[OPEN] 5 Times Peter Didn't Break Someone's Nose + 1 Time He Did

[madeupnames]

who: Peter Parker / Spider-Man and You!
what: Just some Stuff for August, Mainly.
when: Early August! And if there are any closed threads for August, we can do 'em here!
where: Around town, depends on the prompt!
warnings: GIANT SPIDERS. Also going from a chill prompt log to a serious one by the end. Yikes.

Action brackets or prose is cool!

[It kind of just starts happening, over the span of a week or two.

The fact of the matter is, Peter Parker has been spending more time as Spider-Man than as Peter; it's just easier to be in constant duty, always having something to focus on other than his own stupid thoughts. He's been messed up ever since he asked Tony about the future — and that's all on him, not on Mr. Stark, because he knew the moment he walked into Tony's place that he was gonna want the truth no matter what. But it didn't make it any easier to digest, and it didn't make him any more healthy in his working hours.

Mr. Stark wanted him to take it easy, and Peter said he'd try. That was a bold-faced lie.

But what he doesn't know won't hurt him, and Pete's itching to swing around and play pretend.

He'd been putting off or ignoring friends, namely the Guardians — but it's not that he wanted to, exactly. He was just terrified of fucking up and revealing really awful things to them, things he wasn't sure was fair to drop in their lap. "Oh yeah," he could say, "You guys are totally killed by a fucked up purple people eater in the near future!" Who the hell could bring themselves to do that? And who can even keep a straight face? He worried he'd just burst into tears the moment anything was spoken between them, because Peter is a terrible liar, and Peter connects with people too freaking quickly for his own good.

So, you know. Lots of Spider-Man. Peter is almost a ghost around these parts, save for summer school work. He gets in late and leaves early, and it's better this way. It is. It has to be.]

1. Content Warning: Spiders (Yes, This is the Full Name of the Prompt) | Spider-Man

[There's a big freaky spider thing on the edge of town that is easily the size of a truck, and it's trying to climb up the wall and into the city — which would be, like, a total nightmare for lots of people in Riverview; if some get the heebie jeebies from him, just imagine how they'll feel when an arachnid straight out of Eight Legged Freaks flies in all scary and hairy and ready to snack.

There are a few ways this can go down, none of them pleasant — first, you could be just having a totally chill walk on the outskirts of the town (which why are you, are you nuts) and walk into a scene of Spider-Man trying to pull a huge-ass spider off the wall with his webbings. Or you could be unfortunate enough to get webbed up by this spider yourself when it takes off and decides you look tasty; don't worry, Peter'll get you! Or maybe you even walk in on Spider-Man squirming in a web, looking more like a caught fly; he huffs and puffs and tries to get out while the big-ass spider is preoccupied elsewhere.

Man, he hates spiders.]

2. Why the Heck Is Trail Mix 12 Dollars? | Spider-Man

[And look, not everything he does as Spider-Man has to be fighting and stuff like that. The best heroes, in his opinion, are like the people who run the homeless shelters or the free food stations — those workers are the real deal, the kind of people who are low key Avengers.

If you're visiting the local grocery store for something, you may look up to see this:



What the fuck.

But it's just Spider-Man, doing some light shopping. Not for himself, mind.

Sometimes people need shopping done for them. Judging from the boxes of kid's cereal and colorful children's yogurts and baby shampoo in his cart, it involves an extra bitty being, too.]

3. Choose Your Own Spider-Man Adventure | Spider-Man

[And since he's Spider-Man far too much lately — you got a problem you need help with? Getting mugged? Need help with your stolen bike? Hell, he'll help with just about anything. Sleep, what's sleep? He doesn't need sleep, that's for the unwicked. You know, like that one Cage the Elephants song? Wait, no, he's not wicked. He hopes. God, he's getting tired. He's so tired, y'all.]

4. Like Jacob's Ladder, But No Demon Hobos | Peter Parker



[Peter staggers out of his suit, tucks it into his backpack, and wanders off to the nearest sky or ground tram, nearly hobbling with the weariness in his bones. His eyelids feel like they're twice as big as usual and keep trying to slide shut on him. Checking his wristwatch shows 5 am. He's kind of really glad Aunt May isn't here in this place (she could be dead soon, a little voice in his head says, she could be killed by Thanos and you'll never see her again and you'll be all alone, no more family). He rubs his face and steps into the tram and flops over in a seat —

— and promptly falls asleep. No, that's too kind a way to put it; he practically passes out the moment his ass hits the cushion. And he's so asleep, he entirely ends up missing his stop. Poor kid is literally just a prop for this train at this point, he's not budged an inch from where he's tucked away into his hoodie. H e l p h i m.

Also, check out his nice new blue shoes.]

5. FUBAR Stands for Finally Under Blankets And Resting | Peter Parker

[Wandering back into the apartment at ungodly hours is starting to become more and more typical. It was easy to push 1 or 2 am sometimes before, but now he's found it easier to go a few hours past that. If he goes to sleep at 4 am, he can wake up for school stuff at 7 am, that's three hours of sleep — and then after school he can get some hours in, do his homework, all that fun stuff. He's starting to get his night-owl behaviors down to a science, even if he feels like he's been more irritable than he means to from the weariness, during day hours.

He is walking into community housing now with quiet steps, trying not stir anyone else in the building.

If he can just get to his bed, he can sleep like the dead for a couple hours.

(And then probably wake up late for school, shit.)

His black shoes are really new and nifty — he's got so many now, and most of them make him feel guilty for reasons he doesn't wanna talk about.]

+1. I Broke Someone's Nose and All I Got was This Lousy Prompt | Peter Parker



[At some point, it kind of accumulates. He's mad at himself for being an asshole, he's tired, he's sick of being the nice guy who tries to duck his head and avoid trouble. Today he's in his red shoes, and he kind of is in love with his new red shoes, because they look like converse, and — and, well, he just loves 'em, okay? They remind him of Spider-Man. Did Gamora mean to do that? He thinks maybe she did, since the other two matched his costume, too. He almost wore them over his Spider-Man suit, but then he realized maybe they'd give him away too easy.

He's walking through the Tollbooth Alleyway where those bullies had messed with him before, and for quite a number of days he'd managed to scare them off as Spider-Man so nobody would get messed with. Well? Today is the day they're back. Go figure. He tries his best to ignore them when they wander up beside him — they're usually more chatty than anything else.

"Wow, I can't believe it — new shoes." Ah, yes, that's Len, the douchebag asshole leader-type.

"How many lawns did you mow to get those, Parker?"

So, like. Here's the thing.

At some point after, Len dumps the chilli fries he's eating on Peter's shoe.

He says 'oops' and doesn't mean it.

And then Peter is standing in front of a collapsed bully who is cradling a nose pouring blood.

He's really not sure how he got here, honestly, but it kind of scares him a little. The color drains from his face, and he steps back as one of Len's friends inspects what is probably a broken nose. The other three look at him in awe at how fast he'd lashed out, backing away a few steps; they're looking him up and down like they're trying to decide if he's worth being dog-piled on.

He can't put his tightly wound fist down.

He didn't — mean to? He didn't mean to. He's not supposed to fight back.

They didn't even throw a first punch. He feels a little sick.









... At some point later he'll be scrubbing his shoes clean in the sink. Google advises against throwing them in the wash, so. He's gonna just... clean 'em himself.]

Comments

2

[yakyuuman]

[ He hadn't seen Suppaidaman for a couple weeks since the festival, but it's shocking how he can quickly recognize that spandex at the very first split second, among other things. It takes a little bit to get over the surprise of seeing a superhero wheel around a grocery store on a shopping cart.

Then again, someone would think the same thing about Jyushimatsu. Even he doesn't know why he's being trusted by Oso and Ichi with the task of buying stuff for them by himself. It never ended so well back home. In fact, he's juggling his casket full of human and cat food alike in a way that threatens to spill all the contents to the floor, and it gets worse the moment he sharply turns the corner and nearly slams into an innocent bystander in order to reach Suppaidaman and tap (slap his sleeve over) his shoulder, greeting him with an ear-ringing yell. ]

HEYYY! Of all places to find you, this was the last one I expected? What the hell!

[madeupnames]

[It's a good fucking thing he's got a secondary Spider Sense for Jyushimatsu now, because he only gets mildly startled and not heart-attack-startled. He's too young to die like that, man. As he turns with his cart in tow he gives a wave.]

Hey man!

What, do hero-types not shop? They're missing out, I gotta say.

[Spider-Man, don't even play.]

[yakyuuman]

Usually when a hero goes shopping they do that with their mask off!

[ Jyushimatsu scoots beside Suppaidaman with ease. He should have also grabbed a cart himself, he thinks. They could have made a race to the cashier.

He throws a glance at the cart's content and blinks. ]

Have you got children, or little brothers? You sound too young to be a dad yet!

[madeupnames]

[He looks down, somehow managing to convey utter confusion through a superhero mask.]

Oh! No, no, this isn't for me!

I'm just doing some shopping for someone in town. She got pretty sick and is stuck in bed for a couple days, so she hasn't been able to go out and get stuff for the kids... I was just swingin' by her apartment window and overheard, so I figured I'd lend a hand, you know?

4!!!!

[godslay]

[ It's late. Or, early, by most people's standards – but Gamora is just coming off of a shift with the Guard, and when she steps onto the tram, the sun is barely starting to rise. Even if she's not particularly tired, she's ready to go home, crawl into bed with Peter, and maybe get a few hours of sleep.

However, she happens to be greeted on the tram ride home by a familiar little ball of human curled up in a hoodie. She pauses while the tram is still at the station, eyeing Peter and trying to assess exactly how asleep he is, but—

He looks like he might as well be in a coma.

Well... At least he's sleeping.

With a sigh, Gamora steps up to the row of seats where he's currently slumped. A hand on her hip, the other on the back of his seat, she gives his (very familiar) blue sneakers a pointed nudge with her boot. ]

[madeupnames]

[His sneaker slips off the ground a little, and it's just enough to make him feel like he's being pushed over in some la la land dream. He's totally not proud of the fight response that grips him for a second, sitting up in his seat as he holds up his fists defensively — it's a little comical, but also maybe a touch concerning if he thinks about it later, because maybe he really is a little too involved in the suit? He blinks blearily at the green face, and then instantly looks both red-handed and flustered.]

Oh, um... uh. Hi, Gamora.

[He slowly pushes himself up, rubbing sleep from one eye.]

What're — what're you doing here?

[His phone read 3:45 am when he boarded the tram.

That's way too late for her to be on, right? She should be sleeping right now...?

Aw, man.]

[godslay]

[ Gamora's usually quick to leap into her own defensive stance, but with Peter, her silver brows just lift skeptically at the little fists he puts up. ]

I was going home. What are you doing here?

5

[breqintopieces]

[Peter can walk as quietly as he likes-- there's only so much he can do to mask the sound of the door opening.

Not that Breq should be awake, either. She meant to go to sleep hours ago. Had even, in fact, laid down and closed her eyes. But some nights are bad ones, and her body refuses to let her slow down her mind, close her eyes, and forget for a few hours. Tonight, her hip has joined in the mix, throbbing distractedly every time she finally stills and begins to try to even out her breathing.

Finally, she'd given up on waiting the few hours until the dawn, and had simply levered herself out of bed and padded over to the kitchen to prepare herself some tea, then found one of the couches to sink into. The sound of the door and the light of the hallway have her looking up from the mug she holds curled in both hands, interrupting the lullaby she'd been humming under her breath.]

You're in late.

[As quietly as she says it, it still echoes through the hallway.]

[madeupnames]

[Aw, man.

Usually he's pretty good at hearing or sensing the presence of others, but it's honestly hit and miss — and he's so damn tired, he's pretty sure a giant pair of maracas could get the drop on him. He's pretty sure Breq is pretty chill, though, so the moment his shoulders square up in alarm, they're relaxing again.]

Oh, hey! Sorry, yeah, that's me. Mr. Late!

Good morning.

[breqintopieces]

Good morning.

[There's a moment, where Breq begins to turn back to her tea, as though giving Peter a chance to slip away and off toward his bed and rest in the scant few hours before morning truly dawns.

In truth, she's telling herself that it's no business or concern what a housemate of hers is doing, so long as he isn't being disruptive of the other residents or getting in her way. He's certainly not being disruptive. She was already awake when he slipped in, and he's not being any more so.

She's almost resolved to letting him keep his secrets when the question slips out of her anyway.]

Are you usually nocturnal?

5

[seeingscarlet]

[Oh heeeeeeeeey, guess who has two thumbs and is also slinking back to the community housing building after a late night (or is it early morning?) walk?

The difference is that she doesn't have school in the morning, and she knows very well why she can't quite sleep through the night.]

Peter! What are you doing here?

[madeupnames]

[SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER-MAN, HAS A HEART ATTACK ON THE LAWN—

No but he jumps a little, turning a bleary and owl-eyed stare at her.]

Um—!! Just hitting the hay! How're — what're —

You going on a walk?

[seeingscarlet]

I just got back.

[She shakes her head, that's not important. The real question is--]

Why are you awake so late? Don't you have school tomorrow?

1

[indigobird]

[As Varric would say, this shit just weird. Because there's a giant spider climbing up the wall - which isn't the weird part - and fighting a guy (??) also climbing up the wall like said spider - that's the weirder part - and there's a fair bit back and forth between the two, each knocking each other off the wall and scrambling before the other gets up.

Hawke watches from her perch atop the wall in some confused amusement as the battle goes on for a minute or so. It's half tempting to just let this play out, but the other guy seems to be struggling a bit. Not to mention she's, you know, part of the Perimeter Guard and she'd be a very bad guard if she didn't intervene. So once the spider (the real one) makes yet another attempt to climb up the wall, Hawke draws her arm back, fist clenched. There's a shudder of magic that goes down her arm and forms around her fist. She jabs her arm down, like she's throwing a punch, which, in a way she... kind of is. As the spider will find out when the magic rockets down the wall in the form of a Stone Fist, slamming into the creature's head and knocking it back down to the ground with extreme prejudice.]

Now do stay down this time or there'll be worse where that comes from.

[madeupnames]

[There's plenty of huffing and puffing and c'mon I don't wanna hurt you you stupid spider, or some variation of that. He's not fond of spiders exactly, and this seems like something that would totally eat a person if given the chance — but if he can settle this peacefully, why not, right? He doesn't expect help, but when he gets it, he's absolutely ecstatic and loving the presentation.

Poor spider's, like, totally out of it down below as he crawls up the wall to look at his helper.]

Bad ass! You and that Taako guy should collaborate in a giant boxing match.

He makes a mean stone fist, too.

[indigobird]

[The spider twitches a little, but doesn't seem to want to move at the moment. Hawke refrains from finishing it off for now. If it re-attempts to climb the wall, though, it'll forfeit its life. She has no patience for giant spiders, the annoying bastards.

Anyway, her attention focuses on the guy just. Casually climbing up that wall. She's about to make a remark on what he says - why she is in fact a bad-ass, thank you, and who's Taako? - but then she makes out the voice through the mask.]

Wait. Peter?

[...boy she can't wait to hear this explained.]

1.

[partiallysquirrelblood]

Well, this is ironic.

[Doreen and Tippy-Toe, chasing after the giant spider themselves, stop to look up at the trapped Spider-Man.]

Chukka-chitt chtt?

No, Tipps, rain on your wedding day is coincidence. But Spider-Man caught just like a fly is definitely irony. Spidey, need any help getting loose?

[madeupnames]

[Spider-Man wriggles a little bit, sighing, before his senses pick up on some sort of life in the general vicinity — spider sense is totally the worst sometimes, though, cus you never actually know when something is dangerous or helpful! It's high key anxiety is what it is. The girl that appears absolutely looks more like a hero type (the joys of comic book characters and them usually looking their parts).]

Oh, hey man.

[He seems to have one leg freed up, and wags it like he's waving a hand.]

Whooooa, is that a tail? Do you have a hard time getting on a train with that thing?

[Peter, you should answer the question, not get excited for other mutated people.]

[partiallysquirrelblood]

Not really? I've had it my entire life, y'know. Just like these.

[Doreen pops her claws, and jumps, slicing through the webbing that's keeping Peter trapped.]

Now let's go beat up a giant spider.

( 4 )

[mannerism]

[ She's on her way to her morning training session. Internal Affairs isn't a physical job - to succeed in it, Peggy relies on her skills in espionage; however, a job is just that. She'd like to be prepared for all eventualities. So she practices at the firing range, takes out her anxieties on every sandbag at the facility.

It helps her to strengthen her body after her recent injury, too.

She watches him for a moment before scoffing, rising to her feet and reaching into her purse.

Luckily for him, she doesn't draw out a gun or knife. Instead, she sprays him in the face with her perfume. ]

[madeupnames]

[Well, that is certainly one way to wake up a spider boy from New York City.

She probably expects him to jump to life sputtering — but what she may not expect is the way in which he leaps to the ceiling of the tram, sticking to it with his feet and palms in a blind panic. As he looks around for what he assumes is an enemy, his eyes wander the mostly empty tram car with wide eyes until his sight lands on Peggy where she stands... below? Him?

His heart is in his throat for a moment, and he can only stare in a panic.

... His face smells like old lady perfume.

He's on the ceiling, oh shit—!]

Mi — Miss Carter?

[mannerism]

Good morning, Spiderman.

[ It's a casual greeting, one could think that she has made it countless times before this morning. For all of his skills, she doesn't seem impressed. She puts her bottle of perfume back in her purse and takes a seat. ]

You truly must work on your reflexes.

[ could it be that he's getting scolded first thing in the morning? ]

Especially for someone who is in the business of keeping secrets.

2

[trashvalkyrie]

[Even Revengers need to stock up on groceries, and with Thor gone, it's fallen to Val to shop for her and Kara. Unfortunately, Val's idea of groceries constitutes the bare essentials: her shopping cart is full of coffee beans, beer, and....beef jerky. So much beef jerky. Peter might have noticed that the whole beef jerky aisle was kind of cleaned out.

Still, she's not so preoccupied in her very specific shopping trip that she misses the sight of the red-suited boy hero who saved her ass during the whole, embarrassing Kidnapping Incident. She pauses, does a double-take, and then yells across the snack aisle:]

OI! SPIDER-BOY!

[madeupnames]

[He thwips a web backwards to the floor, tugs a little, and makes him and his cart slowly drift backwards until he's within sight of the warrior once again.]

Valkyrie-Lady! Hi!

[There's absolutely no sense of dignity or poise to this midgardian hero, waving his hand like he's greeting a friend at a barbecue or bowling rink or something equally mundane. But to be fair to him, even if he is on duty he's still doing something super duper mundane.]

... Wow, your cart looks like a frat party in the woods with a bunch of dudebros.

[trashvalkyrie]

[Valkyrie snorts and returns the wave; whoever the kid under the mask is, he's clearly got a good heart and a good attitude. Her mouth curls up into a smile and she glances down at her cart.]

If by 'frat party in the woods with a bunch of dudebros' you mean 'two Valkyrior sitting alone in a house drinking', then sure.

[She glances over at the shelf, hesitates for a moment, and then throws a singular pack of Twizzlers on top of all that jerky.]

There. Balanced diet.