maskormenacelogs

Entry tags:

[OPEN]

WHO: Normie Osborn and You!
WHERE: All over; locations specified in starters
WHEN: March
WHAT: Normie's trying to get used to his new life
WARNINGS: None, will edit as needed

01. Nonah - Around Residence 004

[He didn't set out to build a goblin glider.

At least, not at first. It was originally an attempt to figure out how this world's hovering technology worked. However, when he found out that this was a guarded industry secret, he gave it up for the time being and started to learn about the steam engines certain cars used instead. The problem was, he could only learn so much by reading about them. He was the type who learned through reverse engineering and trial and error.

And that's where the glider came in.

He needed something to put a steam engine in, and between his brief (better left forgotten) career as the Green Goblin and Phil's, he'd built or modified enough goblin gliders that even without the blueprints, the design was familiar enough that he was able to reproduce it from memory. Sure, it might not have been an exact replica of the ones back home, but everything worked properly, and that's all that mattered. Getting the steam engine to work in the glider proved a challenge, but after a few sleepless nights, Normie finally got the hydraulics to stop leaking and frying the circuit board, and the glider was ready to take to the skies.

Which is exactly what he was doing on this night, as well as the past few nights. The glider itself isn't exactly something he'd show off to people (or even use beyond testing), but he sees no reason in making the outer shell look polished if the device didn't work. Besides looking like a typical glider's ugly cousin, it also doesn't have the signature horned mask head in the front. Normie's aware of how bad this might look, and had tried to make the glider look less like he's about to go terrorize a Parker on a bridge somewhere (but really, it just looks like a goblin glider without a mast, so he failed).

Keeping himself attached to the glider by specially designed magnets on his shoes, Normie just pilots the machine around the perimeter of his backyard at first, maneuvering it in small circles a few inches off the ground to make sure everything's still working before bringing the glider straight up a few feet, his body perpendicular to the ground below before he evens himself out. Nervous he might still be visible despite the darkness, he goes a little higher before attempting to push the glider's limits, speeding across his neighborhood in a giant circle. When he's satisfied the glider can handle it, he lands back in his backyard, but not before doing a loop-de-loop in the air for good measure.

He's taken precautions to not be seen during his testing: doing it at night, wearing all black, designing the glider to be as quiet as possible, but even with all of that, he's still probably not as stealthy as he'd hoped.]

02. Maurtia Falls - The streets

[Ever since Clark Kent had mentioned the thrift shops in Maurtia Falls to him, Normie found himself venturing out there first whenever he's on the hunt for some old, busted electronics. He has found they typically had a good selection, were inexpensive, and that any sort of damage the machines might have were cosmetic. Sure, he can buy the parts he needed, but this way he not only saves money, he's able to learn more about this world's technology by disassembling them (there are obviously exceptions, parts Normie refuses to compromise on by salvaging it from other units, but whatever he can salvage he does).

In this particular outing, Normie is done for the day, and is somehow precariously balancing a stereo, a microwave, and a computer tower in his arms, to say nothing of the two cloth shopping bags containing who knows what hanging from one arm. Though he doesn't appear to be too worried about dropping anything, he also can't see very well in front of him, doing his best by craning his neck around the side of the tower of junk and attempting to maneuver around anyone else on the street.

Careful, or he might bump into you.]

03. Heropa - A cafe

[One of the perks of his job as a Family Genealogy Researcher is that he's not stuck in an office all day, as often the research takes him out to various libraries and government offices. Rather than return to his office when he's done, he instead finds the nearest cafe, parks at an empty table, pulls out his laptop and any sort of notes he'd written down, and gets to work filling out various client's genealogy charts (after he pays for a coffee and a pastry, of course. Both of which he's careful to keep away from both his laptop and his papers).

He always tries to do this after the lunch rush, though he's not always successful. He might be hogging one of the cafe's larger tables, or perhaps he's asking to use the plug near your foot for his laptop cord, or maybe he's actually managed to knock his coffee all over his table, pulling his laptop away to safety in time, but not his notes.]

04. All over - The library

[Another place Normie finds himself visiting with frequency are the local libraries. If he's not looking through public records, he's at the microform machine looking at old newspapers. He's at the one in Nonah so often people have actually confused him for a librarian (even though he isn't, if he can help, he does). Often, when he finishes gathering the information he needs, he can be found wandering the shelves for a bit before leaving, taking a particular interest in the Science Fiction and Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Mystery, and Nonfiction sections, as well as the DVDs.

And because Normie apparently can't get enough of the library (no, really, he could, he just thought it would be a nice gesture), he's teaching a Genealogy workshop in each of the major libraries in the Porter cities. The blurb on the libraries bulletin boards and inside their newsletters reads:

Researching your family tree may appear daunting, but thanks to the Internet it has never been easier. Learn how to utilize search engines and other free resources to uncover your ancestry.
If you catch him teaching one of these workshops, you'll see him explaining each of the resources in what he hopes is an engaging manner, though some of his explanations might be a little too technical in the earlier classes, and he has to stop to clarify several times. He'll also stay as late as needed, answering any questions any stragglers might have.]

[OOC: Or feel free to make your own starter!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Your, uh, dad does it sometimes. The most of anyone.

[ Which is funny, considering how aloof he's been for most of his life, how deeply private. And Lillian could ruin that impression in a minute by calling him "Matty." ]

And no, I've never been here before. I'm usually something of a coffee snob.

[ Or an everything snob. But Matt thinks, if he has to ask- he doesn't know how Matt does it...so maybe Foggy never told him about Daredevil?

He's not going to try to wave it away, in any case. He's not pretending so much, anymore. ]

You really can call him Franklin if that's easier. Or Foggy. [Scratches the back of his neck. He never noticed Franklin did that. Then again, he spent most of his adolescence pretending Foggy didn't exist.] Like I said on the network, our relationship is a work in progress.

[Glances at the board of specials over the counter.]

As a coffee snob I'd have thought all these mom-and-pop places would appeal to you. Unless you're one of those Starbucks snobs, then I could see why you'd be out of luck.

Edited 2015-04-01 04:27 (UTC)

He says "Franklin" sounds too Irish Catholic of me.

[ And like 'Matthew' it ends up being used to make a point. But to be honest Matt's fumbling a lot more than he ought to, trying to navigate this correctly. It's hard reconciling best friend = this man's step-father and this man = Matt's step-nephew. It should truly not be so complicated or awkward, and it probably wouldn't cause any trouble, if they were the correct and corresponding versions of each other. ]

There are no such thing as Starbucks snobs, only people without taste. [ Augh. Matt's face wrinkles distastefully at the thought. ] And I can't believe Starbucks is a universal constant. Talk about a disappointment.

[ And he's well aware they're talking about nothing to avoid talking about the real issues at hand. They really could be related. ]

No offense meant to your universe.

Then let's just go with Foggy.

[Chuckles. Wow these are a lot of strong feelings to have about coffee.]

I solemnly swear I have no feelings about Starbucks one way or the other.

[ Anybody would have strong feelings if they had a sense of taste as precise and nuanced and powerful as Matt Murdock's. ]

Then it's a good thing we didn't come here to talk about that.

[ But since they are here, they might as well get on with it. ]

I imagine you must have a lot of questions of some sort for me.

[ Hedging, because— maybe it won't be like what Peter talked about, maybe. Maybe it will be totally normal. ]

I'm a businessman, I can hold entire conversations about things I don't care about.

[But this isn't one of those things. The fact was, he does have questions, such as what happened between his parents in this Matt's world. Not that he's not sure he wants to know.]

A few, the same as you I'd guess.

[He opens his mouth to actually ask one, but he doesn't know where to start. He sits in silence for a bit, spinning his wedding band around his finger as he attempts to figure out what to say.]

I, uh... how long have you been here?

[ There's a silence on Matt's end, too, but more contemplative than it is in any way awkward. The answer is easy. It's reflecting on just what it means that's a bit harder. ]

Over a year, now.

[ Long enough to make a life, a routine, and achieve some feeling of normalcy. And somehow, that's a bit troubling. ]

I believe I was one of the first wave of Imports to come directly to this universe, though not one of the first ones here.

Oh wow.

[It seems like everyone he's talked to has been here a while. It makes him nervous.]

I've heard bits about that other universe that some people were in.

"Bits" seem to be all anyone is willing to divulge about it.

[ And Matt's tried. Particularly with the shadow of another Matt Murdock hanging over his life, and whatever dark deeds he'd committed. No one wants to talk to him about it. He can't pretend that he doesn't understand why. ]

I have friends who were there for years. Lil was there, for years. And even she doesn't want to talk about it.

Edited 2015-04-26 06:46 (UTC)

[A sigh.]

Whatever they went through must have been traumatizing if no one will say anything. But at the same time I can't help but be a little curious.

You're welcome to try and ask someone. I know plenty of people who lived there for some span of time. Not me; I don't recall it.

[ Something he's had to explain over and over many times. ]

You could try Spider-Man.

[ Casually, as though he's not totally aware of what he's saying, throwing that out there to see what happens. ]

Honestly? The main thing I want is to get my hands on the parenting book my grandfather allegedly wrote over there.

I need the laugh.

[Tugs at the back of his hair.]

Yeah... You do know our family histories, right? I might not do the whole laughing, green thing, but that doesn't mean everything isn't all awkward.

[It's clear from both his tone and his body language that while he's telling the truth, it's not the whole story.]

I could hardly be unaware, Norman. I'm blind, not deaf.

[ Not just because he now knows once again that Spider-Man is Peter Parker, with all that entails. He's known Spider-Man a very long time, vouched for him and been a pain in his ass. Aside from Natasha, he's not sure he has a closer friend in their community. And he knows Peter would not hold that kind of grudge against Norman's grandson.

Someone might have to whack him upside the head once or twice, but... ]

But if you want answers about it that badly, I don't know who else to send you to. As far as I know, he's the one with the longest experience. Something like four years, I believe? And in good conscience, I can't suggest you speak to one of the others about it. Especially not your grandfather.

I figured you were from the same place as Mr. Parker and Kaine, but I couldn't be sure. I'm still trying to get a handle on this whole "alternate versions of people I know" thing. People are so quick to rush to judgement, and I don't wish to be like that. Where I'm from Spider-Man and I have made amends, but I don't presume that this version will believe a thing I say. Given my family history, I can't blame him.

[Eh, he's learning that Kaine and Peter are apparently some kind of brothers, and his uncle's managed to hold a grudge against his version of Kaine for 15 years. And that's after Kaine returned baby May to them.]

It's just curiosity more than anything, it's really not that im--

[At the mention of ol' Norman, his heart rate spikes.]

--Right. Of course.

Mmmm.

[ Ah. Well. He couldn't miss the way his pulse spikes, when Matt mentions Mr. Green Goblin. ]

Maybe we should talk about that particular elephant in the room. Just for a moment.

[ They're not going to get anywhere pretending Norman Osborn the First isn't a thing. But Matt can't hold it against him either. He can't help who he's related to.

If he could, he probably wouldn't be claiming Matt as an uncle. ]

Normie— [ That's only a little awkward. ] I won't pretend I have anything kind to say about your grandfather. Some of us still have very vivid memories of his worst moments, and the damage he caused. Myself included. [ Like that time he went crazy while in control of national security while running a team of psychotic criminals. Good times. ] That's no reflection on you. Even if it may take time for some of us to remember that. But I can't imagine he isn't going to try to contact you.

[ If he hasn't already. Matt's listening for another jump in pulse, a change in his sweat or his posture with increasing anxiety, so he doesn't have to ask if Normie's going to avoid the topic. ]

Or that it won't keep coming up.

Don't worry, I'm not going to expect it. The first Norman Osborn is a psychopath of the highest order who ruined my father's life, tried to ruin my dad's best friend's life and that of his family's... and tried to ruin mine too.

[Rubs at his eyes and sighs; quietly.]

We've already had lunch. What's more, he apparently wants go to into business with me or something. "It's an opportunity to spend time together and make up for lost time. I can help you." Or something suitably creepy.

[Normie wants to leave it at that, but he remembers that Matt always seemed to know when he was hiding something, so even more quietly, almost a whisper really, he adds:]

Tried the whole "family business" thing once. Never again.

I figured you wouldn't need me to tell you that you're under no obligation to have anything to do with him.

[ Maybe Matt would feel a little bit sorry for Norman, what with his entire family hating him...if he didn't deserve it. Completely, 100% deserve it. ]

Let me know if you need help filing a restraining order at any point. I'd do it pro bono.

I know that, and thanks, but... I think I'm going to take him up on the offer.

My grandfather's a very guarded man, to say the least. By pretending to go along with the whole "happy family" thing, maybe he'll, I don't know, slip or something. I'm not an idiot, I know he doesn't trust me, but if I can stay close, he's bound to screw up...

[ Now, Matt has no room to judge. Matt has a PhD in shitty, poorly-thought out plans. Not because he doesn't try to plan, or because he can't. But inevitably he'll end up playing it by ear sooner or later, and when he does, it's dangerous.

It's the sort of thing Matt would do. It's the sort of thing he's done, joining up with the enemy to take them apart from within. This ended with Matt possessed, declaring martial law all over New York.

That doesn't stop one hand from curling tight in a fist, around the handle of his cane where it sits folded neatly in his lap. ]

You'll forgive me for asking this, since I'm sure I knew the answer when you were growing up— but how familiar are you with your grandfather, exactly? How much contact have you ever had with him?

He came back from his "European vacation" when I was about 4 or 5, he tried very hard to make up for lost time, while my mom fought to keep him away from me. I think Foggy even got involved then, that was back when they were still dating. It's all kind of a blur. Ultimately it didn't matter, because he died when I was 7.

But he left journals behind. A bunch of them. I've read them so many times I'm pretty sure I could recite them from memory.

[After all, they were practically his bible growing up. He used them to teach himself how to be a better Osborn, how to be a better Green Goblin.

Now they're just a reminder of how he wasted his life trying to follow in the footsteps of a madman.]

I know he's crazy, and evil, and whatever it is that you are trying to warn me about. But he's also family, like it or not. And that's my greatest advantage over him: he thinks he can get me to crack, to control me, and ruin my life the same way he ruined my father's.

But I'm stronger than he thinks.

[Uh, don't be alarmed, but Normie's clothes appear to be... moving. Nothing visible to the naked eye of those nearby, but there's a slight sound of something brushing against Normie's skin that shouldn't be possible without a breeze, not to mention that that "something" doesn't sound a whole lot like cloth.]

[ Don't be alarmed?

It's not like Venom's someone Matt runs into all the time. That's more Peter's thing. But he's been familiar with the symbiote, off and on, and if anyone could hear that sound, it would be Matt. He knows what wind sounds like; he knows what cloth of all kinds and qualities sounds like, on all the possible variations of skin.

Matt gets tense. He leans across the table, ignoring the beginning wisps of the smell of that thing, the way the sound of it starts to grate on his eardrums with the unnaturalness of it. Low enough to make sure no one else can hear, Matt hisses furiously through his teeth: ]

That had better not be what I think it is, Norman.

[Crap. Of course Matt could detect his Other. Somehow. Still, leaving it at home wasn't exactly an option. He gives Matt a smile while he braces himself for a fight, should it (hopefully not) come to that. For what it's worth, the symbiote is reacting solely to Normie's emotions, rather than manipulating them.]

It's exactly what you think it is, yes. But before we start one of those completely unnecessary fights based on a misunderstanding, you need to understand the history of my Other. It wasn't always Venom, and it isn't Venom now. It comes from a race that merely feeds off the personality of its current host. After Spider-Man rejected it years ago, it became angry, and when it merged with a man named Brock... it became Venom. But I banished the Venom persona, and it's back to its original state.

If you don't believe me, you can ask Spider-Girl. We've learned its destiny is to sacrifice itself to save her. It moves past its... complicated feelings for her family because it knows how much I care for her. It will not harm anyone.

[Unless I ask it to, or it feels my life is being threatened.]

I know what Venom is.

[ His voice drips with ice. It doesn't occur to Matt that such a statement may require further explanation— why should he know? But he's not trying to keep up much of a facade anymore. He's not just an ordinary blind man, and he's told that to the world once already. ]

And I have some idea of why, despite that defense, it's still a cause for concern.

And if you'd listened, you'd understand that my other is no longer Venom. Any more than I'm still the Gr... you get the idea.

[Normie's voice is equally frosty.]

Knowing what Spider-Girl has told me of our future renews my belief that I'm fully in control and that the symbiote has truly changed, but if it causes you such concern, than keep an eye on me. If it appears the symbiote has gained control, destroy me, or find someone who will. Problem solved.

[His heart rate never changes throughout the offer. It's genuine.]

I heard what you said. It's not my hearing that's deficient.

[ But Matt is the king of self-deceptive denial, and all he can think about is how many times he'd insisted on this or that to someone's face, fully believing it to be true, forcing himself to think it was true. And he knows, vaguely, that does something to a host's head, or else why would they keep it? ]

And I know if I have to do anything about it, I'll have a hell of a time facing Foggy. And if Webhead finds out I knew, and I kept it from him, he'll— actually, I don't care so much about that. He'll grow up and get over it. But I know he'll find out.

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