[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

[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.