metalogs | Late April catch-all! (open, one closed prompt!)

Who: Doreen

eatsnutsandkicksbutts and you!
What: Just slice-of-life stuff!
When: throughout late April / early May
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: nah, we good!

Fightin' Crimes!

[ Late-night muggings aren't exactly uncommon in Central City. Maybe you're about to jump in and stop a mugging-in-progress, or maybe you're the unlucky one who's getting mugged? Who knows! Either way, the mugging is interrupted when a short figure, just absolutely covered from head to tail in squirrels, drops into the alleyway from above and grabs one of the muggers by the scruff of the neck, hoisting him off the ground. ]

We have talked about this, Jeremy! Don't think I don't recognize you under that balaclava! What happened to community college, huh?

[ One slight problem with the squirrel-suit: not much peripheral vision. SG doesn't see the second mugger coming up behind her. Feel like lending a hand? ]

Karaoke night - closed to Sleeper!

[ A few months back, Doreen and Mark had tried out one of The Descendant's private karaoke rooms... and several furry friends of Doreen's had tagged along in her purse, because what the hell, karaoke sounded like fun, the rooms were soundproof, squirrels don't set off metal detectors, and they were joining the only two humans around who would be able to understand their singing. Since then, Squirrel Karaoke Nights (sometimes accompanied by Mark, when he's free!) have become a fairly regular thing, whenever Doreen has enough extra cash for a fun night out and wants to burn off some steam.

Tonight is one of those nights. Doreen has half a dozen squirrels chilling with her on the table, a second microphone propped up against her purse at squirrel-level, a small plate full of acorns and trail mix for snacks, and a playlist. ]

Ready, guys? 3-2-1...

Aaaand do your hair toss, check your nails! Baby, how you feelin'? [ This is followed by a squeaky, answering chorus of: ] "Feelin' good as hell!"

Rooftop hangouts

[ Usually, rooftop parkour is a great way to burn off some steam and get some exercise. Tonight though, Doreen is sitting on the edge of a chimney and shrugging her jacket off to get a better look at her right shoulder. There's a thick bruise and some scraping there, which is... weird. Doreen doesn't injure easily, nothing short of being hit by a brick wall should be able to hurt her like this. ]

... The hell?

[ Usually she'd stick with 'heck', but this justifies some mild profanity, she thinks. ]

Wildcard!
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sorry about that, you caught 'em off guard, and apart from Tippy none of them have much experience with cats.

[ The grey squirrel with the pink bow perched on her shoulder gives Sleeper a little wave! ]

You look great, by the way! Totally rockin' the squirrel look. Also, just to be clear, not my backup chorus, we're all karaoke equals, and they chose the next song. Speaking of which...

[ She holds out her microphone! ]

... Wanna join in?

If it helps, I'm not really a cat. I just like the shape better than others I've tried.

[Sleeper waves back at the friendly squirrel rocking the bow, and considers.]

Music isn't really my thing. I have a problem with intense sounds. All my kind do.

... Oh. Oh!

[ There's the lightbulb moment! ]

Is this a Symbiote thing? Like Venom? Are you telling me Venom could be kitty-shaped whenever he wanted? Sorry if the volume was bothering you, by the way!

Venom tends to take a canine shape when they're solo and not humanoid, actually. But being malleable definitely allows for a change when desired.

And the volume wasn't bad. It's generally more frequency and volume. Takes a bit of doing, although less so than if I had a host like Venom usually does.

[Venom isn't a fan of being alone, as near as Sleeper can tell. They don't know why, though. But their parent definitely cares. And is relieved that Sleeper turned out a fairly well-balances offspring.]

My brother isn't a dog person, though, so the cat was a compromise. I didn't like being a wolf much. And cats have a lot going for them. Not sure how it compares to squirrels.

[But they'll leave unsaid that the reason they didn't like it was being controlled, not the shape in question.]

In my experience, squirrels and cats are both pretty rad.

[ As long as the cats don't try to chase and/or eat the squirrels, but she's pretty good at preventing that, and Sleeper has already proven themselves to be Super Chill.

Speaking of which, some of the braver squirrels - lead by Tippy - are gathering closer on the table, coming up to inspect Sleeper's squirrel form, and to say hi. Tippy even extends a paw to shake. ]

Wait, so... is Venom your brother? Sibling?

Venom is my parent.

[Sleeper is definitely fine with shaking Tippy's paw, although Sleeper definitely made a few "improvements" on their squirrel form like keeping opposable thumbs. Too handy to give up hands for gripping. But they don't make any big moves towards the other squirrels, mostly observing with all four eyes.]

My brother is human, but he's also part symbiote. It's complicated. He has two human parents, but is also Venom's spawn.

[ Oh, the opposable thumbs are the envy of the squirrel crowd! The gang crowds around them in a circle, like Sleeper is a celebrity. ]

Aaah, yeah, families are always kinda complicated, I get it. I think I know who you mean, though.

... Hey, can you speak squirrel when you're shaped like one? If the answer is 'no', let me know if you'd like a quick lesson; it'd be pretty easy since your jaw is already the right shape.

I would need experience with a living brain to learn that kind of thing directly, and, well, it's not kind on the body to bond without an invitation, so no, it's just the physical structures.

[They hold out a paw for high-fives, fist-bumps, and whatever other greetings the squirrel mob thinks appropriate.]

I don't think I've ever tried learning language the usual way.

It can be fun! I taught it to my human friends back home. I have flash cards.

[ She does a little jazz-hands finger wiggle, to really sell the idea. Of the squirrels, Tippy's the only one who goes for the fistbump, she's the one who hangs around Doreen the most, and has picked up on the human mannerisms. ]

Hey, when you bond with someone - and feel free not to answer if the question is rude or invasive, my only real symbiote experience was with Venom, and even then it was just stopping him from eatin' a dude who was jaywalking - how does that work? Is it a whole shared experience, like two people piloting a mech?

Well, it really depends on what the symbiote wants out of the relationship how much say the host gets. Or sometimes it's the other way around, with the host in control of how much the symbiote can do. I've known hosts that weren't even aware the symbiote was present.

[Mostly because they were the symbiote in questions and that was the plan. Poor guy wanted to go into a dangerous hunt to figure out who Carnage was hiding in, and, well, no sense letting him get killed for only being human.]

I'd prefer a more even exchange in the long run. But relationships like that take work. Even the Dads disagree on some things. Eddie has one idea and Venom another. Bonding is...well, there are some strengths, but also vulnerabilities. Like if you have a specific host, people get to know that.

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