Calvin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
magicalworld) wrote2013-07-31 04:26 pm
magicalworld) wrote2013-07-31 04:26 pm
PLOT ANNOUNCEMENT: Honey, the Kids Shrunk Us
Hello everyone, Jesse and Carolyn here to tell you about an upcoming plot where two small children ruin everyone’s lives!
Calvin is six and thinks he is a brilliant inventor. Valeria is three and actually is a brilliant inventor, and she has taken on Calvin’s challenge to improve his non-functional shrink ray design. On August 11th the kids will bicker over Valeria’s improved and entirely functional shrink ray, resulting in a malfunction and the release of Pym Particles. Pym Particles are COMIC BOOK SCIENCE that will be drawn to ImPorts because of more COMIC BOOK SCIENCE, resulting in affected ImPorts SHRINKING!!!
The scale of the shrinking can vary depending on player preference. The default is one-quarter of an inch, but it can range from the loss of a foot of height to being made the size of an action figure to dwelling among the insects to full-on microscopic Fantastic Voyage adventures.
Anything an affected character is wearing or holding will shrink with them, and electronics like the communicators will keep working because shut up this is from the Silver Age, that's why. If you would like your character to disappear and be cut off from contact, their communicator will not be affected if it’s not on them when they get hit- have fun trying to work your new jumbo comm by jumping on its keys with your little legs!
To give the plot more structure, an open log will be set up with pre-posted threads setting up the shenanigans affected characters could find themselves in: having to dodge giant traffic, becoming accidental lords of the ant kingdom, being chased by household pets, and the like. Participants will be free to set up their own threads in this log or logs outside the main one, as they prefer.
Calvin and Val will be the first to shrink and the last to be restored, since they'll be hit by the highest concentration of the gas. The Pym particles themselves have no inherently deleterious or long-term effects after one exposure, so after they wear off it will be back to normal. Once the kids are restored, they will do a joint post arguing over whose fault the incident was and likely get yelled at.
We are soliciting ideas from players for what kinds of situations and prompts should be featured in this log’s threads! Please fill out the form below to sign your character up and specify any ideas you have for what kind of situations will be featured in the main plot log. As a side note, while we encourage participants to get into all kinds of perils, we ask that no characters actually die in this plot; because then Calvin would be responsible for killing people and it would be super weird.
This plot will run from August 11th, when the accident happens, to the 14th, when the last affected ImPorts return to normal. Please let us know if there are any questions!
Calvin is six and thinks he is a brilliant inventor. Valeria is three and actually is a brilliant inventor, and she has taken on Calvin’s challenge to improve his non-functional shrink ray design. On August 11th the kids will bicker over Valeria’s improved and entirely functional shrink ray, resulting in a malfunction and the release of Pym Particles. Pym Particles are COMIC BOOK SCIENCE that will be drawn to ImPorts because of more COMIC BOOK SCIENCE, resulting in affected ImPorts SHRINKING!!!
The scale of the shrinking can vary depending on player preference. The default is one-quarter of an inch, but it can range from the loss of a foot of height to being made the size of an action figure to dwelling among the insects to full-on microscopic Fantastic Voyage adventures.
Anything an affected character is wearing or holding will shrink with them, and electronics like the communicators will keep working because shut up this is from the Silver Age, that's why. If you would like your character to disappear and be cut off from contact, their communicator will not be affected if it’s not on them when they get hit- have fun trying to work your new jumbo comm by jumping on its keys with your little legs!
To give the plot more structure, an open log will be set up with pre-posted threads setting up the shenanigans affected characters could find themselves in: having to dodge giant traffic, becoming accidental lords of the ant kingdom, being chased by household pets, and the like. Participants will be free to set up their own threads in this log or logs outside the main one, as they prefer.
Calvin and Val will be the first to shrink and the last to be restored, since they'll be hit by the highest concentration of the gas. The Pym particles themselves have no inherently deleterious or long-term effects after one exposure, so after they wear off it will be back to normal. Once the kids are restored, they will do a joint post arguing over whose fault the incident was and likely get yelled at.
We are soliciting ideas from players for what kinds of situations and prompts should be featured in this log’s threads! Please fill out the form below to sign your character up and specify any ideas you have for what kind of situations will be featured in the main plot log. As a side note, while we encourage participants to get into all kinds of perils, we ask that no characters actually die in this plot; because then Calvin would be responsible for killing people and it would be super weird.
This plot will run from August 11th, when the accident happens, to the 14th, when the last affected ImPorts return to normal. Please let us know if there are any questions!
joint post drafting
[Calvin is standing in what appears to be a Stark Tech lab, in front of a distressingly large and fancy-looking ray gun mounted on a tripod. He is wearing a labcoat that is much too large for him, pooling around his ankles and with sleeves hanging off his little arms.]
Attention denizens of the Network! You are about to witness the next great scientific breakthrough! Any journalists and academics among you ought to start taking notes, because you are going to see something for the history books.
no subject
I don't mind you recording, but you don't need to narrate.
no subject
Yeah, well you don't need to interrupt!
Anyway, thanks to my genius and some minor technical assistance provided by some other kid, I have perfected a stunning leap forward in shrink ray technology! You're lucky to see its first-ever demonstration.
no subject
...Riiiiiight.
Anyway, because of the...non-technical audience [THAT MEANS YOU, CALVIN] I'll keep this simple.
[She's usually condescending unintentionally. Not this time.]
Since size change with Pym Particles is a solved problem, the major challenge was engineering. I used the standard magnetic bottling technique Henry Pym pioneered to isolate and contain the particles. They have some intriguing supersymmetric properties, but that's really only of interest to scientists. [THAT MEANS NOT YOU, CALVIN.]
no subject
Fine, while my assistant bores the audience with technical jargon, I'll just go handle the actual demonstration.
no subject
Don't touch anything.
[She's aware of approximately how well that will work, but unaware of Calvin's exact propensity for mayhem.]
OOC: THEN ON TO VAL'S NEXT COMMENT
no subject
[She points a thumb over her shoulder at the disturbing comic book laser gun she's built.]
no subject
Hey, you're all paying attention to me and not her, right? I'm the one who's going to test this thing! Be amazed as I shrink this, um-
[The boy realizes he's forgotten to place a test target. He scurries off-screen, comes back with a StarkTech wastebasket, and places the unfortunate receptacle in front of the shrink ray.]
This test subject!
no subject
What if we made that lab coat fit you, instead?
[She's snarking without even looking at him, because she doesn't think he even knows enough to be dangerous.]
no subject
[Simple, no? Val folds her arms, waiting for whatever Calvin's next doubtless-scintillating contribution will be.]
no subject
[Now Calvin can be the center of attention, as it should be. He hops back on the shrink ray, and peers at the complicated control scheme that could only have been developed by a member of the Richards family.]
Hey, where'd you put the 'on' button on this thing, anyway?
[ooc: and then Calvin hits the wrong button and the screen is whited out by science accidents and child failure???]
no subject
I told you not t--GET DOW--
OOC: catastrophe? we can edit it to flow a little more smoothly, but this seems pretty good
How's this? With coloured text replacing the asterisks maybe
[Calvin is standing in what appears to be a StarkTech lab, in front of a distressingly large and fancy-looking ray gun mounted on a tripod. He is wearing a labcoat that is much too large for him, pooling around his ankles and with sleeves hanging off his little arms.]
Attention denizens of the Network! You are about to witness the next great scientific breakthrough! Any journalists and academics among you ought to start taking notes, because you are going to see something for the history books.
[From offscreen there's the high-pitched whine of some piece of equipment spinning up, then Valeria's voice.]
I don't mind you recording, but you don't need to narrate.
[Calvin shoots a look off to the side.]
Yeah, well you don't need to interrupt!
Anyway, thanks to my genius and some minor technical assistance provided by some other kid, I have perfected a stunning leap forward in shrink ray technology! You're lucky to see its first-ever demonstration.
[As Calvin talks, Val comes into the frame behind him, wearing a lab coat that fits her, along with goggles resting on her forehead, and a pair of shiny black mad scientist gloves. If eyerolls were audible, no one would be able to hear Calvin's voice over her expression.]
...Riiiiiight.
Anyway, because of the...non-technical audience [THAT MEANS YOU, CALVIN] I'll keep this simple.
[She's usually condescending unintentionally. Not this time.]
Since size change with Pym Particles is a solved problem, the major challenge was engineering. I used the standard magnetic bottling technique Henry Pym pioneered to isolate and contain the particles. They have some intriguing supersymmetric properties, but that's really only of interest to scientists. [THAT MEANS NOT YOU, CALVIN.]
[Calvin scowls as Valeria speaks, and just talks right over her as he turns and heads toward the shrink ray in the background.]
Fine, while my assistant bores the audience with technical jargon, I'll just go handle the actual demonstration.
[Val doesn't even look at him.]
Don't touch anything.
[She's aware of approximately how well that will work, but unaware of Calvin's exact propensity for mayhem.]
The usual application is ingested or inhaled suspension, but that's a result of Dr. Pym's biochemistry bias and not an inherent limitation of the effect. Given the specification was for a shrink ray, I've instead chosen to adapt one of my father's x-ray laser designs as a delivery mechanism.
[She points a thumb over her shoulder at the disturbing comic book laser gun she's built.]
[Meanwhile, Calvin is climbing on the disturbing comic book laser gun she's built.]
Hey, you're all paying attention to me and not her, right? I'm the one who's going to test this thing! Be amazed as I shrink this, um-
[The boy realizes he's forgotten to place a target for the test. He scurries off-screen, comes back with a StarkTech wastebasket, and places the unfortunate receptacle in front of the shrink ray.]
This test subject!
[You're touching things, aren't you, Calvin.]
What if we made that lab coat fit you, instead?
[She's snarking without even looking at him, because she doesn't think he even knows enough to be dangerous.]
Once the stabilizer gas containing the Pym particles enters the lasing chamber, I use a coupled RF plasma to excite the whole thing. Since it's not hitting the necessary energies, nothing splits into elementary particles--the gas dissociates, but who cares; that's background noise--and instead you get a beam, which can be projected at the target. Aperture and pulse duration determine how large a dose is delivered, and a polarity reversal would result in a growth effect, but this is a prototype and I didn't bother to add those circuits.
[Simple, no? Val folds her arms, waiting for whatever Calvin's next doubtless-scintillating contribution will be.]
Are you done? Finally! You're distracting everyone from all the science!
[Now Calvin can be the center of attention, as it should be. He hops back on the shrink ray, and peers at the complicated control scheme that could only have been developed by a member of the Richards family.]
Hey, where'd you put the 'on' button for this thing, anyway?
[Val finally turns around, and shrieks in a mixture of outrage and alarm.]
I told you not t--GET DOW--
YIKES!
[Calvin shrieks, the shrink ray glows bright white, and suddenly there’s a crackling roar as a discharge of energy blanks out the screen. All that can be seen is the spreading cloud of gaseous Pym Particles filling the lab, as Calvin yells “It wasn’t my fault! It wasn’t my-“]
[ooc: No responses from either of the kids, as their world just got a whole lot smaller!]
OPEN LOG DRAFTING
WHO: Everyone involved in this plot
WHERE: Throughout the City
WHEN: August 11th-14th
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: Kid science gone wrong leads to some ImPorts getting a much more down-to-earth perspective on life.
FORMAT: Whatever works! Prompt threads will be posted for people to tag off of, but participants are also encouraged to start their own!
(find good cut text, write log start)
Threads so far:
Bug-sized – ImPorts vs. the Ants
Toy store shenanigans
Cat encounter
Oh no it's raining and puddles are like lakes
Toy Store!
The up side is that there are doll houses for shelter and tiny ovens for making bitsy little meals. However, the store is also filled with inquisitive children who might very well mistake your character for some new, wonderfully lifelike doll that they absolutely *must* play dress up with! Step lively and try to blend in with the action figures, or your character might find themselves being gummed by an enthusiastic toddler who’s overjoyed with his new toy.
Cat Encounters
Ohmigoshit’sakitty! It may also be trouble, since your character is now an excellent size for chasing. Maybe it’s a beloved pet, and they may be able to establish a connection and even go on a kittyback ride. Or perhaps your character is encountering a stray puss outside their home, in which case they have a markedly greater chance of becoming a snack. Think fast, or the cat’s curiousity just might kill you.
Log start?
Their fall is not random nor even. They drift together, form concentrations, become denser as they fall toward certain points. Through some odd quirk of Marvel science combined with the nature of being an ImPort, the Pym Particles are inexorably drawn toward those who came through the Porter.
For those touched by the Particles, the effect is swift and disorienting. The body tingles as its form is changed at the subatomic level. Surrounding objects and structures seem to swell and loom while the ground rushes up to meet them. In seconds, affected ImPorts are in a new world of towering furniture, the boom of titanic footsteps, and everyday little critters suddenly transformed into vast beasts.
ImPorts vs. the Ants (and other creepy-crawlies)
Whether your shrunken character is indoors or on a lawn that a become a thick green forest or somewhere else, the bugs are everywhere. Hope nobody's got a phobia- although after exposure to this many mandibles, it's entirely possible they'll just develop one.
Braving Lake Puddlemore
Perhaps a leaf and twig would serve as an improvised raft, or the worm might be used as a slimy, unstable bridge. Your characters' options depend on what size they have been reduced to. With enough time and patience, they could simply get around the lake by slogging through the muddy shore- but where's the fun in that?
"apology" post
Only being as much of a sociopath as the average three year old, and having a much better understanding of consequences, Val realizes they have to apologize. And that it has to sound sincere.
Fortunately, she's a great liar.
Calvin's on his own.]
Hi, everyone. According to my calculations, the Pym particle effects should have entirely worn off by now. As far as I know, no one was seriously injuried.
[Injuries to pride, dignity, and relationship status don't count.]
no subject
[Calvin looks just thrilled about the whole adventure. He's standing next to Val, wearing his ordinary red shirt now instead of that ridiculous lab coat.]
Anyway, as the head visionary of this project and the original genius behind the experiment, I feel I ought to apologize to everyone...
[Calvin's not a great liar. He's actually a terrible liar. Fortunately, he has other talents, like deflecting responsibility. He points at Valeria and starts yelling.]
...for letting this absolute chowderhead anywhere near my inventions!
no subject
I do accept responsibility for letting an unqualified observer like Calvin into the lab. I should have seen something like what happened coming a mile away. I'm really sorry to everyone I inconvenienced, and I won't be "collaborating" [the sarcasm quotes on that would be audible in a vacuum] with him anymore.
[You know, when Tony lets her back in one of his labs sometime a decade from now.
Aside from the swipes at Calvin, which come paired with with a truly masterful bit of sideeying, it's a Oscar-worthy performance--she practices seeming contrite on Susan Richards, after all. And she does feel a little chastened. Having an experiment go this badly wrong is beneath her.]
no subject
That's right, you won't be, because you are fired. You're the worst assistant I've ever had, and my last one was a ferocious jungle cat!
[Long story.]
You heard her, she accepts responsibility for everything being her fault. So that settles it!
[He turns to Val.]
You can get pelted with refuse by the angry mob, and I'll just take my new shrink ray back home and keep perfecting it, without you messing things up.
no subject
Suddenly, Calvin goes sliding out of his seat and onto the floor with a thump as she pushes him out of the frame with a force field.]
Yeah, okay.
[She reaches forward and the video ends.]