[Open] That story unknown to all

[levelshift]

WHO: Accelerator (levelshift) and OPEN.
WHEN: Shortly after the second wave of arrivals, possibly other prompts later into May.
WHERE: Near the apartments and Kwik Trip.
WHAT: Taking measurements of the environment through SCIENCE, and some all important coffee hoarding.
NOTES\WARNINGS: None as of now.

The Barrier.

[It's around noon when Accelerator heads out from the apartment complex, making his way towards the north end of the island. It's slow going since he's relying on his crutch, but he doesn't particularly care. The only reason he isn't doing this directly outside of the apartment building is because he doesn't want to interrupt anyone or be interrupted himself.

Once he reaches a nice clearing with little else around he stops and hits the switch on the black choker around his neck, the green light flickering to red, then hits another switch on his crutch. The cane portion of it retracts into the cuff that's around his right forearm, allowing him to stand on his own without assistance. With a sigh he cracks his neck, and then there's a BOOM! as four miniature tornadoes suddenly form at his back.

He launches himself into the sky, eventually slowing down the higher he gets and coming to a stop before he hits the invisible barrier that's encircling the entire area. On the way up he's been running the numbers (more like, doing complex mathematical calculations in his head), and once he reaches his destination more formulas and equations flood into his head. With his ability active he can pick up on infinitely more than a regular human would ever hope to with their five senses. It's like going from a single black and white security camera to an infinite number of interconnected nanomachines measuring everything from precipitation levels to background radiation and intensity of UV light. From nothing to practically the entire world.

Accelerator frowns and stretches a hand out. His fingertips don't even come into contact with the barrier, but stop a few centimeters before it. That's all he needs to start sensing its vectors, and he spends a few moments memorizing the numbers flowing into his head and comparing him to ones he's already familiar with.

Once that's finished he drops his hand and the tornadoes abruptly cut out and he sucks in a deep breath, brain switching over to imaginary numbers and formulas. It makes the blood vessels throughout his body pulse and sweat rise up on his skin, but he keeps going until he's analyzed what he needs to. His temples are aching when he finishes and lets himself drop, going back to measuring normal scientific phenomena as he falls towards the ground. When he's close enough he slows his descent to a float, and then lightly touches back down.]

Grocery Shopping.

[Later that afternoon Accelerator can be found at the Kwik Trip, back to using his crutch like a regular person. He's got one of those plastic shopping baskets in his free hand, stopping whenever he sees some food down an aisle that he wants. The basket gets set down so he can toss the item in, then he picks it up and moves further down the aisle.

So far, he's only picked up a few prepackaged sandwiches and junk food. For someone as smart as he is, you'd think he'd pay a little more attention to the food pyramid, but he doesn't seem to care at all about nutrition. That becomes apparent when he gets to one of the coolers containing canned drinks. Scanning each of them closely he stops at a couple rows of canned coffee, and after looking each brand over carefully he proceeds to start tossing some crappy Starbucks unsweetened black nitro cold brew into his basket.

It isn't just one. He's grabbing two at a time, dropping them into his basket with a scowl, until he's taken every single one of that specific kind of can from the cooler. There's over a dozen cans in his basket, and even with that number he's a little irritated that was all the store had. It doesn't even look like it's occurring to him that he might want to leave one or two for someone else who'd like some.]

Wildcard

((If you have something else in mind feel free to PM or hit me up on plurk cryptophyta for plotting!))

Comments

Groceries

[redheadcarrier]

[ Asuka needs food herself. It's not like her body stops needing nutrients, even if a part of her feels like it might be better to just lie around in her bed for forever. So she's dragged herself out to both do some more exploring and find something worth eating. Whether that ends up being healthy in the long run is up in the air. Either way, she's also in the Kwik Trip, poking through the aisles and snagging stuff. Microwave food. Instant noodles. Nothing complicated because she doesn't have the energy.

But she pauses when she spots Accelerator and just gives him a long look as he goes through the coffee, bit by bit. She approaches him, one eye still covered by gauze and bandages. ]

Do you just have a thing for black coffee or what?

[ She recognizes him, but god forbid she be polite about anything. ]

[levelshift]

[He doesn't really mind the sass. It isn't even enough to make him pause and reconsider taking as much coffee as he is, he's just bending down to grab his basket and oooooooooooooof, kind of leaning over a little. A dozen cans of coffee is heavy and he has no natural muscle strength.]

Yes.

[It's an addiction, and he doesn't feel like dealing with withdrawal symptoms here. He looks over, frowning.]

Why's your eye still like that?

[redheadcarrier]

It's healing.

[ Her response is clipped and sharp and hostile. Don't ask. ]

Don't worry about it.

[levelshift]

[Hm hmmm he's picking up on her tone.

And he's going to ask.]

What, are you scared of losing it? Because that's probably what's gonna happen if an actual medical professional doesn't take a look at it. Eyes are delicate.

[redheadcarrier]

No-

[ She retorts, her arms folding over her chest. ]

They looked at it when I got here. I said don't worry about!

[levelshift]

[Too late (not that he'd ever admit that).

He raises an eyebrow, unimpressed.]

What happened?

[redheadcarrier]

I died.

[ She retorts, with obvious venom and maybe a bit of malice for him daring to pry. ]

Any other questions?

[levelshift]

[..... Ah, so it's related to that. He had figured something was up when she had said she was winning against those people trying to kill her. 'Was', not that she had won.

He's silent for several moments, staring at her as he mulls over his options.]

No.

[Uhhhh should he say something else here, maybe....]

... Sorry.

[Yeah, nailed it.]

Food Library (aka grocery);

[bad_habit]

[So there are a few different factors that lead to the moment that plays out in the little convinence store.

The first factor is that there are so many things here. An overwhleming amount of choices for someone who has never seen half the food here (a various assumption of foods from all other lands tucked neatly away to look for likely what is any sort of bodega) and it all actually looks so freakin' good. Even the sort of packaged snacks that are probably not very good for you at all and others might just dismiss as something simple, boring, and plain not even worth a second glance.

It's so much better than half moldy fruit, ice cream littered with bugs, and things of questionable after effects that sometimes can be fun depending but are usually terrible and send you flying to the nearest trash can. Thankfully it doesn't seem like any of the food from Angels world has come here you're welcome etraya. So there's a lot to look at in a small space.

The other is that the person who is currently just overwhelmingly blinded by the shear selection of items that look so good is over seven feet tall.

He'd gotten fairly used to wandering around and it had been mostly quiet. Course it suddenly seems like there's more people wandering out of the hospital and more people in the common spaces so he really ought to be paying attention.

Both these factors mean that Angel is both not paying attention and not able to see as he rounds the corner and totally cranks into the other.]

OH SHIT! I am so sorry!

1/2

[levelshift]

[Fun fact: when Accelerator isn't actively using his powers he's a bit of a wimp, so someone running into him has a good chance of actually knocking him over.

That very nearly happens. He stumbles, his leg hitting his shopping basket on the floor, and that very nearly causes him to trip. Thank god for his crutch, since it's attached to his forearm he doesn't drop it and manages to use its stability to keep himself from being completely embarrassed. But he's still embarrassed, so without thinking his instinctive reaction is to round on whoever the fuck dared to run into him and smash them into paste.

Needless to say, he sounds very angry when he regains his balance.]

Watch where you're going you fucking --

2/2

[levelshift]

[Aaaaand then he suddenly stops, getting an actual look at Angel, who happens to look incredibly inhuman.]

....................................................

[He's seen a lot of weird shit before. He's punched out an archangel in Russia, fought an endless wave of fake clones made out of matter that doesn't even exist, and killed eldritch horrors that were a certain someone's possibilities.

But this... guy? Person?

This thing looks like a mascot. Like for a theme park, or some kid's tv show, or even something inane like soy sauce. All he can think is that if Last Order, Worst or one of the Sisters were here, they'd be delighted.

Some of his anger melts away, replaced by confusion as he stares.]

What the fuck?

1/2

[bad_habit]

[He genuinely, for a moment, felt bad and then the guy comes in hot and instantly Angel goes straight to the moon with his attitude.]

... Listen here you little son-of-a-bitch. I swear to F-

[Forgive him for he hath sinned.

And to think he had been doing much better in the whole attitude department as a general rule before getting here. But then the whole doppelgänger thing happened and well things have been real weird since.]

2/2

[bad_habit]

[And then there is a distinct shift of energy from the other. Anger goes to confusion and Angel still wants to be pissed off but now that he's noticed the shift in energy and actually processes the guy in front of him and sees that he's on crutches and looking kinda worse for wear. Now he just feels generally bad, he's been having some bad here and getting real spicy too quickly thanks to the part of the not him, him, that's stuck around and digs deep in his soul to hear Charlie's little sessions so that he can undo something that took him months to do that was undid thanks to this world in a matter of a couple of weeks.

He both loves and hates this place.]

It ain't my fault I can't see ya! But, you're clearly having other issues.

[Assign blame. Acknowledge differences. All in one shot~ Listen he had changed but he certainly wasn't perfect.]

Do you need a hand?

[He has four, it clearly wouldn't be putting him out. He's trying to say sorry in the only way he knows how; without actually saying it. He's not very good at this meeting other people department here and well he knows he's probably the least welcoming looking thing here, at least from the people he's interacted with, so he can't be flying off the handle at every little thing.

It's already very clear that the only way to get through all this is to be able to work together in some way.]

[levelshift]

[If Angel is having any doubts about reacting like a prickly asshole he doesn't need to worry, because that crack about Accelerator's height (which is not unwarranted, most boys his age have had more of a growth spurt than him) the white-haired teen is lifting his free hand and flipping him off. Casually, like it isn't a big deal, because his own anger is continuing to drain in the face of someone very non-human.

He drops his hand, raising an eyebrow at what sounds like a somewhat sincere offer for help and also a joke what with the four hands and all.]

No.

[He's fine, he doesn't like accepting help from others. Besides, there are more important things on his mind.]

You're not human. What the fuck are you?

[bad_habit]

[Which only gets one in return, double in fact. But its more of a 'well fuck you too' then anything overtly aggressive at this point. If he doesn't want help that's fine by him. It isn't as though Angel suffers any loss from that, he'll sleep well in his apartment tonight.

And of course we're getting into the whole 'are you some sort of alien' bullshit again. He shouldn't be surprised and the hands that had been flipping the other guy off open palm out as though he's in shock.]

Oh fuck, really?! I'm so glad you and everyone else keep telling me that because I didn't have any fucking idea!

[Dripping with sarcasm.]

[levelshift]

[Accelerator doesn't mind that the gesture is being returned in double. That kind of behaviour is pretty normal to him and, frankly, it's easier to deal with than someone being kind. Sometimes you're a huge jerk and just need to flip a guy off!

He scowls at the sarcasm, but waits patiently. Sarcasm is something he can tolerate.]

... So, are you going to answer my question?

[In spite of all the abrasiveness, he does really want to know what he is.]

[bad_habit]

[Funnily enough, it's the same for Angel. Flipping people off is just sort of like a hello where he's from. So it's a good thing they seem to be on the same page with that sort of thing.

The other doesn't seem to back off the whole 'what the fuck are you' shit but the thing of it is he has no idea how to describe what he is because he's never really had to think about it before coming here.]

As if it fucking matters to you but I'm a fucking spider demon. [There's no easy way to describe that he's a sort of hellspawn, so he settles on demon because it's probably the easiest to relate to something for the most part for most people. He is most certainly not a demon, but that's probably the closet he can get to describing the kinda hellspawn he is without also getting into a whole mess of other shit that, again, Angel hasn't really thought much about.]

[levelshift]

['Spider demon' wouldn't have been his first guess, but he has had experience with demons before, so he doesn't look shocked by this information. Qliphah certainly doesn't look fully human, so this tracks.]

Ah.

[He looks Angel up and down again thoughtfully. He's still getting cute mascot vibes, and he's certain if Last Order was here she'd be trying to hug him or climb on him or something, living her best ten year old life.]

Spiders are supposed to have eight limbs.

[That's his whole takeaway of this, yes.]

groceries

[skaikru]

( there comes a point when a person has just Seen Enough that very little ever throws them off again. a weird wind current in the middle of the outskirt forests, on an otherwise lovely and clear day? that's fine, probably nothing to worry about, worlds had different weather patterns. boom and a scattering of birds? probably still okay, it wasn't anywhere close to where clarke knelt stoking a fire. a small speck of shadow in the sky, strangely person-like and hovering, reaching out to touch something? not her business, provided it doesn't swoop down low and disturb her as she shovels bloodied clothing and a plastic kwik-trip bag into the flames and sits to watch them burn. everyone here's a little weird, everyone here's a little on edge. neither of those facts mean it's absolutely compulsory to be nosy on top of it, so long as it doesn't directly harm someone.

—

later, clarke finds herself drawn to the kwik trip by the lead constantly tied around her heart that insists prepare for anything. she has a basket herself, stuffed with an eclectic assortment of items: baby wipes packages, swiss army knives, lighters and matchbooks, condiment packets stolen from the hot food area, individual servings of OTC medications, protein bars, also a single pack of gas station sushi — because today is apparently a day for recklessness. she's parked in front of a glass door displaying a variety of alarmingly colored energy drinks, past tired and no longer able to rely on solely coffee; ready to branch out to these aluminum containers promising thrice as much caffeine but paralyzed by choice.

and then all too easily distracted by a fellow shopper to her left absolutely shoveling coffee after coffee into his basket. that's, uh. a lot, even by doomsday prepper standards but she isn't here to judge. if anything, clarke's only motivated to speak up when she catches a glimmer of frustration pass across the strangers facial features. )

Don't worry. Pretty sure they'll restock overnight.

( she actually has no basis for this claim, having never witnessed the sheer human barbarity of clearing out an entire shelf of a product. but, hey, fingers crossed. )

[levelshift]

[Grocery shopping isn't his favourite pastime. He had done the absolute bare minimum back home when he was living on his own, and he's realizing he may have gotten a bit soft after living with his legal guardian and then being in prison, where food was taken care of for him. This is annoying him more than it should. Maybe it's because this is the only place to get groceries, which means having to run into other people if he's doing it at a decent hour.

Or maybe he's just annoyed at everything. That's how he usually acts towards everything in his life: be annoyed at it.

Anyways, he glances over at the voice, considering her words for a moment.]

Great, then I'll come back tomorrow for more.

[His tone is about as casual as he can get, because this has nothing to do with preparing for a worst case scenario and everything to do with this being a normal habit of his. This isn't the first convenience store where he's cleaned out one specific brand of canned coffee (though the last time he did this it wasn't Starbucks but BOSS) and it won't be his last. If the Kwik Trip does stock that often then that's one less thing to worry about.

His eyes turn downwards and he quickly takes in what she's shopping for. Sheesh, that's a lot of random stuff.]

The hell's all that?

[skaikru]

( annoyance is a completely acceptable emotion to let consume you, especially upon just arriving. clarke's been here a full month or so at this point, the candle lit by spite at the entire ordeal not even close to sputtering out. but she does a good job keeping her frustration under lock and key most of the time, always remembering to direct it at the powers that be and the a.i. servitor who won't answer any question beyond the basics — or at least not overspilling onto new arrivals.

as casual as she gets is doling out that piece of hopefully helpful information, then turning back to the drink case to mind her own business and focus in on making a decision here. it's between a monster and a redbull when we're down to the wire, but she's summarily yanked back to conversation when the coffee hoarding stranger pipes up about the contents of her own basket. )

...baby wipes, Tylenol, ketchup and salt, matches...

( words worst grocery list. but clarke will recite it, flatly and with the vaguely guarded set of her eyebrows silently inquiring in turn: why are you asking? )

[levelshift]

[The fact that canned coffee exists here helps immensely, especially when he has so much to be angry about. Being yanked out of his prison cell when the city he's responsible for is in the middle of martial law due to an awful magician was just running rampant makes for one very unhappy esper.

That's a whole list of very basic things and it would never cross Accelerator's mind to buying any of it except maybe salt. He furrows his brow, not seeing the point in any of it. The apartment building has running water, electricity and heat, so that kind of stuff is unnecessary, right?]

.... Are you planning to be in this for the long haul?

[Is she planning for the worst or something? With the bare minimum of society provided for them he hasn't given thought to the possibility that it all might be taken away.]

[skaikru]

( he's already seemingly figured the answer out, but with a tight, uncomfortable shrug clarke unglues her tongue from the roof of her mouth and answers slowly. )

Just... planning in case something goes wrong, you know? This is a new planet, apparently previously uninhabited. ( there's a lot of paranoia in that statement, but absolutely no facts with which to make any claims about if etraya'd ever have a native population before they arrived so for a beat clarke just allows the implication to hang there. fiddles with her basket handles a bit, switches the arm she's using to carry it, and glances back at the cold case. )

There's no saying what could happen. Earthquakes, fires, power outages, a siege, or if things ever just — stop. Restocking.

( an impulsive decision has her snatching a rockstar energy drink and nestling it alongside the sushi. even the barest minimum of society was something clarke had grown up without, and while it's new and novel and she wouldn't mind living with clean drinking water, easily accessible food, a fully stocked hospital, and endless amounts of caffeine for the rest of her life, she also doesn't trust it to stick around. these are all set dressings, or maybe just a trick to get people to relax and accept their current situation. buildings can be burnt down as quickly as they're built. )

[levelshift]

[A new planet, previously uninhabited. Accelerator raises an eyebrow at that. That aligns with what Aurora has told them, about this being some multiverse-saving nonsense (of course you'd dump a bunch of people meant to do that in some neutral space), and what measurements he's taken of the barrier and atmosphere.

That disasters could happen didn't occur to him, though. He clicks his tongue in annoyance.]

Has there been any kind of indicator shit like that could happen, outside of what's going on with the air flow?

[Now he's wondering if that can be shut off. Is Aurora in charge of it? Or Echo? Fuck, for all his power he still needs to breathe, this is such a pain in the ass.]

[skaikru]

( it's only by a month or so, but clarke's been here since the beginning. she'd plunged into the icy river in the middle of the outskirts just to discover it was cursed and made her feel hot all over, looked sidelong at the wrong flower and found herself traversing dreams just to wake up in a strangers apartment, and faced down a weird amalgamation of snake and cat. she'd been murdered by a false version of her best friend and summarily killed three imposters in an effort to rid the city of their effect.

and all of that's just recent. the last moments on her own earth she'd spent burning in the wake of a wall of fire, the second nuclear apocalypse to raze earth within a century. the idea of something as simple as an earthquake doesn't really scare her, it's just habit at this point to prepare for the worst. because the worst always comes, and seldom with any indicators.

tl;dr, she's wildly paranoid, and a bit reluctant to admit it. which is why clarke inevitably spends a few seconds sucking on her own teeth before diverting her gaze and responding. )

No, ( she admits, only a tad begrudgingly. ) But it doesn't hurt to be ready, right? Wouldn't want to be stuck in the woods without at least a bit of salt to season whatever you can find to eat.