video; username: spiderman

[madeupnames]

[Ah, look there! It's Spider-Man! He's filming... sideways? Oh, wait, he's standing on a brick wall sideways. That explains it.

His eyes are squinty and peeved, and his arms are crossed — who needs to hold the phone for recording when you've got webs to do that?

Anyway. He's peeved.]

Uuum, just FYI? Graffiti is 100% not cool. I mean, some of it is cool if you get a permit or you're actually any good at drawing —

Point is, don't gross up someone's wall with your bad artwork or some signature a bank teller wouldn't even take.

Also, how dare you use my creepy disfigured twin against me.

[What? Oh, look, he's turning the camera to show — oh dear god.]



[OH DEAR GOOOOOOD]

... I gotta say, The Arachnid really let himself go. And lost his neck in a tragic head-on collision with a building. Yikes.

And the Hulk should probably hit a dentist ASAP, but I'm loving what he's doing with the half-cut shirt.

Really brings out his... green... everything. 

[He rubs his chin.]

... You know, I'm just assuming that's the Hulk, but for all I know the guy who did it didn't have skin tones. Maybe he's just angry and sick.

Comments

[madeupnames]

I guess to be fair, a year ago wasn't such a hot time for me, either...

[Spider-Man, don't go getting into depressing topics.]

But hey! We're doing pretty awesome here, right?

[honeybadgerer]

I mean, I just got here. I'm still working up to it.

[ she likes it but it's very quiet by her standards. ]

[madeupnames]

Oh, right. New blood. I guess I'm kinda new still, too. It's been... three months? Four?

I guess I'm at least getting pretty used to where everything is. It helps when you're on top of buildings, though.

[honeybadgerer]

Does it though? Wouldn't it be disorienting when you hit ground level and have to find your way around?

[madeupnames]

Oh, nah! I mingle a lot down on the ground floor, too.

How am I supposed to buy doughnuts if I'm thirty stories up on a window?

[Priorities.]

[honeybadgerer]

[ gabby grins. ]

Careful with the donuts, it's why you got such a figure on the wall.

[madeupnames]

Hey, super metabolism has been a power of mine since birth!

So basically I'm saying challenge accepted, I'm gonna buy even more doughnuts now.

[honeybadgerer]

Super metabolism is so not your power.

This is why you get plump in graffiti.

[madeupnames]

Then you've clearly never seen the rail-thin kid in my childhood photos.

.....

... Which makes sense that you haven't.

Secret identity, no one must know my deep dark secrets, etc. etc.

[honeybadgerer]

[ hmm. gabby mulls on this. she briefly met peter parker (on her world) but not long enough to make a lasting impression. ]

You have those?

[madeupnames]

Sure! I'm sure there's plenty of embarrassing blackmail material in there, too.

[More kindly, with empathy in his voice:]

... You're still a kid, you know. Not too late to have childhood photos.

[He's sensing that this is where the conversation is heading.

Judging from her prior comments.]

[honeybadgerer]

It wouldn't feel real, though. I'd just be faking it, y'know?

[madeupnames]

Why would it be fake? You don't have to do anything too normal in them, you know?

The only criteria for childhood photos is that you're still growing up.

[He claps his hands together.]

As long as you've got something to hang up on a fridge through the years that reminds you of a fun thing you got to do in your youth, you're doing just fine. And I bet you'll meet plenty of people here who'll be more than happy to help you out in that department.

[honeybadgerer]

I . . . guess it would be nice to have things to stick on our fridge.

[ laura's not much for fridge magnets after all. ]

But yeah. I could give it a try.

[madeupnames]

There's the spirit!

Trust me, it's easy to regret not taking more of them. They're priceless.

[honeybadgerer]

You think so?

[ it's a point of view she's never heard before. ]

[madeupnames]

I know so.

We don't have any control over who comes and goes in our lives.

... But we do have control over how to look back on our time with them. Don't we?

[honeybadgerer]

. . . Yeah.

[ looking back is not . . . something she does. for obvious reasons. ]

I'll try it.