exsilium | text / anonymous / encrypted

[There are some things you can't run from. For Peter, he's been trying to run, but things keep coming up, keep reminding him. He went a good month of pretending that he was just a normal guy who made it out of his world alive. It was a good lie. Even for those people who knew him as Spider-Man, no one needed to know that his final moments in his life were spent saving Aunt May. They didn't need to know that he had given his all and that he was actually happy with what he managed.

But there's dying. And then there's finding out you aren't dead. There's finding out that you have a whole new life, and that somewhere, in another dimension, a "you" managed to grow up. Sue knew him. Bucky knew him. Even that grumpy Nathan guy knew a Spider-Man. And for all that, he's been trying to make it less obvious that he's surprised that he grew up. It's been hard, and he knows it'll continue.

It has to, after all. With great power and all that, and this world has bigger problems than his.

But still, he sets out to ask this question, because he knows it's better to ask now than later. He had to be careful about what thing he said to Charlie that one day. When he phrases his question, he rereads it a couple times, taking out anything that sounds too much like him. The last thing Peter needs is someone tracing it back to him.

He's not ready for those conversations.]

I've got a question, but first, please don't try to trace this back to me. If you've already done that and broken my encryption, let's just pretend you didn't. [Also, you're a jerk, but he had to cut that part out. Too ... him.]

What happens if you died before you came here? What's left for me after this all ends? Before you ask, yeah, I definitely died.

I just thought I'd ask.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, I'd just prefer to think the best of them. Besides, at least I'm not being ripped from somewhere ... while living ... I've got a little more to give.

Yeah, you're right.

Come to think of it, if the Initiative can bring people like you in, then why bother with people who were in the middle of stuff?

Ghost army.

I think their tech is advanced but not as advanced as it could be.

Seriously? If they figured out time travel, picking the point in time when someone's dead doesn't seem too far-fetched.

From the sounds of it, us getting here is not that planned out.

It's still lame. They've had long enough to learn a lesson or two by now.

I bet the scientists are just really bad.

Could see that with my knees.

Like, what a huge waste of brains.

Maybe all the good ones are making sure the AI overlord is alive and kicking.

[which is a paradox in its own way, and seems plenty counterproductive]

Whatever the case may be, all we can do is speculate. [even though she was the one who brought up the subject first --]

I feel like we could spare ourselves of a headache if we don't think about it too hard.

I am literally incapable of not thinking.

Literally incapable.

[but why tho.

is she actually texting a brain in a jar...?]

Do you tell yourself that a lot?

[No, that's another Marvel comics character.]

I think my running inner monologue is proof enough. It's kind of loud.

[no let her sustain the illusion a little longer.]

And far from cheery, I'd wager.

[brain/person, you need some friends]

... It's been cheery before, just not often?

I still don't know who you are and I'm fine with it staying that way.

But there's enough doom and gloom as things are, so you're not helping yourself when you add to that.

It's not really doom and gloom and brooding thoughts. It's just ... sardonic pessimism.

Okay, that doesn't help.