#though I feel like I've been hint dropping that the id reveal will solve 0 problems so oooo

[punch-love]

you mentioned near-constant-conflict and it just triggered a thought spiral of mine i often go on when i think about spideypool fanfiction that i thought you might be interested in reading or writing your thoughts about (hope you dont mind me rambling in your inbox)

i often seek out fanfiction with lots of conflict in it because im an enemies-to-lovers fan but i feel like a lot of the conflict in spideypool fanfiction often falls flat because either it feels like the author really doesnt WANT conflict (they REALLY just want fluff and they wanna get to it asap) or as soon as the conflict crescendos into the climax, they immediately drop the conflict, and the climax/resolution often becomes just about them having sex and immediately from then is happily ever after. ive been let down by a lot of identity reveal fics where i feel like the reveal should have spiraled into a lot more complicated feelings/conflict/etc due to the set up, just for them to get over it in about a paragraph or two. its what makes you and oprime and a dozen other spideypool authors stick out to me in the sea of the spideypool tag, that you guys dont let me down like that you go heavy on the conflict and keep me engaged

do you have any similar thoughts when reading fanfic that falls flat like that? or have i just been reading a very specific niche looking for a specific thing and im the only one going crazy over it? i feel like ive read hundreds of fics but still havent broadened my horizons enough because im picky idk but some days i feel like enemies to lovers is a rarity in a ship i can only perceive as such meanwhile everyone else is foaming at the mouth to domesticate them

I actually wrote love-punch because I was so dissatisfied by how the idenity reveal was always used as some sort of "fix-it" that absolved all the prior problems in the relationship because Peter was, like, conventionally hot or whatever. It was like the needle that popped the balloon instead of blowing to greater, worse proportions due to all the lies, miscommunication, and manipulation that went into keeping that idenity airtight. I see you. I understand you. We are on the same wave length when it comes to this.

"I feel like enemies to lovers is a rarity in a ship I can only perceive as such, meanwhile everyone else is foaming at the mouth to domesticate them." <- that's exactly it. I think my favorite ending for their relationship is still the end of @primewritessmut's she's not going to die today because it felt so true to character and how a "relationship" between them would realistically function (it wouldn't, without the conflict)

The main draw for me for these two has always been the conflict, so I know exactly what you mean when it comes to reading fic and finding a lot of authors wanting to circumnavigate the conflict or brush it under the rug the moment they start kissing. I am a believer that fanfiction allows people with vastly different interests to explore concepts, and I am okay that people are often very drawn to the idea of them being fluffy/domestic/dating because fanfiction is a fantasy - and a lot of people enjoy that fantasy! I am just not one of those people. I think they should fight forever and ever until the end of time.

re: fanfiction being a fantasy but I think a lot of people see dating as the "end" of tension - everything has been communicated, the sexual (or romantic) feelings have been explored, and now it's just smooth sailing. I think, realistically, that's not really how relationships work but more specifically - I don't think that's how their relationship would work. Wade and Peter canonically destroy everything they love, they walk past the smoldered remains of past relationships and onto the next ad infinitum. I don't think slapping a label on what they are would nullify them in the slightest. I've said it before, but I've never actually written a healthy domestic fic for them in part because I don't find it very interesting, and part because I just don't really see either of them being able to fulfill that fantasy (or necessarily wanting it?)

I think the conflict is the definition of their chemistry, and I think it should always be present, bubbling under the surface. Wade doesn't become less of a shit starter just because he's in love, and Peter doesn't become less of a short fuse just because he's in love, either. Again, fanfiction is really up to personal taste but man, would love if there were more conflict heavy works because it's such a good chance to explore character dynamics/studies and really expand on why these characters are interested in each other in the first place.