thinking about ned leeds tonight
thinking about how he is protective and loyal and kind and flawed, and always tries to do what’s best, what’s right
thinking about how much he loves peter parker; how proud he was to be his best friend even before he knew about the spider-man stuff
thinking about how he asked peter 2 about his best friend, because surely in no other conceivable universe is there a peter parker who is not best friends with ned leeds, and this is finally his chance to know for sure
thinking about how broken he looks when instead, he hears a tale of betrayal and heartbreak and death, not knowing that some other version of him is not the perpetrator, and that maybe the real actual magic he just discovered within himself is what causes his downfall; maybe he is not luke but anakin, and that terrifies him
thinking about the sheer determination in his voice when moments later, he pledges to remain good and loyal and true to the friend he treasures so dearly, because the multiverse is based on choices and in this universe he chooses to be good, to be luke, to become the best version of himself despite what the future may have in mind for him, because he is ned fucking leeds and he can do anything he sets his mind to, including defying destiny