Hi! First post, and also first post about Spideyhood, I just had a quick rant when writing a fanfic that I'm working on and just the ship in general (I love this ship I swear).
When writing fanfics one of the last things I want to do is mis-characterize one of the main characters in the fanfic and give them the proper representation they deserve. In doing so, I have been doing a character analysis on both Jason Todd and Peter Parker.
Currently, Jason Todd has been my main focus, and I have been struggling with navigating how he builds relationships with others and how he maintains those relationships.
In most of his runs, you can see him becoming close with many, but in the end, he always ends up alone again. In many scenarios, it seems as though he doesn't care, but his actions prove the opposite. He cares too much but is afraid of betrayal and that lack of control. He is similar to Batman in the aspect that he needs to be in control and would rather end or loosen relationships so he can maintain that control. He wants to be the one in power in those decisions even if it's a form of self-sabotaging.
There is that too. The self-sabotaging, it's a never-ending cycle of grief and pain because he wants to show that he is in pain, and he does in a very dramatic and damaging way, but at the same time is too fearful to lose control, so this causes him to spiral. It does not help with the effects of the Lazarus Pit, while I do not think has as much control on him as I have seen in the fandom, it is still ever present in his identity.
This comes in with the struggle of writing him with Peter. They both have been tormented by their writers (haha lol, but also give them a break), and are very grief-stricken individuals. It would not make do with them getting together immediately; they are both mistrusting from their personal lives, but also their lives as vigilantes. This means that for their relationship to progress it would have to be taken very slowly (slow burn is a definite :( ).
I am never surprised when I see posts bashing the ship, saying they could never work together for a multitude of different reasons. Tonight alone I've seen 2 posts saying that they could never work together for a romantic couple. From these posts I've seen a couple main pointers, the first and main one being Peter's no-kill rule. Yes, this is one of his most significant parts of his identity, however, this does not mean he swears everyone off who doesn't follow his own rule. That is where Batman and Spider-man differ, Peter has never openly expressed that he dislikes another super because they use more extreme methods or bend their moral code slightly when the situation calls for it. Even during his time with Team Red, where he actively works with Deadpool, a very well-known mercenary.
This is why I believe Peter and Jason would work so well together, they both tend to wander towards other competent individuals and would better understand each other's grief. If it was decided for the specific fan-fic to use the MCU Spider-man, he understands what it's like to die, which is an aspect that many cannot relate to Jason in his own universe. He understands what it's like to navigate coming back to a world that moved on without him and having to pick up the remaining pieces he has left.
The second being that self-sabotaging, Jason has been known to do that with many of his relationships, the most being with his family. I have also seen people really take it as far that he does not care for anything especially Post-Lazarus, but that simply cannot be true especially before his death. Being known as the happiest Robin, he was also the most emotional one despite what many believed. This is where others have argued that he shouldn't be in a relationship because he "wouldn't care" or he doesn't "love" anything. In reality, it's the opposite again because he loves too much that's why it's so hard on him every time it happens. Why the betrayals hurt so much, and why the self-sabotaging is devastating to him emotionally.
Now, give or take, the dynamic would have a bit of unhealthy tendencies, especially in the beginning of their relationship. Jason, having been betrayed and a lot of things taken away from him, finally having a chance to have a relationship with no strings attached and only to himself would most definitely be possessive, and probably not in the healthiest way. Same with Peter, as we noticed he tends to need an emotional crutch, not necessarily to do anything except for their presence. Now, this wouldn't lead to possessive behavior like Jason might do, but it would lead to codependency in the relationship. Fortunately, this would only happen in the beginning, both are very competent men, and are self-aware and are very emotionally in tune (even Jason, I've seen too many people think he is emotionally inept). It will be a difficult road for them to stray from these habits, but many forget that they deal with difficulty all the time, this one is emotional instead of physical.
Now, I will end this rant for now. I believe I have already written too much. Overall, these two characters meshing together have been so interesting, and I have loved writing and reading about them. Also, please do not take this post as a bash to other fan-fic writers who may have used head canons or may simply be fanon stereotypes. Lord only knows how many "canon purists" there are these days. I simply wished to rant about the roadblocks I've been having with these two. I love seeing fan art and reading about them. Anyways, I would love to hear people's thoughts, and I hope you guys have a great rest of your day/night! <3
