here in my car

[buildallthethings]

Who: Grease Monkey / buildallthethings and OPEN, with a special prompt for Jason/robintohood
What: CATCH-ALL log for Grease Monkey and/or Fix-It All-Tow
When: Throughout the month of May
Where: Fix-It All-Tow, Central City

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As the Confluence settles and the world goes back to what it considers 'normalcy' - for now, at least - the queue at Fix-It All-Tow never seems to end. Which is good - busy means business - and bad - because a certain unofficial 'mascot' is finding less and less time to mess around with xeir toys.

Sleeping through a portion of the day - part of the 'agreement' xey have with the owner involves staying out of sight as much as possible, and only working on vehicles after-hours or when it's otherwise not obvious that they not only employ a meta, but one who's probably toeing the line of 'old enough to actually be employed' - GM keeps to xeir loft or finds other ways to keep xemself busy. You might find xem watching some new building going up for a few minutes before getting bored and moving on, or maybe trying to hawk a piece or two of tech at a street 'vendor'. You know, the ones with the blankets.

Xey've at least got the timing down, more or less; sleeping through school hours means nobody questions why they aren't there in the first place. Outside of school hours, who cares about a scrungy meta as long as said meta goes out of their way to keep from bumping in to people or otherwise causing trouble?

And then the sun goes down, the lights go on, and Grease Monkey? Goes up.

At this point, unless xey're working on a car, xey can be spotted darting from rooftop to rooftop in search of mischief something interesting. Whether it's a fight outside a bar or a break-in in progress, GM tends not to interfere directly...but if things fall to the ground? That might catch xeir attention even more, waiting to see if there's a clean moment to either scavenge, or, well...

There's always a gadget or two to test out.

Comments

[doctopoda]

Well, xey probably weren't doing too badly. But the actuators have very good cameras, and depending on their movements, it's not always clear that they can see at all.

The sound of a timid voice - a young voice - has Otto relaxing a little, his lower pair of claws half-closing. One of the upper ones turns as if to look at him for a moment, before refocusing on GM.

"I did," he replies, calmer now. "Back in my own world." Many of his fellow transdimensional refugees try to keep that part quiet, but like with many things, Otto doesn't bother. He stands out too much, both for a secret identity and to pretend that he's just been here all along. Better to just own it.

[buildallthethings]

When it doesn't seem like they're in trouble, Grease Monkey relaxes - just a bit. And that? That means the teen is approaching a little closer. Two things are apparent, at least to xem; first, this man is a confirmed Confluence-meta. Second? Those arms have nothing to do with his powers.

(The fact that xey may be wrong assumptions doesn't even cross xeir mind.)

"...Can I take a closer look?" A beat, then, hands come up, briefly clenching-unclenching before moving behind the kid's back. "I'll keep my hands to myself, I promise. I've just never seen tech like that." Indeed, while the tail is segmented under its furry exterior, such are of a different style; more mimicking actual bones. Said tail is twitching almost eagerly, reflecting the neuroinput it's passively receiving.

[doctopoda]

Otto arches his brows. He's not generally a fan of being looked over like a science experiment. But at least this one asked first - that's not quite the norm here. And anyway, this is just a kid. Chalk it up to...encouraging the scientists of tomorrow, or some cheery slogan like that.

"Alright," he sighs, waving the kid down. "But do make sure you don't touch." The actuators are not fans of being touched, though he doesn't add that part aloud. In spite of all evidence to the contrary, he doesn't quite like to let strangers know that they've got opinions.

vaguehands technobabble

[buildallthethings]

There's a short cheer of excitement - somewhere along the lines of yes!, but not quite - and the kid, well. Doesn't so much as scamper as bounce down, rebounding and using xeir own momentum to carry them down in record time without too much a risk of injury. 'Too much', because that seemed like a hard landing despite the fact that xey land in an easy crouch, as if dropping the last ten feet is something xey do all the time - nonetheless, hands immediately move behind xeir back as xey move closer, one hand grabbing the other hand's wrist.

"Those- those are neuro-connected, aren't they? They have to be, lookit'em'move, or that's the most advanced AI I've ever seen!" The teen shows zero fear - after all, xey've been invited, why should xey worry? "What're you using for a connection? How're you handling the load-bearing, you've gotta have some sort of support structure, right? What about-"

It may be overwhelming, question after question, but as the kid moves around as if xey're admiring a piece of interactive art - it's clear they know what xey're talking about, with how focused the questions are quickly becoming.

...Sorry, Otto. You unleashed a beast. Even if said beast seems to be in complete awe and admiration for what is, in their eyes, the work of a master craftsman.

[doctopoda]

Oh. God.

The actuators shrink in a little closer to Otto's body at the sudden onslaught of attention. Whether it's their reaction or his own isn't really clear, in the way those lines are sometimes blurred. But at the same time, it's sort of charming - both the enthusiasm, and the clear intelligence and focus behind the questions. He's just tripping over teenage prodigies left and right lately, isn't he? Must be something in the metahuman water.

"Slow down," he says with a smile. "One question at a time, or we'll be here all night." Any one of those could have a pretty long and in-depth answer, after all!

He's turning his head to watch xem as xey circle him, but it's obvious now that the actuators are doing the same as well. All four are moving and rotating, claws open slightly, to watch themselves being studied. There's nothing aggressive to it; if anything, they're curious as well.