seeing a certain somebody woke up ol' harry here

[goblinjr]

You're not gonna replace me if there's a... "new me", right?

[Of course not, but I do hope you're done some justice if there is.]

Fair enough. [That might have been the tiniest breath of relief in the midst of Harry trying to play it off all cool. He likes being the favorite for once. That doesn't need to change. Right? Right.] So... does this mean I get a break from dying of boredom in your headspace?

Yeah, yeah, I get it. You were busy with school, and now life is kind of throwing you around. But c'mon. You're killing me here. I could use some friendly faces. Or... I dunno - an adventure or something? A nice one, though. I don't want to go back to Torture Town.

[Well, I don't know, Harry. You drive a pretty hard bargain.]

Gee. I didn't know being nice to me was so hard for you. [Cue eyeroll.]

Comments

/ruins your life one tag at a time

[sliceofapple]

What's Torture Town look like?

[mypath]

Hey. Careful there.

[ Eager as he might be, she's seen how Harry handles matters when it comes to boundaries-- or the tendency to skip them entirely. ]

Or at least look before you jump into something new.

wow, spelling errors. it should be /betters your life one tag at a time.

[goblinjr]

[There'd be more exasperation if Harry weren't worried about the guy who wants to know what Torture Town looks like.]

Actual Hell. The Greek kind, though.

[He wishes he were joking.]

[goblinjr]

[G W E N -- sorry, were you giving him well-meaning advice? It's hard to hear over the sound of his happiness to see you.]

I promise not to trash the Museum of Natural History, if that's what you're worried about. And for the record, that was all on Miss Mun and her not-so-amazing pathfinding skills over here.

*u* you do, you do.

[sliceofapple]

[ Regardless of whether or not the kid has an active imagination or has, in fact, seen some shit isn't entirely what interests him. People change a lot after coming out of Hell, be it a metaphor or a dolled up set complete with a sign. ]

Seems like it would be a lot more colorful than the fire-and-brimstone scheme. Kind of one note.

[mypath]

I heard about that.

[ It's clear disapproval-- but she's happy to see you too, Harry. The smile that eventually wins out in the end says that clearly. ]

Maybe your next adventure involves cleaning up some messes.

[daredevilawyer]

No rest for the wicked, as they say.

[goblinjr]

Yeah, well. I think she thrives on being a jerk. Lucky me.

[goblinjr]

[Wha--! Don't give him that look. It wasn't his fault! He knows his way to the subway perfectly, thank you, so he never would have gotten lost and ended up in the museum to start with.

But Harry smiles back at her, even as he tries to wrinkle his nose and look disgusted at her suggestion.]

That's not an adventure, Gwen. That's punishment.

nooo you're not allowed to turn that on me :|

[goblinjr]

[Change? Ah yes, Harry changed by leaps and bounds during his time there, and it was mainly in his psyche. A psychotic break'll do that to you.]

Well... [He takes a deep breath, like he could burst out hours of detail on the place. And oh, could he ever.] It had a bunch of nasty rivers, and a market place, and a creepy forest full of monsters. And a huge maze - also with monsters. Oh, and every month, the vengeful goddess that ran the place would put us through some horrific ordeal. Like, uh. One time, she decided our decision-making was too selfish and blew up a planet full of people, then made us live with the sensations and images of what the people on that planet were going through as they died.

[He sounds... way too nonchalant about it. In fact, anyone with any decent measure of ability for reading body language could see Harry's just putting on a front. It had messed him up, it still haunts him, and he's already itching to down a glass of whiskey to drown out the memory.]

If that's your idea of colorful... Then, oh yeah. A whole rainbow, that place.

[daredevilawyer]

I do hate to be the one to break it to you, but most if not all adventures here are not nice or easy.

[goblinjr]

You're preaching to the choir, pal.

[daredevilawyer]

[Switching his cane to his other hand to offer a handshake.]

Matt Murdock, attorney.

[goblinjr]

[It's only about then - when he switches hands with his cane - that Harry really notices the guy's eyes not really focusing on him. He is now keenly aware that he should be careful not to put his foot in his mouth, but he's not so good at that.

He still smiles anyway and takes Matt's hand, giving a firm shake.]

Harry Osborn. Head of Special Projects at Oscorp, if that means anything to you.

[Given the whole... multiverse thing. And it's not something he's really proud of right now, given his mishap with Octavius, but it's better than "the good-for-nothing son of Norman Osborn" or "the temper tantrum throwing drunkard in a bunch of tabloids".]

I remember when I thought being a lawyer would be fun as a kid, and then I realized how brutal law school is. Props to anyone who can get through that.

[daredevilawyer]

[A smile comes to his face as he shakes the man's hand.]

Thanks. Yes, I'm familiar with the company. Scientific research and the sort, right?

[Not his part of New York, but everyone knew the name of Osborn. And strangely enough, he has met up with one Otto Octavius too.]

It's a small firm, Murdock and Klein, we cover Hell's Kitchen mostly.

[goblinjr]

That's about the size of it, yeah. Trying to make the world better one innovation at a time.

[Sort of. No one's supposed to know about the catastrophic military projects Oscorp has under wraps... And as fate would have it, Harry has plotted against Spider-Man with that very same Octavius until his mun unceremoniously fell off the face of the earth. Small world.]

Really? Seems like a rough neighborhood to cover.

[daredevilawyer]

[A pity, a better Octavius this mun has never met.]

[Matt chuckles.] Rough perhaps, but necessary. There are quite a few people in need of a lawyer there. Besides, it's home for me.

[Lawyer by day, vigilante by night.]

[goblinjr]

[Poor wording, my bad. I'd meant that I fell off the earth, not Otto's mun, but their Doc Ock was indeed truly magnificent. Very sad if they're not around any more.]

Guess that's true. The people that need you the most are the ones that are hardest to help. [His smile turns lop-sided. Last time he was around, he'd been trying to turn the Goblin image around into something better. More benevolent, to help the people he cares about. That road hasn't been easy, either... In a way, he can relate.]

Home... Even more reason to help, right?

[daredevilawyer]

[Haven't heard from them in a long time sadly.]

Indeed they are. [This kid was pretty smart for his age.]

It's where the heart is, as they say. Where's home for you? [Since they were on the subject.]

[googleconvert]

[ so this is weird. ]

Feels like there's a million of both of us running around sometimes.

[goblinjr]

Yeah... [Awkwardly rubbing the side of his neck now, because alternate universes and Petes that aren't his Pete is still... strange. Should he act like they're buds or strangers? It boggles his mind.] I think I've lost count. That one - [Vague gesturing towards the general mun area.] - tries to keep up, but...

[It's obvious Harry's given up that endeavor. Not enough motivation. Too many other things to worry about.]

[goblinjr]

[That's really too bad. But who knows! I meandered back, so maybe they will too.]

[Harry's endured plenty of hard lessons; it would be a shame if he didn't learn anything from them. But the question earns a small laugh.]

Uh, Manhattan. [Tudor City, even more specifically.] I kind of end up all over the place, though. Do you get to travel much? [Being a lawyer seems like it would be a job that would eat up all your time.]

[daredevilawyer]

[Indeed! We can only hope.]

[Matt grins, he thought the kid had an educated accent on him. Manhattan makes sense.]

Not really, I'm pretty much married to my job.

[goblinjr]

[Yes! I hope it's not weird, but I totally read the threads in your journal. What an engaging adventure! I couldn't stop reading, hah.]

Oof. That's rough.

[But then there's a thoughtful hum.]

Everyone needs a little break, though. Lawyers included. You like burgers? 'Cause I know a place with the best burgers.

[daredevilawyer]

[Not weird at all! I try to save the long ones for reading later. Thanks for the compliment!]

Really? Better than Marco's on tenth street? Because I might have to see that to believe it. [Pun fully intended.]

[goblinjr]

[Anytime! I like going back and reading threads later, too.]

But you're--

[Harry just barely manages to stop himself from finishing that sentence, and yes, that is the sound of him slapping his hand over his face in exasperation. Again, not so good with keeping his foot out of his mouth and even less keen at picking up Matt's humor.]

Uh. [Say something, Harry. Anything.] You're totally wrong. [Nice save? ...No. But at least he tried.] I know a way better place. My treat-- if you're game.

[daredevilawyer]

[His smile widens, amused with the save. How he did love tripping up the sighted.]

I'm game. But I doubt I'll be impressed.