[OPEN] hope dangles on a string

[nepotis]

Who: Harry Osborn nepotis and YOU!
What: Harry tries to grocery shop, and also beats up some NPCs
When: mid-March
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: wanton violence, possible mentions of alcoholism and poor coping habits

[ Harry Osborn is not a hero. He has no desire to "save" people, nor is he particularly suited for it. Conversely, he certainly doesn't think of himself as a villain, either, but then... who would? More than that, he has no interest in "reforming" himself to fit any mold this world has set for its metahuman residents. As such, he has no plans to join either of the guilds offering memberships and free handouts. He'll find his own way, by tooth and nail if he has to. ]

01. Independent Streak ⋯

[ Harry knows that his life will be different now that he's been cut off from Daddy's money. He's eventually going to have to find a job, find housing, find a way to feed and clothe himself without a team of staff to take care of those needs for him. His money and housing concerns are largely taken care of at least for now, but given how he has no intention of joining either of those guilds anytime, he knows it would be in his best interests to start making headway on independence now.

The main hurdle Harry has to clear to attain real independence is learning to cook for himself. His entire life, he's either had private chefs or school meal plans doing all the cooking for him. While he still has the Alliance's no-limit credit card, he could feasibly order takeout or delivery for every meal, but logically, he knows that cooking skills will take time, so he'd better get started learning sooner rather than later.

Which is how he ends up at the grocery store closest to the Diadem Hotel, shopping for supplies and ingredients. So far, he has in his cart:

• a carton of eggs
  
• a 5lb bag of yellow onions
  
• a package of frozen meatballs
  
• a jar of cocktail sauce
  
• salt and pepper shakers
  
• a value pack of 6 chicken breasts
  
• a box of frosted flakes

It's clear this poor boy needs help. He stands in the pasta aisle, completely stymied by the sheer overwhelming number of shapes. ]

What's the difference between penne, and penne rigate? [ He asks no one in particular, holding up two near identical boxes.

Or maybe you run into him in the bakery department, purchasing the smallest, saddest birthday cake, only big enough for one person to eat alone. He stands in front of the rack holding the number-shaped candles, picking out a "2" and a "1." ]

02. Heal Thyself ⋯

[ A curious thing had happened to Harry when he crashed down in Excelsior during the last Confluence. Angered by an influencer who had turned his head into an emoji, Harry had let loose punch after punch, taking out all the pent-up rage and frustration that had been building in him since his father's death. That's not what's curious, though. What's curious is that, after beating poor Emoji to a pulp, the telltale signs of Harry's terminal condition— the patchy skin on his neck, his shaking hands— had miraculously been cured. The effect was only temporary, though, and Harry quickly realized that if he wanted to stave off the slow, insidious progression of his deadly disease, he would have to make this a regular thing.

And so, though he is neither "hero" nor "villain," Harry spends his days walking the streets and back alleys of Central City, looking for marks he can beat up and leave bloodied, then walking away hale and hearty, whistling an innocent tune. He uses the Alliance credit card to buy a set of brass knuckles which he keeps tucked away in his jacket pocket and slips on whenever he's cornered a new victim. He's smart about it, hiding his identity with a hood, dark sunglasses, and a medical mask. If anyone questions why he's buying a 50-pack of disposable masks, he simply replies, ]

Cold and flu season.

[ Is it actually cold and flu season? Who knows. Not Harry. ]

03. Wildcard ⋯

[ Want something else? HMU @ millennialfalcon! Will match prose/brackets. ]

Comments

[nepotis]

[ Harry isn't all that tall, and up against a huge lizard person, he feels even smaller, but the rage building up inside of him is big enough that it boils over, causing him to snarl and rush, throwing useless punch after useless punch at the lizard's tough hide. ]

You—! You don't know what you're messing with! Don't fucking—! Do this to me—! I need this—!

[chin_godzilla]

(Godzilla makes it a point to avoid fighting humans as much as possible. They're tiny and very fragile, compared to him. The superpowered folk are a different story, but even so, he only takes them on if they're a threat.

And right now? He's dealing with a very angry adult throwing punches that don't phase the lizard. Even with brass knuckles, those punches don't even scratch his scales. Harry's throwing a tantrum and better he take it out on Godzilla than the poor dude who just clocked out for the day.

Godzilla keeps his arms folded, taking every punch thrown his way and not budging in the slightest. He'll wait for the frail human to tire himself out before trying to get him talking.)

[nepotis]

[ With the way Harry's new powers work, if he's not causing injury, then he doesn't get any of the healing benefits. So he throws punches until he's blown off enough steam to calm down a bit, breathing shakily through his nose and shaking his head, looking away from the fucking lizard dude. He runs a frustrated hand through his hair, tossing off his hood.

That's when the need for the healing makes itself apparent. A patch of green, scaly, deformed skin creeping across the side of Harry's neck. He shakes out his hand, having actually bruised his knuckles hitting the tough hide of the lizard. Godzilla might find himself feeling somewhat healed, though unintentionally. Harry's power works both way, after all. He hurts others, he heals himself. Likewise, he can hurt himself to heal others. ]

Fucking... There's no point. What am I even doing?

[chin_godzilla]

(Oh, it's admittedly strange. Never has someone taken a swing at Godzilla and he felt better because of it. He's seeing all kinds of superpowers in this place. That thought gets pushed aside once he sees the scaly growth on Harry's neck. That's not normal for a human. A lizard like Godzilla, sure, but the lizard immediately takes a look of concern upon noticing it.

He tilts his head to the side and points a scaled finger towards that malformed skin. What the hell is that about, man? He's getting the sense you're not happy about it, Harry, but he is admittedly curious.)

[nepotis]

[ Harry swipes his hand in an instinctual attempt to knock the lizard's hand away the second he starts reaching out to point out the skin on his neck. ]

—Don't. [ He takes a deep breath in through his nose, and lets it out through clenched teeth. It's clear that this giant lizard is smart enough to see what's up, even if he can't ask about it out loud. Harry shakes his head. ]

I don't want to talk about it.

[chin_godzilla]

(Okay, it's a sensitive issue. Got it. For once, it seems the inability to speak may come in handy, if Harry really doesn't want to talk about it. Still, that's a serious issue and something should be done. Could it be why he was about to attack that innocent man? Because he needs help treating whatever the heck that thing is growing on him?

The lizard briefly fumbles through his belongings and offers his credit card from the Guardian Alliance. If it's money Harry needs, then the big guy's willing to part with it. Not like he spends much, anyway.)

[nepotis]

[ What the hell? Harry isn't sure what to expect until the lizard finally pulls out whatever he was looking for. Harry just shakes his head, and waves the offered card away. ]

I've got one of those already. Sometimes there are things that money can't buy, as strange as that sounds.

[ It's a lesson he's had to learn the hard way. ]