[ ooc ] [ futurology ] application.

[offkey]

APPLICANT INFO.
NAME: zelly
CONTACT: thwip
CURRENT CHARACTERS: n/a

CHARACTER INFO.
NAME: peter parker aka spider-man
CANON: ultimate spider-man (earth-1610)
AGE: 16
APPEARANCE:
1 (comics) / 2 (pb)

CANON POINT: post-issue 71, ultimate spider-man - 'strange: part 2'; when he just wakes up from his crazy (and haunting) dream, runs back home, and cries

BACKGROUND: wiki history

PERSONALITY:

This version of Peter Parker is not unlike other iterations of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and shares the same basic backbone that sets up the Spider-Man story. He was bitten by a radioactive spider; he acquired spider-powers; he is essentially raised by his aunt and uncle. The death of his uncle Ben and his guilt concerning his murder, of course, is his raison d'etre, and the words 'With great power comes great responsibility' are, in some way, what constantly reminds him of his path and why he must continue to don the mask and help people.

Losing both of his parents and then losing his uncle Ben gives us a clear view of Peter's deep-seeded abandonment issues. It's partially why he keeps to himself, tinkering with little inventions and science experiments in the basement of his Forest Hills house. He mostly keeps people at arm's length, with the exception of his aunt May and his best friend Mary Jane Watson, and only really opens up when he becomes Spider-Man.

In the Ultimate Comics, Peter Parker is exposed to the world of superheroing at the young age of fifteen. Still in high school, he's one of the brightest kids in his year, and it's clear by his constant skipping of classes that while he might be terrible at attendance it certainly doesn't mean he doesn't understand the material. In fact, he angrily tells one of his teachers that he could teach the class if he wanted to. Yes, Peter Parker is confident in his academic level; he absorbs information like a sponge. His conversations with old childhood friend Eddie Brock, currently in college, demonstrate that he can keep up at a higher level of academia; it's just the maturity he's missing. He's a little more of a modern take on the original 616-verse; he's up on his pop culture, makes pop culture references, is still kind of a nerd (he does love his science) but is mostly picked on at school for being something of a quiet, loner-type vs being the poindexter depicted in the older comics.

He has a very deep sense of morality and 'doing what's right - under any circumstance'. Sometimes this leads him to being foolhardy and reckless. He goes up against Wilson Fisk, also known as the 'King Pin', on several occasions without thinking through the strategy because he is blinded by his need to set things right. He believes so hard in justice that he literally has a temper tantrum upon finding out Fisk has been released, despite all of the cold, hard evidence that prove Fisk is guilty of murder, thievery, and a long list of other crimes. His ideals are so important to him that when the reality of the world makes an attempt to shatter his beliefs, it's a real test of his character and heroism. He is shown to react poorly and react in the way that any naive teenager might. He gets upset, he throws a tantrum, he questions why the people around him don't see his point-of-view, and he isn't above shouting about it. He punches Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD, in the face. He eggs on Mafia Bosses, Wilson Fisk and Hammerhead; he doesn't shy away from hitting Jean DeWolffe with the hard questions; he constantly gets fired and re-hired at The Bugle for going up against JJ Jameson in his quest to slander the webslinging hero of New York. Peter Parker doesn't give up. He does become jaded and a little paranoid but he continues, and will continue, to try and see the best in people. It's one of his greatest strengths and also can be one of his greatest weaknesses at the same time.

Being bold and making his voice heard is all pretty easy to do, especially when he's behind the mask, of course. Peter Parker has always held these ideals in his heart but becoming Spider-Man allowed him to really explore what it is to be a hero and begin fixing all of the things wrong with the world. It isn't all fun and games, however. Being Spider-Man goes between being a choice and being a necessity, and he learns that he has to balance his double-life while also sacrificing certain aspects of it. His personal mortality is constantly at risk. Furthermore, he's always afraid for the people around him because they have a tendency to be killed in the cross-fire. He loses both Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn to tragic circumstances related to his costumed identity, and it becomes very hard on him. He's terrified of what he faces every time he goes out - but then he's addicted to the thankless gig anyway. The costume starts to become his crutch, giving him agency to do what he always felt he should do but couldn't find the confidence to while being Peter Parker. The anonymity grants him the chance to be brave and save people, and the 'great responsibility' he feels on his shoulders is a heavy weight. The guilt of having done nothing for his uncle Ben when he could have is a heavy burden he can never get rid of. It keeps him pushing forward, even when it sometimes seems like all of the odds are stacked against him, and it's Spider-Man versus the world. (Seriously, the city of New York is always always pinning the blame on Spidey that it gets to the point where people thanking him makes him deeply, genuinely uncomfortable.)

Speaking of crutches, Peter Parker/Spider-Man often uses humour to lighten a dark situation. Pop culture references, quips, and bad jokes are made throughout every comic issue to entertain readers, sure, but also to mask Spider-Man's fear. There's a lot of self-deprecating humour, too. While Spidey can do amazing things, he actually doesn't have a very high opinion of himself. Where he can do something, he knows he could always do more. Where he saves someone, he tends to lose someone too, and the devastation always seems much greater after Spider-Man's been through it. This starts to weigh on him and often makes him question his role in this bigger, greater system of superheroes. SHIELD, other superheroes, and supervillains all pick on him for being too young, and out of his element, for not being good enough or strong enough. They tell him to go home. They tell him he's not cut out for this gig. The City and the police are always trying to arrest him even when he's literally in the middle of a fight with a baddie. The Bugle's constant barrage of slanderous headlines don't help.

These complaints often make it into Peter's inner and outer monologues. Ask any of Spidey's villains and they'll tell you that Spider-Man talks too much. During battles, Spidey has been known to ramble on about why said villain should stop, why he's had a hard day, or what he wishes he could be doing instead of knocking a bad guy down and saving the city. As Peter, these quips are not as loud, and he seems to be far more withdrawn about his thoughts (the inner monologues don't stop though), but as Spider-Man, there's a kind of performance/showmanship. Spider-Man might be saving people and beating bad guys up, but he does it with a kind of flair and he knows it. When you're swinging around town in red and blue spandex, it's not about keeping a low profile.

In relation to his inner monologues and constant chatter, Peter can also become pretty self-absorbed with his own problems. Spider-Man is kind of known for his periods of 'angst' that it's become something of a meme tbh. When he's dealing with something pretty devastating, it's arguably reasonable for him to feel down and out about it but he often takes it a couple of steps too far. This involves a lot of pity-parties, which lead to him lashing out at someone because he's got way too much pent up emotion, too many secrets, and he's constantly surrounded by Bad News.

In the end, Peter Parker is definitely the kind of guy and the kind of hero you'd want to have on your side. He's fiercely loyal, he has a very good head on his shoulders, and he's determined to see the world in a better light. He tries so hard to help people despite everything horrible that happens to him, and when he loves, he loves deeply. He's the kind of hero people could look up to. He's very honest about his ideals and he won't stop fighting until there's no more breath left in his body. He might still be figuring out what a hero is and how to be one but it's clear that he's got what it takes to be amazing.

ABILITIES:

- Flexibility + Agility: What it says on the box. With very quick reflexes, Spider-Man is able to move at incredible speeds and in combination with his Spidey-sense, this makes him able to dodge attacks pretty well. He's actually pretty acrobatic while he's webslinging through the city like a member of the Cirque de Soleil.

- Super strength: Spider-Man has the proportional strength of a spider! And can lift about 10 tons more his body weight.

- Durability + Fast healing: while he may not have accelerated healing like Wolverine or X-23, he does heal a hell of a lot faster than he used to as a normal human boy. While he might still break a rib or a bone here and there, a few days of rest and he'll be good as new (as long as the bones are properly set!). He might still catch a bad cold, or get sick, but again - a few days of rest and he'll be back to his usual, healthy state.

- Enhanced physiology: composition of skeleton, connective tissue, muscles, nervous system are all enhanced

- Accelerated metabolism: he will eat like a horse, and also be able to metabolize toxins (some poisons, for example), and theoretically: alcohol.

- Heightened sense perception: the five normal, human senses are heightened and strengthened.

- Ability to cling to things (and climb walls, ceilings, anything with a surface): otherwise known as 'wall-crawling'! Peter has the ability to stick to things, with "an upper limit of several tons per finger" (according to Wiki). As a conscious ability, he has control over what he sticks to and when, and if he is forced to unstick to something, then the strength of his ability basically causes the object he is sticking to to literally break off (such as a wall, or somesuch). If he's distracted enough, his ability will fail to keep him adhered to something, and if the surface is too fragile, it is unable to carry his weight. His ability works through his Spidey suit, and while there are several explanations for this, it's hard to tell which one makes the most sense?

It can be said that the tiny course hairs that are very spider-like allow him to 'hook' himself onto objects, and this is the theory I'm going to go with. They're tiny enough that they are almost invisible, and they're course enough to pierce through his costume, which is still a breathable and porous fabric.

- Spider-sense (precognitive sense): giving him the ability to sense things before they happen, it comes in the form of a tingling that starts at the base of his skull but can often shudder through his entire body too. This sense allows him to detect when he's in personal danger, such as when an enemy is about to attack him from behind, or there's a flying car coming right at him and he doesn't see it right away. The severity of his spidey-sense indicates how close in proximity and how dangerous the oncoming assailant is - whether it's a person, monster, or object. As a result, this sense gives Spider-Man the ability to dodge and avoid getting in harm's way, so long as his reflexes are quick enough. (And most of the time, they are.)

*NOTE: I'm completely okay with having any of his spider-abilities powercapped if necessary!

Skills:

- SCIENCE!!1: when he isn't spider-ing, which has become something of a full-time job, it's pretty effortless on Peter's part to do really well in school. He is particularly astute in the sciences, and can very easily follow along at a college level. His particular interests are in biochemistry, a lot like his father.

- engineering: He is also something of an inventor and tinkerer and developed his own webshooters and web fluid. He has a pretty extensive collection of half-finished gadgets and gizmos hidden around his basement from projects he'd started

- web design/coding: probably not the most useful skill to have at the moment, he can code and build websites/databases. He maintains the Bugle's online content and monitors social media. This also means snagging the odd photograph of Spider-Man every now and then when pictures are hard to come by.

- photography: while not as emphasized as his other counterparts, it's clear that while Peter Parker doesn't carry a camera around with him, taking Instagrams wherever he goes, he's still capable of snapping a pretty evocative shot. Often a lot of his Spider-Man photographs are incorporated into The Bugle

INVENTORY:

( 1 ) beat-up, standard camo-green backpack
( 2 ) extra refill cartridges of web fluid (self-made)
( 1 ) civilian outfit, wrinkled and stuffed into his backpack, which includes: plain white t-shirt, large button-down shirt, a pair of dark denim jeans, a pair of navy-blue Converse shoes
( 1 ) Spider-Man costume, with mask
( 2 ) fully-functional webshooters
( 1 ) Spidey-tracker

WRITING SAMPLES.
NETWORK SAMPLE:

okay guys

[ Peter has been reluctant to bring this up, but it's kind of been one of those elephants in the room, and maybe he's the only one who knows or cares but he's gotta bring this up. It's ... kind of been low-key freaking him out.

In fact, it's the reason he's going for the text message versus the video one. Or even the audio one. He's afraid of sounding too ... wigged. ]

quick show of hands (or, i don't know, thumbs up emojis)

who here has had the weird experience of meeting someone who is basically you?

i don't mean like 'oh we're kindred spirits, we have so much in common!'

i mean like

literally

there's this guy who has my name and my aunt and a bunch of other stuff and it's kind of like

okay, so doppelgangers really exist? like really REALLY?

(oh, yeah, if you're reading this: hi peter)

is this just a thing that happens here or am i just special? because, okay, i don't want to sound stupid but this kind of thing always happens to me

(and hey, buddy, i hope you're not evil because that would suck)

LOG SAMPLE: log