vallo

[tiny baby Wanda voice post in Sokovian, presumably the device can auto-translate]

Pietro? [...] Pietro. Are you on this? I think the orphanage sent me somewhere strange, and I was not even the one who threw the eggs at the building. It is not fair. I am hiding in a closet. Come find me.

BILLY, TOMMY & TEDDY.

[selfie of wanda & a little green boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, SMILING, and there are sprinkles all over their mouths.]

Hello. We had (and still have) ice cream for breakfast. This is Sebastian, and he is very good at shapeshifting. Billy and Teddy - this one's yours.

I'm only a little sorry for the sugar rush.

MOM? Do you want me to just off this person FOR you???? WHO IS IT????

Yeah so, if any new Skrull or Kree pop in, guess it's kind of obvious after two days that we'd like to know? It's all with good intentions, I swear.



Which I realize is probably something someone with bad intentions would say, but here we are.

BILLY

You have to search Theodore Altman, babe.

It's my first autumn in Vallo. On a scale from 1 to 10, how intense is Halloween here? Does shit get wild or what? I've noticed the uptick in pumpkin stuff and now there's search engine crap (getting ahead of this now: I will not be shamed for my fanfic prefs) but I didn't know if it got worse as the month went on or what.

Barely a month into being on a defense team and we got to fight skeletons. I've been here long enough, and have lived the life I've lived, to not really be surprised by that.

Now that I'm rested and recovered (not that I was as hurt as some--I hope you're all doing okay?), a question: what's your favorite Pokemon and why?

BILLY

All this to say: Pokemon Go date tonight? Eat across the city and catch Pokemon as we go.

So I'm like 99.8% sure I didn't end up here through some kind of quantum entanglement or anything. The welcome was definitely better than the last place. Plus, you know, no one is trying to catch me or kill me or stop me or- yeah, I'm gonna stop there. So this is like NextDoor for Superheroes or something?

Oh hey, I'm Miles. Go easy on the new guy?

One of the kids at the center alerted me that this is bisexual month. (Color and italics required, I don't make the rules.) They explained there's an awareness week and a visibility day coming up, so they figure that means we should get the whole month and frankly, I agree.

Let's go, fellow bisexuals. September is our month. Maybe October too, on account that I really like Halloween.



Okay okay, I'll share October and the Halloween joy. November, though? I'll report back.

So, right, I run a Dungeons and Dragons group that's been going on for awhile (it's a tabletop role-playing game) (which is basically storytelling while getting into conflicts) (we're always taking new players, I can teach you, go to Mike's store for dice) but sometimes I like trying new games because one sheet games are easier for everyone to learn as there's literally like, three rules to learn and it's a good way to get started or try a new genre. I tried to play Lasers & Feelings with Teddy, but it turns out that when you're the long prophesized ruler of two forever warring races (thank you Kree, thank you Skrulls) who actually has to sit through hours long meetings with diplomatic envoys, it takes the fun out of roleplaying in space.

So, Feng Shui 2 is like playing a character in the most Michael Bay John Cena Dwayne The Rock Johnson Jason Momoa Jason Statham Whoever is the New James Bond John Wick Hey We Need Other Gender Representation Up In Action Movies cinematic masterpiece of all time. Think every action star cliché you can think of, and then put all of those characters in a movie with an unlimited CGI budget. Who are you? The grizzled veteran sucked in one last time? The child of a recently deceased famous parent come to make your parent proud?

For everyone who has always wanted to put on sunglasses while slo-mo walking away from an exploding building or pulled a helicopter out of the air by sheer brute strength, or said a quippy one liner before becoming a blur of martial arts, this is the game for you. Give me your action star name, your cliche/trope, and your signature move/catchphrase, and let's go save the world.

I don't have an official day yet, I figure when I find out who's interested I'll send out a few dates and we can pick whatever works best--and if there's a big demand we can make different groups by who is available when, I don't mind. As per usual, there will be snacks because if there's not food, Tommy will riot.

Teds

So the fighting made me think

Do you miss

Or maybe you don't miss because you're doing it

You were a better superhero than me

But maybe I sort of

What if

Hi.

Right. So I know everyone probably says "I need to go back" because who wouldn't, right? But here's the thing... I really need to get back. Like really really. So on the off chance someone's just been, you know, holding out on the whole getting out of this universe thing now's the time to speak up.

Please?

Since the talk about them has sort of died down, just wondering if the shapeshifting doppelganger thing sorted itself all out? Did anyone get any info on what they were or where they came from?

I've been here long enough to know sometimes things just come and go and are mysterious because that's just Vallo, but I'm just curious. You know, no reason.

Painting miniatures is addictive. I'm still not the total best at it, but I really love doing it. It's like my brain goes on vacation while I'm focused on all those tiny physical details and I'm completely out of my head and into my paint brush. It makes me feel like Will's closer and further away all at the same time.

I also like what it does for how I see the enemies and NPCs I make for my game. This isn't just a faceless bunch of aliens anymore, because I painted every detail on these guys and now they're individuals who matter. It really helps me get immersed in the world, which I think makes me a better DM. Or Spacemaster, I guess, since I'm running Starfarers. (Which is a great game, by the way, thanks Vallo, we're having a blast.)

[Filtered to Hawkins House]
You guys wanna do a beach day sometime soon? I feel like we're not taking full advantage of summer and suddenly living on a coast if we don't.
[/filter]

[Filtered to Nancy, Steve, and Robin]
Hey, since you guys like to pop in on our sessions sometimes...any chance I could pull any of you in to play some NPCs for me? I've written too many side characters for tonight's session and I'm afraid I'm gonna run out of voices to do for them. You'll have free rein to play them however you want beyond some basic parameters.
[/filter]

[Filtered to El]
Hi, love you, that's all. Come by the shop today if you're bored, it's always slow during the day on weekdays.
[/filter]

I have always enjoyed the cathedral ceilings--not the cathedrals themselves, of course, never that. There is something to be said for the increased light and it very much makes a place feel larger, even though it is not useable space.

And I know this because I no longer have a ceiling. I had one, and then for some reason it turned to ash and there is a large hole above me.

Is it perhaps a vaulted ceiling? Hmmmm. Morningside residents, do be cautious of this newfound perk. Perk for me, at least, for the person above me I am not so certain they want a hole in their floor, but, perhaps.

I think, perhaps, I've grown dependent on cats to feed me. ( Cut for image! )

That pizza did nothing wrong.

CALEB

This is me, checking in. Hi.

I'm gainfully employed and a contributing member of Vallo society, finally. I could only mooch off of Billy for so long, so come out to Galdin Quay and let me be your waiter.

Also, sounds like people really go all out for Pride here, yeah?

BILLY

Let's celebrate.

The job, I mean. Though I'd be up for celebrating being gay this weekend, too.

I've been reading through the syllabus for Professor Philomenes' Introduction to Literature in hopes of catching up a bit on local culture. I just finished the Pre-Modern section, which included The Tale of Arcturus. It's a fascinating piece, remarkably similar in style to the Beowulf that I read as a freshman. The style in which the author constructs metaphor, the alliteration, even the debate over provenance bear striking resemblance to one another.

One of the early things I learned about magic in my world was this: stories are immutable, like gold. It's fascinating to see proof of it--the details in Arcturus are different, but the core of it is nigh identical to Beowulf.

It makes me wonder if we're all stories, and Vallo some dedicated collector of special editions. Which one of you is the 1937 author-illustrated printing of The Hobbit?

June 4th was would have been my one-year wedding anniversary. I will start by saying this: I'm not devastated, and I have obviously not turned half of Vallo into a sitcom starring myself. I am fine. Truly. For those who do not know me, Vallo took away my husband. [...] And then my boyfriend, technically, but he was the boyfriend I had back home that was murdered by Thanos. That is slightly confusing

Anyway, this post is not about grief and I am not alone on this boat. This is more about... hope, I suppose? A lot of us know well how chaotic Vallo's nature is, bringing in the people you love only to take them away later. Or they bring you someone who is not from your world but you bond with them regardless. You learn to love them. Then there is the opportunity to take the plunge into something deeper, and you should. It does not matter what Vallo can do and don't hesitate because of Vallo.

If you want to, then do it. Make the memories. Date that person, marry them, try to make a family if that is what you want. The what if thoughts might always do the worst damage to you than this place could.

That is my one post for the year. Goodbye.



Oh! Iced tea weather. We have a lot of refreshing, fruity blends at my shop. [INSERT ADDRESS HERE hello] Cold tarts as well. We have a wall of books for people to browse there is erotica if you know where to look, and anything on the menu is available for delivery. Tommy will get them to you in less than five seconds. (Is less than five seconds insulting my son's speed? I'm sorry.)

[note - please pretend teddy is green in all of his icons ty]

So I'm not really unused to being green since it's sort of my normal Skrull state, I guess? But usually when I shift, I can control the color? And usually when I'm human, I'm just me?

Anyway, I'm forever green.

I assume this is related to the flower weirdness everyone else has been tackling, so that's the last time I try to pick a fresh flower for you, Billy.

[Filtered to The Mage, The Bard, The Banished, Bat-Man, The Band Geek, My Sister, and My Girlfriend's Dad*]
Guys, I think something's wrong with me. I got stung by a plant with pretty flowers that smell good and now I can't remember the right names for things. Or for people. I don't even know if this filter is going to work. Do I need to go to the magic doctor?


*if one of these labels could also apply to you, feel free to decide you can see this filter

I'll take disconcerting experiences I'd rather not repeat for $100, Alex.

[Lydia Martin]

So. That was a thing.