[OPEN] BABES IN TOYLAND

[speakveryclearly]

Date & Time: December 20th, 2013
Location: New York City!!!
Characters: HOLIDAY SHOPPERS. Please note that with mod approval, any character is allowed to have joined the mob in front of the transporter, regardless of whether they responded to the network post advertising this event.
Summary: In a bid to conserve energy, over a dozen transports do all of their Christmas shopping at once. I hope you brought money!
Warnings: None for now!

All the transports are dropped into New York at 6:00, simultaneously but scattered. Coding the drop points for this mission was hell.

It turns out that the weather is actually fairly mild on this date; there is snow neither in the air nor in the ground. That isn't to say there's nothing of visual interest: All the lights of the city are on at this hour.



The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was lit back on December 4th.



Shop until you drop, Transports.

Comments

[unmasking]

Hey—you came! [Peter looks at him excitedly. Of course, he had a feeling he'd come, but it's good to see him in the flesh. Being able to share home (or a version of it, but it mostly feels real enough minus a few or so major businesses that he knows well) with someone he's fond of is a big deal. Also, there's the part where he is here without anyone, so while he's generally in good spirits, that is a reminder.]

And it's great, isn't it? Though there's supposed to be a Roxxon building in midtown. It's tripping me up. [He gives a slight shake of his head.] Not that anyone wants them, but it'd explain the future evil stuff. If you knew who they were, anyway, which ... I bet you don't. [It's a lot of unnecessary babbling, but he does at least eventually catch himself.]

[mallarkey]

[ He shakes his head a little apologetically -- no, he doesn't know -- but this is one time he's not preoccupied with learning everything that's possible to find out; it's too nice to be on Earth and not freezing to worry about "future evil stuff." At least, Wayne would like to think so. ]

Wouldn't miss it -- this is great. It's funny... never actually thought I'd like New York, but I always wanted to see it at least once. Like a bucket list sorta thing. [ He exhales and rubs his hands together, as if warming them. ] Is it a lot different than what you remember?

[unmasking]

The movies don't get it right. Hard to tell if you'd like it, right? [It's a typical thing for a New Yorker to notice. Sure, they insert the skyline and some of the buildings, but a lot of those movies take place in Toronto. Not that Peter's ever been to Toronto, but it's a fact he learned when he was younger.

Plus, as a pop culture joking teenager, he has to know these insignificant facts.

And then there's the fact that New York is always so unpleasant in movies. He pauses to think about it before shrugging it off.]

And it's different enough. There are a bunch of superheroes in my world, and some of them are business conglomerates. So you notice the changes.

[mallarkey]

Right. Exactly. Never know with big cities, different people, different... everything. Weather. Some parts of the country, you almost never get snow or anything.

[ He can't even say from this thus-far-brief experience whether or not he likes it, but the experience itself is both pleasant and interesting. It's a change, anyway, from being stuck on the moon and then in a snow drift. A change he can appreciate. ]

What's that like, anyway?

[unmasking]

Dangerous. [That seems to be the long and the short of it.] I'm not sure it's something that most people would like, but the world's recently adapted to it. They're here to stay. [In a manner of speaking, anyway; Peter still has nightmares about the flood. He doesn't talk about it, not in depth, but he knows he's not the only one. It was one of those things that people don't easily forget.]

It might not be for everyone.

[mallarkey]

[ Dangerous. That sounds about right, maybe, although Wayne doesn't have much point of reference; he's not geek-savvy enough to understand superhero pop-culture, really, though almost everyone understands it a little.

It's almost with a laugh he gets out: ]

Yeah. Not for me, that's for sure. [ He shakes his head. ] Sometimes it's better relying on yourself then a masked stranger to save your ass -- uh, builds character.

[ Or something. ]

[unmasking]

Yeah, there are people who don't really like the masks. Most of the heroes don't bother with them. [He looks somewhat sullen when he says this.] But they're a little more stable than the ones that do. Either way, they're not always there when you need them.

[Which can stand for two things: he's not always able to help everyone, which he hates, and the Ultimates weren't exactly there for him when they left him with a bullet through his shoulder. Either way, he seems to be speaking from personal experience.]

[mallarkey]

[ He looks at Peter a little curiously, like he's trying to determine what to make from both Peter's expression and his implications. He reminds himself that it isn't really his business, but... ]

Can't imagine they would be. Just not how life works for anyone -- sooner or later everyone gets let down.

[ He raises his eyebrows and shrugs in an exaggerated That's Life sort of way so it doesn't seem necessarily as if he's speaking from personal experience himself. ]

[unmasking]

That almost makes me wonder if you're not let down a lot. [Peter observes him quietly trying to figure it out.] Got a super lucky life, Doug? [Of course, he doubts that's what Doug was going for in the first place, but it's better than focusing on the terrible implications of his pre-Exsilium life.]

[mallarkey]

Who, me?

[ It's spoken innocuously enough; he appears to mull it over. His life has been, of course, the opposite of lucky for quite a while, but that's not something that will be as true for Doug Rich as it is for Wayne Malloy. ]

Can't complain. Nice house, good job, great family -- what else matters, right? Well... [ He waves a hand. ] Before. Dunno if I'd call it lucky.

[unmasking]

But good enough. Honestly, anything more than that is just expecting too much.

[At least, that's how he sees it. He doesn't want a normal life so much these days, but he always wanted things to go a little better, for him to be a little less picked on, for things to suck a little less. He would've taken it.

Of course, a spider bite happened and everything changed, but he still can take some simple things in life. He'll just be super responsible while doing so.]

[mallarkey]

Yeah. Work hard to build yourself a good life, I think you deserve to have one.
An unconsidered life isn't worth living.

[ He believes it. That struggle has been most of his life, not that it's even over now. He's only still a Rich to get rich... so he tells himself, anyway. ]

Better to be the guy calling the shots on it.

[unmasking]

[That makes Peter pause. How many times has he really "called the shots" on his own life? He looks a little dubious and it's too late to hide it. Of course, he can play it off as some kind of teenager thing, can't he? Even though the disappointment is there.]

I think I'm a little too young for that. [There, that's how he's going to save Doug from thinking he's some screwed up kid.]

[mallarkey]

[ That's right -- Peter is just a teenager. Presumably not one that was raised by bandits. Figuring out their lives is what most people use high school and college for. ]

Well -- not saying you need to be in any hurry. Just for later down the road, last thing you want is to get out in the world and not know who you are. Know what I mean?

[ Maybe it only makes sense to him. ]

[unmasking]

Yeah, you've got a point. I'm hoping to be a pretty famous scientist by then. One of those top geniuses. [It's living the dream, and it's not far from what Peter was hoping. He knows there's a decent chance of it, too, and it's ... normal. It's how he's presenting himself. Just another teen genius.]

[mallarkey]

[ He smirks a little. It's not a dream he relates to specifically, but he can relate to the sentiment. Greatness, who doesn't want that? ]

Shouldn't be much trouble for someone as smart as you. Seems like you could probably do almost anything you wanted.

[unmasking]

Let's just see if I get into college first. [Of course, given JJ's willingness to pay for his college education, he might have a smoother ride than most. And that's even with Peter denying him that opportunity.]

[mallarkey]

Can't be that hard, right? [ He's distracted for a moment, glancing at a passerby's elaborate jewelry before he catches himself and focuses his gaze forward. ] Uh-- as long as you can pay for it.

[unmasking]

[He follows Doug's gaze and mutters "bling" to himself.

It's a deep moment.]

I've got a job at a newspaper back home. The editor's really fond of me.

[mallarkey]

What do you do -- are you a reporter?

[ Reporters aren't cops, but it's habit to be wary of either; he takes comfort in the fact Peter is a teenager and that there's nothing to investigate. ]

That's pretty good. I can't even talk my son into getting a paper route.

[unmasking]

I kind of accidentally happened into it after I took a bunch of bad pictures. [Having seen JJ reuse those pictures a few times, Peter is still pretty embarrassed by them, because they were awful.

Good thing he's not a photographer, right?]

But when I went in, I got a job working their website.

[mallarkey]

[ He smirks a little at that. ]

Ah. One of those kinds of jobs. I kind of accidentally happened into a few myself over the-- when I was younger. Might be a teenager thing. [ Smooth recovery. A little quickly, he continues: ] So, are you buying presents? Not that I'd blame you just for sightseeing.

[unmasking]

Unlike almost everyone, I didn't exactly come here with a lot of money. [The fact is disappointing. Though given what led to that, Peter can't say he's willing to openly gripe about it or anything. He'll just keep it to himself.] What I've got is probably gonna go to Starbucks. I'm not even much of a fan, it's just ... [Warm, and a weird commodity, and he doesn't even have enough to grab a full meal.

Because New York City is only cheap when it's dollar pizza.]

[mallarkey]

Kind of makes it difficult, yeah. No credit cards.

[ He could steal one, but there's really no way to justify having a working credit card. He tries to remember if he brought any of his petty cash along, or at least his wallet -- he might not have had as much as he came in with, but a few hundred dollars was enough. No sense in pulling out bills to count right out on the street, but he pats his coat pocket in confirmation. ]

But thank God for cash. Anything you need? Call it a gift -- don't have much else to spend it on.

[unmasking]

Wait, are you serious?

[There is a very big part of Peter that wants to say no to money, but he knows he can't. Not right now.]

Because if you are—I'll owe you. I don't like just ... taking. I wasn't raised that way, and I can already hear my Aunt May in my head disapproving of the very idea of it. But, y'know, a pay it back later thing. I can do that. Just ask.