tushanshu | Entries tagged with † ava ayala

[the screen turns on to reveal Carlos in his ever-present lab coat, pushing his glasses up his nose as he nervously grins at the screen]

I believe this is the point where introductions are in order, so...my name is Carlos and I am a scientist. I am not of this world, but from what I have been told neither are any of you. I'll need to run some surveys on that later - scientifically speaking, other worlds are very exciting. I mean, I'm here in a world where an entire city can be built on the back of a giant turtle the size of - well I don't know what size yet, I'll need to run some tests, or maybe just find an accurate map - but it's got to be at least the size of Rhode Island! There are just so many rules of physics that this thing must be breaking! Like, how does a turtle that large even float? And that's just in this world, I can't even begin to hypothesise about what else might be...

[Carlos coughs, suddenly remembering that this is actually the time for introductions, and figuring out what on earth (or in this case, what on turtle) he is meant to be doing next, and not time for Science]

Um. Yes. But I can figure that all out later, I'll need time to organise a proper survey questionnaire anyway. In the meantime - this is me, hello [Carlos waves quickly], and I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me where to get food, groceries, that sort of thing. Also is all of this [Carlos waves around him to indicate the place he's been set up in] something paid for, or am I going to need to pay this all back? I meant to ask, but I kind of got distracted with all of my questions about the turtle.

Also I...I realise this is a long shot, but the last otherworldly universe I got stuck in had this fantastic wifi, and I didn't have to worry about my phone's battery dying either. Which meant being stuck in a desert that was not of this world wasn't so bad, because I could still ring home. That...that's not going to be possible here, is it? I mean, obviously if time is not passing in my world then there is no time in which anyone will be able to answer the phone, but I...I just thought I'd check. Just in case.

highprofilerichkid

[A dark-haired kid who seems to be in his late teens appears on screen. He smiles, but it looks a bit forced.]

Hey. Tony Stark. [He gives a small wave.] I just... got here, I guess, and got the rundown on the whole scary death chaos monster situation. And all the giant magic turtle stuff. Sounds like a good time. [He laughs awkwardly, and rubs the back of his neck.] Better than centipede monster void dimensions, at least, [he mutters. This is not the first time he’s been suddenly yanked into a different dimension, evidently.]

Anyway, uh, if anyone needs some tech stuff or heavy lifting done, hit me up. I haven’t had a chance to take a close look at the tech here yet, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. [He seems to brighten a little at the prospect of new alien technology to play with.

He looks like he’s about to cut the feed, but then he hesitates. There’s a couple seconds of anxious silence, and he fidgets, his cheerful demeanor faltering even more.] And, um, just out of curiosity... When they send us back home, there’s... There is something to go back to, isn’t there? [He laughs, but it’s nervous, like he’s not sure he wants to know the answer.] Nobody would really give me a straight answer, but... They’re not going to send us back if we’re just about to... Well, you know, get blown up or something. Right? I mean, that would be pretty messed up.

skybluejeep

[Stiles appears on the feed, after giving his console a good solid thumping. He's peering into it like he can see right through the screen, trying to fix the unfixable. There's one momentary ghosting, a doubling of his image, but then it stabilizes.]

Hah! Percussive maintenance saves the day again.

Okay, got some stuff to talk about, and I can't give three ripping farts as to who or what is listening, so suck it. I'm gonna start making, like, World War Two style propaganda posters and sticking them up all over the place. Victory Gardens and War Bonds, guys. Let's make it happen. Bonus points if we can all dress like Gene Kelly and Ginger Rogers for the duration.

One! Late Memorial Day barbecue. Bring your own grilling goods, communal shared style. Pot luck style. Low on food so let's all share style. Thanks to Darcy for coming up with the idea, seriously, that girl is super awesome smart. And appropriate theme, because Jesus Harry Christ on a bouncing kangaroo, memorials all over.

Two! Had a really interesting dream last night involving a little boy, named Rio'era. Aaaaaand I've been led to understand this is a thing? Anybody else having weird dreams about little kids popping up and giggling a bit at you? Because wow it's borderline creepy. More than borderline, if I'm one hundred percent honest.

Three! Who put the ram in the ramalama ding dong?

Important question for the ages.

backwordscompatible

[Another day, another morning of having to ration her tea and breakfast. Of residual smoke lingering in the air from the explosions that had gone off down the street. Of the near radio silence and informational uncertainty that came with it. Of having to stare at the ugly remodeled palace and remember that, whatever was inside it, it had been enough to scare certain people into staying as far away as possible.]

[There was something particularly special about this day, however...or, at least, there was supposed to be.]

[The good news was that Zatanna seemed to be feeling a lot better. You'd never know from her expression, though, as she stared dully into the camera for a fleeting moment, before calmly holding up a sign (in English):]

WORST
"SWEET" SIXTEEN
EVER

[It was the most trivial of teen trivial things, but she didn't care. Malicant wanted to listen in on everybody's conversations? Find out what they were talking about? Fine. She would rant and rave all she wanted, and he would have no choice but to listen.]

[Because #F*@kYouMalicant]

backinakidflash

[It's been some time since Bart has graced the Network with a post. After Tim left the first time, that had been a miserable one to make. The shine is definitely gone like the cheap, shiny (lead-filled) paint on a kids meal toy.]

You know what is one of THE most annoying short story I've ever read? Hills Like White Elephants. Cause like. The Lottery was a trainwreck of stupid and gross, the one where that girl got shot out of the airlock was tragic, Super-Toys Last All Summer Long, All in a Summer Day - they're all about the worst of humanity, and I get that.

[It's strange how he has a hard time coming up with a short story that wasn't A huge downer, but, since he's venting, he doesn't pause the fast-paced, near breathless delivery to muse on it for long.]

But Hills Like White Elephants, man. It's four pages of doing nothing but waiting for this couple to stop dancing around the topic and complaining that everything tastes like licorice. Like that's a bad thing. I'd cut off my arm for a twizzler. All right not the whole arm, but me and my pinkie have never been on the best of terms. Twizzlers are nature's straws. And that's how they go. On and on. For pages of nothing that dance around everything and you just want to shout at them to freaking say it already because the rampant silence is killing her and the incessant chatter is putting him off. But on the other hand, who cares about him? He's a scumbag, and I hope that - in the fiction of Hemingway's - she grew a spine and dumped his fatass and ran off to run a tourist bar in Borneo. Because he was freaking selfish.

[He shrugs at this terrible understatement. 'Shithead' would be better, or reprehensible dickwad, but this isn't actually a symposium on the works of Ernest Hemingway. It just seemed like the best way to bring up how there were so many things, including Malicant, that no one talked about directly. Talk about white elephants by bringing up the story where they talk about white elephants to ignore the white elephants.]

So, yeah. Most annoying four pages I've ever read, and that's not counting all the essays analyzing it. Half of them were longer than the story! That is what happens when you hafta keep avoiding a topic. The coding and decoding detour takes way longer than flat out talking about it ever could, and. Let's be real. Not talking about things is halfway to lying, and oh-what-a-tangled-web hasn't stuck around for two centuries because Marmion is such a gripping read. Ohgoditreallyisn't. Why am I talking about Walter Scott?

[He actually stops here, scratching behind his ear for a moment until the tangent becomes a parabola and re-intersects with the original topic.]

Ugh, right. Hemingway. Things snowball. Before you know it, you're in an entire room full of white elephants, crowding out all the oxygen, and you can't turn around without face planting in saggy gray butt. Names that you shouldn't say, that you can't say, things you don't want to say cause you'll upset someone else or you, or piss them off and. It's turning every conversation into "Oh. We're talking about that now? OK."

ALL of it could be avoided if people just said what was on their mind because decades of watching what I say is getting old. I can't take it. I'm not wired for patient and subtle. I'm gonna be the first Allen in four generations to get gray hair. Because all I can do is sit here like -

[He jumps to his feet dramatically, pointing off in the distance.] "What in the world could that be?"

[And sits back firmly, as if it's possible to sit down resolutely with enough speed and force. Bart slaps a hand on the desk for good measure.] IT'S A WHITE ELEPHANT. It sucks.

And so does Hemingway.

maipokerface

[Console, whatever. Sure she got the run down on the thing but Mai's pretty much been ignoring it for the past day. She hasn't even bothered to really look on the network itself even if she has no intention of making an entry to it.

Now she's bothering though, mainly because she just wants to ask:]

So explain this war business to me again. Or at least try to convince me why I should care. Because right now? I really can't find much inside to say I should.

definingfuture

You know what I want? A pizza. For those of you who are familiar with it, I just realized how long it's been since I've actually had a good pizza, and it's almost criminal. For the rest of you, you don't know what you're missing.

You think we can get a pizzeria started somewhere?

And while I'm thinking here, is anyone really that uncomfortable? It's not so bad once you figure out the secret to it.

[The smile he puts on is deliberate and smug. It's the kind of expression he gives when he knows someone else wants him to have a bad day just so he can ruin their plans. Or maybe he's just trying to piss someone else off. Who knows?]

Want a hint? Here's a hint: When is a door not a door?

[Locked; encrypted 30%]

"Ajar" doesn't sound like "a jar".

[Locked; encrypted 50%]

That's not even the answer I'm looking for. But this is the next clue.

[Locked; encrypted 80%]

M must be for marshmallow. And we all know that marshmallows aren't that intimidating.

The answer is adaptation. The riddle was just for fun. Also it's when it's ajar. [No it wasn't. It was "code" or "back door".]

nerdylilspidey

[Peter's not quite in the right place, mentally, to put up a video post. And he definitely isn't sure he should put it up from his own suite. So he's found his way to the nearest cafe, with an oversized hoodie pulled up over his head, and is starting up only an audio feed.]

Never a boring moment around here, is there? One minute we're normal-ish, celebrating Valentine's Day, and the next we're battling evil miasma inside a magic bottle.

Does anyone ever wonder what happened to the idea of rest and relaxation?

[FILTERED to the Spider-family]

...Sorry. About what happened back there. You-- You guys know that that-- That wasn't me. You know that, right...?

Oh, God... [There's a sigh, and then a beat of silence before he continues.] Anyway, just- I'm sorry.

runawayandroid

[Victor is looking straight into the camera; he's got nothing to hide, after all. He seems fairly nonchalant about being here, and he mostly is, except for a couple of concerns about people he's left behind. Sure, giant turtle cities are pretty weird as alternate dimensions go, but he can cope. At least people seem to be friendly enough, and it does sound like his help might be needed.]

Hey. My name's Victor, and I just got here, so I thought I'd say hi and see who else is here. I, uh, don't think many people will recognise me, unless my friends turned up as well and I just didn't see them. Mostly I'm looking for a couple of kids called Molly and Klara, so if anyone sees them can they let me know?

[He shrugs, and looks down at the console itself, now looking a little confused.]

Anyone know how these consoles work? I usually do okay with technology, but I can't even tell what these are made of. I don't want to mess around with them if I don't know if I can read the code... if they even run on code.

[He'll avoid mentioning why he's usually good with technology, though. He's not sure what kind of prejudices people even have here, and cyborgs usually make people a little uncomfortable even at home. He looks up again suddenly, having just remembered something.]

Speaking of which, I'm meant to find a job, apparently. Anyone know anyone who needs a mechanic or an electrician? I'm not officially trained, but I'm good for an amateur and I pick things up pretty quickly.

superoverachiever

[Ava's message starts off friendly enough, posture casual and face neutral. She looks sort of like she's giving a school report.] Korra mentioned a while ago about taking over the dojo, and she and some other people have been providing combat lessons. It's good. You all should go if you need it.

But I need something more. I'm looking for training partners. [And here she turns more serious, hands on her hips and an intense look on her face.]

And I mean partners. I'm not really interested in training rookies, I'm looking for people who can hold their own. You have metahuman powers, you use them; if you don't, then we only hold back enough to make sure you don't break anything important. I've got and training in several different martial arts, but I've been slacking, and I'm sick of it, and I need to get back on track.

If anyone's up for it... [she pauses for a second there, because her teammates back home sure wouldn't have volunteered for training. But it's a wider audience she's pitching to, so maybe she'll find someone] If anyone's up for it, we'd mostly be figuring out workouts together, doing them together, and sparring.

[There's another few seconds of silence before she adds] If no one is interested, I'm still doing it by myself [and then off goes the feed.]

aloadeddie

[Arthur's message is short and to-the-point today. No muss, no fuss.]

Any egg-sitters concerned about "Robin's" idea about the eggs being some kind of sinister plant intended to infiltrate our minds - I can train people in certain kinds of subconscious security which should help prevent that kind of thing from happening.

Contact me if that's something you think you want. If you don't know me already, my name is Arthur.

[That's it. He's been here long enough that he's way past dealing with formalities, or even much secrecy about what he does. Almost no one seems to care, after all. Why should they, with so many people throwing around superpowers and magic?]

traitorously

[Catty's in a pair of overalls that are basically covered in paint, and she's got a smear on her cheek as well. But her hands are clean, and she's handling one of a set of books with care]

So...this post isn't exactly super-important-Mally-related. Or anything like that at all, actually. But I figured I should ask around! The thing is, I kind of got carried away with the auctions. I've never been to one before, and there were all kinds of interesting things for sale, and before I knew it I ended up with a bunch of French books that I've never heard of. At least, I think they're French. I don't even read French.

[She's grinning, though, amused by her own terrible decision making] Anyway, I've seen that people have been picking up stuff that actually belongs to other people, so I thought I'd ask if these belong to anyone. [She proceeds to dance the books across the screen, one at a time. She sets them down when she's done, but she doesn't seem quite ready to hang up.]

--Actually, this is something completely unrelated to the books, but something Vanessa said in her post reminded me. Do we actually have any places for clubbing here? Or dancing? I asked when I first showed up, but I never really got an answer. I think it'd be fun. And useful! Dancing before trying to save the world has a one hundred percent success rate, in my experience.

bludhavenknight

[Everyone gets to see two familiar faces this time, with a couple of twists. Dick (the elder) is sitting down in the chair, wearing a bright red coat with white trim, a hat of the same color, and of course, a beard to match the whole thing. It’s pulled down, though, so you can see his face. And his wonderful assistant, Zatanna, is standing behind him, dressed up like the most beautiful elf there is. They’re both looking pretty happy about this.]

It’s getting cold out! And what does cold mean? Holiday fun, of course. So I, and my amazing elf assistant here, have decided that Santa Claus needs to come to the turtle. [See what he did there? See it? Okay, good.]

And so it is with pleasure that we let everyone know-- [He gets cut off as Zatanna leans forward, and he looks up at her.]

[The fifteen-year-old elf bends down until she's level with his ear, covering her mouth so she could whisper something secretively to him.]

Really?

[She nods, and offers a playful wink.] Trust me. I know a guy who knows the guy personally.

[Dick looks back at the screen, and his voice drops into a perfect, heavy Russian accent.] Is this better?

[She practically has to bite her tongue to keep from bursting out laughing. Impressive. She should've known.] It'll do.

[Dick grins.] I’d like to invite everyone to come over to the Wood sector, where we have a little holiday party going on.

[He stops, laughing and shaking his head. He has to drop the Russian accent.] Okay, I can’t keep that one up, but I tried! Anyway, we’ve got a small thing going on in a café in the Wood sector, with some cakes and gingerbread-ish things, and some hot drinks. And what would Santa be without his...

[He holds up a huge, red velvet-like bag.] Bag, yes! And it is filled with little odds and ends, so there are presents for all!

[Dick sets the bag down, and pulls the beard back up with a grin.] And to all, a good... day? Yeah, that still works. To all, a good day! Remember, café in the Wood sector, we’ll be here awhile!

[ooc: Action is absolutely welcome.]

vhaidtluin

The ruler of this place is a female and yet she rules it so completely different than what I'd expect. Everything here is...easy and the rules are...simple.

Does anyone here that has power of any kind rely on any form of deity? And if so, do you still feel a connection to them here? Or just have the powers they gave you?

[So he doesn't really want to know about you personally. He's more trying to work out in advance if any of his sisters or higher born females arrive if they're gonna be bad news.]

parallels

[Clara has still been under the weather the past few days and so she's been avoiding the network even more than usual. But now she something to say. She turns the video on, coughs, then clears her throat before speaking.]

Hullo. Clara, by the way, if you don't know. Been stuck inside with a nasty cold for the past few days so I've been doing a lot of reading. Well, more reading than usual. And so I've finished with the third read through of all the books I've managed to recover here.

[She gestures to a pile next to her. There's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Little Prince, Pride and Prejudice along with a few other Austin novels, and Canturbury Tales. All of them have significant wear.]

So I was thinking and had a clever thought. Plenty of people I've talked to are also quite into reading and I do imagine we're in the same miserably situation of having only a few books in English or otherwise Earth languages. Like I said, I'm on the third go for mine.

But if we all exchanged books that we had we had with each other, we'd be able to actually read something new and not just go for repeated viewings. Even I'm getting a bit bored these and they're my favorites. Might be able to get in a few new good reads. We could even lend out books to anyone who doesn't have any.

Spread a bit of literature about, get some new books to shove our noses in, it's a brilliant plan if you ask me. And not just because I thought of it.

[She grins but then coughs and sniffs before biting her lip. Like she's unsure about if she actually wants to say what she has to say next.]

And if you haven't heard, the Doctor, the funny one with the bowtie, has left the turtle. Won't find him anywhere.

[She shakes her head before looking back up at the screen. It's clear that it was something that she felt had to be said,]

So English or other earth language book owners, give me a ring. Let's discuss each other's collections. Make a few swaps. Maybe we'll even make it a club.

nerdylilspidey

[Someone is healing up and recovering quite nicely. Which now leaves that someone with a new, very serious problem.

Peter's… kind of bored. So he hops onto Kaine's console, since he's been staying with him while recovering, and opens up a video feed. Mask-less and in the Kedan clothes that Tony got him, he offers the network a sheepish sort of smile.]

Um… Hi everyone. I have a real quick question, while I'm still trying to get a feel for the layout of this place… Would there happen to be some kind of library around here? Just… I wanted to like, catch up on some reading that I've wanted to do for forever.

[ Wow, you're lame, Parker. ] Though if there isn't one, then… That's totally fine, too. Just curious, that's all.

nerdylilspidey

[It's been a day or so since Peter got set up in his suite. He's not entirely sure. He'd been exposed to total information overload when he first showed up, and he needed the time to sit and let it all process. Not that doing so allowed anything to really make sense. But still. And of course with the way his body had refused to cooperate with even the simple task of listening to someone, he'd been in desperate need of some actual rest. But when he next woke up and really felt aware of his situation, only one thought really resounded.

They told him that this was an "In-Between." But Peter wasn't fooled.

Eventually he pulls himself out of bed (with a wince) and makes his way over to the console in his suite. It doesn't take long for Peter to figure out how it works, and as soon as he's got it running, he's turning on the audio feed. He's sure he's still looking pretty beaten up and he doesn't want to alarm anyone, after all. This doesn't feel like a good time for sympathy from total strangers. And "In-Between" or no, keeping his identity a secret was second nature. When he speaks, he's trying to be slow and careful about what he says-- and at the same time, there's a nervousness in his voice along with that slight strain caused by his injuries.]

Um... Hi, everyone. I, uh-- Not to sound ungrateful to the- the people who brought me over here and explained everything, but. Uh. Just wondering if there's somewhere I can go for, y'know, fresh clothes. And.. And maybe some clean bandages...? Or ice packs... Y'know, just-- any stuff like that, that would actually be awesome to get...

[There's a brief pause, during which he can probably be heard fidgeting awkwardly.]

And I... I get that I'm-- we're all stuck here. For like, forever. But-- [He stops again, breath catching. Somebody just level with me. Seriously. Just admit that this is-- some kind of after life and that's why we can't leave.] ... Never mind.

Clean clothes would really help me out a lot, thanks.

vhaidtluin

[He's spent a day here already and frankly it's been a day too long. Though in that time, he has managed to find some heavy blankets which he's hung up over the windows to blot out the light. Some is still creeping in but it's enough to keep the place at a comfortable level of darkness. After spending a while watching the network as well and wondering what in the Demonweb Pits the thing is, his eyes are slowly adjusting to the light it gives it. It still hurts though, but it's interesting. Anyway, he's manged to figure out just what he's doing, ~~he refused to let the kedan help him except when it came to them bringing him here.~~ So Dinin is sat with the hood to his piwafwi brought up, managing to shield his eyes from some of the light.]

Kidnapped to the surface world, wonderful.

[He's having a blast, really. His levels of excitement are just so high, can't you feel it all?]

I don't suppose anyone knows of a decent armoury in this Lolth-forsaken place. [He looks disgusted that he even has to ask. But he'd drawn a dagger when he arrived and stabbed one of the kedan in their hand for touching him. Now the blade was dull and ragged from exposure.]

4n631

[The console switches on and a pale skinned, brunette with blue eyes smiles into the camera. The right side of her head seems to be shaven and something that looks like a metal plate is barely visible on that side. She seems to be pleased to see the open network and raises her hand in a little wave. As she did so, bluish-white marks can be seen starting from her left hand and going up along her arm. The tattoo-like markings also seem to cross onto her chest, though they stop at the center. The marks seem to glow faintly, even in the well lit room she’s sitting in.]

Hello uhm—whoever is out there. I’m Angel and I am—obviously new here. This is actually my third day living on this turtle and I haven’t actually left my house yet but I definitely plan to! Yes, I plan to go out very uh—very soon. [She tries to look confident but her expression comes across as sheepish at best. After that however, she descends into awkward silence before picking herself back up again.]

So—Can I ask who’s out there? Is there anyone from Promethea, Eden-5, Eden-6, uhm…Pandora? And what’s out there? Outside I mean. Are there trees? Oh geez, That must sound like a weird question. So okay—I have actually never been outside before and a lot of things that are outdoors are totally new to me. [As though the outdoors can hear her the woman turns her head toward the window briefly before looking back at the screen.]

Okay so I’ve made this completely awkward now. I’m sorry. [She fidgets with her hair for a while, fondling the ponytail that hangs over her shoulder on the unshaven side of her head. There is a slight indication of movement off screen as she shuffles her feet a little bit under the table. The girl looks anxious, as though she can’t decide if she should wait for a response or just shut the entire thing down right then and there.]

superoverachiever

Guys, we need a school.

And not JUST because I've been stuck in Turtle-opolis for almost six months and I'm seriously behind in my studies. [She cycles through six different half-grumpy, half teasing faces before she assumes a more serious face.] I know people have been offering to teach self defense and magic and stuff like that, but it's not -- look, it's what we need to be doing.

Educating ourselves is how we prepare for stuff like -- you know, the thing that we have to prepare for.

Obviously, I'd mostly just be a student. I think most of the people who can teach valuable skills already are, but they could afford to be more coordinated. That means we need a Headmaster. Any volunteers?

[She clears her throat and steps back from the camera, revealing half her apartment to be covered with notes about something -- presumably this project.] Oh, yeah, I have a preliminary curriculum, lemme know what you think.

Lessee, we got... Self Defense, English, Kedan Language and Culture, Computer Science, Magic, Physics and how not to introduce stupid invasive furballs into the ecosystem.

Ahem. I mean Newcomer Orientation. Obviously there's not enough of us to really do levels or whatever, but come on. Let's get on it!

Tu Shanshu

[Video]

[video]

10 → Video

✦ 014 ✦ [VIDEO] ✦ (Open to ACTION) ✦

Video; take the big game down

001; Video

07 § video

AUDIO; from a cafe; post-bottle

1 ⏚ [Video]

Video

007; video;

o5 ☽ video;

Video; In which cold weather is clearly the best!

ӝoo2ӝ || Voice

03 ☆ Video

[video] - from Kaine's suite

[Audio]

ӝoo1ӝ || Video

Video

[Video] Educational Advocacy

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