The Third Option

Great stuff as usual <3 Very heartbreaking, though, poor Peter :( we need some comfort to get things settled.(Speaking of heartbreaking, though, Bridge to Teribithia just Takes. The. Cake. I read it in sixth grade, cried a lot. I can imagine a book report on it 2/3s explaining how it's so freaking sad, 1/6 frown emoticons, and 1/6 real book report things. Wouldn't win an award, though.)

Are you signofthree or are you just a reuploader?

Are you back??? Guess I have the same question as Arrow_ShadowWolf.

yo this is insanely well-written, good luck with the new updates <3

Welcome back! I love this story and am glad to see you returning to it.

welcome back!! I'm new to the fandom and everyone kept recommending your fics but I couldn't find them anywhere ;-; any chance you'll be putting your completed series back up?

Hey, I remember when you first posted this fic, and I absolutely loved it and your other ones too! I have to admit, a bunch of people including myself were worried about you, especially when we couldn't find you on here (ugh, that sounds just a little creepy, whoops) but we're really, really glad to see you back and okay.Just know that if you need to take a hiatus, like, a 2 day, week, or month hiatus or break or something, we'd understand. Trust me. I've stuck through several fics with months and months of no updates! If you feel stuck, that's okay too. No rush. I understand why you felt you had to start over, and I totally respect your decision, but please don't prioritize us over anything else that's more important! School, work, family, personal issues-those are priorities. I hope we get to see more of your wonderful writing, and please take breaks if you want to or need to! I'm really happy to see that you're back. Seriously. :)

I'm just glad ur back!! I hope everything works out, or at least gets better! Ur personal life is always more important than a fic and I hope, at least personally, that I never pressure you into writing if u don't feel like it. Take ur time to get grounded, and be okay, that's the most important thing. I love this fic and I'm glad it's back :)!

Yesssssssssssss I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Continue pls

Haha, this is amazing! I don't usually like AU's, what can I say, I'm a sucker for canon, but this one intrigued me so I investigated and I must say I'm happy I did! I really like the idea, it's interesting to see how this one little change will affect the storyline, and you're writing style is very good. Heck, you're just very skilled AT writing, if this first chapter is anything to go by. Anywho, I look forward to the next update!

You're back!!! I really missed this story; it's one of my all-time favorite fics. Take all the time you need to re-upload and continue the story. We can wait.

I'm so happy you've come back! This is currently my fav story of this entire fandom <333

This is a fascinating premise and you manage a realistic-feeling but frustrating mystery regarding WHY Ben and May aren’t together in this ‘verse while simultaneously hammering home that for Peter, it doesn’t ultimately matter.Look forward to seeing how he deals with that bad hand of cards.

oh man, we were all so worried about you! i'm glad you're back, and since you are, i'm gonna have to tell you that if you EVER need to talk, we in the fandom are always here for you <3i wish i could find my old comment on this chapter, since i don't have the time to write the fully fledged comment you deserve, but oh well!fantastic writing, as always, and brilliant plot as well as characterization. can't wait till you upload the rest - although, please don't feel pressured to write if you don't want to! take your time, we don't mind - YOU come first, the story isn't as important as you, which has to be said. keep up the brilliant writing!

So happy you have come back! Your stories and writing are out of this world! I haven't been able to stop thinking about this particular story for months! You are a bloody legend my friend! Can relate to the stress deleting everything, hope you are doing okay now!!! Much love and support <3

Ohmigosh. I searched for this for like months cuz this was just SO GOOD and I didnt know that you dissapeared. Now your back, im happy, and I can not WAIT till this story continues. Good Wishes, Bepisman

Welcome back! I love your writing and can't wait to get back to reading this story!

I am so glad that you returned to this story! I was heartbroken when I found it deleted but I am super excited to see that you are back on AO3. Take your time on updates and take care of yourself, I'll patiently wait for updates! Welcome back and have a great day :)

Welcome back! As sad as it made me (The angst is real), I loved the story before and I’m ready to love it all over again. (While having my heartbroken again, save Peter pls). Take as much time as you need with the updates, the worst thing is for you to feel pressured and stressed. If you need time, soak up all the time you need like Spongebob freaking Squarepants. Anywho, strange similes aside, thank you for not abandoning this story, I’ll wait patiently for an update (and for Peter’s happiness, please let that be a thing.)

OHMIGOSH! CAN IT BE!? I was so sad when this story was deleted but I was also worried about why because I could tell how much work you put into it (it's wonderful).Not sure if this means much coming from just a random stranger on the internet but... Life can really suck sometimes and I'm glad you're doing better. No shame in admitting you struggled with something. NO SHAME! I know people always say things like "take as much time as you need" and "your health is more important then 'insert anything here' ", but it's true! The hard part is trying to not only believe/apply it, but also to not feel guilty or overwhelmed by focusing more on self care. Please don't feel guilt or shame! You're an AMAZING writer, it's a talent that I'm grateful you've shared. But I'm positive you're an AMAZING person too, and I want you to be happy and healthy too. Sorry about my cheesy TED talk... Glad you're back. :)

oOf I was subscribed and I’m glad I follow an ao3 feed on tumblr because I really like this story!!!

YAY your back!! I really missed your amazing writing

Ahhh I love your writing! Can't wait for the next chapter!

I’m happy you’re back!! Thanks for being committed even in the midst of regular life being so overwhelming. Post whenever you can — we appreciate it!!!

Please don't apologize for deleting everything!!!!! I'm honestly low key the exact same way <3 just know that so many of us talked about you and missed you all the time!!!!!!!! I'm so glad you're doing well and I hope you continue to be amazingStay safe, stay amazing, I love you!!

Omg I'm so glad you're back!! When I saw that this fic got deleted from my bookmarks I was devastated! This has become one of my fave fics, take all the time you need with the updates :)

Omg you’re back! I’m so happy and I really hope you’re doing okay. I love this story so much and I’m so glad to see you’re back. You’re writing is phenomenal.

your writing is impecible. wow. this is incredibley well written, some techniques you used were so clever! and you got me emotional more than once, so good job! I'm looking forward to the next chapters, I'm willing to wait a while if theyre gonna be as good quality as this one :D

I was so worried about you! I didn't know if you were okay! I'm glad you're back! <3

Wow, this is such a incredibly well done take on Peter's alternate backstory and this whole concept in general and I love it so much!!! :):):)

Holy moly, you’re back!!! I absolutely LOVED this fic, and I was so sad to see it go. I actually started a tag on tumblr to keep track of any updates on you, #solving the signofthree mystery... oh okay wow, I just realized how creepy that sounds... I just really missed you and wanted to make sure you were okay and like, not dead!

I'm so happy you're back. Your writing iw beautiful and original, and I was so worried something terrible had happened when your account disappeared! (Ps I've really been wanting to reread It's Always the Little Things. Will you be reposting it?)

Hi! I wanted to say I’m incredibly happy you’re back. I started reading your works just a week or two before they went down, and it’s kind of strange how heartbroken I was. Right before they disappeared, I was telling a friend how impressed I was by this particular story. There’s just so much going on. The characters have an incredible depth — Felipe in particular called out to me, with his strong voice and his anger. Their stories seem so realistic, too. Felipe again comes to mind (sadly), as do the Arlington’s (though I suppose for them it’s more of a way of living than a story).And oh God, Ben!! He wasn’t around long, but man. I loved how even with that you added so much background. The way he did his best with Peter — building up the relationship (“Are you happy?” And finally getting that “Yes”) but ultimately it not being all rainbows and sunshine (that fighting towards the end). The way you handled his relationship with May — you could have left it at total severing the relationship, but no. You captured that a divorce isn’t as clean-cut as some may think. She’s still around, they’re still friendly, the waters become murky, but ultimately the relationship doesn’t pick back up. To me, that made their divorce more than just a plot device to get Peter alone, and made it more a real part of life.Then there’s Karen’s kindness and sacrifice. Skip’s conflicting waves of he-seems-nice-I’ll-do-better-here and I-feel-the-need-to-run-away-for-some-reason.I’m in awe of how much of the real world you’re bringing into this. I realize that much of your ability to write this way must have to do with your ability to bring your real-life knowledge and experiences into this story. And I’m grateful for that!! After I realized you closed your account, I was talking to a friend about how weird it was how I was taking it so personally (“how could the author just leave us hanging like that?!”). And being a writer herself, my friend metaphorically slapped me and reminded me of just how much of a person goes into their writing, and that sometimes, authors just feel the need to retreat for whatever reason. So, thank you for coming back! Whatever your reasons were for going offline, I’m happy and thankful you’ve decided to come back and share a piece of yourself with us. I wish I could buy you dinner.

This is honestly so good I loved every minute of it. I'm going to be 100% honest, I didn't expect such a good fic bc homeless!Peter fics are normally a poor balance of angst and actual storytelling but this was a wonderful read and I'm so excited to read the rest. You pulled all the right heartstrings at all the right times man I can't believe this is only the opening chapter

Also I feel like there's a deeper meaning to May not showing up?? Call me a conspiracy nut but hmmmm

Hey! So happy to see you’re back! I just wondered if you planning on posting it’s always the little things again? That was my favourite and I’ve been searching for it for ages without realising why I couldn’t find it ! Thanks in advance :)

*kisses*

Because of your new chapter, I felt like I wanted to reread the story. Oh my gosh. This chapter is soooooooo sad. I love Ben and Peter. I am sad that Ben died that way and that May didn't make it. I bet she is searching for Peter and trying to get to him but the system is hard when you aren't related. May doesn't seem like the type to just make a promise and not keep it. And if Peter had May's number memorized, that means that they had a relationship.You are so good at writing. Congrats.

Oh, oh, my heart. I have a feeling that I’ll be typing some very similar comments, but goddamnit, you made me tear up.

God I’m already obsessed with this.

Hearing about Ben's involvement in peters tragic life story and Mays nonexistence is like the WORST THING EVER. this is so well written. The emotions are raw and ....I don't know, extremely well places? Almost succint in their descriptions? This is just really great

Damn, poor Peter :(

Holy fuck. Peter dealing with greif was so beautifully written. I felt myself crying. That hit so close to home. Kudos to you i havnt felt that way in a long time

Oh this can’t be a good sign, I teared yo three times just in chapter one. Fack

I want to tell you that this is my favorite story in this website. It’s so well written and well structured. It deals with a very difficult topic, one that I normally can’t read about, but it’s handled so well and is actually a comfort to read. Believe it or not, I’ve read it at least ten times. Thank you for writing it. :)

Omg another great chapter. Glad that he has Ned back! But sad that he thinks of his abandoned warehouse as home :( I want the world for him. I want Tony to become his Daddy Warbucks and take him in and give him all the love he deserves and help him become the best superhero he can be

Great first chapter!!

This story is so amazing!!!

YAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

My friend told me to read this fic. I've never read a spider-man fic before (I'm more into the Harry Potter fandom) but this chapter was so good. I'm excited to read more! I expect to be very sad.