capitalh | [OPEN]

Who: Ben Tennyson and YOU
Where: All over LA
When: Today (March 21st), late afternoon to evening
What: A new resident of Los Angeles decides to get more acquainted with his surroundings - and starts working to get involved in the superhero community.
Warnings: Some violence/child being threatened

Settling into their new home took the Tennysons a lot longer than expected - and Ben ended up so busy as a result that he apparently completely missed out on a chance to punch cyborgs. It doesn't occur to him that that may be for the best.

Of course, the moment he's got some free time, he sets about getting more familiar with the area - as far as he's concerned, living in a huge city like this is a dream come true, especially considering all the inevitable opportunities for crime-fighting.

Late Afternoon

[1]After school, Ben is inexorably drawn to comic book stores and arcades, where he is apparently determined to use all his allowance at once. He will chat with anyone who's interested, though he's only likely to actually approach someone if they happen to catch his eye in some way, either through an unusual appearance or if he suspects they're up to something illegal (though he may give them a by if the illegal activity in question is something he considers 'deserved' or just).

If he finds he can't stop a crime as a human (or if he just really wants to get back at someone because he's eleven), he may duck around a corner to transform.

Evening

[2]He's expected to be home before eight, but he's willing to cut it a little close - after all, evening and night are prime criminal-punching times. He's going to be sticking to the shadows as much as possible now, transforming at a moment's notice if necessary.

[3]He may get bored at some point, in which case he'll probably spend some time just flying around as Heatblast, actively seeking out trouble (more actively than he already was, that is).

Whether he's a human or an alien at the moment, Ben will be DELIGHTED to talk to any superheroes he may encounter, and will go to great lengths to do so.

[OOC: If you have a specific scenario in mind, contact me; if not, then just list the number of your preferred situation in the subject line!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wow, this guy is really excited about this superhero who he totally is not. Too bad Ben has never heard of this Mysticalman guy.

"Uh... yeah. I bet he's really great?" Magic can be pretty cool, even if it's not really Ben's thing. Speaking of which - "Hey, didja hear about those aliens that were showing up last summer?"

"I did!" Thank you, random conspiracy theorist websites! "Didn't some of them show up again recently? I wonder what they came to Earth for!"

Well, he sure sounds excited. Aliens might not be His Thing (that being magical creatures), but it doesn't mean he doesn't find them cool. What kind of guy wouldn't read news about an alien that seems to be entirely made of fire, really.

Now this is something that Ben has plenty of experience talking about.

"I've heard they don't really stick around long enough to talk, so who knows?" Ben grins; he seems awfully pleased with the exploits of these aliens, and with Eusine's excitement about them. "They seem to want to help, though."

"Alien heroes, fighting for justice on a foreign world..." he muses. That's definitely something he can relate to. Well, except for the alien bit, of course. Los Angeles isn't exactly a foreign world, only a foreign city in a foreign country.

Though Eusine could argue America is awfully alien; have you even seen the bread here? Dear god.

"How grand would it be, if they teamed up with local superheroes!" Like the Mysticalman. That would be especially grand. "What star-forged wisdom, what mind-boggling technology they might share with us Earth-dwellers!"

Ben stifles a smirk and rubs absently at his left wrist. More like who knows what they've already shared with us. He doesn't think about that for long though because did someone mention superhero team-ups.

"That would be awesome!" He's put a fair amount of thought into this. Probably more than fair. "I bet they're looking for allies, too, being new here and everything." They would probably join a team if they weren't so limited by time. And by being eleven.

"Exactly! It would only make sense for them to want to learn more about our culture, and what better way than by joining forces with Earth's warriors of justice!" Theory's nice, but nothing like getting your hands dirty. Metaphorically. Literally getting your hands dirty sucks, especially when you're wearing white gloves.

"...Right! Yeah, they could totally learn like that!" Every so often Ben almost forgets that pretending to be aliens is more than just turning into a different species and punching things. He's supposed to be new here.

Of course, he is new to this particular city, and who knows, maybe there are some facets of superhero culture or something that he's unfamiliar with...

"Hey, speaking of which, d'you happen to know any of the heroes around here? Like- you mentioned that Mysticalman guy, have you actually talked to him?" Might as well start testing the waters here, figure out how easy it is to get in contact.

There's a glint in his eyes here, as if he were in on some sort of hilarious jokes only he understands. Oh, he does so enjoy talking about this person who is absolutely not himself.

"I've seen him quite a few times, yes!" He brings one hand to his face, tapping a finger against his chin in a theatrical display of contemplation. "You know, I've heard he often patrols this very same district, shortly after the sun sets..."

He's not saying Ben should stay up past his bedtime to check out his cool superhero self but he's totally saying Ben should stay up past his bedtime to check out his cool superhero self. The neighbourhood isn't terribly dangerous at night, so it's not like he'd risk getting hurt, right? And who knows, maybe it'd inspire the kid to become a DARING CHAMPION OF JUSTICE himself!

Right. Totally inspired, to do a thing that he totally doesn't already do.

"Hey, cool!" He leans against a shelf, completely casually. "Too bad I'll probably be home by then," he says, in the conspiratorial tone of somebody who doesn't actually intend to fool anybody, and who will not be home by then.

"What a shame," he says, in the very same tone. He's starting to really like this kid.

"By the way..." He extends a hand towards Ben for a handshake, because adults striking up friendships with random kids they just met is absolutely not weird. "I'm Eusine."

Funny how much more straightforward introductions are when he's not trying to impress a lady.

"I'm Ben Tennyson!" He shakes hands, grinning from ear to ear. This doesn't seem weird to him at all; really, it just seems like he's being treated like An Adult, in the way that involves not being talked down to or coddled as opposed to the way that involves being expected to do boring stuff, like cleaning and taxes.

"By the way, I was kinda wondering- what's with the cape and stuff?" He had gotten so excited about superheroes he had almost forgotten why he came over here to begin with.

Eusine has many flaws, but treating kids like they're stupid just because they're young is fortunately not one of them. One point for the Mysticalman!

Ah, but when Ben mentions the cape... he's the one who seems taken with a kind of childish excitement. "The reason I have a cape, my friend, is because I deal in mysteries and illusions! You might call me... a magician."

He's obviously very proud of what he does, as corny as it sounds.

Eusine's description of his job does seem a little overblown, but hey, Ben has to admit that being a magician sounds pretty cool. "Really? So, what kind of stuff do you do as a magician?"

Of course, he's also kind of wondering whether this is a case of "card tricks and rabbits in hats" or "actual literal magic". The "illusions" bit seems to indicate the former, but there's only one way to find out for sure, right?

"I entertain, I mesmerize! I bring wonder and joy to the hearts of people!"

He ends his sentence by clapping his hands, producing a small cloud of sparkly purple smoke out of nowhere and looking mighty proud of himself while doing so. Ta-dah!

Sorry Ben, did you want a straightforward answer? Ah ah ah.

Wow that doesn't answer anything- where did that smoke come from.

"Well, I mean, I knew that part of what a magician does-" Though he wouldn't use those exact words- "I, uh, meant more in terms of what kinda tricks you do and stuff?"

Though he supposes the smokes is a pretty good example. He still genuinely looks a bit bewildered over that.

[OPEN]

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i can't even believe these nerds

me neither tbh

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