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It all began by scrolling on Twitter.
That never ends well.
Peter was a part of Generation Z. Most typically known as the generation raised on devices and also for eating tide pods that one time... That's besides the point though.
Chronically online became a popular term used to describe a pleathera of people. People that spend their time, rather chronically, on the interwebs. Sometimes this can be used to describe someone who is so sucked into the internet, they wouldn't know how to interact outside of it.
These behaviors are often seen in another Gen Z term: Internet Trolls.
These are people who constantly go online behind their Internet persona to belittle people. It ranges from racist shitheads to homophobic bigots and everything in between. One of the most popular things that trolls love to do is to insult people. And if they can't make a dent with the person's personality or quirks, they often go after the person's looks.
Peter was used to people saying things about Spider-Man that actually have logical thought behind it. Things like the damages he caused, or the times he took risks that others wouldn't have taken. The attacks about being a "menace" might sting, but they never made him feel sick with himself. Being a vigilante with a secret identity was bound to cause conflict.
He hadn't interacted with a troll like the ones mentioned prior before. The ones that attack based on body and features.
Spider-Man was trending on Twitter, and Peter imagined it was probably over the usual stuff. Maybe the photo of him saving a puppy got posted, or his pride parade speech went viral again. You never really know when it comes to the internet.
He was too busy to really take a look into it, so he went about his day as normally as he would any other.
It wasn't until Ned and MJ were watching him warrily he realized that something was up. Every time his fingers graced his phone screen they seemed to immediately stiffen. Ned, Peter wasn't shocked. He was a flurry of emotion any day. MJ though? He was confused.
"Is there a reason you both are acting so weird?" Peter finally snapped. Ned had started stammering compliments to Peter after Peter mentioned his current struggles with acne. The response was so loud compared to the rest of their conversation that it gave Peter whiplash.
Both Ned and MJ shared a look. MJ actually outstretched her hand, almost as to hold Peter's but quickly retracted. She cleared her throat awkwardly.
"We just are worried about you." She said. Peter quirked an eyebrow in confusion.
"Uhhh I'm just as traumatized as I was yesterday? I don't know why you're walking on eggshells today."
"You are taking this surprisingly well." MJ mused.
"I mean, it sucks, but I've learned to live with it."
"People have spoken about you like this before?!" Ned yelped in shock. A few people from different lunch tables glared at him. Peter immediately shushed him.
"What do you mean? Who's talking about me?" Peter whisper-yelled. At that moment, it clicked for both MJ and Ned.
MJ diverted her gaze and quickly began reading her book that she always carried in her tote bag. Ned just gawked at Peter.
"Ned, MJ? Are you going to explain this?" Peter asked expectantly.
Ned opened his mouth and MJ promptly slammed her hand over it without even taking her eyes off of the page.
"Guys!" Peter was adamant at getting answers, but obviously his friends didn't want him to know. His phone dinged and he saw it was a Twitter notification, someone had liked his memes.
Ned's eyebrows rose as soon as he saw what caused the notification. Peter's sensitive hearing could literally hear Ned's heartbeat going faster and faster.
"Wait, Spider-Man was trending on Twitter." Peter started putting the pieces together and he saw Ned's face grow more concerned. MJ bit her lip but remained quiet.
"Dude, it's really nothing. Don't check it. Please." Ned pleaded. Peter ignored him and started going on his account.
"When people say it's nothing, it's usually something." Peter said and froze as the Tweets his friends tried to hide from him appeared on screen.
The Tweet thread was undoubtedly the cruelest thing someone has ever said in regards to Peter's body.
"Listen, I know we all have different opinions on the way Spider-Man does his crime-fighting. Let's just ignore that for now and discuss the elephant in the room. He's gained a lot of fat, his moves are getting sloppy, and that doesn't even cover the fact he's so short."
"I agree. His body is soft with baby fat all over. Where's the superhero muscle?! Honestly, I'd be embarrassed to be an Avenger if every other guy is practically a body builder and I was a slug."
"Looks like someone's been eating too many churros..."
"And the hips? Bro what kind of man has girly hips like those?"
"I doubt he's attractive and yet he STILL walks around in a skin-tight suit. The children don't need to be seeing that."
"My kids know not to dress in immodest outfits like that. Looks like Spidey just wants attention."
"At least when the other Avengers dress like sluts they don't look like that."
"#bringbackspideysoldsuit"
Peter blinked at the screen. He had no words.
"I don't get it." Peter mumbled "There's nothing ugly or wrong about being fat. Not to mention that I'm a normal size for a kid my age."
"Exactly." MJ slammed her book down on the table and glowered at Peter's phone "Plus size, skinny, and everything in between is beautiful. Those bastards just want to give us insecurities so they can sell stupid diet pills."
"They're probably old white ladies laughing at minion memes on Facebook in their free time. Don't let them bring you down." Ned said kindly.
"Trust me, I could care less. They're just idiots online." Peter said and turned his phone off. MJ and Ned looked relieved.
Peter handled the hate in the same manner for two more days. However, with hate like that someone's resolve only lasts for so long.
It wasn't letting up. People were drawing "fanart" of what they imagined Spider-Man to look like without his suit. Lots of people drew caricatures of him eating multiple boxes of pizza, or sprinkling unflattering acne on his face.
His scrolling on Twitter became an obsession. People on News outlets were even getting involved!
Someone even leaked a photo of his hands from the one time he took off his gloves so he wouldn't get Cheeto dust on them. People everywhere were mocking how small and weak they looked, and how they could only imagine the ugliness of the person connected to them.
Everywhere he looked, people were making fun of Spider-Man for his height, his freaking bone structure, his voice, his size, and for some reason the way he breathed???
"I had an ex that breathed like Spider-Man does when he gets out of breath. Not going to say anything but... I'm telling you, you can rate the attractiveness of a person from their breathing alone."
He was a punching bag to the public eye. And anytime Flash or anyone teased him about his looks in real life it felt like the hate on his persona was true.
Tony watched sadly as his kid kept scrolling on social media mindlessly. He wasn't the best at these types of conversations, he didn't usually have an issue with hate comments.
By that he means yes he does receive them, he just rarely cares because, and quote: "Those bitches just wish they could have a sliver of my life."
He says this along with other things that will not be repeated to keep this PG.
But Peter? He was an insecure teenager in highschool. It's hard enough for kids without having the public eye constantly on them.
"Hey Pete," Tony said warily as he grabbed a plate of cheese and crackers "You want a snack?"
"Uh, I'm good Mr. Stark. But thanks." Peter said and continued reading. Tony noticed how Peter started pinching his jawline, and how his legs kept bouncing aimlessly.
"I want biceps." Peter told Tony. Tony stared at Peter's arm in confusion.
"Kid, you have biceps. We all have biceps."
"Yeah I know, but I want them to look tough. Muscular. Manly."
"They do look like that though?" Tony was confused. Honestly, the whole Twitter fiasco had confused him. Not only was the public bodyshaming and sexualizing a minor, their comments were flat out not true? At least when Tony insulted someone he had the decency to fact-check it, and not base it off of something so vain like weight.
"Maybe I should do some more weight training." Peter murmured to no one in particular.
"You already go out on patrol everyday and do weekly training sessions with the others. That's more than enough exercise."
"Obviously it's not. Thor literally looks like he was sculpted by Michaelangelo and I'm over here looking like a slug."
"One, Thor is a literal God from another world. Two, you do not look like a slug. Do I need to remind you of all the interns on the other floor that keep begging me to get them your number?"
"It's because you're close to me."
"You and I both know that's not true. The other interns hate me because of how "obnoxious'' I am."
"Sure." Peter slumped down on the couch, curled up in a sad little ball. Tony wanted to slap some sense into him. To make him realize that it didn't matter what someone said on Twitter!
He knew that Peter was different from him in this department. Where Tony laughs and shrugs off hate, Peter internalizes it.
"I'm gonna go workout." Peter sounded empty. Tony wanted nothing more than to slap the shit out of all of those anonymous Twitter users.
"What do you want for dinner later?" Tony asked. He knew that Peter's metabolism was going to be tiring him out after a workout. Peter looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Chicken, no spices in it though. And white rice." He hummed. A cheese cracker fell out of Tony's mouth in horror. Not again.
"You do know there are more flavorful ways to be healthy, right?" Tony wasn't the best chef by any means, but he even knew that was a sad sounding meal.
"Maybe, but I need to get fit quick."
"You are perfectly healthy--"
"Bye Mr. Stark!" Peter shouted and ran off before he could be lectured again. Tony ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
Looks like he needed to get reinforcements.
When Peter returned to the living room, sweaty and exhausted, he saw Pepper standing beside Tony with her arms crossed. It looked like she meant business. Peter gulped.
"Uh, good afternoon?" He squeaked out. Pepper pointed to the couch in front of her.
"Sit."
"Ok!" Peter quickly complied. He felt like he was about to be scolded.
"You are banned from the internet." Pepper said and grabbed Peter's phone from his shorts pocket before he could even react.
"Did I do something wrong?" Peter asked, blinking wildly in confusion. Pepper shook her head gently.
"Friday, pull up Peter's gym stats in the past few days." She asked. Tony saw Peter stiffen immediately with something akin to shame.
"Mr. Parker has been spending at least 3.5 hours in the gym daily for three days in a row. From a medical scan I can see his muscles are beginning to tear from overuse."
Silence followed and all Peter could do was laugh awkwardly.
"They say exercise is healthy, right?" Peter asked with an awkward smile. Pepper sighed and kneeled in front of him.
"Yes, exercise is healthy. It can help with your blood pressure, heart rate, give you more energy, etc. But that is in moderation." She told him.
"Peter, you've only eaten bland chicken and white rice ever since this whole thing happened. That isn't moderation, it's a borderline obsession." Tony commented. Peter looked away in shame.
"I don't have an eating disorder, if that's what you're worried about." Peter said quietly. Pepper put a hand on his knee sympathetically.
"We know, sweetie. Although you do know this could become one, right? And even if it doesn't, doing these things from an insecurity is still very dangerous." She told him.
"Pete, it's great to want to exercise or eat healthy if you are doing it for yourself. But you aren't doing it to empower yourself. You're doing it to try to fit into the molds society wants to put you in." Tony said.
"You've allowed these idiots on Twitter to steal your joy and try to control you. You obviously aren't happy."
Peter started to tear up, he clenched his hands at his side. He refused to face either of his parental figures as he tried to explain his mind.
"How could I be happy if I look like this?" He asked. Peppers grip on him tightened and Tony's heart was breaking.
"Peter, please look at me." Pepper pleaded. Peter tried to avoid her gaze, but eventually gave in. Pepper held a hand to his cheek and swiped a tear away.
"You have beautiful brown eyes. They look like specks of gold in the light. You have the most adorable nose and your lips are the most perfect pink. You are a handsome young man and everyone that sees you knows it."
"Not everyone, apparently." Peter huffed. Pepper smiled sadly.
"They can't say much, given that they can't even see your face. You have spent so long over analyzing your body that you look at the tiniest flawed details rather than the beautiful big picture."
Tony walked to the coffee table and pulled something out of a box. He handed Peter a car engine he was working on and brandished the wires towards him.
"If you focus on this one part of my invention it looks like scraps from a landfill. Useless and unappealing. But when it's out together with the rest of the car, it's going to be worth millions." Tony explained.
"What we're saying Peter, is that if you hunt for a tiny flaw you're always going to find one. And you'll let that one flaw eat you up inside until you can't see any good in your body."
"And your body is good. It's a freaking miracle. You are able to convert food into an energy, pump blood through your viens, and do all kinds of things. That doesn't even include the Spider-Man parts!"
"You guys don't get it," Peter choked out "You both always look so perfect without even trying."
"Even with my so called 'perfect' body I still have insecurities." Pepper said. Peter stared at her like he saw a ghost.
"What? How?! You look like a goddess!" Peter asked in shock.
"Why thank you," Pepper giggled then turned the comment back to Peter "I could say something similar about you. Tony and I see you as incredibly handsome and we don't understand why you are insecure."
"Hey! No fair! Using my own words against me like that is rude." Peter huffed. Pepper and Tony laughed and sat on opposite sides beside Peter. Tony slung an arm over Peter's shoulders in the way a father would as Pepper held Peter's hand like a mother would.
"You're so smart, yet so dumb." Tony sighed and ruffled Peter's hair.
"Ow!" Peter swatted Tony away which only made his parental figures laugh some more. After a few moments of contemplation, Peter looked to the right to look at Tony with wide eyes. "Can I have some ice cream."
"Of course kid, you deserve all the ice cream in the world."
The following week, the Avengers publish an article in a popular magazine. In it, Natasha is pictured with dark eyebags and scars she's gotten from battles. Scars that most makeup crews would demand she cover with foundation.
Bruce and Tony were pictured with their aging faces in their natural glory. Wrinkles, blemishes, gray hairs and all are emphasized rather than Photoshopped out.
Bucky shows off his prosthetic arm, Rhodey gives a thumbs up from a wheelchair, and Clint is proudly wearing his hearing aids in a photograph that was taken while he was signing "Beauty"
Pepper released a statement:
"No matter the size, ethnicity, gender identity, or any other factors devalue a person. Every person deserves to feel comfortable in their skin without the added hatred from society. To help put a stop to the impossible beauty standards, the Avengers will only take photographs as their natural self. They will stop conforming to the image they were forced to before. And you should too!
Wear what makes you feel powerful, walk with your head high, and remember that your worth is much greater than you know."