![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
CONFLUENCE 04
Who: All everybody
What: A Confluence strikes!
When: March 27, 2022
Where: Sunset Falls
Content Warnings: Comic book violence, ghosts and demons.
01. SPRING THAW
02. SUMMER SWELTER
What: A Confluence strikes!
When: March 27, 2022
Where: Sunset Falls
Content Warnings: Comic book violence, ghosts and demons.
CONFLUENCE
Weird things happen in Sunset Falls.
This is a given. The residents of the town have never known a time where the paper didn't feature a mysterious occult murder as a headline, or a student wasn't being outed for using a little mystical enhancement to boost their athletic prowess.
So when the Alliance arrives, stating that residents must vacate the area as quickly as possible, nearly every person grabs a go-bag and gets the hell out of dodge. If something is big enough to earn the capes' attention, then it's surely not worth risking life and limb to find out if they're bluffing.
Guild members receive an emergency bulletin telling them to teleport to Sunset Falls at their earliest convenience. The notice warns them to prepare themselves, grimly remarking that if Confluences have been bad in the other cities then they will be a complete and utter nightmare in Sunset Falls.
This time, however, there is no great fall to kick things off.
New arrivals come into awareness seconds before they make impact - but this time, they're flying up and through the floorboards of Sunset Falls' high school gymnasium. The ground underneath flickers an ominous purple, a lingering gaze may feel the void gazing back in confusion... and then there's a burst of burning wind. Something rushes out of the void as it closes, leaving you to crash back down to the ground. There’s nothing left but broken shards of gym flooring scattered around you…and the lingering touch of something angry and malicious being freed.
Exiting the gym brings you directly into the main lobby. You can see people standing outside the doors, seemingly unaware of what has transpired behind them. Suddenly, there's a rush of wind and energy behind you, making a mad dash for the doors. They swing open hard enough to crack the windows, and then all is suddenly quiet.
This is a given. The residents of the town have never known a time where the paper didn't feature a mysterious occult murder as a headline, or a student wasn't being outed for using a little mystical enhancement to boost their athletic prowess.
So when the Alliance arrives, stating that residents must vacate the area as quickly as possible, nearly every person grabs a go-bag and gets the hell out of dodge. If something is big enough to earn the capes' attention, then it's surely not worth risking life and limb to find out if they're bluffing.
Guild members receive an emergency bulletin telling them to teleport to Sunset Falls at their earliest convenience. The notice warns them to prepare themselves, grimly remarking that if Confluences have been bad in the other cities then they will be a complete and utter nightmare in Sunset Falls.
This time, however, there is no great fall to kick things off.
New arrivals come into awareness seconds before they make impact - but this time, they're flying up and through the floorboards of Sunset Falls' high school gymnasium. The ground underneath flickers an ominous purple, a lingering gaze may feel the void gazing back in confusion... and then there's a burst of burning wind. Something rushes out of the void as it closes, leaving you to crash back down to the ground. There’s nothing left but broken shards of gym flooring scattered around you…and the lingering touch of something angry and malicious being freed.
Exiting the gym brings you directly into the main lobby. You can see people standing outside the doors, seemingly unaware of what has transpired behind them. Suddenly, there's a rush of wind and energy behind you, making a mad dash for the doors. They swing open hard enough to crack the windows, and then all is suddenly quiet.
01. SPRING THAW
Spring thaw has come swiftly this year. In the span of a few moments the temperature has gone from frigid to a balmy summer day, and only continues to rise.
As the disoriented new arrivals step outside, they find themselves standing in what could be a sweltering summer day. The heroes standing guard jolt in alarm as the doors behind them swing open. Air rushes out, a blast of frigidity that's a relief in the suddenly sweltering night. They turn, and spy the new arrivals. It seems like they’re almost - though certainly not quite - as confused as the rest of you. The recent Confluences have all happened with a bit more fanfare than this.
But the night is only getting hotter. If that’s the end of it, no one’s going to complain. And it must be over now, right? The citizens of Sunset Falls have already started to return, vague figures in the distance trickling out of alleyways and from behind buildings. Fantastic, the squad leader on this expedition, attempts to radio back to headquarters with this news - only to drop the communicator when it begins to wail in unearthly woe.
The people gathering around the school are getting closer. One by one they step into the streets, into the halogen glow of the streetlamps, and...
Something seems a little... off about them. Their eyes are distant and they appear to shimmer slightly in the dim light. Heroes and villains alike pause and glance between each other, a confused murmur breaking out as some recognize certain faces amongst the crowd. Some of the heroes born in this world shout out names in elation; others shrink back as they spy a less friendly face amongst the ghoulish collection.
The metas closest to the doors — Fantastic of the Guardian Alliance and Chaos Gate of the Society — take a few steps back. They're not naive enough to believe this is a good sign. Fantastic gestures for the new arrivals to get back inside the school and shut the doors. Chaos Gate extends a hand to summon her staff and gives a merry shout: everyone should prepare for a mess! This is a horde of ghosts, and they probably aren't that friendly.
Some of the apparitions appear to be wearing costumes that belong to decades past: spandex and capes in bright neon colors and embroidered with psychedelic shapes. Others simply look human, wearing civilian clothing marked with arcane symbols.
Either way, they're metahumans, to be sure - all of them know how to use their powers, and they’re looking to use them on all of you. Former hero or former villain, it doesn’t seem to matter. None of them seem to entirely register who or what it is they’re fighting; they won’t respond to attempts to talk them down, even from those guild members they used to know. They’re just attacking, lashing out with something like desperation. If you want to get through this, you’re going to have to fight back.
Spectral though they are, striking one of the ghosts feels like hitting someone of flesh and blood. But the more damaged they are, the less human they look. They begin to crumble and decay, looking less like living people and more like ghouls the more they’re beaten down. When they’re finally defeated, they burst in an explosion of unknowable spiritual energy…and also ectoplasm. Slimy!
As the disoriented new arrivals step outside, they find themselves standing in what could be a sweltering summer day. The heroes standing guard jolt in alarm as the doors behind them swing open. Air rushes out, a blast of frigidity that's a relief in the suddenly sweltering night. They turn, and spy the new arrivals. It seems like they’re almost - though certainly not quite - as confused as the rest of you. The recent Confluences have all happened with a bit more fanfare than this.
But the night is only getting hotter. If that’s the end of it, no one’s going to complain. And it must be over now, right? The citizens of Sunset Falls have already started to return, vague figures in the distance trickling out of alleyways and from behind buildings. Fantastic, the squad leader on this expedition, attempts to radio back to headquarters with this news - only to drop the communicator when it begins to wail in unearthly woe.
The people gathering around the school are getting closer. One by one they step into the streets, into the halogen glow of the streetlamps, and...
Something seems a little... off about them. Their eyes are distant and they appear to shimmer slightly in the dim light. Heroes and villains alike pause and glance between each other, a confused murmur breaking out as some recognize certain faces amongst the crowd. Some of the heroes born in this world shout out names in elation; others shrink back as they spy a less friendly face amongst the ghoulish collection.
The metas closest to the doors — Fantastic of the Guardian Alliance and Chaos Gate of the Society — take a few steps back. They're not naive enough to believe this is a good sign. Fantastic gestures for the new arrivals to get back inside the school and shut the doors. Chaos Gate extends a hand to summon her staff and gives a merry shout: everyone should prepare for a mess! This is a horde of ghosts, and they probably aren't that friendly.
Some of the apparitions appear to be wearing costumes that belong to decades past: spandex and capes in bright neon colors and embroidered with psychedelic shapes. Others simply look human, wearing civilian clothing marked with arcane symbols.
Either way, they're metahumans, to be sure - all of them know how to use their powers, and they’re looking to use them on all of you. Former hero or former villain, it doesn’t seem to matter. None of them seem to entirely register who or what it is they’re fighting; they won’t respond to attempts to talk them down, even from those guild members they used to know. They’re just attacking, lashing out with something like desperation. If you want to get through this, you’re going to have to fight back.
Spectral though they are, striking one of the ghosts feels like hitting someone of flesh and blood. But the more damaged they are, the less human they look. They begin to crumble and decay, looking less like living people and more like ghouls the more they’re beaten down. When they’re finally defeated, they burst in an explosion of unknowable spiritual energy…and also ectoplasm. Slimy!
02. SUMMER SWELTER
Should new arrivals, or metas who came along to help with the Confluence, break free of the throng of ghosts and flee into Sunset Falls, they won’t find themselves entirely safe. The ghosts won’t pursue, but they aren’t the only thing that slipped through the cracks in reality tonight.
The farther you get from the school and its host of the dead, the hotter it gets. The heat is oppressive; a shimmering haze rises over the pavement, and all the various birds and bugs of the evening have gone utterly silent.
The first sign is a pressure in your lungs, the air growing scalding to breathe. Then, without warning, pieces of your surroundings begin to spontaneously ignite. The roofs of the dark and vacant houses start to smoke; power lines burst and shower sparks and bits of melted wire and plastic. At the epicenter of the inferno, you can see a luminous shape shimmering through the air: a fire elemental.
It needs to be put out before it incinerates everything! You won't be able to rely on punching or regular fighting here - fittingly for a creature born of Sunset Falls, you'll have to rely on a more creative use of powers, and maybe some magic.
For each event with a clear antagonistic NPC force — such as the Vlog Squad, in the February arrival — interested players can pitch their characters' encounters with those NPCs. Whether characters are heroic and suited to the role or not, the aim is the group effort of pitching in, so we highly encourage collaborating on these encounters. Once enough NPC encounters have been submitted, we'll determine if and how the trouble has been addressed, and select one of those encounters to be the final, conclusive one in the game. Everyone else's encounters will also have taken place, but may have been temporary stopgaps in addressing the conflict rather than a conclusive blow. For this Confluence, we are asking that submissions be finalized by 3/5.
How it works:
03. SAFE AND SOUND
04. PACTS FORGED AND BROKEN
SUMMARY
The farther you get from the school and its host of the dead, the hotter it gets. The heat is oppressive; a shimmering haze rises over the pavement, and all the various birds and bugs of the evening have gone utterly silent.
The first sign is a pressure in your lungs, the air growing scalding to breathe. Then, without warning, pieces of your surroundings begin to spontaneously ignite. The roofs of the dark and vacant houses start to smoke; power lines burst and shower sparks and bits of melted wire and plastic. At the epicenter of the inferno, you can see a luminous shape shimmering through the air: a fire elemental.
It needs to be put out before it incinerates everything! You won't be able to rely on punching or regular fighting here - fittingly for a creature born of Sunset Falls, you'll have to rely on a more creative use of powers, and maybe some magic.
For each event with a clear antagonistic NPC force — such as the Vlog Squad, in the February arrival — interested players can pitch their characters' encounters with those NPCs. Whether characters are heroic and suited to the role or not, the aim is the group effort of pitching in, so we highly encourage collaborating on these encounters. Once enough NPC encounters have been submitted, we'll determine if and how the trouble has been addressed, and select one of those encounters to be the final, conclusive one in the game. Everyone else's encounters will also have taken place, but may have been temporary stopgaps in addressing the conflict rather than a conclusive blow. For this Confluence, we are asking that submissions be finalized by 3/5.
How it works:
- Reply to the relevant top-level comment with an encounter and/or questions about the encounter. The mods are happy to go back and forth with before locking in exactly what a character or group of characters does. Any conversations between characters and NPCs will most likely be happening prior to combat unless specified by the players.
- The mods ask that players present two options. In one version, the character or group of characters kills, immobilizes, or otherwise apprehend the villain(s). In the other version, one way or another, the villain escapes or overcomes the character or group of characters. Players who wish to have a specific spot in the timeline (near to the beginning or near to the end) should make this request explicit, and the mods will make efforts to accommodate this.
- The mods will RNG the results for the final encounter. For all other submissions, the escape/overcome option is selected. Open calls for collaboration which result in multiple player characters contributing to an idea or solution (see: Kamala Khan's solution to the Cerberus fight) have a much higher chance of being the final encounter, as we want to reward player collaboration and innovation. Please be sure that after everyone has weighed in you return to the top-level comment to report exactly what is happening and who is doing what.
- The mods will reply to player submissions with a brief outline of how all of the run-ins go, whether it's a fight or a slapstick series of hilarious accidents that involves the character(s).
Request NPC encounters using the following form —
EXAMPLE—
Character(s) involved: The Iron Giant and Hank Hill
Details of the encounter: Hank will ride in Iron Giant's hand as they search the city for the Vlog Squad, eventually spotting them in a public park. They land explosively in the middle, throwing all of the squad off of their feet while the Iron Giant sends out a signal to scramble their livestreams and begins trying to catch the offenders up in both hands. Hank will try to tackle at least one of them.
How might the villain escape or overcome the player character(s)? Playlist slow motions Iron Giant and they easily duck its grasp, and Filter leaves Hank floating upside down as they make their escape.
How would the player character(s) kill, immobilize, or apprehend the villain? Iron Giant grabs Playlist before she can slow it, then picks up and captures all but Emoji; Hank throws a branch and beans that guy right in the head. Iron Giant gathers him up too, and they turn them in to the first batch of emergency responders they find.
EXAMPLE—
Character(s) involved: The Iron Giant and Hank Hill
Details of the encounter: Hank will ride in Iron Giant's hand as they search the city for the Vlog Squad, eventually spotting them in a public park. They land explosively in the middle, throwing all of the squad off of their feet while the Iron Giant sends out a signal to scramble their livestreams and begins trying to catch the offenders up in both hands. Hank will try to tackle at least one of them.
How might the villain escape or overcome the player character(s)? Playlist slow motions Iron Giant and they easily duck its grasp, and Filter leaves Hank floating upside down as they make their escape.
How would the player character(s) kill, immobilize, or apprehend the villain? Iron Giant grabs Playlist before she can slow it, then picks up and captures all but Emoji; Hank throws a branch and beans that guy right in the head. Iron Giant gathers him up too, and they turn them in to the first batch of emergency responders they find.
03. SAFE AND SOUND
The foes finally vanquished, Fantastic - covered in ectoplasm, scorched, and thoroughly pissed - shouts that he's radioing back to HQ. If anyone doesn't want the ride back, they have five minutes to get out of his sight. The new arrivals have less of a choice in the matter as he's not bothering to clarify what "a ride" means. He simply slams the button on the communicator and barks into it that they've handled things and are ready to go. With a rush of arcane power, those who haven’t vacated the area find themselves somewhere else.
The gymnasium has been foregone in favor of a more permanent arrival space. Powers are still dampened here, but not turned off entirely. Anyone displaying intentions to harm others in the space is met with a swift time-out. Fantastic can be approached for conversation, although he doesn’t seem terribly interested in offering any actual assistance.
The guilds check over new arrivals, and once given a clean bill of health, a hot meal and the option to take a nap in a secured space, they are shuffled off into the Diadem Hotel. Recruiters from both the Society and the Alliance approach in the hotel lobby, each pitching an offer to join their respective side.
The gymnasium has been foregone in favor of a more permanent arrival space. Powers are still dampened here, but not turned off entirely. Anyone displaying intentions to harm others in the space is met with a swift time-out. Fantastic can be approached for conversation, although he doesn’t seem terribly interested in offering any actual assistance.
The guilds check over new arrivals, and once given a clean bill of health, a hot meal and the option to take a nap in a secured space, they are shuffled off into the Diadem Hotel. Recruiters from both the Society and the Alliance approach in the hotel lobby, each pitching an offer to join their respective side.
04. PACTS FORGED AND BROKEN
Evil is a very real presence in Sunset Falls, lurking in the shadows and waiting to manifest in the hearts of men. The more angry and down on their luck a person is, the easier it is to sway them to make things just a little easier on themselves.
The new arrivals have escaped and made their way to Central City, seemingly safe for the time being. But not everything that slipped free from that strange void was a human spirit. It seems that something may have followed you home.
It begins with the sound of whispering. Your deepest desires, your greatest fears: this voice knows them all. It waits until you're alone, or in a moment of desperation against a foe far stronger than yourself, and then it begins to beckon.
The demon will offer pacts, offering their greatest wish in exchange for but a shard of their soul. Power, money, fame - all of it can be yours if you're willing to offer succor for this starving creature who only wants to make your dreams come true. He's got a compelling voice and you may find yourself inclined to agree, offering what he asks. How could you ever refuse such a deal?
Agreeing will result in a sharp pain somewhere indescribable, as if your very existence is being splintered. For but a split second you're incomplete - and then something slips inside the crack that is left in its wake. Each pact made seems to make the world just a little worse - Sunset Falls and Central City in particular seem to have increased amounts of bad luck, as if it’s following the new metas around.
One does not make a deal with a demon lightly. Please report any pacts made here.
The new arrivals have escaped and made their way to Central City, seemingly safe for the time being. But not everything that slipped free from that strange void was a human spirit. It seems that something may have followed you home.
It begins with the sound of whispering. Your deepest desires, your greatest fears: this voice knows them all. It waits until you're alone, or in a moment of desperation against a foe far stronger than yourself, and then it begins to beckon.
The demon will offer pacts, offering their greatest wish in exchange for but a shard of their soul. Power, money, fame - all of it can be yours if you're willing to offer succor for this starving creature who only wants to make your dreams come true. He's got a compelling voice and you may find yourself inclined to agree, offering what he asks. How could you ever refuse such a deal?
Agreeing will result in a sharp pain somewhere indescribable, as if your very existence is being splintered. For but a split second you're incomplete - and then something slips inside the crack that is left in its wake. Each pact made seems to make the world just a little worse - Sunset Falls and Central City in particular seem to have increased amounts of bad luck, as if it’s following the new metas around.
One does not make a deal with a demon lightly. Please report any pacts made here.
SUMMARY
- New arrivals will be erupting through the floor of Sunset Falls High’s gymnasium. After the fighting ends, they are brought to the Guardian Alliance HQ. Older characters are given the option to teleport with them or can make their own way home.
- The breech has also set free a number of souls who were laying dormant. These souls manifest in the streets and will attack player characters. They appear confused and disoriented but cannot be talked down.
- A fire elemental has also manifested. Player characters will need to work together to put the fire out. Players are encouraged to use the OOC comm to coordinate, and can report their attempts here to find out how they’ll play out.
- A demon has tagged along. He will tempt people into forging a pact with him, granting them a wish in exchange for a fragment of their soul. This is a player plot opportunity and the consequences of this are not immediate. Please reply here if your character strikes a deal with this demon.
no subject
He seems... surprisingly chill about it, though? Huh. Doreen's never actually met the guy, but she'd been under the impression that he was the kind of person who reacted to minor slights with furious vows of revenge and wanton mayhem. Also, from what she remembers, Doc Ock was a short dude with a questionable bowlcut and some kind of onesie situation going on, which is definitely not the case here.
While this whole train of thought has been running through Doreen's mind, she's been staring up at Otto with the wide-eyed, squirrel-in-the-headlights expression of someone who 100% knows him as a notorious supervillain, and has absolutely no poker face. ]
Uh... here, want some kleenex?
[ Doreen pulls some surprisingly dry tissues out of her utility belt and offers them up. The little grey squirrel who has been hiding in the neck of her shirt skitters onto her shoulder, and chitters at one of the actuators. ]
no subject
[Yeah, Otto sees that look. He knows that look. Frankly, he's getting really sick of it, but what business does he have complaining?
Sighing, he accepts the kleenex and starts to clean off his glasses. It's getting dark enough out now that they aren't entirely necessary, but with the amount of lasers and other glowing powers being flung around, he'd much rather have them than not. An actuator hovers by his shoulder, looking at Doreen on his behalf.]
I'm guessing you're also from the world where I... [He actually knows no specific information about this other guy.] ...have been fighting Spider-Man for a decade, or something like that.
no subject
... Oh! Ohhhh, you mean there's some alternate timeline and/or multiverse stuff going on? That explains a lot, actually!
[ The fact that this is a totally logical explanation to Doreen probably says a lot about her universe. ]
Yeah! I never tangled with you personally, [ she did fight him once in a nightmare and beat him with the power of computer science, but she isn't sure if that counts! ] but you seem considerably more chill than the guy from my world? Pretty sure our dude had some kinda Napoleon complex, which is probably not the case here. [ Seriously, this guy is crazy tall. More importantly though, his tentacles are drenched in ectoplasm, which means that they're fighting on the same side. ]
Anyway, hi! I'm Squirrel Girl, nice to meet you, apart from all the exploding ghosts. We good?
[ 'We good?' in this case probably means both 'you're sure you're not mad about being hit in the face with a glob of ectoplasm?' and 'you're not going to go all supervillain on me, right?' ]
no subject
[She'll get a full explanation of the Confluences and their history from the guilds later, no doubt. Otto's more interested in what she has to say; he glances up at her with his actual human eyes, brow furrowing at the mention of a Napoleon complex. Dimensional counterparts obviously aren't identical - he's seen the Peters - but he's never really given thought to the other Otto's appearance. Sort of weird to know he's short!]
Otto Octavius. I don't use any of those other names.
[He smiles at her for a moment - he does look really tired when his glasses are off - and then puts them back on and shifts his weight to accommodate two of the tentacles grabbing a nearby ghost and crushing it into another burst of ectoplasm.]
We're good. It's nice to meet you - and I'm glad my counterpart hasn't been a problem for you personally. I don't know much about him, but I've heard he's...difficult.
no subject
[ God, should she tell him about the onesie and the bowlcut? From the look of things, Otto is already having a challenging day - it sounds like he has an idea of his counterpart's bad reputation, but learning about the guy's fashion choices might be too much. Tippy-toe, the grey squirrel perched on her shoulder, chirps in Doreen's ear to remind her of something else: is Doc Ock even alive in their world? She's pretty sure he was dead for a little while, but death is kind of a revolving door for supervillians, so he's probably back up and running by now. Spidey might know, but Doreen has no idea if he's even here.
This train of thought is interrupted when Tippy chirps behind you!!, and Doreen instinctively lashes out with her tail, splattering another ghost-zombie across the pavement, and soaking her fur in ectoplasm. ]
Augh! Gross gross gross gross gross! Why do they even explode! Who authorized this!
no subject
[He knows that isn't much of a meaningful apology. He doesn't have any control over his counterpart. But hell, it sounds like the man himself won't ever apologize, and somebody ought to. Otto hasn't particularly been held to account for his own crimes anyway.
Complaining about ghost zombies is, at least, neutral conversational ground! Otto lifts up into the air and moves forward, the better to help cover Doreen's back. He's got eyes in the back of his head, may as well help out. The actuators have a long reach; they telescope out to grab a couple more ghosts, crushing them easily in their coils.]
This city's cursed. Magical nonsense happening every other day - I was here a few weeks ago dealing with an actual haunted house. They'll take you back to Central City after this, might want to stick around there if you're a New Yorker.
no subject
Doreen is about 5'3, so Otto would tower over her even if he weren't using the actuators as extendo-limbs, but she takes a couple of steps back so that she can crane her neck and try to make eye contact with him anyway. ]
Hey, listen - it's sweet of you to apologize, but you shouldn't have to! You must've been catching a lot of flak from people who recognize you from my universe, huh? [ Her included - those tentacles just kick people's fight/flight responses into high gear, but she remembers the look on his face when he realized she was staring at him. ] That's not fair, and I'm sorry. You're not responsible for what he did, and once people get a chance to know you, they'll realize that the other guy wouldn't have tried to apologize or make things right. It might take some time, but people will chill out eventually. Okay?
[ This whole pep talk is punctuated by Doreen dispatching ghosts with roundhouse kicks and various punches - at one point she just grabs a ghost and full-out yeets him off into the distance. Her eyes light up at the mention of magical nonsense, though. From the delighted look on her face, it's clear that Doreen would absolutely be down for exploring a haunted house. ]
Oh, yeah? Similar vibe, huh? Do they have good hotdogs? More importantly, good veggie hotdogs?
no subject
[Otto may not have done whatever on earth Short Otto gets up to, but he hardly means to swan around acting like he's innocent. If he could recognize any of these alternate-dimensional people, he'd just give them a wide berth, no questions asked - they've no doubt earned it.
It's...nice, though - getting that benefit of the doubt. Otto gives Doreen a somewhat bemused, but certainly touched smile, drifting a little closer to the ground.]
Not as good as New York hot dogs, but the complaining's just part of the New Yorker experience. I haven't tried the veggie ones - [A pause as he turns his full attention to a somewhat more agile ghost, moving quickly about on all four tentacles until he can get it pinned.] - I'll buy you one when we get back, if you like.
no subject
... Besides, Otto just offered to buy her a hot dog, that is definitely not supervillain behaviour. ]
Heck yes, I am so down for this![ She cheers, punching one arm in the air in victory, and sticking the other out to clothesline an incoming ghost. ] How long have you been here, by the way? I mean, long enough to get a decent grasp of the hot dog scene obviously, but like... days, weeks, months?
no subject
Just a month or so. I've been living out of a hotel - they'll put you up there for two months, before you have to find something else.
[Just a warning for her! Otto's actually gotten out ahead of the whole housing situation, he isn't worried about it. The actuators curve in front of him, blocking a blast of lasers or magic or something, and then toss the offender into the far distance.]
You'll get pamphlets about all of this. They're surprisingly prepared for this kind of thing, here.
no subject
[ This is said with the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel conviction of someone who intends to spend at least an hour in a bubblebath, and the next two days doing nothing but ordering takeout and watching cable tv in her PJs. Today has been a lot! ]
Yeah, this seems... weirdly organized? Apart from the exploding ghosts, I don't think anyone was prepared for those.
[ Most of the time, Doreen is like a Perpetual Optimism Generator, it's practically one of her superpowers. Two months, though... that's not enough to dent the optimism, but it's enough to give her pause. She's glad that the welcoming committee here is prepared, but this is starting to seem more like a "welcome to your new home!" kinda situation than an interdimensional pitstop. No pun intended, for once, but nuts to that. ]
Just out of curiousity, anyone managed to find a way back home yet?
no subject
[He doesn't sound bothered about that himself! But he does seem to understand that it would bother pretty much anyone else.]
But try not to worry too much about it. This is only the third time it's happened, and it's only been a matter of months - that's barely enough time and data to get started. The technology here is well beyond anything in my world, not to mention the magic. I think there's a good chance they can figure something out.
no subject
[ Doreen mutters to herself... and then realizes that whoops, that wasn't an internal monologue, she actually said that out loud while someone other than her squirrel buddy was in the vicinity. Her tail instantly fritzes up like an agitated cat. ]
I-I mean! That's pretty inconvenient timing for anyone who would happen to be in school, good thing I'm not! Anyway, you're right, we can totally science and magic the heck out of this thing, no big, let's go back to punching.
[ She whirls around and punches straight through a ghost just for emphasis, and recoils with an "ew!!" just as quickly. Doreen is good at a lot of things! Those things do not include subtlety or deception. ]
no subject
[It's not as though this means much to Otto, other than confirming that she is as young as she looks. And god, why are all the superheroes so young? How are they juggling college and superheroing without any help?]
That would be inconvenient timing. [He punches a hole in another ghost - far easier with an actuator, if no less messy.] Good thing you don't know anyone like that. But, maybe they could get some sort of extension. A lot of professors are more willing to work with students than a hypothetical student might think.
no subject
You'd be surprised at how few professors would hypothetically be open to excuses like "hey, sorry, got stuck in another dimension for a couple months, yes this is a real thing that happened, can I get a rundown of the last semester real quick". You'd think that'd fly in New York of all places.
[ She still has her back turned to him as she fights, although her tail has at least calmed down by now. It's hard to have a poker face when you have a giant, furry giveaway. ]
But since we've firmly established that we don't know anyone in those circumstances, we can go back to talking about literally anything else! Like ghosts! Or robot tentacle arms! Or hot dogs!
no subject
In retrospect, I do wish I'd made them less tentacle-like.
[It's a really functional design actually? He's about as happy with it as he can be, considering that they're evil and grafted to his body? But his surname is Octavius and he has enough perspective to recognize that he very much did the "Doctor Octopus" thing to himself.]
no subject
[ If he were actually a supervillain and they had to fight each other, Doreen would be firing off so many damn puns. She would be having an absolute field day, it would be incredible. Since they aren't fighting, and he might be sensitive about the things for all she knows, she'll restrain herself. What a tenta-cruel twist of fate! ]
Maybe you should've committed to the bit and gone for more arms. That way, if anyone tried to make octopus jokes, you could be all "Joke's on you, sucker, this is more anatomically accurate to a squid!"
no subject
[Though really, his sensitivity about the things probably depends on when you happen to catch him. Otto loves a good dumb dad joke! Just, maybe not on bad days.
Today's a decent one, though. He just smiles a little.]
Have you met these things? Four of them is bad enough. [the arms are Offended! father is cruel and unjust!]
no subject
I've fought a couple'a knockoff tentacles before, but not the OGs.
[ Can she fistbump one of the tentacles? Doreen isn't sure if the tentacles would know what a fistbump is (or if Otto would know, he is An Old!), or even worse, if they'd register a fistbump as some kind of extremely slow punch, so she just waves at one of them instead. ]
no subject
Oh, there's knock-offs!
[He hates that! But okay - he sees the wave, and so does the tentacle in question. There's a short, silent exchange where the tentacle just sort of looks, Otto gives it an expectant look and gesture, and then it finally waves back.]
They're learning social skills. Slowly.
no subject
[ Technically, Doreen's clone Allene had defeated Lady Octopus via creatively-deployed squirrel, then stolen the tentacle-backpack along with a bunch of other bad guy weaponry, and the fight against Allene hadn't been fun, but. Nevermind that! Staying positive! One of the tentacles just waved at her, that's awesome! ]
Ohmygosh. [ SHE IS DELIGHTED ] Wait, so... they're doing their own thing? How much of this is independent AI vs you kinda muppeting them around?
[ She kinda wiggles her fingers to indicate muppety tentacles. She is a computer science geek! She is genuinely interested! ]
no subject
[He says, somewhat reflexively, and then has to amend:]
I can assume conscious control. But it's typically more of a balance. I'm letting them have more leeway than usual, right now, they're good in a fight.
[Otto feels like he can trust them with tasks like this. They'll protect his life, and five minds working in concert are still better than one alone, especially in a high-stress, dangerous environment. It's his daily life, his attempts to just be a regular person again, where he distrusts them immensely!]
no subject
[ Doreen's seen them take down enough ghosts (and fought enough knockoff-tentacles herself) to prove that point a dozen times over. That's interesting, though! She'd always assumed they were... kinda like prosthetics or something, but the way Otto talks about the actuators makes them sound more like rowdy pets on extendable leashes.
... which leads to another question. ]
... Do they have names? Please tell me they have names.
no subject
Of course they do. Who builds robots and doesn't name them?
[Seriously, this isn't the first time someone's commented on that, was that universe's Otto just a completely joyless fuck the entire time? Anyway, he'll point them out as he names them:]
Flo, Moe, Larry, Harry.
[Moe is the waver, because Larry and Harry are braced against the ground right now and Flo is Busy.]
no subject
[ This, more than anything else so far (even the hot dog offer!), is what cements Otto in her mind as a Good Guy. Nobody but a bona-fide Science Dork would give their robo-tentacles rhyming names. Her universe's Otto probably would have just numbered them, or called them... TentacleTron #1-4 or something. Nothing she'd heard about the guy indicated a sense of humour.
Anyway, this is incredible. Doreen's gonna learn how to knit, and then knit each of the tentacles a different-coloured scarf for Christmas. ]
Ok, ok, this is the best thing I've heard all day! If there were only three of them, one would have to be named Curly, right? Oh! Hang on, just a sec, if we're doing introductions...
[ Doreen tugs at the collar of her jacket and makes a few chirpy noises under her breath, until a grey squirrel wearing a pink bow pokes her head out to give Otto a baleful look. ]
Otto, this is Tippy-toe. She's hiding out in my jacket because frankly it's still pretty nasty out here, [ Doreen punches out another ghost midsentence, as if to emphasize the point ] but she's my partner and best pal!
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
wanna wrap this one up?
sure!
(no subject)