ORION OPEN LOG 2: NOW WITH DUDE

[thanksoptimus]

Who: Orion Pax and YOU
Where: Around the city.
When: Late March, basically whenever.
What: Having recent discovered that he has a holomatter avatar, Orion is now roaming the city like someone's confused dad.
Warnings: shrrruuuuggot. perhaps gay.

Exploring the city would have been a lot easier had Orion known how to do this earlier, but he supposes there is no point regretting wasted time now. Unlocking his holomatter avatar has given him a pleasant alternative to sitting in a parking lot and boredly zoning out into a haze of stress and confusion, and so he is happy to use this human shaped form to explore all the places he hasn't been able to previously.

While he technically does look like a middle aged man (who is not Charlie Swan), everywhere he goes he is followed by a constant air of curious bafflement, like a parent is when going to places they don't understand purely for the sake following their kid around. There is a lot of squinting and fondling going on in every one of these options.

A) Various book stores:

The most notable feature of this man's bookstore experience is that he appears to mostly be reading entire books whole while standing in front of shelves - very quickly, at that. The subject matter varies wildly, but he doesn't seem to be at risk of getting bored any time soon, nor do his legs ever appear to get tired.

Perhaps he has yet to catch on to the fact that reading whole books in bookstores is generally considered to be bad etiquette.

B) In which he goes AFK:

And here is that same man, standing in the middle of the street doing nothing. It isn't the busiest of streets, but he sure as fuck is just standing there while the world continues to go on around him, ostensibly while he stares into space and ignores the thread of oncoming vehicles.

This is actually happening because something distracting is happening wherever Orion's actual body is. Perhaps a sudden carjacking. Perhaps animals. It is a mystery.

C) In which Team Magma happens:

Team Magma can frequently be found doing something stupid, and in this case the stupid thing is trying to steal a bunch of lorries from a truck stop for unknown reasons. The rush the parking lot in a group of about twelve. Most of them are firebending.

Orion is just kind of standing around in the parking lot when this happens, not fully realizing what's going on until there are like a dozen costumed people throwing fire around aimlessly and yelling things about being TEAM MAGMA. Even after a moment of letting it sink in his expression is still more incredulous than anything.

He can not even believe this.

Comments

A

[rememberyousoon]

At some point while Nilin was still in the early stages of rebuilding an identity (an awkward time, don't ask about it), she discovered that she had kind of an affinity for classic literature. It just so happens she's in today for a specific book, and when she finds the place where it is supposed to be there is a man there. Reading the only copy.

Nilin mills around for about a minute, pretending to look at other books, but finally she gets impatient and just asks him, "excuse me, are you going to buy that?"

pretend this is a human face

[thanksoptimus]

It takes him a few moments to realize that he's being spoken to, but when he does he looks up in confusion, blinking at empty space, before turning to the source of the sound. He looks a little alarmed, but then then carefully begins to speak.

"Hello. I am sorry. I...was just reading it."

[rememberyousoon]

"It's alright," she says. "It's just, that's the only one." She gestures to the shelf, where indeed there are no other copies. She does her absolute best not to look impatient and even manages a friendly smile, because it really is just a book and she can probably order one online. But this one's here and she doesn't want to miss out on it just because she's too shy to ask, which she most definitely is not.

[thanksoptimus]

"Oh...of course," he says, and hands her copy while mentally making a note of the page number he'd been on. He looks like he's been caught in the middle of doing something embarrassing. "I will find another."

He doesn't actually know how things are supposed to work in these places.

[rememberyousoon]

She takes the book and thinks briefly about just walking away with it, but the look on his face gives her pause.

"You can have it if you want, I just wanted to know if you were going to take it or if you were just... reading it."

C

[chapterfiveversenine]

CONDOR engineers were nice enough to build quick-release catches into Legion's clothes, ensuring that they don't need to incinerate their pants and jacket whenever they need to deploy quickly, and so Legion is able to move from the identity of unassuming man with lowered hood to superhero fairly quickly.

They begin by tripling the weight of a Magma goon in one of the driver seats, and walk up to Orion's avatar as he tumbles out of it. "You are advised to move to cover," they note calmly.

Then the consensus really looks at Not-Charlie-Swan. "Correction: you are a separate identity projecting an avatar. Species and identity?"

[thanksoptimus]

Orion actually jumps a little at the sight of Legion - he hasn't seen him since that once time that Legion stole his trailer. Ultimately he thinks that the other robot was trying to help him, but he never really got the chance to ask-

"I - hello. I mean -" Just then, one of the Magma people trying to break and enter into his cab. Orion's avatar form visibly flinches, and turns in their direction. "Please stop that!"

The cabin door abruptly opens and closes, knocking the cultist off onto their ass.

[chapterfiveversenine]

"You are Orion Pax." Legion rockets over to the Magma cultist, hefts him by the collar, and throws him into another, switching to comms to communicate with the Autobot. "What is your status?"

[thanksoptimus]

"How did you..." Orion's avatar says out loud. He takes a moment to reroute his attention to using the comm system instead. "You are the one who spoke to me on the highway."

The engine of his truck body flares into action and starts trying to pull away.

[chapterfiveversenine]

"Yes," Legion affirms, smashing into another pair of Magma grunts. "We have learned of your situation from Arcee and your Alternian ally. Your memory is compromised and your allegiance in the Cybertronian civil war is questionable."

A

[scribes]

It's not a very big surprise to find Di in a bookstore. Now that she was getting out and doing more her earnest love for them was returning fully.

A look at the table she was commandeered would prove this. It was stacked with a number of books, most belonging to her and of recent Alternian history, and several from the store itself dedicated to Earth history. Several notebooks lay open with her careful and precise handwriting.

At the moment she was looking to put back a couple of the store's books back on the shelf Orion happened to be at.

"Pardon me, may I get by?" She offered him a smile, glad to see someone so engrossed.

[thanksoptimus]

Right now he's reading an encyclopedia of American history. He's halfway through the chapter on the Civil War when her voice gets his attention. For a second, he gets confused about where he is and forgets the whole avatar thing.

"Magdal," he says abruptly, in a familiar voice.

[scribes]

Di does a double take when she hears that voice coming out of the human in front of her. She just stares at him with a baffled expression, brow furrowing and mouth opening and closing. Surely she just misheard, but how would he know her name?

"He...llo?"

[thanksoptimus]

He blinks again, staring at her. It's strange seeing her from this level. Usually he is looking down far more. He tries to compose himself.

"...This is Orion," he says, awkwardly. He leans in closer, to speak more quietly. "You are speaking to a holomatter avatar."

[scribes]

It's just as bizarre for Di to be hearing that voice coming out of a regular looking human. It takes her a moment to shake off her surprised, but then she's intrigued.

"It's really you?" Her voice was lowered and she she looked him up and down, trying to find any signs that might give away that he wasn't what he seemed. When none appeared, she tentatively reached a hand out to him.

B

[cyborged]

Raiden's in a hurry. He's always in a hurry, he is a very busy man. Or rather He is a man with ample free time who treats everything he does like it is Very Important because what else is he going to do with his life.

He doesn't pay any mind to Orion on his first trip down the street beyond registering him as 'some asshole taking up space on a crowded street,' but on his way back it kind of gives him pause to see that same asshole just standing there. Staring at nothing.

It takes him a moment - mostly to get over how inconvenienced he feels - before he pushes through the undulating mass of Very Busy People to move to stand in front of Orion and try to get his attention. Mostly by waving a hand in his face and saying, "excuse me," impatiently.

[thanksoptimus]

Meanwhile, somewhere else, Orion has let himself become distracted with the pair of teens that have stopped to try to take selfies on his hood. Earth is a strange place.

His avatar body keeps doing nothing.

[cyborged]

Is this for real right now.

Raiden is half considering just leaving, but that is not the Right Thing to do. You can't just leave a guy spaced out in the middle of the street. Maybe if he just... Nudged him? That'll help, right?

[thanksoptimus]

That specific sensory input is what finally gets his attention. Oh, Primus, the avatar was still on. He'd almost forgotten. He tunes out of his actual body's activities for a moment, his avatar abruptly seeming to 'wake up.'

"Excuse me," he blurts out suddenly, with zero idea what's actually been going on on this side.

[cyborged]

That's probably fine, right? This guy's awake and alert, he can leave now.

...No he can't. He has to make sure this guy's okay and probably take him to a hospital and all that helpful stuff you do when you care about other people's well being. What a nightmare.

"Are you okay?" He backs up a little, not wanting to be all in a stranger's personal space, "you were just standing in the middle of the street here for quite a while."

B

[teamsad]

The blaring car horns catch Jess' attention, more than anything else. She turns to see one car swerve around a man standing right in the street, the driver shouting curses out his window as he passes by. The man... doesn't react, at all, and Jess purses her lips. Is he having a stroke or something?

Right. She's a very public, high-profile hero these days. She should maybe... intervene before someone hits him. She sighs and jogs into the street, only a little reluctantly. Helping random civilians is a lot harder for her than punching bad guys.

"Hello? Sir?"

[thanksoptimus]

He stares into space, still not moving for the cars even when the horns blare and he has someone directly in his face talking to him. This is not just spacing out - this dude is just completely not home.

[teamsad]

Oh, great. She has no idea what to do with this. Jess waves a hand directly in front of his face, but... no. Nothing. She didn't really expect that to work anyway.

"Hey," she says, louder, reaching up to prod his shoulder. "Do I need to call... I don't know. An ambulance?"

[thanksoptimus]

Orion's head has been elsewhere this entire time, but the actual prod is what gets his attention. His eyes widen at Jess in alarm.

"Hello I am fine, my apologies-" he says very quickly.

[teamsad]

She jumps back a little, somewhat startled that he actually responded.

"Uh... are you sure? Because that was..." What's a non-offensive way to say 'freaking weird'?