nysalogs | October catch all (open/closed)

[ when she finds out that Peter is awake and alive, she fires off a series of texts to him ranging from friendly to practically deranged. how could Peter Parker be living his life around Olympia and she wouldn't know? perhaps against his better judgement, he agrees to meet her at a cozy cafe near her apartment so that she can ~~interrogate~~ ask her questions in person. ]

Peterkins. [ she greets him with a critical glance up and down. ] You look the same - kind of awkward and in need of a comb.

Edited 2018-10-21 20:34 (UTC)

A - a comb?

[ What? Peter automatically lifts a hand to run it through his, yes, unkempt mop of hair, but he doesn't take any actual offence to the comment as he grabs the seat across from her and settles in with a bewildered expression of amusement on his face. ]

So - uh. Hi.

[ They've met, actually. Well, she and Spidey has. Of course, the moment Cheryl began to text him with that kind of familiarity, Peter began to (panickedly) wonder whether she'd figured out his identity.

Turns out, however, that she's just one more person who might have known him when he'd last been here. Not that he remembers that time; not that he remembers anything after the Storm came and destroyed New York City and the rest of the world.

He lets out a breath, lightly gestures towards the cup in front of her. ]

Did you need a refill on whatever you're drinking?

[ she nods, and flashes him a smile.. ] Black tea with just a dash of milk. Thank you.

[ and when they've both got drinks, she continues with the intensive line of questioning that she'd started over text. sure, maybe it is true Peter doesn't remember anything from before. Cheryl doesn't consider herself to be forgettable, and none of them have been promised anything more than safety. sometimes it doesn't feel like they even have that. ]

How long do you remember being here?

Just since I woke up on the station. So, like, I dunno. A couple months now. [ At this point, Peter has become more or less used to the questions. They don't bother him, not really, and he can kind of figure out what he might have done before he fell back into stasis before now.

If that's really what happened. ]

Before that, it's just ... life back home. I don't even remember the Storm stuff they told us about.

We were roommates before you disappeared. I thought when you came back you'd come find me, because we were friends, and you always looked out for me. [ it was nice. Cheryl's never had many friends - not real ones, anyway - but Peter was one of them. ] But I guess that's not what happened.

It's your fault, really. Who knows what stasis does to people?

Oh. [ About the roommates thing. Well, all of it, really, but he does feel a little ... guilty? By proxy? about this whole roommates thing.

He lives in a small little crap room above a smith-shop right now, where he wakes up at around 5am on the daily because the guy who runs the shop like to get an early start. It's not great, honestly, but the rent's pretty cheap and he gets access to the equipment if he wants. ] Hey - I'm sorry. [ He sounds earnest because he means it. Scrambling his brains for recollection won't help though; the memories simply aren't there. ] I wish I could remember what happened if I was here before.

But - [ He hesitates. ] - um. I mean, we could be friends if you wanted. Again.

[ the apology does make her feel better. he might not really know her anymore, but he's trying. Cheryl doesn't want to pass up the opportunity to keep her friendships. ]

We could be friends. [ she brightens, and smiles at him. ] You probably don't have many friends here, right? Since you're practically new. [ this is OBVIOUSLY about Cheryl being a very kind and generous person and not about the fact that she is kind of a weirdo who does't know how to make friends. obviously. ]

[ At that, Peter laughs, lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. ] Yeah, my social calendar's pretty blank right now. [ Ain't that the truth. ] I met a couple of people when I first got here, including ghosts? That was ... weird.

But I haven't really seen anyone since.

Sixth Sense style or Casper style? [ she'll pass on seeing ghosts. she already sees Jason in her dreams. that's enough. ] If you keep seeing it, maybe you could make some cash on the side. Long Island Medium? People here are falling all over themselves to hear from their loved ones.

Little bit of both, I guess. I felt like the kid in the Sixth Sense, but most of the ghosts were less murdery and a little more friendly.

[ Peter shrugs. ]

I dunno, it went away after a few days. I haven't seen any ghosts since.

[ Proooobably for the best, too. It wasn't awesome. ]

There goes your side hustle. [ you win some, you lose some. ]

What do you do now that you're not ghostbusting?

[ Peter huffs a laugh. ] Yeah. Guess I can say goodbye to a career in ghost-whispering.

[ He says not-so-remorsefully. ]

Nowadays? [ Good question, Cheryl. ] I dunno, I guess I haven't really figured that part out yet. What do you do?

Fabulous as I've always been. [ she tosses her hair over one shoulder, and indicates the Olympia brooch on her blouse. ] I'm a hero of the people. [ that's... surprisingly not a complete exaggeration. ]

I've decided to forgo working a simple job so I can be prepared for whatever is to come our way. [ also jobs are lame. ]

[ Now is about the time Peter leans in to wrap his hands around his mug, currently filled with scalding hot tea, just a double of what Cheryl had ordered because he's not much of a coffee drinker and the person taking orders didn't know what he meant by 'hot cocoa'. ]

So wait, how do you make a living in this place? [ Because if he doesn't have to find a 'simple job' either, that'd be awesome. Leaves a little more time for science-ing and spider-ing.

He nods at her brooch, and then takes a sip of his drink. ] I'm - uh. I'm almost afraid to ask, but what exactly should we expect coming our way?

I get some things for free for being a hero, and other than that I try to pick up gigs here and there. There's a surprising number of rewards to be had for someone who's willing to sneak around and do a little information gathering.

[ his second question is more complicated. ] Things are strange here. Perhaps sinister. You should be prepared for anything.

Anything. [ He repeats. Well, that's not exactly a surprise to hear, given the kind of life he led back home before all this 'end of the world' stuff actually came true.

Back home he had to be prepared for anything - humanoid lizards, best friends turning into mutated goblins, the sudden death of the love of your life ... ] I guess that's pretty solid advice.

[ He pauses. ]

So, uh. How did you get to be a hero of the people?

[ You know, just a totally curious unrelated-to-anything-in-his-life question. No big. ]

Well, I'm not like any of those weirdos with "powers" but I do well for myself. I'm a skilled archer and I'm smart. [ and modest. ]

I helped to rescue citizens who had been kidnapped, including the devastatingly handsome Steve Rogers. [ she is a liiiitle bit obsessed with Steve. it's fine. ]

[ Weirdos.

With powers.

L-laughs ... ]

Yeah? [ Honestly, that's a pretty impressive resume as far as superheroing without 'weirdo powers' goes. ] What, like Captain America?

[ yeah, weirdos with powers. know any??? ] Yes, I saved Captain America. [ she's very proud of herself, which is fair. ]

What about you? Have you ever saved anyone's life?

[ Pfffft, nooo, of course not. How would he? He's just a regular civilian, just civilianing in this world.

In any case, yeah, colour Peter impressed at the image of Cheryl saving Captain America's life. He doesn't know a whole lot about the Avengers and their dealings beyond what he reads in the paper and online, but ... they're not usually in need of saving.

A n y w a y.

It's time to test Peter Parker's backstory. He shakes his head. ] Not in the way you did. [ He smiles helplessly. ] I mean, I just - I guess I kinda saved this kid's life once. A guy in my class, he was like one small pop quiz away from failing chemistry.

[ if she ever finds his closet of spandex, he's in trouble! ] Nerd. But I already knew that about you.

What do you want to do here? Now that you have dragons instead of chemistry class? [ she's not sure that's really a fair trade-off, but they also don't have anything in the way of choice, do they? ]

[ Probably.

BUT THAT will never happen, mostly because Peter doesn't exactly have a closet in the tiny little apartment he rents near the marketplace. ]

I dunno. [ Swing around the city in spandex, maybe? ] I mean, I guess if there's a way to help people, I'd want to figure out a way to do that. I'm good with tinkering, making stuff, tech.

Sound like anything they might need here?

[ she nods. ] There's always room for one more genius with shockingly decently social skills. [ a.. compliment? wrapped in an insult? ]

In fact, I have an idea. Before, when you and I were bosom buddies, you gifted me with a simple yet magnificent Christmas present: a nanny camera on the station so I could check on my darling brother any time the mood struck. I'm sure others would pay handsomely for the same privilege.

[ Peter's expression goes a little funny, kind of expression an unsaid, 'Uh - thanks? I think?' That's his first reaction anyway, before she continues.

He considers this piece of information that he, by no means at all, remembers ... and wonders if it's something he would do, or if it's some mere coincidence, or if this previous guy was just ... an imposter. Or someone from an alternate reality with his name and his story. (And maybe his secret alter-ego?)

But - yeah. It kinda does sound like something he'd do, certainly something he could finagle from some spare parts. ] Yeah? I'm not sure the guys upstairs would be super thrilled with the installation of a bunch of random nanny-cams. But I - uh. I get your point.

You know anyone in particular who might be interested in something like this? And - uh. Do you think I could see the one - the one that the previous me - [ Yeah, that's not a weird thing to say. ] - made for you?

Who wouldn't be interested in that? We all have people we love still in stasis. And who cares what the people who brought us here want? What are they going to do, send us home?[ she nods to his second question. ]

We'd have to go up there to see it, but it's very small and it connects to this. [ she opens an app on her phone, sliding it over for him to see. there's a live feed of Jason not doing anything except existing, and below it a feed of his vitals signs. there's not much information to be gained other than the fact that he is indeed alive, but that's enough for Cheryl. ] See? It's perfect.

[ Peter leans in a little, taking the phone and watching the screen for a moment. As she'd said, there's a view of a pod and a young man who looks a lot like Cheryl peacefully asleep. He can't make out the handiwork of the camera itself, but it's functional and that's pretty great.

He looks up, returning the phone to her. ]

It's comforting. [ He nods. ] Being able to check in on your brother like this, it's - it's good. It's reassuring. Sometimes a trip to space can take a little too long when you just wanna check in.

October catch all (open/closed)

Closed for Peter Parker.

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