MOD PLOT ↠ HOME FOR RIFTMAS

[faderifting]

WHO: Everyone (more or less)
WHAT: Rifter Show & Tell & Steal.
WHEN: Early Wintermarch 9:49 (forward-dated!)
WHERE: The Crossroads and BEYOND.
NOTES: OOC post. Please use appropriate content warnings in your subject lines.

Since Corypheus began opening the Gates, Riftwatch has been noticing pockets of instability in the Crossroads—crumbling platforms, paths newly blocked by rubble or broken bridges, sections where gravity has been shifted and altered in ways unusual even for the Crossroads, with new intrusions of green-tinged rock outcroppings or corners of temple walls. The barriers between the Crossroads, the Fade, and the world are thinning. It's a problem.

But more recently, Riftwatch has been made aware of an ancient artifact known (now; one hopes this isn't its original title) as the Sealing Stone, now in pieces scattered throughout the Crossroads, and the approximate locations of those pieces. If brought together and activated, the Stone may stabilize the barrier between the Crossroads and the other realms and may provide a model Riftwatch could use to reinforce the Veil elsewhere.

So Riftwatch ventures into the Crossroads to retrieve the pieces of the Stone. It's an intensive effort undertaken by large teams, due to the many now-familiar hazards of the Crossroads, the potential for encountering the Venatori that also use the eluvian network, and the need to cover ground as quickly as possible in hopes of finding the artifacts before the Venatori notice the increased Crossroads activity and come join the hunt.

It's not as simple as merely locating the pieces, however. Whenever a group of Riftwatchers get near enough to one of the artifacts, they're alerted first by the triggering of a sort of protection mechanism. In some cases—specifically, on teams without any rifters—spirits suddenly swarm from the metaphorical woodwork in numbers so great and with such hostility that retreat is the only viable option. The spirits chase the teams only as far as necessary to push them away from the artifact's location, then mass into a circling shoal, guarding the spot until they're left alone long enough to decide the risk has passed.

But for groups containing at least one rifter, something with the mechanism goes wrong. Or right, arguably. Rather than being overwhelmed by spirits, they instead find themselves abruptly engulfed by what appears to be a rift, opening suddenly and rapidly large enough to swallow entire masses of people before contracting again to lie in wait like a carnivorous plant for anyone else who comes too close. Those caught in its radius tumble out into what appears to be a new and unfamiliar world–for most. For one or more of the rifters in each group, it will be perfectly familiar.

The first group to encounter this effect will be one including Tony Stark and Stephen Strange, and will drop them and their compatriots straight into midtown traffic. Any groups attempting to travel to the same spot in the Crossroads to investigate the apparent vanishing—whether they have rifters with them or not—will find themselves drawn through the same "rift" almost as soon as they get within sight of the place, before anything can be discerned about their lost fellows. They will likewise emerge into Stark & Strange's United States.

Subsequent groups including other rifters will be seemingly drawn into their companions' worlds by the same effect. In each, Riftwatch will have to navigate local hazards and retrieve a distinctive lyrium-etched artifact, at which point the world will dissolve around them like a dream and they will find themselves back in the Crossroads where they began, in possession of a carved chunk of stone glowing with lyrium runes.

1 ↠ MCU Earth-199999

Alternate-universe Earth, New York and Los Angeles, 2012-2025, Tony Stark & Stephen Strange.

Earth-199999 is very much like contemporary Earth as we know it, featuring the same historic events, same nations, same conventions. For the average person, there is no difference, except that they know magic and aliens and gods and superpowers are all real and have been causing problems for a while now, with NYC as the hub for most of the shenanigans. MCU Earth has also made leaps and bounds in all science fields as compared to real Earth, although these leaps and bounds are not widely accessible, primarily exclusive to private organisations like Stark Industries, mad scientists, and the likes of SHIELD, but can range from interactive three-dimensional holograms through to biotechnology that turns people into supersoldiers.

It's commonplace to see or hear about criminals causing havoc in the streets with superpowers or gadgets, and crime-fighting vigilantes trying to stop them. The Avengers, as the world's first superheroes, became widely-known commercialised celebrities in-universe with merchandise, documentaries, book deals, and memorial murals to the deceased Iron Man.

Special Abilities: Everyone is nerfed to regular human, unless you want a sudden onset of mutant powers. 1 individual themed ability per character; like pyrokinesis, superspeed, superstrength, etc.

Arrival: One main rift opens in the middle of New York City, ejecting our rifters into midtown traffic… except thanks to Strange’s own multiversal mishaps, people in this world will seem astonishingly accustomed to this sight! Bystanders will be startled, but then the rifters will likely be dogged by strangers snapping photos and videos and tweeting about their arrival.

The Fade-constructed timeline will be a little off: the old Avengers tower and its penthouse is still standing and still accessible to Tony, and Strange will also offer up the Sanctum as a sanctuary, and these will be the main mission hubs while the team gets their bearings and tries to locate the artifact. In the meantime: relax, take in the sights, maybe check out a Broadway show, wrangle your new superpowers.

A secondary rift also opens up on Hollywood Boulevard, in case people want to do some helplessly stranded on Earth RP. Tony can very easily find out this has happened and go collect them, with various degrees of efficiency according to what people want out of that OOCly. As this universe will be available to explore for a few IC weeks, people can assume some degree of Stark-provided financial freedom for basics (i.e. clothes and food, burner phones, etc), and they can stay in the Avengers tower and/or the Sanctum.

2 ↠ Shifterverse

Original alternate-universe Earth, Midwest US, 2022, Jude Adjei.

Real-world 2022, but what if Shifters?

Special Abilities: All superpowers are unfortunately nerfed. However, everyone's a Shifter now. Your choice of animal. Enjoy.

Arrival: Everyone will arrive in Yellowstone National Park, which is wholly staffed and operated by Jude's pack, but... not in an area where tourists are routinely and happily welcomed. Welcome to the deep woods and canyons and plains, where Jude's pack has built their den for some several hundred people. Characters will immediately be found by scouts in fur and feathers, who will be guarded and curious, but not hostile. The wolves and ravens will greet the interlopers as equals, and if they aren't offered any violence, they'll be treated as guests. Hundreds of pack members live in a mixture of hand-built cabin homes and meeting places, portable tiny houses and various shared spaces. There is wifi, a greenhouse, lots of tasty food and warm clothing to wear. If they stay several days and prove themselves trustworthy, they might even start to see children out and about, and there's nothing cuter than a toddler who can become a wolf pup at will. (Mind the raven toddlers and the bear cubs. They're less cute.)

3 ↠ Tassia

D&D Original World, Loxley & Richard Dickerson

Tassia is an original Dungeons&Dragons inspired world, a single continent divided into four nations that is otherwise completely isolated from any other possible world beyond it. These nations are Lloryndell, Sylvica, Ifrin, and Promias, and at its centre lies the Cruxal, a university-city of diverse cultural influence.

While Tassia resembles Thedas in its day-to-day technology levels, including its anachronisms, it is more heavily laden with fantastical elements. Along with humans, elves, and dwarves, there are goblins, dragonborn, tritons, tieflings, sentient robots, bird people, centaurs, and more (https://www.dndbeyond.com/races) (but no qunari). There are many different kinds of magic users who wield their powers openly. There are shops full of magic items, potions, and spell scrolls. There are monsters of countless kinds that lurk just about everywhere. Most cultures in the material plane are polytheistic and worship themed gods from the default D&D (Faerun) Pantheon. Some smaller cults and individuals worship ancient fey, fiendish, and eldritch beings who dwell on the outskirts of their respective planes and may provide power to the exceptionally loyal -- for a price.

Special Abilities: You can choose to be a normal depowered person, but you are equally encouraged to take on magical abilities, whether you're a mage or not. In brief, you can be a wizard, whose magic comes from spellbooks and knowledge, a sorcerer, who have innate magical abilities, a bard, who draws their magic from music, words, and performance, a warlock, who has made a pact with a powerful entity in exchange of magical ability, a druid, who draws their magic from nature, and a cleric, whose divine abilities are gifted to them by a deity. (Other classes have magic too, but it might be easier to pick one of these major ones if you are unfamiliar!)

Rather than overthinking it, we recommend you pick whatever sounds fun to flavour your magic with, and then browse magical spells using classes as a filter. (Eighth and ninth level are off limits, and it may be easier to limit yourself further due to how many spells there are.) Given the temporariness of these powers, don't worry too much about how many spells you get or how frequently you can do them, but know that higher level spells (anything above fifth) can only be cast one or twice a day.

Your character may be Tassia-ised, in terms of their race, but in a limited capacity. All humans will stay human, but elves may adopt D&D traits like seeing in the dark.

Arrival: Rifts will open in the streets of the Cruxal. People will be startled by the sudden appearance of rifters and stand offish, but otherwise: they've seen it all before! No one will be calling the guard on you, unless you decide to start something, so please don't. Or enjoy jail.

The Cruxal is a labyrinthian melting pot built up in concentric rings around a massive central university and library. Goblins scarper among humans, elves, and dwarves in the street. There are tusked half orcs and horned, scale-clad dragonborn mixed in among more familiar silhouettes. This is a university town, but while a large portion of the population are students, academics, and staff, it is also self-sustaining, with taverns, shops, temples, brothels, residences, and marketways.

The university itself is guarded and degrees of entry closely regulated due to the school’s extensive collection of dangerous artifacts -- one of which just so happens to have gone missing last night. News of the theft has been suppressed, but every temple, tavern, and brothel on the outskirts of town is abuzz with the rumor. The entire corridor, they say, was scorched black.

Loxley and Richard won't be too concerned about herding everyone but can provide some coin as needed for inn rooms and food. They appear to have a near bottomless stash, at least as far as living costs go.

4 ↠ Sulleciel

Original fantasy world, Petrana de Cedoux.

What if magic was real and holy emperors still kissed the ring in Rome, until someone beheaded the fucking pope? Welcome to Sulleciel, and specifically to Lamor City, capitol of Lamorre and the seat of the Lamorran empire, ruled over by Empereur Marius IX and his consort, Empress Petrana Solene. A nation and empire in the throes, still, of great upheaval — think Versailles or Orlais, but lurching ungainly out of its dark ages into a theoretically more enlightened time, control of which is being actively fought in the halls of power and at grassroots levels of social influence. Power vacuums abound, thanks to the fall of the church and the rise of a conqueror who is less interested in ruling than he was conquering; women are still the often-illiterate property of their fathers and husbands, but now there are more alternatives to family and marital homes, and dedicated studies of witchcraft are being encouraged, with pilot programs across the empire primarily in those early sanctuary cities, figuring out how this is all going to work. Known for her efforts to lean on the scales in the people's favour Petrana herself is, in this era, rumored to be imprisoned; graffiti of her crowned likeness can be found in some places in the city, with the epithet ""la reine du malheur"".

Special Abilities: In Sulleciel, magic is a skill that may be pursued like any other — and there are those of more or less talent, as if someone were to attempt the violin, or swordplay. It is practised primarily through incantations and foci, with more elaborate spellwork for more ambitious results sometimes requiring particular items or a full coven to achieve. As magic is limited in Sulleciel only by the will, imagination and stamina of those practising it, no one coming here will be subject to any nerfs; all mages and otherwise magical or powered individuals will be able to use their powers as they're used to using them. In addition to this, anyone who is as magical as a chair-leg ordinarily can feel free to have a go at Sulleciel's magic — it's up to you if they have a knack for it or not. Simple spells like casting a light or telekinesis of small objects can be mastered by toddlers; a powerful enough witch or coven might be able to summon a thunderstorm and alter weather patterns, but ""can"" and ""should"" are different and it's generally advised that you try not to do a climate change.
"
Arrival: The rift will open into a spacious, luxuriously-appointed tower on the grounds of the imperial palace but not visibly connected to it above-ground. It was at one point the sole domain of the previous arciduc's personal astronomers, but is now the primary residence and working space of the Queen's Coven. The Queen's Coven is a particular group of women, so named for having been among the first witches to come beneath the new regime's protection in the first city-state to bend the knee where Petrana was first installed as Queen Regent; they are private, secretive, and increasingly cut off from the power-struggles of the imperial court, having been actively distanced from the Empress herself by a variety of other players in the game. Both relatively prepared for sudden magical happenings and inclined to keep shit in the tower on lock, they will be prepared to pass you all off as "foreign witches, seeking our enlightenment" and see both you and the sudden access to Petrana as potentially useful in their maneuverings. Which will make moving around easier, but will probably be an active hindrance to getting where and what you need. An underground tunnel connects the tower directly to the palace, though there are also pleasant, covered pathways to walk across the palace grounds; guards at the main, above-ground entrance to the tower will inquire about movements to and from, and will be skeptical but limit their interference initially ... as long as they don't see Petrana.

5 ↠ Kalvad

Original fantasy world, Wysteria Poppell.

Kalvad—specifically the city of Somerset, the magic capitol of the civilized world—is a mashup of Regency Era and Industrial-Revolution-But-Magic! Nebulously England (with the serial numbers aggressively filed off). When in doubt, default to Jane Austen vibes. But if it seems fun to do some weird magic-powered technological advancements, then go nuts.

Kalvad is an imperial island nation ostensibly ruled by three kings, though they're largely figureheads overseeing an upper and lower parliament. The country has made itself rich and powerful by doing a whole lot of war and colonization. As historically one of the most magically powerful regions in the world, magicians have long been a vital tool in the empire's efforts to do both those things.

Unfortunately for Kalvad, the strength of magic in the world has waned considerably in the last 40 years. Where once Talent was rare but reasonably powerful, magic users are both becoming more commonplace and considerably weaker. Even older magicians and hedge-witches who once might have manufactured considerable arcane feats have seen some diminishing of their powers. A popular, but unproven, theory in academic circles is that those with Talent all draw from the same "well" of magic. As more people are born with the ability to tap into that resource, the less there is to go around. Resentment for those with weaker Talents among older generations of magic users is A Thing.

That said, increased availability of minor magics has kick-started a 'minor magic' powered industrial revolution. Parlor witches who perform small arcane conveniences are growing in number; minor charms and enchantments have become more readily available to lower classes. Meanwhile, the non-magical population is slowly being shunted out of their respective cottage industry jobs and into factories powered by great enchanted machines. The empire as the world knows it is clearly teetering on the brink of major social and political upheaval, both at home and abroad. The consequences of all this change just haven't quite played themselves out yet, though you can bet there are people rushing around in an attempt to cover their asses before they do.

Special Abilities Characters will be nerfed of any abilities they had in Thedas, but can be Talented in Kalvad terms or not. Any Talented character under 40 is likely to be able to produce only minor magics (think lighting fires in fireplaces, being able to heal minor injuries, and temporarily being able to enchant objects to do one specific thing). Anyone over forty can be a little flashier (think appearance altering glamors, temporary invisibility, transfiguration and significant healing). General magic flavor is: Brothers Grimm fairy tales and Arthurian legends, except that someone somewhere made all that weirdly pliable magic adhere to a strict ruleset. Easy, thoughtless channeling of magic is a secret lost long before the arcane powers in the world began to diminish. Now, all magic must be carefully and deliberately designed and constructed. The magicians most accomplished by Kalvadan standards are methodical and patient. Think clockmakers and mathematicians, not wizards on the side of a van.

Arrival: Members of Riftwatch will arrive through a rift and find themselves on the wooded outskirts of a sprawling city. Luckily, no one will witness their initial arrival. Even more convenient: once they've gotten their bearings and made their way into the city, they'll discover they aren't the only weird strangers in town (although they may want to strongly consider indulging in petty theft to make themselves stick out less—particularly as it comes time to infiltrate places). It seems that a sprawling months-long academic conference turned party turned cover for political intrigue and cold warfare has descended upon Somerset.

In the aftermath of what everyone is claiming to be a major military victory somewhere, delegations from a number of implicated countries have converged on the city at the invitation of the Kalvadan Crowns in order to share and demonstrate their various technical and arcane achievements. The World's Fair-like atmosphere has drawn a number of non-Talented tourists, scheming politicians, and cutthroat spies along with the legitimately academically and/or magically inclined.

While Somerset is something of a city of wonders by the world's estimation, it's still first and foremost a dirty and crowded industrial hub in a world that has yet to bother with paving all its major roads. The conference has quadrupled that effect, transforming it into a riot of sights, sound, and (often to its detriment) smells. At this point, finding a room and board in the city has become less a question of where you want to stay and more one of how many other people you're willing to timeshare a bed with.

Luckily, it doesn't seem like Riftwatch will be sticking around long. Some snooping around the of pamphleting/gossip will reveal that the artifact they're after is likely to be found in the grand exhibition hall, and that there will be an opportunity to get their hands on it that evening.

6 ↠ Abeir-Toril

D&D Forgotten Realms, Astarion

The D&D continent of Faerûn is loosely based on Eurasia—if it ran entirely on magic, was roughly stuck somewhere in the 14th century forever, and was filled to the brim with elves, dragons, gnolls, faeries, gods, demi-gods, and just about any myth (or mythological creature) you’ve ever encountered in your life. For the purpose of simplicity, everyone from Riftwatch is going to get plunked down in the titular Baldur’s Gate: the city is massive, it’s known as the jewel of Faerûn, and its cultures, districts, trades and pastimes reflect that remarkable splendor. Still, think of it like Kirkwall in that there are some pretty damn rigid socioeconomic divides separating the city via districts. QUICK GUIDE.

The Upper City is the fancy part of town where nobles (known as Patriar) and their servants live, and it also houses the city’s government and key recreational buildings. There are no bars, pubs, taverns or drinking halls. Anything rowdy happens behind closed doors, and if you don't have an invitation, you'd better look for fun somewhere else. Magical enchantments and lanterns make it beyond stunning at night to stroll through. Lower City is more varied: you’ll find taverns, shops, tons of entertainment and ample trade, as well as pirates by the docks (and their ships), and the harbor waters are absolutely gorgeous for sailing on calm days. Doors are shut and locked during nighttime hours aside from taverns, inns or gambling parlors. Visibility is also lower at night when harbor fog rolls in, particularly where poorer residents can't afford oil, tallow or magic every night. The Undercity stretches deep (and hidden) beneath both the Upper and Lower Cities: it begins at its most shallow within the city as sewers and along seawall cliffs as open-mouthed caves. The deeper you go, the worse it gets: undead catacombs, cultists, temples, blood sport and bloody magic prevail alongside monsters too dangerous to clear out. Outer City sucks. There's almost next to no law or order, and is inherently dangerous to explore. Treat it like Lowtown for the most part, and you'll be pretty smack on (slavers and actual kind impoverished poor included).

CULTURE: Baldur’s Gate is primarily run by humans, and to a lesser extent, elves. Other races aren’t really considered a foothold here, but they’re more than welcome in the city and treated exceptionally well with a few exceptions here and there (ogres, trolls, more ferally inclined goblins, etc). This is not at all like Thedas: someone more familiar with discrimination against non-humans, certain pairings and particularly mages wouldn't find it here. Most of the time if you dress nicely and carry yourself well, you’ll be well respected. Or robbed. Or both!

Special Abilities: Characters will be adjusted to fit D&D, and powers are optional for all. For D&D’s magic/power/race everything, please take a look at some basic classes.

Arrival: Characters will arrive via rifts torn into the Outer City, just along its riverfront sprawl. They won’t be too far from the city gates, but witnesses to the scene will be inclined to gossip and gawk, assuming everything from a freak magical incident to believing the new arrivals are wealthy travelers from somewhere far and exotic, who simply missed their mark in teleporting to the Upper City for sightseeing. Anyone wearing Thedosian clothes will be fine to go without changing— wearing something more modern or say, nothing at all for some reason, will definitely require staging some kind of Terminator II style clothing (theft) acquisition in order to fit in.

Ideally, the team will at least want to make their way into Lowtown in order to begin snooping around, but it’s a big damn city to say the least, and information is expensive. Astarion will help within reason, but being a vampire means that he can only afford to fund so much on his own.

Might be a good idea to do some fetch quests or live your best Adventuring Party life, because you’re all going to likely be here for a (time distorted) relative while.

7 ↠ Orphan Black

Alternate-Universe Earth, 2014; Toronto, Canada; Cosima Neihaus.

Real-world mid-2010s, but secret unethical biology/biotech experiments including viable human cloning in the mid 1980s. Carrying out such technologically advanced work is a combination of international organizations including a private research company, at least one paramilitary organization and a shadowy organization that oversees both. (Orphan Black also features minor differences from our world typical of its genre, such as plot-convenient hacking and variably competent law enforcement, but the cloning project and related scientific offshoots are the most salient differences.) Relevant to this plot in particular, the Dyad Institute is a private organization, considered ""fringe"" by the mainstream scientific community, devoted to research related to human evolution and biotechnology. Some of its many employees had connections to the ""neolutionism"" community, the members of which believed human evolution should be actively shaped by scientific and technological intervention. The organization was responsible for the project that created Cosima and her sisters roughly 30 years before in-world present day. Also at the moment they're jumping to, Cosima works there, it's complicated. (If anyone is familiar with the canon, we're jumping in circa season two.)
A tiny pinboard.

Special Abilities: None, you're all just unpowered humans. Sorry/you're welcome.

Arrival: The group arrives at what turns out to be a nondenominational winter party for a local school; there are some mild shenanigans as Cosima clocks that it's a school attended by children she knows, and more pressingly, partially overseen by their mother, who has Cosima's face. Cosima press gangs one or more other people into helping her hide her own face while negotiating with Alison to borrow her minivan. She shuttles the group to Alison's large suburban Toronto home, which becomes the FR group's base of operation. (It is perhaps telling that while Alison finds this frustrating, she and her husband Donnie do sort of roll with it also.) If desired/depending on how big the group is, Cosima could also stow some Riftwatchers with Felix, the foster brother of one of her other clones, who has a big artsy loft downtown. She is not against taking anyone to her place, but she's a grad student; it's not huge. Everyone who knows how to use a phone or can be trusted to figure it out with a tutorial gets a burner phone for convenience. (Perhaps additionally telling how quickly Alison gets everyone a burner phone. She also decorates the protective cases for them. No, it's not optional.)

8 ↠ The Last of Us

Post-Apocalyptic Earth, Spring 2038, Seattle, Abby Lasterson & Ellie Williams.

This world was ours until 2013, when a worldwide pandemic broke out overnight. A fungus (cordyceps) that had originally infected mainly insects adapted to infect human beings. Anyone bitten by an infected person or who has breathed in a significant or concentrated amount of fungal spores becomes infected themselves. Over a maximum of two days, they utterly lose their humanity and deteriorate into violent monsters, eventually sprouting spores and fungal plates. There is no known cure, and the only human being ever known to be immune is Ellie Williams. 25 or so years later, humanity has crumbled into various factions in a struggle to survive. First came the Federal (FEDRA) response, resulting in Quarantine Zones and martial law. Life in the zones is highly regulated, with work assignments and rations that often aren't enough to go around. Many citizens are forced to turn to crime just to make ends meet. Orphaned children become wards of the state and are trained to become FEDRA soldiers by the time they're sixteen.

Various civilian groups rose up to rebel against FEDRA, forming factions such as the Fireflies (rebels who recruited scientists in an effort to find a cure), and the Washington Liberation Front (a militia-minded organization who overthrew FEDRA in Seattle). There are other smaller groups such as the religious zealots called the Seraphites, or the violent slavers known as the Rattlers.

Few and far between are independent human settlements like Jackson of Wyoming, where small communities have managed to gain self-sufficiency and safety with tireless group effort and highly vigilant defenders. They bolster their numbers by welcoming peaceful outsiders and engaging in trade with travelers.

Living outside of these groups, people are largely on their own, vulnerable to packs of hunters, bandits and even cannibals that prey on anyone brave enough to risk travel.

The infected are an ever-present threat everywhere, and the world is a ruin quickly being reclaimed by nature. (cw: body horror in the link) See board for world aesthetic and depictions of the Infected.

Special Abilities: Everyone is a normal human here. No supernatural powers, no magic, no non-humans.

Arrival: Welcome one of Ellie and Abby's least favorite places: Seattle. The Space Needle is visible in the distance, so despite the advanced state of decay, it's actually recognizable. Except it's been bombed, and rotting, and nature's reclaimed it for the last quarter-century. This adventure won't be for the faint of heart; there are no home bases and no safe space to be had. All clothing, supplies, weaponry and food are things you'll need to find yourself. Everyone can assume they'll get a quick lesson in gun safety and a rundown on various types of infected. Multiple rifts will open, so feel free to appear anywhere in the city (even apart from others) but expect to find no native allies. The city of Seattle is embroiled in civil war between the Seraphites (a religious cult who rejects anything "old world" and scars their faces, called "Scars") and the Washington Liberation Front (a ruthless mercenary coalition, called "Wolves") and both sides will assume you're with the other group and attack on sight. Better pick up a brick.

Comments

[notathreat]

It does sound weird coming out of Clarisse's mouth, like it's something she heard someone else say, and Ellie pauses to wipe ranch off her lower lip with her thumb, eyeing her up.

"Huh. I guess I never thought of food as like... art."

There's a new door unlocked. Even if it seems stupid on the surface, it's something to think over. Food that's just to stay alive is one thing, food just to enjoy the taste is another. The idea of aesthetics is new.

"I'm kind of amazed, actually. There's a lot more people making art here. Like the music alone is mindblowing."

[laruetheday]

"Lot more people here, period."

Plus, it's easy to make art when you're not worried about where your next meal's coming from, or waiting for one of your buddies to turn into a zombie and bite your face off.

Clarisse obviously doesn't know what that's like from personal experience, but she knows a lot more of the kids at camp wrote music and painted and built things when they were there and had the time to relax. Every time she was on a quest, or even just taking a day trip into the city, it was like nonstop movement. She never had time to stop and just look at cool things, or think about creating her own.

Not that she would have anyway, but... still.

"You should definitely see some concerts, though," she adds, since Ellie is right about the music. "While you're here." And New York City is a good place to be if you're looking for live music.

[notathreat]

Ellie gives it some thought while she sucks the sauce off her thumb, and her eyes light up at the prospect of the concerts.

She left her concept of seeming cool or unaffected back at the Avengers tower, it seems like. Along with any sense of caution. This is a once in a lifetime thing. She's going to squeeze everything she can out of it and that means total honesty.

"Will you go with me?"

[laruetheday]

Ahh. Clarisse's smile goes soft at the way Ellie absolutely lights up at the idea of going to a concert, and then that question follows and it makes her feel wired in the best way.

Maybe it's dumb, because they hang out all the time. Maybe she should've expected Ellie to ask that. Maybe she shouldn't read anything into it. (Too late.)

"Yeah! I mean—if you want me to, sure."

[notathreat]

"Yeah, I do."

There's a look on Clarisse's face like maybe she didn't expect to be asked, and Ellie's heart gives a kick somewhere in her ribcage. It's weird, sure, but it's the good kind of weird and they're both in it together.

They look at each other for maybe a second too long before Ellie turns back to her plate.

"Anything to recommend? This place is a little past where music stopped coming out, for me."

[laruetheday]

Clarisse dips a fry into some cheese sauce, swirls it around. It gives her something to look at that isn't Ellie's face—and Ellie seems to have the same idea, looking down at her plate.

"It's actually a little past when I'm from, too." Shit, though, she wonders if Relient K is still playing shows in this universe. "If you come up with some bands you like, we can look for them. Or find ones that are similar, if we can't find those."

[notathreat]

Oh, shit. Time for Clarisse to judge her on her music taste.

"Um... Alice in Chains, Five Finger Death Punch, Daft Punk... one or two songs from a bunch of others. Everything from Guns N' Roses to Metallica and P!nk? Even Taylor Swift had a few good ones."

Like, come on. She's all over the place.

[laruetheday]

Clarisse is nodding, nodding, looks a little bit alarmed at Daft Punk, resumes nodding at Guns N' Roses and Metallica. Yes, okay, she can work with this.

"Taylor Swift, huh." It's a little bit teasing. "Aw, do you like 'Love Story'?"

Has Clarisse listened to any Taylor Swift? Maybe. She'll never tell.

[notathreat]

Ooops, there's the judgement. But far from being anxiety-inducing, Ellie laughs.

"Not enough girls in that one. I'm..."

Ellie shrugs, because this one is a little closer to the heart. But she figures that Clarisse won't laugh at her, maybe.

"I like Mine and All Too Well. I heard I Knew You Were Trouble, so. Looked them up."

[laruetheday]

"Mine... yeah, I know that one," Clarisse admits. It was all over the radio at the end of summer a couple years ago, okay? It's not that she sought it out or anything.

It's fine, she can live with this knowledge.

"The Aphrodite cabin became collectively obsessed with Love Story and kept requesting it at the bonfire a few summers ago. It was like this earworm nobody could get rid of for months. So as long as you're not a fan of that one, we're good." Even if it is catchy.

[notathreat]

"Aphrodite cabin..." Ellie can't help a smile as she puts away a few more onion rings. It's an impressive amount of food and not what she's used to, so unfortunately she's slowing down. She just doesn't have enough room.

"We used to have bonfires in Jackson too, but the songs were a lot more old-school. We didn't have a whole lot of teenagers, mostly old farts like Joel, so it was a lot more eighties. Lots of Bon Jovi and Journey. Which- look. I don't mind those. But there's a time and a place for Don't Stop Believin'. It's sacred."

But she digresses.

"How many cabins did you have? Ares and Aphrodite and who else?"

[laruetheday]

Clarisse snorts, trying to picture it. She wonders if any of the old farts were fans of that show Glee before the whole apocalypse thing went down, but doesn't mention it to Ellie. Some traumas are better left unspoken.

"There used to be twelve. One for each Olympian god." She waves their server over and asks for a box for Ellie's leftover food, without being asked, whoops. She's just assuming Ellie would feel weird about wasting it.

"Children of minor gods or ones who went unclaimed by their godly parent used to live in the Hermes cabin, since he's the god of travelers," she continues, once the server leaves their table. "But now a bunch of the minor gods have their own cabins, so there are twenty total. And the gods are supposed to claim all of their kids by the time they turn thirteen, so theoretically there shouldn't be any unclaimed kids living in the Hermes cabin these days." But it's pretty obvious by her choice of words—supposed to, theoretically—that she doesn't hold a lot of stock in the gods doing what they say they will.

[notathreat]

Clarisse is right about the food, and once she realizes what's going on she shoots Clarisse a grateful sort of look like oh hey, you noticed.

"There isn't some sort of like... Ancient Greek magic to see whose kid you are, huh."

Ellie chews the inside of her cheek. She can't help it, she's curious.

"What if a kid gets claimed by the wrong god? Or more than one?"

It seems like a long shot, but maybe it happened. Who knows?

[laruetheday]

Clarisse bites a fry in half and grins. She’s glad Ellie wasn’t annoyed that she jumped in and asked for a box without asking her first. Ellie doesn’t seem like the type who’d care, but… still. It’s good to know.

“That would never happen. I mean, if it did, and the other god found out about it, it would cause a huge fight. All the Olympians would start taking sides.” They’re a very dramatic bunch. “It wouldn’t be worth it for them. Um, but sometimes another god will become a patron of a demigod who isn’t their kid. It’s… sort of like the godly version of adoption?”

She shrugs, not sure if her explanation even makes sense to Ellie. The gods are weird.

[notathreat]

Yeah, Ellie's fine with that. This way of taking care of her when she's not expecting it. It's the taking her food she'll fight about. (Up to a point anyway.)

"No, that sounds cool actually. Did Hermes do that? You said the kids who weren't claimed stayed there."

The gods are weird. The whole thing kinda blows her mind, actually; Clarisse rattles off stuff like this so easily, without context, that she can't help but ask questions.

And part of it was that... well, she wants to know her. To get a glimpse of the kind of world she lived in, the place that shaped her.

[laruetheday]

She leans back against the soft cushion in the back of the booth, hesitating. This is the kind of thing that makes the gods sound less than likable, and normally she wouldn’t say it to someone from Riftwatch. But Ellie deserves some honesty from her, she thinks.

“Maybe,” she says after several moments. “If he did, I didn’t hear about it. But mostly…” More hesitation, and then: “Do you remember the guy I told you about, Chris?” Her ex. “He’s a son of Hermes, but he lived in the Hermes cabin for years and Hermes never actually acknowledged him until all the gods swore an oath to claim their kids. He did it because he got forced into it, not because he saw how fucked up being ignored made his kids feel year after year.”

She twists her lips in distaste. “So I don’t think I’d want him as a patron. Personally.”

[notathreat]

Ellie's smile fades to something more serious as she listens. She touches her heel over Clarisse's toes, not quite a squeeze but something similar.

"Man. What a shitty thing to go through."

She wets her upper lip, hesitates.

"I never met my real parents. I don't even know my dad's name. I've never even seen a picture of my mom. But- that's different, from knowing they're out there and they could see me and they just. Didn't bother."

[laruetheday]

Clarisse looks at Ellie for a long moment, her expression softening to something that’s both sad and understanding. Ellie’s heel is a steady weight on her toes, pressure that’s not quite a squeeze and probably shouldn’t feel as comforting as it does.

“It’s different,” she agrees. “But not different in a way that feels any less shitty.”

[notathreat]

Something Ellie's chest softens, but it threatens to choke her. She traps her milkshake between her hands, pinches the spiraled straw of her milkshake between her teeth.

"Yeah," she allows, finally. Talks with the end of her straw in her mouth.

"But I had Joel."

Which they both know was its own can of worms.

"And you guys had each other."

[laruetheday]

Ellie's right, of course. But her use of the past tense drives home for Clarisse in a way nothing else has, yet, just how far removed she is from everything and everyone she knows. Probably forever, now.

"Yeah," she echoes, and isn't sure what might come out of her mouth next. Thankfully, their server returns with to-go boxes and the check, which gives Clarisse something else to busy herself with. It's a relief, honestly. She never wanted to get either of them upset, not tonight, when they're supposed to be on this—this date. Thing. Hangout.

She starts dumping cheese fries into one of the boxes, then glances up at Ellie drinking her shake.

"If you're not done yet, we don't have to leave."

[notathreat]

Man, it did get sad fast. Still, it's- kinda bittersweet, but still good. Even if she kinda wishes she had Clarisse's hand instead of her foot.

They can talk about serious stuff and have fun together.

Speaking of which, Ellie dumps the rest of her plate into the box haphazardly, only barely saving the sauce. She glances down at her shake when Clarisse indicates it, exhales audibly. She hates to waste food and she can't exactly take this with her, but she also can't finish it.

"You wanna help me finish this?" she offers, pushing the glass across the small table between them. Kind of a hey, sorry I made you sad.

Also the straw. She did chew on the straw.

[laruetheday]

Clarisse eyes up the chewed up end of the straw. Well. It's not like her tongue hasn't already been in Ellie's mouth, plus, you know, other places. She can handle some tooth marks on plastic. The look on her face suggests she's thinking it, even if she doesn't say anything out loud other than, "Sure."

She pulls the glass toward her and sucks down a good portion of what's left (what? Ellie offered). Shit, it's good. She missed Dr. Pepper, but she also missed ice cream. The oreos were a great choice, too.

"Man, this was good," she sighs, pushing the last bit of the shake back in Ellie's direction. She means it. The food, but also being here with Ellie. Ending up here, in this universe so much like her own but not her own, has been weird. Harder than she thought it would. But this? This was so worth it.

[notathreat]

Ellie lifts her eyebrows like really are you gonna bitch but gives up to smile when Clarisse starts in with the milkshake, putting away a truly impressive amount of it before Ellie laughs and reaches out to take it back.

She slurps the last of it up with a loud crackling stray noise, face softening as she grins back.

"Yeah, it sure was."

It was all kinds of crazy, but so normal at the same time. The both of them just living, doing normal shit in something fantastical.

As they get up (having paid automatically, thanks Tony) Ellie reaches out to catch Clarisse's good hand again, puts an elbow in the door to open it for the both of them.

And then outside, she leans in:

"Would you rather have to wear every shirt inside out, or every pair of pants backwards?"

[laruetheday]

Clarisse ducks her head to hide a smile as Ellie reaches for her hand again. She likes that, likes that it seemed like something Ellie did without even thinking about it.

"That's easy," she says, turning in the direction of one of those insane candy shops where the interior looks like a giant rainbow. Yes, they're still going there, even though they just had dinner. "I feel like I could pull off inside out shirts. Plus I'd just cut the tags out."

A pause, and then she asks, "Who would pick backwards pants? That would be annoying as shit."

[notathreat]

Ellie's eyes just get bigger as they approach the big ol rainbow. She's never seen true neon lights before, and some of them adorn the outside, blinking like stuttered animation of candy mascots.

With laugh, Ellie makes a show of leaning back to glance at Clarisse's butt.

"Yeah, you've got too much ass for that."