logsinthenight | a chance encounter || closed

Entry tags:

a chance encounter || closed

characters: Jason Todd (

mind_blown) and Peter Parker (

webshoots)
location: Village, moving towards ice cream
date/time: August 10, daytime.
content: It's just a chance encounter log, following up their last discussion-- except I guess, this time Peter isn't meeting Jason as Spidey!
warnings: None, will edit if that changes.

[there really wasn't a lot going on. part of him wanted to go out on his own, leave the rest of the group behind. but even he knew that that would be practical suicide, given how little they knew about the rest of the area. and he was too stubborn to ask dick for help, no matter how many times he offered it.

guess he was still bitter over the graves.

but also, there was only so much "being personable" he could stand in a search for information, especially after he'd worked through who was useful, and who was a dick despite being useful... and who wasn't. he didn't need a drink, but man, he sure would like a smoke to think it out. or a goddamned burger and fries.

and he didn't have time to learn how to use oil to make them himself.

At any rate, after a successful day of foraging it's time to finally hit up the mystery flavors of ice cream. that he'd said he'd do forever ago. when he jumps down from his perch, he glances at the one person he'd seen near-by.]

'Scuse me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Are we dead? [asked with an exceptionally airy, and tired tone. It could almost be taken for sarcasm, and in fact, he adds onto it to make it seem as though it is.] Because I feel like I am living it up right now.

[he gets the opinion that his view is definitely... mixed. And after the graves, realistically he would never like to talk about death again. With anyone.

Much less this very earnest, very sarcastic guy that sounded like he was from New York.

Probably.]

[ living it up. there’s a sharp exhale of breath that’s definitely an ill-disguised laugh, because god, that was terrible. ]

That’s the going theory, [ peter replies dismissively. when he’d first arrived, he’d been married to the idea that they weren’t dead; he’d cycled through a list of potential suspects (the usual, followed by the less-likely), before accepting that this probably wasn’t thanks to anyone he had familiarity with — or, if it was, it was of a larger scope than ‘friendly neighborhood’ tended to signify.

after the fiasco with the graves? peter’s not so sure. there’s still a large part of him that leans towards death being an (the?) easy answer for something that seems a little more complex — alternate dimensions, time travel, divergent timelines—

pulling that off would take a lot of work and frankly, ‘complex’ doesn’t begin to cover it. ]

The only thing I know, Toto— [ ‘know’ enunciated carefully, with emphasis ], is that we’re not in Kansas anymore. [ pause. sly glance. ] But then, compared to Kansas...

[hey. The pop culture references definitely remind him of someone very specific. He pauses with a light “hah”, punctuating his response to Peter. He’d have to test some more before he could be sure.

But the voice and the pop culture? That ruled out the only other. Ew Yorker he’d met so far.]

You’ve been to Kansas?

[ nngh— ] No, but I saw The Wizard of Oz as a kid and if it taught me anything, it's: don't go to Kansas. [ it's uttered with a touch of self-awareness tinged with sheepishness, because look, it was an off-hand comment, don't take him too seriously, okay? he's travelled a few places, mostly thanks to parker industries, but at the end of the day, new york is where his heart's at. nevertheless — and moving on — peter slows down: the ice cream vendor was around here, he's sure of it— ] Have you?

[it hits him-- though not quite like a sack of bricks. he doesn't show that he's realized anything, instead focusing on answering Peter's question. But realistically? if someone asked him to put money on who he thought Spiderman was?

He'd throw it all on Peter.]

More on the way through to Texas. Honestly, though, compared to where I'm from? Kansas is nice. People could lead a decent, honest life there.

[because fuck Gotham]

Where are you from?

[ the question, obviously, isn’t about where jason is from so much as it is about why he’s implying that people can’t lead a ‘decent, honest life’ there. peter’s not sure he’s ever been somewhere so irredeemable that he can’t imagine making a statement so absolute — people are people and whilst there are good people and there are bad people, there’s very little, he thinks, in the way of true black and white; very few people he’d class as utterly beyond hope — hell, even otto had surprised him, even if there’s still a (somewhat larger than he’d admit) part of him that’s waiting for the other shoe to drop and otto to return to a life of villainy. if and until that day, he’s an example of what is possible with a bit of cautious, careful optimism (and the right set of circumstances.) ]

—You think the people are that different there?

Gotham? Yeah. Gotham’s... like a roadmark somewhere on the way to hell. The only people who live there are the people who can’t leave, the people who take advantage of those people, or the maniacs that want to watch the world fucking burn.

[his comment only grows more bitter as he says it, with something like resentment and sorrow. He knows that his city can put on a pretty face under the right light and at the right angle.

But it’s a lie. There’s almost nothing left to save, and he doesn’t know why he keeps trying.]

[ there's a silence whilst peter digests jason's answer — there's that 'alternate earths' thing, the one where 'gotham' manages to mean not a single thing to peter. can't leave is broad and manages to cover people who can't due to circumstance as well as those who think they can't, but in reality won't. ] So which one are you? [ levilly; if he had to guess, the former, but he won't deny he's curious about how jason would answer. ]

The rare idiot who left and then came back.

[it's an honest answer.]

—New York. [ beat. ] Queens. [ it's the answer to a question jason hasn't asked, but it feels fair to offer given jason's answer; it wasn't the response peter had expected and honestly, it says something about jason that it is the answer he gives, although quite what, it's a little too early to say. ] Home is home, right? [ as, though utterly unfathomable, apparently there are people who dislike new york. (shocking.)

but anyway: the closest thing they have to fast food is right here, meaning: ] —So what flavour are you going to start with?

[Ah, New York.]

Been there a couple of times. Just passing through, though.

[it's on the way, if you want it to be, and have a need of some good pizza. he'd give New York that one. But now, the flavors of ice cream.]

Honestly, since you mentioned it... How about the sriracha?

I've been here a month. [ give or take — frankly, peter's not entirely convinced the planet (or wherever) runs on the same calendar as earth, but it's a convenient, easy point of reference. ] You can keep the sriracha; the strawberry pistachio's calling my name.

[ the make-shift balloons, too — they're a little sad (scratch that, very sad), but there's something strangely adorable about something trying so very hard to make a town as utterly desolate as beacon more hospitable. ]

No sense of adventure, huh?

[at least... when it comes to food, huh, peter? he can keep his balloons and his safe flavor. jason wants to live on the wild side a little bit.]

Guess that tracks with New Yorkers and food, based off every conversation I've managed to have.

We can revisit this conversation in another month and you're waiting to eat something that doesn't taste like wet cardboard, Jason.

[ LOOK just let him eat something that tastes at least semi-good. (otherwise known as: how very dare you.)

so, you know, peter's just going to get his ice cream and he's going to enjoy his ice cream. he doesn't, sadly, opt for the makeshift balloon this time — as much as he's tempted, he's not entirely sure how it'd look as a grown man, taking ice cream from a crab (question mark) spirit, and a balloon made from a surgical glove.

but that doesn't mean he's not curious about the sriracha, though — and the vinegar and fig; and the horseradish—.

(next time.) ]

[he totally struck a nerve, and he just gives Peter a shit eating grin for his trouble. after all, food's important, he gets that. having good, greasy food? definitely something he wants too. but at the same time, giving him hell for playing it safe? worth it.

100% worth it.

he orders his sriracha ice cream with zero hesitation.]

Okay, deal. We'll revisit this in a month and see if I'm still living dangerously. But just so you know, I basically haven't stopped since I was 11.

[ the grin earns silence, sheer silence for one moment, then two, whilst peter meets jason's eyes and eats his perfectly serviceable, perfectly delicious strawberry pistachio ice cream.

(privately, though, he's aware of how awful beacon is, how disconcerting and uncomfortable it is to be continually enshrouded in darkness; the fiasco with the graves and their deaths had been, peter thinks, just enough to hint at what this place was capable of, and if bickering about ice cream's enough to earn a grin? peter'll take it.)

"but just so you know, I basically haven't stopped since I was 11." the remark earns a quirk of his lips — ostensibly a smile, but peter can't help but wonder if there's a little more to it than that. ] Wow. [ he holds his free hand up in a loose, vague gesture of surrender. ] Then you've got me beat. Living life on the edge really isn't my thing.

[he doesn’t reply to that— he’s got a good excuse though, as his sriracha ice cream is dying to be tried. The taste is a little surprising— a little like Mexican hot chocolate, but with that barest hint of the sriracha flavoring.

Namely, this was pretty good ice cream, and not at all horrible like you might have thought from the name.

and also, he’s realizing that Peter’s gotten pretty good at lying through his teeth on the simple stuff.]

Sometimes the reward is ice cream that isn’t that bad. You should try it. This would make a half decent shake.

[ it's not a total lie: now, peter can't quite imagine living without the adrenaline rush that spider-man brings, can't quite imagine not having convenient bad guys to punch to take frustrations out when required (and occasionally, when not required). he's tried, he's given it up on occasion, thinks that if circumstances were just so, he'd do it again, but as it stands, he doesn't quite know what those circumstances would be short of losing his powers entirely.

at eleven, though, peter was being shoved into lockers. living dangerously wasn't a combination of words that really entered his thoughts. ]

—Yeah? [ mildly, with an edge of surprise. ] Sorry, but I've got my sights set on the Prickly Pear next. [ although he's part way through a shrug when 'half-decent shake' really registers and he glances back at jason.

that. is a thought. ] —Why don't you suggest it to the [ uh ] crab? He's already got ice cream and balloons — enterprise and entrepreneurship is clearing his thing.

Hmm. Not a bad idea, but I don't think he’s hiding a mixer under the table. [but mention it he does? Maybe next time. Then they could plan on milkshakes. Even if sweets weren’t entirely his thing (while a heart attack in a bag fit his entire vibe to a tee), it’s be nice to have the option.]

[at 11, his mom “died”, and then he was left to fend on his own. At 12, he became robin. At 15 he died. And then at 16(?), he woke up screaming in a Lazarus pool, and Talia Al’Ghul pushed him off a cliff about 10 minutes later.

And then for years, she distracted him. Anything to get him to not go after his revenge. He had absolutely zero concept of a normal life.]

He might not be, [ peter concedes, ] but you forget Rastus takes— uh, item requests.

[ even as he says it, it sounds a little too trivial, even for him. sure, it’d be nice to make beacon a little more homey, a little more comfortable but what would be the point? peter doesn’t have any intention on staying here longer than he has to. milkshakes would be great, but a way to leave would be even better. ]

—You know, let’s just forget I said that. I’m sure Rastus has got slightly more important things to be dealing with than which blender will make the creamiest milkshakes.

[ like getting the components for peter to make more webfluid. ]

[at least peter caught it before he did, so he could let him down gently. Jason wasn't about to go to Rastus for anything more than immediate needs that he couldn't meet. That was it.] Yeah.

I'd rather not get too comfortable here-- and if I wouldn't order a milkshake normally back home, I'm not gonna go out of my way to make it happen here.

[the ice cream was because it was the only thing available, but he'd endure having nothing but bread and cheese, and foraging for protein, if it came down to it. he didn't like the idea of getting comfortable.

not while shit was still happening in Gotham, and waiting for him to push it.]

Right, but there's a difference between not allowing yourself to get comfortable and actively making it harder for yourself. [ a beat. ] I'm not saying milkshake's the difference between accepting a base level of comfort that this place doesn't automatically provide us with, but you shouldn't deprive yourself of something if you can have it just because you're— what, worried that if you do, it's going to distract you from your responsibilities back home?

[ peter's learnt that lesson over the years: sometimes the responsibility that comes with being a person means allowing yourself a break every so often; sometimes it's allowing yourself to relax and enjoy something simply because you enjoy it. it's not constantly pushing forward because that seems like the right thing to do. ]

Not quite. [he liked creature comforts as much as the next person. But even he knew that getting too comfortable was going to make it harder to eventually leave. Getting too comfortable meant getting to know others, and he was too tired for that.

Even Spidey was just useful in that he felt like there was a mutual understanding of expectations. That’s all.]

Just don’t want to get too attached, generally it’s not a good idea to settle in to a place that kidnaps you.

[ there's a huff of a laugh at that because really, jason, you really think anyone's about to get attached to a town parading as the afterlife, with pop-up graves that like to show everyone else how its denizens quote-unquote died? ] Yeah, I'm pretty sure that has a name. [ but anyway. ] But obviously I can't speak for Gotham, but milkshakes aren't quite the bargaining chip that'd have me abandoning my friends and family.

You’d be surprised. Adaptability is what people do. And it sucks feeing like you don’t have a home for a long time, if it comes to that. [or that your home should be wiped off the face of the map. But that’s not fair to Gotham, for all her flaws.

Though he doesn’t think Peter really understands how shitty Gotham really is. It might even give this place a run for its money.

Mad spirits? Yeah, sure. At least they aren’t poisoning the water supply with fear gas.]

Anyway, doesn’t matter. We’re basically agreeing. [Lets not talk about home anymore]

a chance encounter || closed

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