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

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.

You don't have to tell me about that. I saw his face when that delusional goblin cult psycho threw my other over me, when she made it bond to me against my will. I know what knowing about this would do to him.

And I'm also not kidding myself to the evil my other is capable of. I've seen--I've felt--the worst its capabale of. We almost killed someone. ...A really good man, someone I respect.

[Matt's successor, actually... Gonna keep that part to himself.]

But I also know there's more to it than that. I know what it's like to sit and stew in hatred for another person for years. How it warps you into someone you can barely recognize. That's what happened to the symbiote. It was feeling betrayed by Spider-Man's rejection when it found the one man who seemed to hate Spidey more than it did. Together, they stewed in and reaffirmed that anger for years. And then it was imprisoned, stuck with nothing to do than focus on its hate. I reminded it there was more to life than hatred.

I'd tell Spider-Man myself, but honestly he's the one person who makes me nervous. Not only because of my own past with him, but because of my Other's. Theirs is a complicated relationship, with more than enough justified resentment on both sides.

[ Matt can't tell him too much without openly admitting he's Daredevil. And despite the fact that he'd just done that to the world, to him, that's still raw. He'd immediately landed here, where the secret remains intact, and he hasn't been forced to live with— or lived with being forced to— openly dealing with it.

Which puts him in an awkward position. Because he hears the truth. Normie believes this. One hundred percent believes this. Matt himself holds his doubts, but then Matt himself is a deeply flawed person, susceptible to temptation and crashing and burning, and maybe it's not right to expect the sort of hubris he'd displayed in dealing with The Hand to come back and bite his alt-universe nephew in the past.

It's awkward just to feel kind of responsible for a grown-ass man he barely knows. But he's Foggy's son. And Matt loves Foggy so much that he would do anything for his sake. Even if it's not the Foggy he knows. ]

You don't want to come up on people's radar here, Norman. You have to be sure you can keep this thing in check, and this isn't going to bite you in the ass later on.

I know. Back home I was still in the process of repairing my office from when The Avengers found out.

[A small black tendril pokes itself out from beneath Normie's shirt, before ducking back down again.]

And don't worry, we've been careful. We've only shown our joint form once, after our first swearing in ceremony when the Hornets blew everything up. We helped to evacuate the few remaining people in the grounds, and dam up the water so the kids could go back to school the next day. That's the kind of person we want to be, and we aren't going to allow other peoples misconceptions of who we are--either singularly or together--get in our way of that goal.

[Slumps slightly in his chair, silent for a moment.]

And while I truly believe that I'm in full control, and what Spider-Girl has told us of its future has made me even more confident... I'm serious, Unc-- Mr. Murdock. Matt. If it starts to exhibit control over me, either destroy me or find someone who will. I won't be a part of Venom again.

[ That's not fucking pleasant. And he doesn't have to see to know that damn thing is there, or pick up on the change in tone. No, no thank you. That wasn't reassuring or convincing in the slightest.

Part of him wants to just wash his hands of this. This man isn't really his nephew. The Normie Osborn he knew was a boy whose greatest problem in life was that his mother accidentally married into the craziest family since the Mansons. And yet Matt thinks about having to confront Foggy, any Foggy, and explain that he's let his son go his own way...

But Matt's face is stiff, his posture rigid. He heard, but he didn't entirely hear. His voice drops as low as he can manage. ]

First of all? Don't ever do that in public again.

[ You know what he means. The thing, with the tendril. ]

You're not the first one here.

As much as you might despise it, it's a living being whose opinions wanted to be known. How could I deny it that?

[Still, he falls silent when he hears that second part.]

You mean that man... what was his name... Eddie Brock? He was here? The symbiote's second host?

I might be blind, but even I know camera phones are a thing, Norman.

[ Thank god Freddie Lounds is long gone, or it would definitely show up on her sight. Some kind soul in this shop would run to post it all over the internet. ]

It's not Eddie. I think I would have heard. It's someone else. We had a very thorough tabloid journalist for a bit who was all over a cannibal import. I don't know what came of it; again, you'd have to ask—

[ Spider-Man. ]

It touched my throat. If anyone did take a picture it would look like a shadow under my chin. It was either that or my t-shirt suddenly transforming into a turtleneck. Somehow that seemed more noticeable.

[His eyes narrow slightly.]

I'm not telling Spider-Man I'm in possession of my other. Much like you, I doubt he'd approve. [Still, he was curious. In another dimension, someone other than Eddie Brock had possession of the symbiote?]

Can you really blame us?

[ God, what a mess. This is a compelling argument never to have children, and Matt has to resist the urge to rub at his eyes underneath his sunglasses. But there's one question he can't help but ask— ]

Did Foggy know? Or your mother?

[ That would make more difference than Normie could probably know. ]

I can't. I know better than most people what Venom was capable of. Before we were one, back when it was still Venom, I was its prisoner. I felt everything. [He pauses.] But honestly, feeling what it felt is what compelled me to help it in the first place. That feeling of helplessness, of uncontrollable rage over slights it couldn't even remember anymore... I once felt the same way. I helped it to get past the hate and follow its own destiny.

...No. My mother died shortly after the first time I went out as you-know-who. I never said goodbye. And Foggy... I'm genuinely convinced it would give him a heart attack. Whenever something goes wrong with me: when I decided to follow in my grandfather's footsteps, when Mr. Nobody tried to assassinate me... when the my other and I were first forcibly bonded back when it was still Venom... you know what he did? He blamed himself. He thought it was his fault for not being a good enough father. [Normie's fists are clenched as he stares hard at the table.] When he doesn't realize I've just been an awful son. I can't do that to him, Uncle Matt. I can't.

[There's a brief pause before he continues.] But people do know. Spider-Girl knows. So does my wife, Brenda. So does Uncle Pete's partner Phil Urich. And my secretary, Auntie M's cousin Kristy. And Kaine. And Tony Stark. And the Avengers.

And the FBI; I sort of work for them as a volunteer using our unique skills.

Shall I go on?

Edited 2015-06-13 04:36 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[OPEN]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject