[open] gwen's birthday bash

[notthekingpin]

Who: Matt Murdock, Gwen Stacy, and anyone who knows her or just wants to party, tbh
Where: In a cute park!
What: This is a mingle log for Gwen's Birthday Party on May 29! Feel free to tag around.
Warnings: It's just a party! The youths might drink but that's none of Matt's business



[ Strictly speaking, Matt Murdock is not actually Gwen Stacy's friend. He's actually her enemy? Her archvillain? But what the Gwen who is here doesn't know can't hurt her! And Matt has always found her fascinating. So you see, you can plan a party with no ulterior motives, even for someone who got you arrested. And really, if your arch-enemy can't throw you a birthday party, who can?

Unfortunately, without his own criminal empire or Wilson Fisk's war coffers at his disposal, he has to make do with what is actually in his budget. Back in New York, he would've rented out a penthouse. Here, he has settled for a nice park with a couple of rented tables, a balloon arch (in black, white, pink, and teal no relation to spider-woman, don't worry about it), a fun little banner (it says "Hapy Birthday Gwen" instead of "Happy" did he run out of letters? did he do this on purpose? is he even aware?), some food and beverages (he's not the police), some tunes, and a cryptic message on the network Come celebrate Gwen! to tie it all together.

He's done very well, if he does say so himself! Really, it would've been way better if Jerry could have done him one tiny little solid, but it's fine. He adapted. He always does. ]

Comments

[laserguy]

I can think of worse things than sticky.

[Scott almost wants to mention that she can at least control her webs and powers, but he decides to let that go for the time being. It's... it's not the point anyway. And geez, why are they talking about all this crap during her birthday anyway? Even if she doesn't mind, he does. He can't have that kind of reputation for bringing up dour topics during a party.

But he nods, wanting to still acknowledge what she said. He... he already knows he can trust both her and Peter if things become hard around here.]

There's always a way out. [Even if also doesn't want to leave right away. He doesn't want to leave Kotone--] But first. You and your party.

[finalfrontiersman]

The fact that you were able to send them back is honestly amazing. [ Jim gives a low whistle, suitably impressed. His time definitely wasn't advanced enough in the ways of interdimensional travel to be able to send Spock Prime home. He'd live out the rest of his days stuck on an alternate path, over a hundred years in the past.

Jim's not going to judge her, and the beat of silence he lets sit until Gwen is the one to break it is hopefully placid enough with understanding. It didn't even matter if this Peter was the same as Gwen's Peter - he would never replace her Peter. That wasn't how caring about anyone worked. Jim's lost enough in his own time to know that much - and besides, his current Spock situation? Not that far off, save the fact that as far as he was aware, his Spock back home was alive. ]

It doesn't get easier. People like to say that it does, but it doesn't. [ Jim's smile is soft, muted, the kindness born of understanding loss. ] You just get strong enough to bear it, eventually, and Gwen - you are so damn strong. Having Peter's support will help with that, too.

[ Jim has no idea what Peter's reaction to that kind of news might have been like, but then again, he seemed to be suppressing his own shit - they were all just doing the best they could.

Loss is loss, whatever magnitude it comes in. Frankly, it's the quote "smaller" - the more intimate losses - that are worse emotionally, in his opinion. An entire planet being sucked into a black hole was devastating, shocking, incomprehensible in terms of scale - but watching Spock reappear on the transporter pad, hand still outstretched for his mother, was a private kind of horror. ]

No. Guy who did it was headed there next, though. [ He generally doesn't talk about this, the same way Gwen doesn't talk about Peter - Jim wasn't even able to tell Spock, when he arrived - he'd shown him, because he just didn't have the words. Jim runs a hand over his head, finally lifting his gaze to Gwen's, clear blue. ] It was Vulcan.

[notthekingpin]

[ Matt can't help but laugh at this description of the "kingpin in another dimension." Wow, okay, incredible. Imagine Fisk doing anything that interesting. ]

No, but I couldn't necessarily tell you what you did in another dimension or not.

[arachnerina]

What's so funny about that?

[Her brow raises at his laughter, not really understanding. Not that Matt is known for appropriate reactions. He's so odd. But she does know their dimension has a Kingpin, even if she hasn't faced off with him yet.]

So I never mentioned Miles? Or any of the other Peters?

[notthekingpin]

I just wouldn't have assumed dimension hopping was something the Kingpin was into.

[ he's hilarious. ]

I've met Miles, actually. Miles Morales?

[arachnerina]

No. No, he was trying to bring something to him. He introduced DNA into the beams. I.. think he was trying to find a new family?

[Which. Wouldn't have worked, anyway? Crossing dimensions was hard on the body, and they glitched the whole time they were there. The same thing would've just happened to anyone he brought over, unless Doc Ock figured out a way to combat that too.]

Yes! So I get to see him again? That's-- that's amazing. [She honestly didn't think she would ever get to see Miles again. He was the first person she started to let her guard down with. Her first friend in..forever. She missed him terribly, even now. But knowing there was a future where it wasn't an end for their friendship was honestly the best news.]

[arachnerina]

We just reverse engineered the machine, it was no biggie. [Says the superhero that does nonsense like this on the regular. It was just another day, for her. Sometimes she forgets it's still impressive, to someone looking in from the outside. Even in all the time that he's known her and Peter, they've barely scratched the surface of what it's really like for them.]

I.. know. I lost my mom, a few years ago. [It just leaves an empty hole. An empty space that's never really filled, it just gets smaller, more bearable, until sometimes you actually forget it's empty.

And that anniversary has come up, once again.

But again, it seems menial when Jim continues his tale.]

Oh. Oh. That's-- [Spock's planet, but the words escape her. No wonder Jim thinks of it as the dark timeline. As close as he is to Spock, that would be a huge impact to anyone. She can't even imagine.]

He wasn't there, was he...?

[arachnerina]

Oh, definitely. Always. [It is wrong, that there's a part of her that doesn't want to leave Peter yet either? They've only just become a thing, and if he leaves, he just gets turned to dust-- maybe forever?? And she couldn't have that. Another Peter couldn't just die, not on her watch.]

Yeah, we should probably get back to that, shouldn't we?

[Even if she didn't mind the deep conversation, there were more people to greet, more shenanigans to be dragged into. Who knows what else Peter and Matt had up their sleeves?]

[notthekingpin]

[ He's about to say something more about the ridiculousness of Fisk looking for family, but whatever, it's another dimension, not his problem. Especially because whoa, something is definitely going on with Gwen and Miles. He can hear it in her voice. He wants the tea?? Yeah. ]

Oh? Do you like him?

[arachnerina]

-- What? No, that's not-- He's just a friend. [So Miles might've had a little crush on her, but that's it! And all from him! They were just friends, that's all, and that's all she ever expected. She was fifteen months older than him, anyway! And it wasn't like she thought she would get to see him again.

But now she might??

Not that it mattered right now. She was here, and her and Peter were...becoming a thing. And she was very happy with that thing.]

[finalfrontiersman]

No biggie. Pff. [ Jim can't help but chuckle - yeah, he's no stranger to death-defying feats, he gets that much, at least. They'd literally broken physics with Scotty's transwarp beaming equation - doing the impossible was sometimes the job. ] Solved interdimensional travel, that carbon polymer concoction you guys have been cooking up - you're amazing, Gwen.

[ Yes, he's talking about the webbing, it's a beautiful piece of engineering. ]

I'm sorry. [ The beat of silence that washes over them is born of respect, not awkwardness, giving the moment the breath it deserves. ] That's not easy, just you and your dad.

[ Jim just nods as she processes the information - yeah, it's a lot. They're remarkably well-adjusted, all things considered, but as much as Spock likes to protest that their universes are simply different - equal, just different - Jim knows the truth. ]

My Spock was. [ It's difficult sometimes to think of the Spocks as separate entities, and more so lately for Jim to not admit that this Spock was his Spock now, for all intents and purposes. ] We were trying to stop it, we were just...outgunned.

[arachnerina]

It's just part of the job. [Gwen shrugs, but it's hard not to smile at the compliment. She might not be doing the job for the praise, but it is nice to hear it sometimes. To know she's not just actually making things worse-- that she's actually doing something good.] But thanks.

[That moment of silence is good. It gives her a minute to collect herself as she nods.]

-- Yeah. It's not. It was easier, when Peter was...I'm sure you get the idea. [It wasn't so lonely. Both of their families would come together. May and Ben, both so kind and loving. But without Peter, that all just fell apart. Her dad became bent on finding Spider-Woman. He worked longer hours, was gone more and more. And she...pushed everyone away.]

Oh. [Oh no. It was even worse than she thought. Did that mean...?]

He didn't...? You know. [She doesn't want to say die, because they've both clearly dealt with enough loss and sadness, but she can't help but wonder. Especially since she's seen how close Jim and Spock are. If he was like that with the Spock from his timeline, then no wonder he said he was in the dark timeline.]

[finalfrontiersman]

Doesn't make it less amazing. [ Jim nudges her playfully with his elbow, his own grin echoing the smile he managed to get out of her. Most of the time, the job is thankless - it's usually only when it's the most uncomfortable that their actions are praised. But it's nice, sometimes, to be acknowledged for something that doesn't end in blood being shed. ]

It will get easier to bear. [ It's a quiet promise, not a platitude. Speaking from experience is always better than talking out your ass, at least. ] You just have to keep going. Even when...they can't, anymore.

No, he didn't. [ Jim drops his gaze to the table, his half-eaten breakfast sandwich. One hand fidgets idly with the paper, an anxious tic he has when he gets deeper into thoughts, usually of the distressing variety; he notices and quells it, putting his hand in his lap instead. ] Billions did, though. Including...his mother.

[ Spock nearly did, though. Separate occasion, with a volcano. Jim had broken every rule in the book to save him, and the only remorse he had was for getting caught. But all he could think at the time? Please, God, not him. ]

[arachnerina]

Yeah. I'm...trying. [She thought meeting Miles would make a difference. Open her back up to the possibilities of friends and loved ones, but then they were separated, and the hurt just came back, even worse. As much as she doesn't trust this place, it's been a blessing to have the opportunity to be herself. Not hide her powers. Not hide who she was-- be her whole self, not split herself between two worlds, like she had to do back home.

But she doesn't know what she'll do with herself, going home after experiencing this freedom, losing all these friends she's started to care about. She doesn't know if she can handle another big loss like that.]

Wow. That's... terrible. [She can barely imagine how awful that would be. Such high stakes. She's mostly just been a friendly neighborhood Spider-Woman. Stakes were high, but not usually that high. Fighting Kingpin over the collider was the biggest stakes she had faced, with six dimensions at risk. That's the closest she could possibly think of, but they won.

Billions didn't die. She can't imagine how it must feel, to fail at that level.]

I'm so sorry. But you stopped them, right? Before they made it to Earth?

[finalfrontiersman]

[ Aldrip has a lot of surprising upsides. Much as it, obviously, sucked to be trapped here against their will - on average, things were...good. Maybe Jim was biased, not having experienced some of the more unpleasant things that were purported to have happened - he wasn't here for the bombing, hadn't experienced a 'sentencing' yet. Still, he understands that perhaps there are things that could be missed about this place - especially when it comes to Peter and Gwen, now knowing what she's lost, in her world.

If Jim compares his situation with Spock, well, shut up, no he doesn't. He resolutely does not.

Jim offers a helpless half-shrug; yeah, it does. There's no words he's ever been able to find that manage to make it any less terrible. Any way he turns it, round and round in his mind - it's one of the most terrible things he's ever had the unpleasant fortune to bear witness to. And for Jim, personally, that's saying something.

And there is nothing else so personal a failure. Even if, no matter how he turns it, he couldn't think of anything else he could have done. ]

We did. [ A hard smile, one that doesn't speak to any kind of happiness, but more...satisfaction. ] Kicked some Romulan ass. Right into a black hole, but that was their choice.