sheep/Miles Morales transition to becoming Carmen Sandiego/Spider-Man. And on that transition, someone was always by their side...

Both Gwendolyne Stacy(Spider-Woman) (or Gwanda ;) and Graham Calloway(Crackle) have a four letter nickname that starts with G and the protagonist always call them that(Gwen and Gray). Both have a surname that ends with Y. Both are a little bit older than the main character(Gray is two years older than Carmen and Gwen is 15 months older than Miles). Both are trans to a lot of people(I don't actually believe this, I think both Gwen and Gray are cisgender, specially Gwen, because of the comics and because while I think her revelation to her father was made in purpose to resonate and pass as a metaphor for coming out, I believe in the less popular theory that she was an ally and her Peter was actually trans and that is one of the reasons he suffered bullying and Gwen defended him and had that "Protect Trans Kids" poster in her room, this is literally the vibe she passes me:

Some time ago I saw a theory that the relationship of Miles and Gwen was a metaphor for one of the difficulties that interracial couples pass that the most privileged has to learn that the same society system that protects them, won't protect their partner in the same way, and that is shown through the way Spider Society treats Miles and I know there are more black spider people like Hobie and Margo but the parallel still works:he is not being accepted because he is different. The thing is, that theory kinda breaks the trans Gwen theory because if she was trans, sadly, the system wouldn't protect her either. I also don't believe it because of the voice actors. Some years ago, an adult could dub a children if he did the right voice. Nowadays, they cast a voice actor more similar to the character. Like, black characters need to have black voice actors, etc, otherwise they get canceled. And both of the voice actors for Gray and Gwen are cisgender, and I saw people complaining that if the producers wanted to make characters "potentially trans" they should have casted trans voice actors, for both characters. But anyway, I don't mind and respect the people who think they are trans). Both got competition for the other's affection(Gwen has now Spider-Byte and Gray has Ivy, Julia and pretty much everyone you can ship with Carmen in this show, which is a lot of people). Both are the lighter skin love interest not from where the protagonist is(Gray is from Australia and Gwen is from another dimension).

And now with the storyline similarities. Both pairings start as friends, so both lead to a slow burn. Both were an amazing partners in crime duo, working really great as a team, and being just the two of them or even with more people, their connection always stood out. Miles and Carmen never became official members of Spider Society/V.I.L.E. but disagree with them and escape from them to do what they believe is right. Both Gwen and Gray make a mistake and are expelled from Spider Society/V.I.L.E. (Gwen with the portal multiverse dimension go home machine or whatever and Gray by having his memories wiped) and then they realize too late they made a mistake with Miles/Carmen and now have to fix that mistake. Also both Carmen and Miles say "Goodbye Gray/Gwen." in the most DRAMATIC way possible before doing an grand triumphal exit and I love that for them. And the look Gray/Gwen gives them before they leave is THE EXACT SAME LOOK, I SWEAR. So as you can see, both ships leave a room for A LOT of angst and drama. Also just the way they look so fondly at each other and the way both Carmen/Miles and Gray/Gwen look sad when they have to leave or when the other has to leave them says it all. Platonic or not, both couples have an undeniable bond and just work so well together, being as friends, lovers, partners...They are each other's ride or die. They are each other's everything.

(Also just an personal opinion is that both Spiderverse and Carmen Sandiego have the MOST BEAUTIFUL ANIMATION I HAVE EVER SEEN) (Along with the new Miraculous movie) (Ladybug and Chat Noir are also very similar of Carmen and Gray but that's something more noticeable to pretty much everyone, I don't have to elaborate much on that matter) (I've got nothing to say about LadyNoir/MariChat being similar to Red Crackle that hasn't been said before)

The major difference about them is that, while both the Spiderverse movies and the Carmen Sandiego series don't have romance as their main focus, Miles and Gwen will most likely be canon in the films, just like they are in the comics. I think it will be a movie trilogy so they'll probably get together in the third movie(Beyond the Spiderverse in january? Anyway, 2024, save the date). I mean, Spider-Byte is cool and all but she's a game avatar or something so I don't think Miles and her can get together, even if he travels to her universe and decides to stay there or vice versa. They introduced her just now and we barely know anything about her, and Miles and Gwen clearly already have a whole build up story going on with a consistent arc so why mess it up? Besides, I think we need more main interracial couples representation in media. Aside from these two, the only GOOD main interracial couples I can think of are Druig and Makkari from Eternals(I never even watched Eternals and I know they are better than Ikaris and Sersi)(They are also an interracial couple but they clearly don't have the chemestry Drukkari does and Ikaris seems to be kind of a jerk tbh), Ricky and Gina(from HSMTMTS, which I don't watch either but their clips I saw on YouTube are just the cutest thing), Ben and Devi from Never Have I Ever, Daphne and Simon and Kate and Anthony from Bridgerton, and Julie and Luke(Juke) from Julie and The Phantoms(JATP) which is literally an impossible love story since Luke is dead(he's a ghost) and Julie isn't(she's alive) and the series was cancelled(still mad about it and will forever be). My point is:Couples with different ethnicities are not only little but the ones we do have are mostly either impossible to happen, unfairly treated/messed up by writers/not well executed or when treated right, we don't get enough content of them/they are forgotten, in the majority cases, and that needs to change. Anyway...Meanwhile, with Red Crackle, as Carmen Sandiego had a pretty open ending, canon can be whatever the hell you want, and for me is red crackle. That's it. Thank you for coming to my ted talk. Will be posting more "written podcasts" soon.

[bumpkinspice0]

Parallels Chapter 15: The Cure

Miguel O'Hara x Spider!FemReader

No use of y/n

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 3.4k

Summary: Ignorance is bliss, but bliss is always temporary.

Warnings: Like just so much angst, big feelings, mentions of past smut, verbal argument, this is cringey, i'm sorry

A/N:  Again, sorry updates to this story have been slower. I didn't really know which direction I wanted to go with everything up to this point/ how to resolve stuff I have planned. BUT I think I have a much better plan and idea of how to continue (and eventually) end this story. So, all that to say updates will likely be more frequent again now that I know what direction I'm going. Like the next 2 chapters are already half written so we good. Loves yous guys!

Previous. - Next

Series Masterlist

AO3

_______________

Chapter 15

The Cure

“I’m not eating that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s fucking blue, Gwen.”

“People eat blue stuff all the time,” Gwen slides the lunch tray closer to you, the most off-putting hamburger sitting in the center. An absolutely unnatural blue bun with the design of Miguel’s mask painted across the top in red. You wonder if he approved this himself or if it was a private joke everyone was waiting for him to notice. Very likely the latter.

“Bread is not supposed to be blue,” You push the tray back across the table. You swear the little edible abomination is staring back at you.

“I’m with her on this one,” Jess nudges your side, looking just as disgusted as you were at the blue monstrosity. “Things creepy, Gwen.”

“I’ll eat it then,” Hobie snatches the burger from the tray and takes a generous bite without hesitation, “Rid us all of such a horrid thing.”

“Do they serve any non-spider-themed food here?” Gwen and Hobie’s new friend asks, “Like just normal food?”

“The empanadas are alright?” Gwen shrugs.

Pavitir Prabharkar. Pavi, they seemed to call him for short. Just joined about a month ago. He only had a few months of being Spider-Man before that. He was fresh and rosey to the game. An enthusiasm you probably once had when you first started. Hobie and Gwen had taken him in immediately and you’d rarely seen one of them without the other at their side these days. It was sweet, and honestly relieving to see people so young with such a big job have each other, especially Gwen. She was finding a family here after losing everything.

You ran into them in the cafeteria just grabbing a quick bite. You could have eaten in Miguel’s house but you ultimately decided to be a little more social to start your day. You sadly woke up alone, again, but Miguel left a note on the bedside table for you. 

Had some errands to run. Meet me in the lab at 1.

-Mig 

He even topped it all off with a sweet little heart drawn in the bottom corner. It seemed unlike him to vanish with a note. Well, actually it was very like him, but something about it just felt off. Even Lyla wouldn’t elaborate for you. Maybe your emotions were running high after spending all night tangled in each other's arms.  Maybe he needed time to process everything, or maybe he really was just that busy. He did have a whole multiverse team to run. You’re past the point of wondering why he did the things he did.  Miguel had his ways and you had yours. As long as you find each other in the end.

Regardless, you were completely fine with moping around the tower for a few hours today. You didn’t have anything to be home for and you had some catching up to do with the crew.

So here you were, roped into a lunch with mostly teenagers trying to feed you lethal amounts of blue dye 99. All in all, you can’t complain.

“Room for one more?” The most comfortably dressed of the spider-men slides in next to Gwen, his infant daughter strapped proudly to his chest for all the world to admire. 

“Sure,” Gwen rolls her eyes but still has an amused smile she tries to hide. “You wanna try a Hamburger, Peter?”

“The blue ones? Say no more.” Peter B. Parker— basically Gwen’s weird uncle. You didn’t know him much yourself but he liked to hang around Gwen. They’d both been one of the originals shot into Earth-1610. The place that started it all— forbidden from travel. Home to the original anomaly. You never asked Gwen about it but you could see it in her eyes sometimes. The longing for someone she left there. You think Peter felt similarly. How could they not? You’d caught them bickering about it once or twice— about him and when they could go back for him. If they could go back. 

Someone who changed their lives forever, just a watch jump away. You’d heard his name whispered like it was a curse. 

Miles Morales. The original anomaly. One of the main reasons you're all here. Just a kid caught up in the wrong mess. Still, he had someone like Gwen and Peter to help him through it. What you would have given to have someone like them around when you first got bitten. You don’t know the details of what happened, and you don’t want to be rude and ask, but it clearly changed something for both of them. Whoever they were before was someone completely different than the people you knew sitting at the table with you today. The multiverse will do that, you suppose. 

Mayday crawls from her carrier and takes her place prominently in the center of the table. Center of attention, as she should be. 

“Oh, MJ’s gonna love this.” Peter pulls out his phone immediately, dozens of pictures taken in the span of maybe 3 seconds. 

Hobie and Pavi don’t hesitate to join in on the impromptu photoshoot. Jess and Gwen both hang their heads in embarrassment. Gwen was taking on her mannerisms after a few months of mentorship. Jess really did take her first request to heart and practically adopted the girl. 

This was it. This was your community. Your tribe. These fucking weirdos, and you loved it. In spite of all this fucked up shit with Miguel, you’d made a home in this place— with these weirdos. It seemed like Miguel could be part of it if he just tried a little harder. You think he wanted to be. He longed for those human connections, it was so obvious once you got to know him. And still, he kept everyone at arm's length for almost no reason. He always wanted to be viewed as equal. He did the same work as his other spiders, had the same missions and goals, yet closed himself off from being a part of the community. Maybe he wanted to be feared as well. He always tried so hard to convince you he was a monster. That he wasn’t worthy of love. 

You should bring him down here. You could help him join it all again. He was a stubborn man, yes, but could eventually listen to reason— if you were annoying enough about it. Miguel deserved so much more than he gave himself. 

Would he do that with you? Be out in the open side by side? You’d never thought about it before but now you think it’s something you might want. No more hiding. There would be a lot more to work out but… that’d be a start.

Maybe. Maybe he would go for it. 

One o’clock sneaks up so quickly you almost miss it, shamefully having to pull yourself away from your chaotic lunch table with some made-up excuse. Maybe you wouldn’t have to lie anymore. Maybe you could finally come clean and this weight could be lifted off your shoulders. 

Something changed between you and Miguel over these last few months. Something that wasn’t there before. If you think about it too long you’ll start to doubt yourself. He couldn’t hide it either. What you’d both become to each other. It started out so complicated but now it seems like you’d both surrendered to it. He showed you his home, his life, his heart. You’d both given it all to each other and now one of you just had to say it out loud. 

What in particular you’d say, you have no idea. 

The spider-sense hums when you cross the threshold into Miguel’s lab. The air in it is heavy, but that’s nothing new— especially considering what happened here the other night. The memory makes your cheeks blush.

And as always, there he stands on his desk platform, still as a statue. Always working. Yeah, you really needed to force some friends on him after this. You swing up to the platform and pull him into a hug from behind. He almost topples over from the dramatic entrance, bracing himself on the desk. 

“Hi,” you murmur lovingly into his back. 

“Hello,” He grumbles. It comes out irritated but you can tell he’s smiling. 

“Just got back from the cafeteria. You should really get a burger from there some time,” you tease him, leaning back into one of the swivel chairs.

“Why?” He turns to face you, eyebrows knitted together. 

“I just… think you’d like them,” you smile, giving the chair a good spin, “So, what’s up? You wanna talk about yesterday I’m assuming?”

His shoulders immediately tense and you feel a little bad for bringing it up so bluntly. God, he probably felt awful about putting you both in that position and ultimately… how it got resolved. Not that you minded. You feel like you have to stop yourself from blurting ‘Not the sex! The sex was great!’ Instead, you just shut up and let him take the lead.

“I… no. And yes,” he stammers, leaning back against the desk, “How are you… feeling?”

“Uh, fine I suppose,” You bring your knees up to your chest, suddenly a little wary of how to continue. He was on edge about it, you could tell. Your hand rubs over the fresh healed skin on your neck, “Just fine.”

“Good,” he looks away. Something was off. Maybe he just asked you to come in because he felt like he had to. Like he had to explain himself. You want to assure him he didn’t. 

“Miguel, if you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s—”

“No!” He snaps his head back in your direction, “It’s not that. It’s not—”

He growls, pushing several papers off his desk. Okay, so he was really upset about something. Something you did? Something in the multiverse. You don’t know, but when it comes to dealing with Miguel you’ve found a gentle hand is what gets results. 

You stand up and wrap a hand around his forearm, urging him to face you. He turns, a grimace on his face. He still looks away. Could he not even look at you? The implications of that frighten you, but still, you press on. Your other hand slowly comes up to his cheek and the lines on his face instantly smooth under your touch. Well that’s a good sign, right?

“You’re making this so much harder than it needs to be,” he mumbles, placing a kiss into your palm. 

“Please tell me what on earth you’re talking about so I can stop freaking out down here.” You weakly attempt a smile. 

He sighs, gently removing your hands. He grabs a metal case from the desk. He clicks it open and holds it in front of you. Inside are two vials of a pale green liquid. They look remarkably similar to his power dampeners. 

The realization finally hits you.

“Miguel?”

“It finished synthesizing after the attack.” His voice is so gentle now. So calm, “I wanted to give you time… Give us both some time.” 

There it is. The cure to your bond. The very thing you were praying for months ago. You should be happy, right? This is what you wanted. Your salvation. So why did it feel like you just got punched in the gut?

“It’s…it’s a one-time injection,” He takes one of the vials out and examines it in his hands. “There’ll be no pain. It’s safe.” 

You don’t know what you're supposed to say. Was he really expecting you to say anything, though? Your stunned silence was probably answer enough. He takes the other vial out and hands it to you. You hesitantly accept it, almost expecting it to burn your skin when you roll it around in your hands. It was so… innocent. It was nothing. This little tube was holding your heart in your hands. 

“What…what do we do now?” your voice comes out so small you almost do recognize it. 

You see a twinge of pain flash across his face. He turns away to grab the injector gun. He holds it idly between you two. 

“Now we… go back to business as usual.” 

You look down at the offensive object. The final nail in the coffin to seal both of your fates. This was the goal all along. This is what needed to happen. You place your hand on top of the injector gun. This time it does burn. It feels wrong. The spider-sense makes your vision flash with white as soon as you touch it. You stumble away, almost in fear.

“I… I can’t do this, Miguel.” 

“What?” he hurriedly sets the gun aside. 

“Don’t you feel it?” Your heart is suddenly beating a mile a minute. You're afraid. Afraid of losing him or afraid of what this serum with do to you, you’re not really sure. 

“It– it doesn’t matter. We have to.” So he does feel it too. The rising anxiety. The panic. The screaming inside your head. 

“And what if we do, Miguel? What happens after?” You’re fighting to hold back tears. You’re already bargaining. You’re pleading with him and it feels so pathetic, “Can’t we still—”

“No.” It came out so quickly it was like a bullet to your chest, “We can’t— we shouldn’t. It’s too risky. We’ve already risked enough just by–”

He trails off, turning away again. He doesn’t want to be doing this either. If it was painful for you, it had to be painful for him. He couldn’t just cut you off so callously, right? He was putting on a stone mask because he didn’t want to feel. You know this all meant something to him. You meant something. You know it.

Suddenly you want to hurt him. You want him to feel how you feel. Make your words sting— Just show he’ll show some emotions. Anything.

“I keep sharing so much of myself with you and the next day you turn around and act like it meant nothing. Like I mean nothing to you.” A tear finally falls. He turns back around and you can see him resisting the urge to comfort you, hands clenched tightly at his sides.

“That’s not true.”

“Then say it. Say I mean something. Don’t you fucking care?”

“I—I can—that’s not—”

It’s not fair. You’re not being fair but panic is taking the wheel. It makes you angry. Makes you mean.

“No? Then say I don’t mean anything if you want this to be over so bad.” You spit.

You see the words wound him, “Of course you do. But you know— you know this can’t possibly work.”

“Why not?!”

His lips flatten into a thin line and he turns away. He hunches over the desk with a heavy sigh, “I shouldn’t have to explain why to you.”

For once, he’s right. He doesn’t. You know why. You absolutely know why. His wife. His daughter. An entire world gone by his doing. Somehow, you can’t bring yourself to reason with the very real risks— the selfish risks you’ve been taking. What either of you could do to your respective realities. You could end the world if you weren’t careful. Everything must be balanced and this bond was tipping the scales. You both simply being together was a risk to the universe at large. Something so small had very real consequences. Miguel proved that a long time ago. 

You always knew this was selfish from the beginning.

Yet another part of you doesn't believe that. This was hard but the right choice should be obvious, right? You made hard choices all the time as a spider. The right choice was always easy in the end because you were sure of yourself. So why did this feel so… wrong? 

The tears fall at full force now. 

“Miguel I— I don’t know what to do,” you clutch at your chest. “I know this is what we agreed on. I know it’s what we should do. I know but it feels so— you have to feel it too.”

He catches you before you can crumple to the ground. He pulls you in close as you tremble in his arms. The sense hums but it wants more. It wants him, and this just isn’t enough. 

You’re not sure how long you stand there with him holding you like a pathetic child. Hugs are usually so comforting. This one felt more like an apology. An unsaid I’m sorry for putting us both through this. You want to hit him. You want to kiss him and never stop. You want to scream. 

In the end, you do nothing. You do nothing and he just holds you.

Eventually, he’s the first to break the silence.

“This is the way it has to be.” 

You're angry. You’re angry because you know he’s right. Despite being so similar, you were from different worlds at the end of the day. Different realities. You were never supposed to meet. Yet here you are crying into his arms. 

Fate is ruthless that way. 

The cure is still clutched in your hands, burning a hole through your palm. You pull away from him and look down at the horrid little thing. 

“You don’t have to take it right now,” He says, his hand closing over the top of yours. “When you're ready.”

You nod, shoving the damned thing in your pocket. “When will you take yours?”

He hesitates for a moment, “When I’m ready.” 

It makes you want to start sobbing all over again. He didn’t want this to be over either. Just when you thought you could have it all, it’s ripped away from both of you. 

But… this is how it had to be. 

Despite the pain, despite your own greedy wants, it’s what must be done for the sake of the greater good. That’s what a spider always does, right? That’s what this world is, constant sacrifice. The glamorous life of a hero— you’re so tired of it. 

You’re not making it any easier for yourself by lingering around him. He wanted this to be over quickly, and so did you. End it, then you can go your separate ways— and cry on Jack’s couch for the next month. If this had to end, then it had to end completely. Snuff out the flames now so he doesn’t hurt more later. 

You want to kiss him so badly, but you have to remain strong. Both of your resistance is paper thin and a single wrong move could tear it all down and make this even more painful. Take a page from his book and put on a stone mask. Don’t feel— at least for right now. 

You step out of his grasp, instantly missing his warmth when you do. You hug yourself, hoping to keep some of him with you. 

“I should go,” You simply say. 

“Okay.” He nods, reaching out and then instantly retracting his hand. God, why did this have to be so hard?

You don’t even realize you’d hit your button home until the portal materializes behind you. Its deep bassy buzzing falls deaf on your ears. You gaze into its menagerie of pulsing colors and see only gray now. 

The sense pounds against your skull when you take a step closer to your way home. 

Stay! Stay here, with him!

The sense always seemed like its own entity anyway. Something inside you panicking for its own self-preservation. Maybe that’s all this was— a parasite. It helped to think about it that way, at least. 

You turn to take one last look at Miguel. A hulking man standing at nearly 7 feet tall… just looked so small right now. So defeated. You did that to him— and you can’t do anything to fix it. Not anymore. 

Your first instincts about the spider-sense were right. 

It was a curse. 

“Miguel?” His name almost hurts to say. He looks into your very soul, blood-red eyes somehow speaking words that could never be fully articulated. “Thank you. For… everything.”

You don’t wait for a response, stepping into the world between worlds, eager to be home where you’d allow yourself to fall apart all over again. 

________

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