#spiderhunter

Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna), Nectariniidae, order Passeriformes, India

Spider-Society #1 (2024)

Just a little thing I wrote. I’m not sure why. Sometimes I just like Spiderhunter a lot as a cute ship. 

“So tell us Jim, what are things like on your world?” Mr Stark said. He and May were leaning on the couch together. “Dr. Strange and I are still working on mapping out as many of the parallel universes and dimensions that we have access to from this one.”

“Yeah tell us all about yourself!” May said, leaning forward excitedly. 

Peter watched the two nervously. Individually his aunt and his mentor could be very intense. Together they were a force to be reckoned with. And he knew that Mr. Stark could sometimes come across as very abrasive. He didn’t want Jim to feel over whelmed. 

“Do you want me to tell you about my world or about me?” Jim asked. He and Peter were sitting next to each other on another couch. Jim had his arm casually over Peter’s shoulders. 

“Your world-” 

“Your self-”

Mr. Stark and May spoke at the same time, then looked at each other and laughed. Jim smiled as well. 

“How about I start with a little bit of both?” Jim said, his smile showed off more of his tusks. He ran his hands through his hair  between his horns as he gathered his thoughts. A move that Peter never failed to find enduring. 

“Well I was primarily raised by my mom. She’s a doctor.” Jim started to explain. 

“What happened to your father?” Mr. Stark asked. May elbowed him, but the question was already out. 

“My dad left us when I was five. Walked out on my birthday.” Jim whispered the last part. Peter knew his dad was a sore subject that he didn’t like bringing up. 

Mr. Stark immediately sat forward. 

“He-he walked out!?” He looked furious. Peter immediately jumped in before he work himself into a real state. 

“Mr. Stark you can’t jump into another dimension just to scold Jim’s dad! You don’t even know if your molecules will remain stable there.”

He sat back with his arms crossed, clearly still annoyed. May put her hand on his arm. 

“Absentee dads are a bit of sore topic around here.” She said. 

“I just don’t know why a person would have a kid if they aren’t planning on actually caring for it! Doing their best to be there for it!”

“Well Tony, it looks like Jim has become a fine hero without his father in his life.”

“Yeah. Actually there is a big lack of supportive father figures in hero work. I wonder if growing up without a dad makes you want to be a hero.” Peter said, deep in thought. “We should text Captain America and his Bucky and ask about their dads!”

“OH that might be a conversation for another time!” May said quickly before either Peter or Mr. Stark went any further. “Please continue Jim.”

“Well when I got to high school, my friend Toby and I were biking to school and we took a short cut through the canals because we were running late. And we found an amulet in a pile of rubble.”

Jim h teld up the Amulet of Daylight. Mr Stark looked at it closely, Peter was sure he was trying to think about power sources or upgrades. 

“The amulet called my name. And it turns out magic exists? That was a bit of a shock.”

Peter laughed. “Yeah same in our universe! I was super surprised when Dr Strange did magic in front of me the first time.”

“I still say that the magic is simply some form of science we don’t understand yet.” Mr. Stark huffed. 

“I should have you talk to Dr Strange next! Maybe you two can compare notes on how magic works in your two worlds!” Peter said excitedly. “Maybe he’ll let me borrow a sling ring and bring it into your world!”

“What’s a sling ring?” Jim asked, turning to face his boyfriend. 

“Its this magical thing that allows you to generate shields and weapons, and even portals.”

“Oh, No way!” Jim shook his head, vehemently. “No portals. Claire was possessed when she used the shadow staff to create a portal.”

“Maybe we can save the magic for another time then.” May said with a strained smile. “Now if you two are done interrupting I am trying to find out more about my nephew’s boyfriend!”

May stared down both Peter and Mr. Stark. They looked away and after a moment of silence Jim cleared his throat then continued. 

“Anyways, i was called to be the Trollhunter. The guardian and protector of all good trolls, sworn to fight any Gummm-gumm that dared show its face.