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Entry tags:
- +npc: jack frost,
- aziraphale,
- beckett mariner,
- bradward boimler,
- branch,
- elle bryant,
- loki (mcu),
- miguel o'hara (spiderverse),
- stacia novik,
- ✘ aiden price,
- ✘ barbara maitland,
- ✘ bunnymund,
- ✘ dean winchester,
- ✘ henry townshend,
- ✘ jennifer,
- ✘ mackenzie haynes,
- ✘ nico minoru (comics),
- ✘ nyara,
- ✘ peter b parker (spiderverse),
- ✘ rainbow brite,
- ✘ rowan heart-eater,
- ✘ sam wyldhammer,
- ✘ steve harrington,
- ✘ the grand elusa,
- ✘ tim drake (comics)
LET'S ALL GO TO THE LOBBY
LET'S ALL GO TO THE LOBBY
For those that arrived early, the fearlings have been dissipated enough for the children to escape and go get help for the bus driver. For those that are just arriving, you arrive to see a crashed bus and a group of battered and exhausted myths, fresh off a fight. Before you have a chance to ask anyone anything there is chaos nearby.
Merely a street over, there's a fight that sprang up at the same time as the fearling attack. It seems chaotic. There's yelling and crashing and the sound of rending metal. A separate fearling cloud is circling above this other fight -
- until a distant figure with a staff rises up in the air to meet it. Energy crackles like electricity but there's no warmth to the color, it's white-cold. The fearling cloud freezes in mid-air and then explodes into something that looks like frozen sand before the frozen fearling particles start trickling off into the distance. The gust of cold is so chilling it can be felt all the way where the group is.
But then something is flung from the ground, knocking the figure out of the air.
For those curious for answers, the answers may lie that way. For those hesitant to go to another conflict (or a new conflict if you just showed up), there is now a whisper in your head that seems to come from above, urging you along. It's pushing into evening and the Moon has risen early, barely visible as the evening light starts to fade.
His name is Jack Frost. Please go to him; he fights the ones that attacked the children, that attacked you. They will hunt you until they kill or imprison you. He can bring you to safety, but only if he lives long enough.
The Moon warns you now because you deserve to be warned, regardless of how much Jack needs help and how true it is that you need Jack to help you:
You'll be walking into a fight but if you don't save him, they will never stop coming for you.
It's not a lie.
ENTER JACK FROST
The fight is taking place on a playground. The children there have long since escaped thanks to their savior, buuuut he's not doing so good.
Jack Frost, the last of the Guardians, had the situation handled - until his enemies told him about the bus, the Jersey Devil, and the cloud of fearlings a few streets over. The problem is that when you're desperate to end one fight and escape to another, you tend to slip up.
And he is so, so tired.
By the time anyone else gets there, he's down and nearly out. He doesn't look like much: a spidery-limbed white-haired teenage boy in a frosted-over blue hoodie, brown tattered pants looking ancient and bound to his legs with leather cords. He's barefoot and pale like someone who's recently died in the snow.
When you arrive, Jack is trying to extricate himself from the twisted wreckage of a metal jungle gym, a broken up geodesic metal cage. He's clearly battered and scraped up, his hoodie clawed and bloody in places, and bleeding profusely from a head injury.
He gets to his feet, sees there are new people and backs away from both you and the figures penning him in, staff held out and ready to fight. The two figures on the ground that were menacing him seem to be backing away slightly at the sight of the group. A terrifying woman with bloody claws, Bloody Mary, and the Trunchbull, a massive vicious-looking woman with a riding crop and stern school-marm-ish outfit that looks like she could bench press a steer, don't like the look of the crowd.
A red-haired man with sunglasses is staring down from above, where he stands on a floating cloud of fearlings. This is Mr. Benedict.
"Aw come on, Benny," Jack calls out. "Do you really need that much extra help to handle lil' ol' me?"
But a ray of moonlight casts down on Jack, and with it comes understanding, in an instant. He looks over at the group and slowly raises his eyebrows at what their existence might mean.
The figure floating above shakes his head. "They're not ours, Mr. Frost," says Benedict, signaling some of the fearlings to quickly swoop down and scoop up Bloody Mary and the Trunchbull before anyone in the group can bring them to harm, shielding them from any possible blows. "But if that means they're possibly fresh faces that might join your side, well then I've clearly got to bring in some of the help to clean this whole mess up, don't I? It's worth the wasted ticket."
Before letting him follow through, Jack Frost blasts ice at the man but some of the fearlings rear up and take the hit instead. The second the wave of ice passes Benedict throws something down, something gold that strikes the ground like a blade and sticks there. It's a large movie ticket, solid like metal and glowing with golden light. In an instant, the ground under the group's feet starts to glow, too late for any of you to escape.
The fearling cloud and its three figures starts to whiz off. Jack fires off a few more blasts but the fearlings block them yet again.
"Ta ta!" Banedict calls out. "Enjoy the show!"
Jack clearly has seen this ticket thing before. And he is waaay past overwhelmed with this crap. In the past, he wasn't the type to curse. Now?
"Son of a biscuit-eating bulldog!"
Okay, so he's kept it kid-friendly but he's definitely expanded his vocabulary and found something he can use as invective.
He holds two fingers to his lips and lets out a very loud whistle. There is the sound of jingling bells coming from the distance, as merry and sweet as a child's laughter. Before Jack can explain what they're from, he's suddenly gone because the area around the group expands and suddenly has walls. Everyone becomes separated.
YOU'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT
Mr. Benedict's tickets can do several different things involving the movies, and fortunately take time to form, slowly growing in Kuk's base. That means he uses them sparingly. Buuut you've had the misfortune of this being one of those times.
You are now trapped in the Multiplex. It seems almost like a normal movie theater, but it's not formed right, with each of the rooms connected in odd ways, sometimes to each other, sometimes to hallways. It's almost as if a computer procedurally-generated its own twisted idea of a movie theater layout. There are nearly countless theaters, hallways, and concession stands - all of them dark, lit only by the dimmest of floor lights and the light of the movie screens, which are currently flickering with nothing on them.
Jack Frost's voice suddenly comes over the intercom - he knows where it is because of the last time he and the Guardians found themselves in here.
"I don't have much time to talk, but my name is Jack Frost and yes, those people were exactly as mustache-twirlingly evil as they seemed. Benedict's tickets create a magical pocket dimension. I've been trapped here before and things are about to get rough."
Hooray, sounds fun, right? (God he wishes he could do that "fun" thing instead of this.)
"Stay away from the screens and get out of the theater through any exit you can find! The exit signs are mostly real." Just...rare. "You're about to be surrounded. Don't try to stop your attackers, just fight your way through, because they'll just keep coming. And don't bother trying to get into the projectors, it's a waste of time. I'll try to help you all get out. Once you're out, I swear, I'll get you somewhere safe, and figure out how you're even here."
The intercom cuts out. The nonexistent movie projectors can be heard in their closed off rooms, starting to whir. They project onto the screens with a light that can't be physically blocked - it just goes through whatever's in its way. The screens themselves are also indestructible.
Movies start to play, usually cutting right into the middle of the action. The characters on screen can be seen doing whatever it is they're doing in the movie...and then looking right at the viewer. Then they walk towards the screen - and out of it, slowly passing into the theater aisles and becoming three-dimensional. This wouldn't be a problem if these were good characters, but no. No no no, the group is not so lucky as that.
They're all villains, every single one.
"Hi, I'm Chucky, wanna play?"
"Ba-ba-dooook."
"We all float down here."
"Heeeere's Johnny!"
And hidden in the theater among all these movie monsters is a surprise for everyone - one of Benedict's sentient allies, a follower of Kuk, slithering between the seats and taking advantage of the chaos. Kaa is Benedict's secret weapon.
PROMPTS
a) HORROR
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. Countless horror movie villains are stalking the aisles now, ranging from classics like old school Dracula to modern slashers like the Scream guy. Some are fortunately not that powerful, like a certain axe-wielding inn caretaker who likes to shove his face through gaps in doors and talk about how all work and no play makes him a dull boy. All he's got is an axe and a bad attitude.
But others are nearly unstoppable. Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers just won't stay down, regardless of how much damage they soak up, and even worse: they've apparently struck up some kind of mutual non-aggression pact and are hunting in a pair.
But the worst one is a little bastard that keeps going around and stabbing ankles. Chucky is absolutely taking advantage of the darkness of the theater to try to take out some Achilles tendons and hit some arteries with a knife.
Only rarely can they be reasoned with, typically only in cases where their on-screen situation is truly tragic, like the blood-soaked teenage girl in her prom dress. Only then can someone perhaps talk their way out of a situation by offering kindness and de-escalation. And even then, they might only spare that person and who they're with before turning to attack others once more.
Mostly, though, they're all just being pretty stabby right now.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. Countless horror movie villains are stalking the aisles now, ranging from classics like old school Dracula to modern slashers like the Scream guy. Some are fortunately not that powerful, like a certain axe-wielding inn caretaker who likes to shove his face through gaps in doors and talk about how all work and no play makes him a dull boy. All he's got is an axe and a bad attitude.
But others are nearly unstoppable. Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers just won't stay down, regardless of how much damage they soak up, and even worse: they've apparently struck up some kind of mutual non-aggression pact and are hunting in a pair.
But the worst one is a little bastard that keeps going around and stabbing ankles. Chucky is absolutely taking advantage of the darkness of the theater to try to take out some Achilles tendons and hit some arteries with a knife.
Only rarely can they be reasoned with, typically only in cases where their on-screen situation is truly tragic, like the blood-soaked teenage girl in her prom dress. Only then can someone perhaps talk their way out of a situation by offering kindness and de-escalation. And even then, they might only spare that person and who they're with before turning to attack others once more.
Mostly, though, they're all just being pretty stabby right now.
b) ACTION
Some of these villains are fortunately a little less of a handful. Hans Gruber and his armed thieves are at least just like...guys. They have guns but not much else. But they sure do seem to be taking things personally, calling out to you as if you've really ruined their day, and are really laying down some gunfire in your direction. No matter how many times they're corrected, they also keep calling you "cowboy." Hans seems to just never shut up, either, taunting you the entire time.
Some are a little less chatty. The T1000 mostly just keeps pursuing people in a standard Terminator-like fashion, transforming its arms into blades and trying to stab you. Or, worse, it imitates someone you know, even taking on their voice. Its smart enough to not chase everyone, observing some people in secret while transformed as objects to later morph into them and imitate their appearance and voice. Only a warning from the real thing might be able to save you if it dopplegangers to get in close.
And nothing seems to be able to damage it, just slow it down.
One of the most dangerous one of all at least has a musical cue to warn you it's coming.
DUUUN DUN. DUUUUN DUN.
Yes, that is a fucking Great White shark swimming through the air of the theater like its water. And it's a man-eater.
Some of these villains are fortunately a little less of a handful. Hans Gruber and his armed thieves are at least just like...guys. They have guns but not much else. But they sure do seem to be taking things personally, calling out to you as if you've really ruined their day, and are really laying down some gunfire in your direction. No matter how many times they're corrected, they also keep calling you "cowboy." Hans seems to just never shut up, either, taunting you the entire time.
Some are a little less chatty. The T1000 mostly just keeps pursuing people in a standard Terminator-like fashion, transforming its arms into blades and trying to stab you. Or, worse, it imitates someone you know, even taking on their voice. Its smart enough to not chase everyone, observing some people in secret while transformed as objects to later morph into them and imitate their appearance and voice. Only a warning from the real thing might be able to save you if it dopplegangers to get in close.
And nothing seems to be able to damage it, just slow it down.
One of the most dangerous one of all at least has a musical cue to warn you it's coming.
DUUUN DUN. DUUUUN DUN.
Yes, that is a fucking Great White shark swimming through the air of the theater like its water. And it's a man-eater.
c) SCI FI
The xenomorphs are some of the most dangerous of the sci fi bunch, slinking through the shadows and hiding in the rafters or between rows of seats, making it so you only see the occasional glimpse of shining black carapace.
They're definitely a handful. Their tails can spear people, their inner jaws can break through skin and bone, they can spit acid, and they spray acid when their exoskeleton is pierced - they also can sponge up quite a bit of damage, needing heavy gunfire or equivalent force to take down.
Even worse, they somehow found time to lay a few eggs...and the facehuggers are starting to hatch.
One of the other enemies from the world of science fiction is slower but unfortunately has strength in numbers. Figures appear in the humid fog spilling through one of the screens, from what looks like the twisted interior of a space ship. They're from one of the cinematic offerings in their particular franchise. Their voices sound out in unison from the fog as the red laser lights from their eyepieces pierce the fog in rapid arcs.
"We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
The Borg are slower and less cunning than the xenomorphs, but they have great numbers. They seem to never stop pouring through their screen, as if the entire ship's worth of them on the other side is invading, slowly and ponderously through the Multiplex. They are extremely strong, difficult to damage, and worst of all, have personal forcefields that slowly adapt to attacks over time, gradually becoming immune to some of them. The best tactic is retreat and laying down fire with different types of attacks each time they adapt.
If they successfully get their hands on someone, they're massively strong, with a strength many times that of a human. And that means it's a struggle to stop them from assimilating someone, piercing their neck with two nanotubules that puncture skin and pump nanites into the bloodstream that will eventually take over someone's mind and start to changing their body into something mechanical.
If they're not stopped, they'll try to drag an assimilated individual back into the screen to their ship for further augmentation - where they'll be forever lost, with no hope of a cure.
The xenomorphs are some of the most dangerous of the sci fi bunch, slinking through the shadows and hiding in the rafters or between rows of seats, making it so you only see the occasional glimpse of shining black carapace.
They're definitely a handful. Their tails can spear people, their inner jaws can break through skin and bone, they can spit acid, and they spray acid when their exoskeleton is pierced - they also can sponge up quite a bit of damage, needing heavy gunfire or equivalent force to take down.
Even worse, they somehow found time to lay a few eggs...and the facehuggers are starting to hatch.
One of the other enemies from the world of science fiction is slower but unfortunately has strength in numbers. Figures appear in the humid fog spilling through one of the screens, from what looks like the twisted interior of a space ship. They're from one of the cinematic offerings in their particular franchise. Their voices sound out in unison from the fog as the red laser lights from their eyepieces pierce the fog in rapid arcs.
"We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
The Borg are slower and less cunning than the xenomorphs, but they have great numbers. They seem to never stop pouring through their screen, as if the entire ship's worth of them on the other side is invading, slowly and ponderously through the Multiplex. They are extremely strong, difficult to damage, and worst of all, have personal forcefields that slowly adapt to attacks over time, gradually becoming immune to some of them. The best tactic is retreat and laying down fire with different types of attacks each time they adapt.
If they successfully get their hands on someone, they're massively strong, with a strength many times that of a human. And that means it's a struggle to stop them from assimilating someone, piercing their neck with two nanotubules that puncture skin and pump nanites into the bloodstream that will eventually take over someone's mind and start to changing their body into something mechanical.
If they're not stopped, they'll try to drag an assimilated individual back into the screen to their ship for further augmentation - where they'll be forever lost, with no hope of a cure.
d) FANTASY
Maleficent seems to be making the most trouble today, trying to blast at you with magical fire. If she's particularly pissed, she may turn into a dragon that fills up one of the theaters. Her fire may not burn the Multiplex itself but it will burn you.
Gollum, on the other hand, is a much smaller threat - but good at attacking with surprise. The wiry creature may hop out from behind something and try to strangle you to death, screaming about getting back his Precious.
Maleficent seems to be making the most trouble today, trying to blast at you with magical fire. If she's particularly pissed, she may turn into a dragon that fills up one of the theaters. Her fire may not burn the Multiplex itself but it will burn you.
Gollum, on the other hand, is a much smaller threat - but good at attacking with surprise. The wiry creature may hop out from behind something and try to strangle you to death, screaming about getting back his Precious.
e) KAA
Kaa is Benedict's little surprise, originally intended to be left for Jack himself, but now a useful tool to kill some of them. The snake is able to split himself into many smaller snakes that slither and slink around the multiplex. A single one of them slithers to an exit to meet up with his allies outside. Back in the safety of Kuk's abode, that snake will regrow to full size. The others try to find good places to hide - and then strike, regardless of whether or not this leads to their deaths.
Though he was not venomous before, he is now, and his poison? Deadly to a myth in a way many normal poisons are not. Those that get bitten will start hallucinating wildly, either seeing frightening surreal visions, reminders of past regrets, or the embodiment of their fears. Slowly, the venom will kill them.
There is a cure, but it's back at the Pole, and you have to get there alive first.
Kaa is Benedict's little surprise, originally intended to be left for Jack himself, but now a useful tool to kill some of them. The snake is able to split himself into many smaller snakes that slither and slink around the multiplex. A single one of them slithers to an exit to meet up with his allies outside. Back in the safety of Kuk's abode, that snake will regrow to full size. The others try to find good places to hide - and then strike, regardless of whether or not this leads to their deaths.
Though he was not venomous before, he is now, and his poison? Deadly to a myth in a way many normal poisons are not. Those that get bitten will start hallucinating wildly, either seeing frightening surreal visions, reminders of past regrets, or the embodiment of their fears. Slowly, the venom will kill them.
There is a cure, but it's back at the Pole, and you have to get there alive first.
f) WILD CARD
Not interested in one of the movie villains listed? Pick another one! Use a movie villain from absolutely anything, whether it's horror, sci fi, action, or fantasy. Have multiple ones appear in a thread.
You can even have non-npc threats from movies start to appear for your characters the longer they're there. They may turn a corner and find the temple traps from Indiana Jones, for instance, or a marshy area from the Swamps of Sadness in Never-ending Story, threatening to suck your character down if they let their sadness consume them. Some of these hurdles may be in the way of the only exit they can see.
OOC DETAILS
❅ NPCing: The mods won't be npcing but players are free to npc any villains from movies they want. They will be exclusively from movies, though these can be movies that are part of larger franchises based on shows, books, etc. Other events over time may deal with villains from other mediums so we're playing with just movies for now. Players can have them speak, with their best approximation of their dialogue. It is okay if this is slightly ooc if someone is mostly working off some basic perceptions and catchphrases of a character. These constructs are not sentient and therefore won't always be the most accurate to the characters. It is more like they are just animating as puppets. This means you can npc them without concern for being slightly off on IC-ness.
❅ Jack Frost: So that he can earn their trust Jack Frost may be popping in for the occasional save and extra bit of directions towards an exit. The mod will tap people in a thread to ask if it's a good place for it or you can request him for a brief interaction in the mod question comment.
❅ Enemy damage: Players can have their characters successfully kill the villain npcs. The problem is...they just keep coming. Every time they successfully kill one of the solo villains a new iteration will walk out from their screen. This means that players can at least successfully finish off a villain in their thread to get clear without ruining the timeline of other characters facing that villain too. You can even have a character kill a villain and have the same villain walk out of the screen and come after them again to make their day even worse.
❅ Status effects: Any injuries or damage that happens to a character will stick when they leave the Multiplex. That means that someone that gets facehugged by a facehugger will have an alien larva problem that may be causing some serious indigestion soon. Anyone that gets Borg-nanited through the neck will start having the nanites take over them. However the myth healing will slow these processes down until they can get to the Pole, and there are magical means at the Pole to help the characters survive this. For instance, the larvae can be poofed away before they cause any chest issues, Kaa's poison has a cure with some plants growing at the Pole, and the Borg nanites can be fought off by just the base myth healing, even if it takes time and is an unpleasant process of a character having a fever and being very ill until the nanite infection clears.
❅ Healing: Characters will lose Kaa's poison effect the second they get the cure but the bite will need to heal. They will have to rest for several days without putting stress on the bitten area to keep their bites from bleeding too much. Characters with no myth healing will heal from Kaa's bite in about 1 week. Characters with myth healing will heal in 2-3 days.
❅ Long-term effects: Players who go with some kind of status effect for a character can optionally have long-term consequences from it if they like, whether it's a curse, enchantment, or something else. The Borg assimilation, for instance, can be fought off but may leave characters with some mechanical body parts like reinforced spines, small mechanical growths on their faces, or permanent scarring in the shape of mechanical parts. (Normally myths don't scar but it can be permanent due to the sinister magic of the Multiplex.)
❅ Environment: Feel free to manipulate the environment. There are lots of rooms to work with, curtains that can be pulled down (and set on fire, even if the whole building won't take), concession stands that have things that can be thrown at villains, butter substitute that can be poured on floors to make villains slip, etc. Chairs can even be ripped out and thrown at villains or used to barricade doors if someone is strong enough to do it.
❅ Experimentation: We'd like to encourage people to experiment! Obviously ask other players if they're down first, but it could be fun to do something other than 2 person threads, like maybe 2 PCs banding together to rescue an overwhelmed 3rd.
❅ Follow-up: There will be posts for escaping to the sleigh for characters to care for each other during the escape, and arriving/recovery at the Pole. After everyone has been healed and comms have been distributed, and after briefly conferring with some allies to get more info, Jack will talk to the group about what's going on. From that time forward, the standard welcome/intro will be fully in place where Manny is the one that infodumps the situation in new characters' heads. But for game start everyone gets to work through the confusion together.
Not interested in one of the movie villains listed? Pick another one! Use a movie villain from absolutely anything, whether it's horror, sci fi, action, or fantasy. Have multiple ones appear in a thread.
You can even have non-npc threats from movies start to appear for your characters the longer they're there. They may turn a corner and find the temple traps from Indiana Jones, for instance, or a marshy area from the Swamps of Sadness in Never-ending Story, threatening to suck your character down if they let their sadness consume them. Some of these hurdles may be in the way of the only exit they can see.
❅ NPCing: The mods won't be npcing but players are free to npc any villains from movies they want. They will be exclusively from movies, though these can be movies that are part of larger franchises based on shows, books, etc. Other events over time may deal with villains from other mediums so we're playing with just movies for now. Players can have them speak, with their best approximation of their dialogue. It is okay if this is slightly ooc if someone is mostly working off some basic perceptions and catchphrases of a character. These constructs are not sentient and therefore won't always be the most accurate to the characters. It is more like they are just animating as puppets. This means you can npc them without concern for being slightly off on IC-ness.
❅ Jack Frost: So that he can earn their trust Jack Frost may be popping in for the occasional save and extra bit of directions towards an exit. The mod will tap people in a thread to ask if it's a good place for it or you can request him for a brief interaction in the mod question comment.
❅ Enemy damage: Players can have their characters successfully kill the villain npcs. The problem is...they just keep coming. Every time they successfully kill one of the solo villains a new iteration will walk out from their screen. This means that players can at least successfully finish off a villain in their thread to get clear without ruining the timeline of other characters facing that villain too. You can even have a character kill a villain and have the same villain walk out of the screen and come after them again to make their day even worse.
❅ Status effects: Any injuries or damage that happens to a character will stick when they leave the Multiplex. That means that someone that gets facehugged by a facehugger will have an alien larva problem that may be causing some serious indigestion soon. Anyone that gets Borg-nanited through the neck will start having the nanites take over them. However the myth healing will slow these processes down until they can get to the Pole, and there are magical means at the Pole to help the characters survive this. For instance, the larvae can be poofed away before they cause any chest issues, Kaa's poison has a cure with some plants growing at the Pole, and the Borg nanites can be fought off by just the base myth healing, even if it takes time and is an unpleasant process of a character having a fever and being very ill until the nanite infection clears.
❅ Healing: Characters will lose Kaa's poison effect the second they get the cure but the bite will need to heal. They will have to rest for several days without putting stress on the bitten area to keep their bites from bleeding too much. Characters with no myth healing will heal from Kaa's bite in about 1 week. Characters with myth healing will heal in 2-3 days.
❅ Long-term effects: Players who go with some kind of status effect for a character can optionally have long-term consequences from it if they like, whether it's a curse, enchantment, or something else. The Borg assimilation, for instance, can be fought off but may leave characters with some mechanical body parts like reinforced spines, small mechanical growths on their faces, or permanent scarring in the shape of mechanical parts. (Normally myths don't scar but it can be permanent due to the sinister magic of the Multiplex.)
❅ Environment: Feel free to manipulate the environment. There are lots of rooms to work with, curtains that can be pulled down (and set on fire, even if the whole building won't take), concession stands that have things that can be thrown at villains, butter substitute that can be poured on floors to make villains slip, etc. Chairs can even be ripped out and thrown at villains or used to barricade doors if someone is strong enough to do it.
❅ Experimentation: We'd like to encourage people to experiment! Obviously ask other players if they're down first, but it could be fun to do something other than 2 person threads, like maybe 2 PCs banding together to rescue an overwhelmed 3rd.
❅ Follow-up: There will be posts for escaping to the sleigh for characters to care for each other during the escape, and arriving/recovery at the Pole. After everyone has been healed and comms have been distributed, and after briefly conferring with some allies to get more info, Jack will talk to the group about what's going on. From that time forward, the standard welcome/intro will be fully in place where Manny is the one that infodumps the situation in new characters' heads. But for game start everyone gets to work through the confusion together.
C
He feels more... himself than he did before. A bit closer to what he ought to be. Small mercies, even if it's not nearly the same. But, well. Spilled milk and all that. Something to worry over later. Once everyone's out and sorted. Right now it's a very head empty no thoughts high pressure economy.
So when he stumbles into this room by sheer coincidence, multitasks catching what Price is saying while also having a little 'oh thank goodness a familiar person' from behind him, Aziraphale sort of goes with his first instinct.
"Then don't do it any longer! Door's back this way, Counselor, if you'll kindly escort me!"
He'd sound very cool and collected if he didn't sound very worried instead.
Re: C
His heart does skip a beat when he recognizes Aziraphale's voice, turns to look and there he is, he's actually here, he's actually back.
"You're back!" he's not loud, because his voice just doesn't do that, but his eyes are dead so often that when they sparkle with a positive emotion, usually curiosity but it's genuine affection in this case, it's noticeable.
The relief gives him the strength, and perhaps the foolishness, to drop everything he's doing and run towards Aziraphale, but alas, he trips onto broken pieces of a hatched egg.
He holds his hand out. Aziraphale won't leave him to die
too, right?Re: C
He lunges forward to grab for Price's hand and help him upright, doesn't hesitate to do so.
"There we are, hasty exit--"
For all that he's less limited than he had been in the Castle, he's still finding himself quite limited compared to his usual standard. There have been so few things he's been able to do to properly help people tonight. Poor form for an angel.
Anything that he can do, he's trying to make good on.
Which is why he likewise doesn't hesitate to throw his other arm up protectively as they're trying to stumble out of the line of fire, catches the tail end of more acid and hisses out a breath as it connects.
"Oh, very hasty. Ideally."
He expects his arm is going to look very ugly so he's choosing to simply not look at it for now. At least it made it easy to ditch most of that coat sleeve on the spot.
Re: C
Though grateful and full of affection he does cower under Aziraphale's arms without thinking about he is going to get hurt instead. Yes, he is an angel, but can he feel pain? Price doesn't know that yet. The answer isn't late to show up, but Price isn't exactly noticing as he's not looking back. He didn't even thank him yet.
Frantically, he goes for the entrance door, but it's locked. He hits it in frustration, wishing that whoever rules this place granted him the part of his power that could actually do harm and damage.
When all hope seems lost, he sees it:
"Look! There is a hole in the ceiling!"
He acts quickly, creating a set of frozen stairs. Oh, if only he employed his energy in being creative and sculpting pretty things...! Maybe he would make for a nicer company. But luckily, he is a good teammate
until he has to take responsibility for anything bad ever happening and he throws you under the bus instead, and predicts that the xenomorphs are going to keep shooting their acid at them when they see them on top. So they do, and they melt the ice rendering the stairs non viable for them.Reached the top of the stairs, he's the one that pulls Aziraphale, roughly but not with too much strength. The first thing that he sees, a wooden pallet with miscellaneous junk on top of it, he uses it as a cover for the hole and creates a heavy - not heavy to break the pallet, of course, block of ice on top of it. Then falls to his knees and starts panting.
He slowly turns to Aziraphale, as if to ask if he's alright, but then he notices:
"Your arm!"
Re: C
He'll be putting the bulk of that luck solely on Price's quick thinking.
"Oh dear, that is unseemly, isn't it. I, I don't expect this corporation has a warranty that extends to cinematic damage."
Aziraphale pauses briefly in the middle of removing his coat just so he can make a jazzy little gesture with his good hand. Very important.
There's a shakiness to it, a very real tension to his posture and tone. But Heaven invented the stiff upper lip long before humans did, for which he's very grateful. Fine thing it would be for an angel to make a fuss over a physical wound. Absolutely not.
"Well! Spilled milk, I think. Always good to see you." Has it been long? Aziraphale isn't quite sure. He feels as though it's been ages but also only minutes. "And lovely ice work. I didn't know you dabbled."
Dabbled in... having magic powers. A thing people can definitely dabble in.
Re: C
Price is...Confused at how quick Aziraphale is to dismiss the wound.
"I...I am glad to see you too."
That's an understatement, he was way too sad when Aziraphale left him that note saying that he was going to go back home. What looks like coming back soon to an angel is probably several human lifetimes, and Price was afraid to never see him again.
...Which is silly, by the way, all of this is an anomaly, the regular course of events would just have him stay on the Tartarus and die there without anyone but the mercenaries knowing. Without anyone caring. Carolina and Washington are just there, so close, yet so blissfully unaware of his presence. If they were, they would actively celebrate his death. So what's the point of getting attached to anyone from this crew? None, really. For all he knows this is just a very long series of hallucination he has while some brute prisoner or guard is beating him to death.
Hower, he just can't help how happy Aziraphale's presence makes him. His approach is different from anyone else he has met. Aziraphale is not trying to tell him that he is human like everyone else, doesn't tell him to change his behaviour, doesn't get angry when he doesn't feel guilt, doesn't punish him with disapproval when the way he is cannot be "loved" away, he just keeps being gentle as he assumes in some way that Price can be irreversibly broken and civilized at the same time. Which he is, most of the time.
"We need to find some water..." Price mumbles, looking amongst the junk.
Re: C
Aziraphale realizes after saying it that he's probably well and truly out of warranty range by being here at all. Not that he expects Heaven would be especially... friendly. About the paperwork. And there's no replacing the coat.
Small potatoes, right now. He has a human to defend and a situation to exit.
"Wouldn't hurt. Though I suppose we could always give the ice a few minutes and go from there." Then again, it is magical. He clearly should have done more reading up. "I ought to be able to do a bit of healing..."
Not fully miraculous by any means, but good for a bit of containment, surely. He gets a start on that.
"Oh, did you need anything patched over? Were you hurt? Two birds, one nest, however that goes. I know I got in a bit late."
Re: C
"I'm alright, I did not get hurt." brain damage aside, of course. Rowena really went there and (mostly) irreversibly ruined his most valuable asset and then disappeared without taking any heat for it. Not that Price ever minded in that moment, he understood that it was an emergency situation and cut her some slack. He prefers getting mad at Dan rather than her, because Rowena never had the nerve to assume he had feelings.
He opens the bottle and starts pouring the water onto the open wound.
"It's not enough water to wash the affected area for the recommended 45 minutes, but it's a start."
Price pouring water on a wound to heal a literal immortal being is like a little girl making a mug of her signature invisible air tea and asking mommy if it tastes any good. Pathetic, but you let her do it because it means that the kid is socializing in a standard non-concerning way and you observe the mundane development of politeness.
Re: C
He'll file that under a small mercy and a small victory to boot. What he's aware of, anyway.
Just need to keep it that way until they find an exit. Look after him. It would be a terrible thing to have gone and come back and then fail the man. No, Aziraphale simply won't even entertain the thought.
He stops entertaining any real thoughts for a minute in favor of forcing himself to sit very still and very quietly, like he supposes Good Patients ought to do even during painful treatment. (He maybe accidentally consecrates a six-foot radius around the two of them in the process, because bugger all, that still smarts.)
"Um..." Words??? Words. "Yes. Quite. Much, much better than nothing, certainly. Thank you."
Logically, he's sure a start really is better than nothing, where burning is concerned. Until there are more means available to speed healing along.
Re: C
"Heh...Perhaps I should have made sure there were windows before locking us here..."
Not that he minds being with Aziraphale, it's better than being with...Anyone else, honestly.
Re: C
Not being murdered by a creature from some film he's never going to watch and wouldn't have watched regardless? Ideal, for the situation.
"Sort of considerate to construct a nightmarish theatre with working exits at all, really. In the grand scheme."
Re: C
He remembers his days during Project Freelancer, of course, but mostly the most recent ones. Specifically, he thinks about that time when he tricked Felix into letting him live with just a couple well worded empty promises of information while he was holding him at gunpoint. With that, Price had bought himself another ticket to survival, through submission and servility as always. A mask that he loves to resent while craving it at the very same time.
Well, this should not be discussed any further, should it?
"You too were very quick to act. Thank you, I would not have managed without you."
Re: C
Aziraphale is willing enough to go with the subject change for now. Circumstances are, he supposes, a bit fraught for full elaboration. He wouldn't be keen on unpacking personal matters himself right now.
Which does nothing to push the worry from his mind, strictly speaking, or from his expression, but, well. He's always at least a little worried anyway.
Later, he thinks. When this ridiculous cinema business is finished, if the Counselor is amenable, no need to push.
"Think nothing of it. Team effort, really." Probably the best way to get through this without total destruction. "I never have cared for modern films."
Re: C
He would love him to open up and get closer, so he pretends to be naïve.
"You seem...Preoccupied with something."
Re: C
When the ongoing quest to not worry the one human in your charge is already failing.
Aziraphale supposes that, at this point, he can't really be surprised by himself somehow not being very good at what he was made for. The evidence has always spoken for itself.
Still, though.
"Or-- well, yes, but no. I'm, I'm very present in the moment, I assure you."
no subject
"Alright, then." he lays his hand on top of Aziraphale's and smiles, like he wants to reassure him that he's doing good at taking care of him. Not that Price has any idea of what being taken care of is like. Not in a way that doesn't imply people trying to kill him or leaving him to rot somewhere because he's either a loose end or some other type of inconvenience.
"Does...Does your arm hurt?"