maskormenacelogs | he flits from shop to shop just like a butterfly

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he flits from shop to shop just like a butterfly

WHO: Peter Parker and Kanaya
WHERE: a Heropa thrift store
WHEN: January 25th, or thereabouts
WHAT: It's finally happened: Peter Parker, accepting Kanaya's fashion advice. Also, registration talk.
WARNINGS: N/a.

Not that I don't appreciate the salvation of my manly dignity, Kanaya, but I don't see how this place is any different from Little Miss.

[Peter plucked a lime green, bright pink and royal blue plaid shirt clear from the nearest rack, then let it drop with an exaggerated moue of distate. It wasn't thrifting a wardrobe that bothered him. Well into his college career most of his clothes had been secondhand or Sears, and even now his casual civilian clothing budget came second to his uniform and equipment (except when MJ or Betty threw a fit). But if the clothes here were just as ugly as the ones on the other side of town, what was the point?]

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[ she lets out a sigh of relief when he puts the shirt back down. she was genuinely worried there for a second. even still, as she picks through the racks, she isn't finding much she likes, either. ]

Therein lies the danger of hope, I'd say. Sometimes the alternative isn't any better.

[ she pulls out a pair of jeans, quietly exclaiming her disgust before putting it back. ]

If it weren't for my own dire need, I'd probably make do with what I have already until I can improve matters manually.

[Is that a normal, respectable green sweatshirt in Peter's size? ...Ye gads, apparently not. Busy boggling, Peter answers on autopilot, and maybe sounds more authoritative than he ought.]

Yeah, sewing machines are expensive, and so's fabric, unless you can find exactly what you need on sale.

Edited 2014-02-16 01:26 (UTC)

Oh my god. That was almost certainly an unwanted holiday gift.

[ even the one rose gave her before everything in the city went south wasn't that bad. and rose was really trying, too.

she pulls out a skirt so peter can see it, giving him a wide-eyed look that speaks of an oncoming madness that will threaten her if she's exposed to too much of this. ]

But you aren't wrong. With endless time and resources, I could be fortunate enough to never step foot in his hall of endless horrors.

But what if it wasn't? [He waggles his brows.] What if.

This shirt is good, right? I haven't lost all sense of taste in some sort of localized taste vortex?

Speaking of time and resources... how do you feel about this whole registration deal? Swear a loyalty oath, get benefits... seems a bit too good to be true, if you ask me.

Edited 2014-02-16 13:53 (UTC)

What do I think of it? I think it's an obvious choice to make. The benefits aren't simply luxuries, but necessities. That's something we lack on our own now, and even if it's something we'll want to abandon after, we'll need it now.

What alternative do we have? Heaven knows it would make a poor impression if I started my time here hunting for my meals.

[ which is something she's a bit worried about, really. she doesn't want to depend too heavily on the government, but where else is she going to get a regular supply of blood if not from the vein? it's something she'll need to look into.

she's been looking at the same dress for a few moments now, trying to decide if it's acceptable or not. eventually she decides that not being able to decide probably means it isn't, and puts it back as she looks up at his choice. ]

That is a perfectly normal shirt. I know that by comparison it must seem something much more impressive, but it is at least not horrendous. Put it in the cart.

I know, I know. I could take the risk if I was on my own, but I have Val, and that means registration is the only responsible option. [He sighs. Not that he wouldn't take a death ray for Valeria, but sometimes he really hates that word.]

It's just... you have to understand, superhuman registration doesn't have the best history in my universe. For me, personally. And they've already tattooed us, which is just-- well, maybe it makes the whole decision moot. Doesn't that worry you at all?

[Wanting to change the subject, Peter tosses the shirt in their cart, then pulls out a blue floral number.]

Hey, I think this is genuine vintage!

[ she shakes her head, finally stumbling across a dress that actually looks passable. if only she could find more long-sleeved black shirts. ]

Does the potential of the idea worry me? Certainly. I'd rather the opportunity to do without, and once we're in a position for that, exploring our options for doing so is something I'll be looking into. Anything less would be irresponsible, especially while I have Rose with me. But I've seen worse already.

This isn't New Vesuvius. It certainly isn't Alternia. We're looking at how best to continue our livelihoods rather than our actual lives.

[ when she looks his way again, her face immediately contorts in disgust, enough to bare her fangs. ]

Put it down. Put it down right now.

[Peter mock-cringes, putting it back on the rack with all due haste.]

All right already! Yeesh, I'd have left it alone if I knew blouson sleeves set you off like that.

[He doesn't continue immediately, as all their rooting around has taken him towards the men's shorts. He frowns at one particular pair before tucking it away again.]

Is it just me, or do shorts just not look right on grown men?

[A sigh.] I guess it's... nice to hear I'm not being completely crazy about this. I know I have a few friends back home who'd think I was, if they knew I was planning to register. I just don't see an alternative-- not a good one, anyway.

[ she glances over to see what he's looking at, shrugging. too many pockets. ] I think they can be perfectly acceptable as casualwear, on the right person. But then boys are generally more self-conscious about displaying any kind of leg. I had a friend once who wore shorts with pinstripe tights.

But then, he was hardly what one might call "a grown man".

[ she pulls another dress out and hmms at it. orange has always looked good on rose, but this is a little...loud. might be a little small, but she could see herself in it, maybe. with the right alterations. ]

Mostly, I just don't see what the big deal is, why it should be such a difficult decision to make. [ she looks back at him, screwing up her lips in a way that's almost looking for approval. ] In practical terms, it seems a bit obvious, doesn't it?

And here I thought I was body conscious. [Though Peter isn't, really. Bodysuit conscious might be more accurate.

He's also not what you'd call fashion conscious, but he's pretty sure the dress he points Kanaya to now qualifies as at least reasonably cute.]

It does, but that's what worries me. Never met a gift horse I wouldn't look in the mouth, and this one has bad breath.

[He pulls a face.] Terrible choices in metaphors aside... you mentioned Rose. What does she think about all this? Is she, you know, settling in all right? [Reasonably untraumatized by the death of an entire universe, he means.]

Edited 2014-03-14 00:22 (UTC)

[ her eyes widen when she sees the dress, pulling it off the rack and inspecting it closer. this was it, finally, her diamond in the rough.

she seems to space out a bit as he keeps going, but hearing rose's name pulls her back. ] Oh, um. About as well as any of us, really. [ it's a sad fact that this isn't the first time either has lost a universe. you learn to roll with it eventually. ]

She's...tired, you know? We both are, fatigued with the whole of it, weary from losing so many friends. We're lucky at least that her brother missed the worst of it.

But we're just playing it as safe as we can, trying to make the most of what the situation offers. She's started school again while I'm working.

It's good you're both getting back on your feet so quickly. [Part of him wonders if that's the only thing Rose has gotten back on, but Spidey's seen neither hide nor hair of the new Goblin or her glider since they washed up here, and he's beginning to think his wild speculation was exactly that.]

But yeah, that crossed my mind too. I miss Gwen and the other kids, but at least whatever they're all up to now, it's not living through that.

[Though considering some of the things Jess told him about the goings-on in her universe, maybe he's being too optimistic.]

If nothing else, this place seems a little quieter -- however long that lasts. I'm not going to complain about the time to recuperate... especially since I get to be here to recuperate. Why was it only us imports who got through the gateway?

[ she looks down, eyes still on the dress, but only seeming to look past it. more something to rest her gaze on than to actually look at. ]

Because it was only imports that Lachesis concerned herself with. She sent us to that world, and only doomed it as a result, but ours were the only lives she ever took responsibility for. The rest never really mattered to her, she had no purpose for them.

The universe dies but you survive, that's simply how it goes sometimes.

[ when she finally looks up at him, there's something troubled in her expression. she remembers the subject last time someone asked her about gwen. not that peter will know that, certainly he'll think the question is entirely innocent. ]

I know this will seem a bit of an odd question, but. Did Gwen ever know Norman Osborn?

[He chews on his lip for a moment, and eventually bursts out with:] I don't like it. I mean, I like not being dead, but it's like she decided-- no, she did decide our lives are worth more than all those other people, and it makes me sick. [Another brief silence.] It makes me wonder what happened to all those universes we got sent to, too. If our AI friends decided to shut down an entire universe, why stop at one? And how long does this place have left?

[Peter goes back to browsing through the jeans, not looking up, but that lasts exactly as long as it takes Kanaya to ask her question. Whereupon he promptly drops the pair he was examining on the floor.]

Yes. Yes, she did. [Clearing his throat.] She went to high school and college with Harry Osborn. At least, the one I knew back home did-- the one we knew here, I'm not so sure about.

I suppose that will depend on how bound Atropos is to the old universe, how obsessed she is with destroying us. [ she lets out a sigh, she's had far too many omnipotent universe-crossing demons and gods in her life. ] And here I'd hoped I'd left such circumstances at home.

[ she shakes her head, folding the dress and placing it in the cart. ] I suppose I don't really know the differences between the two Gwens, but similar things have happened before with people where I come from, even from my own world. Who's Harry?

Great. Like we don't all have enough people with grudges against us already... not that there's much point in worrying about it right now.

[Weirdly, and despite the lingering survivor's guilt, Peter finds himself a lot more concerned now with Kanaya's unexpected change of subject.]

Harry is, or was, depending on which universe you're in, Norman's son. And I'd ask what you mean by "similar things," but first of all I have to know-- why are you asking about Norman and Gwen?

No real reason, it's just...something I was wondering about. [ because of something someone said, and the context in which they said it. ] And all I meant by similar things is, you know, cross-dimensional equivalents. Meeting someone as they were on my world, then later the same person arrives but from another world entirely. Though I can't say whether you met either Mindfang or Aranea.

[ and she could just leave it right there. subject deflected, topic changed, no more to be said about it. ]

But that was it, she was just friends with his son? [ or not. ]

Well, why did you start wondering? [It's a strange question for her to ask out of the blue, and given their previous topic of conversation reawakens suspicions that Peter had been ready to bury. Though, it's true that Kanaya and Gwen were friends, and she must have known some of the other City counterparts of Peter's social circle.

He can't make assumptions, he tells himself, right before she asks another strange question.]

She also dated Harry's college roommate for a while. How'd this come up?

It isn't really important. [ she turns her attention back to the racks, trying to distract herself, casting her attention on the ugliest dress in the world like it's actually worth looking at.

it isn't her place to spread rose's secrets, not without a plan, and not without knowing they're being spread to the right people. peter may be from the right world, but she doesn't think he'd be able to really do anything with the information. it would be a waste of broken trust. ]

Just...something someone said. You mentioning her brought it to mind.

[Peter leans forward with a hand against the nearest rack. It's almost a casual pose, halfway to a slouch-- or would be, if it weren't for his intent manner. Suddenly this is less of a conversation, more of an interrogation.]

When people bring up Gwen and Norman together, it's never "just something." And there aren't many someones who might bring it up, especially not here. Was it Rose?

[ there's a subtle shift in her posture, a stiffening of her shoulders and neck. the sort of tell a poor actor might have when lying. ]

Why would it have been Rose? [ why would peter think it was rose? maybe he knows she worked for norman? but, as far as kanaya knows, he doesn't know anything about her except that she's kanaya's girlfriend.

something else he said makes her think this interrogation may be moving in the wrong direction. ]

Are they the sort of people that are brought up together often?

[Peter feels a hot flush that he tells himself is irritation. He has a low tolerance for discussing this subject at the best of times, and Kanaya's blatant dissembling eats away at his patience.

But she's not his enemy, and aside from being his friend may be the key to getting to Rose before it's too late.]

Since he murdered her? Yes.

[The other question goes unanswered.]

[ kanaya's eyes widen as her complexion pales, her lower lip hanging open for a few moments in silence. she had suspected rose may be subject to a great many dangers through continued association with him, but that isn't one she considered before now.

for that moment, she forgets that she's supposed to look like it was an idle inquiry, not something directly relevant to someone very close to her. ]

...You might've led with that.

It's not my favorite subject to talk about. [His jaw clenches.] And it's not like it ever makes any damn difference. We're in a whole 'nother universe and Norman Osborn is still walking free.

[ kanaya's eyes darken as her fits clench around the dress in her hands. she's doing a very bad job of looking unaffected, uninvolved with the whole mess. but it isn't peter she's angry with. ]

That he enjoys such freedom is precisely why it does make a difference. Because it means that threat extends to others, and they may be none the wiser for it.

[After a moment, he reaches for her hands, gently tugging the dress loose if she'll let him so that he can drape it in the cart.]

I'm sorry. I never seem to know how to handle him – what decisions to make that'll keep the people I care about safe from him. No matter what I do...

[He turns away abruptly.]

Just – the two of you need to stay away from him, all right? Let – let Spider-Man handle him.

[ she pulls her hands back, snapping at him with her teeth bared. ]

I don't want that, don't put it in there!

[ it isn't him she's mad at, but she hates what the situation's become. she knows exactly how she would handle him, but she doesn't want to have to wait until rose has become another gwen. what's spider-man's going to do to stop that?

she drops the ugliest dress on top of the racks, pulling the cart toward the register. this isn't the time for shopping anymore. ]

We should go.

[Peter's only here under duress, so he makes no complaints. But they're not quite in line before he breaks into the uncomfortable silence.]

If there's something you or Rose needs to tell someone, I might be able to help. I know I'm no one's idea of imposing, but I've survived a few rounds of Osbornmania so far. And I have people I can talk to, Spider-Man for one.

[ why does he keep mentioning rose? what does he know? what might spider-man know that he's shared with peter? rose mentioned talking to him, but not in what capacity. it feels like a situation she needs to tread carefully with, she can't risk accidentally telling them more than rose might have already. ]

I'll...keep it in mind.

[ which is to say that she'll keep a wide berth between them. it's safer that way.

she proceeds to the cashier, paying for their purchases. once she has them separated, she'll keep silent for the rest of the trip, just setting up a portal home for him before heading to her own. ]

[Peter's ready to resume the conversation as soon as they've stepped out of the store –]

Kanaya, you have to listen to me. I can help!

[ – but it's too late.]

[ she shouts over her hunched shoulders, but doesn't bother looking at him. ] Go home, Peter. There's nothing to help.

[ and her portal snaps shut behind her. ]

[He stares at the empty space where she'd stood a moment before. He's still holding the bags containing his new wardrobe, and the plastic handles dig into his palms as he clenches his fists.]

Damnit.

[But right now there's nothing to do but go home and regroup.]

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he flits from shop to shop just like a butterfly

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wow this icon works on multiple levels now

shame more of mine involve making or wearing outfits than holding them

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there's a Cataclysm joke in here somewhere

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