#holding Xina when she blamed herself for Dana's death etc etc)

[fellhellion]

This part of the editorial from 2099 (pic sourced from this post) is so interesting to me because i don’t even think the idea of Miguel having these kinds of flaws is uninteresting or impossible, but I just personally would never have come to this conclusion just based on the text.

Like, when I personally look at how Miguel and Dana interact, I don’t see any indication that he emotionally condescends to having a relationship with her, when you’d think this strain of elitism should shine through in some part of their relationship at least initially in his arc.

I don’t look at Xina and Miguel’s interactions and interpret any sense him feeling threatened by her intelligence (even if we're just talking purely pre-spidermanning), when you’d think an element of that would be present, even in a flashback. He was a callous dickhead about the cheating explanation, but that alone without some corresponding behaviour to how he speaks to/treats Dana, even just as a flashback, just doesn’t offer the bridging piece to displaying what the authorial intent apparently was, at least for me.

Also, and by god we always come back to Dana’s writing being so damn lazy, but if Miguel - even if only at first - sought Dana out due to the emotional convenience she provided, what has prompted enough change that he is willing to bear and forgive actions like her seeking out the company of the man who drugged him when she wants to needle Miguel.

ALSO. PETER DAVID I AM SPEAKING DIRECTLY INTO YOUR EAR RN. ITS VERY SILLY TO ME TO POINT OUT THE MISOGYNISTIC STREAK INTENDED IN MIGUEL’S ACTIONS HERE BUT THEN LITERALLY JUST NOT BOTHER TO MAKE THE WOMAN THIS IS ABOUT MAKE LIKE. SENSE WHEN YOU WROTE HER. OFFER NO EXPLORATION INTO WHAT HER ACTIONS SPEAK TO IN HER PERSON AND DELVE INTO WHAT CONTRADICTORY ACTS MIGHT TELL US ABOUT HER.

#'a component to miguel's cheating is misogynistic thinking' AND IS THE MISOGYNISTIC THINKING IN THE ROOM WITH US NOW #idk idk...i genuinely have no issue with grappling w this as a character flaw of his i just would never have come to this conclusion on my #own PURELY from how he treated dana and xina. absolute asshole move w how he spoke of the cheating intially to xina #but that alone just makes him an asshole. not someone who felt threatened by her intelligence and THATS the piece that i dont personally se #in the text. #not to mention. the way dana and miguel's relationship is tonally depicted just. speaks of some lvl of sincerity to me. miguel isn't an #overly physically affectionate person and the times he does display that are really interesting (holding Gabriel when the abuse was going o #holding Xina when she blamed herself for Dana's death etc etc) #and then you have the way he holds Dana when he accidentally hits her while hallucinating from the rapture. he calls her lover and honey. #they cuddle in the bath that one time together. he recognises he hasnt been spending enough time w her and went to invite her out because o #it. and yeah. some of these we can absolutely chalk up to the character development hes having at the same time due to spidermanning but #even BEFORE that its like. it feels tonally dissonant to even try read Dana's actions at face value because the narrative doesnt CARE #about them making sense as part of a coherent whole person who thinks and rationalises actions to achieve a certain outcome or satisfy a #desire. it doesnt CARE enough to give her that sadly and so youre just left like. what does this relationship mean to these two characters? #for one party in particular i genuinely have no idea. and i dont know what to infer is the reason for a change from the mentality outlined #as authorial intent. because i didnt get that impression in the first place. #tunes talks 2099 #tunes talks critical #long post