maskormenacelogs

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

I didn't say you were. I thought we were still talking about the other Kaine. [Thankfully he's getting better at remembering the two aren't exactly the same person. Referring to the other one in the third person is helping.]

If you don't mind me asking, what does Ben Reilly have to do with you pretending to be Spider-Man?

Nothing. [That is genuinely the truth. Ben has nothing to do with what's happening here.]

There was a file leak back in November. I thought it'd be easier to go along with one of the incorrect pieces of information.

You're protecting Unc...Mr. Parker.

[Their relationship must not be beyond repair like Uncle Pete and Kaine's back home. It gives him a glimmer of hope May might be able to maybe get them to mend bridges once they get back.]

But... how do you hold up the illusion? [And then he has a lightbulb moment. No way.] ...Hold on. Do you have spider powers too!? [What the heck is with May's family and Spiders?]

[It's something that probably should be revealed lest this get anymore confusing. There are about three different ways to go about this, and, of course, Kaine's going to go for the most assholish one.]

Look at me, idiot.

[Kaine doesn't always mean it in a bad way when he calls someone an idiot, and that's ... sort of the case right now. Sort of.]

What do you see?

[Normie arches an eyebrow.] I see the other Kaine, younger, without all the scars and the wavy white hair and the santa beard. Without all that you look like Mr. Parker, which isn't surprising considering you're--

[Brothers?

There's no way they could be brothers.]

...How exactly are you related to Peter? He's an only child.

Did they really continue that cousin bullshit with Ben?! [The question comes out snappishly. That has to be how it was kept a secret. And Peter hadn't tried to move things to be different? He hadn't tried to make them more familial?

Well, actually, that makes sense. Kaine hadn't made things easy. And even when things could've been easier, he ditched New York City for ... well, Mexico.

But then Houston happened.]

Talk to Parker, Osborn. I'm not telling you anything else.

[...Okay, they're not brothers, they're not cousins, but they're all related? How is that possible?]

Look, all I have is secondhand information. But I do know from May venting that Uncle Pete's always been really vague with how exactly he and Ben Reilly were related. Always "sort of's" and "not really's" whenever she tried to pin it down. He even skipped over the part about how Mr. Reilly had spider powers in the first place. And whenever it came to Kaine... jeez, someone might as well have been saying "Frau Blucher" near a horse.

If you don't want to tell me that's fine. I'm just trying to make sense of everything.

[Then he thinks about what happens in the future. The story May told her about what he supposedly found in Europe. But there's no way that could be the answer.]

If you won't ask Parker, then use your imagination. [To Kaine, it isn't that difficult to put it together. The sort of and kind of stuff, to him, spells it all out. But at the same time, he wonders why his brother hadn't been honest with his daughter once she got into the business. Isn't that setting her up for some major problems? Clones is one thing, to be certain, but at least she should go in knowing.

Damnit.

And he can't even punch that Parker in the face for being an asshole.]

[Sigh. Of course it's too much to hope he'd actually fill him in here, but dammit he's so close to finding out!]

I am unfortunately using my imagination, and I'm beginning to think it's running wild.

But if you don't want to tell me, I'm not going to pry. If you aren't Spider-Man, then who are you?

Not a whole lot of options, right? [For one thing, he doesn't have boobs.

If Normie looks into the newspapers around Nonah for the last year, he'll likely figure it out. Scarlet Spider has torn into the gangs in the area, and he's done some good. He's been the most consistent hero of them all, even if the imPort population is booming now.

But that's a definite recent change. And while he hasn't accomplished a lot, sometimes it's a matter of doing small work.

Of course, Kaine isn't going to make that easy on him. Why? Osborn is still an Osborn, and Kaine is still an ass.]

No, definitely not. As I've said to May, all of the good Spider-related names are taken.

[Which may or may not be a hint of something, but given how well Kaine's taken his general existence, he figures he's going to keep the existence of his Other a secret that much longer.

No matter, Kaine. He'll figure this out. He's too damn curious not to pursue this. Besides, if he can provide May some of the answers she's been seeking for a while now, it will be worth it.]

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