#sweet home (2020)

[sweethome-thoughts]

Hyun-Su : I have a problem.

Ui-Myeong : Kill it.

Hyun-Su : Can you chill for like, two seconds?

[sweethome-silly-thoughts]

Lee Eun-Hyeok, Cha Hyun-Su || Friendship Dynamic - (NO MONSTER AU !! In canon Hyun-Su tolerates Eun-Hyeok at best methinks)

Had a dream where they were stuck together in a building and when I tell you it opened my third eye. Insane, sick even, this is an update from the old post I did !!

I always had a hard time writing them because they don't speak much but this time I think I'm onto something ! So yeah, basically, I think even tho their friendship kinda started with not much feelings abt each other, they never really disliked each other

I like to think their first meeting was when Eun-Yoo brought Hyun-Su to her brother in order to bandage and let heal more correctly his wounds, so for Eun-Hyeok he was pretty much just a friend of his sister, didn't think much of him. But also, he noticed his physical health wasn't THAT great, and in a way to thank him for taking Eun-Yoo as a friend, sometimes gave him healthier food, and offered him to stay home when he felt like he was feeling unwell.

They kinda grew on each other because their energy sometimes match, the girls are louder and they'd definitely vibe on the evening drinking hot beverages ! Eun-Hyeok understands Hyun-Su's pain when it comes to family loss, while probably seeing him as stronger than him, I like to imagine Eun-Yoo is what made him keep on going. Knowing Hyun-Su lost even his sister makes him admire his "strength" (especially when he learns what he went through)

He doesn't see him with pity, but more with a doctor's pov ! He offers him some physical health check in once they're close enough, which goes along helping him with a better diet. He's so used to have this "Big bro/parent" role he tends to be like this with Hyun-Su too, slapping a bit his hand when he starts scratching his wounds, offering him to wash his clothes when he's too burned out to do it, stuff like this ! Hyun-Su offers him some kind of emotional support when he's burned out because of the pressure too ! Maybe makes him discover some videogames he thinks he'd like, or listens when he's talking about obscure interests of his (Eun-Hyeok rarely speaks abt things he enjoys tho, I think he can be a bit secretive) ! Eun-Hyeok is also really thankful of Hyun-Su for helping his sister to heal from her own issues (he's not the only one but probably the first !!)

Overall it started pretty awkward, but they soon started to warm up and support each other, they went from cringe silences to comforting silences let's say !!

As always it's a bit messy, they're SOOO hard to write but I definitely think they could have had a pretty nice friendship in a normal scenario !! Eun-Hyeok acting motherly when he's close to people is just sweet to me ok...

[film-in-my-soul]

Review: Sweet Home (2020)

Region: South Korea

Aprox. Length: 08:30:00

Viewing Source: Netflix

Summary: Following the death of his family in an accident, loner Cha Hyun Soo moves to a new apartment. His quiet life is soon disturbed by strange incidents that start occurring in his apartment, and throughout Korea. As people start to turn into monsters, Hyun Soo and the other residents try to survive.

Overall Opinion: I remember when I saw the trailer for Sweet Home and I about lost it with excitement. I’d read the majority of the webtoon (surprisingly up to the point of the season end/webtoon departure) and was overjoyed that it was getting its own show, even if it took me over a year to finally sit down and watch it. Honestly, I’d been worried that there would be too much gore/grossness and I wasn’t ready to potentially subject myself to that. I was pleasantly surprised that there was much less than imagined while the horror atmosphere, monsters, and situation were maintained. Needless to say, I really enjoyed watching Sweet Home and thought it was adapted very well while adding and expanding elements to the original story that helped connect the circumstances happening at Green Home to the world outside.

The casting choice of all characters I found zero problems with and honestly, with the announcements of seasons 2 and 3 I was concerned when we had no information the first day on who would be returning, that Song Kang and Lee Jin Wook might not be coming back. Luckily they both are and my excitement for the next 2 installments knows no bounds.

The main critiques I have for the show are ones that most others seemed to have. Towards the end, as the story focuses on the characters more than the monsters it loses a bit of that nervous anticipation for when something bad might happen and deflates some of the pacing that the first three episodes builds so well. There is also a poor song choice for “action/heroic” moments that hearing the first time literally made me laugh because it immediately broke the scene. Other than that, and a couple noticeable places where shots were lost, there’s very little I can complain about with Sweet Home, especially as a fan of the webtoon.

Technical Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Personal Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

(See under the cut for a deeper analysis/opinions of character/plot/technical aspects. Beware of possible spoilers.)

Main Characters:

(Due to image limits with posts I had to get creative.)

Cha Hyun Soo:

I don’t think there was a better choice of actor to play Hyun-soo. Song Kang embodies this character in a way that deeply speaks to his talents as an actor. For someone who is 6’1,” you can almost never tell unless he’s in a shot directly standing next to another person. Song Kang manages to make Hyun-soo feel small and meek and it’s shockingly impressive. Outside of the acting I just really enjoy Hyun-soo as a character and wish we’d gotten to spend a bit more time building him up and seeing his growth. In particular, I love the scenes in the first few episodes where he’s attempting to and does save the kids, though I wish they’d been able to contrast it more with scenes of him actively avoiding interactions with people in the building, more than the few that we got, especially when his character in the webtoon is built up as a much more cowardly person, making his choice to leave his room and save the kids more impactful.

Hyun-soo is a damaged character who, at his core, still wants to do good, even if it’s not for himself and I think it translates strongly in the show. It feels constantly as though he’s trying to make himself useful or make amends for his past and Song Kang’s performance embodies those ideas and makes you truly sympathize with Hyun-soo as you learn about why he is the way that he is.

Pyeon Sang Wook:

Talk about a switch up from the webtoon. Sang-wook was one of the most obvious changes from the source material and I’m actually really okay with how they did it. It takes Sang-wook’s original character from being a thuggish, but well-meaning ex-police officer and really adds a layer of depth to him. He’s still the same rough-around-the-edges guy from the webtoon but far more stoic and mysterious and it makes him an interesting character to follow. We, like Jae-heon, are able to see the intentions behind his actions and Lee Jin-wook really sells this imposing but damaged man who you want to understand more. I think sometimes it can get a bit silly the way he presents as an almost neutral, numb tank for a good portion of the show, and would have liked a bit set up with him that could explain his lack of physical reactions (you know when he takes a set of teeth to the shoulder or a hammer to the back of his skull), but those are minor things I’m able to overlook.

Seo Yi Kyung (1st):

As the only main character who was not originally in the webtoon, I thought that Yi-kyung was a fantastic addition to the Green Home residents and brought a lot to the table story and character-wise. She really takes on the traits of nobility and command that Sang-wook lost in his rewrite and I think that’s one of the main reasons she works so well. I also really like that they were able to use her as a means of integrating the much larger story of what is happening with the monsterization into the Green Home setting. Aside from being a badass, Yi-kyung is the other side of the coin that Eun-hyuk is on and their interactions are great. She’s someone who on the surface you would assume might take charge immediately, and she presents herself that way, but at the end of the day, she can’t or won’t make the hard choices, revealing a complex weakness to her that all our main characters seem to have. Yi-kyun is well written and interesting and I’m looking forward to where season 2 will take her.

Lee Eun Hyuk (2nd):

Some people (my brother) might find issues with Eun-hyuk’s seemingly unphased and too quick acceptance that the world is ending, and I can see where that might be the case, especially if you don’t have any context from the webtoon. However, I think that his character is still effective without the setup that the comic allows. He’s established as a smart, hardworking, and slightly nagging older brother who seeks control over his life and the safety of his sister, I see that all reflected back in the choices that he makes. Eun-hyuk is also one of my favorite characters because of his complexity, he is both leader and coward, villain and hero and he’s actively making the choices for that to happen. Eun-hyuk is so aware that someone needs to make the hard choices, the ones no one else wants or can make and he does it. He takes the brunt of the resident's displeasure and anger onto himself in order to ensure that they’re safest. He’s unwilling to admit, at least in the first half, that he’s wrong, or that other choices, not only to keep them alive but to keep them human, are possible and it’s so satisfying to see him subtly shift to where it’s not just survival that matters but the people as well.

Jung Jae Heon (3rd):

Jae-heon is a character I really like. Even though he’s very religious he’s a badass and like he says in the first episode he’s “not a missionary.” He 100% gives off cool Sunday school teacher vibes, except he has a sword and a bit of a death wish. He lends himself as the moral grounding for a few of the characters and his interactions with Sang-wook are by far some of the more interesting ones as their characters are, on the surface, fundamentally different. There are also moments where we see his struggles and though he’s like Eun-hyuk in the way he doesn’t emote too much regarding the situation, we have those scenes to show us he is affected and it helps to build his character. His death also served so many purposes in the show and did a good job of not feeling cheap even though you don’t want it to happen. We were lulled into a false sense of security that, since they saved Grandpa, they might save him as well and it is crushing to watch him die so heroically.

Lee Eun Yoo (4th):

Out of all the characters who have impact and screen time, Eun-yoo is probably my least favorite. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the acting as I think Go Min-si is very talented and did a fantastic job in the role. I simply don’t enjoy characters like Eun-yoo very much, ones who are antagonistic almost simply for the sake of being that way. That being said, as a character she is used effectively and her actions and reactions (while I might dislike them) work within the circumstances the show sets up. She's established as a character with an attitude, someone who has been done wrong by the universe, more so than just her busted ankle, and what Eun-yoo does is cope with that by lashing out. Most of the time what she says is right and I can't argue with her words, just her delivery. I also really like the moment she has with Hyun-soo when she asks about his scar/pain, telling him that if he's being hurt he needs to yell about it and make it clear, before putting a bandage on his scars. I thought it was a really great character moment for her. There is also the scene when she's cleaning the blood off herself in, I believe, episode 3. It's a really nice way to establish some of her internal state of being and I just wish we'd seen more moments where her overly attitudinal facade dropped under the pressure of the situation. It would have probably made me like her more.

Yoon Ji Su (1st):

Even with Ji-su's character cut a lot compared to the role she played in the webtoon, I still really enjoyed the character in Sweet Home. I wish we'd gotten to see her have more moments in the latter half of the show, as opposed to being nerfed by sudden appendicitis, but I appreciate the use of her condition as a change in the overarching plot. Due to less screen time, there's a distinct lack of depth to her beyond what we get in the first half of the season. I would have liked it if we could have seen her raction after Jae-heon's death and spent time with her processing it. Ji-su's character revolves around her not wanting to let people in because of her boyfriend's suicide and then accepting that she needs to connect with others again only to have one of the first people she connects with at Green Home be taken away. It could have been a powerful acting moment for Park Gyu-young but there was just not enough screen time to go around.

Park Yu Ri (2nd):

Yu-ri, regardless of what MyDramaList has her marked as, is far more a side character to me than a main one. I wish we'd gotten to know more about her outside of the fact she's a hospice nurse for Gil-seop and has asthma. A lot of what circles around Yu-ri is used to affect other characters rather than herself. However! This is not the case in the last few episodes where we get a moment between her and Sang-wook, on her death bed, as she is expressing her fear that the last thing she'll have done is kill a human. I really like this moment and wish we'd gotten more of this in the earlier sections once she joined the other survivors. When she continues to try and help Sang-wook, regardless of him being a murderer and dangerous, it helps to establish that at her core she's a healer. Yu-ri also plays off Gil-seop a lot and I enjoy the overall tone of her character but just wish we'd gotten more of it.

Ahn Gil Seop (3rd):

Gil-seop was one of my favorite characters in the webtoon and I really loved Kim Kap-soo's portrayal of the character. He's arguably the one character who brings a bit of light into every scene he's a part of and it adds a dash of levity to the harsher moments that surround them. One of the biggest shocks for me, as a reader of the original media, was that they chose to retcon his original death, but in the context of the rewrite, it was done near perfectly and made sense. Ultimately, Gil-seop is a great character who shakes up the serious atmosphere of the show with his refusal to face death with anything but a smile and willing acceptance. He wants to go out as a hero and he manages to do just that. His new death is a bit anticlimactic but still satisfying.

Han Du Sik (4th):

I'm sure you're getting tired of my saying "I loved this character" but I really did. Du-sik, for me, is an interesting character and I wish they'd been able to incorporate the relationship he and Hyun-soo had in the webtoon a bit more into the season because I think their dynamic is really good. That being said, what we do get still manages to make sense and have the impact needed to tug on our heartstrings in the final episode when he sacrifices himself to protect the human part of Hyun-soo. I also like the small moment we get between him and Ms. Ahn in the early episodes before she monsterizes, it's a touching moment that lets us know more about them as characters. Another thing I appreciate about Du-sik is that his disability doesn't necessarily impede his strength, he's an innovator and engineer, using his skill and smarts to protect those around him and it makes him so unique to the others.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Side Characters:

(Due to the level of side characters I’ve chosen to omit a few.)

Kim Seok Hyun (1st):

As a minor antagonist, Seok-hyun is solid. He's the stereotypical complaining ahjussi that a lot of kdramas tend to have. They give us a human who is more of a constant in the main group that we can collectively dislike. Is he over the top sometimes with his reactions? Yes, but when you're used to the kdrama formula it's not as jarring as it could be. I wish we'd gotten more of his transition into monsterization, even just a cut back to him starting the transformation, but we mostly just get him bleeding more and maybe going a bit crazy. He's effective in what his character is meant to be and the simplicity of that is solid.

Ahn Sun Young (2nd):

Sun-young is a character that is handled fairly well to me. She's a woman who is beaten down and needs to find her own strength within the new reality she's a part of and it's tragic that she never truly gets to make it there but I think that keeps her interesting. She's not magically a different person once she kills her monster husband and the fact that she's one of the first people to offer apologies to Hyun-soo is really touching. One of her best scenes is the moment after she's done killing Seok-hyun and I think it was fantastic. She has to face his last words, an apology you can tell she was never expecting, and it's such a complex wave of emotions that actress Kim Hyun really sells.

Cha Jin Ok (3rd):

Ma'am... I understand you are desperate to get to your daughter, and your main character trait is "upper-class" karen-esc mother, but christ, could you not try to get everyone killed in the process? She's another one of the characters I don't enjoy watching because she's the human who does the dumb things in the apocalypse shows/movies. I understand why she's doing what she's doing and you can heavily sympathize with her plight, but she's frustrating to watch until later on when she becomes more of a background character. Her moment of breaking down and blaming Eun-hyuk is very well done as well as her moment with the kids as they mutually grieve their loved ones.

Im Myung Sook (4th):

Myung-sook is, in the grand scheme of the plot, a very minor character, but she's unique and I really liked the tone of a grieving mother that Lee Bong-ryun infuses into her. Myung-sook embodies a selfless but broken woman and for how long she was active in the series I enjoyed the performance a lot.

Choi Yoon Jae (1st):

I can't even call Choi Yoo Jae a full antagonist, because really, he's only a villain directly to Sang-wook. There were only a few moments I thought he might be a danger to the other residents but overall he was effectively creepy but also very obviously a not-good guy from the get-go. I have no problem with a transparent character and even though you can read that he's some kind of psycho a mile away it works to make the audience both curious and unnerved. It's also very satisfying to see Sang-wook bash his face in with the hammer.

Kim Su Yeong/Kim Yeong Su (2nd):

As children actors I thought they did a pretty decent job, the little girl far more than the boy, but you could argue that their age difference makes up for the descrepency in acting ability. Regardless I think they both played their roles well. My only problems surrounding them as characters have more to do with the scenes they're written in as opposed to anything they or their characters do. It would have been a bit more interesting if I felt like at any point they were in real danger, even with Su-yeong being grabbed up by the spider monster, because it would add another layer of genuine anxiety to the situation at Green Home.

Jung Ui-Myeong (3rd):

As a last-minute final boss, Ui-Myeong is underutilized in my opinion. I wish there had been more lead-up to him betraying Hyun-soo, even if the audience knows it's inevitable. I also wish their final battle had been able to go on longer as well. Criticisms aside, I like that they don't immediately draw attention to him being a special infected and while we have it, the dynamics between him and Hyun-soo are interesting. Ui-Myeong operates mostly as the devil on Hyun-soo's shoulder, and while I know that logistically they couldn't twist the plot to make it work, I think it would have been very interesting if they could have had him introduced before Hyun-soo chooses to no longer hide in the arcade and join the group more fully. It could have added an additional struggle for Hyun-soo to work through. I'm looking forward to seeing if he actually is now in Sang-wook's body or not and how he'll be potentially incorporated into the next season.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Story/Plot:

I won't say that the story of Sweet Home is anything revolutionary. Stripping away from the interesting monster element, it is essentially a zombie/survivor show with a twist. Where I think it excels is having Hyun-soo as a protagonist as well as the assortment of fundamentally different side characters and focusing on how they play off one another. Investment in Hyun-soo's story and the mystery of the "infection" is what really propels the audience's interest in the show and I think the pacing is handled in a way that even at the slower moments you're able to sit through them in order to get to the next part.

Including Yi-kyung's backstory in the overarching plot was one of the smartest choices that the writers did when incorporating her character into the pre-existing story. They are able to bring in the larger scale monsterization of Korea back to the situation happening at Green Home and sets up a season 2 and the possible situation they might be facing. It will be fascinating to see the new problems our characters will have to survive going forward and I think broadening the scope of the story outside of the Green Home apartments will the preconceived notions we all have about what exactly is going on in the world of Sweet Home.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Technical/Visual Execution:

The visuals, outside my love for the characters, are what really steals the show for me. There's something almost 80s horror movie-inspired about the design of the monsters and the way they move with a slight stop motion quality is something I really loved. You can argue that the singular montage shot of the monsters outside Green Home in, what I believe, is episode 1, is silly as hell, and it is, but I just love how it's done. The whole show is stylized and fun to watch. The opening scene is also just a fantastic cold open, from the blurry white contrasted with the black of the army trucks, it's visually striking and immediately catches your attention.

The execution of the nose bleed effect was something I found done exceptionally well. My brother and I literally had to do research in order to see if we could get to the bottom of how they turned people's noses into fountains and ultimately, though we can't find direct confirmation, it seems like it was achieved by running a tube into the actor's nose and then green screening it out in post-production. It's an amazing visual that adds a layer of reality to the viewing experience because it's done almost completely with practical effects.

I only have three real critiques with the production of Sweet Home and even then, I'm mostly nitpicking. An average viewer might not notice or have absolutely no problem with them.

The choice of "Warriors" by Imagine Dragons was not it. When it's just the instrumental it works but God when the lyrics kicked on my first viewing I literally burst out laughing. It immediately kills the tension of the scene as Eun-hyuk fights the vampire monster. It also doesn't feel properly mixed into the scene and left me feeling confused over the choice.

The transition from human to monster is often clunky and could have been solved by mixing CG over practical effects. This is most noticeable in the lotus head monster's transformation. It's the fakest of the CG effects in the whole show for me but thankfully doesn't linger too long.

There are two very obvious moments where shots were missing or cut. The first is when Hyun-soo first comes out of his apartment after the monsters start showing up. There is a highly notable continuity error as we see him, clean of blood, walk into the hall, and then the shot cuts to Sang-wook coming down the stairs. When we cut back to Hyun-soo he's suddenly smeared with blood. My thought is that Song Kang may have fallen during takes and they didn't have time or money to redo it sans blood. The second time is arguably the most problematic. When Sang-wook drags Yoon-jae's dead body out into the tubes we don't see any indication that he's bringing the bodies of the soldier and Jin-ok's daughter back but it's clear when he's limping to the front of the building that he's dragging something behind him but the shot immediately, without cutting, shows him trying to pull down the fence and then fainting. We don't see anyone bring their bodies in after that and it left me confused when they were suddenly in the lobby. I know what they were going for but for me, it was very clunky.

Rating: ★★★★☆

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Thank you so much for reading!

[pink-key]

@ninathekillerzblog khkhkh I am glad you like my Nina, I like violent little girls i suppose, khkhkhh

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[bl-bam-beyond]

RESTART AFTER COME BACK HOME (2020, JAPAN)

Kozuka Mitsuomi (FURUKAWA YUKI) comes homes after 10 years and quitting his job due to his a**hole boss and meets farmboy Kumai Yamato (RYUSEI RYO)

Becoming fast friends and working together bring the two closer and Mitsuomi develops feelings for Yamato. Confessing them while on a trip together to discover Yamato's beginnings as a child abandoned on a park bench.

Yamato at first seemingly afraid to love asks for time. But in a moment of happiness Yamato kisses Mitsuomi.

[moonlightfilly]

undefined

Happy Halloween! | horror mix

[starscelly]

Hey, if you’ve never heard it before, I think you should google “Tyler Seguin show theme song”

oh i have most Definitely heard that before! i tried to have my phone play part of that every time the battery went to 91% but it ended up being too long/annoying lol. if you (like anyone else reading this) havent listened to the actual tyler seguin show on the ticket i'd really recommend it!! its like a mini interview every week (ish) during the season and sometimes theyre boring as hell i cant lie but sometimes you get really good quotes out of it like this and this etc etc

[altruistic-meme]

ugh. have i ever complained here about how much i hate making resumes? bc i really truly do. 

[sweethome-thoughts]

Hyun-Su : I fell-

Eun-Yoo : From heaven?

Hyun-Su : No, I literally fell—

Eun-Yoo : In love with me the moment you saw me?

Hyun-Su : MY ARM IS BROKEN!

Eun-Yoo : Okay, but do you think I'm pretty? Be honest.

[duranduratulsa]

Now showing on DuranDuranTulsa's Television 📺 Showcase...The Walking Dead: Home Sweet Home (2021) on Netflix #tv #television #horror #drama #TheWalkingDead #homesweethome #nightofthelivingdead #georgeromero #ripgeorgeromero #Zombies #2020s #Netflix #durandurantulsa #durandurantulsastelevisionshowcase

[film-in-my-soul]

Drafts Update

Oop, we're almost out of the double digits for the requests I've had since December! Gonna try and get 2-3 more fics done today and will decide if I want to post bonus fics next week since I've already completed the two I'd planned on.

Hint, the 3rd fic would be a The Guest fic for Hwa Pyung and Choi Yoon if that would interesting anyone 👀👀👀

Then I'll probably spend tomorrow working on prepping 2-3 smaller reviews, since (spoiler) my Sweet Home review took a full day and a half to finish since there's so many side characters TT^TT

[asw-studios]

Still Life and Eggs | Pencil Drawing | Spring 2020

[wetpapert0wel]

fucking finally the grumps are adding the game titles & numbers back to their videos.

[mo0nfairy]

ᥫ᭡ . # ۫ , ⸺ THIS IS A LIFE, PART ONE !

summary :: in every universe, spiderman will inevitably lose the one thing that matters most to him: y/n l/n. miguel o'hara, peter parker, and hobie brown have all suffered through this story. they soon discover another version of you is alive, bound to fall in love with miles morales and to die abruptly. with the prospect of a second chance and a newfound obsession, these four men will do anything to keep you at their side.

chapters :: the masterlist.

word count :: 7.5k

content warnings :: yandere!miguel, yandere!miles, yandere!noir, yandere!hobie, reader death, gore/violence, murder, electrocution, fire, guns, alcohol, cigarettes, suicidal tendencies, kidnapping, stalking, physical restraint, child abuse/neglect, allusions to a child's death, physically abusive ex-boyfriend, infidelity, & torture.

──── October 17th, 2099 — Miguel O'Hara remembers the day the same way he will never forget you. August 24th, 1934 — Peter Parker remembers the day the same way he will never forget you. July 3rd, 2020 — Hobie Brown remembers the day the same way he will never forget you.

Y/N L/N. Miguel O'Hara, Peter Parker, and Hobie Brown will never forget them the same way they will never forget how it felt to lose them.

The inevitable fate of your demise is a cannon event for all spider-people. To love this person with every shred of their being only to live the rest of their lives without them; to love this person with all the might their body can contain only to let go of their hand in the end. It crushes their soul. Countless people are forced to live with the consequences of being bitten by a spider, not one had suspected it would be so detrimental.

Not when it is your life that has been taken.

Written in the stars is this destiny. How they will never love another again, but vow to be a hero and refrain a similar fate from falling onto anyone else. Many have been able to crawl out of the bottomless pit that is grief, but others have succumbed to the unforgiving anguish and let their life escape them. Just the way yours had. After all, what is life if you are not present? What is the point of living if there is no one there to patch up their scars and praise them for their heroic acts? There is no point, which leaves these three particular spider-people here. Their body is stuck in the past, reliving each moment with you up until they lost you forever.

October 17th, 2099. It was all his fault. Maybe if he hadn't let his violent tendencies toward anyone who isn't you slip through the seams, maybe if he had been more persistent in his reminders of how loved you are. Maybe if he had tried harder, Miguel O'Hara would still have you here at his side.

Miguel's attempts to make this sudden transition in your life as easy as possible turned out to be disastrous. He is not stupid; he knows this upbringing into this new lifestyle you claim to be "kidnapping" was blunt. He knew this, yet still, his plans on easing you through this change had collapsed right before him. Time had passed, and he naively assumed your fear had depleted, far too caught up in the sheer delight that came from holding you in his arms. Days and nights spent trailing his fingers down the expanse of your skin and kissing away the bruises his fangs had left upon your lips. This is a dream, Miguel always catches himself thinking.

And his sweet daughter, Gabriella. How she adored you so much. Even more so than her own father, he often joked. Coming home to find you both brushing the hair of her numerous dolls, baking treats that were rich with far too much sugar, or fast asleep on the couch while some whiny kids show plays on the television. His heart hammers like a fluttering hummingbird at the sight of you so soft and calm with his daughter. However, your guard then builds itself back up, brick-by-brick, faster than a gust of wind when he makes his presence known. In a way, Miguel found himself... jealous of Gabriella. That gentle and loving nature of yours, why couldn't he have it for himself? Why couldn't you give him some of that attention, even just a blink? What could that crybaby brat possibly have done to deserve such an amazing thing!?

No matter what kind of thoughts suffocate his mind, Miguel always tried to keep himself composed in front of you. With his tall, muscular physique, it makes sense why you are so intimidated by his appearance. If he were to ever let this satiating envy bleed through the bandaids, however, you'd certainly never open your heart to him. The prospect alone makes his chest tighten with dread.

And he had been so negligent towards his daughter, it only makes sense why she would turn to you. With how breathtaking, elegant, brilliant, electrifying you are, Miguel can understand why she loves you so much. Still, this does not refrain him from tightening his jaw whenever his daughter does something as trivial as hug you. That should be me with Y/N. Let me hold them, let me hold them, let me hold them like that.

It's his fault he had so frivolously expressed his envy through sharp gazes, a towering frame, and muffled shouts through the thin walls. It's his fault he never assured you these ugly emotions were never your fault, since you could never do any wrong in his eyes, after all. It's his fault he didn't drown you in even more heaps of affection, to further remind you of just how much he needs you.

It is his fault you are dead.

Overcome with drowsiness, Miguel heedlessly packs his daughters lunch for school that day. Despite how you are usually the one who does this task, since you have always adored looking after the little one, you needed your rest. And he was insistent on treating you with even more intensive care, all to prove that he is the right one for you. No one else. Meanwhile, Gabriella sits at the kitchen table with her backpack on, swinging her short legs back and forth. She is bright with full energy that contradicts her father's state in a comical manner.

"Y/N/N always cuts my food into cool shapes! Yesterday, they made my sandwich star-shaped!" Gabriella exclaims to her father with admiration.

The mere mention of your name from someone else makes Miguel freeze. A sudden surge of anger wraps around his lungs like a sheen layer of morning dew resting on Spring grass. You treat her with such attentive care, why can't he get any of that? What is so special about her that he doesn't have? What does he need to change about himself in order to get you to love him the way you so fatuously love her? Miguel casts his gaze across the counter and finds several bottles of cleaning products you must have forgotten to put away. So endearing, so adorable. An idea then sparks. While Gabriella continues to babble about how cool and amazing you are, Miguel finds himself considering something he will never be able to take back.

Just a dash of some drain cleaner in her sandwich and this problem will fade away.

"Y/N/N!" The sound of your nickname shouts through the air upon your arrival. Gabriella is more than elated to greet you, but your eyes remain locked on Miguel. In other circumstances, he'd be thanking the heavens above for this bit of attention you have given him. At this moment, however, there is a disturbed gleam of horror in your expression that makes his stomach twist with apprehension.

The energy is not directed towards Gabriella, as you caress her cheek and gift her that smile of yours that rivals sunlight. Miguel inadvertently rolls his eyes at the sight, envious as ever. As she continues to ramble to you about her success at a recent soccer game, you retrieve all the cleaning products and return them to their respective place underneath the sink. Not without shooting a burning glare at Miguel, however. Had he made his intentions that obvious? You wave him aside from his stance at the pink, glittery lunchbox and he obeys. Pretending to finish up his original efforts, you examine every snack inside for anything this crazed man may have tampered with.

"Good morning, button..." The nervous tremble in Miguel's voice doesn't tarnish the sheer adoration that seeps from his tone.

Your short response of "'morning" could barely be heard over the thunderous sound of his heart shattering. Yet again, you have broken his heart. And still, he will crawl back to you every time, aching for any inkling of your regard. Soon, you're saying your goodbyes to Gabriella and wishing her a wonderful day at school. Planting a quick peck to her cheek, Miguel's talons grow and dig crevices into the steering wheel while he waits for his daughter to join him in the vehicle. Oh, if only you could give him the same act of affection, he would never ask the universe for anything ever again.

And if only he had known how the rest of the morning would play out, he never would have left the house.

When Miguel finally pulls out of the driveway, giving you a quick wave that is not reciprocated, you let your guard down. You almost watched this man murder his daughter. Tears begin to form in your eyes as the revelation simmers like boiling water. With more time here, who knows what lengths he'll travel to?

Fortunately for you, with how occupied he was with his daughter and his own inner turmoil, he had entirely forgotten to lock the door to his office. The one place neither you nor his daughter were allowed to venture into. You were unaware of what is within the room or how anything inside could aid you in your attempts to escape. What you were aware of, however, is how paranoid he was in his efforts to keep you out of there. Peeling back the curtain and taking a fearful glance out the window, just to ensure this psychopath who claimed to be your soulmate wasn't lurking, you embark on your journey into uncharted territory.

Miguel had mentioned several times in his late-night talks with you about his job at Alchemax. His boring explanations about the technology he was working on there did wonders in lulling you to sleep. Now, seeing the scatterings of machinery that littered the room made you gasp from their futuristic appearance. One contraption had caught your attention, however. It seemed to be a current project, evident in the numerous tools and papers inked with equations littered around. Upon stepping closer to the contraption, a holographic screen sputters to life. You find several distorted, glitching files that all attain to you in some shape or form. Y/N's wish list, Y/N's checking account, and Y/N's security camera footage. Curiosity does spark, but with how swiftly Miguel is able to drop his daughter off and speed home to return to you, the time you had was not versatile.

If I can piece together how this gadget works, I may be able to call for help and get Gabriella and I as far away from this man as possible, you think to yourself.

The machine continues to stammer pathetically as if it were desperately chasing its own life. Trying to peruse through the technology to find anything useful, its poor performance prevented you from any fruition. In a fit of frustration, you pull your hand back and deliver a harsh smack! to the side of the machine. With how little time you have, you can feel your opportunity for freedom begin to fade away with every glitch that erupts. With one final, violent slam to the machinery, the metal borders protecting the numerous open wires inside fall, and a sudden wave of electricity surges through you. Your entire body goes rigid before you splat harshly against the ground. You are now left entirely lifeless, except for the electric shocks that cause your stiff form to twitch in response.

With that, your life was over. October 17th, 2099 — the day Miguel O'Hara inevitably lost the only thing that ever mattered to him.

August 24th, 1934. It was all his fault. Maybe if he had stayed with you more and neglected the city, maybe if he hadn't been so careless with expressing his love for you. Maybe if he had tried harder, Peter Parker would still have you here at his side.

Peter, too, attempted vigorously to make your transition to this new life with him as smooth as possible. At the very beginning of this new adjustment, hope had still plagued your mind. As days turned into weeks, soon months, the forest fire that was your persistence had slowly been snuffed out like an old candle. Now, all you can do is sit at the window seat of his apartment and just pray that someone will recognize your face. From the numerous missing persons' posters that were now left behind in dumpsters and rain puddles, you could feel your luck grow thin. Everyday looked like this, all with this lovesick maniac at your beck-and-call, deluded enough to believe this fantasy of being your doting partner to be reality. The amount of egg-creams you've drank is bound to make you vomit at some point.

At the end of the day, you had gotten what you had wished for. You were once a journalist, putting all your time into unmasking the famous Spiderman. The truth of his identity was now in the palm of your hands. However, there were far more consequences to this wish than you had originally anticipated. And Peter is overcome with guilt when he thinks back to how disastrous his efforts to give you his heart turned out.

It's his fault he had so carelessly exposed his acts of heroism through the stench of gunpowder and chunks of blood beneath his fingernails. It's his fault he didn't spend more time showering you in the affection you truly deserved. It's his fault he never assured you the inevitable fate of the bastards that hurt you was never your fault, just so you can realize that everything he does, no matter how calamitous, was all for your benefit.

It is his fault you are dead.

Slow dancing with you in the gentle haze of the moonlight peaking through the window, swaying along to some romantic melody echoing from the saloon across the street, amorous words that you'd hear from the lips of a poet whispered into your ear — this is where heaven is. This is all that he has ever dreamed of; this is all he has ever wanted for the two of you. This is what makes him happy.

"My heart is bleeding in your hands, dollface. It's all yours, I'm all yours." Peter's breath tickles your neck, the infatuation-stained harangue finally coming to an end as he continues to sway you along to the harmonies outside.

You often joke to yourself that you could stab Peter in the heart, give him even just a sliver of the turmoil he has forced into your life, and he would still give you a smile with blood painting his teeth and that revolting gleam of pure, unadulterated devotion in his eyes. With this devotion, however, comes dark, dark side effects. This was not a surprise to you, considering how you've been locked up like a bad dog for these past several months. Still, when you inhale and the sharp odor of iron poorly masked with bleach overwhelms your senses, you find yourself taken aback.

The clamoring sound of the bolts to your prison cell your captor claims to be your love den being unlocked brings you out of your thoughts. When the door opens and Peter walks in, all you see is a euphoric, hopelessly-besotted partner. With the sudden stench that is still heavy in the air, however, you feel a new, sudden sense of dread with his presence. He is elated to see you, as he always is. An impassioned kiss to your lips and an ardent compliment are essential to your everyday encounter with the man you thought once to be a superhero. Sometimes, a gift of fresh, blood-red roses may accompany him in his attempts to woo you further, as well.

Through the whiff of cigarettes sitting on his trench coat when he envelops you in a much-needed embrace after his long day of work, you sense something else. The tang you had inhaled from outside the bedroom is now stuck to his form, nestled beneath the aroma of late-night brume and smoke. You force a gag down your throat and reciprocate the affection, trying to push your suspicions to the back burner in your mind. The rest of the evening is like any other: listening to some tunes from the radio as the two of you play a card game, all that Peter deems as a "romantic date". Your winning strike against him (he always lets you win, but he won't tell you this) falters when your brain can't help but wonder what he was so occupied with outside that door.

As devastating and exhausting as the truth is, coming to terms with reality is the only chance you have of returning to the life you once had. Hoping he'll wake from his delusions and let you off your leash is nothing more than a pipe dream, you realize. If you want freedom, you'll have to take it by the neck and claim it as yours. So, as the hours of the night fade into dawn, you conjure a plan in your head while the man beside you snores in a deep slumber (not without a few sleepy mumbles of flattery for you, though).

The scheme you had so flawlessly crafted was quick, simple, and easy. You would do something you have never done before: initiate affection with Peter.

This was your ploy: fulfill all the fantasies his lovesick brain was infested with and watch with a newfound sense of hope as he forgets to lock the door, too dazed from the pleasure your sweet attitude had brought him. And it worked marvelously. Not only did this man forget to lock the bedroom door, he had entirely forgotten to lock the front door of the apartment altogether. The prospect of this mistake being a test of your loyalty lingers, but when you watch through the window as he swings away from building to building, you let out a roar of laughter.

After your fit of hysterics, a smile sits on your face as you tread to the front door. Something stops you in your tracks when your hand hovers over the doorknob. When you leave, you will have nothing but months of memories to defend yourself with. Who are the authorities going to believe — you, a mischievous journalist, prone to bending the rules for a good headline, or Peter, the famous superhero, notorious for his restless efforts to save the city? Despite the freedom you have dreamed of being right in your palms, you step away from the door. Instead, you look around for any evidence deemed beneficial. Whatever can put him under the negative limelight is satisfactory to you.

No stone was left unturned in the apartment, all besides a single door at the end of a long corridor. The night before, Peter had been so frantic with his time inside (all in order to get back to you sooner) that he was sloppy with his efforts in cleaning his mess. The spilled bleach he had accidentally knocked over was still lying in a puddle; the nauseating scent of fresh blood still satiated through the air like a fragrance. And lastly, the latch on the door had been left unlocked.

Without so much as a second thought, you enter the room and let your curious eyes soak in the sheer horror that resides within.

A metal chair rests in the middle of the room, leather straps tightened around a body that sits motionless. Two tables are located on the sides of the room where all sorts of gut-wrenching tools reside. And there is blood everywhere. What was once a second bedroom for buyers of the apartment has now been morphed into a torture chamber of sorts.

The person restrained in the chair, you weren't sure if they were even alive. Everything is drowned in so much heaps of red, attempting to use your mere first-aid knowledge is impossible. What is most perceptible, however, is the way their eye had been forcefully torn from its socket. It resembles a runny egg how it causes bodily fluids to cascade down their face. The amount of flesh on their body that had been torn asunder, the gag in their mouth that was oozing with tears and saliva, the gushing blood that continues to hastily seep from infected wounds. Everything makes your eyes blur and your stomach churn with nauseau.

With the career you once had as a journalist, you've seen some disgusting sights. Sneaking onto crime scenes from a brawly saloon fight gone too far or snapping pictures of the result of Spiderman's "heroic" acts to save citizens, you've become desensitized to gory scenes. But, this. This wasn't like anything you have ever seen.

"Y/N?" You hadn't realized how deafening the silence was until the poor victim is able to speak out.

With one eye practically staring daggers into you, the revelation hits you like a train. That voice, that eye. This is no other than the man you had called your boyfriend before this mess had snuck into your life. Or, ex-boyfriend, as you'd prefer to refer to him as. The status of your relationship was left a mystery after the night he had come to your home drunk and reeking of someone's perfume. Your insistent demands for him to sober up and inform you of his recent whereabouts earned you a harsh slap across the face. With a loud shout of how much of a “shitty partner” and "piece of cityside trash" you are, the person you thought to be the love of your life storms out of your home. Never to be seen again.

Hastily, you unclasp the restraints that left his skin numb and bruised. With how malnourished he had become from his time spent here, it was fairly easy to support his weight. You swing his battered arm around your shoulder and help him stand on his emaciated legs. After only two steps, he pushes you off of him harshly with what little strength his body was able to garner. His attempts served well, as you feel your stomach hit a table adorned with blood-stained utensils that make you sick to imagine how they were used.

"You... How could you...?" As his weak voice fills the air, you feel your stomach fold into itself. Does he think you did this?

Opening your mouth to begin stammering your way through what you intended to be a thorough explanation, a loud bang! then pervades the air. Without a second to process his actions, the man grasped the pistol left on the table and pulled the trigger. A stream of smoke now stems from the barrel. The betrayal, the aversion, and the debility in his expression tell you everything you need to know. You were so close to the finish line that would grant you freedom, but when you shift your gaze down, you're devastated to find a bullet hole protruding through your chest. You then slump to the ground and your killer falls not long after you, the act of merely standing too much for his abused body.

With that, your life was over. August 24th, 1934 — the day Peter Parker inevitably lost the only thing that ever mattered to him.

July 3rd, 2020. It was all his fault. Maybe if he had been more attentive to your safety, maybe if he hadn't exposed how soul-crushing the love he has for you is. Maybe if he had tried harder, Hobie Brown would still have you here at his side.

As opposed to the others, Hobie did little to ease you into this new life with him. The transition was curt, violent. With you as a bartender, drunken customers are most certainly not a rare sight. However, when you rejected a man who had one too many drinks and he reacted with violence, it caught you off-guard. And Hobie, the lead singer of the band that consistently played at your bar, had become blind with rage. Through the mess of the blood on your head when the beer bottle shattered against you and the apple-red matter staining Hobie's guitar as he smashes it relentlessly into the man's skull, these events somehow landed you where you are now.

An abandoned building on the outskirts of town, that's where you had woken up. The debris around the room was masked with string lights and band posters adorning the walls, as well as a rickety bed frame scarcely supporting a lone mattress. With bleary vision and an even fuzzier head, you gain consciousness abruptly. You find yourself on the bed with thick, itchy blankets draped around you, clothes that certainly do not belong to you on your body, and spiky belts used to restrain your limbs. Barbed wires and decaying planks of wood board the windows; the lack of passing cars and loud pedestrians outside cause you to worry about how far you are from the lively city you called home.

A lanky figure makes their presence known, dressed in those all-too-familiar garbs. Spider-Punk, the man you'd always see performing at your penurious bar, despite how widespread their band was. Much to your shock, his large hand finds the trim of his mask before tearing the garment off. Beneath is a gorgeous face embellished with piercings and a wild head full of hair. Large, wet eyes overwhelm you. And there is only one discernible trait you could read clearly through his expression: desire.

The way your plump body pools from the hems of the small clothing he dressed you in from his closet, fuck. Hobie has thought of this moment plenty of times — finally being able to take you away, just the two of you. He swore up and down he'd keep his fervid cravings at bay. But, when you're truly here in front of him, looking like that. He has to dig his long nails into his palms to physically restrain himself from lunging for you like a feral animal in heat. God, you look too fucking good.

From here on out, the relationship you have with Hobie sprouted into something only you would call treacherous, something only he would call rapturous. Being trapped within the small expanse of this grimy room, your new life has shown how perceptibly different your reactions are from one another. You are entirely dumbfounded at these new circumstances you've been forcefully thrust into. Meanwhile, Hobie attempts to put space between you both to avoid giving into his irresistible hunger. Though, it doesn't take a genius to notice how his hands always find their way to your naked skin and how his eyes linger on the intimate parts of your body. And it most certainly doesn't take a genius to notice the sheer terror and confusion stuck to your expression.

The discomfort the residence brings does little to ease you, as well. How your body is restricted against the firm mattress has your limbs aching with cramps. Your neck throbs from no support, considering the lack of pillows. But, Hobie always remarked that his chest is more comfortable to lay on, anyway. His clothing reeks of alcohol from the numerous bars and parties he’s attended, but also from the expensive perfumes, lotions, as well as the skin and hair products he received from his time being a runway model. The scent now clinging to your skin fails to bring you any of the tranquility he wished you would feel. Meals shared between you two were often dowsed in grease and cheap in flavor. Your captor never put much effort into making your dinnertime together anything reminiscent of a romantic date in Italy or something along those themes. He would much rather eat something else for dinner, after all.

This is what life looked like for the next several months. Records spinning and filling the air with headache-inducing songs he says he had written about you; Polaroid pictures scattered around the room that display different variations of the same scene: you sitting pretty with Hobie's hands and lips all over you. Never, never, has this man ever felt so much bliss in his entire life. He has always preached about how the idea of "love" is nothing more than propaganda meant to earn greedy, capitalistic companies more money with their cheesy movies and Valentine's Day garbage. When you entered his life in all your glory, however, he was ashamed to put his pride aside and admit those irritating pop songs may have been correct.

"I don’t need nothin’ else. 'Long as I have you here, birdie." He fidgets with the necklace he had given you that was currently draped upon your neck. His lucky guitar chip is swung upon the chain, since it always belonged to you, anyway. You will always be his muse.

With how carelessly he let himself be swathed in the warm blankets of love, how carelessly Hobie had let you slip from his fingertips.

It's his fault he had so frivolously expressed his protective nature through blood-stained bar floors and constricting arms encompassing your body. It's his fault he never assured you these conflicts weren’t your fault, it was only the monsters outside who wished to separate true love. It's his fault he had disciplined himself so heavily for his big heart, fearful of losing self-control with the love of his life.

It is his fault you are dead.

You regret not tallying the days you've spent locked up in this birdcage. Carving lines into the deteriorating walls to represent the slashes this new life has left in your sanity. It feels as if lifetimes have tread by you, the same day repeating itself like your own personal nightmare. Mere months have gone by and unbeknownst to you, the sweet escape you so despairingly crave is sitting upon the horizon. The circumstances of your freedom were the absolute last thing you had wished for, however.

Hobie’s history of being a heartthrob and heartbreaker were no secret to you, but his newfound loyalty to the innocent person he had taken from their previous life was even more evident. All the possessive, delusional fans that were convinced they'd marry their favorite singer, it was just so easy for Hobie to indulge in some casual fun before leaving them behind in his dust. As the story of all Spider-People goes, however, Y/N L/N is the tool that throws this man into a whirlpool of enamoring disarray. Embracing this newfound happiness was exhilarating for him, but Hobie was so dazed from it, he never had thought that karma would slither itself between you two.

A certain groupie, wholly convinced she and Spider-Punk are soulmates, was devastated to see how carelessly the love of her life abandoned her. Her mind had sprinted to all sorts of gut-wrenching conclusions. Am I not enough? Is he moving on? Is there someone else? Her worst nightmare materializes into reality when she stalks behind his tall figure and follows him to a building one late night, an odd pep in his step as he enters. What she assumes is just another exclusive club location with more taboo forms of partying, she is left stunned when she catches sight of what sights lie within.

The man of her dreams is found in the depths of infidelity. Through the crack of a rickety door coated with locks, there he was. Chest pressed against the back of someone else, who was sound asleep beneath an array of blankets like a baby in a crib. With his arms locked around them like a lifeline, Spider-Punk presses long, intimate kisses to their face. The words she had begged to hear from him, he was so frivolously drowning this stranger in such, despite their unconscious state. Every syllable was dripping with lust and smitten-induced hysteria. Tears brim in her eyes from how desperately she covets to be you in this moment.

With a shattered heart and a festering rage, she comes to the conclusion of what she must do. She will take him back, no matter what it takes.

Rarely did Hobie ever leave the expanse of your room, he wanted to stay with you forever. When he did, however, it was for some quick cash at yet another gig he and his bandmates had landed. Singing his lungs out, knowing every lyric revolves around the one waiting for him back home — you have brought him ecstasy he still cannot fathom the sheer weight of. A Friday night like no other, Hobie would spend the evening beneath the blinding spotlights, drinking the hours away, before returning home and cuddling with the only reason he chooses to live.

Through the barricaded windows and doors, a sudden stench of what appears to be smoke invades your senses. A big city like this, something along these lines is nothing out of the ordinary. After all, you were so thrilled to finally be granted a night to yourself, anything that would jeopardize this gift from the universe is seen as insignificant. When the heavy smell becomes more perceptible and the unmistakable sound of fire cracking gets louder, you feel dread tickle down your spine. The fear settles into your bones before you can think of a logical way to escape. Hobie did everything to ensure you wouldn’t leave his side, after all.

Air soon becomes precious, your lungs begin to squeeze, your skin is burning with scorching pain. It brings you the hell you had carelessly thought you felt before. A final cry of help into the suffocating air and you feel your life begin to fade. Meanwhile, the lost groupie stands near the entrance, holding back a satisfied smile. An onslaught of concerned pedestrians and firefighters accompany her. And Hobie was still far away, alcohol heavy in his system and the joy of returning to you seeping through his body like a drug. So blissfully unaware of what awaits him when he comes back to the place he had called home only with you.

With that, your life was over. July 3rd, 2020 — the day Hobie Brown inevitably lost the only thing that ever mattered to him.

The effects your departure has left on these men are all nothing short of disastrous. No longer do they have the vibrant, loving souls they once held. Day by day, they are dragging the dead carcass that is their own body, suffering through every second and hoping it will be their last. The paths your death have led these three are unique from one another, but they all find themselves in one specific space. Spider-HQ, within Nueva York on Earth-928. The story the multiverse has written for them had so selfishly taken their happiness away from them. Taking the pen for themselves and creating the most beautiful fairytale where you are alive and back in their embrace is the only purpose they now have.

Now, Miguel O'Hara stands at the office he earned from becoming the leader of this society. Upon the various monitors displayed around him are scenes taken from numerous different universes. Lethargy sits like bags of bricks beneath his eyes, slowly blinking as he ensures no minor mistake is present. If the multiverse were to crumble, his sole objection to save the only important person in Spiderman's life will fall with it. When he verifies all is well on Earth-1610, something perceptible then catches his gaze and he does a double-take. Any sign of fatigue within him is snatched out of his body, leaving him more awake than ever before.

Within this universe, Miguel finds you.

Before, these universes have only displayed the effects your death has left on all the spider-people. Today, however, is the first time he has seen you alive since the day he lost you. Lyla snickers and accuses him of having a cute, teenage-like crush when she takes notice of the sheer captivation in his expression. Little does she know how much history lies in your mere face. It is heart-crushing, how much the simple sight of you enjoying a cup of coffee (with one too many sugars, as he knows you've always preferred) has such catastrophic effects on him.

Piles of schoolwork are scattered around your desk, covered in information adhering to your current college major. Even with your lack of sleep, school-induced annoyance, and general exhaustion over everything in your life, Miguel has never seen something quite as breathtaking as you in this moment. An epiphany sprouts in his brain as quickly as the sight of you caused his soul to blossom, just like it did all those years ago.

Maybe he can stop it. Maybe he can get you back.

Your death is inevitable, and even though Miguel was aware of this, dread still pervades his stomach at the prospect and churns with his breakfast. What really makes him shudder is when he reads through the cannon events assigned to you. A flare of jealousy ignites within him when he finds an unfamiliar name in the midst of your story.

Miles Morales, the Spiderman you are meant to fall in love with. What good is he? He's just some stupid kid, what more could he possibly do that Miguel can't? Why would you choose this loser when he can give you everything you have ever wanted!? In a sudden fit of rage, he grasps hold of whatever matter was closest to him and uses all the strength within his muscular arms to hurl it across the room. His chest heaves with infuriated huffs; his claws slice into the meat of his palms. He is enraged, yes, but he is mostly devastated that the beautiful face on his screen will soon meet their inescapable demise.

Not only will he do everything in his power to stop your death, but Miguel also vows to put his blood, sweat, and tears into ensuring you do not fall for this boy. Additionally, he will formulate a plan to bring you back into his arms without destroying the multiverse as a whole. With that being said, this does not change how reality on Earth-1610 continues to play out in front of him. It’s like a television show; a show he'd give a 1-star rating out of sheer pettiness.

In his last year of high school, Miles Morales' life was thrown into a tornado when his parents enrolled him in a new school to finish his last semester. And the 18-year-old boy absolutely dreaded this. New people, new location, new clothes that poke and jut at his skin uncomfortably. With the hefty responsibility of being Brooklyn's sole hero and hiding this truth from his loved ones, this sudden alteration in his environment does not relieve any stress. Swiftly, Miles conjures a plan to convince his parents to send him back to the way his life once was. Slack off, play dumb, and bring home report cards that are absolutely atrocious and his parents will have no choice but to give their son what he wants.

However, this is not what happened. Much to Miles' dismay, the grand idea his parents had was to not let him continue his education comfortably. Instead, they hired a tutor to aid him through his final months of high school.

Rio and Jeff had invited this tutor for dinner at their home, which Miles had flaked on entirely. Mostly due to his duty as Spiderman, but partially from how sour he was about the state of affairs. When he returned home, their anger was practically palpable. However, this disappointment soon shifted into a long, insufferable tangent about how marvelously smart, mannerly, and kind this tutor was and how embarrassed they were because of him. That Saturday, he was expected to join this tutor in the school's library or his parents may consider grounding him once again. Miles has to refrain from rolling his eyes at their never-ending lecture.

March 11th, 2023. It will be all his fault. This day is the day Miles Morales will inevitably meet the only thing that will ever matter to him.

To earn some extra support through your time in college, you had decided to take up tutoring in your free time. The myriad of students you had met all possessed the same attitude — the kind of attitude you'd expect from teenagers whose parents forced them to do schoolwork in their free time. Miles fit this category well, at first. And how your situation developed, it was oddly refreshing to finally meet someone who isn't repudiating every second with you.

15 minutes late, open backpack spilling with paper, tie loose around his neck, the student most certainly made his presence known when he stumbled into the silent library. Attempting to fix his untied shoelaces, you rush over to help him and save him from any further embarrassment he was already enduring. You are able to catch the folder that had tumbled out of his bag before it hit the ground, to where he mumbles a quick "thanks" in response. His gaze is still locked to the strings of his shoes he was attempting to tie together as swiftly as possible. Nearly tripping, Miles makes it to the table you had once organized thoroughly, but was now cluttered with everything this boy had thrown onto the surface.

Oblivious to you, the boy whose parents described as having a "heart of gold," was doing everything in his power to appear as rude and ill-mannered as possible. Deliberately arriving late, making a fool of the two of you, messing up the neat array of lesson plans and pencils you arranged. Anything to convince his parents to send him away from the nightmare that is this school. This plan of his was seized from his mind like a rug pulled out beneath his feet when he finally turns his shoulder and shifts his attention to you. What Miles expected would be the slowest, drawn-out hour he's ever experienced would actually be the most exciting, life-beaming 60 minutes he’s ever experienced.

Your voice sounds like honey as you introduce yourself to him. And that heart-stuttering smile of yours works wonders on him. Miles had already known your name, but hearing it from your mouth made him think he was listening to a symphony of angels. Since the last few stages of high school are stressful for everyone, you decided to cut him some slack and offer a kind hand for him to shake. All thoughts of his old school and the comfort it brought are all eradicated as he stares into your soul with those wide, bambi-brown eyes. After months in this new environment, you must be a gift the universe sent to compensate for all the misery he has endured. And fervently, Miles accepts you as the best gift he has ever received.

"I'm Spiderman." His mouth moves before his brain can compute. Your brows furrow in response, scrutinizing the confession for some sort of punchline.

“I mean- shit, uh… I mean, I’m Miles... You-You know, like- kilometers, yards, feet. Except, it's Miles this time... Y-... Y'know?"

His relentless stammering to try and prove himself worthy of your time while also acknowledging he accidentally told you his deepest secret earns him a quick giggle. And the sound bouncing from your lips is nothing short of paradisiacal, especially when he is the cause. A sudden wave of silence then rests between you both. You, laughing nervously to lighten the awkward tension. Miles, entirely flabbergasted at how he could have ever wanted to miss out on something as profoundly magnificent as this. His mind runs rampant while his wide eyes remain locked on your averting ones. Do it, do it, do it. Just do it already, Miles!

He pulls his hands up, your eyebrows furrowing once more trying to consider his intentions. He then lands his touch upon your shoulder.

"Hey..." Miles' voice drops several octaves, a fiddly excuse of a smirk forms on his lips, and he squints his twitching eyes that still hold the same crazed wonder they've had since they first landed on you.

"Hi...?" Your response expresses nothing but sheer confusion, not your face burning from the attention like Miles had initially strived for.

Wrapping your hand around his, your mere physical touch sends flares of electricity down his skin. Goosebumps bloom across his arms and his entire body halts in place, tense with shock and nerves. In an attempt to forcefully remove his hold on you, you're startled to find how he is now stuck to your hand. As if he had lathered his hand in heaps of glue before touching you, the efforts you took to get this boy off of you only resulted in your skin painfully stretching.

So enveloped in the way his heart lurches from holding your hand, a sudden, hushed whimper of "you're hurting me!" and Miles feels a gasp involuntarily escape his throat. Attempting to pull away from you, as much as he wishes not to, only intensifies your pain. What had Peter told him to do when this happened? Oh yeah, just relax! But, how on Earth can he possibly relax when your hand is in his!? 

People are staring, exclaiming in annoyed distress over their interrupted study time. You're trying to piece together how Miles had managed to cement his hand to yours and why he refuses to let go of you. Meanwhile, Miles is apologizing profusely for inadvertently harming you, while also soaking in how rhapsodic it is to have your hand in his. He knows he has fully fallen into oblivion when the prospect of letting go of you hurts him more than the relentless pull and twist of his flesh.

So much for first impressions, right?

⁺ 🎧 , 🪷 you are currently listening to . . . ⁺ 🪺 , 🎵 ꪆ

❝ MANY LIVES THAT COULD HAVE

BEEN ENTANGLED FOR ETERNITY . . . ❞

gif credits :: miguel, miles, peter, & hobie.

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