[OPEN]

[notyourfathersosborn]

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!]

Comments

[resipiscent]

No, just hornets. But I'm thinking, like, bees make honey, so that's a good thing.

[notyourfathersosborn]

True. Bugs are just so creepy you forget they have a purpose.

[resipiscent]

Sometimes, yeah. There are people who like bugs, though. [Sora.]

[notyourfathersosborn]

True. I know they aren't technically bugs, but spiders have grown on me the last couple of years.

And no, I don't mean that literally.

[resipiscent]

... I gotcha. Why, though?

[notyourfathersosborn]

Let's just say... I've finally figured out their importance.

[resipiscent]

Hah. Well, they are pretty useful. Eating other bugs is good.

[notyourfathersosborn]

Yeah. And most of them won't kill you, so they're mostly harmless.

[resipiscent]

Mmn... that's the part about spiders that kinda freaks me out, you know? Poison is kinda scary.

[notyourfathersosborn]

Spiders actually aren't poisonous--they're actually venomous. [Sorry there's a brief, creepy little smile that darts across his face as he says the word. Don't mind him.]

If it bites you and you get poisoned, it's venomous. If you bite it--or touch it--and you get poisoned, it's poisonous.

[resipiscent]

[He did notice that, though, and he squints just a little at him, but recovers fairly quickly.]

So, semantics.

[notyourfathersosborn]

Sorry, a friend of mine is rather fond of spiders.

[resipiscent]

I don't really have an opinion on them. They're kinda neat, though.

[notyourfathersosborn]

Dude, it's okay, you don't have to pretend to like them.

So anyone interesting other than bug guy?

[resipiscent]

Uh, there was... well, in the group Maleficent brought together, there was...

[He counts off on his fingers, looking thoughtful.]

... bug guy, Oogie. Maleficent herself, Hook, ah... Ursula the witch... Hades... and Jafar. Later there was just Maleficent and Pete, though.

[notyourfathersosborn]

[It takes everything in his power not to give Riku a double-take.]

Oogie? As in Oogie Boogie? Enemy of Jack Skellington? That's the bug guy you've been talking about?

[He's focusing on Oogie because this is really a lot to take in.]

[resipiscent]

... Yes? He's burlap and bugs. You've heard of him?

[He didn't realize Oogie was infamous elsewhere...]

[notyourfathersosborn]

I... ah... you could say that.

[Eventually, he adds:]

...Same for the rest of them, too, for that matter. Maleficient, Captain Hook, Ursula...

[resipiscent]

Really?

[Riku pauses, shifting the stuff he's carrying.]

... how?

[notyourfathersosborn]

...They're all villains in some of my favorite movies. Oogie Boogie's the bad guy in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Maleficent is the villainess in Sleeping Beauty, and so on.

[Looks down at the sidewalk. Man, he shouldn't have said anything.]

[resipiscent]

... Really? That's so weird. [He sounds interested.]

[notyourfathersosborn]

[Normie seems relieved that Riku didn't take that the wrong way.]

How about Professor Rattigan? Did you ever meet him? He's always been my favorite Disney bad guy.

[...Hang on. Why is Riku hanging out with all of these villains anyhow?]

[resipiscent]

I have no idea who that is, so, no. Sorry. The council was pretty small, actually.

[... want to ask?]

[notyourfathersosborn]

[He's working up to it!]

...The council? [All he can think of is the direct-to-DVD movie Mickey's House of Villains, though he's pretty sure this involved less dinner theatre.]

[resipiscent]

That's what Maleficent called it. Supposedly a round table, but she was definitely the leader. Everybody else was kinda too stupid or full of themselves to really lead, anyway.