maskormenace | (no subject)

(no subject)

[ So here's a new kid on the network tonight. Trying to find an angle that lets him hide at least some of his nervousness. Or at least lets him use it to channel his best impression of a Definitely Normal Team, No Superheroics Here Honest. He mostly just looks awkward and nerdy, which is … accurate anyway, so let’s go with that. ]

Hey - um, so I’m Peter. Peter Parker. And I just got here, and -

[ He’s read through what’s left of his files, he’s read through the last couple weeks of posts just to get a feel for things. After that, he has one incredibly important question: ]

Did I seriously just barely miss out on a Death Star being here? For real? That’s not fair. Please tell me it’s coming back at some point.

[ That’s probably an objectively incorrect thing to want, but. Look. That would have made his entire life. He could die happy. For the second time. Well, the second time dying, first time dying happy. Anyway, he turns reluctantly to the list of actual serious questions he made. Not enough time to ask them all (unless he just takes in a breath and rapid fire asks all of them in thirty seconds) so he’ll just pick one for now. ]

So, school. How is that working out for people who still hafta go? And can you like … argue with it at all? Because I’m all for finishing high school, but this is my third time going into sophomore year and I’m starting to feel like that movie with the Ghostbuster being depressed in Pennsylvania.

(( OOC: Spoilers for Far From Home are likely, but I can avoid them if necessary! ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He does know. He’ll have to make real pizza sometime and insist on people eating it. Good thing he isn’t business minded, or he would have to open a shop.]

Guide on them, Parker. Let’s see if this pizza is even any good by your terrible, New York standards.

Look, yours isn’t even a pizza at that point. It’s like a lasagna without noodles.

[ He’ll take them to a small parlor not too far from the imPort housing. Not great, but not terrible. And most importantly, there’s an all you can eat option. ]

Pizza pie, Parker. Not Pizza Paper.

[He does follow to the parkour and definitely pays for all you can eat. Been a long time since he ate. Lovely. He gets them a booth, loads up on Hawaiian style and bbq chicken, and even smiles as he waits for Peter.]

[ All you can eat for Peter too, of course, with an apologetic look to the proprietors. Whatever, they can probably take pictures and make back their money later. Anyway, he laughs, sitting down with a whole bunch of pepperoni and jalapeño. ]

All I’m saying is that there’s a happy medium. And it isn’t deep dish.

Deep dish is an abomination. Almost as much as anything that is made in California.

[Jalapenos? Lovely. He does reach over to snatch a fallen one off of Peter’s plate. Lovely.]

Have you ever actually had proper Chicago pizza?

I’m with you on California pizza just being awful. If you don’t have tomato sauce, it’s just flatbread with cheese.

[ Or, god forbid, cauliflower. Blech. Anyway, he’s happy to share as many jalapeños as David wants. ]

I don’t think so, actually. I mean, I’m sure you can get it in New York, but I’ve never had it.

Hey. Don’t know bbq sauce as a replacement. In fact...

[David lifts one piece of his own barbecue chicken pizza off of his plate and puts it on Peter’s.]. It’s kosher, if that is a concern. But yeah, flatbread was the worst thing done to pizza.

As for real pizza, New York never had any places with quality Chicago style anything. Not pizza and sure as hell not hot dogs. There is nothing more suspicious than your street vendors.

It’s okay. I’m kind of bad at remembering to be kosher anyway.

[ As evidenced by the pepperoni on his pizza here, and generally mixing any meat with cheese to begin with. But he appreciates the thought. Peter gladly tries out the chicken David offers him. ]

I actually agree on the hot dog thing. Like, I don’t have any personal stake in that one, so you can claim Chicago superiority there.

Knew a few Jewish Mutants in my time. Got used to assuring them that the weird things I was eating wouldn’t break dietary laws. But hey, at least I win the hot dog fight. A dog without a pickle spear on it and pickled jalapeños just isn’t good.

[What? He thinks it’s the right way. He does get a few bites of his own pizza before shrugging.]

I think we can agree this is sub par. So, while we glut ourselves, did you have questions for me?

I can agree with you on that one.

[ Both the pizza and the hot dogs. Anyway, they didn’t come here to talk about food, did they? ]

You - uh, sound like you’ve been through a lot.

[Understatement. Such an understatement. But this Peter would definitely understand it a bit better than the one back home. Still David looks uncomfortable for a while before taking a sip of water and pulling his glasses off. If he’s doin. This to comfort Peter, he doesn’t want distracted by the networks.]

A number of things. Losing my powers. Seeing most of my friends die. Having my heart ripped out. Life is fun for a mutant.

[ There’s a lot to talk about there, but he’ll start with the obvious ]

You had your heart ripped out? Literally?

Literally. And then metaphorically the next day, but that hardly matters.

[So much to unpack. But David smiles like it doesn’t matter. That the past is something he has moved past. Which isn’t true, with him having to face more immediate reminds of that day just down the street from his house.]

A demon pulled me and some friends down into a hell dimension called Limbo. Decided I was lying to it about something it wanted. Made an example of me. So my heart is pretty young.

[ Holy crap. Peter just stares for a long moment. He thought his life was bad - and really, it is - but he’s never gone to actual hell. ]

You survived?

No. I died. But I got lucky. While you’re here you might meet a guy with gold skin named Josh. Hr’s the most powerful biokinetic my world had. He broke free and rebuilt my heart. It was... fun.

[He knows how death feels. He shares that with Peter.]

[ God. Peter shivers a little, suddenly cold despite the warmth of the pizza place. ]

I’m sorry. Reviving doesn’t make it any easier.

Yeah. We both know that I expect. But I should be thankful for the life I have, right?

[Which is miserable. But looking up now that David is here. How sad is that?]

My friends were a bit jarred by the whole thing.

Uh, yeah. I’d be traumatized.

Were you?

[Seems a fair question.]

[ It is a fair question. Peter can’t even say that he didn’t watch someone die, because ... well. ]

... I don’t know.

[Fair. But David understands.]

How many people were affected by this ‘Blip’ event?

Everyone, man. Either you died or you watched someone else die.

[Fuck. David wants to reach out, to touch Peter as some measure of comfort. And he can’t. Not without prying further. He really needs to invest in gloves.]

And it was fixed?

[ Sorry David. He slumps in his chair a bit, head bowed. ]

Yeah. At a cost. All of the Avengers are gone. Retired, dead, injured, or offworld. And Mr. Stark ...

[ he swallows, thickly. ]

He was like a father to me. And he gave his life making sure we all stayed alive after bringing us back.

[David was never a fan of the Avengers. They didn’t care about mutants and the repeated attempted genocides against his people. But he still more of less respected the man. And that other comment? David gets that.]

They’ll come back, Peter. When the world needs them they always come back. I am sorry about Tony, though. Even when he was wrong about things he always did it for the right reasons. But, one thing I know about Tony, I’d he is anything like home?

He would be proud of you choosing to protect people even after you see the cost. And he would expect you to try and keep a normal life. He doesn’t like young people in the fight if it can be avoided, but he respects them.