#like her experience parallels gwen

[screechingcheesecakecheesecake]

This is just a theory but like, since we know now Leelathae's reaction to Gwen's birth. What if the reason why she requested Jack to keep the girls hidden away in the castle is to protect their relationship especially Gwen.

She knows how others will react to seeing Gwen. She went through it. So as much as possible, she wanted to shelter Gwen in a loving family where they truly believe in their hearts about their beauty and love and believe in themselves. She suffered so much discrimination so she didn't want Gwen to grow up hating herself. And when time comes that Gwen will doubt herself, Leelathae could be there and comfort her. Because as much as Gwen's birth made her realize the meaning of her beauty, she wanted to do the same to Gwen.

I mean, Gwen has come to realize that she really does look different from others. Sure, she met CPC, but most of them were normal people until they were cursed. (Thermidora is a lobster so.) So who else can truly convince Gwen? Herself, who is her true love, and her mother, a splitting image of her. The very person who went through the same discrimination as her. Someone who was loved by Jack and continues to be loved by him.

She wanted Gwen to be in a loving environment, until she has to be exposed to society, and at that point, Leelathae, as her mother, will be the one to support her.

[enchantingruinscandy]

the new Spider-Man movie was a lot of fun. uhm, I definitely didn't almost cry when gwen's dad put his job before her. nope. it definitely didn't remind me of anything. nope, nope, no siree

[bisclavret]

like many who have suffered at the hands of bbc merlin before me, i recently indulged in a thought experiment in which i outlined my own version of seasons 3-5 that stay thematically and tonally in line with the show (except they're less fucking stupid). but then i quickly realized that focusing on details is pointless: all you need is to solve the one Big Problem the show has, and the rest will follow. the problem in question? ✨morgana✨

i like the first two seasons. s1 achieves what it sets out to do and has fun while doing it, and s2, while flawed, sets up a ton of potential that the following seasons unfortunately squander, beginning with the insidious season 3. you can only distract me with cute knights and goblins and fart jokes for so long before i start seeing through you, evil, evil season of television.

my hypothesis is that if the writers had crafted s3 morgana into anything more sympathetic than a violent half-alive poltergeist that can never be reasoned with because she's suddenly terminally off her rocker, everything would've fallen into place. a sympathetic morgana would've made real, valid arguments against uther (and arthur) that wouldn't just be the ramblings of a woman possessed. her betrayal of arthur would have stemmed from her feeling increasingly morally superior to him because of his complacency in the face of their father's tyranny. under morgause's guidance she would stop believing that arthur is capable of change, and the whole point would be that she might actually be right. arthur would have to actively try and prove her wrong, instead of getting praised for doing the bare minimum because the bar is on the floor.

furthermore, morgana's prophetic dream about arthur and gwen becoming king and queen and her decision to prevent this however she can is a direct parallel to merlin learning about that same prophecy and making it happen by any means necessary. merlin's desires about his and arthur's futures are subtextually fueled by gay love and devotion, so why couldn't morgana's be? why couldn't she properly express her bitterness that arthur gets to be with gwen in a way she can't "took gwen away" from her, instead of suddenly declaring that gwen is nothing more than a servant, after two seasons of demonstrating again and again that she loves, values, and respects gwen more than anyone else in that godforsaken castle?

following this, an angry and emotionally volatile but still sensible morgana asking gwen to stay by her side during the coup of the castle in the s3 finale and gwen going behind her back to help arthur and the knights would've hurt like a bitch. double-sided betrayal! gwen having a real plot! the proper beginnings of a toxic yuri that would shape a generation!

then there's the utter hubris of having morgana shoot arrows at the same civilians she worried herself sick over for 2 seasons — even morgan, her medieval counterpart that was rooted in every sexist trope in existence, doesn't just go around killing senselessly but instead has (often petty!) personal vendettas against gwen, arthur, and the knights. morgana had every right to be sick of the pretensions around chivalry in camelot (she was always quick to mock it, even in s1), and to lash out at the knights and soldiers after years of feeling powerless in a castle full of armed men that blindly followed her oppressor. the show conveniently forgets that morgana was victimized as a woman as well as a sorcerer those first 2 seasons.

but like i said, this is not just about morgana. allowing her to remain a real and multifaceted character even as she betrays everyone in pursuit of her ambitions would've given the rest of the core four more interesting conflict to work with: merlin because he would have to experience real consequences to his actions, arthur because he would watch his sister go against his father (and his knights, and his birthright) and experience some actual internal dilemmas about it, and gwen because she would be forced to choose between morgana and arthur without the pretense that it's an obvious or easy choice for her to make.

even morgause and gaius would come off more interesting as mentors: neither one inherently evil or inherently good, both jaded by events that happened before our protagonists were even born, both heavily influencing morgana and merlin into fulfilling roles that they think are appropriate, but that morgana and merlin may not have chosen for themselves had they not been under their care.

you get the gist. if the show followed its own setup, morgana's mistakes wouldn't lie in cheap and senseless acts of violence but in alienating the people she loves because she is too hurt and jaded to trust them. meanwhile, everybody else would feel guilt over "failing" her and yet they would be too caught up in their own (sometimes flawed!) beliefs of right and wrong to truly see her point of view.

arthur would convince himself it was sorcery that corrupted her. merlin would know that isn't true but he wouldn't be able to argue without confessing everything, which is the defining conflict between him and morgana and it's cheapened when she's just an evil witch caricature and merlin is framed as inherently virtuous in contrast. gwen, too, would become a more active participant in her own life by choosing arthur over morgana and choosing to rule camelot with him instead of just waiting politely to see where things go.

and, of course, uther's downfall and death would be quick, final, and completely earned — when and why did the show even decide he of all people was the sympathetic villain, anyway?

lastly, and perhaps controversially, i think morgana should've learned merlin's true identity by season 4. her being the first of the main characters to find out makes perfect sense considering their shared history and their interconnected and mirrored arcs. even the show seems to agree, considering she does find out a little before arthur. but the narrative itself tried pointing flashing neon arrows towards this way earlier — there is a whole entire episode in s4 where merlin being emrys is repeatedly spelled out for morgana and she still isn't allowed to see it. that episode makes her look like the stupidest person to ever live, which is pretty funny im not gonna lie, but also another frustrating thing in the endless string of frustrating things that make up this show.

morgana learning that merlin has magic would've transformed the source of merlin's anxiety from a crippling fear of being outed someday to the crippling fear of knowing she could out him at any moment. this would make him want to beat her to the punch (perhaps he'd consider killing her for a minute and decide against it because she isn't a cartoonishly insane evil person in my version of events) and maybe he would even feel some tentative excitement at the idea of coming clean, now that it seems inevitable. after all, he always intended to tell arthur eventually! and i think gaius would have to admit outright that he does not want merlin to tell arthur he has magic because he, gaius, simply cannot risk such a gamble. it would be so interesting to see gaius and merlin clash and disagree once it becomes obvious that it's not merlin that isn't ready for the reveal, it's gaius. delicious!

with morgana's knowledge looming, things would inevitably spiral into a magic reveal by the end of season 4. i picture this season as an absolute mess of miscommunication between everyone at camelot, which is, y'know, canon. growing increasingly cunning and vengeful, morgana would use this tension to her advantage, destabilizing the court from the outside while she creates alliances with other sorcerers outside of camelot (instead of living alone in a hovel for no reason — morgana le fay i'm sorry i'm so sorry they gave you agravaine instead of your all-female entourage oh my god).

and here's where the events would change beyond recognition (aka here's where the meta becomes the fanfic i refuse to write). picture it with me: a militia of sorcerers infiltrates camelot and arthur and gwen have to set aside their differences (assuming gwen kissing lancelot and arthur overreacting happens, which it should) for the good of the kingdom as well as for love. picture high priestess morgana in her element, side by side with a bunch of misfit sorcerers that aren't so easily vilified, chopping down camelot's soldiers and knights and assuredly making their way to the newly-minted king.

then, just as it starts to seem that all hope is lost, in swoops merlin (the actual merlin, not his old fart disguise) on dragonback (kilgharrah hates morgana so much i know his sexist ass would stoop to anything to stop her)!!! imagine merlin showing off the extent of his powers in front of everyone and preventing the sorcerers from getting any further, declaring loud and clear that camelot is protected by him, by emrys. imagine that display of power alone being enough to send everyone home.

imagine the loyalties clearly drawn: merlin on arthur's side, morgana on the sorcerers'. imagine arthur, feeling confused and betrayed by everyone at this point, banishing merlin despite everything he's done for him in the angstiest, most emotionally dysregulated scene the show had ever put to screen. imagine merlin starting season 5 free at last but very lonesome, an embittered dragonlord like his father. imagine the absolute mess camelot would become without him, even with gwen — now queen guinevere — there to pick up the slack. imagine arthur actually earning merlin back, finally growing into his role as king as he does so. imagine the reunion.

all this and more could've been not just possible but inevitable if morgana was allowed to remain a complex character that is neither inherently good nor inherently evil: it was undeniably the biased and one-note treatment of morgana's downfall by the writers that set the precedent for literally everything else that happened after merlin chose to poison her. the show wouldn't have even had to jeopardize its tone or the monster-of-the-week vibe, all it would've had to do is admit that even the "good guys" are capable of mistakes and what makes them good is the ability to feel remorse and change for the better. (as opposed to uther, who was miles beyond redemption since way before the pilot and deserved to lose everything and die alone. OBVIOUSLY???)

in a world where morgana remains multifaceted and sympathetic, mordred would get a better arc as well, so if we really wanted to, we could still end on the same tragic note that the show ended on. with so much harm inflicted onto so many innocent people by the pendragons for so long (including mordred and the many druids and sorcerers that raised him), it could realistically end up being a little too late for anything more than one shining glimpse of king arthur and the sorcerer merlin's short-lived golden age before fate catches up to them. glimpsing that reality just to immediately lose it would've been far more satisfying and far more tragic than whatever the writers thought they were doing with all that pointless carrot-dangling.

and finally, an ending in line with morgana's new and improved arc. in this version, rather than bleeding out on the forest floor alone, she would channel the morgan le fay we know from the legends: sobered up by the reality of her brother dying, she would use her high priestess status (and perhaps also her pendragon status) to be granted passage over to avalon alongside arthur on the boat — a one-way ride — just to make sure he gets there safely. this is her penance for the harm she has caused, the same way arthur's penance is to die and leave the true ruler of camelot (gwen) behind to achieve everything he was too slow and indecisive to build while he still had time.

merlin's penance, then, would be to stay behind and watch them cross over without him, waiting and waiting and waiting until they come back or until he can finally join them. which is a bit fucking harsh if i'm honest, so i'd at least make it slightly more faithful to the legends by having him return as an old man and letting him take a long nap under a tree by the shore, his body slowly enveloped by vines like the cobwebbed fisher king in 3x08, never fully sure if he's dreaming or if there really are strange shapes fading in and out of the fog over the lake. still tragic, but nevertheless a little more open-ended and whimsical than [TRUCK NOISES] THE END!

[monrageo]

Saw a lot of Spider-Steve art so I had to jump in. Most art modernised him but I want my 80s, mallrat, neon lights Spider-Man + I wrote his origin story. *POSES FOUND ON PINTEREST*

Also Steve looks great in the classic red and blue but I wanted him to have his own costume so yellow he shall be. Now onto my headcanons.

In a world where Hawkins is a megapolis a teen boy gets bitten by a radioactive spider in 83’ while visiting Hawkins Lab (Think less abandoned more Oscorp/Alchemax) and so it begins. He starts doing small good things around the city, experimenting with his powers.

But he isn’t thinking about being a superhero or anything close to that (I imagine the drawing with the sweats and goggles is his first “costume”). Then he gets with this amazing girl-Nancy Wheeler.

Life is looking up for Steve he’s got these weird powers that get him to be the basketball and swim team captain. He’s popular, he’s got this amazing girl that inspires him to be better and better.

He looses his popular crowd friends, he wants to be better. He starts thinking about the superhero thing and actually goes through with it. He isn’t shouting it from the rooftops but news is getting around that a guy in spandex is busting criminals- Spider-man/King Spider.

Steve gets cocky, thinks he’s on top of the world, untouchable. Then Will Byers goes missing-that’s a whole separate story. Nancy and John start their investigation. Steve gets jealous etc.

In the end a battle breaks out and Steve is unable to save one person-Barbara Holland. His girlfriend’s best friend. That of course destroys Nancy. She doesn’t know Steve is Spider-man, she seeks comfort in him but things are not the same.

There’s this whole thing with Jonathan, the obvious attraction, the compatibility. But also Steve’s guilt, his self hatred. He realises he was too blindsided by his cockiness. Barb’s death is on his hands. He breaks up with Nancy and solely focuses on being the best Spider-man he can be.

That of course costs him friends etc. but when you’ve been through what he has high school drama just seems pointless… and so King Steve falls from the throne.

I imagine the Nancy story line parallels the Gwen Stacy one in the original comics (without the death and clones), maybe Nancy even blames and hates Spider-man the way Gwen did… that also contributes to the Stancy break-up.

Perhaps Nancy becomes hyper focused on catching this Spider-man so he can be held accountable for Barb’s death.

Anyways now Steddie, I think Eddie would love Spider-man / King Spider he’s some guy with spider powers and bright spandex that helps people, super camp, Eddie would love him.

I think Steve starts noticing Eddie in a new light when his lunch table tirades now also include how awesome spider-man is. This unapologetic support makes the now loser Steve feel like it is all worth it-the stress, the pain, the loneliness-

Tough he of course knows Eddie isn’t talking about him, he’s talking about Spider-man, the hero. Not the former popular guy Steve Harrington.

I have many ideas regarding a Stranger things!Spider-verse and which characters could be what. Maybe Barb’s death was something Lizard-like, but upside down version. Like something from the lap infected her? I like the idea of Steve’s father being involved in the labs, perhaps as a Norman Osborn parallel, without becoming the Goblin though.

The goblin/Norman/Harry Osborn storyline could be reimagined with Tommy perhaps??? Then Venom with Eddie (so perfect) or Billy (a tragic end)??

[rauchendesgnu]

I keep seeing people bring up the whole "I really loved you" and "I really did like you" parallel, and yes, I guess, there are some similarities...but at the heart of it, Martin gave himself up because he loved Jon more than he loved himself, and the idea of probably dying even comforted him if it meant that the one he loved was safe.

Celia manipulates Sam in order to sacrifice him. I'm not saying she doesn't hold affection for him, but the affection is not worth as much as her ultimate goal. The only thing she remembers of her original world is eternal, all encompassing fear and terror, to be stripped of your humanity, to exist only to feed the Eldritch forces that torture her. That's where she thinks she's sending Sam. She's (to her knowledge) condemning him to a sentence worse than death.

Now, I'm not a parent and I don't want to invalidate any parental feelings or instincts or heavy decisions parents make to protect their child. That's not something I can judge nor am I willing to do so. In fact, I love that Celia did what she did the way I love that Gwen did what she did. I love flawed characters and I love ruthless characters. Ultimately, Celia is sure that her choice is the right one. And if she is willing to sacrifice Sam for her and Jack's safety, then she can't have "liked" him all that much.

One more thing before I stop ranting about it, but I think Celia used Sam the way Elias used Jon. He was easy to manipulate. Because we all know Sasha was more qualified for the job. But it's hard to manipulate someone who knows what they want and who is actively working towards that goal. Elias manipulates Jon so easily because that man has never had someone validate him and what he does and feels. Celia manipulates him easily because he wants someone to believe him about his childhood traumatic experience. He wants a kindred spirit, someone to take him seriously, and Celia seems to be that for him.

So yeah. Slay, Celia, but also big reg flag, luv (for anyone who wants to date her. If you're her kid, congrats, your mom is ruthless and cold as ice when it comes to not leaving you alone...we still don't know the story behind Jack, do we?)

[themindcrowave]

recurring jing yuan thoughts #2... a spiderverse AU

so i've been thinking about spiderverse jing yuan lately..... trying to decide whether he's a spider or a gwen/MJ

- if he was a spider he'd be able to travel dimensions,,, he'd definitely have a backstory similar to miguel o'hara's about trying to find a reality where everyone he loved was back together again, but unlike miguel, once that reality inevitably goes wrong he either:

- decides to really focus on his emotional healing and grief processing or

- becomes a compartmentalization master like he is in the game

because either way he knows he can't properly help others and be a leading figure if he can't move past his own grief first. he would rather gnaw through his own arm than push his old emotional scars onto the young spiders he's met and formed family with along his journey. he might have lost his first found family but he'll be damned if he loses his chance at another.

- and then just like in-game, jing yuan will meet the people of his past again... i'm thinking dan heng is a spider from a parallel universe where dan feng's weakened consciousness ended up after he was completely wiped from jing yuan's dimension, so basically dan heng was always his own person of course but then he started having visions of a lifetime parallel to his own lived by someone who looked exactly like him (insert my gwen stacy theory bc WOW does it fit him)

- blade would be kinda like the usual spiderman villain setup where his undying situation is all because of a terrible science accident and his main motivation is to find the ones involved in what happened to him (the og high cloud quintet friend group) and exact vengeance so that maybe he can finally disappear in peace (basically the same as in-game)

- baiheng's death was probably jing yuan's first devastating "canon event". i think he wasn't around to save her when she died (and he couldn't have been, he didn't even know where she was or what happened to her until he heard the news) and that guilt will forever eat away at him... i'm thinking she died in an aircraft accident but i haven't decided what kind yet

- dan feng was a genius scientist. he experimented with a lot of things that he probably shouldn't have and always pushed the boundaries of scientific possibility,, especially after baiheng died. he started secluding himself in his lab and only yingxing ever had any success at visiting him there for any substantial period of time... which is exactly how yingxing got caught up in dan feng's plan to bring baiheng back (think kingpin bringing his family back with the alchemax super-collider) and subsequently cue the horrible accident which turned him into the immortal blade

- oh and then of course jing yuan, being spiderman, has to track down and apprehend dan feng for what he did and decide his sentence (life imprisonment) but dan feng's family clan had him assassinated in prison for reasons jing yuan was never able to completely uncover (and a nagging little part of him will always feel like dan feng's fate was his fault)

- i think jingliu was jing yuan's superhero mentor... not sure if she was a spider too, or just another masked hero in the area who took him under her wing when he was new to his powers. just like in-game, she was the one who introduced him to the rest of the group, and just like in-game she will go completely berserk and become a vigilante with no clear morals or objectives after baiheng dies. like with dan feng, jing yuan has to track her down and try to get her back. unlike with dan feng, jingliu decides that given her shattered mental state the safest option for society as a whole would be for jing yuan to defeat her then and there, once and for all, simultaneously saving the day and proving his graduation from her mentorship. and, well. he did.

- there's yanqing (young spider, official mentee, and unofficial son of jing yuan) thoughts rattling around in here too, but words are difficult so unfortunately you'll have to put your full imagination to work here and just try to feel the "i'm-putting-this-character-in-a-jar-and-shaking-it-like-a-mixed-drink" vibes for yourself! cheers

[doamarierose-honoka]

While it's still up to debate among fans whether disrupting Canon Events in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse destroys universes, several such events were featured prominently in Sony Pictures' animated sequel.

When Miguel O'Hara gave Miles Morales his lecture on Canon Events, he defined them as "chapters that are a part of every Spider's story, every time. Some good. Some bad. Some very bad."

However, despite what Miguel said, that doesn't mean that every Spider-Person has the same Canon Events or experiences them the same way.

Every Canon Event in Spider-Verse 2

1.) Spider Bite

In both the comics and Spider-Verse films, the origin for most Peter Variants involved being bitten by a radioactive spider as a teenager, bestowing them spider-like powers.

Not all of them would get the same abilities from this bite, with Peni Parker being a prime example, but it's no surprise for it to be a Canon Event for nearly all of them with a handful of exceptions.

One exception is Miguel O'Hara, who audiences saw injecting himself with a mysterious green liquid, foreshadowing to non-comic fans that the source of his powers wasn't a spider bite. Miguel even acknowledged his unique status among Spider-People in his inner monologue: "...I'm not like the others."

2.) First Loss

The most defining moment of Peter Parker's life as Spider-Man was, without question, the death of Uncle Ben. Peter B. Parker best expressed this event's significance to Miles when his orientation turned into an intervention:

"If not for Uncle Ben, most of us wouldn't be here, Miles, and all the good we did—it wouldn't have been done."

But as Peter said, "most of [them]" wouldn't be there. So for other Spiders, instead of Uncle Ben, it was another uncle, a father, or even a best friend.

Across the Spider-Verse puts this Canon Event under one umbrella, making it more a Spider's first loss that leads them to learn their first crucial life lesson, good or bad, on their road to being a hero.

It's the defining Canon Event that instills in them the mantra of Spider-Man: "With great power comes great responsibility."

3.) Upside-Down Kiss

One of the few "good" Canon Events on this list (that didn't originate from the comics) is the upside-down kiss from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.

This would be its own Canon Event for multiple Spiders because, at least in the case of Raimi's Peter Parker, it was when they finally got to kiss the person they were only brave enough to love from afar before getting their powers.

One shot from Across the Spider-Verse paralleled this iconic moment when Gwen was preparing to leave Miles' universe. These two may eventually share their own upside-down kiss in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, fulfilling this Canon Event.

4.) The Death of a Captain

The only Canon Event on the list to have a designation (ASM-90 (The Amazing Spider-Man #90), Miguel described it as "a police captain close to Spider-Man dies saving a kid from falling rumble during a battle with an arch-nemesis."

Like a Spider's first loss, this Canon Event isn't restricted to Captain Gregory Stacy from the comics but encompasses multiple Captains "close to Spider-Man." It was also revealed that this event already happened to Peter B. Parker, Jessica Drew, and Hobie Brown and that the same will soon happen to Gwen and Miles.

However, Gwen realizes that with her father quitting the police force, he's seemingly avoided his untimely death. This proves to her that Canon Events aren't unavoidable nor preventing them will ending the universe.

It further strengthens her resolve to save Miles and his father from The Spot, with the help of Peter B. Parker and the rest of her newly formed Spider-Band.

5.) The Death of Gwen Stacy

The second most defining moment of Peter Parker's life as Spider-Man was the death of Gwen Stacy and his failure to save her. But what was another tragedy for Peter Parker was no doubt an existential nightmare for this film's Gwen Stacy, who likely learned the fate of her endless Variants after joining the Spider-Society.

It's also, unfortunately, the reason why she's so hesitant to pursue a relationship with Miles since "in every other universe, Gwen Stacy falls for Spider-Man, and in every other universe, it doesn't end well."

This is something that already nearly happened to Pavitr Prabhakar's girlfriend Gayatri Singh, another Variant of Gwen Stacy.

6.) The Birth of Venom

The only event on the list to focus on one of Spider-Man's supervillains is the birth of Venom, who would hound the web-slinger for years before becoming an anti-hero (or dying).

Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker from Spider-Man 3 and a Variant of Jessica Drew are shown struggling with the alien (or Earth-made) Symbiote, while others depict Eddie Brock or Anne Weying transforming into Venom and She-Venom.

The last Spider shown is interesting, as it's seemingly this film's Gwen Stacy turning into her Venomized counterpart, Gwenom; she debuted in Spider-Gwen #24 and used the Symbiote to go on a path of vengeance when her father was put in a coma.

7.) "If This Be My Destiny...!"

One of the most character-defining moments of Peter Parker's superhero career was when he saved himself from a literal ton of debris in The Amazing Spider-Man #33, the concluding issue of the "If This Be My Destiny...!" story arc.

The reason this was monumental for the character is that it was the first time he displayed what would become his most defining trait: his boundless perseverance.

Trapped, injured, and about to drown, Peter had all but given up until he remembered why and who he was fighting for and used that to gain the strength to lift the machinery off himself.

It was such an iconic moment for the character that The Spectacular Spider-Man and even the MCU's Spider-Man: Homecoming adapted this act of triumph in the face of doubt.

Considering that this happens fairly early in Spider-Man's career in the comics, it's interesting that this film's Jessica Drew seemed to experience it as an adult, pointing to Canon Events not having to happen at the same time in a Spider's superhero career.

8.) "Spider-Man No More!"

The story arc "Spider-Man No More!" is the first instance of Peter Parker quitting as the wall-crawler. Not only did it result in one of the most iconic pages in all of comics, but it also reinforced why Peter had to keep wearing the mask.

In the original story, Parker quit because he got no respect from the public for his heroic actions, which The Daily Bugle would often twist. However, after quitting, he realized that without him being Spider-Man, people that he could save would get hurt or even die.

The motivation for any Spider quitting varies, whether it's the same lack of respect, the loss of their powers, or the injury/death of a loved one. It's tempting to wonder what would make Hobie Brown, a Spider who openly declared his disdain for glory, temporarily quit.

9.) Spider-Man's Wedding

Peter Parker's editorially mandated deal with the literal devil to annul his marriage in the comics is infamous at this point. Regardless, his union with Mary Jane Watson was the status quo for over 20 years, making it no surprise that a Spider's marriage is a Canon Event.

Before the events of Into the Spider-Verse, Peter B. Parker was happily married to his MJ before they had a mutual and legal divorce over Peter's reluctance to have children. However, in Across the Spider-Verse, not only did he and MJ remarry, but they had a kid, May "Mayday" Parker.

10.) "Kraven's Last Hunt"

Another surprise Canon Event that Gwen has already experienced is a near-death confrontation with Kraven the Hunter from the iconic Spider-Man storyline, "Kraven's Last Hunt."

Gwen is shown digging herself out of her own grave, the same way Peter Parker did in Web of Spider-Man #32. She's also wearing her old costume from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (note the forearms), indicating that it already happened.

It's also something that Gwen's comic book counterpart never experienced, further showing the franchise's willingness to diverge from her depiction and reality in the comics.

11.) The Collider

It's highly suggested through Miguel's verbal (and literal) beatdown of Miles that Spider-Man destroying a world-ending collider was a Canon Event, saying that "[Miles' Peter Parker] would have stopped the collider before it ever went off" but that "instead, he died, saving [Miles]:"

"You're a mistake! If you hadn't been bit, your Peter Parker would have lived. Instead, he died, saving you! He would have stopped the collider before it ever went off! Spot wouldn't exist, and none of this would have happened!"

On top of that, one plot point is Spot scouring the Multiverse for a universe "with a full-sized collider," which he found in Pavitr's dimension. Miguel's artificial intelligence assistant, Lyla, even mentioned how "every dimension [Spot] stops at has an Alchemax."

It's possible that Pavitr would have eventually had to stop his own Alchemax from using the machine for some other nefarious purpose, but The Spot's preemptive use of it likely averted this potential Canon Event from happening.

How Spider-Verse 3 May Deny Destiny

There's no doubt that Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will address Miguel's claims about Canon Events and whether breaking them has catastrophic consequences. It's already been shown through Gwen's father that averting a Canon Event is both possible and even harmless.

Of course, it doesn't mean that Miguel intentionally lied about Canon Events, as there is evidence of correlating life-changing moments between (nearly) every Spider-Person. But whether he understands them fully himself is another question.

It'll be interesting to see how Canon Events will be further explored in the reported final entry of this trilogy and how Miguel will react to his ideology being proven wrong.

[akaikali]

TMAGP EP 17 REACTION (SPOILERS)

CELIA GIRL WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT DO YOU MEAN AGAIN WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND WAKING UP ON VEHICULAR ROADWAYS

So she woke up in Oxford that's what I'm hearing. Does girlie go dimension hopping in her sleep but wake up in random places bc of it???

The way Celia said "absolutely" just gave me butterflies also Sam MOVE Alice is right you're like a baby foal now let me show you have to rizz up a milf-

Celia girl what is GOING ON

MAGNUS STATEMENT???? HEY HEY NOW WHAT THE FUCK. WHO HAS THE FILES WITH ALL THE MAGNUS INSTITUTE EXPERIMENTED PEOPLE. I DONT HAVE IT BUT MAYBE WE COULD MATCH THE SUBJECT NUMBER TO A NAME

it is kinda concerning to me that after Celia talks to Sam that we get a MAGNUS statement

BIG SOFT LOOKING GUY WHO STUMBLED OVER EVERY WORD???? BOOKISH LOOKING GUY WITH SERIOUS MILES???? WAIT NO WHAT THE FUCK WAIT WAIT WAIT YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS. JONMARTIN???? IS THAT YOU????

Going away for a while???? Lonely-coded lmao and also me-coded

Magnus Institute Outreach Centre??? What the fuck??? They're like. Pretending to be a help center or like. A real institute???

Harcourt House? Sounds like a rich manor or something. A friend of Lady Mowbray's perhaps?

THE OTHER MYSELF???? IM SORRY WHAT THE FUCK NOW????

Meeting a successful version of yourself GONE WRONG

Oh my God wait WAIT IS THIS GUY'S OTHER VERSION FROM A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE??? IS THAT WHY DETAILS ARENT LINING UP FOR THEM????

Holy shit. Holy shit what the fuck. What the FUCK. Oh my God. So this is. This guy is literally just a fucked up person. Like. Dear God.

Oh my God it's his dad. Okay well. If the dad was a shitty person...I mean I don't condone it but I can see why that might have happened?

"Your world and mine are pretty similar" What does that mean????

This kind of reminds me of the statement in TMA season 4 where that woman keeps killing people because she's a good person and donates to charity and can make a difference and deserves to live. I wonder if this was the way she thought in the beginning. Although, she was killing innocent people. This guy killed a sadistic murderer.

OH MY GOD CELIA DEFINITELY REPLACED THIS UNIVERSE CELIA. HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. OKAY I DONT KNOW IF SHE KILLED HER BUT SHE DID SOMETHING TO REPLACE THIS WORLD'S CELIA.

This...Kinda also parallel's Not Sasha replacing Sasha and no one knowing it. It's just that Celia isn't actively trying to harm people. At least she seems to feel guilty for replacing this universe Celia??

JMJ ERROR AGAIN?? but I thought we just found our in universe jmart as well.

Gwen's a tech girlie???? Also Dyhard shippers are being fed this ep lol

Ethernet PROTOCOLS??? Lmao I'm kidding I'm kidding

OH DYHARD SHIPPERS ARE REALLY BEING FED HUH MY GOD SKDHAOJFDB

I REALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO SAY. SO WE MIGHT HAVE AN IN UNIVERSE JONMARTIN. AND THEN CELIA MAY HAVE MURDERED THE IN UNIVERSE VERSION OF HERSELF TO REPLACE HER. GIRL WHAT THE FUCK. I really hope she didn't murder her but maybe it's like...possession? Body sharing???

Also I realized that the possible jonmartin sighting is from another universe not the one that we're in. But that's so funny to me because in SOME universe, Jon had to go to COURT MANDATED THERAPY

So from what I understand, this guy is from a third universe, not the TMA or TMAGP universe, and he managed to stumble into the TMAGP universe. I'm saying this bc I hope that in some other universe, jonmartin have a chance.

[old-skyguy]

Revisiting this blog for the soul purpose of offering my first thoughts on TMAGP because I haven't been on Tumblr for weeks to avoid spoilers and I'm ready to fucking go

(TMA/TMAGP Spoilers)

-Gives us characters with traits from TMA lineup. Obviously not copy for copy but close enough to draw parallels. Gwen (snarky and obsessed with doing the job right, sorta like Jon?? That one's kinda a stretch tbh), Lena (suspicious boss with clear experience and just so Elias coded, it'd be so funny if Gwen pipe murdered her I know it won't happen but wouldn't it be so funny??), Sam (idk tbh, also a stretch but maybe Martin? Because empathetic? Drinks = affection? Will see), and the one I draw most similarities between: Alice (snarky, carefree, sarcastic: Tim to a T PLUS a younger more successful sibling she obviously loves and is very proud of, honestly warms and hurts my heart at the same time). Maybe it's to foreshadow similar fates for us who've listened to TMA (most of us) OR that's just what they WANT us to think and they're trying to throw us for a loop!! Orrrr I'm looking too far into things and they're just silly character tropes which'd also be cool :) we'll seee!!

-I've noticed they're wayy more up front with the more visceral gory statements. Still has the good old Jonny Sims writing style I oh so desperately missed, but at the beginning of tma, they were way more muted and psychological in the beginning, didn't get to one like the ones in TMAGP until well into the first season but they're really coming out swinging with this.

-Look I know everyone is talking about Chester and Norris and how they're Jon and Martin. Idk if Jon and Alex just wanted to keep voicing characters because they like playing that part in their work or if there's genuinely some sorta lore reason but I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT IT.

-My theory is that either 1) the Mag Institute that burned down in RedCanary was a different one than the Mag Institute London WE know and is just a red herring or 2) the actions at the end of EP 200 actually did reverse the eyepocolypse so that no one remembers it and the world went back to normal somehow and the timeline got fucked up so in the eyes of the public, the institute from TMA burned down as a sorta cosmic cover-up. Either way, same universe! Just different timeline/fucked up memories.

-in TMA, the statements happened behind closed doors with Jon, so his paranoia wasn't too "understood" by anyone in the archives. However, in TMAGP, everyone around can hear the "statements" read out so most of the lineup is sorta on the same page except Collin and Lena (honestly just Sam, Alice, and Gwen). This. I don't know if this observation has any meaning but I think it's neat and gives us a cool new dynamic.

-All the fears seem to be here? Idk why they'd try to deviate from them, that wouldn't make any sense considering ALL OF SEASON 5 and the cosmic explanation for all the fears. All I'm saying with this is that they're easy to sort and attribute the individual feel to so they're obviously keeping that. Again. Not a groundbreaking observation but as of when I'm writing this all out, I have gone 27 hours without sleep and counting so eh they can't all be winners for best essay analysis bullshddf lol whatever

Like I said, this is just my opinion and it's not very well thought out, just wanted to get this out there to celebrate the release.

[theanxiousghostartist]

TMAGP 27 Spoilers

(Theories and reactions)

Ooooo this was a good one!

Pre Case (Lena, Gwen, and Sam):

Lena is freaking out about the Minister's visit, and Gwen is doing so on ger behalf. I think this is Gwen trying to get closer to Lena and earn her trust. I'm definitely riding on my theory that she is planning on destroying the OIAR from the inside out - Gertrude style, with her interactions thusfar.

Lena really doesn't want Colin to return. It makes sense, but it's still interesting.

Lena also doesn't want any extra oversight - she seems very scared of the idea. We already know that Lena is afraid of her superiors to a degree, so I wonder if this could cause her to get on their "bad side."

Sam's in a good mood because of Celia, he really does like her!

I like how we can tell Gwen is drained from dealing with Lena and preparing for the Minister's visit. Phenomenal voice acting!!

Gwen giving Alice hard tasks is so on brand;I love their interactions.

Case (Augustus):

A Jonah case????

So these are excerpts from the Mangus Institute's Founder's journal/diary. I'm going to assume this is Jonah since the Institute's name remains the same. He is getting frustrated with the failures in the Institute's experiments with alchemy and transmutation. Specifically, he mentions, "...and-thus far are still unable to effect transmutations beyond those endeavors we each undertook alone." This reminds me of how Jonah, as well as some of his friends/partners (like Hailey), were marked by the Fears, which led them to further investigate/worship the fears.

Jonah runs into a Clarence (a sort of cab) of the Stranger (and perhaps the End or Lonely), which he avoids due to odd features (like the cabby only lookinb straight forward), and watches someone else get in and disappear. He runs into this again and again sees a man disappear, following a trail of blood to a hidden alleyway, where he finds the man's coat. He convinces a young coworker (who he thought was making some of his older friends "soft hearted"), Archibald Cameron, to ride in the cab and take notes. He mentions that Cameron "...loss of skin, and it's clear from his handwriting exactly when his eyes departed from his skull." This makes me lean towards the End more than the Lonley in conjuction with the Stranger because it reminds me of its domain during the Eyepolcolypse. Jonah basically discovers the fears, noting that Cameron wrote how he saw that his increase in fear led to the Clarence "eating him" faster. Jonah leaves off by basically saying that these "forces" could help them achieve their goals, whatever they might be.

I wonder if Jonah and Cameron is a parallel to Gertude and Michael. Both Jonah and Gertrude sacrificed a young member of their staff to a fear in order to learn more about it. While Jonah did it out of pure curiosity, Gertrude did it to stop the Spiral's ritual. While trying to learn about it wasn't her first intention, it still was an intention, as it acted as sort of a test to see if outside involvement in a ritual could stop it.

Theory: Based on what we know, I think that Jonah's goal is the opposite of his in TMA: he wants to create a utopia instead of a hellscape. However, his motivation is the same: he wants to be a god. My theory is that TMAGP!Jonah and the others want to make themselves gods of a utopia, with "gods of love" (as Gerry put it in TMA), helping them rule over this. So, while his goal is the opposite of TMA!Jonah, he still has the same characterization and motivations, although the technique to achieve this is different, as TMAGP!Jonah is using alchemy. Because of the involvement of alchemy, I assume TMAGP!Jonah is trying to bypass the alchemic rule of equivalent exchange "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return To obtain, something of equal value must be lost." (This is a quote from Full Metal Alchemist XD).

Jonah is most definitely still Eye aligned.

Post - Case (Alice and Gwen):

Alice canonically said she was trans!!!!!! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

I love this interaction (I feel like I say this about every Alice/Gwen interaction, lol. I love how their personalities contrast!!)

Gwen getting information from an email with gibberish??? I wonder if it's Jonah since Jon signed his email to Sam...

Oh! The documents are important, and she still has them, and she's lying to Alice... these have to be Institute documents. Since she knows Sam is into this stuff, I wonder if she will bring it up to him. Or perhaps she will tell Alice at a later point? I really like how she automatically goes to Alice for this sort of thing!

Post - Case (Sam, Celia, and Alice):

Ooo Helen's papers!

I wonder if the Institute needed to see the constellations. Like they know they're there, but they need to make sure it is a clear view for some sort of alchemy experiment.

Perhaps the perchloroethylene machines are to be used in treating fabrics as preparation for an experiment?

Sam and Celia communicating!!!!

So they want to pursue their relationship further? Oooo, interesting! I do appreciate Celia letting Sam know that Jack is her number 1 priority. I wonder if this relationship is going further because it helps her manipulate Sam more easily? (Also, when I say this in my posts, I mean it as something she is doing, but not negatively. I am rooting for her to be as manipulative as she wants/needs to be!)

Hilltop Centre???? As an outreach center??? Ohh, I wonder if this is where Celia is getting pulled to at night. Perhaps, it was an "outreach center" to the fears or other universes?

Trevor Herbert??????? As the Minister???? I did not have that on my bingo card!

Trevor Herbert was the vampire hunter in TMA who partnered with Julia Montauk in America. Both were aligned with the Hunt. Julia was killed by Daisy when she became an Avatar, Trevor was killed by Basira in the Hunt domain, while they were tracking Daisy (Trevor wanted revenge, Basira wanted to fulfill Daisy's final wishes). Perhaps the higher-ups and Lena's superiors have experienced hunting avatars, and that's how they got them under control? Maybe Lena is aligned with the Hunt as well? (I previously theorized that she was Web aligned, but both could be true)

Yay! Alice is getting involved. Hopefully, they will find a way to stop [Error].

Celia seemed mad when she realized the two went into "The Archivist's" office. She made a statement at the Institute - when Jon wasn't there about Agnes's ghost, I wonder if she saw something in Jon's office? Or maybe she's realizing that [Error] isn't necessarily Jon?

This episode was so good, and we got a lot of information from it!

I want to add a little note here that my theory posts may be shorter and/or at different times because I'm starting college next week and might not have time to listen 😭

[aroaceleovaldez]

Okay these tags on this post reminded me of a HoO/TOA thing that I complain about a lot but I don’t think i’ve ever elaborated on here:

[Image ID: Tags from @fr0zenpepsi​ reading - “#and jason fUCKING DIES before he even get fixed like #you dont know how excited i was when the diorama thing was mentioned like #make him artistic too!! make him be into architecture too! #and he plays lacrosse???? #like his character has sooo much potential yet hes just a boring white guy :< #thats prolly why his death is pretty lame #it meant a lot to the plot but like do we even know who we lost?? #more than half of the fandom doesnt even like him bc hes just so plain :/ #also hazel is a queen and i love her shes literally the best” /end ID.]

One of the big issues I take with both HoO and TOA is that literally every death in both series feels cheap because death has lost consequence. For the majority of HoO it’s at least somewhat still of a risk, but even things like Tartarus feel extremely lackluster when we actually encounter them - Tartarus especially after we saw how much it affected Nico, but then Percy and Annabeth’s plot armor kind of negates all of the threat and it feels like they don’t actually experience much more than their usual threats down there or that it has any lasting effect on them. And after Leo’s “death” we’re basically solidified into “Death has no consequence” because we just finished a series with at least SIX INSTANCES of major or minor protagonist-aligned characters notably directly cheating or miraculously avoiding death (Jason, Hazel, Gwen, Frank, Jason again, Leo), not including also miscellaneous minor antagonists. Which is aggravating because you can make a “Hey, these characters can’t die!” plot work, especially if that’s the root problem they’re trying to solve! It does work in TLH and SoN! And we’ve even seen it before in Battle of the Labyrinth when Percy fights his half-brother!

But HoO basically nullifies all consequence the characters face from MoA onwards and post-BoO “death” carries no weight, because by this point we have so many excuses to get around it or avoid it or come back from it that who cares! And this continues to be a thing post-TOA! Even just in the plot summary of Chalice Of The Gods we’re introduced to YET ANOTHER “Cheat death!” item! And I’d bet we’re gonna get one in TSATS too cause we’re almost guaranteed to see Damasen again, and the like one singular myth that exists referencing Damasen also specifically mentions an herb called “the flower of Zeus” that can revive things from the dead.

And it’s extra annoying because in TOA we keep getting character deaths shoved in our faces and told we should care about them, but either they’re characters we have little to no emotional connection to (such as, like, All Of Camp Jupiter in Tyrant’s Tomb when the camp is threatened and we’re told we should care, but we’ve barely seen the camp at all besides beginning of Son of Neptune and beginning of Mark of Athena, and the only living characters we get to actually see in Camp Jupiter from before TOA are Gwen, Dakota, Don the Faun, and our HoO protagonists.)

And Jason’s death is particularly annoying because a.) He’s essentially cheated death twice already [Piper bringing him back from either death or near-death when he accidentally witnessed Hera’s true form, and then his whole spear injury that was slowly killing him but was healed with [checks notes] the power of friendship], and b.) the scene DIRECTLY PARALLELS HIS FIGHT WITH MIDAS. Which, you know, he WON. VERY EASILY. And you can’t even argue “oh but this time Piper and Apollo were right there so he couldn’t have done the same thing!” because PIPER AND LEO WERE THERE WITH MIDAS. Heck, so was Lit! Who also survives and comes back in TOA! So not only is there no excuse for Jason to have not somehow miraculously avoided death (alongside every other TOA character, basically), but he SHOULDN’T HAVE DIED IN THE FIRST PLACE because THAT’S NOT A FIGHT HE SHOULD HAVE LOST! Him losing that fight is directly contrary to what we know about his character! And “he shouldn’t have lost that fight and died” doesn’t feel tragic here, it’s just aggravating! It’s just bad writing! And there’s no way around it because nobody cares about characters dying by that point in the series anyways because it doesn’t mean anything! We’ve had too much random death fodder in HoO (like the Hunters) directly alongside characters experiencing little to no consequence when they should from their experiences (Percy & Annabeth in Tartarus, literally every character nearly dying, etc.). The only characters we do see experience any kind of lasting consequences from near-death experiences are Hazel having blackouts in Son of Neptune (which are magically erased by Mark of Athena) and Nico being heavily implied to be permanently physically disabled after Tartarus (which is half-ignored when not plot relevant in TOA and completely ignored in the short story Un Natale Mezzosangue, which gives me reason to suspect it will also be ignored in TSATS). Not to mention Frank’s curse is also randomly erased in Tyrant’s Tomb, which is extra stupid because by following the logic of that scene his curse should have been lost back in Son of Neptune when he freed Thanatos, because he was using his curse for the same exact reasons with the same exact mindset. He literally did his character arc twice. Whatever.

HoO and TOA are just such a mess writing-wise of Rick trying to haphazardly incorporate as many myths as he can with zero attempts at cohesiveness that it doesn’t make any sense (I invite you all to read just the Team Statue chapters of BoO and take a moment to process how absolutely nonsensical it is) and he fails to consider the consequences of including certain myths, both in terms of how their aspects will impact the larger plot and also the historical context behind those myths and if how they’re being applied is offensive.

TL:DR: Jason’s death is stupid from literally every angle and HoO and TOA have a problem with literally any kind of narrative consequence.

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

Marvel posting again real quick with spoilers below the cut, sorry Star Wars followers but I can't stop thinking about this movie right now:

After the first time watching Across the Spider-Verse I CANNOT get over Pavitr Prabhakar showing the audience around his version of Earth (Earth-50101 I think? IDK man I have dyscalculia, you think I can keep track of numbers?) saying:

"This is where the traffic is! And this is where the traffic is! And this is where the traffic is! And this is where the traffic is! And this is where the British keeps/has/stole [????] our stuff!"

PAVITR- I nearly choked on my popcorn because of that line delivery in that same, cheery voice.

Runner up is Hobie Brown's gosh he's so cool deadpan

It's a metaphor for capitalism.

I'm also fully subscribed to the theory that Gwen's storyline is one big blatant metaphor for [her] being transgender. The specific colorways used after she's forcibly sent home by Miguel (yikes, btw...) and talks to her dad during That Scene. There's a flag in her bedroom that says in bold capital letters "Protect Trans Kids" (or "Youth") for heck's sake. That's a pretty damn obvious thing to have in the background! There looks to be a patch on her dad's uniform in the color-scheme of the trans flag!

I was seeing so many little parallels to my experience with trying to decide if I'd come out to my parents as bi a few years ago between the conversations Gwen tried having with her dad, and the last segment of the movie between Miles and Rio.

It felt like a very strong metaphor for Coming Out and my personal takeaway after watching it for the first time is that it's little coincidence this movie came out during Pride Month.

I definitely want to go see this in theaters again. This movie was a beautiful work of art.

**AS A REMINDER/ ONLY WARNING: Terfs and transphobes are getting blocked if they find this post and wanna argue about it! You are NOT welcome here on my sideblog. I'm a bi woman with trans and non-binary friends who are very dear to me and I will not tolerate that bigotry. You can get lost! While it's not ""outright"" confirmed, you cannot stop me from having this theory. ✌️🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵**

[hyperfixation-or-death]

haven't been super active on here lately, but i have something very important to inform you all of.

Into The Spider-Verse released in the year 2018. Parallels episode one, aside from the opening with Hugo, is set in the year 2021. it is very possible that the main kids saw that movie at some point pre-canon.

fast-forward. Victor and Romane are living through the four-year time skip. Across The Spider-Verse released in 2023, but let's just assume that with everything those two were going through, they never saw it.

in 2025, Victor and Romane travel back in time, and the events of the rest of the show take place. by the end of the finale, it's 2021 again.

now, imagine this scenario.

two years post-canon, Across the Spider-Verse is released. the kids talk about watching it; sure, the multiverse plot would be kind of ironic considering what happened to them, but they did really like the first one. and it looks really good. they watch the movie.

and then the canon events plot happens.

and Romane is suddenly trying very hard to act like she didn't just unlock a bonus level of anxiety about her mom.

(it happened once, her mom died once, it could happen again. what if it was always going to happen, what if things really are set in stone and changing reality really does have permanent consequences? she should check on her mom again. everything's changed but nothing's changed and maybe tragedy really is inevitable, and she won't get another chance after this one, why is she still sitting here when she should be making sure her family's safe?)

also i can't decide if watching Gwen's plot with her dad would be a good experience or a bad experience for Victor, but like. it definitely resonates. you cannot tell me that Victor Deslandes is going to have a normal reaction to seeing the scene where Gwen's dad, who blames her for the death of her best friend, is ready to hurt her because he doesn't know who she is, and treats her as a potential threat after he does realize who she is. i mean, it's not a perfect match to Victor's own parental issues, but there's definitely enough similarities there to latch onto.

anyways, the Parallels kids do not have a fun time watching that movie. unfortunate for them, because it's a great movie, but y'know. multiverse trauma and such.

[merlincersei]

Merlin BBC UK TV Show - A Psychological Analysis Series Part 2

The Gay Arc Of Our Protagonist and Antagonist

Using magic equals homosexuality motif, Camelot represents a homophobic society. Against this backdrop, is where Morgana and Merlins character arcs are formed.

For Morgana, the backdrop of an intolerant society is further compounded by a homophobic family dynamic. She is literally disowned I.e not acknowledged by Uther as being his child (a fear a lot of lgbt people have). She ultimately rebels against the society and her family by coming to terms with her sexuality. However all the oppression and the unpleasant coming out process (Merlin literally poisons her) has made her bitter and she lashes out in destructive ways namely against the token heterosexual couple of the show Gwen and Arthur. It plays into the homophobic stereotype of how militant homosexuals are a threat to traditional heterosexual society. Morgana is literally turned from a brave and loyal friend who helped a lowly servant by going to his village and helping him defend it to being this irredeemable shrew once she embraces her true identity I.e a goth lesbian ROFLMAO.

Merlin who has also grown in a homophobic society, however was lucky enough to experience a tolerant interpersonal dynamics. His mother and his friend are both aware of his identity and are supportive of him. However unlike Morgana, Merlin chooses to stay in the closet because, he has chosen to focus on his career of being this amazing sorcerer whose job is to enable a king achieve greatness. This parallels a lot of gay people who remain closeted I,e actors, athletes, politicians, even ordinary people who feel coming out will deprive them of opportunities.

To really understand why the tone of merlin tv series changes drastically in seasons 4 and 5 is to understand the primary motivation of our hero and villain.

Merlin character arc is driven by fear. Fear of being found out. Fear of being rejected. Fear of failing his destiny.

Morgana character arc is driven by hate. Hatred of Uther for not acknowledging her and forcing her to supress her true self. Hatred of Camelot for condemning her when she wanted to rebel against a system that vilified her for what she was.

In classic fashion, those who rebel against society meet an untimely end. Morgana just like Sal Mineo's character in the classic heavily gay Sub textual movie "Rebel Without A Cause" is killed off.

Merlin who plays by society’s rule by remaining closeted and denying his true feelings, lives to be an old man full of regret.

In a case of art imitating life, Richard Wilson, the actor who played Gaius, came out in his 80s and said that he regrets hiding all his life because he never got the chance to build a family with someone he loved. I think it’s very bittersweet how he played a role that frequently told Merlin to “be more careful”.

Article: 

���😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[tenspeed]

Spoilers!!!

I literally have to get out my theories! Okay so we have multiple characters experiences dramatic actions that there is no way they did. Lucas with his son, Gwen with selling drugs to students, and Max with killing Safi.

First do I think Max shot her based on the photo? Yes, I say this only because she’s crying. My thoughts are this is a similar situation to having to let Nathan shoot Chloe if you want to save Arcadia.

Whatever Max has done is blurring timelines and realities and if she does not stop I imagine things will only get more out of hand.

I do not think it makes sense to say the history between Max and Chloe if she’s is alive is insurmountable just because that doesn’t really make sense. Life is strange largely felt like their shared story and in a way the entire reason Max even gets her powers back. A huge part of why people wanted more Life is Strange with Max was to have more Chloe also. More of them together even if it followed the comics and the parallel universe plot line.

Does not make sense to say Max was stuck in the past then show her wanting a future with Chloe. Or having Chloe worrying about rewind and then having Max say rewind hasn’t worked since high school?

Anyways the only way this isn’t terrible for Chloe fans and Pricefield fans is if this timeline is the worse one. Which makes sense if the photo we see is part of Max fixing and preserving the timeline she believes to be real.

Also Also like no contact briefly so they have the chance to maybe grow beyond the trauma stuff I can see it. But no contact indefinitely not even a friendship is crazy. Especially to have her be so miserable without her.. if Max is suppose to just let go why do her powers appear only for things like this. Seems the universe is letting her decide if letting go is needed. This would be one hell of a retake exam to still fail on question one.😭

[2dumb2furious]

Very long post and a lot of across the Spiderverse spoilers incoming:

I finally watched across the spider-verse yesterday and I couldn’t stop thinking about the Miles & Gwen and Percy & Annabeth parallels in that movie.

Starting with Gwen and Annabeth because they are not as similar as Miles and Percy but there’s still things to talk about. Gwen being Spiderman ending with her friend dying and getting blamed for it by her dad making her run away reminded me a lot of Annabeth being a demigod ending with monsters attacking her family a lot and getting blamed for it by her dad making her run away. Running away to a place where people have special abilities like you and fitting in and learning about it, thinking you can never go back to where you came from. Both had one of their only friends die (Peter) or at least be dead-adjacent (Thalia) which made them closed off and felt guilty even though it wasn’t their fault. And on a lighter note how Gwen was talking to the Vulture that didn’t belong to her universe and then Miguel just screamed Annabeth to me, like her clear pride that she wasn’t confused actually and knew about the multiverses and was trying to show what she was made off was peak Annabeth to me. Personality wise I just feel like their confidence and maturity for their age due to their experiences are really really similar. Also both of them eventually going back to their dads who have learnt to accept them for their abilities and they decide to make another try.

Miles and Percy have a lot of differences, main ones being their upbringing, school-lives and also Mile’s artistic side and being a bit of a genius (Percy is still really smart though just in a different way). BUT COME ON THEYRE ALSO SUPER SIMILAR!! A kid from New York with got special abilities they can use to defeat monsters. Having to balance being a normal teenager and having to fight monsters with no control over when and where (the school meeting scene in the movie reminded me of Percy so much). Not being able to tell normal people about their abilities. Discovering that there are more people like them with these abilities shortly after discovering said abilities. Finding a new sense of belonging with these people like you but not quite being like them either. Being betrayed by one of the few people you felt close to (Aaron and Luke). Being one of the most powerful of the people like you but still treated like a kid and not being let known as much as you want to know. It turning out you’re actually not meant to be who you are at all (Miles being an anomaly and Percy being a child of a big three despite them having an oath to not have kids). Having a horrible destiny you’re told you can’t do anything about (Percy’s prophecy they thought meant he was going to die and Mile’s canon events). Their loyalty to the people closest to them and their family. Miles in the entire latter of half of the movie screamed Percy. AND THEIR SENSES OF HUMOR!!!! You could give Mile’s jokes to Percy and vice versa and it would sound perfectly in character and they both use it as a way to break the tension and shows the really quick-witted way they look at the world.

Now their dynamic together. They both got that sweet awkward teenagers that care a lot about each other and are clearly in love but won’t admit it. They miss each other a lot and understand each other in a way nobody else does. They trust each other with their lives. Gwen and Annabeth always trusting Miles and Percy despite being hurt and betrayed by others before. Gwen joining the spider-society before Miles and having to keep secrets just like Annabeth has been at camp half-blood for a lot longer than Percy and not being able to tell him everything. Both Gwen and Annabeth are therefore put in a position of more experience and trust from the leaders in juxtaposition to Miles and Percy who know the least out of everyone and is constantly trying to gain the trust Gwen/Annabeth already have. Annabeth and Gwen also know something about Percy and Miles they can’t tell him (Gwen knowing Miles is an anomaly and Annabeth knowing Percy’s prophecy that heavily implies he’s gonna die). Percy and Miles as someone with a good parent/parents talks to Annabeth/Gwen about their dads and they open up about it. The slight jealousy element with Hobie and Gwen reminded me of the jealousy elements within Percabeth, both a tiny bit with Luke but also Rachel if Rachel would’ve been Annabeth’s friend/potential love interest and not Percy’s (the Hobie thing is a bit less intense than the Rachel thing though but still the roles Hobie and Rachel fulfill in regards to the main relationship is similar in that also Rachel was someone for Percy to feel normal around and being in Hobie’s dimension was a place Gwen could stay that wasn’t just headquarters also Rachel and Hobie would get extremely well along you can’t change my mind).

I ALSO NEED TO POINT OUT BECAUSE I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT IT PERCY PRINTING OUT A PICTURE OF ANNABETH TO HAVE IN HIS NOTEBOOK BECAUSE HE MISSES HER IS THE NON-ARTIST EQUIVALENT OF MILES DRAWING A MILLION SKETCHES OF GWEN!!