Video | HAPPY... LATE... BIRTHDAY??? | @p.parker

[madeupnames]

[The feed is mostly full of textbooks, the spines all turned enough that they're legible; it's math, chemistry, social studies, all the fun things nobody misses from high school. And on the right side of the screen is Peter, sitting with his cheek on his palm and his elbow pressed beside a blank page of paper. He looks kind of sleepy, like he'd just nod off if he didn't have the feed to focus on.]

So I've got this essay I need to write by tomorrow, and I'm having a hard time getting — personal, and all that. The prompt's asking about what inspires you, specifically. [He looks to read it word-for-word:] 'What motivates you in your day to day life?' And I mean, I've got a lot of motivations, but trying to put it to paper is giving me a wicked case of the fogbrain.

[He tucks his pen under his nose, holding it with his upper lip for a moment before letting it fall pitifully to the table. He sighs.]

What motivates you guys? Into doing what you do? What makes you put your shoes on in the morning, huh?

And don't just say 'to avoid stepping on pointy stuff barefoot'. That's a cheap and obvious answer—

[Peter startles violently as birthday music blares behind him, so much so that his pencil goes flying through the air and RIP's somewhere off-screen. Pam the pancake making robot seems to be flying onto the scene in the background with freshly made pancakes and festive lights blinking all over her.



A little lighter arm pops out, preparing to light a lone candle on the stack of flapjacks.

Peter mutters, mortified:]

...I thought I disabled Birthday Mode for repairs...

[He looks back at the robot with his hand pressed to his temple, and clears his throat.]



... Pam, uh. My - my birthday was two days ago. Two days. It's August 10th. And, uh, it's... it's the 12th now.

[Peter watches as the AI seems to try to process this, tapping his finger on the table and thinning his lips at the awkward silence. Pam's little plate-holding robo-arms lower slightly, the generic birthday MIDI file slowing to a depressive stop as the party-themed lights and lighter are shut off together. A pause of nothing. Then she turns and dejectedly wheels away into the community kitchen with her plate of pancakes.]

Wait, Pam — Aw, c’mon, I can still eat them! Hey—

[Peter drops his arms.



... Note to self, fix her internal clock...]

Comments

video; un: hawke

[indigobird]

Peter, Peter, Peter... now that's no way to thank a woman for her hard work! Do we need to have a heart-to-heart about how to talk to the opposite sex? [Of course she's teasing but she couldn't help but give him some shit for it.]

video; @the.tetherer

[tetherer]

I hope you weren't stuck studying on your birthday.

[Guess who has two thumbs and doesn't recognize Peter from Spider-Man: this god!]

Birthdays are a pretty good motivator, though. Most everyone gets excited about those. Maybe Pam was helping, in her own way.

video; un: yakyuu.luvr

[yakyuuman]

Oh no, Pam-chan looks super upset! You should apologize and give her a hug!

[ He looks a little... affronted on camera. Why did you make his favourite robot sad!!! She was doing her best??? ]

But also, happy late birthday! Is it too late to buy cake or did you get one already?

[ Those pancakes are not THE cake, are they? ]

video

[madeupnames]

N—I wasn't trying to not thank her, I just correcting—

[Oh, the woes of being a robot builder. How does Mr. Stark handle this.]

I'll thank her! We can have a... pancake party.

[God, he's eaten so many pancakes since he built her. The thought of eating more makes him queasy.]

video;

[madeupnames]

Noooo, no studying, just... [Oh hi Tetherer. This is awkward. Dual identities is hard when everyone and their mother knows the two different identities, but - he'll do his best.] I'm sure she was helping! I'm just not really... feeling the whole birthday celebrating spirit, this year. That's all.

video;

[madeupnames]

... I dunno about hugging, she's got gears and stuff that'll probably eat my shirt...

[Oh! But he straightens up, re-focusing.]

Thanks! I mean, you don't have to. I wasn't really doing anything special this year.

video;

[analienprince]

Hey, if I'd known it was your birthday, I would've got you a cake at least. Happy late birthday, Peter.

[But seriously, go apologize to the poor bot. She's upset.]

As for the essay-- that's kind of tough. I always hated those kinds of questions.

video;

[madeupnames]

Thanks, Teddy! You don't need to get anything like that, I'm cool with just aging.

[Ignore the slight pinkness to his cheeks; how is he always embarrassing himself on the feed?]

They could at least make it sound a little more enjoyable. Maybe, like. Lead with Mario's motivations rescuing Princess Peach, or Ash Ketchum's motivations for catching cute animals in tiny balls, and then segway into personal questions. They're so blunt about it.

video;

[tetherer]

[They frown.]

Did you... not do anything, for your birthday?

[At his age? He has no reason not to get excited about a birthday... doesn't he?]

I suppose most don't have their family here, but I would imagine your school friends would like to help you celebrate, at least.

video;

[analienprince]

Come on... don't you want at least one gift?

[Teddy might not be big on celebrations, but-- it's nice when people remember, right?]

See, now if they'd have let me write about Mario or Pokemon, I might have liked school work a lot more. Why can't they ever just keep it fun?

[yakyuuman]

But birthdays are precious, especially since you're a teen! When you grow up things will get a lot sadder and same-y every year, so you should enjoy your youth while it lasts!

[ Does he speak from experience? Pro...bably...

It speaks volumes that he didn't bat an eye when he discovered his arrival in Riverview made him skip his entire birthday. ]

So what kind of cake do you like?

[ HE WILL BUY ONE AND YOU WILL LIKE IT YOUNG MAN. ]

video;

[madeupnames]

[He doesn't... really... have any school friends...

To be fair, he knows its his own fault. He's been so busy and has been kind of moody on top of that, and — like, he's already so bad at interacting with other kids... It's easier to make friends with the adults. Especially the other heroes, even if some of them don't know he's Spider-Man.]

It's okay, honestly... I used this coupon I had for this little place on the corner a few blocks away, got me a pretty awesome fish platter thing — so obviously, I celebrated the heck out of my birthday.

[Eating alone counts as a birthday party, signed Peter B. Parker.]

video;

[madeupnames]

... Gifts are nice. I guess my birthday's just been low on my radar.

I don't want people to spend their cash on something I'm snubbing.

[He doesn't really wanna say outright that he's kind of too busy... and too sad, lately, to enjoy his birthday. That's new baggage that he doesn't need to dump on anyone.]

Maybe I'll make a petition to include more pop culture references in the curriculum.

Text; un: unbeatablesg

[partiallysquirrelblood]

Happy Birthday to you / Hope it's not dull / I'll make sure it isn't crashed / By the friggin' Red Skull.

video;

[analienprince]

Yeah? Not a huge birthday person then?

[Teddy can-- kind of get it, probably for entirely different reasons. But.]

That's the attitude. Be the change you want to see or whatever. Maybe turn in a petition instead of what motivates you.

[He's only joking. Do the opposite of that.]

But seriously, maybe for the essay -- maybe make a list of all those reasons you mentioned, take a break, then come back in an hour or something and maybe it'll be easier to pinpoint which ones to write about? Focusing on something too long can make it feel even more impossible to do.

video | un: mantis

[glowfeelers]

Oh! Happy Birthday, Peter! Did you have birthday cake?

[ She is also concerned for Pam since she seemed so sad just now, so, ] Is Pam alright?

[madeupnames]

... I mean, I guess that's true...

[He's quiet for a moment though, clearly at war with the idea of telling Jyushi anything that'll cause a birthday-related thing to happen. Bless. Still, he's too polite to try and skip around the question for long.]

I like chocolate. But, like, most cake is good cake. That's a law.

Text

[madeupnames]

[He stares for a long moment.]

Y'know that's a scary thought.
But really, I don't need any celebrating or anything, haha. Just kinda skipped it this year.
Maybe next year when things align better. :P

video

[madeupnames]

Pam's okay! I mean, I'll make sure she's okay by eating the pancakes she made.

[Even if he's drowning in them at this point, RIP. At least it's a lot of carbs?]

And I haven't, nah. But I don't need cake, it's not really that big of a deal.

video;

[madeupnames]

Maybe I should do a big reversal on them and say "essays with interesting hooks motivate me".

.... Nooo, that would be a good way to end up with a mad teacher and an F.

[In reality, it's just hard to explain what inspires him. It's so — personal. And, you know, when you think of what you've lost, it leads to thinking about what you will lose when you get back home, and... yeah, it's icky. Joking about it is easier.]

Re: Text

[partiallysquirrelblood]

It could happen. He showed up at my last one. I had to punch him through the roof.

Which birthday was it, anyways?

Text

[madeupnames]

16th birthday!

...

🎉🎉🎉

But dude that's wild??? Are you srs? That's some real hero business! Are you a superhero?

[See: the civilian Peter Parker, pretending he's never met you.

Because he's not Spider-Man. Obviously.]

Video: UN ragnarsdottir

[like_quicksilver]

[So many responses] The answer to the first question is simply I know my family wouldn't want me to just give in to the bad feelings.

[She smiles at the obvious show] People make a big deal of birthdays. You should've pretended it's on the 12th because of the pancakes.

video;

[analienprince]

I mean, that would be a gutsy move though. Stupid, but gutsy.

And that teacher would probably never like you again.

[And it is personal, and awkward. Not something you really want to share with people, right?]

You might be a hero to teenagers everywhere though...

audio un:pnwsalex

[11calls]

Well, happy belated birthday, Peter! You're definitely going to need to come over for dinner. [There's a teasing note to her voice.] I promise it won't be pancakes.

[But there will be birthday cake. Sorry Peter.]

But I think Pam needs a hug though. As for what gets me through the day and wakes me up: finding answers to things, honestly. Big things, little things, just finding truth.