certaininequities | IC Inbox for Ryslig

[what even... it takes Norman a few reads to really grasp the whole message beyond the initial reaction of "who the hell even is this and why do they think this is a good first impression at all?"

and then he realizes that at its core, Steven's first impression is that he wants to help, and connect, and maybe find something familiar. just like Norman did when he arrived.]

Hello, Steven. Thank you for reaching out to me: this was an unexpected surprise with my morning coffee. I appreciate your offer, but I admit I wouldn't really know where to start.

I was able to get that test, though - thank you for asking. I'd be willing to meet you somewhere to talk if that's easier than something over the network.

Tawna, these are absolutely beautiful. I'm hanging the cross stitch in my room as soon as I find something to hang it up with.

I'm still so tired, but ... people are talking to me, which is better than I'd expected. I feel like everything is made of spun glass, and if I breathe wrong, I'll break something.

... Could you give me some pointers on adding that patch?

Oh! That's useful. Thank you.

The fact that you still want to give it to me at all is incredible. I'd be honored.

If you still need time, you can drop it off at Liewen Labs... or I could meet you in the Cube. If you'd like to see, well. Me. The way I'm supposed to be.

You're incredibly enlightened for someone your age.

[he can't help but wonder if His Parker would have had the same thoughts. he was a brilliant scientist, but socially and in terms of the bigger picture, he was pretty blind. Norman is, to say the least, impressed]

If I can, you've got a job if you want it. I'm going to need someone to help me with engineering the centrifuges and such. But that's a ways down the line. Something to think about. ... What did you want to do with yourself, Peter? You know, before ...

[he mimes climbing a wall. please stick a 'dork' sign on his back someday when he's not looking]

It's probably going to feel like that for a good while. People will forgive in their own time or they won't.

You just need to know when to draw the line between asking for forgiveness and hurting yourself by overextending. Trying to over do it will probably make everything feel more delicate.

Of course. Feel free to come over and we can get it on. First patch is free. Next I'll add studs to the shoulders ;)

Otto thinks the slang is kinda silly, but its easier sometimes. Depends on how much time you have to type. Like BTW being by the way or idk for I don't know.

[Okay he's derailing himself. Focus.]

I'm still... mad, but I can't, not give you this-? I don't know. I celebrated Father's day with Otto too.

I care about both of you a lot. I'm just feeling a lot right now. idk.

We could... meet at the cube. I've never been there before.

[Steven is used to not making the best first impressions. Or even second or third impressions. His experiences with other people have ironically been better in Ryslig, and Norman's reply just confirms that to him even more. He had braced himself for the possibility that he'd be told to mind his own business.]

Oh, no worries. I know it's a difficult topic. How does anyone know where to start with that, right? But maybe it's less about sharing stories and more about sharing feelings. And ways to cope.

Good to hear you got that test done! I take it the results were negative?

Meeting in person is probably better? Typing this stuff out is easy, but it's not the same as really talking about it, I think.

They were, yes, but I have my own theories as to why. Hard to test right now, but I'm going to do some work on that.

Sharing feelings, huh? If you'd said that to me even six months ago I would have told you that was a bunch of namby-pamby feminine nonsense. But now I think I can see that that's Him talking. Or ... someone else. But I should save that.

Where would you like to meet? I've mostly been meeting folks at the Cube, but anywhere is fine. I could even give you a tour of the Arcade if you're curious.

All slang is a bit silly, Peter. The next time he gives you guff for it, ask him how many times he let Jonah call him a 'jive turkey'. Your internet acronyms don't have anything on some of the things we said in the 70s.

[that little detour from the tracks was nice, though. it felt like they were themselves again for a moment, and Norman holds on to it as tightly as he can without crushing it]

We're all feeling a lot. Let me know when you'd like to meet me at the cube. You can talk about as much or as little as you want.

[he'll just ... go there a bit ahead of time and start programming in the streets of Queens. don't mind him.]

I don't know how 'more delicate' could even be possible ... but I'll take your word for it. I just might need a little help looking for where that line goes.

[he takes a quick shower, changes his shirt, and takes himself for a walk through Bavan instead of using the Arcade key to cheat. it's nice getting to know the streets, to slowly integrate himself into them the way he'd known New York. as he mounts the stairs to Tawna's apartment, he looks around a bit apprehensively: this is Quentin's territory after all, and he doesn't want him to see him and feel threatened. therefore, when he knocks, he keeps his voice down]

Tawna?

Well, a lot of people my age think about this stuff. MJ especially, she talks about late stage captalism, rallies, that kinda stuff. After the snap, blip, whatever you want to call it- a lot of society kinda fell apart. When everyone came back from death, it made everything fall apart again. I couldn't really not do something as Peter or Spider-Man.

[Peter attributes a lot of the awareness to MJ. Though teenagers his age in his time period are very aware of things that need to be fixed. He could be a lot more aware, but kept his focus on New York.]

Yeah, I'd be happy to help! I'm not an expert or anything, but I can definitely help!

[He snorts a little at the miming of climbing. Sadly, both of them are dorks, so they'd both need the sign slapped on their backs.] Uh, before the spider bite, I thought a lot about chemical engineering? Maybe mechanical engieering. I liked both a lot. Ned and I were in robotics club together before I quit.

[The teenager does briefly laugh at that part of the message, wondering what other corny slang he missed.

His good mood dips as he settles back into the now of the moment.]

I'll keep that in mind for later. Jive turkey is- sure a phrase alright.

Would tomorrow be okay? I don't really know what your schedule is like anymore. So, I'm not sure when you're busy.

[he mouths the words 'late stage capitalism' in a kind of wonder. maybe the kids really are alright. it's the sort of things that he, Jonah, Otto, Rosie - and yes, even Caroline - used to sit up talking about over cheap beer in the common room of the Columbia dormitories. none of them had been rally people, and in the 70s most of the rallies had died down, but they had all had their eyes on the zeitgeist and were planning their moves accordingly, trying to figure out how to tame the wild world so that they could saddle it themselves and ride off into the sunset. it had been so long ago, and for a moment his heart aches. what they could have all been...versus where they all were now. thankfully, Peter's offer of help jars him back to the present]

Both of those are things I'd be happy to help you learn more of here, y'know. They're completely in my wheelhouse. Why'd you quit the club? Because of the bite...? Or somethin' else?

[Peter nods a little at that, his large dumbo rat ears flopping a little with the motion. His usual embarrassment towards the bigger ears is sidetracked at the moment.]

Otto did say that was more stuff you could tackle. He and I talked about my spider-man equipment and my web formula. I was trying to refine it since it doesn't seem to be working here? So, I'd definitely like to learn from you on both fields. [Okay, back on topic, Peter, back on topic.]

Yeah, I quit Robotics along with Band initially because of the spider bite, and new superpowers. I didn't do it for really good reasons then, I thought I could be cool like Ironman, and I'd stop being called 'penis parker' by Flash.

Then, [His smile wanes just a little.] Ben died a bit after. So, my priorities changed again to less... selfish reasons. I never really picked either activity back up.

To be honest, I'm not sure what my schedule's like right now either. I had Marco cut down my hours so I could spend most of my time at the soup kitchen in town. Someone let me know that it lost its coordinator, recently, and - well.

I'm trying to do what you asked me to.

... Any time tomorrow is fine.

[his face lights up as though Peter had just called him 'Dad' or something. but then Peter adds something that confuses him, and two more things which just plain make him upset]

Teenagers are always going to come up with terrible nicknames. Sometimes I wonder if it's a rite of passage. ... I'm sorry about your uncle. The Peter I know lost his, too. I don't know much about it, only what Harry was able to tell me.

[he reaches out and puts a broad, warm, reassuring hand on Peter's shoulder] Y'must miss him every day. It was like that when I lost my mother.

[It doesn't take Tawna particularly long to open her apartment door. She was waiting for Norman after all. The gargoyle smiles at him as she greets him.]

Hey, you. Lets get you inside.

[The goblin left his own mark with her that can be picked out fairly quickly upon first glance, a new notch in one ear, a chip in the top of her horn. Tawna for her part doesn't treat Norman any differently, opening her door fully to usher him inside.

Her apartment is comfortable, decorated like one would expect of a ship captain at sea. The apartment's lights are fairly dimmed, and a few fabric tapestries depicting scenes of the sea have been hung up around and over various windows. A hammock hangs up over the couch, swaying with the fan blowing at low speeds nearby. A few blankets hang off the side of the hammock showing it's been used a fair amount. The apartment's decorations are all rich dark colors.

The coffee table in front of the couch has sewing supplies set out, Tawna has been working on a few projects from the looks of it. The two armchairs nearby also are layered in various things, bins of beads are the biggest deterrent from sitting there.]

Feel free to grab a spot on the couch, my other chairs have bead containers on them since I've lost control of my life. [She's joking, about her own need to horde beads.]

I can't really get too mad at him, Flash is kind of lonely. He's just lashing out at someone he thinks is an easier target. [Peter shrugs a little at the thought, but tries to brighten his wane smile at the reassurance. It's not perfect, but he's trying.

The offered comfort of a hand on the shoulder also helps.] Yeah, there are... a lot of days where its worse than others. May and I usually would figure out the bad days together.

[Peter is a little surprised by that. He hadn't expected Norman to actually take action so quickly. It makes Peter feel a little guilty for moping around Hill House just recovering. He probably should be patrolling.

He needs to do that soon.]

Thank you. I'm sure the people at the soup kitchen appreciate it too. They told me they were a little short handed there and at the clinic.

Lets say the afternoon. I'll see you there.

[As promised, after the afternoon, the teenager arrives at the cube a little apprehensively. He's honestly never been to the cube before so he lingers by the entrance warily looking it over. Peter has a new backpack slung over his back. His last one hadn't exactly survived the incident at Lake Dala.]

A giant cube feels so super cursed. Mega cursed. [He mumbles that mostly to himself.]

[Norman had arrived early to do an immense amount of custom programming, so at the appointed time he comes out to the entrance, wearing khakis and the shirt that Peter had given him with holes carefully tailored - thank you Tawna - to allow for his new extra legs. He can see Peter mumbling to himself, but can't make out what he's saying, and decides it's probably nerves.]

Peter, glad you made it. It's ... I know it's intimidating on the outside, but - please believe me, it's amazing.

[he starts to lead the way down the hall]

You had lunch already, I hope? If you've eaten recently it's safe for us to stay a little longer than usual if we decide we want to.

[At the sound of Norman's voice Peter stands up a little taller, as much as he can given his sudden loss of an inch since his return from the dead. The sight of the familiar shirt does soften Peter's expression somewhat.]

I'm gonna take your word since I've never really been here. Last time I like walked into a weird mysterious shape it was an alien ship. That ended like really bad. [He still walks forward to follow after Norman.]

Yeah, I had lunch. I'm- good to stay for a while. Did- you eat anything? [All the usual small talk feels so awkward and Peter kind of hates that.]

Well ... for what it's worth, if you ever have one of those here ... you can come talk to me, or Otto. We've both lost family.

[Peter nods at that, running a hand through his hair. He appreciates the sentiment, even if a small part of him feels guilty for possibly imposing on either man. It isn't logical, but most emotions aren't.] I- thank you, I'll keep it in mind.

[He blows out a short laugh, the sound is a bit too airy in an attempt to shift the mood back.] Sorry, I made everything super awkward. We were talking about you and I kinda derailed it.

[Ah, SHIELD. Those jackasses who bought his shit hook, line, and sinker. If he wasn't trying to keep up his whole 'inter-dimensional soldier' schtick for this guy, he'd let himself laugh about all of that. As is, hah. Time to get weaving on this nice little web of lies.]

I was with them, yes. But SHIELD had also been compromised by that point. Spider-Man was.. [A pain in his ass. A fucking nuisance. Ugh, he has to go for the polite option here.] He was the last of the old guard there, if I remember right. And they trusted him.

[Quentin smiles self-deprecatingly, taking a sip of his beer. Tries to go for the vaguely remorseful mentor vibe as he looks down at the table briefly.]

I trusted him. All it got both of us was stabbed in the back. I left that for SHIELD so they'd know. I don't know why it got further than that, or how.

[If- no, when he gets back, he's going to get William a nice system upgrade for 'leaking' that shit to the public. Just... genius, really, if Hoffman's serious about everyone knowing. Jameson was a backup plan, and to hear it went off without a hitch? Glorious.]

Th' conversation was meant t' be about both of us, Peter.

[his reminder is gentle, even though he's smiling a bit, amused.]

Honestly, don't worry about it. Here, your turn to ask me something.

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