i. Handle with care - ota (cw: arachnophobia, chirophobia)
Oh, what the--
[He almost drops the critter that made its way up his neck to dwell there - there's a weird sense of deja-vu and for a moment he wonders, what would happen if that one bit him? - then pulls it in close to inspect it. Did he see that right, were those... That's, yeah, that's, that's hands.
He stares and his first thought is what Dr. Connors would have said about it. Animals growing human limbs. Maybe he can bring it to the ADI lab, take a look at it under the microscope. Were there bones in there? Did the creature have cell structures, a nervous system, muscle tissue? He keeps moving and cupping his hands, letting it run in circles.]
Do you see that?
[He holds up the... Man-Spider, presenting it to his companion, oblivious to whether it might freak them out or not.]
Look at its tiny hands!
ii. Shipping and handling - closed to Takayuki (cw: underwater threats, drowning, refuse/filth, squirmy things, human-caused environmental damage)
I mean, I'd cry too if I had to haunt this place. Look at this! It's disgusting.
[Peter frowns, squatting down close to the water as the sun sets, watching the polluted water bop and gurgle in front of him. His camera dangles from his neck, a comforting weight, and his fingers drum against the side nervously.]
You think there's anything to these stories? You think there's ghosts or sirens? If I was a siren, I'd be pissed. Or maybe it's activists, trying to draw attention to the state of this place?
[He raises the camera, snapping a couple of pictures of the water, testing out the zoom and lighting in the dying light.]
You know, speaking of which, maybe the local paper will pay for a bunch of these... Would make a good story, don't you think? "Cut the crap in the Cut".
iii. Say, say, oh playmate - ota (cw: death, hallucination, disorientation, synesthesia, altered mental states, breaking and entering)
[It's Gwen and the world stops. It's Gwen and his heart is in turmoil.
When she starts appearing in the reflections he follows them, slowly at first, then more frantically, chasing her for a while before calling out her name and being utterly dumbfounded when she actually answers. And not in a creepy way, just in a her way.]
But... but you're...
["Dead? Uh huh. I guess I am. It's okay, you can say it. Dead. Deadddddddd. Uhhhh creepy." Her hands wiggle in the world's worst imitation of a ghost.]
But-- that's impossible, how...
[She gives him a look and says "Oh, I'm SORRY I can't be in your alternate reality where magic and time travel is real, I guess I'm gonna bring it up with the death police" and he loves her so much his heart is going to burst.]
Where are you?
["Uhh, yeah, can't tell you that. It's like, it's this being dead thing. You know, it comes with a bunch of dumb rules, like being cryptic and UGH, don't even get me started on the whole incorporeal thing, I've been phasing in and out for hours--" and he nods along because uh huh, yeah, that makes sense and he can totally understand what a pain that would be, totally, death is really, they're not very considerate are they --"but I can guide you there. That is... if you can keep up?"]
What, you think I can't? You think you can out-reflect me? Please. [A scoff, and he throws his head back, posturing, clearly up to the challenge.
"It's just, you seem a little under the weather. You know, cloudy with chance of no powers..."]
Not for long. [He's already moving, falling into a light jog, making his way around town. Sometimes he stops just to look at her, reaching out gingerly to run his hand over the surface. Maybe even leaning in as if to steal a kiss. Unfortunately, if someone sees him, it of course makes him look like he's caressing - or making out with - his own reflection like some unhinged Narcissus. Oh well.
She humors him sometimes, smiling brilliantly before ushering him on and after a while he laughs, feeling lighter and more carefree than he has in months.
It's like a game. With her. And it makes him so happy.
Breaking and entering around town is just a bonus. Maybe you'll catch him pulling himself up a fire escape or loitering in front of a store or dodging some guards outside a warehouse. Powers or not, he does have a lot of experience with these things.]
iv. Let's have a Tea Party (cw: death, drowning, choking, claustrophobia, nausea, emetophobia/vomiting, disorientation/vertigo, body horror)
a. Closed to Eve Baird
Okay, that? That may or may not be the creepiest thing I've seen around town. Now I know this place is riddled with evil.
[Peter nudges one of the dolls with his foot, turning it over in the sand. It beams up at him with salt-encrusted lips and algae sticking to its face. After staring at it for a moment he actually turns it back around so it lies face down. Ugh.]
Can you imagine? Working on a ship just being surrounded by these things? I think I'd take my chances with the lifeboat...
b. ota (at Bonnie's/on the street)
[I think I'd take my chances with the lifeboat, he had quipped at Colonel Baird and as always, be careful what you wish for. The nightmare comes, well, at night of course, in all its cold and wet and dreadful finality. Peter comes up gasping and sputtering, spitting out water, tasting salt in his mouth and in the back of his nose.
He flees the flophouse as if it might flood any second now, stumbling out into the street where he paces up and down, trying to calm his racing heart, leaning against a wall and breathing in (how great is breathing??) the cold night air.
After that he retreats to the common room, collapsing in a chair and wrapping himself up in a blanket, looking absolutely miserable as if he really had just been rescued from high sea.]
Peter Parker | TASM | ota+closed
Oh, what the--
[He almost drops the critter that made its way up his neck to dwell there - there's a weird sense of deja-vu and for a moment he wonders, what would happen if that one bit him? - then pulls it in close to inspect it. Did he see that right, were those... That's, yeah, that's, that's hands.
He stares and his first thought is what Dr. Connors would have said about it. Animals growing human limbs. Maybe he can bring it to the ADI lab, take a look at it under the microscope. Were there bones in there? Did the creature have cell structures, a nervous system, muscle tissue? He keeps moving and cupping his hands, letting it run in circles.]
Do you see that?
[He holds up the... Man-Spider, presenting it to his companion, oblivious to whether it might freak them out or not.]
Look at its tiny hands!
ii. Shipping and handling - closed to Takayuki (cw: underwater threats, drowning, refuse/filth, squirmy things, human-caused environmental damage)
I mean, I'd cry too if I had to haunt this place. Look at this! It's disgusting.
[Peter frowns, squatting down close to the water as the sun sets, watching the polluted water bop and gurgle in front of him. His camera dangles from his neck, a comforting weight, and his fingers drum against the side nervously.]
You think there's anything to these stories? You think there's ghosts or sirens? If I was a siren, I'd be pissed. Or maybe it's activists, trying to draw attention to the state of this place?
[He raises the camera, snapping a couple of pictures of the water, testing out the zoom and lighting in the dying light.]
You know, speaking of which, maybe the local paper will pay for a bunch of these... Would make a good story, don't you think? "Cut the crap in the Cut".
iii. Say, say, oh playmate - ota (cw: death, hallucination, disorientation, synesthesia, altered mental states, breaking and entering)
[It's Gwen and the world stops. It's Gwen and his heart is in turmoil.
When she starts appearing in the reflections he follows them, slowly at first, then more frantically, chasing her for a while before calling out her name and being utterly dumbfounded when she actually answers. And not in a creepy way, just in a her way.]
But... but you're...
["Dead? Uh huh. I guess I am. It's okay, you can say it. Dead. Deadddddddd. Uhhhh creepy." Her hands wiggle in the world's worst imitation of a ghost.]
But-- that's impossible, how...
[She gives him a look and says "Oh, I'm SORRY I can't be in your alternate reality where magic and time travel is real, I guess I'm gonna bring it up with the death police" and he loves her so much his heart is going to burst.]
Where are you?
["Uhh, yeah, can't tell you that. It's like, it's this being dead thing. You know, it comes with a bunch of dumb rules, like being cryptic and UGH, don't even get me started on the whole incorporeal thing, I've been phasing in and out for hours--" and he nods along because uh huh, yeah, that makes sense and he can totally understand what a pain that would be, totally, death is really, they're not very considerate are they --"but I can guide you there. That is... if you can keep up?"]
What, you think I can't? You think you can out-reflect me? Please. [A scoff, and he throws his head back, posturing, clearly up to the challenge.
"It's just, you seem a little under the weather. You know, cloudy with chance of no powers..."]
Not for long. [He's already moving, falling into a light jog, making his way around town. Sometimes he stops just to look at her, reaching out gingerly to run his hand over the surface. Maybe even leaning in as if to steal a kiss. Unfortunately, if someone sees him, it of course makes him look like he's caressing - or making out with - his own reflection like some unhinged Narcissus. Oh well.
She humors him sometimes, smiling brilliantly before ushering him on and after a while he laughs, feeling lighter and more carefree than he has in months.
It's like a game. With her. And it makes him so happy.
Breaking and entering around town is just a bonus. Maybe you'll catch him pulling himself up a fire escape or loitering in front of a store or dodging some guards outside a warehouse. Powers or not, he does have a lot of experience with these things.]
iv. Let's have a Tea Party (cw: death, drowning, choking, claustrophobia, nausea, emetophobia/vomiting, disorientation/vertigo, body horror)
a. Closed to Eve Baird
Okay, that? That may or may not be the creepiest thing I've seen around town. Now I know this place is riddled with evil.
[Peter nudges one of the dolls with his foot, turning it over in the sand. It beams up at him with salt-encrusted lips and algae sticking to its face. After staring at it for a moment he actually turns it back around so it lies face down. Ugh.]
Can you imagine? Working on a ship just being surrounded by these things? I think I'd take my chances with the lifeboat...
b. ota (at Bonnie's/on the street)
[I think I'd take my chances with the lifeboat, he had quipped at Colonel Baird and as always, be careful what you wish for. The nightmare comes, well, at night of course, in all its cold and wet and dreadful finality. Peter comes up gasping and sputtering, spitting out water, tasting salt in his mouth and in the back of his nose.
He flees the flophouse as if it might flood any second now, stumbling out into the street where he paces up and down, trying to calm his racing heart, leaning against a wall and breathing in (how great is breathing??) the cold night air.
After that he retreats to the common room, collapsing in a chair and wrapping himself up in a blanket, looking absolutely miserable as if he really had just been rescued from high sea.]