Chapter Text
let’s do this one more time.
gabriel pool was from earth-1218. he was never spider-man, and he likely never would be.
gabriel was from one of the only earths in the multiverse that couldn’t maintain mutant life. those who came had their powers actively dissolve to nothing; those who came watched as their only ticket home was destroyed. superheroes were only works of fiction, claimed entirely by the media, and spider-man was nothing more than a comic book character.
and gabriel, for lack of a better word, was obsessed with spider-man and anything marvel. it wasn’t uncommon for kids his age to be a bit nerdy in regards to superheroes, and nearly everyone who “got into comic books” was just a spider-man fan. he’s a little bit more pretentious.
his favourite characters are speedball and gwenpool – he’s always been intrigued by the idea of isekais, and a canon marvel character who comes from a similar universe? that’s just right up his alley, especially with such a similar last name. he puts a lot of stock into the characters he thinks are similar to him, and having both this and the same birthday as venom makes him embarrassingly happy.
and because he’s… obsessed, he’s spent a lot of time thinking about the new marvel movie. across the spiderverse came out a month ago, and after seeing it a second time, he’s not really spent a lot of time doing anything else. he wrote fanfiction about the characters; he bought spider-punk’s run after years of being on the backburner; he spent money on a costume ; he made a spidersona.
and, yeah, he knows everyone and their mama has a spidersona right now. he knows it’s a popular thing to do, but he’s been meaning to make one for years now, he just forgot. because of that, his spidersona would be seen as unoriginal regardless of what spider he chose. so he played up on that, making such a banal cliche that it became fun to draw. to write about. it was a walking mary sue.
the spidersona went by “g-pool” (and, more hilariously and most commonly, “spideypool”). yeah, they were a gwenpool variant.
he wrote himself in. made a self insert, isekai’d character, completely unoriginal in every way. he wore a pink suit, carried katanas, and had an obnoxiously convoluted backstory to go with it. he was from texas, and got transferred to new york upon his arrival. he didn’t remember how he got there, only that he wasn’t from there. he noticed he had powers far before gwenpool themselves did, but his were of the writing variety. with just a peek up or down, he could see — and alter — the future, plucking words and weaving complex webs of dialogue. he could write himself doing anything. he was a mary sue meta-hero. perfect.
but oh, that was just before he got bit by a radioactive spider. the one from 616B, no less. he came out the other end born anew, with organic webs and sharp fangs. shit, he threw venom in there for good measure, and non-retractable claws he pulled off as acrylics. gabriel was pulling out all the stops.
his spidersuit was generic and made with the obvious carelessness of someone who’s playing up a bit. the suit was pink and white, with brown accents and white, fuzzy leg and arm warmers. he was put there because gabriel couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a self-ship with peter b. parker, and to drive home how perfectly “unique” his character was. he even made his ‘oc’ befriend the spot upon meeting — he knew everything and everyone. connections upon connections.
he liked to claim it was a satirical commentary on spidersonas on the internet, but he spent countless hours picking out the perfect words to describe his character, so. he even wrote a few hundred words of only exposition for his character. he only stuttered when he forgot to put the character’s name.
it took him less than a second to write down “gabriel pool — spideypool!” on the top of his page. he made a little note on the side that said fans of the ship think it’s obnoxious, but that’s what happened with gwenpool too, and he thinks if he ever met a spideypool, he’d laugh his ass off.
he posted his creation online the second he finished it. it was late in the night, completely dark and silent. tiktok was most active now; him posting it and going to sleep would blow it up overnight. maybe his sona would be the next sun-spider.
he clicks the button and runs a hand down his face. he’s exhausted from work today, and spending a few hours of his limited free time on a passion project wasn’t very smart. he sighs and drags himself to bed.
he was out before his head hit the pillow.